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is-jan-jan-is · 5 months

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Dawn of Dc fucking slaps my dudes.

I've been meaning to make a post about the Dawn of Dc for quite a while but haven't due to depression and 80 hour work weeks.

My pull box used to be one third marvel, one third dc and one third indie. Nowadays, with marvel focusing on more of those godawful movies it's producing more and more garbage. Meanwhile, dc-who has been struggling since the 90s-seems to have found its stride. My box is honestly two thirds dc and one third indie.

I've maybe three or four marvel titles. Captain marvel, mckay's avengers run and ewing's thor. I did also pick up Sentry but havent read it yet. I was about to deep dive into the fall of the house of x stuff but the whole 'Genocide' storyline is in bad taste to say the fucking least. With last year's Symbol of Truth sam wilson run over i dont have much more marvel stuff catching my eye.

Meanwhile I'm collecting most of dc's catalog. The Dawn of Dc rebrand has been phenomenal through and through. Part of it is due to color coding which my autism especially likes. Mostly, it's great storytelling.

Here is how I would rate the Dawn of Dc titles I've been collecting so far on a scale of 'bruh' to 'BRUH'(all of the ratings are made up terms):

*******Spoilers*********

Jon Kent Adventures of Superman: absolute banger...if not a tad formulaic. If seems poetic to have Jon kent-a product of Joshua Williamson- fight injustice superman-a product of Dan Didio. Dan famously hated legacy characters and loved the idea of fascist superman so-get fucked Dan. 11/10 because he beats him with a hug

Action Comics: fuck yeah dawg. It's been great. The wholesome super family shenanigans, the inclusion of Kenan (finally) on top of just damn good story telling. 10/10 would super again.

Superman: BRUH. So, after years of piss poor 'superman' books we get the warworld saga (certified banger) followed up with this delightful story from Josh Williamson. All of the classic villains get the correct treatment. Lex, parasite, banshee-with the current 'Chained' reveal. Im so glad somebody understands how to write superman. This has genuinely become a title i look forward to every week. 10.5/10

Superboy Man of Tomorrow: Certified Banger. Listen, Connor Kent was the first love of my life. 90 percent of my personality is Teen titans and Young Justice was always my favorite flavor of teen titans. Either way I was always going to love a boom about Connor Kent. That said: this book is pretty good. It clearly skews young as far as its obvious intended audience but it was still fun.

Steel: CERT-FIED BANG-ER! God I love Worf. I'm glad that my boy Steel is getting the proper treatment. Michael Dorn does a damn good job. It was a good run, just read the last one (6 out of 6) today.

Powergirl: fuck yeah dawg. I love powergirl, and this series is not as annoyingly thirsty as previous stories. She's presented as a complex yet baddass character. Her motives are complex and her actions are badass. I also like that she's part of the super family officially.

Blue Beetle: Certified Banger. Pretty damn good. Once again it's a tad formulaic but still a fun read. 8/10

Green Arrow: Certified Banger! Pretty damn good, tbh. I love the fact that my boii Roy Harper is back. Pretty strong familial vibes all around. 9.5/10

Green lantern: bruh. Listen, I only picked up this title originally because it held the preview to John Stewart's 'War Journal'. Its well done, don't get me wrong. Jeremy Adam's is an asset to D.C. at this point. Quality wise, it's a knockout. Unfortunately, it's also Hal Jordan. He's as much of an unbearable p.o.s. as he's ever been. 6/10.

Green Lantern War Journal: BRUH!!! Fucking Slaps. John Stewart is back at it in an incredibly endearing story. I was really interested to see where they would take it after Gregory Thorne basically made my boii a demigod. The ultraviolet corps are super interesting and the b plot with his mother is heart wrenching. 100/10

Green Latern Alan Scott: fuck yeah dawg. Pretty good. Love the gay representation. Been meaning to get back into JSA stuff. Haven't read the huntress or sandman stuff yet but might after this.

Hawkgirl: absolute banger. Ngl, they kinda phoned in the antagonist but that's ok. Its a fun read about a cool character we've always wanted more content on anyways. Also Jadzia is god tier. 8/10

Wonder Woman: BRUH!!! I've never been a huge fan of Diana honestly but this story had me hooked from the beginning. It's a complex, heartfelt political intrigue. Tom King can do NO wrong. 20/10

Birds of Prey: absolute banger. Super fun to read. I definitely look forward to it every month. I love cass and I love barda so- 11/10

Batman and Robin: bruh. Listen, I love Joshua Williamson but all the love in the world won't make me tolerate Bruce fucking Wayne. After the catastrophic mess that was the Gotham War event we get this run by Joshy boii and Simone DiMeo. It's a decent little story which I follow only to ensure that Robin is OK. The breakout star of this title for me was DiMeo's art. It's so kinetic! Honestly, the art is the only reason this isn't a 0/10. That said...6.5/10

Outsiders: Fuck yeah dawg! The this series only has two issues out so far but it's been fun. I love Kate abd Luke respectively and together they are lots of fun. Also this title seems to lean in to the whole 'superhero fatigue' thing. So fuck yeah! 8/10

Nightwing: BRUH!! Tom Taylor has been in charge of what is honestly the best Superhero title on the market for the past couple years-and its Nightwing. His Grayson is charming, endearing and resilient: All of the good qualities of his deadbeat dad without any of the bullshit brooding and class warfare. This Dawn of Dc title feels different because it's less a relaunch and more a continuation. It's a super interesting deep dive into the BludHaven lore that Taylor began teasing years ago. Also pirate Dick Grayson-90/10

Titans: BRUH. 10/10 MY BOIIS (boiis is gender neutral) ARE ALL GROWN UP!! THEY'RE IN CHARGE. THEY RUNNING SHIT NOW. Seriously it's very good.

Titans/Beast World: heartbreaking but ill allow it. Crossover events are always iffy, we'll see where this goes. So far-7/10

Cyborg: fuck yeah dawg! I love cyborg and I love to see him getting his own title. It's been a good one and I can't wait for the finale next month. 9/10

Flash: BRUH! So far it's a very good Wally story but we're only a few issues deep. I like the Linda subplot. 9.5/10

Speed force: fuck yeah dawg. MAS AND MINOS ARE BACK!!!!! listen I was almost ready to write this series off as another story pandering to the youth. There is a Panel wherein someone describes the scene as 'bad vibes' and is told-'bet'-in response. That said, Joshy boii is clearly happy to be writing Wallace and Avery again AND MAS AND MINOS ARE FINALLY CANNON LETTSSSSS GOOOO!!!! 7/10

Jay Garrick Flash: fuck yeah dawg! Pretty good so far. I love Jay. Love the addition to his family. 7/10

Spirit World: BRUH! Crazy fucking good. I ADORE the way this title handles deadnames. Cassie, Envoy and John make a pretty good team and this depiction of the afterlife is really neat and engaging. 15/10

City Boy: BRUH! A+ for originality dudes. I love this character's motivation, powers and personality. This title genuinely makes a positive impact on the overall dc universe. 10/10

*note* I tried to color code the titles with the corresponding comic colors but tumblr mobile didn't have yellow so

#dc comics #dawn of dc #batman #superman #action comics #hawkgirl #dc flash #teen titans #superboy

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nightingaelic · 3 years

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could you do Fallout New Vegas companion’s reactions to a Courier Six who is also the Lone Wanderer telling their stories from their time in DC? (bonus points for Arcade’s reaction to them hating the enclave, and if that would make him decide to keep his past hidden even longer, or if he would still tell them?)

The logistics and implications of this make my head spin. This is also super long, honestly I should just quit writing reacts and start writing fics OH WAIT

Getting the courier talking was a tough thing to do, but on nights where the moon was full and the coyotes' howls were miles away or at least behind some stout walls, on nights where they were a few beers in and they hadn't seen another living soul in a few days, that Mojave Express deliverer started to reminisce. That wasn't really the surprising part, though. No, the surprising part was what they would remember, fondly or not-so-fondly: A world apart from the desert, a continent away on another coast, and stories of life in a vault, a missing father, pure water and a Brotherhood divided.

Arcade Gannon: Arcade didn't mind these moods, at least when they first cropped up. He nodded along as the courier talked about living in their father's shadow, about feeling cornered by their own family's legacy. He hung on their words about living in the cradle of America's history, about Project Purity, all of the gritty details of modifying a GECK to bring water to a devastated wasteland.

Eventually though, the courier's memories soured, with the arrival of Enclave remnants in their life. Arcade folded into himself with every harsh word, every jolt of plasma that had disrupted his friend's world relived in horrific detail. They gestured angrily as they described their newfound purpose, their battle for power with the fractured Brotherhood of Steel at their back, and their smug satisfaction at the moments they were able to crack open Raven Rock and the Enclave's mobile base crawler and lay waste to their tormentors.

It took a few rounds of these stories before the courier noticed he shrank and grew quiet whenever they neared the end of their story about breaking into another vault to find the GECK. They stopped abruptly one night. "What's up with you?"

"Um..." Arcade scratched the back of his neck and looked away. "Nothing. Nothing, I just... have some personal experience with the Enclave, myself."

The courier sighed. "Yeah, there's a few people walking around the West Coast that have similar stories to mine. Arroyo's full of them, for one. Is it something like that?"

Arcade took a deep breath. "I feel... well, it's a lot closer to home, for me. Close enough to raise questions, so I don't talk about it much."

"Close enough to..." The courier twisted their face up in confusion for a moment, before realization set in and their eyes grew large. "You were... your... oh."

"Mmm-hm."

"Well, fuck me." The courier smiled and popped a cap off of another beer. "I've been doing all the talking, haven't I? Let's hear your story about working with the guys in power armor who ruined my life, right after dad did."

Craig Boone: Whenever the courier started up like this, Boone couldn't help but notice a familiar twinge of regret and self-doubt in their voice. It shone through most clearly when they spoke about their time with the Brotherhood of Steel, the men and women they'd fought alongside and lost during their struggle against the remnants of the Enclave. It was there, too, in their story about returning to the vault they grew up in, setting the chaos that had arisen in their wake to rest, but not being able to go back to the way things were.

Boone didn't pry. He knew that feeling well. Instead, he cracked open bottles of beer, liquor, soda, whatever they had on hand during their nights in the desert, and just listened. He'd done the same for Carla, when they were younger and new to each other and he couldn't get enough of her voice and how it flowed endlessly, easily, the way his never could. He absorbed it all now as he did then: The joy, the pain, the loss, the fear, the triumphs and falls and abandoned dreams that filled the courier up and drove them to travel west, beyond anything they had ever known.

That last part stumped Boone a bit, though. "Why didn't you stay?" he finally asked one night.

They looked surprised. "Stay? Stay where? I didn't have a home anymore."

Boone shook his head. "With the Brotherhood. Or some other settlement."

"Like Megaton?" The courier sighed. "I thought about it. Close to the vault, friendly people, easy work... I guess I just didn't want to wind up... stuck."

They flushed red and looked away from him. Boone knew why they were embarrassed, but he also knew the truth in their words.

Sometimes the courier cried after they had finished, though they did their best to hide it. Boone pretended not to notice. He was pretty sure they knew he was pretending, but he was also pretty sure that pointing it out would be worse than just letting it be an open secret between them. The silence between them endured, but something grew inside it and flourished. Some kind of deeper understanding.

Lily Bowen: The more the courier spoke, the more Lily made connections in her muddled mind. Of course they knew the basic layout of most vaults, they had grown up in one. Of course they were extra-sensitive to the Mojave heat, they had come to the desert from the cooler of the two coasts. Of course they'd been extra-wary around the super mutants or nightkin of Jacobstown, they had only known angry super mutants looking to grow their own numbers through any means necessary.

Their shared experience of growing up inside a vault reminded Lily of happier days, and she often asked questions about Vault 101 during the courier's stories. "Were you sweet on anyone inside your old home?" she asked, with a big smile befitting a proud grandma.

The courier blushed. "That's not very polite, Lily."

"Oh, I'm sorry, dearie."

"No, no it's okay." The courier smiled. "There was a boy who picked on me a lot, but I never figured out whether he did it because he hated me or liked me. His name was Butch. And there was Amata, my childhood friend. She was the daughter of the Overseer."

"Daughter of the Overseer?" Lily grinned. "I'm sure she was a lovely young woman."

The courier looked a little misty. "Yeah. She was. Probably still is."

Lily pulled a handkerchief that used to be a small tablecloth from inside her overalls and handed it over. "Maybe we can go back there together, pumpkin," she offered. "I always wanted to travel to the capital. We can visit your friends, see the sights."

"Yeah, maybe someday." The courier accepted the gift and blew their nose. "I've got some things I need to finish up here before I even think about wandering back east, though."

"Then let's make a list and do our chores," Lily said happily. "Number one?"

"Ohhhh, man." The courier smiled up at her. "I wouldn't even know where to start."

Raul Alfonso Tejada: Raul got a faint smile on his face whenever the courier started up like this, as if their memories reminded him of another place he had come from, another time. While they couldn't have more different backgrounds, pasts- hell, he had several hundred years on the courier, even if they shared the same road today- there was something in the description of the other roads they had walked that made him feel warm on a cold night.

"What's on your mind?" The courier asked him one night, when Raul's smile grew larger than usual.

"Nada, boss," he reassured them. "You're just a good reminder that I can change my mind about the future anytime I'd like. Tell me the one about that radio DJ again."

"Again?" The courier rolled their eyes. "Why? I could tell you a million stories about Underworld and all the ghouls that lived there, but all you want to hear about is Three Dog. You'd probably have more in common with the Underworld folks, honestly."

Raul nodded noncommittally. "Sí, but my favorite stories are about people who had to rise above bad situations and become someone uncommon. Anyone who's able to do that is either fighting for something great or running from something terrible. Sometimes both."

The courier shot him a skeptical look. "Three Dog's holed up in his radio station 24/7, he's not running from anything or out fighting for anything. All that stuff about 'the good fight' is a load of bull."

"Now, now, Six," Raul chastised. "Just because he looks like your average pendejo doesn't mean he isn't doing his part. You even told me his radio show is inspirational for the Capital Wasteland folks."

The courier held their hands up in the air and bobbled them, as if balancing an invisible scale. "The duality of man. Being an average pendejo, or convincing everyone around you that you aren't actually an average pendejo and can pull off miracles."

Raul laughed. "And which one are you, boss?"

"Eh, I'm still figuring it out."

Rose of Sharon Cassidy: Cass was never one for fixating on her own past, but she couldn't help but sympathize with the courier whenever they deigned to add onto their unbelievable story. It was hard enough for her to navigate her own damn life: She couldn't imagine being called upon to steer an entire area's destiny.

After another night of recalling their life inside a vault with their dad, then their unexpected loss of him right after being reunited on the surface, the courier stopped suddenly. "I'm sorry," they said.

Cass paused her swig of precious whiskey. "What?"

"I keep going on and on about my dad, and here you are not knowing what happened to yours."

"Eh." Cass took her drink and waved her hand around until the burning swallow made its way down. "S'loads of people in the wasteland without a clue what happened to their pops. I'm not special. In fact, I'd say it probably hurts a bit more, what happened with yours."

"Well, all the same." The courier sank deeper into their seat and examined their own bottle of spirits. "I feel like an open book, tonight. Anything you want to know about where I came from that I haven't already spilled?"

Cass thought for a moment. "Tribals."

"What about them?"

"Does the East Coast have them? You're not the first traveler I've met from there, but none of you have so much as mentioned any tribals out east."

"Mmm." The courier looked thoughtful. "I guess we do have them, though maybe not in the traditional sense. There's a mess of them in Point Lookout for sure, and at least one tribal group in the Capital Wasteland outright, but beyond that things are more... loose. Fewer intact families, fewer intact homes."

"Huh." Cass took another drink. "Maybe that's where my dad went."

She let the courier stew in the awkward silence for a bit before she grinned and reached out to smack them. "Just kidding. Keep going. I want to hear about that giant robot again."

Veronica Santangelo: Veronica usually sat and listened, spellbound, picturing a chapter of her order that had realized the very thing she kept trying to tell the Elders and made the ultimate sacrifice to follow their hearts anyway.

Well, maybe Elder Owyn Lyons hadn't come to the same realization as her, but he had had a change of heart that split his company and cut them off from almost everyone they had ever known. It had been five years since the High Elders had instituted radio silence toward their East Coast chapter, and so far there had been no attempts to re-establish contact.

Veronica prodded the courier for any info she could get about the Capital Wasteland Brotherhood of Steel. The courier let slip pretty early in their friendship that Elder Owyn Lyons had passed away, which wasn't unexpected. The man was 76 years old, after all. She learned on one particularly emotional night that his daughter, Elder Sarah Lyons, was also dead, something she wasn't sure even the Western Elders were aware of. That memory was clearly painful for the courier though, so Veronica didn't press for details.

"And the Enclave?" the Scribe asked one night, arms wrapped around her knees. "Are they completely gone?"

The courier grew cold. "Yes. I made sure of it."

"Right." Veronica nodded. "So the Brotherhood took over the air force base they were at. It must have been chock-full of tech and resources, if it was the Enclave's last stand."

"It was." The courier sighed and shifted in their seat. "And it woke up some of our brothers and sisters to their original mission in the Capital Wasteland. I thought maybe that selfishness had died with Liberty Prime, but... well, I didn't like it, so I left."

"Mmm, yeah." Veronica nodded again, sympathetically this time. "I know how you feel. Felt."

"Feel," the courier agreed. "I just wish there was more I could've done. Maybe there wasn't anything else, short of seizing power."

"You'd definitely get pushback for that in the Brotherhood," Veronica agreed. "But you might get that chance out here in the broader Mojave."

ED-E: At first, ED-E enjoyed the stories, trumpeting and cooing various beeps at the appropriate moments for emphasis. The one time the courier began badmouthing the Enclave, however, the eyebot waited until they had finished before playing back the first tape that Dr. Whitley had recorded before its trip.

The courier listened to the scientist's words from years ago, deflating slightly as it played out. When the tape had finished, they stood up and checked the eyebot over. "He sent you toward Navarro, huh?"

ED-E beeped affirmation, and the courier sighed. "But Navarro was already gone. I'm sorry. I guess I'm... well, me and the Brotherhood of Steel back east are responsible for your previous master's decision to send you away. Might be responsible for more, too."

ED-E beeped sadly. The courier pressed their forehead against the eyebot's metal dome in apology.

Rex: Well, surprising for most. Rex was not most. As soon as the courier got really into their recollections, Rex usually yawned and went to sleep. He stirred when he felt their hand reach down to scratch the ruff of his neck, or pat the glass dome that held his brain.

"Good dog," the courier said, through the veil of sleep. "You remind me of another pup that used to follow me around."

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reflectionsofneptune · 3 years

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heyy! can you give me some advise on what to look for in a birth chart when it comes to long term relationships (any information: when, where, with who etc.) and with ideal career/job (again any information). i know there's a looot of information about it but if you could share some and simplify it a bit i would realyy appreciate it! xx

of course!

I'm trying not to make this too long....but you know me. 🤡

synastry

first house. this is the house of your physical body. where your personality shines through. and yes, this applies to those with saturn conjunct their ascendant screaming I don’t have a personality, I'm just like this. well, whatever. the mannerisms unique to you seep through here. so, having someone's planets in a positive aspect to your first house, indicates someone who approves of the way you conduct yourself. have you seen before those couples who are like....”oh, it’s just the little things they do...” more often that not, they’re talking about the first house. in a house connected to an ego, having someone who likes your little quirks, does wonders for your self-esteem. did I mention, that they will probably find you attractive? not bad at all. for some, looks fade so personality. over. everything. and I get it. I totally do. luckily enough, this house combines both...so uh, win win?

fifth house. this is the house of casual dating and fun. when someone’s planets aspect this house positively it can...well...sometimes make you want to act a fool with them. you can’t help but feel really playful around them and maybe act a lil dramatic, but in the most harmless and super entertaining (or so you hope) way possible. this house is indicative of one’s creativity, too. so in a long-term relationship, when perhaps you want to bring the spark back in a relationship, sometimes you may have to go back to what initially brought you together in the first place. for a lot of people it’s a shared interest in a particularly hobby or perhaps a way of creative expression. date nights can be seen here. but also recreational activities....did someone say netflix & chill?

seventh house. it’s how you view relationships and what you bring to the table. it’s an air house, so things don’t tend to get too emotionally weighty here. but it’s a cardinal house, indicating dynamic movement in this area of life. so when your partner has planets that sit here, it will indicate how you see them. mercury? you could see them as someone who you feel comfortable talking about anything and everything under the sun with. you may feel more willing to talk things out, which is important considering this house is other deemed the house of the shadow. you may enjoy travelling around locally together, too. this house also rules contracts, so positive contacts here could signify you and your partner closing really important and fruitful deals here/wanting to go into business together.

eighth house. I'm sure you’ve seen or heard couples who are like, “when we first started dating, they were this way...but now they’re like this....” *sharp nudge* “it’s because I'm comfortable with you, dammit!” who knew? oh this house knew. this is you, letting your guard down. this house is where we get to the nitty gritty of how you are in a relationship. we’ve moved from the lightness of the seventh house into a fixed water house where decisions made have ramfiications that can affect us more deeply on an emotional level. like joint accounts or debt that someone is bringing into the relationship. this house shows what you need from an intimate relationship. for example. you have your moon here. this placement often produces a moon who has been through it, but doesn’t necessarily show that. with their SO they will relish being able to be vulnerable, be told it’s going to be OK, that they’re able to lean on someone else’s shoulders for once. someone’s saturn might struggle there initially in synastry. the moon person may want emotional reassurance but the saturn person may act reserved or distant. in this house, you bare your soul in a way so it’s ideal to have someone who accepts all of you. someone’s sun here for example, can help shine light here.

planets

the sun. it’s one’s ego. it’s what drives you forward. aspects to the sun show someone who supports you for you, or someone who may try and dim your light. it can also show how comfortable you feel about being yourself around them as it’s a lil sensitive.

the moon. the inner child. it shows what you need to feel emotionally cared for. it rules the emotions and it’s helpful, to say the least, to be with someone who gets where you’re coming from. not someone who lets you have your own way unfairly all the time, but at least empathises. the moon fluctuates on a day to day basis, so you can see how important it is. love languages come to mind.

mercury. if you can’t hold a conversation together, I- .

venus. shows how you express your love. venus in water may be more sentimental. water in earth may be practical about it. what kind of person you’re attracted to is also governed by this planet. venus in fire may be attracted to someone who they are physically stimulated by, but also who has something about them that makes them unique. venus in air may be attracted to someone who makes them see things a different way, or opens them up to new experiences.

in your birth chart

look to where the ruler of your seventh house is. it will give you information as to how the relationship with evolve over time and also, the partners you choose. for example. let’s say we have a chart with aries rising using whole signs. the sign on the 7th house cusp is libra. venus rules libra. venus in placed in capricorn in the tenth house. so we can say that the ruler of the seventh house is in the tenth house. now with that information, we can see that this person may be attracted to someone who presents themselves as mature, or is older than them in age. they may go for people who are goal-orientated. social standing may be important. “looking good” together, too. it can also show meeting your partner at a work do, for example. you can do for that all the romantic houses, so namely the first, fifth, & eight houses to see how the themes of the house play out in your life.

aspects

saturn. whatever saturn touches, it usually sticks. saturn aspecting the dc, moon & venus, ruler of the fifth + eighth house can add a sense of longevity. whether or not the parties in question are agreeable about that is another situation..........

career

second house. your natural talents. you can look to this house to give you an indication of how you can attract abundance into your life. if fire rules this house, you may just need to go get it. be daring. take a risk. tell yourself nothing can stop you. confidence or the lack of, is important here.

sixth house. so you've found your talent. in this cadent house, you need to put in the work to nurture your skills if you want to strike out on your own for example. it rules daily habits. let’s say you have scorpio on the sixth house. this indicates that in your day to day life, themes of forgiveness, healing, and self-destruction may come up. it may mean that you have to gethonest about ways you sabotage your efforts through certain rituals or habits. for those of you wanting to move up the career ladder, the sixth house shows you’re ideal work environment. continuing on with this example, let’s add pluto to the mix. so, someone with pluto in scorpio in the sixth house, may prefer to be in small, intimate team, (pluto generally talks of downsizing things) or work alone. they will favour jobs that have a bit of depth to them. maybe they like to research topics that are taboo, or deal with death in some way. they could find themselves helping others in their grieving process for example. last but not least, planets in the sixth house can signify how others see you at your job environment, which I guess is important in a day and age where favouritism can sometimes get you further. whether or not its justified is another question. co-workers fall under this house so they may view someone with their pluto in scorpio as mysterious, intense, enigmatic. scandal and work can become intertwined.

the tenth house. now it’s time to take your talent and show the world. your biggest goals and dreams for yourself rest at the top of your chart. your legacy can be seen here. what you want to be know for in society. relationships with authority can be seen here too. as it sits opposite the fourth house, for some people with an afflicted planet in the fourth house, it can signify a sort of breaking free from what they view as holding them back when it comes to family. or, it can show taking what we have been given to us by our elders, and going on to do more with it.

planets.

i’m just going to name one i think is underrated.

mercury. “everything in life is a negotiation.” chris voss. (has anyone taken his masterclass?) and...that’s all I have to say on that one.

by no means did I cover everything, but I hope that it was somewhat useful. if anything was unclear let me know and I can clarify for you :)

#asks about career #asks about romantic relationships

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danny-chase · 3 years

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Do you think that Tim saved Dick in a way? Because we see Dick getting better as he gets closer to Tim and healing and getting back into the family, and ig it’s Tim who initiated that.

I literally don't have a yes or no answer for this... like most things in the Batfam - it's complicated. (Following answer is informed by 90s-00s comics, i can't really speak for new52 because it just... has so many issues one of which being erasing the relationship between Dick and Tim for *checks note* no discernable reason other than possibly *checks note* Didio hates legacy characters and wants only bad things for them so he could have excuses to kill them off or cancel their comics... idk just a guess)

Warnings: for Bruce stans - just look away i'm about to bring up bits of canon you most likely don't like, for Dick stans - Devin Grayson's run is mentioned, for the lovely anon - i wrote an essay, hope you are prepared

Tim coming into the family gave Dick a reason to occasionally hang around Bruce and i'm not sure if this is an exaggeration or not but he did sort of save that relationship - but whether that was a good or bad thing at the time, i can't really say. For sure - it starts off good, Bruce is actually trying to be a good dad (he comes down to Blud to check on Dick, adopts him, trusts him with his own city, calls him for backup, etc.). But we also see throughout Bruce Wayne: Fugitive/Murderer how unhealthy the relationship between the two can be. Dick built his core values around Bruce - if Bruce had actually killed here it would have been devastating for Dick (he was pretty much on the verge of a mental breakdown simply because they couldn't find proof Bruce wasn't guilty). The two literally got in a fist fight during the arc because Bruce was being uncommunicative and Dick couldn't take it anymore, snapped, and punched him when Bruce said "Bruce Wayne is dead only Batman now" - this tied into Dick finally having the relief and validation of being adopted and he couldn't handle Bruce stripping himself (and by extension, his fatherhood of Dick) away. In this era of comics Bruce had gotten physical with Dick before (here's me venting like an annoyed loser), and here's a clip from Bruce Wayne Fugitive that i just, *sigh*, canon Bruce, my detested.

Now on the other hand - getting Dick involved in the batfam more doesn't just mean he was hanging out with Bruce. His relationship with Tim is pretty great and I can definitely see where it was healing for a while - but also - to give credit where credit is due, the healing he goes through during this era of comics can also be attributed to Barbara and the Titans (the fab five specifically). Wally literally joins the Titans to give Dick a "social life" (me - it's because he's gay and wants to spend more time with Dick, actually, screw you DC you know i'm right). Donna plays a major part in keeping Dick's emotional well being in check. So like everything was going fine - Dick was healing, spending more time with friends, spending a lot of time with people he loved, like Tim, except he was neglecting his health and not sleeping - but overall he was in fact, managing, and moving past the deaths of Jason and some of the other Titans. With the current Titans - he was a hardass (which like ~trauma~ so I understand), but like things were going relatively okay.

And then Donna and Lilith died. And hooof Donna dying was like really really bad for his mental health.

Teen Titans/Outsiders Secret Files (2003) #1

[Image ID: Dick sits in a room staring at a photo, the phone rings in the background, and he doesn't even acknowledge it, the voice mail plays: "I'm not here. Leave a message after the beep." The photo is shown closer in the next frame, it's of the five original Teen Titans - Roy kisses Donna on the cheek, tipping his hat his other hand making the okay sign, Donna has an arm around Roy, the other hand on Dick's shoulder, Garth proudly stands beaming with his hands on his hips, and Dick has both his arms around Wally's neck. Everyone is smiling in the photo. A voice plays over the answering machine: "Dick, it's Roy - pick up the phone... c'mon... please... I know you're there... just pick up. Dick, we need to talk... you can't just... please..." End ID]

For context - the previous page noted that this is Dick SIX WEEKS after Donna died. Usually Dick's the one who moves on quickly, but Donna dying broke him in a way nothing else had before - and that could be partly because he was still recovering from everyone else's death.

Up to this point, Dick had been healing and Tim was definitely a part of that, but then DC decided to throw the absolute book, bookshelf, and library at him. Reading Outsiders (2003) it's very clear he's very traumatized, and around the same time, Devin is literally whumping him like it's the whump Olympics, breaking him and Babs up, burning down his childhood home, blowing up his apartment complex (killing all but like two of his neighbors), he's literally sleeping on fire escapes using newspapers as covering because he has nothing, and the bad thing i don't like to think about (i'll let you know if you ask but that one needs lots of tw, but if you know where i'm going you know what it is already), Blockbuster is killed and he blames himself - and loses it over breaking Bruce's one rule, Bludhaven is nuked, and he pretty much tries to kill himself.

So basically, he was on the path to healing (with Tim as part of that) before he got absolutely destroyed (and almost killed off by Didio in one of the crisis). Tim in his own right, was also going through a lot in the meantime, his dad died, Steph died, Kon and Bart died, i don't remember what else happened and i haven't read that era of Robin yet. Things were good until they weren't anymore, and sometimes i think Dick would regret ever exposing Tim to the life they live, and questions whether he should have just sent Tim packing x2. They do get to spend a year together on a mental health cruise, but then Damian comes into the picture, Battle for the Cowl happens, and they have their falling out. But whatever happened on that cruise must have been really healing for Dick because he actually kind of rocks it in this era - he keeps things light with Damian, Alfred notes at one point how he makes things easy because he has lightness in him, and he patches things up with Tim - catching him in that panel of Red Robin - from there they kind of go back to normal, there's a lightness to the way they banter with each other (also here) and Tim returns the favor (from the Red Robin incident) by pulling Dick out of the water.

They've saved each other multiple times over (physically), and in both in the Black Mirror and Gates of Gotham, Tim helps out in a period where Dick is starting to fall apart from the pressure of holding things together for so long (something Tim might feel guilty for, because he did run away from Gotham on a wild goose chase for Bruce). In that period, it's really clear that Dick saves Tim (he reminds him in RR, that someone does actually care for him) and then Tim saves Dick from being torn apart by Gotham.

I should point out - Damian, while starting off as kind of a hinderance, does eventually start helping Dick as well. By the end of their relationship (before the New52 destroys everything i love), Dick has helped Damian grow emotionally, and through that process Dick probably finds meaning and value in their time together, probably a lot like he used to feel with Tim. And of course, physically, they've both saved each other multiple times by the end of the run.

So yeah. I think Dick finds meaning in growth in mentoring his younger brothers, and it's likely a healing process, that healing just has some twists and turns along the way, and sometimes, on bad days, he probably feels like maybe he shouldn't have intervened at all, but i think on most days, he's proud of what Tim's become.

...I hope this is coherent lmao

#the old: blame everything i hate about comics on Didio #thank god he got fired #tw suicide #i am so long winded oop #i'm in too deep #does this count as character meta?#maybe #Dick Grayson meta #Dick Grayson #Tim Drake #i'm kinda sad that Dick and Tim's relationship is misunderstood in a lot of fanon - because it's something that can be so personal #it's not as black and white as people seem to think #as in like... they're usually really good for each other and have a healthy dynamic #even in RR (I haven't read all of it) people take things out of context and just... ignore that Dick reached out to Tim afterwards #and like asked him to go to therapy (not arkham why are y'all obsessed with Dick throwing his brothers in arkham get help)#Tim also straight up throws Dick over his shoulder and starts a physical fight in that series #so... it can be a toxic relationship too but idk i like to highlight the good parts #i see a lot of - Dick begs for Tim's forgiveness for taking Robin away fics out there #but like there relationship isn't that simple #if they ever talked it out in canon - they'd have to address Tim lashing out physically at Dick (Dick would probably not be having it)#and the writers might then be like - hmm maybe we should address all the times we had Bruce hit him too #so like yeah i get why we never saw their reconciliation on panel (they just kinda were like okay we're fine now :D)#but still it's something i'd like to see explored from a more balanced perspective - instead of a - i project on Tim so he's always right #i probably also wouldn't be the best person to write it because i project on Dick too much #not that i would make Tim beg for Dick's forgiveness - Dick would forgive him in like .000001 seconds and def doesn't hold it against him #that's just how Dick is (he'd probably prefer if it wasn't brought up and they just pretend it never happened)#but also knowing Dick he probably feels guilty as fuck for the way RR went - which like *sigh* martyr #batfam #batfamily #batfam meta

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winterscaptain · 3 years

Text

roots.

Aaron Hotchner x Fem!Reader a joyful future fic

a/n: another one from 2026! aaron retires from federal service this year, at 57.

words: 2.4k warnings: kids!, missing haley hotchner hours, language

summary: “Every day the increasing weight of years admonishes me more and more, that the shade of retirement is as necessary to me as it will be welcome.” ― George Washington, Farewell Address. au!october 2026

masterlist | a joyful future masterlist | ajf faq | requests closed!

SSA Mallory Kagan asks you to outline your career with the FBI - purposefully using your first name instead of using your title. It keeps the students guessing and paying attention.

Plus, the payoff when they figure out who you are is the best part of the whole lecture.

“My career at the FBI is more like a big tree than a path or a journey.”

You look out over the classroom - blue shirts abound - and take a deep breath to center yourself.

You’re used to giving this lecture with Aaron, but this is your first fall without him, which also means that this is the first academy class who won’t know him in person.

They’ll only hear tell of the legend SSA Aaron Hotchner was stabbed nine times, lost his wife to a serial killer, and kept going. You know they’ll hear stories about his severity, his general lack of sunniness, hear rumors about the way he laughs with his children, his wife, and nobody else.

You know the older agents tell stories about you, too. They say you ‘tamed’ Hotch, made him a little nicer. They might even say they’ve seen him smile at you, or they’ve seen you give him hell in public.

Aaron Hotchner is practically a myth, now, only supported by your reputation, tall tales from academy classes of yesteryear, and his own legacy.

That retired bastard currently sits in your house with your kids, right on his fine behind, very likely falling into boredom-addled insanity.

“Everything that I am - a parent, a wife, a friend, and an agent - is because of my work with the Behavioral Analysis Unit over the past nineteen years. My unit is my family, and I can’t get rid of them. Just like our own families, we love to hate each other.”

The room laughs, and you know you have them hooked.

“Jokes aside, I would encourage you to get to know your colleagues. Each relationship I built within my unit put a root into the ground, made the proverbial tree stronger - to extend the metaphor. I work with very few of the same people I started with, but I feel as steady and supported as I did back when they called us ‘The Elite Eight.’”

You chuckle a little, clicking through your introductory slide to showcase a photo of the BAU in 2012. You point to each of them as you speak.

“SSA Emily Prentiss, current unit chief of the Behavior Analysis unit and former head of the Interpol London office, responsible for taking down one of the most prolific international arms dealers in modern history.”

The room is quiet, a little awestruck, so you add, “She’s a bit of a big deal.”

They laugh.

“SSA Derek Morgan - you’ll probably hear stories about how he survived the Boston bombing with SSA Gideon in 2005, but don’t worry. He wasn’t there. He was with his momma in Chicago, celebrating her birthday.”

Another laugh.

You’ve honed this routine over the last five years, knowing what to add, when to pause, what to cut if the students lose interest.

“That said, SSA Morgan is one of the best profilers I’ve had the pleasure of working with. Today, he’s a consultant for DC Metro SWAT and is otherwise retired.”

Continuing down the line, “SSA Jennifer Jareau - JJ. Former communications liaison for the BAU, State Department, and DoD. She currently serves with the BAU as a profiler. If any of you are interested in PR or media relations, find an opportunity to speak with her about her experience. Her husband, Will, is a detective with the DC Metro Police and has plenty of stories of his own.”

A student raises a hand, and you give her the go-ahead.

“Sorry for interrupting -“

You stop her. “You didn’t interrupt. You raised your hand. Don’t apologize for taking up space.”

She smiles a little. “Okay. Um, I’m curious. How many people in your unit are married and/or have children? My understanding is that the work-life balance can be difficult in heavy-travel positions like the BAU.”

“It can absolutely be a challenge.” You look back at the photo. “In the course of my career, six of my colleagues have been or were already married and all of them went on to have children.”

“And you?”

You laugh a little, forgetting you’re alone up here. “Right.”

The class laughs, and you point yourself out on the slide.

“I still had my maiden name when this photo was taken, but now I share five children and a last name with SSA Aaron Hotchner.” You throw your thumb at Aaron’s likeness on the screen again for good measure.

You check in with SSA Kagan to make sure you can share everything you usually do with Aaron present - your marriage was often the punchline of your lectures, letting you toe the line of humor a little farther than you normally would.

She nods, a little smile on her face.

“While I wouldn’t necessarily recommend dating your unit chief or marrying your section chief -“ you pause, holding your hands up in surrender to the echo of laughter “- even if they are the same person - you can certainly find the best people without looking too hard.”

Hands shoot up into the air, but that always happens. It’s around this time people start asking the good questions. The people from their course materials and the people in front of them start to link together.

They also figure out that you’re Agent Hotchner. That Agent Hotchner - the one married to the Agent Hotchner.

You look out over the crowd again. “I know you have lots of questions, and I’m happy to confirm or deny any rumors about myself or my family, but,” you pause for dramatic effect. “Hold them for now - you’ll want to know the players before you ask the questions.”

Hands drop, but pens start moving. You continue down the line, skipping over Aaron.

“SSA David Rossi, a founding member of the BAU in the late 1980’s. He worked closely with SSA Jason Gideon, developing a database that we use to this day - one that outlines signatures, modus operandi, and victimology of modern serial killers. SSA Rossi is also well-known for his books - ten of them, in fact, that cover what we do in a kind of…”

You search for a word.

“Conversational format. He retired a couple of years ago, and is a full-time grandpa to all 16 of the BAU offspring.”

A few scattered chuckles pass through the room.

“And then we have Dr. Spencer Reid - I could enumerate his degrees, but we don’t have that kind of time. He’s the smartest person I’ve ever met, and remains an asset to the BAU in the field today.”

You click to another slide - a photo of all of you taken a few weeks ago.

“SSA Matthew Simmons - retired from the United States Army and former member of the FBI International Response Team, or IRT. He’s been with the BAU for ten years now. Like Dr. Reid and SSA Prentiss, he knows multiple languages - which comes in handy.” You look out and raise your eyebrows. “I hope all of you did well in your Spanish classes in high school - you might need it.”

Another laugh.

“SSA Luke Alvez and Technical Analyst Penelope Garcia are another pair that come from, shall we say, nontraditional backgrounds. While Garcia is no longer with the BAU, SSA Alvez is also celebrating his tenth year with us this fall.”

A student raises his hand, and you call on him.

“Isn’t Penelope Garcia the hacker known as The Black Queen? I learned about her work when I was at MIT.”

You snort. “Nice way to slip in you went to MIT, there, bud.” You pause, waiting for the ruckus to die down as the student in question turns bright red. “But yes. Her experience was invaluable to our team. Just to keep up, we stole an analyst from the NSA to replace her - nobody else could cut the mustard.”

You look back, stepping forward and pacing as you speak.”And finally, Dr. Tara Lewis. Formerly working in the FBI Counsel’s office as a forensic psychologist, she joined our team on cases where specific pathologies were in play before becoming a full-fledged member of our team.

“So, as you can see, there are so many varied qualities we look for in profilers, and your own path will be informed by the skills you develop, your temperament, and your dedication to the work itself. There’s no right way to be an agent, and when you leave the academy in five weeks, the whole world of the bureau will be open to you.”

Clicking back to your introductory slide, you turn to the front of the classroom. “I know all my colleagues well enough to take any questions you may have about their careers and paths through the bureau. For any questions I can’t answer, I am happy to direct you to them with the understanding they may not get back to you due to our caseload. I’ll take your questions now.”

Hands shoot up into the air, and you specifically call on the student in the back - the one you know has a question about Aaron.

“So, when you say SSA Aaron Hotchner, you mean the same one that worked the Boston Reaper case for ten years?”

SSA Kagan checks in with you, ready to shut him down, but you call her off.

“That’s right. SSAs Jareau, Morgan, Prentiss, Rossi, Dr. Reid, Miss Garcia, and I worked that case in its final year as well.”

“I have a follow-up if that’s okay.”

You tacitly give him leave to continue.

“How do you handle cases that get that… close? I know there were considerable...” He searches for the right word. “...challenges. How did you guys deal with that?”

Good question.

Returning to the podium, you lean heavily against it, lacing your fingers in front of you. “You’ve all read the Reaper case file, yes? It’s still included in the MCRT training courses?”

There are nods around the room, but you check in with Kagan anyway.

“The declassified version is covered,” She says. “They’re familiar with the full scope of the case.”

“Okay. So, as you all know…”

You remind them what happened, from 1998 to 2009, finally landing where the students want you. “And on November 23rd, 2009, Haley Reneé Hotchner was George Foyet’s 40th and final victim. She was thirty-nine years old. And she was my friend.”

The room is dead silent, all eyes on you, somber and attentive.

“The case was personal. It became personal because Foyet forced our hands. He attacked Agent Hotchner in his home and then targeted his family. So, the question is, how do we deal with that? Right?”

Even Kagan’s watching you closely. It’s the first time you’ve covered this case without the rest of your team. In your joint lectures with Aaron, the case is off-limits for questions. She’s never heard you tell the story in your own words.

You take a breath. “And the answer is… you don’t.”

There are some confused faces, so you elaborate. “There isn’t anything you can do to push the case away from you - that’s how people get hurt. In the meantime, you make adjustments. Agent Hotchner placed Agent Morgan in an interim unit chief position until the case was over, for the sake of his health and sanity. We chased down every lead, understanding that the faster we caught Foyet, the faster Haley and Jack, Agent Hotchner’s son, could come home.”

A young woman in front tentatively raises a hand, and you open a hand to her. “Yes?”

“What happened, you know, after?”

“We moved on as best we could. Going back to my original point -”

You leave the podium and take your place in the center of the floor again.

“- the trust you have in the people you work with can carry you through a great many things. And not all of you will see horror every day - but some of you will.”

You pause for a moment, hoping this is the part that really sinks in for them.

“Always have something to come home to. Always have something or someone that brings you peace, that can take you away from the work.”

+++

You set your things down and walk through the door, immediately accosted by two almost-eight-year-olds and their over-eager little brother.

“Momma!”

You haul Elliot onto your hip and kiss Sophia’s head as Caroline burrows into your side. “Hi, darlings! Did you already have dinner?”

Sophia moves to answer, but Aaron’s voice shoots around the corner. “Yes!”

With a smile, you seek him out, dragging the girls along with you. Lo and behold, Aaron’s at the sink, washing dishes. Isaac’s supervising - sitting on the counter, swinging his feet.

Aaron gets a kiss on the cheek from you as you pass and he turns over his shoulder, chasing you until you peck him on the lips, Elliot squished between you. Your son squirms, and you set him on the ground to chase after his sisters. Isaac hops off the counter likely off to investigate the happenings before retreating to his room for the rest of the evening.

For once, you’re left alone.

“How was your lecture?”

Your arms free, you wrap around him and rest your full weight against his chest as he backs himself into the counter. “Went well. Missed you, though.”

The corner of his mouth tips up. “Did they ask about Foyet?”

“Mhmm. It was a good segue into trusting your team and building each other up, knowing when to step back, etcetera.”

He nods. “Good way to bring it back around. How’s Kagan?”

“She’s good, loving it, as always.”

“Think she’s ever gonna retire?” He asks, tucking into your neck.

You laugh as he presses kisses to the underside of your jaw. “Probably not.”

Aaron leans back to look at you, bringing his hand to your face to brush over your cheekbone. “Are you ever gonna retire?”

“Probably not.”

“What if,” he says, his hands slipping into your back pockets, “you retired in…” He does the math in his head. “Thirteen-ish years and I make it worth your while.”

“Oh yeah? Worth my while? And you’ll be, what, a hundred years old?”

His eyes roll so hard you’re sure he could see his own brain. You pull him down for a kiss, but it doesn’t stop him from mumbling, “Give me a fuckin’ break,” against your mouth.

“Never.”

+++

tagging: @writefasttalkevenfaster @quillvine @stxrrywildflower @hurricanejjareau @ughitsbaby @rousethemouse @criminalsmarts @genevievedarcygranger @ssaic-jareau @hotchsflower @hotchslatte @risenfox @mrs-dr-reid @mrs-marcus-moreno @pan-pride-12 @sunshine-em @jdougl-love @dreila03 @forgottenword @aaronhotchnerr @ssa-morgan @tegggeeee @abschaffer2 @ssacandice-ray @ellyhotchner @lotties-journey-abroad @mrs-joel-pimentel-23-25 @mooneylupinblack @ssareidbby @qvid-pro-qvo @mandylove1000 @jeor @wakatoshislover @word-scribbless @bwbatta @capricorngf @missdowntonabbey @averyhotchner @joanofarkansass @popped-weasels @evee87 @nuvoleincielo @ssahotchnerr @this-broken-band-girl @winqhster @reidtomestyles @hotch-meeeeeuppppp @the-falling-in-the-danger @softbibxtch @iconicc @mangoberry43 @andreasworlsboring101 @kerrswriting @mac99martin @itsalwaysb33nyou @baumarvel @messyhairday-me @ssworldofsw @deagibs @crazyshannonigans @moonshinerbynight @jhiddles03 @teamhappyme @mendesmelodies @starsandasteroids @unicorn-bitch @ambicaos @itsmytimetoodream @pinkdiamond1016

#aaron hotchner x reader #hotch x reader #aaron hotchner imagine #criminal minds imagine #criminal minds x reader #criminal minds fanfiction #aaron hotchner #criminal minds #tali talks cm #tali writes fanfiction #a joyful future #a joyful future fanfic

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frogsandcookies · 3 years

Text

My Thoughts on Lego DC Batman Family Matters

-Disclaimer: I watched this on clips on YouTube so if things are out of order, oh well-

___

-“Damian? Are you done with your math homework???” Bruce is actually acting like a normal dad

-DAMIAN’S SMILING AND ACTING LIKE A NORMAL KID (or as normal as you can be after everything he’s been through) BASICALLY HE’S HAPPY :D

-Oh my god he used the classic phrase of “When am I ever going to use ___ in the real world” I love it

-We get wholesome interactions between Bruce and Damian

-I half expected Damian to call Tim something along the lines of “Asshole” or “Bitch”

-I just want to comment on how short Damian is

-“ImPoSsIbLe”

-“In fact, I wanted to ask you to change my name to Dangerlad”

-Damian is acting like Dick from the Lego Batman movie (and it’s amazing)

-“Cross contamination is nothing to laugh about” As a person with celiac disease, I completely agree

-Ace’s chew toy is Superman

-“Next subject” Ah, back to avoidance

-Barbara just ignoring Dick and going straight to talking to Bruce XD

-The reason for this XD

-Catherine is awesome

-And at this point I realized why Damian sounds so familiar: He’s voiced by the same person who voices Robin on TTG

-Robin sneaking out to go meet them lol

-Barbara and Dick’s interactions XD

-“Oooh burn”

-Jason’s villain-ensue clapping

-I just noticed Dick’s hair. …I don’t know what to say

-I feel like if this wasn’t a PG movie, Jason would have said “Not shit, sherlock” when he’s talking to Damian

-ThE tRuSt FuNds (aka Dick worry about the trust funds)

-Killer croc looks like the hulk with scales

-The way Catherine just beats Killer Croc’s sexist butt is amazing ; we Stan

-Jason’s kinda acting like a bitch ngl

-Dick and Damian interactions! :D

-Dick’s telling an old man story (ie. “Back in my day…)

-Damian just falls off a train XD

-“Something fishy’s going on for sure” A fish with TNT proceeds to be thrown at the two

-The Riddler’s voice is snakey

-Dick: *fails at telling a joke* | Damian: *disappointed sigh*

-The penguins have no eyes???? What the???

-THE TEN YEAR OLD IS DRIVING A CAR *proceeds to crash into a train*

-Jason proceeds to crawl out of the shadows in a totally not creepy way

-*sees graphling hook* Mabel Pines?

-Jason sounds a bit like Bill Cipher (voice-wise)

-“Not bad old man” -Jason to Dick

-Is that Haly’s circus???

-Gotham citizens are so neutralized to seeing the villains and bats running around that instead of running away, they just take photos lmao

-We Stan protective Dick

-Don’t fuck with Alfred

-The license plate reads “yeahboi1”

-Billy Batson :D he sounds vaguely like Steven from SU *looks it up* HE’S VOICED BY THE SAME PERSON

-The mirroring of the movie fighting

-*Ominous bat shadow* *pan to see Bruce holding out his cape*

-“Or should I say…Jason Todd” *shocked Pikachu face reaction from everyone else*

-How does Jason not have hat hair

-“I thought you were dead!” “You said I was dead?!”

-Obligatory Talia mention

-But they met at a train station?

-IT WAS HALY’S

-I love that Jason and Bruce met because Jason stole the wheels of the bat mobile

-“You stole the wheels of the bat mobile? Oh dude that is so cool!” “Yeah, he was not happy” Damian and Jason friendly interaction :D

-I love the shared exasperation at Bruce

-Dramatic “he’s betrayed us. Again” from Damian who didn’t even know of Jason’s existence until several hours ago

-Two Faces’s suit is nasty looking

-“Fortune favors the bold” -Pliny the Elder right before the eruption of Mount Vesuvius and now Two Face (the only reason I know the former is because of puppet history)

-The How To videos will one day take over the world

-“Truth, justice, and the destruction of Batman”

-“He’s a narcissistic jerk who has no regard for his family’s legacy or his own responsibility to Gotham” Not wrong kinda

-Damian and Barbara team up!

-Damian and Barbara falling out of the sky

-Damian being productive while the three adults fight

-Dick: *weird rocket noises* | Barbara: “My insensitive boyfriend, everyone”

-“Listen to my gruff voice and be intimidated”

-Two Face just eating Bruce out of the building

-Jason kinda reminds me from Michael from BMC b/c of the scene where he says “This is just like my favorite video game” as he shoots cyborg things

-Jason celebrating beating his video game and being happy and not angsty for once :D

-“…chum” “I looked up chum by the way. It means fish cut up into shark bait.” XD

-EXPLOSION

-I like the parachutes

-Meetings are boring to be fair though

-Jason’s internal voice: “ya’ done fucked up Batman”

-Ace literally says “Bark”

End thoughts: So Damian’s obviously not in character too much but I like seeing him as a genuinely happy child so I don’t really care. It was also fun seeing Jason happy and the squabble between Dick and Barbara was amusing since it seems kinda accurate. I don’t know much about Catherine but she’s awesome in this movie (though she and Barbara look almost identical). Overall it was pretty good and an enjoyable experience :D Though I wish Tim, Steph, Cass, and Duke were in it. I can only imagine the heightened chaos

#batfam #lego dc family matters #I was bored and I had a lot of thoughts #Damian wayne #bruce wayne #Jason todd #dick grayson #Barbara gordon #alfred pennyworth #Catherine from dc #idk her last name but she's cool #tw cursing #tw caps

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duhragonball · 3 years

Text

BEGIN: Battle Tendency Liveblog. JJBA Ch. 45-47

🇺🇸🗽🧗‍♂️🧼🪀🌵Part 2, Hell Yeah!🌪️🎈🛩️🌋🚬

I'm pretty friggin' excited for Part 6 anime, and Part 6 is one of my faves, so one could understandably assume that Part 6 is my favorite. And I post a lot of other JoJo stuff on this blog, so it's probably not obvious, but Part 2 is the best.

I got into JoJo in 2017, watching Parts 1-4 in anime version, then reading the scanlations of Parts 5-8 while I waited for the anime to catch up. Then I re-liveblogged the Part 5 manga because there was finally a proper translation available. And technically the Part 8 liveblog never ended, since the manga is still ongoing.

As I developed an appreciation for the manga, I started to feel like I should go back and check out the comic versions of Parts 1 through 4. Where better to start than my personal favorite? But I never got around to it, until now.

There's a few things I want to explore with Part 2. First, I want to go through and work out why exactly I like it so much. It's kind of tough to articulate, but usually I just say that it's fast-paced and something's always happening. Part 1 takes a while to get going, and Parts 3-8 rely on the Stand concept, which means that each of them occasionally fall into the trap of becoming formulaic. Part 2 doesn't have the hassle of introducing all the lore, and it doesn't have the luxury of just doing a gauntlet of Stand Battles to pad out the story. But I think there's more to it than that. Battle Tendency has a charm all it's own, and that's what I want to talk about.

Second, now that I've become familiar with Parts 1-7 (and most of 8), I want to go back and see how 2 holds up as part of this mythos. BT sort of gets overlooked, I think, and that's fair, since it doesn't involve Dio, Stands, or the more outlandish costumes of the later installments. A lot of fans write off Parts 1 and 2 for being "boring", but at least Phantom Blood carries the prestige of starting it all, and providing the origin of Dio. Something I think a lot about is whether or not Part 2 "connects" with the later entries in the JoJo series. It forms a trilogy with 1 and 3, and Part 4 features Joseph's legacy in an important way, but what about the later ones? Parts 5 through 8 owe a huge debt to Stardust Crusaders for introducing Stands, and to Phantom Blood for introducing JoJo's, but what does Part 2 give them, if anything?

Third, I'm interested in seeing how BT holds up in isolation. It's a direct sequel to Part 1, and it ends with a prelude to Part 3, so it's clearly designed to function as part of a larger saga. But Parts 4 and 5 really don't operate that way, and that got me thinking that maybe Part 2 is more self-contained than I give it credit for.

But enough about that, let's get this started.

There's two plot threads in these opening chapters. One reintroduces Robert E. O. Speedwagon, now a 70 year old oil tycoon, and Straizo, who has succeeded the late Tonpetti as the Ripple Master. Speedwagon has been using his oil fortune to fund a research organization called the Speedwagon Foundation, and it discovered something major during an archaeological expedition: an engraving of the stone mask, the same one Dio used to turn himself into a vampire 50 years earlier. Note that the mummified corpse lying on the slab with the engraving has vampire fangs. Whoever this guy is, he didn't just know about the masks, he used one personally.

It might get revealed later in the comics, but I'm pretty sure the anime version had Speedwagon explain that he primary purpose of his foundation was to learn more about phenomena like the Stone Mask, which is probably why they were digging up an Aztec temple in Mexico to begin with. As I recall, the Stone Mask was discovered in that part of the world, and taken back to Europe, where it eventually came into the possession of the Joestar family. Speedwagon would know this tale, and so if he wanted to find out more about the mask, he would have known where to start. Fifty years later, he seems to have hit paydirt.

But the mask engraving isn't why he called Straizo all the way in from Tibet. Deeper in the temple, there's a weird looking area that looks like something from out of an H.R. Giger painting. In the center stands this column, or pillar, if you will, and mounted on the pillar is...

...This guy, surrounded by more stone masks. When I first watched this part of the anime, I though the big reveal here was that there were lots and lots of Stone Masks, which would be a big problem, since Part 1 made a big deal out of destroying the one Stone Mask that started all the trouble. And maybe the guy in the pillar was the one who invented the things, I thought, but the bigger problem is that he made so many of them. But no, Speedwagon explains that the "Pillar Man" is not an image carved into the stone, but a living being, in some form of suspended animation. He even has a pulse.

So who is this guy and why did he create the Stone Masks? Speedwagon does not care. He only wants this Pillar Man destroyed before he wakes up, and that's the sole reason he called in Straizo. The two of them were the only survivors of the battle with Dio 50 years ago, and Straizo's Hamon power, also known as the Ripple, can destroy vampires that were created by the Stone Mask. So he's desperately hoping Straizo can finish off the Pillar Man the same way. But Straizo doesn't seem as concerned about it, and he asks about Joseph Joestar instead. So I guess I ought to circle back to the other plotline...

Fifty years after Jonathan Joestar sacrificed himself to defeat Dio Brando, his wife Erina and his grandson Joseph have moved to New York City. Joseph tries to buy a Coke, but this kid swipes his wallet. Kind of funny how Joesph's first and last appearances in JJBA are him getting robbed.

But the kid runs afoul of the local corrupt cops, who bludgeon him with their batons and threaten to put him in jail for 20 years unless he agrees to give them a cut of whatever money he makes from pickpocketing. When Joseph catches up to this scene, the cop even says he's going to keep Joseph's wallet "as evidence". I gotta say, not everything from Battle Tendency has aged well, but this police brutality stuff has become incredibly relevant. This could be 2021, except the cop would have had a gun, and he would have shot Smokey, then Joseph because he mistook the Coke bottle for a rocket launcher.

Joseph tries to defuse the situation by claiming he gave the wallet to the kid as a gift, but the cop doesn't believe that story, and he wouldn't care even if he did. He even smears boogers in Joseph's face just to prove that he can say and do whatever he pleases. Up to this point, Joseph looks and seems a lot like Jonathan. Later artwork tries to downplay that resemblance, probably just so it's easier to tell them apart. The anime gave Joseph different color hair, and Hirohiko Araki himself started drawing young Joseph with aviator goggles all the time, even though he doesn't wear them that much in this story. But starting out, the idea was that Joseph is the spitting image of his grandfather, and it almost looks like this is just an clever way to sneak Jonathan back into the story and transport him forward in time, except....

Coming through, coming through, coming through now

Coming through, coming through, coming through

Shake it like it's heat, Overdrive!

Yeah, so Joseph can do Hamon/Ripple tricks just like his grandfather, and all the others guys who could use Hamon back in Part 1. The difference is that when Joseph does it, it looks coooooool. After breaking Officer Hulk Hogan’s trigger finger, Joseph takes a big swig of soda, because it’s awesome.

To Smokey’s surprise, Joseph did all that badass stuff a second ago, but he’s terrified about his grandmother scolding him for it. So Joseph wants to run for it, and that suits Smokey, so they rush off together, beginning a long tradition of JoJo’s running from things. Enemies, consequences, you name it.

Smokey asks Joseph how he learned how to do that trick with the coke bottle, and he says he has no idea, he’s just always been able to do it. He knows his grandfather had the same power, but he’s dead, and so are his mother and father. Curiously, Joseph’s father did not have Hamon powers, so it seems to have skipped a generation.

And that sets up the other side of the plot. Speedwagon wants Straizo to destroy the Pillar Man immediately, but Straizo first asks about Joseph. He had heard some time ago that Joseph had innate Hamon abilities, and he had used them once to rescue Speedwagon from a kidnapping attempt in midair. A flashback shows us this moment, with guys threatening to ransom and kill Speedwagon, but Joseph is just chilling in the back with a Superman comic.

Okay, time out. This panel rules and all, but the Superman comic book didn’t start until 1939, a year after Battle Tendency begins. Superman was featured in the 1938 magazine Action Comics, but this scene on the plane is a flashback to Joseph from his early teens. Also, the earliest DC bullet logo didn’t appear until 1940, so what is this? Some kind of magic, time travelling comic book? I hope someone got fired for this blunder!

Anyway, Joseph was content to ignore the hijackers until one of them struck him, and even that wouldn’t have upset him except he got his own blood on his clothes, which Erina bought him, so that sends him into a rage. Speedwagon was worried that Joseph might clobber the hijackers, but instead he knocks out the pilot, then drags him and Speedwagon out of the plane before it crashes. The main thrust of that story was that Speedwagon was more worried about what Joseph might do than the hijackers who had already threatened to murder him. Joseph is slow to anger, but once you piss him off he’s going to go to war, and he doesn’t always think things through.

But he’s never been trained to use his powers like Straizo’s order. Upon hearing this, Straizo kills his own disciples, and all of the Speedwagon Foundation guys, then knocks Speedwagon himself out. This will anger Joseph when he hears about it, but Straizo is counting on this. As he explains, Hamon power can slow his aging process down considerably. He and Speedwagon are both about 70 here, but he looks much younger. Even so, he’s feeling his age, and he confesses that he always admired Dio for his immortality and power. So now that there’s Stone Masks available, he’s decided to use one on himself, become a vampire, and become “a being that surpasses all”.

And that’s a theme that runs through all of Battle Tendency, along with the rest of the JoJo franchise. The main villains always seek power to position themselves above the rest of humanity. At first, it seems kind of random for one of the men who opposed Dio to suddenly switch allegiences like this, but in truth, it’s human nature to be tempted by this kind of power. Dio succumbed to the lure of the Mask, and now we find that Straizo would have done the same. He just didn’t have the opportunity until now.

But the reason he’s concerned about Joseph is that he’s thinking this through. Dio was defeated after all, so Straizo wants to eliminate anyone who could potentially defeat him. Aside from himself and Speedwagon, the only others who know about the battle with Dio and the Stone Mask are Erina and Joseph. Once he eliminates them, he’ll be free to do as he pleases.

Back to New York, this is a pretty sweet drawing of a car. I’m not a car guy, but even I can get behind this. By now, Smokey has met Erina Joestar, and he finds out some of the backstory from Part 1. Erina’s husband died at sea, and she was pregnant with their son, Joseph’s father, and had a baby girl whom she rescued from the same incident at sea. The two children grew up, married, had Joseph, and died, the father in World War I, and the mother of some unspecified illness. Perhaps out of loneliness, Erina is “unflinchingly kind” even to someone like Smokey Brown, who doesn’t seem to think he’s worthy of her favor.

Anyway, Erina wants to take Smokey out to dinner at this nice Italian restaurant, but this racist mafia guy makes a big stink about a Black person being allowed to eat there. Joseph gets up to kick his ass, but first he has to check with Erina to make sure it’s okay, and she’s like “Yeah, destroy that guy,” because even though she doesn’t approve of Joseph beating up people, she can’t abide disrespect to her friends. This leads to the memorable fight scene where Joseph is like eight steps ahead of his opponent. He goes for his brass knuckles, but can’t find them, and Joseph deduces where they are because of some bloodstains on his shirt. He even suggests what this guy is about to say next because he’s so predictable.

Then he dodges every blow, moving so quickly that this jerk thinks he was hitting Joseph, when in fact he was punching a hat rack behind Joseph, and somehow he didn’t notice that he impaled his hand on broken wood until Joseph explained it to him. And honestly, this feels like the prototype for a lot of Stand Battles down the line. I’ll have more to say on that later.

What puts Battle Tendency over the top is how Joseph not only outwits this big lummox, but the rest of the diners at this restaurant all start applauding him for doing it. They’re just honored to be present in this insane comic book where literally anything can happen. “He made that asshole punch a hat rack! This is awesome!”

Then this dude suddenly speaks up. He’s not only the mafia guy in charge of the first guy, but he’s also heard a hot tip about Speedwagon getting murdered in Mexico by a Tibetan man. He knew Erina would be interested in hearing this, but he’d never met her before. Small world, huh?

How would this guy already know about it, though? I guess Straizo deliberately leaked the story, specifically so Joseph would find out about it sooner, but it seems awfully convenient. But that’s how Battle Tendency rolls. This thing’s only seven volumes long, and we’ve got a lot of ground to cover...

#jojo's bizarre adventure #battle tendency #joseph joestar #smokey brown #erina joestar #robert e o speedwagon #straizo #santana

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bigskydreaming · 4 years

Note

When you settle down, take a look at Teen Titans and the new solicit for Tec.

Did you mean a solicit for Dec? Cuz I looked and didn’t see one out yet but don’t know what else you might mean by Tec....

As far as what’s going on in Teen Titans, I’m guessing you mean Damian going after KGBeast to kill him in revenge for shooting Dick. I’m.....not a fan.

Like....I do like that they’re finally having SOMEBODY seem to give a damn about what happened to him, of course, but honestly, a year after the fact, it feels more like just an excuse to give Damian another target.

And I’m super not a fan of them regressing to acting like Damian’s entire personality is just “Will I do the murder today? Y/N.”

This is kinda what I was talking about the other day when I mentioned why I wasn’t really a fan of anything they were doing with the Batfam, because they’ve had Damian on this path for awhile now, and the problem is....

They already did this story.

This was his ORIGIN story.

And then he evolved, his character ALREADY developed PAST this.

I understand the idea of backsliding or having a character regress due to extreme circumstances or new tragedy or trauma, but honestly? This isn’t that, IMO. Its more just indicative of them not being able to think of anything else to do with Damian, because DC, like a lot of fans, seem fixated on the idea that each Robin needs to be their own distinct archetype easily summed up in one word. “Cheerful Robin,” “Angry Robin,” “Intellectual Robin,” “Will Stab You With Both Words and Knives Robin.”

Like....yawn.

Its no wonder they keep running into problems thinking of what to do with these characters when they like, INVENT these boxes to confine these four specific characters in and limit the ways or directions they’re even allowed to be taken, because they’re so afraid of overlapping or whatever.....even though that SHOULD be their narrative strength! They’re brothers! They all bear or bore the same mantle! They don’t NEED to have their own one-word niche to be distinct, they just need to each be well-developed characters in their own right, and who CARES if they overlap in some areas. It absolutely makes sense that they WOULD, that there would be commonalities in traits and experiences that led to each of them ending up a Robin and part of the Wayne family, and like....

Highlander has been off the air for thirty years and most people won’t even get that reference, that’s how low-impact we’re talking, so enough with the “There Can Only Be One” approach to characters. Having common ground is not like.....character Kryptonite.

So I’m just....super unimpressed with them taking Damian in this direction yet again, as though his entire narrative arc is forever destined to be a closed loop, with him just sliding back and forth between “Murder Time? Yes!” and “Murder Time? No!”

And even though its like, nice in one sense to have someone trying to avenge Dick, and having it be Damian with respect to how close a bond they have.....I’m not actually in favor of sacrificing another character’s stories just to make that happen. Especially when it doesn’t even have to happen at all. But honestly, like I mentioned at the top....given the extreme gap between the start of the Ric Grayson arc and this, I don’t actually believe this really has anything to do with them wanting to build off of or do anything new in regards to Damian’s feelings about his brother, like....it really just feels like an excuse to put another warm body in the way of Damian and his bungee jump back into this latest Dark Dami arc.

Also its just, bottom line....not realistic given their ACTUAL stories to date, IMO? Because Dick is literally the character who got Damian to see the value in life in the first place, and in addition, the first character who got Damian to see that his life didn’t have to follow a pre-charted course, that he could CHOOSE who and what he wanted to be. That, more than anything else, is why Damian loves his brother so fiercely, I feel - because of the fact that Dick was the first person in Damian’s life to look at him and just see a PERSON rather than what they already expected to see before they looked at him.

And so its not even that I don’t think Damian would ever try and kill KGBeast because he believes Dick wouldn’t want anyone killing in his name, its that Damian more than anyone else would know how much Dick would never want HIM to kill someone and claim he was doing it for his older brother....because of how much it meant to BOTH of them that it was because of their bond, their partnership, their brotherhood, that Damian became a hero instead of staying an assassin at all....that Damian found another path for himself, because before Dick, he didn’t even know to LOOK for one, or imagine that it was even a real possibility.

Dick introduced Damian to opportunities. To options. To having more directions he could go from any given situation beyond just the one that would end with more dead bodies.

And I can’t imagine Damian ever being so willful as to repay that with the same one choice, one direction, that Dick once helped him find alternatives to in the first place.

Nah, if they actually wanted to do something with Damian’s feelings about what happened to Dick? They should have written a story where Damian goes to Bludhaven to confront these strangers wearing his brother’s costumes and using his name. Damian has always held mantles and legacies in high regard, moreso than just about any other character I would argue.....and its always been portrayed as being hugely impactful on him, the fact that Dick actually made Damian Robin himself.

And added in that Damian likely knows how much Dick values his own mantles himself, how much OF himself he puts into them.....Damian would LOATHE these ‘pretenders’ from the moment he learned of them, IMO.

Like, remember when Damian went around trying to challenge each of his brothers or take something from them to prove he was the ‘worthiest’ Robin?

Imagine how powerful it could’ve been to have a story arc where Damian similarly challenged each of these new Nightwings from the shadows, setting up ‘tests’ that were intended to prove their unworthiness to claim his brother’s mantle, expose them as the frauds he would likely view them as.

Because that would be a direct callback to that previous story where he did something similar.....but it would show how far he’s come, even though he’s still very hot-tempered and prideful and etc.....because the juxtaposition of the two stories would highlight the fact that THIS time, Damian wouldn’t be doing this for himself, but for someone else, someone he values as much as he once valued his own prestige. And more than that, he’d do it according to standards or methods he knows Dick would be okay with, like, nothing lethal like he would have in the past, but stuff that was intended to make Damian’s point but not be anything that would make Dick feel guilty about having done in his name, once his memories return.

And then, just imagine his reaction too when he finally comes face to face with Ric, who seems to be HELPING these pretenders, and like....think about how much that would force him to confront and work through in regards to how he feels about Dick’s current state of existence/non-existence and his fears he’ll never get the man he views as his actual brother back.

Like, I could see him attacking Ric himself, furious that he thinks he even has the ‘right’ to give tacit permission or endorsement of these amateurs, because Ric ISN’T his brother, he’s no more the real Nightwing than any of these, and thus allowing them the use of his name and mantle isn’t a choice that’s actually Ric’s to make, in Damian’s eyes.

But then as they fight and Ric calls upon the muscle memory that’s ingrained into him still, and they start to fall into familiar rhythms and its more a spar than an actual fight, one that BOTH of them are startled by how....right it feels, like, that more than anything IMO would be what has Damian start realizing there’s more of his brother in this ‘Ric’ identity than he’d previously realized, and that deep down they are still inherently the same person, he still KNOWS this man, he just....needs to get to know him again.

And then there’d still be the matter of the other Nightwings, but now Damian’s reaction or attitude towards them and Ric would likely be one of confusion, like trying to understand WHY Ric would allow this instead of stopping it....because with the realization Damian has that the brother he knows is still somewhere in this man in front of him would come the baffling contradiction that he’s seemingly fine with something Damian KNOWS he would never normally be okay with.

And maybe it ends with the realization, the awareness in both brothers that things AREN’T normal, there’s nothing normal about this situation so the old rules and the preconceptions have to go out the window. Maybe Ric explains he can’t be who everyone wants him to be when he doesn’t even know for himself who and what he wants to be, what that even looks like...and thus maybe its okay that none of these other Nightwings are like him, like he’d been as Nightwing.

Maybe that’s even part of the point for Ric, that by watching and interacting with four different versions of the him everyone claims he used to be, Ric can start to at least figure out what he’s NOT, what doesn’t feel or look right, and from there maybe have a better chance of heading in the right direction, the one that will take him some place where he actually feels like he fits in his own skin again, like he can look in a mirror and recognize the person staring back at him as at least BEING him, whether that’s Dick or Ric or some amalgamation in between.

THAT story would feel like something Damian might ACTUALLY do, and be productive and work towards the betterment of both brothers’ characterizations.....

But nah. Let’s have Damian go chop off some heads on a regressive revenge road trip because that’s all he knows how to do, apparently, that’s his default setting and always will be because how else will people recognize that he’s the “Bad Robin,” he’s the “’My Middle Name is Violence and My First Name is Actually Excessive’ Robin.”

That’s much better.

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dottie-wan-kenobi · 4 years

Text

song lyrics I use to characterize Dick Grayson

This is definitely not everything (& I would love to do more) but it’s also Extremely Freaking Long so. Many thanks to @zitkaplushie for chatting w me abt this! I would love to hear your thoughts/additions/etc. If u disagree w any of these, feel free to debate w me but please be civil!!

— OVERALL:

Drag Me Down by One Direction: okay there are tons of parts that fit but this line is the best: “I've got fire for a heart / I'm not scared of the dark / You've never seen it look so easy”

I think this one is kind of straightforward lol but. The first line kind of tells me that Dick is passionate, and feels more with his heart than his head. The second line is just kind of a tongue in cheek thing like obviously he’s not. And the third one is both Dick’s confidence and also that it’s just TRUE. He makes things look easy, all kinds of things. It’s just a fact.

High Hopes by Panic! at The Disco: ugh this has such good lines but this one: “Mama said / Burn your biographies / Rewrite your history / Light up your wildest dreams / Museum victories, every day / We wanted everything, wanted everything”

So I think “Mama” thru to “dreams” ties back to him becoming Nightwing, or going through different identities and kind of letting himself go with it to an extent. Like he doesn’t let it hold him back. The rest of it, like...that’s just Dick’s superheroing career. “We” in this case could be him and Bruce, him and the Titans, him and Damian, etc etc

Catch My Breath by Kelly Clarkson: um. the whole song. the whole thing. buuuut one line I’ll analyze will be: “I don't wanna be left behind / Distance was a friend of mine / Catching breath in a web of lies / I've spent most of my life / Riding waves, playing acrobat / Shadowboxing the other half / Learning how to react”

“I don't wanna be left behind” - he knows this feeling well already and doesn’t want to relive it

“Distance was a friend of mine / Catching breath in a web of lies” - he has like no civilian friends in canon, and even then he’s always lying to somebody about something. There aren’t many people he can be truly close to and open with, other than like Donna and Roy and Kory

“I've spent most of my life / Riding waves, playing acrobat / Shadowboxing the other half / Learning how to react” - idk, when I see this it makes me think that he’s just lived this life that isn’t exactly normal and he recognizes that

Birds by Imagine Dragons: this one makes me so sad but: “I know that / Ooh, birds fly in different directions / Ooh, I hope to see you again / Ooh, birds fly in different directions / Ooh, so fly high, so fly high”

So obviously Dick has lost a lot of people important to him over the years, either because they died or DC said XYZ and Dick’s relationship no longer has any rights, but. This is how he would feel about that. Grudging acceptance, hope to see them again, wishing them well.

Dance Monkey by Tones And I: I had to. “I said, oh my god, I see you walking by / Take my hands, my dear, and look me in my eyes / Just like a monkey I've been dancing my whole life / But you just beg to see me dance just one more time”

I’ll mention this later on, but I think that Dick projects an image a lot of the time that isn’t what he’s really feeling. This ties into that - I think at certain points in his life, he just gets exhausted and wants to take a break, but he can’t. He feels like everyone is counting on him, either to do this or that, or keep up this appearance. Sometimes they really are, and sometimes it’s pressure he’s putting onto himself!

Icarus by Bastille: tbh this is a song that I think applies to most if not all of the batfam, but for Dick, this is part of it that I like: “You put up your defenses when you leave / You leave because you're certain / Of who you want to be”

I prefer the version of canon where Dick willingly decides to stop being Robin, but even in the way that he gets kicked out, this tells me that he’s steeling himself for whatever may come, and that he’s sure of his actions.

Stars by Grace Potter: now THIS one is freaking sad. “All those times we looked up at the sky / Looking out so far, it felt like we could fly / And now I'm all alone in the dark of night / And the moon is shining, but I can't see the light.”

Again, he’s lost a lot of ppl!! I usually think of this song as him referring to his parents or Bruce after he “dies”, but it could apply to anyone really. And these lines in specific just make me think that he feels lonely without whoever it is, that he’s not in a good place.

Simple Man by Lynyrd Skynyrd: "Boy, don't you worry, you'll find yourself / Follow your heart and nothing else / And you can do this, oh baby, if you try / All that I want for you, my son, is to be satisfied"

Okay so maybe I hc that the Graysons were very much so free spirits who rubbed off a lot on Dick. But with that aside, to me this is Dick being determined to live a happy life, and knowing it’s going to be a struggle at times. “You’ll find yourself” and “if you try” are things that I think Dick keeps close to mind. Like, maybe he doesn’t know everything right now, but he will. He’ll figure it out. And he can get through anything if he just pushes through it.

Weight In Gold by Gallant: “I’m pulling my weight in gold / Call me anxious, call me broke / But I can’t lift this on my own”

I’ve already mentioned this but Dick has a lot of pressure on his shoulders, like all the time. And he’s also someone who reaches out to others, which is what these lyrics are saying. He’s aware when he can’t handle the pressure anymore and can admit it to himself. (I don’t think this fits him ALL the time, I mean it just doesn’t, but. Sometimes.)

Tears Of A Clown by Smokey Robinson: I really fuck with the idea that Dick is, still, an entertainer. that + the pressure he’s under = “Now if I appear to be carefree / It's only to camouflage my sadness / In order to shield my pride I've tried / To cover this hurt with a show of gladness”

The word “camouflage” stands out to me because I think sometimes the way he hides parts of who he is is to protect himself??? Dick can also be a prideful person, who might not want others to know that he’s been hurt by something they’ve done.

The Show Must Go On by Queen: relatedly,,, this whole song fits him perfectly. but to do something not related to smiling: “Show must go on. / I'll face it with a grin. / I'm never giving in— / Oh—with the show. / I'll top the bill, / I'll overkill. / I have to find the will to carry on with the show.”

This ties back to him hiding his real feelings, of course, but also it speaks to how he doesn’t do things by half. This makes me think about being Batman, about how he won’t give in to the pressure, will push through and keep going and uphold his dad’s legacy as best as he can

Pumpin Blood by NONONO: “It's so magical feeling, that no one's got a hold / You're a catalyst to your own happiness you know”

This goes back to my thoughts that Dick has this mindset that if he keeps going, keeps putting in as much effort as he needs to, then he can get what he needs. It’s also kind of those moments where Dick realizes that where he is is good, like being Robin, but it’s not great, and it could be great. When he decides to stop being Robin, it’s like he’s thinking, “I could be happier, and if I want that, I need to do it myself.”

Rocketeer by Far East Movement: this song fits in a lot of spots but. “Here we go, come with me / There's a world out there that we should see / Take my hand, close your eyes / With you right here, I'm a rocketeer”

Overall imo this is a shippy song but this lyric specifically could be Dick and anyone at all -- he’s the kind of guy who reaches out to others, who would enjoy showing people new things. I also think the last bit kind of speaks to how he can feel better and more empowered when he’s not going through things alone

I Want To Break Free by Queen: “But life still goes on / I can't get used to, living without, living without / Living without you by my side / I don't want to live alone, hey / God knows, got to make it on my own / So baby can't you see / I've got to break free”

This goes back to a few things. For one, I feel that when he feels held back or held down, he’s VERY aware of it and doesn’t like it, and wants to have his freedom back. Another one is, considering all the people he’s lost, it’s like...he doesn’t want to live without them but there’s no choice, he has to. And finally, I also think this is to Bruce, like he’s feeling like he could do and be more if he weren’t being restricted by Bruce

Teams & Friends, Ships, Family, & Bruce under the cut!

— TEAMS & FRIENDS:

Young Volcanoes by Fall Out Boy: there’s a reason why I named my fic after this lol. “When Rome's in ruins / We are the lions / Free of the coliseums / In poisoned places / We are anti-venom / We're the beginning of the end”

I think that Dick really does enjoy superheroing, and that he’s proud of himself and those he works with for being courageous, kind, and helpful to the world. In his more positive moments, this is what I feel like he’d think of his teams and their impacts.

Home by Daughtry: I’ve always thought of this one as a batfam song but tbh I think it works better as a Titans one. “Well I'm going home, / Back to the place where I belong, / And where your love has always been enough for me. / I'm not running from. / No, I think you got me all wrong. / I don't regret this life I chose for me. / But these places and these faces are getting old, / So I'm going home.”

The way I interpret this is like...he DOES love Bruce, he does love the batfam, but ultimately when he thinks about home he thinks of his friends. This is kind of him talking to Bruce, at least in the second half. Another reason why I put it here is that there’s another lyric in the song that says, “I'm going to the place where love / And feeling good don't ever cost a thing.” In the batfam, as zitkaplushie said, love isn’t conditional or anything but it IS exhausting. It takes a toll on them. Love with the titans is just easier.

— SHIPS:

Make Me Feel by Janelle Monae: Dick is bi like this song and this line describes his at-times tumultuous relationships: “It's like I'm powerful with a little bit of tender / An emotional, sexual bender / Mess me up, yeah, but no one does it better / There's nothing better”

He takes comfort and strength from his relationships and sometimes that’s good, hence the powerful/tender part! But in all his relationships, not just his romantic ones, it’s (sometimes) easy for people to affect him

I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) by Celtic Thunder: this fits all of his ships imo: “When I'm lonely, well I know I'm gonna be / I'm gonna be the man who's lonely without you / And when I'm dreaming, well I know I'm gonna dream / I'm gonna dream about the time when I'm with you”

He’s just a sappy boy who is in love. That said, I don’t think these feelings would overtake him!

— FAMILY:

Losing My Religion by R.E.M.: I read this heartbreaking fic recently that dealt with how Dick hid his feelings from EVERYONE and no one noticed anything was wrong, really, except Cass. so. “Every whisper / Of every waking hour / I'm choosing my confessions / Trying to keep an eye on you / Like a hurt, lost and blinded fool, fool / Oh no, I've said too much / I set it up”

Dick is more open than his siblings, but he does still hide things, especially from them. The line “I'm choosing my confessions / Trying to keep an eye on you” makes me think of Dick trying to take care of his siblings, whichever way he can

This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody) by Kishi Bashi: “Home is where I want to be / Pick me up and turn me round / I feel numb - born with a weak heart / I guess I must be having fun / The less we say about it the better / Make it up as we go along / Feet on the ground / Head in the sky / It's OK, I know nothing's wrong... nothing”

“Make it up as we go along / Feet on the ground / Head in the sky / It's OK, I know nothing's wrong... nothing” - this reads happier than it’s sang but I do think it describes the more positive side of the family dynamics!

You’re Not There by Lukas Graham: this one is abt (all of) his parents :( “I only got you in my stories / And you know I tell them right / I remember you and I, when I'm awake at night / So give it up for fallen glory / I never got to say goodbye / I wish I could ask for just a bit more time”

There are times where the deaths of his parents & Bruce (and Alfred) weigh heavily on him, and that everything he does is kind of continuing on where they left off, or doing something they didn’t have time to do. I think he would tell his kids stories about them and that he would try to be as true to them as he can be. And then of course, “So give it up for fallen glory / I never got to say goodbye / I wish I could ask for just a bit more time” is kind of his relationship with his parents after they die

— BRUCE:

(I gave him a separate section bc I have a lot of feels abt them okay??)

The Ballad of Dick Grayson by Crafty McVillain: there are actually a lot of songs abt Dick Grayson, but I picked this one bc of this: “Broken hearts improve, but my mind's broken too / Show me how to hurt and I'll hurt them with you / I'll take on the world, I will fight for you / But tell me how to stop, cause now I'm fighting you”

This is abt when Jason takes on Robin but I like to look at this like:

“Broken hearts improve, but my mind's broken too / Show me how to hurt and I'll hurt them with you” - this is when Dick first comes to the Manor, and when he’s first becoming Robin. He’s struggling and Bruce shows him a way to cope. (is it healthy? lmao)

“I'll take on the world, I will fight for you” - this is just...any time really lol. Dick is loyal to Bruce (to an extent) and will fight alongside him, will do almost anything for him

“But tell me how to stop, cause now I'm fighting you” - then this is how it feels when they’re broken apart for the first time, when they aren’t getting along and it’s just a change from the past few years, and Dick doesn’t know what to do about it

Let You Down by NF: “Feels like we're on the edge right now / I wish that I could say I'm proud / I'm sorry that I let you down / Let you down”

“I'm sorry that I let you down / Let you down” - this could be pre-emptive, Dick kind of thinking that no matter what he does, he’s most likely going to let Bruce down

Like how Bruce is always that 8 year old who lost his parents, Dick is always who he was the first night he went out as Robin, desperately wanting Bruce’s approval

He wants the approval and hates that he does, it feels like it holds him down

The Chain by Fleetwood Mac: “Listen to the wind blow / Watch the sun rise / Run in the shadows / Damn your love / Damn your lies”

When I read these lyrics, I think about Bruce and Dick when they’ve been arguing, having a quiet moment (the peace after the storm, zitkaplushie said), kind of reflecting, and Dick just thinks, “I want you to love me but I want you to stop lying to me.” Or like, “your love comes with your lies and I don’t know if I can handle that [right now].”

Numb by Linkin Park: “I've become so numb, I can't feel you there / Become so tired, so much more aware / I'm becoming this, all I want to do / Is be more like me and be less like you”

There’s this moment in canon, before he even gives up being Robin, where he’s acting just like Batman, hunting down criminals with a single-minded ferocity that has his friends legit concerned for him. I can’t remember exactly what he felt about it when he kind of snapped out it but these lyrics remind me of that. He doesn’t want to be like Bruce, he doesn’t want to be Batman, and especially as a teenager, that last line is big. Overall it also fits when Dick IS Batman, and he feels like he’s kind of being swallowed by everything that it is

The Archer by Taylor Swift: okay I’m sorry I can’t pick between these two: “I've got a hundred thrown out speeches / I almost said to you” and “And all of my heroes / Die all alone / Help me hold on to you”

There are a lot of things Dick doesn’t say to Bruce over the years, or things that he wants to say but doesn’t for however long until he can’t hold it in anymore or it’s the right time or whatever. Ultimately that line just tells me that their relationship isn’t one with great communicating

“And all of my heroes / Die all alone” - Bruce ‘dying’. “Help me hold on to you” - Batman when Dick is him. Or it could be about Dick’s parents, and then Dick trying to keep Bruce alive as Robin/Nightwing

#dick grayson #dick grayson meta #meta #dc #batfam #robin i #nightwing #my meta #sorry for all the OC tm today #im feeling manic lmao gotta do something #got sooooooo long #I FORGOT THE TITLE FUCK DKHFJKSH

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ten-ten31 · 4 years

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Dear Yuletide Writer

Dear Yuletide Writer,

Thank you so much for writing for me! :) I can't tell you just how excited I am. This is my first Yuletide and I guess I'm super nervous, but also looking forward to it. :)

Please feel free to browse my ao3 (KitKaos) and/or tumblr to get an idea of what I stan, like, read or write. I hope I can give you some broad ideas and inspirations in this letter to help you plan. Do feel free to fall back on my general likes if the prompts don't do anything for you. Or just use the prompts, whatever works best for you. Oh, and should you, dear Yuletide Santa, want to write in German and not in English, then I'm definitely okay with that. I'm fluent in both, so whichever you feel more comfortable with. If there's something missing or if you have a question, you can reach out to me via the mods.

General likes: I'm a sucker for the old friends-to-lovers or even enemies-to-lovers (with all the drama of grudginly admitting that the other party maybe isn't all that terrible and all). Things I'll never get tired of include coffeeshop AUs, spy AUs, musical AUs, found families, fake dating, pining, crossdressing, drunken shenanigans, fish-out-of-water situations, pop culture references, etc. Just about any kind of scene you can sneak in there about cooking or eating food (also characters being picky about certains foods and other characters going to some lengths to accommodate that) will make me happy, too. I do have a thing for descriptions of food and expecially impressions of taste - and if you want to make it kinky: food play. ;) I also have a bit of a hand fetish - so descriptions of hands are always welcome. If you want to do it, I probably also won't say no to someone breaking the Fourth Wall, any kind of alternate history AU, crossovers of my fandoms, or even some lovely steampunk aesthetics.

Do Not Want: rape/dubcon/noncon, watersports, scat, humiliation, A/B/O, soulmates AU, vampire/werewolf AU, second-person pov, character bashing of any kind.

Fandoms

Just two more thing before I go into detail: 1. The prompts below are nothing more than ideas - feel free to ignore them if you have a better one. :) 2. Not all of the characters need to be used in every prompt; pick and choose as desired.

Dial H for Hero (DC Comics)

- Summer Pickens, Miguel Montez

The 2019 12-issue run is just pure love! There is worldbuilding galore, relatable characters, a wonderful coming-of-age and initiation plot, interdimensional shenanigans, the question how Joe Average could get addicted to sudden superpowers, and so much fun with the concept of Superhero Secret Origins. Summer is a wonderfully strong and caring female lead and Miguel is a self-conscious little oddball.

As for prompts: Seeing more of their Metropolis adventures or Red/Yellow/Blue/Black Dial transformations would definitely be a lot of fun. Also, there's this cute boy Miguel asks out in the comics and I would love to see that first date. And what about Summer? She definitely won't be reduced to sidekick!

Feel free to include any other ((teenage) superhero) cameos you feel like. Please do not pair up Summer and Miguel romantically - although I don't have any problems with a fake relationship fic for them. ;)

Where to find it: Your trusted comicbook supplier.

Masks: A New Generation (Roleplaying Game)

- any / worldbuilding

I only just disovered Masks as an RPG, and ever since I started playing, it's probably the most fun rping I've had in a long time. I love that playbooks are not by the type of power but the type of problem each teenager faces personally. Like, how do you juggle school, first love, being different in a way no one should know about, being different maybe in a way people will immediately see, adults telling you who to be, chores, and being part of a young superhero team that wants to make a name for themselves? It's hard. And the best sessions alternate between deep emotional connections, hilarious teenage drama and great action scenes.

As for prompts: I would love me some good worldbuilding - so maybe there is a reason the Scarlet Songbird is still around? What was Halcyon City like back in the days of the Golden-Age heroes? What has changed since then? How do especially the older generations view the naming conventions going around for new heroes? Is there a code to follow? Who in Halcyon City pays for all the damage to buildings and infrastructure caused by superhero-supervillain fights? What was it like back in the olden days for the Golden Age heroes as opposed to now? Are there cultural exchange programs with any of the alien races visiting from time to time? Give me a day in the life of an average Halcyon City citizen - they don't even have to be all that close to an epic fight or something. Just their way of coping with the daily madness of a huge city housing most of the world's superheroes. If you like something a little more character-specific: The one actual-play podcast that does it best in my opinion are the Theatre of the Mind Players with their "Future Shock" and "Past Tense" seasons of Masks. And I would love to read more about these characters. Have Sparrow and Figment finally get together. Give me a glimpse of how Horizon assembled his ersatz mom. What will Helix and Remix get up to?

Where to find it: The core rulebook is available from Magpie Games. The Theatre of the Mind Players’ Masks sessions can be found on Youtube.

Super Sons (Comics)

- Jonathan Samuel Kent, Damian Wayne

Super Sons is how I finally came to like and care for Damian Wayne - which, if you know me, is a major achievement! He is still a huge brat, don't get me wrong, but Jon's influence on him and the way he is confronted with certain issues he has... it's magical! It's wholesome! It's healing! They are both so fiercely protective of each other, and they both grow as characters from their experiences with each other.

As for prompts: So, dear Yuletide Santa, give me character growth and banter and friendship galore. I can see slumber parties at Wayne Manor or at the Kent farm. I can see them getting lost in space and time. I can see more adventures once they're at the same school. I can see a canon-divergence AU where Jon is finally admitted into the the Teen Titans at age 13 - how would that go? Or how about an Interrail Buddies AU?

If you want to write slashfic for them, I will not say no but would probably prefer to age them up a bit. I also most definitely don't mind any background appearances of any of their families.

Where to find it: Your trusted comicbook supplier.

Superman Returns (2006)

- any (Clark Kent, Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen, Richard White)

I still love this movie a lot - not because it's particularly spectacular, but it treats the characters with love, it treats the legacy of the Reeve movies with love and it leaves SO MANY questions for fanfiction authors to answer. ;) I mean, I've been a Superman fan for a long time and I've discovered that I'm most comfortable with a Clark who wears a mask both as Clark Kent and as Superman, who isn't either of those two (and who is fallible). And whenever someone learns of his secret identity, they will see that he's so much more than either Clark or Superman. I know Lois is a fairly underdeveloped character in this movie, so I would love for her to be treated not just as a prize, especially since there were those years of her having to put her life back together after Supes just up and left.

As for prompts, I've always wondered about the different coping mechanisms (Lois turning bitter, Jimmy starting up daydrinking - WTF?!) and just how their day-to-day business changed without Clark and Supes there. Give me the Planet staff banding together to rescue Lois when she remembers just that second too late that there will be no superhero to save them (I also wouldn't mind any of the Bats helping out secretly, if that's up your alley). Give me Jimmy trying not to think too much and instead getting on Lois' nerves until he's rescued by Richard intervening. I am also an absolute sucker for continuation fics, so how do things settle down after what happens in the movie? I would love for some real Clark and Jimmy bonding moments, maybe even Jimmy finding out or having known all along and covered for Clark. I would love for some truce and real friendship blossoming between Clark and Richard, as they are both intelligent, compassionate, insightful men. If you want to include Jason anywhere, feel free to do that, as he makes for such a wonderful catalyst for disaster. Feel free to write gen or any canon pairings - I'm also okay with non-canon het/slash pairs (or threesomes) as long as they make sense in-universe. ;)

Where to find it: Sadly, the movie doesn’t seem to be streaming anywhere, but since it’s 14 years old now, you can buy it relatively cheap.

Young Justice (Comics)

- Tim Drake (but do feel free to have any of the other characters in the story, too)

No matter if you're into the old 1990s YJ comics, the companion comics to the cartoon show, or the new 2019/20 version of the comics - I love all of them! So much I don't even know where to begin... The snark! The lovable teenage stupidity! The friendship that goes above and beyond! My definite favourite is Tim, because he is such a bright, snarky, secretive, repressed little bird (the moment he takes off his domino mask to reveal a second one underneath? priceless)! I also love his deep friendship with the others because that's his found family. Yes, Batman is his mentor (even though Tim might understand B better than the other way round sometimes) and Dick is his older brother and idol (hero worship, anyone?), but Young Justice is where he wants to be himself and all of it.

As for prompts: Even though I did not put either Cassie or Cissie in my request as I want something Tim-centric, the dynamic with those two strong-willed girls is definitely something I would love to see explored more. Also how the dynamic with the bats is so very different than the Young Just Us dynamic. What's it like being the one without powers in a group of hormonal teenage superheroes? I also just realized that I would love to see more of Mister Sarcastic trolling the rest of the gang. Or how about: What if Tim had powers for one day? If you're into the 2019 comics, how about a 5+1 of Why Drake May Or May Not Be A Good Superhero Alias. If you want to include the rest of the gang, you're definitely more than welcome to. Tim and Kon's bickering and outright arguments in the beginning turning into such a solid friendship (or more) is something I can read about time and time again. Pretty much the same goes for Tim and Bart. Or how about some Wendy the Werewolf Stalker shenanigans? Why is having girls in your group a bad/good idea? How did Cassie's becoming the team's leader affect Tim's sense of self? Heck, if you feel like it, open up the love triangle Tim-Cassie-Kon since there's like a ton of history there. Oh, and anyway, why is Stephanie Brown never part of any of Tim's teams? Dear Yuletide Santa, do also feel free to include any of the other teens (I have a soft spot for Li'l Lobo/Slobo).

Where to find it: Your trusted comicbook supplier.

Overall, I’m sure I’ll love what you have for me, and I'm looking forward to reading it! <3

#yuletide 2020 #yuletide #dear yuletide writer #dyw #yulebuilding #cheftide #wrapping paper challenge 2020

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codyfernmorelikedaddyfern · 4 years

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My Much Better half - Duncan x fem!reader // Part Two

Suggested by @langdxn and i’m too weak to resist... Yes, there will be a part three. Yes, I have no will power. Read part one here.

Description: After proposing to you in Paris, Duncan looked over you during wild ride that is pregnancy and childbirth.

Warnings: I mean, you’re here for the fluff, right? dad!Duncan, brief mention of sex (to be expected when i’m the one writing), childbirth. This loosely follows the events of HoC but not in the same order. I didn’t reread this fully so apologies, English isn't my first language.

“Okay, Miss Y/L/N, the gel will be cold” the young nurse announced before squirting some of the material of your already blooming womb. “Before we start, I would need to know if you will be interested in knowing what you are expecting” her face turned to look at you, then fell to yours and Duncan’s hand tightly entwined.

Your gaze fell into your fiancé, raising an eyebrow. “I would like to, yes, would you?” you enquired, watching him eagerly nod. “Yes, please, that would be great” his smile grew wide before dying on your knuckles, the gentle ring sitting on your finger tickling his stubble.

“Alright, here we go” the nurse pushed the ultrasound device against your belly. This was your second scan and you could not be more excited to see the affectionately nicknamed Peanut. Names had been discussed already and Duncan had a lengthy discussion with your boss in order to relocate your own working desk to his office so he could keep an ever-growing protective eye on you.

Glowing and radiating, pregnancy seemed to look like the decision you had ever done despite the lack of sleep and morning sickness and the brunette would never fail to mention just how beautiful you looked. So beautiful in fact that it became the worst distraction possible.

But he loved every single bit of it, even when he was finding you crying in the kitchen at 2 in the morning because you craved a bowl of pasta but the water was taking too long to boil, not aware you had forgotten to turn on the induction beneath the pot.

Besides your breath taking radiance, the thing he enjoyed the most was your sex drive, now higher than his. You had been expecting for 20 weeks and he had already lost count on how many nights he was the one whimpering and aching out of bed, practically begging for a break.

His hand tightened around yours as the nurse turned the monitor towards the both of you. You could already feel his subtle tremor, becoming less able to hide his obvious emotion. “It looks like baby is being a bit fussy” the lady laughed, unable to get a clear image of the small being growing in your stomach. “Come on, Peanut” Duncan teased, gently poking at the bump to try and get the tiny figure to shift around, earning a giggle from you as well as the operator. Twisting around in the funniest dance, your child seemed to be drawn to the voice of their father.

“Whoop, let’s skip this for the end, shall we” she quickly skipped what looked like the small pair of legs. Tightening even further against your fingers, you felt your fiancé’s lips tightly pressing on the back of your hand. The operator started to measure the spine and legs of your little peanut, explaining what was yet to come for the next couple of months before the next scan you would assist. She asked a few questions about your own health, advising for you to avoid stressful situations as much as possible.

Warm tears laced between your fingers while you felt a small sob escape your lover while some prickled your eyes too as Duncan intently watched the black and white imagery unfolding on the screen, absolutely mesmerised. “Let’s check on baby’s heart beat and then find out what you are having” she rejoiced, placing the Doppler on your stomach.

Slowly, the harmonious and regular heartbeat of what you had both created quickly filling up the room. Pushing his brow and wet eyes in your palms, your fiancé quietly wept his happiest tears in your hands. “And by the looks of things, you are expecting a girl” the nurse announced gleefully, pushing a new sob out of your chest before Duncan wrapped his fingers around your face, cupping it to push a tender and loving kiss on your lips.

Before you, he was always self-assured and controlling of the minutest things. He would not allow himself to show his stress, frustration or tears but you broke the carapace. His feelings seeped out in existence, helping him grow his mother’s legacy much faster than before because he was now showing to the world that he cared.

It took him a while to pull himself together, getting his puffy cheeks to flatten again and his red eyes to dim. As you both made your way out of the nurse’s office, hand in hand, you exchanged a loving look. “You’re going to outnumber me shortly, darling” he joked, the idea of having another woman ruling over his life filling his thoughts and clouding his mind. “At least we won’t need to look for a flower girl anymore” you continued, a small chuckle leaving his lips. “Should we wait for her to walk to get married?” his voice asked as you found yourself by the car. His fingers looped around your car door to open it and let you climb in it. He quickly darted around the car, taking the driver seat.

The pregnancy had pushed him to stop relying on cabs and tinted SUVs and to purchase a car big enough to fit your dreams of a large family. “Honey, I want you to be aware that we’re going to keep on going until we make a boy” he joked while slowly reversing the car once you had both buckled up your seat belts. “I read in an article that hormones released by a female orgasm helps conceiving a boy so you know what to do next time” you bit back, side eyeing Duncan, waiting for a reaction.

He looked back at you with a shocked expression, a blabbering mess escaping his lips as he could not find a comeback. “I’m obvious joking, honey” you laughed as he drove down the busy streets of DC. As you stepped in your apartment, you took back your usual routine and slumped on the couch after changing into the most comfortable closes you could gather from both your man and your own closet. He poured himself a cup of coffee, slinking back next to you and caressing your ankles. Once he would be done with his brew, his other hand would rest on your belly.

Whenever you would lie down was some of his favourite moments because that’s when the bump really showed. He would coo and talk to your unborn child, sometimes humming and singing to her. The amount of loved he poured over you was sometimes overwhelming and the idyllic situation sometimes broke into meaningless fights quickly cut short by the overflowing hormones spilling out of your eyes.

Arguments would always end in the both of you cooped up underneath the comforter, sticky from the sweat and seed of the love you had just made. He worshipped you, more careful and delicate than ever.

Any appearance you would both make would be short and effective. Duncan and you developed some sort of 6th sense, scenting when the other needed saving whether it was him lost in the most boring conversation or you getting hammered with elderly women trying to stroke your blossoming bump and hammering you with old wives tales.

Time flies when you have fun and how much fun was it to see Duncan falling in love with the burgeoning life in your womb. He would always apologies for the stress he exuded but he would also remind you how thankful he was for you to have entered his life. He would thank Charlotte, the name you had settled on for your quickly approaching bundle of joy, for keeping him in line.

Scandal imploded in the Shepherd’s family as you entered your last trimester. Your lover’s uncle, Bill, passed away and he nearly escaped being jailed after launching an app that was unknowingly too invasive.

It was a warm autumn day when Duncan burst through the door of the flat, a loud sob escaping his chest as his eyes darted around to find you. Struggling to hoist yourself up from the couch due to your nearly full term belly, you turned to him.

Desperation and anger clouded his eyes, his eyebrows pulled together in a heart-breaking expression.

“Did you know? He whimpered through the tears, did you know about my birth mother?

-W-What? What’s happening, you worried, waddling your way to him.

-Annette is not my mother, did you know?! His voice was harsh and full of disgust.

-No, I-I didn’t know, no, what’s going on, Duncan?

-She’s lied to me my whole life. That’s what’s going on.

-Duncan, please! Her voice rang at the door.”

A sting of confusion ensued in front of you. An intense pulling took you aback as you felt the muscle around your stomach contract. You had been sporadically been experiencing the feeling of what you assumed were your first signs of contractions. You gasped as discreetly as possible while reaching back for the couch. Your fingers tightly clutched at the material as you made your way back around it to sit down while the uncomfortable sensation subsided.

The argument carried on in a blur behind you as another pull tugged around your baby. Faintly turning around to see your fiancé, the veins in his neck bulging in anger while his features reddened. If you had not been feeling this uncomfortable pain, you would be finding yourself getting turned on but this was no time for arousal.

Your trembling voice broke the feud. “Dunc-, I need you to help me to the bathroom”. You were sure to have whispered the words but when the worried look wrapped around both Annette and his son, you understood you had been loud enough.

Nearly sprinting from the other side of the apartment to you, the toned arms of your fiancé helped you up from the sofa. You had never seen your mother in law run but when she noticed the struggle you had to walk, she launched to hold the other side of your figure. Taking small and slow steps, they gently guided you. You had only reached the middle of the living room when you found yourself stopping your steps.

Annette’s eyes widen in shock as she noticed the trail of liquid following your steps. When your feet stopped, a large gush pooled between your legs. Looking up for help, Duncan met his mother’s expression. Panic grew in his chest as your fingers curled around his shoulder. This contraction was stronger than the other ones you experienced.

“Duncan, her water is breaking. Take her to the bathroom, I’ll call the midwife”. A soft groan escaped your lips as the pain quickened. Your mother in law’s arms left your side while your fiancé pulled you to the bathroom. He slinked the pair of pyjama shorts you had been lounging on and helped you sit on the toilet while Annette dialled the number of the hospital.

A string of profanity escaped the brunette as he watched the liquid trickling out of you. Physically slapping some sense into him by pulling him down to your face. “I don’t need this right now, I need you to calm down” you whimpered through your teeth, yanking him closer to lay your head on his shoulder.

His breathing was ecstatic, unsure whether to cry or panic on what might be your little Lottie’s birthday. He shook his head, decided on neither solutions. Duncan’s arms wrapped around your waist as he tried to help you sway. Annette came to the door way “Sweetheart, we need to get you to the hospital, tell me where your bag is? I’ll jump in a cab to follow you”. “No, you’re coming in the car with us” her adoptive son said, stern and informative. “I’ll need you with us” he finished.

Your body relaxed as the pain left your stomach. “I’m sure I can just get a painkiller and it’ll be fine, we don’t need to go now” you whispered, obviously not thinking straight about the situation unfolding before you.

A gentle scoff escaped Duncan as her helped you up, wrapping a towel around your waist. “No chance for that, Y/N” he replied. The adrenaline kicked in his body and he pulled you up in his arms, carrying you to the underground parking and strapping you in the car before instructing his mother on where you had left your hospital bag.

You slurred delirious remarks on the ride to the hospital, keeping the tension cooler than it previously was and earning muffled laughs from both people with you in the car. Your groans of pain became louder and more regular. You were sure the hospital was a short distance from your apartment yet somehow it felt like you were in this car for hours. In a silent coordination, Annette was dropped at the entrance of the maternity ward where she fetched some help while Duncan tried his best to park in his panicky state.

Your mother in law quickly rushed to the car with a midwife pushing a wheelchair while the father to be came to the other side, opening your door and shushing your worries with encouraging words. Once again, he pulled you up against his chest and gingerly sat you on the wheelchair. “I will push her” he told the midwife before she even had a chance to get a hold on the handles.

Travelling through the winding halls, you quickly were installed in the triage room. Large elastic bands were strapped around your stomach to monitor your contractions as well as the baby’s heartbeat. Holding your hand and refusing to get further than 5ft away from you, your fiancé remained by your side. “We’re about to have our baby, honey” he hushed when the panic cooled down from his bloodstream. “Our little princess is on her way” his voice praised as he looked at your bump. His lips on the stretched skin of your stomach, whispering encouraging words about how strong you were and how great you were doing.

Clad in a white coat, the familiar OBGYN walked in the room, seemingly as happy as the soon to be father was. “Mr. and Mrs. Shepherd!” she rejoiced, looking down on the clip board she held. “Not quite, but I appreciate the sentiment” you giggled, feeling absolutely fine now that you were not having a contraction. She quickly examined you, a nervous look split across Duncan’s face as his eyes were planted on you. “Looks like you are having this baby today, you are already dilated at a 6” she informed you, your heartbeat quickened.

“We’re going to move you into a labour and delivery room and wait a couple of hours to see how you’re progressing but this could take between 6 to 12 hours” she finished, giving the both of you an hopeful look. You shyly nodded as she exited the room. Your lover’s hand kissed the top of your hand before dropping against your lips. “I have no idea what she just said but you look excited so I take it as a good sign” he confessed before giggling.

The transfer to the much more comfortable room was definitely an upgrade even if you had to receive the IV and wear the extremely glamorous hospital socks and gown. You had been in the room for about 25 minutes when the worst contraction yet tore through your stomach. Begging Duncan to call the nurse, he frantically pressed on the button.

“How can I help? A voiced came through the tiny phone like handle your partner held.

-Hi! This is Duncan Shepherd, my fiancé is in a lot of pain and she asked for a nurse?

-We’ll send your midwife over right away, sir.”

Another excruciating long wait subsided while the pain picked up. “Y/N? How can I held?” the gentle voice of the midwife rang in your ears. “I want all the pain killers please” you begged, desperate for the pain to stop. “Alright, I’m going to pump some in your IV which will help ease the contractions and then we’ll see if we can administer the epidural”. You nodded eagerly as the nurse reached underneath the gown to check you once more.

“It might be too late for the epidural, you’re at 8. We’re going to start practice pushes to help you prepare, okay?” she broke the news, getting Duncan to gasp. He striped his warm coat off of him and rolled his sleeves, settling by your side. Lacing your fingers with his, you whispered to him how much you loved him, quickly earning soft kisses as he reciprocated your words.

“More than yesterday but much less than tomorrow” he hushes against your lips. The practice pushes freed something into you. The pain was now put to use. Your partner held your hands, holding your close. The nurse instructed you to stop pushing slowly realising you had been at it for hours. Resting your head on the broad shoulder of your man, you took deep breathes while the midwife gave you helpful advise on how to deal with the pain.

The frame of your OBGYN came into your clouded view. She did not even need to check your dilatation when she took the place of the midwife that had been giving your directions. “I can already see a lot of hair” the doctor announced while slipping a pair of latex gloves.

Whimpering softly as the pain regained your body, informing your doctor that you felt the urge to keep on pushing. The midwife stood in front of Duncan, inviting him to be as helpful and present as he wished to. “Hold on just for a moment, Y/N, we’re going to start pushing really soon”. You nodded while the bed shifted underneath you, holding you in a more seated position. “I would like to catch her if that is possible” you heard your fiancé ask as the OB set up her tools, reassuring him that it would not pose any problems to do so. His eyes were wet already and when the doctor invited him to peak at the head of his daughter gently making her way down, a sob shook him. “She has so much hair” he told you, practically jumping up to the ceiling in excitement.

He had already been feeling like a father from the moment Charlotte has started to move within your tummy but more than ever now, he was ready to push a step further in actual fatherhood. Being attentive like a schoolboy, he hooked his arm under your knee and pulled it towards you as you started to push, your fingers coiled around the metal bars of the medical bed. He mirrored the midwife on the other side, guiding you and whispering encouraging words to your ears.

How proud he was to see you thrive and glow, fulfilling the secret dream you had both harvested as the years passed. You made him the man he was today and you were changing him into a husband but today, you were making him a father. A desperate kiss pushed against your forehead, mixing his tears with the numerous beads of sweat covering your body with a dewy sheen.

It only took a couple of pushes for the doctor to invite him over. She was close enough now for him to catch her. As he looked over, the tears that had dried on his face streamed again. “She is so beautiful!” he exhaled in a beautiful coordination or your push and the doctor guiding him. “Y/N, you’re going to have a baby in the next push” the doctor smiled. The midwife looked at the OB. “Mr. Shepherd, get ready to catch your daughter” she smiled, giving a nod to the assistance next to you who invited you to press a new push.

Duncan gently wrapped his hands around your infant and, following the guidance of the medical help around gently laid her on your chest, rendering the both of you two sobbing messes, congratulations and compliments getting lost in the blur of your overwhelming happiness.

You gently stroked the small cheeks of the new born who released her first cry causing your to intensify as you wrapped your arms around her tiny body. Love. A burning love. That’s what this new feeling was. The only other being you would allow yourself to love beyond measures after Duncan and as you looked up to him to welcome his lips against yours, you were not sure which one of the two you adored more. After the father cut the cord, the tiny figure was whisked away for her first clean up, her dad quickly following her. He did not want to spend any time away from her and, as she opened her eyes, two bright pools of sky blue, he prayed to god she would need him as much as he needed her.

Her small cries stopped after being swaddled, the afterbirth being the weirdest part of the process. You couldn’t care less as you held the small frame of your daughter as she looked up at you. You planted small kisses on her puffy cheeks and her soft forehead. You admired her soft features, a beautiful mix between Duncan’s and your own even you could definitely see the uncanny resemblance with her father. You lost track of time and before you knew it, your fiancé was sitting next to you, drinking in the tiny huffs and puffs of the new born in your arms. No one else remained in the room.

Shedding his heavy sweater and unbuttoning his shirt, you passed the small bundle to your soon to be husband who gently undid the swaddle, revealing her microscopic diaper and he comfortably laid Charlotte on his chest before wrapping his opened shirt against her small frame.

Gently slipping out of consciousness, you sighed happily. “I wouldn’t have hoped to build a family with anyone else but you” you whispered at the sight of the skin to skin session taking place next to you. “I love you so so much” you finish as you softly drifted to sleep, exhausted from the draining efforts that had transpired. Not much in this world could make you happier than your much better half.

#duncan shepherd #duncan shepherd x reader #hoc #house of cards

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ty-talks-comics · 4 years

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Best of DC: Week of December 18th, 2019

Best of this Week: Doomsday Clock #12 - Geoff Johns, Gary Frank, Brad Anderson and Rob Leigh

It’s finally over.

Doomsday Clock started in November of 2017. I remember the Wednesday when it came out. I chose two copies, the main cover for a friend and the Superman Variant cover by Gary Frank for myself. I even received a button that I still wear, faithfully on my signature hat. I was excited for this crossover - this confrontation between Alan Moore’s greatest creations (in my opinion) and the bright and colorful heroes of the DC Universe. At first, everything started off so well. The book came out monthly and it was amazing...for all of two or three issues.

Soon after, the book switched to a bi-monthly schedule so that Johns, Frank, Anderson and Leigh could tell the story right. I was willing to wait and every single issue was worth it...up until more delays. If the math were correct, the story should have finished in December of 2018, but here we are in December 2019...at the end of this long ass journey and I can honestly say that it was all worth it.

By God, was it worth it.

It’s hard to discuss what goes on in this book because I feel like it’s less about what happens in it and more about the meaning behind specific actions, reveals and reappearances. One of the things that we were sold on during this series was the inevitable confrontation between Superman and Doctor Manhattan and Geoff Johns manages to subvert our expectations n a good way in that the fight never quite happens, but is more of an ideological debate between cynicism and hope, something that’s been at the heart of this story and DC Rebirth since the beginning.

*MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD*

Finally confronting each other, Superman asks Doctor Manhattan who he is Manhattan explains that he is either the one who will destroy Superman or be destroyed by Superman. Before they can delve deeper into that conversation, Superman is beset on both sides by the forces of Russia with Markovia and those of Khandaq. Pozhar and Geo-Force order Superman to answer for Firestorm’s supposed crimes against Russia and Black Adam tells them that he will be held accountable in Khandaq. Tensions rise and the battle is on as Manhattan looks on at the powder keg that he has created.

Because of his curiosity and meddling with time, he has created this timeline where hope is fleeting and the Metaverse, as he calls it, is fighting back with Superman caught in the middle. Because of him, the Superman Theory has caused a palpable amount of distrust between the various nations and his causing Firestorm to explode only made those tensions worse. In an effort to understand his final visions of the future, he staged everything in an effort to get in front of Superman.

He has a monologue in his mind where he states that he is caught in a question of two answers, the answers he gave Superman earlier. Superman fights back against both sides as they fight each other. Meanwhile in Gotham City, Reggie Long, the new (former) Rorschach, is saved from an attack by a red hat wearing man by Alfred. Alfred tries to get him to don the mask of the man who killed his father again and Reggie violently pushes Alfred against a wall and decries his former hero and says that he sees no future, no hope, much like Doctor Manhattan.

Gary Frank makes excellent use of the nine-panel grid to show the emotion on Reggie’s face and how much all of this is affecting him. Interspersed between these panels are shots of Superman fighting before we get an AMAZING double page spread showing the block wide battle between the forces of Russia-Markovia and Khandaq. Vostok-X is thrown into a building, Black Adam fires lightning at Tara Markov, Giganta fights another giant hero, even the Batman and Superman of China make appearances as a past panel noted that heroes from around the world have gone to help Superman or oppose him in Washington.

In the middle of Reggie’s breakdown, Batman shows up and offers him encouragement, apologizing for not believing him earlier in the story. He tells Reggie that even if he hates what the mask stood for, he can give it his own meaning, become his own Rosrschach. This is when the theme of hope begins to build up more as in the middle of the big brawl, Superman does everything he can to save people. As a car is about to crush a family, Superman steps in to save them, he then pleads with Doctor Manhattan to do the same.

Up until this point, Doctor Manhattan had been operating on the idea that there were only two possible options to end his fight with Superman, he even reveals that he’s the one who erased Superman’s friends, mentors and killed his parents. Frank and Anderson then draw four amazing panels. Superman cocking his fist back, eyes full of rage, Doctor Manhattan closing in as to accept his fate, Superman lunging forward with the fist outstretched to the reader and concluding with one punch to an attacking Pozhar, saving Manhattan.

Manhattan is almost left dumbfounded and asks why he’s done this. Why did he save him? Superman replies that there’s a third choice to be made. Superman takes note of the pictures of Janey that Manhattan leaves around when he appears and questions that maybe the darkness that he sees is a result of him using his powers to save the universe like he wishes he could have saved himself and his world.

Doctor Manhattan raises his hands and says that he understands, releasing a surge of energy that makes everything fade away. One of the most powerful shots of this entire book are of Superman’s logo slowly dissipating and then thirteen panels of darkness before we see the Rebirth of everything and Clark’s place in the Metaverse. The fight goes on, but as Superman begins to fall, he receives help in the form of...Everyone. The New Legion of Superheroes and the Justice Society of America bring up the rear in quite possibly one of the most beautiful double page spreads in the book.

It’s easy to understand what Hope is to Geoff Johns. He’s a classic man. He sees hope in the DC Universe as the old heroes. The ones who aspired to do good and be good for reasons above themselves. The JSA inspired Superman to become a force for good and in turn, Superman inspired the future Legion. There’s a reason he wanted this series to reintroduce them in the wake of the darker, grittier New 52 and reinforce that darkness isn’t the only way to find the light. At the same time, Johns uses this book as an opportunity to explain the structure of the Metaverse, Superman’s place in it and inform future stories, crises and timelines for the DC Universe.

*SPOILERS MOSTLY OVER*

When Superman lifted that car in 1938 it was just the beginning, but when Barry Allen created the Speed Force, the universe had its first divide and Superman’s timeline shifted up. This split created Earth-2 where Golden Age Superman still resides. The first Crisis divided the Earth again, creating Earth-1985 and at the center of that is still Superman. After Flashpoint and subsequently Rebirth, Earth-52 was spawned.

Superman is the glue that holds everything together.

Superman is the quintessential hero that everything revolves around and he will always show humanity the way. He’ll appear on many Earths at many different points in many different timelines to inspire hope where none can be found. That’s why I love this story so much. Even though Superman and Manhattan didn’t appear in it very much in the first half, their presence was still felt throughout. There was always this air of hope versus despair and we see who won out. The Watchmen Universe served as the perfect deconstruction of superheroes, but what we’re witnessing with Doomsday Clock is the reconstruction.

It’s the returning of the ideal that’s been lost to so many following endless gritty reboots, terrible political conflict in the modern day and lack of truth, justice and the American - no, Human way. In an age where people don’t know how to write a Superman movie, Doomsday Clock should be the example. Against all odds, Superman managed to inspire a being that has shunted away their humanity for the black and whites of logic instead of focusing on all possible options based on hope.

Doomsday Clock may not exactly stand on the same pedestal as the story that inspired it, but it absolutely should stand high. Gary Frank is an amazing artist that gave this book the weight, scope and respect that it deserved throughout. Amazing faces, body language, scene framing, use of visual motifs such as the Carnival picture puts this story above and beyond in terms of art quality. The way he managed to cram so many heroes on only two pages with insane amounts of detail for each is a testament to his ability and similarity to Watchmen artist Dave Gibbons.

Brad Anderson’s colors gave each individual issue their own unique feel with this one making good use of Doctor Manhattan’s blue light in the form of being a new symbol of hope in the face of the dark inks and oranges of the destruction taking place. Even when the mass of characters appear, no one gets lost in the pages because their colors are so distinct and recognizable amongst each other.

This story also couldn’t have been told without Rob Leigh’s amazing lettering. The way that we can distinguish between Manhattan’s dialogue, feel the weight of every character’s words and the bubble placement shows a level of skill that allows us to enjoy the flow of dialogue without losing any of the art.

It’s been a long journey to finally get here, but it has been worth the wait. Even if the current state of the DC Universe has either gone past this story or if it’ll need to be retconned to have been before the current events of Year of the Villain, there’s still a place for it in the overall landscape. I loved all of this and this is the kind of story that makes me glad to be a comic book fan. There’s nuance to everything, a good few messages and amazing art. Better yet, it ensures Geoff Johns future legacy will be one of hope and inspiration thanks to the time that he loved so much and hopes to get back to.

I welcome the return of the Legion of Superheroes even as I’m not the biggest fan of Brian Michael Bendis. Even more so for the Justice Society of America whenever they get a new series announced. It’s great to see the classics again and I’m interested as to how they’ll do in this new modern age.

As for Doctor Manhattan and the rest of the Watchmen characters, without a doubt I think we’ll be seeing some of them again at different points. They didn’t overstay their welcome or absolutely destroy everything like I thought they might, but we know that they’re around and we know there’s still stories to be told despite Alan Moore’s own feelings on such things.

This isn't the perfect sequel to Watchmen, how could it be? But it is an amazing Watchmen adjacent book that builds off of the themes of that story and injects the DCUs vision of hope and justice into these characters. For that, I am glad to have read it.

Doomsday has been avoided and we have several hours before midnight, at least for now.

#doomsday clock #doctor manhattan #superman #justice society of america #legion of super heroes #geoff johns #gary frank #brad anderson #rob leigh #dc comics #comics #comic review

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thenightling · 5 years

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The original House of Mystery (for Sandman fans)

What is the House of Mystery? Or A History of The House of Mystery!

Everything you need to know lies below...

The original House of Mystery comic books were a horror anthology series published by DC. Cain The Caretaker didn’t make his first appearance until issue 175 for the issue “The Gift of Doom.” (Sounds like an Invader Zim episode title, doesn’t it?)

Cain was the caretaker for a strange and spooky old house, VERY similar to the one you see in the opening credits of Tales from the Crypt TV series from 1989.

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Notice how Morpheus describes The House of Mystery when he wakes up there in issue 2 of Sandman, after fainting at Cain and Abel’s feet upon his return from seventy-two-years captivity.

Each issue of the original House of Mystery comics contained one to three short (one-shot) scary stories told to us by the ghoulish and pun-loving narrator, Cain. Since the stories were usually stand-alone stories that means you could read them in any order. So if you want to skip straight to issue 175 to meet Cain, you won’t be lost if you choose to that.

The House of Mystery began as a supernatural horror anthology but that temporarily changed in the 1950s into the early to mid-60s.

During the comic book persecution and censorship era of the 1950s (which killed EC comics) DC tried to make House of Mystery more a crime drama comic or science fiction short stories and avoided the supernatural. But the arrival of Cain in issue 175 signaled the end of all that tiptoeing around the comics code. Cain brought the spooky, supernatural horror with him, back from the proverbial grave.

This is why it’s important The House of Mystery’s roots should not be forgotten. Cain’s very existence was an “F--- You” from editor, Joe Orlando, and directed toward the ham-handed censorship and prohibition against supernatural horror (That the general public somehow seemed to think was the cause of all their ills). For modern writers and game developers to downplay the supernatural horror attached to The House of Mystery and to diminish it in New 52 and in DC Universe online MMORPG is a sin against comic book history.

For a while in the 1960s into the early 80s The House of Mystery was DC’s answer to EC’s Tales from the Crypt. While EC had The Crypt Keeper, Vault Keeper, and Old Witch, DC had it’s knock offs own versions in Cain, Abel, and Mordred AKA The Crone from The Witching Hour (or sometimes Eve).

Nope! No similarities here!

Note: I don’t care if they’re a rip-off. I love them both.

Despite serving the same purpose as The Crypt Keeper, Cain was physically modeled after Len Wein. Both Cain and Abel were physically modeled after real DC writers. But their purposes were strikingly similar to the EC characters.

Len Wein even posed as Cain for a DC staff Halloween party.

Where Vault Keeper got his own spin-off with Vault of Horror, Abel got his own spin-off from The House of Mystery with The House of Secrets.

Cain was so much like The Crypt Keeper that both would say similar phrases such as “Pleasant Screams!” or “Pleasant Nightmares!” and “Greetings, Boils and Ghouls!” They both loved their horror related puns.

EC’s characters of the Crypt Keeper, Vault Keeper, and Old Witch only appeared together in media outside of the comics for the entire second season of the animated Tales from the Crypt Keeper horror anthology cartoon series that ran from 1993 until 1999.

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EC comics fell victim to the mid-50s comic book witch hunts where comic books were blamed for all things from juvenile delinquency to mental illness and violent street crime. EC collapsed but its legacy would live on. Tales from the Crypt would get movies and a popular HBO TV series in the late 1980s, followed by a three season animated series that would run until 1999.

The House of Mystery comics spawned their own legacy. DC attempted several other horror anthology spin-offs including The Witching Hour and Tales of Ghost Castle. The Witching Hour was hosted by three witches who represented the traditional Mother, Maidan, and Crone trinity. Sandman fans will recognize them as the Hecatae. Tales of Ghost Castle was hosted by a certain Lucien, The Librarian.

Lucien’s come such a long way from his humble roots that you might not recognize him now in his current form.

A more dapper suit of clothes and better hairline.

In the early eighties it seemed like the horror anthology comics were a dying genre but Alan Moore kept Cain and Abel in use for Swamp Thing. Swamp Thing began as a story told in Abel’s House of Secrets after all. (issue 92).

The House of Mystery is where many DC properties can find their roots. The House of Secrets was a spin-off of The House of Mystery. Swamp Thing was a spin-off of The House of Secrets. I, Vampire (the stories of Andrew Bennett) came from The House of Mystery. Constantine, by extension, began as a Swamp Thing character. This is also true of Matthew The Raven who began as the human Matthew Cable in Swamp Thing.

For a few years in the early 80s Elvira: Mistress of The Dark took over hosting The House of Mystery and took many jabs at poor Cain.

And ultimately all these horror hosts from The House of Mystery and the other DC anthologies found their way to... Sandman.

The House of Mystery gained editor Karen Berger at issue 292 in 1981. She would more or less single-handedly run DC’s horror line into the 1980s. Karen Berger was the editor for Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman and later founder of the Vertigo imprint.

She also once bribed Cain with cookies!

(Fourth wall? What fourth wall?)

In issue 2 of Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman we get “Imperfect Hosts.”

The title is a pun on the fact that not only was Morpheus a guest convalescing in the House of Mystery with Cain and Abel doting upon him but virtually every character in the issue (other than The Sandman, Morpheus AKA Dream of The Endless, himself,) were former horror host characters. Let’s count them.

Cain = House of Mystery Cain’s Gargoyle, Gregory = House of Mystery Abel = House of Secrets Eve (AKA The Raven Woman) = Secrets of Sinister House. (Note: Eve can change her form at will to look like a Maiden, Mother, or Crone. Lucien The Librarian = Tales of Ghost Castle (Turns out that was Morpheus’ castle all along! Don’t you just love retroactive continuity?) Note: Lucien had a love of werewolves and a pet werewolf named Rover.

This is paid homage to in the werewolf issue of Sandman, issue 38.)

The Mad Mod Witch (AKA The Fashion Thing) = The Unexpected

Destiny = (Neil Gaiman added the “of The Endless” and gave him a family) = Weird Mystery Tales

The Three Witches (AKA The Hecatae / The Fates / The Kindly Ones - The Furies) = The Witching Hour

Bonus mention: Judge Gallows = The Unexpected. Neil Gaiman never used Judge Gallows but both versions of The Dreaming spin-off have a version of Judge Gallows. (I am NOT a fan of Judge Gallows.)

Thanks to Sandman, Cain and Abel (as well as many of the other horror hosts) were now established as being loyal subjects of the Dream Lord, Morpheus, and their houses (which could appear anywhere in the world) had their roots in the realm of dreams (known as The Dreaming.)

Cain’s own existence in The Dreaming (Realm of Dreams) could be taken as a pun since the Judeo-Christian Cain was supposed to have been banished (or wandered) to The Land of Nod. In children's’ literature The Land of Nod is an old term for “The land of Dreams”.

Whether Cain is the literal Judeo-Christian Cain, or just a dream-entity created from the collective unconscious idea of who Cain should be, is left ambiguous even though Lucifer, in Sandman, respects Cain’s mark as if it definitely is the real mark of Cain. It could even signify the importance of symbolism and belief that it would be respected even if he was just the collective idea of Cain.

Lucifer is also, apparently, one of the only things that can frighten Cain.

In Judeo-Christian lore Cain and Abel were the sons of Adam and Eve. Abel made an offering to God of a slaughtered lamb. God was pleased. Cain made an offering of fruits and vegetables he had grown. God showed no interest. In jealousy Cain murdered his brother by bashing his head with a rock. A version of this tale is told in Sandman issue 40, The Parliament of Rooks.

When God asked Cain where his brother was he replied “Am I my brother’s keeper?” Though a more accurate translation of the scene had God ask where the sheep keeper was and Cain replied with something like “Do I look like a brother keeper?” Cain was banished for his crime and given a mark that was to serve as protection that others were not allowed to do him harm lest they be punished sevenfold.

In modern lore this has been used to indicate he was also cursed with immortality. A nod to this comes up in Sandman issue 67 during Sandman: The Kindly Ones.

The TV show Lucifer followed an overly simplified version of this lore borrowed from the show Supernatural and its version of Cain the mark just meant he was immortal and served no other purpose. The version of Cain in the Lucifer TV series was very, very different from the version who hosted The House of Mystery and would regularly appear in Neil Gaiman’s Sandman.

In Sandman Cain does have a compulsion to habitually kill his brother fairly regularly. Since they are both immortal beings Abel usually recovers.

The Aunts in Netflix’s version of The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina are modeled after Cain and Abel as they were depicted in Neil Gaiman’s Sandman.

The use of Cain, Abel, and Eve in Sandman could also be seen as a nod to George McDonald’s novel, LIlith, which also entailed a mysterious and ghostly “librarian” known as Mr. Raven and a surreal fantasy world. It’s been told that Lucien was Morpheus’ first raven. And some believe he may be Adam the way Mr. Raven was Adam in Lilith.

Not only did Neil Gaiman salvage nearly all of the old horror hosts who were falling into obscurity after Crisis of Infinite Earths (DC’s first major reboot) but he made these old horror hosts important characters within Sandman lore as either being servants of or (in the case of Destiny) relations of the main protagonist.

Neil Gaiman, in a way, saved their lives in preserving them as fixtures of DC canon in a now beloved “ever-green” story that is Sandman.

The Sandman issue Imperfect Hosts (which can be found in the graphic novel The Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes) is a treasure trove issue for lovers of old school horror comics. There are even subtle nods to the artwork of the late Bernie Wrightson (A favorite of mine).

Imperfect Hosts also gave us Abel’s adorable baby gargoyle, Goldie.

Goldie was named after Abel’s “imaginary friend” that Abel and sometimes Cain would tell stories to. She was very likely not imaginary at all but real and a ghost who was haunting The House of Secrets.

It is said this cover is depicting the original Goldie.

In the original House of Mystery comics Cain would sometimes torment his brother. It wasn’t quite as brutal as it got in Sandman. And Cain had a soft spot for children, reveling in stories where those who mistreat children get their comeuppance. (Side note: I wonder what became of Cain’s pet cat, Oskar / Oscar. Cain still has his gargoyle but not his black cat.)

Thanks to a repeated running gag that was featured in (and outside of) Sandman,, which carried over into the 2008 House of Mystery volume 2, we can safely assume Cain’s voice is a great deal LOT like Vincent Price.

Cain and Abel appeared in some of the Sandman spin-off comics of the late 90s and early 2000s but those have since been de-canonized (no longer acknowledged as having happened).

During New 52, DC higher ups decided that they loved the concept of The House of Mystery. This was during a spike in Doctor Who’s popularity in the US. They saw The House of Mystery as a mysterious old house that is apparently bigger on the inside and can appear virtually anywhere and latched on to this TARDIS-esque aspect of it (as that is the nature of The Doctor’s ship, The TARDIS, in Doctor Who). But they seemed to have no love for Cain the caretaker or The House of Mystery’s spooky ambiance... The House of Mystery became the base of operation for Justice League Dark, and home of Constantine and Zatanna.

Cain the Caretaker was nowhere to be found but a new Cain, the supposed “real” Cain and “Sire of all vampires” became the main antagonist of the 2012 reboot attempt at I, Vampire... (it only ran for twelve issues and if not for DC Universe Online MMORPG name dropping him, that vampire version would probably mercifully be forgotten by now.) I usually like vampires in fiction but I hated this.

At one point those who were unhappy with the New 52 changes to The House of Mystery were told “Oh, this is a different House of Mystery from the one in The Dreaming. There are multiple Houses of Mystery.” but readers were, needless to say, skeptical, especially considering Cain’s pet gargoyle, Gregory, was IN the House of Mystery that was being used for Justice League: Dark in New 52! Did Gregory just randomly wander into the wrong House of Mystery?! No! Because we were told he “came with the house.” That means it IS Cain’s House of Mystery. Nice try to save your asses there, DC.

DC, through their Vertigo imprint, tried to placate fans of the original Cain and Abel and House of Mystery by having Cain and Abel appear briefly in the 2016 Lucifer comics (Now no longer canon) with their own House of Mystery and House of Secrets in the realm of The Dreaming but this only served to confuse readers further...

Especially since, at the time, Hellblazer was referencing a very different Lucifer (New 52-ified and based on the old and generic idea of The Devil) and a very different Cain.

Finally Scott Snyder decided to fix things. Scott Snyder discretely brought Cain and Abel with The House of Secrets and House of Mystery (as well as all of Sandman lore) back to mainstream DC continuity during the event known as Dark Nights: Metal.

That’s Cain in the bottom left. And that’s Abel in the upper right. Separated so Cain cannot commit casual and compulsive fratricide (Abel always recovers) during the meeting of the immortals.

In late 2016 Cain The Caretaker made his very first appearance in television animation. He appeared in the show Justice League: Action for the episode Trick or Threat. The episode merged the classic Cain’s House of Mystery with the continuity of Constantine owning the House from New 52 by having Cain giving Constantine a key to The House of Mystery by the end of the episode. Letting Cain essentially be Constantine’s roommate / landlord, It was a fair compromise of merging the lore. And it was done expertly by the great Paul Dini, with love and respect for both The House of Mystery and Sandman.

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In February of 2017 The House of Mystery would also appear in the direct-to-video animated movie Justice League: Dark. Though a decent animated feature, unfortunately this was the version from New 52 so no sign of Cain and the house was a little less... spooky.

The downplaying of the Gothic ambiance of The House of Mystery is a crime against the history of this comic and what it stood for in the 60s when it was used an act of spooky rebellion against the comics code and irrational persecution and censorship. It was an act of defiance that should be allowed to stand.

Abel’s House of Secrets made a brief appearance in an episode of Young Justice as a magick shoppe. It was likely the last thing a little girl ghost saw before she died as her spirit seemed only able to utter the word “Secret.” (Secret is a heavily modified ghostly character from DC comics.)

In 2019 the Justice League: Dark event was added to DC Universe online MMORPG. And though the game has Dark Nights: Metal content the game is more heavily based on DC’s New 52 so the House of Mystery in The Justice League: Dark raids does not have Cain The Caretaker and it looks more like the Plaza Hotel in Home Alone 2 rather than anything truly gothic or spooky...

It was very disappointing to me.

In 2018 Cain, Abel, and The House of Mystery and House of Secrets yet again became regular entities in DC comics with the Sandman Universe comics. The House of Mystery is back to being a creepy old haunted house with a small graveyard separating it from it’s companion, The House of Secrets. Both are still kept by Cain and Abel respectively within the realm of The Dreaming.

May The House of Mystery always revert to the spooky old house where Cain will tell spooky stories to frighten his guests!

#Neil Gaiman #Karen Berger #The House of Mystery #DC Comics #Vertigo Comics #Cain The Caretaker #The Sandman #Neil Gaiman's The Sandman #Horror Comics

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sataniccapitalist · 4 years

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APRIL 09, 2020

It's All Over but the Shouting

Wafers-

A few months ago, David Masciotra, a free-lance writer and author of Against Traffic, among other works, approached The American Conservative with a proposal for an article, which would be a review of my American Empire trilogy. He subsequently submitted the article, and never heard back. Since I'm neither a conservative nor a progressive, but only a writer interested in Reality, it's possible that TAC got spooked by David's essay. (To paraphrase T.S. Eliot, "Americans can't bear too much reality.") However, it's also possible that by that time the coronavirus was starting to make itself visible, and that TAC was thrown by that rather than anything ideological. I guess we can give them the benefit of the doubt. In any case, David and I agreed that I should just post his essay on my blog, and accept the fact that no American publication was likely to run it (for whatever reason). Hence, here it is.

It’s All Over but the Shouting: Morris Berman’s Work on American Decline

“Stick a fork in their ass, and turn them over. They’re done,” Lou Reed dryly announces on his 1989 song about the American Empire, “The Last Great American Whale.” The rock and roll poet’s grim diagnosis of a culture gone awry makes for a fine lyric. If Reed were to have expanded his morbid one-liner into a 1,000-page trilogy of books, full of assiduous research, brilliant anecdotes, and despite the sad subject matter, immensely enjoyable, and often amusing, prose, he would have something resembling the series of books on American decline from cultural critic, historian, novelist, and poet, Morris Berman.

Berman, while a visiting professor in the belly of the beast at the Catholic University in Washington, DC, began writing the first installment in the late 1990s,The Twilight of American Culture, after observing the coalescence of several pathologies that are now beyond dispute as inflicting pain on American life: staggering rates of inequality, governmental dysfunction, an ever-expanding militarism, the fracturing of communal and civic life, and the dominance of anti-intellectualism, visible in everything from an increasingly shallow pop culture to misspelled words on public signs. There was also an aura of threat in the air, of the kind predicted by Don DeLillo in his 1985 novel, White Noise. Like the thick presence of humidity on a summer afternoon, Americans couldn’t see that their neighbors were becoming selfish, and often cruel, but they could feel it.

Having studied the downfall of other empires, Berman saw the window for American reform closing. He warned that if America did not drastically transform its public policies, ideology, and working conception of citizenship, its troubles would only intensify and calcify, bringing a once-promising civilization past the point of no return. In the two books that followed—

Dark Ages America

and

Why America Failed

—Berman meticulously demonstrated that America’s myopic focus on profit, at the expense of everything else, its zest for war – at home and abroad – and its lack of self-awareness and insight had escalated, making recovery virtually impossible.

Simultaneous with the development of Berman’s argument, the United States suffered the worst attack on its soil on September 11, 2001, and responded by launching not one, but two disastrous wars. Its housing market and financial system crashed, liquidating much of middle class wealth, and it reacted with giving away boondoggles to the very parties of greed that caused the crisis. Then, in 2016, as the citizenry began to stratify in ways more violent and intractable, Donald Trump became President-Elect. Berman, whom the New York Times and other mainstream outlets dismissed as cynical, cranky, and “anti-American,” looks more and more sterling.The left and right argue about nearly everything, making extreme accusations about each other. Maybe one camp is right on other issues, and the other is correct on some, but the larger possibility to consider is, what if they are all wrong on the main issue?

As Berman put it during a recent email exchange that I had with him:

Conservatives and progressives alike are patriots; like Trump, they seek to save America, or make it great again. What they are ignoring is the rhythm and record of history. All civilizations rise and fall; there are no exceptions to this rule, and America is not going to escape its fate. The great Southern historian, C. Vann Woodward, first suggested the inevitable decline of the nation in 1953. Andrew Hacker stated it clearly in The End of the American Era, 1970. Between that year and today, there have been a host of books—my trilogy on the American empire included—that have pointed out that civilizations come and go, and that now is our time. Yet on both the right and left, there is no recognition of this bedrock reality. If you do recognize the larger picture, you can't possibly care about impeachment, for example, or who wins these silly Democratic debates. All of that is theater, not reality.

The reality is ascertainable from the daily deluge of grim headlines—lead poisoning in the water causing irreversible brain damage in children, the rise of the “working poor,” near-daily mass shootings, America spending hundreds of billions on weapons of war while ignoring its crumbling infrastructure. Pundits and politicians have a tendency to treat all of these signs of pathology and dysfunction as isolated, but an unobstructed historical vantage point, which Berman’s work provides, suggests that all of America’s problems—from high rates of functional illiteracy to political corruption—are trees growing out of the same rotten roots.

Berman’s project becomes more excavation than analysis, demonstrating an affinity for radicalism, in the original sense of the term, which is identifying and criticizing an issue’s origin, rather than obtusely obsessing over its consequences. America, from its inception, was dedicated to commercial conquest, and equated “the pursuit of happiness” with the acquisition of wealth and property. The third book in Berman’s trilogy, Why America Failed, relies on assiduous research and sharp analysis to prove the case over its 400 pages. Meanwhile, the consistent papering over the more accurate story he tells, with red, white and blue advertisements, robs even many of the country’s leading dissidents of a holistic perspective. In his deployment of cultural criticism, Berman shows how, although his politics tend slightly toward the left, he is most in mourning over America’s destruction of tradition and refusal to balance its desires for commercial dominance with small scale, communal concerns:

Dating back 400 years—the continent was filled with individuals whose idea of the good life was goods, i.e. money and property. There were dissenting voices, such as Capt. John Smith and the Puritan divines, but these were increasingly pushed aside. The title of Richard Bushman's book, and the book itself, are good summaries of the process: From Puritan to Yankee. America was effectively born bourgeois; it had no feudal period. And while feudalism had its obvious drawbacks, it also had some serious advantages: community, craftsmanship, ties of friendship, meaningful work, noblesse oblige, and spiritual purpose, among other things. The American experiment was based, from the first, on hustling, opportunism; this is what the "pursuit of happiness" really meant in the eighteenth century—go out and get yours (which the Founding Fathers certainly did). "Virtue" originally meant putting the needs of society above one's own personal interests. By the late seventeenth century, the meaning had been inverted: it now meant personal success in an opportunistic environment. Blaming the corporate elite has its limits, because what virtually all Americans want is to join the upper 1 percent. Thus American spirituality, such as it is, can be summarized in a single word: More. More, more, I want more. Our leaders reflect our values, which is how America's consummate hustler, Donald Trump, wound up in the White House. In that sense, we have a genuine democracy.

In his seminal essay, “Democratic Vistas,” Walt Whitman worried that “genuine belief” had left American life. In the mad race for money and status, Americans were forgetting or neglecting the sociopolitical principles that could construct a spiritually strong society. For “genuine belief” to thrive, the believers must, in spite of their partisan or ideological disputes, maintain some adherence to tradition – a set of ideas, rites, and practices that form the foundation of their politics, behavior, and vision for the development of their culture.

Berman attempts to achieve a balance in his cultural and historical analysis by spotlighting societies where edifying traditions are steadfast, helping to anchor their respective cultures, and help inhabitants connect to each other with a shared sense of purpose. In Neurotic Beauty, Berman writes about Japan’s traditions of craft, family, and advantageous use of empty space in art and identity, and how those traditions are under siege by Japan’s own move to large scale, corporate capitalism. In Genio: The Story of Italian Genius, Berman examines the Italian gift of injecting space, movement, into static situations – the result of which is, arguably, the most significant creative legacy in the Western world.

It is not only through travel and study that Berman is able to contrast cultures that maintain some loyalty to their best traditions with the American fixation on commercial, technological, and militaristic “progress,” but also through his own experience. He asserts that the “best decision” of his life was moving to Mexico, and one of his worst decisions was waiting so long to do it. When I asked him about the “traditional society” of his Mexican home, as juxtaposed with his previous home in Washington, DC, he began with the caveat that “Mexico has been heavily Americanized, and traditional values—community, friendship, craftsmanship, spirituality—have accordingly been eroded in favor of hustling, individualism, alienation, and meaninglessness.”

Nevertheless, his move to Mexico was a “bet” on the lasting elements of tradition and communal life in Mexico, and it is one that has proven itself wise. Berman offers an anecdote to illustrate the camaraderie and generosity that often characterize his relationships and interactions in Mexico:

Something like this happens to me at least once a week, and it always wakes me up to the fact that I am not living in the US anymore. I live in an apartment building in Mexico City, one floor up. One day I was coming home from the supermarket, going up the stairs, carrying plastic bags full of groceries, and one of the bags broke. Contents spilled out all over the stairs and onto the ground: oranges, Diet Coke, whatever. At that point, at the top of the stairs, the door to the apartment there opened, and a 5-year-old girl peered out. Without saying a word, she came down the stairs and helped me put the spilled groceries back in the bags. When it was done, she went back upstairs and closed the door.

Berman would not argue that acts of kindness never take place in the United States, or that every single Mexican behaves according to an ethic of solidarity, but the rarity of friendly relations in America, and the breakdown of community, as documented at length by Robert Putnam, Sherry Turkle, and many other scholars, is not accidental.

“For one thing, girls are taught to fear men, in America (possibly with good reason),” Berman said, and added, “The sexes pretty much hate each other, or are at least wary of each other. But equally significant, Americans of all ages are taught to not help other people (we even arrest people who attempt to feed the homeless). Their problems are their problems, not yours. You are not your brother's keeper, and in general other people are rivals or enemies.”

America has failed to enact the social welfare policies of its democratic peers in Western Europe, but what Berman indicts goes to deeper to core of America’s character. America has also neglected to preserve its “bonds of voluntary association” that Alexis de Tocqueville believed were crucial to the health of the society. In that sense, Americans interested in conservatism might consider that their country is the least conservative in the world. It invests almost no effort in conserving anything, from the beauty of its natural environment to the social ties that are essential for a durable civilization.

The improvements of American life for blacks, women, gays, and workers were possible through the courageous social movements of the 20th century, and these are improvements that Berman admires. He cautions, however, that none of them address the central problem of American culture:

Those were certainly great successes, and they made a great difference for the people involved in those movements. Personally, I applaud them. The problem, however, is that all of them were bids to have a greater share in the American pie—bids to enter the dominant culture. None of them envisioned, a la Lewis Mumford, Henry David Thoreau, or Ernest Callenbach, a different type of society. They merely wanted a greater role in the society as is. The only group that stood for a completely different way of life was the Native Americans, and look what we did to them. The savagery of that genocide, of a people who dared to disagree with the American definition of "progress," is unbelievable.

When Martin Luther King turned more radical, expressing opposition to the “spiritual sickness” of America, rather than only its racist laws, the country turned on him. Similarly, Berman describes in his trilogy how most of the public mocked and ridiculed President Jimmy Carter for his televised "Spiritual Malaise" address, given in Annapolis in 1979—a speech that now appears prescient in its condemnation of uncontrolled consumerism, unabashed selfishness, and the stunning inability of the nation to observe its own behavior.

The candidates in the 2020 race for the presidency, including the president himself, routinely repeat the bromide that the election will determine the “direction” of the country. The "soul" of the nation is somehow always at stake, and yet regardless of who gets elected, things continue to spiral out of control. Morris Berman’s sobering assessment doubles as a “Dead End” sign, warning that the winner might influence the speed and comfort of travel, but that ultimately, we're headed for collapse.

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tvdversefanfiction · 4 years

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Canary Carnage

Fandoms: Arrowverse, DC Universe, TVDverse and The Originals

Chapter Seven: Bane Bound

Warnings: I don’t own any of the rights, content or characters belonging to any of the DC content I use within the story along with not owning any rights, content or characters within The Vampire Diaries, Originals or Legacies.

18 Rating: Moderate/Graphic displays of violence, sexual innuendos, sexually charged scenes, SMUT, strong language and potentially triggering scenes.

Pairings: M/M, F/F, M/F.

To say things have been difficult for Laurel Lance since winding up on Earth Blood would be a severe understatement she had found herself swaying backwards and forwards from enemies to allies with her brother Lucas, as well as almost being murdered by a family of original vampires and had her sister Sara return from the dead only for her sister to kill a Mikaelson and start a war with their family before she returned to the dead or better put undead.

Laurel had been through a lot back on her Earth mourning her sister, then her father and dealing with abandonment issues over her mother Dinah leaving her and her brother but she had gathered up all that pain, rage and hurt and turned it into something good by becoming the vigilante known as the Black Canary and turning herself into the hero that Star City so desperately needed.

However, the once forever hopeful District Attorney for Star City had found herself struggling to be hopefully on an earth in a city run by vampires that couldn’t die vampires that couldn’t be trusted and vampires that wanted her younger sister Sara dead.

The news of her brother somehow burying the hatchet with Klaus and Elijah should’ve calmed her but it only worried her more as she once trusted the Mikaelson family only for them to try and kill her so instead of Lucas’ latest alliance comforting the Black Canary found it even more troublesome leading to her arranging a meeting with the only two people within New Orleans she believed she could trust.

“Well I can’t say I’m surprised whatsoever that your brother has struck up some weird kind of friendship with Klaus Mikaelson from the way you talk about him it seems Lucas would fit right in with him.” Davina admitted to Laurel as the two ladies sat at the counter of the bar within the New Orleans Voyage Hotel, each lady holding a cold bottle of beer in their hands. “You’re right to be even more worried now I mean they either hit it off a little two well and cause all kinds of carnage wherever they go or they’ll soon fall out and get to killing each other which considering Lucas is the only one who can die doesn’t look good for him.”

“My brother has a tendency for aligning himself with the worst possible monsters due to some pretty messed up daddy issues and usually when he has this new alliance is when he’s at his most dangerous and any newfound loyalty he seems to have grown towards me or Sara will be straight out the window.” Laurel explained to the wonder witch before taking a drink from her beer. “It wouldn’t take much for Klaus to turn him against us especially if he chose to do some digging.”

“I get he’s this big bad back where your from but around here everyone drops bodies frequently it’s a horrifying truth but it’s still a truth and whether you like it or not sooner rather then later the lines between good and bad begin to get blurred and all that really matters is protecting your loved ones.” Davina replied, attempting to reassure the Black Canary. “I guess what I’m trying to say is just because he’s a deranged psychotic killer doesn’t necessary mean he’ll turn on you as messed up as that sounds.”

“I know there’s some fucked up sense of family loyalty buried deep down inside of him I mean he wouldn’t have pulled that whole undead man-oeuvre with Sara if he didn’t still care for his family in his own twisted way but all he needs is another reason to hate us and then we’re screwed.” Laurel said, continuing to admit her fears to her magical new friend.

“You’re literally this pillar of all things good Laurel I mean back on your Earth you’re a freaking superhero what the hell could you possibly do to piss him off bad enough to make him turn against his sisters?” Davina wondered, knowing Laurel was hiding something.

“That’s just it, Davina we’re not his sisters well at least not biologically.” Laurel revealed to a stunned Davina who had no time to reply to this revelation before Marcel vamp sped into the bar and over to stand in between the two ladies.

“You’re definitely proving yourself to be the wisest canary Laurel.” Marcel told the Black Canary, who feared the upgraded original had just overheard her conversation with Davina. “Klaus making any friends is unlike him which normally means he’s either plotting something or god forbid he really has made a friend and the latter is a much more terrifying thought.”

“Then we strike today once they’ve dealt with this whole Bane guy when they least expect it, we make our move and make everyone know that the Mikaelson’s no longer own this city.” Davina suggested before downing her beer and standing up to face Marcel.

“And how exactly do we strike against a family who can’t die?” Laurel asked as she too stood up to face the other two. “I mean I’ve literally blown off their heads and they just grow straight back.”

“Actually, there’s something I know that can kill an original.” Davina revealed to Laurel while giving Marcel a knowing look, much to Marcel’s dismay.

“I’m not killing them Davina I’m not saying they don’t deserve it, but I am saying I refuse to be the one who does it.” Marcel point blank refused.

“I don’t want them dead either I still care for Kol like you care for Rebekah however I’m not just going to sit back and then Klaus win yet again.” Davina told the upgraded original, leaving Laurel confused by their conversation. “I want to use your extra special upgraded venom style poison to weaken Klaus long enough to put him down.”

It was late that night within the Mikaelson’s abattoir or compound as they often referred to it and Klaus Mikaelson had found himself unable to get to sleep as he just lay on top of his bed covers wearing just a pair of boxers as he thought about how he and Lucas Lance narrowly avoided a showdown with Bane earlier that day wondering why Bane never continued to follow them back to the compound and continue to come for Lucas.

There were many reasons Klaus could think of as to why Bane didn’t continue his attack but funnily enough a threat which he had been convinced was a big deal thanks mainly to the fear on Lucas’ face wasn’t the top of his concern that night instead it was Lucas Lance himself that Klaus couldn’t get out of his mind.

From the day Lucas showed up in New Orleans he had been fearless, arrogant and frankly reckless but Klaus had to admit he had a certain way about him that made the original hybrid find time in the Red Canary’s presence enjoyable whether he wanted to or not.

Lucas challenged Klaus, infuriated him constantly and even outsmarted him once and yet instead of wanting him dead he wanted to continue this game of wits with him. Lucas’ sister had killed Klaus’ sister and although he wanted revenge for his fallen Freya, he realized he didn’t want revenge on Lucas.

He wasn’t foolish enough to develop feelings for such a manipulative trickster or foolish enough to believe there was something there between them worth fighting for but he knew he was attracted to the Red Canary and there was only one way he’d get over that attraction.

“I guess I’m not the only one unable to sleep tonight.” Lucas stated as he appeared standing at Klaus’ doorway, Klaus instantly responding by vamp speeding his way to stand out of his bed, wrap his covers around his exposed body and vamp speeding over to stand in front of the Red Canary.

“I’ve reluctantly agreed to help you with this enemy of yours that doesn’t mean you can just randomly come in and out of my home especially in the late hours.” Klaus snapped at the man, refusing to admit his curiosity to why Lucas was stood in front of him.

“I went for a walk at night like I normally do when I can’t sleep and before I knew it I had found myself looking at every shadow fearing he’d attack and I’d meet my end…I’ve never been scared of much in life and I really don’t like it.” Lucas admitted to Klaus, shocking the original hybrid with his honesty. “The truth is I’m not sure even with your help I’m going to make it out of this one alive and facing death has really got me looking back at my life.”

“I can’t say I’m thrilled about how much you seem to underestimate me Lucas I’ve lived for a thousand years killing every enemy in my path without so much as breaking a sweat your enemy will be no different I can promise you that.” Klaus replied, somewhat unamused by Lucas’ seemingly dismissal of Klaus’ strength.

“I was always alone and for a long time I learned to be okay with that,” Lucas continued to reveal as he walked into Klaus’ room. “Laurel had dad and Sara had mum then Laurel had Oliver and I guess so did Sara and all I ever had was me growing up, don’t get me wrong they weren’t terrible or anything but I was always alone and then after Sara and dad I really was completely and utterly alone.”

“Why are you telling me all this?” Klaus wondered, stunned to see a softer side to his enemy.

“Then I met Slade and he saw something in me something special I guess and for the first time in my life I believed I was and I’d do anything to keep that feeling even if it meant killing.” Lucas revealed to the original hybrid. “I can still remember my first kill and how it made me sick to my stomach but I continued and continued until I felt nothing anymore or at least I fooled myself into thinking I felt nothing because being a monster was easier than facing the truth that I allowed a man to complete me, to change me, to defeat me a man who didn’t even love me. I wasn’t special I never was.”

“Now is really not a good time for you to suddenly go all soft on me Lucas not when we have a man to kill.” Klaus told him, clearly feeling awkward over Lucas’ honesty.

“I made so many monstrous mistakes with so many men just longing to feel special to feel like I mattered in this mad world but the truth is I never did and I never will my life won’t make a single difference to anyone and so I just continue with my destructive path until I die and now that day’s probably not far away.” Lucas admitted as he began to walk towards a cautious Klaus. “But before that day comes, I just want to feel special for a few moments, can you do that for me Klaus? Can you make me feel special?”

Klaus found himself staring at Lucas with adoration in his eyes as Lucas stood in front of the original hybrid realizing that this was probably the most honest Lucas had ever been with anyone noticing for the first time the wounded man within the monster who like himself just longed for someone to love him for who he was, no questions asked and before he knew it he found himself leaning in towards the Red Canary slowly kissing him on the lips.

The two men shared a moment together just looking into each other’s eyes as if they were looking into each other’s souls and meeting each other for the very first time until Lucas reciprocated Klaus’ kiss with another before the two shared a loving smile as Klaus suddenly ripped off Lucas’ shirt and trousers with speed and strength leaving Lucas exposing his tight, chiseled body with only a pair of tight white boxer briefs hiding his modesty.

Lucas wasted no time in throwing the cover Klaus had wrapped around him on to the floor so the two men were both wearing nothing but boxers as Klaus smiled at him with a devilish grin that almost made Lucas weak at the knees before the original hybrid pulled the red canary’s body in towards him as they shared a passionate kiss, their tongues crashing against each other’s as Klaus made his way towards his bed and threw Lucas down on to it before climbing on top of the younger man with excitement in his eyes.

Klaus wasted no time in attacking Lucas’ neck with kisses causing Lucas to let out groan after groan as he began kissing his way down Lucas’ impressively muscled body slowly moving his mouth lower and lower as he worked his way towards Lucas’ boxers brief before tearing them off to reveal an already erect and throbbing member which was at least 8 inches of pleasure.

Klaus was beyond thrilled to see he had made Lucas that ecstatic already and before he knew it he found himself slowly taking the tip of Lucas’ dick into his mouth teasing the tip with his tongue, licking it slowly then quicker before removing his tongue and then repeating a few times before deciding to take more and more of Lucas inside of him as he heard the Red Canary moan louder and louder.

Klaus continued to take Lucas deeper and deeper into his mouth enjoying the feel of Lucas’ entire body shaking as Klaus thrust his mouth up and down Lucas’ member while using his right hand to begin playing with Lucas’ balls moving his hand further and further before sticking his pinkie finger into Lucas’ tight yet excited asshole, the sensation of Klaus’ finger inside him causing Lucas to shake even more viciously as his groans of pleasure continued to get louder and louder.

Lucas found himself in pure ecstasy as Klaus continued to take all of him inside his mouth while fingering Lucas’ hole, slipping in two fingers inside of him as he thrusted his head further down Lucas’ member picking up the pace and continuing to make Lucas let out a series of increasingly louder groans as he began thrusting himself harder and harder into Klaus mouth.

Klaus stood back up ripping off his own boxers revealing his very impressive member in the process much to Lucas’ delight who wasted no time in pulling the original hybrid towards him as Klaus lifted Lucas’ legs onto his shoulders so he could face Lucas as he slowly pushed his throbbing dick inside of the Red Canary’s tight hole.

Klaus thrusted himself into Lucas with such force it made Lucas whimper, the sound of Lucas whimpering making Klaus smile as he leaned in to kiss Lucas passionately and began thrusting himself in slowly at first, continuing to passionately make out with Lucas as he began thrusting himself harder and harder into his eager hole as the two mean began groaning in sync to the pure pleasure of their two bodies connecting.

“Bite me!” Lucas demanded through a series of groans, surprising Klaus with his demands who was hesitant at first. “I trust you.”

That’s all the permission Klaus needed as he went full vampire mode while still inside of Lucas and suck his fangs into Lucas’ neck, draining him of his rather exotic blood while continuing to pound the red canary’s ass harder and harder as he felt the blood from the canary enter his veins causing Klaus to hit a level of pleasure he had never felt before as he began grunting louder and louder while pounding Lucas into the bed harder and harder until he found himself shooting a load inside of him while stopping drinking from his neck at the same time before collapsing his naked and sweaty body on top of Lucas’, his dick still inside of Lucas as he continued to unload himself inside of his ass.

Klaus didn’t stop there it wasn’t enough just to make himself come he wanted to make Lucas come too and so he quickly began kissing his way back down Lucas’ chest working his way back to Lucas’ throbbing member which looked more than ready to unload as Klaus put his mouth back around Lucas’ dick and began thrusting Lucas’ dick further and faster down his throat, not taking Lucas long before he found himself coming inside Klaus’ mouth who was more than willing to swallow Lucas’ load.

Rebekah Mikaelson had grown somewhat fond of the canaries herself well more so Laurel Lance and not so much her sister’s killer or the canary that took up far too much of her brother Klaus’ time but ultimately her fondness for Laurel had her second guessing the desperate need for avenging her sister Freya I mean after all they had forgiven Marcel for killing Finn although admittedly they were a lot less fond of Finn than Freya.

Rebekah was relieved for a brief moment after hearing from Elijah that her brother Klaus had managed to broker some kind of peace with the canaries but that moment didn’t last long as Elijah then revealed it was Lucas Lance that Klaus had made the pact with.

Now Rebekah had no reason to hate the Red Canary I mean it was the Black Canary who had attacked her and the White Canary who had murdered her sister and she was thankful for Lucas’ attack on Marcel but she knew Lucas was the least trustworthy out of the three canaries and she also knew her brother Klaus was growing fond of him which was not a good sign for anyone.

“And you’re always accusing me of sleeping with the enemies.” Rebekah quipped immediately waking up Klaus and Lucas after vamp speeding into her brother Klaus’ bedroom the next morning to find Klaus momentarily asleep and naked while cuddling into an equally asleep and naked Lucas, only covers hiding the two men’s modesty. “I guess however it’s different when you’re the one getting laid Niklaus.”

“Well this is awkward!” Lucas gushed as he sat up in the bed at the same time as a speechless Klaus, both covering themselves up as much as possible with the covers.

“Not really my dear brother has had far worse bed companions than you although I admittedly he’s also had far better.” Rebekah replied to Lucas, enjoying revealing to the Red Canary her brother could do better a little too much.

“What the bloody hell are you doing in here?” Klaus snapped at his sister, finally finding something to say.

“Your latest lunatic lover’s former partner has been located by Davina, so I figured we strike now kill the bastard and get back to doing whatever the hell it is we’re doing these days.” Rebekah answered her brother, while giving him a disapproving glare. “That is if you can pull yourself away from making this canary cry long enough.”

“I like you!” Lucas laughed at Rebekah only for her to respond with a death glare aimed right at him, making it clear the feeling was far from mutual.

“Can you meet us downstairs?” Klaus asked, clearly ashamed by his sister finding him in this situation with an enemy knowing he had spurned her many times for the exact same thing.

“Trust me it would be my pleasure to get the hell away from this mess as quickly as possible.” Rebekah replied before a wicked smile appeared across her face, realizing a way to make things even more awkward between the two men as she revealed to Klaus. “You know he’s already slept with Kol right? I’m guessing Elijah’s next.”

Rebekah sped out of the room more than happy to leave Klaus with that bit of information as Klaus turned to look at Lucas, shocked to know he had already been with his brother Kol which was a tradition in his family he wasn’t particularly a fan of, as Lucas just sat there looking at Klaus unsure of what to say to the original hybrid unsure of whether he was meant to defend himself or just get changed and pretend what happened between the two of them never happened, just like he did with Klaus’ younger brother Kol.

Catching her brother Klaus in this particular situation did amuse Rebekah immensely especially with her history of sleeping with the enemies and being torn to shreds verbally by Klaus for doing so but unfortunately her amusement was also met with fear knowing her brother who acted like he had no heart tended to love just as carelessly and reckless as she did when given the chance.

In that moment Rebekah didn’t care about bloody betrayals, potential deaths or even the chance of daggers making a comeback if Lucas and Klaus became a true partnership what she feared more than anything was her brother developing feelings for someone unworthy who would hurt him and that’s when she realized the tables had turned and she had become Klaus as she began to wonder if that mean she was justified to kill a lover of his for a change.

Sara Lance wasn’t exactly thrilled about walking into enemy gates with Laurel and Oliver despite knowing she could trust either with her life she also knew she was ultimately walking into the home of a family who’s sister and lover was taken from them by her a family who supposedly couldn’t be killed and had recently aligned themselves with her little brother Lucas who had recently turned Sara from a canary into a vampire, a vampire who could no longer canary cry a power which the White Canary had quickly found herself missing.

The Mikaelson’s were notorious on their earth and although she hadn’t been there long, she had already heard many monstrous and terrifying stories which neither member of the family came off particularly well.

She wasn’t judging as she had quite a few of her own horror stories from being in the league of assassin’s knowing if she had worked for them for a thousand years the stories about her would be as bad as the Mikaelson’s but she was very much aware this family were extremely deadly and wanted her dead and that left her somewhat cautious but she had no other choice knowing this alliance benefited them for now until they got Bane out of the way.

Sara had never actually met Bane before but she had went up against Batman or rather her former master Ra’s al Ghul had and for someone to go up against Ra’s and survive well that made him a formidable foe in her eyes and this formidable Bat had been broken by Bane many times before making him just as dangerous as Ra’s or Batman, if not more and she knew her siblings were going to need all the help they could get to take Bane down.

“I’m all for keeping the little brat alive for as long as possible even if he’s one big bitch fit in overdrive but when did we get desperate enough to start trusting this lot again?” Sara asked Laurel as she, her sister and Oliver walked into the compound to be met by Rebekah who vamp sped herself into the compound.

“It’s our family who should be doubting ourselves after all you are the bitch who killed my sister so if anyone can’t be trusted it’s you.” Rebekah snapped at the White Canary.

“Hate to say it Sara but she has got a point.” Laurel butted in, all too quick to tell off her little sister.

“Seriously Laurel now is not the time to take a swing at me.” Sara told the Black Canary while rolling her eyes out of frustration.

“Well I for one am just glad everyone’s coming together to get Luci out of trouble I’ll be the first to admit his kind of trouble has definitely grown bigger over the years but damn it’s a good dose of nostalgia helping him out of another scrape.” Oliver said with a joking tone, hoping to cut the tension between the three ladies.

“I’ve got to ask ladies what the bloody hell did you ever see in this pompous fool?” Rebekah asked Sara and Laurel who instantly laughed much to Oliver’s embarrassment. “I swear my brother Niklaus randomly hunted down a werewolf just like him years ago just for sport if you’d like I could snap his neck right here and you girls will have one less thing to hate each other for.”

“I don’t hate my sister…I’m just severely pissed off at her.” Laurel answered Rebekah, Sara feeling relieved that her sister didn’t hate her despite having every reason to.

“I’d never hate you Laurel you’re my big sister when I think about what Oliver and I did and how much we must’ve hurt you it makes me sick.” Sara explained to her big sister. “We were young and stupid, and it never meant anything.”

“Sara’s telling the truth Laurel it meant nothing which I guess just makes everything that much worse because I really did love you and I fucked it all up.” Oliver apologised to Laurel who clearly looked confused on how to take her ex’s and her sister’s apologies.

“I’ve lived over a thousand years and in those thousands years it’s become impossible for my siblings not to share lovers at some stage Klaus and Elijah fought over Tatia then Katherine although admittedly Klaus wanted her for more sacrificial reasons than romantic…Klaus also knocked up Hayley who was in love with Elijah but that came after she got pregnant which isn’t as weird as it sounds and now Kol and Klaus seem to be sharing your brother.” Rebekah revealed to the three of them, surprisingly finding herself trying to calm the tension instead of stirring it up for a change. “What I’m trying to say is shit like that happens all the time but in the end family’s all you got whether you want them or not.”

“I for one definitely second that beautiful sentiment from my dear sister Rebekah.” Elijah agreed after vamp speeding over to announce himself to the group. “I’m Elijah Mikaelson I don’t believe we’ve quite had the pleasure of meeting until now.”

“Wait,” Sara said, demanding Rebekah’s attention. “What do you mean your brothers are sharing my brother?”

“I think that kind of explains itself Sara.” Laurel laughed at her younger sister. “I figured that’s why he suddenly partnered up our brother tends to only ever stay loyal to people he wants to sleep with.”

“I guess he never slept with Bane then.” Oliver continued to joke, trying to take some seriousness away from their current situation.

“Well at least the man stays loyal to who he sleeps with.” Elijah teased the Green Arrow, amusing Laurel in the process as the two found themselves meeting each other’s eyes mid smile, a look Oliver noticed and wasn’t amused by.

“I was going to ask where’s my brother, but I no longer want to know instead I’m going to ask where’s Hayley from what Laurel says she seems to be the only one I’m willing to even consider trusting.” Sara asked Rebekah and Elijah.

“She’s other wise engaged with factional business.” Klaus announced as he appeared at the top of the stairs, now fully clothed, before vamp speeding down to stand beside his sister and brother. “Besides I think there’s enough people invited to this party as it is.”

“I couldn’t agree more.” Lucas said, the next to appear at the top of the stairs, also now fully clothed. “Now let’s jump right to the killing which preferably doesn’t result in me also being killed!”

Nobody was happy with this particular alliance but Sara had no choice she didn’t want to see he brother dead and neither did Laurel or Oliver and surprisingly to everyone including himself neither did Klaus, or at least for now although a certain revelation about his younger brother Kol Mikaelson definitely had him beginning to reconsider.

Lucas Lance wasn’t foolish enough to believe his recent dalliance with Klaus Mikaelson would earn him any loyalty and he had spent too long avoiding his family to freely put his faith in his sisters but he also knew they were his only option to go head to head with Bane and stay alive.

Now what Bane had in strength which had amplified since coming to Earth Blood he had matched in intelligence which meant a drawn-out plan was never going to work and Lucas knew this.

So instead of trying to play a game of wits with his former cellmate a game he knew he’d never win instead he decided to tackle him head to head in a battle of strengths and with the Mikaelson family uniting with the Lances power was most definitely on their side but that didn’t necessary mean a win was on the cards for the Red Canary.

“It’s awfully brave of you to arrange this little meeting and I’ve got to say that little magic trick with the paper appearing out of nowhere was impressive but I’m not foolish enough to believe you came alone.” Bane said to Lucas as the two stood in the middle of Lafayette Cemetery. “I’ll just have to kill every idiot you fooled into helping you and then I’ll kill you.”

“And people say I can hold a grudge I mean so what I screwed you over to get a head start on getting the hell away from Arkham as fast as I could it’s on you that you didn’t screw me over first.” Lucas replied, trying to mask his fear which amused Bane who laughed at the Red Canary’s fake act of bravery.

“You always did talk far too much!” Bane told Lucas before running towards the canary only for Laurel to appear from behind a tomb releasing a canary cry stopping Bane in his tracks as he quickly found himself struggling to stand as Laurel’s canary cry continued to grow more powerful.

Lucas quickly joined his sister Laurel by releasing a cry of his own, aiming it at Bane only for Laurel and Lucas to be left stunned when a portal appeared in between them both and right in front of Bane which was most definitely not a part of their plan as they stopped their cries and watched on in shock as Bane found himself dragged by a unseen force towards the portal before flying right in and disappearing within the portal.

“That was way too bloody easily I mean quite frankly it was a bit of a let-down.” Rebekah moaned as she sped her way into the cemetery, until she stood beside Laurel.

“That wasn’t supposed to happen I’m not entirely sure how it happened.” Lucas replied to the original female vampire as all three of them continued to stare at the opened portal.

“We made it happen Lucas just like we did before…I think that’s the portal back home.” Laurel revealed to her younger brother as Klaus, Sara and Elijah sped into the cemetery, the three of them now standing next to Laurel and Rebekah.

“Are you going to go back?” Sara asked her sister, knowing she couldn’t return home, fearing Laurel would leave her on this earth.

“It’s my home Sara…Star City needs the Black Canary.” Laurel explained to the White Canary as Oliver appeared from behind another tomb.

“I’m sure it could do with the Green Arrow too…I mean two vigilantes are always better than one.” Oliver said to them all, making it clear he was ready to return home.

“You were always the best of us Laurel.” Sara admitted as tears formed in her eyes while she walked over to her sister and gave her a tight hug.

“This is probably the time where we leave the canaries to their goodbye cries.” Rebekah suggested to Elijah and Klaus. “Besides brothers we have much to discuss back home.”

Laurel Lance’s family meant the world to her but then she lost them one by one all starting with the supposed death of her younger sister Sara which was quickly followed by her younger brother Lucas going off the rails, her father drinking himself to death and her mother deserting them all.

Before she knew it she was alone, hurting and had a new powers to come to terms with and so she made the decision to put those powers to use as she became the Black Canary and vowed to keep her home Star City safe.

Earth Blood gave Laurel her sister back and somewhat helped her bond with her brother but it was never her home and she was always determined to go back, the only problem was her family wanted to stay put and now she had to choose between her home and the friends who became like family or her actual family not that there was much choice because unlike her siblings she always did the right thing and being the Black Canary in Star City was the right thing to do.

“Wow Oliver really wasted zero time in getting the hell out of here shame I was planning on getting around to killing him once the whole Bane business settled down.” Lucas said breaking the silence between him and his two sisters as he, Laurel and Sara stood side by side in Lafayette Cemetery looking at the opened portal.

“I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that mainly because once I go through there, you’re no longer my problem…unless of course you’re suddenly wanting to go home.” Laurel replied to her brother.

“No thanks sis, the enemies on this earth are far better than the ones on the other earth Bane was a painful reminder of that.” Lucas told the Black Canary before speeding out of sight.

“I guess that’s his way of saying goodbye…I guess that little brat is just my problem now.” Sara said to her sister, trying to mask her sadness over saying goodbye to her.

“Once I’m home I’ll get to work on closing this portal from both sides hopefully that’ll keep people from visiting here although if they really want to, I’m sure they’d find a way.” Laurel replied, also trying to mask her sadness. “I really wish we could’ve had longer to work everything out because believe it or not I still love you and I’m really going to miss you again.”

“Well if you miss me too much, I’m sure you’ll find a way to get in touch at least time you know I’m alive well undead, but you get what I mean.” Sara joked with the Black Canary before giving her sister another hug. “It’s probably best if I stay dead on that Earth.”

“Yeah I figured as much.” Laurel responded as she hugged her sister even tighter. “Please keep our psychotic little brother from winding up dead and keep the alliances I’ve made with Davina and Marcel under no circumstances can the Mikaelson’s be trusted.”

“Yeah I worked that one out pretty quickly.” Sara admitted as she broke off the hug with her sister. “Don’t worry I lived with assassins for years this earth is going to a breeze in comparison.”

“I guess New Orleans needs the White Canary just as much as Star City needs the Black Canary.” Laurel said with a smile on her face, knowing she could trust the White Canary to keep Earth Blood and its inhabitants in line.

Laurel and Sara stood there for a moment basking in the moment that they had the opportunity to be reunited as they tried to hide their sadness over their reunion being cut so short as Laurel and Sara wished Lucas stuck around for a proper goodbye, both knowing in his own way he did say goodbye.

The two Lance sisters continued to stand there for some time before Laurel gathered up her strength to walk through the portal as Sara watched on with tears on her eyes as she watched the Black Canary, her sister, disappear into the portal believing she would most likely never see her big sister again.

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