#this is about jason in case it wasnt clear

[cleromancy]

Something has been bugging me recently. Do you ever notice how people (particularly Jason stans) go on about how Tim victim blame's Jason for his own death, but fail to mention how Alfred and Bruce are guilty of doing the same thing in the past? Why do these two (especially Alfred) get a pass?

LMAO LIKE... EVERYONES DONE IT. BRUCE ALFRED DICK BABS *SELINA* OF ALL PEOPLE ONE TIME... actually id have to double check that one idr exactly what she said about jason it might have just been that hes unhinged (<- also a thing everyones said at some point) but like. everyones freakin done it. or at least *implied* it.

tim is a special case for a reason though--and ill come back to bruce and alfred later--and its not just bc fandom wants a scapegoat to pin All The Victim-Blaming on. on a meta level tim was specifically created to be jasons opposite, and to ~rehabilitate the robin role and make robin palatable again to modern readers. (and to be clear this wasnt bc readers didn't like jason specifically--it was the idea of robin at all, and to a lesser extent just replacing the orig. jason just took on the mantle at a really unfortunate period in comics culture.) so the comparisons to jason are baked in right off the bat. and tim has to be "better". tim had to prove that a robin was necessary so that dc could keep having one, he had to justify it so that the blame didnt fall on bruce for getting a child killed (or yk even just out there fighting crime at all). theres also an element of class dynamics thats. i mean. jason was a homeless street kid and tims this fancy little distinctly upper middle class kid who replaces him, without derailing to get too deep into that the optics already arent fucking great.

but tims creation aside, just as far as how often it comes up... tim also takes the role of robin really seriously, and its everything to him, so he spends a lot of time thinking about it, what it means to wear the uniform & fulfil the role. so hes the one whos most frequently in the position to be thinking about jason, after bruce. so tim winds up being the one pushing the bulk of the bad/angry/impulsive robin narrative retcon dc wanted to push bc... its the most directly relevant to him. bruce doesnt have much narrative need to think about jason "failing" or not being good enough until under the red hood... except to be like "i dont have to worry about tim bc hes not like jason." lmao. and then you have tim who does not want to get killed, like jason did, so he spends time thinking about how to not end up like jason. which is a fundamental misunderstanding of how being a victim of murder works but i think understandable thing for a child replacement of another dead child to latch onto (particularly one as prone to arrogance & god-complex-itude as Our Timmy, lol). and both on a meta level and in-universe this is about shifting the blame off of bruce and onto the victim because tim needs to keep filling the role hes filling without it being bruces fault that jason died in the first place, bc reckoning with batman and child endangerment is not smth the comics had ever really planned on doing in a serious way.

but as for why singling tim out over bruce and alfred-- the kind of ppl who do this already generally think bruce sucks past the point of being interested in ~holding him accountable~ for absolutely anything... like "bruce sucks, everyone knows he sucks, enough said." i think the logic is generally like "if tims not a total shithead like bruce, then why is he doing shithead stuff like bruce does :/" and then pinning it all on tim as opposed to considering like "hey uhhh do you think maybe hearing stories about jason from bruce influences how tim thinks of jason over the years." if that makes sense

as for alfred. people do not want alfred to have any interiority or to ever have been mean or wrong bc then theyd have to actually think about the fact that bruce has a 24/7 domestic servant in his employ, which is just the. tip of the iceberg when you start thinking about alfred as a full character and not a convenient cardboard cutout to prop up whoever the narrative needs him to. also alfreds role in almost every batman narrative is strictly as support, almost no agency within the story to have a meaningful impact, and people generally respond to the character in kind.

finally i think tim mmmmight be the only character at least as of the reboot who ever talked *to jason* outloud style about certain things relating to jasons death... this answer is already getting too long so i dont want to get into depth about titans tower. but tt 2003 #29 is a great example of the comics pitting tim and jason against each other to make Jason look worse by comparison--for all that tim doesn't actually *say* anything victim blaming jason for his death, *and* for all that jason totally kicks tims ass in the fight and its not even close, on a meta level the story is 100% presenting jason as the bad robin, the robin who failed, Unlike Tim Drake, A *Good* Robin. (i accidentally reread the issue ... im going to make a post about it later probably. god i wish this fucking issue had been good)

but yeah i could probably go on and on even further but yeah, i think thats where people are coming from when they single timmy out. tim only exists at all bc of jason n would be fundamentally unrecognizable without having been crafted to be the anti-jason. and on top of that he has repeatedly been used by dc to make jason look worse (or rather jason was used to make tim look better), and a lot of my fellow jason stans understandably resent tim for it. i however am built different, and want them to kiss.

#dc #jaytim #i hope this is coherent im sleep deprived atm. #like moreso than usual #rambles #meta #jaytim text #jason text

[spinosacha]

Okay i wrote a fic because the new WFA fast pass made me feel stuff. It’s very self indulgent but it’s about Jason giving y/n or just a random glothamite advice on dealing childhood abuse and it hints to some ptsd/c-ptsd. Bruce is mentioned to be a bad dad pre death in the family but i know that was not necesarrily the case i just felt like writing it like that. Also the exchange is purely platonic.

Tw discussion of emotional abuse, mention of death, implied ptsd

A clear sky in Gotham

Y/n was sitting on the fireescapestairs and it was night. The tv was loud from inside an apartment, a football match it sounded like. They looked absent up at the sky. It was actually clear today and you could see the stars which was incredible for a gothamite.

Red hood also happened to be out, but not for a particular reason besides the clear sky. He was just strolling on the roofs tonight and taking a break from the endless scheeming. He sat down, dangling his legs from the legde of the building and ate some takeaway batburger. He had taken the kids menu and got a Red Robin figurine. He tugged it into his leather jacket but only because Tim wasnt around to see it.

As he did though he spotted y/n sitting looking up at the stars. It seemed familar to him for some reason he couldnt quite place. Well he didnt have anything else to do.

Y/n was thinking about everything but their surroundings and flinched when they heard someone come down from the stairs. They looked up back and saw that the Red Hood stood behind them.

“It’s okay. i’m not gonna hurt you.”

He didnt come any closer but instead leaned up against the railing.

“That’s... nice”

“I guess you know who i am? I hope you don’t mind that i intrude in your zone...Okay this is weird but you just reminded me of something.”

Y/n didnt really know what to say. They just looked up at the sky again.

“Yeah that’s it! You know i was Robin once right?”

“Yeah.”

“Well i’m sorry to break it to you but Batman was kind of a dick. Do you mind?” He gestured at the stairsteps. Y/n shook his head. Red Hood sat down on one of the steps still keeping his distance.

“And whenever he would make me feel like shit i would look outside the window of the batmobile and forget where i was. It was a way to forget that i was stuck”

“You’ve droven... in the bat mobile”

“Oh i always forget that’s not a normal experience. But i wonder...have you ever felt the same?”

“...idk”

...

“I died once. In an explosion. Came back. people said i was lucky. I didnt feel lucky. I was on egde all the time, he was always on the back of my mind. Yet nobody seemed to understand. Batman of all people should but he were nowhere to help me. I was all alone and felt helpless. And people expected me to be normal”

...

“I havent died” y/n started. “And my parents are alive and i’ve never been hit. Yet i act so weird like around people and especially my dad. I get so scared. I don’t understand why”

“Do you feel secure with him?”

“Well no. But that’s just my feelings”

“Well i think feelings most often are there for a reason”

“...hm.

I feel mad at him but i also feel bad about it. I have also had good things happening in my life. A lot of good things. And i was just a little abused”

“Okay hold up one second. A little abused? Nobody has the right to abuse you a little especially not as a child. Yk people think i’m harsh but i just want people to take responsibility so innocent people don’t have to pay for it”

“I can see that. Although i think the killing thing is a bit much”

“Well you don’t have to do that. For now at least. What’s most important is that you allow yourself to say fuck him and not let him restrict you. I might have gone through a lot but so have you! The only contest here is us vs our dads okay? And i want you to fight on my side”

“...i’m not gonna kill anyone.”

“That’s fine. Just kill the version of you that blames yourself for the worlds mistakes”

“...thank you red hood.”

“... no problem stranger. Can i know your name?”

“Y/n. Yours?”

“Nice try. Well...”

Red hood stood up and got ready to leave.

“You got this y/n”

“...wait. Can i... get a hug?”

He hesitated a bit before answearing.

«Sure.»

Red hood was a surprisingly good hugger y/n discovered. It felt like he appreciated it too.

#i am owning the cringe #batfam #jason todd #red hood #fic #reader #y/n #platonic #fanfic #emotional abuse

[batfamonline]

#this is about jason in case it wasnt clear #jayroy #vaguely #roy harper #jason todd #incorrect dc comics #not rlly batfam but since its about jason im counting it

[snackleggg]

So... Murdered au

And yes it is a crossover au bc I'm

~☆feeling like it☆~

To start off Maddie and Jack corner and managee to finally get a clean shot at the ghost boy and take him out! Hurray! Everything is better now right? Then Phantom transforms back into Danny.... and he is dead. Like 'hole through his chest' dead. And of course they panic. Because after a few minutes it becomes clear it isnt some trick. They just killed their son.

Oops

Since they can't exactly explain to anyone what happened, and barely understand it themselves, they panic and hide the body, burying it in the forest outside Amity somewhere. They make this big show of being concerned about their missing son while internally they are panicking and hoping no one finds out.

Jazz, Sam and Tucker think they are kinda suspicious but there is still the possibility that a ghost kidnapped Danny so they focuse more on that and trying to find him.

Meanwhile Danny, now a full ghost, wakes up in the GZ (specifically the Far Frozen bc ice core) and doesnt remember anything.

The thing with ghosts in this au is that they usually travel the material realm to jog their memories of their life. Only when they have regained enough memories to be satisfied that they know who they are, only then will they go back to the infinite realms. Some ghosts cant recover their memories, only finding places that are vaguely familiar. Poindexter is one of these kinds of ghosts, where they stay in that familiar place hoping to regain more memories but eventually become tied to it, even if they do have a lair in the infinite realms it'll always be tied to that one vaguely familiar spot.

So Danny immediately finds the closest natural portal (he unfortunately doesnt run into Frostbite or any other ghost) and starts on his way to regain his memories. He travels around a bit before ending up in Gotham, where Cass and Steph are the first ones to find him.

Of course they question what a meta is doing in Gotham and then Danny explains he is a ghost and as the conversation goes on it becomes clear to the girls just how lost and scared Danny is. Cass is the first to believe him with Steph following suit quickly and they inform the other bats over comms about the situation. They dont believe them at first but then they all gather on a rooftop with Danny there and after some more questioning Danny reluctantly takes off the hoodie he had been wearing (that he found forgotten on a bench a city over) and they see the literal hole in his chest and are like "okay yep, that seems like pretty solid evidence".

And Jason of course is internally freaking out a bit because the kid looks so young, he must have been around how old Jason was, and he is a ghost, a freaking ghost, and there is a literal hole through his chest like that must have been painful and the kid just looks so lost and confused.

Danny explains the whole "travelling around to regain memories" thing and the bats agree to help him. They go back to the cave and by the time they get there they all agree that Danny wasnt a gothamite. They start looking through records of any recently deceased or missing kids, Danny helping narrow down the search with the limited info he has.

I'm not sure where the au would go from here, they'd definitely eventually find the case of missing Danny Fenton and Danny would probably point at the missing persons picture and go "that's me!" And then chaos would ensue once they get to Amity park.

Its an idea with lots of angst potential but also fluff bc you really think being fully dead and having no memories of his past would stop Danny from heroing? Nope. He 100% follows the bats out on patrol and helps them take down criminals while he stays in gotham. He usually accompanies either Cass or Jason since they are his favourite of the bats. Jason is immediately like "can we adopt a ghost? Bruce. Bruce if you dont do it I will" and also he will be so angry at the Fentons when he finds out what happened to Danny.

#danny phantom au #danny phantom #Murdered au #crossover au #dc #batfam #tw murder

[romancemoved]

It's cheesy to say I enjoy everything about your portrayal of Virote, but it's the truth! The way you characterize him is so real and tangible. Everything about his development is thought out and purposeful, and every little fact thrown onto the dash (as wild as they can be sometimes) just adds that much more dimension to him and that much more insight to who he is and why he does the things he does.

Like... Virote is just a character that feels like a real person, and it's very clear in everything that you do. He doesn't come across as "just an oc" or "just a fictional character". His reactions to things don't bend and twist just to fit into a pre-meditated plot. He genuinely feels like someone! He's dynamic!

That's incredible as fuck and I admire the dedication and passion you have for him 💕

✨ @simply-jason. meme. still accepting!

vis remarkable cuz ive lived a remarkable life. write what u know........... when i was younger, back in middle school, i used to work for this local goth band as a promoter. i mean i didnt get paid lol but i got into shows for free so that meant i had access to all the wild freaks in town. i seen a dude get thrown thru a glass window and everyone went ‘ awwwwww omgggggg ’ and then continued passing the blunt while moshing lgfdkjgldkjglk. i wasnt a shy teen and young adult, ive seen some of the dumbest shit life has had to offer and i channel a lot of that into my writing. lots of cocaine fueled shenanigans!!!

and my grief, too. i was engaged to a shitty guy! for like 4 years! he was awful! so when i write virote’s case of domestic abuse, a lot of that is pulled from my own experiences and the experiences ive seen from those around me. all the funny stuff, too. some of those crazy ass stories vi be tellin, ive seen or heard in some capacity lolllll. idk. as tragic as my life has been, ive experienced some of the wildest, funniest shit ever.

anyway!!!!!!!!! i guess vis relatable whether u like it or not. in a bad way heehee. his gta v verse is a funny one. it’s probably his most stable.......................

anyway u kno i luv u and everything u offer on these streets... ur offerin fine quality gold chains! and im buyin!!!

#( 🌙 KEEPSAKE! MOON HEALING ESCALATION. ✨ ) #simply-jason #/ i am just a former wild child writing a former wild child!!!

[maribatz-2k]

BatBug Kid(s?)

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08/30/2020 Seventeen

Marinette had left to clean up her shop and home when she received a phone call from Luka. He needed a wedding gown and she had to be the one to do it. She looked at the calendar and scheduled with him for a weeks time. Mari was thinking this would be a good time for her and Louis to go home and maybe bring Damian along with. Thinking about it longer she has a feeling this will cause a fight with Bruce. Once changed and ready to go, she heads back over to the Manor. 

Bruce wasn’t home just yet but Alfred let her in. Mari found Tim sitting in front of his laptop deep into his search and drinking what appears to be his third cup of coffee. She walks up behind him, he lifted the mug just to his lips, and she leans just over her shoulder not making a sound.

“Hey there sunshine. What are you reading this time?” He jumped out almost throwing his mug into the air. She caught it in his hand to keep it still smiling softly at him. “Scared you?” Mari giggled softly then set the cup down. 

"Yeah, I was going over this cold case last night and I one got away from me. What are you doing, mom?" Tim said with a smirk trying out the word. It made Mari smile as she shook his hair.

"I came back over with some news I wanted to share with the twins, and talk to Bruce. But I find you instead. What's the case about?" They sit there going over the case together, finding nothing new.

"You know what? Let's go sit down into he living room and watch a movie. Get a clear head on this." Tim seemed reluctant about the suggestion but Mari gave him her baby doll eyes and pouted until he caved. "Yay! I'll make the popcorn you go pick a movie." She searched the pantry for the kernels and oil as Tim closed his laptop and went to the living room and pull out a movie. He wasnt to sure on what to put on. They didn't have much in DVDs or VHS tapes. So he decided to connect his phone to the tv and search up something fun and pleasant, Aladdin.

"Ooo I haven't seen this one since Louis was just a baby. I love Robin Williams." Mari handed him the big bowl of popcorn and sat down next him as the movie played.

Half way through the movie Dick and Jason joined on sitting on the edge of the couch watching along. Bruce came in wondering why it was so quiet in his home, when suddenly an outburst erupted from the living room.

"Bee yourself!" He walked over and found all but the twins. Even Alfred was sitting in the chair watching. His eyes drifted toward his raven haired beauty and smiled just slightly before she looked over.

"Welcome home Bruce." She says.

To be continued...

🐞🦇🐞🦇🐞🦇🐞🦇🐞🦇🐞🦇🐞🦇🐞🦇🐞🦇🐞🦇

@fsketchart @moonlightstar64 @dorkus-minimus @toodaloo-kangaroo @amayakans @miraculous786 @crazylittlemunchkin @messymessyml @i-will-be-your-ace @tbehartoo @tazanna-blythe @ertyzeta

#maribat #mlb x dc #brucinette #twins #ml x dc

[gothamdad]

THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS PART ONE: CINEMATIC WRONGS AND ANALYSIS COMMENTARY

DO NOT REBLOG.

This is going to be a bullet point list of incidents that occur in the movie, and will either have my general commentary or an analysis of what makes the scene terrible (or in some rare cases, good). TRIGGERS FOR SUICIDE, MENTAL HEALTH, AND DYSMORPHIA 

-bruce trying to kill himself in the beginning of the movie. 

Hes reckless, and willing to risk his life, but not suicidal. But he just purposefully gets into a wreck at 2 minutes into the movie?? for no reason??? theres literally no reason for it other than it being angsty bc they COULDVE started the movie with the mutants doing crime, as the next scene cuts right into it and the following news reports 

-"This reporter hopes that wherever he is, hes enjoying a toast with good friends" said when its the anniversary of batman’s disappearance 

this is stupid I hate this movie. You're telling me Gotham forgives Batman for just disappearing on them? DID THAT NOT HAPPEN IN NML AND EVERYONE GOT PISSED??? Like everyone in this movie seems to have forgot he abandoned the city. Not to mention, and I'm gonna go off on a tangent here, bruce will be batman for as long as he lives. He calls himself batman in his mind even when hes retired. He believes that Bruce wayne is the mask. His whole identity is batman. Saying that hed quit because of jason is not only stupid because it implies Jason's death isnt just as important as his parents, but shows that any tragedy is enough to permanently knock him down. And as if the league, or the family, would have let him give up. Anyway the whole reason the retirement in batman beyond works is because it shows bruce was going to fight until he literally died on the spot, but instead he pointed a gun, didn't even use it, just pointed it, and he realized he wasnt fit to HONOR batman anymore. He broke the rule. And he doesnt deserve to wear the mantle. This is so good because 1) bruce still wants to be batman and 2) it doesnt imply that he gave up at all, and at this point with his decreasing wellness his family WOULD be telling him to stop

-Gordon toasts with Bruce on the anniversary

FBKSBSOANSISSB OH MY GOD IT JUST SHOWED HIM SHARING A TOAST WITH GORDON. this is the anniversary of the last time batman is sighted and gordon. JIM FUCKING GORDON. Is celebrating. When they were literally partners and hed shine the batsignal each night TELL ME WHERE THE LOGIC IS!!! I CANT FIND THE LOGIC!!!!! I'm literally 3 minutes into this movie..... and already this is how its going...

-Gordon and Bruce talk

"You're not worried about me, are you?" Asked when hes in clear danger of being attacked by mutants "noT MorE tHAn i aM tHe ReST oF tHis CItY" ah yes. I forgot that Bruce hated gotham and jim Gordon. My mistake. Common misconception.

-the mutants are introduced

Ugh and it's the worst kind of villains too, jim just described the mutants as "the worst kind of criminals. They are only after violence, with no humanity at all" GIVE! VILLAINS! REASONING! I hate these joker wannabes Joker was already enough we dont need a million more "lol I'm just evil deal with it" villains

"Talk to Dick lately?"asks Gordon "You know I havent" Bruce responds

THIS CONVERSATION IS GETTING W O R S E BC I KNOW HOW THIS MOVIE GOES AND HE JUST INSTANTLY HAS CARRIE BE THE NEW ROBIN- WHICH, IS N O T BRUCE'S TO GIVE. ITS ALWAYS BEEN DICK'S MANTLE TO PASS DOWN- WHEN HE HASNT BEEN SPEAKING TO DICK????

-tangent on how it’s overlooked that Dick Grayson was the one to make Robin, not Batman

This is a sin that not just the movie, but the batman franchise in general seems to always make. Robin was made as a tribute to the flying graysons, and is meant to be colorful and aerodynamic for acrobatic tricks. it should always be dick’s to pass down, or the next robin after. 

-Bruce begins having trouble with holding back his urge to be Batman

His whole wanting to be batman again thing started because of a newspaper with a family's death and pearls being sold. On the same front cover. I'm. THATS WHEN HE REMEMBERS HIS PARENTS? NOT EVERY FUCKING TIME HE HEARS A GUNSHOT? OR CLOSES HIS EYES? OR SEES BLOOD? HE READS A NEWSPAPER THATS FLOATING IN THE WIND??????NOT EVERY TIME HE LOOKS AT JASONS COSTUME? OR THE OTHER CRIMES COMMITTED??????LOGIC!!!!!!!!!! I NEED !!!! TO KNOW!!!!! WHERE IT IS!!!!!!!! ARE U KIDDING ME NOW THE MARK OF ZORRO, WHICH IS WHO THE FUCK KNOWS HOW OLD NOW, IS ON TV??????????? AND HE JUST HAPPENS TO FLIP TO THE CHANNEL.. Batman telling bruce "you've tried to hold me back. But you're weak. Ypu know it in your soul. You're nothing but a hollow shell." Is so STUPID!! WHY HAS HE BEEN FIGHTING BEING BATMAN!!!!!!!!!! BRUCE SHOULD WANT TO BE BATMAN!!!! AND HATE HAVING TO NOT BE!!!! AND A BAT FLYING INTO HIS WINDOW AGAIN???? STOP THE FUCKING CLICHES IM SICK OF THIS . UR NOT BEING NEXT LEVEL, MOVIE. ITS JUST DUMB. ITS DUMB!!!

-Carrie Kelly

her first ??? Appearance??? Is her going into KNOWN MUTANT GANG TERRITORY instead of going through the rain. And scolding her friend for not having backbone WHEN THEY COULD LITERALLY DIE and saying, and I quote, "its better than out there." then when interviewed about the incident her friend says  "It was a flying monster! With wings and fangs!" and she replies with "Reality check, Michelle, it was definitely a man, but he had to be like 12 feet tall" OH YEAH THATS VERY REALISTIC CARRIE. Shes an asshole to her friend and we're supposed to like her.  Oh and Carrie's reason for wanting to be robin? She saw the bat signal while her parents were talking about public marches. That's it. That's her reason. Not because she was attacked by mutants and almost died.

-Giving the movie credit

Okay but if theres another thing I'll give credit for, and I'm sure its unintentional, is that Harvey is the first criminal he wants to take down. Because Harvey is always going to be Bruce's priority. He didnt go after the mutants, but Two-Face. And the way that confrontation goes when it’s revealed harvey thinks both sides of his face are scarred. the Arkham staff fixed his scars before he was ready for treatment, and his mental health wasn’t priority. he was going to have dysmorphia either way, but not treating mental illness worsened it.  kinda? good writing? But I think it was unintentional to have the idea that Arkham didnt know what they were doing and the belief that scars are important before trauma, and how trauma has to be helped first. I dont believe for an instant that's what's meant. 

-Carrie Kelly part two

She gets a Robin costume and goes out onto the roof and is like.... almost dies. THEN THE NEXT SCENE WE SEE HER SHES LIKE COMPLETELY ACROBATIC? WHY IS SHE SO ACROBATIC NOW!!! THIS TAKES PRACTICE!!!

-Batman confronting the man who supplied the mutant gang with guns

Oh, this scene...He hands a guy a gun, knowing full well that he was depressed because his wife was dying and he had to make more money to save her by supplying the mutants with weapons, and just walks away as he kills himself. (input from a friend which i like:  think about everything bruce did to help mr freeze and his wife now think about this scene )

Batman vs Mutants 

oh, and the "batmobile". Aka his tank. Rubber bullets. Ok fine, whatever, but RUNNING THEM OVER AND SHOOTING MISSCLES ISNT LETHAL? AND HOW IS CARRIE KELLY GOOD AT FIGHTING ALL OF THEM WHEN SHE COULDNT HANDLE HERSELF WITH ONE LIKE A WEEK AGO.  hate that the mutant leader is just a ripoff of bane with long pointed nipples I hate this. I hate that batman cant take him down, but carrie kelly can. AND THE MUTANT LEADRER TOTALLY DIED WHEN BRUCE THREW ADHESIVE ON HIS FACE AND HE WAS SUFFOCATED BUT LATER ON IT SHOWS HE LIVES ??

Bruce talks to Carrie 

"What is this thing?" -carrie "Dick called it the batmobile" -bruce "SIR!!" -alfred over the radio There are no words. Then she pops his arm into place and creates a makeshift cast And he says "where'd you learn to do that?” and because she’s a mary sue she says nothing, because miller doesnt know why she should, so he cuts to "what's your name?" and she says "Carrie. Carrie Kelly. robin" and HE FUCKING GOES "MINES BRUCE." and then immediately tells Alfred hes bringing "robin" to the cave. I hate it here I hate that he forgets what happened to Jason aFTER ITS HIS LITERAL REASON FOR QUITTING. WHAT IS THE POINT IF HE’S GOING TO ACCEPT THIS GIRL HE DOESNT EVEN KNOW AS ROBIN?

-Bruce talks about Jason

OH BRUCE'S FUCKING LINE. HIS LINE. IM FURIOUS Alfred asks "have you forgotten what happened to Jason?" And he says "I'll never forget. he was a good soldier. He honored me" I AM !!!! SHAKING!!!! WITH HOW MAD !!!! I AM!!! Bruce would NOT say that shit. Implying that jason wasnt his son, or that jason was only a casualty in a war, or that HE FUCKING HONORED HIM AND NOT THE CITY, OR THE TITLE OF ROBIN "He honored me" shut the fuck up I hate this and dont even get me started on the misconceptions of Robin in the first place. i dont want to go into the debate on whether or not they’re soldiers, which I personally don’t believe. but its just stupid because Jason considered being Robin the best thing that’s ever happened to him, and he was THE BEST. it wasnt his fault he was killed, either. 

-The ending

So the mutant escapes his cell by going through a VENT. A . V E N T. AND ENDS UP IN THE SEWER. I hate that these mutants are just an army of evil people and have no motivation and the leader is just a brute I fucking hate Bruce calling him "son" And the mutants become the sons of batman who fight crime......??? because their leader is gone?? werent they supposed to be evil criminals with no humanity in them?

-Joker

Okay but Joker being absent the entire first part , only to show up in the end hearing news reports about batman, and then smiling as he stands up and just fucking creepily says "darling" holy shit that gave me goosebumps. another credit i have to give. 

#long post / #theres still a part two but i am TIRED #i cannot today...... mayhaps if yall like this ill do the second part #ᴜɴᴍᴀsᴋᴇᴅ : OUT OF CHARACTER

[ariesbilly]

Tell me about the symptoms of ptsd that fp shows

wish i had the gifset i was looking at earlier that brought all this up lmao but anyway google is free SO

agitation, irritability, hostility, self destructive behavior.... self explanatory we have visual canon proof of all those things. self isolation... like sending your son to go live with your best friend bc you dont think youre good enough to raise him (which to be fair he is not but also his sons shitty so idk whos winning that battle for rightness but whatever) ALSO im willing to bet if we saw the actual downfall of his and gladys’ marriage we wouldve seen his attempts at pushing her away much like how he was with fred in 107 at the jailhouse (not saying hed be physical with her but like... idk the mind wanders sometimes i cannot lie but mentally hed be in the same space) ALSO theres the alleged matter of the flashback where we see fp (along with everyone else but sh we’re focusing on fp right now) isolating himself from the group which i mean really him cutting ties with everyone who is not fred makes sense cuz they werent friends to begin with but (and idc what r*s wanted us to believe) he and fred were absolutely friends prior so THAT particular relationship is what needs to be focused on because fp pushing himself away from fred actually means something in this context.

emotional detachment is another could-be symptom... as i have also discussed via is reactions to freds death + his alcoholism which always either goes one of two ways: we see him drinking to numb the emotions or we see the drinking enhancing them (and of course all this ties back into self destructive behavior)

now for this part... i want to make it VERY clear that i absolutely do not condone riverdales writing.... i think we’re all aware of that here but lest this post get in the hands of outsiders lmao... just wanna make it clear. and they absolutely are not thinking this deeply... about anything.... but especially about fp... but like if i were the one taking charge of this storyline with whats already been written... this is how i would explain things:

so lost of interest or pleasure in activities can also be a symptom of ptsd and at first i was like eh i dont know if i really see anything in canon that backs this up BUT then i remembered fps constant flip flopping about the serpents and how he was all set up to have this cushy life on the north side only to later go back to the serpents (i guess? i still dont know whats hes doing) and particularly that stupid ass scene with archie at pops talking about how he missed ... street fighting... i guess.... anyway i say all this to say that it doesnt directly fit into “loss of interests” but i think its worth noting how he never seems to be satisfied (which... i know is 100% just inconsistent writing. i get that yes we know but i also think theres some truth to be dug out from that bc uhhhh i can do whatever i want thank you) but once again this also ties back into self destructive behavior because of course fp cannot just leave things alone when hes got it good he has this raging boner to fuck everything up at all times

ALSOOOOOO

why was it so easy for clifford to get fp on board with dumping jasons body ??? jughead wasnt threatened until fp was already arrested like WHAT fucking hold did clifford have over him ?? other than the fact that he was a man with much more power than fp and im not saying that couldve possibly triggered some twisted need to go along with him to like... appease him but... i dont know. im not a psychiatrist. (also again i know lazy writing but shhhh im on a roll)

heightened reactions... his fucking temper tantrums and outbursts... yea so theres that

fear/severe anxiety all i can think about is how in 302 when they were all confronted about g&g he had such an intense look on his face compared to everyone else WHICH I STILL WANT ANSWERS FOR but also i just gave myself one. youre welcome me (also ties in to heightened reactions)

did i mention depression? that bitch is clearly depressed and anyone who says he isnt is a liar or has never seen a depressed person

OH AND WE CAN ALSO TALK ABOUT THE SCENE WHERE HE ACTUALLY TELLS JUGHEAD WHAT AN ABUSIVE PRICK SENIOR WAS AND HOW HE LOOKED STILL VISIBLY SHAKEN WHILST THINKING BACK ON THAT TIME

insomnia/nightmares are also symptoms and while we have no canon proof he suffers either of those.... has that man ever looked well rested in his life? no. i rest my case.

#and thats what you missed on glee #fp jones #the gifset i was looking at earlier also mentioned guilt #but that wasnt on the list i just pulled up on google #and i dont think canonically fp really suffers with that #i mean... #maybe but not in the right context pertaining to this #BUT #the fp that lives in my head does lmao #briana answers things #fredheads

[currentfandomkick]

Why Marinette Hates Tim

Marinette blames Tim next summer for all that happened. Why? He cursed her with a vague theory. And Max and her Both know give her a clue and she has to follow it to solve the puzzle—a fatal flaw for her, Puzzler, Hero Stalker (Tim), Riddler and her father, Professor Strange (even if he is using an alias and supposedly dead as far as legal documents go).

Hero Staker Tim swore he’d become Robin if the current one left. It was a joke between them, she thought. Then he vanished the next summer, the first one where there wasnt any Robin mentioned anywhere. It was eery.

Then, then Timothy Drake, heir to some company-who looks a lot like her Hero Stalker—is a Wayne. And there’s a new Robin. This... deeply bothers Marinette. Why? New Robin seeks her out and talks a lot like Hero Stalker. And has a too similar movement pattern and tells.

And wasnt Hero Stalker Tim from a rich but high on neglient at best family? Didnt that happen to Timothy Drake before ending up as a Wayne?

Her that puzzle peice was central to figuring this out and goddamnit. Frost, who hates gossip, told her to just look up the rich families with kids Hero Stalker’s age and see who looked like him and to leave from to his lab and antidotes already.

Frost accidently gave her the vital method to see if Hero Stalker was that dumb to be become Robin after Robin the Second (Jason) was brutally murdered. The answer was yes.

And now Marinette had a crisis. She knew Batman’s identity was Bruce Wayne. How? Tim calls Bruce his dad. New Robin slipped and called him dad. And Tim is New Robin since Tim is Hero Stalker and no one else came close to looking like Hero Stalker from the data pool which involved more hacking than she ever thought she would do.

Marinette, a child, figured out who Batman was by age 9 becuase his new Robin/former Stalker was too obviously himself. She is embarrassed on his behalf, and honestly debates asking Riddler to separate him and Bats in a non-lethal puzzle trap just to lecture him. Becuase what the fuck Hero Stalker! If she can figure it out, then everyone else can too! Probably(?) likely. Either way its bad!

She doesnt though... Riddler puts together she’s concerned for the new Robin, traps Bats in a different puzzle maze from Robin, who is stuck with a grounded Marinette. Why was she grounded, easy. She got caught returning stolen jewlry on camera. It was punishment for failing basic stealth—always take out any witness.

And instead of pointing out she knows who Bats is, she tells him to work on a different persona since ‘i made you weeks ago. Its pretending to be someone you’re not completely is all. I have to do that around Maman and Papa all the time, and whenever i go out with anyone really. Up your secret identity game already!’

Riddler is busy with Bats and didnt do cameras. Why? “Im not redesiging a perfectly good grounding maze every time. They take time and i dint always have it. Its time economics Batman. I dont know what our lovely Princess said or did to your Robin. He’s fine though, see? No major injuries.”

Tim relized Marinette knew Hero Stalker was batman’s new Robin. This meant one thing—he could still help her and the RKC now! Why? He knew even if they made him out, they want to help people and never be like their parents, duh. And if they added to his budding information network with incredibly accurate information so long as he didnt rat them out to Batman, its fine.

Afterall, Pixie Pop wants to help poeple and is working the rouges into vigilantes to help more than hurt, and is doing a great job of it for the most part. So if Pixie Pop is Princess who’s the maybe kryptonian and her powers align with that theory, so what? Superman has an heir already and a bio!son too, apparently. Lois didnt tell him since they werent together then and yeah. So really, Superman didnt need another kid, and Pixie Pop didnt want another dad—“i have Papa and Father and now four of my friends’ dads in Paris called dibs on partial custody. I have more dads than i need for a quartet. That is far too many dads and i refuse to get another one!”

Then Marinette is talking to Alix and finds out about an old director at the Lourve her dad knew, Diana Prince. Marinette was working on a Wonder Woman inspired outfit, and knew her history of Wonder Woman thank you. Its just...

Wonder Woman appeared just after Miss Prince Left. And from the videos Alix sent of her new hero, she was terrifyingly similar to Wonder Woman. Not only did they look alike and have the same hair style preference, it was the same face if she did facial recognition with Markov, her robot son with Max. Then there was gait, generao stances and how she interacted with men and women so differently as both people and damnit. Same person.

She curses Hero Staker Tim for this. She now has to hide two hero identities. Why her?

The third was debatably Ivy and Harley’s fault, but defiantely still Tim’s. Why? He was the one that got her hooked on Barry Allen’s cases, and pointing out that he didnt see meta as bad or evil but as people who can be good or be civilians peacefully. That, she needed that with how much vitrol she had to swallow about her powers indirectly from everywhere but her school and some parts of Gotham.

In her defense, she is a nerd here. A nerd. So realizing the The Flash is also the forensics guy from Central City that she kinda follows on all her social medias, watches the cases of unfold, and knows has a reputation for being late a lot like her but is still well liked. So she may fangirl about his cases with Hero Stalker erm. Tim now, still.

And if one day she managed to pout at her father enough to get him to agree to let her go with Harley and Ivy to Central City for a few days to see the meta museum they just opened up (technically the Flash Museum, but Marinette didn’t care. It was focused on metas not being horrible and that meant a lot to her scared, meta closeted butt).

And then her favorite forensic investigator, The Barry Allen, shows up? Best day ever. He’s nice! And concerned about how much of his cases she knows. Its not her fault this time though! Hero Stalker—Tim—sent her a case of his that went cold and she liked his science and yeah. New hero added to her listpersonal heroes list.

Harley isn’t even mad, just amused as Marinette fangirls over someone that isnt her and Barry has no clue how to respond as a tiny child know him as Barry Allen and thinks he’s awesome? Why?? He is happy but so confused and Iris is dying until Marinette cites cases that she shouldnt know about and tiny child why, how, when and where did you get that information!

The only answer is a friend likes cold cases and has no qualms hacking to find interesting ones, if he’s stumped then Marinette (Jill Smith mr. allen sir!) gets to try. And she is good at it since she can ask an officer in France (officer Raincomprix) about logistical things, common error margins and then puzzle it all out herself from there.

Somewhere she mentions absently that her mom doesnt like her science-y side since her dad was a bad person and liked science but she still likes learning and helping, even if the family buisness is food and service and they want her to either take over or become a designer. She’s thinking maybe for people woth disabilites so she can do more mental work and toy with hiw things bend and move and such.

Iris and Barry are ConcernedTM and debating how to get custody, or get her away from her mom or both. Probably both—no science allowed for a clear science obssessed kid is a red flag for bith of them that somethinf is very wrong. Harley and Ivy wave it off as “trust us, her mom aint budging.”

then the Flash is needed because of some gorilla—Marinette was more focused on an outfit on display and muttering over aerodynamics and friction. Barry is Concerned (smart kid, likes helping, potentially a league ally?) before he bolts, determined to get more on her when he returns and possibly see if he can get cps involved.

Marinette only notices that her hero moving so fast and oh god she did it again damnit! That was superspeed. And only one speedster had similiar measurements, the Flash.

She cant even tell Hero Stalker now because he’s Robin and the Justice League would Flip if they knew she knew 3 of their hero’s identities. She just hit her head and said “i did it again!” Harley pats her head while Marinette burrows into her because why is she a danger to the Justice League and secret identities! She doesnt want to be or to know damnit!

Tim sneezes in the distance and wonders who’s talking about him behind his back this time. He messages batgirl about this bad feeling he has and she laughs it off as the boy developing Batman’s paranoia.

Her Fourth solve was Green Arrow. It was an accident! She swears. She just saw oliver queen with a bow and arrow in a video shooting. and noticed he had a very distinct and familiar style to someone but not who. Then compared it to various archers as her brain was nagging. Then saw a green arrow video and cursed herself again then Tim five more times.

She sent a message to Rose asking why she’s a danger to all secret identities. Rose tells her it is her curse for being too damn smart and not leaving things alone.

Marinette tries reallly hard not to figure out the next one. But really, it should have been an earlier solve and she’s mad at herself for missing it for so long, even if it was more aviodance than denial.

Admittedly this one should have been an earlier solve, but she was very little when she found out about the surgery and everything and it was uncomfortable damnit! So she did what any reasonable child would. Ignore it. Then she went over the file to see if maybe she could possibly target parts of the kyptonian DNA in her to weaken it. And saw who the intended donor was, Clark Kent, a reporter that has impossible luck with big hero scoops, is never injured or rescued, and never been sick. He also looks like... one quick photoshop of his glasses onto superman with a clothing change and she sees her usual disguise technique on goddamn superman. She is overwhelmed with this as ‘oh god superman will kidnap me if he finds out!’ And hides from him whenever he’s in the region—be it France or Gotham.

Her friends think its hilarious, Marinette feels sick from it. She doesnt like this and is genuinely scared for her life and family’s safety now. And we all know how nervous marinettes are.

If at one point batman tried to talk to her on patrol and somewhat suceeded. As in, she spoke beofre bolting.

“I didnt figure out who boyscout and amazon and boltbrain and arrowhead are! Or you and the batfam! Bye!!!!” Yes, clearly Marinette can lie very well.

Batman sees through it and feels sick. He forces a league meeting asap and fills them in.

“this kid put five of our identities together and cant even lie. We need to recruit them.”

“Batman, is this that kid KF mentioned to me?”

Batman nodded. Flash sighed. “Okay. We are on a manhunt for a kid kyptonian that is terrified of all of us, very smart, and may have an active gotham villain as a parent. And somehow knows me and—wait. bats, do you have any pics of your rogues in civilian clothing? I need to test a theory...”

A few minutes later and “oh my god that little kid i met as a civilian figured me out!”

A few days later Flash finds her by acccident as a civilian kid in broad daylight on her own in Central. He doesnt show he knows she knows, And finds out she’s waiting for her babysitter to finish a class.

Flash just asks about a case he put together as Barry Allen that she might know about and...

“Uh, mr. Flash? Why are you asking me? The lead florensics was Barry Allen.”

He tries insulting Barry Allen—he’s late and sloppy and—

only for Marinette to defend him to the death. “He’s late because he stays up late working on other cases. Appearances and organizational skills arent what matters with his expertise mr. flash! He even foghts for metas to have their circumstances and powers impact on them considered dueing sentencing!”

Flash is very touched and shocked. only then he manages to get out of her that where she lives (france) being meta is a life sentence to “a living zombie And jail-time for being born a lot, even if it is t in normal prisons. And you know what? Mr. Allen stated so many times that you need to contextualize powers and abilities and intent in his testimonies for meta cases. Back home youre put in prison for defending yourself...” she tugs at her sleeve here.

“Maman screamed at me when she found out a few kids were getting stalked and i helped out and someone got it on tape. Not becuase my powers showed or anything—father made a treatment so they dont, well, they stay off when i use them and follow all the behavior and environmental rules so they cant put me in one of the centers. But she, she’s stills cared someone will try to check me for abilities back in France, and that she’ll lose me. She doesnt always realize i have them until things like that happen...”

Flash is desperately trying not to adopt her. Wally would love a little sister, and Superman has enoguh kids, Bats does too. he is oreventing arrow form having another one as she’s powered and that isnt a good when working with Green Arrow unless the meta is his girlfriend. And the girl loves science—come on!

batman, Green Arrow, Wonder Woman and Superman heard the Feance bit over comms and suddenly it hit them that the kid could be in danger for existing and that an entire country villified being meta to an extreme. That the girl is in hiding and probably using an alias constantly. Batman mentally adopted her ages ago and is now in Worried Dad mode like Flash and apparently Superman was falling into it too. Wonder Woman is in righteous rage mode and ready to fight france herself if she has to—no imprisoning metas for being metas!

Flash decided to be direct since he knew she trusted him as Mr. Allen and knows he’s Flash.“So, am i allowed to know which powers you have?”

Marinette shook her head, visbily distressed and floating skightly. “If, if they ever find out i cant. I cant risk Maman and Papa and Father. I dont know everything but Father only started being a good person after the, the incident where he had to go into witness protection. Maman is dead as far as a lot of people are concerned, or she never existed. Papa doesnt know about any of it. I cant. I cant risk what they worked for by being outted.”

Flash is very concerned. “Thats a lot of pressure to put in yourself, especially at your age.”

marinette didnt make eye contact then. “I have to. If i dont people can connect dots and dashes and blips. Father says its easy for him too and that possibilities are just what we’re both hardwired for but. But i shouldn’t catch as many as i do—my teachers keep saying i need to dial it back and stop catching on so fast and blurting it all out but, i just...” marientte is visibly drowning under the pressure to act not-meta and keep her family safe.

“Sounds like youre a real smart kid.”

“Smart kids dont get caught.” She meant herself with her jewlry returns, Flash thought she meant the JL, and tried to redirect the conversation.

If the JL was out then...

“If you cant tell me, can you at least tell me you have someone to talk to about these things?”

“Auntie Quinn and Rose. Rose doesnt like you guys though.”

Flash laughed a little at that. “Alright, fair enough. Who made her mad? Was it arrow?”

“Batman.” Marinette frowning as she said the enxt bit. “Something about her being given to someone that should never be allowed bear children? She rants a lot so i cant always keep up.”

Batman internally bangs his head against a table. Outwardly, he says “Ivy’s daughter, rose. That girl, she’s the Princess.”

The assemebled winced. They all pushed for Rose to be sent toback to her mother, Ivy, since they didnt trust her with any available mentor and Ivy was usually a low ranking Gotham eco-terrorist pacified by wayne gardens and green initiatives. Apprently Rose has a lot of sway over the Princess too.

Marinette changes the conversation while. Waiting for her babysitter, Ghoul, to leave class. She needs a distraction from her situation that the Flash was willing to give her.

“Can i look at the case again? Something doesnt add up... there! See? Its close to the Speedsters that leave marks at those angles but only if they really mess with the speed force and the spacetime continuum! But theres no evidence of that, its a lightning meta, Possibly using it to teleport since no one came in or out on camera. Its a slight angle and all but...”

Flash decides Marinette will join the Justice League one day or so help him! He also decides to target france’s anti-meta policies and possibly kidnap Marinette.

The League isnt letting him. But he has a fan of Barry Allen who is handling Gotham’s criminals and beign given slack by them... albeit also raised by in-part. But the girl has a strong moral compass that is a lot like most of League’s so.

He’s fighting Bats for custody on principle. His fangirl, he has dibs!

Dont know why it ended up with Flash becoming a ‘Marinette is my daughter now’ person but why not? Wally would like her as a sister, probably.

Marinette blames all of this and the future consequences on Tim. She hates her vanishing freind for this.

#maribat #bio!dad au #bio!dad strange #marinette strange dupain cheng #accidental secret identity solves #my au #my ideas #justice league is trying to get mari and there will be a custody battle #not just between heroes and rogues #but each other becuase yep. too many claims #wait until she gets tikki and diana throws her hat into the mentor ring

[the-tell-tale-poet]

Irma langinstein

Mun: hi ho guys!! Today after evaluating my OCs and muses I wanted to change things up a little, clear some things up, and maybe change a few of the faces seen here (only one or two oc face claims will change) but with that in mind i decided to write a bio for one of my favorite but lesser known muses, enjoy!!

Name: irma langinstein

Age: 26 (few months younger than april)

Occupation: secretary (but is currently in cosmetology classes)

Appearance: irma is a short 5'2" with wide hips, B cup breasts, dark brown eyes, and dark brown hair (she religiously dyes it) also has to wear glasses even though she hates them and thinks they make her look ugly/geeky

Clothes: she loves colorful clothing (her favorite colors are pink and green) especially florals and adores wearing skirts/dresses and large comfy sweaters

Personality: irma has a very mousy appearance and personality she is super nice unless you mess with her friends (april, casey, turtles) she likes her classes but loves researching for her job more, she is extremely bubbly when happy and when shes sad she gets quiet as a mouse and barely speaks to anyone, irma is very clumsy and shy around new people but can be really flirty once she gets to know a person, she may be meek in nature however she has a deep love for horror and gore (also might have a crush on jason), her favorite time of year is autumn/Halloween time since she really goes wild with decorating and costumes plus loves cuddle weather

Background: in school irma was the not popular nerdy type who got bullied cause she wasnt as pretty as the other more popular girls and thats why she takes cosmetology classes, but she still loves books and investigating dark and crazy things (her favorite is old cold cases) which is part of the reason she became a Secretary at aprils news and investigation center and that is how they met soon after that the two besties became roommates but it took about a year of living together for her to catch one of the turtles sneaking out of the apartment one morning before sunrise and she flipped (in a good way) now she helps april keep the turtles a secret while also obsessing over how cool they look

#irma langinstein #irma #new face claims #aprils bestie #irma bio #bio #face claim #jadah doll

[scaryscarecrows]

Roots and Leaves, Pt. 6

DC did it first. Take your grievances to them.

Jason and Sheila e-mail back and forth for about a week before she says that she has Thursday off so if he has Thursday off does he want to meet for lunch again?

Last time wasn’t bad. Not a lot of staring or people or anything. He can…he can probably do it again. And it’s a few days away still, so he has time to psyche himself up or, worst case scenario, fake his death and move to Canada.

And it’s been a week and she hasn’t pulled out the Pity Card on him yet and maybe…maybe this’ll all work out okay. She might never be Mom, because Catherine’s always gonna be Mom, but…but she could be Mother, maybe. He can see that in the distant (or not-so-distant?) future.

But he’s not going to rush into things, that’s what got him here in the first place. Patience, grasshopper.

Thursday rolls around and he hasn’t faked his death and moved to Canada, so he has no choice but to put on jeans and a hoodie and resign himself to a couple of hours, easy, of no sunglasses and no e-book shield.

Sorry, any small children who might come out of this traumatized.

Okay. He brings his Kindle anyway, and his sunglasses for the journey, and sticks to his normal Civilian Weaponry-couple’a knives, one pair of brass knuckles tucked into a hidden pocket in his hoodie. Last thing he needs is for someone to pick up a bullet, match it to the Red Hood’s, and come knocking on his door. His luck is bad enough that’s exactly what would happen.

Besides, it’s noon on a Thursday, and even in Gotham that’s a slow hour. Bank robbers gotta eat, too.

The monorail ride there is literal Hell (three fighting couples, two crying kids and old man with no personal spaaaaace!) and he’s literally gasping for air when he stumbles out of the car. He likes people. Honest. If he legitimately hated them all, he wouldn’t risk his life to help them. But interacting with them…he could do without that, mostly.

Whatever. Whatever. It’s over, he lived, he’s had worse.

(And no, he doesn’t hear faint cackling in his head, and that’s final.)

It’s windy today, the type of wind that buffets people every which way and is determined to keep his hood off his head. He fidgets with the drawstrings until it’ll stay and buries his hands in his pockets. Wind sucks. He can feel pollen and dust and Gotham Grime being blown onto his skin.

“Jason!”

Is he there already?

Sheila…looks a lot more haggard than she did before. He tries to remember if she’d mentioned being horribly busy, doesn’t think she did, and figures that to be fair, he hasn’t mentioned the bruise that goes halfway up his back.

She smiles, her awkward driver’s license smile, and waves. Yeah, she doesn’t…it must’ve been a long week, or maybe a rough drive or something. She looks tired.

“Hi.” He’s not sure what to call her, still. Miss Haywood is too disconnected, Sheila’s too personal, and it’s way, way too soon for Mother. Names are a pain. “I’m not late, am I?” He knows he’s not. “Monorail was packed.”

“So was the subway. Can I…?”

Her arms are half-out and he figures she’s asking for a hug. He can do a hug, as long as it’s a short hug.

“Yeah. Thanks for the warning.”

Holy crap, she feels frail. But to be fair, barring Dick’s tackle-hug, everyone’s felt frail since…since. So it could just be him. Hugs are weird now.

(“HUG YOUR DADDY!”)

No. Not today. Everything’s fine.

It’s a sort-of short hug, short enough, anyway, and he wonders, abstractedly, if a day will ever come that he’s used to that sort of thing again. If it even matters whether he does or doesn’t.

It does. Of course it does. And the day will come, in time, and he’ll be better, be normal, be what people want him to be.

Little steps.

* * *

They’ve fallen into a companionable silence and for once Jason’s not jumping whenever someone walks by in a purple sweater or anything when Sheila forces her lips out from between her teeth and says, “I know you were Robin.”

Well. That’s, uh, there’s that out of the way.

“Yeah.” There’s clearly no point in denying it. She probably put it together when Batman came knocking. “For a little while, yeah. I was.” He tastes blood, wonders how long he’s been doing that, and wishes he had gum. Or a mint. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you right off, I just…old habits die hard, I guess.”

“Oh God, no, no, I didn’t mean-” She takes a drink. Her hands are shaking, she’s shaking and he doesn’t know what’s wrong. “I just. I thought I should probably make it clear that I did know, so you wouldn’t…I know I was absent, but I don’t want…you shouldn’t feel like you have to hide things from me.”

Oh. That’s. He doesn’t know what to say. Bruce, God knows, has the emotional capabilities of a Himalayan Salt Lamp. Thankfully Jason hadn’t been the type to go through crushes every two weeks, or he probably would have been in Hell. He certainly wouldn’t have…it’s not like he would have shut down the conversation, but sharing and caring? That would have been awkward and best not repeated. Alfred was the go-to for that sorta thing.

All right, then. Since they’re dropping sudden bombshells ‘n all…he has to know.

“You worked for Joker.” There. It’s out. He said it.

And now he kinda regrets it-the self-loathing on her face is a pretty good match for his own, and he can’t tell himself it’s anything less than deep, deep wishing to have made better choices.

“I did.” She straightens up, begins tearing apart a piece of bread on her plate. “Briefly. I’m not proud, but he had a line to my mother, knew where she lived, knew her schedule…knew.” She swallows hard. “Knew she had to rubber-band her jam jars because she couldn’t open them otherwise. I panicked. But it was only for a couple of months-pills, he wanted pills, as much as I could get him. And then he just…went away. I don’t know what he did with them.”

Honestly, after everything, he can’t…he doesn’t have the right to say much. And honestly? There was that one guy, who accidentally cut the fucker off in traffic and couldn’t get away from him.

And look at him. The first man he killed, that wasn’t…oh, sure, he probably had it coming, at least a little, but Jason wasn’t thinking about that or considering it like he does now, he just…he wanted to kill Bruce. Because that was right and reason at the time even though he knows it’s insanity now.

No, he can’t say much.

“I’m sorry,” he says softly, and it’s suddenly easier to look at his hands. “I didn’t…that sounds awful.”

“No.” She tips his chin up and it’s an effort not to pull away and to remember that it’s fingers, warm human fingers, and not the pointy end of a crowbar against his skin. “You deserved to know. It’s only fair.”

Truth be told, it’s a relief to know that she hadn’t…yeah, technically she could’ve…maybe done something different, but she hadn’t wanted to work for him. She wasn’t like the ones he’d christened Dumb and Dumber that…they enjoyed that kinda work.

Lunch is finished in relative silence after that, though, and he’s wondering what’s going to happen now when she rifles through her purse and swears.

“Damn…I meant to grab an old photo album I wanted to show you, with some old family pictures and things.”

Pictures of Willis? Yeah, he’s good. Pictures of other people might be interesting, though.

“Next time?”

“My apartment’s a few blocks over.”

Something feels off. He’s paranoid, he knows he’s paranoid, but something…she’s been shaky and weird all afternoon and he doesn’t…

Calm the fuck down, you freak out when someone window-shops for too long!

“Is everything…is everything okay?”

Or maybe something is wrong-she pulls a napkin over and there’s suddenly a pen in her hand.

“I really do want you to see these pictures, Jason,” she says, but her hand is moving and there’s the ever-so-faint skrit-skrit of pen on paper. “I swear you got my mother’s eyes.”

The napkin slides over to him and he glances down. Her handwriting’s spikey and awful-doctor writing to the bone-but his is no better and he can read it well enough.

An old colleague has been hanging around the hospital lately.

Oh.

That explains a bit.

“Sure.”

Her shoulders drop and she crumples the napkin, nails picking it into shreds.

“I’m sorry to do this to you,” she says softly, nearly too soft for him to hear, and he’s quick to shake his head.

“No, no, I don’t mind, I’m glad you…if there’s anything I can do to…”

Shit, she looks like she’s going to start crying and that is indeed PANIC in his throat. Tears are not good.

“You’re a good boy.” Her voice is watery but there are no tears to be seen. Thank Jesus. “I promise next time we have lunch it’ll be normal.”

Oh, good, things haven’t plummeted down to fiery Hell because of all the revelations flying around.

“Everything’s gonna be fine,” he says, and whoops that’s his ‘all will be well, citizen, never fear!’ voice. But it must work, because the about-to-cry look disappears. “Um. Do you wanna…it looks like it’s gonna rain, should we get going?”

And so they do.

* * *

The wind has picked up and it smells like rain. He’s not looking forward to patrol later.

The wind’s not so bad, though, to stop Sheila from lighting up with a self-depreciating, “I know I’m a doctor and should know better, but I honestly don’t care.”

“I can’t really say anything.” He holds up his own pack and rattles it before pulling one out. It’s not as calming as it usually is and he doesn’t know why.

Eh. It’s been a long day, that’s all. He’s not used to interacting with people on a personal level anymore, which is his own fault and probably not necessarily a good thing.

The first few drops have started to fall when they arrive at her building-big, square, and simplistic. She fishes out her keys while they’re in the elevator (which smells like new car, for some reason).

The hallway is deserted. It’s a little creepy, to be honest-his own building might be crap, but there’s always activity. And then, of course, there was Arkham’s hallways, or what he could hear of them. Noisy. Always noisy. But this? Wayne Manor was silent like this. It unsettled him then and it unsettles him now. Call him a city boy, whatever, but he needs noise.

The brass knuckles and knives in his jacket are warm and comforting and he knows he’s not gonna need ‘em, but they make up for this creepy-ass silence.

Sheila opens the door and motions him inside. It’s dark inside-blackout curtains, probably-but he can hear the rain. It smells like new car in here, too, and he wonders, off-handedly, why-

-it’s not empty. He’s walked into one too many ‘empty’ buildings to be very, very attuned to the sound of somebody breathing. Okay. Be calm, back out and shut the door.

He’s about to do exactly that when the light switch clicks and bathes the whole place in stark white. White walls, white floors, white furniture.

Which only makes Harley Quinn stick out like a sore thumb in all that red and black.

“BAY-BEE!” She could never hope to match Joker’s grin, but she gives it a good go, stretching her makeup. Okay. Change of plans. Get Sheila out of here (and preferably out of the building), deal with Quinn. “It’s been a whiiiiile!”

He takes in the mallet leaning against the couch and the shotgun (are those fuzzy dice? Really?) in her hands and comes to the conclusion that great, she’s riding the crazy train.

But maybe she hasn’t seen Sheila yet. Where’s that goddamn light switch?

He moves, only a little, only to feel the unmistakable press of a gun against his lower back.

“Don’t. Move.”

And the world drops out from under him.

No. No, no, no, she said she quit, it was over, she said they’d let her go, she said-

The door shuts. He twists so he can still see Quinn in his peripheral. Sheila’s face is a blank mask-no tears, no joy, no nothing. Just quiet determination and he doesn’t understand, she said…

“Mom?” The word feels thick and wrong in his mouth, but maybe…maybe she’s brainwashed or hypnotized or something, maybe she doesn’t…isn’t…

“Sorry, kid.” The words are harsh but her tone isn’t. Quinn giggles in the background but she sounds so far away and Sheila’s still pressing a gun against him. “It was you or me, and, well…it had to be you.”

What?

“Aww, come to mama, baby!” Quinn giggles again before straightening up and scowling. “Now.”

His feet drag him forward, sneakers scuffing against the white carpet an’ Heaven’s s’posed ta be white, innit, so why does this feel like Hell and what’s going on she said she said-

For once horrible, desperate second, he wants Bruce. Bruce wouldn’t…yeah, he’d thought, at first, that he’d left him but he knows that he didn’t, he really didn’t, he just…

Bruce wouldn’t have pulled a gun on him, he wouldn’t and God, if he’d just fucking talked to him-

“I did what you wanted, Quinn.” Sheila’s voice is so, so flat and is this all she wanted from the beginning? Is it? “Now call your man.”

Quinn doesn’t even look at her. She’s looking at Jason like she always did-like she’s torn between wanting to rip his head off and wanting to wrap him in a blanket and keep him.

This is his own goddamn fault, he just thought…just once, just once-

“Quinn!” Desperation now, and the gun wobbles against his hoodie as she steps out from behind him. “I did what you said! Call your man!”

Okay. Okay.

He forces himself to take a few deep breaths that taste like that last cigarette outside and says, voice as steady as he can make it, “Let her go, Harley. Leave her alone, I’ll. I’ll do what you want, just. Just let her go.”

“Aww, look at you!” Her pigtails sway and he finds himself oddly hypnotized by the movement. “I knew ya had to be Robin for a reason.”

Yeah. Yeah, he was Robin and that’s all he’ll ever be, the one that fucked up.

“Please, Harley.”

“Nyeh…” She adjusts her grip on the gun, finger dancing near the trigger, and looks down at her knuckles. “Eeny, meanie, miny, moe, catch a Batman by the toe. If he hollers, let ‘im go, eeny…meanie…miny…moe!”

He sees it before she does it, but there’s no time-he’s moved maybe half a centimeter before the gun goes off-

-and Sheila.

Falls.

His ears are ringing. They’re ringing and everything’s so white except her, all blonde and blue and so fucking red because Harley didn’t miss and if he’d been quicker, he should have been-

“Aww, don’t be sad!” Harley’s not alone, of course she’s not. He should have known from the start stupidstupidstupid. “Doncha know what happens to people who know too much?”

Her eyes are open. They’re open and they’re looking at him like this is his fault and it is if he hadn’t…

S’like Joker said, once.

“Good boys know how to lay down and DIE.”

“Mistah J had a spot for ya, baby.” Huh? “But you up an’ left us before it was time! So since it’s his birthday-” The fucker has no birthday he just appeared one day too evil for Hell. “-I thought I’d get my puddin’ somethin’-” She winks. “Real nice.”

And they’re on him.

Harley’s goons are dumb, but they’re also big and they manage to drag him down for a minute before he gets a knife out of his sleeve and drives it into the nearest jaw.

“Andre!” Yeah, Andre ain’t comin’ back from that any time soon. “I thought we taught you manners!”

He reclaims his knife and scrambles back up and okay okay maybe he can get outta this-

WHAM!

Lights out.

#Jason Todd #Sheila Haywood #Harley Quinn #you knew this was coming #oh Jason I'm so sorry honey #one day you can have nice things #but not today #Roots and Leaves

[crashingwavesinmyworld]

Riverdale 3x22 thoughts

This episode....WOW!!!!!

ALL THE VARCHIE WAS SO BEAUTIFUL IM SO HAPPY ❤️❤️❤️❤️😍😍😍 saying they love each other and kissing and all the physical contact made my night.

Mary is the ultimate Varchie shipper lol “id like to know where you two stand romantically”

I knew Chic was gonna be The Gargoyle King

I CANT BELIEVE BETTY SHOT HAL THEN PENELOPE SHOT AND KILLED HIM RIGHT IN FRONT OF BETTY WTF????? Like he’s awful and terrible but poor Betty 😭😭😭 and then everyone ascended except for Kevin???!! I know they they pretty much made it clear Alice is still alive but does that mean Fangs and Polly are dead??? I hate Polly but poor Betty again 😭😭😭 and those poor babies but they deserve better than Polly anyway, I’m glad Cheryl escaped with the other baby.

Poor Cheryl seeing Jason’s body 😭😭😭 Edgar is a piece of shit. I’m so glad she called him out. And now she’s talking to him like he’s still alive near the end of the episode 😭😭..but at least she escaped the farm.

The Choni scene where they reunited was so sweet ❤️❤️❤️ and the poisons and serpents going to save Betty Jughead Archie & Veronica was great ❤️❤️❤️

VERONICA DRINKING THE POTION FOR BETTY AND THEM SAYING THEY LOVE EACH OTHER 💖💖💖

Archie saying “if I don’t make it tell my mom and dad I love them” 😭😭😭

I like that Alice finally did the right thing and helped Cheryl escape and told her to make sure Betty was safe. And she’s actually working for the FBI AGAINST the farm AND CHARLES IS ALIVE!!!!! I know there were theories of him still being alive but I didn’t think he’d be an FBI agent.

WTF WAS OF THAT SCENE OF THEM ALL BURNING THEIR CLOTHES AND JUGHEAD WASNT THERE???? Sorry but that was the weirdest ass cliff hanger. I highly doubt Jughead is gonna die, they’d all be a lot more sad if he did I think, unless that was just to not give it away. But still it was weird.

God damn it Hiram. “Veronica you have no idea what’s coming” then laughing like a maniac please leave her alone you deserved what you got. I’m not gonna say Hermione didn’t deserve to be arrested because she has done some shady shit (btw why was her shooting Sherrif Minetta literally never brought up again?) but he clearly only got her arrested to spite Veronica. Asshole.

This was a crazy episode, definitely way more intense than the season 2 finale. Overall season 3 was pretty good aside from the Archie prison and boxing stuff and honestly the Gargoyle stuff got pretty boring after awhile but I think they did a better job with it than the Black Hood storyline.

I can’t believe we have to wait months now before the new season. But I’m glad we ended on the note that we did. The core four being happy and together at Pops (ignoring thatweird ass flash forward), Varchie being back together, Bughead and Choni still being together(and Choni being out of that farm mess) Poor Kevin though. Even though I disliked him throughout the farm storyline he’s lost pretty much everyone. I don’t know if everyone really “ascended” or not, yes that’s what Kevin said but there’s been so many cases of thinking someone’s dead but they really aren’t. Again I definitely think Alice is still alive by the way they talked to Charles but idk about Polly or Fangs.

#riverdale #riverdale spoilers

[jorgemadridtumbrl-blog]

Proof Of Benefits For Diabetics Still Too Scarce

Nutrisystem Food regimen is a weight reduction plan providing portion and calorie managed prepackaged foods as well as food options. I ate a load of junk all the time Mcdonalds or pizza or takeout so my weight-reduction plan wasnt ever good. I am guessing you weren't truly consuming on plan and following it properly since I am unable to see your food logs. The week earlier than I tried NutriSystem, I had followed the Flavor Level eating regimen which was very filling. The NuMi app is offered to Nutrisystem customers as well as the overall population of do-it-your self dieters without spending a dime. I just completed the First 5 on Nutrisystem however solely misplaced Near 4 pounds. Jenny Craig rated No. sixteen, with some destructive comments based on value of food and fee-primarily based incentive activities of program representatives. Value: Choose the $39.95 month-to-month cross, which includes unlimited meetings and on-line assist. The writer will research the Nutrisystem weight loss plan and resolve that they want to give it a attempt. Ice cream would've been a nice addition, however I believe it has a little an excessive amount of fat to be considered part of this eating regimen. I found ways to apply my vegetables to my meals in creative methods equivalent to adding spinach or olives to my Nutrisystem pizza or adding spaghetti squash to my Nutrisystem meatballs. We've been going with nutrisystem for 3 weeks and he lost 11 lbs to my 9 lbs to this point. In short, it's pretty unlikely that you'll able to hop in your automobile after which come house with luggage stuffed with Nutrisystem merchandise. Plenty of the food tastes like weight loss program food, but read the food opinions and choose what sounds good to you. The weight-reduction plan is lowered energy, and clinical trials undertaken by Nutrisystem have proven important weight loss (on the newer packages using the Turbo 10 begin). Nutrisystem has had some fairly famous men on this food regimen, (like Dan Marino, Don Shula, Joey Fatone, Chris Berman, and Jason Taylor), however most individuals don't put the identify and the product together in the way in which that they may for Jillian. However unless you really have a genuine grievance with Nutrisystem itself, I do not need to learn angry or hateful feedback or arguments particularly over what you see or don't see on TELEVISION. That is my site and whereas I let lots of stuff go, I do not want it to show right into a free-for-all mud-throwing match. Nutrisystem gives a weight loss program that's totally custom-made to the individual buyer's necessities, whilst nonetheless offering the structure that many individuals discover they should shed pounds effectively. Cost to lose 20 pounds: $120 to $200 with the month-to-month go, together with membership and 12 to 20 meetings. Can You Get Nutrisystem At Clinics Or Doctors' Workplaces?: I do have a number of folks inform me that they've requested their physician to prescribe this eating regimen and have gotten very puzzled seems to be. Lunch was NutriSystem Tex-Mex rice and beans, one other concoction in a styrofoam cup. Not surprisingly, the experts had loads of concerns, and the Quick Food plan landed towards the underside of the Best Diets Overall rankings. JC was an excellent plan, however I opted for NS as a result of I had a couple associates on the program they usually had nice success. The ladies's program accommodates about 1,200 energy and the lads's contains about 1,500 energy per day, but these numbers may change relying in your current weight, age, and activity level. Shares of NutriSystem rose 9 % to a new year-high of $28.32 in late morning commerce on Nasdaq. It is significantly better to stay on the weight loss plan for 8-12 weeks not just to lose all the load you need to lose but additionally to coach your body to get used to consuming smaller meals, more healthy meals and not snack between meals. The corporate states that its mission is to provide a weight loss program based on high quality foods and a nutritionally balanced meal plan. Nutrisystem only prices $7 per day and have large reductions like free meals for three weeks. Examples are: the flex program; the common fundamental package deal; the vegetarian package deal; the diabetic package deal; the select bundle; and the silver bundle. The group had previously researched the IAP enzyme by feeding it to mice already placed on a weight-reduction plan excessive in fat. I started at about 210 kilos and I was a dimension 16 and right now I'm about 162 kilos and a size 10. The plan works but the concern is that some people don't perceive it's not simply concerning the food. On average, Nutrisystem runs about $11 per day whereas Medifast runs about $10 per day. Uniquely Yours Plan - An extra a hundred and fifty foods accessible (choose your individual - including frozen meals). Don't belief any weight-reduction plan that guarantees outcomes with out exercise and/or adjustments in consuming habits. Nutrisystem is a meal-delivery system that takes the difficulty and work out of cooking health foods and monitoring macronutrients like carbohydrates, protein and fats. You can also save fifteen % on the prices if you go for the auto shipment/auto choice possibility for your plan meals. I talked my husband into doing the food plan with me and to let you know the truth, I feel it helps him to understand the struggle of sitting next to someone eating meals that you can't have when only one person is on a eating regimen. One survey of three,500 Nutrisystem dieters in 2010 found that ninety% have been completely satisfied in regards to the taste and high quality of the food they obtained. Good luck together with your eating regimen however I don't think you want luck cause you've gotten an important attitude and that's what makes individuals successful! This is where the NutriSystem food regimen is available in. For previous diets we had to force ourselves to right away change and get used to the advisable diet, whereas the NutriSystem eating regimen would actually work itself round our present meal plan. In spite of everything, they've finally made the decision to start the eating regimen and have every kind of resolve at this very second, so that they want to get began right away. You simply acquire a few drops of blood according to the instructions on the package and mail it in. You may receive results by mail when your kit is processed, which you may then show to your physician. I had a NutriSystem granola bar for breakfast, along with the usual fruit and milk. And Nutrisystem additionally affords counselors for you to discuss to, so that you could get some assist everytime you're tempted to get out of the food regimen prematurely. When researching the Nutrisystem Weight loss program it's essential to take a look at the client opinions, high quality of ingredients, and the science behind the load loss. I went again to my very own food regimen (healthy decisions, and many others.) for the previous few months and only gained 5 back. You possibly can weight-reduction plan and shed weight for less cash with this meal substitute weight loss program program than nearly some other in the marketplace proper now. Personally, I assumed the eating regimen lived as much as my expectations and for that it was worth every cent I paid for it. Okay, I hijacked your comments you may have them again now, however some issues simply have to be stated. Then I discovered this nice evaluate of Nutrisystem and simply needed to read it. You see, I attempted NS a 12 months in the past and I used to be pretty amazed that I misplaced almost 15lbs in a month on the food plan. With Nutrisystem, you make the order to your meals online and the meals might be shipped to you as shortly as attainable, but in some cases you could end up in a situation that you need to go a day or two with out your meals plan. By week ten, I was still having fun with all of the food and health advantages of Nutrisystem. The idea is that while children which can be tough over maintaining a healthy diet foods akin to greens as an illustration, they can be extra simply satisfied to eat a wholesome, calorie controlled meal from Nutrisystem based mostly on their recognition of its TV presence and the link to its well-liked superstar spokesperson, presently the extraordinarily standard Janet Jackson. In 2014, the company unveiled Nutrisystem My Way, its new, personalized plan for each particular person's metabolism. Since nutrisystem has quite a lot of soybean derivatives, soy sensitivity is likely to be one to check out first. The aspartame within the soda plays a major function in blocking IAP activity, leading to further weight acquire. But contemplating I used to be consuming out day-after-day, at a price of sometimes $12 or more a day for lunch, I am really saving cash, even shopping for the grocery items. I made sure to name into Nutrisystem to make clear how the program works, the cost, or any further fees I need to learn about before purchasing, mentioned a buyer. They've an internet site on-line which makes ordering foods and checking suggestions or guidelines for this system very simple. At the same time, reading different folks's testimonies and opinions of the Nutrisystem diet was encouraging and galvanizing, too. That happened to me the primary 2 days and I used to be really irritable..then the food regimen was totally superb! You could find dozens of on the web assets, evaluations and success stories provided that can assist you study possible plans. Let's have a look at what precise nutrisystem diet plan impartial researchnot funded by Nutrisystem or comparable weight-loss trade-associated packageshas to say about that declare and in addition, in regards to the science behind the Nutrisystem manner of consuming: frequent, small meals every day. What I did not perceive on the time is that the nutrisystem food and program is going to be the identical regardless of who's buying it and using it. They do not make completely different meals for celebrities or for the individuals who have essentially the most success. The cost of Nutrisystem's program is decrease than most, but you should still expect to pay some large cash for this program. The codes for nutrisystem change periodically, so that you do have to make sure that you're using a present promotion, but they're fairly generous with these and so there's actually no reason to neglect to use them. I purchased the 5 days homestyle equipment from walmart whereas awaiting my 7 day trial equipment from Nutrisystem. I enjoyed the sweetness of the bar, and suppose it might have been the proper meal on the go, if solely I had someplace to go. The breakfast buffet at Shoney's comes to thoughts.NutriSystem pasta The novelty of the plan has worn off, and I am now not looking ahead to the meals.

[simplemlmsponsoring]

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Understanding Retina Images in HTML Email

Apart from the onslaught of screen sizes, the mobile revolution introduces another interesting challenge for email designers: high-DPI displays. These displays, often referred to as Retina displays (a term coined by the Apple marketing machine), have the power to both enhance any email campaign—or give your subscribers a less-than-stellar email experience.

In this post, we’ll take a look at exactly how high-DPI displays work and what that means for email designers and marketers. After seeing how to implement retina images in your own campaigns, we’ll wrap up by discussing some important considerations for anyone working with retina images.

A Bit of History

Back in 2010, Apple released the iPhone 4. Among other hardware improvements, the iPhone 4 featured what Apple called a Retina display. Apple’s Retina display was one of the first high-DPI, or high dots per inch, displays mass-produced for consumers.

On device screens, DPI refers to the number of pixels a manufacturer can fit into an inch of screen. The higher the DPI, the more detailed and clear images and text on that screen appear.

Apple refers to their high-DPI displays as Retina displays since, in theory, the DPI is so high that the human eye can no longer distinguish between individual pixels on the screen. While ‘Retina display’ is an Apple brand name, the term ‘retina’ is often used to describe high-DPI displays from other manufacturers. Likewise, retina is commonly used to refer to images optimized for high-DPI displays, which you’ll learn about below.

Although Apple was the first to introduce the Retina display to a mainstream audience, it wasn’t long before other device manufacturers hopped on board. While most companies started with smaller devices like phones, retina screens can now be found on tablets, laptops, and even desktop computers like Apple’s massive 27-inch Retina 5k iMac.

The Need for Retina Images

Learning more about hardware and DPI is all well-and-good, but you may find yourself asking:

What the hell does this have to do with email marketing, Jason?

Good question!

As marketers, it’s our job to present our brands in the best light possible. While subject lines, copy, and cadence all play an important part in looking good to subscribers, visuals draw people to an email campaign first. After opening an email, our eyes move to the design and imagery before we start reading any copy or tapping calls-to-action.

If you’re not accounting for high-DPI displays, you run the risk of looking careless to subscribers. Because of the way high-DPI displays work, non-optimized images end up looking blurry and pixelated on retina screens. Here’s an example:

Non-Retina v. Retina Images

As users grow accustomed to retina screens, they expect text and images to appear crisp and clear. If you’re not optimizing your images for high-DPI screens, those users see a degraded email design, which can lead to equally degraded trust in your brand.

Fortunately for subscribers, more brands have adopted retina-optimized images over the past few years, as made evident in our annual State of Email surveys.

Using Retina Images in Email

How exactly can you optimize images for retina screens? The answer, it turns out, is quite simple.

Roughly speaking, high-DPI displays have twice as many pixels per inch than their traditional counterparts. Therefore, if we want our images to look good on those screens, they need to be twice as large so that, when they’re scaled down in the email, there are more pixels for retina screens to display.

Let’s look at an example.

In our emails, we include the Litmus logo at the top. Using HTML, it’s sized so that it displays at 130 by 48 pixels. If we created and saved the logo image at that size, subscribers would see a blurry mess on retina screens:

To keep the logo crisp, we simply create an image at a larger size. In this case, the image file is 276 pixels by 102 pixels, but anything that’s at least double the intended display size works. Then, in our HTML, we use the original, intended display size in the width and height attributes to scale the larger image down:

<img alt=”Litmus” src=”[email protected]” width=”130″ height=”48″ style=”font-family: sans-serif; color: #ffffff; font-size: 20px; display: block; border: 0px;” border=”0″>

On high DPI displays, we get beautiful, crisp, retina images.

Using Retina Images in Outlook

Some versions of Microsoft Outlook still display the retina images at their full size, despite the explicit sizes set by the width and height attributes. To get around this, you can include a max-width rule in the style attribute of the image.

In the example below, we use the width attribute (no height attribute) and the max-width to get retina images working across all email clients.

<img alt=”Litmus” src=”[email protected]” width=”600″ style=”width: 100%; max-width: 600px; font-family: sans-serif; color: #ffffff; font-size: 20px; display: block; border: 0px;” border=”0″>

You’ll notice the inclusion of a width style set to 100%. This is a handy trick for making images responsive across different screen sizes. On larger screens, the max-width rule will kick in to constrain the image size, while on smaller screens they will fill 100% of the screen—or container—width.

Can Background Images Be Retina?

Yes, you can use retina images as background images. Although the implementation is slightly more complex, the principles are the same.

The main thing to note is that it won’t work everywhere (but what really does in email?). For retina background images, you should use the background CSS property instead of the background HTML attribute on something like a table cell.

<td style=”background:url(img-x2.jpg) center/cover;background-image:url(img-x2.jpg);background-size:100%;background-size:cover;”>

The background is set using both the shorthand property and using individual CSS background properties to account for some quirks in Gmail and Android clients. It’s a bit complicated to get into here, but this Community discussion has a great overview of the techniques available to designers looking for gorgeous background images on high-DPI displays.

Some Considerations

While doubling the size of your images helps ensure that they display beautifully on retina screens, this technique is not without its drawbacks.

Mobile data plans are expensive and—depending on your location and network connection—slow. As we increase the dimensions of an image, the file size increases, too. That increased size cuts into a subscriber’s data plan and can cause an email to load slowly. Both issues are a big problem and create a less-than friendly user experience.

So keep in mind that not every campaign needs retina images. If you’re using a lot of images in your campaign, or images that are really large, using standard, non-retina images may help provide a better user experience since the images will be quick to download and display in your campaign.

If you do need to use retina images, there are two techniques to help avoid bloated file sizes.

The first—and more complicated—is to use something called compressive images. These are images that are saved at huge dimensions, but very low quality settings.

Most image editing programs allow you to set the quality at which images are saved. In Photoshop, for example, you can adjust the quality of a JPEG using a simple slider:

To create a compressive image, design the image at something around four times the intended size and save it at an extremely low quality setting. While the image looks terrible when viewed at full-size, after it’s scaled down to its intended size in an email, the artifacts shrink down and go unnoticed. And the low quality settings ensure that your file size is kept to a minimum.

The second way to keep file sizes in check is to use a dedicated program to further compress your images after saving them. Applications—many of them free—exist for every operating system that allow you to process and compress images after they are created.

Some of our favorites include ImageOptim, JPEGmini, TinyPNG, Compressor.io, Kraken, and Pied Piper. In most cases, you simply drag and drop—or upload—your images to the program and they compress them. Then, you can upload those optimized images to your ESP or server to include in your retina-ready campaigns.

It’s a Retina World

If recent stats are an indicator, email marketers will continue to see subscribers shift their reading habits to mobile devices. Combined with the trend of manufacturers outfitting devices with high DPI displays, the need for retina images in email campaigns is clear.

As long as you consider file sizes, including retina images is a relatively easy way to upgrade any campaign and put your best foot forward. Stop worrying about blurry graphics and get started with retina images today!

Test your image file-size + load time

With Litmus Checklist you can test your images for file-size, load time, and broken links. Plus, instantly see how your campaigns look in 50+ email clients.

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  The post Understanding Retina Images in HTML Email appeared first on Litmus Software, Inc..

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#best practices #email design #images #rendering #retina #retina images #EMAIL MARKETING

[omgmicheal01me]

Why extreme messaging on Edmonton's anti-Trudeau billboards is concerning experts

EDMONTONOn a recent June day, a large billboard on the south side of Edmonton cast a shadow over the passing cars below. Is Trudeau leading us to civil war? asked the blood-red lettering emblazoned across a black background on the 10-foot-by-20-foot electronic sign. Above the main text was a series of phrases provided without context, among them: mass migration, firearms ban, normalizing pedophilia, eco-hysteria and globalism. The man behind the billboard, and another like it on the citys west side, sums it up: These are the kinds of things that people are talking about online, said Peter Downing. Downing is a former Mountie. His lobby group, Alberta Fights Back, also funded a billboard in February that asked Should Alberta Ditch Canada? Its pointing out the dysfunction and bringing it out in the public to have this discussion, he said. Some of the most heated topics on the internet including conspiracy theories and out-and-out falsehoods have morphed from right-wing message boards to the streets of the Alberta capital, often in the form of antipathy in Alberta toward Trudeau and the federal government. University of Alberta political science professor Jared Wesley said the Alberta election discourse validated some of the emotions that underlie the extreme messaging pushed by groups like Alberta Fights Back, and politicians have failed to step up and condemn them. Before social media, I think we lived in a time where establishment parties would snuff that out. They would either stifle it, or they would make public comments to the effect of, This is not who we represent, this is not what were about. But we havent seen any parties do that, Wesley said. The embers will keep burning until somebody snuffs them out. And I just dont get a sense from Alberta politicians that theyre interested in doing that. He said its unlikely these groups will have an impact on the federal election, as there is nothing the prime minister could do to win them over. These folks are not persuaded by knowledge, facts, evidence, law. But the messages cross a line from commentary to misinformation, and an Edmonton lawyer said that could land Downing in trouble. The notion of a firearms ban comes from a rumour spread by independent MP Tony Clement, who said in May that Trudeau was planning to announce a ban on all legal firearms during a womens conference. However Trudeau never announced a ban. The normalizing pedophilia point stems partly from a Pierre Elliot Trudeau Foundation document that contains a triangular logo, vaguely resembling one that the FBI has identified as being used by pedophiles to secretly discuss their sexual proclivities. Triangular logos are used by many companies and organizations, but Downing draws the pedophilia link based on a belief in the debunked Pizzagate conspiracy that influenced a 2016 shooting at a Washington, D.C., pizzeria. The conspiracy falsely suggests a number of high-ranking politicians are involved in child sex-trafficking rings. Media and defamation lawyer Sean Ward said while Canada has broad protections for people expressing opinions on matters of public interest, the defence of fair comment requires the comment or opinion to be based on facts. Theres obviously an expectation of heated political rhetoric, and perhaps a greater deference to criticism of public officials, but the people who are making comments about political figures are not immune from defamation actions, Ward said. There is still a legal risk where youre making those kinds of allegations if theyre not based on provable facts. A spokesperson for the prime ministers office declined to comment. At pro-oil Yellow Vest protests in Edmonton last winter, some held signs depicting violence against Trudeau. A quick scan of Yellow Vests Canadas Facebook page at the time showed commenters accusing the prime minister of treason and calling for his assassination. Mount Royal University political science professor Lori Williams said the garbled messaging on Downings billboard is reminiscent of the rhetoric from the truck convoy that drove from Alberta to Ottawa in February, when people with a range of political concerns diluted the messaging to the point that it wasnt clear what was going on. There obviously are some people in Alberta that are extremely angry, Williams said. This billboard tries to touch on a number of different issues and concerns, but theres no sort of coherent line that runs through them. And some of those will appeal to one group and be abhorrent to another group. Resentment toward Ottawa nothing new in this province has been stewing once more in Alberta since the 2014 recession, with some believing Trudeau has ignored the western provinces and obstructed progress on pipelines. Premier Jason Kenney frequently targeted Trudeau during his spring election campaign, disparagingly accusing NDP Leader Rachel Notley of forming an alliance with the prime minister. But even some of those who donated to Alberta Fights Back think Downing has gone too far. Elections Alberta records show Downing himself is the groups biggest financial contributor, but he has received $1,000 from the second-highest donor, former Wildrose Party candidate Sharon Maclise. Maclise said she donated to fund the February pro-separatism billboards but was surprised to learn about the latest ones. I do not endorse it and I would not have agreed for my money to be used for it, she said. That does not say that I like Justin Trudeau, but I think that is radical nonsense and I dont want to be associated with it and I am very upset. I didnt even know it was up. Alberta Fights Back paid to put the Trudeau signs up for a week at two major intersections in early June, sparking some shock and anger on social media. The ads have since run their course and have come down. Wesley said the groups extreme views only represent a small portion of the population a post-election poll conducted by U of A researchers found about 12 per cent of Albertans favour separation but added history tells us you cant ignore these things. You need to take a firm stance in favour of, in this case, staying in Canada. And I cant believe we have to say that, Wesley said. Theyre playing on emotions. And theyre getting attention for doing it. Kevin Maimann is an Edmonton-based reporter covering education and marijuana legalization. Follow him on Twitter: @TheMaimann

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Hi all, I recently wrote this post about how Drip screwed over its most loyal customers and I thought perhaps /r/Entrepreneur would get value out of my lessons learned.----If you’re not familiar, Drip is email marketing software that’s pretty heavy on the marketing automation front. I won’t do them the courtesy of a link, so you’ll have to Google them if you want to check it out.They’ve been around since 2012 or so, founded by someone I trusted, but he sold the business to Leadpages a few years ago, and it’s been going downhill ever since.I’ve been using them for years as the backbone of two “side” businesses: IndieHive, which covers this website for freelancers and the related products and services that I sell, and Everleads, a curated lead generation site for freelance designers and developers.In 2016 and 2017, I really dug deep into Drip. I built out dozens of interconnected workflows to carefully shepherd my subscribers through various funnels and sequences with duplicate emails or annoying content that’s not relevant to them. I integrated my web front-end with their APIs so that I could customize the site for subscribers. I wrote bridging scripts to connect it to Mixpanel for analytics, and I used Zapier to hook Drip up to even more services. It was the heart of my entire business, and it was awesome.But throughout 2018, things started to go awry.I kept experiencing glitches in the workflows where people would get stuck on workflow steps that should be instant, like “remove tag”. Or people would end one workflow and start another, but not have any of the data that the first workflow had set. There were honestly dozens of these little glitches, but individually they were minor.Also troubling: deliverability started to slip. Not precipitously, and I can’t prove that it wasn’t just my emails, but I have heard from others that they were having issues with getting their emails into people’s inboxes in 2018.But the most egregious thing for all of this was that support was basically no help at all. I probably opened two dozen support requests in 2018 and I’m not sure they actually resolved a single one. We’d spend hours going back and forth so they could even understand the problem. Then they’d almost always say one of two things:“For a workaround, just insert a number of delays between steps in your workflows so that the system doesn’t get confused!” So all my workflows had little 5 minute delay steps to try and make sure things worked correctly. Which they still didn’t. Wtf.Or they’d just say they need to escalate to the developers and then I’d get an email weeks or months later from some random support engineer letting me know they were still looking into why the most basic functions of their software don’t work right. Awesome.Alarmed by this, I repeatedly researched alternatives throughout 2018, but nothing seemed worth going through the pain of migration and the risk of just having similar issues somewhere else. So I kept resolving to be patient with Drip and hope (pray) that they were hard at work at undoing whatever architectural disaster had led us here.And then…In early January 2019, while I was on a relaxing cruise with my wife for our 15th anniversary, I got an email from Drip:https://ryanwaggoner.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/drip-bullshit-pricing-email-2.pngSo basically: “Hey, we’re raising our prices in 12 days! You can keep your current price if you switch to an annual plan!”And if you read it carefully, there’s something pretty important missing from this email.It doesn’t say what the new pricing is**. Seriously wtf.**So I emailed to ask. They responded the next day (so now I have 11 days) to reveal they were doubling my monthly price.Drip raised my price from $184 / month to $368 / month with 12 days notice.That’s just about the worst way imaginable to treat your oldest and most loyal customers.And it was the last straw for me.Now, to be clear, I completely understand wanting to grow a company in a new direction, or thinking that you need to raise prices to reflect more value.But you don’t do it when your platform is half-broken, you don’t do it with 12 days notice, and you grandfather in existing customers, at least for long enough for them to migrate. Also, you tell them the price when you tell them that prices are rising.It’s hard to imagine how Drip could have been more disrespectful to their customer base than what they did here.So as of last month, I switched all my subscribers to ConvertKit and ActiveCampaign for Everleads and IndieHive, respectively. That’s thousands of dollars that Drip won’t be getting from me. I managed to get both setups completely migrated off just before their billing renewal dates, in one case with literal minutes to spare.It was a pain and required some late nights but it was worth it to deny them another penny.I’m not alone in feeling upset about this. Twitter was ablaze for weeks with people who were angry and bailing for greener, more respectful pastures. I’ve taken a sick joy in watching a lot of people migrate off Drip with much larger lists than mine.I also cancelled Leadpages in favor of Instapage. I was already unhappy with Leadpages, mainly because it feels pretty clunky and dated, they aren’t very responsive to user feedback, and they’re still missing some pretty basic things (like being able to pass form data to the thank you page. Seriously?).Side note: I was going to link to the Leadpages idea portal, but they apparently shut it down. Makes sense, since it was filled with hundreds of good ideas with many, many customer votes that had been ignored for years.Regardless, even if Leadpages was awesome, they own Drip and I won’t give another penny to such an unethical company that treats its customers so poorly.And this migration was a huge pain (which is what they were counting on), partly because of how complex my Drip setups were, but also because ConvertKit and ActiveCampaign are both pretty different from each other and from Drip. On the surface, they all do some of the same things, but once you dig in, things diverge, which made the migration especially painful.Drip is complicated. Stupidly so. In fact, it’s so complicated that there are a number of problems using it:It doesn’t really work. I mean, it does like 99% of the time, but that last 1% means that some of your subscribers are going to have a bad time. And it’s not just that their emails won’t show up. They might just get stuck in a workflow, or skip some emails in a sequence, or get things at the wrong times, or lose data, etc. And since this happens randomly, the number of subscribers who experience it accumulates over time.The customer support reps don’t really know how it works, because it’s too complicated. So you end up spending hours writing up descriptions of the problem and putting together screencasts to show how things don’t seem to be working, and the only response you get is that they’ll have to ask the developers.It encourages you to setup really fancy complex automations which, even if they did work, are way beyond what you actually need. Just imagine: you can do anything! You can track everything! You can have an unlimited number of tags and fields! Track and automate all the things!Your setup can end up being really brittle and deeply tied to the Drip architecture, which is a problem if you want to migrate off. And it’s hard to expand and modify over time without breaking all kinds of things for your subscribers who are in those automations.The setup is hard to document. It’s easy to end up with a large collection of documents and spreadsheets and screencasts to try and explain not only what you did, but why you did it.It’s hard to audit and debug when things go wrong. And things will go wrong. It’s hard to tell exactly what’s happening with your subscribers, where things went off the rails, and how to get it back on track without screwing things up further.In the end, Drip for me felt like a really shitty programming language. Technically possible to do almost anything, but so painful that in the end you wish you hadn’t bothered.By contrast, ConvertKit is simple. And yes, I think it’s too simple in places. I think there are some genuine gaps in the functionality that makes it a little too hard to get done the things you want.But I’m also aware of the fact that I’m coming from Drip and a really convoluted setup, so being forced to simplify is probably a good thing.And ActiveCampaign is not simple, but it’s powerful in a bunch of ways that Drip should have been. Additionally, it has the distinction of actually being, you know, functional. Crazy, I know.Also, ActiveCampaign apparently is more open to feedback than Drip. I posted a Twitter thread listing some things that I like about it and Jason VandeBoom, the founder of ActiveCampaign, setup a call with me to go over some of my feedback. And ActiveCampaign isn’t a tiny company; they have hundreds of employees and are much larger than Drip. It meant a lot to me that Jason would just jump on the phone with a random customer to see how they could improve.Meanwhile Drip’s emails aren’t even signed by an actual person. During this whole debacle, I don’t think anyone from Drip actually responded to anyone’s tweets or complaints. A couple days after the initial announcement when things were blowing up on Twitter, they sent this out another email that was basically "sorry, not sorry"Just like their price increase, all of their corporate communication just screams “We don’t care about you. Go away.”So I did.I’m actually really glad that I dropped Drip, after all that. Partly because of how much better ConvertKit and ActiveCampaign are as tools, but mostly because it taught me a lesson about how you need to be careful when you’re a small company about who you integrate with, because while your interests may align now, that could change at any point.But this rant has gone on long enough, so I’ll save that point for a future post.Disclaimer: just in case Drip decides to sue me (which would be so on-brand for them at this point), ALL the descriptions of Drip’s functionality, failings, and communications is to the best of my recollection and should not be taken as a literal word-for-word account.----Happy to answer any questions about my experience with Drip, ConvertKit, or ActiveCampaign. Would also love to hear anyone else's experiences with any of those (or others you'd recommend in the space of email-based marketing automation).Original post: https://ryanwaggoner.com/drip-pricing-review/

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