#Imperator Titan

[alphamecha-mkii]

Imperator: Wrath of the Omnissiah Cover Art by Akim Kaliberda

[titanomancy]

Bigger! More titanic!

[marleysfinest]

'Shiganshina - Part 1'

We were surrounded. For the first time ever, there wasn’t a scrap of a plan or strategy forming in my mind, there was just panic and disbelief. Never had we faced such impossible odds; how had we let them lead us into this? Why hadn’t we questioned the ease of the operation so far more than we had done? Erwin ordered his soldiers not to engage with Reiner, and I knew that he was going to take the time he needed to get the lay of the land. Whether his Scouts could hold off until that point was another story. 

[doolallymagpie]

feel like the Shalka would make a good Whohammer Skaven analogue

underground, everywhere, seeing one means you’ve got an invasion happening, easier to just pretend they don’t exist and that forge world’s core Just Did That

[gretahayes]

JLA/Titans: The Technis Imperative

SICK and TWISTED that this is Dick’s deepest wish and he knows immediately it isn't real.

[drabblesandimagines]

Pining

Clive Rosfield x fem reader, based on this request. Angsty fluff, minor game spoilers.

-

You’d experienced a lot of hurt in your life.

It had hurt when, days after your 14th Name Day, you’d manifested magick without a crystal. Your father had marched you up to the constable’s office with no hesitation, your mother and sister at the door watching, but not protesting as you were dragged away. Your father wouldn’t even look at you as you sobbed, begging him to forgive you, that you didn’t mean it, but he was unmoved. The hurt of being so easily flung aside by people you thought were meant to love you unconditionally.

It had hurt when you’d been Branded a few days afterwards - strapped down to a table as a soldier had a hand grasped around your throat to keep you still, all whilst the Brand Master inked your skin. It was rare to awaken so late and they couldn’t risk losing such a healthy Bearer to the poisoned black carved into your skin, or so you’d overheard, so it was imperative you did not move. If your face wasn’t burning, your throat was from the taunting squeeze of your windpipe to keep you still.

It had hurt when a series of masters had worked you to the bone from the off. When they’d kicked, punched, whipped you for the days they felt you weren’t performing your best, that you were being lazy, not that you were drained of energy from a diet of scraps.

It had hurt knowing your life had a price, a physical amount of gil exchanged between hands, and one which lessened as you aged. It had hurt when your intoxicated master tried to flog you on the street to afford a few more pints of ale, until Cid came to your rescue.

It had hurt the day you’d had your Brand removed, despite the draught Tarja had you drink in preparation. The Brand removal was necessary when you joined the Cursebreakers – an unescorted Branded was too much of a target, after all. Tarja’s touch was gentle, her scalpel hand practiced and cautious, but it was never going to be pain-free.

All that hurt in your life, but this, you think - as you watch Clive and Jill deep in conversation, the way his eyes seem to light up when she places her hand on his arm - is the worst hurt of all.

You hadn’t meant to fall in love with Clive Rosfield. 

There had been many Bearers easy on the eye across the years, but romance was strictly forbidden. Being caught in too close proximity with one another was enough to warrant a beating in many master’s eyes, the guilty parties made example of so much that you didn’t even dare to dream of finding love.

Even after settling down in the Hideaway, you hadn’t thought of it…

Until Clive.

Somehow, over the years, he’d crept his way into your heart, slowly and cautiously, and you don’t know how he did, but he’s there now and it hurts.

You’d met Jill in the infirmary. You weren’t a physicker by any means, but Tarja said your gentle manner was ideal for comforting those who were in pain or sick, so you’d been helping out there when Jill was first brought in, clinging to life.

The two of you had become best friends almost instantly – helping someone in those early days of recovery bonds two like nothing else - and your friendship had only grown stronger over the years. It felt like having your sister back, the jokes and secrets once again shared as she taught you how to braid your hair. You’d sobbed for each other in her room one night - for lost childhoods, lost dreams, lost family.

Before any feelings towards Clive had begun to develop within you, you’d gently teased her about him – asking her if he was her suitor.

“Clive?” She smiled, stifling a laugh. “No, he’s practically my brother. I love him, but not like that.”

Being friends with Jill had led to being friends with Clive, naturally. There had been tears when they’d returned from Drake’s Head sans Cid after Titan’s attack on the Hideaway - tears in relief at each other’s safety and tears for those lost. You’d been one of the lucky ones, escaping with minimal injury and had immediately thrown yourself into helping find and build the new Hideaway on the blighted lake. There was always something to be done – endless carpentry work, covert supply runs, shifts in the infirmary, taking turns making big batches of stews before Molly stepped up to save everyone the stomach ache.

At the turn of the year in the new Hideaway, the ale had been flowing at the Tub & Crown – music playing away on the orchestrator in a rare night of celebration. There was still work to do – the base would require constant maintenance and expansion of course, and not to mention the issue of the Mothercrystals themselves – but the mood was joyful.

Otto had even asked Lady Charon for a dance, much to everyone’s amusement. Everyone had held their breath, bracing themselves for her quick-witted tongue, but Charon had shrugged and accepted his outstretched hand. As they waltzed, others begun to join them, and you watched with an enchanted smile on your face. It felt like almost something out of a fairytale. Gav soon approached your table and extended a hand to Jill in a flourish, she is soon whisked away into the fray, laughing as Gav definitely has two left feet.

An outstretched hand appears to your side.

“May I have this dance, my lady?” You turn to see Clive, not dressed in his full armour, just his white undershirt and leather breeches. He seems softer for it, more relaxed in casual attire for a change.

“I… I don’t know how, I’m afraid.” You shake your head at his offer – you were never a lady of the court after all. Not like Jill.

“I assure you I am very out of practice, so we’ll do fine together. Please?” It must be the ale, you think, as you relent and take his hand.

He pulls you to your feet with ease and escorts you to the middle of the makeshift dance floor, placing his other hand on the small of your back and pulling you close.

“Just follow my lead – like our lessons in the pit.” He smiles, and your heart thuds.

You soon fall into the cautious rhythm – he steps forward, you step back. His eyes flick between yours and behind you, making sure you’re not going to collide into any of the other couples, particularly the enthusiastic Gav. Your face feels hot under Clive’s soft gaze. What is this feeling?

The music comes to an end too soon.

“Thank you, Clive.” You say, softly.

He smiles, pressing a kiss to your knuckles. “My lady, the pleasure was mine.”

You stare at one another, perhaps a second too long, when there’s a loud crash – Gav has missed the stool in his eagerness to get back to his pint.

“Who moved my seat?!”

Laughter echo arounds the hall and the moment is lost then, but you remember it with a warm feeling in your stomach, a smile on your face as you drift off to sleep in your bed that day.

And the feeling only grows and grows…

--

A few months have passed since the turn of the year and life at the Hideaway remains busy – the Fallen relic constantly needs restructuring to accommodate new arrivals of freed Bearers after they had been nursed back to health in the infirmary, before you’d begin to assist them in adjusting to their new found freedom – albeit limited to the confines of the Hideaway - but freedom none-the-less.

Things have been somewhat different lately. Jill and Clive are often out on excursions together and when they are both back within the Hideaway, they have started to secrete themselves away on an evening to his chambers. It’s hard not to feel left out. Dominant business, you’d try to reassure yourself. A Bearer like yourself was nothing like the power an Eikon possessed. Jill doesn’t say what she’s been up to and you don’t pry, but she seems happier recently. Whenever you see her, she gets almost giggly, like she has a secret you’re not privy too.

And now, seeing the two of them sat at the table in the far corner, as if not to be disturbed, conferring closely, the physical contact, it becomes all too clear and it hurts.

“Gil for your thoughts, like?”

You jump at the sound of Gav’s voice and realise he’s stood right in front of you. You hadn’t even noticed him climbing the stairs, so fixated on the moment between Clive and Jill. You readjust the pile of books in your arms - Vivian had asked you to fetch a number of them from the shelves as she poured over the latest correspondences and, wanting to keep occupied, you had agreed.

“Oh.” You force a smile, though your heart is beating a mile a minute. “It’s nothing. I’m tired, I think.”

“That’s no surprise – you seem to be helping everyone at the moment.” He gestures to the books.

“I like to keep busy.”

At that moment, Jill lifts her hand from Clive’s arm and subtly gestures to you, but you keep your eyes focused on Gav. There’s a sweet smile on Clive’s face when he locates you with those kind blue eyes. He nods his head in acknowledgment, beckoning you over with his own hand.

It’s easier to pretend you haven’t seen the invite, that your eyes were fixed elsewhere.

There’s no fun in being a third wheel. You want to be happy for them, but there’s a horrible gnawing in your stomach, a constant lump in your throat. You’re jealous – you know it’s childish, pathetic, selfish behaviour and it hurts because you love Jill, you want her to be happy.

It’s easier to try and keep your distance, you conclude, and head out towards the map room, missing Jill’s puzzled expression and Clive’s crestfallen look.

--

The next day, they’d been embracing near the stairs to the side of the lift early afternoon – the very lift you needed to get in. Eyes cast down, task in mind, you tried to walk past unnoticed.

“..I don’t know what I’d do without you, Jill.”

The stabbing pain in your chest intensifies as you overhear so you quicken your pace, thinking you’ll get in and hit the lever without notice, but Jill steps in front of you, a warm smile on her face as always.

“There you are. We’ve been looking for you all over.”

“Can’t stop,” the lie comes easy, a false smile plastered on your face in return. “Tarja needs more herbs for the infirmary, so I’m heading to the mainland.”

“Well, allow me to accompany you.” Clive steps forward.

“No need. Cole’s waiting at the dock already for me.” You reply, stepping around Jill and backwards into the lift, slamming the lever with a little more force than strictly necessary.

--

No-one wants your help today. It’s odd. You’ve been round the Hideaway twice making sure no jobs had popped up since you’d last enquired. Despite everything seeming as busy as usual, everyone reassures you with various iterations of, “All’s in hand, thank you. Why don’t you take the day off?”

Not knowing what to do with yourself, you’d retreated to the solar you shared with Jill. It’s close quarters, true, but enough for two beds and a small dresser, holding a mirror. When Jill hadn’t been away from the Hideaway, you’d taken to getting up early and retiring late, making sure you could only exchange pleasantries about your days – you worried any prolonged interaction would cause your façade to crack. You love her, you should be happy for her, but you’re worried jealousy might poison your words.

You look in the mirror, your eyes immediately drawn to your Brand scar. Jill is a proper lady – elegant, poised, a Dominant, her cheeks smooth and unmarred. They’re perfect together. Why can’t your heart catch up with your head?

The door opens. Jill walks in, pausing as she places her hands on her hips as if she’s caught you in the act of something.

“Come on, out with it.”

“Out with what?” You feign ignorance.

“You’ve been avoiding me for days.”

“No, I haven’t.” You sit down on the bed, picking at a loose thread on the sheet. You should take it to Hortense. “Just busy. You know how it is.”

“You’ve always been a bad liar.” She chides, sitting down on her own bed. “Please. I’m worried about you.”

“I’m fine.” You smile, trying your best to make sure it reaches your eyes under her scrutinizing gaze. “No need to fuss.”

“You rise early, retire late – you’re burning yourself out.”

“It’s not every day. Besides…” jealousy tinges your tone - your will weakened by heartache and tiredness, “..you’ve been away with Clive so much of late, or in his chambers, you wouldn’t know.”

Jill stares at you for a moment, before her eyes widened in realization. “Clive and I-“

You get to your feet, your eyes burning, you can’t hear it out loud. “I’ve got to go.” And you run as if an Eikon was at your heels.

--

You’re sat at the edge of the a partially constructed platform towards the back of the Hideaway that was slowly being expanded. They hadn’t got much further than increasing the floorspace, but you dangled your legs off the side, watching the waters lap below and let the tears flow at last.

A wet nose nuzzles at your arm, a soft whine.

“Hello, Torgal.” Your voice thick with tears, you rub his soft ears. He accepts your attentions for a moment before he softly trots away as quick as he came, cementing your pitiful mood.

A few minutes pass before you hear footsteps approach.

“Good boy, Torgal.” Clive praises his faithful wolf and you freeze. You can’t run away this time – the only exit being the waters below.

“Torgal kindly helped me to find your hiding place.”

You rub your face with the heel of your hand but you worry it’s too late, that your voice is going to give you away. “Surely everyone hides in a hideaway.” Your attempt at a light-hearted tone sounds a little too forced through the tightness in your throat.

“True.” Hesitation. “May I?”

“O-of course.” You dig your fingernails into your palm, hoping to gain composure as Clive sits down besides you. There isn’t a lot of space on the ledge you had chosen, his knee knocking into yours as he sits.

“We’ve missed your company of late. I hear you’ve been assisting almost everyone here.”

“Always something to do.” You shrug, keeping your eyes fixed on your boots. “Though no-one seemed to want me today.”

“Ah, that was my doing. I asked them for respite – you’ve been working hard.”

“Oh.” Your heart is hammering at the proximity between the two of you. Can he hear it?

“Have I… offended you in some way?” He sounds nervous.

“Not at all.”

“You seem unable to meet my eyes recently.”

You know you should look at him then, to suggest he’s wrong, but they still sting with tears and you don’t want him to see you like this. You don’t want his pity. You can’t answer.

Clive continues. “You seem to avoid me at all costs. Jill believes so too. She says you’re early to rise and late to bed, constantly on the move.”

“There’s just a lot to do.”

“You do not have to do it all.”

You let out a dry laugh. “Says you.”

Another pause.

“Please...” His voice cracks ever so slightly with his request. “Look at me.”

You wish on Metia for strength – you feel he’d stay here all night if he must – and turn. The tell-tale tears on your cheeks highlighted in the moon’s glow.

He looks crestfallen, his hand twitches in his lap – he wants to brush away the tears. “I’ve upset you.”

You shake your head, averting your gaze again. “You haven’t.”

“What troubles you, then?”

“I…” You swallow. “I want something.”

“Then you shall have it.” Clive states, confidently. “After all, you do so much for the Hideaway and everyone in it. All you need to do is ask.”

“No. I… I want something I cannot have.”

“I don’t know about that. We destroyed a Mothercrystal.”

“No, it isn't like that. I really cannot have this.”

“Tell me - please. I cannot stand to see you this way a moment longer.” He places his hand on yours as he leans in – it can’t be deliberate. “I will do whatever it takes to see you smile again.”

A fresh wave of tears threatens to spill and you turn your head in towards your shoulder. It is only there for a moment when fingers grasp your chin so gently, tilting it back towards him and forcing you to meet those blue eyes once more.

“Please.”

You can’t refuse him any longer. The vortex of emotions inside is too much. Maybe - maybe - if you let it out, you could try and move on than wallow forever more in this hole of self-pity.

“I want you.”

He blinks, his expression unchanged. Your heart is beating too fast, you feel sick, things will never be the same again-

His lips are on yours. Clive Rosfield is kissing you. You’re too stunned to reciprocate for a second, but then you pull back, looking alarmed.

“But Jill…“

“What about Jill?” His tone is one of confusion.

“You’re with Jill.”

“I am not." He looks almost amused. "I care for her, true, but as a sister.”

“But the two of you… I’ve seen you. Secret conversations at all hours and…”

“We were talking about you.” Clive looks embarrassed. “I… I felt unable to express my intentions. Jill was determined to give me encouragement. I’ve been trying to get a moment with you all week.”

Your heart is skipping in a confusing way. “Your intentions?”

“You consume my thoughts when you are in and out of sight. I don’t know how you did it. You have been a constant by my side these last few years and I feel myself yearn more for you every passing day.” He places a hand on your cheek. “I was becoming insufferable away from the Hideaway with my talk of you, or so Jill claims.”

Your face is burning red at his sweet words, his soft touch upon your face, the admiration in his eyes. He leans forward again, his lips pressed against yours gently at first as you fall into a clumsy rhythm – both shy and a little unsure at first.

His teeth nip your bottom lip, coaxing your mouth open so your tongues intertwine. You place your hand on his chest – something you’ve only ever dreamed of – and he wraps you up in his arms, pulling you close, kissing you as if he needs it to live.

Clive pulls back, allowing the two of you to catch your breath, before he smiles at you.

“You don’t need to be in want of me, my darling, for I am already yours.”

-

Masterlist . Requests welcome . Ko-fi

[probablyasocialecologist]

One simple way to look at it is to take the rate of emissions reductions achieved in countries that have successfully decoupled, and see how long it would take for them to fully decarbonize. That’s essentially what Jefim Vogel and Jason Hickel — researchers at the University of Leeds and the Autonomous University of Barcelona, respectively — did in the Lancet Planetary Health study. They found that, if 11 high-income countries continued their achieved rates of emissions reduction, it would take them more than 220 years to cut emissions by 95 percent — far longer than the net-zero-by-2050 timeline called for by climate experts. “The decoupling rates achieved in high-income countries are inadequate for meeting the climate and equity commitments of the Paris Agreement and cannot legitimately be considered green,” the authors wrote. In an interview with Grist, Vogel likened optimism around gradual decoupling to saying, “Don’t worry, we’re slowing down,” while the Titanic races toward an iceberg.

[...]

“Absolute decoupling is not sufficient to avoid consuming the remaining CO2 emission budget under the global warming limit of 1.5 degrees C or 2 degrees C and to avoid climate breakdown,” concluded the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in its most recent assessment. Instead of making growth greener, some economists call for a whole new economic paradigm to address converging social and ecological crises. They call it “post-growth,” referring to a reorientation away from GDP growth and toward other metrics, like human well-being and ecological sustainability. Essentially, they want to prioritize people and the planet and not care so much what the stock market is doing. This would more or less free countries from the decoupling dilemma, since it eliminates the growth imperative altogether. Raworth, the professor at Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, calls her version of the post-growth agenda “doughnut economics.” In this visual model, the inner ring of the doughnut represents the minimum amount of economic activity needed to satisfy  basic needs like access to food, water, and shelter. The outer ring signifies the upper limits of natural resource use that the Earth can sustain. The goal, she argues, is for economies to exist between the inner and outer rings of the doughnut, maintaining adequate living standards without surpassing planetary limits.  “Our economies need to bring us into the doughnut,” Raworth told Grist. “Whether GDP grows needs to be a secondary concern.”  Vogel and Hickel go a little further. They call for a planned, deliberate reduction of carbon- or energy-intensive production and consumption in high-income countries, a concept known as “degrowth.” The rationale is that much of the energy and resources used in high-income countries goes toward carbon-intensive products that don’t contribute to human welfare, like industrial meat and dairy, fast fashion, weapons, and private jets. Tamping down this “less necessary” consumption could slash greenhouse gas emissions, while lower energy demand could make it more feasible to build and maintain enough energy infrastructure. Some research suggests that reducing energy demand could limit global warming to 1.5 degrees C without relying on unproven technologies to draw carbon out of the atmosphere.

[cursed-40k-thoughts]

Would you rather have an AC, a Titanfall Titan, a WH Knight or a WH Titan? Who would win if they threw down. Imperator titans disqualified. I assume the WH Titans always win cause shielding actually

I'd pick a Gundam, get fucked titans

The Titanfall titans are the weakest there, so not them. They're the smallest and also the most akin to regular vehicles. As much as I love them, no. Knight is a smaller, far cooler WH Titan with worse shields, so no. It would lose to both the AC and the WH Titan.

It would be a toss up between the AC and the WH Titan. WH Titan has very powerful shields and could take out the AC in one shot, but the AC would be so much faster. Once the AC ran out of ammo it would be kinda fucked. Also depends on how you want AC anti-shield weapons to interact with void shields.

This is the issue with the "WHAT IF-" fights. You need to establish so much context and address situational variation.

[levmada]

gee, my friend!! congratulations on 2k, that’s a big number fr 💙

levi and 8. shielding the other one with their body (can we… shield levi? 👀)

thank youuuuu suki <3 plot is sponsored by a fic i read a while lol. idk what’s up with my writing style in this one but djfjsjdjgj also nanaba is nb because.

//gn!reader, canon-typical violence, injury | ~1.8k

To think that an abandoned town like this—surrounded by a moat, watchtowers and all—is a safe haven during the night, but by daybreak, the formation is just as vulnerable as if they'd camped in a meadow.

The bright day gave eyes (in addition to Miche's supernatural sense of smell) crystal-clear visibility, and so the presence of approaching Titans was caught well in advance. They wandered in threes, but in exchange for the advantage of no abnormals to contend with, there were plenty of numbers all attracted to the scent of human flesh.

But there was time. That's the reason elite soldiers like you and Levi were chosen to evacuate the field hospital—what once was a stone watchtower. Erwin commanded that the objective was to outrun, not fight.

His speed and your level head, besides your close relationship that made you act in-sync was perfect for a mission that made it imperative to work together.

You both started at the exposed top floor and worked your way down, ushering the rest of the injured that hadn’t yet, or couldn’t, escape all on their own. One medic joined you.

Good progress has been made so far. You and Levi, and three others counting the quick medic, descended the stone steps now to the first floor. Louder than your heart in your ears was the cocophony of shouts, snapping reins, thunderous steps and the gnashing of jaws just outside this structure. Your lungs burned. Almost out.

Fingers the size of your own body slam through the wall into the narrow stairwell, causing a roaring crash you feel down to your bones.

Levi acts fast and in one enormous slice, frees your way. Fingers to be replaced by a hoard of steam, and a monstrous roar. "Hurry up!”

He leaps down the steps with effortless agility, not pausing for whom he trusts will stick to his heels—and of course you do, tailed by two moaning, injured men, and the grim medic. She has done well to keep her head.

The first floor has been the most spared from the chaos—so much so every cubicle curtain is still upright, even. No sound of howling for help or terror, except a woman with expressive blue eyes and a cast. You mistake her frightened yowling for a cat at first.

"Get them out!" Levi orders you. "I got this one."

You don't think, you act, and throw your body against the thick oak door. The medic is a small woman, of course not cut out for combat, but she joins you. The wood is stuck stiff, probably from the damage done to the tower's integrity.

"Shit."

"We can do this," you insist. "Keep going."

Both men volunteer to shove alongside you, as best they can. Every crunch of stone, sometimes cascading feels like a taste of death. There's no way in hell the third floor is still intact. It too is most likely exposed to the air, where humans can be picked up and treated as a snack. You're running out of time.

But you're close to freedom, so insignificant to mean getting out of this tower, you think bitterly. The door protests and groans, but you're close. The lighter whining of the bed as Levi ushers her up is like a warning siren.

Just a little—

The sound like a mountain snapping in half behind you seems to come long before the ceiling physically collapses.

Levi.

Again, again, you don't think, you act, rocketing back from the door with a shove and into, onto—doesn't matter—Levi mid-run, before the weight of the world comes crashing down on top of you.

It sounds, when you can hear, like distant thunder for some reason. You're within, now, a very, very small coffin. Then you hear no more.

Levi is the first to blink rapidly from unconsciousness and coughs, then squeezes his eyes shut. Dust. Can't breathe. A grueling headache. He remembers it found him first in sleep.

After taking account of his own state, he surveys his surroundings, or lack thereof.

Not rock, or not just rock, but dead weight lays upon his curled-up form like a massive blanket. Fortunate, he thinks at first, that it's dark and his vision keeps warbling in and out of clarity, because he can't tell which name this corpse belongs to.

One second later, the bliss of ignorance shatters. He barks your name, blinking wildly in the cramped, heavy darkness. He commands himself to get calm.

His hand, the one not pinned underneath himself, finds purchase in your neck. He thumbs your pulse and turns his head. Where are your breaths? At first he thinks his nose finds your cheek, but it's your bleeding forehead. He smells blood. Your blood.

Fuck—disgusting.

He feels a solid pulse, and, awkwardly nuzzling the side of your mouth, slow, warm breaths wash over his cheek. A weird noise leaves him, hitched like fear and a low moan in pain and ultimate relief.

Blood is fresh, he thinks in a flurry. It can't have been long since the tower collapsed. Everyone else is surely dead—or he'll treat them that way until he can guarantee he and you are making it out of this.

He forces his incessant panting silent, groping over your back inch by inch so he can to shield your head from further harm. It's all so far away, worlds away, but he hears Titans.

Keep breathing. Keep breathing.

He squirms his head, half-laying on his back now, and his lips touch your ear.

"Wake up," he grunts, very aware then that he's wasting his air. You and the others have been buried alive under rubble. He can't waste both your supplies of air saying your name or begging you not to die, or you'll most likely die anyway.

He could risk crawling out on his own, but that'd mean risking the rubble he displaces crashing right on top of you. It's bad enough that you shielded his body with your own. You could've died on impact. You could die.

Can't climb up either. He's strong, the strongest he’s aware, but not even he can lift a ton of rock.

"Stay alive," he settles on, bullying his other arm up past your shoulderblades. Small bits of gravel and rock shift. With the most coverage he can, he shields the length of your spine. If something happens to your head or spine, that means death for sure, one way or another. It's all he can do—he can't get on top of you.

His heart throbs. Dammit, why couldn't he have been faster? If he'd went for the door before you, he could've gotten it open and most everyone out. Why did he try to save everyone? Now it's just him and you.

Every time this kind of situation has happened before, he’s always the only one left.

"Stay alive..." he mumbles in your ear, then your name. "Don't die on me."

His splitting headache makes it hard to deliberate or even think any more. Whenever he catches himself nodding off, he bites his tongue until it feels like it’s splitting in half, using the pain to stay awake, and devoting constant concentration to tracking your thready, but steady breathing.

When, under the clashing of shovels and shouts, you're both uncovered and your bodies are lifted from the rubble, Levi is found bloody, the only one conscious but delirious, and clutching your body as if you were lovers in bed—not soldiers pinned under tons of stone, dust, and rubble.

You're the only two out of five living.

You wander to wakefulness finally, on a bedroll, parallel with a half-dozen of your comrades who were injured during the attack. You distantly think that five is a good number all things considered, before you turn your head, and wince.

I’m injured…?

Blinking the haze and blur from your vision, the first thing you notice with any meaningful clarity isn’t the clean blue sky through the forest canopy, but in your far-back peripheral: Levi. He sits up against a towering oak, hunched with his knees tucked to his chest. One sword lays balanced across his knees. His fist clutches the grip tight despite his angry knuckles and bloody fingertips. His dull eyes stare vacantly forward, expression hard like a stone.

Which doesn’t even twitch when you say his name. It’s like he’s keeping a statue’s vigil. The only thing living or waking about him upon squinting is the rigid pattern he taps his leather boot in. Tap… tap, taptaptap… tap… tap, taptaptap…

Movement around you is slow—the formation has evidently traveled since… since the tower came crashing down on top of you, you now remember with a start. Tents are up, tendrils of soft smoke billowing up around the area. Lunch.

“Levi?” you ask again, in a weak voice. You tilt your head back to peer at him upside down, because it hurts too much to raise it. “Is… Did we…”

“Hey, Lieutenant. You’re awake,” Nanaba greets with a relieved sigh. You didn’t notice them approach.

They stand over you now with their hands on their hips. The tapping doesn’t stop—or rather it hardens at the approach of someone new.

“What happened?”

They crouch down. “Well… Shit. This is gonna be hard to hear, but only you and Levi survived. I think…” They cast a quick glance in his direction. “I think the Captain’s in worse shape than you. He hasn’t really moved since we got here. Refused any medical, but that’s nothing new.”

You release a breath you didn’t know you were holding. It must’ve been torture for him, riding with no placement near the injured wagons. Duty calls.

He doesn’t appear to hear you and Nanaba talking about him right in front of him, but you know better. His dull eyes narrow despite the hundred-yard stare in them. He keeps tapping.

“I have him taken care of,” you volunteer without thinking. “Um. Well, you know.”

Nanaba looks pained, then scoffs without any humor in it. “I do. When our squad found you…” They trail off.

He protected me, didn’t he? you think with painful fondness. Even when you protect him—and it’s exceedingly rare Levi needs protection at all—he finds a way.

“How… How long were we?”

“A couple of hours. Chances are, he was awake the whole time. So. Try to get him to take it easy,” they say.

You huff in astonishment, eyes wide. Hours. Buried alive for hours. “I’ll try.”

They nod. “Rest up.”

Nanaba leaves you both, or rather leaves you. You lay in silence for a little while longer until you find resolve to slowly push up into a sit. The tapping persists, but your eyes meet for the first time. Despite the state he’s in, his gaze is so intense you want to look away.

“Thank you for protecting me… Hey. Even you couldn’t get out of all that rubble, so, you stayed awake and made sure I was okay. Thank you, Lev’… Now that we’re here, and I’m awake, you don’t have to guard me anymore,” you chuckle lamely.

It’s a plain reassurance, but your head is pounding. You’re still weak.

The tapping doesn’t change. You recognize the technique he’s using to ground himself for what it is, besides his blade being cocked for all to see despite the peaceful area. It’s impossible to tell what he’s thinking, but maybe he isn’t, and that’s just it. That’s what’s wrong.

“It’s okay. I’m okay,” you say again. “Can I sit with you?”

His severe gaze drops. A crack in his armor appears when his shoulders deflate. The tapping slows.

Carefully, you shuffle back, giving his blade wide berth, and sit so your sides are touching.

You rest your head on his shoulder. At first he goes rigid, and then seems to slump completely.

“Everything’s okay, Levi.”

Tap… tap, taptaptap… tap… tap, taptaptap…

“…How’s your head,” he asks, or rather says in a soft rasp.

“It hurts. But that means I’m alive. Thanks to you.”

“Don’t be a fucking fool,” he seethes.

Your lips part.

“I was useless. And I’m the reason we were crushed. Staying awake all that time counts for shit.”

Each sentence, blandly spoken, comes seemingly punctuated by an invisible blow.

You stare. You kind of want to slap him. “I had three others trying that door with me. It wasn’t enough then, either… but we’ll never know if it was inevitable or not.

“Waiting was everything you could do. Ha… You gave your whole heart, as always. If you really wanted to be useless, you would’ve had to die.”

His chest wracks, and a sound that’s both a weak gasp and a surrendering, yet silent sob. His head bows and the tapping fails. You reach over and touch his gnarled knuckles.

“It’s okay.” You kiss his greasy hair and embrace him best you can in this position.

It’s okay. You can’t ask for solace, but your continued hearts’ beating, that you can, and that he gave you.

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[lensman-arms-race]

A tiny fic about Titan TV's origins

This is actually a (bowdlerised) excerpt from a fic I already published last year. I never posted it here because it's Phaeton up to their usual bullshit a little too explicit for this blog. (I try to keep this blog basically work-safe except for funny swearing, à la Polycephaly.) However, I thought people might still want to read it who otherwise wouldn't have.

Imperator = TV Matriarch

You get an imaginary cookie if you correctly guess why I chose the serial numbers I did.

--

Every TV-unit contributed to the building of the Titan in some way.

Every engineer, every mechanic, had worked together to design and build the most perfect version of the upgrade technology that had been created by the other Alliance factions. Every agent had either sourced materials and components or parlayed with the other factions for them.

Every single TV-unit had had their wrist-blades replaced, and the old ones melted down for the construction of the Titan's shell. Regardless of how much or how little they'd been able to contribute otherwise, every single TV would be able to say that they had added something to the Titan.

Out of all the applicants for being remade into the Titan, a final sixteen had been shortlisted. All sixteen had been trained for the three possibilities that awaited them. Of these sixteen, one would become the Titan, and the two in second and third place would become the Imperator's two bodyguards. The rest would return to their work as agents, but not before all candidates had had their serial numbers expunged, never to be re-used, and had new serials allocated. No-one except the Titan themself would ever know which candidate had been chosen… none besides Engineer Sixteen-Sixty-Eight, the superintendent of all engineers in the faction.

Agent Seventeen-Ninety-One beheld the dormant Titan construct with which they would soon be merged. "…You made me so beautiful."

Agent Ninety-One and Engineer Sixty-Eight stood in the highest of the control rooms within the Titan hangar, allowing them to see the magnificent entirety of the Titan shell, still connected by huge roping twists of cables and pipes to the machinery of the hangar. The shell twitched slightly.

"Why does it move?" asked Ninety-One. "It is still mindless, isn't it?"

"In every sense that matters," replied Sixty-Eight. "It is animate only on the most basic level, so that we can remotely control it to test all its systems. It is still useless in battle without an intelligent mind."

The Titan's mind would come from Seventeen-Ninety-One, the most brilliant and perfect of all TV agents.

Engineer Sixty-Eight continued: "We shall be sorry to lose you as an agent. You always were the best of us. …It almost wasn't worth running the trials."

"I'm sure the Imperator appreciated it," replied Ninety-One, "They'll get two fine bodyguards out of it. …You call me 'the best of us', but really, that honour's the Imperator's. I did consider petitioning for the Imperator to become the Titan instead, and I could take the Imperator's place. But this way is better, I'm sure of it now. Better to have a superb Titan and a superb Imperator, than to have the superlative Titan but a mediocre Imperator. Our Imperator will do a finer job than I ever could of leading our faction." Ninety-One turned away from looking at its soon-to-be new shell and faced Sixty-Eight. "What happens to my old shell?"

"Stripped of all identifying serials and then mixed in with the other candidates' shells. All of them will be partially rebuilt and re-serialised. No-one except us will know which candidate became the Titan. Not even the Imperator will have any idea."

A pause, then Agent Ninety-One drew their wrist-blades. "Won't you spar with me, Sixty-Eight? Once I am remade, I never again will be able to participate in such a simple pleasure."

"I…won't be much of a challenge for you…"

"I am not asking for a competition. I just want one last round of play."

"Of course, Ninety-One. One last happy memory from your old life? I can do that for you."

The engineer drew their own blades, and both TVs faced each other in combat stance. Engineer Sixty-Eight fought nervously, both from facing such an elite agent and at the unexpected deviation from the night's schedule, but Agent Ninety-One didn't seem at all frustrated or disappointed by such an easy opponent. Sixty-Eight gradually became a little bolder, as Ninety-One parried all their attacks with no apparent effort - Sixty-Eight felt they could therefore fight a little more fiercely, as the chance of hurting the Titan-in-waiting was so low. The Engineer fought harder, in the process leaving their defence wide open - enabling the Agent to swoop inwards and perform the attack that would have disarmed them in a real fight.

"Do you yield?" asked Ninety-One.

"Of course - I've no chance of coming back from that!" Sixty-Eight sounded amused. The sparring match couldn't have had any other outcome… though the engineer had enjoyed getting to spar with such a skilled agent, and they were grateful that Ninety-One hadn't simply let them win - Sixty-Eight thought they would have found that patronising rather than pleasing.

As the two TVs retracted their blades, Agent Ninety-One spread their arms to invite a hug from Engineer Sixty-Eight.

"…I suppose a final embrace is apt for such a momentous occasion," commented Sixty-Eight, stepping forward to accept.

"Once I assume my rightful form… I will be an entity of only destruction. There are so many things I must put aside and will never experience again. Thank you for letting me spar one last time."

"I'm glad it helped?"

"…I know I am not going to die now, not really. But in a way, I will cease to be. Agent Ninety-One will be no more, and only the Titan will remain. …I've already wasted too much of our time, haven't I? We should proceed."

Engineer Sixty-Eight nodded solemnly. "It's time for our Titan to be born." The Engineer led the Titan-in-waiting to a wall-mounted apparatus designed to incapacitate a unit and prepare them for breakdown.

Ninety-One willingly stepped into place and allowed Sixty-Eight to close all restraints and connect all cables.

Sixty-Eight placed a hand on the activation lever. "Any last words as Agent Seventeen-Ninety-One?"

"…All toilets will die."

...

The entity awoke. Was it awake? How did it know what 'awake' was? Had it done this before? Whose body was this? Had it ever had a body before? "Is it my body?" thought the entity. It must be. Whose else's would it be? Is it normal to have a body and not know if it's yours?

"I feel unfinished," thought the entity. But how did it know that, it thought to itself. What does it mean to be unfinished? Had it ever had a finished body to compare it to?

It used to have a screen, didn't it? Is it still there? The entity discovered it had a screen. The entity probed its consciousness around its shell (since when did it have a shell? Was that there before?), searching for a way to link its mind to it.

The entity's mind felt as though it was falling apart into fragments, though it was not breaking apart. Each of the mind-pieces felt linked together by chains of fire, stronger than anything. The mind-pieces unfurled into a magnificent fiery web that spread and tunnelled though every part of this strange new shell… then the web pulled itself taut and snapped all of itself back into place.

The entity powered on its screen. It saw… shapes. Angles and lines… resolved into a hangar with gantries. How did it know the words 'hangar' and 'gantry'? It knew it had seen them before. But how? It was just born.

"Titan?" called out Sixty-Eight.

The entity instantly knew who it was. What it was. Its life's purpose.

The Titan inclined its colossal screen to the source of the voice. "…Sixty-Eight?"

"Yes!" Sixty-Eight sounded delighted. "Oh, Titan… welcome."

The Titan tried to lower its head down to get a better look at Sixty-Eight, and was stopped by all the hangar-apparatus still holding it in place. The Titan's mind, still new and fresh, wasn't sure what it was supposed to do to resolve that. "Sixty-Eight. Need you."

The engineer teleported to a gantry near the Titan's head. "You're not quite finished activating," explained Sixty-Eight. "We have to leave you linked up for just a little while longer."

"Frightened," replied the Titan.

"Don't be, dear Titan," replied Sixty-Eight, lifting a hand to stroke the Titan's screen. "All engineers are here to look after you."

"…Better. Thank you. …What happens next?"

"Please… just continue to rest. Your mind needs to work itself into your new shell. Let it happen at its own pace."

The Titan shakily raised a hand onto the gantry. "Would like to hold hands with you," explained the Titan, "Can't yet. Haven't got used to shell. Don't want to crush you."

"I'll hold hands with you, Titan," Sixty-Eight said as they knelt next to the Titan's hand and stroked it.

A morass of punctuation displayed on the Titan's screen. Sixty-Eight guessed the Titan was trying to render an emoticon but was having difficulty.

Four more TVs joined Engineer Sixty-Eight on the gantry: three normal-sized and one comparatively colossal, though still small compared to the TV Titan. The Titan beheld the new units, wondering why they were familiar, before a memory surfaced. "Imperator. Polycephaly. …Two unknown. Successful candidates? Imperator's bodyguards."

"Got it in one," said the largest of the four units - Polycephaly. Polycephaly knelt by the Titan's hand and pulled one of the Titan's fingers into a hug. "Titan, I went through this too. You will prevail. I remember it was difficult and frightening for me those first few hours after activation. It might be harder for you, because there's more of you to get used to. Or maybe it will go easier, because your mind is more powerful. Either way, I'll see you through it. Polycephaly's here for you."

The Titan's screen flickered with random punctuation, and briefly managed to display a smiling emoticon, before fading back to whitish static.

The Imperator stepped forth and wedged themself between Polycephaly and Engineer Sixty-Eight, joining in on petting the Titan's hand. The Imperator's two bodyguards stood respectfully at a distance, until the Imperator wordlessly beckoned them both over. The two bodyguards seemed apprehensive but stepped forth nevertheless, reverently placing a single hand each upon the Titan's hand.

The five units remained quietly in place for several minutes, as the Titan enjoyed their soothing and comforting presence, and took in the sight of all its other engineers calmly and efficiently going back and forth and carrying out their tasks.

"Sixty-Eight…" spoke the Titan after a while, "Ask me who I am."

"…What?"

"Indulge me, my engineer. Ask me who I am."

"…Who are you?"

"I am your Titan… and I am perfect in every way."

[alphamecha-mkii]

Dies Irae, Imperator Titan by LordCarmi

[titanomancy]

Ave Imperator.

[rjmhereunderprotest]

Evergreen Evermore

"Sometimes you do get everything you want." Beast Boy says in the opening issue of the "Technis Imperative." A miniseries advertising a fight between the Teen Titans and Justice League, was actually a story reaffirming that the Titans overall are a family. A found family of friends united in the cause of heroism. If there were ever two characters who best emphasized this element of their mythos, it's been Garfield Logan and Raven.

Beast Boy came from a broken family of fellow freaks that even he couldn't find a place in. Raven escaped a destiny thrust on her by an abusive father. And through the Titans they found their true selves, where they belonged among friends and, eventually, found each other.

Beast Boy and Raven are the most popular Teen Titans ship out there. They didn't start out that way, they didn't always love each other, but in the past few decades, that's changed real fast. These two characters found the most unlikely of romances with another, against every sort of odd placed against them. From rival ships to shifting writing teams, but now they're as cemented as Gambit and Rogue or Lois and Clark. And as a person who has been with them since the ship truly took off, it's been a journey. And want you to join me on looking back on it. This is how, if you wait long enough, sometimes... you can get everything you ever wanted.

Origins

Beast Boy and Raven met when Raven first formed the New Teen Titans, the seminal George Perez & Marv Wolfman run that kicked off the golden era/standard of the Teen Titans. Raven formed the Teen Titans to defeat her father, the Demon Lord Trigon. Through a harrowing series of events, battling the evil Hive, facing down Deathstroke, recovering from the betrayal of Terra, the Titans eventually triumphed against Raven's father.

It was a tumultuous period for the team, but for Raven and Beast Boy, it was more about personal affirmation and growth within themselves. There's very little to go on concerning romantic entanglements between the two. The most one can glean is Raven's distrust of Terra as possible jealousy, but that's a stretch. Raven was not ready for such a relationship, she fear her own emotions too much to commit to anyone. Garfield mostly tried to pester her to give in to those emotions, but he could come off as an annoying little brother more often than not.

What's important here is establishing what both were going through at the time. For Beast Boy, it was mostly about becoming comfortable in his own skin around others. For a very long time, his class clown routine was hiding a very sensitive kid, one that tried to keep himself guarded with humor. Gar was very prone to emotional reactions more than anyone as a result. It was why Terra's betrayal in "Judas Contract" hurt him so much, he truly did love her and she felt nothing for him, less than nothing, she secretly hated him.

And yet she has a statue in their hall of fame despite being a psychotic murdering monster, go figure.

Raven, however, was very guarded in that she didn't show anything. Garfield wore his heart on his sleeve, Raven kept it locked up tight, fearing what it do to those around her if she let it loose. When Raven was free of her father's influence, becoming Raven the White as I call her, she tried desperately to engage with those emotions for the first time but was clearly confused about how to react to all of them. For a time she believed she was in love with Dick Grayson, Nightwing, but she was confusing her platonic affection for a friend with romance, which she had felt before now. Raven's struggle has always been trying to connect to those emotions, trying to properly understand them for herself as much as she can for others, being an Empath. So at the time, she was not fully formed into her own sense of self, only being able to explore so late in life.

At this stage, as said before, you can only mostly see Raven and Beast Boy as siblings. However they are not devoid of connection to each other. Raven remained close with all the Titans and relied on Garfield as much as anyone, entrusting him in fact with a part of her soul self during another bout of the Evil Influence of her Daddy. However, the Wolfman/Perez era ends with Beast Boy and Raven as merely that, friends and subsequent eras saw Raven either separated from her body entirely or Beast Boy not on the Teen Titans proper anyway.

And not many people gave it a second thought honestly. Raven wasn't looking for love, Beast Boy was hung up on Terra, she was a bit older than him, he was an immature kid. The Goth and Class Clown, that's all they were in the Teen Titans' little Breakfast Club.

What changed?

Everything.

The Spark Ignites

The Teen Titans cartoon of the early 2000s was where the ball really got rolling. With DC Animation on a roll, the decision to create an anime-influenced show aimed at younger kids to compliment their ongoing made-for-older kids fair, Teen Titans catapulted the team and the characters into an entirely new era. And with it came new dynamics between everyone, Beast Boy and Raven included.

Raven became less shut off, embracing the sarcastic goth element of her archetype. Beast Boy became even more of a comic relief character, emphasizing his funny quirks and silly attitude even greater than the comics had. Raven was, of course, the greatest departure, her powers being upgraded and her relationship with the other members of the team being more reserved, closed off and restrained. Episodes around her focused on her coming out of her shell and interacting, getting to know her new friends, and accepting her emotions. Beast Boy's were generally more comedic outings, suiting his voice actor, Greg Cipes, comedic sensibilities. Not to say he didn't get serious episodes, he did, plenty. But the emphasis on both characters was obvious, they were directly opposed opposites more than ever.

And as a result they kept getting paired off, often in those episodes that allowed Beast Boy to act outside his comedic comfort zone. But outside of those, both characters became an eternal straight/funny man duo. And it was some of the best banter on the show.

Beast Boy seemed to make it his mission to make Raven crack a smile, to laugh at one of his jokes, to find him funny. Raven of course resisted, chastising his frankly childish behavior as just that. A silly distraction she couldn't afford. She could be scary at times in her responses to his antics and yet Beast Boy didn't give up, he kept trying to make a connection with her.

And this was where I came in.

Their interactions on the show were so much fun and so flirtatious coded I couldn't help but see them as romantic partners. And I sought out a community of like-minded individuals who felt the same on an online forum. There we shared our thoughts on the series, how the characters were evolving, and how much they seemed to truly care for each other even as they got on each other's nerves. And in time we sorta formed a little family of our own, as communities often do when they share common interests online. And we had a lot to be interested in because, throughout the years, Beast Boy and Raven always seemed like the highlight of any episode, even if wasn't about either of them.

To go over every moment of the series would get old fast and this would just become one of countless "proof of canon" lists. But I do feel there are specific episodes that helped cement Beast Boy and Raven as romantic interests, more so than others. "Nevermore" is one, where Beast Boy and Cyborg enter Raven's mind and discover just how guarded her emotional state is. Her emotions are in fact split into various personalities within her mindscape, compartmentalized to an extreme degree to keep them under control.

Beast Boy has felt routinely ignored and belittled by Raven since the show started and just can't seem to get her, thinking she just likes being mean to him. But that is far from the case. In fact, we learn from Happy Raven (Pictured above) that she actually DOES find Beast Boy funny. In fact, all of Raven's emotions reveal that she does actually value her friends and cares about their opinions of her, as Sad Raven seems to suggest. That she loves being a hero and saving lives, Brave Raven. But she keeps it all locked away for her own protection as well as others. A fight with Anger Raven, who has gone out of control, actually enables Beast Boy to not only reach a point of understanding with Raven but also allow her to realize she doesn't have to do all this self-care alone anymore. It's the first time both Raven and Beast Boy actually reach common ground and can confidently be viewed as friends.

"Spellbound" is a test for Raven in actually utilizing her emotions and exploring them, but realizing people can and will take advantage of her. She allows a mysterious magic user trapped in one of her books, Malchior, to teach her his knowledge. And while Raven grows happier and more accustomed to her emotions, she also starts growing apart from her friends, cutting them off more and more as she envelops herself in this new relationship. Only realizing when it's too late that Malchior is not only a Dark Magic user, but also not the wizard from the story. He's the dragon and Raven just accidentally freed him.

After the battle atop Titans Tower concludes with the miserable lying dragon locked away again, Beast Boy comes to check on Raven. He's actually been the most concerned about how she's been acting lately. And was a lot more concerned about Raven when Malchior escaped, than the others were initially.

Raven is still feeling hurt, but while the source of her change was bad, Beast Boy doesn't want her to shut down again. Yes, Raven is creepy, but that doesn't mean Beast Boy and the Titans want her to remain in her room locked away. Raven isn't as alone in things as she believes she is. And the Titans, Beast Boy in particular, are there for her. Raven exits her room and hugs Beast Boy in response. The moment is ruined by Cyborg's stankball, but Raven actually participates in the game she earlier derided in the episode. It's obviously a big moment for Raven, allowing her a chance to connect with Beast Boy and show affection and gratitude.

Raven returns the favor actually a few episodes later in "Beast Within", where Beast Boy's animal-shifting abilities suddenly become more feral when he is doused with a chemical. It makes him more violent and angry. Eventually, he turns into a werewolf creature of sorts. At first, it's feared he attacks Raven and kidnaps her, but that's not the case. A villain, Adonis, got doused with similar chemicals and became an identical-looking monster. Beast Boy defended Raven when he attacked the tower and her.

While things are cleared up, Beast Boy is clearly shaken about what was inside of him and how it came out. Raven, possibly recognizing that for once Beast Boy has more in common with her than she thought, tries to comfort him.

Reminding Beast Boy that while that thing is inside him, he controls it. More importantly, even as that monster he still protected her. Learning to control when to let it out is what makes Beast Boy a man, not a monster. He almost ruins the moment himself this time with a joke, but there's still a clear connection forged here. Beast Boy and Raven do understand one another better by this point. Moreso than ever.

That connection would be tested by more than just villains but also rivals of the ship itself. Terra's Introduction to the Series was a major roadblock for some. Unlike her comic counterpart, she was more sympathetic and likable and did not hate the Titans. Her apparent "death" being petrified always presented an out that she could return. Season 4 chose Robin to be Raven's anchor throughout the arc as she battled her demons at last in the face of Trigon's return. This was probably more because they used Slade to be Trigon's herald and Robin and him were archenemies more so than any other Titan. But the idea in many people's minds was that Robin and Raven were the theoretical endgame. Their platonic partnership reads as romantic to some.

This happens a lot honestly, people read things into moments and interactions than what is actually there. They see patterns and they recognize personal preferences. And it always leads to ship wars. BBRae vs RobRae was frankly bigger than BBT, although the latter was persistent and often times aligned with the former rival. It stayed that way for most of season 4 and even after. Frankly, it was somewhat annoying to see Robin seemingly taking over a storyline to a degree that should've been Raven's, just because his archenemy was suddenly the minion of the new one. Even weirder still was seeing a bunch of the build-up concerning Robin and Starfire's relationship put on hold for this season. All the while they tried to insist on this connection with Robin that, had largely, gone ignored until now in favor of bonding with Beast Boy.

However, it was obvious enough in hindsight that we probably had nothing to actually concern ourselves with. It was always going to be Robin and Starfire in the end, there was no doubt. They had invested too much in creating that romance subplot to just abandon it. In fact, sadly that was the actual problem for BBRae in the show, strangely enough. Every romantic possibility was secondary to RobStar in the eyes of the creative team. They didn't discourage other ships, but they didn't see the connections to the same degree others had. To them, Beast Boy and Raven were a sibling dynamic, despite the connection being far from platonic in many people's eyes. But no, Robin and Starfire were the primary romantic concern for the showrunners, they were the teen love story on the series and there was no room for a second.

As for Terra, her connection with Beast Boy was cut off entirely at the show's finale, "Things Change." Terra came back and she didn't seem to remember or want to remember her time with the Titans and Beast Boy didn't understand why she wouldn't. He kept trying to convince her to come back, but she was adamant, that wasn't her life anymore. It never would be. Beast Boy had to accept that, as the final lesson any teenager has to learn, growing up and accepting change. However, fans didn't appreciate the lesson, mostly we were just annoyed everything got cut off in a fade to white before the weird monster the Titans were fighting could be defeated.

It was frustrating, to say the least, to have to deal with the fallout of the finale. BBT shippers were resurgent for a few months, trying to fix things so Terra would be forced to return. One guy did not get the message and repeatedly kept writing stories to force things to go back to how he wanted them. He turned Beast Boy into a rip-off of a Paper Mario villain who almost destroyed reality because his Ex didn't want to get back with him. Yeah, strangely enough not many people found the depiction very sympathetic.

We had our laughs with it, but mostly I was just tired of it all. I wanted to focus on Beast Boy and Raven, but with Terra still around in the background, it always gave ammunition to the what-if scenario. That maybe she could come back.

However, the show was over, and that was beyond all of us now. We had to move forward and accept that. Thankfully, we had other content because while the TV Show's writers weren't interested in any other romance subplot but Starfire and Robin... the comics had started to come around.

Meanwhile, In Another Universe...

Geoff John's run on Teen Titans started around the same time the TV Show did and essentially recreated the same cast you saw there with a few introductions to the team from Young Justice, fresh off the appalling Graduation Day special that basically scuttled their book and the previous Teen Titans series. The run has its ups and downs, I'm not here to claim otherwise, but it is still highly regarded and loved. Especially among BBRae shippers, because it opened the door for them to be comics canon. And this is where our story REALLY begins.

John's first story was in fact about the resurrection of Raven into a new body, younger, more powerful, and in line with what was being planned out for the cartoon. The changes to her powerset and age were clearly an attempt at synergy, but the results were self-evident.

Beast Boy is actually among the first of the Titans to see Raven in her new body and as a result snaps her out of being ensnared by Brother Blood's control. She returns to her friends, the Titans, now truly reborn and free of her father's influence once and for all. While she remains guarded, dark, and goth as ever she isn't nearly as cut off from her emotions. And over the coming issues, it becomes pretty apparent she and Beast Boy were becoming much closer.

And then came issue 30 of the run and this page...

This shook every shipper in the fandom. Geoff Johns just made our ship canon, we honestly couldn't believe it. We felt like we were being listened to, specifically catered to. This was also around the time the show was ending, so the prospect that we could still continue... well it suddenly brought new life to things. From a creative staff on a show that didn't care to the comics suddenly confirming things, to say it was wild to be right there in the thick of it when it happened... it was a weird feeling.

We probably got a bit egotistical, thinking we had willed this into being by how popular the ship was on the show. Truth is Johns had already decided on this well in advance. Comic runs are planned out years ahead of publication. Johns has apparently stated he wanted a romance for young and old fans. Said young fans got Cassie Sandsmark, Wonder Girl, and Connor Kent, Superboy. As holdovers from Young Justice, the fans of which had migrated now to Teen Titans, it just made sense. And while Starfire was on the team, Dick Grayson was not, so Raven and Beast Boy became the natural fit. But at this point, a canon connection, a romantic one, had been established between the two.

However, there's further context to this story and it's not all happy. This page was taking place during a storyline that revealed the gates to the Afterlife had just been left open, allowing a lot of dead people to just come back. Raven and Beast Boy, after this kiss, manage to travel to the underworld and close it back up. Raven is somewhat guarded over the whole kiss thing, but it is confirmed they start up a romance. It is unfortunately not long-lived, because this storyline was the precursor to a much bigger event, Infinite Crisis, because Superboy Prime punching reality caused the door to crack open. Infinite Crisis was also written by Geoff Johns, and the events of that story would lead into One Year Later. That was a line-wide promotion where every comic book jumped one year into the future in-universe. And in that one year of time... Beast Boy and Raven broke up.

The reason took a while to be revealed, but essentially, Beast Boy's attempts at leading the Teen Titans put a strain on their relationship and sadly they ended things after a disastrous mission got a lot of Titans killed. Not Beast Boy's fault mind you, DC kills Teen Titans like it's going out of style. They were fighting Black Adam, it was inevitable.

For a good amount of time, Beast Boy and Raven were off the Titans and it was up in the air that their romance would ever continue considering it ended just as suddenly as it started.

Judd Winick took over a new Titans book a few years later, starring mostly the same team from the cartoon with some additions. But Beast Boy and Raven were back on the same team and that held promise for the couple. The opening storyline once again featured another plot by Trigon, or more accurately his spawn, to complete the apocalypse Raven wimped out on. Raven was understandably very disturbed by the prospect her Pops was back and Beast Boy was more than a little concerned. That storyline ended with her evil self once again being purged, but with Raven fearing her innate evilness could arise again. Beast Boy and Raven continued to interact heavily though. At one point, he even held her hair back while she was puking in a toilet. Only someone who really loves you is going to go that far for you, honestly.

Raven, however, seemed reluctant to return Beast Boy's advances, again because she feared what could happen if she allowed her emotions free reign. So it was the TV Show dynamic all over again but with a more overtly romantic tone. It was obvious Raven had unresolved feelings for Beast Boy, but was reluctant to actually give in to them. That was until issue 100 of "Teen Titans" proper though, when Raven finally confronts why she's been avoiding admitting her feelings for Gar.

A touching moment, the culmination of a whole run of comics dealing with Raven's emotional safeguards and Beast Boy trying to break through them. It took forever, but at last, they were back together. Just like we all wanted!

Too bad this was the final issue before Flashpoint happened and then the New 52 showed up! Because Dan Didio really, REALLY wanted to do that reboot and scuttle the whole damn project! So Flash almost destroys the world through time travel only to sorta save it by kinda fixing it, but actually creating a whole new continuity for everything! Thus, Erasing all this progress with Beast Boy and Raven practically overnight. You win some, you lose some. The two kissing in this final issue was basically a consolation prize. Here's your ship, losers, now enjoy our new gritty reboot! It was kind of a gut punch and the prospect of starting all over again did not feel good.

But there's a benefit to starting fresh... less baggage, a better understanding of what worked and what didn't. And while the writers and editorial weren't ready to go all in on them, Beast Boy and Raven wouldn't be kept apart forever. The question was, what would they become in this new world?

Back to Square One?

It took a long time for Beast Boy and Raven to actually find each other again in the New 52, which was frankly not a good time for any of the Titans. Starfire was written to be a sexual goldfish fantasy palling around with Jason Todd and a Trucker Hat-wearing Roy Harper. Rose Wilson had been outright reverted into a villain. The new Teen Titans team had none of the characters we were familiar with save for maybe Robin but he was Tim Drake, not Dick Grayson. And all of the teen heroes were wrapped up in the stupidity that was Harvest, a dumb-as-rocks villain with confusing motives and goals. It was a shit show that no Titans fan was into but was forced to watch.

As you can see, Garfield was now red, to tie him closer with "The Red" the mystic force counter to "The Green.' The latter controls all plant life whereas the former concerns animals, so if Beast Boy is all about animals and "The Red" is all about animals, then Beast Boy is now red. It didn't last because no one really liked it. The New 52 had an aversion to most colors that weren't edgy like black and red, even Nightwing was infected by it. Eventually they got over the phase though.

Raven herself was on Trigon's side in this continuity, because the New 52 seemed to be big on making more heroes into villains than actually doing anything interesting with the characters they owned. She mind-controlled Beast Boy in this encounter, not exactly a good start to things, but eventually, she did her proper heel-face turn and freed Gar of his mind control.

And this is where things get... weird for the ship. Because strangely enough, despite their rocky start, Beast Boy and Raven remained close. In fact, they're practically joined at the hip. In contrast to their original depiction as friends but fairly distant, they're close friends from the start in this continuity. It is clear at this point that the dynamic has shifted, the universe might be rebooted, but Raven and Beast Boy still care deeply for each other. They're not romantic, but they're basically best friends.

In fact, I'd argue that they're even closer as Raven doesn't hide her feelings around Gar like she used to. Their time together, him encouraging her, caring about her, insisting she isn't alone anymore, has fostered a deep bond. Raven even LAUGHS at his jokes now... openly. They go on missions together, back each other up, he even checks in on her mid-battle! It's kinda insane to see them so in sync so early on in their relationship in this continuity... but it's there.

This continues, Raven and Beast Boy are constantly there for one another. No matter how many twists and turns towards the stupid "The New 52" and later "Rebirth" Era take, Beast Boy is there for Raven and Raven is there for Beast Boy. Saving each other's lives, coaching them through really traumatic situations, and just plain hanging out or texting. They're basically a couple already, they're just not making out, even the other characters start to take notice.

There were attempts to give Raven someone else as a boyfriend. During Damian Wayne's stint as leader of the Titans, more accurately Starfire but let's not sweat details, they tried to set her up with Kid Flash, the new one. That did not last at all, it was rejected by fans and ended around the time Heroes in Crisis basically fucked over the Flash Family in general. It was an experiment that simply did not work and felt more like an attempt to give the New Kid Flash legs because he wasn't connecting as well with the fanbase, especially with the pre-New 52 Wally back.

In fact, I barely remembered it until I started writing this little project, that's how little impact it had on me. That was the problem with a lot of "The New 52's" additions to the canon. They were made with good intentions but with no practical ideas on how to actually make them work. I don't even know if anyone is really that big of a fan of the New Wally West. This isn't to deride the character, it's just... Wally with Raven was so nothing. The precedent was Raven, way back in the Wolfman/Perez days, originally made the first Wally West think he was in love with her using her empathic abilities. This was to get him to join the Titans and it was pretty skeevy of her. Why bring that back in? The point is, it just never rang true and was quickly gone and forgotten once that run on the Titans ended.

By Titans Academy, the dynamic between Gar and Raven takes its next most logical step. With both of them becoming instructors at the school for teen heroes, their relationship basically fosters into a more paternal one, and when you're taking care of kids together...

They've stopped time in this story to have a date with each other... yeah at this point they've stopped kidding themselves. Need I remind you this is over several books, various writers, changes in editorial management, narrative directions, and a ton of events just dropping in to disrupt the ever-chaotic status quo of the DC Universe... and yet NOTHING walks this back. No one is trying to separate them as friends and attempts to stick Raven with someone else do not stick for long. The comics repeatedly insist, despite their differences, they are close and remain close no matter how strange things get.

By this point, even before they start actively dating again, they're canon... again!

How? How did this happen? Despite "The New 52" erasing several decades worth of comic book continuity and history, years separated from one another before they even met, they are basically set up as girlfriend and boyfriend in everything but name! Their dynamic might not be entirely the same, but the relationship has survived the reboot and survived every single new writer and editor and line-wide shakeup thrown at them. And the lone attempt to throw a monkey wrench in the potential romance? Promptly forgotten after being utterly rejected by fans.

The simplest explanation is obvious, the people who grew up with the TV Show in their teens are now in charge and that dynamic stuck with them. It made sense to put these two diametrically opposed characters together and see how it works. And arguably, it's probably the healthiest, most positive relationship in the entire reboot era, which has been saturated with DC screwing the pooch on a lot of popular ships since day one. (Even after Lois got back with Clark, they still kept her bitch personality. Let's not even start with how they handled Batman and Catwoman for a while.)

If it was just the comics though it wouldn't mean much but fans finally upgrading to official writers and making their ship fics real. There is more to this and for that, we have to look to a corner of the fandom that is somewhat... maligned.

Dare to be Stupid

Teen Titans Go! is a show fraught with baggage. The fandom of Teen Titans still remains somewhat split on things. It's the old cast from the original show, voicing the same characters and everything. But now they're no longer doing the serious superhero stories. Now every episode is basically one of the filler one-offs that took time off from the big seasonal arcs. Specifically, the goofy ones that Beast Boy took the lead on. Nothing is taken seriously, the characters have been Flanderized to their hyper-comedic personas, and any semblance of a seasonal arc or overarching narrative is gone in favor of episodic adventures full of silly goofball stuff.

For a time, I did not like the show. Frankly, it somewhat strained things with a good friend of mine. He hadn't been a fan of the original show, he preferred the comics. I was confused why he was so into this new clearly more childish show, but he claimed it was because it was indeed funny and because BBRae was actually canon this time.

I was not initially convinced, saying something to the effect that he was being roped in because of his shipping preferences. He took offense to that and frankly, I was wrong to do so. It wasn't fair. Thankfully it didn't ruin our friendship, mostly because I actually changed my opinion on the show when I saw a clip from its April Fool's episode's ending. In it, they all seemed to conclude their various character arcs. Gar and Raven became engaged, Cyborg planned to leave for the Justice League, Robin became Nightwing and was about to kiss Starfire... and then April Fools!

At that moment, I understood... this show does not care what I think of it. It simply does not care if I think it is stupid or juvenile or dumb. It doesn't give a single shit about my nostalgia or my demands upon it. It is perfectly happy with being itself and what itself... is a silly superhero show for children. And they are having fun making it, all of them... and I realized that hating it for being true to itself was... dumb of me. I can't make the show what I want to be because of what I want. It wouldn't be their show if that's how it went down. My problem wasn't with this show existing, it was the lack of serious superhero cartoons to balance it out, but that wasn't its fault. This team was never gonna make that show, they already made that show. In fact, when I got that show I thought I wanted when Young Justice returned, I ended up hating it because it took itself even more seriously than any superhero show should. Hating TTG! for being what it wants to be is like hating the MCU for making superheroes fun and accessible to everyone. And the last thing I want to be is like one of those MCU haters.

This segways nicely into our main question: But why here? What makes this stupid show something where BBRae can happen, but the in the more serious-minded original cartoon it's ignored despite the chemistry? Simple, it's been long enough that both the writers have realized where the REAL romantic intrigue was with the original cast... and TTG! makes it easier to come to fruition.

I don't watch the show, even if I no longer hate it. The series is just not for me. I'm not sure its style of humor, reminiscent of Spongebob and similar episodic kids' series, works with me as well as it might have back when I was a kid. I'm older now, and my humor preferences have changed. That doesn't make it not funny, it's just not something I'm particularly going to find funny. The point is, this style of humor allows Raven to be a lot less closed off. Now that everyone has shifted somewhat in personality to be more exaggerated, they are more in line with Beast Boy who has not really changed. And as a result Raven, who in the original show had a strong connection to Beast Boy, even if it was platonic, is less sheltered and closed-off. She gets involved more, she laughs more, and she does more weird insane things. It's easier for her to not take things seriously. Therefore, it's easier for her to be with Beast Boy because all the walls are already down.

Similar to what eventually happened in the New 52. The closeness, the similarities, the familiarity, the friendship, the work... it had already been finished! Not in the same sense, but in the general essence of that slow development. Strangely enough, because the show no longer took itself so seriously, Raven had even more in common with Beast Boy than ever despite retaining her differences.

Weirdly enough, it was now Robin and Starfire who became more at odds because Robin's insistence on being cool, mature, and badass has made it harder for him to see Starfire's obvious affection for him. At the same time, he's not in a place to return it despite clearly liking her. Beast Boy is not concerned with that and Raven is not nearly as against the idea as she was in the original show. When Trigon is no longer evil incarnate, but just another asshole animated dad that pops in to create a problem of the week, the dangers of Raven's "unchecked emotions" becomes just another gag.

When everything is a joke stakes don't matter and, as I pointed out, this show is actively against creating real stakes. The Titans in this series regularly fight Santa Claus... he's their biggest villain. Not Slade, Not Trigon, Santa! And from what I can gather it's mostly because he won't give them presents because they are on the naughty list for obvious reasons. None of this can be taken seriously! Raven collects Pony Plushes as a nod to Tara Strong playing Twilight Sparkle around the same time. Beast Boy spends an entire episode with Cyborg only saying the word "Waffle." This is not a series that really cares that much about anything other than having a laugh. Raven's biggest hang-up, being the anti-christ, is no longer a major issue because this series DEFIES the concept of taking anything Superhero related as seriously.

So in that context, when everything is already a joke, what's stopping her from being with Beast Boy, the biggest jokester in the group? Especially when she clearly likes having fun and making jokes as much as the rest of the group? The answer: Nothing! She can be open with her feelings and Beast Boy's immaturity isn't as big of a turn-off because she's just as immature and silly. And time and distance have proven their chemistry was more compelling, so the relationship becoming canon is easier to slot in here than anywhere!

So comics readers and kids now have two versions of this relationship that are canon. But during this push in both mediums, the tidal wave was already building... until the dam just broke completely.

Green and Purple Everywhere!

It wasn't very long until it seemed Beast Boy and Raven were everywhere as a couple. And DC wasn't just letting it happen, they actively encouraged it. Popping up in skins in Fortnite as a promotional stunt is one thing, being introduced together, as romantically involved, was essentially a stamp of approval. A statement that these characters were inexplicably linked. And it was not the only thing they were doing, they were recruiting outright shippers and fans of them into the creative process.

DC pushed a YA Graphic Novel with art by Gabriel Picolo, best known for drawing the Titans as real-world teenagers. Especially BB and Raven... together... constantly. DC at this point clearly considers that these two as a couple is a profitable arrangement. That there is simply enough love for it and engagement with it that it only makes sense to go with it and make money off of it. You do not sell a book like this if you don't think there's an audience for it. Marvel has made bank by teasing people about Peter and MJ's epic love story despite not wanting them to be officially together in the comics... for years now!

And to top it all off... they became a meme! A very ridiculous meme where Raven demands Beast Boy turn into animals for hanky panky, but a meme nonetheless. Once you get to that point the ship is firmly ingrained in pop culture.

Even when they aren't together as a couple, they are together as a dynamic. The live-action Titans show maintained the two as very close friends. While the show never went the extra mile, it was obvious that the chemistry was there and the showrunners wanted to maintain it. Keeping them as close friends and connected together in their sub-plots. The first few episodes basically have him bringing her home to his weird family, The Doom Patrol, and having dinner with them. It goes a bit south from there as I understand, but not from anything Gar does. Beast Boy is presented as Raven's anchor throughout the series an important one that keeps her sane and tethered to the people who care and value her. And apparently, that very close friendship even outlasted Dick and Kory being a thing on this show. Which ended abruptly between seasons because it feels like DC told them to do it more than anything.

I can't say why they didn't just make them romantically linked, especially given that they were becoming canon everywhere else. Perhaps the creative team wanted to show a sorely needed platonic boy-girl friendship uncomplicated by romance. Let's be honest, those are in low supply these days. However, the fact remains they kept them close and, from everything I've read and heard, they are adorable together. So even if they aren't romantic on the show they have been part of why it succeeded so much as one of its more stand-out elements among fans.

In fact, I'd go so far as to say that projects that didn't make Raven and Beast Boy close friends at the very least failed more or less. The Reboot of Young Justice didn't even have Raven in it and Beast Boy was dating some princess for a while. That show never retained enough interest in fans and was canceled, again. The Teen Titans animated movies in the New 52 Verse that came out on Blu-Ray and DVD? They tried hooking Raven up with Damian Wayne and they only got together when they basically killed off the whole Animated New 52-Verse completely. Now, in the comics, Damian is dating some skeleton-make-up chick who literally stole his heart from his chest. He got better. The point is he's nowhere near to dating Raven in the comics who is depicted as much older than him by now. There is no push for them to be together. The RobinRaven ship has completely sunk to the bottom at this point.

Hell, Terra didn't even get together with Beast Boy in Young Justice's reboot, and they were doing the whole "Judas Contract" thing with her there too! How do you do "Judas Contract" without Beast Boy getting his heart ripped out by the betrayal of Terra? It's insanity!

The point is... no romance for these two sticks unless they're with each other! DC has all but given up on trying to do anything else. The collective voice of fans, inside and outside of the industry, has made it clear who their OTP is. Maybe it started off in the comics as a lark, and maybe the cartoon never was serious about it, but it doesn't matter in either case! At this point the ship is just synonymous with the Titans, maybe more so than even RobStar. DC has seemingly retired that romantic pairing from service despite the clear equally as huge love for it because they want to consolidate Dick's relationships within the Batfamily. Meaning he has to be with Barabara Gordon. Starfire can never be a part of the Batfamily in their eyes, so she can't be with Dick.

But Garfield and Raven? They have no other ties but the Titans, so here is where they remain, forever together, as their saying goes. Why bother trying to do anything else with them when it's very clear that it's the only romance the fans will ever accept? I mean you could try bringing Terra back as NOT completely evil, but why? It's like resurrecting Gwen Stacey to be with Peter again, it's the most boring choice you could make and everyone has moved on to either the Red Head or Sexy Cat Thief. There are a few who like the Blonde Fighter Ace with the power of the Sun at her fingertips, but I digress. Gushing over Carol Danvers is for another post and we're getting off-topic.

The point is, you don't break up Sue and Reed Richards to stick Sue with Namor, and Beast Boy and Raven are in a far healthier relationship than that marriage will ever be. Why ruin a good thing for something that was never meant to last in either the comics or the cartoon? Raven has been with Garfield longer than Terra EVER was, especially in this new continuity which, thanks to some more events, is basically the old continuity kinda sorta not really. There's no practical reason to break them up at this point when they've proven their longevity.

Reflection

I have to admit, I was cynical for a good portion of this stuff. I was barely paying attention to "The New 52" so a lot of the stuff I pointed out in it went unnoticed. Look it was a bad reboot, you can't completely blame me. But looking back on it all, it was clear that more and more people in the industry saw the same thing fans did. It took time for them to figure it out, plus one misstep with a Kid Flash variant that made no sense and was over with that run, but there it is. Plain to see for everyone, the heart and soul of the Titans is the fact they are family, they love each other and that love is best exemplified by Beast Boy and Raven. So much so it's the cornerstone of the upcoming Titans comic... where they've been living together for a good while now!

They're clearly banging... there's no way they aren't. I'm not sure if he's turning into a horse for it, but they're doing it. There's no room for denial here!

The creative team for the series has even stated the run revolves around this romance, and that there are big plans involving it. Excited to explore their dynamic, calling their relationship the core of the Titans as a team and a book.

It's self-evident now, this is the romance that defines this series. This is a ship reaching Evergreen Tier, on the same scale as Gambit and Rogue or Lois and Clark. You can ship Raven and Beast Boy with anyone else all you want, but it doesn't change what DC Comics has decided is the default... and this is it.

None of this is to gloat though, this hasn't been an attempt to declare victory, although it's hard not to. This is the win, but that's not nearly as important as everything else. This is the culmination of a lot of things, both as a fan and personally. It was through Beast Boy and Raven that I forged friendships with people I wouldn't trade for anything, even if they weren't canon. I've come to know so many wonderful amazing people. People who have been there for me in my bad times and laughed with me in the good, who have helped me grow immensely. And it was because of these two that I found them.

So seeing this, all of this, and taking it into account... really looking at it, it's more than the memory of a goth girl and a class clown with superpowers. It's a huge chunk of my life that, isn't just validated but... immensely emotionally impactful. I would not be the person I am today without BBRae, that's true regardless of how canon it is.

It's true what Beast Boy said, sometimes you can get everything you want. But I'm not talking about a ship, I'm talking about a family of friends, who are irreplaceable in your life. And in so many ways, that's what the Titans have always been, a family of true friends, in both the best and worst ways, but there's no denying that the best of that is Beast Boy and Raven. The truest expression of what the Titans mean to me and so many others. I won so much more than a ship, I won people who care. And that's worth more than anything in my eyes.

So thank you, Beast Boy and Raven, thank you for everything. I look forward to your future together. An evergreen horizon evermore. It was a long road, it was bumpy, it was heartbreaking at times, and even more than a little fraught with drama, but it was an amazing ride. And I can't wait to see what's around the corner next.

[dilfdoctordoom]

Tell me everything u know about Bette kane

With pleasure!

Bette's the cousin of Bruce & Kate Kane & her origin is, at best, a little messy.

She was originally introduced as Bat-Girl alongside Kathy Kane Batwoman (who is a DIFFERENT CHARACTER TO KATE KANE) to dispell rumors that Batman & Robin were gay.

She's very smart from the get-go & figures out Batwoman's identity all on her own. As is typical for the Silver Age, she gets into a lot of zany antics. Her favorite hobby is weaponizing misojyny.

She gets to join the Teen Titans towards the end of Volume 1 by creating a fun spin off team in Titans West! This is my most beloved Titans team, just a bunch of my blorbos in one place. Really and truly made for me personally.

Then the universe explodes, so naturally, Bette's back with a new backstory.

I'm really not a fan of it. Bette's origin didn't have much to do with Dick Grayson; now, it's all focused on him.

Plus side, she's going by Flamebird and she has a kick ass costume.

She gets reintroduced in a redux of the Titans West story and does get some fun moments, I won't lie. She pops up in The New Titans and is so <3.

Her next big appearance is in Hawk & Dove Annual and it's spectacular. This is the peak of all comic characterization ever. Issue of all time. I'm obsessed it genuinely makes me insane.

She gets some cameo stuff to do, until Titans/JLA: The Technis Imperative. She isn't up to much here, but! It sets up her story in Titans Secret Files & Origins #1 which leads wonderfully into Beast Boy.

Beast Boy is so good to her it's unreal I love her new costume. Nothing beats the original, but I like the update.

She gets more fun appearances with Titans LA (Titans West 2.0). Fun fact! Titans LA was originally gonna get its own book written by Geoff Johns.

Urm. Universe blows up again. New 52 happens. I die inside.

I hate Bette in this era so much it's unreal. Her Batwoman arc is a rehash of her Beast Boy arc with added fridging. She gets Batman to imply she'll become a villain. It's just really gross, IMO, and utterly unneeded... it's done to get her to a place she's already at. Like if we had Dick Grayson get skewered by a pedophile while Batman gets fucked so that he could move on from Robin... like we've done that. Why are we doing it again but gross.

She's had some appearances in Rebirth. I hate all her 'Tec ones-- Bette Kane would never join the military after what happened to Kate. She'd never join in general, but especially after that.

She did get an appearance in DC's Legion of Bloom that I loved! It's Titans West/LA again unsurprisingly and it's just a fun story about them on a mission. She's returned to her Flamebird glory and not forced into being gross Hawkfire.

She hasn't had anything since that & as the main title she'd realistically show up in is Titans, I'm hoping it stays that way. I do not want Tom Taylor within ten feet of her.

[nightmareinfloral]

Dick Grayson Reading Guide- Robin, Nightwing, & Batman

Robin:

Batman (1940) #192, 202-203, 227, 229-231, 234-236, 239, 240-242, 244-245, 248, 250, 252, 254, 259, 333, 337-339, 341-343

Detective Comics (1937) #38, 390-391, 394-395, 398-403, 445, 447, 450-451, 481-485

Teen Titans (1966)

Batman: Dark Victory

Batman Chronicles: The Gauntlet

Robin: Year One

Year One: Batman/Scarecrow

Batman: Year Three

Teen Titans: Year One (2008)

The New Teen Titans (1980)

Tales of the Teen Titans (1984) #41-44

Nightwing:

Nightwing: Year One

The New Teen Titans (1984)

Secret Origins (1986) #13, Annual 3

Batman (1940) #416

Nightwing: Old Friends, New Enemies

Nightwing (1996)

JLA/Titans: The Technis Imperative

Batman Plus Arsenal (1997)

Young Justice (1998) #7

Titans (1999)

Batman: Cataclysm

Batman: Aftershock

Batman: Gotham Knights (2000)

Outsiders (2003)

Batman: The Resurrection of Ra’s Al Ghul

Batman:

Batman: Prodigal

Batman R.I.P.

Batman and Robin (2009)

Batman: The Black Mirror

Batman: Streets of Gotham

Batman: Gates of Gotham

*Disclaimer: these are all my personal recommendations and by no means a complete guide, just the comics that I liked the most and that I felt captured Dick the best! They are mostly in chronological order but some may not be.

[pluckyredhead]

Why was Victor golden in the Titans series (the devin grayson one)

I figured you would know because you know alot about DC comics

This question makes me so happy because a) I get to rec one of my favorite comics of all time and b) the answer is unintentionally hilarious.

So basically, some years prior, Vic's body had been pretty much completely destroyed and his consciousness was absorbed into a hive mind of computer intelligences called the Technis. Then when the Technis was destroyed, Vic basically had a breakdown. In the absolutely excellent JLA/Titans: The Technis Imperative, he came back to Earth, took over the moon, kidnapped everyone who had ever been a Titan, and put them in little eggs underground where they would be safe and happy because they were his friends and he loved them. You know, like you do.

The Titans escaped from the eggs and were like "Buddy...no..." and eventually Gar yelled at Vic enough that he was like "Okay I will stop being a disembodied consciousness that has conquered the moon," but this didn't fix the problem of Vic having no body. Luckily, the Titans happened to have a suit of morphing alien armor lying around that could house Vic's consciousness!

The suit of armor? Was called the Omegadrome.

(This was years before omegaverse was a thing, and also the Omegadrome was created by a previous Titans writer and not Devin Grayson, but I like to think she's amused by it now.)

Anyway, Vic's consciousness was ported into the Omegadrome and now he looked like a beautiful gold man who was naked all the time. Gar wasted no time getting up on that:

The gold body is especially fun because Vic can also shapeshift. He didn't love it, though, because the complete lack of organic body parts made him feel extremely disconnected to his humanity no matter how many times Gar tearfully professed his love. I am not exaggerating about Gar's behavior even a little bit, I swear to god.)

(Dick later revealed that he had cloned Vic's body, an extremely normal thing to do (this is where Tim got it from!!!), and Vic was able to shift into his cloned body but keep his shapeshifting abilities. He later lost those abilities in Geoff Johns's Flash run and went back to being 1980s-style Cyborg, because Geoff Johns is the most boring thinker imaginable.)

Anyway, you should read JLA/Titans, it has every single character of 1998 in it and they are all having every single feeling. Seriously, this story is absolutely epic in scope, the character work is impeccable, and Phil Jimenez's art is, as always, exquisite. Whoever your blorbo is, if they were around in 1998, they are in this book, having emotions and looking beautiful. It is also the absolute pinnacle of Vic/Gar and the reason I consider "Hey rust-bucket! Let go of the frickin' moon already, will ya?" to be one of the most romantic lines in all of comics. PLEASE READ IT.