#bc yeah if the narrative wants them to be minors bc of Plot reasons thats fine

[queenboimler]

just so everyone knows: im refusing to engage with the idea that edwin and charles are actually minors

there is no universe where any of these characters are realistically 16

[night-dark-woods]

just finished dead silence by s. a. barnes! it was good! fast-paced space horror/psych thriller with a side of near-future capitalism-is-bad. 3.5/5 i think it was enjoyable but didnt wow me but it was a Exactly what i was wanting out of it.

ALSO. the cover says "a ghost ship / a salvage crew / unspeakable horrors" but theyre NOT salvage crew theyre a comms station maintenance crew!!! VERY different.

the rest of this has minor spoilers (overarching concept but not plot events) so ill chuck it under a read more.

mc is a repair ship captain working for a megacorp (though there are other companies out there so its not quite the usual "only one megacorp" scifi conceit), she and her team find the space-titanic and try to figure out how everyone died.

they start hallucinating once on board due to [plot reason i shant spoil but DID call very gleefully at the first hint about a quarter of the way thru the book] and Events Happen and crewmates die, she ends up on an escape pod but she cant rmb how and then winds up back with the megacorp and then on another recovery trip to the ship with them.

the mc deals with it generally better than her crewmates bc she has dealt with hallucinations her whole life, which i *think* was handled mostly respectfully, but also its unclear narratively if she can just straight up see ghosts? possibly both as well. but its smth ur sensitive to it may be smth to keep in mind bc the entire book pretty much is spent with her experiencing psychosis to one degree or another, exacerbated extremely on the ship by [plot device].

the narrative also jumps back and forth between the time on the ship and "now," where shes institutionalized briefly by the megacorp she works for before she goes back with them to the ship, so heads up for that too.

im trying to figure out what i like in non-fantasy books (yeah yeah this is scifi horror i Know but) and i like any book thats a puzzle i think, i like finding answers and putting the pieces together, so this one was fun bc i knew what was going on and could just slot the pieces into place.

[dyketectivecomics]

@beyondthetemples-ooc

Robin’s Reckoning was the two parter in BTAS that covered Dick Grayson’s origin as Robin as well as his quest to avenge his parent’s deaths by putting away Tony Zucco. It handled the whole story beautifully (as BTAS tends to do lmao) and is just all around so incredibly faithful to the story & just wonderfully made??? iirc this was one of the eps that was nominated/won an emmy? And for GREAT reason too. There’s a REASON BTAS is considered the Definitive Batman cartoon as well as a Definitive cartoon in general. So yeah. it gets two thumbs WAY up from me. plz watch it!!! (its on the DCU app so like, no excuses to NOT watch haha)

But anyways, yeah, I’m obvsly not expecting Titans to do a shot-for-shot remake of that story bc that would be RIDICULOUS but like. Im taking Issue with how they’ve handled this story so far (thoughts under the cut)

when you change the story’s major points: Dick being a witness to the extortion &/or sabotage, Bruce trying & failing to reach out (bc yeah he’s distant but he Tried in his Own Way ofc), and ofc Dick joining Bruce’s crusade bc of that similar drive for justice spawning from the whole incident. (which hasnt quite been adequately covered imo over the course of now 6???? eps????)

The first two are esp major points that they wrote themselves into a corner over now. Bc that connect between Dick KNOWING that Tony Zucco is responsible and now him only being SUSPECTED? It kinda cheapens the choice Dick makes when first going after Zucco. NOT to mention that (at least in BTAS) dick DOES decide to let the law run its course! He doesnt seek his own revenge! He doesnt let Zucco die when he has every opportunity to!

Side rant: Dick Grayson has made the choice to kill in the past. He’s the kind of character, though, who shows at least some remorse over that fact and will go introspective over whether its the right choice. He’s the kind of character who has to reconcile his choices after the fact, but who’d ultimately make his peace.

This makes him a great juxtaposition to Both Bruce & Jason. One that refuses to kill on principle/moral code. And another who almost relishes the idea of the Justice that it can bring. Dick is a character that can provide an excellent opportunity to explore more of a middle ground between the two.

Especially bc while he can be angry & cross a line on occasion. He’s also the kind to bring himself back from that place and make his peace with it in time. And i do still see that potential from this character in Titans now. It’s just the choices that they’re making so far that have me... concerned.

I don’t mind them trying a new angle with these characters (New Plot Potential with Kory having amnesia? Awesome! Raven being raised totally on Earth? Odd, but I'm intrigued to see where they go with this.) but... when you change too many elements in a story like Dick’s, it starts to fall apart if you're not too careful. And for me, thats what feels off about Dick’s story right now. They’re not giving him a Totally New Origin like Kory & Raven. They’re not changing Minor Details to fit a new narrative like Gars (altho i have a whole OTHER rant abt the Chief being the one to save him rather than his GENETICIST PARENTS?). They’re changing Key Details that helped make so much of Dick’s story Iconic and Important. The key factors that played into HIS GUILT. which now feels a little unjustified/paranoid bc he WASNT a witness in quite the same way. 

i’ve been mulling this over for the past few episodes and i didn't rlly want to say too much negative abt the show bc I’m enjoying it just Fine overall. but like... its stuff like this that makes it hard for me Personally bc Im still waiting for the right Payoff for it. I’m gonna hold out hope that this minor adjustments will be followed up on & that they’ll adjust characterization accordingly but like... it doesnt sit right with me right now.