#c: kyle rayner

[dctrfate]

when it comes down to it wally and kyle are pretty similar characters but i think that besides the obvious legacy issues THE uncrossable gulf between them is in how they react to the limitation of their powers. wally's superspeed is synonymous with his need for freedom, be it from his parents or from his own perception of self, and because his powers are so closely linked with that autonomy he will never willingly consent to having them be taken away from him. wally WANTS to integrate himself more with his powers even when they present a clear physical and or mental danger to himself. meanwhile, kyle has deliberately and repeatedly chosen to restrict his own powers for that same exact reason. he gives up ion because it was too much power for one man to have and at the end of his series he nearly does the same to his ring because of the effect the green lantern mantle had on his mental health. wally views his powers as an extension of his independence and is restricted from the lack of them, but for kyle, his ring is first and foremost a responsibility that he has to consciously decide to reign himself with.

[martyrbat]

jla: welcome to the working week

[ID: Kyle Rayner shown from behind in his Green Lantern costume. His arm is extended in front of him as his ring radiates a bright green circle of light around it and a horizontal beam of green energy as he's exploding an asteroid—causing a wreath of rocks to surround him. His legs are spread as his free hand and muscular ass is clenched in concentration. END ID]

[faeriekit]

Jazz & Kyle guy here

Fuck sorry I read about half of that post. My thought process was Jazz tries to cook -> can't make herself do it b/c of that dp joke about the fridges -> add dc to it because someone in there has issues with fridges (Kyle Rayner, a Green Lantern) -> could be an interesting conversation at least -> and it could be a dp/dc without much batfam, which is rare -> my ask

I had a thought about mild angst following Jazz trying to find support for this and meeting Kyle somehow (support group?) which gets them to bonding over only ordering takeout/pantry-stored meal prep for an ending in comfort.

For context: Kyle Rayner is the guy that had a big hand in the development of the term "fridged" in reference to a female character getting hurt to get at the male lead. One of his villains targeted Kyle's girlfriend at the time, and he found her stuffed into the fridge.

Then the " >:) " at the bottom as a way to remind myself that *I* was the one that asked for it.

☕— Wait they put her in the what

[mitochondriaandbunnies]

I forgot that a) Kyle Rayner was the first Lantern introduced in the DCAU, b) that he's Jimmy Olson's pal, and c) that HE KNEELS ON THE MEN'S BATHROOM FLOOR TO PICK UP A RING HE THINKS IT'S FROM A CRACKER JACK BOX AND THEN PUTS SAID RING HE FOUND ON THE MEN'S BATHROOM FLOOR ON

[docgold13]

Is Dick Grayson-Batman not getting the opportunity to be on a big name JLA squad, (a la Kyle Rayner and Wally West take over for Hal and Barry during Morrison’s JLA era) a missed opportunity? Yeah, there was James Robinson’s “epic” C-list lineup, but I was wondering why you think DC seemingly weren’t interested in Bat-Dick having a bigger role in the wider DCU at the time? And in-universe, how would Dick function in a real Justice League, compared to Bruce? What would the dynamics with Clark, Diana, J’onn, etc. look like in your opinion?

I’m not sure if it’s a missed opportunity or not.  

One of the things that made Dick’s tenure as Batman such a captivating read was how much he did not want to be Batman.  He had ‘found’ himself as Nightwing and stepping in as Batman was a lateral movement in his own life journey made simply out of necessity.  

Wally, Kyle and Conner were each eager to take on the mantle of their predecessors.  Succeeding in being the Flash, The Green Lantern and The Green Arrow were their personal goals, whereas being The Batman felt more an obligation and cruel twist of fate for Dick.  

The narrative was only going to work if it had a terminus - a point where Dick could stop being Batman, stop wearing his dad’s clothes, and return to being his own man.  Could DC have made Dick’s time as Batman longer?  Certainly… yet in my opinion it still needed to end the way it did.  

Superhero comics can have aspects of tragedy in them, but ultimately need to revert back to hopefulness and resolution.  Failing to do so takes away the fantasy wish-fulfillment element that acts as a cornerstone of the appeal of superheroes in the first place.

[milfzatannaz]

Is Dick Grayson-Batman not getting the opportunity to be on a big name JLA squad, (a la Kyle Rayner and Wally West take over for Hal and Barry during Morrison’s JLA era) a missed opportunity? Yeah, there was James Robinson’s “epic” C-list lineup, but I was wondering why you think DC seemingly weren’t interested in Bat-Dick having a bigger role in the wider DCU at the time? And in-universe, how would Dick function in a real Justice League, compared to Bruce? What would the dynamics with Clark, Diana, J’onn, etc. look like in your opinion?

girl it’s the way that I can’t figure out what this has to do with me or my blog content

[pegasussomnus]

The lack of existence of, one-sidedness and toxicity of Tim and Steph's current "friendship"

So after Tim's UL thing many people are acting like he and Steph have now transitioned into "platonic besties" or something. Aside from the fact they have NEVER had this dynamic at all throughout their histoy, this write up will explain why the current 'friendship' of Tim and Steph after UL is pretty non-existant, one-sided and frankly kind of toxic.

The first thing to note which is what people use as "proof. Tim introducing Steph to Bernard.

People talk about how 'cute' or 'a sign of trust' it is, but they seem to be overlooking one crucial fact. Tim did it without even asking Steph first or telling her they would be meeting him.

Let's be honest introducing your ex to your new partner without telling your ex is a selfish move as while you may be over your ex, your ex may not be over you and it might be hard for them to see you with someone else so quickly, especially in this case as Tim just apologized for treating her badly via ghosting her and being a jerk to her. The fact the whole time Tim was planning to introduce her to Bernard even before he talked with Stephanie shows he was planning it without taking her into consideration at all and not giving her her own space to properly deal with things.

When Kyle Rayner met with Donna while with Jade after he and Donna's relationship ended on bad terms due to her ghosting him (it was because her son died BTW) and more or less ending the relationship in a way that hurt him a lot, he properly gave Donna a space to deal with it and didn't include Jade in it as he knew Donna as someone he loved a lot even if it was over needed his undivided attention here to deal with loose ends. He told Jade this before going to talk to Donna even.

So Tim comes off as incredibly selfish and unintentionally manipulative as he did this right after laying a lot on her with the apology, telling her why he ghosted her, and in public, doesn't give her really time to process things and puts pressure on her to just take it as a bad reaction in public would be bad but also after Tim laid this on her and they reconciled might alienate them even further which Stephanie didn't want as was shown by her attempts to mend things in UL and how much it hurt her.

And Tim not even bothering to even really ask her how she is doing or for her full perspective before doing this was also conceited as again he was ghosting her for a long time. All she did was just reiterate what we and the audience already know and he in the past has pushed Stephanie to express her feelings to him and be frank, so not even doing so and being satsified with her just saying what he already knew felt self-centered.

Not to mention Stephanie's entire reaction made her look like she has no self-respect as Tim:

A. dumped her without a reason

B. Acted like an asshole to her when she tried to help him

C, ghosted her

D. lied that she was ghosting him

E. Only apologized after he met her by accident (where he wished he wasn't there) and her life was in danger

F. Introduced her to his new BF after all this without asking her first while she is still getting over him as Batgirls annual showed

Like aside from clearly using her as a prop it is so bizarre. Introducing your ex to your new partner after all this and in the manner Tim did comes across as flaunting and Steph just taking it is so weird. Like knowing that she still isn't over him and combined with her normally low self-esteem (which Tim knows about) it makes it look like Steph feeling pressured (not necessarily by anyone in particular but by herself) to act supportive because she feels obligated to. Like the fact she hasn't even brought up she still isn't over him to Tim and just acted the way she does further makes it look like this, which again provides a pretty one sided dynamic that comes across as toxic.

This brings into how subsequent interactions again show Steph being this ultra supportive cheerleader but Tim not reciprocating anything really.

Like in issue 4 of Tim's solo, Steph ask's if things are okay with Bernard (of course she does will get to that later) and Tim doesn't even really reply and just moves things back to the case. In fact their interactions throughtout the issue are completely dry and strictly business related. Compared to when he interacted with Dick in issue 5 and opened up about his insecurities in branching out or Kate in issue 8 about the times they've bonded and other things, him being so dry with Steph feels odd. They have him say he "trust Steph and Cass" the most but everything is just business related and this "trust" is only vigilante wise it seems. Like he doesn't even ask Stephanie how she is doing or what's going on in her life. Given issue 2 Tim says he's worried about "ruining things like with Steph" or how in isuse 3 Tim claims he "loves that she's the most unpredictable person" (which was a pretty lackluster description/summation of her compared to how he summed up Dick as the "coolest person he knows" and Damian as his "brother" which fully captures what they mean to him. This description of Steph seems only like something vigilante related which is where her unpredictability comes from and again only an aspect of it) him treating her so drly and professional is just odd when he is more open with Kate than her and again like a friendly work acquaintance at best, which shows he is still keeping her at a distance.

Not to mention how in issue 8 we later see  Stephanie literally dancing over him and Bernard being together in the montage of him recounting he and Kate's bonding moments involving the Batfamily. it is implied this took place not too long after the whole introduction to Bernard which again was pretty bizarre for the reasons I said above. so her doing this after the whole thing again makes her look like she has no self-respect.

This ties into how Tim only seems to involve her in his life when it comes to Bernard/how the author only uses her as. Like the only non-vigilante thing she ask's about is Bernard in issue 4 and in that montage of issue 8 the ONLY time Stephanie shows up in his interactions with the Batfamily in this issue is with Bernard while, Dick who is the closest to Tim apart from Steph shows in two montages, but for Steph it's only this one. Like when moving on his boat in the montage with Dick, he asked Kate, Barbara, and Darcy over Steph for help despite it being a supposed important step in his life. Like he'll include her with Bernard related stuff but other important stuff he'll go to people who are less closer to him for? It makes Tim look like he's using her to validate his new relationship and Steph going along with it makes her just a pushover

It doesn't help how Tim in other instances says/thinks some questionable things about her and their history. Like in issue 1 he thinks about how he was 'settling' before Bernard and how Stephanie would hate his boat after thinking about how much he likes it there and what it represents to him in terms of branching. Like Stephanie was giving her own thought box and HATE was emphaszied while the other Batfamily were grouped together and no emphasis on their reaction and they seemed more like light hearted sentiments/commentary/jabs at their reactions especially with the use of the word hate which is pretty strong and how it was emphasized.

There was also how in DC YJ when "Batman" and "Wonder Girl" in the fake world said Tim should get back with Steph, in that stupid scene, they did so in a way that makes it look like Steph only likes Tim for his vigilante identity via saying she would want him back if he was Batman like she's hero equivalent of a girl who wants to date the most popular jock and painting her as shallow yet Tim doesn't defend her or even care about the slight against her.

Their is also way he talks about her to Connor in DC Pride 2023. Like in the Pride Special Tim claims says she was "everything he ever wanted and more" yet aside from saying he was settling before Bernard, here he says he was really avoiding her because she was a reminder of a past of letting other people define him and he was invested in the relationship on to avoid examining himslef on purpose......

only mentioning how she was a reminder of a past he wanted to avoid and only in a negative connotation and how hard it was for him to be around her and not the fact of how he hurt her in then process and not how she became supportive of him (really shows how Steph in supporting Tim being bi is just used to shill Timber) when he talked how supportive Bruce was when we haven't seen it and he wasn't to the extent Steph was (who he also didn't treat badly and also mentioned as part of letting people define him though weird how he didn't have trouble being around him, but it just shows how they are framing Steph as the 'closeted' past or a barrier to bi Tim....) makes Tim look unappreciative of her and incredibly self-centered.

And like the final point is how Tim again hasn't shown any kind of support for her at all or even tried to be there for her in any way. Like even his 'talk' with her in the Pride Special was all about him. So the lack of support and the way he is still keeping her at a distance makes him look really self-absorded. It makes their 'friendship' all give and no take.

TLD DR: Tim and Steph's current 'friendship' is basically non-existant, one-sided and comes off as kind of toxic due to Tim coming across as self-centered and Steph like a pushoever with no self-respect

[zahri-melitor]

Is Dick Grayson-Batman not getting the opportunity to be on a big name JLA squad, (a la Kyle Rayner and Wally West take over for Hal and Barry during Morrison’s JLA era) a missed opportunity? Yeah, there was James Robinson’s “epic” C-list lineup, but I was wondering why you think DC seemingly weren’t interested in Bat-Dick having a bigger role in the wider DCU at the time? And in-universe, how would Dick function in a real Justice League, compared to Bruce? What would the dynamics with Clark, Diana, J’onn, etc. look like in your opinion?

There was definitely a push during Batman Reborn to have Dick strangely isolated from his support systems, to a level that it seemed to have some level of editorial mandate.

Dick got to be Batman, but he had to do the loner thing in Gotham, even though the loner thing in Gotham is not actually what Batman is about, really.

But Dick was not allowed to ask for help, even if his friends who would normally check in on him were nowhere to be seen. Tim got sent away and Morrison actively worked not to use him. Barbara and Dick was arguing. Dick and Helena were arguing. Cass was sent to Hong Kong. Bruce wouldn't return to Gotham and went country-hopping with Batman Inc. And Dick only really had a half-hearted JLA turn, though admittedly the JLA was also in the middle of dramas between Blackest Night/Brightest Day and Cry for Justice.

In terms of what Dick would look like on a 'proper' (classic titles) Justice League lineup? Honestly, it really sort of depends whether it's Dick doing a Wally and having to step up as a colleague of their mentors, or if it's say Dick-Wally-Kyle-Roy as a core plus some of the older generation.

Dick's not afraid of calling JL members out if he thinks they're not behaving correctly and he's directed field ops in events before. I think the big thing if he had had to do a Wally and step into Bruce's shoes surrounded by Bruce's ordinary colleagues would be that he would have felt somewhat unready, but also gotten annoyed if anyone tried to empathise with his loss. He can do the job. It's everyone treating him as Bruce or as Nightwing that would be his issue.

In a lot of ways, especially if there are chunk of members who are in his age cohort, it would just be like a Titans team. Dick's got a good working relationship with all these people, he knows all their skillsets, and he's acknowledged to be one of the strongest team leaders in the community. However, he also knows how to fold and act as a lieutenant if someone more senior is leading (like Diana. Or Clark) and I suspect he'd get slotted into that role at least initially.

[ao3feed-superbat]

Compound C

read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/yWRqngB by somagni Clark has an allergy, though it doesn't make him sneeze, wheeze or get bleary eyed, the reaction he experiences is the compulsion to cuddle. Bruce tries to help Clark figure out the cause and how to handle it, that grows difficult when both men start thinking as far as allergic reactions go, this one doesn't seem so bad. Prompts: Bruce Wayne Week: Cuddle Pollen Clark Kent week: Allergies Words: 15566, Chapters: 6/6, Language: English Fandoms: Batman - All Media Types, Superman - All Media Types, Justice League & Justice League Unlimited (Cartoons) Rating: Explicit Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Categories: M/M Characters: Clark Kent, Bruce Wayne, Oliver Queen, John Henry Irons, Kyle Rayner, Michael Carter (DCU), Patrick "Eel" O'Brian Relationships: Clark Kent/Bruce Wayne Additional Tags: Cuddle Pollen, Allergies, Kryptonian Biology (DCU), Cuddling & Snuggling, Cologne, Beekeeping, Trust Issues, Awkward Romance, Possessive Behavior, Photo Shoots, Anal Sex, Top Clark Kent, Bottom Bruce Wayne, Rescue Missions, Mind/Mood Altering Substances, Love Bites, Fluff and Smut, Red Kryptonite (DCU), Science Experiments read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/yWRqngB

[bi-bats]

im procrastinating so hard rn so c, i, o, z?

Waffle hELLO!!!!! THANK YOU FOR WAITING LIKE TWO WEEKS FOR ME TO GET TO THIS LMAOOOO 💖💖💖

C - A ship you have never liked and probably never will.

oh that's tough actually, especially in DC. there really aren't any that I abhor wholeheartedly-

wait no wait. Supermartian. Sorry, both Kon and M'gann are a thousand times more interesting without each other in literally every instance I've seen them (for the record, I'm talking exclusively about canon because I don't consume fan content for this pairing, so there are probably people who are doing it justice out there but the canon content has put me so far off of it that I just. don't want it).

I - Has Tumblr caused you to stop liking any fandoms, if so, which and why?

Oh interesting! See, I've been on here since like. 2011? not on this particular blog (though I do still have access to my old account) so. uh. I've been here since before superwholock. I was in and out, so thankfully I wasn't around much for Steven Universe, though I did watch that whole series and heard things about the fandom. I think it'd be more accurate to say it wasn't Tumblr specifically, but certain fandoms have put me off, though I am reluctant to admit my shame.

homestuck

O - Choose a song at random. Which ship or character does it remind you of?

Je te laisserai des mots - reminds me of DamiTim, possibly because I'm in that brainspace rn? but also I hc that Damian plays violin and Tim plays piano and the way that the two intertwine throughout the song is beautiful. Also the lyrics remind me of Damian, who I think is definitely one to hide his feelings and wait for someone else to make the first move!

Z - Just ramble about something fan-related, go go go! (Prompts optional but encouraged.)

Okay I'm gonna hit you with a take I see all the time but feel like talking about anyways. I read a lot of comics (not just for batfam, I'm actually a major flashfam enthusiast (esp Wally and Bart) and a MASSIVE Kyle Rayner and Jo Mullein fan, and I read plenty of superfam stuff bc I love Kon, and also Young Justice my belOVED) but like. if I could just. read a run that doesn't have Batman or the batfam in it, you know. Sometimes I just. It'd be nice! that's all! It'd be nice if I could just read a Kyle run that doesn't have any bats in it! Or Wally! Like, don't get me wrong, I actually love his relationship with Dick (they're in love actually but that's a story for another time) but like. HE DOESN'T REALLY NEED TO BE HERE IDK. or like the new run of Titans!! Sure, I want Dick to be in it but like. He's the main character!! Idk!!! I get that they're making him like, the face of DC or whatever but like. idk sometimes I want my other faves to get the spotlight.

Sorry if you weren't looking for me to whine about this 😂 and for the record I don't always hate it, I just want more of my other faves who have kind of been forgotten in favor of the bats again

[antrunner]

C, T and X!!!

BOY OH BOY 😈

C - A ship you have never liked and probably never will (be nice)

BATLANTERN. respectfully, what the hell is up with that? i've never seen any chemistry between them beyond thinly veiled irritation and professionalism on a good day. there's obviously moments between them of genuine kindness and respect, but..... hal is a very closed off person, despite what he may display otherwise. he has a small circle of extremely close friends that probably know more about him than his own family. and Bruce is Bruce. it just doesn't really make sense to me and never ever will

T - Do you have any hard and fast headcanons that you will die defending, about anything at all (gender identity, sexual or romantic orientation, extended family, sexual preferences like top/bottom/switch, relationship with poetry, seriously anything)

I have plenty! but i'll narrow it down to a few.

1. Jason Todd is trans. i won't elaborate.

2. 80% of heroes AND villains have autism. there's just too many characters with Behaviors and i love representation. specifically with characters having fixations, stimming, having empathy issues or being bad at reading rooms. ALL of the gotham rogues have some sort of autism/adhd/ocd going on. (as someone with all of those it makes me so happy to see rep!! and often the OCD is portrayed just fine imo. which is rare)

3. lanternfam is just as close-knit as any other "dc family" (hero group). i think that recent comics have really fucked up GL's as a whole. i haven't enjoyed much that's come out in the last 10 or so years for them outside of some little spinoff stuff. (geoff johns...... count your days) but in my own little fantasy world they treat each other like family the same as flashfam batfam arrowfam whatever. like 4 really annoying brothers in a college dorm and the dorm is a giant green planet and college is Not Dying. they genuinely love each other and open up a lot. when simon and jessica join they are welcomed with open arms and instantly get invited to poker night that evening. i think comics (recently) have this weird give and take with love vs. disrespect with the lanterns and like..... they have been through WAY too much to hold even an ounce of animosity towards each other.

X - top 5-10 characters who are yoUR PRECIOUS BABIES AND YOU WILL DIE

BARRY ALLEN‼️‼️‼️🔊🗣 KYLE RAYNER. eddie nygma. koriand'r. jason todd. hal jordan. wally west. donna troy. saint walker.

[plutonicmirror]

Zero Hour (1994) #0 [and Zero Hour in general]

Let’s continue my Zero Hour first reading. After skipping some filler tie-in issues, I reached the finale. Again, funny numbering gimmick with a 0 issue. I think Marvel also had something similar with their -1 issues back then. Oh, the 90s!

Hal Jordan Parallax reveals his master plan: “I’m gonna erase the universe so hard, I’m gonna create a new one where everything is right and everyone is happy™”. Classic case of a hero reacting to tragedy the readers are supposed to know about the Emerald Twilight story arc, but I’m LARPing as a snot-eating 10yo in 1994 who just started reading comics and doesn’t have enough attention span to know the lore with absurd amounts of cope and a plan that sounds extremely good on paper, but that other heroes must oppose because morality yadda yadda yadda. Looking at you, Injusticeverse.

Shout-out to my man Danger, a D-lister that was brought to the final fight fOr a ReAsOn. I’m gonna be honest, I skipped his tie-in because I couldn’t give a fuck about who he was. I usually like me some B/C/D/Z listers, but I also don’t give a fuck about DC’s Titans and his book was apparently tied to that whole mess so I was like “meh, next”. I mean, this young dude is a nobody right....?

*one trip to a comics wiki later*

Oh...

Ahem, moving on. The Spectre shows up looking for REVENGE after all of the JSA folks get ultra aged up or straight up deleted from existence, even though they had previously asked him for help and he was like “nah that’s human bullshit, I ain’t movin’ any finger”. Good job, asshole.

So yeah, remember our D-lister? Turns out his power (which is absorbing energy and making explosions) is specifically needed to counter Parallax’s new Big Bang. So our heroes’ plan is...to recreate the universe exactly as it was. So basically Parallax’s plan but done by them because fuck you Parallax, you don’t get to play God. Except...it doesn’t come out exactly as it was, because there’s “““subtle changes”““. In a meta way, this event was supposed to be a soft reboot to fix some of the fuckery that Crisis on Infinite Earths (a big event I haven’t read yet out of fear) caused. Was it accomplished? According to Comic Pop’s Back Issues video on this event... it kind of wasn’t. Sidenote, I highly recommend that channel’s Back Issues series, after reading an event it’s fun to watch a recap that adds background bits for the uncultured (like me) even if I sometimes feel the critique of the host is too harsh.

A not-Killing-Joke’d Batgirl from another timeline who temporarily sided with Parallax because she was doing her best “I want to be a real boy” Pinocchio impersonation got killed in the heat of the moment, so the other normal-powered hero in the room (Green Arrow) gets pissed at his former bestie. After this whole event he ragequits btw and apparently a common joke is that many readers think that should be the standard reaction to the whole thing.

Parallax is seemingly killed but it’s comics so he’ll be fine, trust the process. If I recall correctly, Hal gets to be the new Spectre for a while [*Vietnam flashbacks of Identity Crisis*]. I forgot to mention that the current Green Lantern of the time Kyle Rayner and Wally West were also “killed off”. Again, they’ll be fine. I just didn’t care enough to read a wiki and find out how they come back. But that bit brings us to this “oh yeah, that happened” moment:

Power Girl was pregnant and gave birth to a baby with the help of Wonder Woman who conveniently decided to play midwife instead of stepping up to the threath. Bue hey, guess who also was sort of born in the aftermath of this event? That’s right, I was! So surely that means that baby is a very important char-

Whoops, nevermind.

FINAL THOUGHTS ON THE WHOLE EVENT:

“7/10 it was alright” - IGN.

The contrarian in me doesn’t hate it like most nerds out there do, but it’s certainly not the greatest event ever written. Granted I went in without knowledge of a lot of stuff, like how was I supposed to make sense of what was happening in the Hawkman tie-in issue aka the whole “let’s try to solve the problem of having multiple origins for this character by literally merging them all into one” thing? How could I know what CoIE fuckery needed to be fixed if I don’t know the big impact of CoIE besides Supergirl being killed off (this fact is cultural osmosis at this point)? Did it matter to me in the long run? Not really, because it’s not like I feel compelled to keep reading DC continuity and make sense of it for the time being. The art was good, the colors were pretty, the Parallax suit was rad, the pose Ollie made at the end was Jojo-esque and dramatic, Batman fucking off from the final fight via being killed was good.

Now, the tie-ins. Some of them were fun, some of them were a drag to read because I had no idea of background info for most of them. Almost all of the Superman tie-ins were fun to read with the exception of Steel because I was tired of wiki-hunting when I reached his issue, shout out to the alternate Jor-El and Lara, the Alpha Centurion and the “Superman tries to save the Kents during the chronal rift” stories (Superman vol. 2 #93, Adventures of Superman #516, Action Comics #703 respectively). The Legion of Superheroes and adjacent issues were extremely confusing to me as a casual but oddly engaging. I had no idea what was happening but it was sort of fun. It revived my itch to read LoSH comics even if I’m still feeling overwhelmed at the mere thought of going further with that task. Oh yeah, the silent Green Arrow issue was a lot of fun! (Green Arrow vol. 2 #90).

The characters introduced were a mixed bag. On one hand we have Bart Allen aka Impulse, who was created in the prequel to this event and was sort of interesting. But then the chronal rift time erasure bullshit happens and since he’s from the 30th century he basically does nothing of importance... Alpha Centurion, as I mentioned, was a fun read in his Adventures issue but in the core event he was... a convenient minion. Thriumph? Thriump was an annoying character, one of those “oh yeah he was totally there in the beggining of the big team but the big name characters just don’t remember tee hee!”. Don’t worry though, he would later die of a cold. Or something like that. Extant felt edgy throughout most of the core issues and the tie-ins, he really had that Madara Uchiha endgame villain energy...until he was revealed to be just a pawn that was just rebelling. And then he fucks off. Shout-out to this specific goofy panel:

Tie-in issues skipped: Anima #7, Batman: Shadow of the Bat #31, Damage #6, Robin vol. 2 #10, Showcase ‘94 #10, Steel #8, Team Titans #24 (yeah, this team got erased from existence and I just couldn’t care), The Darkstars #24. Also skipped: all of the Zero Month aftermath gimmick #0/soft reboot issues.

New Year’s resolution when it comes to DC? I’ll get around reading the 70s Green Arrow and Green Lantern book. Ever since I found some academic paper on it that mentioned the words environmentalism and malthusian I was like “ok wtf I have to read this”.

Tytyty for reading my blog.

[xycuro-illuminati]

wait could you explain the divorced stuntdevil and jaykyle more I just saw the poll but it ended already :c

Oh sure thing! Sorry about the poll, it was a fun little gag to do for the followers and mutuals who knew about the two. I didn't elaborate on it bc I didn't think it would be that significant in the tags lol. But here's a brief rundown on both hateships:

Bitter exes stuntdevil: Matt Murdock/George Smith aka Stunt Master(an old dd villain since vol 1 and has appeared in vol 3 as well); Matt fell madly in love with George in my version of the daredevil reborn arc and the two were the most headass and unhealthy yeehaw couple. Their marriage only lasted for a year bc Matt slowly started realizing that George was shitty and he hated dressing up like a cowboy and doing crime for him. Post divorce there's no feelings of longing or wanting to patch things up to at least be friends (they tried that in vol 4 issue 11 but oops, George is still an asshole), they want nothing but the worst for each other. Matt wants George to get hit by a truck and die, and George wants nothing to do with him except maybe laugh at his suffering once in a while. I made a whole elaborate lore about this relationship and how it would tie in with DD esp for my version of it, so this one has more headassery in terms of backstory.

Petty exes jaykyle: Jason Todd/Kyle Rayner; So this was a joke in a DC server I'm in where we were discussing how we don't understand the appeal of jaykyle and how it would work much better if they were exes rather than being romantic partners, and that's where this version of the pairing comes from. The funny part is these two didn't technically get married. They were dating for less than a month, did a botched wedding, and then soon broke up much later. They don't flat out hate each other like the other two mfs discussed here, its more so that they'll bicker and argue like divorcees whenever they get the chance and everyone has to suffer from it. Which is why their relationship is more petty. And it's funny that way. There's not much lore for these two bc I barely read anything about Kyle, I just think the pairing works way better as a crack divorce. Sorry jaykyle fans that genuinely like these two as a romantic couple, but they are two of the most divorce-coded characters in DC.

[the-shinysnorlax]

The Green Lantern cycle: How DC uses and mischaracterizes their “forgotten” characters

As of me writing this, I just finished Green Lantern: First Flight, and it had me thinking: Just how many adaptations of different GL stories are there? (No, Justice League doesn’t count)

The answer? Not a lot. At least, not a lot of good ones.

Sure, you have First Flight, which is a pretty decent film. And you have the animated series, objectively considered one of the best adaptations of the GL comics to exist. And if you are a “hardcore” GL fan you might even remember Emerald Knights was a movie too.

But the animated series was canceled before it got any real potential, first flight got forgotten to time, and emerald knights is really just a bunch of shorts complied into a movie. And these were all released 10-15 years ago. What have we gotten since?

Well there’s that disaster that is the live action movie with that guy from Deadpool (And the equally as awful theme park ride that came with it which squandered the name “First Flight” for the GL franchise) and there’s Beware my power which pisses me off for reasons that I won’t talk about for this essay (Wasted potential of making a proper adaptation of Emerald Twilight)

And that’s about it really. DC has been hesitant to adapt any GL comics into movies/shows outside of the same old Hal origin rewritten for the millionth time and really just brings them out to put them as a JL member.

And that got me thinking. DC has done this before. Not just with Hal and his buddies either. The JSA, the aquafam, Arrowfam, young Justice and much more have been brought back only to be put back in the void and largely forgotten outside of their fanbase. Thus making me to dub this

The Green Lantern Cycle

It consists of these steps. I’ll be using its namesake as an example, notably Kyle Rayner (Because hes my favorite GLC member I’m sorry I have a bias)

1. A comic run or a hero gets a sudden resurgence

This could be more people reading the comics, or nostalgia catching up to the older audience and remembering how good it was to read the comic back then. More people are talking about it, and it gets popular again.

So hypothetically let’s say that Kyle’s original 90s run just. Suddenly gets popular again. More people are talking about it outside of his fans in their little circle, it blows up, more people read it, talk about it, all that.

It’s also during this part of the cycle DC starts to take notice and do minor things like, say, acknowledge him in a social media post, or put him in a comic issue in a major role, or even reprint his comic run again. This satisfies people, but it’s only a temporary thing. That’s where we move onto step 2

2. DC decides to make a movie/comic run of character

When I say movie, I mean their animated movies that take less time to produce, not a blockbuster theater movie.

So now that the character is mainstream (At least in comic fandom sense) DC announces they’ll do a comic run or in the very rare sense, a whole movie about them! Of course fans get excited because they’re getting a resurgence, and they’ll hype this up to no end.

DC being the bastards they are, don’t market this at all but the fans sure do. As the release date inches closer and more is being released, the more fans get excited. And then the big day comes and the comic/movie is out! And that leads us to step 3

3. The movie/comic is plagued with mischaracterization and bad writing.

Sometimes we can see the bad writing show as the first previews are out. Sometimes it’s not obvious until it’s out. But regardless, with DC being well. DC. It releases, it’s bad. The fans are disappointed.

The 2 main places we’ve seen this is with YJ2019 and Tim Drakes newest run. Both hyped up by fans only to crash and fall and ultimately getting cancelled.

It also happened to the injustice movie from 2021 as well.

Let’s go back to that Kyle example. Hypothetically, DC released a movie about Zero Hour or Kyle’s first few issues. Of course fans will be excited (Myself included) and then when it releases, it’s a hot mess.

Maybe they just completely disregard Emerald Twlight. Maybe they butcher Kyle’s origin hard. Maybe they mischaracterize him entirely. Regardless, the movie is bad.

But doesn’t sway fans that much. Sure, the hype has probably died down, but they’re still going to have loyal fans who can’t wait for the next time the character will appear.

But DC doesnt get the memo

4. DC assumes fans don’t care for the character anymore, and puts them back in the void

Instead of realizing they are in the wrong, DC instead thinks the fans just. Don’t care for the character. It wasn’t bad because DC fucked it up, it was bad because the fans just wearnt ready!

So what do they do? Well, DC puts them back in the void for multiple years and only brings them out for cameos and minor roles.

And rinse and repeat. Over and over and OVER again.

Of course, this green lantern cycle doesn’t happen to everyone. Kon-El is doing fairly well right now. Dick Grayson has gotten a massive resurgence (For better or worse). The Arrowfam is doing decent enough in the GA series.

But that’s very few and far between.

For the most part, any character that isn’t associated with the big 3 or was made in the 90s just keep falling into this cycle and rarely ever escape it.

And it sucks for the fans who just want more good content of the character. They just want to see the character break this cycle and quit being stuck in this purgatory till the end of DC itself.

[ao3feed-brucewayne]

Unfortunate Links

by Silver_Inspiration Words: 970, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English Fandoms: Green Lantern (Comics), Green Lantern - All Media Types, Green Arrow (Comics), Batman (Comics), Superman (Comics), Superman - All Media Types, Justice League - All Media Types, Justice League of America (Comics), DCAU - Fandom, Nightwing (Comics) Rating: Not Rated Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Categories: Gen Characters: Oliver Queen, Bruce Wayne, Clark Kent, Hal Jordan (Green Lantern), Jim Jordan, Susan Jordan, Howie Jordan, Jane Jordan, Arthur Jordan, Jim Jordan - United States Representative (mentioned), Nikki Haley (mentioned), Jessica Cruz, unnamed original characters, Unnamed Original Queen Family Members, Unnamed Original Kent Family Members, unnamed characters, C. C. Haly, Donald Trump Relationships: Oliver Queen & Queen Family, Hal Jordan (Green Lantern) & Oliver Queen, Bruce Wayne & Kane Family, Clark Kent & Original Character(s), Oliver Queen & Original Character(s), Hal Jordan (Green Lantern) & Jim Jordan, Hal Jordan (Green Lantern) & Sue Jordan, Hal Jordan (Green Lantern) & Jim Jordan & Sue Jordan & Howie Jordan & Jane Jordan & Arthur Jordan, Guy Gardner & Hal Jordan (Green Lantern), Guy Gardner & Kyle Rayner, Hal Jordan (Green Lantern) & Kyle Rayner, Hal Jordan (Green Lantern) & Jessica Cruz, Simon Baz & Hal Jordan (Green Lantern), Dick Grayson & Hal Jordan (Green Lantern), Dick Grayson & Original Character(s), Original Haly Family Members, Miranda Kane (DCAU), Only She's Miranda Haly Here, Original Haly Family Members (DCU) Additional Tags: Haly's Circus (DCU) (mentioned), political RPF - Freeform, Trigger Warning - Mentioned/Implied Transphobia, Trigger Warning - Mentioned Anti-Semitism, Trigger Warning -- Mentioned/Implied Racism, mention of head injury, Guy Gardner is a Jerk, Though Possibly Because of a Head Injury, Latino Kyle Rayner, Jewish Hal Jordan (Green Lantern), Original Characters - Freeform, possible brain damage, Online Harassment, Bullying, Twitter, The Author Regrets Nothing via https://ift.tt/GbUMOQ2

[thewarriorspecial]

Dress Up (CH3 - Lying to Himself)

*Archive Edition* Previously only linked to AO3, full work now available under the cut.

Read on AO3

Rating: Explicit | Guy Gardner/Kyle Rayner, Hal Jordan, John Stewart, Original Character

Additional Tags (All chapters listed): Established Relationship, hand wavy timeline, Lace Panties, Spanking, Lingerie, Oral Sex, Angst, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Character dealing with/avoiding their PTSD, Rimming, Drinking, Canon-Typical Violence, Blood, Bloody Kisses, Polyamory

Guy's still looking for some way to help. Kyle's still trying to barrel towards a sense of normalcy. Guy takes a turn at making their dress-up surprises a thing and it doesn't go the way he hoped.

Guy was hunched over his desk, head leaned in his folded hands as he tried to piece together a question or command to ask the ring for what he needed. The most powerful weapon in the universe was also a storehouse of all the universe’s knowledge for anyone who knew how to draw it out. If I was on Earth, he thought, what would I look for? How would I look? 

He leaned back, one arm wrapping around his chest and the other rubbing his chin. He stared at the empty space in front of the desk. He pictured a bookshelf and watched it manifest.

“Alright. Gimme everything you’ve got on human psychology and trauma.” Immediately the bookshelf overflowed with with books, more appearing in stacks on the floor. Stacks began appearing on the desktop, under the desk, in Guy’s lap, anywhere there was flat space.

“Okay. Woah. Narrow it down. Gimme everything specifically on unhealthy coping mechanisms for trauma.”

Most of the books vanished, and the bookshelf refilled with a few more stacks appearing on the floor. Guy pointed at the first one on top of one of the stacks, flicking his fingers towards himself. The book floated in front of him and opened. He reached into his vest and pulled construct glasses from within. After paging through the first book, he slid it unceremoniously off the side of the desk and it disappeared. He repeated the process with the next three. 

Looking up at the ceiling and rubbing his eyes he sighed, “This is gonna be a long night.”

Over the course of the evening, the bookshelf refilled over and over. Each time the stacks for a little smaller. Yet, no connection could be made between Kyle’s symptoms. Nightmares and flashbacks don’t present alongside hyper-sexual behavior. They create the opposite problem. Especially in males.

Fuck.

Unless it’s something compound? Complex?

“Show me the definition and conditions for C-PTSD and all known symptoms.” Guy carefully read through the stack of papers that appeared. Long term exposure. Childhood. Detachment. Relationship issues. Negative self-image and worldview. Nothing matched there either. That he knew of anyways. Should probably show this to Hal. “Add this to my notes.” The papers added themselves to a vey large three ring binder that appeared, opened, shut, and disappeared. 

Guy leaned back in his chair and rubbed his eyes. He needed a walk and some water. He’d have to walk passed Kyle who was still haunting the sofa, pretending to watch TV.  

Fuck.

“What would you do?” Guy asked the ring, pressing the cool surface to the skin of his cheek. “For Kyle, I mean. What would you do to help?” 

A business card materialized on the desk. 'Leslie Thompkins, Psychiatrist’, it read. 

“I remember her. Yeah. Yeah you’re right. How the hell do I get him to go?” A very large pet carrier and a bag of candy appeared. Guy stood up and waved his hands through the constructs to dismiss them. “Get outta here with that,” he laughed softly.

__

“You coming to bed?” Guy asked, leaning in the doorway of their bedroom.

“Yeh,” Kyle murmured, eyes glued to the screen.

“Later?”

“Yeh.”

“Okay.” Guy shut the door to block out the light and the noise. He dreamed of Kyle’s laugh and the taste of his skin.

When the door closed, Kyle pulled the bottle of vodka out from under the covers and took a drink. He preferred doing bong rips. The relaxation and elevated mood were a lot nicer than the slosh and brain fog from the booze but it would have to do.

“You’ll have to do.” Ganthet had said.

Should I even be here? Why won’t he sit with me? He’s up my ass all day until I’m sad. Am I becoming a burden? Does anyone else know? He probably wants to fuck. I’m not in the mood to fake it right now. I’ll surprise him with something tomorrow to make up for it.

Kyle propped himself up against the armrest, sipping from the bottle as he watched the DVD he put in earlier. When he and Guy left Earth, he had tried to back up all of his pirated movies and shows. For whatever reason the episode lists played in reverse order but he’s unconcerned. It was nostalgic and it felt good. Firefly played in front of his eyes and his fonder memories with Guy and Hal and John played in the back of his mind. He fell into a restless sleep and the bottle slipped from his hand.

Kaylee is shot. She gasps as blood soaks her overalls.

“Kaylee, stay with me. Can you move your feet?”

Guy look at me. Look at me. Stay with me. Squeeze my hand. Stay awake.

“Are you asking me to dance?”

You wanna hold my hand and skip? Heh, heh.

Kyle staggers to the bathroom and vomits.

__

Guy woke up with Kyle wrapped around him. They were side by side, chest to chest. Kyle’s head was tucked under Guy’s chin. Guy felt warm breath on his skin as Kyle snored and twitched in a deep sleep. 

The bed smelled like sex and sweat. Kyle had gotten into the habit of coming to bed in the barely light hours of the morning, coaxing Guy awake with light kisses and caresses. Kyle would tuck himself into Guy, urging the bigger man on top. Kyle would writhe and beg to be touched, but his body didn’t always respond. 

“This okay?” Guy would ask.

“Hell yeah,” Kyle would groan and Guy would waver between a desire to give his partner what he’s asking for and the guilt for doing it at all.

“You’re sure?”

“I’m with you. This is all I want.” And Kyle would smile with all the warmth and light of a new star.

And until Kyle woke, either kissing Guy and asking about his plan for the day or vanishing without a word, so stood their nightly routine.

__

Guy watches the rookies twist and dive through the obstacle course John built. Flight training was one of their favorite exercises. It’s impossible to forget your first real flight. In some ways you never really come down.

“How’s he doing?” John asks.

“‘Bout the same.” Guy answers.

“Hey it’s not worse. One day at a time. You get him to talk to anyone yet?”

“No.”

“Keep trying. Everything’s gonna be fine. And when it isn’t, I got you. Both of you.”

“I know. You took care of me. I don’t think I ever thanked you.”

“You did in your own way.” John smiles fondly, watching the blush creep up behind Guy’s ears. 

“‘Suppose so.”

__

Guy returned to the apartment. He checked for Kyle and heard the shower running. He sat on their worn couch, next to Kyle’s depression nest. He picked up the mostly empty bottle of vodka, replacing the lid. He picked up candy wrappers and folded the blanket, tossing it neatly over the back of the couch. Kyle’s sketchbook tumbled to the floor with a thud. Guy scooped it up and searched the cushions for any lost pens and pencils. He set the drawing implements down on the end table and sat down with the sketchbook. It’s newer, the cover only mildly blemished with wear and graphite smears. He saw that a little over half the pages are still blank as he thumbed through them. He felt his heart wriggle with a deep joy. Kyle was drawing again. Too many months it seemed Kyle would drink and stare off the balcony, into unfamiliar constellations forever.

Guy popped open the cover, starting from the beginning. He was immediately greeted with a pencil drawing of a poorly wrapped fruit basket. He’d put it together and set it out on the kitchen table with the new sketchbook and art supplies in an attempt to lure Kyle out of his blanket fort. The next page was sketches of John’s face in various expressions, most of them joyful and all from his right. Next was Hal’s face given the same treatment from the front. Then Guy’s own face from the left. They were all smiling, laughing, hands shaping the stories they had been telling. Kyle’s ability to draw from memory was unparalleled. 

There were sketches of Oan flowers that grew by nearby waterways. Superman, for no one’s enjoyment. A beagle. Hal holding a beagle, smiling indulgently. One in full color; Guy could make out the blonde hair and the shape of her face—Alex. Then the next one was just a refrigerator in high contrast, pouring out eerie light. Piano keys. A pitched battle scene, Lantern and Sinestro Crops symbols mixed throughout. Guy’s face with bedroom eyes. Hal in his flight suit, sticking his tongue out. A night scene where the only light came from a streetlamp over an empty park bench. Hal’s face, again, his salt-and-pepper hair rendered in loving detail. A young woman Guy had never seen before, wearing overalls and bleeding from a gunshot wound. 

The last image sprawled across two pages and the only word Guy could think to describe it was demon. It was the alien that nearly killed him. It was massive—top-heavy and bipedal like Arkillo. It had a serpentine neck and horse-like head with a maw that opened like an eel. Sinewy arms ended in talons with an opposable thumb. Two agile tails whipped behind it, each tipped in a scorpion-like barb. 

Alpha Lanterns had simply called them Hunters. They preyed along the Outer Limits. They were solitary, rarely in a pair. No one was sure yet where they came from but they lived up to their name with malicious intelligence. They had some kind of primal telepathy. Guy had perceived it as a push in his mind; just feelings, no images or words. 

Guy had been hunched down inside the outpost he and a few Lanterns had been sent to build. The Guardians wanted to set up a way station to increase the range and support of Lantern sweeps in those areas. To look for problems like the Hunters. He had been welding, he remembered. They were piecing together the ventilation system when he heard the first scream. Something that big, that heavy, shouldn’t have been able to move in perfect silence. Before he knew it he had been beaten down and stabbed twice. Poison burned a path though his veins. He had ordered the team to make a distress call and retreat. But Kyle refused to leave his side. He remembered the agony of being run through again, of hearing Kyle scream. Hearing Kyle sob and not being able to draw a breath to say it’ll be okay.

“You remember it?” Kyle asked, suddenly behind him. He was leaning on his elbows on the back of the couch.

Guy startled and caught the sketchbook before it fell, “Uh. Sorry. I shouldn’t be snooping like that. I was just excited, you know. You’re getting back to nor—comfortable again.”

“No,” Kyle sighed. “I’m not. But I really want to.” His shoulders scrunched up and he crossed his arms tightly. “Do we have to look at it?”

“Nah, course not.” Guy closed the sketchbook and set it on the end table without looking away from Kyle’s face. They looked at each other for a long time. Guy could see the emotions rolling through Kyle’s expressions as they both reached for something to say. “C’mere,” he offered instead, holding his hand out. 

Kyle took his hand and rounded the couch. He had a hair clip holding one of their shitty bath towels around his waist. He dropped himself into Guy’s lap with a heavy sigh and Guy wrapped him up in a tight hug.

“You warm enough?” Guy asked, laying a big, warm hand on Kyle’s thigh.

“Yeah.” Kyle nuzzled into Guy’s neck, his arms returning to their crossed position around himself. Guy could feel him shiver so he pulled the folded blanket down around them.

“You okay?”

“Yeah.”

“You gonna talk to someone?”

“Can’t I just talk to you?”

“Yeah, I mean, you can tell me anything. I’m just not really qualified to help with this.”

“Weren’t you a psychologist?”

“I was a counselor. It’s different.”

“You talked to people when they were at their worst. Didn’t it help?”

Guy sighed heavily. “I wasn’t wheedling the plot out of Hannibal, Kyle. When I worked in the prison, it was mostly a dumping ground for undesirables. I’d ask these guys what was going on and they’d tell me things like how I’m the first person who used their name or asked them what was wrong at all. I gave them respect and sometimes I gave them some hope to hold onto.” Guy looked away as the words sped up, realizing he was rambling. “Didn’t make me a real psychiatrist, though. I couldn’t treat the schizophrenia or whatever that got them tossed into the street. Even if I had the credentials all I’d be able to do is medicate them while they were locked up.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bring all that up.”

“No, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry I can’t be what you need.” Guy tightened his hold and rubbed his thumb along Kyle’s back.

Kyle felt too warm and trapped under Guy’s big hands. He wanted to get up but feared the look in Guy’s eyes if he pulled away. So he sat and listened to Guy breathe. He tried not to think too hard about being pressed up against the hole in Guy’s side.

__

“Alright poozers, listen up. Today we’re working on your speed. You’re going to have to outrun and outthink one of the fastest Lanterns in the Corps.” Killowog addressed the five fresh Lanterns, all sans their Corps symbols and ready to change that today. Each one wore a construct belt around their midsection with two flags hanging from the sides. “Your goal is to remove one of Kyle’s flags before he takes both of yours.”

“That’s it?” One of the newbies asked.

“Oh? Did I mention—they’ll all be trying to kick your faces off the entire time.”

“They?”

“Show ‘em, Kyle.”

Kyle grinned as he held his hands out, crossing his first two fingers on both hands to make a plus sign, “Shadow Clone Jutsu!” Four more identical Kyles appeared, each one photorealistic and moving independently. His clones followed as he leapt into the air, tearing through the sky at breakneck speed. The rookies followed in his wake like a formation of geese. Weak constructs of lassos and nets floated passed as they missed. He laughed, elated at the feel of the wind in his hair and the sun on his face. The world below shrank as he climbed, leaving the weight on his mind far behind. 

As he tagged the rookies out one by one, he noticed the squid-like Lantern lurking behind buildings and rock formations. He could feel its gaze studying him as it kept its distance. When it was down to just the two of them, it shot a stream of bubble constructs passed Kyle. They floated by without touching him, but gave him an ominous feeling as they slowly closed in. They were shiny, and he could see his own reflection swaying on all their surfaces like funhouse mirrors. 

He’d lost sight of his clones. He shot an energy blast at one of the bubbles and it opened like a doughnut, letting the blast pass through before it snapped shut again. He released his clones and they dematerialized instantly. He formed a Gundam inspired mech around himself and shot a hail of missiles at the surrounding bubbles. They repeated the same trick—shifting, opening, and closing. 

He reached behind his back and drew an energy sword, thrusting forward and slashing side to side. Their texture was like slime, his weapon dragging through their cores like trying to cut through tar. His chest heaved and his muscles burned with the effort. The ring of bubbles pressed in closer, their shape throwing the light of Sto-Oa into his eyes, blinding him. He let himself fall through the swinging mech construct, sinking away from the bubbles. A tentacle whip-cracked at his ankle, barely missing as he changed direction and sped off. The Squid-Lantern’s arms spun and it shot forward in pursuit. 

Kyle dodged row after row of the creepy bubbles, glancing over his shoulder to track his opponent. He ran his palm over his belt, making sure both flags were still there. Squid-Lantern was missing one. This was anyone’s game. A ray of light shot over his shoulder. He rolled and dove to dodge it. When he faced forward again, he slammed into one of the bubbles, sinking chest deep into its sticky surface. Squid-Lantern landed gently on the surface, its tentacles bowing the bubble’s skin without breaking it. It gently removed both flags from Kyle’s belt. The short, crescent eyelids over its opalescent eyes widened. It lifted all of its tentacles into the air and swayed. 

“Hooray! Hooray! I have the winning!” Kyle’s ring translated. The bubble released him and he turned himself upright. 

“Wow! Nicely done,” Kyle offered his hand to the victor. Squid-Lantern’s swaying paused as it considered Kyle’s appendage. It stuck half of its tentacles out, mimicking Kyle’s motion. 

“Oh, uh, handshake?”

Squid-Lantern’s tentacles vibrated. Kyle flailed his arm and laughed. 

__

Kyle approached the battery, bathed in its ethereal glow. He’d reluctantly left the cackling pack of rookies behind at Warrior’s. Even their enthusiasm couldn’t drown out the incessant nagging of his ring reminding him that his charge was “Critically! Low!”. He raised his ring hand, making a fist and squaring his shoulders.

The words wouldn’t come.

He tried again. And still nothing. He was just tired. This had been the longest day out of the house in a long time. It was a good tired, his mother would say, from playing so hard. You’ll sleep well.

He lowered his arm. He knew the words—could hear them in his mind. There was no power, no conviction in his voice. Would it charge if he could only whisper? He raised his arm again. He felt stupid. He felt weak.

He nearly leapt out of his own skin when he felt a hand under his forearm, a body pressed against his back. Kyle leaned into the familiar scent of aftershave and whiskey.

“In brightest day,” Hal began, voice warm and unwavering. Kyle repeated the words, gaining strength as they finished the oath in tandem. 

Kyle’s ring recharged and he felt the surge of power through his whole body. He was still leaning into Hal. He turned his head to look at his friend, leaving their faces inches apart. 

“You okay, kid?” Hal asked and Kyle’s heart pounded. Hal had his mask off and dark eyes glittered in the battery’s light. At 5’10 they were the same height, but Hal was extremely wiry and compact. He was warm and so solid. Where in the fuck was this coming from? Hal lowered his arm to Kyle’s waist to support him.

“Yeah,” Kyle’s body quivered. “Thanks.” He spun around suddenly, shoving Hal aside. “I should go,” he pointed stiffly at the doorway. “Bye.”

“Dude?” Hal asked of the empty room.

__

Kyle landed on the balcony. He looked down at his still trembling hands. How was he gonna sneak this thing into the house without Guy asking too many questions. He willed his skintight uniform away, leaving him in jeans and hoodie. He adjusted himself and pulled the hoodie down. Why was it so hard to get it up for Guy like this?

The balcony door slid open about a foot and Guy’s freckled, smiling face emerged. Speak of the devil. “You’re home! How’d it go?” 

Kyle couldn’t help the smile that came across his face. God but he loved those big blue eyes. “Really good actually. I thought I’d be more tired but I recharged and uh,” he faltered, rubbing the back of his neck, “I feel pretty peppy now.”

“Good because I have a little surprise for you,” Guy’s expression melted into a naughty grin and he dramatically whipped the sliding door open. He stood in a cheap Halloween sexy-nurse costume, complete with a little red cross cap and white thigh-highs. “I thought you could use a little TLC after you had such a hard day.” 

Kyle’s brain flipped to the static channel as he zeroed in on the gap between Guy’s very short skirt and the top of the stockings. “Th-thighs,” he mumbled.

“Get in here,” Guy rumbled, grabbing Kyle’s shirt and dragging him inside. Kyle surged forward, roughly shoving Guy into the back of the couch, and pulled his big man down for a kiss. Guy spread his feet until they were even height making his skirt ride up obscenely over his erection. His plan to soothe Kyle’s stress and gently tuck him into bed was already gone out the window.  Kyle kissed him like he’d been gone for months. His hands roved up and down Guy’s thighs, fingers dipping into the tops of the stockings. 

“Turn around, lemme see you,” Kyle murmured as he pulled on Guy’s hips. Guy turned, leaning over the couch and raising his ass in the air obediently. He had nothing on underneath the costume. “Goddamn,” Kyle growled, digging his fingers into the backs of Guy’s thighs and spreading him open with the heels of his hands. Guy had shaved everything and his skin smelled fresh from the shower. Kyle rolled the pad of his thumb against Guy’s quivering hole, “You need me to get you ready?”

“P-please,” Guy whispered, his hands moving to cover his face as his hips pressed back into Kyle involuntarily. 

Kyle spread Guy open and leaned forward, licking a stripe from Guy’ balls to his tailbone. Guy clapped his ring hand over his mouth to keep the high-pitched sounds from escaping. His other arm braced his weight against the cushions as he lost his footing. 

“Oh fuck, oh fuck,” Guy wailed into his palm.

Kyle lapped and rolled his tongue, coaxing every imaginable sound out of his big, broad partner. He pinched and squeezed those thick thighs, only coming up when he had to breathe. He smiled and groaned against Guy’s entrance, thoroughly enjoying driving him wild. His attention had Guy literally on his toes. He glanced down at Guy’s pretty feet, perched on that sexy angle. Feet freaked Guy the fuck out so he didn’t dare mention his obsession. He just quietly scooted all of Guy’s normal shoes into the back of the closet. 

Guy’s hips rolled with an unconscious rhythm and Kyle leaned back with his tongue out and let him rub his ass into his face. Guy’s eyes were clenched shut and a deep blush had worked its way down the back of his neck. 

“Kyle,” Guy breathed, both hands clenching the cushions now, “Please.”

“Please, what?”

“I…um,” Guy looked over his shoulder, beet red, “Will you…?” He glanced at his ass and back up at Kyle.

Kyle leaned over Guy’s back putting his lips against Guy’s ear, “You are so hot, Guy. I can’t get enough.” Guy dropped his face into his hands again. Kyle ran his hands up and down Guy’s back, making the cheap fabric of the costume crinkle with static. “I want you so bad.” He rolled his hips against Guy’s ass and realized with horror that he’d lost his hard-on. 

Are you fucking kidding me? Now??

Kyle’s body tensed as he held in a frustrated sigh. He’d die before he made Guy feel like anything about this wasn’t perfectly hot and welcome. He sent a construct hand into the bedroom to grab the lube off of the nightstand. He coated his fingers and rubbed the tip of the middle one against Guy’s hole. “You ready?” Kyle asked as he pulled his clothes off, making a pile somewhere off to the side of the couch. 

“Yes, please,” came the muffled reply. 

Kyle pressed his finger slowly in, soaking up the desperate sighs escaping his partner. Guy was so good to him. He was gonna make his man come rivers no matter what his body would or wouldn’t do. He fucked Guy open slowly until he had three fingers buried in his tight heat. 

“Kyle please, please,” Guy moaned from behind his hands. 

Kyle took a deep breath to focus, making a construct around his limp dick. Like the rest of his creations, it was true to life. It even felt warm and twitched if he willed it. He lined himself up and pressed in gently. He had to keep pushing the costume up and out of the way to see what he was doing. “Take this off for me, love.”

Guy pushed himself up, gasping as the angle changed. He crossed his arms in front of himself, grabbing the bottom of the slinky costume dress. He chanced a heated look over his shoulder as he very slowly pulled it up and over his head. Kyle’s eyes flicked back and forth between the inches of sexy freckled skin slowly being revealed and the passion in those gorgeous eyes. His hands chased the hem of the dress, traveling over all the familiar constellations on Guy’s back. Guy’s freckles were concentrated on the tops of his shoulders like a permanent sunburn. They thinned out as they spread down his back, then gathered again at the dips in his hipbones, filling the spaces like a liquid—like someone had poured a galaxy over his body. Kyle’s hands brushed along the back of Guy’s neck, fingertips dragging in his hair. Guy leaned into the touch and groaned. Kyle wanted to lay kisses along the nape of Guy’s neck but he couldn’t reach. 

“Alright,” Kyle nudged Guy forward with a hand between his shoulder blades, “Get back down there, you’re too tall.” He felt Guy’s laugh under his hand and Guy leaned down until he was on his elbows. 

Guy groaned as he shifted, feeling Kyle still inside him, “Baby, please, I’m so horny.”

Kyle finally started to move, keeping his pace steady and not too rough. 

“God, yes,” Guy sighed, arching his back, “That’s perfect. Please, please don’t stop.” He covered his mouth again, embarrassed with how soft he sounded. 

Kyle focused on Guy’s voice, his own breathing picking up with the exertion. He wrapped his hands around Guy’s waist and felt for tells in his body—the tremors, the way he’d start to push back, the soft, high sighs when he finally took his hand away from his mouth again. 

“Kyle, I—I’m…Are you…?”

“Yeah, yeah I’m good.”

Guy reached back, grasping the back of the couch as he came with a long moan. Kyle feigned a little stutter in his hips, pulling out and pretending to finish himself with his hand. Watching to make sure Guy hadn’t looked up, he sucked his cheeks and quietly spit on Guy’s back. 

Kyle stepped back and wiped the sweat from his face. “Wow,” he said, the smile coming through in his voice, “That was hot.”

Guy was still panting, still leaned over the couch. 

“You alright?”

“Yeah,” Guy groaned, as he stood up. He rubbed hips where they’d been pressed into the couch, “Just a little sore. M’alright.”

Kyle held his hands out with a bright smile on his face, “Wanna go lay down?”

“Nah,” Guy said looking at Kyle’s hands, “I’m gonna go get a shower.”

“Oh,” Kyle watched Guy walk away. “Oh, okay. Are you coming to bed after?”

The bathroom door clicked shut.

Guy turned the water on full blast and sat on the toilet lid. He rested his chin on his folded hands with his elbows on his knees. 

Fuck.

I’m the problem.