#okay so. this is why I like tim comics. also btw that last one is from a story about Bruce’s death. just to tie everything together

[heroesriseandfall]

Tim Drake on trauma and tragedy: what makes a hero, and what destroys one.

Comic sources:

Robin Vol. 2 #101

Red Robin #22

Detective Comics #619

Identity Crisis #6

Robin Vol. 1 #1

Robin Vol. 2 #132

DCU Halloween Special 2009, “Our Father’s Sins”

Teen Titans Vol. 3 #51

Robin Vol. 2 #167

DCU Halloween Special 2009, “Our Father’s Sins”

Image descriptions in alt text are also copied below read more.

1. Tim Drake’s narration box from Robin #101, that says: “Does it take more than just the desire to be a hero—do you have to have the trauma and the tragedy to go with it?”

2. Two comic panels from Red Robin #22. The first shows Tim Drake in a cemetary at night, wearing a maroon dress shirt and dark slacks with his hands clasped behind his back as he stares down at a grave that says “Janet Drake, wife” on it. The second panel shows a hand laying in a pool of blood. Reflecting in the blood is a scene of Batman holding Tim Drake in his arms. Tim is not wearing a mask but he’s crying and gripping tightly to Bruce’s arms wrapped around him. It is drawn similar to the scene where Jack Drake dies.

3. Comic panels from Detective Comics #619. The silhouettes of Tim Drake and Alfred Pennyworth stare up at a glass case holding Jason Todd’s Robin costume. Alfred has his hand on Tim’s shoulder as Tim says, “Strange…Dick Grayson’s parents died…and gave the world Robin. And poor Jason…his parents, too.” Alfred leads Tim away from the case, toward the Batcave stairs, as Tim continues, “Maybe…maybe it’s something we all have to go through before…before we put on the suit!” Alfred says, “Heaven forbid, sir! Don’t ever think like that! Not ever!” The last panel shows the solitary glass case with the Robin suit, surrounded by a small circle of light before the rest of the cave is in darkness.

4. Comic panels from Identity Crisis #6. A green narration box says, “…and, of course, fathers.” It shows a scene of young Bruce Wayne in a suit holding two roses with a desolate expression as Alfred Pennyworth stands behind him in a thick, dark coat holding an umbrella. It’s night, there’s a lamppost to the right, and it’s raining as Alfred looks down at Bruce with concern and says, “I’m sorry, Master Bruce.” The scene changes to an adult Bruce Wayne with a young Dick Grayson, standing next to each other in a large circus tent as a police officer walks by. Tears are streaming down Dick’s face as Bruce looks down at him and says, “I’m sorry, Dick.” The scene changes again to Bruce in a suit, standing in a cemetary at night as he looks down and says, “I’m sorry, Tim.”

5. A comic panel from Robin Vol. 1 #1 showing Tim Drake holding Jack Drake’s limp hand as Jack lays in a hospital bed. Tim looks tired and numb as he thinks, “His hand is so small in mine. I remember when I thought it was the biggest hand in the world.” The scene shifts to Tim in the back of a car as Alfred, looking concerned in the driver’s seat, glances back at Tim. Tim has his hand on his forehead as he stares out the window. Tim continues to think, “It’s strange to be leaving them. So many times they travelled the world and left me behind. But more than anything else, this journey is for my parents.”

6. Comic panels from Robin Vol. 2 #132 showing Tim Drake in a dark suit standing under a tree with a despondant but serious expression as he says, “If you’re asking if I plan to continue as Robin, the answer is yes. I’m more determined now than ever before.” The next panel shifts to show how Bruce Wayne is standing beside Tim in a similar suit, holding something under his arm and looking sad. Tim continues saying, “But don’t for a moment think I’m now like you, Bruce. I’m not about to let these losses turn me into another copy of you—grim and vengeful and closed off from most of what keeps us human.”

7. Comic panels from DCU Halloween Special ‘09 #1, which shows three panels, the first of Bruce Wayne in a light brown suit smiling with his face partially in shadow. Tim Drake’s narration boxes say, “When your father died…you hid all your pain and sadness away—” it cuts off to show Tim looking forlorn as he says, “What did you do?” His narration box continues from the previous, “—inside the Batman.” The last panel shows Bruce with his arms folded and a grim expression as Tim asks again, “What did you do? Bruce, what did you do?”

8. A comic panel from Teen Titans Vol. 3 #51 which shows Tim Drake as Batman from the side, facing off against a younger Tim Drake as Robin. Batman Tim says, “If that’s true…then how do you explain my continued existence? That you’ve not yet wised up despite all the dead loved ones in your life lately is an insult to their memories. But you still have it in you to step up before it’s too late—before even more Titans have to die.” Robin Tim looks angry and spreads his arms, getting up in Batman Tim’s face as Robin Tim says, “And by ‘step up’ you mean kill, right?”

9. A comic page from Robin Vol. 2 #167 showing Tim Drake in a tattered red-and-black Robin suit standing in the rain in front of a gravestone that says, “In loving memory: Drake. Jack and Janet.” Tim says, “I’m tired of pretending that not having you here isn’t killing me. That every time I lose someone else, it doesn’t take a little part of me with them.” Tim clutches his own head and continues, “Before…before it happened, you told me it was all worth it. This life was all worth it, and that I should never question it.” Tim bends over, forehead and hands pressed against the top of the gravestone, and continues saying, “Well, I’ve been trying…please believe that I’m still trying… but every day I have to find another reason to put this mask back on. Sometimes it’s for Bruce. Sometimes for Conner, but a lot of times, I do it for you. Because you were brave enough to understand the man I wanted to be.” Tim falls to his knees in the mud and raises his arms as he continues saying, “And you lost your life because of it. If I was just some normal kid with some normal life, you’d be alive today. Maybe mom would be alive today. Were your lives really worth all the others I’ve saved? God, how can I even ask that?” Tim crosses his arms over the top of the gravestone and lays his head against it as he continues, “Dad, I used the night of your death as a reason—no, an excuse to turn into someone else…” Tim drops lower, almost laying down but with his hands still clutching the gravestone as he says, “…And I came here tonight to tell you it won’t happen again.” Tim finally turns his head to look behind him, a hand still on the grave as shadows and light play across his fierce expression. He says, “I’ll never give up, dad. Not while there’s a breath in our bodies—neither one of us will ever give up.”

10. A cropped comic panel from DCU Halloween Special ‘09 showing Tim Drake’s sillhoette in his Red Robin suit, walking away in the foggy night, toward a tall gate and fence past rows of gravestones. Behind him, the angle of the lighting makes a long shadow in the rough shape of a bat.

[minilpark]

Top gun!Batfam au. That is all. Would like to know your spare thoughts.

i have thought about this just a tad because i hc that bob and fanboy love comics, but i never thought specifically about a topgun!batfam, so here's the little bit i've got for you!

iceman

okay you can't convince me that ice doesn't remind you of either clark (yes he isn't in the batfam but im putting him there as an honorary member) or alfred and lemme explain why-

ice as clark: boyfriends with mav aka batsy, tries to keep his bf in check, fails most of the time, very by the book and follows the rules

ice as alfred: keeps mav/bats in check, looks out for his well-being, the actual one in charge of the family but lets mav/bats believe he is

see? either is valid to me

2. mav

mav is bruce through and through to me. i think this because he basically adopts all the pilots as his own children and wants to keep them safe by teaching them how to protect themselves (like in the air w/ dogfighting) like how bruce does with his vigilante kiddos. also i imagine the tough love and strained relationships bruce has with some of his kids is just like mav and rooster- also not to mention the lasting trauma both bruce and mav have from their early years still haunts them both every day.

3. rooster

i was on the fence about who bradley would be, but i think he would be a great dick grayson and lemme explain why- dick is bruce's first kid that he's ever taken care of. of course with being the first, it's a different experience compared to those who come after you. there's pressure on both the parent (bruce/mav) and him to be the best and live up to expectations. besides this, he was the experimental kid and also holds a personal responsibility over the others (also fitting since bradley's callsign is rooster). dick is also consistently good natured and reliable in most iterations of him and i think this is fitting with bradley. he is kind natured and naive and sometimes doesn't think things through before he does something. there are times he can be scary when he's angry (def rooster vibes) and he's def the type to hold grudges, kinda like how rooster held one against mav for the papers incident.

4. hangman

i was also unsure about who jake would be, but i think i'm going to say he reminds me of jason. theres a lot of iterations of jay and how he behaves and how his relationship with the family is, so imma just keep this pretty general concerning his personality and also say hes on shaky ground with the others. as we all know, he is considered one of the black sheep in the family. after dying and coming back as red hood, things have been difficult to say the least. however, he still is just as strong, brave, selfless, impulsive, and smart-mouthed as he was before he died. i think these traits are fitting for jake. considering his callsign is hangman and the story we all know behind it, he also relates to how jay is a lone wolf more than half the time, but they both are becoming better at playing on a team.

5. phoenix

i think phoenix would be cass. needless to say, cass had a rough upbringing (we will not go into detail). i definitely think phoenix would have a hard upbringing as well as being the oldest sister of two younger brothers trying to help her mother after her father's tragic passing (this is my own hc btw). besides this, cass upholds bruce's moral code and is determined to prove herself to her newfound family and especially to bruce as she wants to take up the mantle later on. concerning phoenix, i think she also holds herself to a high standard especially with being a female pilot in the navy. she is also fiercely loyal and protective of her crewmates. i also think these two are just badass women.

6. bob

it took some deliberating for bob here, but i think he would be tim. tim is not only incredibly smart, he is a great detective and is also pretty gutsy as well. he is a passionate person and works extremely hard to prove his worth (he is a huge workaholic). with all these traits of his, i think bob would fit him really well. bob is definitely perceptive of others and in tune to how everyone is feeling (my hc and also just comes with the fact he is a "stealth pilot" lmao).

7. fanboy

i think mickey would be duke. duke is like the light of the family in my opinion. though i havent read much of his content, i do know that hes like an empath. when he works as a vigilante, he goes out there and uses his emotions to guide him unlike some of the other members. he is also lowkey self-sacrificial and willing to do anything to protect others and his family. i think fanboy behaves the same. he cares about his family and would do anything to protect them. he definitely brings smiles to the crew and keeps morale up in my opinion. in conclusion, fanboy is a blessing and so is duke.

8. payback

payback would be lucas. lucas is no doubt extremely intelligent like his father, strong, and he is also a great fighter considering he is a boxer, as well as being trained in mma and cage fighting. besides this, he is great at tactical analysis and engineering. i totally think payback fits the vibes luke exudes and he is also just as capable as him. both of them are like the rock in the team. they're there for anyone who needs them. (i also think they're both pretty mentally stable or as much as you can be as a crime fighter in gotham)

9. coyote

coyote reminds me of steph. steph is incredibly athletic and talented, but she also has trouble regulating her emotions. she sometimes lets her emotions get the better of her and she is also one for feeling an adrenaline rush. i feel like javy could definitely relate with her. however, despite her weaknesses, she is a great vigilante and very street-smart and pragmatic. when she does something, it has meaning behind it and i think javy does the same. when he flies, he's a team player and is strategic as to how he can lead his team to victory and get them home. both him and steph are also sarcastic and witty, often throwing out some quips at others who provoke them as well lmao.

[batarangsoundsdumb]

yet another ask dump yeehaw!

do you ever think that jay's mother was one of those bitch who believes in horoscope and tarots and things like that and so he believes in these things too, or it is just me projecting?

sheila haywood took one look at jason's birthchart said 'nah this won't do' and left.

Wait, but what happens when the justice league does find out that Bruce and John fucked? Lmao it sounds like it would be hilarious, really, I don’t want a justice league that doesn’t make fun of Bruce for like his entire life.

barry runs out of the meeting immediately and comes back with an entire sti testing kit. diana fully seriously wants bruce to get tested while bruce is sitting there like 'come on guys, you're being ridiculous, i already checked twice'

john is standing in the corner clearly offended while bruce is just like 'don't even say anything, constantine, you fucked a shark'

tim was like "i'm drake now" and everyone was like ahh so your fursona is a dragon and tim was like pffffft no. ducks.

on the one hand, good for him, on the other hand, bro, how do you still have a secret identity when your superhero name is just your last name,,,,

Your fic on ao3 was GOLD PLEASE CONTINUE I loved Dinah's cameo btw ( @purple-vixen

thanks so much! i already continued but this ask is like 10 years old because i'm a notorious procrastinator (also yes! i love dinah so much aahhhhhhhhhhhh)

I've FINALLY been watching the Batman animated series and I gotta say, after watching "the gray ghost" I am CONVINCED that Batman is a closeted super hero geek who was 100% freaking out the first time he met Superman and is just REALLY good at hiding it.

bruce internally: holy fuck holy shit holy fuck holy shit holy fuck holy shit holy fuck holy shit holy fuck holy shit bruce externally: get out of my city, alien

AHHH ur multimedia fic is the only thing that brings me happiness anymore continue it forever pls

uhh thanks, but can't continue it forever because my attention span is that of a toddler on crack on a good day and i can't function without at least 10 things going on at the same time and music in the background

Oi, so I'm getting into dc and watching batman the animated series, and they use fruitcake a lot. Which I thought was very funny and wanted to share w you - Denilla

wait like fruitcake (food) or fruitcake (derogatory) ?

young justice 🤝 teen titans slut shaming batman

tim drake and dick grayson to their respective teams 'you guys stop it, that's my dad'

Happyhoganon: If an eighty year old Batman had fought crime in Gotham City for decades and the only threats to him and the city lately are a wheel chair bounded Penguin, your usual purse snatchers and a few con artists popping up every now and then, how well could the Dark Knight do in maintaining the peace in Gotham despite him being just somewhat fit to do that as an elderly man (which says A LOT given how old he is)

uhh he'll probably do what my grandpa does and that is ruthlessly prank them until they die of shame.

in the death in the family interactive movie there's an ending where Jason is tasked with raising Damian and he decides he's gonna raise Damian to take down the waynes and al ghuls which uh maybe isn't great BUT the idea of Jason raising Damian... PRICELESS. CHAOTIC. I just need more people to know about this :)

yes i saw that wow holy shit but jason would accidentally drop damian on his head one (1) hour in and jason just yeets him into the lazarus pit.

Headcanon: The Penguin has a really hard time fighting any of the Robins because of his avian obsession means there's always a small part of his mind that's like "Birb. Child. Protect" ( @subspacecadet )

as soon as dick becomes nightwing the penguin is like 'you know what, fuck this dude' and shoots at him.

Y'all talking about King Shark dating Constantine, let's not forget about John literally hooking up with Satan

listen there's a clear difference between monsterfucker and satanfucker in that king shark is literally a shark and satan still looks like a normal dude

Does everyone in Gotham think Batman is a teen dad?

everyone in gotham thinks batman has been around since gotham was founded, but they do think that bruce wayne is actually a teen father and dick grayson's biological dad.

why. why would you do that fancast when you know it will only hurt people

what? i loved my fancast it was really well done. i did it with good representation in mind and i really managed that with alfred pennyworth being ✨italian✨

Seeing james charles a jason gave me psychic damage how dare you i need to wash my eyes

well that's a you problem isn't it?

do you think dick grayson thirst tweets about nightwing just to annoy his family/cause problems on purpose in general?

he thinks nightwing is hot, next question.

holy jiminy cricket batman, its as cold as the good lords ass crack in here!!

i- what? this is why i don't fuck with english expressions it's way too goddamn weird

Brooooooo, your teen dad!Bruce au is soooo good. I've got brainrot.

Honestly if you ever write anymore, I'd read that shit twice. Sign me the fuck up. Good stuff, Good Stuff.

uh yeah i'm thinking about writing a fic, but i have exams coming up and i don't wanna fail because that would suck. but after i'll certainly be writing more tho

your teen dad AU is so great! bruce acting like a big brother for all of like a week before he's telling everyone about his son. what if in the AU dick meets the JL because they need to rescue him? maybe he's in trouble/kidnapped at a gala and bruce starts calling for JL. clark finds him and has to fly with dick to bring him home - that's how dick and clark meet and superman becomes dick's fave hero. he goes around the manor thinking he can fly with a red blanket draped around him like a cape.

actually- if you want a young dad! bruce fic with like that kinda stuff(just with damian) go check uhh- in for a penny by cdelphiki. it's really good and bruce is like 24/25-ish. (and dick's there!!!)

This account has solely convinced me that Tim is a trash goblin ( @hamilcat-and-magic-turtle )

because he is. that boy has slept in dumpsters on multiple occasions even if he is the son of a billionaire.

Okay but when you said victory dance I did think of the whole justice league defeating the big bad and then they all start flossing

well that's exactly what hal jordan does and that's why batman uses a gun now. no but the victory dance in my opinion is like the 'we're all in this together' dance from high school musical.

The horrors in Invincible s1 was nothing compared to the comics, I cant wait for s2

oh well okay, i mean i personally react to horror and violence by laughing awkwardly so i can't wait to be called a monster for accidentally laughing at a mass murder.

I'm currently watching Batman: The Brave and The Bold and- Bruce is just talking about Oliver like he's an old love (@nightwings-kid)

okay im going to watch that lmao that's totally and completely in character for him tho.

The invincible comic is like super gratuitous with its violence so much so I'm shocked the show was able to adapt it in a faithful way! Anyway had the show been live action it absolutely wouldn't have the same impact as it does as an animated show and I'm so glad so many people agree with me on that

also because a live action casting would've been like uhh amanda stenberg for amber, the dude- the guy from the supernatural but with a mustache for omni-man, and scarlet johanssen for debbie grayson

Debbie grayson is a milf, yes. You're welcome for the invincible propoganda, now you can questions your life. Bruce def seems like the perfect father next to Omni-man. Like they really took a rip off justice league and I was like well, now I'm attached even tho I was like hah I know who they're supposed to be. And then bam- death gore death gore gore gore sad Mark grayson just had to have daddy issues. Why does every character have daddy issues. I'm sick of the attacks

because daddy issues make a person arguably funnier, that's why i'm not even remotely funny (haha good dad flex). i liked that it was dark contextually, but not in the colouring, bc i hate when it's like 'uh yeah graphic murder and now a shot so dark you have to sit in a dark room and squint at the screen to faintly see the characters. (like dcau ugh)

About the Wayne insurance, for a moment I thought you would put the video with moans over the waves.

i mean- i could've done that, but rick rolling seemed more family friendly.

Its the first time in forever that im surpise rickrolled, i usually expect it. Congratulations (i really should know better this is tumblr)

i get rickrolled so often but i actually like the song so i dont really give a fuck

Actually, my information about Damian and John's kids is outdated because it was revealed that the old men telling the kids stories about the Supersons were actually Jon and Damian the whole time. I was blinded by my thirst for Grandpa!Bruce Wayne but I was wrong... I liked my version better, tbh (@artemisa97)

fair enough. but i'd honestly like to see damian and jon getting together, just because it's a really fun dynamic and their friendship was really cute when they were kids. (also idk maybe it would be nice to have one (1) main batfam/superfam character that's not cishet)

How am i JUST finding your blog skdskfkd you're so fucking funny and ur takes are hot

i thought u were calling me hot :( but youre not :( crime detected (but lmao thanks)

So I have depression and I swear that your memes are one of the few things that have made me laugh so thank you 💛🥺 (@katekanebadass)

aw you're welcome, and i hope you're doing okay!

The metropolis memes are so funny, I love them 💀😌

i think metropolis is also so fucking funny it deserves more attention imagine having your entire police force being upstaged by an alien from kansas and his kids

as an american i feel your complete lack of knowledge of us geography is just so sexy (platonic) ❤️

thanks so much (i also don't know any other geography, i'm not kidding, like you can tell me you're from hungary and it will just blank, there will be nothing that comes to mind)

In the DC universe they don't say "Can't have shit in Detroit" they say "Can't have shit in Gotham"

this just reminds me of that guy whose porch got stolen like the steps to his door, and i'm thinking of people living in gotham and waking up without a front door and going "can't have shit in gotham"

honestly all i know about chicago is the bean, so. what would gotham's famous sculpture be?

gigantic gargoyle statue in front of one of the police precincts because a villain thought it was a smart way to keep the police inside, but it's too heavy to move.

why tf do people go on about how batman "works alone" or how he's the "lone wolf" when he like 38290202 members in his family

bc people think it's cool that a grown man in his 30s has no friends or family instead of calling it what it is (sad)

Bruce is gotham's sugar daddy

why would say something so controversial yet so brave.

my favorite batfamily fanfictions are the ones where they use their shitty codenames, unironically, in any context

dick: gerard way are you in position, gerard way are you in position

tim: for the last fucking time, my codename is 'totally not count olaf' this week, abbafan 3000

dick: shut up my codename isn't 'abbafan 3000'

dick: it's 'abbafan number 1' and you know it

I have a feeling Tim drake is ur favourite batfamily member but okay u don't have favs if u say so ok

i mean he is, i won't deny it. but i love each and every one of the batfam just the same, i just have a weak spot for short dumbass nerds, because i'm a short dumbass nerd.

Omg i fuckin love boy meets world too fam shsjkfk

bro boy meets world was the shit!!! it was just fire and awesome and so fucking great like bro. it was so good im not even going to be accepting criticism

you know I find the whole "joker completes batman" thing a bit disgusting considering the horrendous stuff the batfamily went through because of the joker and let's not get started on the "joker has a point" thing like yeah he's this cool complex villain but he's absolutely batshit crazy

like yes! i get what you mean the joker just fucking sucks man he doesn't do shit for batman's character or the batfam he's literally just annoying as fuck. like the joker has a point' shit is so stupid. i will accept 'magneto was right' because he fucking was and i think he didn't do anything wrong, but joker? he's just like that. he's not even cool and complex he's just a weirdo with a bleach kink at this point.

ALSO YOUR RACISM POST- SO TRUE BESTIE

thanks bestie, i'm glad you agree.

in today's essay of why I think cass should become batman- I was thinking Tim would probably be the most efficient batman in many ways but I also think he wouldn't want to be batman tbh none of the batfamily members would want to be batman because they're trying to outgrow him but cass is the one who wants to represent the symbol that is batman

absofuckinglutely i will say it again and again that cass represents the batsymbol more than anyone in the batfam, in batgirl (2000) she literally didn't care about anything else than bruce's oath to not kill, she thought the batsymbol was more important than anything in gotham. she's just an excellent character because her motivation to not kill is not 'i'm scared i can't come back from it' or 'well my dad says no murder so i'll go along with it' but that she's killed somebody as a young child and she never wants to kill a human ever again and that's so fucking beautiful for a new batman like yes.

need more cass, duke and tim inclusion in gothamite memes

yes yes, a tall order of cass, duke and tim coming up in 1-14 business days

oldest to youngest batfam members cus I'm confused as shit

okay order of being taken in: dick, jason, tim, cass, damian, duke order of age: alfred, bruce, dick, cass, jason, tim, duke, damian (though cass and jason are around the same age general consensus is that cass is a little older)

I'm so confused Steph is a redhead?? like how was it that hard to get this right? the source material is literally right there and free

cw is jared, 19

do you receive anon hate? if so, how do you deal with it

uh no, i'm not remotely popular enough to get anon hate and i also don't say a lot of things that would attract anon hate, but i do send anon hate to @the-real-peter-parker because he forgot about the specialists from winx club

Wait how many languages do you speak??

uhh- 5 if you include latin, but that's a dead language and i'm really bad at it. but english, my native language, german, and french also, tho german and french not fluently.

You can mix aguaepanela with aguardiente 😈 and is tasty

okay but now i'm curious if the liquor deserves the 😈 emoji or if that's a you problem. but i googled it and it looks like something you'd take one sip of and then not remember the rest of your evening.

[thecanadianowl]

Batman: Death in the Family Review (SPOILERS)

 This is going to be long.

I originally had no interest in watching this mainly because it's based off a story where its only significance is Jason's death. The thing that won me over was the "choose your adventure" type which is an interesting style to do for this particular event. The three main selections are Jason cheats death, Robin dies and Batman saves Robin. Of those 3, only 1 of them was the most interesting. But before I do that, let me go over why the other 2 were disappointing.

 Robin dies choice is basically a rehash of the Under the Red Hood animated movie only its shortened and narrated by Bruce as he is speaking to Clark Kent at a diner. All it is a repeat of shit we knew. Bruce blames himself for the path he set Jason on and Clark giving a hopeful message of finding Jason. All this choice does is add an extended ending.

Robin cheats death one puts Jason having gone through surgery, having his skin grafted and stitched up from the explosion. The trauma and pain has Jason resent Bruce for the life he been put into and basically becomes Hush. He goes after criminals (btw decapitating Nygma, waay too much) which gets the attention of of Talia Al Ghul where she proposes an alliance with Jason while also taking in baby Damian under his tutelage. The problem isnt the story itself bit that it had so much potential. Seriously it could have been Batman:Hush as well as seeing where this conflict between Bruce and Jason will end now that Talia and Damian are in the equation. Btw Talia fans, this is probably the only ending with the character you are gonna like.

Batman saves Robin okay this is the one with multiple choices involved and goes down interesting paths for some of them. So Batman saves Robin but in doing so, he dies and Robin lives, and Nightwing becomes Batman (cool I guess, too bad they never gave him any dialogue). The first choice given is whether Jason chases/arrests the Joker or Kills him.

Kill Joker option where Jason is at a Diner and talks with this stranger who is revealed to be Joker who is now given up being the Joker because “his” Batman is gone. He recites the ‘2 inmates escape an asylum’ joke that he said in the Killing Joke allowing for Jason to put it together and kill him right there in front of 2 cops who are also in the diner.Immediately after you are given the choice to turn yourself in or run. The run option is the one that matters because Jason becomes Red Robin and begins his killing spree. Which Btw is just recycled footage they used in the Robin cheats death option just with the Red Robin edited over Hush. Really? Was budget that low? But what makes this ending good is that RR is later pinned down by Two Face and given the clean/scratched coin option, Jason is saved by Tim Drake (with a taser) and is reminded of Batman’s code and its importance not only to himself but to the people of Gotham. In doing so Jason stops killing and takes Tim in as a sidekick: BatKid. Seriously, that is the name you chose? Why not have Jason be Nightwing (which he was for short while, albeit to ruin Dick’s reputation) and Tim be Robin? Batkid :Great name for a kid’s Make-A -Wish dream, not so great if you want to use it in more serious context . This is one of the better endings as Jason becomes a better person in the end and the type of hero Bruce would have wanted but at the same time shows that Jason’s past habits were hard to get rid of especially with his father gone.

Arrest Joker has Jason become Redhood to lure Joker out in public. When he does that and unveils his true identity to him, the Joker brags about how he created him and how his rage has lead him down a murderous path, reinforcing the jokers belief of "one bad day". The next decision to be made is whether Jason should kill Joker or not. This decision ultimately has no impact as both decision lead to the same concluding decision set. I chose to kill him because let's be honestly this the path set by Jason really compliments the 2 choice options you have to make in the final one. Where Jason is confronted by Talia with a resurrected Batman who only says “Zur-en-arrh” trying to get Jason to join them but later results in a fight.

Okay there is a lot to unpack here. First: Did Grant Morrison write this? I’m asking because of how he has written Talia during his run on Batman (and how it upsets a lot of fans). You would think Talia knowing first hand what the effects of the Lazarus pit are, would she actually risk it turning the man she loves into a husk of his former self? Yes she would want Bruce to join her on their crusade against the corruption of the modern world but not if it meant Bruce wasn’t in a rational state of mind. Secondly, of all the possible Batman personas/iterations why this one?

I know they give some sort of reason near the end, but it just seemed so out of nowhere. Maybe I am looking too much into this, but if they were going to go this route, I feel like it would have been cooler to see Bruce in the Knightfall suit or have him wear a similar Batsuit that Damian wore in Batman 666.

And thirdly, you would think a fight between Jason and Bruce (where the roles are reversed, sorta) would be the most epic shit ever, but it doesn’t even last a minute it ends with either Bruce getting stabbed or knocked out (depending on which you choose). Before I go with why I think letting Bruce live is the better ending, I would like to say that when Jason kills him, Bruce sets off a bomb killing all three of them and the final shot  of Jason’s corpse is very reminiscence of that comic cover of Jason caught in the explosion. I thought it was cool.

Now the reason why, I liked the save ending (and find it to be the definitive ending for this movie)   is that Jason gives up being Redhood and works with Babs, Dick and Alfred in helping Bruce gain back his sanity.  This  ending encompasses all that was needed for Jason’s arc from becoming Redhood, to killing Joker, to his realization how wrong his methods were to being part of the Batfamily again and finally to save his father. It encompasses the idea that being Batman is more than just pain and suffering, its about hope and being able to become a better person, that your pain/anger doesn’t define who you are/can be.

Overall, I feel that this movie is a disappointing as both a prequel/sequel to Under the Red Hood. Unless you are a huge fan of Jason Todd, wait for a sale or when they release this in a collection with their other movies. The letdown for me is that certain choices have better writing than others and supporting characters aren’t used to their full potential. That being said, the idea of having different choices and giving the audience the chance to explore each of them. I hope they do this with other pivotal moments in DC’s history.

Also do the writers hate Black Mask? I get he isn’t the most popular Bat-villain but damn Sionis gets the short end of the stick in every timeline especially in the first ending of Robin Cheating death, it was so ridiculous that it is borderline hilarious

[kc-meets-dc]

Okay, folks, you all knew this was coming...

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

SO GOOD!!! OH, MY GOD!!! THAT WAS SO GOOD!!!

*deep breath* Okay. Now that that’s out of my system, time for the usual recap. Also, since this post is extremely long, you may skip down to the very bottom to find a tl;dr version of my predictions for season four based on what we saw here.

These last three episodes were AMAZING!!! And boy did they keep me on my toes! Even though it wasn’t the first of the three, I’d like to start this recap with episode 25, aka Goddammit, Will You Stop Horsing Around, Grandon, And Finally Freaking Confirm Or Deny Whether Or Not My Son Is Dead?????

I’ll admit I have lost a little (A veeeeeery little) amount of hope that Wally’s still alive somewhere. Thank God for that ending, though! There is still hope. But also, did anyone else pick up on the serious gay vibe Zatanna was giving off in the last two episodes? I know a lot of people are going to say her “Artemis, you know I love you” line was out of friendship. But, then again, this is Tumblr. When it comes to people being in lesbians with each other, we all kinda hope for the best here. And I have spent many an hour, a day, a week, a month, 525,600 minutes (You get the point) of my life analyzing whether or not people have romantic intentions or attractions in TV shows and movies. And, folks, I can say without a doubt that that “I love you” really meant “I love you.” And combine that with the fact that Artemis seems to finally have closure over Wally...

I think Snaibsel has a real shot at becoming canon next season. It’s either that or Zatanna is really Rocket’s significant other who we still know NOTHING about. Seriously, why is that? Why can’t we get a serious confirm or deny out of Grandon about even something this small? I highly doubt answering the question of whether or not Rocket is married to a woman would really “spoil” anything. In fact, it would probably get MORE people to watch the show because of the representation. So, yeah. We may be able to add two, possibly three depending on how Artemis feels, people to the LGBT characters list in Young Justice. On another note, I like to think that Will has also finally moved on. While he may not be in love with Artemis (Thank God!!!), I believe that him blowing out the candle in that final scene means that he has finally moved on from Cheshire, given that the first candle going out seemed to symbolize Artemis moving on from Wally, and now Will will finally start looking for someone else.

Then there’s episode 24, which all I can say about is TAKE THAT, GRANNY, YOU OLD BAG!!! Oh, and the same goes to Lex Luthor in episode 26, btw. Also, yeah, I guarantee you that Bart and Ed are a couple. Int he X-Pit, Ed’s first instinct wasn’t to save Jaime who was clearly suffering the most. It was to save Bart! Add that to the animation sequence that I can only assume was supposed to be a cheek kiss that was edited out because the crew severely underestimated Tumblr’s ability to see and analyze everything that ever happens in a show even when it happens at superspeed and thought they wouldn’t need to waste extra animation money on adding it in *inhales after such a long spiel* plus the fact that he was so concerned over Bart’s safety in Elder Wisdom, and you’ve got yourselves one can of 100% certified canon Goldpulse (Or Zetaflash or Bartuardo. Seriously, when are we all going to agree on one single ship name for those two? Which should definitely be #goldpulse, btw).

Also, go Vic for finally accepting who he is! He even went back to school and befriended Cisco, who I guarantee we’ll be seeing next season as Vibe! Honestly, my only real complaint about that episode is that the rest of The Outsiders didn’t get too much screentime in that or any of the other episodes released today besides Cyborg and Beast Boy. Same goes to Batman Inc, which I’m hoping we’ll be seeing more of next season. i.e. the totally mishandled and underused Cass Cain, Stephanie Brown, Cissie King-Jones, and, for the second season in a row, (Goddammit, Grandon!) Tim Drake.

Actually, I’m kinda betting that the so-called “core group of characters” that next season is supposed to be centered around will actually consist of the ORIGINAL Young Justice characters from the comics. Namely, Superboy, Impulse (I know he’s named Kid Flash now, but you get it), Tim Drake’s Robin, Wonder Girl, and maaaaaaaaybe Arrowette. Still not really sure if she’ll be featured more, or if they’ll switch her out for Spoiler to add some relationship drama to Cassie and Tim who I guess are still a couple??? But yeah, I think that might be the direction the next season is going.

Finally, that brings us to episode 26, and I have four words for you that perfectly describe my feelings about it: LONG LIVE THE LEGION!!! Legion of Superheroes was one of my absolute favorite shows growing up, so I am SO HYPED that they’re doing them next season! My guess is that the story will be that The Outsiders were the precursors to the 31st century’s Legion of Superheroes. i.e. a public team of meta teens who fight for good and people like them. I wonder which Legion characters they’ll include. Most likely it’ll be Brainiac 5, Saturn Girl, and Lightning Lad for sure, but then they’ll probably also throw in Cosmic Boy and maybe a few others. I need to do some digging on which Legionnaires were most important in the comics. Plus, with the Legion here now, we’ll probably also get Supergirl since she plays a big role in their story, and she could also play a big role in The Light’s plans to serve as another, better Superman copy that they can use to destroy The Team,  The Outsiders, and the League.

Then you’ve got Fred Bugg openly revealing who he is to his classmates, which is AMAZING! And we’ve finally gotten a good twist on the Judas Contract storyline! Assuming she isn’t dead by the time it happens, I really hope we’ll be able to see more of Terra acting as a hero in season four! And I’m really excited to see what Brion will be like as a villain!

Which finally brings us to predictions. What will happen next in Young Justice? My guess is that the next season will be focused on the Legion of Superheroes coming to present day to fulfill a mission similar to Bart’s original mission in season two, but on a much larger scale. I’m guessing that they’re trying to prevent Vandal Savage, The Light, and/or Darkseid from taking over the galaxy in a way that could potentially alter time to change the future the Legion knows and comes from.

Secondly, I’m guessing that the next time jump will not be nearly as long as I originally anticipated. Actually, I’m guessing that there will be NO TIME JUMP AT ALL. Since the season didn’t end on the 4th of July or New Year’s, my guess is that the writers are throwing out the original formula for how they structure each season, meaning there’s a good chance this coming season will pick up right where season three left off.

Also most likely coming next season, we’ll have the Jason Todd storyline to deal with, we’ll have Artemis trying to discover new love (Possibly with Zatanna, or the other most likely option would be Icicle Jr since the two of them were actually married in the comics), and with the addition of characters from the 31st century to the series, we just might be seeing the Reverse Flash and Inertia, which could introduce us to the concept of the Speed Force, which will in turn finally lead to bringing Wally back from the dead. However, if Wally isn’t brought back by the end of next season, there’s pretty much a 100% chance we’ll never be getting him back at all.

So, to sum up my thoughts and theories: new characters we should be seeing next season include the Legion of Superheroes, Supergirl, and Reverse Flash, the season’s main focused characters will most likely be the original Young Justice team from the comics, and if we don’t get Wally back next season we won’t get him back at all. That’s all for now, folks. As always, stay whelmed, feel the aster, and have a very crash rest of your day!

[roominthecastle]

Hi Room, What do you think about the finale? Any theorys about why Katarina did that to Red? And what do you think about the Stranger? Thanks!

To me, the finale in general felt okay, which is strangely comforting bc it wasn’t bad. I’m good with an “okay”. “okay” is an improvement (like I still feel TBL is trying while – to use a concurrent example – GOT gave up on itself and its fans spectacularly). There are individual moments that are more than okay to me (DEMBE, the team work, esp Liz & Red, esp esp Liz taking charge and that tiny moment of synchronized tea drinking) and others are less than (e.g. the conclusion to the conspiracy plot is kinda… ?!), but overall I like how S6 played out and my excitement for (lucky number) 7 is intact. Things are in motion and interesting again, and I finally gave myself permission to do a proper, full-scale re-watch during the summer, maybe attempt to chart the timeline, too, which is sth I never expected to consider doing again. I’m even gonna read the comics. In short, this season pulled me back in the Zone.

the rest is behind a cut due to length – @ mobile app users, apologies as always

Red’s identity, Dom’s story, and Liz’s side of these things

The Stranger: Masha was bound to figure out you aren’t who you say you are. What I can’t figure out is Dom. Why would he tell her all that?Red: In an attempt to help her move on.The Stranger: And she believed him?Red: She did. So much so that she‘s decided it’s safe to bring her daughter home.The Stranger: I know Dom meant well. He shouldn’t have told her that story.

So… having seen this scene, I def have more doubts than before, anon, but I still believe that the gist of the Rassvet story (including Red == Ilya) is true. This is (imo) why Red tells Dom “I know the broad strokes, I know who I am, but I need to hear the details you used to sugarcoat the ugly truth to make it look like a fairytale”, i.e. something that Liz has a tendency to swallow (see changed man!Tim or every paternity test they show her), something she was eager to embrace here, too, despite the obvious holes bc – as she told Ressler – “it is sweet and safe, so I’m gonna overlook things that don’t add up and hope it doesn’t come crashing down on me this time”. But it does. Every time.

Whether we like it or not, this is a consistent trait in Liz, this willingness to settle for a sweet, simple story over the messy, complicated truth even when she has misgivings (see her going at Red in 219, “It wouldn’t kill you to lie just once to make someone feel good.”). She’s not stupid, she’s just scared and unsure, imo (and so is Red but, unfortunately for Liz, being pathologically secretive is still what soothes him). But when there is no sweet story available to make Liz feel good/safe or it’s no longer sustainable, that’s when she grows restless/angry and goes on the offensive until she feels safe again. She did this w/ Tim and then w/ Red, too (she literally locked both of them up to gain control), and both times we can eventually hear her say “I was scared of you but not anymore”, and both times she expresses love for a safe & sweet idea and not the full reality of these men who cannot live up to that idea, so the cycle starts up again (well, not w/ Tim as he is now dead but Red is still in the running.)

It doesn’t really matter if the answer she gets is incomplete or untrue. As long as she can make herself swallow it, as long as it brings a sense of security, she will go for it. Tim played along w/ this and that fantasy bubble collapsed every time. Red never did and never will indulge her w/ sweet delusions but by doing so, he also reduces their “feelgood” time together. He hides behind her father’s identity but for her, he breaks cover repeatedly, which to me further signals that he doesn’t wish to take on the roles associated w/ this identity in her life, which clearly clashes w/ her park bench claim of “this is who you will always be to me”. And given Liz’s track record w/ these self-soothing declarations, I think we will once again see her being contradicted.

Having heard of what’s happened btw her and Red, I think Dom decided to tailor the truth to give them a quick-fix. His story brought a sense of safety/certainty that Liz craves – sth Red refused to offer when he told her he had a secret and he had to keep it and refused to give her any embellished feel-good alternative. But now he is on edge bc some of his secrets have been spilled and it was done in a way that maximizes his discomfort (by making him look like a hero when he considers himself anything but, and, ultimately, by undermining his control over his own “narrative” around Liz). I believe this is part of the reason why he tells Dom that he likely made everything worse by telling her that story.

I hope next season they will be pushed to face more of the actual truth together – in all its ugly, messy glory – about what exactly happened and, more importantly, why. Because we still don’t know much of that. Dom only offered a taste but now Katarina is back to mix some sour to the sweet (I am hungry as I am typing this, can you tell ;)

The Stranger: well, we barely have anything to go on here but what we have is already intriguing, i.e. he grew up w/ Red, he seems to know Dom and Katarina personally, he seems to have some serious tradecraft background + connections, and he is among the v few who is trusted w/ Red’s secrets, so he is inner inner circle for sure (and he’s played by Brett Cullen, so… yes please). I still think the childhood pledge from the Rassvet story is an element of truth (it just fits our Red way too much + I see it reflected in “Cape May”), so I think these 3 (the Stranger, Red, and Kat) were likely childhood friends and they all picked similar career paths (or it was picked for them), so the Stranger is likely Russian, too.

Katarina continues to puzzle me to no end, I freely admit. And I am enjoying it (for now anyway). The finale offered some really interesting details here, imo, and I think Red’s 2nd meeting w/ the Stranger is the most revealing.

Red tasked his mysterious friend to locate Katarina bc Ressler’s dig for his real identity triggered an active search for her, too. The Stranger finds her and hands Red a picture saying, “It’s her. I’m telling you, Raymond. Paper trails. The passports. The travel. It’s her.” What we can immediately conclude here is that they didn’t even know what Kat looks like now since it’s not the picture the Stranger used to identify her but her signature methods/movements (knowledge of this implies a close working relationship in the past at the v least). And since he doesn’t hand Red the pic to ask him to confirm it’s her but to show him what she looks like now, we can also conclude that Red had no idea what she looks like now, either, which means that he hasn’t seen her for almost 3 decades and, apparently, he would have been fine w/ maintaining this arrangement if it hadn’t been for the security risk Ressler’s digging exposed them to.

This conclusion lines up nicely w/ two (imo very important) things established in previous episodes:

Red’s hallucinations at Cape May – he sees Kat the way she looked in 1991/92. His mind couldn’t conjure her present image bc his last memories of her are almost 30 years old. This in turn implies that the Hobson’s choice event took place around this time, as well, and that was the last time he saw her. It was the last time Dom saw her, too, if what he tells Liz in “Rassvet” – that it was 28 years ago – is true.

Katarina being dead – whatever happened to Kat, her own father considers her as good as dead now. So does Red and Dom blames him for this loss, going as far as saying he killed her.

Dom: These boxes are all I have left of my daughter.

Red: If Katarina were standing here instead of me, if it were she asking you, what would you tell her?Dom: It doesn’t matter because she is not here and she’s not asking.Red: But if you could tell her–Dom: I can’t!

Dom (to Liz): If my Katarina was still here, she would have let me know. [… her mother sent a letter hoping it] would find her alive. I picked it up because I knew it never would.”

Liz: You said the name Masha Rostova had been lost to history until the manhunt. Now it’s out there and someone’s looking for me. It’s my mother.Red: Lizzie, your mother is dead.

Her mother was dying, Kat never showed. Her daughter was being hunted and it was televised globally – Kat never showed. And clearly neither Dom nor Red expected her to as they both seem to consider Katarina dead despite being aware that she is still out there somewhere. Moreover, they both believe that Liz is better off thinking her mother is dead than knowing whatever the truth is (so it cannot be too good). Add to this Red’s latest remark to Liz – “your mother can’t hurt you” – and things truly get weird and interesting. Was Kat subjected to some special session w/ Krilov, too, that somehow “extinguished” parts of her, practically rendering her old self “gone”? This would be my current best guess (just a shot in the dark, really) and I know it’s crude sci-fi territory but this is TBL we’re talking about.

Whatever happened to Kat, Red was involved in it, and we have several remarks to back this up:

“All the money, all the time and effort, all the favors in the world cannot possibly equal what you took away from her.” (Red, 216)

“There was a woman and her child. Both were doomed. Both would die. I could either save one or lose both. I chose the child. It was the worst thing I’ve ever had to do in my life.” (Red, 319)

“I’m not sure Elizabeth will ever be ready to learn what you did to Katarina.” (Dembe, 422)

“[Katarina] is gone because of choices you made.” (Dom, 320)

In “Cape May”, Red hallucinated forgiveness/absolution from Katarina but we don’t know if this is how she actually felt. It could have been just Red trying to make himself feel better about doing what he felt to be necessary. Katarina in the present doesn’t seem to be in a forgiving mood, tho. She clearly expected to be contacted and she clearly considered Red’s presence a threat.

Red: If Moscow is looking for Katarina, if Agent Ressler’s inquiry has reignited their search…The Stranger: Then I know that could be bad.Red: I want this done before Masha’s daughter comes home.

So… your guess is as good as mine here, anon. All we have for now is a whole lot of vaguing and very little concrete info. I agree, it feels there’s sth more to this but there’s just so little to go on, it could be almost anything. What we can conclude is that the Stranger and Red (and Dom) have stayed away from Katarina for almost 30 years and if it hadn’t been for Moscow’s freshly reignited interest in finding her, this complete lack of contact would have remained. They didn’t even keep direct tabs on her since they had no idea what she looked like or where exactly she was or that she was a threat to Red (otherwise he would have approached her differently, imo).

They clearly do not want Kat to be found – the precise “why” remains to be seen. Red’s first words to her are a warning – “it’s not safe” –, and I think he truly went there to make sure she wouldn’t be scooped up. That was his immediate objective. If she were found, the consequences would reach Liz and Agnes, and heading that threat off is what ultimately motivates Red here (→ “I want this done before Masha’s daughter comes home.”). He didn’t look too enthusiastic to make contact. He didn’t want to, he had to.  And he didn’t tell Liz, which suggests that he wants this separation to remain, which suggests that something is up w/ Katarina that goes beyond the usual “you can’t be in her life bc it’s dangerous” reason. Dom stayed out of Liz’s life, too, for safety reasons yet Red told him to find Liz if anything happened to him. That doesn’t seem to be the case w/ Kat at all. Red himself stayed away from her yet he went to find Dom after Liz “death” and returned several times after that for advice or simply for his company.

The meeting w/ Kat wasn’t a social call and it did not feel like a romantic reunion, either. Red just looked sad and tense to me. And he clearly did not expect to be stabbed, so I don’t think that bit was part of any planned performance. Why he received that treatment is another good question. Kat has clearly come into the possession of some new info that compelled her to go on the offensive. It could be related to their past and that vague remark about what Red did to her OR it is about something more recent that Red wasn’t aware she was aware of?? Right now this moment feels like a convergence of two separate threads: Red came to warn her based on “undisclosed plot point A” and Katarina reacted to him based on “undisclosed plot point B”.

Oh, I love this song, anon. Antis can keep pointing at that awkward kiss (that he doesn’t even initiate, she keeps pushing her face into his) as evidence of some ~epic romance~ all they want, but once again they fail (and/or refuse) to see things in context and “Cape May” was already pretty clear wrt Red’s feelings, I agree. and the finale lines up w/ it, too, which is nice.

Red hasn’t seen her in 30 years yet he only decided to contact Kat bc her looming exposure threatened Liz and Agnes, and when he is shown a picture of her, this is his reaction:

Not exactly what I’d expect from a dude in love (even if it were unrequited). He had a way more emotional reaction to Dembe’s return and he only left like a week ago. This is more like how you react when someone shows you photographic evidence of Bigfoot chilling in their hot tub w/ a beer. And now we know Red knew all along that Katarina was alive, so him “designating” Liz as the woman he loves and confessing (several times both to her and others) that without her he has nothing to live for and saying her name as his last word speak volumes already. So if they wanted to sell Red/Kat, they have already undercut themselves on multiple fronts here by giving literally all the romance tropes to Red/Liz. But I don’t believe they are selling R/K, it’s just another smoke screen + Kat is part of a past both Red and Liz have to settle for the sake of their future. And settling the past is always easier and more fruitful to do w/ a living human than w/ a ghost or a hallucination.

Yeah, I think it’s there to signal that they (Dom and Kat included) go way back and were/are close, like you said. and to indicate shared Russian roots, perhaps. As I said above, I still think Red is Ilya and the Stranger is likely Russian, too, (and so is Dom), so using Liz’s original Russian name makes sense in this context of “Russian togetherness”.

and Red sometimes calls her Masha around Dom, too, bc that’s what Dom calls her bc that’s who she still is to Dom. And I think that’s why Red calls her Elizabeth bc that’s who she is to him, which is a nice little detail further emphasizing that his main/defining connection to her is the present one just as James keeps saying. Or as Red puts it on-screen

I can def see both sides here, anon, and more. Knowing what we know about Red, both are likely among the multiple reasons that underpin his behavior in this scene. Yes, on the one hand, he was pressed for time and wanted that Kat thing done as soon as possible. On the other, he was also kinda closed-off as if he were trying to hold back emotionally as well as physically, which I think flows from 2 main sources: 1) he feels uncomfortable w/ the labels Liz wants to push on him (ever since the pilot he’s been displaying a preference for “partner” and not “father” and he might be reaching his saturation point) and 2) he is still heartbroken and afraid to put himself out there again w/ Liz after three major betrayals in a row. He’s already had a sort of baseline distress due to how emotionally vulnerable he is to Liz at all times, so after this latest heartbreak I think he is just trying to take things slow, leaving space and time for Liz and himself to figure out a mutually acceptable way to fit together.

She’s been using his heart as a knife block to satisfy her own needs and I think it’s making him less and less willing to force himself into slots that feel uncomfortable to him. She just decided that him playing dad and grandad is what suits him but a week ago she thought life in prison suited him the best. I mean… that’s not how you relationship. At all. Relationships are ongoing negotiations where all involved need to consent to their “roles”. It’s not “I hate you now, so I will put you in prison” and then “I love you now, so stay for dinner”. After everything that’s happened, I am not surprised Red is pushing back a little here for the sake of (what’s left of) his own sanity. He is a deeply flawed, problematique human being but he is still a human being and not a toy.

Liz and Agnes are the most important to him and he would never ever force his preferences on them, I completely agree. But that doesn’t mean Liz should be allowed to force her preferences on him esp when those change so often and so drastically bc she clearly doesn’t know what she really wants from him yet. I think this realization is finally truly dawning on this guilt-ridden, lovesick idiot and that’s part of what we see in this scene, esp in that “I don’t wanna intrude” comment that really does feel like a pointed retreat from her abrupt park bench declaration. But of course there is no negotiation w/o talking and that’s what Liz wanted to do before Red shut her down, so…

bottom line (that’s been the same for 6 years): these 2 need to talk.

[wahbegan]

Blah Blah Trailer Things Blah I’m So Weary

All right w/e you’d think i was getting paid for this the way i crank them out even when I have no desire to but fuck it as all the ones before, under a read more so you don’t have to scroll and shit and so that if someone makes a super obvious correction in the first few notes i can change it and nobody will be the wiser tee hee hee I am gonna stick to things that haven’t been confirmed so shit we already know like “There are additional flashbacks to when they were kids, Mike still lives in Derry and has been tryna figure out how to kill It through...tripping, apparently? They meet at Jade of the Orient like in the book,” etc. I won’t touch for the sake of brevity. I also won’t go over things I did in the last one

1. The flood of water in the sewer COULD be right after they actually kill It, in the book they kill It in the early morning, and Its death coincides with a massive storm destroying the town, starting with the sewers flooding and backing up

2. Adrian Mellon, post beating and being thrown off a bridge by homophobes, as Pennywise mockingly offers him help before eating him. This is STRAIGHT out of the book, right down to the silver eyes Pennywise is sporting i’m very excited

3. Bev walking in the rain looking shaken up seems to be her right after having her fight her way out of her abusive boyfriend’s place, we know they’re keeping that intact courtesy of the bruises on her arms in the Mrs Kersh trailer

4. Not sure where Eddie’s standing in this child-to-adult montage, i can only guess that maybe Ben is outside that bar he gets shitfaced in before he goes back to Derry? But that’s a shot in the dark. I know Bill’s standing at the storm drain where Georgie got dragged in, which we saw It taunting him in Georgie form briefly in the last trailer, and Mike due to the area and the police lights on his face, seems to be investigating child murders like he was in the book. It’s what prompts him to call the other Losers. Richie is at the Paul Bunyan statue

5. So yeah the carnival seems to play a bigger role than just the backdrop where Adrian first has trouble with the homophobes like in the book, Bill probably follows a lead there, possibly investigating what happened to Adrian aaaaand finds Pennywise chewing down on some kid right behind a glass he can’t get to him from in a mirror maze, ostensibly just to fuck with him. Brutal and sadistic, i gotta say i love it even though it’s hard to analyze further than that since there isn’t anything even remotely analogous to this in the book. Oh, the little swinging punch clowns are done up like Tim Curry’s Pennywise, that’s a fun easter egg. Also Pennywise’s long tongue on the glass is reminiscent of The Leper’s tongue from the book, probably did that on purpose. 

6. Oh yeah confirmation Bowers is alive and in a mental hospital, and Pennywise is calling him back, apparently via red balloon instead of the moon which BOOOOOO but whatever

7. Since they changed it from the book a bit to revolve more heavily around Neibolt Street, that seems to have more prominence in this half of the movie as well, with lots of shots of them going into it, whereas I don’t think they touch it as adults in the book. I do like the fridge shaking like It’s about to come out of it like It did in the first movie to eat Eddie. Clearly lots of call backs so that’s fun. Actually, you know what? It could be Stan’s severed head with a bunch of balloons in there cause there’s a scene like that involving a (different) fridge in the adult half of the book/miniseries

EDIT: Okay, according to someone on youtube who saw Comic-Con footage, that IS the case damn i’m right once in a while except in this case Stan’s head...the youtube source didn’t say whose head it was but i’m...there’s no way it’s not Stan’s goes on to sprout spider legs and crawl at them a la The Thing so that’s pretty awesome

8. “I’ve seen all of us die” is an interesting line. Now, in the book, fUCKING STAN YOU FUCKING BASTARD ANDRES MUSCHIETTI YOU LITERALLY TOOK EVERYTHING FROM STAN AND GAVE IT TO A DIFF-ahem. Forgive that little outburst. In the book,...SSsss.....hrng. Stanley Uris is the one who seems to have visions or at least a sense of the future, not, Bev, as well as some vaguely defined psychic somethinerother. Obviously, her kidnapping slash Deadlighting slash empty eyes slash floating thing never happens in the book, so once again, no real way of knowing if it’s a Dr. Strange circa Infinity War thing where she saw a possible or a bunch of possible futures or just Pennywise fucking with her to make her feel hopeless thing. I mean obviously we know they don’t all die so i’m just curious about the nature of her vision she had in Its lair. Obviously some of it came to pass, but...i just don’t know if it was a vision from The Turtle or a trick from It, or possibly a little of both. But it’s one of those

9. Oh yeah right that....that’s definitely Stan’s death scene. Not that there was any question, really, but this is solid confirmation he takes a one way ticket out of Clowntown on the Razorblade-in-a-Bathtub Express

10. Oh I forgot to say about the alien-looking spikes i think that’s the blasted-up exploded remains of whatever it landed in just btw

11. Okay so Bill as an adult back in the basement with a screaming ghost Georgie confronting him in a very similar way to when he was a kid, Bev back in the bathroom where she got bullied and it seems like her childhood bathroom? Filling up with blood and...trying to help someone out of the blood lake? Okay.

I have a theory about all this.

I think it’s them interacting with their younger selves. I think.....

I think The Ritual of Chud is going to manifest differently for every single one of them, and it’s basically going to be them going to some mindscape where they go to their kid selves, to their worst and darkest moments, and are either trapped there in despair or have to save their younger selves. Think of The Haunting of Hill House’s Red Room. I THINK that’s what’s going on here. Judging by...I’m almost positive Bev is reaching out her hand to pull her younger self out of the blood, and you can see young Bill behind adult Bill in the background while Georgie’s going “what the FUCK you’re the worst brother EVER” at him so look i think i’m right, okay? 

12. When Bev smashes the mirror, it looks like, you know how in the first one Henry goes to carve his face on Ben’s stomach but only gets the H? In the book that scar disappears when he grows up but then comes back after Mike calls him and it looks here like not only has the scar come back but It has either actually cut the entire name down there or at least made him hallucinate that the entire name has appeared on his stomach. If I had to guess, I’d say it’s the latter, some kind of hallucination Bev’s trying to break by shattering the mirror.

13. Yeah so if you hadn’t read the book, that’s pretty much definitely Eddie Richie’s holding, and he’s pretty much definitely dying and his final words are pretty much definitely gonna be “Don’t call me Eds. You know I hate it when you...”

14. Oh yeah right I’m pretty sure the underwater monster is a more decayed Ms Kersh and it looks like instead of turning to candy, her house floods for some reason? And here she is being all spooky and underwater with Bev i do not know why the flooding is a thing but w/e uhhh look it’s not in the first trailer i don’t know where i think i saw this or how I got this impression but i think somewhere there was a brief shot implying the water like came out of a painting or something. Possibly a 1408 reference, actually

15. Gotta be Its lair disintegrating after the completed Ritual of Chud which yeah when they were all holding hands a few shots earlier and looking up at orange light i forgot to say that’s def the Ritual starting

17. Whoever this is, Bill i’m assuming flying through that tunnel to the rectangle of light is pretty close to straight out of the book Ritual of Chud

18. Mike tripping, as per mentioned

19. Given the shit all over them and how emotional Richie is, it seems like this would be at the end after they leave the sewers? Idk his scream could be about several things, but it’s just the kind of scream that says “my best friend in the whole wide world and completely hetero lifemate just got his arm bitten off by a weird giant spider alien thing and bled to death”

20. Andres Muschietti mentioned the underground clubhouse would be part of this movie, as well as the “tripping and coming dangerously close to dying via carbon monoxide poisoning so we can hallucinate about where It came from” part of the book but at the end Pennywise is clearly slamming the door which wasn’t part of that sequence unless i mean they may have just added it in for a scare or it could be one of the adults going back to said clubhouse and having a flashback leading into Pennywise fucking with them, either is a possibility

21. Okay so unfortunately i have egg on my face and this clearly is It (not Henry Bowers like i theorized) previously not in Pennywise form, putting on Its Pennywise form, possibly for the first time in a flashback.

22. Okay i am almost 100% sure Pennywise, Devourer of Worlds and Children, The Spider, The Deadlights, The Eternal Consumption, ends this trailer by saying “Hewwo”

[jawbreakers2015]

Player Profile: Hang

avid modder, occasional TO and montage video producer from Germany top 12 in the Jawbreakers Stunfest Qualifier (artwork of Drop by Kagu)

What names do you go by?

I used to go by Troke for the entirety of April. Which was based on a dumb coincidence where I talked to Neer and had one of my usual mobile spelling errors and I wrote "I'm having ha troke" instead of "having a stroke".

I wanted to go away from "Hang Boy" since quite some time as I specifically wanted to get rid of the "Boy" and just "Hang" felt wrong and was still associated to Hang Boy anyway. But I guess I'm back to that now.

Reason to why I wanted to rid myself of "Boy" was as simple as me linking my online persona to my OC (By choosing her for profile pictures on basically any platform) which then of course lead people to believe she is a male based on the thought "Hey this is Hang Boy. So the profile picture must also be Hang Boy".

The name Hang Boy btw occurred just as I started my first step into the internet, when I was a big fan of the Binding of Isaac. So i needed an online name and I ventured through Isaac related things. Which was when I came across the Tarot card "Hanged Man". So I just took that and adjusted a bit.

How do you feel about your performance in this tournament?

Was pretty okay. I didn't expect to get far into it. Although I'm a bit sad I didn't make the Top 8 picture. Only needed one win more as well.

However I would have been disappointed in everyone else, if they allowed for me to reach Top 3. So good that didn't happen.

What was your strategy preparing for and competing in the tournament?

I haven't played Blaze in weeks. The only times I played recently was to get some recordings for a Toxic montage. Right before the tournament I was more worried to finish my Isaac run. Which I did win!

And during the tournament was pretty much just "Turn some nice music on, jam to it, play some Nitro, do some silly cuff shenanigans, do dumb parry grab down throws so the viewers can laugh over something".

I did "fly" with Nitro in one match but sadly it wasn't streamed so only Hellraiser was able to see the glory of Flying Cuff™.

Which was your hardest match of the tournament?

Hellraiser I suppose. He did kick me out of it. I never really played him or saw him play and he didn't fall for my aggressive playstyle, so it was a tough time.

What surprised you most about the tournament?

Cherry's second place finish. I know he's good, I think he's underrated even.

But second place is a really good finish. Even more so beating JawDrop since, in my opinion, he has some of the craziest tech and can be really really confusing to play against.

(Yea he also has weird lag even tho he lives in France but whatever :p)

Is there anyone you didn’t face that you wish you did?

I would have wanted to play Defur if possible. To some degree I see his entrance as a sort of meme entry. But jokes aside and game aside, I can only take my hat off to this man and his effort for the tournament scene.

Sadly didn't get to play Daio. It feels like a tradition to face off against him in FellowsTV hosted tournaments. Which always goes the same way tbf. He counters my playstyle hard, I'm annoyed to play against him, don't bother changing my playstyle in order to win, get demolished. But the tradition counts!

I'd put Neer in the same boat. Hate playing against him but it just kinda has to be.

How did you get into Lethal League?

A friend bought it for me. We played a couple of games, he had to leave. I went into QM, found Garu, got absolutely demolished, he friended me and pulled me into it.

I specifically remember seeing his Latch corpse juggles and thinking "Man this is so cool, I want to be able to do this too". So right of the bat I started to play for the style, which is what I still go by.

Style > Efficiency

It feels bad not having paid for LL nor Blaze but I bought LL for a bunch of friends so guess that checks out.

What's your current Lethal League experience?

450+ hours in LL 340 hours in Blaze (As of now. 26.4.2019) And a giant bunch of hours of community interaction and modding.

I was very excited when asked to be beta testing and it fulfilled a childhood dream of being in video game credits.

Despite only getting into Beta a month before release, I stacked up 90 hours before the game came out. Lots of 9 hour playtime days. It was massive fun.

I bought almost all of the merch...got most signed by Tim & Dion too. I went to the Netherlands twice to meet TR. It was fun, they are cool people. Watching Dion doing a live dance off was pretty rad ngl.

I brought self made cheesecake the second time, but Tim had to get it into the building since they check your bags for normal visitors and it wasn't allowed to bring food.

I'll never forget the sight of Tim with his big bag looking like he's smuggling a bomb into a convention.

Who are your main/side/counter character picks?

Everything. So yes random, it's random.

However I most enjoy playing Nitro because of all the dumb things he can do. Especially flying, cuff storage (specifically for down angle on the ground, to just pull a little bit forward) and half pull.

Doombox is also very fun. Special>bunt>smash>parry>special>repeat can chain pretty often on some opponents and is hilarious.

The only characters I "despise" playing are Toxic and Sonata. But only because I'm really bad with them.

What are your favourite character outfits?

Dust and Ashes. Just their whole design.

For real tho. There's not really skins that stick out to me since I use my own modded ones.

Can you share your favourite/most used custom outfit?

Hm I missed that that's not "outfits"...well take a load of skins! In order

Mothyman Jeviman Spacetor Golden Switch Drop Palette Sonata Supercharged Latch PaDice-a the Rapper Skull Grunt Supercharged Grid Supercharged Doombox Dropbox FYouBox Nitro with a blue, white and mint color scheme I made for every character and lastly my Toxic skin with that same color scheme

What are your stage preferences?

Idc. I play random so who really cares. I guess insert the usual "Paradise field eclipse succs!!!"

What input method do you use?

PS4 Controller Dpad for movement L1 Bunt R1 Swing R2 Grab

I used to play LL on a cheap SNES controller using only face buttons. When I was over at Dutch Comic Con with Serchiot I played a couple games of Blaze with his PS4 controller and really liked his layout and the feel of the controller. So I just sneakily stole his layout and got myself a PS4 controller.

Coming from all face buttons, I needed some time to get used to it. But in my opinion it's just superior this way.

How do you make your character montage videos?

I have two ways of recording clips. Just consciously recording with OBS or putting Shadowplay on and saving every time something cool happens. I usually just boot up Blaze and jump into ranked to get some games in. With the Toxic montage it was a bit different since I now have a 4K monitor but 4K can hardly be recorded at 60fps and setting the output resolution in OBS to 1080p got me weird screen effects. So every time I went to record, I put the resolution of my monitor to 1080p in order to at least get that in good quality. Then I just cut all the good clips out of the recordings and mix ‘n’ match ‘em. What's usually the hardest decision is what music to use. There's been a couple of songs that I'd like to use, but they either don't fit over Blaze gameplay, don't fit my playstyle or were just the wrong length.

My two favourite Montages are definitely for Candyman and Nitro. Candyman took a long way to develop, because I just wanted to show off so much. It's one of the few montages where I actually asked higher skill players for games instead of jumping into ranked. Picking the song was really hard, I was only sure I wanted a Klaus Veen track, but OD V2 was too mainstream and most others were too short. So in the end I opted for two songs with a break in between the montage. Splitting the clips into two sets, each song one. With the second part containing what I considered the more hype bursts.

And for Nitro I actually had the montage pretty much done, but I wasn't too happy with it. Still planned to just upload it like that tho. However when I saw the Nitro voice actor interact with a community member in a way that could only be described as "incredibly wholesome", I was inspired to redo most, if not all, of the clips and do the best I could. For the first time actually going into training mode to lab some combos (mostly corpse juggles tbf) and eventually learning Flying Cuff™ too. Watching JawDrops Blazin' Combo video and taking a slice off the Nitro plays there. Which resulted in a montage I am very happy with.

What other games do you play?

It differs from time to time.

The only games I always come back to are retro games like SMW, CTR or something like Mario Kart 8D. Which I always enjoy playing at local tournaments and pretty successfully so even. People just can't handle it when someone plays with one hand.

Atm I also like playing TBoI Rebirth.

Will you come to Stunfest?

Probably not. Driving/Flying over to France is just very expensive. I would love to meet all my Baguettes (Lusked, Jawdrop, Aru and Lalou, who stated he can't make it due to exams, yes I know). But exams and the neer-ing end of my apprenticeship is leaving a lot of work to be done.

So it probably won't fit into my schedule. However never say no! Trips to Blaze events aren't uncommon for me.

Is there anything else you’d like to say to the community?

Play the game for fun, not for glory.

Stop rubbing yourself for an imaginary title that doesn't mean anything as there's not even any competition for it.

I can't stress enough how great Soda City Funk by Tim Legend is. Go listen to it right now.

And for my last words. Be more like Kota. And remember, We love Ramkat <3

[maneaterwithtail]

My Star Vs S3 Finale Reactionary Thoughts

Globgor

Suffered from major Dad bod-itis Ah he's still yummy. Eclipsa played Star like a fiddle. She intervened WITHOUT the wand (check the purple blast in the midst of the fight) She didn't have a super detailed planned. She's more a fly by the seat of your pants Xanatos Speed Chess master. Helps when the competition thinks they are playing checkers and you've likely put (or have a standing) gag order on the living repository/speaker of the secrets of the royal family. Hell chances are SHE was behind the return of Glossaryk Those sequences in the magic world helped us learn things. Not least some world's "wellsprings of magic" have been sealed (Earth?) DAMNIT MOON we JUST got the damn realm clean and you had to go and super re-corrupt it. Given her handprints on the well its possible she STILL isn't uncorrupted after all that bathing in pure magic and stuff. Now we know how the unicorns as sources of magic work. Birthed by pure imagination and magic stuff they wander or get tossed in the wellsprings and.. well THAT. Also the "first one" has matured and gotten more...well weird. Okay this is my read. 

Eclipsa breaks out. She has no wand so her powers are at an all time low. She had little to no idea WHAT THE HELL is going on, likely with ASE spell she can peak and check some things out but she doesn't know where to look for everything (she DID somehow get from prison dimension straight to Mewni castle) and little context is had.

 In the interim she stirs up the pot, likely connecting with families new to power (Pigeons) and the disgruntled or craycray possibly even the high commission (then erases memories when that would be inconvenient) Then she turns herself over after charming Star and making SURE to social fu ("Hello, Moon how'd that spell work out for you?") any encounter Star would be present or likely get back to her on. (look she has a single focus BE FREE AND BACK IN POWER)  While "in prison" she sneaks about the castle OR gets messages out (feeding the birds and sending messages via Rich’s family) 

Its not a total act, girlfriends is kinda loopy and prefers to be spontaneous and, as she said, she has self control issues Anyway she knows dirty laundry (seriously I doubt the royal line of Mewni is, ya know, private information. She can count and put shit together) and likely has, as mentioned, good skill at "psychologically hurting teenagers and they deserved it" She got the perfect read on the phase and nature of Star and Moon's relationship. Moms and daughters and queens and princesses are ALWAYS like this /. She needs info on what happened she wants to be reunited with her husband AND her baby girl. For that she needs to get the High Commission to confess. she ALSO needs to clear her name and *legitimately* reclaim the throne. Meteora is exihibit A why going in hot wouldn't have EVER worked, if she wants to be Queen again. She'd fight every freaking step, be opposed unto the last if/when she got it, and then destroy the place. Nope the real sign of victory . . . TAKE IT GUL DUKAT That. I'm not sure she knew Meteora was Heinous. but regardless that's the wild card. She adjusts her plans further so she can get to her baby girl. Likely Rich was trying to shelter/corral her to the Pigeon castle for his "Sword hand dance" meme partner. But Heinous is HELLA unstable after centuries of brainwashing. She goes on a rampage. Eclipsa is not "ragey" but she loves a good troll and repays a grudge. Moon is built about being the perfect queen? She first turns that against her and then takes it away. Its why she tried to coo down Meteora the way she did. "Nasty ol' Queen" 

*Aside*

(that or the timeline of events is very VERY off, Eclipsa, her Hubby, and Meteora weren't taken down by Shastacan but by Festivia when she reached Majority. Either that's Festivia's spell OR Eclipsa CAN, as mentioned, cast without a wand and did that to Meteora in the first place. THAT'S why Shastacan called that baby Heinous. He'd seen it as a soul sucking monster) *end*

Anyway Eclipsa now has to move. She gets back to Mewni castle (somehow AHEAD of Meteora who is acting way more...sane and cognizant even by Divide) then when Meteora comes in she figures "dear I won't be a queen of the ashes balloons. She coaches that fight, either deliberately telling Meteora what to say or, as she does, set her up with just the right words^ BTW its possible she "hurt them psychologically" by using the de-aging spell to make her victims teens and then hit them with a memory eraser. Hmm her sigil changed from the eye to a ringed planet.  Maybe just as spoke on reddit a “Sailor Saturn happy ending?  As I mentioned in a prior Post Eclipsa is the classy grand dame of dark magical girl power and takes from Sailor Pluto The sigil is possible sign of character growth.. or when Eclipsa intervened with Moon she intentionally put all her corruption in her?  

Ugh just thought of this... likely her sigil was changed to match the monster one in her portrait because duuuuh, historical revisionist demonization. ^Seriously when and how and WHY would Meteora know Marco OR Tom was Star's boyfriend if she hadn't been informed by Eclipsa? Moreover that end fight AND intervention... just doesn't make sense if it isn't, partially, a play if not a plan. Think being on the field in a game. Eclipsa is running quarterback with the rare conversion and scrimmage. Even if every is idiots there are alot of them and they see her as an enemy BTW I thought Eclipsa was cleared in her trial why did Star have her locked up? Was assaulting her mom THAT big a deal? Hmmph rather quick abandonment of Mina is cookoo plotline OFF SCREEN. Talon is well characterized as something other than just the bro-rival. Can I just give it a thumbs up Hekapoo being loose isn't held against her. Then again this has to be a very libertine show with the implication of possible triad endgame more than the Kon-Cassie-Tim thing that ran in Teen Titans. I like that Tom still has some growing to do but he's not.. ya know, a total heartless jerk. I also like this finale used ALL the things set up And yes they ARE committing to Marco's time in the Hekapoo space being a thing for/with him now. Likely meaning we’re done with his Earth life, for good.  This is deliberately going out the way to make Star and Marco equals, something I feel was missing for most of S3. So sad despite multiple MULTIPLE backups Star's rescue plan didn't work. She divided herself and so ended up conquered, invited and begged her conqueror to save her and that they needed her to be saved. Masterclass Eclipsa showing Aizen AND Light Yagami - who couldn't stand the idea of the world not knowing they were under his judgement - how the plan is SUPPOSED to be played. Re: Glossaryck being a dick He's suffering a Hal 9000 or similar fritz. He is divided to serve two masters. Or more likely he's always serving the previous queen their prior edicts and so on acting as the ground rules her must obey...? No doesn't work with "into the wand" where Queen Moon has a directive and then Star just demands he break it. Basically Eclipsa did something where he couldn't reveal a list of things but one of the things OFF the list was "Globgor"

That or he was testing them to see which one passed the trial of wit and wisdom to see who would ascend.  Eclipsa being clever, sincere...ish, and dynamic along with POWERFULY (and practiced and sure in her power btw folks aside from speed and practice and minimalism her spells don’t do more effect to Meteora than Butterfly’ed Star.

Seeing as Eclipsa never winged up even with a Dip down?  Its likely the Festivia-Butterflies are part monster

@talkingrainbowstalkingpuppies please pass this on to Scrooge, looking forward to next week’s podcast

@sunder-the-gold your thoughts? Am I honeypotting this? Also thanks again for that excellent Jesus Smash post

Also @godizilla-daedalus725 @vicki820 and uhm @fathmecomic (check out his comic y’all ‘cept you sunder I know not your thing)

[kc-meets-dc]

Okay, a couple things. But first...

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

Okay, now that I’m through freaking out, let’s begin...

This season is AMAZING!!! We are only three epsiodes in, but, my God, I am HOOKED ALREADY!

So, Kaldur went from being the leader of The Team to leading the DAMN JUSTICE LEAGUE??? YES!!! And then Batman? WTF, man?! You, Arrow, and your damn sidekicks can’t just leave like that!!! What about Arrowette and Spoiler being on The Team? What happened to that??? It hurts even worse knowing that the original photo of them standing with Tim, Cassie, Bart, Jaime, and Traci from this was titled “The New Team” when it was first released.

Oh, also, apparently Tim decided to just TELL EVERYONE HIS SECRET IDENTITY??? Isn’t that Batman’s one rule? Never tell ANYONE your secret identity? Either that or Cassie just forgot about that rule in the moment, since it was pretty obvious before the season even began that she would know it anyways.

And I’m just gonna fast forward a little bit to CONNER PROPOSING TO M’GANN!!! WOOOOOOOO!!! WE MIGHT BE GETTING A SUPERMARTIAN WEDDING THIS SEASON AFTER ALL!!! (Think I can get Weisman to look at my ideas for their wedding from my original script?) Oh, btw, I am digging M’gann’s new design! Seems like she’s finally come to grips with the fact that she’s a White Martian, and you know what that is? Growth!

So, Artemis just... Lives with Roy? Or, Will, I guess? I’m trying to figure out what the name change could mean. From what I can tell, there aren’t any superheroes named Will related to Green Arrow. There are only two examples of the name being used in correlation to that superhero I could find: his son in the Arrowverse and, the more likely reason why Roy’s calling himself Will, Will Harper: one of the names Roy’s father in the comics was called by. Also, I really like Roy/Will with a beard. It suits him. And I love his last line there. “Well, Richard, I mean Dick, who are you here to recruit this time?” Absolutely perfect, and probably/hopefully not the last time Dick’s name is used to also call him a dick this season.

Goddamn, Dick is good at the stealthy stuff. And how the hell does he have all this amazing tech? Probably courtesy of Barbara, or perhaps Lucius Fox. Idk. Might even be both of them. No confirmation that Barbara is paralyzed, but then again we never see her onscreen, so I imagine that’s the writers’ way of telling us they’re gonna save that detail for a big dramatic reveal later. Though, I imagine it won’t really be all that dramatic for the vast majority of us. Oh, well.

HOW MANY TIMES THIS SEASON ARE WE GOING TO HAVE TO WATCH  CHILDREN DIE??? First Ana on Rann, then, for like two seconds, Halo, then those four kids Vertigo Boom Tubed away probably, then Halo again for another two seconds, then Otto. WTF, fisherman dude??? Plasmus was HELPING the heroes! That means he most likely WAS NOT a damn monster! I really hope what Black Lightning told him sticks with him, because goddamn was that a stupid move!

Also, GAR AND QUEEN PERDITA??? Um,  HELL FREAKING YES!!! And they met at Wally’s funeral! I knew she’d attend that! I made a post about it and everything! Oh, and speaking of our favorite missing (Not dead! NEVER dead) reheaded yellow speedster...

Now, we move on to the part we’ve all been waiting for... Wally! I think that there are clues being shown to us via the images in the credit sequences in regards to him getting resurrected in the future! I’ve figured out the first two. The first episode’s image is Brucely holding a Kid Flash doll, and, good lord, they could not be making this any more obvious. The image from episode two is Sphere: possibly a hint that the New Gods will have a hand in whatever brings Wally back. Then there’s the third image which I can’t make any sense of...

A house. More specifically...

I think it’s this house: the one Miss Martian and Superboy now live in. Notice the part of the house furthermost towards the bottom of the image. Put a jeep in front of that, and you’ve got what they’re showing us in that last credit image. Now, showing this image makes no sense whatsoever for the third episode, as the house only appears in episode one, so they must be trying to say something else by showing it to us: namely something to do with Wally’s future resurrection, if there truly is a connection between the images and that happening. Perhaps they’re saying that Superboy and/or Miss Martian will also have a hand in bringing him back? Miss Martian seems the more likely answer, as I believe that’s most likely her jeep in the credit image. But, then again, that jeep wasn’t there when we were shown the house when M’gann and Conner were both home. So, whose jeep is it then? And what might the owner have to do with Wally coming back in the future? I guess we’ll have to find out later.

Finally, I’d like to bring up one more point in why I think Wally will definitely be coming back. After Otto is killed by that fisherman douche, Halo says she can’t heal him because he wasn’t alive anymore. And the most curious thing about Wally’s death is that Jaime’s Scarab never said he would die. He specifically (And also, I think, very carefully on the writers’ part) said he would CEASE. Halo can’t heal dead things, but maybe she can heal ceased things. What if Wally didn’t actually die? I’m not saying he was sucked into the Speed Force like everyone thought before, since the Speed Force doesn’t exist on Earth-16, but maybe Black Beetle’s MFD just turned him into pure energy. That’s kind of what his death looked like. He just faded away into blue light. What if that energy is still there? And what if Halo can reform that energy from the spot Wally died back into Wally? Ohhhh, this is very exciting! Very exciting, indeed!

I’ll probably be making more posts about today’s episodes throughout the day, but for now I’m gonna go back and rewatch the episodes to see if there’s anything I might have missed. It’s a habit of mine, don’t judge me.