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broadstbroskis · 3 years

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our love lasts so long | william nylander

a/n: oh hello!! am i here with yet another childhood friends to lovers fic?? why yes, yes i am. one (mildly) based on a taylor swift song, as the title would suggest (seven, a underrated folklore BOP)? yes again. the biggest of shoutouts to anyone who let me talk about this over the past few days but especially to @brockadoodles who listened to many many things and to @danglesnipecelly for reminding me about my childhood friends to lovers brand

word count: 7k

-----

The girls are being mean to her.

They’re older than her, a lot older than her, like already in grade school, and they all have friends here already, because they’ve all been here for a while. Noah frowns. It’s not her fault her daddy just got sent here. Florida’s too hot anyway; she still doesn’t understand how this ice rink even stays cold!

She shuffles her feet along. The Christmas songs are loud and there are a lot of people here but Daddy promised he’d take her around really fast after he finished working on shooting the puck with Jake. She just has to be super patient-she thinks that’s the thing Mommy always tells her to be-while she waits and then Daddy will play with her and those stupid girls won’t even matter.

(And yes she can use that word; she just can’t tell Mommy.)

The ice feels funny, not like she’s used to back at home in Canada, but before Noah can start to look for her Mommy to ask her, someone crashes into her and they both end up on the ice.

The boy who flew into her isn’t crying so Noah sucks her lip between her teeth and fights back her tears. “Hey!” He whines over to someone and then says something she can’t understand.

“Hey!” She whines and shoves him. “You’re s’pposed to say sorry when when you hit somebody!”

“I know!” His eyes widen. The blue is a pretty blue; it’s like the ice and Noah likes it. “My sister pushed me first though.”

“Oh.” Noah says. Jake is always pushing her around and he never gets in trouble for it. It’s not fair. “Well she should say sorry to you then.”

The boy nods in agreement, his blond hair flopping everywhere. “Yeah but she’s older so she thinks she doesn’t have to do anything she doesn’t want to.”

Noah scowls. “So does Jake.”

The boy’s face lights up. “Well then we should be friends and we could fight them together!”

Someone else who’s going to help stop Jake from shooting pucks at her? Deal. “Okay.” Noah grins. “I’m Noah.”

He smiles back. “William.”

-----

Willy’s at practice when he hears about the trade, the one that’s bringing Barrett Evans to the Blackhawks, and he hears it mostly because the boys think it means Jake Evans is going to join their team.

Willy’s playing a couple years up here, and there’s an argument going on during practice about if Jake’s doing the same; if he’ll join their team, how soon he’ll be able to get there if he is. That they’re more excited about the potential of Jake Evans joining this team than any discussion of his dad joining the actual Blackhawks is one of the reasons Willy likes this team so much. They’re all chill; no one cares what his dad does or where he plays.

He’s just another one of the boys.

In about a week they find out Jake is joining their team, his mom quickly setting up a carpool to the rink with Willy’s, who is more than eager to agree, with the new baby taking up (in Willy’s opinion) too much space and time.

(What’d they need another sister for? Wasn’t two enough?)

Jake comes with two sisters of his own, another baby just like Willy’s sister, and then, even better, a dark haired girl that Willy only remembers from pictures and dreams, but a face that he recognizes instantly.

“Hey.” He taps the glass in front of where she’s sitting at his practice, writing something- probably homework. He’s supposed to do his in the car on the way to practice, Mum says so, but he never does, because he hates doing it, and like really, what’s the point if he’s going to be a famous NHL player anyway?

Noah looks up, a little annoyed, but then her face breaks out into a smile when she sees it’s him. “William!”

“Willy.” He corrects.

She pulls a face. “Ew, like a wet willy?”

“No,” He laughs. “Like my name!”

“That’s dumb.”

“No it’s not!” It’s what everyone calls him.

Noah’s still frowning at him. “Yes it is, Will.”

“No dumber than the ark you’re named after.” He counters. If she’s going to be like that, he can play too.

“At least I get cool animals on mine.” Noah huffs and then turns away from him, like she’s mad.

“No hockey on it though.” Willy says and she turns back to him just to roll her eyes at him. “Not really worth it then, yeah?”

“You’re the worst.” Noah says, but she’s back to facing him and smiling again, showing off a couple missing teeth. “Don’t you do anything else?” He shakes his head, grinning. “That’s gonna change because I’m not playing hockey with you all the time.”

“Well I’m not playing dolls with you all the time.” Will says quickly. He has to do that enough with his sisters; he’s not doing anymore of it.

She rolls her eyes. “Stupid boys.” She mutters and goes back to her work.

“What does that mean?” Willy demands but before he can get an answer, his coach is calling them all back to practice and his break is done. He’s just going to have to bug her at the game tonight.

(He does bug her at the game that night, but she annoys him right back, and by the second period, they’re laughing and grinning, friends once again).

-----

“Ok, but did you lose Alex or just like, misplace him?” Noah looks around her, searching for a head of blond hair in the crowd of people rushing around them in the mall.

“What’s the difference?” Will hisses, using her shoulder to stand on his toes, head turning as he searches for his brother.

“Like, are you actually asking because of a two language thing or are you just being a jerk because we lost your brother?”

Will glares over at him and drops down flat on his feet again, swearing as he does. “Mum’s doing to kill me.”

“Why?” Alex asks, reappearing suddenly with a soft pretzel in hand, and Noah screams, throwing her arms around him. “What happened?”

“We hate you.” Will says and Noah nods in agreement. “That’s what.”

“What’d I do?” Alex protests.

“Disappeared!” Noah cries. “With no warning.

“I told Will I was going to get a pretzel.” He defends. “He can’t listen and that’s my fault?”

Will reaches out like he’s going to pull his brother into a headlock-or worse, Noah’s not going to risk the two of them going at it like they do in their basement here in public-so she reaches out and grabs his hand, intercepting him before he can even make it to just ruffle his hair, or something. “Come on, Alex.” She teases, even as Will drops his jaw at her for stopping him. “We both know Will hears what he wants to hear.”

Alex laughs, looking as pleased as she knew he would, but Will’s jaw remains dropped. “Screw you” Will says, and because she’s still holding his one hand to keep it from going for his brother, she’s defenseless against the finger he pokes into her most ticklish spot.

“Stop!” She squirms away, or tries to- he won’t let go of her hand. “Will! Let go!”

He stops poking her side, but squeezes her hand and grins. “Nope, you chose this; now you’re stuck with me.”

“Your hand is sticky!” She whines.

“I was testing tape.” Will grins, swinging their hands widely. “Now yours can be sticky too.”

Noah looks down at their hands, joined and still swinging wherever Will moves them. She hopes that’s all that’s on them but you never know with the DC Metro.

-----

There’s a girl giggling behind him.

Willy turns and she stops, but as soon as he turns back, she’s giggling again and this time, so is her friend.

He tugs at the blazer of his uniform, looking down at his shirt. Is his tie done funny? He’d gotten called out for that last week. But it looks fine, just like everyone else’s did earlier. He pulls out his phone. Hurry up. He sends Noah, watching the dots appear on his screen, like she’s texting back, but then she appears, right in front of him. “Finally.” He grabs her and tugs her away from this school, those girls, even more of them giggling at him.

Willy wipes at his face. Maybe there’s something on it? But nothing comes off on his hand and he frowns harder.

Noah’s biting her lip, like she’s trying not to laugh, and it only works for so long. “She has a crush on you, dummy.”

“Oh.” Willy says blankly, trying to sneak a look back at the first girl.

“Oh,” Noah parrots. “Honest to god, Will, it’s a good thing you’re pretty.”

“Hey!” He forgets all about the girl, in favor of knocking his shoulders against hers-not hard enough to send her falling into the dirty snow of this New York suburb, but hard enough to make her laugh. “I’m athletic too!”

Noah bursts into laughter, this loud thing that’s bright and contagious and only serves to make Willy join in with her- not that he’s trying hard to stop himself. He’s always laughing when she is. “Sure bud,” She pats his arm. “You tell yourself that.”

-----

“Iced tea.” Noah hands a cup over to Will and then slides down so she’s sitting next to him, dangling her feet in the pool. It’s really too cold to go in, but that hasn’t stopped Will, who’s been swimming all afternoon on and off- and it hasn’t stopped him from pulling her in with him.

“How much sugar?” Will asks demandingly, as she rolls her eyes, like he’s not already taking a sip.

She’d normally answer with a snarky comment, just because he deserves it. But the nostalgia’s setting in; it’s been hitting her at random moments all week, and she’s inclined to just be nice to him, leaning against him as she says, “Come on, like I don’t know how you like your iced tea by now.”

Will sighs dramatically, taking her weight and pressing back against her. “Guess I’m going to have to make my own coffee now too, huh?”

“Two creams, one sugar.” Noah reminds him gently and he laughs, but it sounds kind of hollow, not at all like the honk that usually sends her into fits of giggles right along with him. It’s quiet after he stops, the only sound the pool filter a few feet away and the crickets just starting to chirp, and she hates the silence. In all their years of friendship, they’ve never been quiet people, never had to do an awkward dance while they figured out who they were each time they met. They fell right back into easy friendship, laughing and giggling, dragging each other into their favorite things and places, until one of them was leaving.

It feels different this time. “Are you really leaving?” There’d never been a doubt in her mind when her dad left DC that she’d see Will again. Maybe not for a few months, maybe not for a few years, but the day would come.

“For now.” Will shrugs. “I’m sure we’ll be back.”

“It’s Sweden.” Noah says quietly. She doesn’t have that same feeling this time. Sweden’s their home. Why would they leave?

“It’s hockey.” Will says, like hockey, Sweden, and home- they’re all interchangeable.

And maybe they are; hockey- the people Noah meets because of her dad’s team, the friends she’s made, Will, his family- hockey, as a concept, has been more of a home to her than any of the houses she’s known, than these temporary places she embraces every two years or so.

But she’s been around long enough to know what comes after hockey and it’s the only thing that changes home. The offseason home becomes the main home. Dads start picking up carpool duties and volunteer coaching positions. The spotlight shifts to the kids and their dreams.

It’s hockey and it’s Sweden and it’s home and whether they’re all different or the same, Noah knows this is the last time she’ll be seeing Will.

-----

Willy has minimal complaints about being a rookie, even if Reemer and Naz think he should have more.

He’s, like, the definition of living the dream. He’s got a sweet apartment that he shares with one of his best friends. He’s on a dream line with two more of his best friends and they’re absolutely tearing it up.

His team’s incredible, even if they’re a bunch of assholes sometimes (Willy is too sometimes, he admits), but they’re fun and they’re funny and they like to let loose and have a good time, for as often as they’re really fucking serious about the goal they’re all there for.

Like today. Practice had been brutal and then there’d been a lift before a video session, but there’s nothing on the schedule for tomorrow so there hadn’t even been a question of if they were going out that night. Suggestions for where had been tossed out the second practice ended.

It’s a good night, things are going well and drinks are flowing (as they should be) and then Matts rolls back to the table, weirdly dejected after coming back from the bar trying to talk up a pretty girl, and he takes his chirps with as much grace as the worst loser Willy’s ever met can, but Willy looks over and he knows that girl. He’d recognize those eyes anywhere, even if her hair is longer and maybe darker? So he gets up, even as Matts calls after him, “Fuck you Willy,” and the rest of the boys laugh.

He leans his weight against Noah, laughing at the look on her face when she realizes it’s him. The annoyance leaves her face pretty quickly and a smile slides right in its place, like she’s waiting for him. “Matts is pretty annoyed you turned him down.” He teases, bypassing hello altogether.

“Yeah well,” She huffs and it’s like she’s trying for annoyed but Willy can see the smile that she’s hiding. “Matts needs to learn that just because he’s a big shot hockey player doesn’t mean every girl is going to drop into bed with him at the sound of his name and a free drink.”

“He’s a lot nicer than that.” Willy defends. “Usually. I didn’t mean it like that.” Because, well, Matts can be an asshole, but it’s not about bringing a girl home.

Noah looks at him skeptically. “I’ll take your word for it.”

“Yeah, I’ve never led you astray before .”

She bursts into laughter. “Yeah, okay.” The sarcasm drips from her tone, even through the laughter.

Willy pokes her but it only makes her laugh harder. “Name one time.”

“Sledding in DC, winter skate in New York, ditching school to go to the mall that one time in Westchester, taking the train into-“

He covers her mouth. “I said name one.”

When he removes his hand, Noah’s grinning up at him, and suddenly he realizes what’s different. It’s not her hair (which is darker, he’s sure now that he’s up close), or her smile (still bright and laughing), or her eyes (bright and green and unforgettable). It’s the oh fuck running through his brain, because he’d definitely take her home.

-----

Falling back into friendship with Will is easy; it’s pretending Noah doesn’t want more that’s hard.

It’s always been easy to be friends with Will. She can’t remember a time when they didn’t click, when things felt weird or uncomfortable between them.

But that was before he started dragging her everywhere around Toronto- to the greatest restaurants she’s ever eaten at, to the Christmas Market, to breakfast on Thursday’s every week he’s in town because he knows that she doesn’t have class until the afternoon.

The flutter in her stomach is so unfamiliar, something so unassociated with Will, that it takes her a while to place it. And of course he’s doing something so normal, so innocuous, so casual, it shouldn’t even register on her radar. He’s buying coffee, for Christ’s sake!

But he’s remembering that she likes oat milk in her iced coffee, even though she hasn’t really actually told him that; it’s just the order she always gives when they go for breakfast. And he’s ordered her a size up from what she usually gets, without her even asking, just because she’d mentioned being up late last night with homework.

“Here!” Will chirps happily, passing her the cup grinning, and there’s that flutter again, deep in her stomach, and it’s that, that small gesture that means so much, just knowing that he’s looking at her enough to know that she needs this extra large iced coffee with oat milk without even being told, that tells her what this feeling is.

This is a crush.

“Thanks.” She’s gonna tamp this baby down and fast. Why is she even crushing on Will at all? It must be, like, the years they’ve spent apart; she’s been desensitized to him or something. Suddenly, his hair’s all beautiful and his eyes are pretty and shit. Unreal.

“You’re welcome,” Will smiles. “But I didn’t just get this for you just because you look exhausted.”

“Is this a bribe?” She demands.

Will laughs. “Kind of.” She side-eyes him until he caves. “We’re all going out this weekend after the game and the team wants to meet you.”

“Oh.” She says, surprised. “That’s it?”

“You were expecting worse?”

She nods. “Much.”

“Well, nope.” He pops the ‘p.’ “Just gotta come hang out with me.”

“Ugh.” She complains. “Maybe that is worse.”

“I bought you that coffee. I’ll take it right back.” Will threatens.

“Never.” Noah cradles it close to her chest. “Not allowed.”

Will’s watching her, smiling, like he already knows she’s going to say yes, but he says anyway. “So you’ll come?”

“Of course, I’ll come.” It really wasn’t even a question. She would have come even if he hadn’t bribed her with the most amazing coffee she’s ever had to drink, but he sweetened the deal with that, so that’s how she finds herself slipping into the VIP section of a club on a Saturday night, eyes scanning to find him.

It’s not too hard to spot him and she soon finds herself sliding into a group of teammates and significant others, fighting back a laugh at the look on Auston Matthews’ face. “Hi!” She drapes herself over Will’s back, actually laughing at the look on his face and clinging tightly to make him work at pulling her off.

“God, you’re a pain.” He announces, finally tugging her around.

“Always.” Noah laughs, because this is easy, this is normal. Teasing Will just like always. “It’s what I strive to be, a thorn in your side.”

“You don’t have to try.” She miscalculated this gravely. He’s in the perfect position to dance his fingers into her most ticklish spots. “You just are.”

“Are you going to introduce us, Willy?” Someone asks dryly, one of the guys across from them. “Or just stand there pretending the two of you are in your own little world?”

Will’s cheeks flush-something unusual for him, he’s never embarrassed- but he says, “This is Noah.” Simply; like everyone should know who she is to him just from that alone, and it kind of seems like they do. A bunch of their faces light up and a few of them lean into each other and start whispering together. But she doesn’t get a chance to ask him what he has said about her, what kind of talk he’s been talking, before he’s listing names off of everyone around them, like she’s going to remember all these people.

There’s immediate chatter from almost everyone around her; it’s as if each one of them have been dying to meet her for a different reason. “Willy’s kept pretty tight-lipped about you.” Connor-James-Matt?-She’s already forgotten every name Will’s told her- says, almost too casually. “How long have you guys been seeing each other?”

“Before or after you turned Matts down?” Someone else adds eagerly, even as Auston groans, a little embarrassed.

Will’s fighting back a laugh next to her and she wants to kill him, honestly, she really does. But she settles for the next best thing, plastering her hand over his bicep, playing up a part that she isn’t. “Oh, you know. Fifteen years, on and off, right, babe?”

“Fif-what?” That’s Naz that’s narrowing his eyes at them; she’s pretty sure.

And now Will loses it, at either that, or the faces the rest of his teammates are making, and she pulls her hand away, laughing right with him. “What the fuck?” Tyler says flatly. “You really are just friends.”

“That’s what I’ve been saying!” Will insists.

“He’s a terrible liar.” Noah says. “You’d know right away. His face gets all-”

“Nope.” Will pulls her away. “Think it’s time for a drink, don’t you?”

“Gets all what?” Someone calls. “All what?”

She winks over her shoulder; she’ll get back to him later.

Noah doesn’t get around to him until much later, dragged to the bar with Will and then out dancing where they’re joined by a few of his fellow rookies. There might be times when they all go out looking to pick up, but this clearly isn’t one, every one of them out doing each other in the most ridiculous ways (Mitch wins; Mitch wins every time).

She gets back to the table a while later, when she’s dying of thirst and Will’s gone to the bar for refills, but it’s been long enough that she’s kind of forgotten she’s somewhat on the hot seat in this group. No one pounces immediately, but two of them- Morgan and Jake- move away from the team’s argument about a podcast they’ve been listening to and slide closer to her.

“So what’s the tell?” Morgan asks and Noah frowns for a second until she remembers earlier, laughing and declining. “Fine, sure. I admire the loyalty, I guess.”

“It’s too easy for him to return the favor.” Noah laughs.

“Ok, so you’ve known Willy,” Jake says slowly, like he’s trying to calculate in real time. “For 15 years now?”

Noah nods. “Since we were four. Our dads got traded to the same hockey team and,” She shrugs. “Then again, and again, and again.”

Morgan kind of lights up, like this is the best news he’s heard all day. “What exactly was Willy like as a kid? Like has he always slept this much on any flat surface available? Or is that a weird thing he picked up in Sweden?”

“Always.” She laughs and then shrugs again. “I don’t know, I think he’s a lot like he is now. I don’t-I don’t think much has changed.”

And before she can even say anything else, the man himself is slipping in beside her, carelessly throwing his arm over her shoulders and gluing himself to her side. “Don’t talk to them.” Will demands. “They won’t have anything nice to say about me.”

“Rude.” Jake throws a wrapper at him, and it tangles in his hair but Will just shakes it out.

“Actually they’re asking me about you.” She tells him and he gasps dramatically.

“Don’t talk to them.” He demands again and she laughs.

“Why not?”

“I don’t want you ruining my image.”

“What image, pretty boy?” Morgan drawls, and Noah just laughs as Will retaliates by throwing the straw wrapper back at him but he doesn’t leave her side after that, remaining a comfortable weight pressed against her for the rest of the evening.

She doesn’t hate it. Stupid crush.

-----

“Happy Birthday.” Willy slides the gift across the counter but Noah doesn’t even reach for it, still looking down at the textbook she’s highlighting. She’s new-semester stressed still, the kind of stressed where her hair is constantly up in that bun for a few weeks and the bags never seem to leave her eyes. He can’t wait for another week or so, when she’ll finally crash and sleep for like, two days, a break she’s in desperate need of.

“What is it?” She asks skeptically and like, sure, the wrap job’s a little sketch, but Willy did it himself, no help from Mum or sisters. She should be, like, proud of his job mediocrely done.

“Was I unclear?” He asks, and she gives him a look, reaching for it with an eye roll.

“My birthday was last month.” She reminds him. “You sent me flowers.”

Willy knows. The flowers had been a placeholder because he’d wanted to be with her when she opened her real gift, to see her reaction, watch the smile grow over her face when she sees what’s in the box. “That was never your whole gift.”

She smiles. “It could have been! It was just nice to know you were thinking of me.”

Willy stops just before he says something stupid, like that he’s always thinking of her. He hasn’t stopped thinking about her since they reunited last year and he probably won’t stop thinking about her, even after she finishes up with school and figures out her next step. It seems inevitable that fate will follow its same path they’ve travelled their entire lives, and they’ll end up crossing paths three times a year when Willy travels to whatever city she ends up in, knowing before they even meet for dinner that it’s not enough time, never enough time.

Instead he smiles and nods. “Come on, I’d never miss your birthday. Even if we have to celebrate late.”

Noah laughs. “Fair.” She says, finally reaching for the gift he’d laid out for her. And he knows what she’s going to find first, but that doesn’t change how nice it feels to know he nailed it when she opens the box of Swedish candies he’d brought back, a box of all her favorites. “Ohh!” She immediately pops one of her favorite chocolates into her mouth. “I don’t even care what the other thing is; this is amazing. Thank you!”

Willy laughs, kind of nervously. “At least look at it before you decide to stick it in a corner and never look at it again.”

She’s already pulling it out, peeling back the corners of the wrapping paper, and then looking up at him when she realizes it’s a jewelry box. He smiles encouragingly, feeling like he barely manages to get a full smile up before she’s opening, and then it stretches out fully in relief when she gasps. “Will.” She says finally, looking up at him, mouth opening and closing repeatedly.

“Do you like it?” He asks hesitantly. He’d bought it on the spot the moment he saw it, the green of the peridot the exact shade of her eyes and her birthstone-or at least, it was, according to his sister. The necklace itself, a delicate chain dropping into a teardrop stone, this easy beauty that he couldn’t help associating with only her. It’d felt too perfect to pass up.

“I love it.” She says immediately. “This is-it’s-it’s perfect!” She gets out finally, and Willy breaks out into a smile, watching her lift the chain up to her neck. “Will you-” She breaks off, looking at him expectantly.

“Oh!” Willy gets it now, stands up to step behind her and gently takes the ends of the necklace. “Yeah, of course.” Noah lifts her hair and for a moment all Willy can concentrate on is the whiff of peach he gets suddenly. He fumbles the clasp for a second before he finally gets his shit together. “Why does your shampoo smell so good?”

She laughs, letting her hair tumble down again- another burst of peach to his nose- and turns to face him. “I switched it this summer. It’s nice, isn’t it?”

Nice? Maybe it’s because he spends all his time in a locker room with 23 other dudes, but it’s the best thing he’s ever smelled. He feels weird, knows it’s so not friends to want to pull her into his arms, just so he can hold her close and breathe in that smell, so he just nods.

“Yeah.” Willy says and his eyes are immediately drawn to her smile, to her fingers dragging the teardrop along the chain, and he- he flickers his eyes back up before he can go any lower. “It’s nice.”

-----

“You ready yet?” Will picks up his wallet off his island, where Noah’s been sitting for the last hour trying to tweak her resume one last time before submitting it to another job interview. “I’m going to miss my flight.”

“I’m going to kill you.” She says flatly. She’s only been calling that concern out to him since she walked in the door.

Will grins, throwing his arm around her shoulders and tugging her close into his side. If they weren’t about to spend the entire summer apart, maybe she’d fight it more, afraid that she’s taking too much from him to satiate her more-than-just-a-crush. But Will’s pulling his stupid Sugo hat on his head with the hand that’s not squeezing her close, and he’s about to leave her for four months, fresh off the devastation of the Bruins loss, so she curls in, greedily taking anything she can from him. “Save some cap space,” He hums. “If you did.”

“Oh my god.” She shoves him away. She takes it back. She takes it all back. She feels absolutely nothing for him; he’s the worst human she’s ever met.

Will pulls her back in and his arm stays around her the entire walk down to his car, when he only removes it so they can pack his bags in and then slide in their seats. As soon as he starts it and gets on the road, he reaches over again, just resting his hand on her knee.

“I can’t believe you’re just going to let me drive your car all summer.” Noah says, so she doesn't say something she regrets instead, like I love you, or worse, something about his hands and where else he can put them.

Will glances at her briefly before turning his attention back to the road and Noah’s already grinning before he responds. “Don’t make me regret this.”

Shifting in her seat to better face him seems like a good idea until she actually does it and it means that his hand just moves further up her leg. She has to stop herself from looking at it, his fingers on the skin of her thigh. “You’ll still have a car when you get back.”

“The same car?”

“Maybe with a dent or two in it.” Noah teases, mostly just to annoy him. It works; he flickers his eyes over toward her in a glare. “I’m kidding.”

“You better be.”

“I’d totally get it fixed.” She continues, smiling when Will laughs. “Pristine condition. You’d never know.”

“Just how I want it.” He pulls up to departures and puts the car into park, so they can both step out; him to fly out and her to switch sides, meeting at the trunk. “Please don’t crash you or my car.” He says softly, pulling her into a hug.

“Please come back soon.” She counters, muttering the words into his chest.

It’s apparently not as quiet as she’d intended. “Wedding season.” He squeezes. “I’ll see you then.”

But that’s not what she meant at all. Noah doesn’t want him back for a weekend or two. She wants dry ink on a contract, locking him in to Toronto.

-----

When the start of the season comes around and Willy’s contract still hasn’t been signed, he can’t say he’s surprised to get a Snapchat from Noah, featuring her, Auston, and Mitch all pouting.

“Come on.” He frowns at her, when they’re facetiming later that day- well into the night for him, actually. “You know why I’m doing this.”

She pouts again, even though she’d been smiling only seconds before. “Doesn’t mean I have to like it. Why can��t you be in a standoff with management from here?”

“Why can’t you come work from home from here?” Willy counters and she actually huffs at him, but changes the subject.

When his holdout continues to last though, she does, finally, agree to come work from home from his place in Sweden, at least for a little, and Willy has to physically stop himself from fistpumping in excitement. It’s been too many months of seeing just her pixelated face through facetime, of conversations broken up by timezones, and late night calls that make him want things he knows he can’t have.

It’s only a few days later but it feels like forever by the time that Noah is throwing herself into Willy’s arms the second that she exits the Stockholm Arlanda airport, and it’s only years of core stability training that don’t send them both flying to the ground.

“How’s my car?” He teases, because it’s been a lot longer than the four months he promised and he just wants to see her smile, in person, without a lag from their stupid iPhones.

It works. “1 door left.” She chirps easily. “Don’t worry, Auston’s helping me fix it.”

“I’m sure he is.” Willy says darkly, because it was really no secret Matts still thought she was gorgeous, even if Willy was sure he’d never actually do anything about it. Pretty sure. At least 50%.

Noah laughs. “You’re hilarious.” She pats his arm a few times and pulls away to get in the car, but he wants to know about what. About Matts? It’s a legit concern, he feels. Maybe he’ll just fire off a text to Matts, just to be sure. “Will?” Noah’s leaning out of the passenger side. “Are we leaving or are we going to spend my whole trip here at the airport?”

“What if we are?” Willy shoots back, but he makes his way to the driver’s seat.

“If it meant that you were coming home?” Noah gives him a small smile. “I don’t think I’d even be mad.”

Willy gives her a tight smile. “Not yet.”

“Is it-” Noah makes a noise and then continues anyway. “Are you going to come home?”

“I want to.” She knows this; they don’t talk about his contract situation often, but they do, occasionally. “You know that.”

“Yeah.” She says softly. “I just-it’s getting close, yeah?”

Yeah, it was. The deadline was creeping closer and closer, with still no deal. He didn’t...love that, he’d say that for sure. He wanted to be back with the boys, playing; was ready to be back with Noah, for any time she’d give him. “Yeah.” He says, and then switches the topic completely, because he doesn’t want to think about what he’s going to do if this is the only time he gets with her until next fall. “You want to go to dinner with my family tonight?”

Noah’s eyes light up. “Yeah, oh my god!”

Willy laughs and takes the next exit on the highway, instead of driving further into town to go to his own place. Dinners with his parents and sisters is usually a quick cure to any spiraling thoughts about the signing deadline, and having Noah there today is even better. She’s a comforting weight against his side; a laughing presence with his mum as they gang up against him; a friend to his sisters after dinner, as they sit curled together in a corner of the living room whispering secrets and waving him away when he gets too close.

It’s a lot of things Willy doesn’t let himself think about, doesn’t let himself want, because Noah’s never given any hints she wants the same. And she’ll always fit with his family, because she grew up with him, with them, but one day she’ll find another guy who she just seamlessly fits into the side of, whose family she can easily laugh and joke with, because she’s that charming and friendly and nice. How could anyone not love her?

“I remember your sisters begging me to braid their hair at games all the time.” Noah says fondly, once she leaves their circle of secrets to come back to him. “God, I can’t believe how old they all are now.”

“Don’t remind me.” Will says darkly. His youngest sister just announced she has a boyfriend, her first boyfriend; he hates it the most.

Noah cackles, as if she knows what he’s thinking about, which, well, maybe she does, after the last hour. He doesn’t even want to know what they said about him (except he does, he really, really does). “If you promise to be nice to him, maybe she’ll let us go one a double date with them before I leave.”

Willy about blacks out when he hears her mention the word date and he’s pretty sure it shows on his face. “Really?” It’s the only word he can get out. Everything is wonderful; thank God, thank Jesus, thank who-fucking ever. This is the greatest-

Noah laughs. “Well I don’t think she’s going to let you meet him by yourself!” She nudges him with her shoulder. “But we could all go to dinner together!”

He takes it back. Everything is terrible and this is not even close to the greatest day ever.

They end up going for dinner with his sister and her boyfriend anyway-whatever, it’s fine.

“He was more than fine.” Noah protests, when they’re walking back to his place from the restaurant. It’s her last day here and Willy’s trying to soak up every bit of her that he can, so if that means walking to a restaurant in the cold, then so be it. “He was really nice!”

“He was, like, moderately nice, at best.” Willy pulls a face.

“Don’t be that guy.” She shakes her head at him. “You know what guy I’m talking about.”

“Yeah.” He sighs.

She nudges him. “You know, if you came back to Toronto with me, you’d never have to see him. Out of sight, out of mind.”

He wants to. He wants to so badly. He just...can’t. “You know I can’t.”

“But I don’t!” Noah says, frustratedly. “I don’t know why you can’t at all. You want to be there and they want you there. I don’t fucking get this!”

“Money. Terms.” He shrugs, sounding a lot more casual than he feels. “My agent’s taking care of things. That’s what he’s here for.”

“Well maybe it’s time to take care of things you want for yourself.” Noah mutters.

“What?” Will asks; he’s sure he heard her, but the bitterness is really unlike her.

“Nothing.” Noah curls into him and Willy wraps his arm around her shoulders without question. “Just cold. Left or right to get home?”

-----

Will’s text comes through in the middle of the afternoon, that they’re just ironing out the fine details and that he’ll be on a redeye that night.

You don’t even need to buy me a Christmas present this year. Noah sends in response. Best gift ever.

When he doesn’t respond, though, she gets a little concerned. He always sends something back, always, whether it’s just a little emoji or some kind of quip, and that was prime for the taking. Call me at the airport? She follows it up. Do you need a ride when you get here? I still have your car.

Matts is grabbing me, going right to practice and meeting w kyle. Catch up later.

She actually startles at the response. He’s never, never been so short with her. It’s not even that the response itself was rude; it just...didn’t even feel like him. It feels like he’s pushing her away and the only thing she can think of is that he is. That he’d realized how she’d clung to him in Sweden in departures, the way she hadn’t been able to stop herself from running her hand down his back before pulling away, and he’d connected it to the fact that she’s definitely in love with him and was pulling away.

It’s the worst thought she’s had since she realized he was staying in Sweden for a while. She’d drunk a bottle of wine then to cope and she does the same now, but then she’s only more cranky the next morning when she’s still over thinking and she has a headache.

The knock on her door only makes her more annoyed, at least until she opens it and sees Will standing in the hallway. “Hi.” She breathes. She’d pictured him coming back to Toronto so many times, and look, she knows she doesn’t need to impress Will, who has seen her at her best and worst, but not once was she wearing sweats and the biggest sweatshirt that she owns.

“Hi.” Will grins and she’s about to tell him to come in, but then he’s cupping her cheek and ducking down and it’s like time stops as he kisses her.

Noah can’t quite believe she was ever scared that Will didn’t love her. She doesn’t need him to say it, but he’s the one to pull away first, resting his forehead on hers, and they’re the first words out of his mouth. “I love you.” He kisses her again and god, she could do this forever. “You told me if I want something, to just take care of it myself, and I’m doing it. I don’t want to sit back anymore and let someone else love you. I love you.”

Will brushes his thumb over her cheek and Noah tries to gather a thought, any thought after a kiss that turned her brain to mush. “I don’t know when I started loving you,” She says, smiling when she sees the grin grow across Will’s face. “But I think it was before I even know what love was, and I don’t ever want to stop.”

The next kiss is the worst one yet, the smile still on his face (and hers), but that’s okay, Noah muses. They have time.

#william nylander #william nylander fan fic #william nylander fanfiction #william nylander imagine #hockey fanfic #hockey imagines #nhl imagines #nhl fanfiction #nhl fanfic #my hockey fics

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schwaybatmoved · 3 years

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HAPPY STEX APPRECIATION MONTH!!!!!

@stexappreciationmonth

RUSTY!!

favorite song the character is in: call me rusty is such a classic! favorite actor for this character: ray shell!!! or bobby collins (derogatory) favorite ship with this character: OOOOH umm umm i am such a pearusty fan don’t look at me favorite thing about this character: i think he’s really silly sometimes like i like how stubborn he is in poppa’s blues Something you’d change: stop WHITEWASHING him. i also think he should have his old makeup from the original production random headcanon: TOURETTES RUSTY!!! PLEASE GOD unpopular opinion: um umm i think that people can headcanon rusty as however they want. but. some people are testing me. and also i think PERSONALLY that he could be a lesbian

ELECTRAAAAAAA!!!!!! MY KING

favorite song the character is in: ac/dc obviously but i think coda freight is CRIMINALLY underrated. AND NO COMEBACKKKKKK favorite actor for this character: okay . koffi missah and mykal rand favorite ship with this character: ehhheheheh HAHAHAHHAHAHAH. elecboose makes my brain spin favorite thing about this character: i really like the. FUCK. I . fuck okay i really like him a lot forever he is my favorite character but if i had to pick just one thing, maybe i’d pick... the way he carries himself. i know it varies actor to actor but the man himself carries himself with such poise :) (until he gets super flustered which is funny) Something you’d change: HMMMMM OK same as before stop whitewashing him but ALSO . BRING BACK NO COMEBACK RIGHT NOWWWWWWW random headcanon: he smells like a computer fan. and if you get too close to him he feels like static electricity unpopular opinion: i LOVEEE his new design . it;s very very weird and whitewashed bu ti think if they bothered to cast a poc then that design would be SOO GOOD!

greaseball :| (JK WE’RE BESTIES!)

favorite song the character is in: the rap but specifically the “new starlight express” version. like motivatin acceleratin devastatin etc etc etc favorite actor for this character: HMM OKAY SO. I DIDNT REALLY LIKE GREEB UNTIL LIKE A LITTLE WHILE AGO SO IDK </3 favorite ship with this character: i dont have any ships with him :P favorite thing about this character: i like his . suaveness :)) also i am grease fan #1 so i like him a lot in that respect too Something you’d change: i dont think i would change much!! i think that him being mean to dinah is a little evil but it’s also part of his chara so i wouldnt change it haha random headcanon: i like to think he is trans of gender unpopular opinion: i........... didn’t like him that much literally at all for a while LOLOL thats unpopular enough

PEARLIE!

favorite song the character is in: make up my heart :) and i do favorite actor for this character: reva rice :33 favorite ship with this character: i said it before but i REALLY like pearustyyy and....... cbpearl <3 the trains got to me favorite thing about this character: i really like that they let her like. be indecisive and sing a song about it. idk that sounds weird but it was cool to see yknow? i also loveeee her designnnn even the 2018 vers Something you’d change: i don;t really like that in the new version they make her and rusty like meet for the first time??? i like it when they have a history of some kind random headcanon: transgender as well but also i think she can be a little mean . as a trat. no more one dimensional pushover pearl unpopular opinion: i am insidious and i love the 2018 designs. i call her new design goldie :)

#ok to rb!!!#speaks #starlight express #stex #stex appreciation month #rick art #rusty stex #pearl stex #greaseball the diesel #starlight express electra

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eobard-thawne · 3 years

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Flash Fandom!

SEND ME A FANDOM OR A SHIP OR A CHARACTER

Favorite character: BARRY MY BELOVED OFC <3

Least Favorite character: *a moment of courage* the whole west family (yes wally included and even daniel too bc why did he ever exist im sry vdasökdv)

5 Favorite ships (canon or non-canon): oooh ok barry/patty, barry/fiona, wallinda, eobarry anddd coldflash (i had to)

Character I find most attractive: i don’t think ppl realize how good looking eobard really is like i blame artists for that a lot pls draw him as the sexiest man alive past present and future that he is. i love this post by @lokescurse i think her description is 100000/10

Character I would marry: deffo barry skjdskmfv

Character I would be best friends with: idk i can’t do self insert that well but i’d say avery bc i think our ages are closer and she is so cool

a random thought: BRING FIONA WEBB BACK WTF BARRY WAS SO LUCKY W WOMEN DAMN

An unpopular opinion: hmm...... might sound harsh but i think tornado twins should never be brought back to life. you know those character types that only exist to be dead-- i can’t explain properly but yeah. also i think they’re just unnecessary lol i know they died as adults so i don’t feel that bad for saying these and as cruel as their deaths were i still can’t bring myself to care about them letbarryhavebetterkids2021

ALSO I’M GONNA SAY THIS: Why does everyone think pre-Reverse Flash Eobard was so obsessed with Barry and was so inspired by him and he loved him so much etc but it was only on his part??? Barry and Eobard were friends before, they worked together like Eobard k n e w Barry on a very personal level so are you telling me that whatever Eobard was feeling for Barry, it was only one sided?? Barry didn’t feel the same at all?? They were very good friends and friendships are usually with mutual affection I think Barry was just as gay for Eobard sfjkdjf Like I’m sure he’s written a letter or two for Eobard as well. One of the mains reasons I ship Eobarry bc it’s not the creepy dark version NO ma’am they used to be in love (this deffo needs more explanation this was so half assed but One Day i promise)

My Canon OTP: barrypatty i just loooove them so much. i’ve read a bunch of SA issues again goddd patty always loved barry i Swear she’d always look out for him <333

My Non-canon OTP: can i say ColdFlash?? one of my top 3 canon/noncanon OTPs for sure i love them soooo much

Most Badass Character: they’re all bamf but i really like avery also bc she deserves more love.

Most Epic Villain: i wrote Eo right away at first lol but i think Rogues are epic too. And Rogues are way underrated so i’ll go w them this time.

Pairing I am not a fan of: umm westallen but is water wet at this point i’m never gonna be a fan of westallen (i like them in SA but... it’s silver age cmon asfjsfs)

Character I feel the writers screwed up (in one way or another): I feel like if you're a speedster in DC you are doomed to be screwed over at one point. It's like a rule. So many speedsters/flashfam members have been victims of that. Eobard is literally dc's #1 scapegoat and it's so damn frustrating bc it's outright LAZY AND CHEAP WRITING i hate it so much. So yeah, I’d say Eo, Barry and Hunter deffo are the worst victims

Also a special mention for our sweet baby child Thad-- who’s been a victim of geoff “i love killing child characters i don’t care whose character development i have to destroy to do it” johns

Favourite Friendship: wally and hartley and bart and jesse. i like avery and wallace’s friendship too tbh i think avery would be great friends w anyone she’s that awesome. so yeah mostly underrated friendships. i also love-- despite agreeing with some of the criticism-- august and barry

Character I most identify with: none they are all so much better than me kdfjka also again. i can’t rlly do that (would ‘insert’ be the right word idk) w fictional characters very well

Character I wish I could be: i guess none?? but if i was a fictional speedster in a fictional world i’d be a great ally to flashfam but i also would hang out with the rogues and then i’d die bc i’d ask Eo if he ever had sex with a human person and he’d kill me. but yeah i’d love to be the type of character who’d have the guts to ask Eobard a stupid dumb question like that we’d have that sincerity klfjakf idk what i’m saying ignore me pls fcjksjdg

#AFTER 84 YEARS #also i totally forgot your other mssg i'm gonna reply to that soon i promise #but it's also so sweet i wanna keep it to myself kdlfjak #answered #thank you Dove <33333 #flashfam #eobarry #barry allen #eobard thawne #avery ho #i probably shouldn't tag this lol

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criminalmutantsins · 3 years

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Ranking Every Boom Studios DW Comic

I finished reading the Boom Studios comics a few days ago and I liked them. Some parts were kind of underwhelming, but it was still enjoyable. I can’t find the Joe Books series and I’m not sure if I should read them or not.

Anyways, here are my rankings and my short explanations:

6. Campaign Carnage

I liked this series but it was the most underwhelming. When I first heard of Suff-rage and her powers, I was super interested but she was underutilized and kind of bland. What should I expect, she’s a one-off villain.

My favorite part was the Darkwarrior Duck callback and Darkwing’s desperation to bring back Morgana. It’s nice to know that they care for each other that much; the show didn’t do a great job displaying that.

5/10

5. Dangerous Currency

The crossover was fun and cute, though the story was a bit shaky in some places like the explanation on how Negaduck is the slime/ink, and the ending was meh. I don’t mind that this arc is considered non-canon because there are small mistakes that irk me like Drake not knowing Fenton when he appeared in an episode, and Fenton’s mom not knowing her son isn’t Gizmoduck when she’s worn the suit in the show before. Those things break the immersion for me.

6/10

4. Crisis on Infinite Darkwings

This arc was so close to being number 3, but there’s a big reason why that I’ll explain later.

It was a great reference to the famous DC arc and all the other Darkwings were fun to see, especially Quiverwing Duck- his backstory is heartbreaking. I liked that we got more info on Negaduck like his disdain for not being unique and a possible tragic backstory. It was disappointing not knowing more.

The ending was pretty good with bringing back the Tron-splitter and seeing Negaduck’s evil and slightly evil sides(it was funny). The Darkwarrior Duck cameo was also really great. He’s such an underrated character and needs more attention.

And we got more Morgwing development. I may not love them, but they can be cute.

7/10

3. F.O.W.L Disposition Arc

FD almost tied with or lost to CID; however, an aspect really changed my opinion.

Morgana finally being characterized as more than a love interest.

Morgana was my second favorite female character-just below Gosalyn-but I still had issues with her. Like, 1. Her magic talent being inconsistent and 2. Only serving as a love interest. She is so interesting and could be an amazing character. It sucked that the creators didn’t give her the time.

Her strong magic power and willingness to sacrifice herself made her out to be a headstrong and powerful sorceress, which is something I wanted to see.

I also really liked that Darkwing’s weakness is showcased here- his ego- and he actually learns how detrimental it is to his work and the world’s safety. And it actually stuck throughout the rest of the series afterwards.

8/10

2. The Duck Knight Returns

I loved this arc! It was such a great start to the comics! 😍

First, it tackled a situation the show barely touched- what if DW had to quit crime fighting long term. “Toy Czar Us” kind of tackled this though it was very short. We see how much not being Darkwing does to Drake, he’s depressed and disconnected. His intense ego diminished.

Another thing I love was actually seeing how much Launchpad mattered to Drake. We see him having flashbacks with his close friend and getting upset when something reminds him of their adventures. Drake sometimes even calls Launchpad just to hear his voice. It makes my big Drakepad heart beat even harder, and it’s nice to know that their friendship is not one-sided.

Also, having Megavolt and Darkwing as co-workers was amazing. Peak comedy!

The only thing that’s keeping me from giving this arc a perfect score is Negaduck finding out DW’s secret identity. Mostly how it was handled afterwards. Negaduck finds out his alter ego, even goes to house, yet after that he doesn’t take advantage of that info seriously.

9.5/10

1. Darkwing Annual- Quackerjack’s story

I love love love this story! 😍😍😍

Quackerjack is one of those villains that interests me since we see his origin story like Megavolt’s and Bushroot’s. We get to see more into his mindset and what drove him crazy, such as the discredit he gets for his toy ideas.

Although I’m a Quackervolt shipper, I really like Claire and she was a good way to introduce the less villainous side, and make you feel bad for Quackerjack.

It’s also nice to see Darkwing actually have sympathy for his enemies. I’ve always seen Darkwing and his enemies being kind of the same; they are people who want to be noticed but do it in different ways.

The ending was also amazing yet heartbreaking. We can see Quackerjack contemplating what he has done as he’s walking to Claire’s door. Then we see a red glow and Claire opening the door to a Quackerjack toy. He’s regrets everything he has done and thinks he’s only good enough as a toy. That is so sad and relatable. We’ve always had times when we’ve doubted our worth. This story gives Quackerjack more layers in an enticing story. This gives it a perfect score. It also benefits being a solo comic rather than a series like the others.

10/10 🥳

Thank you for reading and I hope you liked it! If you read the comics, I would like to see your rankings. Also, can someone tell me where I can read the Joe Books version incase I want to read it? 😁💕

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fuckyeahwomenfilmdirectors · 4 years

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20 Most Anticipated of 2020 Part 2: 11-20

20 films directed by women that will debut in 2020.

Part I HERE

On the Rocks dir. Sofia Coppola

Coppola has sort of fallen out of vogue recently and I’ll admit it’s been quite a while since I fully connected with one of her films. But she remains one of the most imitable and influential living directors. On the Rocks seems to play to what I believe are Coppola’s strengths. The film follows a new mother (played by Rashida Jones) reconnecting with her elderly playboy father (played by Coppola muse Bill Murray).

Passing dir. Rebecca Hall

British actress Hall is getting behind the camera for the first time with Passing, an adaptation of a Nella Larsen novel about two African-American light skinned childhood friends who reconnect as adults when one is passing as white and the other has chosen to embrace life as a black woman. Hall herself has black American heritage (her maternal grandfather was an American black man who passed for white) so the material is personal for her. She’s also chosen two incredible actresses to play the friends: Tessa Thompson and Ruth Negga.

The Rhythm Section dir. Reed Morano

After the beautiful work Morano did with her low budget scifi film I Think We’re Alone Now I've been eagerly anticipating Morano’s next work. TRS was supposed to come out last year but was delayed after star Blake Lively severely injured her hand. I thought the movie might be cancelled for good but Morano and her team persevered. The movie, about a woman seeking revenge after her family is murdered is finally complete! Though it’s being dumped in early January I’m sure that Morano has delivered something that will be at the very least, a visual feast.

The Story of My Wife dir. Ildikó Enyedi

I was so thoroughly in love with Enyedi’s last film On Body and Soul that I would have watched whatever she chose to do next. The Hungarian director has chosen to adapt a novel about a sea captain who makes a bet with his friend that he will marry the next woman to walk into a cafe and then spends the rest of his life jealously miserable and certain that his beautiful wife is cheating on him. French actress Léa Seydoux plays the wife!

The Souvenir Part II dir. Joanna Hogg

I always find myself reluctant to recommend Hogg films because they are the very definition of rich white people problems (you know, incredibly wealthy people repressing their issues with each other and looking distressed as they wander around beautiful landscapes and rooms filled with a sense of malaise) yet I really adore her films. The Souvenir was a semi-autobiographical look at a wealthy young woman’s birth as an artist and how a toxic relationship with an older junkie warped her world (in a restrained way of course). The first part ended on a particularly devastating note and I imagine part II will pick up from there. I had a discussion with someone who called the first film navel gazing and while I can’t quite disagree I will easily sign up for two and a half more hours to gaze at that particular navel again.

The Titane dir. Julia Ducournau

I’m terrified of horror so I had to wince my way through Ducournau’s directorial debut, but she’s such a stunning director that I am very much looking forward to her next film. The Titane has Ducournau sticking to her horror roots with the story of a child who was kidnapped returning to his family as an adult and the slew of murders that accompany his mysterious reappearance. Sounds gruesome.

The Turning dir. Floria Sigismondi

A theme of 2020 seems to be long delayed projects and directors finally putting out more work. Sigismondi cut her teeth as a music video director, made the musical biopic The Runaways which was released in 2010 and then didn’t make another feature film until now. The Turning is a modern adaptation of Henry James’ horror novella The Turning of the Screw about a nanny assigned to care for two children under mysterious circumstances. Mackenzie Davis will be playing the nanny in this version with Finn Wolfhard and Brooklynn Prince playing her creepy charges.

Violet dir. Justine Bateman

I’ve been tracking this ever since it was announced and was losing hope that it would ever be made. Should have kept the faith! Actress turned director Justine Bateman makes her feature film debut with the story of a successful film executive who learns that the voice in her head guiding her decisions has been lying to her- about everything.

Wonder Woman 1984 dir. Patty Jenkins

She’s back baby! I was so utterly charmed by the 2017 film adaptation of Wonder Woman and it’s exciting to see that in the ashes of the DC cinematic universe with its ever rotating cast of Jokers and Batmans, Wonder Woman has prevailed. Not only is Jenkins back as director, but lengthy negotiations resulted in her getting the biggest payday for a woman director in Hollywood (a rumoured $10 million!) and also coming onboard as a producer and writer meaning she’ll have even more power to fully execute her vision. Bring on the shoulder pads, the track suits, the colour! Bring on the anti-gun propaganda! Bring on the matriarchy!

Zola dir. Janicza Bravo

This was on my list of most anticipated films last year when I was optimistic it would get made right away. Well now it’s finally here. Bravo presents Zola, the film based on the viral tweets from a stripper about how she went to Florida with an acquaintance and got dragged into the world of sex work and violence. This has potential to be amazing and I’m rooting for Bravo and the cast which includes the underrated Taylour Paige as Zola and Riley Keough as her friend.

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morerawerbreath · 3 years

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Twenty Questions

Tagged by @maryiofengland‚ presumably so she can know who’s always lurking in her notes :)

1. What do you prefer to be called name-wise?

Allison‚ Al. A select few are allowed Allie.

2. When is your birthday?

Nov 28

3. Where do you live?

Presumably DC but I only go back and forth from my buliding to the theater with my pod so who’s to say really. In real life I live in Austin TX and Colorado.

4. Three things I am doing right now:

Waiting for my parents to bring food home‚ admiring the fire in our wood stove‚ listening to the cats stomp around

5. Four fandoms that have piqued my interest:

deadpanwalking & club got me into succession‚ but I merely lurk and observe the discourse from afar

6. How has the pandemic been treating you:

As a theater artist it took the core of my life away but other than that not bad!! I got to fuck off and make my own schedule at work and now I’m in a hybrid grad program that’s sucking less than it could‚ so

7. A song I can’t stop listening to:

Spotify reviewed gave me shit for “A Free Man in Paris” by Joni Mitchell‚ so that I guess

8. Recommend a movie:

Only You (1994) - Underrated romcom with Marisa Tomei and RDJr‚ you won’t regret it

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014) - Iranian Vampire Western. do I need to say more

9. How old are you?

10. School, university, occupation, etc?

Smith College,Comparative Lit and Translation studies‚ with a focus on French and Old English. One rough year at Paris IV. Currently working on a one year MFA in Shakespeare.

11. Do you prefer heat or cold?

Cold! I love the snow.

12. Name one fact others may not know about you:

I got strep throat when I was 19 living alone in Paris and I didn’t tell anyone about it‚ just went to the grocery store and then locked my door for a week and waited it out

13. Are you shy?

No‚ but I’m super passive which amounts to the same thing

14. Preferred pronouns?

She/her

15. Biggest pet peeves:

People needing me after 9pm

16. What is your favorite “dere” type? What are 3 AU versions of you doing?

original question was some anime thing so I’m making it better!

1) Medievalism phd and translating Beowulf

2) Living in France working in publishing

3) Being a cowgirl/homesteader in Montana with some animals and a garden

17. Rate your life 1-10:

like a 7?? I’m actually working on (kind of) what I love and have a lot of great people in my life and I’m not as depressed as I have been‚ so!

18. What’s your main blog?

This one.

19. List all of your side blogs and what they are for:

@memediaspora for dumber posts with less commentary‚ @referencebonanza for super long info posts I need to tag and save‚ @[redacted] and @[redacted]

20. Is there anything people should know before becoming friends with you?

I WILL ghost you if I’m hungry

Tagging @aeschylus-stan-account (another person with an impeccable vibe who gets a lot of notes from me, thanks pal) @inabeautifulpie @fierypotatogirl @johnlylysilly and @earlymodernlesbian if y’all are in the mood! plus the person reading this :)

#personal #tag game

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aion-rsa · 3 years

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The Best Comics of 2020

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

It has been a year, hasn’t it?

The year started with such tenuous promise, and is ending the same way: slivers of hope among rivers of misery. But even with all the chaos, all the changes forced by the pandemic and that were coming anyway, we still got some incredible comics in 2020.

Let us be abundantly clear: every work of art made in the last year is a small miracle. Every comic creator who put irons in the fire in a year that certainly didn’t lack fires deserves gratitude and commendation. Picking 20 comics doesn’t do justice to the herculean work and dedication that everyone who works in comics demonstrated – from the creators, to the back office folks who kept the trains running on time and let us know they were coming, to the people who actually put the books in our hands, we should be immensely grateful to all of them.

To those creators we say: Thank you for giving us a few minutes on Wednesdays (or Tuesdays) to escape…all this.

With that said, there really were some excellent books, and we’re very excited to talk about the best comics of 2020.

20. Loneliness of the Long Distance Cartoonist

Adrian Tomine (Writer/Artist)

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Adrian Tomine is here to share his sadness with readers and inspire it in anyone who has ever tried to make art and present it to the world. In what might be his greatest work so far, the cartoonist collects his own diary comics about being an artist and trying to release a book.

The Loneliness of the Long Distance Cartoonist is painfully raw, uncomfortably authentic, and impressively hilarious. It takes guts to make yourself the butt of the joke and to do it so well, but there is such heart and humor here that it’ll speak to any reader whether or not you’ve ever had the (mis)fortune to make your own comics or not.

19. Witch Hat Atelier

Kamome Shirahama (Writer/Artist)

Speaking of wonderful manga, this series is one of the best books on shelves in any genre, format, or language. It’s hard to overstate how inventive and imaginative Witch Hat Atelier is but for the sake of this list we’ll try.

Kamome Shirahama paints a wonderful world where magic is real but only a select few can use it. Coco is our heroine and when she accidentally learns the secret behind using magic she’s inducted into a witch’s coven and is thrown into a vibrant world of sorcery, spells, and uneasy friendship with her fellow students.

18. Daredevil

Chip Zdarsky (Writer); Marco Checchetto, Mike Hawthorne, Francesco Mobili, Jorge Fornes (Artists); Marcio Menyz, Mattia Iacono, Nolan Woodard (Colorists); Clayton Cowles (Letterer)

Chip Zdarsky’s Matt Murdock is terrific. His Wilson Fisk is Hall of Fame.

Fisk is attempting to go legit after discovering as Mayor of New York City that there is a much larger pond he could be swimming in. But the big fish in that pond (the Stromwyns – think Marvel’s Koch Brothers) don’t much get along with someone as insignificant as Fisk. What they do to him, and what Fisk does back, is incredible.

The art on this run has been the real deal. Jorge Fornes and Marco Checchetto have handled the bulk of the pencils this year, and their dramatically divergent styles do a great job of showing the two sides of Murdock’s world – Fornes excels at the quiet investigatory work that Daredevil does, while Checchetto blows the doors off of some monster action set pieces. No lie, Stilt Man has never looked this good. This run is shaping up to be one of the best Daredevil stories of all time, a very high bar to clear.

17. The Department of Truth

James Tynion IV (Writer), Martin Simmonds (Artist)

What happens in a world where all conspiracy theories are actually true? Or that reality actually warps to accommodate new “truths” as they come into being? Such is the premise of The Department of Truth, which delivers on all the unsettling promise of its premise. The fact that it tells its story in a way that aesthetically calls to mind Alan Moore and Bill Sienkiewicz’s 1988 collaboration Shadowplay: The Secret Team, which told some unsavory details about how the CIA conducted some real world foreign policy only adds to the eerie feel.

With more and more people getting internet brain poisoning thanks to wilder and wilder conspiracy theories somehow becoming mainstream every day, The Department of Truth feels like one of the more timely comics of 2020. We only wish it could be a little less timely in some ways, though.

16. The Green Lantern Season Two

Grant Morrison (Writer), Liam Sharp (Artist), Steve Oliff (Colorist), Steve Wands (Letterer)

Grant Morrison and Liam Sharp have been quietly making one of the best superhero comics in decades over at DC, and although we can’t quite believe we’re saying this, it’s about Hal Jordan. The most boring Green Lantern of all has come to life in this trippy, experimental, and beautiful series which transcends space and time, showcasing the best of what Morrrison and Sharp do.

If you think that superhero comics are all the same, The Green Lantern will change your mind (and likely expand it) as Hal adventures through Sharp’s sprawling and stunning cosmos.

15. Immortal Hulk

Al Ewing (Writer); Joe Bennett, Mike Hawthorne, Butch Guice, Nick Pitarra, Javier Rodriguez (Pencilers); Ruy Jose, Belardino Brabo, Mark Morales, Tom Palmer, Marc Deering (Inkers); Paul Mounts, Matt Milla (Colorists); Cory Petit (Letterer)

Over at Marvel, Al Ewing and Joe Bennett have been equally delighting and horrifying readers with this reinvention of Bruce Banner and the hulking hero he becomes. This is about as close to a horror comic as a mainline superhero title can get as the team delve into the multiple manifestations of Hulk and the man behind them.

Just like The Green Lantern, The Immortal Hulk both reconsiders and revisits the lore that has made the character so iconic, and also features an impressive collection of Hulk-centric characters from throughout history.

14. Shadow of the Batgirl

Sarah Kuhn (Writer), Nicole Goux (Artist)

DC Comics has been doing a great job bringing new visions of some of their best loved characters to the spotlight and Cass Cain got that treatment this year in this gorgeous graphic novel. Taking the one-time Batgirl and teaming her up with Barbara Gordon’s Oracle was a genius move, but the real magic here comes from the sweet natured take on the hero that Sarah Kuhn and Nicole Goux offer up.

Shadow of the Batgirl is a superhero comic with real heart and a look that feels far more like an indie comic than anything coming out of the big two. Just lovely!

13. Hedra

Jesse Lonergan (Writer/Artist)

Hedra is unlike anything we’ve ever seen before, and probably the same goes for you. It’s a completely silent comic, but it’s a massively dense, intricate storytelling experience. It’s light and cartoony, but it’s got panels that would look at home in an old Wally Wood comic. It’s got so many panels, and yet it’s full of moments that will take your breath away.

Lonergan manages the pace and flow of the storytelling so well that you have to experience it yourself to fully appreciate it. Hedra is a beautiful, smart, fascinating comic.

12. John Constantine: Hellblazer

Si Spurrier (Writer); Aaron Campbell, Matias Bergara (Artists); Jordie Bellaire (Colorist); Adita Bidakyar (Letterer)

Si Spurrier doesn’t seem like the type who gets mad often, but his John Constantine was fucking pissed, and goddamn if it wasn’t the best Hellblazer comic in decades. This too-brief run of comics starring everyone’s favorite dirtbag street mage was as much about England being a dumpster fire as it was about Constantine being a dumpster fire, and that low-key seethe gave this book an edge that many of Constantine’s more recent exploits have been missing.

Campbell and Bergara are gifted at depicting grimy fantasy, and Bellaire continues to be one of the greatest colorists who ever lived. In a sane, just world, a second volume of John Constantine: Hellblazer is being planned as we speak. Let’s hope.

11. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin

Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird (Writers); Esau & Isaac Escorza (Artists); Luis Antonio Delgado (Colorist), Shaun Lee (Letterer)

When we saw a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic called The Last Ronin, we had no idea they meant Frank Miller Ronin. The art on this comic is astounding.

The story is almost irrelevant, in part because it’s only just getting going (only one oversized issue has been released at the time of this writing). But it’s excellent set up – the last living Ninja Turtle assaults a city controlled by the Foot Clan to try and end their long battle once and for all. It’s set in the future, and heavily influenced by the cyberpunk ninja aesthetic so common to the genre, but filtered through a strong Miller lens that makes it a joy to discover.

10. Captain America: The End

Erik Larsen (Writer/Artist), Dono Sánchez-Almara (Colorist), Joe Caramagna (Letterer)

The superhero comic one shot is an underrated – even lost – art form these days. Annuals are often fill-in stories, and unless Marvel or DC are putting out an oversized issue to herald a line wide relaunch or a similar event, it’s rare that you get a nice thick single issue telling a self contained story of any real “importance.” Fortunately, there’s Captain America: The End.

Marvel’s The End line is exactly what it sounds like: an excuse for creators to tell not-really-in-continuity “final” stories for the biggest Marvel heroes. And while Captain America: The End ostensibly presents itself as the “final” Captain America story, it’s way more fun than that. Erik Larsen uses this opportunity to pay tribute to Cap’s greatest creative periods: specifically Jack Kirby’s two-fisted, acrobatic stint on the character in the 1960s, and his socially conscious and psychedelic late ’70s return to the book.

Wall to wall action, with Kirby-esque idea factory energy and dynamism at the forefront, Captain America: The End is one of the most purely fun superhero issues in years. But don’t mistake this for an exercise in nostalgia, as Larsen blends timely (and timeless) messages that help sum up what made Captain America great in the first place, and why we’ll never truly see the “last” Cap story.

9. Maison Ikkoku

Rumiko Takahashi (Writer/Artist)

We can’t make enough noise about how great Viz has been doing recently at making some of the harder to find manga classics available to bigger audiences. This lovely reprint of Rumiko Takahashi’s joyful slice of life comic technically came out decades ago, but most Western comics fans likely only came to it via this new printing.

Maison Ikkoku follows the misadventures of a young apartment building manager and the tenants that she has to keep in check. In turns sweet, silly, and saucy, this is truly a masterwork of manga that you must read.

8. Billionaire Island

Mark Russell (Writer), Steve Pugh (Artist), Chris Chuckry (Colorist), Rob Steen (Letterer)

This is not Mark Russell, Steve Pugh, and Chris Chuckry’s first time on our lists, but it’s definitely the angriest they’ve been since showing up on here. If we’re really being fair, it’s entirely deserved.

Billionaire Island is a wild fantasy story definitely based on nothing in reality about the world’s uber wealthy, who control the world, building their own island to ride out climate change while the poors all die off and suffer on the mainland. It follows a reporter with the Miami Herald, and an ex-mercenary who lost his family to Aggrocorp’s sterility experiments in Angola, as they try and bring down the aforementioned billionaires, are trapped on the island, and work to escape.

It is every bit as hilarious as you would expect from the team who brought us The Flintstones, but there’s an edge to it that wasn’t there in Russell, Pugh and Chuckry’s earlier work. That’s probably because of the villains – The Flintstones skewered society, while Billionaire Island takes aim at the shittiest people in the world. Several of them by name.

Despite the undercurrent of anger, Billionaire Island is still packed with genuinely hilarious moments. Pugh’s sight gags remain incredible, and the comedic timing on display is outstanding. I had high expectations for Billionaire Island coming into it, and it exceeded all of them.

7. The Magic Fish

Trung Le Nguyen (Writer/Artist)

Feel like crying a lot? Because The Magic Fish got almost everyone we’ve seen read it. It’s an incredibly powerful yet quiet comic about a 13 year old coming to terms with who he is and how to talk with his parents about it.

Tien, the aforementioned 13 year old, is a first generation Vietnamese-American with a crush on a friend and a mother who is still processing her move to the States and the family she left behind. Much of the story is about Tien trying to figure out how to broach the subject with his mother.

What stands out about The Magic Fish is how Nguyen tells the story. Much of it is is told by retellings of fairy tales – two modifications of the Cinderella story, and one of The Little Mermaid. The colors are especially effective in setting up the mood and tone of the sections of story, elegantly communicating so much about Tien’s emotional and intellectual state. And the fashion and hair are magnificent. Nguyen draws Alan Davis-good hairstyles.

Nguyen’s The Magic Fish is accessible, deeply moving, and beautiful, a book that should be shared with friends.

6. Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen

Matt Fracion (Writer), Steve Lieber (Artist), Nathan Fairbairn (Colorist), Clayton Cowles (Letterer)

It’s probably good that the prank war issue, where Timmy Olsen stole the wheel off the Batmobile for Youtube clout, was published last December, because otherwise this entire entry would be the Den of Geek reciting bits to each other like this was comics Anchorman. And all that time we’d spend telling each other we sure have created some…content…would distract from the fact that Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen is one of the nicest, most thoughtful, best put-together comics in years.

Beneath all of the gags – and there are a ton – Fraction, Lieber, Fairbairn, and Cowles put together a deceptively complex character study of Jimmy, Superman and Metropolis. This is a book that is as much about what Jimmy Olsen means to the people of Metropolis as it is about Dex-Starr puking blood on the remnants of Jimmy’s Gorilla City wedding, or the army of Kevins attacking him.

Lieber and Fairbairn were the perfect choices for art on this story: Lieber’s facial expressions and Fairbairn’s bright color palette sell every joke and set every mood that the story requires, and the way the creators play with time and information release is masterful. Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen is essential reading, both because of its importance to the Superman universe as a whole, and because it’s just that damn funny.

5. Once and Future (READER’S CHOICE!)

Kieron Gillen (Writer), Dan Mora (Artist), Tamra Bonvillain (Colorist), Ed Dukeshire (Letterer)

Turns out letting Dan Mora draw his way through an English lit degree is a really good idea.

Joking aside, our readers have excellent taste, naming Once and Future their top pick for comic of the year.

Kieron Gillen takes the “story about a story” formula, smashes several more stories into the first one, and then lets Dan Mora and Tamra Bonvillain go ham on the whole thing, and the resulting comic is breathlessly exciting, and gorgeous to look at. It remixes Arthurian legend and this year added a sprinkle of Beowulf and developed the magic a little more, while juxtaposing that rich fantasy world with the mundanity of things like a senior living facility.

Mora draws monsters exceptionally well, and Bonvillain gives several scenes an ominous glow that sets a hell of a tone. Once and Future is a great pick by our readers, and is comfortably one of the best books of the year.

4. Dracula, Motherf**ker!

Alex de Campi (Writer/Letterer), Erica Henderson (Artist)

You may not realize that you need a grindhouse ‘70s story about Dracula’s brides being extremely done with his shit, but trust us, you need Dracula, Motherf**ker! in your life.

This book isn’t especially long, nor is it terribly complex. We get a lot of echoes of the original Dracula story updated to a dingy 1970s Los Angeles, and a lot of what you’d expect from a grindhouse horror comic, but it’s done exceptionally well by two incredibly talented storytellers.

In retrospect, it’s hard to believe this is the first time de Campi and Henderson have ever worked together. Dracula, Motherf**ker! felt a lot like someone discovering peanut butter cups for the first time – there’s that dawning realization as you’re reading that it really works well, and then a secondary shock that nobody had ever done it before.

De Campi is a pro’s pro and a veritable cluster bomb of ideas. Henderson is a gifted sequential artist who gets to show off her mastery of color art as a storytelling device in these pages. The final package is outstanding.

3. Far Sector

N.K. Jemisin (Writer), Jamal Campbell (Artist), Deron Bennett (Letterer)

The quality level of Far Sector is almost impossible to believe. Jamal Campbell doesn’t have an enormous comics resume, and this is N.K. Jemisin’s debut comic story. And yet the skill evident in every panel screams that this was made by a team of master craftsmen.

Far Sector is the story of Jo Mullein, a new Green Lantern with an experimental, self-charging ring, dispatched to a floating megacity run jointly by three alien races; the Nah, a group of spacefaring fishtailed/winged bipeds; the keh-Topli, a group of carnivorous plants; and the @at, a race of sentient ethereal memelords. Jo is there at the request of the ruling council to investigate the City Enduring’s first murder in centuries.

Her investigation is our way into Jemisin and Campbell’s vibrant imaginations.

This is a stunning book to look at – at least once an issue, Campbell draws something completely mind-bending. And Jemisin writes with the easy confidence and command of the form that people who have been writing comics for 50 years can’t match: there isn’t a wasted word on a single page of this entire series. It’s elegantly topical, stunning to look at, and a ton of fun to read. Far Sector is handily one of the greatest Green Lantern stories of all time.

X of Swords

Jonathan Hickman, Tini Howard, Leah Williams, Benjamin Percy, Vita Ayala, Zeb Wells, Ed Brisson, Gerry Duggan (Writers); Pepe Larraz, Carlos Gomez, Viktor Bogdanovic, Matteo Lolli, Carmen Carnero, Rod Reis, Phil Noto, R.B. Silva, Mahmud Asrar, Leinil Francis Yu, Stefano Casselli, Joshua Cassara (Artists); Marte Gracia, Israel Silva, Matt Wilson, Edgar Delgado, David Curiel, Nolan Woodard, Sunny Gho, Guru-eFX, Rachelle Rosenberg (Colorists); Clayton Cowles, Joe Caramagna, Cory Petit, Ariana Maher, Travis Lanham, Joe Sabino (Letterers)

X-Men fans are not commonly known for our penchant for consensus. We can and will argue over everything, from who’s a better partner for Cyclops to which story arc in the ‘90s was actually rock bottom. So when you get near unanimity that X of Swords is the best X-Men crossover since Inferno, you can pretty much take that to the bank.

The culmination of the first phase of the X-universe’s post House of X/Powers of X plan, X of Swords tied all the mutant comics back together to take on a couple of the biggest ideas dropped in and immediately after HoXPoX. It did something that was nearly impossible: it paid off a year’s worth of stories from ten different series, with satisfying climaxes for more than a handful of storylines.

It did this in part because several creators are making the jump to superstardom. Larraz somehow managed to do even better work than on House of X, delivering massive beat after massive beat in the final issue of the crossover. Tini Howard spent a year making Excalibur the best book in the line, and wove her plot threads through the crossover she co-shepherded (with Boss X or whatever they’re calling Hickman) to give us a foundational Otherworld and Captain Britain story. All the while, Howard also made sure that this Excalibur-centric crossover paid homage to the first Excalibur series – packing it full of magical silliness and genuine heart. Vita Ayala only got one issue in the crossover, but that issue will go down as one of Storm’s best stories of all time. And Joshua Cassara drew two issues of fights and competitions, and dropped multiple staggering spreads.

The X-Men line as a whole is the best it’s been in decades, and there’s no better proof of that than in X of Swords.

Blue in Green

Ram V (writer), Anand RK (Artist), Aditya Bidikar (Letterer)

Fiction is especially tough when the storyteller isn’t up to the subjects. If someone is writing a book about the smartest person in the world, the writer has to be smart enough to believably put brilliance in that character’s mouth. If someone is making a comic about a drug that makes everyone indescribably beautiful, then the art has to be angelic, or the book falls apart.

But when a creative team IS up to the task, the end result can be sublime. That’s what Ram V, Anand RK and Aditya Bidikar gave us with Blue in Green. A comic about jazz that so perfectly evokes the form of its subject matter that I’m willing to bet this comic is taught in years to come. Blue in Green is incredible comics.

Blue in Green’s story is broadly familiar: it’s the crossroads tale, where the Devil meets a gifted musician and trades the musician’s life for magnificent talent. Erik is a talented saxophonist with a rough family history who’s pissing away his talents half-heartedly teaching kids how to play. He goes home for his mother’s funeral, makes his deal, and wakes up days later, after a fugue state that included him blowing the doors off of a jazz club with his sax. Eventually, the bill comes due.

The presentation has a uniquely loose flow to it, moving from rigid grids to collage with prose attached, with surreal, disorienting colors that match the mood of the section of story marvelously. The way the storytelling shifts from section to section, the way the form changes so that it can tell the story as much as the words or art can, is one of the most skillful feats of comics creation I’ve read in years. It’s like its own kind of visual jazz. Blue in Green is an astounding piece of comics storytelling, and I can’t wait to read what’s next from everyone involved.

The post The Best Comics of 2020 appeared first on Den of Geek.

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thattimdrakeguy · 5 years

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Robin - The FIRST Miniseries - Issue #5 (The LAST Issue) Review - (R.I.P Tom Lyle)

This is the big movie styled climax of the miniseries. So its mostly just endings, and action from here, but that doesn’t mean there’s not fantastic character work in here either.

There’s a LOT in this issue I didn’t remember, since normally I don’t pay attention to this one simply because I didn’t remember as much character stuff in it, but to my slight surprise (and bigger surprise in one or two moments) there’s some stuff in here I didn’t quite remember.

The weirdo trio finally breaks up in a way that reminds me of a divorce of some kind.

In a way Clyde and Lady Shiva played the roles of Tim’s parental figures in this miniseries. So that is fitting in it’s own way.

Clyde argues that Timmy shouldn’t be a part of this. Partially for his own want to kill King Snake (Dorrance) himself, but also because he wants to protect Tim’s innocence given the gruesome nature of what’s about to go down.

While Lady Shiva is absolutely numb to violence, and if anything wants Tim to be like her and revel in it.

Some of the word usage and Tim’s reaction to Clyde running off really set this up to a bizarre version of a divorce. It’s a slight soul cracker seeing Tim so worried that Clyde’s leaving to the point he yells out “CLYDE! WAIT!”. In the panel were Lady Shiva holds him back, he looks like such a helpless kid.

It’s a wee bit more emotional then it has any right to be given this trio only lasted 3 issues or so.

But, the climatic action must begin.

Tim uses his established cleverness to give the team some kind of advantage against what’s more or less an armed militia of men ready to protect King Snake and his drug empire.

With some small, but still tense moments.

And Timmy, of course, being on sneaky time.

This is one babyfaced boy that loves his sneaky time.

There’s even a good page that’s a good reminder that Tim isn’t the best fighter on the planet, but that he does his best given any opportunity he can.

A good chunk of this issue though, and deserving enough too. Is Clyde trying to get his revenge against King Snake for all he’s done.

It’s genuinely tense even if it is just a one time side character in this fight.

Because this has been building up between him and the bad guy since issue two. He is the emotional connection between the heroes and the main big villain. It’s for the best he’s the one that gets to take him on first compared to if Lady Shiva or Tim did it.

He’s the one that deserves this fight the most. Even if King Snake is too much.

While Tim’s too preoccupied stopping the plague from spreading and making sure he doesn’t get killed himself. Tim isn’t skilled enough to get out of the situation fast enough. He’s helpless to help his own friend.

Tim has no idea whats even happening to Clyde as he keeps having to run to his own safety.

All Tim can do, is his best. He sticks to the rafters to be sneaky. Uses the tools he knows he can use like his sling, and that’s just about it. Which continues to use his established skill-set instead of giving him sudden Gary Stu moment were he’s suddenly good at everything.

He’s lucky he’s small enough to even hide up there.

I know I been talking spoilers this whole time, but after this part. This contains-

MAJOR SPOILERS.

So read at your own risk, because this is the climatic issue and stuff happens.

So the big crushing part about this issue. Is that the last time Timmy Drake ever got to see Clyde Rawlings still alive, breathing, and blood pumping through his body was when Clyde ran to come to this fight.

The last thing Tim ever heard Clyde said was “RIGHT NOW!” and the last thing Clyde ever got hear Timmy’s voice say is “CLYDE! WAIT!” that’s the last they ever got to hear each other, because the next time Tim finds Clyde’s body it shows he’s already been killed by King Snake.

At this point it’s literally just this tiny little boy in red and green spandex vs a tanking man (with a freaking mullet) that’s supposedly one of the most dangerous men.

There isn’t a Lady Shiva in sight to save him, and Clyde’s not around anymore. Tim’s all alone, and the two people that have been protecting them this whole time are either gone in one way or gone in another way.

It’s all up to Timmy now.

And for the most part he doesn’t do good, because of course he doesn’t. He’s not a good fighter. He’s a tricky scamp with a sling and staff. Against the One of World’s Most Dangerous Men.

King Snake mocks Tim’s notable innocence.

Luckily though, Tim’s a clever boy, and finds a way to distract King Snake, before he can kill him or destroys him too badly. Thanks to Lady Shiva teaching Tim to his enemies underrating him to his own advantage.

Also right before Timmy absolutely wrecks him with one big, hit, that’s the biggest Tim can get out of his very teeny body.

This is when Lady Shiva shows up, and we get another scene representing Tim’s morals, because it’s a spot were King Snake should be knocked off the building, but he managed to get one solid grip on the scaffolding.

Even to the very last issue the character’s remain strong as ever. With constant reminders during their fights of who they are.

Clyde was so stuck on vengeance and anger, even if he wanted to try his best to protect Tim.

Lady Shiva, while calmer, doesn’t care about other people. She’s empathetic to her own fault.

Tim’s just the Boy Scout doing his best to stand up for what he was taught as right.

So what does Tim do in this Emperor Palpatine “DEW IT” moment?

What do you think? He’s such a good boy. He’s no Anakin Skywalker. This is a Luke Skywalker (Original Trilogy anyways), baby.

There’s some hard to watch panels though. Some stuff that actually made me a bit emotional reading this stuff.

Where Tim carries Clyde’s corpse because he’s not leaving him behind. Even when it causes Tim physical pain given he has a busted rib as he does it.

Tim could’ve easily left Clyde’s body behind for the police to find but he didn’t.

Clyde’s still on his mind and who can blame him. This is the dude that protected him this whole time even when he jumped in to protect him.

Tim tries to figure out what this all was for, because it starts to drag on him.

There’s even a surprisingly dark moment were Tim goes into the mindset of getting some payback, but of course, because he’s Timmy. He backs off of it because he realizes it was wrong. Showing that even when stuff goes wrong, Tim still has a sense of morality in him.

It’s stuff that really weighs down on Tim as the issue closes, because this was Tim’s first real adventure, and as it ends there was a lot of stuff he probably never wanted to be a witness too.

Probably some regrets carrying in his brain.

He starts to wonder what it’s all about as the miniseries and his adventure comes to an end.

So this was honestly a pretty good climatic issue even if it gets massively grim towards the end to a degree I wasn’t expecting.

Tim’s ongoing series touched grimness in the 90s, but it never went to this level or had such soul crushing visuals like Tim carrying the man who protected him on his back even with a busted rib.

Or contemplating physical payback against the person who caused him being dragged into all of this but backing off.

Like his ongoing series (where I fell in love with him) was a lot more lighthearted after this. So this isn’t the typical tone Tim carries. Even before this, it was just a soft action romp with character moments.

A lot of this caught me by surprise, because since I skip to Tim’s parts and the action didn’t take me away like other scenes, I didn’t even realize Clyde freaking died in this issue.

How did I not realize that?

I don’t even have a clue how, but in a way, it made it better for this review, because I’m more in tune with how a first time reader might react to it.

It’s a grim ending to a good miniseries.

The miniseries biggest flaws is having creepy girl characters who’s creepiness either feels out of character or not expanded upon to make it feel like it has a point, and moments that don’t go anywhere, with a really lame villain. Such a super lame villain.

However it’s character moments, character work for Tim, pacing, art, and sense of adventure still makes it a really good read. Even if compared to others it’s still a low-key adventure.

If you really wanna learn about Tim’s character. It’s a definitive recommend, because it’s a great character study for him. Through his goodie two shoes boyscout moments, his geeky moments, his awkward moments, to even his immature moments, and a rare dark moment from early Tim, but even that dark moment showed that in the end, Tim’s still gonna do what’s right, and not go too far.

I love reading the miniseries when I’m bored, because even if it’s typically just the first issue or two I read. I just love Tim, and I like to be reminded why.

He’s such a bean that’s trying his best to be heroic. You get a real sense of depth with the character that wasn’t seen by a Robin that was still Batman’s sidekick till this.

Dick had depth, but it wasn’t till he split with Batman that he got it.

With Tim he was the first Robin that was still Batman’s sidekick that could carry depth, and this is were you get it.

It’s the full show of Tim as a character from all sides.

It’s great that way.

I’m thinking of reviewing his next miniseries next just because reading this captured my spark for Tim in a brighter way then it has been after all the dullness of his current life as a character being misused time and time again sort of dragged on me.

With this, I get what I want even if there’s a bit of dirt on it. It’s a good read for a Tim fan, or someone that wants to learn about who he is just to include him in a fan fiction.

It’s a great feeling to remember just how fantastic Tim used to be.

I still hope DC brings back the old Tim eventually.

#Tim Drake #Robin #Clyde Rawlins #Lady Shiva #King Snake #DC Comics #Bat-Family #Batfamily #Bat-Fam #Batfam

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kibfpatiyxparagpsiqa · 5 years

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right. added that, and it’s literally just completely done now.

enjoy.

Danny has to admit, it's fun to hang around as Phantom. Even if it gives people opportunity to shoot at him, walking places just doesn't have the same feel as flying. And it doesn't get everyone to shoot at him. A lot of citizens, young ones especially, just think he's pretty cool. When he isn't invisible, they're the ones most likely to try to talk to him. And unlike, say, the ones who yell, Danny's willing to have a conversation. "Yo, Danny Phantom!" And Danny's over there in seconds, his legs quickly reforming as he stands before them. "Hey."

The person who'd called seems suddenly less willing to talk. Danny's used to people being afraid by now, though it's still weird, but even weirder is the times like now when they aren't afraid but starstruck. Someone else wearing a bandanna around their neck picks up. "Hi. Our friend's in the hospital right now." "Sorry." "Nah, you take more hits than all of us combined. But like, she drew you this thing, to thank you, but she didn't think you'd see it. However, Luke here was gonna show you. Luke, phone." Luke, still tongue-tied, unlocks and hands over his phone. The kid scrolls through the photos on the phone. Recently, the people in town are trying to really show their appreciation for Danny. He thinks it might be because of some recent visitors, one of which Danny found out was a ghost, nonhostile guy who still travelled with is friends. The whole group talked about what it's like for ghosts, how recognition and generosity matter. Danny still has their phone number. The kid finds what they're looking for. Danny holds the phone carefully as he looks at the picture. They're admonishing Luke for his terrible folder structures. It's a really sick picture. If Danny were at all willing to risk his cell number getting out, he'd ask them to text it to him. He really likes the particular pose and lighting, and they got his face exactly right, just like a mirror. Well, mirrors half of the time. But the shapes are the same! He grins at Luke while he hands the phone back. "Dude, that's so sweet! Do you like, think she'd let me see the actual physical one?" Luke has found his voice! "Yeah! Terry would actually love that. It's in her art folder, we brought it to the hospital room... not sure when or if you can visit." "Dude, just tell me when. Flag me down sometime, just, yeah. I'll bring my phone, get my own picture." "Awesome." The two other kids with them, at this point, are still messing around, but noticeably less than they were before he came over. When one notices he might leave, they walk over, and the last friend follows. "Uh, Phantom?" "Yeah?" "Can I get a picture of your logo?" "Sure. Why?" The kid swipes open their phone and he stands on the ground in front of them while they snap a photo. "D, P, oh. Never seen it this close before. Right, I'm making a collage of superheroes, and I thought, wait. I should add a real superhero who lives here! Any preference on who you're next to?" "Depends. Marvel or DC?" "More obscure heroes from both." Danny thinks about it. It's been a while since he's thought about this much. Real superheroics have kind of monopolized his focus for a while now. "Hmm. You got Captain Marvel on there?" "Yeah I do! I mean, she shouldn't be obscure. That's kind of the theme here. Too underrated." Danny nods. "These poor unfortunate souls. But yeah, I love the space origins." "Ha, what planet are you from?" "Not a planet... Aliens are cool, but there's a portal to an actual other dimension in your hometown, which is equally cool and also real." The kid can't refute that. His friend, bored, tries to throw an orange slice at him. He misses, but Danny catches it in his mouth. The formerly-bored friend turns out to be a vicious meanie. "You just can't dodge anything, can you. Are you always trying to eat what your enemies throw at you?" Danny is hurt, truly. He puts his hand over his heart and makes his best wide-eyed expression of sorrow. "Gasp. After all I do for you specifically, eating all those explosive blasts before you can, this is the thanks I get. Throw an orange at yourself, why don't you. Maybe you should practice dodging." The kid throws a whole orange this time, which Danny catches in his hand before peeling. "Oh, delicious inciendiary pain." He debates trying to hit himself in the chest and just grow another mouth there, before realizing that's horrifying. He just eats more orange slices. "So like. Ghosts can eat?" The kid with the bandanna seems curious. Danny shrugs. "I don't know. Ghosts can at least taste." He really doesn't know. Danny isn't quite a ghost. "Do you like to?" "Don't get the chance much. But sure, rather taste sweeter stuff than active plasma." He shoots a look at the orange kid, who has an orange in each hand now. Is that why their pockets are so full? They throw the oranges fast enough he reflexively goes intangible. He hears them hit the road behind him, then salutes the other kids and takes his leave. -----(can anybody tell me how to add lines proper?) It's gotten out really quickly that ghosts can eat. Not a lot of incidents involving that have happened, so Danny blames the sudden awareness everybody has of that on the internet. And a couple people are spreading the word that offerings to spirits are appreciated greatly, Danny's pretty sure those people also follow the web log of those paranormal investigators with the ghost. People have started asking if he'd like to share food they have on hand. Danny feels awkward, because he does already eat food at his own house, because he is alive. But then, the people might do that anyways if they knew that? They're trying to show their appreciation. And it's not like he couldn't just avoid their offers if he wanted, easily! Nobody's exactly chasing him down for this, just asking, when they have opportunities. He really does appreciate it too. Most everything tastes better when it's from someone whose life you've saved, or their wellbeing or family member or just their car. So Danny does usually accept whenever people offer to buy him things, or share what they have. Sure, he eats at home, but then sometimes he's pulled away before he can eat breakfast, or dinner, or anything. When people approach him at those times, he really doesn't even want to argue. So he doesn't.

Some of his older fans make similar offerings, but from meals they made through their own efforts. Those ones are also sweet. He's heard of the taste of victory, but the taste of gratitude is great. Danny likes knowing that people appreciate what he does, however they show it, and this is more convenient than all the cards he has in a locked box in his mattress, along with the other gifts, which he finds harder and harder to hide. He vastly appreciates the art, but his parents wouldn't really get this interest as anything other than suspicious. So the food is a welcome gift, even if returning containers to the right people can be difficult. He likes the sweets, but he actually likes salty things better, and after someone asks him about preferences a lot of people get interested. It's not a large percentage of the population, more those who especially like him and who are interested in cooking and baking, but a lot more people are starting conversations with him as Phantom than ever did before. He feels more appreciated. Some people yell at him because they dislike him, but gifts like these feel more tangible, like they outweigh that, even if people already cheered for him. And again, really convenient if he misses his planned meals. Danny's a fan. ------- Rhys is popping gum across the table while Jill continues talking about the annoyance of spices. Blah blah why does everyone use like no spices blah. Benjamin's late again, but as he dashes in and skids into the booth, the mess that is his clothes says it was probably under extenuating circumstances. "Did you forget your backpack?" Rhys swirls their drink with their straw. "Oh, oh crud it's probably still under there." He puts his head in his hands, and Jill pats his head in sympathy for whatever happened. "It must not have phased with me..." Jill shifts her legs like the restless shark she is. "Phased? There was an attack?" "Seems reasonable. Sure, it wasn't on the news, but at this point that's no surprise. There's barely a consensus on how many there are in a week, but too many to fit with regular news." Rhys sticks their gum to an empty wrapper. "But yeah. Why were you getting phased through anything, Benj?" "Um. Phantom. He saved me, I was caught in a collapse, a building was just. Fell." "Shit Benj, are you okay?" Jill's holding onto Benjamin now, like to keep him safe. "You didn't have to come here, do you need medical attention?" Benjamin shakes his head. "It wasn't dangerous! Just, dusty, and I couldn't get out. I'm glad Phantom heard me, though, my mobile wasn't working." "You sure you're okay Benny?" "Yeah. I think my clothes have it worse than I do. And my poor backpack." "F." Rhys leans against the wall, stretching their feet across the booth's bench. "This probably doesn't do you much of a favor in the long run, though. I mean, you thought that crush was bad before? Phantom just carried you out of a building. Tell me, Benj, did he take you by the hand, was it bridal-style?" "Hey Rhys? Shut up in those blue jeans." "Shut up in those blue jorts." Jill cracks a grin. "Shut up 'cause it's blue Jill." They do a mock-bow toward Jill, before Benjamin keeps talking. "All jokes aside, I really wanna thank him somehow. Uh, Phantom. Do you guys have any ideas? Because I don't think my skills in the area of writing are gonna be much help." "Au contraire Benj, I'm sure it'll be excellent help impressing your new boyfriend." "Shut up, I mean it." Jill looks at Rhys, and Rhys shuts up. "Uh, a bunch of people are like giving him food... Do you think he'd appreciate that? I could help, I kind of want to, you're my friend and I'm glad he saved you." She goes very quiet, like she already thinks it was stupid to even suggest. Rhys shrugs, but is smiling. "Sure, if you think he'll have your taste in extra-spicy." "Okay, I am NOT saying that everything needs to fucking BURN, but SOME PEOPLE are WEAK, and spices are meant to be USED and not in INFINITESIMALS," "Come on Rhys he's a ghost, we could probably put tylotoxin in it and he'd thank us. He'd thank us anyway, because Jill is fantastic at this and her idea was excellent." "Oh, cool. Thanks." Rhys shoots up, their face lighting up. "Oh my god, dudes, we should so totally actually do that though." "UH, it was just an example," "I'm not sure where we would get tylo," Rhys hits their hands on the table. "No, guys. He loves jokes, he loves MORBID jokes, he IS a ghost and he'd totally survive it! And again, he'd think it was so funny. All Benji's idea, of course. I'm so proud of you I could die." "Are you sure it won't do anything?" "I mean, he gets tossed around all the time and heals up quick. And this is *poison*, the type that works on *humans*. And if you're so unsure we can add a non-fatal amount, just in case he wants a kiss after." Benjamin nods slowly. Jill is already on board. "Alright but really, where are we going to get tylotoxin?"

---------- Danny had been liking the recent trend of tangible appreciation, but. Damn it all. He didn't have much right to feel betrayed, since he'd let his guard down. Nobody could have done this before anyway. He'd practically enabled them. He was still feeling pretty freaking angry at whoever had poisoned him. He doesn't know exactly who that was, though, since he's not sure when exactly they did it. -- The night he noticed it, he was just going home in the evening. It had a good chance to be one of those nights with no attacks to present issues, especially given that it was summer. He was walking instead of flying home, mainly out of preference, but started feeling tired enough to change his mind. After getting home and landing in his room, he was all prepared to wait another hour or so for ghostly latecomers, and yet so very, very ready to go to sleep. As soon as he turned human, though, he abruptly doubled over. It was a very abrupt, intense pain, and although he managed to get up when the shock wore off, it showed no signs of lessening. He pushed his shoes off and lied on his bed, grabbing for his phone. He couldn't tell where it was coming from. As he dialed for Tucker, he tried to think about the most recent attack, or the one before that. He didn't remember any wounds. Could it have been poison? "Danny, what's up." "Tucker, hey, uh." Tucker was already sighing over the phone. "You have a problem then?" "Don't know what would give you that idea..." "You always do this, man." His tone made it sound like Danny should know what exactly "this" was. "Besides, I'd hope you aren't calling about anything that could wait at this hour." "Okay fine. ...This hurts, like, a lot." Danny felt very tired, now, and his attempts to sit up weren't doing so hot. "Shit, man. What happened?" "I don't know. I think it's poison, some kind. Started hurting when I got home... When I was human." "What? That's not... Hmmm." Tucker sets his phone down. Probably checking something-or-other. Danny was feeling worse by the second. It hurt a lot, and it hit him that he might want to leave his house. He didn't think he could make it through an interaction with anyone here. Of course, he also felt like he didn't have the energy to get up and leave. Man, at least he wasn't throwing up. But now his head was hurting, and he curled up trying not to make a sound. He noticed he was clutching his phone now, hard, and lightened up before it could crack. Did Tucker say something? Shit, could poison do that? Concussions did that, was it a headache thing? "Uhhhh I wanna go. Your place? Sam's place, going there cool." Danny flipped his phone shut in and instant and slipped into a ghostly form before he even checked the door. Remembering that one second later, he zipped his head around to find it was fortunately shut, with no sign that anyone else at home had seen him. His thoughts already felt clearer, and the pain felt much more muted. Now, being Phantom dulled most of the pain, though there was still an ache in his stomach. Did that mean it was poison he ingested? Who'd have done that? He's still not sure. After flying to Sam's place, he discovered that she was on a video call with Tucker. He's really glad he can count on them. "Sam. Tucker. Sorry Tucker, actually. I don't think I was thinking clearly." He sat on the bed, which appeared to be different than the last he saw. Change of scenery, he guessed. "It doesn't hurt so much now, and I can think. It's mostly hurting my stomach now, actually. Did I eat poison?" Sam got him to lie down on her bed, which felt pretty weird considering he was still wearing boots. But he sat up to look at Tucker on the screen, who was talking about what they knew. "Most of your enemies don't use poison. And yeah, Skulker shows up a lot, but he's an outlier, and it's been a while since he was here anyway." "Yeah, 'cause we /totaled/ his suit last time." Danny grinned, and for a brief second so did Tucker. Then he got back to it. "Most poisons wouldn't take that long to affect someone, without /some/ sign. Nothing?" Sam nodded as Tucker spoke, probably out of further poison knowledge. Danny didn't think so. Skulker was about a week or two ago, by now? "No. I mean, I felt tired before flying home, but that was still only today." Sam jumped on his words. "Like, abnormally tired? Is this another symptom?" "It could be. I think it also stopped when I went ghost, too, so there's another point." They listened to Tucker adding that detail to his notes, before Sam looked out the window, furrowing her brow. "The thing is, it's obviously a human poison, if that's true. Which could still be a ghostly enemy, but if you can get out of it so easily then what's the point? Especially since other stuff, like sickness, leaves quicker, when your temperature doesn't already repel them." Danny frowned. "Did someone try to poison me? Human me? Why would someone do that?" "I don't know! Who'd hate you enough for that, most people just don't really care! The only person who comes to mind is Vlad, which seems unlikely." "Yeah, pretty sure he still needs me alive for some reason or another." Even with the cloning efforts, Danny 1.0 wasn't obsolete yet. Sam walked to the other side of the room, to a table. It was a very small table, but as Sam lifted the edge of the long tablecloth, she grabbed a large bag from beneath. She returned with this in hand, her first-aid kit showing from within. "We're hoping it will help if we can tell what kind of poison it is. Might at least give us an idea of where to look." Danny grimaced, but nodded. "Yeah okay, alright, should probably switch back for that? Yeah." Before his friends could protest, he flipped forms to his human self. Danny immediately was forced to lie completely down, without the energy to continue sitting. "Urrrrrr." The pain hit once more at the same time. Was it worse than before? He closed his eyes tightly. "Danny! Damn it. Okay, his breathing is really fast." As she turned toward him, her voice sounded louder. He tried to focus on what she said. "We'll try to get through this quickly, but just turn back if you need to, alright?" He didn't respond. "Alright, temperature. Tucker, you're recording all this, yeah?" After Tucker presumably confirmed, Danny felt something press across his forehead. "Oh, man. Feels way too warm. I'm not liking this..." Tucker's voice from behind Sam said something Danny couldn't make out. It was probably bad. "Okay," Sam said, and Danny couldn't hear the rest. Then something poked his arm, right on the wrist. He opened his eyes, to find he was in Sam's room. She was holding his hand, and he wanted to ask about that, but he couldn't seem to. She seemed to be getting upset about something. He closed his eyes again. It felt like only a second before he managed to open them again. He tilted his head to the side to see what was up, but there was a curtain in the way. Apparently Sam's new bed had curtains on it. He moved to shift them out of the way, and found Sam sitting at her computer, frowning. "Hey, I think the poison went away. It doesn't hurt anymore." She turned around in her chair with wide eyes, before remembering he was weird and partially relaxing. "Are you sure, Danny? That was fast." "I'm thinking pretty clearly, so yeah. Not sure I remember all of that, but yeah." Sam seemed skeptical. "How did you just get the poison out of your body?" Danny shrugged. "Ghost stuff? I dunno, I'm willing to blame it on my good old fighting /spirit/." He smiled at her, but she didn't seem convinced. "Let me try something." Sam got up and walked to stand by where he was lying. "I'm not so sure it's over, but this should test whether it's done." Before Danny could say a word, she'd grabbed his arm and given it a scratch with her nails. "Hey!" he had to shout, touching where she'd clawed. Looking at it, it wasn't bleeding, but some skin was torn. Then Danny realized it didn't hurt. Sam looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "Nothing? Probably not quite over, then. Besides, you were only out for a few minutes after your heart stopped, and I doubt all of the poison left your system in that time." "Guess it hasn't given up the ghost, then. But I won't either. I must be thinking with my core right now, which explains why I'm not feeling it. I hope it gets out soon, or else it's going to suck when my brain comes back online. Or worse, my nerves." It did get worse. Even despite the fact he didn't feel the tiredness as a ghost, he couldn't manage to get anything done, since at any point another function, with its associated pain sensors, could come back. He had to stay at Sam's the whole week, and as his human form started working with the rest again, even getting to a different room of the house was an effort. Worse still was when his brain activity did return, and he wished it didn't, because this time it didn't stop his heart. He just had to stay that way, in extreme pain, waiting for it to be over and getting annoyed by how hard it was to focus on anything. By the end of it, he was outright wishing for another illness or poison he could just vomit out. ------- He still doesn't know who did it. Not exactly. But he's figured it out. It must have been someone who gave him food. It must have been someone who doesn't know human poison doesn't work on ghosts, because anyone who knows he's a halfa is unlikely to be involved. And now he's just cursing himself for trusting anybody like that. The worst week of his life, that must have been. After all, the second worst week featured a /fast/ and painful death. ------- Luke's been trying to get Phantom's attention again for ages now, with Terry out of the hospital. After disappearing, the hero has been more reclusive, less willing to talk to people. He hasn't been accepting gifts, anymore, but he'd said he'd like to see Terry's work! His friends eventually convince him to give it up. Phantom doesn't want to talk, right now. ------- What happened to Phantom? He's shown a definite change in behaviour, talking less to civilians. He's declined all offerings since his disappearance. The first time he was seen in a week, he moved differently, almost as if he hadn't moved in a while. Hypothesis: He's been trapped within some place in the Ghost Zone, immobile, and interdimensional time dilation made it a longer stay than we've experienced. He's having trouble acclimating back to Amity. ------- They haven't talked about what they did. Not while Phantom stayed out of commission, the whole week. And not for another week, as the fallout of whatever happened became clear. As it became clear the blame was on them. But Benjamin's guilty conscience wouldn't let him keep silent forever, even if he was afraid to say it very loud. "I wish I hadn't gone to that stupid first-person workshop. Wish we hadn't gotten attacked, and I wish he never freaking pulled me out." He glares into his cup. "Benny, it's not your fault." Jill says, probably about to say something 'helpful'. But Benjamin starts first, and it might not /help/ but it feels just a bit better to blame someone else. "Of course not, I'm not the one who thought it was a /good/ idea to poison a hero." Rhys, previously silent, meets every challenge at equal measure. "Oh, yeah, because it was so stupid. I was totally right, if any one of us /bothered/ to check whether poison affects stupid ghosts. Or said something! You could have /told/ your little boyfriend the secret ingredient wasn't exactly love. Bet he'd know if this could be excused under 'love & war'." "Like you know one thing about love, you black widow. Do /you/ poison everyone you date? It wasn't my /idea/ to make him sick, I was grateful!" "So was I Benj! I'm so glad you're here with me it hurts, and I just thought surely, someone as dead as I am inside would appreciate a joke, but the joke fell flat. It fucked him up. I fucked up, yeah!" And everything's quiet a minute. Benjamin drinks his odd choice in summer beverage, and finds that it's cooled down some. Jill speaks up, quietly. "I poisoned somebody." Sitting sideways in the booth, she curls in on herself, upset. "Jill, no, it wasn't your idea, it was mine. Rhys lifts their sunglasses off. "I'm the one who actually seriously meant that." "I cook and I poisoned somebody. What am I gonna do?" Benjamin tries to offer her a back pat, but her legs are in the way. He pats her knees instead. "You didn't know it would poison him. You had every reason to think it would be fine." "Isn't there a rule or something that says you're not allowed to cook anymore if you poison somebody?" "That's a negligence thing though. Or incompetence. Definitely doesn't count if we gave you wrong information." Jill sips her drink through the straw, ignoring the whipped cream on top. A bad sign. "I never want to do that again." "What- Jill, you love to cook! You passionately rant about spices and-" "I mean the poisoning." "Oh, yeah, totally. Don't do that." -------- Danny Fenton doesn't know every person in this city, but he feels like he's at least seen most of them. Even if he's never talked to them, he's probably indirectly saved their life at some point. The ones he's least directly saved tend to hate him the most. Yet sometimes, even people he doesn't recognize will show him kindness. Danny likes feeling appreciated, more than even as much shouting as his detractors do can take from him. He'll talk to people again, and not just to save them. He'll trust people again, even if it's hard right now. And maybe, years later, he'll be able to hear the true story and laugh. But for now, Danny needs to think.

#danny phantom #my writing #yo danny fenton he was barely any years old by the time he'd died thrice #it was fucked #go ahead and criticize but i doubt it will help

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kinetic-elaboration · 4 years

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January 27: Thoughts on The 100 2x09, Remember Me

...For some reason I was really angry at the beginning of this? Also there’s a lot of Lxa bashing. Sorry. And some Clarke criticism but in the latter case, I mean it well.

Also this is really long whoops.

So...I miss when killing off main characters was a big deal and people actually reacted to it.

I truly cannot take Lxa seriously I’m sorry. I don’t find her... intimidating at all.

I’ve already complained repeatedly about her complete bad faith deal making at every turn so I won’t go into it again but nevertheless, here she is, again, moving the goal posts of the negotiation. ‘I’ll withdraw my army if you cure the Reapers. No, if you give up your friend. No, if you give me his body.’ Clarke should have double crossed her immediately.

Also I know that I ultimately did think it was reasonable for Finn to face Grounder justice (except insofar as that justice was itself morally untenable--that is, the Torture Porn) but now that he’s dead, I think there’s no real moral argument to be made that the Grounders deserve his body. I understand their traditions, which in fact I found quite moving when I first watched this ep, but surely his people have, or could make up, some traditions for his burial also. He is still their friend. This seems like little more than an excuse to be cruel. And Clarke’s so fucking broken she just goes with it. It’s truly awful. I mean she’s doing the only thing she can do I guess but it’s laughable that she sounds as if she has any sort of upper hand, you’re getting played bitch.

(Yeah I know, Lxa is being ‘groundbreaking’ and ‘revolutionary’ by even semi-accepting capital punishment without torture and taking his body is a way of appeasing her harder line advisers but like cry me a river--she’s either the all powerful commander or she’s fucking not.)

“We want the same things.” Lol if you wanted the same things you would have stuck to the original deal. No I’m not over this at all I guess.

I also still can’t get over how Clarke has literally never earned true leadership in the eyes of her own people and yet she continues to be randomly viewed as a leader by the Grounders and thus retains pretty much full de facto control over her own people’s power structure.

Also Kane shut the fuck up. I completely forgot about this but they really did put him through an off-screen 180 where all of a sudden Lxa is a God to him and can literally do nothing wrong and to this day we have never been given an explanation how that came to be. Guess it’s easier to tell not show huh?!?

ALSO I get we’re suppose to see a sort of racism-corollary to lines like “I don’t think they know what peace is” like obviously this rubs one the wrong way automatically. But Abby’s not really wrong. And despite what Kane thinks, Lxa has given, again, NO indication at all that she is interested in peace. She has given a lot of indications that she wants to do whatever she can to wring as much from the Sky People as she can without giving anything in return and hey we’re only halfway through the season and she’s already psychologically broken Clarke (also the only person she acknowledges as the leader even though she is not, cannot emphasize this enough, the leader of anything... and thus the only person L really has to break) and sunk-cost-fallacy-ed her into submission. Now that Finn is dead Clarke would cut off her own tit to make Lxa happy because anything else is “letting him die in vain.”

...Why am I so angry lol?

I understand the positions of both Clarke and Raven in this scene, which is fucking brutal, but I sympathize more with Raven. Clarke’s basically just a messenger, but what the Grounders are demanding is (I know I already said it) cruel, and cruel to Raven above all. And Clarke is almost all business. I think that’s what she needs to be for herself but it’s not helpful to the situation.

Anyway here are my faves in Mount Weather. It’s almost hard to watch these scenes because I want to, like, memorize them. Partially for the C/M story and partially just because. Today’s adventure is getting to a radio to send a message to the Ark-wide channel, which is a term for a thing that exists. Also I forgot how snarky everyone / Miller was to Maya. Which, I get. But--are they not thinking about how her own people have experimented on her? Like she is expendable to them, this is just a known fact at this time. So yes, there is a real risk to her, Nathan.

“Oh, is that all?” / “No--there’s more.” Monty’s so one-track he didn’t even hear the sarcasm. I love him.

“Their army has been getting their ass kicked by Mount Weather forever.” Bellamy speaking the truth. Do they need the alliance, or do they just need the Grounders to back the fuck off from attacking them? (Spoiler: they do not need the alliance.)

Ah Bellarke, always quick to reassure each other. Blindly, even.

“Since I don’t take orders from you, I’m going to need a better reason” is one of my favorite lines, and underrated. Finally someone reminding Clarke she’s not actually in charge of everyone and everything all the time. (I realize this sounds like I dislike Clarke. I don’t. I just find certain traits of hers frustrating. But this just makes her a good character.) Also you can see that, rather like her moment with Raven, she falls back on being business like and direct and issuing orders to avoid talking about feelings or breaking apart.

The United States War Room survives the apocalypse.

I’m sorry but it’s ridiculous to think that Lxa invented the concept of an alliance lol.

I guess Clarke needs to go all in on the alliance because of Finn, but... I also think this is part of who she is. Her sense of practicality outweighs any human desire to hold a grudge, and I think she assumes a level of practicality in others too, automatically, such that she underestimates wariness in others. Like Bellamy and Gustus and everyone is right to be uncertain about this literally hours-old alliance--not even an official alliance, since L’s latest demand hasn’t technically been met!--and Clarke’s like ‘yeah I’ll sleep next to people who would have killed me six hours ago np!’ because now that she’s in, she’s in. She’s neither angry nor afraid.

Linctavia like “Google Earth, always taking pictures.”

Is Lincoln wearing Ark clothes?

I know Raven is made to look kind of wan and sunken and sad but yet this scene where she’s being disarmed is honestly like peak hotness for me and I don’t know why. I like my women sullen and covered in knives?

Interesting how allegedly only the warriors knew English and yet Lxa’s big announcement re: get in line with me or die is made in English. Just going to point out yet again what a big mistake that throwaway S1 line is.

What a sad life to lead, where random declarations followed by “or death” have to form the entirety of your belief system “Don’t be upset that your wife and child are dead...or I’ll beat you to a pulp.” I truly don’t understand how we were ever supposed to get in line with this society as sympathetic or interesting. So much so that they get a whole prequel I guess???

I’d rather have a Mount Weather prequel except not really, don’t ruin it for me.

I love Miller’s canonical insane superhuman strength. This is a trait often overlooked in fics.

The usual comment on Mount Weather scenes: I love all of it.

The thing is that if everyone were on board with the funeral ceremony, it is touching. Murderer and murdered together, and the people who’ve been hurt, on both sides, saying goodbye as a group. It’s just that Clarke’s people were coerced into this--they weren’t convinced it would be a fitting ceremony, just told ‘well this is how it is and if you don’t like it, we could perhaps... KILL YOU?”

Is this a new revelation that Mount Weather crashed the Exodus ship (still a really satisfying belated explanation imo)? Or did we know that because, unlike Monty et al, we knew about the jamming signals already? Can’t remember.

You can see how L came to believe what she believes but nevertheless this is bad advice lol. “Don’t care about other people.” Okay, I’ll just stop doing that then.

Mmmm, a feast in a subway station. Delicious. Fucking full pig head as the centerpiece. Very DC.

Kane (handing over pure space moonshine probably): Just don’t drink too much of it. Clarke (five minutes later): Guzzles whole bottle at once. #partygriff is officially canon.

Waiting until tomorrow to start the war? Procrastinators. Clarke didn’t kill Finn for this.

I love Certified Dramatic Ho Bellamy knocking the cup out of Clarke’s hand even though she had made no move whatsoever to drink it.

“When you plunged your knife into the heart of the boy you loved, did you not wish that it was mine.” Lxa, also a certified Dramatic Ho.

Clarke kinda deserved to be punched in the face given that it wouldn’t actually make sense for Raven to try to poison Lxa--and make Finn’s death mean nothing? And put them all in danger in enemy territory? Nonsense. Nevertheless it’s hard not to feel bad for her when she follows this accusation up with a psychotic break.

Hmmm, do I think Abby turning in Jake was the same as Clarke killing Finn? Not really. She didn’t directly kill Jake, that was Jaha, and Jaha is who Clarke should really be mad at. That said, I don’t think she was really saving anyone in the direct way Clarke was. So, apples and oranges. Crazy awkward moment to bring it up, though lol. “Oh Clarke, you’ll feel better eventually--remember that time I killed your Dad? I got over that! Wait--does talking about your dead father upset you? That’s a surprise!” Nevertheless I appreciate major actions having consequences as that’s a semi-rarity on this show.

Monty Green: hero.

“Lxa needs this alliance as much as we do.” - True, if she intends to get her people out of MW. “She’s shown herself to be flexible.” - Not true. She’s given the bare minimum of concessions. Kane, please crawl back out of her colon for like 5 seconds, get some air.

Interesting that Raven and Bellamy are chilling near each other. I wonder what they were discussing. Tbh Bellamy’s feelings on everything in this episode are rather opaque. Other than understanding why Clarke mercy-killed Finn and being skeptical of the alliance.

“Kill one person and destroy the alliance” is literally only merciful because the default in this society is “kill everyone all the time for any reason.” Like, I guess??? That’s mercy by comparison?? But forgive me if I am not moved to admiration.

“This time justice will be done” says the woman who used the barest sliver of evidence to decide that a random person was guilty so she could have a public execution. A public execution to replace the other public execution, in fact, not to avenge a death because Gustus isn’t dead. (Yet.)

Kane’s really okay with letting Raven be tortured to death, huh? Gah he’s fucking annoying.

Bellarke: Crime Solving Duo. That’s some satisfying teamwork. Clarke figures out how the scheme worked. Bellamy figures out who’s behind the scheme. With all the evidence put together, the motive becomes clear. (Honesty, they should have been suspicious that the poison not only didn’t kill Gustus, it barely harmed him lol.)

Check out all the Department of Homeland Security stuff on Monty’s computer. This is perhaps Dante’s log in? There’s a set of “personal” files too. And a set of President’s Office files, which one would assume not everyone would have.

Anyway, I have a Thing for tense sequences of hackers...hacking.

When I first watched this season I was often so tense my whole body hurt and it’s mostly because of MW scenes like this one where Monty is caught. Like aaaaah it still gets me. He almost makes it... and then almost makes it again, with his silly little salute... (Never forget that he is A Dork.)

On the one hand, Raven being tortured and then seeing Gustus tortured to death allows her to see why Clarke killing Finn was an act of mercy, to forgive her, and to move on, so the narrative can continue with them as allies and nominal friends. And it works, basically. But I also think there’s something to the theory that they were never the same, that the wound never really healed.

I’m sorry but Octavia’s face when Clarke’s like “Yeah B, you’re expendable, go get yourself killed, have a map!!” is hilarious. Like, he’s just said that Gustus doing anything for Lxa made sense, and Octavia responded with “Look at the thanks he got” which seems to me like She Knows and then 5 seconds later Bellamy is basically thrown away by the person we all know he’d do anything for... I mean the face is fair. Also this is Bellamy’s idea and it’s a good idea and so he was right before and Clarke is also right now, but it’s still so... annoying.... like “okay, I’m done caring about you lol bye.”

And Raven’s just totally confused. It’s been a damn long day I guess.

Why are they all such fucking hotties? It’s hard to pay attention to “the plot.”

So the ashes Abby tries to give to Clarke are the same ashes, perhaps, that Jasper scatters in S3? This vial looks smaller. Why did she not immediately give them to Raven? That would seem to be the obvious thing to do.

And here we see Clarke, under L’s direct influence, becoming Increasingly Insufferable. I love her but this is obviously supposed to be her descent into the abyss: she treats her friends like little expendable minions, she turns her back on Finn’s memory, and then she ends the episode by dramatically walking into a dark room in slow motion to creepy chamber music. I mean this is the hero’s fall guys!! That’s what it always was!!!

If only they’d handled Bellamy’s hero’s fall in 3A, and Clarke’s rise again in 3B, as well.

That ending is a straight up horror movie thanks that’s why this is my favorite season.

#the year 2020 #2020: fandom thoughts #2020: the 100 s2

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kierantc-blog · 7 years

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DC Rebirth In Review - The Batman Family

With Doomsday Clock just around the corner and with the Rebirth branding ending too, i thought i would look back at how Rebirth has done for each and every on-going that has come out.

So here’s the next chapter in the series, the previous chapter on the Superman family can be read here, but in this chapter we will be talking about the Batman Family of comics.

Batman - I am a fan of Tom King, his work on Vision, Omega Men and Grayson are amazing, but i am not a fan of Tom King on Batman. His story telling feels muddled at times with what is going on on the page, take the I Am Suicide story for instance, was Bruce and Selina telling each other how they feel really the right back drop for a prison escape plot? It also feels like King likes to tell rather than show, which is the wrong attitude to have in a comic book. The War Of Jokes & Riddles was hit and miss at most when the potential it had was immense, and that seems to be the trap that King is falling into right now. Can’t fault the artwork on this book at all, Finch and Janin provide some of the best and most consistent work for a bi-monthly book, but it’s a shame the writing isn’t doing it justice. - 6/10

Detective Comics - For me, Detective Comics is the definitive Bat-family book of Rebirth, Tynion has managed to turn the long running series into a team book with relative ease. The first issue of the series sees Bruce reveal himself as Batman to his cousin Kate Kane AKA Batwoman, to which she laughs and says she always knew. Together they recruit Tim Drake (Red Robin), Stephanie Brown (Spoiler), Cassandra Cain (Orphan) and Clayface to form a team and set up a new base called The Belfry, which stands in the middle of Gotham. The premise alone is worth the buy but the characterisations are fantastic too, particularly with Clayface. Traditionally a villain, Basil Karlo joins the team with the promise from Bruce that he can get his life back, and its his ascendance from a villain to a hero in his own right that shows what this book is capable of doing. Tynion is onto something with this series and i hope he is on it for a long time to come. The only downside is that inconsistent art teams on the series, Eddy Barrows and Alvaro Martinez provide artwork for the first dozen or so issues but on an inconsistent basis that makes it jarring if you read in trades. - 9/10

All-Star Batman - I really enjoy Scott Snyder’s work, he likes to tell big stories and isn’t afraid of rocking out in the process. The first story revolves around Bruce and Duke trying to transport Two-Face to a location for a cure to his mental illness but being stopped along the way by all manner of criminals looking to collect on a bounty put up by Harvey’s bad side. The back up story about Duke is rather interesting because it reveals for the first time that Duke is in fact a meta-human, the story ended but is going to be picked up in Metal at some stage i believe as well as the upcoming Batman: The Signal mini-series. The artwork of the series has been surprisingly experimental in places but it’s also been very good. A very good series, any time Snyder writes Batman you’re in for a treat but the series did feel like it had ran out of steam a little bit with the last arc. Still, a must-read for Batman fans, especially those who loved the New 52 series. - 8/10

Batgirl - A so-so series thus far, Hope Larson falls into the trap of having to serve up Barbara Gordon a love interest in each arc and it becomes predictable when a single young male turns up on the scene that Babs is going to have feelings for them. Was not a fan of Albuquerque on art, it felt very rushed, but Chris Wildgoose stepped up and brought a sense of the familiar when Batgirl returned to Burnside. There’s lot of work to do to get this series to be a must-read. - 5/10

Nightwing - The book picks up from the end of Grayson as well as Robin War with Dick Grayson returning to his classic blue Nightwing costume in order to go undercover at the Court of Owls, and later he returns to his pre-Flashpoint home of Bludhaven. Writer Tim Seeley takes on Dick Grayson minus his Grayson cohort Tom King and he brings a sense of stability to the series that some will find comforting if they’re moving over from Grayson to this book. Seeley hasn’t been afraid to take risks with Nightwing and it pays off with some really personal story telling later on in the series that will call back to the days of Grant Morrison’s Batman & Robin run. Coupled with the nice artwork from Javier Fernandez, Marcus To and Minkyu Jung, Nightwing has been one of the more consistently enjoyable books of Rebirth and is well worth checking out. - 8.5/10

Batgirl & The Birds Of Prey - In stark comparison to the other Batgirl title, this one is incredibly well written by the Benson sisters (who are also writers on the excellent TV show The 100) and while the artwork hasn’t been the best, it’s still perfectly serviceable and doesn’t spoil the book at all. The writing almost makes me feel like the Benson sisters are acting out the script of each issue because the conversations between Barbara, Helena and Dinah feel so natural and funny too. This book is easily one of the most underrated of Rebirth, it should just be Birds Of Prey though. The recent additions of Catwoman and Poison Ivy to the line up has been refreshing to the series too, so hopefully the Bensons are free to be a bit more liberal with the line up. - 9/10

Red Hood & The Outlaws - If someone told me in January 2016 that i would be recommending a Scott Lobdell series i would have laughed in their face, but here we are and i’m about to eat some serious humble pie. RHATO is not only one of the best written series in Rebirth but also one of the best looking ones too. Pairing Jason Todd with Artemis (not the one from Young Justice) and Bizarro was a stroke of genius. Artemis challenges Jason to be a more moral man and Bizarro brings out a side of Jason that can only be described really as fatherly. Their moniker of the “Dark Trinity” is not very accurate as there’s not much dark about them, except that they are willing to do things that the classic Trinity are not. Lobdell strikes a great serious tone with a funny one too but he doesn’t overdo it like he has with his other works. Perhaps the only complaint i would have is that he’s yet to have that big storyline just yet that makes you go “fuck yeah!” but i’m sure it’s coming. The artwork by Dexter Soy and colourist Veronica Gandini is so incredibly well done too, with fantastic detail and colour and an almost anime feel to it. Just like New Super-Man, this book flies under the radar for most people but it is well worth reading. - 9.5/10

Batman Beyond - My first big exposure to Batman Beyond was via the Futures End series so some of the references and characters are a little lost on me. The story telling beats are solid though and the art is very nice. Probably one for the die-hards though. - 7/10

Batwoman - This was one of the first Wave 2 books and is only a handful of issues in, but so far i really like it. I’m not sure how the writing duties work with Marguerite Bennett and James Tynion on the title but it’s clear the book is well plotted. Steve Epting on art duties provides a moody backdrop to the series that suits it well, but i wonder how it would translate to other locales. Solid so far, can’t wait to see where Kate Kane goes from here and teaming her up with Alfred’s daughter Julia is a big plus too. - 7/10

Conclusions

The Bat Family of books have always maintained a high level of quality and that continues into Rebirth. It’s strange but the only two books i have problems with are the ones that were very popular in the New 52 era, Batman and Batgirl. I don’t see changes happening any time soon though, Batman is still DC’s biggest selling comic and Batgirl is still popular in her Burnside guise too, but i would like to see a change in writer for each book to change things up a little bit.

Just like with the Superman Family of books, the big winners from Rebirth are the ones who were let down by the New 52 era such as Tim Drake and Jason Todd. A real sense of legacy is coming out of these books right now and it’s a great time to be a Batman fan.

Thanks for reading!

Next up: The Justice League!

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wonderbat1216 · 7 years

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Justice League Review

2017 has been a great year for superhero films with “Logan,” “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2”, “Wonder Woman,” “Spiderman: Homecoming,” and “Thor: Ragnarok.” Now in mid-November, it’s time for the cherry on top, DC Comics’ “Justice League.”“Justice League” has opened to mixed reviews from critics but adoration from DC fans, reminding me of another DC film directed by Zack Snyder. (You can read our review of that movie here.)

Here is where I start talking about the specifics of the movie. MASSIVE SPOILERS BELOW THE CUT.

Much like my BvS review, I’m going to go pros and cons. Let’s start with the relationships in the film. A fundamental dynamic in the movie is the connection between Bruce Wayne (Batman) and Diana Prince (Wonder Woman). They work perfectly together in this film with their relationship shown as friendship and admiration, possibly blossoming into something more.

The romantic subtext is subtle and reminiscent of the character’s relationship in the “Justice League” cartoon of the early 2000’s. Bruce and Diana genuinely respect one another, and in the one time that the respect lapses and Bruce says something out of line, Cyborg calls him out, and Bruce apologizes a couple of scenes later.

Another critical couple is Clark Kent (Superman) and Lois Lane. The dynamics of this relationship are proudly on display long before Clark is resurrected. Early in the film, we see Lois mourning the loss of Clark and sharing a thoughtful scene with Clark’s adoptive mother, Martha.

About halfway through the film, When Clark is resurrected, he is confused and attacks the other heroes. Lois is the one who snaps him out of it. This leads to a beautiful reunion scene at Clark’s home in Smallville and a heartbreaking reunion with his mother. Bruce knows how deep Lois and Clark’s connection is and uses it as his contingency plan for when things go south during the resurrection, calling Lois “The big gun.”

Sadly, two crucial relationships are almost entirely cut from the movie. Actress Kiersey Clemons shot scenes as Iris West, who DC fans know as Barry Allen’s girlfriend or wife, depending on the continuity. Unfortunately, her scenes were cut entirely.

Mera of Atlantis, known as Aquaman’s romantic interest was only in one scene, and her character isn’t named. If you didn’t know better, you would just think she’s a random Atlantean.

Now let’s move on to the big bad of this movie, an alien named Steppenwolf, who comes to earth looking for three ‘Mother Boxes,' sources of almost infinite power, hidden away on earth long ago after Steppenwolf’s first attempt to use them thousands of years ago.

I have a few issues here.First, unless you are a DC fan, you have no clue who this guy is, what the mother boxes are, or why Steppenwolf wants them. Since the movie fails to explain, I will.

Steppenwolf is the uncle of Darkseid, a primary villain in DC Comics (comparable to Marvel’s Thanos) and is the leader of Darkseid's elite forces. Steppenwolf and Darkseid are members of a race of ‘New Gods’ from Apokolips, a hell-like alien planet. The mother boxes are Apokoliptian technology that can be used to destroy and remake planets and used as tools of conquest. Steppenwolf’s objective is to find and use the boxes to conquer earth for Darkseid

.Second, we’ve seen this type of villain before in the DCEU. We have a big guy with horns, bent on either the destruction or conquest of earth. Am I talking about Steppenwolf, Ares, or Enchantress’ unnamed brother? They’re all the same.

I will say, I liked how the villain plot tied in Cyborg. Usually, when Cyborg is included with the league instead of the Teen Titans, he’s treated as less because he’s younger. In this film, he’s integral to the league’s success.

Without Cyborg and his mother box tech, our heroes would not have been able to resurrect Superman, or find Steppenwolf and the boxes, or separate the boxes to end the threat. Basically, without Cyborg everybody would’ve died and we would have no movie.

(This paragraph contains a “Wonder Woman” spoiler.) I appreciated the interactions between the members of the league. The mentor relationship Bruce had with Barry, was like the relationship between Iron Man in Spiderman in “Spiderman: Homecoming.” Jason Momoa was brilliant as Aquaman, transforming him into a valued member of the group instead of the underrated character that no one cared about before. Barry freaking out about Clark’s speed was hilarious, and a nice echo of both the 1967 race in the comics and the Flash/Supergirl tv crossover last year. Diana was a treat as always, trying to be the voice of reason, and taking on the leadership role with Bruce. The boys respect her authority. I also appreciated the film showing that even a century later, Diana is still struggling with the loss of Steve Trevor.

Bruce’s butler and confidant, Alfred, played a more significant role in this film than he did in BvS, bringing with him the sass and one-liners of his comic and cartoon counterparts. While not members of the league, the early scenes with the Amazons were excellent and showed that even though Hippolyta exiled her daughter, she still deeply cares about her.

My last positive note is the setups. Early in the film, during the flashback fight during Steppenwolf’s first invasion, we see a Green Lantern fight alongside the Amazons, Atlanteans, and Man. When he falls, we see his ring fly off, presumably to find a new host. While this scene is too early in history to point to Hal Jordan or any other modern lanterns, it confirms that we will eventually see a Green Lantern from earth.

The second setup is in the end credit scene that many people missed the scene involves Lex Luthor recruiting infamous DC villain, Deathstroke. (Fans who watched the Teen Titans cartoon will know him as Slade.) Lex wants to form a league of his own to combat the heroes, possibly setting up a version of the Injustice League or Legion of Doom. Very Exciting.

To wrap up, I’m going to go in the style of “The A.V. Club” and list some stray observations, thoughts that don’t fit into my neat little categories.

For most of the resurrection scene, Superman is shirtless. You can take that as good or bad.Near the very end of the film,

Cyborg utters his famous catchphrase from the “Teen Titans” cartoon, “Booyah.” The entire theater erupted in applause.

Barry is never once called “The Flash.” For the third movie in a row, Diana is never called “Wonder Woman.”

Danny Elfman’s score was alright, but I wish he would’ve used more of Hans Zimmer and Junkie XL’s music from Man of Steel and BvS. I don’t think he should have used John William’s Superman theme, and I don’t think he should have recycled the theme he wrote for Michael Keaton’s 1989 Batman. A big part of interconnecting franchises in the musical motifs and I think Elfman wrecked it.

When Zack Snyder had to leave due to personal tragedy, Joss Whedon replaced him and ordered vast reshoots. This extended the production schedule forcing Henry Cavill (Clark/Superman) to switch back and forth between shooting “Justice League” and “Mission Impossible: 6.” For MI:6 Cavill is contractually obligated to have a mustache. He couldn’t shave to be Superman, so they had to CGI it out. If Clark’s face looks weird at any point, that's why. I blame Whedon.

I counted at least seven times where Diana and other Amazons were needlessly sexualized. This included wearing more revealing armor than in “Wonder Woman,” camera angles that went up skirts and lingered on backsides, and the scene where Barry trips and face plants into Diana’s chest. Again, I blame Whedon (This type of sexualization is also present in “Avengers: Age of Ultron” which Whedon also directed.

This might not be anyone’s fault specifically, but the 3D is not worth it. I watched the standard version and 3D back to back. It was barely noticeable. The only part that was made better by 3D was the “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” trailer

Overall Justice league was a great film for DC fans. It follows “Batman vs. Superman” and “Wonder Woman” well, and it sets up future DC films nicely.

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