#so jack is a less mean and angry roy kent

[thefactsofthematter]

ok I am officially invested in ur ted lasso-adjacent newsies au. tell me more 👀

ohoho don’t mind if i do!!

so. jack and race are my roy and jamie, because of course they are <3 and yes it’s hockey instead of football bc as rizz pointed out not too long ago, i already throw canadianisms into my dialogue without noticing, so now i can really lean into it lmaoo

jack is the captain of a fictional NHL team called the hamilton bobcats - he’s 34 years old and nearing the end (though he’d never admit that) of an incredibly successful career. he was once one of the biggest names in hockey, “the next gretzky” as people called him when he was first drafted, and he’s got stanley cup wins and olympic medals and everything you can think of under his belt. he’s also got a hot wife (kath) and 2 adorable kids and a mansion and a lamborghini, so he likes to think he’s doing pretty well.

race, on the other hand, is 19 - he’s just some kid from small-town alberta, still in the junior leagues, but he’s the #1 nhl draft prospect bc he’s got an unnatural level of talent for scoring and absolutely crazy stats… and everyone’s calling him “the next jack kelly” ;)

after a very shitty season (which definitely doesn’t have to do with jack being past his prime, no way), the bobcats manage to get first pick in the draft lottery, so of COURSE they sign race! pulitzer, the owner of the team, had been ready to stop at nothing to get him in a contract, so it’s lovely that it worked out so easily.

jack and race clash immediately, as soon as the new season starts - jack is a captain with a huge emphasis on the team culture of mutual respect and caring that he’s built over the years… and race is not used to that type of atmosphere at all, so he comes in, guns blazing, ready to be the best and fight his way to the top. he’s arrogant and rude, and it’s infuriating that he’s so goddamn good at playing and scoring goals that he can get away with his bad attitude. the other rookies (al and buttons and finch) flock to him, desperate to impress and get on his good side, and it throws a major wrench into how jack likes to run things.

cue plenty of arguing between those two, a sprace plot that i have yet to figure out the details of (except that spot plays for the habs bc ill jump on any chance to throw quebecois spot into another fic), and some eventual realization that maybe they can get along - likely spurred on by kath saying something along the lines of “jackie, you realize this whole rivalry thing you have going is with a child, right? he’s just a teenager,” prompting jack to reluctantly come to terms with the fact that all race actually needs is a mentor <3

[weclassybouquetfun]

Season 3. Three episodes. One crazy.

There was a run Justice League: The Rise of Arsenal where Green Arrow’s former sidekick Roy Harper/Arsenal’s daughter Lian is killed and in his grief he hallucinates that a dead cat is his daughter. To combat his grief he goes off to an alley to do heroin and fights off some baddies by using the aforementioned dead cat.   After that issue, someone commented, “Roy Harper making Jason Todd look sane.” Well, I think TITANS is giving Jason back the title of craziest sidekick. 

Call me Stephanie Brown because here be Spoiler(s).

How prescient was “Battle for the Cowl”?

I was late on watching the episodes but I saw some people on Twitter mad at the depiction of Bruce. I thought it was more complaints about the age of Iain Glen.

Kevin Conroy is six years older than Glen and no one complained about him as Bruce in BATWOMAN

Then as I continued watching I thought people were mad because of how quickly Bruce was seeking to replace Jason (which some are upset about).

credit to @dccomicsjokerm1 on Twitter

As if Bruce didn’t pick up wards like Alfred picked up socks.

But to me, it falls in line with how I view Bruce: an emotionally constipated person who has decided to divorce himself from attachments.  There was an issue of Batman pre-New 52 were Bruce called up all of his wards for a meeting where he told them he would no longer be Bruce Wayne, only Batman because he couldn’t have the people in his circle continually being used against him. I wish I could find the panel because everyone’s face was like, “Oh, Bruce’s being cray again - must be a day that ends with “y”.

But when I got to the end of the first (second?) episode I realized what it is that set everyone off.  Bruce finally did it - after Barbara told him he was as crazy as The Joker, and Dick finally co-signing on that, Bruce killed The Joker which was shocking for two reasons. We all know Batman doesn’t kill *directly*. Letting Ra’s al Ghul fall to his death in a careening train in “Batman Begins” is acceptable. Also, how about blaming Gotham’s poor infrastructure for that. Secondly shocking is that we could all surmise Arkham Asylum’s security was lax because The Joker and other inmates were always escaping, but Bruce killed The Joker inside Arkham and was able to stroll home to tell Dick with the weapon in hand like a dog bringing in a dead bird.

Arkham Guards to Bruce happy to be free of The Joker. 

People have decried the act as character assassination but I’m sanguine about it. There is 82 years of Batman stories canon and AUs; all valid. There is a Batman depiction for everyone. But Bruce’s behaviour in TITANS tracks to the depiction I like of Bruce.  Above all else Bruce lives for being Batman and there are stories over the ages where that is in-play.  Like the Superman and Batman story where Silver Banshee zaps Batman and Superman resulting in Bruce having Superman’s abilities and because Bruce is just a non-powered individual, Clark was able to be a civilian....which pissed Bruce off because with Superman’s abilities he was now free to go across the globe kicking people’s a**es like a vengeful Santa and couldn’t understand how Clark could dare want to live a peaceful life as Clark Kent when he could stamp out crime and stomp on people’s heads.   That left the JLA worried about Bruce so Dick volunteered to talk some sense into Bruce.

Didn’t work out so well for Dick.

There is a reason why Tim said this to Ra’s al Ghul.

Jason- Jason is my favourite Robin and while Jason is a killer he’s not in league with villains so this depiction was a bit jarring, but unlike Bruce who is so emotionally repressed, Jason is all emotion. So angry. 

It’s what killed him in the comics and what killed him in the show but unlike in the comics when he returned from the dead and wanted to kill Bruce for not avenging him, he’s killing Bruce’s legacy - his mission - everything he has lived for.  Which is why Jason let Bruce live in the comics - he wanted to be an ever present reminder of Bruce failing: his ward is now a killer. 

-It could just be coincidence but there were many moments that felt like direct homages to the comics and films like:

- Bomb device in Hank’s chest like the one The Joker implanted in that guy in “The Dark Knight”.  Same with the switcheroo with Dawn at the end of episode 3. 

Jason is the master of misdirection. In the comics he kidnapped Speedy/Mia Dearden, leading Bruce and Oliver on a chase to rescue her not realizing that Jason needed them busy while he let two rival gangs kill each other. 

And “Streets Run Red” where Jason, now a red-head for reasons - lets himself get arrested and sent Arkham so that he could kill a bunch of people. 

-Dick who is now more or less Batman, rushing to the building and one of Jason’s lackey’s falling onto his roof reminded me of the story where Jason maybe/probably/almost certainly pushed a pimp off the roof of a building as Batman was trying to reach them.

- Barbara and Dick talking about how Bruce screwed them up, which is something Bruce realized with Jason.

-How much smarter is it that Bruce would have a holographic dinosaur and coin? So much smarter. 

- I see what you did there. 

- As much as I didn’t like Hawk in season one I hate that he had to die.

Jason, you will never get a statue now. I mean, you didn’t get one before, but now you’re *really* not getting one. 

But I can see why they didn’t want to recast the role. 

I’m assuming Hawk is a goner because Ritchson will be too busy with the Jack Reacher series. 

where he reunites with Kristin Kreuk of SMALLVILLE.

Ritchson even reunited with the other cast recently.