#start giving books to people who aren't bats

[guiltyofbitchcraft]

So a few weeks ago, some friends and I were talking about the state of DC comic titles and how it feels like most of the titles they're releasing are Batman-related titles and that, based on our vague awareness of solicitations, the trend didn't appear to be ending any time soon. This, of course, made me curious and sent me on a fact-finding mission to find out specifics. Not even just about the state of batman related books but of DC in general. So I have deep-dived into looking at all current titles and upcoming titles for DC (and a little bit of Marvel too just to see how they're stacking up against the competition). I'm sure most of the information has been talked about before, it's not super hard to find, but here's what I found out.

A few disclaimers:

-For the sake of simplicity, I considered any title "current" if it had started before or had not ended until after January 1, 2023 (mainly cuz I planned to post this on the first day of the year but I...didn't. Oops.)

-For upcoming changes to titles I'm only going to look out as far as March as that's how far out current solicitations are.

-While I did all this research myself and I double-checked my work, there is absolutely a chance that I made a mistake as I am only human. So if you see something that you are confused about or know to be incorrect, just let me know!

-My knowledge of current marvel canon and titles is very low. I'd like to get back into Marvel soon but I have not yet. So I could not do a deep dive comparison of the companies in the way I wanted to simply because my information on Marvel right now is very limited.

Alright then, having said all that, let's get started:

Ongoing Titles

DC only has 18 ongoing titles currently, 3 of those are Looney Tunes, Scooby-Doo, and Mad Magazine so not part of the DC universe. Meanwhile, Marvel has 41. 8 of those are not part of the Marvel Universe, they're either Star Wars or Alien vs Predator.

Of DC's current ongoing titles, 12 of the 18 are within the Batman/Gotham franchise. 4 of those titles directly include Bruce Wayne. The only other "families" that have titles are Superman (who has 2 but 1 of those is Batman/Superman: World's Finest), Wonder Woman (1), and Flash (1). There are only 2 ongoing team titles right now and those are Batgirls and Batman Incorporated.

Of Marvel's current ongoings, the two largest "families"/franchises I could find are the X-men (with 9 titles) and Spider-man/Symbiotes (with 5). Keep in mind Marvel also has over double the number of ongoings. They also have around 12 ongoing team titles (although 2 of them are ending in February)

DC has announced 8 new ongoings that will come out throughout the year however only 1 of them (Superman) is going to start within the next 3 months (February). DC is also ending 2 of their ongoings in the next 2 months (Batman: Urban Legends and I am Batman) so for the month of March DC will only have 17 ongoings.

Limited Series (and one-shots)

DC is currently publishing 32 limited series. About 17 of those are Elseworlds or otherwise do not take place in main continuity (8 of those are Black Label). So DC has about 30 titles taking place in main continuity right now and half of them are limited series.

Marvel currently has 25 limited titles, 4 of which are Star Wars.

Of the 32 current limited series, 16 of those titles are Batman/Gotham related. 8 of those books have "Batman" in the title. However, it is in the limited series that we do get our first non-Batman/Gotham related team comics: JSA, WildC.A.T.S, and Titans United: Bloodpact. Although I don't believe Titans is in main continuity.

Throughout the next 3 months, 18 of DC's current limited series will end and 10 new titles will start. 2 of these new series are Batfam/Gotham related, 2 of them are Superman related, and 2 of them are Milestone comics. Marvel is also ending 18 limited series in the next month, but they're also starting up 21 new limited titles.

By the end of March, Marvel will have 28 limited titles and DC will have 26, so Marvel will actually have more limited titles out than DC (although who knows how long that will last/if it will last at all as we don't know what either of them will start publishing in April yet.)

Both companies are also publishing a lot of one-shots in the next 3 months (DC mainly because most of their Lazarus Planet event will be published through one-shots). DC will publish 17, and Marvel will publish 14

I thought about trying to also list statistics about how DC is doing diversity wise but this may not be the best post for it. Something more directly focused on that topic would probably make more sense. Especially because just because a title features a woman, or a queer person, or a person of color, or a disabled person, or so on, doesn't always mean they're doing it well.

I also am not including creator statistics either because I just found that trying to track them through titles the way I was doing is not the most accurate way to find out how much work they're all doing (especially artists).

But yeah. I have no idea if anyone finds this interesting the way I do but if so here it is. If anyone wants to know where I got my information from I used solicitations, the database on leagueofcomicgeeks.com, and the lists of Marvel and DC's current publications that are on Wikipedia. DC is 100% oversaturating their content with Bat-related titles, and that doesn't appear to be changing for the next few months. Definitely not a surprise there. However, before I started digging I did not realize how few ongoings they had, especially compared to their limited series. And of course, all of this is subject to change, especially after March because that's when their Lazarus Planet event will wrap up. Not to mention it still appears like they are going to announce more titles for their Dawn of DC initiative. Either way, I just hope they start doing better and start taking risks (especially risks that don't involve Batman).

BTW I didn't just do this little research project to shit on DC, I am a DC fan myself. I just am generally disappointed with what they've been doing as of late, and with what they haven't been doing.

[reallyromealone]

Title: free days

Pairing: Bruce Wayne x male reader

Fandom: batman

Warnings: male reader, omegaverse, omega male reader, fluff, no heroes au, bat children are children, implied that they are (name)s bio kids

☁️🐟☁️🐟☁️🐟☁️🐟☁️🐟☁️🐟☁️🐟☁️🐟☁️🐟☁️

It was the ideal.

Giant alpha with a brooding expression and cold demeanour and peppy Omega who had enough conversation of six people, Bruce reading the morning paper as (name) enjoyed his breakfast sleepily in one of Bruce's shirts and a pair of boxers, both periodically taking sips of their drinks; Bruce a hot cup of black coffee and (name) a cup of (drink). "The zoo's snow leopards had cubs" Bruce mentioned casually, following the family "no bad news till after ten am" rule, (name) humming as he glanced to see the photo of the tiny cub "we should take the pups to see it" (name) mentioned, the Wayne family having donated a few million to help the conservation efforts the zoo was focused on.

"We can make arrangements, my darling" Bruce said to the other who beamed sleepily to his mate, Bruce feeling his heart warm at this.

The pups slowly piled in one by one, the smaller less formal dining area filled with sleepy littles, tweens and teens "Cassandra, stop stealing your brother's bacon" (name) said calmly as he stared off slightly, finally waking up a bit more as the pups ate their breakfast and Damian tried to copy how bruce are clumsily, the toddler absolutely fixated on Bruce these days "your lunches are on the counter in the kitchen, Dick remember that you are going to be accompanying your father today after school, Jason you are going out with your friends yes? I want you back home by 9:45--""ten?" "Get a good score on that test today and I'll consider it" "deal"

(Name) gave his kids their iteneraries as everyone ate and got ready for the day, little Damien and Helana letting their parents carry them to the nursery to be dressed for the day "alrighty little doves, let's get you in your outfits!" (Name) said to the two toddlers who let their parents dress them in clothes that they weren't worried would get messy, Damien in an adorable pair of shorts and a little shirt with a dog on it and Helena in a skort and a shirt that had Carmen Sandiego on it "you two ready?"

Today was their first class in martial arts, something all the children took as Bruce was consistently worried for their safety "they need to be able to defend themselves, what if we aren't there?!" He fretted behind closed doors, Damien looking excited and Helena bouncing as they and the rest of the family went to driveway "Tim, Jason behave or you drive with Alfred" and Alfred didn't get McDonald's before class, the two immediately stopping their nonsense as they followed Dick to his car and the others into the main family car, a town limo where the driver was ready for them. (Name) was thankful Damien kept his shoes on, sitting in his car seat separated from his sister with Cass between them "mama!" He yelled seriously "what is it dames?" "Oweo?" He asked almost confused and (name) tried not to laugh at the boys question "we can get Oreos after your lesson, yes"

Toddler martial arts was mainly just getting the little ones used to it, very clumsy and often times the little ones were more interested in their own feet than actually doing the lesson but it was a start "remember when dick was this little? He would only do anything if you held his hand?" (Name) said as they watched from the glass, little Damien and Helena practicing listening with the instructor and even learning the absolute basic stances, both excited to make noises and give wobbly little stances.

Bruce was happy when he could make time for his family, the tots passed out in their arms as they went to the limo "I'll be going to the office, prepare for the shadowing" Bruce gently kissed (name)s forehead and then lips as they smiled at one another "good luck" and with that they parted.

When night came, (name) was in bed reading a book when Bruce came in "how did it go?" (Name) asked as he blatantly watched Bruce undress into his boxers "it went well, he has been preparing for this since he was 11" Bruce walked to the bed and got in, moving (name) so he layed his chest against Bruce's as they smiled fondly at one another and gently kissed, (name)s hands gently holding into Bruce's sharp jaw as they enjoyed their time alone.

"I think I want another pup"

"Darling we have six children already"

"But baby?"

"Darling, the youngest two are just getting out of potty training"

"Fine" (name) playfully pouted as they cuddled, anyone outside the family would be intimidated by Bruce, though for his mate he was putty.

They weren't the perfect ideal of an alpha and omega but they were their ideal and that's all that mattered.

[rboooks]

If you take requests can you do a dc x dp with dead tired ship?

I love requests~! I really hope I got dead tired, ship, right. I need to find out the ship names. It's Tim/Danny, right? If not, let me know, and I'll fix you another one.

Tim really wasn't looking forward to meeting the new heir to Vladco. Usually, his parents didn't want anything to do with new money, as they thought that new money was too close to no money, but Vlad Masters was different.

The difference? He bought out almost all of Drake Industries' shares, and now Tim honestly thinks he owns more of the family company than his parents. Jack and Janet hoped to make good connections with the man and slowly but surely trick him into selling the shares back to the Drakes.

Tim thought if he was smart enough to get the people that bought shares of his family company generations ago, not just once but at least eight times, then Vlad Masters wouldn't be as easy to trick as they thought.

Then again, his parents aren't the best businessmen around. If they were, they wouldn't be flying through the family wealth, leading them to bankruptcy.

Tim would know.

One day, he looked at their books when he was bored a few months after discovering Batman's identity. He tried to tell his mom about it, but she told him that he didn't understand the business well enough to tell.

So he signed himself into college-level business courses online to learn it. She didn't appreciate his initiative.

"Remember, Tim, Daniel Masters is who you must befriend," Janet says for the third time as they climb out of their car. " Friendships are the ladders to climbing up in the world."

"Yes, Mom." He tries to smile at her, but all Tim wants to do is go back to the roofs of Gotham and watch the Bats.

Jason is supposed to start his solo patrols tonight, which is a big deal, and he's missing it. His parents weren't supposed to be back for another month. However, their latest job was canceled due to locals complaining.

His dad grumbled about people getting in the way of history, but Tim thinks it has more to do with his parents wanting to dig up an old cemetery......apparently the locals like their grandparent's resting place to be left alone.

Tim also thinks it's not lovely to dig there just because the locals are poor, so he may have hacked into the country's files and flooded the internet with the disrespectful attempt that his parents were trying to make. It received the right amount of backlash to stop the whole operation.

He then sent the community an anonymous donation so they could fix it up, get the gravestones washed, and the stories of the buried people turned into a book. It's the least he could do.

Tim's parents didn't realize the loss of funds only because he carefully hid his tracks with shell companies.

They are greeted at the door by Vlad Masters. He gives his father a handshake, compliments his mother's dress, and even offers Tim a gentle hello. Masters is known for being a bit of a humble hermit, soft-spoken but with sharp, intelligent eyes.

Everything he expects new money to be, down to his mannerism and even the way he stands. Tim would have been able to clock him miles away without even knowing his name.

"This is my son, Daniel," Masters says, patting the head of a frowning boy Tim's age. He stands just a bit away from Masters as if he does not want to be near him. Tim notes the way he shies away from Master's hand.

Interesting.

"It's Danny." The boy hisses. Mom's face tightens at his manners. She never liked children being heard instead of seen. Danny takes a small breath before smiling at the Drakes with a friendlier composure.

The hostility was only toward his father?

"Please call me Danny. It's my real name, not a nickname," He says, offering his hand for a shake. Tim fights a wince. As the son of a wealthy family and not the head, Danny is not supposed to initiate a greeting with Tim's dad.

He just told the Drakes he needs to be aware of high society rules, making him easy pickings. His parents jump onto that weakness like a lion on a trap gazelle.

"Daniel. It's lovely to meet you. " Mom's articulation is just a shade away from being mocking. Danny's smile falls off his face closing down into a near-emotionless mask. "How old are you, deary?"

"I'm old enough to still hear correctly, unlike you. That's not my name. It's Danny." He says much to mom's surprise. Tim guesses she's not used to people challenging her so directly. He learned that, too, while he was running Gotham.

The elites always made passive-aggressive backhanded comments to insult each other. The poor told you to fuck off to your face.

"You do not speak that way to my wife, Daniel-" His Dad starts, but Danny holds up his hand.

"You either call me Danny or don't talk to me." He says. "I don't need to waste my breath repeating myself."

Wow. Tim thinks, watching the red growing on Dad's face. He's cool.

"Are you going to let him talk to me like that?" Dad demands, turning to an amuse-looking Masters. The other man raises a brow, his gentle smile still on his face, but somehow it looks more....dismissive now. As if he was looking at a child demanding the impossible.

"Why ever do you mean?" Masters asks, "Your tone implies you were insulted, but that would mean you are upset with a child asking to be spoken to with respect. Surely, a man of your standing knows children deserve respect?"

"They need to respect their elders." Mom cuts in her voice like ice.

"He is my son, so I am his elder. Not you." Master counters, "But not to worry, I will remedy this issue. Danny will no longer be speaking to you disrespectfully, as I will not allow him to be near you."

His parents had a few seconds of looking smug until Masters waved his hand back towards the driveway. "Have a lovely night, Mr. and Mrs. Drake."

"Excuse me?" Mom cries, and Tim can't believe his eyes. The rest of the wealthy guests have caught on to the issue and have gathered near the windows and doorway to watch.

"That's Fruitloop for You can leave now." Danny chirps starting to look more like his father by the amusement on his face. "Except for him. He's cool."

He points to Tim, who flushes at the attention. He had been staring at Danny, taking in every detail of his expression and body language, fascinated by the fact he did not once seem intimidated. He didn't even look bored.

He seemed comfortable in his slightly slouched posture and confident in his skin and abilities. But his earlier behavior implied that just as he is confident in himself, he also doesn't think very highly of himself.

Tim's never seen anyone like that. It's strange. New. Exciting.

Heck, it was exhilarating.

Tim wanted to break Danny Masters' head open and figure everything about him out. It felt like a new case just begging him to uncover.

"I am?" He asks in a slight daze, and the other boy offers him a dazzling smile.

"Yeah, you respect the dead. The spirits adore you."

What?

"Oh, this is the young boy who protected that cemetery in Guatemala?" Masters asks with genuine warmth this time. "A fine job, Timithoy."

"It's Tim." He hears himself say, and Masters nods.

"A fine job Tim."

Danny offers him a wink, and Tim thinks his stomach just fell out of his body. What is this-?

"Timothy, we are leaving!" His mother screeches, tugging on his arm and yanking him away. The rest of the guests laugh as the Drakes are driven away. Tim knows he will never be allowed near Danny after this, so he turns his head around to give the boy one last look.

He meets the glowing green eyes of the Masters, who wave their fingers at him.

Tim starts following Danny around after that.

(Danny and Vlad know he's there and think it's cute. That's how ghost courts, so they don't see it as a problem. What is problem is getting along long enough for them to figure out a way back to their home dimension. Danny allowed Vlad to overshadow people just so they could have the means to eat, but he's getting really sick of Gotham. At least the soft clicking sound of a camera lures him to sleep at night.

Tim approaches Robin before his hero can go to Ethiopia. He doesn't understand what he is experiencing as his first crush and concludes that the Masters are aliens planning on luring small children by making them fall under a spell through their glowing eyes. Jason takes this very seriously and agrees to wait on his mission overseas. He realizes early on what's actually happening but, by that point, thinks Tim is hilarious and just edges him on.

He, too, thinks the Masters are aliens, but he's not about to tell Bruce.)

[lalacliffthorne]

sweet lil halloween headcanons: modern!roommate!batboys edition 🦇

so in honour of halloween, I have been thinking about what it would be like with the modern batboys and, most importantly, what they would dress up as (or in Azriel's case, grudgingly be forced into)

Cassian's costume especially was the idea of @leafsandstarlight when I got stuck - she delivered, as usual, and I love her for it, even more than usual. mostly bc it's been stuck in my head ever since. you'll see. *grins widely*

happy halloween from this witch to the lot of you 🐈‍⬛🔮🪦

so apparently, Rhys' Halloween partys are legendary on campus

for some reason, so far, that completely went past you

(most likely because you spent the past few Halloweens with Feyre in her tiny apartment, buried in blankets, watching Hocus Pocus while eating your weight in snacks)

so you're a little confused when about two weeks before Halloween, Rhys drags you with him to meet with a caterer

you're supposed to sample food

tho you're never one to complain about something like that, you do feel a little confused when you blink up at him in question, and Rhys furrows his brows

"Wait, didn't I tell you?"

he didn't

he also didn't tell you that this year´s location is an old castle in the old part of town

it's where you meet the caterer, in the kitchens in the cellar

on the way, you freeze in place for a solid minute to gape at the cavernous ceilings with huge chandeliers and stone walls of the halls Rhys is renting for the party

it really shouldn't surprise you that much

it's Rhys after all

extravagant and over the top are basically his middle names

how he managed to snag a spot like that at Halloween is beyond you tho

connections, Cassian later says wisely

and probably a shit ton of money

when, staring at the display of different fingerfoods in various spooky forms, you ask tentatively about just how much money, Rhys sends you a grin that is downright wicked

"Well, someone has to spend something."

and spending he is

over the course of the next two weeks, Rhys disappears for hours, meeting with people for the bar, a DJ and to take care of decorations

then, a week before Halloween, flyers appear on campus

glossy and deep black, with bats and jack'o'lanterns printed on the front along with the date and location in purple letters

it's the beginning you of constantly hearing people plan their costumes in passing

and the moment you suddenly realise that crap --

you have absolutely no idea what to wear

Mor just giggles at your panic

she drops in as you're desperately scrolling through Pinterest, trying to come up with anything that you like, is cheap and can be assembled in under a week

"jesus, calm down. Rhys may make the whole thing the most extravagant student party of the year, but most people that are coming aren't spending loads of money on their costumes either, it's more about creativity and finding something you like."

that doesn't calm your nerves in the slightest

it's Cassian who, purely by accident, gives you an idea in the end

it's a few days before Halloween, and he's sitting on the couch, flicking through the book you left on the coffee table with furrowed brows

"So they're demon hunters?" he sounds intriguied, looking up at you as you lean over him to try and snag your book

you still, your heart doing a double flip

then you start beaming and pull the book from Cassian's hand, pressing a long, smacking kiss onto his cheek that makes him grin

"What was that for?"

it's for him giving you an idea

it's a perfect one really

the evening of Halloween, the city is already dark outside the windows

when you look outside, you can see kids and their parents on the street, dressed up and ringing doorbells, carrying flashlights and lanterns

Mor comes over to get ready at six

she's also the one who always gets up to open the door for children trick or treating

otherwise, she's sitting on the couch in the living room

she's wearing a long, dark red silk dress with a high slit, her hair open and wavy as she squints in concentration and paints her lips

she's dressed as a devil, complete with headband with little black horns that's sitting on the coffee table

she even put in red contacts

you're sitting crosslegged on the other couch, crunching your brows in focus as you spread the lightest shade of foundation you could find in the drugstore on Rhys' face

when he told you a few days earlier that he's going as a vampire, the first thing flashing through your mind was him in a cheap cape and too small fake teeth

it made you snort laughter and him huff

now you get it

Rhys is dressed to the nines

black silk shirt that's almost all the way unbuttoned and shows off his chest tattoos

black dresspants and black shoes

his hair is lightly styled back, and a strand falls into his face as you powder his face, causing him to sneeze and you to giggle

he even managed to get his hands on very real looking fake canines that flash in the light whenever he sends you a grin

no tacky cape

also no sparkles

he's like a modern, expensive version

almost like he stepped right of the pages of one of your books ;)

he lets you pale his skin before using eyeshadows to give him slightly sunken eyes and smear some red paint around his mouth

when he finally sends you a grin, it causes a giddy shiver to run down your spine

Mor does your make-up before, after a look onto the clock, shoos you off to get dressed

when a little later, you step back out of your room, there's a tall figure towering in the doorway to the living room

your breath hitches at the sight of broad shoulders straining against a black t-shirt, black jeans tucked into black boots and amber eyes

they're currently glaring, and it doesn't take a genius to figure out why

or at who

you hear Rhys snort from the living room

"Yeah, there's no way you're going as you."

with the way Azriel is glaring, there's also no way he's putting on a costume

which doesn't surprise really surprise

Azriel really isn't the type to invest time and care into putting together a costume

if things were going his way, he'd probably stay at home and read a book

which of course, Rhys has planned for

when you move, Azriel turns his head

he seems to still, the glare in his eyes vanishing as the deep furrow between his brows, curtesy of his scowl, smoothens

and he stares

stares at you

dressed from head to toe in black, with a holster strapped to your thigh and temporary rune tattoos all over your exposed skin

and suddenly, something is fluttering violently against your ribs

somehow, you manage to send him a cheeky grin and get your legs to moving

they kinda feel like jello as you halt in front of him, having to tilt your head back to look up at him

"Darling?"

Rhys is suddenly smirking in a wicked way that works even better in his vampire getup, his violet eyes twinkling

"You don't happen to still have some of those tattoos, do you?"

it takes you a second to catch on

then your heart suddenly performs a series of dips and turns

"Well...", you look up at Azriel and somehow manage a cheeky, beaming grin, "that would certainly fit."

Azriel huffs

it takes a staring contest of roughly a minute until he accepts his fate

well

or until you smile up at him, something thrumming against your ribs as you crunch your nose

"please? come on, you're not even really dressing up, just - elevating."

you grin widely

Azriel's scowl deepens

(mostly because it's unfair you just have to look at him that way and he would dress up as a pink bunny if you asked)

but he doesn't protest

just rolls his eyes a little and brushs past you to plop down onto the couch

Mor is suddenly very busy correcting a flaw in her make-up you can't seem to find

so it's you who ends up sitting in front of Azriel, his skin warm under your hands as you apply the rune tattoos left all over his arms

you can feel his eyes on your face and try to fight the warmth spreading through your cheeks

at least he doesn't look as huffy as a few minutes ago

(it's hard to stay scowling when all he can focus on is that little crease between your brows as you concentrate and the way the smell of your perfume and shampoo rises into his nose

he's a hundred percent sure there's no way you don't hear the way his breath catches every time your fingers brush his skin

especially when you lean forward to put one of the runes onto the right side of his neck)

you can feel Azriel's warm breath ghost over your skin as your fingers gently press against the side of his neck

it causes your own to get stuck in your throat, right next to your heart

(you should really get that checked)

you try not to look up, because you're pretty sure you're close enough to see the golden spots in Azriel's eyes

and that would not bode well for your concentration

(you're also close enough that your hair almost tickles his skin and that your scent is everywhere

Azriel needs to physically stop himself from slipping his fingers under your chin and tip your head up to -)

you catch movement from the corner of your eye

glad for a distraction, you raise your head

only to grow wide-eyed

because unlike Rhys, Cassian hasn't told anyone what he's going to dress up as

now, you realize why

Azriel seems to realise you're suddenly distracted, because you feel him turn his head before stilling

most likely because he also sees Cassian standing in the doorway

dressed as Ken

the skater version

complete with sun visor over his tied back hair, neon yellow fanny pack and knee pads

he even has a pair of neon pink skates thrown over his shoulder

you blink at him

once

twice

then you snort a laugh and break into a fit of giggles

it breaks the spell Cassian's outfit has cast, and Mor nearly topples off the couch as she starts laughing while Rhys dramatically faints on the armchair

even Azriel looks, tho reluctantly, impressed

(mostly because the way you're laughing, tears in your eyes and barely able to breathe as Mor drops to her knees and bows, makes up for whatever extravagent party Rhys is about to throw your way)

when you get to the castle, the place is decorated magnificently

you suddenly understand why Rhys was gone for so long

the floor is covered by whisps of smoke, the lights are dimmed

there are fake cobwebs spun over the brick walls and high ceilings and even the chandeliers

you count two dozen skeletons in one room alone, and armadas of paper bats dangling from the ceilings on invisible strings

dry ice at the snack buffet in combination with the fingerfoods makes you wonder if maybe Rhys just wanted to give his father a heart attack in case he sees the expenses his son accumulated for a student halloween party

there's even an actual bar with a menu of spooky drinks

loads of people are already there, and it's only getting more

everyone is dressed in various degrees of more or less spooky outfits

Feyre is waiting for you near the entrance

she's dressed as Katniss Everdeen, in black armor and with bow and arrow over her shoulder, a little fake blood dried on her temple and eyes bright

"How the fuck did we miss this before??"

you have no idea

you also have no idea where she got the full costume and how she can look so comfortable in chest armor

you do have an idea tho why Rhys is suddenly looking very distracted

it makes you grin cheekily enough for him to huff down at you when he finally catches you staring at him

you're almost sure tho to see his cheeks gain a little color under the pale make up

especially when Feyre grins widely at him

you spend the whole night with Feyre and Mor

you ransack the buffet (you're very proud of your choices)

try your way through the drink menu

and dance

you sometimes catch a glimpse at Cass in his neon outfit reflecting the lights as he makes his way through the mist

he looks like he's having the time of his life

finally, sometime around two in the morning, your feet hurt and the adrenaline of the night has worn off enough to make you feel tired

also you've lost Feyre and Mor somewhere in the crowd after using the toilet

trying to catch a glimpse at either of them, your eyes instead meet deep, amber ones

your heart dips and swerves in a way that has nothing to do with alcohol or tiredness

Azriel is leaning against a wall halfway across the huge, cavernous room

a strand of dark hair is curving over his forehead, the pink and purple lights make his jaw and cheekbones look even sharper than usual and illuminate the rune tattoos scattered over his skin, fitting in perfectly with his real ones

the sight of him causes something to topple over in your chest

you caught glimpses at him all during the night

usually off in the shadows, leaning against a wall or lounging on a seat, sipping a drink

every time you saw him, there was someone next to him, mostly girls, talking to him, trying to flirt

it made something dip over strangely in your chest

but for some reason, he barely seemed to notice

for some reason, every time, his eyes were already on yours, flashing amber in the flickering lights

just like now

the slight crease between his brows that doesn't quite spell uncomfortable smoothens

then he pushes off the wall and starts to weave towards you

again, your heart does a funny little thing

but you push it away and begin to fight your way through the crowd to meet him

when you finally meet, it takes one look at you for the dip of a crease to appear in his cheek

"Home?"

his deep voice makes your skin tingle even through all the noise and the music, and you deflate with a sigh, feeling almost comically relieved

you text Feyre and Mor while Azriel steers you out of the full rooms, his hands on your shoulders

picking up your coats, you feel a happy shiver run over your skin when you step out into the night sky

your breath hangs in white clouds in the air when you huddle up and Azriel offers you the crook of his elbow, his hands in his pockets

and if you take a very long route to get home, wandering through the quiet, cold city and sniffling as you blink up at the bright moon, neither of you makes a comment on it

@azrielshadows1nger @waytoomanyteenagefeels @secret-ly-here @knmendiola @luvmoo @azriels-mate123 @bookishbroadwaybish @maybe-a-winchester @stayinglow-exploringworlds @harrystylesfan2686 @icey--stars

[ibrithir-was-here]

Do Quincey's parents know that he's not quite human? Have they talked to him about it at all? (The Talk only instead of birds and bees it's bats)

@animate-mush

Oh my gosh "The Birds, the Bees and the Bats" talk xD That stupendous

Ok, so what I've basically thought is that they more or less try to give him a normal childhood as much as possible, with his and their own Peculiarities taken into account of course.

He picks up some things of course by himself along the way, from observing (hmm, not everyone else's mother's seem to be literally able to read their thoughts more or less, and other people's fathers aren't quite as strong or fast, nor do most people's eyes seem to glow at night) and from just little bits he overhears from the wider Crew of Light family

So he puts together that Something happened and made his parents That Way (both in supernaturalness and tone of Character) and that it had something to do with Aunt Lucy and Uncle Quincey's deaths.

And of course the book has been published in universe by the time he's a child. But pretty much anyone who hasn't had some sort of supernatural experience themselves is just going to look at "Quincey Harker" and think his parents were just fans of the book and shake off any strangeness as soem sort of trick of the light. Afterall, he's a perfectly nice, very polite young man. Nothing untoward about him or his family except maybe how openly affectionate his parents are towards eachother.

But since the book does exist, he ends up reading it by about the time he's 12-13, at a friends home, and after that, he stews for a good week turning things over in his mind before he comes to his parents with A Lot of Questions but also some answers to questions he'd had.

Jonathan and Mina had wanted to wait till he's reached his majority, but now yeah they have to sit him down and give him the Birds,Bees and Bats talk.

He overall takes it pretty well, after all he has the evidence of his own eyes to back things up. He does worry a little bit about his own Peculiarities as he seems to have more then his parents (no shadow, greater eyesight then either of them at night, ect) but they assure him he's perfectly fine and so so loved. And for a long while that's all he needs.

He volunteers for the War when it comes, thinking his abilites might even be an asset to help end what surely won't be anything more than a short adventure, he's protecting England just like his parents did!

Of course things turn out very differently, both for the world and for Quincey

He didn't know that battles could be like this, that people could do things like that to eachother, that he could do Things Like That to other people, and do it again and again whenever he feels backed into a corner, sure that this time Death is surely coming for him.

But he keeps surviving. The raging thing inside him keeps him sharper, faster , living.

And he starts to wonder, if maybe it would be better if he wasn't.

Maybe it would be better if one of those bullets hit, one of those shells made its mark, and he didnt just shake it off.

Because he knows now the thing that haunted his parents, and how much they hated it. And he loves his parents so much, and he knows they love him, they're the reason he keeps trying to survive to make it home.

But he doesn't know just what he'll be at this point if he makes it home, and he doesnt want to bring That back to the doorstep of the people he loves most...

[halfagone]

*with the same caution as someone who has been alerted to the fact that they've woken up in the middle of a minefield*

What might the other things be, so that I and others know to avoid those things? Logically, there's the new one of feeding the story to AI. There's also stealing the work and making demands of authors, but I am a recovering lurker and I'd like to make sure I do not horribly misstep.

Hello!! I know I've definitely seen you around before, and I would like to say thank you for actually asking! It may seem daunting but a lot of the time we really do appreciate and acknowledge the effort to try and do the polite thing.

First off, you are absolutely right about AI, stealing works, making demands. You've hit that right off the bat. I will say, since you mentioned that you are/were a lurker: if you're wondering if you did something to offend an author before, or you realize after reading this post that you have, please don't beat yourself up for it too much. I've known people who moved on from just a reader to a writer and then learned/realized that some of the comments they used to leave weren't the most polite. It sucks to realize, but we all gotta learn somehow! The most important thing is that you grow and don't repeat the same mistakes.

(Please keep in mind throughout all this post that none of this is directed at you specifically, but a general audience. This is not to callout specific people, but a general reminder that these things CAN and DO bother authors.)

Some things may differ from author to author, but some of the most common ones to remember are:

Do Not Leave Constructive Criticism Unless EXPLICITLY ALLOWED

In some cases, the author may have a tag or a comment in their notes saying something like "Constructive Criticism Welcome!" But that is not the same thing as, "Let me know what you think!" Or "Feel free to tell me what you liked about the chapter in the comments!" We're doing this for free, most of us aren't looking to make this a career, and we're doing it to have and share some fun! It is not our fault if you do not like the direction the plot is taking; it is not our fault if you do not like the verb tense. You can always click the back button and save yourself the trouble of reading something you were fundamentally never going to like.

Here's something to keep in mind: there's this book series that I absolutely adore, and I don't say that about too many First-Person pieces of literature. It's a great book, but the editor was not. Super thorough. You know how I mentioned that it was in First-Person? More than once there was a missing quotation mark for dialogue, and when a story is in First-Person, that gets confusing pretty fast. And this is a book I paid for. You are getting this for free.

Do Not Correct Grammar and/or Spelling Mistakes

On a personal note, I do not mind if you tell me I made a spelling mistake. I've had someone point out that I spelled 'bated' as 'baited' and I was cool with that. It's one of those words where I know the difference but only get it right the first try 50% of the time. You know, like breath and breathe. However! Not everyone will feel the same. If you want to point something out, then you can ask the author. UNLESS! The author previously, openly specified that they are not interested, and even if they are, I would probably recommend not making the whole comment about that.

Grammar, on the other hand, is a hard no from me. I had someone give me a mini grammar lesson at the start of a comment using examples that weren't even relevant to the chapter they were on. To this day, I don't know if I had made an actual mistake or not, although I presume that I must have since they felt the need to mention it. But the most ironic thing of all is that the grammar they were correcting me on was beyond my control, because Google Docs keeps autocorrecting those words the exact same way. Only more recently have I managed to keep it from happening (although it still does on occasion) and that was more brute force than a change in settings.

It wasn't human error, just a computer program mistake. And it's more common than you might think! The other day Google Docs corrected my 'beat' into 'ebay' for some reason. Shit happens, it's not always our faults.

Respect One-Shots For What They Are: ONE CHAPTER

I cannot tell you how many friends I have that have gotten so many rude comments about this one in particular. I've gotten a number of them too, but not nearly as much as some of the others.

When we say that it's a one-shot, please just accept that it's a one-shot. Could more be added to it? Maybe. Would you like to see more? Yes? That's great! But sometimes that one chapter is all we have and all we want to have for this plotline. If you want to read more, you can write it.

There are situations where an author mentions a possible sequel, or talks about possible other ideas to write more with the original concept. I know I've done the same thing with a number of one-shots, and I knew to expect people requesting for more chapters.

But that's the key difference here. Requesting is not the same thing as demanding. There is a difference between saying, "I loved this story, I would totally read a continuation if you ever wrote one." Or "This fic was so good! I liked this and this and this, and I'd love to see more from it if you ever get the chance." And saying, "Part 2 please?" Or "Where is my second chapter????"

You can see the difference, right? You didn't even tell the author you liked the fic. You just came up to the chef, slammed your empty plate down, and demanded, "More." It's not as flattering as you think it is.

As for asking or requesting for more ideas from the audience, let's move onto:

Popular Fanon Is NOT CANON and Please Stop Acting Like It Is

This is one of those requests where I am willing to beg on my metaphorical hands and knees. This is an issue I have only seen in DP and DPxDC thus far, and that's because we have so much fanon and fanlore that it's just about everywhere you go in the fandom. On one hand, that's awesome!! We're exploring the worldbuilding opportunities and sometimes that means some favorite tropes or headcanons emerge from it. But that doesn't mean you should expect to see it every time.

Here are some examples: Danny is not Ghost King in every fic. Danny is not even eligible for Ghost King in every fic. Jason does not have Pit Madness in every fic. Danny cannot 'cure' Jason's Pit Madness in every fic. Jason is not liminal in every fic. Jazz is not liminal in every fic. Dan does not get redeemed in every fic. Danny does not have a Protection Obsession in every fic.

I have written 69 Danny Phantom fanfics, and not a single one of them gives Danny a Protection Obsession, but you would be surprised by how many people automatically assumed he did, just because it's popular fanon. I have written more than one fic where Danny was eligible to be Ghost King and people assumed he already was King, despite all evidence that he wasn't yet and didn't intend to be.

I understand these are popular headcanons and tropes. I understand people enjoy them a lot! But it does not mean they are relevant to every fic out there and for you to act like it is just leads us to believe you have poor reading comprehension. ESPECIALLY when we have EXPLICITLY STATED that it's not going to happen.

This leads onto the next subject:

Please Stop Asking Us to Include Specific Characters

I get it. You want to see your faves interact. Who doesn't? But I am crying screaming throwing up and asking you not to demand a character appear. It's one thing to be curious about how a character might react or interact in a situation, and it's another thing to go: "Where is So-and-So? This would be totally different if they were here-" And that's why you'll never see them in this fic! Problem solved. And we can do that, by the way. No one can stop us from declaring someone dead off-screen.

I cannot tell you how many people have demanded that Ellie appear, or Jazz appear, or Dan appear (for some reason? Which goes back to- please stop expecting every author to give him a redemption arc, I quite like him as an ostentatious bastard of a man). I have had more people ask where Ellie and Jazz are than Sam and Tucker combined and those two were more the main characters than Ellie and Jazz ever were.

These characters have lives of their own! Please do not expect for them to leave everything at the drop of a hat. Sometimes their appearances will just further complicate the plot so they aren't included ahead of time because of that. This is not a 'plot hole' on our parts. For you to indicate that it is somehow shows a gross disrespect for our planning skills and writing abilities.

Most of all,

Please Just Respect the Author's Direction

Would you like for things to go another way? Maybe true, but we wrote the fic this way for a reason and please respect that. It might not make sense right now, but there's a very likely chance it's building up to something! And if it bothers you that much, then no one is stopping you from hitting that back button and moving onto another fic that's more to your liking. All the power to you.

But we are not going to change our entire plans for our fic because one person or a few people didn't like it. If I were to change all my plans now for certain fics, then it would be unrecognizable and make no sense, because I had built all the puzzle pieces to paint the exact picture I wanted it to. And maybe to you it's ugly, but it's art to me, and art I worked very hard on.

A General Consensus

Everything is based on respect. If you don't have the words to describe how you feel, then please don't feel pressured to make an elaborate comment about it. I adore keyboard smashes, and heart spams, and even comments going, "You made my cry, fuck you 😭❤️". We appreciate the effort you do make, and we understand all too well when you don't have the spoons and energy to write something longer.

If at any point you wonder, "Can an author take this the wrong way?" A good rule of thumb would be to remove it from the conversation entirely, or rephrase it in a way that makes your point clearer. We cannot always decipher your tone through text, and sarcasm doesn't come across as clearly as you might expect. Unless the authors know you, they can read something very differently than how you intended it to be.

I have readers who comment regularly, who I've chatted with in comment sections. I'd say I know their tone and humor well, in some cases, so when they make certain remarks, I know how to read it. Not everyone will have that luxury.

I know this might seem like a lot, but these are some very real frustrations I've struggled with for a long time. Please don't be discouraged if this feels overwhelming all at once. You've already put in some effort by trying to find out what you can do to be more thoughtful to authors! And that's the kind of effort that doesn't go unnoticed. <3

[literaticat]

With parents/guardians regulating  (I hate the word but I think it's accurate) what they want kids to have access to, it makes libraries and the poor librarians have to fall in line and carry what only certain parents 'approve of' (to the detriment of us all). And publishers and writers might not take chances on books they know might be banned or challenged. 

Sooo how much power/influence do publishers really have? I mean in society and pop culture, I guess. I feel like publishers are beholden to everyone no matter what side of the political spectrum you fall on. 

And that old adage 'if you try to please everyone you will please no one' is starting to really be the truth. The recent Scholastic fiasco comes to mind.

(so sorry in advance this turned into a lengthy rant that doesn't answer the question) (but then again, I am not even sure I get what the question part is, so OH WELL, strap in for some book ban talk!)

A very small minority of unhinged, ridiculous parents and horrific politicians are actually trying to ruin schools and libraries for everyone. I mean:

Louisiana has current legislation that would criminalize libraries joining the American Library Association. (ie, yes, a librarian could be ARRESTED AND SENTENCED TO TWO YEARS HARD LABOR what the actual fuck???)

Utah has a law that allows any district to pull any book that any other district has pulled

Florida "moms for liberty" (LOL - FU) are trying to have librarians arrested -- Again and again -- etc etc --

I could keep going but I actually have to work at my job THWARTING BOOK BANNERS today!

So just for what it's worth -- I don't think most librarians want to or are "falling in line" and bowing to these parents. Librarians, hopefully, want to make a library that has a collection of material that will best serve all their patrons. And it truly is a very small number of patrons that launch these bizarre campaigns against books.

They do have budgets though, which are also being slashed in many cases, and obviously if they know that their particular community leans toward a certain mindset, they might make choices that reflect that when curating their collection, sure. But yeah -- all the librarians I know are big fans of free speech and freedom to read, and are willing to go to bat for that -- that's why some places are going so far as to pass LITERAL LAWS against librarians, because short of that, librarians are tough to stop!

I would say, too -- Publishers are not trying to "avoid bans" (I mean they aren't ENCOURAGING them either obviously!) -- but in my experience, they simply don't think that way when deciding what to acquire. They can't, because the fact is, it doesn't MATTER what the book is about. A book doesn't have to have "scandalous content" for people to want to ban it -- PICTURE BOOKS are being taken off shelves -- books with themes like embracing your own beauty. Or making stew with neighbors. Lots of times books are challenged for pretty blatantly racist reasons -- no reason at all, actually, other than a BIPOC person wrote it so it must have "critical race theory" (???) in it. For reals.

(Also -- these "banners" / "moms for liberty" aren't READING the books. It is a few people using canned language that somebody else came up with to paper objections to books across districts where they don't even have children. I'd argue that whoever is pulling the strings here doesn't actually even care about ANY of this -- they are using some batshit people who have too much time on their hands to just heap school districts and public libraries with challenges about every last thing because they want it to become so difficult and annoying that the librarians and library boards just give up. They want all libraries and schools to be privatized. I dunno - follow the money.)

Ugh. Again -- this is probably not answering your question??? Sorry, and I really do have to stop typing now. I guess my point is :

Publishers are beholden, in some cases, to their shareholders -- but really, to readers at the end of the day -- most readers want freedom to read and the free exchange of ideas and freedom of speech, etc -- those are the people who pay for books -- so that's who publishers cater to.

Librarians are mostly pretty staunch advocates for free speech and freedom to read, and publishers are supporting them as well.

Writers hopefully, same!

(In the case of the "Scholastic Fiasco" -- Scholastic wasn't trying to bow to nasty parents, exactly -- they were trying to protect the educators who might get harassed, fired, or potentially arrested by those nasty parents. Unfortunately, as you say, it blew up, because you can't have it both ways, etc etc.)

I really do have to go now sorry I couldn't solve book banning this morning :-/

[ghostdoodlen]

Quite a Strudel.

So I had an idea. I have never seen "How to Marry a Millionaire", but I found this scene and I love it.

I got to thinking, what if it was replaced with Gotham riddler?

Wrote this for the people who might have insecurities about glasses. I've had glasses for years but always have been insecure, especially since I'm one of the only few in my family to have them. Didn't have much courage till a year or two ago.

This is basically an unpolished and random thing I did. I watched only a bit of Gotham, so sorry if I'm not accurate.

You're sitting on a bus as the vehicle makes yet another stop at a stop. You had just ended a grueling shift and have been dying to get home. Away from the blurry sight of the world to the sanctuary of your quiet living room, where you know a fresh cup of your favorite drink awaits you.

In the meantime, while you wait to arrive at your destination, you pull out a book, delicately remove the bookmark, and begin to read the chapter you had left on.

It's a minute later that you barely register a tall fellow situating himself next to you from the corner of the eye. You don't mind him and continue with your reading.

It isn't till you hear him make a small noise that catches your attention when you turn to look at him.

"Look, didn't you bring your glasses?" The man towards you.

You blink at him. Who is this?

"What glasses?" You reply, but inside you were panicking. You hoped you haven't given yourself away somehow.

"Don't you wear glasses?", His voice questions, lingering with curiosity, but you simply ignore it in favor of continuing denying his question.

"Oh, no! What ever gives you that idea?"

"Then you got some peculiar vision."

It's quite strange of him to say and decide to voice your inner thoughts, "Why do you say that?"

He gestures to your book, "You're reading upside down."

Oh.

Well that's awkward.

"It's silly, isn't it?" You feel a small wave of embarrassment flooded you. You closed the book and placed it on your lap.

"Is it astigmatism?"

You just shake your head, "No, just blind as a bat."

"Me too!" You feel him perk up as the row you sit slightly makes a squeal at the stranger's movement. What an odd thing to be excited about. Nevertheless, your lips twitch upward.

"Really? Then why aren't you wearing glasses?" It's a simple jab, but it's the only thing you can think to say.

"I am wearing glasses," his tone now full of amusement as you squint and inch towards his face, practically noses touching.

From here you can see a small bit of red dyed against his pale face and eyes widened from behind those specs he indeed had. You shoot straight back and hum.

"Well, there you are."

The stranger darts his eyes and clears his throat.

"I used to be like that. Walking into fire hydrants and shaking hands with lamp posts, tripping over everything... All because I didn't want to be called 'four-eyes'. Then something happened to me."

You leaned in once more as if you were about to be told the answer to the greatest problem of the century. "What was that?"

"One day, I started giving out riddles."

You deflate a bit and let out a small puff of air before it dissolves into small laughter and hear quiet chuckles from your seat companion to match yours.

"But it's different with girls," you somber the mood a bit.

"How so?"

"You know what they say about girls who wear glasses," you shrug, but you can see how the man didn't quite understand your comment.

"What are you talking about?"

"Men aren't very attentive to girls who wear glasses."

"Did you ever try it? Did you bring them with you?"

You can faintly see his eyebrows raise and head tilt to the side in question. That's cute.

"Yes," you said nodding your head.

"Why don't you put them on and find out?" The man motions to your bag. Even with your bad sight, you can see his huge smile as he waits in anticipation.

"With you?" You can help, but blurt out. Looking at him in surprise.

"Why not?" It's his turn to shug, his shoulders almost touches his ears.

"Well..." Digging in your bag, you find your case and quickly grab your glasses and gaze at him, making eye contact once more. Are you really gonna do this?

As if he can sense your hesitation, he quickly says "If you're worried about me, I already think you're quite a strudel."

It takes a moment for it to register what he just called you before you feel a heat crawl up from your neck to your now rosy cheeks.

Did he just call you a snack??

You gotta admit, you've never heard a compliment like that. There was a certain charm to it and you can hear the sincerity behind those words.

"Honestly?" Even if he was sincere, you can't help but fiddle with your glasses and asking as if to reaffirm his words.

"I've thought so from the first minute I saw you."

Hearing those words made you feel giddy and light. It gave you courage as you stared at your glasses before unfolding them. "Well, if you really think so."

Making haste, you plucked them right now and whipped your head at the stranger's reaction to your new look.

It's a shared but brief silence that falls between the two of you. You finally get to see what he looks like in all his glory.

The man is tall yet lanky with short, dark hair neatly parted to the side. His eyes are a lovely shade of brown that are framed with black, half frame glasses that suited him. You admire him a bit more but it swiftly ends just as it began. He opens his mouth and says... "You're crazy."

Your heart drops.

"No?" You meekly answer.

You look better with them."

Utter relief fills you. Did he want to give you a heart attack? It's amazing how up and down your emotions can go in the matter of seconds because of someone you barely know.

"I do?"

"Gives your face a certain mystery." He nods, almost to himself.

"No kidding?" Your voice is in disbelief.

"And a certain kind of distinction." He comments.

"What do you know about that." You're full on smiling. It's as if your muscles in your face can't stop themselves.

"You're very pretty, if you don't mind me saying." He quickly added the last part as if you were to be offended.

"Not at all," you fling back.

"Glasses of that type give your face a very interesting difference."

If this cute stranger doesn't stop, you're very certain you might implode on yourself. You'd think he was the strudel by all the sweetness he was directing towards you.

"I don't look like an old maid?" It was something you heard constantly when you first got your glasses. You didn't mind looking older but it was still hard to hear.

"I've never seen anybody in my life that reminded me less of an old maid."

And... Hook, line, and sinker did you go and fall hard. It felt like you didn't even stand a chance with those charming words and that captivating smile.

"What's your name?" You beamed.

His eyes twinkled. Grabbing your hand, he kissed it. "Edward Nygma. And yours?"

--

When Edward Nygma woke up today, he didn't expect his car to be decided to give him trouble today and take the bus today. However, he wasn't complaining. Especially, not now.

He had seen you sitting down all by yourself. You were mesmerizing. While he would've normally kept his distance and admire from far away, he couldn't help it once he had seen your book.

It was upside down!

He immediately told you and somehow convinced you to wear your glasses. Edward didn't think someone could look more dazzling. He thought he would drive you away, instead you were listening about his car troubles to some trivia, even the latest he's been working on. Eagerly soaking in all his words as he was your addicting attention.

"-That's why I'm hoping to catch Officer Gordon before goes off, so I can give him this new evidence I just discovered."

"Where do you think he is?"

"If I'm lucky, at the precinct. Why are you heading there?"

He sees that your brows furry a bit. "Who's going to precinct?"

"Doesn't this bus go there?" He questions.

"What are you talking about?" He sees your face only growing more confused.

"This is bus 37. We should be arriving at its destination in minutes. Why?" He knows anyway. You obviously had read the bus schedule wrong but asked to see your reaction anyway.

Would you try to get off the bus? Away to your correct location and away from him? The thought made Edward frown. He didn't get your number yet.

"No reason. Just one of those things." You waved your hand and didn't inform him of what he already knew.

Your next words rendered Edward Nygma speechless.

"Go on, tell me more. Tell me anything." You turned to him, legs crossed and face resting on your hands. Your glasses perfectly framed your eyes as if they were a precious jewel in a museum exhibit.

Edward quickly leaned against you, shoulder to shoulder. Picking up from where he left off.

Was it too early to fall in love? Doesn't matter, he'll get that number soon at the very least.

[ghostsbrokenbyfairytales]

aarons first night back

w/ mo (@nurseguillermo) eagan (@endlessreruns) tw mention of death

aaron was only arriving back into town and the first place he wanted to go was home. he still had his key from when he was younger and had every intention of using it anytime he was going to visit but never actually had the chance to until recently so when he got there, he tried the key on the door and when it didn't work he scratched his head for a moment. he flipped the key and tried one more time and when that didn't work he knocked on the door. "dad? you home? it's aaron." he called out hoping for an answer.

Mo had set a plate with a sandwich cut in half in front of Eagan, it was easier to give her one handed food lately. He'd been about to sit to eat when he could hear the door jiggling, brow furrowing as he glanced at the clock. It was way too late for someone to be fucking around with their door, he debated the bat next to the door before hearing the voice on the other end. Opening it he stared blankly at the guy in front of him, "Uh...hey? Think you might have the wrong ho-...wait shit did you just get into town?"

Eagan glanced at the door at the sound of the jiggle and then the knock, and then over to Mo before the other went up to find out who was there at this hour. "Who is it?" Eagan asked, calling from the couch, before taking a bite of one of the sandwich halves "if it's Hunter tell him to fuck off" she added as she chewed

aaron looked severely confused when someone who wasn’t lincoln answered the door then even more when he heard someone else inside who was unfamiliar. “uh.. yeah i guess? just drove in a few minutes ago.” he said and pointed to the car that was currently parked in front of the house. “sorry, who are you two and why are you in my parents house?”

Mo cursed under his breath, taking a peak behind Aaron's shoulder at the sun that was setting. "I'm Mo de la Luna...might've known one of my siblings. Lui, Vero, or Celia Reyes Ortega?" he offered up, he looked like he'd maybe had gone to school with them. "Look it's a long story, but we need to lock the door for the night. Town changed a lot while you were gone. Uh...you hungry? Can make a sandwich while we fill you in?"

Eagan tried to peak around to see who it was. It didn't sound like Hunter which was already a plus in her book. Besides, Mo wouldn't need to introduce themself if it had been. After a moment he was actually able to see the guy's face. Definitely not Hunter. "If you don't come in and let him lock the door you'll die. Horribly"

"maybe? that still doesn't answer why you two are in my parents house and what do they mean by i'll die? what the fuck is going on?" aaron looked back at his car and saw as the sun started setting before finally stepping inside. he used to live there anyway so it's not like it was that weird, what was weird was literally everything else. "alright i'm inside now, someone spill."

Part of Mo had hoped the guy would introduce himself so they could narrow down who his folks were. He was really hoping they'd moved before the paradox or maybe gone to the Commune. Locking the door, he checked to make sure it was properly sealed. "Ok look, short version. Town is like in a bubble or something. People come in and can't leave, at night these things come out that rip people apart. They look human but they aren't," he was really hoping this wouldn't be another Hunter situation. "If you don't believe me town hall can fill you in, in the morning. Which is also how we got the house, empty houses are up for grabs if you talk to town hall...so like sorry, Eagan been in this one a few years now."

"I'm Eagan" she lifted a sandwich gripped hand up before taking another bite. "I think I have some of your old clothes. I guess you can have them back if you want. They're like upstairs though or whatever"

right, names, they must've not heard him through the door when he first said it. "aaron." he said back, setting his backpack by the door trying to listen to what mo was saying. "empty? that's not possible, my dad, sorry lincoln, he lived here with my mom and sister. how could it have been years?" that was all aaron could seem to focus on at the moment, the rest hadn't fully processed yet since he just wanted to know where his family was first.

Mo fully stiffened at the name Lincoln, he glanced at Eagan and then back at Aaron. Fuck did he not want to be the one to have to do this. Briefly he thought about Val and bit back a sigh. "Dude I'm sorry but...your dad passed away months ago. My friend found him in the woods, and the word around town was his family passed away at the beginning when those things first showed up. I'm....I'm really sorry man."

"no one was here when I found the place" Eagan added "he might have been living at the commune before he died though" it was also possible he'd just been living in a different house. She didn't exactly know the guy to be able to say for sure.

aaron raised his eyebrow slightly, "is this some joke that you guys like to play on people? new guy rolls back into town and you tell some fucked up story well it's not funny, seriously. if something did happened to my family my dad would've called me and told me, was this his idea to put you two up to this or something? freak me out for not coming around for a while?"

This time Mo did sigh, rubbing at their face, "It's not a joke dude...he didn't call cause he couldn't. Phones don't work and no Internet." Pausing he thought it over, "GPS start fucking uo when you got close right ? You got one of them smarty cells or whatever? Ain't gonna have signal either."

"we already got one asshole around here thinking this is all fake. Trust me we don't need another. It sucks, the whole thing, but like he said it ain't no joke or whatever. You can try the phone in the kitchen if you want. Try calling someone out of town. Ain't gonna work no more."

"i used to live here i didn't need the gps." aaron said trying not to be snippy about the whole thing. "alright fine, i'll humor you." he knew where the kitchen was and immediately picked up the phone, dialing the first number he could think of which was some pizza joint he'd order from fairly often. when it didn't ring he pulled out his phone and checked the signal on it to see he couldn't use that either. "what the fuck." aaron mumbled to himself and came back out. "so.. you two really aren't fucking with me then..?"

Mo had sat down next to Eagan, he didn't blame Aaron for being short. Once it him, it wasn't gonna be great for anyone. They moved to lean against Eagan suddenly feeling more tired than anything. Glancing at Aaron he grimaced, "Honestly? I wish I was, but no it's the truth. Been stuck here since 2012 with no way out. Your dad was friends with my brother in law's friend. I didn't really know him that well."

Eagan turned their head for a moment to press her forehead against the side of Mo's head. She looked back over in Aaron's direction "Weirder shit has been happening lately. There was a whole earthquake. People died. Didn't even know we got those things on this coast.

aaron came back into the living room and sat down on a chair nearby, running a hand through his hair with a sigh. "so that's just it then? i come back to see my family that i don't actually have anymore?" he didn't know how to feel, anger sure was one of them and it was strong. "earthquakes? on the east coast? what the fuck happened while i was gone none of this is making any fucking sense."

Mo had been tempted to move closer but it seemed wrong with how Aaron was doing. He'd lost people sure, though it was Luke, Minnie and Sammie he'd dealt with the fall out of. People like Evora and Lincoln were more acquaintances he'd only really heard about afterwards. "It's unfortunately not that uncommon, my brother in law came to try and find his sister...and yeah." It been a while since he thought about those early days, he'd been fairly young as well. "There was a freak storm, next thing no one can get out. You drive or walk and just pop back into town. Then at night these things came out and ripped people apart, the Sheriff found a rune that if you put on your door keeps em out. Just gotta make sure it's locked, why we tried to pull you in so quick."

"I tried to leave after I got here. More than once. Can confirm you're not getting out. None of us are. Now on top of all that you gotta worry about not falling into the big hole in the ground or whatever."

“great.” aaron leaned back in his chair and mumbled something under his breath. not directed at the two of them but at this situation in general and wishing there was any way to go back. “guess this explains why he never responded to me back.. just thought he was pissed at me for something.” not like he’d done anything wrong to warrant it anyway but at some point he’d assumed as much. “so rune.. giant hole.. and can’t go outside at night.. and people just accept this? this is fucked up.”

Mo shrugged, "Been over a decade dude, not much else we can do." They were idly drumming their fingers against their leg, "Come morning I can call my brother in law, he was friends with one of your dad's friends. If you want more info on him?" It was the best he had to offer, other than Val who he wasn't sure would even want to rehash Lincoln with him.

Eagan nodded in agreement as Mo spoke and explained that there wasn't much that could be done other than accept it. "We have a room no one uses unless they wind up over too late. If you want to stay in there tonight" the room mentioned being the one that had once belonged to Laredo Abernathy, the youngest of the two Abernathy kids.

“no it’s fine, i’ll just,” aaron paused and shrugged at mo’s offer, he wasn’t sure what to do or to really say, “no point anyway i guess.” he mumbled and looked over at eagan and grimaced slightly. “where’s that room at?”

"Could tell you where he was staying...woodcarver right?" Mo asked as he racked his brain for something. He thinks he remembers Lincoln had a stall at Ren faire, but he'd been pretty drunk most of it. "Up the stairs on in the middle, sure you don't want like a beer or something? Got weed if that's more your speed."

After Mo mentioned the guy's dad had been a woodcarver she tried to think of if she knew any woodcarvers. "wasn't there a girl with him at the like old timey thing with the horses or whatever?" They asked, looking over at Mo. Maybe he could remember better.

aaron frowned at the mention of where the room was and shook his head, “think i’ll just sleep on the couch if that’s cool.” it still felt weird having to feel like he was asking for permission in a place he used to grow up in. “a girl?” he perked up a bit thinking maybe his sister was still here after all. “what’d she look like? how old she look?”

"Yeah, I can lug this one upstairs," Mo mumbled, he didn't need to carry Eagan but it was habit. Pausing he furrowed his brows at Eagan before slowly, "Oh uh...that's Lucy? Yeah Lucy, Knightley treats them sometimes. They're like our age? Black hair real quiet, but yeah she hung out around Lincoln, think they're a carver too."

Lucy. That was it. She was going to have to believe Mo when it came to the black hair because she didn't actually remember what she looked like. There had been a couple times back when Knightley was still at the commune that she'd heard the name, though. "Were you wanting to sleep now or - I've still got some sandwich"

hearing the name made aaron sulk back in his chair having lost that hope her had for just a split second. “oh.” he ran a hand through his hair but held onto that name in case it ever came up. “no i’m good right now, could go for that beer though or the weed. or both.”

Mo nodded towards the tin case on the coffee table, "Should be some matches in there along with a joint or two," they said as they went to the kitchen. Grabbing 3 beers and popping them open, coming back he handed one to Aaron before sitting back next to Eagan and handing her the other. Taking a sip he glanced at Aaron, "So what you go to college for?"

Eagan took the beer with a nod to say thank you and took a drink before setting it on the coffee table in order to pick up the remaining sandwich half. Chewing she looked back over at Aaron, she hadn't known too many people that had gone. Mostly because so many of the people here had never gotten that chance.

aaron nodded and opened the tin when mo went to get the beer, lighting it by the time they’d gotten back and taking a hit while grabbing the beer at the same time. he gave a nod as thanks and exhaled to answer the question. “went to get my business degree so i could conti-“ he paused to take a sip, “guess that parts not important but business degree. that’s really it.” he answered with a shrug.

Mo was idly sipping at his beer, "Oh shit so you're like smart smart. Town hall probs still have something you can do with it," pausing he took another sip before shrugging. "reminds me we don't use cash anymore. Been using ration cards and the barter system for a while now."

"they're supposed to give you like a welcome basket or something at town hall. Has some of those ration cards with it." Eagan added on through another mouthful of sandwich. "you could always make a business of your own. I have my own. Sort of. I don't have a business degree or whatever though "

aaron shrugged, “wouldn’t say smart smart, i know enough to run a business out there but better with my hands more than anything.” he took another hit from the joint and let himself sink farther into the chair. “so town hall in the morning then, guess i’ll see what they’ve got i don’t.. yeah i don’t know about starting my own thing here. it’d feel weird doing that stuff here without my dad.” maybe one day, for now he’d figure out.

"My sister's head of construction and my brother's like the main plumber in town. Could always use extra hands," Mo said shrugging. He'd been thinking over what else might be useful to someone new, "Uh mayor's probably gonna shit talk the commune. It's basically a big house where a bunch of folks live and watch out for each other. I got friends and family in there, pretty nice all around."

Eagan took another drink of the beer and moved to stand, grabbing hold of the crutch that was leaned against the arm of the couch. She'd been getting better, at least their foot had, and really only needed the use of one crutch now to be able to get around. She left the two of them to continue on as she went to grab a pillow and blanket from one of the downstairs closets.

aaron stayed where he was and continued to sip at his beer. “construction doesn’t sound to bad, i’ll think about it.” as for the commune, depending on what’s said about it he was thinking he’d end up there anyway. it seemed easier than having to stay at somewhere new, especially alone.

Mo finished off his beer, letting Eagan hand off things, "Got plenty of food if you get the munchies. Take ya to town hall in the morning," he said. He let Eagan head upstairs first before trailing after them opting to stay in the same room for the night. Locking the bedroom door he flopped down onto the bed, "Well that was something," he grumbled already not looking forward to the next morning.

[gamesception]

Sception Reads Cass Cain #12

Batgirl #1 story: Scott Peterson & Kelley Puckett script: Kelley Puckett, pencils: Damion Scott

We've finally made it to issue #1 of Cass's solo Batgirl title, under her initial creative team - who I still associate her with to this day - of Peterson, Puckett, and Scott. While I do think it was worth taking the time to look at her earlier appearances, this is where I started following the character. But while it hooked me back in the day, unlike other formative works of fiction that I've returned to repeatedly over the years, I haven't sat down and read Batgirl #1 as a stand alone comic book issue in a long time. I'm eager to see how it holds up.

The issue starts with a Flashback to when Cass was young and still being raised by David Cain. The first panels have her putting a fairly simple puzzle together - a kid activity, to entertain a kid, when she hears David speak to his guests in front of her using words - a rare enough surprise that she drops her puzzle piece. Either that, or she's excited for the test to start, since she's stretching & getting ready right after.

David's getting a high speed camera ready for the event, which the dialog calls out as being fancy and high end even though it looks old fashioned to us, which helps us place this as a flashback even if we aren't previously familiar with young Cass and David from her introduction in NML.

First of all, that worms eye panel with the forshortening looking up at the knife, the girl, the guy in the chair? That is a fantastic fucking panel.

Mostly though I want to stop and point out that Scott puts a fair bit of individuality into all of these guys. Like, they're clearly built on cliches, but still, this bunch of violence-for-hire street toughs who in most bat books would be the forgettable hench goons of some colorful supervillain here get to feel like people in their own right. Especially the middle guy who's like 'nah, dude, I hurt people for money, but that is a child." Of course, even if we're not previously familiar with Cass as a character, we can see where this is going, and these guys hurting the kid was never an option on the table.

Jesus Christ How Horrifying.

The way everything goes red when the violence and the blood starts is really something, especially with the stark contrast between that red and little Cass's black hair and body suit. Very dynamic. And David there with the smug little jab at the end.

It's not exactly clear what Cass is thinking through this. She's casually committing some pretty extreme violence as a... not even as a test, the outcome was never in question for her or David. This is a demonstration, an exposition for the camera. Like a kid's music recital or something. Her facial expression is mostly fairly flat and serious, but this one panel:

She knows what's about to happen, and she's smiling. Determined, eager, she knows they're underestimating her, and she's looking forward to showing them just how badly. She likes this. The violence in and of itself? Hurting people - even hurting them badly? That doesn't bother little Cass, that won't be why she leaves David.

...

The scene shifts from child Cassandra beating up a group of grown men to teenage Cassandra practicing fighting sticks with Barbara, and getting disarmed when she gets distracted by a picture of Babs as Batgirl from before she was paralyzed. Which is a nice little demonstration of the limits of Cass's martial abilities - she's extremely good, but she's not invincible. She can be beaten by a normal human opponent if they're skilled and she's distracted. We also see Cass surprised by the loss. Scott's art can be a bit rubbery and cartoony, the proportions can be a bit weird at times, but his faces are super expressive, and that's obviously so much more important when portraying a character who doesn't speak.

Cassandra is still a new enough character that a single page can give all the essential narration to cover her basic backstory to this point. Also, blowing the dandelion seeds and saying 'me' is such a great little bit of pantomime for conveying the idea of spending years drifting aimlessly. Cass may not be able to speak more than a few words, but she can still communicate.

Even so, with a largely non-verbal protagonist, someone needs to deliver necessary exposition to the reader, and Babs as Oracle serves the role of conveying necessary information to both the reader and to Cass, while also taking on a sort of surrogate mother/big sister role.

The green blocks on these couple pages, justified in universe as Barbara's recorded notes, are the only narration blocks in the entire book, though. There are word bubbles when characters talk, but nothing that directly spells out what they're thinking, or what's happening. That work is left entirely to the artist. It's a task that not many comic artists would be up to, but Scott delivers here.

The result is a book that puts you in Cass's head, understanding and relating to the other characters the way she does.

Cassandra may be the new Batgirl, but she takes more after Bruce than Barbara.

As much as I complain about the design of Cass's Batgirl outfit being a mistake for how difficult it makes depicting her expression and emotions, it really is very cool and sleek and striking and spooky, and I'd be lying if I said it wasn't part of what motivated me to pick up her book in the first place. And yeah, despite Cass being younger and smaller, you have no trouble buying her being every bit as intimidating as Bruce in costume.

Before we get to Bruce, though, there's another flashback. I don't know why this one's all 'flashback sepia toned' when the first one wasn't, but regardless it seems Mr. Merc from the first flashback is a bit down on his luck since his earlier encounter with Cassandra. He's got some new scars on his face, and the elbow she broke is still bandaged, and instead of taking fighting jobs for cash from mysterious strangers here he is getting in fights with homeless guys over half-drunk bottles of booze.

When he sees Cass, now homeless and drifting herself, he recognizes her. You see a moment of fear bolt through his face, and he smashes the stolen bottle to use it as a weapon to defend himself.

Cass just runs away, leaving the guy to realize he's smashed the bottle of booze that he had just been fighting over.

It's a pretty simple moment, watching this guy hit rock bottom. You can feel something for him. Not sympathy necessarily, but he feels like a person. It's a lot of time put into characterizing some random guy who happened to wander into Cass's life by chance.

...

After the second flashback, there's a scene where Cass stops a man from assaulting a woman in an alley - but she's holding back. She uses the bare minimum force needed to get they guy off of his victim. He's not exactly sorry. He's not afraid of Cassandra. Despite the spooky suit, she hasn't given him a reason to be. And he's still threatening the woman, even while Cass has him pinned...

Until Batman shows up, exercising a considerably more extreme degree of violence. Something much closer to Cassandra's training with David Cain. Brutal enough that Cass is momentarily taken aback - He's supposed to be good, is it ok for him to be doing that?

The next day, Cass is still thinking about it when Babs notices and tries to get her out of the house to cheer her up.

They head out to the park and Barbara tries to talk to Cass about what she's going through, but Cass just doesn't have the words and runs off in frustration.

It won't always be written well, admittedly, but this is an important point of tension between Babs and Cass. They're sort of mirrored opposites. Babs is trapped in a chair by her injury. Her interactions with the world and especially her career in super heroics are limited largely to words - information gathering, communications. On the other hand Cass, even after she learns to speak, is the opposite - excelling in the physical world, but largely disconnected from the world of words, especially the written word.

They complement each others abilities, making them an especially effective team. But they also can't help but see each other as a representation of the skills they lack, and evidence that the skills they have might not really be that important. The wedge this puts between them gets in the way of Barbara's attempts to look out for Cass and help her build a life that isn't entirely devoted to violence.

Ie, Bruce's life. And here he is, an ominous shadow, like the Ghost of Christmas Future, pointing a bony finger at fate that Cassandra is aimed towards. A never ending crusade, compassion and hope ground down to the bone, emotionally stunted by trauma and violence, only feeling alive when risking his own life, only feeling joy when hurting people he's deemed it morally acceptable to hurt, isolated, unable to relate even his own surrogate family.

There have been many takes on Batman over the years, and in general I prefer ones considerably less brutal and broken than this one. But this was already the Batman of the time, even before Cass showed up, and even in books without her. Cassandra is built by her creators to be this Batman's daughter - to reflect, comment on, and maybe criticize his choices and life style.

Like a lot of the characterization in the book, it's something that comes across most clearly in the art. Other characters get Scott's signature expressive faces, but here Bruce is an inhuman shadow.

From issue one, Batgirl's writers are intent on driving home how similar Cassandra is to Bruce, and how that's not necessarily a good thing. And the person most convinced of this similarity is Bruce himself. He looks at Cassandra, and he sees his reflection.

God, the way Scott draw's Barbara's face when she's hearing what exactly David did to Cassandra.

Bruce has worked out Cassandra's body reading gimmick, which was alluded to but not fully spelled out before this. And it's described as 'understanding physical movement as a language,' but it's essentially just empathy? Not psychic powers, but just normal style recognizing facial expression and body language and processing that to understand how people are feeling and what they're doing, only taken to a comic book extreme.

In a fight, at least against regular human opponents, it effectively amounts to knowing what her opponents are going to do and how they're going to move moments before they do so - rendering Cass nigh unbeatable. And that's nice, that's a costumed superhero gimmick right there, but understanding the ability as empathy dovetails nicely with the book's focus on the humanity of the people Cass comes across, and on her own emotional struggles.

It also tells us what the stakes won't be in Cass's stories. The question is never "will Cass be able to defeat the bad guy in a fight." Since that's taken off the table from the start, her book is forced to focus on more difficult and personal questions.

That night Bruce takes Cassandra out to an abandoned building for training, but not like the usual. He wants them to fight. For real. For her to show him what she can "really do," when she isn't holding back, like in the alley before. Cass may be nigh unbeatable in a fight against a 'normal human', but Bruce isn't exactly normal. She can hurt him. He can take it.

Here we have my only real complaint about this issue, because it skips over that fight, and it does so in a way that it's hard to tell that it even happened. Like, it doesn't cut to another scene and then come back to imply the passage of time, or even throw up a little "one hour later" spongebob meme, we just go straight from the above panel to this one, with only the busted up windows and Cass looking tired to imply a fight even happened.

And it's not just a problem because it's potentially confusing, it's also a missed opportunity. Like, imagine if the fight had been drawn with some striking poses, and then later we had seen those same poses mirrored in a flashback panel of young Cass training with David?

I love the decision to have her out of her mask here, and I love the way Scott draws Cass's face - her bright eyes, bushy eyebrows, wide smile, big jaw & chin. She's so expressive.

Bruce can fight Cass, they're on a pretty similar level, but while she's just worn out, he's suffered internal damage and is coughing up blood. At first he's acting like he beat her, the stern implacable mentor, all criticism and ways she can improve. But he's more hurt than she is, and they both know it, and they're both smiling about it.

What happened between them was violent, and, while we didn't get to see it directly, we can infer that it was pretty extreme. A degree of violence between mentor and protege - between father and daughter - that anyone on the outside looking in would consider abuse. But in universe, in character, they're playing with each other. They're having fun. Bruce is proud of her ability to suffer violence and pay it back with interest, and Cass is thriving on his approval, and the parallels to her training with David Cain are not subtle.

Bruce & Cass's moment is interrupted by the sound of a gunshot outside. It's our friend from the flashbacks. He's not showing his face in this panel, but we can already recognize him from his hair and from... did he... did he have his jacket sleeve embroidered to match the tattoo on his shoulder? That's some commitment to the bit. Anyway, he's robbing an armored car, and has already killed the driver. In Gotham, my guy? Really? Like, you could talk about his bad luck, but still. Anyway, Bruce chases an accomplice while Cassandra confronts Mr. Merc.

He pulls a gun on her, but she casually swats it away and grabs him... but something distracts her and she pulls back, giving Mr. Merc time to run. But what could have captured Cass's attention...

Her own shadow on the wall. Batman's shadow. She's been living with all this guilt, not just because of what she did, but because the enjoyed her life training to be an assassin right up until she learned what that meant. Finding out didn't just mean she had done something evil, it meant that her entire life - a life she had loved to that point - had been in service to that evil thing. The skills she was so proud of were evil. The father she loved was evil. She wasn't just ashamed of one act, she was ashamed of her entire identity.

Being Batgirl - putting herself in harms way, suffering pain and risking death to save others - had been a way to make up for that evil, a life of penance, a sacrifice - but in this moment she's realizing that it's not just a way to make amends for the evil thing she did, it's a way to re-contextualize everything else. She could take pride in her skills again. She could have a father who would be proud of her again. She could have the life she loved back. Even memories of David could be retroactively redeemed, if it had all been part of this destiny, to help her become this person. Yes, she'd still feel guilty for the evil thing she did, but it didn't have to mean her entire life and everything about her was evil too.

And all she would have to do is dedicate her entire life to Batman's crusade with absolutely nothing left for herself, and suborn her entire sense of identity and self worth to Batman's approval forever. It's a good thing this Batman isn't an unreasonably demanding asshole. /s

With this new epiphany - that the violence she enacts on people like Mr. Merc can be a righteous instead of despicable - Cass is freed to cut loose on the guy. He's a murderer after all! (like she is) He deserves it! (like she does) She can beat him into submission, and since she's acting on Batman's behalf, she doesn't have to feel guilty that she enjoys doing it, that it feels like singing.

But something about Cassandra's righteous beat down triggers Mr. Merc's memories, and he knows. Years later, half a world away, shrouded by completely concealing costume, and serving the Batman instead of an assassin, but Mr. Merc recognizes her. Despite all that, despite her big revelation moments before in the alley, she hasn't changed. She's still the same. And here's this random guy from her memories as a sign, telling her, and the reader, that her past won't be so easy to put behind her.

Satisfied that Cass is ready, Bruce cuts her loose for solo work, with one restriction - no costumed criminals. In universe this is because Cass depends on her body-reading for defense, and that ability can't necessarily be relied on when facing supervillains. In the real world, though, it's to keep her book grounded and human, telling smaller, more personal stories like that of Mr. Merc in this issue, allowing the book to keep a tight focus on Cassandra's emotions, motivations, and relationships in a way that wouldn't be possible with a big colorful attention-magnet like the Joker chewing the scenery.

But speaking of those relationships, and of a past that can't just be left behind, the issue ends on David Cain, watching his recording of the opening flashback, bringing the whole issue neatly full circle.

...

So that was the first issue of Batgirl (2000), Cass's solo title. In the end I wasn't able to resist going through the whole thing nearly page by page and spending too much time on plot summary and reaction rather than calling out, like the creative choices and execution in the art and the writing. But yeah, for me the book holds up extremely well. I'm immediately sucked right back in. The layered character dynamics, the reliance on art over text narration for characterization and storytelling, the parallels between Bruce and David - and the criticism of Bruce that those parallels imply. It all makes for a very dense book, one you can really dig into. And I love Damion Scott's art here. I don't think anyone else could have pulled this off as well.

I promise I'll try to be more concise going forward - especially since I've taken so long on some of these, and this one in particular, that I've entirely used up my posting lead and now I don't have anything queued to go up while I'm out of town for the next week. But I couldn't stop myself from gushing over the first issue.

My entire love of this medium, at least the mainstream big two American superhero corner of this medium, lived and died on this run of this character under this creative team. I liked Batman and Superman and Spiderman and the X-Men from various movies and cartoons in the 90s, and I enjoyed some individual comics here and there. But in retrospect I was never a superhero comics fan generally. I was a fan of Peterson, Puckett, and Scott's 'Batgirl' specifically. And reading this issue again more that 20 years later, I still am.

[kryannoy]

his and his only // sano 'mikey' manjiro

genre: fluff

character: mikey

summary: mikey has an attachment issue ever since losing so many of his siblings (i love to think that mikey has attachment issues>>>)

warnings: contains slight manga spoilers, sister complex, may contain grammar errors, incest ig

It's normal for a boy to have a certain fixation towards one of their female family members, right? Especially when they have some sort of an attachment issue?

This is what always lingered in Mikey's mind when it comes to you; his twin sister he so dearly loves. He has lost his oldest brother, Shinichiro. Then, his younger sister, Emma, and on the next day, his another older adoptive brother, Izana, which he never gets to bond with him as brothers.

You're all that he has left. Of course, he would never want to ever lose you next. You had promised way before that you will never leave his side and you both will always be "those twins". And most of the time, he has doubts on that promise you guys made ever since they started a sibling losing one by one. Mikey blames himself every day for his siblings death, all because he made a gang. But he loves his gang as much as he loves his family that he couldn't bring the thought of disbanding it. It's like losing another family if Toman is over.

And there, you called. He sets his phone to ring differently from others so that he knows it's you who called. He picked it up before his time for a speech would come.

"Hello, onee-chan~!" A cheery voice greets your tired ears.

"Manjiro, when you get back, if I fell asleep, can you please wake me up?" You requested, pressing the 'please' in your voice like a little kid would beg.

He knew what you were doing just by your simple request. After all, you were in a different world from him. You're smart, hardworking and so many people look up to you. Meanwhile, you had to have a twin brother that is the complete opposite of who you are; lazy, childish and people feared him. Sometimes, because he is in a well-known gang, people tend to immediately judge you as well. He had that one phase where he avoided you for a long time just so you can live your life normally. But when he got scolded by you because that's not what you wanted, he was the happiest man alive. To know that his dear sister actually wanted to be with him is like having your crush accepting your confession.

"But aren't you supposed to just sleep? It's already late once I get home. Besides, you're already a genius! You don't have to study," Mikey answers. Sometimes, you put an all nighter and Mikey doesn't like that because he knows you'll be a bit grumpy the next day for not getting enough sleep.

"It's not studying. I'm only doing my homework. Anyways, can you please wake me up if I fall asleep?" From your tone of voice, Mikey can tell you're batting your eyelashes while giving him those doe eyes he oh-so wants to ruin that innocent little face.

"Fine," he grumbles which earns him a small 'yay' on the other side of his phone. "But if you don't wake up, don't go blaming on me for not waking you up!"

"I know. Thank you, Manjiro!" With that, you end the call and Mikey's name was also called for his speech.

After the Toman meeting, Mikey went straight home on his bike. He makes a bee line to your room but didn't knock. He has that bad habit of not knowing how to knock when entering a girl's room. One time, he accidentally walked in on Emma when she was changing which he felt like he needs to bleach his eyes while getting a bit of beating from Emma. And scolding from Draken.

"Onee-chan?" His voice isn't usually this soft. And there you were, on your study desk with the lights still on and your books open but sleeping.

He walks over to you while calling you out to wake you up however you didn't budge. His hands reaches over to your blonde hair and brushes them behind you ears to get a glimpse of your face that looks exactly like him but more of a feminine touch. His face inches closer and closer to yours until his lips make contact with your temple. He breathes in your scent and immediately he feels at home. He takes another whiff of your scent, almost high from it only.

"Y/N . . ." He breathes out your name.

His heart jumps when you start moving. He quickly moves away from you, retracting his hands while blushing, thinking over the possible risk he just done. He sighs and puts on his brother face, like nothing happened.

"Y/N, wake up. You told me to wake you up when l get home." He continues spitting facts to get you annoyed which works as a way for you to open your eyes.

You grumble in your haze and humming so he can shut up.

"Come on! Wake up." He keeps nudging your shoulder lightly until you raise your head.

"I'm up, I'm up . . . What time is it?"

"11.34 pm. Are you gonna sleep or what?"

You look at your book for a moment before giving up and agreeing that you want to sleep. He raised an eyebrow, confused.

"Didn't you want to finish it?" He asks.

"It's not due for tomorrow anyways," you answer while closing all of your books.

"Then, why did you want to finish it in the first place?"

"I don't like doing it on the last minute."

He notices how tired you are so he offered to put away all your books while you can get to bed. You appreciate that and listen to what he asked of you. Immediately, you plop onto your bed and cover yourself with the duvet. After he finishes cleaning up your desk, he checks up on you to see you're fast asleep.

He also takes off his Toman jacket and slide into your covers to join you sleeping. It's not unusual for them to sleep together. They always do it. This is one of the reasons he doesn't want to lose you. His attachment and fixation towards you is too far to sever it by now. He cannot lose you. He doesn't know what he'll do if you're not by his side anymore. Hell, he doesn't want to think about it. It makes him sad and depressed if he keeps on thinking about losing you.

He holds you close and tight in his arms as if you would disappear suddenly. He moves your bangs out of your face once again and gives a long peck on your forehead. Not caring if you noticed it or not. He does want to let you know some day that you're his and he's yours. And that he loves you more than anything in this cruel world. He loves you way too much than he's supposed to as a brother. He will not let anyone take you away from him or they will meet death immediately.

[bitimdrake]

Do you think there could be a compelling and well-written way for Jason to ever start healing from his trauma? I get the tragedy and all is why so many people like his character and all but it’s been over 18 years since he came back and I’ve grown apathetic to the whole “I died boohoohoo” thing. Idk the way DC is written makes it hard to me to feel the same way I did when he first came back as Red Hood because death is so meaningless in that universe, now more than ever. I feel the same way about Bruce and his whole mess of trauma and want to see them do something new, yknow? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

.

Absolutely!!

I think I end up hammering on the tragedy and angst aspect a lot because it's the part I feel gets most lost--certainly in fluffy batfam fics, but also in DC canon just abruptly declaring him totally part of the family now don't worry about it after Flashpoint. I think the legitimate trauma Jason has, the significant differences in principle with the other bats, and the harm he's done them in turn, have gotten worn down and minimized, and it's a bummer!

But I would like to see him heal from his trauma and like. have a real arc.

That's my biggest problem with Jason in canon thus far*. It's not that he is a hero now and aligned with his family. It's that we never got to see how that really happened. He was a villain one second, and then the universe got rebooted, and suddenly we were supposed to just infer this off-screen development.

(*Thus far being up to where I have read, which is through the New 52. Cannot comment beyond that yet.)

In my dream where I get to rewrite the history of DC, we would have spent like five years watching Jason gradually progress from the remorseless antivillain he became by the end of preboot into someone healthier, with more actual morals, a principled antihero. And working out his various relationships with his family along the way.

Unfortunately, because DC skipped to the end of that theoretical arc without ever actually doing the arc, we're sorta...stuck.

The status quo is where it is. DC can't pretend Jason has been an antagonist this whole time and give him the arc now. Red Hood has been a significant part of the batfamily for years. They can't just insert the 'Jason heals' arc because theoretically he's already done that. But also, so long as we never actually see that arc, it's never truly going to feel resolved.

This is the crux of the Jason Todd problem.

Anyway, I feel you on the death thing as well. When Jason died (I'd argue even when he came back), death was a lot more meaningful and significant. His death really meant something, and his return was a huge shake up.

But since then...everyone's died. And now there's this awkward disconnect between (a) in story, all these people having gone through the traumatic event of dying and returning which should probably be significant for them all, and (b) out of universe, Jason's death being considerably more significant than anyone else's and a core part of the character.

Jason's death can't really be a meaningless joke (though he absolutely can recover from the trauma), because we all know it wasn't; it was a huge deal. But we also can't have all the characters act like his death was significant while a bunch of other death's aren't, because then they just seem insane and myopic. But we can't have everyone act like every death is significant, because then we wouldn't be able to do anything else except reflect on the massive amount of death and trauma around here, plus it would be so hollow to most readers who know a lot of these comic books deaths were just cheap shock value that got immediately reversed. And around and around and around--

It's a fucking mess. I have plenty ideas of how I could fix it in a rewrite (whether fanfic or magic time travel where I Fix DC Comics). But I don't have a lot of ideas of how to fix it now, over a decade after the problem started.

Although, to return to your very first question: even if we can't fix everything, yes, I do think a good writer could give a compelling story of Jason healing from his tragedy, without a doubt. I do think that angle can still be explored and developed, because it has not be closed off.

...the biggest problem there would just be that comics are cyclical, and you know some other writer would come in two years later and revert him back to brooding about his death all the time, because that's the version of the character they're used to.

[simplyclary]

The ships from the shadows that I will never disembark from ➰

This post is based off of a ship game here on Tumblr, but to make things a little bit more clear and interesting, I just decided to make a whole post about it and include the top 5 ships from the shadows (if you know, you know) that I absolutely love and adore!

I love a good romance in fantasy so even though not all of my favorite ships are included in the discussion, I made a little list for honorable mentions at the very end.

Also disclaimer, I do not have any unpopular opinion about my ships so if you're familiar with the game, I simply answered the first two questions, which is "What made me ship it?" and "What are my favorite things about my ship?"

Another thing before I begin, the five ships included here is not arranged in any particular order and for the ships that already have a live-action adaptation, I will be using photos from the TV show and for those who does not have an adaptation, I will be using fanart (and of course, give credits to the artist)

I may end up rambling (as per usual), but hey, it's part of the ride.

This is a lengthy post, so get comfy, grab a cup of coffee or tea and read on...

LET'S START WITH SHIP NUMBER 1:

Simon Lewis and Isabelle Lightwood 💜

(Photo credits: Freeform)

Ahhhh! My most favorite ship in The Mortal Instruments series. Also, Alberto Rosende and Emeraude Toubia is my favorite adaptation of Simon and Isabelle. I just love them so much that the idea of them splitting up or one of them dying hurts my heart.

Anyway, before I get sidelined, let's get to the point...

What made me ship them?

Right off the bat, their chemistry from the beginning of the story is one of the many reasons why I ship them. The way that Simon was enchanted by Isabelle from the very beginning made me swoon. Their slow burn romance is to die for. I also love how their relationship is built on friendship.

Most of their interactions in the books (even in the show) were as friends and it was only in like the last couple of books (and episodes) did they become an official couple. They are the definition of strangers to friends to lovers (if there is such a trope?) and I adore that. They are also part of the hot girl dates nerd trope (again, is this a thing?) and I'm obsessed with it.

Another reason why I ship them is because they are always there for each other when needed. Like when Simon needs blood to drink, Isabelle aids him in getting a fresh supply. They've always got each other's backs and are both just really badass people.

What are my favorite things about them?

I have a lot of favorite things about Simon and Isabelle but some things that make the top list is of course, their undeniable chemistry. Their humor and comedic timing around each other makes me laugh. Their support for each other, the way they flirt and tease each other, they are meant to be in every universe (or dimension).

One notable favorite thing of mine is when Simon teaches Isabelle nerd and mundane culture and her confused reactions gets me giggling every time! Also, during Simon's time in Shadowhunter Academy, Isabelle went there and claimed Simon as her boyfriend and threatened everyone who even thinks about starting a relationship with him. That is one of my most favorite scenes from the books.

Their souls are meant for each other and there is no denying that.

ONTO SHIP NUMBER 2:

Thomas Lightwood and Alastair Carstairs 🧡

(Photo credits: @agnes-draws)

My current obsession and hyper-fixation! They are my world right now and I don't think I'll get over them anytime soon! By the angel, look at them! Aren't they too precious?? *swoons*

Anyway.....

What made me ship them?

Where do I even begin with this? Oh, I know, the beginning (obviously!). I shipped them from the beginning because the tension that constantly existed between them since their days at the Academy to their days in Paris together until the day that Thomas threatened to knock Alastair into the Thames (I mean there's reason behind that, I know) and forward. They are the definition of the childhood bully (Alastair to Thomas) to companions (in Paris) to enemies (-ish) to secret connections to lovers (I clearly have no idea what I just said here but I think you get the point).

I also shipped them because of the honesty and openness that exists between them. The rawness of emotion that flows between them when they're in their little bubble of privacy is just wow and I love reading about it! They are also opposites that are attracted to one another (Alastair being sort of chin-up type of guy and Thomas being the awkward sweetie that he is). The desire that exists in their hearts for each other is just flowing through the pages, which I adore.

I wasn't expecting to ship them when I first read the short stories and the first two books of TLH, but hey, I'm here now and it's all that matters.

What are my favorite things about them?

I have a lot of favorite things about them, but their banter is one of my most favorites. In canon or out of canon, they have good banter and dialogue. I can feel their emotions rushing with every turn of the page. I also love their height difference (I apparently have a thing for this!), with Thomas being 6'5 and Alastair being a munchkin at 5'10 is something I will never get over.

They also bring out the best in each other and they are protective (and possessive) over one another. They are also there for each other during times of need (like when Alastair comforted Thomas when Thomas found out that Christopher is gone), and it makes my heart mushy. Their comedic timing is also one of my favorite things (the fire message scene lives rent free in my mind).

They belong together in every universe and I will stand by that.

ONTO SHIP NUMBER 3:

Will Herondale and Tessa Gray 💙

(Photo credits: @allarica)

Oh angel, these are two people meant to be together! Their love broke boundaries! What else can I say about these two amazing bookish angels? Also, this art is just one of the most beautiful pieces I have ever seen.

Let's move on before I babble, shall we?

What made me ship them?

I love a good slow burn romance and they are a couple that did just that. The passion is evident in the way they interact with each other, the way they look at each other, there was a spark from the moment Will (and Jem) saved Tessa from the clutches of the Dark Sisters that left me wanting more of them. Of course, with every romance, tension arose between them but it was nothing that they can't solve.

They are each other's safe space, they want to be together during times when they are apart. They have an invisible string that ties them together and I love that idea. Their love story is something that I will remember for eternity.

What are my favorite things about them?

I love that Tessa made Will a better person. I mean, he is still very much himself, Tessa just sort of improved him as a human being. I love that happy glow that they have when they are together, which clearly states that they are really happy and meant to be together. I also love that they have a shared love for books and stories, I really love characters who loves books and treasures them.

Their banter is unmatched and they are supportive of each other and are protective of each other. I can state a lot more but those are the top favorites!

They found love in the darkest of times and they are each other's light.

ONTO SHIP NUMBER 4:

Gideon Lightwood and Sophie Collins 💚

(Photo credits: @lemoncielart)

Now, they are a prince and lady's maid sort of story. Kind of reminds me of Cinderella but the meaning is much more special to me. Just the look on Gideon's face in the photo is the look of love and adoration for Sophie and it makes me swoon.

Let's proceed, shall we?

What made me ship them?

I like the way that they started from a master and apprentice relationship to friends to eventually lovers and that is just lovely to read. The forced proximity in a sense that in the beginning, Gideon did not want to like stay in London because he thought he would not have a good time but Sophie changed that because those training lessons were the ones that Gideon looked forward to the most. I just love that idea and reading it made me go "Awww!".

The way that they are open and honest with one another is just admirable because of course, they both went through tough times and they found safety and support in each other. I also adore Gideon's gentleness to Sophie during the training sessions (still can't believe Gideon swears in Spanish when he's having a good time, that fact still confuses me to this day) and them wanting to meet each other even outside the training sessions. If that is not the beginning of courtship, I don't know what is.

What are my favorite things about them?

Favorite things, you say? Hmm, let's start with the infamous scones story. I'll just say that I admire Gideon's determination and he will go through great lengths just to see Sophie, even though by the means of wasting a lot of scones and having a threat of a rat infestation. I love that entire scene and it still makes me giggle. Another thing that makes me giggle (and swoon) is Gideon's accidental declaration of his desire to get married to Sophie at the breakfast table and eventual proposal. Ahh, typical lovesick Lightwood boy.

I also love the way that they see beyond imperfection (mainly Gideon) and their caring and accepting personalities (my heart swooned extra at the epilogue of Chain of Thorns when Thomas declared that he would be living with Alastair and they accepted him wholeheartedly). They are also amazing parents so there's also that.

They are one of my most favorite parents in the entire Shadowhunters saga.

ONTO THE LAST AND CERTAINLY NOT LEAST, SHIP NUMBER 5:

Magnus Bane and Alec Lightwood ❤️

(Photo credits: Freeform)

Ahhhh Malec! How to describe them other than revolutionary? They are the first gay couple I ever shipped in my life and my life is made better because of it! Thank you to my parabatai @jamielivesforthememesandthe-blog for introducing me to them and I will forever be grateful. Also, the way Harry Shum Jr. and Matthew Daddario portrayed them on-screen is perfection!

Now, let's dive into this revolutionary relationship.

What made me ship them?

It all started with a spark that clearly flickered when they first saw each other. That single spark of flame is enough to send readers feral. Magnus was obviously enchanted by Alec and Alec, of course, was also kind of attracted (though he will not admit it yet). They also have this constant yearning and desire to be with each other and they worry for each other when they're apart.

They also protect one another and help each other out, especially on missions that can be deadly. I also love that they balance each other out, like Magnus is very flamboyant and outgoing while Alec is very shy and introverted, but Magnus helps Alec be more confident and Alec humbles Magnus a little bit. They complete each other and each other's soulmate.

What are my favorite things about them?

They are a revolutionary couple! They set an example for those who are like them and make sure that they have a safe space in the world (Matthew, Thomas and Alastair are cheering from heaven!!). Their chemistry is unmatched and their love knows no boundaries. They bring out the best in each other.

Mostly courtesy of Magnus, their banter always makes me giggle and laugh. Also my favorite thing is that they are able to mend up their relationship whenever they have a rift in it. They also think of each other when they're apart and after the events of TMI, I love how they eventually built their family (Max and Rafael are so lucky to have Magnus and Alec as their dads)

They are meant for each other and I'm happy for Magnus, because after so many failed relationships, he finally found his home with Alec.

There we have it, folks! My top 5 ships from the shadows that I will never disembark from. I had a lot of fun writing this and listing reasons why I love these couples. I may have sounded redundant in the entries, but that is simply because I can't formulate enough words to share with you all how much these ships mean to me. 😁

But wait, there're more....

I said in the introduction to this that there will be honorable mentions for the ships that I will not discuss but I still love and adore.

Without further ado, here they are..

James Herondale and Cordelia Carstairs

Jace Herondale and Clary Fairchild

Kit Herondale and Ty Blackthorn

Jem Carstairs and Tessa Gray

Julian Blackthorn and Emma Carstairs

Jesse Blackthorn and Lucie Herondale

These are the honorable mentions, my dears! If you made it this far, thank you for reading! I adore you all and sending lots of love from my heart to yours! 🫶

[moregraceful]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love 💖

this is such a nice exercise, thank you, i was just getting so ripped up over my wip while also trying to acknowledge that self-loathing wasn't going to make the editing process better in any meaningful way.

in no particular order:

5 Uses For A Parachute You Won’t Find In An Army Field Manual [band of brothers, gen, general]

(but which Major Dick Winters lets slide because it’s good for morale.)

this fic is one of my favorite fics i've ever written, it's so joyful!! but also such a big heart and so much love for the people in it. ah....friendship in a war zone...

And grace will lead us home [baseball rpf, bo bichette/vladimir guerrero jr, general]

Vlad knows only a couple things to be true. God is real, obviously. The sound of a ball hitting a wooden bat is the sound that the universe was made for. He’s in love with Bo.

i was down SO BAD for the bb jays in 2021. and so fascinated by vladdy and bo while knowing negative things about them...they were just always huggin on the bb jays instagram!! so i wrote a fic abt them that very gently plays with religious imagery and the concept of magic. it came together in a way i love so much.

Trust Me [jonas brothers/bandom, gen, teen]

Nick says, "I'm sorry. I was homeschooled."

"Then this will be a very interesting experience for you," says the tall blonde guy. "My name's Bob."

you know when you write something and you're like, this legitimately might be the greatest work i ever write? and you're literally 21? and it's not that it's the greatest thing you've ever written, but you're going through a really gross reality shock in your first two years away from home and so so many things are new and exciting and scary but you're starting to feel so interested in having a future, which you didn't really plan on during high school? the jonas brothers coming of age on warped tour 🤝 me at my shit ass small liberal arts school reading books by living non-white non-american authors

Don’t carry nothing but the righteous and the holy [hockey rpf, jasper weatherby/william eklund, teen]

Jasper Weatherby On William Eklund’s Return to San Jose April 8, 2022 | Sheng Peng, San Jose Hockey Now Jasper Weatherby was all smiles after today’s practice at the SAP Center. The reason? “I’m just excited to have Gecko back.” Jasper Weatherby and William Eklund were fast friends at the start of the 2021-2022 season. Weatherby and Eklund, who had been roommates throughout rookie camp and remained road roommates and hotelmates, had bonded over the unique experience of living in the Bay Area...

this fic literally exists outside the space-time continuum. like you have to read it as an artifact of its time (no cuda fandom, very small sharks fandom, william eklund a just-hatched baby bird with no feathers) for it to even be salvageable as a fanfic, but there like. WAS no time, there was only me, my growing jasper weatherby feelings, and an unexpected 10 day vacation at the end of the year. i love it so much and would write it completely differently if i wrote it now. so i'm very glad i wrote it when i did, because it just has so much love and is so hopeful and so chaotic.

Every year with you is better than the last [hockey rpf, devon toews/cale makar, explicit]

“Ah, it’s fine,” says Cale. “You don’t have to buy me anything.” “I want to,” says Devon, and once he says it, he realizes he really does. He doesn’t get a chance to give Cale presents often, because Cale makes more money than him and rarely asks for anything. Birthdays are hell with this guy. Something little goes a long way.

i actually don't even reread this regularly bc i get so mad about the process i went through while posting it, but it IS one of my favorite things that i've ever written. i really wanted to try to write a friends with benefits fic where they aren't In Love-in love and they stay friends only but are deeply committed to caring for each other. and i think i did that pretty well tbh. it came together how i wanted it to. though i sometimes think about the hypothetical future of cale and devon in the fic and get kind of sad. like, is there a future for them where they remain the same or does cale eventually fall for devon and the peace between them gets wrecked or does devon get traded and cale's little heart cracks without him, or. you know like what happens to cale, basically, i don't know. i'm not writing a sequel but i think about their future from cale's pov quite often

thank you for sending this, i really appreciate it!!!

[voltfruits]

fuck it, have some more aubrey omori headcanons because i care about her in the most mentally ill way

she has chinese heritage on her father's side, french on her mother's

bisexual af!!!! had a small crush on mari growing up

always has cold hands. kinda anemic probably

has a very noticeable eye twitch when she gets stressed or angry—it kinda looks that way in some of her headshots ingame

her father was physically abusive, but she would always lie when asked why she had bruises. i think it makes sense considering how touch-averse she is post-timeskip :((

hero and mari were vaguely aware of her rough homelife, but only basil knew the full reality of it, because he'd been her friend the longest. basil being basil, he took that secret to the grave and never told anyone else (also i feel like aubrey would tell basil to keep it a secret because she doesn't want anyone's pity). this is another reason aubrey was so hurt by the blacked-out photo album; basil was the one person who really knew how badly aubrey needed their chosen family, and he was still trying to avoid her rather than support her

okay, a non-angsty one now! aubrey has a surprisingly sophisticated palate! i mean, she canonically loves grilled eggplant which is one of the few things i don't particularly like. she'll eat just about anything really. and she cried actual tears of joy when she got to taste hero's home cooking for the first time after the endgame. ("you don't understand. i've been living off monster energy and gas station hot dogs for the past year. without this salad i am nothing")

she wanted to be a witch when she was little. it was always her go-to halloween costume!! she threatened to put a hex on kel that would make him cough up frogs, and kel had at least one nightmare about it

after mari's death, she started going to the faraway town public library a lot and losing herself in books. it was safer than being home, and people could just exist there without having to spend money or explain themselves or anything, and it reminded her of all the time she spent reading with mari. she stopped going after a year or two because she got into a fight with someone :(

she did a bunch of odd jobs around faraway town to get enough money for food and clothes

after the true ending, one of the first things she does upon leaving the hospital is destroy her nail bat. not really on purpose. she just flies into a rage and pounds it against the wall of an alley until it breaks into splinters.

after that, she goes into a brief but intense depression and doesn't leave her room for 2 days until kel drags her out. around that time, she has a sort of "shit, i need to get my life together" epiphany, and starts applying for actual jobs. she ends up working at fix-it until she graduates high school

she stows away on a freight train to visit sunny in the city and tell him she forgives him. she's the first one to seek him out. a few weeks later she gets kel and hero to drive up with her for a full reunion (minus basil, he'll come later)

hero also teaches her and kel how to drive that summer (way more affordable than an actual driver's ed course). he also gives her some fun tips about cooking!! and general adulting. he is literally a big brother to her and it makes me sob happy tears pls i love them so much

sadly, hero and kel's parents aren't that fond of aubrey. they were vaguely disdainful of her even before mari died ("she's one of those people from the poor neighborhood, isn't she?") and they openly condemn her after her spiral into delinquency. even after she becomes friends with hero and kel again, she isn't allowed into their house... but that doesn't stop her from hanging out with them :)

her mother dies from alcohol poisoning a few months after the true ending. aubrey barely even grieves; as far as she's concerned, she lost both parents years ago. she moves in with polly and basil, who recently got back from the mental hospital and is now homeschooled. things are rocky for a while, but aubrey can stand to be around basil even if she can't fully forgive him. as time goes on, they get more comfortable talking to each other, and aubrey is yet again the first one to really make things right with him and accept his friendship again. the others follow soon :)

she and basil share a lot of clothes!!!! basil likes to wear things on the big and baggy side so they still fit aubrey perfectly

aubrey also teaches basil how to swim :') as well as some basic self defense. and she buys him plants and flowers and treats him to coffee now that she has a steady source of income. i am completely normal about aubrey and basil's friendship please trust me

now that aubrey has a parental figure who actually cares about her, she can finally afford to start going to therapy. she's diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, which does still flare up from time to time, but her symptoms are more manageable than they were before the true ending. she gets more comfortable expressing all her emotions, not just the angry ones, and also gets a lot more comfortable with intimacy and affection, like her younger self

she also starts working out (buff auby my beloved) and playing guitar. she can't sing, but she does it anyway when no one is around

she listens to sonic youth, bikini kill, liz phair, joan jett, and various other icons of 80s and 90s girlboss rock music. she also had an MCR phase when she was 14-15, and i know from experience that once you start having an MCR phase it never truly ends (sunny likes them too!!)

she calls hero on the phone at least once a week. he helps her with her homework sometimes, and she hypes him up and encourages him to socialize and make friends!!

she's really good at most party games (air hockey, cornhole, beach volleyball, etc) and also has a strange knack for winning those claw machine games (she's gotten sunny and basil and kim soooo many stuffed animals). however, she's hilariously bad at video games. she has never won at mariokart in her life

she refuses to touch alcohol, but smokes marijuana every now and then. when she's feeling festive. or super stressed out

she cuts her hair to shoulder-length about a year after the true ending. after she graduates highschool, she stops dying it and lets it return to its natural black, except for one pink streak.

after high school, she moves to the same city where sunny lives and gets an apprenticeship at an auto repair shop. mechanic aubrey is my most beloved headcanon and i will take it with me to the grave. she also gets a motorbike because i say so

she starts spending more time with sunny (he's also doing a lot better; tbh i should make another headcanons post just for him!) and they eventually start dating and move in together :))

years after the endgame, hero tells aubrey that she's become just like mari, or at least a slightly more punk version of mari: a caring, lovable, accomplished, big-sisterly figure whom everybody looks up to. it makes her cry for the first time in years. this feels like the natural conclusion to aubrey's character arc—after years of struggling to control her grief and keep the memory of her best friend alive, she's succeeded in commemorating mari in the best way possible: by fully embodying her spirit.

[semper-legens]

25. Destined, by PC and Kristin Cast

Owned: No, library Page count: 325 My summary: Neferet's plans have ramped up. Killing Zoey's mother to make her perfect vessel, Aurox, wasn't enough. She wants to destroy Zoey and her friends, and she's going to need power to do it. The Darkness is calling...meanwhile, Zoey's friends face trouble amongst themselves. Rephaim is still settling in, and Erin and Shaunee have started to separate themselves. And Zoey is grieving her mother's death. Can they get it together long enough to find out what really happened? My rating: 1/5 My commentary:

Back at it again with the House of Night and hoo boy folks, this one's a doozy. I'm so close to the endgame now - only three more to go after this! And as soon as they come into the library, I swear, I'm speedrunning this shit. But this post is going to be the opposite of speedrunning. Turns out I have a lot to say about this continued train wreck, and I'm gonna spill a lot of digital ink in so doing! So without further ado, let's get down to it.

Right off the bat, we have a healthy dose of ableism! Yep, this book introduces Shaylin, who became blind as a child and is Marked by Erik. But she's Marked as a red vampire, and immediately regains her sight - and is gifted an aura-sensing True Sight. And of course, she goes on and on and on about how great it is that she's not blind anymore, and how bad being blind was, and it's just enough to make me cringe. Because all blind people need is to magically get their sight back! Not, like, better accommodations to help them live in a world that hasn't been built for them, or to be treated like actual adults or something. Nope. Magical sight, that's the best thing. It carries forward that unhealthy idea that vampires in this world are physically 'perfect' - before, we've seen the kids whose bodies reject the Change being portrayed as fat, greasy, and unfit. Now, it seems that disabled kids aren't allowed to be vampires while retaining their disability. Gross!

Nefert has a new boytoy, and his name is Aurox. Get it, because he's a werebull. Sort of - he was gifted by the white bull of Darkness, and he can turn into a bull involuntarily. But because Neferet botched the summoning, Aurox has a soul and stuff. Specifically, Heath's. Remember Heath? Zoey's human boyfriend, got necksnapped by Kalona? Yeah, the book treats it like it's a big mystery, but it's so obvious that it's Heath. Aurox knows things about Zoey he shouldn't, calls Zoey by Heath's pet name for her, has his mannerisms…it's one thing for a book for teenagers to be simpler than I, an adult, expect, it's another for it to be so obvious that a toddler could realise what's going on. And yet again, we've got another topless teen badboy who angsts about being evil and is gonna get a redemption arc. Christ alive, how many of those are there? Stark, Kalona, Rephaim, now Aurox…we get it, Casts, you got a kink. Can you please come up with another male character?

Speaking of male characters, in order to sew some chaos, Neferet's invited humans to come work at the House of Night, which means we're introduced to Lenobia's cowboy, Travis. He's a cowboy. Who works at the stables. And Lenobia, running minor character and horsemaster at the House of Night, is falling hard for him. What does this relationship do, plotwise, other than add a sexy cowboy to the cast? Even though I've criticised things like Stevie Rae and Rephaim or Zoey and…most male characters…I can at least acknowledge that they serve a function. Introducing or adding to the theme of redemption, giving those characters conflicts and secrets, furthering the plot somehow. But this? I guess it's giving us an insight into Lenobia, but so far all I've gathered is that she has a thing for cowboys and doesn't want to be romantically involved with anyone but oh no this guy's too sexy. It drags the book down and takes up valuable page time - not to mention that Travis himself has less depth than a Mills and Boon cowboy. He's just…charming and folksy and respectful to Lenobia and loves horses. Exactly the sexy cowboy archetype. Bleh. Lenobia seems like she might have been an interesting character, but the new context we learn about her is entirely about her love life, or lack thereof, and nothing to do with who she is as a person. It's lacklustre, is what I'm getting at here.

Neferet continues to be the big bad, evilly doing evil things because she's evil. She's escalated to human sacrifice and gives blood to the Darkness to drink whenever she needs something. As if she wasn't enough of a cackling supervillain already. My biggest problem with Neferet is that there's no depth to her. Why is she doing what she's doing? Sure, she wants power, she wants to rule the world and become a goddess, but why? I don't need a Disney-live-action-movie backstory for her, just something other than her hatred for Zoey and lust for power! Has this always been a facet of her from before Zoey? Was she striving towards this goal before Zoey? And, of course, for all that the Casts seem to think they're clever for making the evil bull the white one, we have the Darkness demanding blood in order to do Neferet's bidding. Not at all an overdone trope. And the way they take it from her is uncomfortably sexual - almost like the Casts haven't gotten over their whole 'slutshame the villainous female character' thing. Above all, though, Neferet falls into the biggest trap for her character archetype - she's not camp enough. If you want to have a cackling balls-to-the-wall Evil Bitch as a main villain, she needs to own it. Think Maleficent! Think Ursula! Neferet just isn't interesting enough or ridiculous enough, that's my problem.

Meanwhile, there's trouble in Zoey's inner circle. Erin and Shaunee, the Twins, have started to un-twin themselves, separating from each other to become their own people. This would be a perfectly fine plot point, but for three things. One, Erin and Shaunee aren't well-developed in general - literally, their only character trait is that they are Twins. This would be a good time to give them more character, except that this mostly unfolds with people standing around and telling Shaunee how much nicer she is now, rather than us being shown it really. Two, it seems to come right out of nowhere? There's no particular reason it happens. And three, none of the other characters seem to care about Erin after it happens. They're obviously setting up for Erin to become more of an antagonistic character later, but as soon as the split occurs, all Zoey and her friends seem to care about and check in on is Shaunee - nobody ever checks in on Erin or seems to give much of a shit about her as a person. Which is…really fucking weird? Like, if Zoey et al had checked in on Erin and been yelled at or something, that'd make sense. But it's like this girl wasn't their friend at all, so quickly is she dumped. And that's just lazy writing. It's a clear signal to the reader that Shaunee is the 'good one' and Erin is the 'bad one', despite it being a particularly cold and uncaring thing for the characters to do in-universe. There's no reason why Zoey can't be like 'hey are you okay' to Erin at least once. It'd give a chance to show how Erin is changing! But nope. Subtext is for cowards. Let's just spell it all out to the audience. Wouldn't want them to start thinking.

And yet, for all that seems to be going on here, that's actually a negative. Because it makes the book so unfocused. You can hardly concentrate on one plot thread, so much is being brought up and juggled and dropped. And a lot of it isn't resolved - sure, this is a series and there's three more books after this, but it just feels like the Casts are throwing a lot of spaghetti at the wall to see what will stick. It strikes me as a series that hasn't been tightly planned, that was loosely improvisational, and it really shows. New conflicts come out of nowhere and aren't properly foreshadowed in anyone's behaviour. New twists are set up that are predictable from the moment they are introduced. Characters are sort of fleshed out, but only in very limited ways. Characters stick to one-dimensional archetypes. There's a lot going on, but it's all as thin as paper. And it's just as bad as all the books that came before it.

Next up, time travelling meets a pirate tale.