I know this has made the rounds on Tumblr before. In fact, in trying to track down the source, I found a screenshot of a Tumblr thread that ended with an edit of Poe reacting to this. But I have yet to find a source and I MUST KNOW
THIS IS A TROLL, RIGHT?
Like there is no fucking way someone read The Raven and actually came to the conclusion that it was about how Poe liked ravens, right? RIGHT?!?!
It is not humanly possible to be so wrong about this poem. Even leaving aside the symbolism (HOW????) you still have to get the understanding the narrator fucking HATES that bird.
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Okay, so, crisis averted. Both of them, really. Red Robin had not asked or attempted to get any more of Danny's drink and the World Ending Crisis was less World Ending and more World Threatening. Either way, no one is hyped up in lethal amounts of caffeine and the world is in no more pieces than it had been before.
That brings attention to a new problem, though. It's uniquely Danny's problem and Constantine and Zatanna and Deadman won't stop laughing at him. He's also pretty sure that Raven is laughing at him in the privacy of her mind, so that's making him feel worse.
The problem is that every single hero that had been at the meeting a week ago that was not a part of the JLD has been overly concerned about him.
So what if he half died when he was fourteen and therefore will never look over either fourteen or eighteen? So what if he consumes enough caffeine to kill an elephant within a few minutes? What is he gonna do, die? That's not a real threat as long as he only fights as Phantom.
Ignoring the fact that he can, in fact, get hurt to the point of near death as Phantom. It's not like anyone knows that, though! Besides, ghosts run on god rules. They can't die, only fade when forgotten. People aren't likely to forget about most ghosts, though, even if they can't remember their names.
He's not gonna share that, though. Let Batman keep his contingency that won't work because the only contingency that will work for Phantom is the one he made himself. Tried and tested! He's marked it off of his Bingo Card.
Anyway. Heros and their kids/proteges have been trying to track him down for the entire week. He can't risk even leaving the House of Mysteries because the Supers are all probably listening out for him and they can't hear him through magic. It sucks. He just wants to go get a cup of coffee as Danny. The second he leaves, though, the Supers will be on him like bloodhounds. He'd leave as Danny, but the rest of the JLD don't know what he looks like as Danny and he'd like to keep it that way, thank you very much. Being stuck as Phantom was going to start causing issues to his human half if he doesn't get to leave soon.
Should he risk it? Is coffee that won't kill him really worth risking the Supers finding out his civilian identity? Sure, they wouldn't tell anyone, but he didn't like the idea of someone being able to pick him out of a crowd when all he wanted to do was blend in. It's why he avoided Gotham and Bludhaven, actually, but that's both self explanatory and another story for another time.
"You're still here?" Zatanna sat on the couch beside him. "You're normally gone by now. You can't not be tired of us yet."
He sighed and sunk down into the couch slightly. "Believe me, I'm tired of being stuck here, but I can't leave. I can't leave as a human because you guys don't know what I look like and, no offense, but I'd like to keep it that way. I can't leave as I am now because Superman will be on my ass quicker than I can blink!" He whined this time, "I just want a cup of coffee."
"What about your special brew?" Raven asked, coming into the room.
"I want to drink coffee as a human. That stuff will kill me if I drink it as a human."
"At least you know your limits."
"That sounded like a dig at someone, Z."
"It was."
"Why don't you just go out under a protection spell?" Raven offered, "We could cast one over you and you could leave. Superman can't hear through magic, so he won't be able to tell. Neither will Superboy."
Danny thought for a second. "You're a genius, Raven! Has anyone ever told you that?"
"A few times," she blushed.
"Well, it needs to be said more!"
Zatanna laughed. "Alright, kid, let's get you outside before you drive yourself crazy."
Practically vibrating in place, Danny waited for the protection spell to settle over him. The second it did, he was out the door and wandering the streets of whatever city the House of Mysteries decided to drop him as Danny instead of Phantom.
"Who are you," was not the question or voice he wanted to hear the second he stepped into the open as himself.
"Danny," he squeaked out through his absolute panic. He didn't dare turn around.
The sound of fabric moving minutely clues him in to the second person behind him. What the hell were these two doing out? It's the middle of the day and there's no attacks going on anywhere in Gotham!
"Where did you come from?" Robin asked.
Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit! This was really bad! Why did the House drop him *here* of all places? Does it *want* him to die again? It was very painful the first time, thank you very much! "Illinois?"
"Was that a question or an answer?" Why is Red Robin here now?!
"An-an answer?"
"Ah, you guys are scaring the little guy!" That was Nightwing. They're surrounding him! Why is Nightwing here? This is Gotham, not Bludhaven. "Give him some room to breathe."
They did not, in fact, give him room to breathe. Maybe coming outside was a bad idea. If he gets out of this no more dead than he already was, he was going to move to the middle of nowhere and become a hermit. Smallville is a town in the middle of nowhere, right? He'll retire as Phantom and move to Smallville until the people get suspicious and burn him as a witch-!
Maybe moving to a big city would be a better idea. Or locking himself in the basement of the House of Mysteries. Yeah, yeah that's a good idea.
"-even listening?"
Oh shit. They were still talking to him! Now is not the time to panic! "Gottagobye!" And then he was running.
Good job not panicking, Danny.
Part 1 Part 3
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I think a fundamental part of the relationship between Deli and Colin is that Deli never actually saw Colin as an equal. This is the root at why, when Colin expresses mild questioning in episode 4, Deli attempts to intimidate and order Colin into standing with him. Deli also has a habit of talking about Colin as if it is given Colin will support anything he did; in the same scene, he keeps saying "we" as if there is no question Colin will be alongside him, and he becomes angry when Colin expresses disagreement and declared Colin as unneeded, even a hindrance. It goes far back. There's no suggestion of choice when Colin was given the title of skald (there certainly wasn't interest in it). Notably, Colin is being literally paid to be here, and I wrote previously about how it feels there's a disconnect between the way that Colin and Deli see this relationship between episodes three and four.
In reverse, it's also notable Raphaniel and Colin's relationship is actually one of equals and a relationship in which Colin has his own agency and a freedom to be an independent person. The first thing Raphaniel does is ask if Colin would like to come with him to the cave, even initially interpreted Colin as declining, and then when Colin expresses he is not interested in Raphaniel's ambitions, he asks Colin what are his goals. When Raphaniel brings up knighthood, he presents it as something being offered to rather than chosen for Colin ("I can shroud you in gold and let your hand be the hand of this church," emphasis mine) and as a path that will give Colin an authority to seek what he wants ("Such that you need not worry to produce steel and mete out what vengeance you see fit."); even though Colin still hates the title—seems he dislikes all titles—the manner in which Raphaniel suggests a knighthood feels very different from the way Colin becomes titled as skald, especially with the way Colin actively and freely agrees to accept the role despite the parts he doesn't like. It ends up as a joke, that Colin and Raphaniel have just been following one another in a circle in place, but it's significant that Colin is willing to go where Raphaniel feels is useful and Raphaniel describes himself as hitching his wagon to Colin and Colin's success.
Generally, there's an interesting window here relating to the different social classes that Deli and Raphaniel belong to (or are presumed to belong to) and what one feels entitled to vs. what one had to scheme and work to get and how that affects the way they approach their relationship with Colin. But, anyway, it's a core part of these two relationships that Deli and Raphaniel treat Colin very differently while Colin is working alongside them. There's a mutual understanding and an equality in Colin's relationship with Raphaniel that never existed in Colin's relationship with Deli.
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