#texting cass has brought me to this conclusion

[missmeinyourbones]

at the end of the day the miya divide is that osamu has a daddy kink and atsumu has a mommy kink

[duketectivecomics]

You might've answered this already and I just didn't find it, but one thing that always perplexed me about Duke was how old he was in comparison to the other Batkids. It's obvious he's younger than Dick and Babs, and I pretty sure he's younger than Jason and Cass, and older than Damian, but I cannot tell if he's meant to be Tim and Steph's ages, younger, or older. Could you help me?

You’re all kinds of good here, anon!!! I answered a similar ask abt the Order of Adoption but didn’t dive into specific ages on that post BECAUSE well they didn’t ask lmaooo but ALSO:

Comic ages are very fluid usually! While Years™️ might pass in the canon proper, or while time seems to slow to a crawl, having a character’s age outright stated is something that occurs very rarely for most characters, if at all!

Because it’s always much easier to have a floating age range to work and play around in! It’s easier to keep a character Perpetually 12 or 16 or 25 or mid-40s or- you get the idea. SO, with that in mind. Let’s do our Best to Break Down What Age Duke Might Be Currently A N D how it might interact with the Other Batkids!

(Warning for a Very Long Post, lots of issue citations, and a LOT of comics terminology regarding specific runs/events/continunity. I’m gonna try to keep it as clear/concise as possible ofc but plz keep these things in mind! If you’re not at least marginally familiar with Bat-Comics, you might find yourself feeling a little lost here!)

So from the Zero Year arc we see a common Trend that plays out pretty consistently with Batfam comics: a Life-Changing Event Occuring while the protag is Young™️.

(Batman (2011) #30)

With how Duke is drawn in these particular issues, and given the trends of the past, I’d place him in the 8-12 range. The historic precedent being ofc that that is the same range that canon usually places both Bruce and Dick at for their Tragedies™; the more benign reason being that he... just very much Looks to be drawn in that Range. He’s very clearly an Older/Prepubescent child here.

Fast Forward to his Next Appearance in the Endgame arc and-

(Batman (2011) #37)

He’s definitely older! He’s wiser! And he’s giving Batman a fistbump lmao. Again, no strict age given here BUT, since they condensed each Robin to a Year or Two tops with Bruce (its n52 and its fucked up is what it is), we can assume it’s been at least 4-5 since Zero Year (which would mean if we go off the age range I proposed for that year, then theoretically he could be anywhere from 12-16 here, and I think that tracks pretty well. Not Perfectly and Certainly Not so well with Pre52 continuity ofc, but I’ll talk about that later!)

In We Are Robin, while its not stated Directly In The Text, it IS given as an Informational Tidbit that Duke is 16 (specifically this can be found at the end of issue #4)! (Sweet sweet canon confirmation FINALLY)

We know that WAR takes place Fairly Soon after Endgame (almost immediately, give or take a month or two given that Duke’s been placed in a few foster homes at this point and has racked up Quite A File) now, again id like to remind y’all that while this is a NICE starting point to have, keep in mind that comics are fluid and this may be retconned slightly/ignored in later stories bc Keeping Duke 16-ish is in DC’s Best Interest at the moment. (Having Relatable Teen Characters afterall is a Good Marketing strategy™️. And the longer they can Keep them Young, the Better)

With that in mind let’s take a moment to Highlight the fact that Duke and Damian have crossed paths at this point AND the storylines that have occurred during this year that were meant to be in conjunction with one another!

Because Prior to Endgame, Damian had Died! And just a year (in real, meat-space time) before We Are Robin, he was resurrected and had begun his “Year of Atonement” in the Robin: Son of Batman maxiseries. Midway through both this series and WAR (and, we can assume, midway thru this “Year” for Damian) the Robin War begins/ends and we see at least one major Moment between these two boys who will soon call one another brothers:

(Robin War #2)

Given that R:SoB is followed up VERY quickly by Teen Titans Rebirth (in which Damian celebrates his 13th birthday), we can conclude that Damian would be 12 during this time (well, 12 and 1/2 to play it safe lmao). That being said, this Confirms about a 4yr gap between Duke and Damian! (One Batkid down at least! but he’s the key to the others so put a pin in him!)

As We Are Robin draws to its conclusion, DC was releasing another arc that would eventually flow into the Rebirth Era, by the end of which, Bruce would approach Duke with an Idea (which involves Bruce becoming Dukes temporary guardian & as he states Many Times “Trying Something New” with Duke).

And thus the Rebirth Era begins, and Duke began his Year of training (most directly encapsulated by the Cursed Wheel arc in the All-Star Batman run:

(All-Star Batman #1 (back-up story))

Bruce introduces Duke to a training regimen that Alfred has named “the Cursed Wheel”. It encompasses all the training Bruce and the other bats have undergone and condenses it down into color-coordinated segments that will take Duke a Year to Complete.

It can be assumed that by the End of this Year Duke will somehow miraculously still be 16, despite, again, an entire ass year passing.

There’s one story that takes place mid-year in All-Star Batman, and the Cursed Wheel is meant to be capped off by Duke’s first Official Day as the Signal (in the titular Batman & the Signal ofc) BUT, near as I can tell after this story, Dukes age is not brought up again. So until they DO bring it up either in Batman & the Outsiders or whatever future run Duke becomes involved in, we can assume DC will be working with the idea that he’s meant to be in that 16-18 range from here on out (ie still a minor).

But, dear anon, you might be saying “okay, that’s cool, but how does that relate to my question abt how he falls in with the other Bats?” You’ll have to be a little patient with me here, but I think I may have cracked the code!

Keep in mind I’m gonna be addressing both the Post-Crisis to Flashpoint Continuity (ie mid-80s to 2010 in comics history) and the N52-slash-Rebirth Era (2010-Today). Its generally agreed by fandom and DC alike that these points of rebooting &/or Major Events constitute the era of “Modern” comics, and that everything from the 80s-on might more or less be canon on some level, even if not All of it is.

(Plus, most of fandom usually likes to borrow elements from both eras and much more rarely from stories before it, SO-)

Lets do a quick rundown of how everyone who’s Closer to Duke’s Age, Relates to each other first, age-wise:

Given that Jason was 15 when he died, in A Lonely Place of Dying its established that Bruce had become increasingly reckless since his death, and by the end of the story, Tim has stepped in to fill Robin’s shoes (he states that he’s 13 during this story btw). Pretty soon after, Stephanie Brown is introduced & established to be about a year older than Tim (wish I could pin-point a specific issue BUT, i unfortunately haven’t read any Tim OR Steph-involved comics that predate No Man’s Land... Besides the aforementioned Lonely Place and Young Justice technically, but im working on remedying that soon!)

NOW, during the No Man’s Land event, Cassandra is introduced, and pretty soon into her Batgirl run, its revealed that she’s around the same age as Jason (or at least how old he Would Have Been, had he not died.) Now, given that Jay has an August bday and Cass has a January one, fandom sometimes likes to play around with the idea of one being older than the other (OR even speculating/placing them in an AU as twins/siblings, given that Lady Shiva (Cass’ mom) was a Possible Candidate to be Jason’s biological mother but that’s a Whole Other Thing i wont get into here.)

The point being, Cass, in this era of comics, IS slightly older than Tim and Steph. At Tim’s start as Robin, their ages could either line up like: Tim-13, Steph-14, Cass-15 (being a few months ‘behind’ Jay), then Jason at 15/16 (depending on how soon Tim filled the role after Jay died in April) OR Jason-15/16, Cass-16/17 (in this case she’d be a few months ‘ahead’ now instead)

So brief detour to talk New 52, however! Because Tim, Steph & Cass all got switched around from where DC originally left them prior to the reboot! Now I haven’t read much of them in this era, other than Batman & Robin: Eternal, so my Understanding of their current ages is Spotty at Best. The general consensus seems to be that while before N52, Stephanie had been attending her first year of College (& doing VERY WELL i might add), with the reboot she was set back a few years alongside Tim to a vague Late-Teen state (so 16-18-ish, instead of a Very Clearly Established 18/19). Cass is probably the worst off for this reboot, given that B&R:E basically constitutes her new origin for the new continuity, and does nothing to confirm her age (all I really know is that she’s a Vague Late-Teen too... Probably? Maybe?), given how much they infantilize her, and subsequently how fandom in turn has taken to infantilizing her too, theres a semi-popular fanon that places her Younger that Tim and Steph. And I, for one, propose that we ignore that bc its Weak Sauce my dudes.

Some fans chose to ignore N52 continuity due to this vagueness, and will stick to the ages established before the N52/Rebirth reboots. But its something to keep in mind regardless bc we’re all obviously going to pull from what’s most familiar to us!

But WHERE could we place Duke with regards to them, then? Because them being “Late Teens” is certainly much too vague to work with!

This is Where Damian is the key!

Because Damian is one of those rare exceptions to the Reboot Rule. His story flowed almost seamlessly over from before to after. While he was made a Robin at the age of 10, he continued to grow and learn even after the universe was being rewritten to suit the whims of DC editorial. 

If we choose to ignore how everyone else’s ages and origins were swapped around, and stick with the growth that was presented before the reboot, then we can draw some interesting conclusions!

Firstly, though Stephanie also had Died and subsequently Returned, she hadn’t lost much, if any time, from the Ordeal. At the start of her Batgirl run, she is enrolled at a Gotham university and making headway with a more firm foot in the Batfamily (even to the point that she and Damian spend a few issues bonding. At this point in time, Damian is definitely 11, and again, Steph can be assumed to be 18/19 during the course of her run. We’ll assume 18 for clarity’s sake.)

So, then when Damian is 11, now our line up is as Follows:

Dami - 11, Steph - 18, Tim - 17, Cass 19-21 (the range depending again, if you subscribe to Cass being either older/younger than Jason).

WHICH MEANS, If during Robin War Damian is 12 (and a half) THEN We’ve got an age line-up that Potentially looks Like This:

Dami -12(and 1/2), Duke - 16, Tim - 18, Steph - 19, Cass - 20-22 (And Obvsly Jason, Babs & Dick at their varying Older Ages than everyone here)

and im just now realizing i Didnt include Harper in this line-up, but thats bc she’d also throw a big wrench in all this.  I’d personally throw her in with being Steph’s age, but I’m pretty sure she was supposed to be either that, or between Steph and Cass (again, since its N52, i believe Cass was/is assumed to be Younger than Steph, but that contradicts the assumed following of pre52 canon that we have for the above line-up, obvsly, and so we ignore that lmao) 

All this to say, however, that canon and fandom is what you make of it, and if you want to wiggle these ages around a little, you’re more than allowed! God Knows i usually like to skew the Tim-Steph-Cass age group to be a tad older than this in my own fic writing, and I like to have Duke start as a Robin at 14/15 instead of 16, but that’s just bc I like the dynamic potential it could bring with them being Definitively Older that him, and thus in a more secure place to be Mentoring him right alongside Bruce & the others.

But you might see these age ranges and want to do something Different (say, making Tim, Steph, Cass, & Duke all the Same Age at 17 instead! And that very well tracks with how current comics kinda looks right now!) and you’re absolutely valid to do so! Because again, comic character’s ages are meant to be fluid, not fixed!

And at the end of the day, its all about wanting to see these teen heroes kick serious ass haha

[mimiri22-6]

I JUST FOUND OUT BEE AND PUPPYCAT HAD A SECOND SEASON! GUESS WHAT I JUST FINISHED WATCHING!

Oh my fucking god holy shit, my guys! This show. This fucking show. Where do I even start! First off

SPOILERS!!!!!!

YOU DO NOT WANT TO WALK INTO THIS SEASON, THIS SHOW, WITH SPOILERS! DO NOT FUCKING LOOK, THIS IS 1000% SPOILER TERRITORY!!!

So I will be taking the extra step of taking my laptop out, and continuing this on there(and after I wake up because it's 4am and I regret absolutely NONE of this whatsoever because, guys, I love this show with everything I have left to my being, I swear, I will die for a third season)

Warning: This is a long one.

OKOKOKOK! I know I know! It’s been uh...A Month since I first posted this! BUT I am Here Now and Ready!!! I am less than 10 seconds into the first episode of season 2 and I am already So Ready to relive this!!(Dream SMP has Nothing on this show, God I Love This Show Far Too Much!!!!!!)

...First ten minutes...I have So Much I want to say...Just-just a lot of love...

okokokokokokokokokok!!!!!! I think I know how I’m going to do this now! One bullet for each episode! Let’s see if I stick with it.

Gentle Touch

In the first episode we already get a big game changer for Bee and her development. Bee becoming more responsible as a favor for Deckard. He asks her to take care of his family while he’s at cooking school and we already see her doing this. Going out to the ocean with Weasley, going out of her comfort zone for people she’s practically family to, which is why we got the beginning flashback, once again going out of her comfort zone to stop Puppycat from punching kittens, And Finally, coming out from her nap cupboard to face Howl and help pay for bills by eating ugly food.

Little Fingers

Ooh, this one has foreshadowing dream sequence. I would say more about it if it had more significance, but it’s really just what happens to Bee in the last ep. This episode brings more of Bee being responsible, trying to take her phone away from Puppycat so he stops making bad purchases. This episode made me realize what Puppycat’s role is this season, the child. Or something among those lines. He’s the same as he was last season, but it seems/is a bit more exaggerated because Bee isn’t doing the same things anymore. She’s started to care about consequences. And speaking about consequences, Toast announces she’s pregnant while confirming that she’s been staying...in Cass’s room(?)...weird, but ok, and by Tim pointing and Merlin’s reaction, it’s Merlin’s...but also everyone else seemed like they thought they were the culprit and I don’t want to think about the implications of that....MOVING ON-OH WAIT, And Cardamon’s mom is spouting magic tears that messes with the plants, so there’s that.

Snow and Violets

I’m going to be honest, I’m not 100% sure what to put here and I’m loosing steam. (I’ve been awake since 3 am...) But I think I can put something. The situation with Mr. Cup is the definition of being haunted by your past. The guilt and regret of cheating in the past has made him lose his motivation to give it his all in racing because, what’s the point? Motivation and not caring was his norm, so he just stuck with it. Until Bee, and now he can be a rainbow and sleep with less guilt and regret on his conscience. The thing with the island rapidly changing could be one of three things. Something to do with the ship that  Is the island, a metaphor for change, or something really cool the creators just wanted.

Day off Work

Not Too much to note for this ep overall. Puppycat totally did do the ‘wrecking the house in search for the owner’ thing dogs do. Finally, a dog trait! Every time I see Cardamon now I just get sad cause he’s 7, and should Not be doing landlord stuff. Bee showing worry about how Cardamon’s mom is still asleep and being worried about Cardamon himself, I’m just glad someone’s noticing. I keep forgetting that some people haven’t watched the pilot so they don’t know about Puppycat being a Space Outlaw, so when he found all his stuff under the apartment I was less surprised and more excited. The two last things I want to say is I think it’s interesting/cool/intriguing how the Wizard family just takes every weird thing either in stride, unquestioningly, or ignorance. Just trying to pretend it didn’t happen so they don’t have to deal with it(other than Crispin, but he’s coming up). And the last thing I just want to bring to light is CARDAMON BEING SO CUTE IN THE LAST SCENE! JUST BEING A CHILD! AND LAUGHING WITH HIS DOG! ON A FUNNY CHAIR! I LOVE HIM YOUR HONOR AND I WILL PROTECT THAT SMILE WITH MY WHOLE BEING!!!

My Favorite

Note, Pretty Patrick is also The Mayor. Alright. It’s definitely been a few months and you can see the relationship between Howl and Bee has gotten better, not that it was too bad to begin with, just a bit less peeved on Howl’s end. The theme of Bee being responsible is brought into play again with the train station scene. Telling Puppycat to not hit and the way Puppycat was acting around Patrick. All little kid stuff. Which also kind of clashes with what I thought was Puppycat being older than Bee by a lot, I’m honestly slowly getting more and more confused exactly how I should perceive Puppycat. THE FIRST REAL LOOK AT THE HAND GUYS! I’m still not sure what their deals are, but they have a corpse on their hands and that is already the biggest red flag. I have a guess as to what/who they are in relation to Puppycat and, by acquaintance, Bee, but I could be wrong, but I also can’t think of any other people they may be. I’ll bring it back up either the next time we see them or at the end.

Did You Remember

Grampa Puppycat cares about his granddaughter a whole lot. Don’t @ me, their dynamic is more confusing than a moving maze...Now this episode, ooh boy, it feels like a lot, but in a minimal way? First off, Cardamon finally breaks down about the stress of being a 7 year old landlord and Bee takes care of him for the day. Big Sis Bee For The Win! DON’T @ ME I MAKE UP MY OWN FAMILY DYNAMICS!!! Kind of continuing from the first sentence, Puppycat and Bee love each other(I Stand By Platonically For Them) so much already, for them it’s been a little over a year considering Puppycat fell into Bee’s life before her last birthday and now they’re celebrating another one. And I must admit, I can not for the life of me figure out wtf the deal is with the tears. They have little shapes of recent events in them and they make plants weird/straight up just make life! Like, What Even Is That?! Also, Cardamon finally gets a good sleep.

Bird Friend

Ok, so we got more ship pieces, a most likely reason as to why Puppycat was Like That in the last few episodes of season 1 and has been goopy every now and again in this season. Apparently eating things he shouldn’t eat make him Extremely off model and goopy. More hands! But not the rest of them this time around. I wonder if Sticky’s hunt for all the birds has any significance other than showing us another piece. Puppycat breaking down and spilling a few secrets after stress eating off the floor and Bee immediately saying no to someone else telling her what’s wrong with Puppycat and letting him come to her first instead of forcing him is always such a good lesson to have. Also, Cass is into weirdly shaped shiny things.

Two Clown Noses

Ah, it’s this one. The one that Really throws a wrench into the Bee/Deckard ship. THEY’RE BOTH SO CUTE! I CAN’T CHOOSE!!! This entire episode is just Crispin and Bee hanging out with the added angst of the beginning ‘story’. This world is full of such amazingly crazy characters and Crispin’s backstory is one of those crazier ones. Bee and him Lived Together and Know Each Other, he knows she’s a robot! My only question is, what happened that they broke up? WAIT- DID THEY EVEN BREAK UP?! It would be weird if they weren’t because they were living together and then they decide to live separate again would make no sense. I think I just jumped to the weirdest conclusion...Anyway! How would Puppycat get sick? I feel like that was just another thing they added to create different dynamics. The beginning birthday thing and the conclusion felt so real even though the cause was something so out there that I feel like only animated shows like this could pass, but also I feel like someone out there has done something similar, so what do I know. Yeah, not much else about this episode, it was mostly just Bee/Crispin stuff and character stuff. Gosh they’re so cute...but so is Bee/Deckard. Being a multishipper is hard...

Funny Lying

RIGHT! THEY’RE CALLED THE WARLOCKS! THAT’S THE TITLE I WAS FORGETTING! Tim knows everyone’s secrets, comes with the perk of having a lot of time and not talking much, you observe everyone else while they think you’re doing something else. I know from experience. Eavesdropping is a specialty of mine. SHIT THIS IS THE ONE WHERE CASS GETS THE MESSAGE DISSING HER FOR FALLING FOR TOAST FROM A COWORKER! I caught those vibes during the first season, but then the first half of this season came along and I was forced to drop those vibes in favor of cannon because TOAST WAS PREGOS WITH ONE OF CASS’S BROTHER’S KIDS! I’m good at catching gay vibes in fictional worlds, but I’m shit in the real world, just like everything else. And the thing is, we don’t get Any kind of explanation/closure for the entire rest of the season! We see Toast totally shocked reaction, probably moments before she was going to sneak attack Cass, but froze upon seeing that text. AND WE GET NOTHING ABOUT THAT FOR THE REST OF THE SEASON! Anyway, that was only like 2 minutes into the ep, this is taking forever. We got more Bee being responsible for Cardamon and getting rid of the tears, but the biggest part of this episode is undoubtedly Puppycat’s scenes. We got him sinking to the bottom of the ocean and getting cradled by flowers created by the tears next to the ship. We find out he was bullied and ridiculed in school as a kid and his best friend(idk what else they would be counted as), Violet, convinced him to leave their planet after they accidently summon their ship, leaving Puppycat’s mother behind. seeing how he cried about leaving her she seems to have been a great caretaker and he loved her immensely. We get the scene of Bee’s dad as a baby/Very young child on a mission, giving a presentation, and finding the candy to be a source of energy by cracking it open. Making me think, ‘Is that Bee’s fuel source? If it is, how would not taking full doses for two years effect her?’ because in the first season she splits the candy in half to share with Puppycat and in this season she didn’t eat the candy at all. Makes me even more worried for the future knowing what state she’s in when this season ends. With the last flower fever dream/memory it seems that the princess that he fell in love with was the one to make the final move to turning him into a ‘monster.’ Don’t worry tho, Bee saved him from the bottom of the ocean 

Golden Eyes

(I’m getting more and more tired as this goes one. I started doing this at around 12 this morning and now it’s nearing 6 pm. I’m loosing it!) We got another birthday and it’s Howl’s this time, though it’s not really his episode. The fish are attracted to the wish crystals for some reason and one eats a bit of it to be ‘human’ for a day. I love how the fish hated being a human and Weasley didn’t even notice it was a date. I don’t know if it was or not, but ending on that was funny. We got the return of the major douche from the season 1 finally and a mention of Moully. 

Why Don’t You Help Me?

(I took a break between episodes, aka I went tf to sleep, because I was falling asleep at the table and not really processing everything enough for what I’m trying to do) Ok, so this is a day in the life of Cardamon episode with supposed parelles to the Warlocks. We start with the red one stuck and the others unwilling to help...and then they start drawing Puppycat’s face on the 5th one’s corpse and these guys just do not care that it’s a dead body that they supposedly killed themselves. In short, they have all my fear because they are uncaring about body counts. Cardamon still goes to school on top of being a self proclaimed landlord and gets made fun of for being responsible and tattling at every chance he gets. Something I just noticed too is, at first I just assumed he was finally getting tired after being an adult in a child’s body for who knows how long, but now I’m thinking if he’s supposed to be asleep with Violet, his mom, then the reason for him being so tired is being awake too long. It could most likely be both, too. Just like Cardamon, I have no idea what all the tears mean. In the most recent one was see Moully as the charm in the center. What’s the pattern with these? Again we see Bee being responsible and taking care of Cardamon, making sure he gets home safe, tucking him in, and pulling an all night favor so he can sleep and get to school in the morning. Speaking of that, I can’t say I like Cardamon’s teachers all that much. I could rant about them, but this is already long and they’re not worth it. My only real question is, why the hell are their clothes so ragged and dirty? Do they not know how to bathe? Just, WTF? (either that or they’re Really not trying to hide their *ahem* activities from the kids, which just makes me want to punch sense into them or something)

Now I’m Really Alone

MOULLY!!!! Sorry, I just love him a lot. From what I can put together, he’s some kind of gift giving being. Giving wishes, exchanging good deeds and quick favors for other good deeds and favors. Just being Really nice and wanting to help everyone he comes across. This episode makes me see so much in common between Bee and Moully. They both want to help even when they don’t know how. Making messes and finding ways clean up those messes out of guilt and the feeling of obligation. They both have lost things they need to pick up and the knowledge that they have all the time in the world because they’ve both been alive for so long. It keeps getting hinted, but now kind of confirmed, that the Wizard’s know Bee is Weird because they haven’t seen her age. Hell, seeing how she interacts with Cardamon she could have even baby sat them. So all the Wizard’s know she’s Weird and, supposedly, only Crispin knew she was a robot. That was until Deckard found out in the season 1 finally. Once again bringing up the point of people in the Wizard family finding something out and ignoring it and hiding it. In the season 1 finally, Tim asked Cass if Deckard wasn’t depressed anymore, practically saying that Deckard has some form of depression. Depression being a mental illness that runs in families, it wouldn’t be a stretch to assume that some other members of the family have similar problems. One of the things I remember depression doing is the person will see a problem and ignore it. Something that many people in this show do with the weirdness around them and the emotional states/situations of the other people in the show. This season is about finally seeing the thing you’ve been ignoring and doing something about it. And that’s what Bee’s been doing this season, taking charge and finally getting her junk out of the ocean and getting REALLY far out of her comfort zone. She HATES water and the ocean, but she’s diving in to take back what’s hers and cleaning up a mess. There’s A Lot to analyze with this episode, the similarities of Moully’s and Bee’s situations and personalities, Puppycat being the responsible one again for the long run of things, the tears and how the wish crystals work, and the state of multiple character’s minds. Ignorance is bliss until it isn’t.

I Won’t Leave You Alone

Ok, SO MANY NOTES! Which makes sense seeing how it’s the last episode. First off, THOSE WARLOCK BASTDARDS VIOLATED MOULLY AND IF THEY WERE REAL I WOULD THROTLE THEM TILL THEIR HEADS POPPED OFF!!! I am a very protective person when it comes to things I care about. And I’m going to say it here and now incase something comes up of it, Cooking Prince gives be Colorful Vibes, if you know what I mean. You don’t follow someone home and bother them when they don’t want to be bothered unless you’re Into into them. That’s all I’m saying and if nothing comes of it, I will drop it. I’m barely hanging onto it to begin with. So, last episode we watched one of three hands punching the other hands to let Moully go, and in this episode it’s confirmed that the day Moully was pulled through the void, the 5th warlock died. My theory with that is, the 5th one was against getting Puppycat in some way and retaliated by fighting them off of Moully and then the others retaliated by killing them in some way. And the tears in this episode didn’t give life to the corpse, but grew new life over top of it, the tears can’t bring the dead back. The ship gets put back together and we see Puppycat being pretty selfish again, bringing the ship online while Bee gets scooped trying to help Moully. He indirectly helped, but only after he got what he wanted. Cooking Prince, an outsider, brings up how everything going on on the island is Weird and Cass celebrates someone acknowledging it. Once again, bringing back the ‘ignorance is bliss until it’s not’ thing going on around here. Cardamon does more childish things this episode, making a wish and crying in his mother’s arms. He got to finally let go of his responsibilities and let it out until he passed out, and now he gets to sleep again. Moully and Bee are out of commission and the Wizard’s+Cooking Prince stay one the island/ship to be with Bee even though they are mostly confused about EVERYTHING going on rn. Bee has multiple Bees now while she’s out, and so, they go looking for Bee’s dad. I have a feeling he has at least some white hairs by now.

I remember watching this season for the first time. I remember I definitely cried at multiple points, but I can’t exactly remember what points now. I didn’t cry this time, I was too busy taking everything in and trying to put what little pieces I could find together. The first season was to get us used to this world and get comfortable for a chill ride, but then it smacks you in the face with something much bigger at the very end. This season was to make you pay more attention and to question your surroundings. It was also about the first steps to taking charge of your life. If Bee didn’t do all the responsible things she did this season, the warlocks would have probably gotten Puppycat while the island went to shambles. Actions have consequences and that’s what this was about. I believe next season is why ‘Lazy in Space’ was the title. The characters are going to be in space, looking for Bee’s dad, and will acknowledge all the weird things going on while developing, excuse the pun, in out of this world ways. 

I can’t wait for season 3.

[sassycassie-s-series]

All My Fault 8

By: SassyShoulderAngel319

Fandom/Character(s): DC, BatFam - Damian Wayne/Batman

Rating: PG

Notes: (Masterlist) Little bit of Cloudy’s backstory!

Tag List (Open): @probsjosh @batboys-and-other-messes @nanna-the-batmum @welovegroot

Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7

^^^^^

It was rare for me to have the Batcave all to myself. But Bruce and Tim had a meeting to attend at Wayne Enterprises so Alfred drove them, and Dick and Jason went to go check on their pal, Roy. Heaven knew where Damian disappeared off to. Probably off walking one of his plethora of pets or something. As far as I knew, Cass was on a mission somewhere and wouldn’t be back for another several weeks under the cover that she was attending school somewhere in Japan—or so I’d gathered from the boys’ chattering. I wasn’t entirely sure they knew where she was either, to be honest.

So I was weirdly alone. In the Batcave.

Singing “Total Eclipse of the Heart” at the top of my lungs in a way I hadn’t sung in a long time.

You’d think the fact that everyone is constantly somewhere else on business of some sort meant that I’d be home alone a lot but nah. Someone was always around asking if I’d turn my music down or not sing so loud because it had been a long night last night and they were trying to sleep or working on a case and needed to concentrate. Depending on who was asking, I often got varying levels of politeness. Dick’s was always, “Oh, Cloudy, could you please turn it down just a little? Please?” Whereas an extremely sleep-deprived Tim once snapped, “Who’s playing that racket?! Shut it off I can’t hear myself think!”

I never begrudged him the breach in manners, though, because I was fairly certain he’d been awake for 72 hours at that point. Usually he was nicer.

Surprisingly, Jason and Damian never used to give me much flak for listening to music loudly and/or singing along. Even though Jason’s room was on the other side of my bathroom from mine so he always got to listen to my shower renditions when he was home. Sometimes I’d get a text from one of them saying something like, “Hey can you turn it down for a little while?” but for the most part they left me alone.

This time, no one appeared to be in the Batcave at all so I sang to my heart’s content. The way I used to when my parents were alive and I wasn’t a ward of Bruce Wayne.

I stopped my song. My parents…

I ran over to the Bat-computer and looked up McCloud Software.

There was a news report from the day I arrived in the future as one of the top results. I clicked on it.

“Today marks the eighth anniversary of the disappearance of Nora McCloud, daughter of Jaqueline and Lyle McCloud of McCloud Software—the company that has taken leaps and bounds in the field of software design and innovation. Jaqueline and Lyle McCloud were tragically killed in a car accident when their daughter was sixteen. She was taken in by her parents’ business partner and good friend Bruce Wayne until her disappearance. Nora was slated to take over as CEO of the family company, only to disappear three days before she could take the reins. Since then, McCloud Software has been run by Lyle McCloud’s close friend and long-time business advisor Michelle Eden...”

I clicked out of the news report over to the stocks of my parents’ company, comparing them to the rest of the market through the eight years I missed when Damian brought me to the future and the timeways collapsed. My mom taught me how to read stocks from the time I was three. The company’s stocks mostly followed the trends—except one dramatic dip in 2021 that quickly climbed back up.

McCloud Software stock drop, 2021, I typed into the search bar.

SOFTWARE SCANDAL! McCloud database hacked, thousands of users at risk. I should have expected nothing less than a scandal to drop stocks.

But that wasn’t the top hit. It was the second-to-top—I just noticed it first because of the caps-locked title. The top hit said, McCloud Software database hack leaks emails that confirm Michelle Eden and Lyle McCloud affair.

“What?!” I demanded quietly, jumping to my feet and storming over to the case where my Cloudburst costume hung. Once I pulled the door to the case open, I threw off my shirt and started undoing my belt to get my skinny jeans off.

“McCloud? What happened to the music? I was enjoying your singing,” Damian remarked, descending the stairs.

I froze, half-naked and out in the open of the Batcave with no shirt and halfway out of my trousers. I yanked my skinny jeans back into place and covered my bra with my arms. “Damian!” I shrieked, whirling to look while keeping my back to the stairs as much as possible. “I thought no one was here.”

“No, I was upstairs designing a new evening gown for your appearance at the charity gala,” he replied, politely looking away from me with a sketchbook under one arm and a cup of tea in his other hand. “Were you… intending to go somewhere?”

I scooped up my shirt and pulled it back on aggressively. I pointed at the computer screen. “What do you know about the scandal that Michelle and my dad had an affair?” I asked.

Damian came down the rest of the stairs, looking at me now that I was decent. There was an intense look in his eyes. He set his sketchbook and cup down before gently resting his hands on my shoulders. “We’ve been keeping an eye on your company for you, I swear,” he said, peering down at me.

“That doesn’t answer my question,” I said. “Did Michelle actually have an affair with my dad?”

Damian hesitated. “We were never certain—”

“Damian,” I warned.

“As far as we could figure, no. It was just slander. Tim pored over both your father and Eden’s writing styles for two days before coming to the conclusion that the emails were planted. They were too different from the usual. However, we must consider the emotional aspect of passion and the fact that people don’t necessarily write the same when they’re exchanging romantic sweet nothings.”

I turned back to my Cloudburst costume, sliding out from under Damian’s hands on my shoulders.

“McCloud, wait,” he protested, grabbing my hand. It sent a charge all the way up my arm. He tugged back on me gently. “Cloudburst cannot go and interrogate the CEO of your company. She may figure out that Cloudburst is invested in this because she is Nora McCloud. You can confront Michelle at the charity ball as yourself if you wish, but not now.”

When I kept looking at my suit, Damian pulled me closer and wrapped his arms around me. Less like a cage and more like a hug.

“Please,” he added. “I understand that you are upset, but now is not the time.”

I was so surprised that he said “please” that I looked up at him. He was looking down at me intensely, his eyes searching my face with the same soul-piercing look they’d had when he first showed up in my past and seemed to be disbelieving that it really was me.

I sighed. “Alright. But I'm going to ask her about it at the ball, assuming she attends,” I relented.

“It’s likely she will be. For your sake,” Damian said. His hand slid down my arm and he wrapped his hand around mine. His hand was warm and I started wondering if he had some sort of electric powers that he’d never told me about with the charge running up my arm from the contact. “Come upstairs. I’d like to ask your opinion on the designs.”

“Can’t I just go to a store and find an evening gown?” I asked.

“Absolutely not. This is the first event where you will be seen in public in nearly a decade. A custom gown is the only way to go for image’s sake.”

“So you just… what? Casually design evening gowns?”

Damian pursed his lips thoughtfully. “Only for you,” he said, leading me out of the Batcave after taking his cup of tea and sketchbook off the table where he’d set them. “I mean, we have a significant lack of time for a professional designer to come up with one. I seem to recall your tastes in evening gowns. If I have created one you like, it would be quicker to have it made than to hire a professional designer.”

“Right,” I said, unsure of what else to say.

“Tea?” Damian offered as we got out of the Batcave.

“No thanks,” I replied.

“Yes, you don’t like tea, do you?”

“Nope. Tea, coffee, ugh.”

“May I grab you anything else?”

“No thanks.”

“Alright then. Come sit with me.” He led me into the main parlor and indicated I sit on the loveseat while he grabbed his drawing tablet from the sofa. He sat down next to me and placed his sketchbook on his lap. “First: basic designs. I went over the previous evening gowns you have worn to galas and attempted to balance them with your personal tastes and your particular… affinity for grand ballgowns.”

I snickered. “Okay,” I said.

Damian took a sip of his tea, set the cup off to the side, and opened his sketchbook. He leafed through several pages until he found what he was looking for. He wrapped the pages he didn’t need around the back. “This is just the first page,” he said. “Don’t assume these are all of your options.”

“How many pages are there?” I asked, noticing the first page had about six different designs on it.

“Five,” Damian said.

“Five?!” I demanded. “Dami, don’t you think that’s a little… much?”

He blinked at my use of a nickname. “… No?” he said. “Your first event in eight years to the public has to be just right. It’s vitally important that you wear something befitting your status as a high-profile young lady as well as all the attention that will be on you. Every camera will be on you almost all night, so you must look impeccable.”

“… Right,” I said. “Okay. Walk me through.”

“Of course. Now, once you select a few different designs, we’ll work on the coloring, yes?”

“Sure.”

“This one—” He tapped the dress he’d drawn on the top left corner of the page. I leaned a little closer to his side in order to see it better. He wrapped his left arm around my shoulder and pulled me closer so I had a better view with his arm out of the way. “—is intended to have a more form-fitting design, like most evening gowns. Most of what I’ve drawn have short sleeves and high necklines as I seem to recall your distaste for revealing too much skin—especially when you’re injured. This one is supposed to have sequins or jewels across most of it in order to sparkle like the night sky. It ought to be complemented with a sizable diamond necklace due to the wide but high neckline—”

“No thanks,” I interrupted. “I really don’t want to wear grand, expensive jewelry. Makes me so paranoid I'm going to break it.”

“Tt. In that case, perhaps you would prefer this one,” he said, tapping another design on the first page with the eraser end of his pencil. “It maintains the form-fitting, cap-sleeved design, but the neckline is narrower and a tad lower. Nothing too revealing, of course, but it does allow for smaller, less garish jewelry.”

“What are you gonna wear?” I asked.

“A tuxedo. As usual,” he said.

“I figured, but, like, are we doing the high school Prom matchy-matchy thing where my dress and your tie are the same color?”

“Not unless you intend to wear a black evening gown. Which I would not recommend for your first event upon returning. It would seem as though you were mourning something rather than celebrating your return.”

“I was just kinda kidding, Damian,” I said, looking between his eyes and his sketchbook, very aware of his warm, strong arm still around my shoulders.

“Oh. Right,” he muttered. “Regardless, if you like the form-fitting, long style but don’t want the garish jewelry, this is the one I would consider.”

“And if I don’t?”

“Well, we’re nowhere close to finishing, McCloud,” he replied, almost playfully. “We’ve barely begun.”

Next

[zekena10r]

CHAPTER 2 The meeting (part 1)

He was playing a video game until a call interrupted and he accidentally thrown his phone due to shock

Adrian: oh god...(mind) what have I done

Adrian: its still in good condition now major damage....right?

(Orange): hey look, its mom!

Adrian: SHOOT-

Adrian: ok here we go,(answered the call)h-hey mom

Mom:oh sweetie,Hi! how’s your day there?

Adrian: well it’s still same thing mom, I’m fine.

Mom: just remember don’t talk to strangers okay? I have heard news about California, and I know you’re that far but I just can’t help it I missed you so much. oh and you’re little sister got an award in her dancing contest, oh here she is say hi to your brother!

L.sis: Big bro Hi!

Adrian: Hey little carrot.

Mom: she looks adorable in that dress I just remember, you in you’re little tux. back then on your first prom.

Adrian: okay you can stop now mom...

“After all that rambling of the past, I grew weary for them to realize, I was the only one left out to strive for myself just for them, but I’m not happy at all-“

Mom:so how’s work?

“At that moment my eyes wide with an nervously expression”

Adrian: i-err...uh yeah it’s good, a little hard but I’ll manage. (nervous grin)

Mom: is something bothering you? Adrian I know that look tell me the details.

(White) oh no she’s on to us! that glare again it’s frightening.

“All I know is that my mom will never back down on that question I said back then that I was going to work at a engineering industry.”

“They had that high expectations from me since the beginning, until I saw my true devotion into art.”

Adrian:sigh,(mind) I need a probable approach

Adrian: well in terms, I didn’t know it was this hard to put a lot of effort with a paperwork. and seeing you guys not here it’s been a little rough.(mind)(plz work god I’m begging you)

Mom: now I know you can do this on your own and eve-

Adrian:(mind)THANK HEAVENS SHE TOOK THE BAIT!

Mom: and your on that age son how old are you again?

Adrian:.....(chuckles) eighteen.

Mom: see eighteen I did raise you into a man. so you don’t have to be worry about that right?

Adrian: right mom.

???: or maybe he just have a girlfriend, because he’s to shy to tell

Adrian:(confused) wait what?!

Adrian: (mind) I know that voice.....

Mom: Hey nonononono what did i say? Family first right?

Adrian:Mom I Swear! I have no one here!

Mom: hmmmm are you sure?

Adrian: see for yourself jeez!

???: maybe he’s hiding her.

Adrian: real mature sis, yet you keep hiding all these secret guys every night back then.

“Mom looks at my big sister with a big disappointment”

Sis: Mom I swear He’s Lying!

Mom: sigh I don’t want to hear about it just as I said family first right.

Sis: Fine...

Adrian: yes mom family first.

Mom: now that’s it for now just remember i said d-

Adrian: don’t talk to strangers and family first.

Mom: huh.....you always forgetting those but you did it! Maybe you are hiding a girlfriend there.

Adrian:(blushed) MOM! Seriously??

Mom: Good enough, hahaha i’m just messing with you love you bye! (call ended)

Adrian: phew*

(Orange):.........

Adrian: what?

(Orange) Drinks are on me!

Adrian: who put you in charge?

(Orange): Who cares I need a break after that.

(Blue): but you always took-

Orange silences blue for a moment.

Adrian: it’s noon now i’ll get ramen

(Orange): ugh! whats with you and food brought outside? than there’s food in the fridge?!

(White):He has a point.

(Orange): see he gets me.

(White): u-uh I’m not always....

Adrian: I like the walk and it’s ramen who doesn’t love ramen?

(Green): unhealthy....food

Adrian:this is my own body and just i need a moment of silence capisce?

And like that they vanished into thin air. back in my mind as I battle this onto myself.

(20 mins later)

On a cafe siting alone while most people are with someone. it hurts but it’s fine at the same time.

Adrian:(mind) to think someone here is friendly enough to talk to this guy.

While i watch the news of a gang raid again over 30 people missing as they blurred the corpse just laying there.

Adrian: (mind) somebody’s got to do something, too bad it’s not me.

I was lost in thought, not knowing theres was someone right next to me. so I ignored whoever they are until.

(Snap, snap)

???: hello?

Adrian: oh uhm Hi.. yeah.

As i look ahead there face it was a girl. I was shock and embarrassed at the same time.

Adrian:(mind) ugh wait who am I kidding! she’s just here for the chair to think she has the nerve to talk to me.

???: i was wondering if-

Adrian:(mind) I knew it.

(Blue): I’m not sure “A” I think...

???: to have a seat here?

Adrian:.......(mind) wait what?

(Orange): hoho boy now that’s a doozie.

Adrian:ye-yeah ahem* sure I g-guess,(mind) wait why is she here? this came in a wrong way or maybe she’s onto us? or maybe not just be smooth, “A”be smooth.

Adrian: (trying a smooth expression to break the awkward silence) so..... new here?

Blue had figured this happened so he wouldn’t help him this time

???: actually yeah I’m looking for my friend so I’ll just wait here since all the seats are full with people.

Adrian: .....

(Red): HAHAHAHA!

(Author: acts smoothly but realized the situation is he in I don’t know on gods green earth that he is panicking from the inside)

(Blue): well that was “smooth”

Red drastically laughs while orange thumbs up with my little effort and white...

(White): (is not responding and wants to die right now)

???: well while I’m waiting hehe could I asked your name?

Adrian: oh yeah my names adrian.

As the girl gives a handshake.

???: my names cassandra.

Adrian: and you’re friend?

Cass: well i call her france.

Adrian: that’s an odd name.

Cass: but she likes that more than her real name.

Adrian: oh then i won’t mind at all.

(Orange): (puts both hands near his mouth) Real Smooth!

“I stared back at him in disgust”

Adrian: so are you taking a job here? Cassandra.

Cass: you could say that in the meantime i just moved in this city with my family.

Adrian: then you’re new here since?

Cass: a month, (she smiled) but this city is still confusing to go around.

Adrian: well yeah it is its still a big city and all.

Cass: but since i live back then on my town it’s more beautiful than here.

Adrian: fascinated?

Cass: oh and can I ask if you’re new here too since you look like you new also and that well alone

Adrian: well about last 2 months i was here but just on my own

Cass: well at least faith lead us here to talk right?

Adrian: well yeah indeed,(mind) but faith is a bitch against me.

After few questions panels, it has been 30 mins had passed. yet cassandra’s friend didn’t came to see her.

(Blue): Hmmm interesting.

(Red): you don’t say she....

(Blue): maybe but i have doub- or maybe not I expected 20 mins.

(White): we cant keep this up I’m getting too much of this!

(Green): the timid one is right.

(Orange): can we go home?

After all the information in conclusion france never came.

Adrian: well I’ll take a leave now since you still have someone waiting for you.

Cass: wait she just texted me she said change of plans.

Adrian:(mind) oh shit why you didn’t tell me?

As adrian looks at blue at the counter with the others. Blue just shakes his head.

“As I look back at her, her expression is enough to know she’s sad,even if she’s hiding it.”

(Blue): you have to do, what you have to.

Adrian: sigh fine...

Adrian: hey cassandra wanna at least walk with me for a bit?

Cass: yes i could but at the pier with me its easier to get home from there.

Adrian: huh....sure thing.

To be continued.....

[kierongillen]

Writer Notes: The Wicked + the Divine 25

Spoilers, obv.

Let's just dive in, eh?

Jamie's Cover

One of the interesting things about comics is the solicitation process. As such, a sub-section of the fandom will be aware of a cover before it comes out (or the month before it comes out if it's a comic which puts a NEXT MONTH cover in the back). So for the hardcore readers, this will actually be the first image they see of Minerva's new look.

So yeah, good debut, Mini.

This arc we're clearly not doing quite what we did on previous ones – the link from the cover star to the interior one is much more tangential than the first two years. Let's not make it too easy.

Emi Lenox's Cover

Emi is one of our favourite people in the whole world, let alone comics. Her co-written with Jeff Lemire (and drawn by her) of Plutona was one of our favourite minis of last year too. I believe Emi wanted to do another god, and then read the latest issues and I WANT TO DO PERSEPHONE!

Which has been a running theme this arc, actually. We've had to encourage other gods for the B-sides later on. Persephone, you're more than a superstar, but you're not our only coverstyle.

Very much a continuation of our Wide Variety Of Styles On Cover theme. This is about art.

Page 1

Compared to many of the issues this arc, this is a less demanding one for the artist than usual. I don't do it unless I have to, and I knew there's horrible stuff ahead. That said, the world fell apart during the production of this issue, and we lost a week. So it was hard anyway. Comics!

Anyway – we start slow. Three panels. Establish location, establish situation, establish key character. This is aimed towards being reserved, clear and efficient.

First swearing of Cass in the issue. And not the last.

The cliffhanger last time is an unusual one for us, as I believe I said (I totally don't re-read these notes after writing them. When we come to edit them for the hardback, it's always a thrill. Hey C! Sorry about all the typos.) It's a mid-action cliff-hanger. Normally we're in a “reveal of important new information” or “completion of surprising action” place when we cliffhanger, and half the time we don't even do that. This is a “half way through action” cliffhanger.  As such, it's about “How does this action complete?”

Structurally speaking, I tend to think that these tend to risk creating false drama. If you don't go through with an action in any meaningful way, that's what it is – a raising of expectations and a quashing of them, which – to use the technical writing term – is total bullshit. If you do go through with it... well, why didn't you do it to end the previous issue? Then you have a “completion of surprising action” cliffhanger, which is much more honest.

So the main way to resolve them, for me, is that what DOES happen has to be at least as interesting as what didn't happen.

So that's where we try to go, as Persephone is totally going to torture Woden.

(In my original synopsis the previous episode ended with Woden's reveal, with Persephone raising her fingers at the start of this. I made this call when writing both issues.)

That was a lot of words.

In other notes: I would really like Persephone's trousers here.

Page 2

Anyway – this whole sequence is about Jamie again. The push and pull of Persephone's reactions here is key.

Obviously the most important expression closes the page – we lose the skull eyes and have a push and pull of responses which caused me to pretty much instantly tear up. There's lots of ways to read this, and none of them good.

Page 3

Cassandra, voice of reason once more. “Go on a bender” makes me smile too.

Steady angle on the hands puts an unusual pressure on things – steady shots, in profile are something which tend to be most used in comedy. But it's all about the hands and the emotion. Also compare and contrast to the one over the page...

Page 4

Oh no, Persephone!

And this is very much about the scene as comedy. Breaking a scene into individual moments – decompressing, to use a much maligned and mis-used term – is all about increasing the effect. It is paramount in comedy.

Page 5 From the Hobbit. Bilbo and Smeagol. You can probably guess who's Smeagol in this metaphor, except not.

Page 6-7

The first page was written in a standard format – once more, using the very basic structure of establish/scene/character beat set up of the first page – and then moved into Marvel Method for the rest of the sequence. It's the first “real” performance sequence since issue 20s, so has been a while.

This sequence brought to mind the movie adaptation of UNDER THE SKIN when I was writing it, and that's not an inaccurate comparison, I suspect.

What's to look at here is Matt's purples, which are just lovely.

And black.

All that black.

And...

Page 8-11

EVEN MORE BLACK! Doing try printing scans of our pages at home, as your printer will hate us.

Obviously reminiscent of issue 3's performance sequence, and I love what they did with the tumbling sequence. Persephone's voice, caption-box less, dropped on the backdrop too.

At script, there was originally a couple of lines on the second spread. It was questioned by C, in terms of “He's a long way away – I don't think we can hear two beats like that” which is right, but also got me thinking about time operating in comics. The second you add dialogue to a page, it becomes a period of time. When you remove all dialogue, it gets a timeless quality. As in, you have no idea how long it's been like this. Seconds? Hours? Years? We don't know.

And that certainly adds to the effect of the sequence.

Page 12

Heh. I'm reading this as we put issue 26 to bed, having just passed Jamie the script for 27 earlier today. They are... somewhat denser. It's going to be a while until we have a three panel sequence like this.

Page 13-16

Oh, hello again, eight-panel grid structure, old friend. We'll be seeing you again soon.

The dumbest “I should have realised this in the script” mistake was that Cass didn't have a line in the first panel of this. That adds time to the sequence, and a repsonse to the appearance of Cass.

I remember the thinking on this for me. Okay, Persephone has dragged Woden away. What does Cass do? Try and free the Valkyries. Like, obviously.

Anyway – what we get instead of Woden being killed is this. Giving up the Valkyries. Dragged to be essentially Cass' helper. Working the level of reluctance and ego back and forth is key.

The Harry Potter line was probably the most closely debated line in the issue. C and I basically had a bunch of conversations trying to unpack the meaning, what Woden was trying to say about it exactly, what Woden thought he was saying, etc.

Whole sequence clearly important as it's stating a selection of the various mysteries in the book, signalling to the reader than them not knowing answers is not accidental, and making the characte's direction clear. “Direction” is tricky in Imperial Phase, which is kind of the point. Showing that we do have an idea what we're doing is probably a necessary tell.

The steady angle on the last two panels – once more, for comedy – makes me smile. The “Enigmatic Wankery” made think of a friend. I asked C who she thought would most likely actually say “Enigmatic Wankery.” She answered the same friend. So let's conclusively say “Enigmatic Wankery” is the line most likely to be said by author and punmeister supreme, Si Spurrier.

Page 15 – which, without saying it, where Cass implicitly agrees to working with Woden – is where I realised how good Woden and Cass are to have in the same room, in terms of pushing information around.

(Perhaps too much – Persephone is definitely an observer in these four pages)

Page 17

Text conversations are fun, just as how much you can get into it, as a piece of character work. That Cass hasn't updated her phone to change Laura's name ever since meeting her is certainly one thing, but also says a lot about various other bits and pieces.

Three golden expressions on the page., You can trust Jamie McKelvie to deliver on such thing – the specific annoyance and the somewhat enigmatic sadness of Persephone. And the... peevishly frustrated nature of Cass.

Also, easy panels! See, I'm not just a monster.

(Says the man who's just sent Jamie a script with a whole middle section sub-titled “ FUCKING HORRIBLE BEYOND ALL HUMAN BELIEF”)

Page 18

The quote's from Anna Karenina by Tolstoy. “All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”

Page 19

Ananke's speech from issue 5 of WicDiv, being broadcast. Fun juxtaposition. And god, that's a hard mask to draw.

And honestly, this page – which you should recognise in its structure – so upset me when I thought of it, I knew it had to go in. The more I think about it, the worse it gets.

The copy of Pantheon  monthly on the table especially makes me grin. I think that was Jamie's idea. Or maybe Katie?

Page 20-21

Persephone and Baal have been going out for three issues now. This sequence is the first time we've seen them in the same panel. Plus first time to see Baal in his guardian role. As such, wanting to live with them, albeit briefly, felt necessary. For a book that's often about death, we have to show life.

(The lightning-to-make-toast is the apex of that. The Mundane + The Divine may be an alternate title for WicDiv, or at least our aesthetic and interests.)

Also, let Minerva – ahem – continue to stretch her wings. Last time we got the human intelligence side of it. Now we get a more analytical mind.

And yes, Baal self-correcting himself is cute. You're trying, Baal.

Everyone's hair game is on point here. Minerva's fringe (aka Bangs, but we're in the UK, guys) is wonderful, but the winner is Persephone's braids.

On a really minor craft note? It's standard to say you end the page on a cliffhanger – an unanswered question, an reason to turn the page. The “Was Ananke right?” is a pretty good example of that, I think. Even mentioning Ananke changes the tone. The question is pointed, both in story and not. And, most of all, who's saying it?

Page 22

Oh, it's Amaterasu. Hi, Amaterasu.

This is very much catching balls we threw into the air, earlier. In terms of Amaterasu's actions, this is how the cast see it. Or at least, this part of the cast.

The third panel of this page makes me optimistic we're going to get away with an issue down the line. That's a lot of wonderful acting inside a tiny panel from Jamie.

I wasn't sure if “Li'l flower” was too much, but decided, no, it was the right amount of much.

Page 23-24

Yeah, this is a swing back to action-mode comics earlier than I suspect people were expecting it.

Kept really basic, leaving room for Jamie and Matt to do their thing. The tendrils whirling around, use of space, etc. Also, let's nod towards Matt's hot pink in the last panel.

Page 25

And hello what we can only presume is the Darkness, Great, which I probably better not say more about until next month. It was certainly a design conversation, but probably best to work in there. Clearly we wanted something interesting.

Yeah, that's enough for now, I think. We'll talk the nature of Cliffhangers again next time.

Page 26

I had a string of names for this one, before ending up here. I liked most of them enough to make me suspect they'll end up being used elsewhere.

Right – issue has just headed off to Image, so we'll see you in a month.

Thanks for reading.