#how to date a superhero

[libertyreads]

Book Review #68 of 2022--

How to Date a Superhero (And Not Die Trying) by Cristina Fernandez. Rating: 3.75 stars.

Read from June 4th to 8th.

I want to start this review by saying a quick thank you to the publishers over at Katherine Tegan Books and NetGalley for allowing me access to this ARC in exchange for an honest review. How to Date a Superhero (And Not Die Trying) is  a New Adult book about what life might be like if suddenly you find out the guy you’ve been dating is a superhero. Astrid might not be a superhero like the people she sees on the news, but her not so super-superpower is her sense of time. And all of her time is accounted for with her multiple planners and calendars because it has to be. Being pre-med gives her no other choice. But chaos is brought into her life the day she finds out about her boyfriend’s secret identity as Kid Comet. Can Astrid find a way to deal with all the things being a superhero’s girlfriend entails? How do you even schedule in a kidnapping? How to Date a Superhero (And Not Die Trying) comes out on August 2nd and is available for pre-order now.

There is so much to love about this superhero story. I love that we’re seeing it from an outsider’s perspective and not the superhero’s. And I love that Astrid really tries to make it work once she knows Max’s big secret. But juggling pre-med with self-defense classes is hard work. I thought the author did a great job making the focus of the story Astrid and making sure the reader never forgot. I feel like a lot of superhero stories/supernatural creature stories make the other person fawn all over them and Astrid isn’t like that. She loves her boyfriend, but Kid Comet is just a guy to her. But don’t get me wrong, I still loved Max as a character. I think he’s such a sweet guy and you get to see him come into his own during a particularly fast paced fight scene.  I just love that it’s about Astrid and how she copes and her struggle to decide if this relationship is worth everything she has to go through or if she should focus more on her academic career. We also get some side characters who are great and I would love whole side stories about. Particularly the adults in her life who try to help her once she does find out she’s dating a superhero.

I struggled a bit in this one with Astrid herself. I think she’s a bit of an unlikeable character. You don’t have to like a character to like a story, but I felt like she dragged it down in rating a bit for me. I know she has her perfect sense of time but it results in a little of things that would make me anxious. Like practically planning her whole life down to the second and never being flexible when things pop up. This was her main flaw throughout the novel, but at times it kind of drove me crazy. And her reaction post-fight scene made me want to throw my tablet across the room. It makes sense with the story and gives us a bitter sweet moment a few chapters later, but at the time it was frustrating. I also don’t feel like the final conflict in the story got fully explained. I wish there had been a couple more pages there.

Overall, I think this is a great debut novel from a pretty young author. Especially given that the story is told in two timelines. It’s a fast read that bridges the gap between YA and New Adult. Perfect for people who are tired of all the usual superhero stories.

#book review #how to date a superhero (and not die trying) #how to date a superhero #Cristina fernandez #netgalley #Katherine Tegan Books #books read in 2022 #2022 reading challenge #goodreads challenge #goodreads #booklr #bookblr #bookstagram #bookish #books #book #young adult #new adult #superheroes

[publishedtoday]

How to Date a Superhero - Cristina Fernandez 

Falling for a superhero is dangerous. You have to trust that they’ll catch you. Astrid isn’t a superhero, not like the ones she sees on the news, but she has something she thinks of as a small superpower: she has a perfect sense of time. And she’s not going to waste a single second. Her plan for college is clear—friends, classes, and extracurriculars all carefully selected to get her into medical school. Until Max Martin, a nerdy boy from her high school, crashes back into her life. Things with Max were never simple, and he doesn’t keep to her schedule. He disappears in the middle of dates and cancels at the last minute with stupid excuses. When a supervillain breaks into her bedroom one night, Astrid has to face the facts: her boyfriend, Max Martin, is a superhero. Double-majoring as a premed was hard, but now Astrid will have to balance a double life. This wasn’t part of her plan.

#how to date a superhero #cristina fernandez #Katherine Tegen Books #august 2 2022 #debut #debut author

[luxaofhesperides]

Ghostlights where Phantom saves Duke or the Signal, and a week later (at a Wayne gala or some other place) Duke recognizes the light/aura coming from Danny

Putting off gala prep was perhaps not the best plan. Duke spent the past month insisting that everything is fine and he has it under control. Duke is also a lying liar who lies, and now he’s frantically trying to pick up his suit in time to get it dry cleaned and altered as necessary. 

Alfred would be disappointed in him, but in Duke’s defense, he had to go out of town on a mission to bust a growing drug cartel, and then spent half a week visiting a shelter for metas on the run (unofficial and hidden away) to help everyone find new homes and learn to control their powers. These things take time!

Unfortunately, gala prep also takes time, and since it’s a charity gala for funding the education of every Gothamite student, it’s not one he can slip out of. The entire family is being strong-armed into attending and not making a scene until the donation period in the first half is over. 

Duke knows he’s not the only one who’s scrambling to get ready for a gala that’s taking place in three days, but they’re not helping him, so it feels like he’s the only one messing up. 

“Sorry!” he calls behind him as he sprints through a group of people. 

He could have asked someone to drive him, but he knows they’re all busy and doesn’t want his own poor time management to cause problems for anyone else. Even though he’s sure Bruce is looking for an excuse to get out of a mandatory Wayne Enterprises board meeting that both Lucius and Tim dragged him to.

RIP Bruce. He will be missed.

The Diamond District is full of people walking the streets, sprinting between parked cars and waiting for their rides. They’re all dressed nicely, making him feel out of place. It’s a feeling that’s never left him since he joined the Waynes but it’s particularly bad when he’s left to navigate these spaces alone. Rich people and socialites are a different kind of human, one that Duke doesn’t care to understand; there’s greed in all of them, turning them heartless, and they can give as much as they want to charity but it won’t change the fact that all they do is a performance to make people like them, rather than a desire to do anything good. 

The sooner this is over, the better. He keeps going, hoping that he can still make it to his appointment with the tailor. Alfred recommended the store, then set up the appointment, so all Duke has to do is trust their judgment as they get him fitted. He’s still got twenty minutes until the scheduled time, but some unspoken rule makes it so he has to show up fifteen minutes early for better service or risk being turned away and told to reschedule. 

Duke slows to a walk when he catches sight of the store, the trying to catch his breath and look more composed before he reaches the door. He takes a moment to straighten his clothes a bit, then opens the door and steps in.

The bell jingles pleasantly above his head. The store is empty of any other customers, and the employee at the front counter looks up with a plastered on smile. 

“I’ll be with you in a moment!” she says, then looks down at her phone and types something out before placing it under the counter. A tablet comes out instead and she swipes through a few screens, then sets it down and look at Duke again. “How can I help you, sir?”

“I have an appointment? For a suit fitting. Under the name Thomas.”

She taps on the screen for a minute, then nods and gives him another customer service smile. “Alright, I’ll go ahead and grab the tailor. They’ll be out with your suit soon. Please, feel free to take a seat or browse some of our suits. We just recently got a new collection in from Italy.”

“Sure, thanks. I’ll just… be here, I guess.”

The employee takes her tablet and disappears through a door, leaving him alone in the store. He doesn’t want to sit down, not while his heart is still trying to settle from his sprint through half of Diamond District, so Duke wanders around the neat stacks of dress shirts and vests, pants and belts and shoes lined up neatly against the walls. 

He takes a moment to shoot Alfred a text that he’s at the tailor for his fitting appointment. Steph’s sent him a long string of videos online, and he’s just about to go through them when the bell rings again. 

Duke glances up and watches a guy walk into the store. He looks around, makes eye contact with Duke, then quickly looks down, taking a seat by the door.

Probably another upper class citizen uncomfortable with the fact that someone in jeans and a hoodie is shopping for suits. Shaking his head lightly, Duke wanders deeper into the store to get some distance between them so they could ignore each other more easily. It’s only until the tailor comes out, and then he can go to a fitting room and be done with this whole thing, so Duke resigns himself to suffering through the tense silence. 

How long is he even supposed to wait? He can only look at clothes in one of three colors before he gets bored. 

He goes to another rack, trying to see if he can notice anything different about these shirts. 

And then he hears a shoe scuff against the floor behind him. He tenses up, but before he can turn around, a belt is wound around his throat, pulling him back and choking him. 

Duke drops his weight, tucking his chin and gets a hand against the inside of the belt to try to push it away. His back hits someone’s chest and he’s trapped, focused on trying not to be choked to death while also keeping his vigilante abilities and meta powers secret. 

More footsteps come from behind, and a soaked cloth is pressed against his nose and mouth.

Chloroform, he realizes, familiar with the smell from Bruce’s training. But training isn’t enough to keep him from being knocked out, and he quickly slips away from the waking world, falling to the ground. 

Just before he passes out completely, he hears the employee who greeted him say, “I’m not sure how much Wayne would be willing to pay for him, but let’s start high and negotiate lower. New kid can’t possibly be worth that much…”

Duke wakes up groggily, memories of what happened quickly snapping into place. He’s too out of it still to get up, but he’s awake enough to be offended. Sure he’s the new kid, and barely even a Wayne, but he’s still worth a lot!

Kidnappers these days. So rude.

He doesn’t hear anyone around him, and it feels like he’s lying on a cold concrete floor. Basement, maybe? Warehouse? Storage unit tucked away somewhere? There’s nothing much to see when Duke is able to open his eyes, squinting bareilly at his surroundings. His arms are tied behind him, wrists bound, but they left his legs alone. 

If he could just hit the panic button on his bracelet…

Duke wiggles around, fighting through the lingering effects of Chloroform, and manages to sit up. If he strains his hearing, he thinks he can hear voices outside of the empty room he’s been left in. There’s a window high up, too high for a normal person to reach without help, but if he can use the shadows to travel through it, then he may be able to escape on his own. 

First things first: he needs to free his hands before anyone comes in to check on him.

They used zip ties on him, which is inconvenient. He’s learned how to get out of them, but it’s difficult enough without being drugged and having to do it behind his back. 

He’s feeling the zip ties bite into his wrists just as there’s a crash from outside the room. His kidnappers yell, alarmed, and are quickly silenced. That’s rarely ever a good sign. Duke renews his efforts to escape, ignore the pain in pushing against his binds like this. 

The door opens. Duke hears the small click of a lock disengaging and freezes. Then he gets to his feet, still unsteady, and prepares to ram his head into anyone who comes near him like some sort of deranged battering ram, or a drunk raging bull. 

Duke is ready for the worst: a gang hoping to steal away a Wayne hostage, a Rogue, Gnomon popping in to cause trouble for the sole purpose of getting on Duke’s nerve. 

He’s not expecting another teenage boy, who is literally glowing, to poke his head in and zero in on Duke. He blinks, then smiles; it’s friendly and sincere, nothing like the employee who helped kidnap him. 

“Hey!” he says, coming into the room properly. He’s floating a good foot off the ground, eyes a bright neon green, with white hair that sways as if he’s underwater. “Are you okay? I saw them drag you out of the back of the store and followed them, but I got a bit lost. Sorry for taking so long to get here.”

“...It’s fine?” Duke offers, trying to wrap his head around what’s happening. “I wasn’t expecting a rescue so soon, anyways. Think you can help me out here?”

“Yeah, of course!” he flies closer, then drops down to the ground behind Duke. He hums lightly under his breath, and then Duke feels a cold touch on his wrist and the zip ties are suddenly gone. 

Duke blinks, then brings his arms in front of him. He moves around a bit to make sure he’s not hallucination, and sure enough, he’s free and unbound because a random meta teenager vanished the zip ties into the ether, or something. 

“Thanks, man. Any idea where we are?”

“Not a clue. I got lost coming here, and I was following them. I don’t think you should trust any directions I give.”

“Fair enough,” Duke laughs. “I’m Duke, by the way.”

“Phantom.”

“Well, thanks for the save, Phantom. Can I treat you to something?”

“Like, coffee?”

“Sure. Or brunch, or ice cream. Whatever you want, really.”

Phantom considers it for a moment, then shakes his head. “Sorry, I would love to but going out in public looking like this,” he gestures to himself, “Is not a great idea. Thanks for the offer though. You got a ride?”

Duke pats his pockets, then sighs. “My phone’s gone. I still have my wallet, though.”

“I fly you to someplace you can call someone, if you’d like.”

“You sure? I could probably just walk out of here and call a taxi.”

“I don’t think walking around by yourself after being kidnapped is a great idea,” Phantom says, doubtfully. “Seriously, let me fly you.”

He should just hit the panic button and wait for someone to show up to get him. He shouldn’t go to some unknown location with a meta he literally just met. 

But, you know what? No one else can say they got kidnapped twice in one day, so Duke nods and says, “Sure, sweep me off my feet, Phantom. You gotta commit to this rescue.”

Phantom laughs. And then he does sweep Duke off his feet into a princess carry with a cheeky grin and flies them out the building, which turns out to be an abandoned apartment building slated for demolition. 

“Keep this up and you’ll be replacing Superman in no time,” Duke jokes.

“I think I could manage it,” Phantom replies thoughtfully. “I mean, I’m already prettier than him, don’t you think?”

“Oh, definitely. The glow really brings out your eyes.”

Phantom gets him a few blocks away when Duke recognizes where they are, and quickly directs him into Crime Alley. They land on top of one of Jason’s safe houses, and while he’s sure there’s enough security to take out a SWAT Team, that’s absolutely not going to stop him from breaking in to use one of Jason’s burner phones and eat his leftovers. 

He’s set down on his feet gently, and as soon as Phantom sees that he’s fine, able to walk and everything, he floats back up, just out of reach.

“Be careful, okay?” he says, getting ready to leave.

“I’ll do my best. Hey, are you gonna be in Gotham for a while, or…?”

Phantom gives him a tired smile. “Nah. I’m just passing through. As long as my luck doesn’t get even worse, then I should be out of here in a few days.”

“Shame,” Duke says, giving Phantom a very visible once over. He’s pretty tall, and Duke can see some muscle on him, and the tight black outfit really adds to his look. The glow that comes out of his chest makes him look ethereal and Duke is beyond glad that he got such a charming rescuer.

Phantom doesn’t blush like a normal person. He glows brighter instead, curling into himself a bit as he looks away, unable to stop the smile from growing on his face. 

“I guess,” he shrugs. “Are you really going to be alright from here?”

“Yeah, man, I have a friend who lives here. I’ll just bother him until he agrees to give me a ride.”

“Alright.” Phantom drifts away, glancing behind him before turning back to Duke. “I’ll get going then. Take care, Duke!”

Duke waves and watches as Phantom begins to fly away. Then Phantom… disappears? Or rather, his body does but Duke can see an orb of light making its way across Gotham, almost like a star fallen from the sky.

He stays on the roof until the light is long gone. When he’s finally ready to go in and steal from Jason, the sun has completely set. 

And he still doesn’t have his suit.

Duke sighs, and mentally prepares himself to other day of stressing out about the gala.

Three days of stress and last minute scrambling leave Duke in the Gotham Museum of Modern Art with Steph, Tim, Cass, and Damian. They’re hiding in the photography gallery to avoid other guests, taking a break from being polite and letting thinly veiled, passive aggressive insults slide over them.

.

.

.

“How much longer must we suffer this before we can go?” Damian grumbles, looking like he’s do anything to get his hands on a blade. Which, considering how many people tried to either pinch his cheeks are say some racist remark about him and his mother, is totally fair. Duke would just punch them, but sometimes a little drama helped get the message across. 

“At least two more hours,” Tim says, not bothering to look up from his phone. From what few glimpses of the screen Duke caught, he’s leading a Titans missions through text and clever hacking. Though it may be more accurate to call is a Young Justice mission since there’s no way any of this was authorized by a Justice League member. 

Also Anita, suited up as Empress, is there. If they aren’t on the news for property destruction and absolutely batshit wild shenanigans, Duke will have to check on Tim to make sure he’s not a pod person sent to infiltrate the family. 

“Think we can sneak out without anyone noticing?” Steph asks, looking at the emergency exit longingly.

Cass shakes her head and points to the door leading to the ballroom. When they look over, Dick makes very deliberate eye contact with them and give them a smile that looks stretched across his face.

Tim winces and pushes Duke. “Oh, something went down. Go take over for him and let Dick rest in here for a bit.”

“Man, why does it have to be me?” he grumbles even as he stands. Dick lets out a heavy breath and gives Duke a grateful smile, patting on the shoulder before shoving him out the door. 

As soon as he’s back into the main hallway, the music and chatter swell, no longer muffled by the thick walls of the photography wing. A few people come and go from the ballroom, no doubt looking for the restroom. 

Or more private places for… other things. Things they definitely shouldn’t be doing in an art museum.

He really can’t wait for this night to be over.

Duke joins the rest of the guests, fake smile on his face, and quickly makes his way to the snack table. He might as well make the most of his time stuck out here. Maybe he could even cause another relationship scandal by implying that Bruce is sleeping with one of partners when in hearing distance of a couple. Maybe even both of them. 

Bruce would go with it. It’s hilarious and he also needs something to make these events bearable.

Sadly, he doesn’t see any good targets as he scans the ballroom. A few people are dancing, while others are talking in small circles, closed off from outsiders. There’s an entire table of old ladies with glasses of wine in front of them; Duke considers hanging around them, since they confess to a lot of crimes after a few glasses. It’s fascinating. 

Also, he does kind of miss hanging out with the one old lady who’s declared herself his high society grandmother and told him stories of how she used to go to bars to find racist people or Klan members during the Jim Crow era, seduce them, then poison them and get their addresses so a few gangs she was friends with would fuck them up.

Granny Kaliasto is the coolest person ever. 

Just as he’s about to finish his last mini rolled crepe, Duke catches sight of one of the few teenagers still in the ballroom. The others, mostly stuck up rich kids no one actually likes, have already left to take over some other part of the museum to gossip until their parents decide it’s time to go home. These two are clearly not part of that crew, what with the girl being very goth and in a poofy, ripped dress, and the boy having already taken his jacket off to keep over his forearm, the top button of his shirt popped open.

They might be cool. He’s hoping they’re cool because he desperately needs some company to keep from dying of boredom while the gala continues on.

Duke walks over to them, going around the side of the ballroom, until he’s close enough to hear them talking.

The boy has his back to Duke, but the girl sees him. She immediately scowls and slaps the boys shoulder, eyes locked on Duke.

“Got another comment about my dress?” she says, voice sharp and acidic.

“Another?” Duke repeats. “I was just bored and wanted to talk to people who were my age. Sorry?”

The boy smacks the girl’s arm, then turns to face Duke. “Sorry about her! Sam is just naturally rude and aggressive. Tonight’s been a bit rough, with this crowd.”

Duke goes to say something, but the words stick in his throat when he sees the boy’s eyes shift from deep blue to an electric green. When he focuses, he can see a faint glow in his chest, the same glow he saw in Phantom.

“Dude? You alright?”

Sam looks him over judgmentally. “I guess it’s nice that I’m not being ogled for once, but don’t do that shit to Danny either.”

“Wait, that’s not what I was doing!” Duke hurries to say, snapped out of his shock. “I just… you look a lot like someone I met recently.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. What was your name? I’m Duke, by the way.”

He holds out a hand, and the boy shakes it with a small smile. “Danny. I don’t think we’ve met. I mean, I’m only here because Sam wouldn’t come to this gala without me, so her parents flew me in.”

“You from out of town?”

“Sam and I are from Illinois. Her parents are traveling around the east coast right now, and they decided to spend a week in Gotham to talk business.”

“I’d ask how it is, but outsiders tend to really hate Gotham, so…”

Sam barks out a sharp laugh. “Oh please, we can handle Gotham. Our town might not be as big and well known as Gotham, but we got our own shit to deal with there.”

“I do get shot at a lot back home,” Danny adds thoughtfully. “And that’s without the ghosts.”

“Woah, what?”

“Up for a bit of a story?” Danny asks, impish grin on his face. By his side, Sam brings a hand up to cover a manic smile, shoulders already shaking with laughter. 

This is already better than the grandma gang. Duke leans against the wall, getting settled in, and says, “Always, man. Hit me with it.”

The next hour an a half passes quickly with Sam and Danny dramatically narrating some of the things that have happened in their town. Duke listens, absolutely enraptured, and doesn’t even notice the Waynes file into the ballroom again. 

Unfortunately, they bring with them the attention of most of the ballroom, including Bruce and Sam’s parents. 

She cuts the current story about Box Ghost short with a heavy sigh. “Hold up, I need to greet the Waynes properly while my parents are watching.” She steps in front of Duke and Danny, holding out a hand with a pained smile.

Tim takes it first, giving a solid shake, and introductions start. 

Free from the rules of high society, if only for the moment, Duke leans closer to Danny and whispers to him, “Phantom. Wanna get out of here?”

Danny flinches and turns to him looking panicked. “How did you know?”

“I kinda got magic eyes. I see a lot of things normal humans can’t. Don’t worry about it. I still owe you, so you wanna get out of here?”

He watches as Danny glances around the ballroom, then back to him, clearly weighing out his options. Then he nods and says, “Know where to get a good milkshake around here?”

“Sure do.”

“I guess you’re the one rescuing me this time.”

“Not a rescue,” Duke corrects, and casually picks Danny up over his shoulder into a fireman’s carry, “A kidnapping.”

Danny laughs and waves Sam and all the others goodbye as Duke marches out of the ballroom.

“Don’t bother me for the next two hours!” he calls to the Waynes, “I’m going on a date!”

There are shocked gasps and murmurs all through the crowd. But as he spins around to wave at his shocked and easily amused family, he also catches sight of Granny Kaliasto raising her half full wine glass towards him.

She really is the coolest.

He’s definitely telling her all about this at the next event they attend together. It’ll be nice to have a few stories of his own to share.

#ghostlights #dc x dp #dp x dc #dcxdp #dpxdc #prompt fill #my writing #theyre just so casual in this fic #duke gets kidnaps. nbd tbh. saved by a glowing flying guy. nbd. duke clocks dannys identity instantly. nbd. #theyre just chilling. no time to freak out they on a mission to get milkshakes!! #sam is cackling once they leave and people start trying to figure out who they were and how audacious they were in leaving like that #lots of people ask bruce abt duke and his actions. the other siblings are trying so hard to get info abt danny from sam but shes not cracki #dick asks jason to follow them and get info bc this milkshake date is now an urgent mission. jason blocks him. #damian and sam do bond over animal rights and environmentalism later tho. they just share protesting tips and best ways to cause a scene #once again peppering in ocs bc i love making ocs #(<-says the girl literally writing an original superhero novel bc she cant stop making ocs. as if this is news to anyone) #thanks for the prompt!!!

[gwekkuu]

Day 1 prompt for @donro-week :> (Lazy Days)

Decided to finish an old sketch I had lying around, it fit the vibe lol

#duckverse #gyro gearloose #donald duck #donro #donroweek2023 #sikyu art #QOTD: How did Donald and Gyro first meet? Then became partners? #I always hc them meeting as kids probably as forced playmates by their parents lol #they were easily annoyed by each other but the more they hung out the easier it was for them to be friends #as for how they started dating I always thought it started in high school #that’s when in my timeline Gyro and Donald started being a superhero team and they started to fall for each other

[ghosttrolls]

HI I Love your Posts about trollhunters and Danny Phantom.

they are things i gad trollhunters is different form Danny Phantom

Jim only date one girl and everyone agrees that she is the best Choice for him.

and the main creator isn't a Dick.

but my Question for is if Dash were to become Like Steve was Expose the Ghost world Just Like him how do you think would've involved and this Time his memory stays Like Jez did.

Hi, thank you! Before I say anything else I would like to clarify that while I spend a lot of time comparing themes between the two shows, I don't really feel like one could replace the other - they're both so unique in their execution! Honestly, all the characters in both shows have personalities that couldn't be copied over between the two without the status quo of each show drastically changing. I don't really think of Danny Phantom and Trollhunters in terms of "Danny and Jim are the same person," but more like "Danny and Jim experience things that are interesting parallels of each other and I like to explore those narrative parallels," which I can understand being a kind of complicated distinction.

There definitely is a thing with both of these shows where they pick sort of Traditional Character Roles to some extent, like The Bully, The Hero, The Best Friend, The Romantic Interest, etc. So thinking in terms like that, Dash and Steve do fill kind of similar roles in their shows. I am pretty sure that Dash knows ghosts exist by the end of the show, even if you're writing off Phantom Planet (the final episode that people like to ignore happened). There's an episode where all the adults in Amity Park are brainwashed to go on a "cruise" which ends up just being a way for some ghosts to use them as a power source - but because the adults are brainwashed, the kids are the ones that have to save them, and Danny uses his parents' ghost tech to work together with all the other kids to fight the ghosts. This includes Dash. They all fight ghosts on the deck of a pirate ship, and Dash and Danny stand back to back as Dash says, "When I wail on you tomorrow, I'll be wailing on a hero. But I will be wailing on you." At this point in the show, Dash and other people know about and are fans of Danny Phantom... I don't think his memory gets wiped of the incident, but Danny does get in trouble for using the tech without asking and that makes him "lame" again in the eyes of the other high schoolers. I think that's meant to be the show's explanation for why it doesn't get brought up again later.

I'd love to consider what would happen if Dash had actually been more active within the ghost fighting community - I'm pretty sure he's one of those people who thinks it's "weird," so he'd probably need some convincing. But it would be super interesting if he learned that Danny was Phantom and joined the team! I'm not the first person to say this, but still. It would be cool. I did really enjoy in Trollhunters when Steve and Eli had just formed Creepslayerz but they were trying to keep it on the down low, and acted comically to cover their tracks. I imagine Dash would have to do something similar to keep his jock friends in the dark about Danny's secret... In general, DP never really gave us that big of a look into what Dash's life is like outside of school, other than throwing a party when his parents aren't around. If he joined the team in some way we'd be able to see more of his backstory and he'd become a much more fleshed out character!

And I know you didn't ask for my opinion on this, but I do wish that Steve had more development after the end of Trollhunters and 3Below. Like, he stopped bullying Jim and Eli, he got a girlfriend - and now we learn he's really scared all the time! And they make him kind of like a knight in Wizards but he's still like, terrified of everything, and bad at very simple tasks to an almost annoying extent. It makes me wonder if the trio really explained very much to him, because we didn't see any explaining happen on screen... and then it felt like they were hinting that Steve would learn some cool stuff from Lancelot, but that never happened. And WHY didn't Aja WARN HIM that he could become pregnant like that! That was so out of the blue too. I really liked how they had Steve develop as a character over the course of Trollhunters, so when he kind of stopped changing for most of the other TOA content, I was a little sad.

I guess this is just an appreciation post for bully characters that decide to become nicer. They deserve more love, for sure.

#ghostly posts #danny phantom #trollhunters #ask #theslayerbrother #theres definitely pros and cons between the two shows #generally trollhunters comes with better writing and pacing #most listings for dp have episodes out of order which doesnt help #with dp youve got a lot of lore dumps with hardly any explanation or elaboration #which i do feel leaves more room for fanworks to explore #trollhunters does come across to me as a better story with a stronger ending #and there's objectively less cringeworthy moments in TH #but also like. one of them is about ghosts and one of them is about trolls #they have different subject matter so ultimately the comparison cant go the full extent of saying theyre the same thing #cause they arent #they just coincidentally because of the 'teenage superhero' genre use similar tropes #and i like lookin at how those tropes apply to a world of ghosts #and a world of trolls.... two different things #i just also really love the strickler/vlad situations where theyre fighting the protag while the mom they wanna date is in the other room #very fun and silly even if the fight is serious sajgdhgsjh

[groovinrightalong]

Okay but “I only exist within the warmth of your gaze” is something so Mike Wheeler coded and I think we should talk about it

#byler #elmike #mike wheeler #he’s so self conscious and he bases his whole life around his girlfriend #and by extension just who he’s dating #a lot of the fandom tends to only talk about mike in relation to who he’s dating too #this quote goes both for el and for will from a fandom perspective #mike wheeler doesn’t know how to exist on his own in a world that’s proven it doesn’t like who he is #his whole lois lane thing in season 4 where he talked about being needed by a superhero? #and about himself not being important? #yeah #this boy needs to be needed #if he’s not somebody’s hero then what is he? #barbie movie quote

[thetimelordbatgirl]

If it really turns out to be Wiccan/Billy Kaplan in Agatha All Along, stans of him have my prayers and sympathy for how the MCU is about to fuck up his character completely.

#they didnt even cast a jewish actor if that is billy oh my god #can the mcu JUST try to cast jewish actors how hard is it #its good they've cast a gay actor but like they still not casting jewish actors for jewish roles #really making me dread how they gonna fuck up magneto's and shadowcat's casting more and more at this point #plus im sorry but what to the description witches familiar??? #how the fuck- HES A SORCERER LIKE HIS MOM IN THE COMICS #he literally in the comics is inspired by doctor strange and thor when making his superhero costume #hes the sorcerer of his team basically #like how the fuck did that get changed to being a witches familiar #plus dont trust wiki not only cause its wiki but also 'dating hulkling' we havent even got teddy in the mcu yet #let alone i dont trust the mcu in actually showing two gay characters dating for more then seconds #because their track record so far is pretty bad #plus if they dating we didnt even get their meeting and shit...of fucking course....

[takaraphoenix]

Bruce: So I might have adopted another child

Jason: *steps out from behind Bruce’s cape* Hi

Selina: ...And how did you find this one?

Bruce: Funny story. He was, uh, stealing the tires on the Batmobile.

Selina, a professional thief:

#BatCat #Bruce Wayne #Selina Kyle #Jason Todd #DC Comics #ever since I learned #just how EXACTLY Jason #found his way into the Bat Fam #I have been OBSESSED with the potential #of mom!Selina and son!Jason #but also look at this whole ass superhero #dating a criminal. adopting a criminal #still hanging out with other criminals (Harley) #ur life is weird Brucie

[jamiesshelves]

🦸‍♂️🦸‍♀️

#my pic #book #books #booklr #bookblr #bookish #bibliophile #read #reading #reader #how to date a superhero and not die trying

[theboost]

Very funny that each of my letterboxd favorite movies has a Dark Mirror in my recent activity

#shark movie. Shane Black buddy comedy. superhero movie with dated effects. movie about how guns are awesome

[bandsanitizer]

no but if we’re praising the lyrics on 5sos5 then it has to be said that ydgtp is the song about being at a party that could be sung by a crowd at a party that superhero was trying to be. that red line is everything perfect disguise was aiming for, but more mature and technically grown. that bad omens and many other tracks off the album carry 5sos’ running exploration of on-and-off relationships that are clearly failing but neither person quite knows how to step away from that the band has been writing about since over and over. that while 5sos5 sonically compares to sgfg and represents how they want the band to sound, their lyrics on this album tie back to some of their earliest music and it’s amazing to see them find the ability to tell stories in music the way they’ve been striving to and hone the skill of writing the themes they’ve been working to.

#5sos #5sos5 #alison speaks? #okay superhero to ydgtp is a bit of a reach #but it’s the party atmosphere of it #it’s that both songs are narratives #that the choruses are meant to be sung with a crowd #a yelling sort of vibe #that sonically they’re a bit different lol but it’s the vibes #as for red line & perfect disguise #it’s finding the words to write about pretending to be okay when you���re not and how detrimental it can be #it’s this band find the capacity to write something so much more nuanced #and finally the over and over beginning of their exploration into cyclical relationships and repetitions #like that’s the track that started it all #over and over walked so all those other tracks could run #over and over studio version when? #i feel like this post Dates me #like carbondate lmao

[moonlayl]

For the sake of humour, they made Jennifer Walters ridiculously incompetent, even though she’s supposed to be a good lawyer both in the MCU and in the comics.  

#it's annoying tbh #and like...I thought the first episode wasn't bad #but it's just more and more ridiculous situations and her not really learning anything? #like she comes off as obnoxious and self-centered #and not in a 'she's supposed to be a flawed character so those are her flaws' way #more in a 'she's super strong and great and this is what a girl boss look like' #looks* #where's the struggle in being a superhero outside of it affecting her dating life? #they legitimately had her more upset about going against the guy making her her dress #than about defending the man who attempted to murder her cousin #like initially when people went berserk over her angry outburst in the first episode #I didn't agree with them because idk I felt they would actually expand on that? #like okay she can perfectly control the hulk. clearly she doesn't realise how difficult it would be like #I thought the next few episodes would show us her struggling with it after her initial 'everything is fine. I'm fine.' phase #but no....she was legitimately fine. with a big change like that. wtf? #like she says something along the lines of 'I work for THEM' but she chose to do it and didn't really fight it? #and don't even get me started on her using 'she-hulk' to try and find dates #that was just weird. #15 year old Peter Parker thought about it and recognised the ridiculousness in that #and he was only wanting to impress ONE girl who he KNEW was a fan of spiderman #and he STILL immediately talked himself out of it. He's 15. #'is there anything more depressing than dating in your 30s?' #yeah...how about a terrifying transformation that gives you new powers and changes your body and impacts every aspect of your life? -_- #anti mcu #jennifer walters #she hulk #anti she hulk #marvel meta #in the tags #layl.text

[platformcowboyboots]

god can you imagine the gotham queer women dating scene. you go to a lesbian bar and fucking harley quinn is there.

#thinking about birds of prey and like. how gay that movie is and how funny it would be if like. #the gotham queer dating scene is like 75% superheros and villains #bean

[daydreamerdrew]

Blonde Phantom (1946) #12

#ok it’s legit weird to me how casual the Blonde Phantom’s existence is #like Mark Mason takes her as his date to an official party #where- when the men go off to talk about private government business- she hangs out with the military wives and talks about beauty stuff #then she makes an appointment at a salon as the Blonde Phantom #this story also has literally no action scenes whatsoever #it’s like in her regular identity she’s the assistant of this agent #and in her superhero identity she’s also really the assistant of this agent #none of this requires that she be a superhero like she could be one of those lady detective characters #other than that there’s the secret identity drama of the guy she likes being more interested in one of her identities than the other #really feels like there’s this hesitance to write this character as an actual superhero #marvel #timely comics #louise grant #my posts #comic panels

[malewifehenrycooldown]

Really annoyed by people focusing on the shipping side/ship content of The Boys and not the actual substance of the show :/

#it’s a show about fucked up people making strong friendships and taking down superheroes!! #it’s about finding people you can rely on!! it’s about trusting other people to help you in your times of need!! #wait till people hear about how much Billy butcher loved his wife in the comics they’ll be in for ride #Billy butcher’s love for becca is so beautiful and yet oh so sad #like the show is a MASSIVE improvement on the comics #which are really cynical and kind of dated with certain stories and stuff #there’s enough room for the showrunners to play with and I think that’s a good thing #I love the changes I love the acting #the fight choreography is really good #the small bits and pieces like the in universe advertising #the news channel reports; the civilians #it understands how people like stormf**nt and Homelander are able to be popular #it’s a good critique about unchecked capitalism #even the costume department and practical effects are really good!! #sorry it’s not that I hate the ships it’s just that I’m annoyed that the ships take higher priority than the subtext of the show #comicbookposting #shallow rambles

[iamthedukeofurl]

Scott Pilgrim is, I think, the best example I can think of for establishing a setting's Nonsense Limit. The setting's Nonsense Limit isn't quite "How high-fantasy is this". It's mostly a question of presentation, to what degree does the audience feel that they know the rules the world operates by, such that they are primed to accept a random new element being introduced. A setting with a Nonsense Limit of 0 is, like, an everyday story. Something larger than life, but theoretically taking place in our world, like your standard spy thriller action movie has a limit of 1. Some sort of hidden world urban fantasy with wizards and stuff operating in secret has a nonsense limit around 3 or 4. A Superhero setting, presenting an alternate version of our world, is a 5 or 6. High fantasy comes in around a 7 or so, "Oh yeah, Wizards exist and they can do crazy stuff" is pretty commonly accepted. Scott Pilgrim comes in at a 10. If you read the Scott Pilgrim book, it starts off looking like a purely mundane slice of life. The first hint at the fantastical is Ramona appearing repeatedly in Scott's Dreams, and then later showing up in real life. When we finally get an explanation, it's this:

Apparently Subspace Highways are a thing? And they go through people's heads? And Ramona treats this like it's obscure, but not secret knowledge. Ramona doesn't think she's doing anything weird here. At this point, it's not clear if Scott is accepting Ramona's explanation or not, things kind of move on as mundane as ever until their Date, when Ramona takes Scott through subspace, and he doesn't act like his world was just blown open or anything, although I guess that could have been a metaphor. there's a couple other moments, but everything with Ramona could be a metaphor, or Scott not recognizing what's going on. Maybe Ramona is uniquely fantastical in this otherwise normal world. And then, this happens

Suddenly, a fantastical element (A shitty local indie band finishing their set with a song that knocks out most of the audience) is introduced unrelated to Ramona, and undeniably literal. We see the crowd knocked out by Crash and The Boys. but the story doesn't linger on the implications of that, the whole point of that sequence is to raise the Nonsense Level, such that you accept it when This happens

Matthew Patel comes flying down onto the stage, Scott, who until this point is presented as a terrible person and a loser, but otherwise is extremely ordinary, proceeds to flawlessly block and counter him before doing a 64-hit air juggle combo. Scott's friends treat this like Scott is showing off a mildly interesting party trick, like being really good at darts. The establish that Scott is the "Best Fighter in the Province", not only are street-fighter battles a thing, Scott is Very Good at it, but they're so unimportant that being the best fighter in the province doesn't make Scott NOT a loser. So when Matthew Patel shows off his magic powers and then explodes into a pile of coins, we've established "Oh, this is how silly the setting gets". It's not about establishing the RULES of the setting so much as it is about establishing a lack of rules. Scott's skill at street-fighter battles doesn't translate to any sort of social prestige. Ramona can access Subspace Highways and she uses it to do a basic delivery job. It doesn't make sense and it's clear that it's not supposed to. So later on, when Todd Ingram starts throwing around telekinesis, and the explanation we're given is "He's a Vegan" , you're already so primed by the mixture of weirdness and mundanity that rather than trying to incorporate this new knowledge into any sort of coherent setting ruleset, you just go "Ah, yeah, Vegans".

#Scott Pilgrim