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gritsandbrits · 8 months

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In light of recent news over the passing of voice actress Arleen Sorkin, I wish to reflect on the impact of Harley Quinn on my life.

When I was a kid I grew with Harley. From getting fired from a tv show for giving questionable advice, as her backstory in the 2004 cartoon The Batman, to falling in mad love with her own patient as is the origin story in the 92 animated and subsequent media, Harley has such a big role in Batman lore I don't remember a single time where she wasn't involved. Sometimes I wonder what batman mythos was like before her inclusion.

The first thing that drew me to Harley was her design. Red and black the colors of danger which she was. But there was an added playfulness, that she genuinely enjoyed being herself. She was also VERY hilarious and at times out of pocket. Child Me was amazed. Did I want to be her? Not necessarily. But she did look like someone I'd hang out with.

The meta origin of Harley is just as fascinating. The creators of BTAS saw a performance of Arleen in a clown costume. From there inspiration leapt off the pages onto the big screen. Unlike most of the cast Harley didn't originate from the comics. She was created exclusively for the show, an OC if you will. OCs tend to have a mixed reputation. But Harley's concept and execution was so perfect, she almost feels like she could've been a real character in the comics.

And real she became!

Introduced as a psychiatrist, after receiving Joker as a patient, Dr. Harleen Quinzel begins to fall in love with him; and down a path to iconoclastic doom. Her love for Joker is obsessive, hilarious shallow, horrible but also downright entertaining to watch. I enjoyed every moment she was on screen: I still quote "rev up your Harley" to this day! I see her despair, her goofy outlook and morbid ruthlessness. I wanted her to get comeuppance but at the same time I can't help but feel sorry for her.

Joker abuses her, ignores her, and only complements her when she does something good for him. While the makes how awful their relationship clear, there are a good amount of fans who sees the pair as a glamorous whirlwind romance a la Sonny and Brenda or Jane and Mr Rochester. While such fantasies may seem morbid I don't blame them. No matter how horrible Harley is there is a tiny unavoidable spot that aches for her to win. Or at least see Joker for the monster he really is. While Harley is often held accountable for her actions her arc shows that no one deserves to be abused.

Arleen's performance played a major role in brining Harley to life. She nailed her weaknesses and strengths with such a sincere note that elicits pity, humor and shock at the same time. And of course that ear candy of the New Jersey accent that set the standard for future VAs. Whenever I look at a picture of Harley I hear Arleen. Not to say the other VAs aren't bad, but Arleen's performance is that iconic I can't help but think of her!

Over the years Harley grew apart from Clown Prince of Crime. She got her own spinoff comics, made appearances in other DC media. She even gotten her own tv show which sees the DC universe through her eyes. Harley has marginally healthier romances, primarily Poison Ivy (this isn't to say that pairing doesn't have it's share of toxic moments). The Harlivy ship is a fan favorite but even without shipping and the wars, Harley still shines bright as the Bat Signal.

In a way Harley's descent and eventual rise back to normalcy reminds me of my own struggles. I wasn't a happy child growing up, I've made a lot of mistakes and bad choices. To see a person like Harley work to take back control of her life, makes me feel a bit better for my own prospects. Of course I wouldn't torture a kid to near insanity or blow up a whole city but I can at least put my energy towards something constructive. Harley shows people like me thay we can be more than just screwups if we try.

Of course I can't forget Harley's design. The red&black suit is an icon by itself and inspires similar designs in and outside comics. I could talk all day about how cool her design is from a show and historical perspective but that would take me all day. While I prefer her classic palette, her recent blue and pinks aren't bad either and show just how far she's come out of Joker's shadow. It's even to the point where when, I see something black and red and white I have to point it out and say "Harley would love that outfit!"

Nowadays I complain about the oversaturation of Harley quinn (seriously what was DC thinking taking a team started by a disabled character to reclaim her agency) and overshadowing other cool DC villains. But I would be lying of I say she didn't leave an impact. And it's all thanks to Arleen Sorkin for breathing life into a character that proves you don't need to be be from "the comics" to be considered cool.

Thank you Arleen! May her memory be a blessing - Grits.

#arleen sorkin #harley quinn #essay #dc comics #btas #voice actors #batman the animated series #birds of prey #harley quinn show #characters #may her memory be a blessing

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canonmisogynyvictimstournament · 6 months

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PROPAGANDA

ALEX DEWITT (DC COMICS)

1.) The term “fridging” is literally based on Alex and what happened to her. She was killed off violently by a bad guy trying to get at her boyfriend only a couple issues after she was introduced (making it obvious they only brought her in to kill her off for shock value). Her death did very little to the narrative other than hurt her boyfriend Kyle and was done in an exceedingly horrifying and violent way. (Bad guy came to the door with flowers and threatening note, broke in and attacked her, choking her to death, before [off panel] chopping her body up and sticking it in the refrigerator as a “surprise” for her boyfriend. This obviously is really fucked up and she deserves better and should win this actually (a vote for Alex is a vote for all fridging victims [in spirit])

2.) It doesn’t get much worse than being the character whose death originated the “fridging” trope. In Green Lantern Vol. 3 #54, Kyle Rayner comes home to find that Alexandra, his girlfriend, has been killed by the villain Major Force and stuffed into the refrigerator.

Alexandra DeWitt is the character whose misogynistic treatment coined the term where a character, usually female, is killed off purely to make the main character, usually male, feel bad. Even if there are other characters who have been subjected to similar levels of misogyny, Alexandra DeWitt’s treatment has been essentially immortalized.

3.) I know she’s not going to win but shout out to my home girl, literally the trope namer for women shoved in fridges. All anyone ever knows about her is that she was Kyle’s girlfriend and got murdered for his character development, even though she had plenty of potential to be her own character.

LEAFPOOL (WARRIOR CATS)

1.) For context, she’s a medicine cat, which is essentially the priest/healer of an ancestor-worshipping religion called StarClan, and there’s a rule in the living Clans prohibiting anyone from dating outside their Clan, and also prohibiting medicine cats from dating/having kits.

So she’s breaking the law by seeing a cat named Crowfeather in another Clan, and eventually gets pregnant. She secretly gives the children to her sister to raise instead, because the kits would’ve grown up in misery if their true parentage was known. When the secret gets out that they’re her kits, Leafpool became demonized to hell and back.

Crowfeather, who ALSO broke the law and fathered the kits, only got a slap on the wrist, and he’s almost certainly going to become leader. But Leafpool was demoted from her role as medicine cat (by her FATHER), treated like scum by her whole community (aside from her sister and best friend), and her children despise her for lying to them (one even tries to get her to kill herself). The narrative constantly paints her as a liar that’s getting what she deserves, and even has her children insult her at HER FUNERAL, years after the secret got out. She’s a main character and she dies OFF SCREEN between books!

It’s not even over when she dies. StarClan decides to hold a trial for her when she dies to see if she deserves to join them, or if she’s banished to cat hell for eternity. War criminals who abetted in genocide never got a trial, they were just let in. An incel who tried to kill 4 people because he was mad his ex dumped him got let in without question. But the cat whose only crime was dating someone in another Clan and having kids gets a full trial? Keep in mind their sire gets a whole book about StarClan coming down to help him, because clearly only she deserved to be punished.

Leafpool’s life is nonstop suffering because of misogynistic double standards. Treated like the devil for getting pregnant and wanting to give her kids a better life, while all the men involved get excused, coddled, and placed into positions of power.

2.) she went through So much bullshit. squirrelflight (her sister) too. i’m sure she’ll also get submitted. Cat God (starclan) vaguely told her to run away with the man she liked and then got mad at her when she did it. and then she was punished for it the rest of her life. She had kids with him and those kids were like Incredibly Important and wouldn’t exist if not for her but she’s still punished for it. BY STARCLAN. Who told her to have those kids in the first place . and of course the books just treat this like it’s pretty much normal and fair

3.) just like her sister squirrelflight, she does many things that male characters do and faces drastically different consequences. she and another cat, named crowfeather, run away from their clans to get cat married. this is illegal because they’re from different clans. when they get home, leafpool is pregnant. when all of this is revealed(years later) their punishments could not be more different. when they first come back, leafpool is suspected, talked poorly about, and outlasted. we aren’t shown any consequences towards crowfeather at all. after the grand reveal of leafpool having kids(and giving them away to her sister since she’s a doctor and doctors can’t gave kids) leafpool is forced to give up her position as doctor, is disowned as her kids aunt figure, and completely outcasted by the whole clan(mostly the same happens to her sister). crowfeather is just minorly treated poorly and gets a cat divorce.

#polls #round 4 #week 7 #new

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zahri-melitor · 11 months

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Connor and Tim: They’ve Got a Dad Thing

With the DC Pride story, I’m having soft thoughts about Tim Drake and Connor Hawke talking about their feelings, identities and dads together, which is something they do remarkably often for two characters who are friends but have never been on the same team or family. Also Tim brings up Connor not being able to drive. A lot.

Going through a bunch of their appearances:

Green Arrow #105: The first meeting! Connor and Tim are chasing after Connor's stepfather, who has committed CRIMEZ buying weapons in Gotham. They take the time to discuss such important issues as ‘not being the first person to have their identity’, legacies, Tim’s love for cars, Connor’s inability to drive, and Lady Shiva.

Connor stays in town, leading to their next team up in Robin #25. Tim’s chasing down a DIFFERENT group of gunrunners after one of his classmates brought a gun to school. The dad angle here is actually Tim sending Jack to talk to his classmate’s dad about bringing a gun to school. There isn’t nearly as much fun banter between Connor and Tim here, but they still get to spend some time appreciating each other’s martial art skills.

Also notably Tim emotes quite a bit to Connor (and also Steph) about how he feels about his classmate getting shot (due to bringing the gun to school) and how fighting for revenge feels (it’s not something Tim enjoys).

The next team up is Batman Chronicles #7! Connor shows up to talk to Tim about Ollie and what it’s like trying to live up to a legend, and Tim tells him a story of a Bruce & Ollie team up. They bond over being legacies for Batman and Green Arrow.

The next time Connor and Tim team up is my all time favourite, Brotherhood of the Fist. It happens following Cataclysm but before No Man’s Land. Tim and Connor get a full crossover together! (Ok Bruce and Dick and Eddie Fyers are also there). Everyone is having problems with the Monkey Fist cult, who are busy having a martial arts competition while taking down various martial arts masters.

Tim and Connor once again get the chance to talk about dads (and also the fact Connor STILL doesn’t have his licence). This time it’s discussing whether Batman is Tim’s dad. He’s not! Connor’s still feeling like he has to live up to Ollie’s legacy! Tim empathises and tells him Batman approves.

Tim’s also a martial artist fanboy.

Eventually Connor ends up having to fight Lady Shiva! Tim saves Connor’s life by using his life debt with Shiva, and everyone tells Connor how good he was keeping up. (Nobody acknowledges Tim HAS that life debt due to managing to kill Shiva by accident a few months ago, because Tim’s fight record against her is full of ‘Tim wins due to shenanigans’)

(I love this crossover so much, folks)

Robin #78-79: Connor drops into Gotham again, because all of Tim’s classmates at Brentwood have something weird going on. This time they’re taking down a demon! Tragically they’re too busy running away from the demon to have any good conversations about their dads this time, but Tim DOES get some jokes in about the car.

(Eddie Fyers does not appreciate this and gives as good as he gets, bringing up the only mention of a dad).

Batgirl #30-32. Connor and Eddie show up to investigate the murder of some rich folk who belong to a specific secret society. A member of this club is Jack Drake. Amazingly, Connor and Tim get to talk about dads even while they’re in Cass’ book. Connor and Eddie kidnap Jack Drake and Eddie pretends to be him at an awards ceremony to save his life. This is very funny as Dana, Tim and Steph are in the audience and Tim at least recognises Eddie on sight. Eddie then gets kidnapped by the assassins.

Once Tim and Steph regroup and meet up with Connor and Cass, Tim still has time to tease Connor about being unable to drive and take control of the vehicle. Again.

The group tracks down the van that Eddie was kidnapped in, leading to Tim very awkwardly trying to explain how he knows who Jack Drake is.

Identity Crisis #6. Now this one is not so much a Connor and Tim team up so much as a very important moment on the topic of Connor, Tim and their feelings about dads. (I will never not be annoyed that Ollie doesn’t show the paper to Connor, given that Connor knows about Jack Drake, even if he doesn’t know that Tim is Tim)

This is an important part of the Connor and Tim relationship, dammit, even if neither of them realise this moment happened.

Unfortunately after this point the Bad Times start for both Connor and Tim for a while (several continuities of a while). Not so much time hanging out together talking about what being a legacy means to them and what’s in a father.

But they’re both FINALLY back in continuity, themselves, and in the same place. So what did they do together this week? They met up, talked about coming out, their dads, and their feelings. (No cars this time, though).

Damian thinks they’re joking about sitting about talking about their feelings. They absolutely are not.

#dc #tim drake #connor hawke #look I love these two together so much #they have such complicated feelings about their various dads together #also one day Tim is going to end up teaching Connor how to drive for some case and I think that's beautiful

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allycat75 · 15 days

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What is bothering me about "Red One".

Terrible movies are about as common as the lies our former president spews from his cracked and diseased face, so why is this one so different? I think when you start looking at something, you start seeing things you can't unsee. Kind of like when Brad Pitt decides to make a movie about the two women who helped bring down Harvey Weinstein, even though Mr. Pitt not only knew for years what he did after confronting him in the early 90s for harassing his girlfriend, ran straight toward him to produce his movies even though his wife at the time was traumatized and requested he not do it. But that is a rant for another day.

Overall, this movie just doesn't seem warm and Christmas-y. I almost feel forced to participate and enjoy it.

The Rock is a flim flam man, as many are in Hollywood, but the fissures are starting to show in his "nice guy" image. He is vulnerable to his fragile male ego and can't admit a failure, which only makes it worse. He created a real life villian of himself with the whole Black Atom/DC controversy that is so convoluted, the only thing I know is that if a woman had attempted these hijinks she'd be branded a hysterical, compulsive liar who should not insert herself in matters that don't concern her.

The marketing for this movie has already started with a lie- that it has tested "through the roof". Just the irony of being dishonst about a Christmas movie- maybe because they know this is already a big steaming lump of coal.

Here, the Rock's describes this gem of a movie:

Or I can just watch any of those movies individually and get sick of Dwayne Johnson playing the same character over and over in every movie, and enjoy Harry Potter and It's a Wonderful Life on their own. Truthfully, is that meant to sound good? (He also referred to it as a "joy bomb", and like most things he says I can only believe about half of it).

You know what also doesn't sound warm and Chrismas-y? This:

The film has been described as "a globe-trotting, four-quadrant action-adventure comedy, imagining a whole new universe to explore within the holiday genre." If you're wondering, "four-quadrant" refers to the four major demographics Hollywood is always looking to win over — males, females, people under 25, and people over 25. And Amazon evidently feels "Red One" will appeal to all four quadrants.

Yeah, let me take my four-quadrant family on opening weekend! So welcoming.

Also, both leads are over paid and need a hit as they have had some major, I mean major, debacles to overcome. And it is not great being known as profit poison at a time when there is much more scrutiny of the bottom line. I can sense the desperation of this cash grab oozing off of them.

Interestingly, only a few years ago CE was named one of the best bang for your buck actors. Now he can barely get work and no longer has an audience (he alienated his fans and the general public either doesn't know him, doesn't care, or thinks he is hella creepy). But he has said he wants to quit and smoke pot all day, so maybe Hollywood will call his bluff this time. Besides, I doubt they were able to get the best performance out of him, considering his life was beginning its implosion while filming, even if he might not have known the full extent of the eventual destruction at the time. The mindset he displayed wasn't conducive to authenticity and Christmas-y-ness.

Ok, I know we all want original content, but maybe I should have been more specific and added that it needs to be sincere, too. I hear nothing sincere when someone tries to describe "Red One". It doesn't help that this is home grown from 7 Bucks, Dwayne Johnson's production company. They probably looked at the material in an echo chamber and lost perspective. And as we have seen, The Rock isn't know for his humble acceptance of criticism. The following official description sounds like a nerd wanting to show up all the popular kids who made fun of him in high school ("See, I wrote a Hollywood script that is now a movie. Bet you wish you went to the prom with we now, Courtney!"):

Red One is a fire-breathing Christmas action movie that completely reinvents the holiday genre. […] Red One is a really fun original action film for both Johnson and Evans, and it’s a world building piece of IP which lends itself to potential sequels set around different holidays

Boy someone thinks highly of themselves! Already on the make to ruin other holidays. I saw somewhere they claimed this could be a franchise comparable to the "Lord of the Rings". Whoa, Nelly. Pump the breaks on that male privlege. You are embarrassing yourself!

It's this need for empire building, I believe, is what will crush "Red One". This forced joy, what many of us feel at this time of year, has takes away the true spirit and fun of the holiday season.

Well, we know CE can ruin Valentine's Day, Halloween and Thanksgiving. Looks like he is well on his way to doing the same for Christmas.

This has about 7 more months to play out and maybe I am wrong, but right now it just leaves a bad taste in my mouth, like egg nog left out from last Christmas. So, I think the two leads better get their measurements in now for the suits they will be wearing at the 2025 Razzie Awards. Here are some ideas for their rapist-supporting stylist:

PS- And, by the way, what the fuck is with the name- "Red One"? Sounds like a horror film about an itchy rash that will destroy the world. The Rock is the only one that can save us, but decides there is too much division right now and isn't going to support the President, played by a sad, hollow Chris Evans.

#don't piss on my leg and tell me it is raining #liars suck!#do better #check your privlege #Is there a woman any where or is this a complete sausage fest?

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athenaaphrodite2045 · 1 year

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Harry Potter Vs Percy Jackson

Look just, who decided that Harry Potter would ever be able to even put up a fight against Percy Jackson in a fight?

As much as I love Harry Potter and he wizarding world in general, most of the characters in Harry Potter are not the best fighters. Harry is bland in terms of fighting ability, he’s been established as someone who’s good with dueling, but he’s also only fought people who use magic and are basically useless if he disarms them.

Percy on the other hand, is a demigod with super strength, hydrokinesis (power over water) and the ability to make earthquakes, things Harry has never had to deal with. I would have loved it if characters in Harry Potter had used their magic to their full potential but they never do.

Some people also like to say that Harry Potter would win in a fight against Percy Jackson because he has the killing curse. The only reason why the killing curse is such a big deal in the books is because no one in the Harry Potter books who has magic ever kills someone without it.

I mean, people can be killed with Sectumsempra and so many other spells but they aren’t forbidden like Avada Kedavra. Percy could kill Harry by simply stabbing him with Riptide, which would probably work since Harry has magic and would probably be deemed important enough by the mist to be affected by Celestial Bronze.

As someone who has watched a lot of death battles and loved the analysis segment of the episode, I would also like to point out that Percy has a shit-load of powers, feats and aid to help him in the battle, because as much as people would want this battle to be fair, Harry would have to have his firebolt to even stand a chance against Percy. And even then, In the Titans Curse, Percy blocked point blank bullets with Riptide, which means his reaction time is probably already fast enough to counter-balance the speed of Harry’s firebolt.

And if Harry were allowed to have his wand, his Firebolt and his Cloak, which he most definitely would, Percy would be allowed to have Riptide, and oh yeah! His ridiculously huge hellhound pet dog?! I feel like even recent Riordanverse books are guilty of completely forgetting that Percy has a pet hellhound which is fully tamed and apparently the size of a truck? Personally, I think that having a hellhound who can teleport you is almost more helpful than having a cloak that can turn you invisible, because Percy has really good senses and hearing, so he would eventually learn to anticipate where Harry would go and what he would do while he’s invisible.

Yeah.

I just don’t think there’s any plausible way to have a fight between Harry and Percy where Harry doesn’t come out looking like an incompetent idiot and Percy doesn’t come out of it looking like an overpowered character, because let’s face it, Percy is the most powerful demigod in his own universe. I’d like to see anyone who isn’t from DC or Marvel take him down.

#Harry Potter #Percy Jackson #PJO #harry Vs Percy #Harry Potter vs Percy Jackson

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msfcatlover · 1 year

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Which Robin is Superman’s favorite?

Hmmmm… well, I’d say the variables would be how well he knows the different Robins, Clark’s own struggles with grief, and the fact that hero-worship is a very awkward thing to deal with. In the order they became Robin, my reasoning is:

Most people default to Dick, and I’d say as long as Superman was a relative newcomer on the scene when Dick was Robin, that’s a very valid take. Clark got to watch Dick grow up, was a huge role in Dick’s life, and clearly loves the kid somewhere on the grand spectrum of nephew -> bratty little brother -> adorable step-son. In continuities where Superman didn’t come onto the scene until after Dick was Nightwing, it’d be an easy slam-dunk thanks to Dick being the most affable, outgoing, team-minded, and (seemingly) level-tempered of the Robins; in those timelines, the only hurdles are that Clark technically didn’t know Dick as Robin, and there’s also Damian in the picture (who we’ll get to later.) I think the main stumble for Dick is continuities where the World’s Finest are both already well established by the time Bruce takes Dick in, because that’s when Dick’s hero-worship of Clark is going to be at its very strongest.

While Jason is a little star-struck when he first meets Superman (see: the full page of baby!Jay just saying “Wow!” over & over,) Superman isn’t his favorite hero, so I think Jason would have an easier time getting over that hurdle to treat Clark like any other hero. (Do we see evidence of this in canon? No, not really. I’m standing by it, though; Dick was an adorable beacon of awkward sunshine upon meeting Superman, and you will not change my mind.) In that case, Jason probably wins out, for having all of Dick’s sunshine with a lot less of the baggage, and Clark getting to see Jason also grow up, at least for a little while; however, it’s a very close race between Jason & Dick, and really comes down to how uncomfortable Dick’s early hero-worship made Clark. Of course, in continuities where Superman came onto the scene post-Jason’s death, the only Jason Todd Clark ever has the chance to know is RH!Jason, so… yeah, Jason’s coming in dead-last in those rankings. (I think they’ve had all of one? Significant canon interaction since Jason came back? Which I’m pretty sure is in the Outlaws series people keep telling me not to read. Also, it’s BS that DC keeps ignoring the veritable font of drama & emotion in how their characters could interact in favor of *gestures at the last decade of people being very angry about every choice DC makes* this.)

Poor Tim’s never going to win this one, I’m afraid. Given how pissed Clark got about Dick taking up the Bat-mantle after Bruce’s death, I cannot see him being okay with Tim becoming Robin if Clark knew Jason. If Tim’s the first Robin Clark meets, than Tim is the Robin who keeps leading the Teen Titans/YJ squads through/into trouble, and Clark doesn’t have the context to realize that’s normal. If Clark first meets Tim post-Red Robin, than Tim’s going to be measured up against the rest of his family, and Tim’s just not as good at making people like him as Dick is. Given time, Clark will eventually grow fond of Tim, but Tim’s fighting too many hurdles to ever win this.

Has Clark??? Ever??? Actually spoken to Steph??? Have they interacted at all in canon??? I feel like he’d adore her, if she just had time to make Robin her own and carve out her own space in the hero community. But DC didn’t give her that, so. No. At most, Steph is a tangential member of the Batfam to Clark, and y’know what? I think that’s a damn shame.

(While we’re on the topic: I haven’t read any of Cass’s time with the Titans or Outsiders, has Clark ever interacted with her? She’s not a Robin, but I’m curious.)

Damian is an abrasive little brat, but he’s Jon’s best friend, so Clark would have more exposure to Damian than almost anyone else outside of the family, and would have time to adjust to Damian’s… idiosyncrasies. I think in any world where Superman gets a late start in the game, Damian would win out by that fact, but in any other world there’s always going to be a part of Clark wishing Damian was more like his brothers—they were so much easier to to interact with!

(I still know almost nothing about Duke.)

So in worlds where Superman starts around the start through the late end of Dick’s Robin career, it’s a toss-up between Dick & Jason, and in worlds where Superman starts any time with Tim or later, it’s either Dick or Damian,

But you know what? In my heart, in the world where Steph got the chance she deserved, where she had all the sunshine Dick & Jason did as Robin, all the irreverence towards authority (especially Batman) as she ever had, none of the baggage any of the others carry (Dick & Jason in hero worship, Tim & Jason in taking on the mantle without Dick’s permission, Cass’s communication struggles, and Damian’s… everything), all the charm that makes us all love her got to shine through, and her own special brand of Robin snark got to be appreciated, she jumps right up there into both those rankings.

Give Robin!Steph more love, time, and adventures 2k23.

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earth-zero · 7 months

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Welcome to Earth-Zero

Greetings, Tumblr travelers! My name is Ariel Strusiat, and I love comic books. And above all else, I love the worlds and characters that dozens of different writers and artists have created through them over the years. As a result, I have come to wish to pay homage to them. So, and very inspired by my buddy TheMysticSpyral from @earth-93, I have decided to reinterpret the DC Universe under my personal vision. Even though I originally intended to tackle the Marvel Universe for personal reasons and still intend to do so someday, I feel the urge to do it with DC as well, purely out of fun. So what is Earth-Zero? Earth-Zero is a streamlined DC Universe, a reality that mixes and matches elements from the various iterations of the primary DC world, namely New Earth and Prime Earth. Also included are characters and concepts from other DC media, such as the DC Animated Universe, Young Justice, the DC Extended Universe, the Arkhamverse, and more. You will also find unique ideas of my own. DC imprints such as Milestone Media, Wildstorm Productions, and Vertigo Comics will also be equally represented. Earth-Zero: In the Now The year is 2000, and the Justice League has been founded following the defeat of the interstellar gladiator Despero. Bruce Wayne, otherwise known as the Batman of Gotham City, has stepped into the role of Chief Strategist for the team. Using an exclusive version of Wayne Industries' Brother-OS operating system, linked to the Brother Eye satellites orbiting the Earth along with the newly established Watchtower, Bruce seeks to gather information on his fellow League members, potential recruits and other individuals of interest to learn more about their histories, personalities and capabilities so that any choice on the battlefield will be a winning one for the Justice League. Does this mean that we will only follow Bruce's perspective throughout Earth-Zero? Of course not. Eventually, I plan to have information told from the perspective of Checkmate's Maxwell Lord and A.R.G.U.S.’ Steve Trevor. Among others, as we go deeper into this world. A Brief Timeline of Early Earth-Zero

May 14, 1998 — Clark Kent makes his public debut as Superman by saving Lex Luthor's private jet from crashing into the Daily Planet building. December 4, 1998 — After breaking up with Andrea Beaumont following his return to Gotham City in early July, Bruce Wayne steps into the shadows as Batman to fight the city's Falcone crime family. April 23, 1999 — Barry Allen is struck by lightning after a chemical accident and acquires super speed. Inspired by his retired hero and legal guardian Jay Garrick, he takes up the mantle of The Flash. August 20, 1999 — U.S. Air Force pilot Hal Jordan is selected by dying Green Lantern Abin Sur's Green Power Ring to become Earth's new Green Lantern, succeeding Alan Scott. March 14, 2000 — Arthur Curry accepts his Atlantean heritage, adopting the name Orin, and becomes Aquaman. July 30, 2000 — Diana of Themyscira, known publicly as Diana Prince, arrives in "Man's World" with Steve Trevor to appear before the United Nations in New York. Diana becomes an ambassador of peace as Wonder Woman. December 29, 2000 — Despero attacks Mars seeking to fight J'onn J'onzz, the Manhunter. Unable to face him alone, J'onn goes to Earth to gather a force that can defeat Despero. The Justice League is formed in the aftermath of the battle.

I hope to get character profiles and concept information out in the next few days, this due to the fact that I'm busy with college. In particular, I'm excited to write about Green Lantern out of all of them. But let's start with Superman, since he's the one who started it all. See you soon!

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ectonurites · 1 year

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Do you know if DC owns the rights to other Fawcett characters or just Captain Marvel and friends? I ask because Grant Morrison did use Bullet Man.

Alright so the tldr is they own the rights to at least some amount of the other Fawcett characters, but not necessarily all of them.

The abridged timeline of relevant events is:

1940: Captain Marvel Debuts in Whiz Comics #2.¹

1941-53: DC Comics sues Fawcett over similarities between Captain Marvel and Superman. This court battle goes on for a long time until eventually being settled in 1953.²

Late 1953: Due to both the lawsuit and a general decline in comics sales, Fawcett sells off many of its characters to Charlton Publications, and ceases producing comics for several years.²

1967: Marvel introduces their own Captain Marvel character in Marvel Super-Heroes #12, thus claiming the title/trademark. This was possible because despite DC winning the earlier court case, nobody was using Fawcett's Captain Marvel at the time.³ However, despite the trademark title belonging to Marvel, this did not mean that the previous Captain Marvel character could no longer be called Captain Marvel if used again—just that the title could not be used for his book.

1973: DC acquires the rights to Fawcett's Captain Marvel, and begins to publish stories with him & his family under the 'Shazam!' title to comply with Marvel's trademark on the 'Captain Marvel' title.⁴

1983: DC buys the rights to all of Charlton's superhero characters, and not long after in 1985 Charlton closes down.³

So it's like... DC specifically acquired the rights to the Captain Marvel family & related characters, plus characters that Fawcett had previously sold to Charlton.

From minimal cross-referencing between some of the well-established Fawcett characters and one of the DC Encyclopedias, DC seems to have utilized a decent chunk of them (I found mention/reference to Bulletman like you mentioned, Bulletgirl, Ibis the Invincible, Spy Smasher, Mister Scarlet and Pinky, and Minute-Man)⁵ but they're definitely not using every Fawcett character. It's possible that DC does/did own the rights to more Fawcett characters, but just chose not to use them.

Otherwise though, I believe that any other Fawcett characters that weren't sold to Charlton (and thus were then acquired by DC) would just be in public domain at this point due to Fawcett being defunct.

—

¹ A Complete History of American Comic Books (2008) by Shirrel Rhoades. Available free on the Internet Archive.

² The Comic Book in America: An Illustrated History (1989) by Mike Benton. Available free on the Internet Archive.

³ Comics, Between the Panels (1998) by Steve Duin. Available free on the Internet Archive.

⁴ DC Comics: A Celebration of the World's Favorite Superheroes (2003) by Les Daniels. Available free on the Internet Archive.

⁵ The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe, Updated and Expanded (2008). Available free on the Internet Archive.

#sam explains

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dove00 · 4 months

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CW Flash Rewrite

Hi! I wanted to try and do a cw The Flash rewrite. I acknowledge I am not a writer. This is just for fun!

I own nothing DC owns. Warning for child abuse mention (Wally’s past). Please let me know if more warnings are needed. Stay safe and enjoy!

This is going up to a season 1 mid season finale. I really did like how they cut the main villain into arcs A and B with A being stopped in some way in mid season finale. The B villain is Thawne and the A villains are the rogues.

Rogues of Season 1A: Captain Cold, Heatwave, Golden Glider, Pied Piper (who’s a bit younger, maybe 16-17, recently kicked out by parents)

Okay. Barry still goes to Starling but comes back to his fiancé Iris West. As awesome as WestAllen is and their journey, I’d think it’d be better to start here because reasons you’ll see.

Barry and Iris are planning stuff for the wedding and Iris is nervous because her brothers haven’t RVSP yet. Her brothers, Rudy and Daniel, don’t have a close bond but Joe isn’t abusive. They just don’t see each other enough. Barry is aware Iris has nephews (Wally and Wallace) but has never met them.

Barry gets struck by lightning and is in a coma for 9 months. He wakes up in a hospital and they tel him what happen but to him, they talk very slowly. He shakes it off. Iris is called and picks him up. She waited for him but she has news. Her nephews have been placed in her custody.

Barry freaks out and then realized everything stops. Barry sees Iris still and the world the same. Good thing, too, because a driver is going to hit them. Barry grabs Iris and pulls her out of the car and he gets a look at the driver and bam! Normal time starts again. Iris stares at him and he stares back. “Oh, fu—“

The driver keeps going but Barry recognizes him. Leonard Snart.

Iris is confused and Barry said, “I think I’m like Jay Garrick.” Iris nods. She knows about his favorite comic book character (the one who got him through his parents’ tragedy).

She has to go to work so Barry runs her to work and promises to pick up Wally and Wallace from high school and elementary school.

Iris is a reporter already at Central City Picture News (not the Citizen yet) so she does some investigating (even sometimes using one of the intern’s comic books) when news of a bank robbery is happening. A bank robbery where the guy has an ice gun.

Barry…isn’t doing so good. He shows up in his car, that he ran home to grab and then rushed to Wally’s school—meaning he was late. Wally stared and then got in the front seat. Barry tries to make small talk but Wally isn’t really responding. They’re even later picking up Wallace. He apologized but Wallace doesn’t talk to him either. Wally is 16 and Wallace is 7. They make it to Barry and Iris’ house and that’s when he sees the news.

Barry is so used to going to crime scenes after—maybe he can stop one before anyone gets hurt. He runs upstairs and grabs what his teen self created as cosplay of the flash and changes.

He hears a “woah.” And turns to see Wally.

“No time to explain. Watch your cousin. Back in a flash.”

Barry and Cold have a cool (ha!) fight and Barry wins.

Episode ends with Iris and Barry kissing.

The rest of arc 1A is finding the other rogues and Barry and Iris taking care of Wally and Wallace. Wally is hesitant to trust Barry but eventually he wins Wally over. At one point, Rudy West and the Manhunters kidnap Wally two episodes before mid season finale (two episode arc) and Barry is trying to save him and come to terms with the fact that he sees Wally as his son.

They save him but he was hit by lightning too. He doesn’t end up in a coma for very long (a week) and finds out he has powers. They train but Barry is hesitant to let Wally into the field.

Mid season finale has Barry almost losing to the fully formed Rogues when Wally comes in and helps him out. They save the day and Wally recognizes Piper from school. They don’t talk much as the season will show with Wally in school sometimes but Hartley’s story is pretty popular at school—especially for bullies. Wally tries to shut it down when he can but it’s not like they’re friends. He tries to stop the cops from arresting them (he has nobody to bail him out) but Barry pulls him back, whispering “we’ll help him but we have to protect our identities first.”

Wally looks hesitant and then nervous as we see Iris come into the scene but before she can speak a voice calls out, “Flash…um…Younger Flash!” Iris turns and it’s the intern who had comics. “Linda Park, CCPN…intern. Can I have a statement on tonight’s events?” Again, Wally remembers her from school. Linda Park writes for the school newspaper. She’s in four of Wally’s classes—not that he’s aware of that. Nope. She continued, “Why is Hartley Rathaway working with…um…rogues? Oh, yeah! That’s a good name.”

Wally frowns. “It’s complicated. Not that you’d understand.” Then he rushes away.

“Is…is that your statement?” She asked Barry, who shrugs then runs too.

“Do you need a ride home, Linda?”

“Yes, please.”

Look, I wanna see WallyLinda but I also wanna see them grow!

Mid season ends with a blonde man coming through a portal. Running through a portal.

That’s all I’ve got. Hope you liked it. Let me know if you’d like more!

#dc comics #the flash #flash family #barry allen #iris west #iris west allen #westallen #wally west #wallace west #ace west #flash rogues #linda park #wallylinda #wallinda

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grcycosmcs · 5 months

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*&* – was that [ zion moreno ] ? oh no no , that was just [ tigris snow ] , a [ canon character ] from [ the hunger games ]. they are [ twenty four ] years old , use [ she / her ] , & [ are ] aware that they are not actually from washington dc.

B A S I C S .

dc arrival : november 2021

current occupation : fashion designer / boutique owner

canon point : post- tbosbas

pronouns : she/her

memory status : unaffected

I N F O R M A T I O N .

full name : tigris snow

nicknames : none

age : twenty four

birthday : april 3

homeplace : capitol, panem

previous location : capitol, panem

native language : english

traits : loyal, defensive, sympathetic, compliant, intelligent

C A N O N T I D B I T S .

in the future, more information about this original character can be found by clicking the page linked at the bottom.

she was born into a prominent capitol family, whose wealth disappeared after the first rebellion. the death of her parents soon followed & she then lived with her grandmother & her younger cousin.

she did as needed to help her family get by, & she attended an elite school due to her former family status. after graduation, she officially went on to pursue fashion instead of university, a lifelong passion of hers.

her cousin became one of the first 24 mentors of the annual hunger games, & despite her aversion to these events, she supported his endeavors & advised him along the way.

B I O G R A P H Y .

this includes canon information, as well as headcanons. this contains SPOILERS.

tigris was an only child from one branch of the capitol's prominent snow family, their wealth gained from the laboratories of district 13. she lived a privilege life as a young child, alongside her cousin coriolanus, though a rebellion from oppressed districts led to the devastation of her family's prosperity & the eventual death of her parents. with this loss, she went to live with her cousin & grandmother, her uncle dying shortly after, & she was left to do a lot of the work in raising coryo & providing for the family. with them keeping up the illusion of their former wealth, she attended the capitol's elite academy, & then went on to pursue a loved career in fashion instead of furthering her education, working tirelessly under a designer from the area. meanwhile, coryo attended the academy himself, his graduating class becoming the first set of mentors for the annual hunger games tributes.

the hunger games had been created ten years prior after the districts' loss of the civil war, putting random children from the districts into an arena to fight to the death. she was appalled by these so-called games, finding them cruel & unethical, but she went on to support her beloved cousin through his mentorship as he tried to earn them the proposed prize money. she remained sympathetic towards the tributes, & she encouraged coryo to connect with his tribute lucy gray. when she ended up winning the games, it was found that coryo had cheated in order to secure that win, & he was exiled as a peacekeeper in the district for twenty years. she was saddened by his departure, & after he left, she continued to struggle to keep a roof over her & her grandma'am's heads. they were evicted shortly before coryo's return on an honorable discharge, but this was reversed once coryo was soon taken under by the wealthy father of his late friend. while disappointed in some of his actions since, she continued to stay by coryo's side until she ended up here.

A D D I T I O N A L N O T E S .

were she to have remained in canon, she would have became one of the first stylists for the games under coryo's eventual tyrannical rule & she would have resented him. she would have also began altering her appearance significantly in order to resemble a tiger, complete with stripes & whiskers. she would also turn to animalistic behaviors such as eating raw meat & making feline noises. this would have been the reason given when coryo later fired her as a stylist, & she would later open a fur-lined clothing shop & align herself with the second rebellions' cause, despite meaning the death of her once dearly loved cousin.

i have yet to read the book ( though the ebook is already downloaded ), so she is mostly based on the movie atm.

W I K I P A G E

#tigris ✧ posts #tigris ✧ information #tigris ✧ intro #hw: intro #death mention tw #war mention tw #child death mention tw

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grailfinders · 1 year

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Fate and Phantasms #19P: Musashibou Benkei

today on Fate and Phantasms it’s everyone’s favourite Japanese swordsman, Musashi! …bou Benkei! okay technically it’s the other guy, but whatever. The point is, he’s a Monk for some anti-spirit techniques and mad weapon skillz, a Bard to tell his story properly, and a Dual-Weapon Warrior to double down on those mad weapon skillz- literally.

check out his build breakdown below the cut, or his character sheet over here!

next up: didn’t we just do this guy?

Ancestry & Background

so- Kaison is a human, so he gets +2 Constitution and Strength. but he’s pretending to be Benkei, and his grail-given disguise is at least good enough that Ushiwakamaru’s willing to look the other way, so we’re making him a Reflection. this way you can look almost exactly like the guy, and you won’t have to constantly make deception checks to impersonate him. except against people who know him, like Ushiwakamaru. we’ll work with it, don’t worry.

aside from your looks, being a reflection also gets you access to reflection feats like Clone-Risen, the first of your 500 arhats. you can now become an Empty Vessel as a reaction once per day when you’d take mental damage or a mental effect, giving you a +2 bonus to the will save, or your level in resistance against the damage.

at level 5 you can Keep Up Appearances, which actually has nothing to do with being a reflection. this means you can use your deception as a reaction if you get affected by your emotions. if you roll higher than someone’s perception, they won’t notice. on top of that, if they were going to do something based on you getting affected, they won’t be able to.

at level 9 you become a Hardy Traveler, making your stances just a little more mountainous. this increases your bulk limits by 1, and you can move even faster than normal while traveling.

at level 13 your Stubborn Persistence will help you stay standing even when you’re dead. or fatigued, I guess. when you’d become fatigued, you can make a check to shake off the condition.

finally at level 17 you get an actual arhat you can launch at people when you Reflect Foes. once a day you can cast Duplicate Foe as an innate spell, creating a copy of a nearby enemy for up to 1 minute if the target fails their fortitude save. it can’t do much other than move and hit things, but that’s some sweet sweet action economy baby!

you used to be a warrior, but then everyone you cared about died due to your cowardice, so now you’re Lost and Alone. that gives you a boost in Charisma and Constitution, and every other part is basically just the regular fighter kit- intimidation, warfare lore, and an Intimidating Glare.

Class Levels

1. getting all the proficiencies out of the way: Key Ability: Strength. trained: perception, class dc, unarmed attacks, simple weapons, performance, deception, society, athletics, and eventually religion and stealth. you’re also an expert in all saves and unarmored defense.

as for your actual level, you get another set of Ability Boosts in Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, and Intelligence. tbh I miss D&D ability score improvements. it feels like they stuff so much into these boosts that going over it in a reasonable amount of time feels impossible.

on the plus side, Flurry of Blows is pretty simple. spend an action, attack twice, and they count as one attack to overcome resistances. plus, while you can learn Divine Ki Spells you shouldn’t expect a lot of them.

you have some Powerful Fists, letting you make lethal attacks with them and they deal more damage. but you have 999 swords just lying around, so you’re also trained in Monastic Weaponry. that lets you use monk martial weapons as easily as your unarmed attacks, and any time a feat mentions your unarmed attacks, that includes your weapons as well- with notable exception of stances that restrict you to one attack type.

2. we’re not “winning 999 duels” good yet though, so let’s pick up a brawling focus. with this, you get the critical specialization of your unarmed attacks and monk weapons. you’ve also been Ushi’s retainer long enough to have some Courtly Graces, so you can use your society skill to make an impression on nobles or pretend to be one.

finally and most annoyingly, becoming a bard requires more charisma than we have, so you’ll have to waste some time in the Dual-Weapon Warrior Dedication until we get another Ability Boost. the good news is this lets you Double Slice, spending two actions to make two attacks against an enemy, adding them together against resistances. if you’re fighting something really tough, you can flurry of blows twice a turn.

3. in order to survive your lord you’ll have to Diehard. or at least Benkei is a diehard, so now you are via transitive property. that gives you an extra dying condition, so you’ll bleed out slower. joy.

you can also avoid dying entirely with your Incredible Movement helping you outspeed your enemies, adding 10 feet now and another 5 every 4 levels. if you get into a fight anyway, your Mystic Strikes will make your attacks magical to get past resistances.

finally, we’ll boost your Performance to make Benkei a household name.

4. now that we’re level 4, we can finally pick up Benkei’s Guardian- er, Mountain Stance. As long as you’re touching the ground you can give yourself +4 AC and a +2 bonus against being shoved or tripped. you can also make “falling stone” attacks, which are the only ones you can make- they’re harder hitting than your regular fists, and they deal more damage the more you hit with in one turn. another downside is your dexterity modifier drops to +0, and your speed is a little lower than normal.

since your speed’s a little lower now, it’s good to know your dedication has your back, turning you into a Dual Thrower. whenever you’d make a melee strike with a dual-weapon warrior feat, you can make a thrown strike instead. monks end up with a lot of knives, so you’ll have plenty of opportunities to use this.

for a little more muscle, become a Hefty Hauler, increasing your bulk limits by another +2.

5. at fifth level we finally get another Ability Boost to Dexterity, Constitution, Wisdom, and Charisma! now we can finally become a bard! next level. right now your Alertness makes you an expert in perception, and your Expert Strikes bumps up your proficiency in your weapons. you’re also beefy enough to be an expert in Athletics.

6. at level 6 your mountain stance gets even more legendary. as an action you can become a Mountain Stronghold for a round, giving you an extra 2 AC. it also permanently increases your dexterity cap on your AC to +1 while in mountain stance, so even if you don’t use it much you’re still getting something out of it.

to celebrate the new nimbleness you’ve got, you can now make a Powerful Leap whenever you jump. You can get 5’ of height, or an extra 5’ of distance.

finally, we need one more two-weapon feat before we can bard it up, so grab Twin Parry. as an action, you can add +1 to your ac if you’re wielding two melee weapons, or +2 if at least one of them has the parry trait. that means while in your mountain stance you can get your AC all the way up to 25 if I’m doing the math correctly, which’ll be great for your final stand.

7. at level 7 you become a Keen Follower, so as long as you take your lord’s lead you’ll get an extra bonus when you follow the expert. you also get more Fortitude for the whole “last stand” thing, since that tends to help not dying. it’s all part of your Path to Perfection. similarly, you’re now an expert in Deception so that you can follow your lord without blowing your cover, and finally, your Weapon Specialization means you’ll do a little more damage with every weapon you’re an expert in, which is all monk weapons.

8.at level 8 you get another stance to spice up your fighting. this time you get the Ironblood Stance, giving you resistance 2 to all damage. plus, while this stance gives you an extra kind of unarmed attack it doesn’t require you to use it, so now you can stance up and sword up at the same time!

we’re also making you a Confabulator to help you live a lie. now if you’re trying to lie to cover up another lie, the person doubting you gets a smaller bonus to see through your bullshit. you spend a lot of time with Ushiwakamaru, you’re going to lie twice eventually.

finally, you’re not becoming a bard just yet. I’m sorry, but in my defense Flensing Slice is pretty cool for an action movie sort of move. as an action after hitting someone with both attacks of a double slice, they explode in a burst of blood, taking persistent bleed damage, becoming flat-footed, and reducing all physical resistances by 5 for a round. samurai movies are a little after your time, but there’s nothing wrong with doing something before it’s cool.

9. level 9’s another quick and easy one. your weapons and hands now count as cold iron and silver thanks to your Metal Strikes. it wasn’t enough to have iron in your blood, I guess. You’re also a expert in your class DC, ki spells, and Society now. if you’re going to cut people and let them bleed a second later like a samurai, you’re going to have to act like one too.

10. alright, now we can bard it up! first things first though, use the Ability Boost on Strength, Constitution, Wisdom, and Charisma. then, pick up your very first ki spell Wronged Monk’s Wrath. it’s a bit less spiritual than making a copy of your enemy’s sins, but it’s an aoe so it’s technically closer to what your 500 Arhat should be. you can spend between 1 and 3 actions to power up this spell. at one action, it’s a burst of force and lightning in a 5’ radius. at two it’s 10’ and dealing more damage, and at three it’s 20’ and dealing the most damage. creatures in the area make one reflex save for all the damage, if they fail they’re deafened, and critical fails even deal persistent damage. it’s not quite a stun yet, but it’s still pretty cool.

one last thing before barding- you can now make a discreet inquiry to prevent others from finding out what you’re up to. while gathering information, you can hide what you’re really looking for freely, so if anyone tries to figure out what you’re up to they have to beat your deception DC first.

okay, now Kaison is finally a Bard, giving you two occult cantrips and training with occult spells as well as Arcana. you also get a warrior muse, though it doesn’t do anything else off the bat.

now for your cantrips. with Daze you can finally stun an enemy. occasionally. your target needs to make a will save. if they fail they’ll take damage, and if they critically fail they’re stunned for one action. man, stunning is a lot better in fgo. you can also intone a Haunting Hymn, dealing sonic damage to enemies in a 15’ cone fi they fail a fortitude save. critically failing the save also leaves a creature deafened for 1 minute.

11. did you know monks weren’t always kung fu stars? it’s true! sometimes being a monk comes with religious significance, which is why Benkei is now an expert in Religion and can make Pilgrim’s Tokens. as long as you hold the token, you’ll always win any ties in initiative.

you also become a master in Reflex saves thanks to your Path to Perfection, so you always get critical successes too.

12. we got a lot of stances now, and nobody wants to waste time getting into them when there’s weaponing to do- that’s why you’re now a Stance Savant! when you roll initiative, you can enter a stance of your choice as a free action.

we’re also going to make you big and strong enough to become a Titan Wrestler, letting you attempt to disarm, grapple, shove, or trip creatures up to 2 sizes larger than you are.

you also get your second focus point all so you can make a Counter Performance as a focus spell. now you’ll be able to yell so loud as a reaction if a friend makes an auditory/visual effect you can roll a performance check to bolster your friends! they’ll effectively either make their own save, or use your performance check, whichever’s better.

13. at level 13 your graceful mastery makes you a master in unarmored defense, and your master strikes do the same for your monk attacks. you also get a little bit buffer with a skill increase in athletics! we gotta get you crackin the earth when you walk before it’s time for your final ascension photo shoot!

14. Now that you’re level 14, you can make a Mountain Quake when you’re in a mountain stance. As an action, you make the earth quake in a 20-foot radius around you, dealing damage based on your strength modifier against a Fortitude save. If they fail, they also fall prone. The downside is you can only use this action once every 1d4 rounds.

On the plus side, the +1 bonus to your dexterity cap while in the mountain stance is permanent!

You can also make a Wall Jump now, jumping off of a wall without having to land for extra mobility. Currently you can only Wall Jump once per turn, but if you become legendary in Athletics you can make as many Wall Jumps as you like as long as you have the actions to do so.

For more protection against evil spirits, you can now use the Inspire Courage bardic cantrip, giving you and all allies within 60 feet a +1 bonus to all attacks, damage rolls, and fear saves.

15. At level 15 you gain another Ability Boost in Strength, Constitution, Wisdom, and Charisma. you also get Greater Weapon Specialization which is like Weapon Specialization but greater, your Path to Perfection not only makes you legendary in Fortitude saves, but your critical failures are only failures now, and failures make you take half damage.

we’re also going to play the long game with Canny Acumen. it doesn’t do anything right away, but it’ll make you a master in Perception once we hit level 17.

16. at level 16 your Guarded Movement gives you even more AC while moving- specifically, you get a +4 bonus to any effects triggered by your own movement. Opportunity attacks, that sort of thing. you’re also down with gods enough to make a Battle Prayer as an action and actually have it do something. you make a religion check as an action against a creature’s will dc, up to once per day per creature. if you succeed you’ll deal alignment damage, but if you fail you can’t use this again for 10 minutes.

we also finally pick up our first Bard class feature, making you a Reliable Squire. this gives you a +2 bonus to Aid checks, and you can’t critically fail. a good retainer knows not to get in their lord’s way.

17. level 17’s mostly another improvement over addition level, though your Adamantine Strikes are nice. like the name implies, your punches and spears are practically adamantine now. you’re also a Graceful Legend, giving you legendary unarmored defense and masterful Class DCs and Divine Spells.

on top of becoming a master in perception this level, you’re also now a master of Performance. gotta spread that legend, y’know?

18. at level 18 your Diamond Fists make all your attacks Forceful, and if your attacks already had this trait they instead become one damage die bigger. not only does this make all your attacks stronger in general, it especially empowers your Mountain Stance attacks.

we’re not ignoring your bardly skills though! your Fascinating Performance will make one observer fascinated with you for a round if you roll better than their will DC. this can even work mid-combat, though you’ll have to critically succeed. since you’re a master of performance, you can use this on up to 10 creatures at a time to really spread the good word of the man you’re pretending to be.

you can also Accompany an ally as a reaction, spending one of your focus points or spell slots to make a performance check. if you do well enough, your ally doesn’t have to spend their point/slot to cast the spell. you only have focus points, but still it’s the thought that counts.

19. On our penultimate level, your Slippery Secrets mean your mind is harder to read than usual. When a magical effect tries to read your mind, reveal your alignment, or determine if you are lying, you can make a deception check against the spell’s DC to stop it. The Holy Grail itself handed you this disguise, so it won’t come off easily. In order to take this feat, you need to be a master of Deception, which you now are.

You also gain a Perfected Form, making the first attack you make each turn guaranteed to roll at least a 10.

20. For your final level, you get one final Ability Boost in Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, and Charisma. You can also Fuse Stances together, making a new stance with both of the original’s strengths and weaknesses as long as they aren’t mutually exclusive. This means we can truly make Benkei’s Guardian Stance now by fusing together the Mountain Stance and Ironblood stance for an empowered AC and resistance to all damage.

you can also Consult the Spirits now thanks to your religious studies. Once a day you can spend 10 minutes to Recall Knowledge with your religion. Depending on how well you do, they will answer up to 3 simple questions, though if you critically fail they will give you harmful answers.

For our final Bard feature you can perform a Symphony of the Unfettered Heart. This allows you to make a performance check to counteract one of several effects on up to four allies (including yourself), but if you fail you cannot use this spell on that person for one day. We couldn’t get a skill seal skill, but making enemy skills useless is almost as good.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

turns out having a good ac and a resistance to all damage makes you really Hard to Kill. running away also helps, but now that you’re Benkei you’re pretty indestructible too.

you’re also good at dealing damage, either with sped up attacks from your flurry of blows or slowing down for some persistent bleed damage with your double strikes, you’re able to cut through most enemy’s defenses with the variety of weapons at your disposal.

while you’re not quite as nimble as Cu Chulainn, you’re still pretty dang Mobile with wall jumps and the standard monk speed boost. you’re free to pick your battles, though I’m sure your party hopes you’re a little more courageous this time around.

Cons:

the mountain stance is really cool for defense, but it also hampers your mobility and offense a lot by not letting you use weapons or leave the ground.

we also had to juggle a lot of skills around, so you’re not super great at any one thing without any legendary feats.

as for the last one…. range? I guess? maybe having too many options? tbh I think this is a pretty solid build, though admittedly I haven’t played enough Pathfinder to have a good feel for that.

#fgo #fate grand order #pf2e #Pathfinder #Musashibou Benkei #Monk #Bard #Dual Weapon Warrior

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motownfiction · 2 years

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harvest

St. Catherine’s had a Sadie Hawkins Dance until two years ago, in the fall of 1981. Back then, an outspoken freshman named Lucy Callaghan took her case to the administration: Theoretically, there was nothing wrong with a dance where girls asked boys to be their dates, but by calling it a “Sadie Hawkins Dance,” the concept was still rooted in misogyny: Sadie Hawkins was a character in the Li’l Abner comics, and she was ridiculed for being thirty-five and unmarried. Lucy asked the administration if that was really the message they wanted to send. Besides, she said, her best friend’s name is Sadie, and she doesn’t want her to have to shoulder such an awkward burden. In the end, Lucy gave them so many withering stares that they relented. The concept of the dance would stay, but it would now be called a Harvest Dance. A sort of epilogue to September’s bombastic homecoming. Jeans and t-shirts allowed.

Which brings Charlie Doyle here, now. A freshman at St. Catherine’s in the fall of 1983. Terrified that Carrie Sullivan is going to ask him to the dance.

According to everyone who’s ever known the both of them, Carrie has been in love with Charlie since they were very small. Charlie doesn’t see it, and he doesn’t want it, either. He likes Carrie, to be sure. She’s a good friend. Maybe the smartest person he’s ever really known. She has good taste in music, and this summer, when he took her to see WarGames, she actually had something to say about it. But when he thinks about going on a real date with her – not just hanging out at the movies like old friends do – he panics. He feels like he might throw up. And every morning before he leaves for school, he gets on his knees at the foot of his bed and prays that Carrie won’t ask him to the Harvest Dance, that day or any day. Everyday, it works.

Eventually, it works a little too well. It’s the day before the Harvest Dance, and Carrie hasn’t said a word about it. Finally, at lunch, Charlie asks her why. Morbid curiosity wins over mortal fear. Carrie just shrugs over her peanut butter sandwich. Says she already asked Greg Wilson, that guy from their algebra class who loves Star Trek and AC/DC. Charlie shrugs over his sandwich, too. Can’t say the guy doesn’t have layers.

He’s not sure if it bothers him, Carrie having another date. But it’s not what he prayed for. He prayed that Carrie wouldn’t ask him out, not that she’d find somebody new. He’s not sure what the gnawing feeling in his gut is, so he decides to ignore it. Let the peanut butter catch it.

Yeah, Charlie thinks. That’ll do.

(part of @nosebleedclub september challenge -- day ix!)

#drabble #writeblr #ch: charlie doyle #ch: carrie sullivan #ship: crazy love #year: 1983

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world-cinema-research · 1 year

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A Women Under the Influence-Yanissa Agbigay

A women under the influence is a 1974 film that is about a women named Mabel Longhetti. Mabel is a person who tends to feel lonely and seeks to find some sort of happiness in her life. She is also married to Nick who is a Los Angeles municipal construction worker. This causes her to act certain ways around her husband and her three kids. It eventually starts to be concerning to Nick and thinks that Mabel is a potential threat to her family. His solution is to commit Mabel to an institution for six months, leaving him to deal with the kids on his own.

youtube

The film had a starting budget of one million dollars which was made back in its first opening days and was able to be used as profit. They also had two releases which was internationally,making $16,626 and worldwide making roughly the same amount.

The film reviews is a mix of both good and bad. When it was first released, there were many people who said in their reviews that the film is a bit misleading and controversial, especially as the character Mabel is so called crazy. As of the most recent reviews, viewers are now more loving of the movie and comment saying that this film is legendary and one of John Cassavetes best films yet, others would also agree.

Some historical events that had happened in the year of 1974 was when President Nixon was the first president to resign on August 8, 1974. From the start, Nixon wasn’t a very popular president but when the Watergate Scandal came to light, all the more it began his downfall. The Watergate scandal is just another example of why people are more skeptical about politics and less trusting of our government. This had been used to cover up Nixon’s involvement in a break-in that happened at the Watergate headquarters, in Washington, DC. Within the same year, President Gerald Ford, who is also known as the 38th president, gives Nixon an unconditional pardon or also known as giving him forgiveness. Ford was also an unpopular figure and out of the two’s presidencies, Ford still had a shorter run. Ford’s controversial act to pardon Nixon for what he may or may not have done, ultimately ended him in politics.

Yes, people did not trust in this movie to be successful but as of today, they’d say otherwise. At first no one wanted to finance the film and there were many changes that had been made. For instance, Cassavetes intended to have A Women Under the Influence as a play. The women who played Mabel, Gena Rowlands, found it too intense to be performing it every night with it being a potential problem to her mentally. The movie also received two academy award nominations for the best actress and best director. Though they didn't win, Rowlands's performance as a housewife having a nervous breakdown is still regarded as a master class in acting.

I too would have to agree that this movie is quite successful and I enjoyed the plot and how everything worked out in the end. In the end, I find this movie to be unconventional because though the acting was on point and the director did a well done job, some other viewers still will and did find the film controversial and can mislead viewers from what the main purpose of the film is.

#Youtube

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bigskydreaming · 2 years

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Re-reading Barbara Gordon's appearance in Hawk and Dove, I've concluded Hank may not have originally been Monarch, but was always intended to be Extant. Hank's being called by someone claiming to be Don from beyond the grave, and Hank says he'll do anytjing to bring his brother back. There are also hints in Team Titans: The name Lord Chaos is a huge one, as is how Redwing and Prester Jon mirror Robin and Oracle. Hank would feel the need to create a Dick pastiche just to prove he's better.

Tbh, I've never put a ton of thought into either the Monarch or the Extant stuff, since it was all so fucking messy even by DC-in-the-90s standards, and it always felt more like DC just desperately looking for a way to keep Hank relevant after they killed off Don (since they were conceived as a duo, the Hawk AND Dove concept...rather than DC ever previously having done much to make their characters stand on their own, outside of that concept).

Course, unlike with a lot of the rest of DC's more convoluted plots, I just flat out was never invested enough in Hank's character to do the mental gymnastics it takes to try and unpack everything they did with him back then. Like, attempting to make sense of the constant 'everything you thought you knew about Hank Hall was wrong and THIS is the truth, at least until the next time we pull this shtick and do this all over again' twists to his character.....that was practically a full time job.

(Cut to twelve year old me, who was like I know I'm not getting paid for this, and I've got a strong enough grasp on capitalism by now to know that means I can quit at any time and that time is now.)

Like, they really did look at Hank Hall and go "this man is a wall and by god, we are committed to staying right here and throwing as much spaghetti as it takes until we come up with a random twist on his character that STICKS and magically makes readers actually give a damn about him!"

Arrested development voice over: They did not, in fact, manage to come up with a twist that stuck and magically made readers actually give a damn about him. But in the end, they still all went home eventually anyway, and that’s the story of how nobody ever ended up actually giving a damn about the character who was Hank Hall. And also Extant. And also Monarch. Maybe. Probably. Look, it was something like that, we’re pretty sure.

Anyway, the point of all this - in as much as I ever have a point which let's be real, mmmmm what would that be like, even - is that you, dear anon, might have managed to succeed where DC could not, a full twenty five years later: coming up with an angle on all that which actually entertains me enough to make it worth wading into all the Monarch/Extant bullshit.

Because if there's one thing I DO believe to be true of Hank Hall, no matter what time travel and Order/Chaos fuckery is afoot with his character....

Its that a Hank who went full supervillain?

Would absolutely be petty and obsessive enough to create an evil doppelganger of Nightwing just so he can a) get his jollies playing puppet master with the life and mind of someone who genuinely at times believed himself to BE Dick Grayson, b) make the real Dick Grayson look bad via the actions of his puppet Deathwing, the ultimate smear campaign, and c) throw him in the real Dick Grayson's face while saying 'look at him, he's you but faster' and gloating about how he made a better Dick Grayson than the real Dick Grayson.

Literally everyone else: Ummm, DID you though?

Evil Hank: No, I totally did. Look at my creation, Deathwing. He's totally a better Nightwing than the real Nightwing who I have definitely not been resentfully comparing myself to and falling short of for pretty much as long as I've known him. Hah! Ah hahaha! Ha hah! I did it! I finally beat Dick Grayson! This is me winning!

Literally everyone else: I mean, this is definitely something. We'll give you that.

Dick: Why does this sort of shit keep happening to me? I would like to know please. Like what am I doing, what am I putting out there that makes people so obsessed with beating me at the game of life without even first notifying me that we are actually in some sort of weird competition. I am a simple man who just wants simple things like to save the world and maybe hear his dad tell him he's proud of him, doesn't even have to be in that order. Like is there somewhere I can get a T-shirt that says "Weird thought but maybe I don't actually give a shit about beating you and being better than you and your insecurities are a you problem"?

Boone: I am feeling super attacked right now and I'm not even in this post.

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ckiine · 1 year

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Character studies....(Kind of)

A/N - Hello everyone. Hope everyone is doing well. New Years is around the corners but something else entirely might come knocking at our door so please mask up everybody!

So a few random things came to mind about DC characters.

Goshyo Aoyama has stated in interviews that he likes "strong women" and frankly speaking he has delivered that in various forms. Ran, Kazuha, Sera, Haibara, Eri, Satou and even Yumi not to be taken lightly. While this can be elaborated upon but this post focuses is on the DC men (a few).

Hats off Wataru Takagi is the best man in the entire series.

He is responsible, committed, understanding, loyal and extremely well balanced and patient. He knows how to deal with his personal life, but uphold his duties at the same time. In this aspect, I feel Shinichi, Akai and Amuro lose.

Takagi's journey of winning over Satou is actually very difficult. The loss of her father and Matsuda-kun in the line of duty is terribly painful. She actually saw her father dying and Matsuda was literally blown to pieces right in front of her eyes. Talk about trauma. She knows the hazards of the job which would make anyone reluctant in getting into a relationship with a person who is on field with you. We also see her fear of losing Takagi throughout the series which is also heavily explored in the 25th Movie.

Takagi is understanding of this aspect and doesn't rush her (unlike Shiratori. Shiratori is ready to wait for her but he wanted a permanent mark over her, like an engagement or something. (explored in a Manga case)).

When Takagi comes to know about Matsuda-kun, he completely understands his own position and most of all does not make empty promises. He understands her grief and is patient with her.

The best part is, when they formally enter a relationship, Takagi is fully ready to take all responsibility. He dates her with all the intensions of marriage and living a long healthy life with her. Not to mention he is such a gentleman. He completely lets Yumi and even the detective boys tease him without any signs of aggression.

I genuinely feel that Takagi as a man definitely raises the bar quite high.

Shinichi and Akai on the other hand are the 'sacrificial' type of men. They are so used to logically thinking of things that, even when they are correct it is not always the best outcome.

Shinichi feels like he alone should face the danger and keep everyone safe. He feels its his duty and responsibility. He keeps too many secrets and not just from Ran, he even does that with Hattori. Shinichi talking about the BO with him is quite rare.

Same with Akai, him faking his death like that was genuinely a huge blow to the FBI, not to mention even his mother and sister too believe him to be dead. It must take a huge amount of mental fortitude to willingly subject your loved ones through such grief.

It makes me think these two men need incredibly patient, loving and understanding women as life partners. This trait is certainly fulfilled by Ran and Akemi on a huge extent.

At the start of the series Ran and Shinichi are not dating, heck they don't even know that they have mutual feelings for one another. But even then Ran is uncomplaining over his vague promise of "wait for me." {This can be elaborated upon}.

Akemi on the other hand knew of Akai's intensions, but even then chooses to love him wholeheartedly. She would be the first one to die if Akai ever gets found out (which eventually happens). Despite his deception Akemi accepts him completely and even plays along with it (until its ends up getting revealed by Camel). Needless to say Akai does truly ends up falling for her as well.

For now that's all. There is more obviously but we can have few more posts for that later. Please comment and let me know what do you guys think. I wanted to add more characters but as I said, we can have more posts later!

I don't know if anyone is looking forward to this or not but the next fanfic is going to be Akai and Akemi. I hope you look forwards to it.

Though in all honesty I don't know when

#dc #gosho aoyama #shinran #takagi #Satou #akai shuichi #akemi miyano #kudou shinichi #mouri ran

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