Zatanna - Blog Posts
I’m Iffy on Zatanna’s Morally Gray Idea
I mostly have a problem with the execution of this plot line more than anything. I like heroes to be morally gray sometimes but for me to really gel with the idea, I would have to see the character struggle resorting to that risky decision.
I think seeing Zatanna constantly finding other ways to save her dad but them failing would’ve helped me feel more sympathetic towards Zatanna, and understand how desperate she is to find a solution.
Also, I would’ve done the reveal totally different(honestly I would’ve done her arc differently). Zatanna and her protégés would visit Nabu quicker than in canon, and he somehow lets her plan slip out in front of her students. They get mad but Zatanna tells them that it was not the time and the discussion will happen later.
Then, in the end, Zatanna realizes how effed her plan is and tells her students that they have a choice to say no. Zatanna would tell Mary she’s not ready while Traci and Khalid accept the deal.
Thoughts on Zatanna’s Arc
Not going to lie, Zatanna’s arc is my least favorite so far. The pacing feels slow and the character focus is disjointed.
I wish Traci and Mary were cut out. They don’t add anything and they take away screen time from more important characters like Zatanna, Doctor Fate, Klarion, and Child. Khalid is the most interesting but mostly because I did some research on who he is in the comics.
I’m close to wanting Phantom Stranger and Jason Blood/Etrigan, though they could work as smaller note characters.
Zatanna, Doctor Fate, Klarion, Child, and Vandal should be the core cast of this arc.
I’m going to be optimistic and hope that this arc will have a great or even good ending, yet my hope is slowly dwindling with each episode coming out.
Artemis: What I want is to stop wanting a man
Zatanna: Step 1 start liking women
Zatanna: Step 2 turn to your right
Zatanna: *winks*
real
I just know the Bruce/Zatanna/Constantine threesome ruined lives, raised the average temperature on the east coast by ten degrees, and probably relocated several ley lines
Concept: an episode of the Justice League cartoon where the MCs get sucked into a 90s teen movie… powers get reset to when they were that age.
Absolutely. In S1 when Zatara puts on the Dr.Fate helmet and Zatanna effectively loses her dad, Dick/Robin is hovering around her looking like he wants to comfort her. He knew better than anyone there the pain of losing a parent. But no one around him knew that part of his life.
Later on in the Haly's Circus episode, we see that Wally knows about his past but precisely because of that he doesn't bring him on the mission. It's a liability. But that makes him so very lonely and isolated going through that journey alone despite having a team around him.
I was rewatching Young Justice and the fact that all versions of Robin are the only one forced to keep their secret identity even with their teammates and friends is usually written off as Batman being paranoid. I think it's more than that, that it's his way of giving the kids an 'out'. If they ever decide they don't want to fight crime anyone they have a safe identity to return to, no obligations.
They are children first, soldiers second. Bruce knows better than anyone the loneliness his job brings and of course he would want better for anyone, especially his kids.
Constantine and Zatanna accidentally ripped a brief hole into...something. It wasn't the Realm of the Dead, not really. But they'd done it long enough to see a teen hero in a mech suit go on a suicide mission to fight Pariah Dark.
Their portal flickered out before they could see the kid's death, or try to help.
They were left, instead, to wonder who that hero was. They'd only seen a brief flash of him, but it was only right to pay their respects.
They were a teenager. They were using advanced technology. The emblem was kinda pointy.
Like.
Like a sideways batarang.
Oh shit.
Had Batman lost another bird?
It wasn't much to go on, but it was all they had.
However, Batman didn't act any different. There were no reports of a Gotham hero disappearing (permanently). When they branched out, there were no reports of any other hero going missing that matched that criteria.
When Zatanna used a spell to recreate an exact drawing of the emblem, there was no hero that used it.
So they were left with an uncomfortable reality; they'd witnessed the death of a future hero.
But.
They hadn't seen the whole fight. Maybe the teen had won, against all odds?
They had to find them and prepare them. Give them as much of an edge as they could.
So they waited. And waited. And waited.
And no one using that emblem came.
Zatanna, frustrated, found herself doodling the emblem...right as Superman came up behind her.
"Oh, are you trying to find the Kryptonian House that belongs to?"
Zatanna froze.
No.
No way.
The teenager was a Kryptonian? There was another Kryptonian running around?
How the hell was she supposed to tell Superman that he wasn't the only one left, and that on top of that, she'd seen the future death of the other one?
ok, and flash ? I know this one isn't Barry, but wow ? Did I ever said I loved the grafics in this ???
Reading Justice League unlimited :
can we talk about the way they drew John Constantine ? Like, yeah, I know he's one of my DC blorbo, BUT STILL ????
Did they really had to draw him so well ?????? Hot damn
Reading Justice League unlimited :
can we talk about the way they drew John Constantine ? Like, yeah, I know he's one of my DC blorbo, BUT STILL ????
Did they really had to draw him so well ?????? Hot damn
What i take from this is that Batman canonically pics up pizza in the Batmobile
Rocket and Zatana
Roy and Cheshire
Roy and Kaldur
Kaldur and Rocket
Jason’s birthday present
Steph: Hey Dick, I was looking for a birthday present for Jason, and I need some help.
Dick: Oh sure! Let’s see, he likes..
Steph: oh no, I don’t need advice. I just need you to put me in touch with Zatanna.
Dick: umm why?
Steph: I’m not going to tell you and ruin the surprise!
Dick:.......ok steph. I’ll call her and have her meet up with you. I don’t know why, but I have a bad feeling about this but I’m going to trust you.
*on the day of Jason’s birthday. Opening presents*
Jason: *picks up an envelope and reads it* hmm from stephanie. Just an envelope? Come one steph, you could have done better.
Steph: shut up and opening it. You’ll like it.
Jason: *opens the envelope, pulls out a small piece of paper and reads what is on it out loud* “One free curse. Cash this in to Zatanna and she will put a curse on someone of your choosing. One time only offer. Curse cannot be applied to stephanie.”
Dick: Steph I trusted you!
Jason: *tearing up* I-I love it! Thank you steph this is the best gift ever!!! This is the standard for all of my gifts from now on.
*eventually Tim becomes cursed and can no longer make a left turn for 3 weeks*
Drew this while watching ☀️ Little Miss Sunshine ☀️ I absolutely love that movie
So since you said I can still take a request and you said you kinda know about this show, how about Zee Zatara bonding with her dad? Maybe something with cooking and/or magic?
They're practicing magic and making blueberry pancakes at the same time!
John Constantine is seventeen, angry and entirely ready to lose himself in the occult.
The open book in front of him details a particularly nasty ritual, but not one he’s unwilling to pay the price for. He bought the book from the shop on Eaton street, ‘Occult Exposition’. It’s not a nice shop. The clientele tend to be even dodgier than John and the owner always goes out of his way to make him as uncomfortable as possible.
John supposes that that’s just the price of authenticity.
The book is authentic. He knows that. One of the first things John learned was that the fakes always do well when it comes to flair but never quite catch the essence of a true ritual.
Fully set up in the back garden, John begins his ritual.
He chants and moves and shifts his thoughts in all the right directions. He slits the throat of a rabbit and cuts out the eye of the hawk that caught it. He spins a web of spider silk around the remains and watches it turn into a spun glass cage that contains something entirely different.
John lifts the same knife he used to cut out the hawks eyes and slit the rabbits throat, ready to plunge it into the beating heart the glass now contains.
“Are you sure you want to do that?” a voice calls out from behind him.
John spins around with his knife at the ready to defend himself. Instead if someone attacking him all John sees is a beautiful girl leaning against the dirty wall of his garden shed.
“Are you sure you want to stick around until the police come arrest you for trespassing?” he snarls, caught off guard.
The girl has the gall to roll her eyes. “As if you would call the police.” Considering the garden stinks of weed John supposes that the girl may have a point. “And anyway, I’m just giving you some sound advice. Nothing malicious about me at all.”
John narrows his eyes. “There aren’t many people who offer advice for free.”
“Well maybe I’m just feeling generous today.” the girl says with a grin. The smile drops promptly. “The blood rune won’t work, so you’re just going to be compelled to rip your heart out and eat it. Do you want to rip your heart out and eat it?”
John scoffs even as he sends the blood rune an uncertain look. “The rune is fine.”
The girl shoots him a withering look. “It has to be virgin's blood.”
“It is vir-“ John pauses. Resets. “Oh shit.”
“What? Are you still feeling lucky?”
“Fuck off.” John says on reflex. Then, “Thanks for telling me though. That could’ve been nasty.”
The girl finally smiles properly. Broad and shining and even John is forced to admit to himself that it’s a beautiful smile. “You’re very welcome. My name's Zatanna.” she says, sticking her hand out for him to shake.
“John.”
“I know,” she says with a wink as they clasp hands. “If you ever want a little more sound advice then just give me a call. Promise I’m a better option than you ever you got that book from.”
John raises an eyebrow. “Not that I don’t appreciate the offer, but what’s put you in such a sharing mood?”
“I said I was feeling generous.” Her expression softens. “I think you’re going to be powerful. The kind of powerful that’s going to get people killed if you don’t know how to handle it. Call me when you’re in trouble.”
When she finishes speaking a wind summons itself up around her. Twisting and twirling until she’s stood in the centre of a spinning tornado. The speed of the wind reaches a climax and dissipates all of a sudden, leaving behind no sign of Zatanna.
John takes a step towards the space she used to occupy and spots something on the ground. It’s a business card. Pristine white with edges sharp enough to cut through flesh. On the card is a name, ‘Zatanna Zatara’, and a phone number.
There are two ‘x’s handwritten below the number and they make John feel oddly warm.
“Fuck.” he says to empty air. “Fuck.”
He turns back to his aborted ritual and starts cleaning up the blood.
Au where Billy doesn’t get his demigod form but just a shit ton of magic instead.
(can kinda be read as a continuation of this)
~
Zatanna has been hopping around Europe for months now. She’s been finding her father’s old teachers and new ones that are all her own and getting them to tell her everything they can. Since she left the mountain she’s been wringing every drop of knowledge she can from the world and practising it until she falls asleep with all her magic spent.
It feels a little like healing.
Sometimes it feels like something else though. When Zatanna thinks about how the only real connections she’s made on this journey have been with her teachers. Those connections aren’t like the one she shared with her father. Not like the connections she still shares with the Team. She makes the effort to go and visit the mountain on occasion but it’s not enough. The feeling of other people being close and loving her doesn’t fill her up like it used to.
She decides that this probably is healing. This whole thing she’s doing. But it’s a lonely breed of it.
Then a boy with black hair and blue eyes and far too much power, just like her, comes tumbling into her room one day.
“Uh. Hi. I’m Billy.” he says, uncertain. His aura crackles with lightning and Zatanna doesn’t think she’s ever seen someone with so much raw magic running through their veins.”You’re Zatanna right? I was hoping that you could help me? I want- I need to learn magic.” He pauses. “It’s important. A wizard told me so.”
Zatanna hasn’t thought about helping anyone in a long time. She’s been too focused on saving herself to have room for other worries. She realises that she misses it.
She must hesitate for too long because Billy looks far more worried than a kid that age should have any right to. “Please?” he says.
Zatanna smiles, because healing takes many forms and she thinks that this might be one she prefers. “Okay.” she says.
Billy smiles and it lights the room up so much that Zatanna thinks he might actually be doing magic on accident.
They’ll work on it.
When is a person not a person?
It’s a question that plagues Zatanna. Or, maybe not even that. When does a person become a different person? When does the helmet on your head twist and twist you into someone new and old and different who doesn’t have a daughter at all.
Zatanna wonders if the word orphan applies to her. She wonders if she’ll ever figure it out.
“I don’t know.” Robin says when she asks, because during one of their chats he let slip that he really is an orphan. Two whole parents buried in their graves, no waking up. The whole shebang.
“I want to know.” She answers. It feels like a big question, the kind you need someone to answer before you can move on and do anything with your life. “I want things to start making sense.”
The word orphan makes sense. She even looked it up in a dictionary, all very clear cut.
“Whatever the answer is, you have family.” He smiles and Zatanna thinks about how sweet he is.
“Wally’s a lucky guy.” she says, half because she wants the conversation to turn a little less serious, half because it’s the truth. Robin turns a bit red and Zatanna absent mindedly starts thinking about what colour bridesmaid dress she would like.
“Shut up.” he groans, before turning serious again. “I don’t know what the right thing to say is, Z, but you’ve got to know that you’re one of us.”
Zatanna’s heart breaks a little even as she smiles. She does love the team, really she does. They’re bright and fast and beautiful and kind. They’re strong and clever and righteous and she does love them. It’s just that before she didn’t only belong with them. She had two places. She had a room in the mountain and a place by her father’s side.
It had made her feel whole, the duality of it all.
Maybe that’s why she packs a bag the next morning and conjures up a means of escape.
Every day with the team her soul shatters again. Every time she sees her father’s body, reduced to a vessel for a being that isn’t even kind, her heart breaks in two. Staying so close to reminders of all the things she’s lost isn’t doing her any good so she decides to leave.
Where’s the line between running away and escaping? she thinks, and finally there’s a question she doesn’t want the answer to.
this has been the most cathartic one so far! I used the young justice design because man do I love that show
(there are very few things i am unable to forgive; however, one is Darwin’s death in x-men first class and the other is the cancellation of young justice)
DC Women by Sara Richard.
was watching this video and found this golden comment:
does this apply to john, billy (he was a kinda (???) a troublemaker in the comics,,), chas, zatanna and tawny respectively???
Billy and John play father and son out in public so Billy just starts calling him dad regularly and it becomes an inside joke. it slips out once when theyre around the league and everyone is like ????? bonus: Billy got tired of saying House Of Mystery every single time so he started just staying HOM and it eventually just turned into home so everyone is convinced theyre related
AWW YEAHHHHH (i didn't know if this was a fic request or not so i put this ask into a plot idea)
the league's got a disguise/infiltration mission one day, and john and cap are like, "we'll take care of this," and the league is like "alright," thinking that john will be with cap's civilian identity
the mission day comes, and the league is gaping at john having a kid/bruce wayne look-alike. john comes up with an excuse that cap's sick and he's gotta stay at the HOM to heal. billy's done with everything (specifically when diana or clark argue that a child is on a dangerous mission).
they do the mission, succeed, and everyone goes home. except the leaguers have a crisis whenever or not billy is john’s child, batman’s child, both, or cap’s. next day they probably have another crisis because john’s dating/married cap but why does their child look like bruce???? and isn’t john in a relationship with zatanna????
im also sure that some league members will come up with a poly relationship chart to decipher what kind of relationship john, billy, zatanna, captain marvel, that pet tiger they have (for some reason, the leaguers are terrified), the taxi driver and the HOM have.
they now think john’s got a poly relationship with john, cap, zatanna and (possibly) the weird taxi driver, adopted a tiger and an accident of one of bruce wayne’s affairs and bought a funky house.
this is everything i got ig
---
BONUS (sorry for the low quality):
(i am very funny)
I had to draw this meme with Zatanna and John