ROOBY

Merry Oofuri Xmas to the wonderful @mugenrunner (on twitter)

Got the chance to draw for one of my favourite artist 🥰 Such an honor to create something for them~

Accidental Double Date 😲

My @oofurixmas gift to Wolfie @muraiyaoikumo!!!! A classic standoff between two batteries on valentine's day. I wanted to draw you some tajihana as well, but I got busy with college test prep :( happy belated valentine's!

Shazam is one of the best DC movies of 2019 so far in my opinion. Compared to most of the DCeU movies, this was a breakout hit for the lighter, comedic tone (which is the best way to approach the film since its a kid who becomes a superhero). This movie has a sort of 80s-90s vibe with kids going on huge, life threatening adventures like E.T., The Goonies, Stephen King’s IT, etc. I also liked the fact that people like the heroes and them enjoying doing heroic things and using their powers instead of going all “angsty and emo-ish” with doing what they do the entire movie.

Billy Batson is a 15 year-old foster kid looking for his birth mother. He ends up living in a foster home with several other kids. He later encounters the Wizard who gives him the powers of Shazam (Wisdom of Solomon, Strength of Hercules, Stamina of Atlas, Power of Zeus, Courage of Achilles, and Speed of Mercury). He then must face Doctor Sivana, an evil scientist who becomes the host of the Seven Deadly Sins, all while learning to be with a family.

One of the aspects of the film I loved was Zachary Levi’s performance as Shazam or Older Billy Batson. His portrayal as a boy in a man’s body is a real change of pace in how he doesn’t just go out and be a hero, but actually get money and be famous. Billy actually runs away from his first encounter with Sivana without even putting up a fight. It’s when he faces Sivana one final time near the end of the film that he must take responsibility and become a hero for his new destiny.

Asher Angel was a very good actor in how he’s a trouble-making runaway who wants to find his mom. Despite some issues, he was excellent in one scene with discovering that his mom purposely abandoned him as a young child, showing how heartbroken and disappointed he was.

The villain, Doctor Sivana, stands out in the film as he does have “justifiable reasons” for what he’s doing: he was often told he was nothing by his family and was given the chance to become the Wizard’s champion, but was tempted by the Sin monsters to be their champion. After being denied that power as a child, he spent his entire life searching for the Wizard and took the powers of the Seven Sins. He’s shown to be similar to Billy as Sivana cared very little about others and looking out for his own interests. This gives us a villain who seems to reflect the hero in some surprising ways.

The foster kid characters were distinct on their own but didn’t enough screen time to flesh them out. They aren’t the kids from Stranger Things or IT 2017, but they are entertaining. The stand out of the foster kids was Freddy Freeman, acting as the sort of moral compass for Billy when it comes to being a superhero. When they transform into their Shazam forms, they’re basically the same with some fun when they use their powers.

Freddy : If you could have one superpower what would it be? Everybody chooses flight. You know why?

Billy : So they could fly away from this conversation?

Freddy : No,... No, because heroes fly.

_

One of the things I really love about Birdflash/DickWally is the idea that they’re “The Couple”. They’ve been together since they were kids, they were best friends, and their relationship grew organically out of that. Despite any rough patches they no doubt had, they’re the constant. They just go together. They’re the “Cory and Topanga”, a package deal. They’re the perfect example of a healthy, long relationship that their family and friends honestly admire.

They’re a gay couple, and it’s normalized. 

Wally would have been around before most of the Batkids were brought into the picture. He would be just as much of an “older brother” figure as Dick is. It’s “yeah, that’s my brother Dick and his boyfriend Wally, they’re disgusting”. It’s not an uncommon thing to walk into the kitchen at the Manor and Wally’s sitting at the counter eating a couple powerbars and downing a bottle of gatorade (Dick isn’t even there, he just let himself in). Wally isn’t always expected to be at Batfam meetings, but he’s usually there, and no one bats an eye (pun intended).

And it’s the same with Wally’s family. Maybe his folks aren’t the biggest fans of Dick, but you know that Iris and Barry have pretty much adopted him the same way they did Wally. Dick and Wally babysit the twins, and they just adore Dick because he’ll take them to the park and show them tricks on the monkey bars. Dick’s there at every Thanksgiving, and Christmas, and summer barbeque. 

Can you imagine what it would mean to a young hero who’s just coming out of the closet to have that kind of role model in their life? Here’s Nightwing and The Flash, acting as mentors to them. They’re not “those gay superheroes”, they’re just Dick and Wally, and all these young heroes look up to them regardless of whether they’re gay, straight, or somewhere in between, but it would mean that much more to a kid to see them and be able to think “Wow, I could be like them someday. I don’t have to sacrifice any part of myself.” And still, you know that when Dick is training the newbies, Wally sometimes zooms in to steal a kiss, and they’re all making gagging noises in the background. 

And when people ask them what their “secret” is, they both just sort of shrug and give the same answer. They’re best friends. They get along, they have fun, they love each other so deeply and passionately. When they have a fight, they cool down, and try to talk to out. Is it always easy? No, of course not, but they’re not under any illusions that it should be easy all the time. 

People tell them they’re the best couple they know, and they just look at each other, grin, say “niiicccce”, and fist bump. 

I could go on for days, honestly, but Dick and Wally being the normalized “couple” friends is the reason I get out of bed in the mornings.