Happy Whelmed Wednesday everyone! ... er, Thursday! Sorry, but if you haven't seen yet, Harley Quinn made some HUGE waves in the DC Universe yesterday that called our attention over to our sister site Harleyquinn.tv! Be sure to check it out if you are a fan of a more adult take on DC animation! For today's Whelmed *ahem Thursday, we are going to share an original story by our very own, Ariel Horn. This was at the behest of Tumblr user Batisshadow. She requested this short piece in honor of Zeno Robinson's birthday. We hope you enjoy!

Vic had known about the party for weeks.

How could he not have? Both the Team and the Outsiders seemed to have forgotten that Vic could read their electronic communications. It’s not like he wanted to read them. At first, he’d tried to stop it, but the messages came up in his vision anyway. When he got bored, he read them for fun. One secret Facebook event, three Whatsapp groups and a plethora of random texts made for plenty of entertainment. 

Violet had originally offered to make a cake (with Lian’s help), but Cassie gently shut that down by reminding her of the eggshell incident. Vic appreciated the sentiment, but he knew he would appreciate an eggshell free, store-bought cake even more. Bart, Jaime and Ed were all over decorations, having visited several stores all over the country to find exactly what they needed. Cassie was bringing balloons, and Forager was tasked with distracting him even more than he usually did. Oddly enough, it wasn’t as annoying as Vic had thought it would be; he had a soft spot for the bug. 

He perused the final messages upon waking on his nineteenth birthday. Everything was a go; Tara was buying the cake, decorating was well underway on the floor below his bedroom, and Forager would be arriving at precisely 10:56 to engage in the ‘delightful new Earthling habit’ known as brunch. Despite the smile on his face, Vic couldn’t help the dread from seeping into his stomach. 

This was his nineteenth birthday. A year ago, Vic had been on the fast-track to a football scholarship. If the accident hadn't happened, he’d probably be in college right now, waking up in a far-too-small dorm room. The longing, the regret were all too familiar to him, and no matter how many therapy sessions he had with Dinah, or Miss M., he couldn’t get rid of them entirely. 

Groaning, Vic covered his eyes and vainly tried to press the images out of his brain with calloused fingers. This was supposed to be a good day. He didn’t want the negative thoughts to intrude today, not on his birthday. 

Lucky for him, a distraction arrived by way of a phone call. Vic leaned to the side, grabbing his phone from the bedside table and fighting back the instinct to groan; old habits were hard to get rid of. 

“Hey, Dad."

“Happy Birthday, Son.” From the whirring and constant clicking on the other end, Vic could tell his father was deep in his work. Still, he’d called, so that was something. 

“Thanks. It’s the big one-nine, so that’s… special, right?” 

“I suppose.” Frantic clicking followed, and though Vic appreciated the gesture of the phone call, it was obvious that his father was very much distracted. “I took the evening off. Do you want to have dinner together?” 

Well, color him surprised. Vic crossed his legs beneath him as he nodded. “There’s that Korean place not too far from the house. Maybe we could go there?” While he very much enjoyed the company of his new friends, a surprising number of them were not adventurous eaters. Forager would eat anything, but there was only so much time he could spend with him. It would be nice to go back home for a few hours, catch up with his dad.

“Alright. Do your friends have anything planned for you today?”

“They’re throwing me a surprise party.” 

Vic fought hard to keep from smiling when he heard a chuckle on the other line. “Son, at some point today, please take some time to look up the meaning of the word ‘surprise’.” 

“Will do. See you tonight?" 

“Seven PM. I’ll be waiting at home.” 

“Dude, I said the balloons go on the other side,” Jaime growled, holding his hands out to the correct location for emphasis. 

Bart’s eyes followed his hands, nodded a couple of times in thought, and ultimately continued placing the balloons where he saw fit. “Noted, Amigo. But, given that you have no sense of design, I have chosen to ignore you.” Before Jaime could even think of another response, Bart sped through the rest of the balloon setup, admiring his handiwork with his hands resting on his hips. 

“Perfect.”

“I’ll say,” Ed balked, returning to the room with an armful of colorful streamer rolls. “You hardly left anything to do.” The pout he wore melted as soon as Bart’s arms were around him and vanished completely when he kissed his cheek. 

Out of respect, Jaime averted his eyes, but he couldn’t deny that the two were cute. “We should have put Bart on another task. He’s such a decorating hog.”

“At least he has vision,” Ed said with a shrug, prompting a shit-eating grin from his boyfriend and a groan from Jaime. “Here,” he tossed the streamers to Jaime with a wink. “Go loco.” 

“Are you kidding? He’ll totally mess up the balance of the room,” Bart scoffed, glaring at Ed. “The streamers should go around the ceiling in alternating patterns, twisted and not just thrown around all nuts. This is so not crash,” he continued as Ed took his arm and tugged him out of the room, passing both Cassie and Tara who came with the remainder of the supplies. 

“Need help?”

“Only if you promise not to criticize. Am I really that bad?” 

“Don’t take it personally. Bart is just… passionate,” Cassie waved off, taking a roll of streamers from Jaime and flying up to the ceiling to tape it up. 

“Too passionate. It’s just a party. We have parties all the time, for the dumbest reasons.” He wasn’t wrong. Both the Outsiders and the Team really enjoyed celebrating. Any occasion or accomplishment was reason enough to break out the helium tank and order a mountain of pizzas. 

Cassie hummed, continuing to put up the streamers. “Yeah… but this is an important occasion. I think we all just want to make sure Vic likes it, you know?”

She had a point. Jaime nodded, tossing her another roll when she extended her hand. “I know. I’m sure he’ll like it, though. Did you see the cake Gar brought?”

“Not yet. Is it in the fridge?”

“Oh yeah. Remember the picture we took of Vic after the mission at the cupcake store?” The mission in question had been a simple one, just stopping a quiet heist, and yet all of them had ended up covered in frosting. 

Cassie chuckled. “Don’t tell me. He got it printed on the cake?”

“Hell yeah,” Gar chimed from the kitchen, poking out his head to glance at the decorations. “Nice setup. Bart?”

“Naturally.”

“So crash.”

“Forager did not think that he could like pancakes any more than Forager did, but the banana pancakes with caramel and that white powder--”

“Powdered sugar. Not white powder,” Vic sighed. The last thing he needed was Forager going around and telling people he ingested things covered in white powder. 

Forager grumbled, clicking his usual noises before nodding in agreement. “Powdered sugar is most excellent.”

“The pancakes were pretty good.” Vic stuck his hands in his pocket as they walked back to the premiere building. He knew everyone would be gathered in the hub, just waiting to surprise him. Would he be bale to act surprised? The last thing he wanted to do was spoil the fun. 

“Victor Stone--” Forager paused before correcting himself. “Vic has been quiet. Quieter than Vic usually is. Is something wrong?” 

Right. Of course the bug would be able to sense something was up. “No, not really,” Vic sighed, stretching his hands behind his head and waiting until he heard a satisfying ‘pop’ before continuing. “It’s just… my first birthday since becoming this, you know?”

Forager clicked again, making a few thoughtful sounding noises. “Is Vic not happy?”

“I wouldn’t say that.” Vic was happy. Granted, this wasn’t the ideal situation. Some days he still wished that he had his old life back. He missed playing football with his friends, going out on the town without everyone staring at him. Some days, he even missed going to High School. Yet… he wasn’t unhappy. He had new friends now. A team, a cause to fight for. Really cool abilities. All in all, it wasn’t so bad. 

“Forager does not understand.”

“To tell you the truth, sometimes Victor doesn’t either,” Vic chuckled, shooting the bug a grin. They paused by the entry to the Premiere building, nodding to the doorman as Vic pulled out his keys. The elevator ride was always long, but today he didn’t mind it. He had a room full of friends waiting for him. 

When the elevator opened, he no longer felt frustrated, or annoyed with himself. Instead, he tried his best to muster up the feelings of surprise. 

Let us know what you thought of the story in the comments below and in the forum!

Happy Whelmed Wednesday, everyone! I know the effects of the hiatus are starting to set in, so I’m coming back with an opinion piece! It’s definitely been a while. Today, I wanted to go back and take a deeper dive into ‘Quiet Conversations’, and why this episode matters so much in the grand scheme of things. If you need to refresh yourself on the contents of this episode, check out my recap here!

‘Quiet Conversations’ easily places into my top tier episodes from Season 3. In fact, if I wasn’t so biased towards loving the Harpers and Bowhunter Security, I’d probably rank it my favorite episode from the season. Each plot introduced in this episode was delicately crafted, intermingling smaller threads with powerful emotions. While the storytelling in Young Justice is always on point, the emotional scenes are usually supplementary, intermingled with the main plot and the action. ‘Quiet Conversations’, on the other hand, lets the emotions behind the different plotlines take center stage, driving the action and leaving many important messages in its wake. . 

Let’s start with Victor Stone. 

In the first half of the season, Vic’s story started off strong. We were introduced to his character in ‘Exceptional Human Beings’, and followed his crisis through ‘True Heroes’. After this episode, however, Vic’s arc took a bit of a backseat to the introduction and development of the Outsiders. ‘Quiet Conversations’ pushes Vic away from brooding on his cellphone and returns him to the tension-filled spotlight, leaving viewers unsure of whether his humanity will survive the episode. On the forefront, we see how Conner, Jefferson, and Forager immediately jumped to his rescue by searching for metron. On a deeper level, there’s a little more to uncover. 

Victor’s tech was triggered by a personal, internal stress, sucking away more of his organic nature and transforming him into an Apokoliptian machine. Could this be a metaphor for our own struggles? Too often, when faced with a problem, many people refuse to confront it and instead tuck it away until one day, it explodes with violent fervor. Like Vic, It is only when we start to accept the help of others that we finally get on a path to healing. For too many episodes, Vic chose to handle his problems alone and isolate himself from the company and assistance of others. To see him lean on others for support and encouragement feels right, and as a viewer, it helps me see how much his character has grown.

His friends weren’t the only ones to help him, however. Since introduced to his character, we’ve been made privy to his and Silas’ strained relationship. Though Vic distanced himself from many people this season, he completely alienated himself from his father, blaming him for his current condition. However, for the first time this season, Silas’ concern for Vic overrides his son’s wishes, and he takes the initiative to go help him. By seeing his father’s care for him, Vic comes to realize that there may be hope for their relationship, and lets down his defenses to finally accept his aide. This simple action speaks volumes, telling the audience that perhaps not all strained relationships, familial or otherwise, are completely lost to the world. 

Speaking of familial relationships, let’s talk about Violet. 

In the previous episode, it was strongly implied that Violet was planning on running away. ‘Quiet Conversations’ brings that implication into fruition, and her absence is discovered in little time. However, Violet’s location came as quite a surprise. While I had little idea as to where she would go, I would not have easily guessed that she would have gone to give Gabrielle’s parents closure over their daughter’s disappearance. 

Throughout the season, Violet struggled with discovering her new identity in relation to Gabrielle’s and the unfortunate choices Gabrielle made. These choices harped on Violet’s conscious, keeping secrets while internally struggling and lying to the friends she had made. Again, like Vic’s dilemma, these are all easily relatable scenarios, where the audience can find their own problems reflected in these characters. Upon interacting with Gabrielle’s family, Violet is unable to keep up the facade of being Gabrielle, as she is not her. Learning from her previous interactions this season, she comes out with the truth and accepts Samad’s bitterness as a consequence. However, not all is negative. 

Gabrielle’s mother, Madia Daou, recognizes the struggle that Violet has gone through and thanks her for giving her the closure she needed over her daughter. Instead of preaching anger, like her nephew, she instead decides to practice acceptance, tired of the bitterness that has come as a result of Queen Bee’s armies. She kisses Violet’s forehead and wishes her peace among her new family. This scene hit me like a punch to the gut, and I had a hard time holding back tears at Madia’s strength and her message to Violet. Acceptance and forgiveness seem to be a theme in this episode, a message that is often sorely needed in society. Not only that, but this interaction also held the importance of a found family, rather than a biological one. In today’s world, many people find themselves among their found families, friends or otherwise, in contrast to their biological one. While there are many examples in media about the importance of a biological family, it’s very touching to see an example of strength in a person’s chosen family. 

Moving on to another emotionally compelling scene (with another character voiced by the wonderful Zehra Fazal), Harper Row’s counseling session. 

After ‘Early Warning’, I wasn’t sure what to make of Harper’s character, nor could I imagine what the show had in store for her in the remainder of the season. What delivered was one of the most realistic, delicately composed interactions seen on Young Justice. Prior to this episode, Harper’s traits could easily be brushed off as those of any run-of-the-mill television delinquent. In ‘Early Warning’, she was edgy, with a callous disregard of right and wrong. However, we soon learn that this in fact a mask, concealing her pain as a domestic-abuse victim. 

On other young-adult focused shows, a domestic abuse storyline threatens to come off as ‘campy’, cheesy, or otherwise not handled well. ‘Quiet Conversations’ tackles the issue quietly, focusing on Harper’s feelings and the consequences of the abuse without any unneeded drama. For those who have suffered domestic abuse, they may see themselves in Harper, who is both terrifyingly strong and incredibly vulnerable. She remains stubborn, lying about the severity of the abuse until Megan points out that her lies won’t help her (or her brother) in the long run. When Harper finally realizes that there is an out, scary as it may be, she breaks, reaching out to Megan for support and allowing her to take her and her brother to Child Protective Services. 

Harper’s issues this episode are clear, not hidden by Apokoliptian tech or any other forces at play (like Vic and Violet). Her storyline is relatable, and unfortunately, one that many people will be able to relate to. It is because of this clarity that viewers may be able to see an alternative, a way out of their situation and into a better one. At the end of the episode, a phone number for the domestic abuse hotline is on display, offering real help to the viewers who need it. With this plotline, ‘Quiet Conversations’ extends beyond the metaphorical and into the real world, giving support to its viewers and sending them the message that their problems are real, and that they matter.

To end this analysis on a happier note, I’ll move right along to Atlantis. 

The storyline in Atlantis is the calmest of the four, focused mainly on rehabilitation and a quiet happiness. Though much of this plot focuses on Dolphin (as she is named in a later episode), it also gives us a closer look at Kaldur. As an audience, we’d grown so used to seeing Kaldur as a stoic, trained soldier, one who continues to take on more responsibilities instead of focusing on himself. ‘Quiet Conversations’ gives viewers a closer look into the more intimate aspects of Kaldur’s character and how he’s grown, in addition to introducing them to his parents and partner, Wyynde. 

Kaldur and Wyynde’s kiss is the second same-sex kiss this season. However, this one holds more significance, as Kaldur was a founding member of the team and a main character during all three seasons. While LGBTQ+ representation is on the rise in animated media, oftentimes this representation is given to smaller characters. It is both incredibly refreshing and cathartic to see Kaldur happy with Wyynde, confirming suspicions that many viewers had on Kaldur’s sexuality. Their relationship is a soft and tender one and is given more screen time in the next episode. Many viewers rejoiced in seeing a positive, happy relationship depicted on-screen, and hope that this will open doors for future representation on Young Justice.

While this storyline takes on a softer tone, its messages about rehabilitation and acceptance speak volumes to its audience. Through a different environment, Dolphin is able to move past her trauma and find her own path to happiness. Kaldur’s interactions with his family and Wyynde show that change is possible and previous mistakes don’t determine a person’s future. Like the other three storylines, the final message is one of hope. 

‘Quiet Conversations’ may not be the most exciting episode of Young Justice, but it is the most powerful. Each storyline leaves a lasting impact on the viewers, not only delivering powerful punches of raw emotion, but also instilling a sense of hope and positivity for change. Episodes like ‘Quiet Conversations’ leave its viewers thinking, opening doors for discussion and further learning. And that, dear readers, is an excellent start to any conversation, quiet or not.

Ok Young Justice fans, we've got some homework to do on this Whelmed Wednesday and if you study along with us, you'll get all the answers to the test at the end. Just kidding there is no test, but as far as Young Justice is concerned, we've never heard of the Legion of Superheroes on the show until the finale of season three! So, who is the Legion of Superheroes? What can they do and where are they from? Or perhaps even better, when are they from! Let's breakdown just who these superheroes are:

1. Created by: The Legion of Superheroes was created by writer Otto Binder and artist Al Plastino. The Legion is a group of superpowered beings living in the 30th and 31st centuries of the DC Comics Universe, and first appears in Adventure Comics #247 (April 1958). Interesting note, Otto Binder is also credited as creating Supergirl.
2. Superman Connection: The first iteration of the Legion of Superheroes lasted for 36 years which is a huge feat in comics today. Their original mission was to work with Superboy (Superman as a teenager) and use his powers and abilities to help in 31st century problems.
3. Legion's Scope: The Legion is a group not unlike the Justice League but their scope is a lot bigger. In the future, there is an allied planets federation and the Legion is comprised of many heroes from many worlds. Much of their charter is based on what the Justice League was able to accomplish in our time.
4. Who: The founding members of the Legion are Cosmic Boy, Saturn Girl, and Lightning Lad. They are joined by many other heroes like Supergirl, Triplicate Girl, Brainiac-5, Chameleon Boy, Phantom Girl, Colossal Boy, and Mon-El among many others.

So the Legion of Superheroes is essentially a galactic Justice League from 1,000 years in the future. Got it, so why is this important for Young Justice? Good question:

1. Time Travel: In a show where time jumps are all but a guarantee and each jump is always forward, The Legion's ability to travel back in time adds a whole new direction to how the show can play out. Deaths could be prevented, outcomes can be changed, and history can be destroyed or upheld.
2. New Characters: You may have noticed that the characters from the Legion all have names like "girl", "lad", "lass", or "boy". This is a young group of heroes and since Young Justice is always looking to tell the story of young heroes, these new Legionnaires are perfect for telling another young hero story while also including future stories of our core members.
3. Huge Threats: Generally the Legion doesn't like to time travel. They only do so in dire circumstances. Originally they needed someone of Superman's power to help in a future crisis. On The CW's Supergirl show, the Legion came back to hide one of their members from a potentially life threatening tech virus that could end all technology in the universe. On the TV Show Smallville, the Legion came from the future to prevent the death of Superman at the hands of Doomsday. Basically, if they are in your time frame, they are there to fight some serious dangers! With Darksied almost capturing the Anti-life equation, it's no wonder they have appeared!

In the end, The Legion's appearance gives Young Justice a whole new opportunity of storytelling. New young heroes, bigger threats and a story telling element (time jumps) that can now go in both directions! On a personal note, I would flip if Supergirl joined the show! The possibilities are endless and we couldn't be more excited to see what the team does with the Legion! Happy Whelmed Wednesday everyone and be sure to follow our sister site HarleyQuinn.tv as we prepare for NYCC! Ariel is already on the East Coast preparing!

Share your thoughts in the comments below and in the forum! Follow us on twitter!

Exciting news Young Justice fans! If you aren't on DC Universe and or are out of country and you've been dying to see the third season of Young Justice, the show is coming out on Blu-Ray! No more need to hook up VPNs and whatever else you did! No worries we're not judging! The Blu-Ray collection will come with all 26 episodes of course and includes such notable guest starring appearances as Alan Tudyk, Lacey Chabert, Bill Fagerbakke, Oded Fehr, Daniela Bobadilla, Chad Lowe, Jacqueline Obradors, Keone, Young, Dwight Shultz, Mirina Sirtis, Deborah Strang, Gwendoline Yeo and Danny Trejo; and topnotch voice actors Scott Menville, Tara Strong, Hynden Walch, Diane Delano, Dee Bradley Baker, Jeff Bennett, Roger Craig Smith, Fred Tatasciore, David Sobolov, Kath Soucie, James Arnold Taylor, Kevin Michael Richardson and Steve Blum.

Mary Ellen Thomas, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Senior Vice President, Originals, Animation and Family Marketing.had this to say about the show:

The audience demand for Young Justice is obvious – the fans are the ultimate reason the series has returned after six years, and the viewership on the DC Universe streaming service has been significant. We recognize that thirst for Young Justice and know those same fans will want to have the action-packed third season – with all of its new characters, voices and challenges – as a compilation package.

Fans will be able to purchase the whole third season digitally September 24th! If you want a physical copy, the Blu-Ray releases November 26th!

Let us know your thoughts in the comments below and in the forum!