gothamcityneedsme · 2 years ago
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ngl i actually like arkhamverse talia
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sweetbunpura · 3 months ago
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Updated Yuu chart~
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Lover:
Yuu and Floyd was a surprise relationship that no one in NRC understands how it happened, unless you're Jade and Azul who saw it coming a mile away. They got together sometime after the events of book 4 but before book 5 started. What started out as Floyd seeking Yuu out because she was entertaining, became him seeking her out as he started craving her attention and being around her made it feel as if he could be himself without being judged. Yuu saw Floyd as someone to tag along with if you were bored and it swiftly became that she wanted to see him smile more, hear him laugh, hear him do anything. Both of them fuel the chaos the other can bring, but Yuu can calmly talk Floyd down unless someone pissed her off, then you got both angry at someone.
They very much love each other and it's nigh constant honeymoon phase for the pair.
Best Friend:
Ace and Yuu is self explanatory, one of the first jokers that managed to worm his way into her heart, even if she wants to kick his ass 50% of the time. While Yuu tries not to get into the shenanigans Ace finds himself in, sometimes caused by his own fault, she can't help but be pulled along for the ride. And as the story goes in TWST, She and our Adeuce combo are a set, do not separate.
Deuce and Yuu is also self explanatory, a pair of delinquents becoming best friends. Yuu was more than set for hating this world but seeing how Deuce tried to genuinely help her at every turn, made her change her mind. Deuce is the sole reason Yuu managed to open up to the students at NRC. Even though he didn't know she was a girl at first, it didn't change how he treated her once it was revealed (although he was a little shy when speaking to her afterwards).
Leona and Yuu grew to be friends after the stunt she pulled when she and Grim had to crash at Savanaclaw. Yuu had a habit of being able to find him and, for once, Leona didn't mind someone's company. The two end up talking, sleeping, or sometimes they can be seen playing chess or shogi (Yuu introduced it to him after talking about it). Leona grew to fall in love with Yuu and Yuu herself developed a crush on him. Of course, when she got with Floyd, that tanked their relationship for a bit and it only fixed itself after she sat him down and talked about it. The crush rears its head every now and then, but they're still best friends and that's something Leona absolutely treasures.
Jack and Yuu became very fast friends during the events of book 2 and it just grew from there. Out of all the first years, Jack is the one Yuu respects the most and if he ever gets in trouble. she would bail him out in a second (Ace and Deuce cause too much trouble so she waits to come to their aid). Jack is stronger that Yuu and they often have arm wrestling matches to she how far she's come. He's also her gym buddy, along with Epel, and Jack often pushes Yuu to do better.
Epel and Yuu are a pair of chaotic people when together, often times giving Vil a headache in the process. Yuu didn't like the gendering nonsense Epel did during book 5, but eventually they became good friends. Epel often breaks out into his country accent around Yuu and she can only understand about half of it, but still lets him speak. Once Epel saw that Yuu has muscles, he started tagging along with her and Jack so that he could try and get strong like them.
Ortho and Yuu's relationship is that image from B99 with Rosa holding the dog. "I've known Ortho for a day but if anything were to happen to him, I would kill everyone in this room and then myself." Yuu adores Ortho and really can't say no to him and he uses that to his advantage for getting her to come hang out with him and Idia. Even after the events of book 6, she couldn't find it in herself to be mad at him. Ortho sees Yuu as a big sister and always loves having her around.
Friend:
Cater and Yuu didn't get along at first, due to Yuu not really liking Cater's personality. They became slow friends and now Cater goes to Yuu if he needs to unwind and put his fake smile to rest. Yuu makes Cater spicy desserts and he became addicted really fast to them.
Jade and Yuu's friendship didn't really start until after her and Floyd got together. Yuu decided that she wanted to know more about Jade since they both share a love of nature. Jade was caught off-guard by her openness to wanting to know him, which he at first chalked up to her doing so out of obligation for dating Floyd. Jade has become quite protective of Yuu as well, both because she's Floyds partner and because she's a friend.
Kalim and Yuu's friendship is an interesting one. Basically, as soon as they meet, it started, which was unknown to Yuu at the time. Kalim's happy personality could give Yuu cavities and she can only handle so much of it at a time. He comes to her for help on how to do things himself, such as cooking and cleaning, She has received so many gifts from him for her help, that she can't say no to due to Kalim refusing to listen.
Vil and Yuu are a very interesting friendship. Yuu thought he was gonna be one of those "mean girls" at first, but soon learned that he wasn't. Yuu often tells Vil that he doesn't have to keep up that model persona around her and to just been a teenager. Vil has learned a bit from Yuu, namely how she handles herself around a school full of guys. Yuu and Vil constantly be beating those "You should act like your gender" nonsense. Both also bond over their shared dislike of Neige.
Idia and Yuu are video game buddies. He was shy around her at first, until he learned of her gaming knowledge, now they both complain about their SR and UR luck. Idia invites Yuu over for gaming tournaments and she is a menace in any team match.
Malleus and Yuu's friendship is different than how it's portrayed in the game. Although Malleus seeks Yuu out at night for talks, she sometimes keeps her distance from him. She finds him off-putting in a sense, but does like Malleus enough to form a friendship and give him the nickname of "Tsunotaro".
Lilia and Yuu's relationship is just literally them both hyping each other up. Lilia, when he comes to Yuu asking if he looks cute in an outfit and Yuu, when she comes to Lilia for somewhat stupid things. She has also banned him from her kitchen in Ramshackle after he bent one of the pots.
Sebek and Yuu's friendship definitely one that needs time to improve and grow. But they are friends, learning how the other one works. Given that Yuu is Mallues' friend, Sebek wanted to make sure she wasn't planning anything foul that morphed into him protecting her without him realizing it. Yuu tends to keep Sebek on his toes when she does stupid stunts.
Acquaintance to Friend:
Riddle and Yuu's is a slow process, but Riddle appreciates it. Yuu's basically having to rewrite what was established in his head by his harpy of a mother. Riddle does question Yuu's chose of a partner, but on the other hand, she has saved Riddle from being annoyed by Floyd.
Trey and Yuu are baking buddies. Often time spilling out their problems as they bake. Yuu has apologized to Trey for what she said about him during book 1, Trey said that she was right and she didn't have to. Trey has unintentionally become a big brother to her, despite them being the same age.
Ruggie and Yuu are the "Broke Buddies". Ruggies sometimes stops by Ramshackle when he needs a break, or when Yuu has made donuts. The two aren't seen together often, but if they are, that means they've most likely stolen something from someone. Ruggie sometimes uses "Laugh with me" on people who annoyed Yuu.
Jamil and Yuu's friendship was probably the longest it took to fix. Starting out from acquaintance, to being dislike, then back to acquaintance, and slowly becoming a friend. She straight up kept calling him "Viper" until the end of book 5. Jamil no longer sees Yuu as a nuisance, but the two sometimes mess with each other and often Jamil goes to Ramshackle to relax (and escape Kalim)
Acquaintance:
Azul and Yuu's friendship is more of Azul being only slightly scared of Yuu after book 3 (She beat him up with a part of the lounge that broke off during his overblot). He sometimes calls on Yuu to try and wrangle Floyd, but doesn't realize his mistake until it's too late. Weirdly enough, Yuu is sorta protective of Azul and somehow ended up becoming an enforcer like Jade and Floyd.
Rook and Yuu is Yuu trying her hardest with Rook and his personality, but Rook is rook. She doesn't hate him, she's just a little unnerved by him, but she can count of Rook to have her back in situations. Rook, of course, sings Yuu's praises for everything she does. The ultimate unhinged hype man.
Silver and Yuu's friendship is tied into the rest of the Diasomnia family, but she is curious about him. He's a mystery to her. Silver on the other hand, likes Yuu. He likes how much she means to the other Diasomnia members, likes how much time she spends with Lilia. He would also protect her in a heartbeat.
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vulnonapixes-dc-corner · 9 months ago
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I know that Genderbending isn't a real thing anymore, but I thought it would be fun!
Tim is my favorite batbro, so I started with him.
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I chose the name Dorothy since it has the same ending as Timothy and a similar meaning. Other favorites were Tiffany and Theodora.
(Timothy: Gods Honor
Dorothy: God's Gift
Tiffany: Manifestation of God
Theodora: God's Gift)
As for her story/Timeline, I decided to throw a few things from Canon and Fanon together.
Her first memory was of her going to the circus when she was 4. Her parents had just come home from a business trip and wanted to spend some quality time with her. There she met Fanny (Female Dick) and saw the incident that killed Fanny's Parents.
She spent a few years in therapy after that.
Her hyper fixation with Batman and Robin when she was 6 after one of her live-in Nanny told her about them saving her from a robbery.
She just wanted to thank them.
At 9 years old she realized that Batman and Robin were her neighbors Bruce Wayne and Franziska Grayson.
This realization also started her career as a Baby stalker.
(The only reason why she was able to sneak out every night was because she played the role of the good and gentle rule-following Daughter to her Caretakers.)
She was 13 when she blackmailed Bruce into taking her as Robin after Jennifer (female Jason) died and Fanny wouldn't come back to Gotham.
Their relationship was rocky and cold in the beginning till Live decided to fuck her over.
At age 14 she had been captured and tortured by the Joker for a few weeks, resulting in her becoming Joker jr for months.
She only snapped out of it after her mother died and her dad went into a coma.
Despite popular belief and the fact that they spent most of their time aboard, she was close to them.
Daily phone calls and the writing of letters were their way of communication.
The Titans Tower incident happened when she was 15. (Her time as Titan started with her time as Robin)
At age 16 Lilith (female Damian) appeared and Bruce died. She became Red Robin and went on a wild goose chase to bring him back.
She laid down the mantle of the red robin and became crow after accepting Lilith as her family member/as robin.
Now to her relationship with the batfam:
Alfred: doting grandad vs granddaughter who has no sense of time and keeps on forgetting to visit.
Bruce: she still sees him as her boss, whilst he is the most parental girl dad to her.
Fanny: still looks up to her despite the feeling of hurt she still feels about her actions. Fanny just loves her little sister a lot but doesn't know how to apologize.
Barbara; she was her first celebrity crush and still adores her. Barbara enjoys spending time with her and they bonded over the whole "Joker ruined my life" thing.
Jennifer: they are surprisingly good. Dorothy used to look up at her and saw her as "her Robin". Jennifer apologized and all but begged for forgiveness after she broke out of the Pit madness.
Stephanie: Exes turned best friends. Their dating was just a try to name the close relationship that they had.
Cass: they are platonic soulmates. Twins from different parents.
Dara (female Duke): She sees her as the little sister that she always wanted. Dara wants to study her /jk. They often talk about comics and video games.
Lilith: She pittys her after having to deal with the league herself and tries to help her. Lilith hates that but has some respect for her after she brought her father home.
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44556678 · 2 years ago
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Batman (Dark Knight Trilogy) and Wednesday.
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Christian Bale's Dark Knight is in this one too. And this Wednesday is acted by Jenna Ortega. PLEASE RESPECT
Batman had his suit off and he was thinking about the girl he saw in the city. Boy did she make him nervous. "Um Bruce I spotted someone near here." Alfred said. Batman put his suit on and he went out and immediately recognized the girl. "What do you want?" Batman demanded to know but Wednesday just came closer causing Batman to back away again. "I don't want anything." Wednesday said. Batman then took out a batering and yelled "THEN WHY DID YOU COME HERE?!" Batman was just mad at this point. He wanted to know why this girl followed him here. "I like that knife. I think I'll take that." Wednesday said. Batman then wondered why she really came here and he then asked. "Why did you follow me here?" Wednesday began walking up to him in a menacing way. She then. "I'm here to find out a weakness. I think your ticklish?" Batman then put down his batering and said "Wednesday I'm not ticklish." He said the word I mean name Wednesday causing Wednesday herself to get very confused. So she then said. "How do you know my name?" She demanded to know just how Batman wanted to know it too. "Lucky guess!" Batman said. Wednesday then began walking up to him again and Batman took out a grenade. "Don't come any closer ok? Or I'll END US BOTH!!." Batman warned but. Wednesday knew he would not kill himself. Batman then walked up to her and yelled "Get out OFF MY TERRITORY!" Wednesday then kicked Batman. It did nothing. Batman has good equipment. So he did not feel a thing. I mean kinda. But not enough to make him stop walking. "Ok Batguy. Your obviously mad so, I'm gonna go." Wednesday said as Batman was relieved. Gosh Wednesday was hard to fight when she was being scary. Batman took his suit back off and he then realized he forgot his batering. Too bad he has other batering's"
Bruce Wayne was at a party and that's where he saw Wednesday again. He pretended to not know her and did a stupid thing. "Hi. My names Bruce Wayne. Nice to meet you." He said as Wednesday lowered his hand and said,, "Oh I know who you are. Your Bruce Wayne. In other word words you are The Dark Knight. I'm vengeance. I am Batman." Wednesday mocked him trying to copy his own deepish voice. Bruce decided to act dump and not know what she was talking about. "Oh yeah I do know Batman he is cool. But I don't know who he really is or if he met you. I do know that I'm not him and that I didn't meet you at all." He said as he was walking towards the whiskey bar and drank. When he was done he tried to look for the Wednesday but he not find her anywhere. "I see you don't like it when I walk towards you." Wednesday said as Bruce then jumped away and got scared. "Ah" Bruce Wayne did. Wednesday got closer to him causing him to back away before she said, ,, "And I also just learned that you don't like it when I sneak up on you." Wednesday said as she started going faster causing Bruce to jog a little bit before he had to completely run because Wednesday started chasing after him. And Bruce got out of breath and decided to take a break to catch his breath.. Bruce Wayne saw that Wednesday stopped just to let him take a break. "Gosh you are so creepy!" Bruce said as Wednesday then said "I prefer spooky. It sounds more fitting" "Please I. Really don't know what your talking. About." Bruce said as he then say that Wednesday was giving him a death stare as Bruce started getting scared and scared by the second. "Stop making excuses! I know who you are Bruce Wayne! And I'm not scared to confessing it to the Joker!" Wednesday threatened him and Bruce then confessed everything about him knowing her and her knowing and how he is Batman. The Dark Knight. "Ok ok ok! Fine I confess! I am Batman! I am The Dark Knight! And I do know you and you do know me!..!" Bruce Wayne said as he then saw Wednesday walking away he got up and tried to ask her something but by the time he got out of the bathroom. She was gone. Dun dun dun. Yeah yeah yeah. I'm done.
Ok hi guys I'm sorry if it's kinda short Hater of me: This isn't good as the actual movies or shows. I mean yeah diff. Ok bye guys. I know. I'm cheap. That is why the story is short and I know some of you guys are probably going like fhghvhfhfhfhfhfh we wanna see one where it is tickles thcjsjdcjvhghfchfjchghghgjhjhjyhthtytytytytyty. I know. I know.
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poisonousquinzel · 3 years ago
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so i watched suicide squad (extended cut) for the first time since i was 15 and these are my random thoughts
(TW a lot of this is about him and that fucking relationship. Gifs included.)
Harley has clear PTSD from torture in SS.
that’s my opening statement ig lmao sdfjfksdjdskksk 
She gets shocked, and is triggered into a flashback. Of her being nearly nude, curled up protectively while she's surrounded by guards.
They don't feed her, the stuff they're pumping into her is a liquid food supplement.
When she opens her eyes she's frustrated, she's upset and she's mad. She slams head first into the bars with a shout, knocking herself out.
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She's scared when the invasion happens, she's struggling and fighting against his henchmen until she's tied and can't anymore.
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He blames her, for giving him therapy ig ?? ooo edgy clown boy
She tries to talk him down, to use the nickname they've gotten accustomed to her using during their sessions. It’s a humanizing tactic. 
"what? Are ya gonna kill me Mista J?"
"Oh, I'm not gonna kill ya. I'm just gonna hurt ya, really, really, bad."
And he does.
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seeing her flinch in this scene makes me physically fucking sick. i hate him. so much.
also his acting is so fucking cringy jeezus fuck 
Even after electrocuting her, he manipulates her into jumping into the acid for him. He believes she'll die, but decides at the last moment to dive on after her. It's not like the chemicals will do anything to him.
She happens to survive. She just won't stop surviving.
"You think so? Well I can take." I think he took that as a challenge.
I think it's still a challenge.
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"the fire in my loins, the itch in my crotch." wow how romantic 
"you are my gift to this handsome hunka hunka! You belong to him now"
He literally gives her away like he's a pimp. ????? what the fuck,,, Like her body itself belongs to him. She isn't his girlfriend, she's his object.
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"she's crazier than him. and more fearless." hell yeah she is. put some respect on her name.
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"Puddin’? Puddin’! I can't swim!" she literally screams this, you can hear the terror in her voice.i fucking hate him 
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She gets tazered by two different guns. can y’all stop electrocuting her ????
Gets a forced injection, the bomb being planted inside her neck.
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Joker isn't looking for her because he's worried or because he misses her.
It's made apparent in both SS and BoP that she's known as being Joker's Girl. The Wildcard. The Queen of Gotham.
It would be awful for his reputation in their circles if he didn't go after his "Queen". It would make a mockery of him.
It's about how he appearances, that they took something that belongs to him. He can't let them keep his possession.
That's it.
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"I'm coming for you" not “I'm coming to get you.” For you. it sounds like a threat ??
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Harley sees a motorcycle and gets triggered once again. It sends her into a flashback.
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He wasn't expecting her to be so loyal, that she did actually love him, but she's not Harleen anymore. She's Harley. He’s already killed Harleen.. He electrocuted her to the point she’s not that woman anymore. 
He calls her a pain in the ass.
He didn't expect her to follow.
"don't hurt me. I'll be your friend" he's mocking her, he knows she won't hurt him. 
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He takes the gun from her 
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And tells her to go away.
(and hits her, but ig that’s too abusive for WB’s wannabe romantic version of them)
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Harley's characterization with the group isn't bad though, her attempting to read her teammates and frustrate them.
Her annoyance that Deadshot decided to play nice with Flag
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I want to like the scene where she leaves the elevator, to believe it's supposed to be painted as them being impressed that she did that, but the focus of the shot is her walking away in short shorts.
Literally like so many of her scenes would be good if they weren't filmed in the male gaze the entire movie.
Like let her be sexy because she's badass. Not badass because she's sexy.
Margot really made this character frankly, her acting is what makes Harley Harley in this movie. 
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She says she needs to work on her cardio and looks over the rail of the stairs. It sends her into another flashback. To him manipulating her to fall into the acid.
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She's startled out of her flashback, she draws her gun due to it. 
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"have you ever been in love?"
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The plane gets there with Joker.
They fire rapidly at the rooftop, no care if they hit her in the process.
She says the "What, I got a hickey?" Line when she's hiding with Deadshot. (the uncut scene has them hooking up on the stairs prior to this, likely an alternative ending to the "You ever been in love?" Convo)
Then Joker sends the text and she walks down the platform. There isn't a cease fire on his henchmen's part, any of those bullets still could have hit her.
Deadshot gets the option to get out. For his freedom and his kid, if he kills Harley Quinn.
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He missed.
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"and a bear skin rug waiting" tell me the writers don't know shit about harley's moral character without telling me the writers don't know shit about harley's moral character.
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Jeez ya can tell the plane scene is super edited lol where they reedited it so he was trying to jump with her, but lost his grip on something and fell back instead of out of the plane. Where in the unedited scene he pushes her out of the plane, because of an argument likely. He does it to kill her.
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"you couldn't save her."
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I think the unedited plane scene makes her moment in the rain better as well. She's not suddenly just taking off the Puddin' choker cause he's dead, honestly that seems far fetched that she'd want to get rid of it if it was only because he died, but he tried to kill her too. She was so happy that he came for her and then immediately she's discarded.
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"we're glad you could make it"
That scene is so soft oml the music ?? the undertones that he knows more about their relationship than they edited in to show and can see how badly she's hurting. They're prolonged eye contact. the unnecessary physical contact ????? fuck me up 
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"that's a good idea, honey" I love the way she says that ??? idk why, gives me Harleen vibes.
Harley's look when she realized he was offered his dream of freedom, of being with his daughter, to kill her. To shoot her. And he didn't.
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And this is right after the man she gave up her entire life for tried to kill her.
I-     gtg cry
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i think a big part of the ending is Harley seeing love from other people.
That moment with Deadshot and seeing Flag's reaction when trying to get June back.
Examples of healthy love.
And she's relaxed in the end, she's dressed comfy and her hair is done casually, for her, she's not living for Joker. She saved the world with her friends and she’s chilling with her new coffee machine.
She doesn't know he's alive until he breaks in.
But also, wonderful way to give her trauma. She doesn't know it's him, just that someone just blew a hole in the wall and started rapid firing into the building. Taking a handheld saw to her cell.
(in context of BoP) she has enemies, she knows she does. And she likely thought it was one of them. That she wasn't going to survive that, but the overwhelming feelings about seeing him and seeing him alive is the final thing we see really. Other than his pretty bland emotional expression and saying let's go home.
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kneamet · 4 years ago
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Masterlist
Masterlist
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Tom Hiddleston
Basic:
- Popular character's Tom Hiddleston in yandere (part 1) 
- Popular character's Tom Hiddleston in yandere (part 2)
[Tom Hiddleston]
- Protection
- I adore you
- Failed Escape
- Patient №73 (fan fiction) — You-a hard-working doctor is transferred to another mental hospital, where you are immediately assigned a very strange, but friendly patient №73. However, you also have to find out the reason why he killed one person. What you don’t know is that when your shift with him is over, he won’t want to let you go.
- Mysterious man
- Pure Admiration
- Branding
- Real Fan 
- Toes 
- Angel of Cards (fan fiction) — Joker, Mr. J, anarchist psychopath, Tom Hiddleston. He had many nicknames. Joker was Gotham's most dangerous and insightful man, with sharp makeup and horribly memorable scars on his face in the form of a smile. He was absolutely crazy and deadly. No one knows his real identity and everyone is afraid of his cruel jokes. But what happens when he becomes obsessed with an ordinary girl? She belongs to him. No one can take her away from him. Even The Batman.
- Betrayal
- Portrait
- CEO
- Donation
- Dependence (fan fiction) — There were many charms in life. However, Tom Hiddleston, having tried the most forbidden ones, could no longer imagine his life without them. The rest for him was nonsense, not worth his attention. After all, in order to survive, he needs to find a dose, thanks to which he feels better, not paying attention to the other rabble that reigns around. He doesn't care about his mother, who brings men into the house; he doesn't care about his sisters, whom he envies; he doesn't care about the whole world. But soon his search for a new dose will turn into a search for a girl who has won a victory over his drug-addicted mind, absorbing him completely and occupying all his thoughts. And he won't stop until he gets what he wants.
[Loki]
- Showing love
- Forced
- Necklace
- Second time
- Westview
- the legend of the god of lies (drabble)
- dance crescent (drabble)
[Robert Laing] 
- Danger
- Daddy's little princess
[Thomas Sharpe]
- Control
- Older Brother (fan fiction) — What if the story of Crimson Peak existed in reality? A menacing atmosphere, Gothic dresses and costumes, an intriguing Sharpe family, with a sister who has a rather strange relationship with her older brother Thomas.
- Disappointment
- Fear 
- Flower
- Perfect
[Hank Williams]
- My little wife 
- Songbird
- Support
- Inspiration
- Delusion (fan fiction) — She was the only girl in his band whose singing he loved so much. She was the person he truly respected. Andy Miles was someone Hank Williams had an unrelenting obsession with.
[Scott Fitzgerald]
- His Muse
- "The Trap of the Word"
[Jaguar!Tom Hiddleston]
- Pancakes
- Typical Stalker 
- Opponent
- Tears
- Danses
[Freddie Page]
- Dangerous Help
- I'll always find you
[Prince Hal/Henry V]
- My Venus
[Jonathan Pine]
- Proposal
- Juliet
- Never
[James Nicholls]
- Christmas Gift
- Baby
[Adam]
- Ray of sun
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Ewan Mcgregor
Basic:
- Ewan McGregor's characters in yandere (1 part)
- Ewan McGregor's characters in yandere (2 part)
- Ewan McGregor's characters in yandere (3 part)   
[Obi-Wan Kenobi]
- A dream does not dry on a knife
- glance — and hysteria will begin (drabble)
- requiem for fate (drabble)
- bound by blood (drabble)
- the extinguished star (drabble)
- The stars all belong to the Gods
[Christian]
- le désir de peindre (drabble)
[Roman Sionis] 
- The Caged Bird
-  ​my beautiful madness (drabble)
- blood moom ball (drabble)
[Patrick McKenna]
- angels don't fly (drabble)
- All the roses go to hell
- crown of thorns (drabble)
[Mark Renton]
- black sun (drabble)
[Curt Wild]
- amore amore (drabble)
[Christopher Robin]
- Chance
[Jonathan McQuarry]
- Illusions
A/N I don't have a lot of stories yet, but I promise that the master list will be updated every day.
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michaelsheenpt · 4 years ago
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Michael Sheen Only Wants To Play Bizarre Characters, And We Should Respect That
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Hollywood’s preference for neatly categorizing the legions of good-looking thespians that grace our screens every year is fairly obvious. We used to silo the men and women who are cutting a check for acting out fantasies in theaters and on TV as either movie stars or dramatic actors. The former was the hook that studios hung tentpole blockbusters on: charming, impossibly masculine, glamorous, famous as much for their real-life personas as they were for the characters they played on screen. The latter? Those were the Oscar-winners, the critical darlings, the Jeremy Strongs making bold choices, begging directors to tear-gas them on sets in the name of storytelling.
The divergent path has merged some over the years. There’s no clear, defining line separating bankable talent from actual talent. Chris Evans can brandish a shield in Marvel behemoths one second, then don an unkempt beard and heavy demeanor for a limited drama on Apple TV+ the next. Jon Hamm, who rose to fame playing an arrogant, adulterous ad executive in ’60s era Mad Men is now one of the most unpredictably exciting comedic actors in the game. Chadwick Boseman brought a royal Wakandan superhero to life in Black Panther, but he’ll also probably take home posthumous awards for his brilliant turn in an August Wilson adaptation this year.
In Hollywood, you can now be both a movie star and a serious actor, which is what makes Michael Sheen even more interesting. Michael Sheen is decidedly not a movie star. He’s also Welsh, which means he likely doesn’t sport the kind of ego that would make him capable of attaching gravitas to his acting career. He has 93 credits on his IMDb page. He’s played former British Prime Minister Tony Blair thrice, earning awards recognition for his impersonation in the Helen Mirren-starring The Queen. And he’s lit up the small screen with guest stints on everything from 30 Rock to The Good Wife.
Michael Sheen is, by all accounts, a serious, or at least seriously talented, actor. But he’s also weird as f*ck. I hope he’ll take that as the highest of compliments because it’s the truly bizarre character actors that should be propped up on a pedestal. That’s what Sheen really is: a character actor in his prime, a fearless conqueror on-screen, blazing a path by brandishing his quirky habits and secret love for creating chaos while leaving behind a scorched Earth of conventional conformists in his wake. He’s not like the other girls, and that’s become more apparent as time drags on.
My fascination with Sheen’s filmography began, to my shame, late in his career. His current gig is playing an irresistibly charming serial killer and lauded surgeon named Dr. Martin Whitly on Fox’s Prodigal Son. Perhaps the best praise I can heap on Sheen’s performance is that it convinces me to tune into a network drama every week, a rare feat in the age of streaming. But even that adulation doesn’t paint the whole story of what Sheen’s doing on that show.
Sporting the kind of knit cardigan Ransom Drysdale would be envious of and a crop of wild, grey-dusted curls with just enough kink in them to hint at the perverted madness housed underneath, Sheen’s Whitly is charismatic, comical, and shockingly likable. His unnerving ease at see-sawing between philosophical convos on life and love with his son Malcolm (the excellent Tom Payne) and pragmatically outlining how to dismember a body is at once jarring and, oddly, mesmerizing. Sheen plays him as a perpetually amused psychotic genius, an Einstein whose intelligence is so far above those that keep him captive, it’s almost a joke. And we’re in on it, as the audience, gleefully cackling when Whitly gets overexcited about consulting on the most gruesome homicide cases or, even more disturbingly, momentarily forgetting he once stuffed a woman into a box when he shares a tender exchange with his son. And Sheen embraces the strangeness of the man, rejoicing in his eccentricities, adding a musical flair to every “My boy,” he greets Malcolm with and relishing the more awkward moments by exploiting their inherent comedy. Really, when has a slow-rising hospital bed and distasteful Stephen Hawking joke been funnier?
Lest you think playing a serial killing diva was the most oddball acting choice Sheen has ever made, may I point you to the rest of his film catalog. There’s his mustache-twirling clichéd villain in Dr. Dolittle. The eerily robotic bartender of Passengers. The long-haired alpha Lycan of Underworld. The Tony Blairs (all three of them) and the heavily-bronzed game show hosts of Quiz. The Hot Tub Time Machine hating settling soul mate of Liz Lemon in 30 Rock.
And then there are a handful of performances that live in my own brain, rent-free, like when he played Aro in the Twilight series. Other actors would’ve balked at the challenge of turning a 4,000-year-old Italian vampire riddled with boredom and consumed by unchecked power into something more than just a two-dimensional, cartoonish stereotype, but not Sheen. No, while Robert Pattinson flaunted his constipated sullenness and Kristen Stewart fidgeted and fought to make her character likable, Sheen basked in the camp of it all. He over-enunciated, he exaggerated Aro’s mercurial nature with rapid eye movement, twitchy physicality, and shrieking giggle fits. In the franchise’s final film, just before a climactic battle is set to take place, Sheen throws the atmospheric tension every other actor in the scene has worked so painstakingly hard to build into turmoil. It’s like watching Georgia O’Keefe destroy a room full of paintings, or Heath Ledger’s Joker burn a mountain of money, and it is glorious.
In Tron: Legacy he plays Castor, a maniacal nightclub owner with a consuming love for theatricality. As his guests fall into his well-laid trap, he dances and kicks and shuffles and shouts, wielding a neon-tinted cane like a Barnum and Bailey’s ringmaster and a slicked-back shock-white hairdo that turns him into an analog-style Bowie wannabe. His accent careens into the absurd, from high-pitched lilts to German parody to something I can only describe as Marvel supervillain Arnim Zola on steroids.
In Neil Gaiman’s Amazon Prime comedy Good Omens, Sheen played the anxiety-ridden angel, Aziraphale, a heavenly kiss-ass who befriends David Tennant’s demonic Crowley, and together, the two try to save the world. Playing the more uptight celestial being might not be as fun for any other actor, but Sheen has a hell of a time, dealing nervous spasms and twitchy eyeballs and exaggerated gulps with such a heavy hand, you can’t help but feel sympathy for the straight-laced seraph.
And just when I was ready to conclude my research, feeling quite confident dubbing Sheen’s extensive resume as one of the wilder, diverse acting careers in Hollywood, I stumbled upon Michael Bolton’s Valentine’s Day Special on Netflix. It’s here that Sheen truly goes above and beyond in the name of weird, playing a Bob Fosse parody named Carl Flossy: a gruff, chain-smoking choreographer whose manners are as coarse as his constantly-displayed chest hair. Shouting obscenities at Bolton as he tries to map out a musical dilly that will convince punk kids that old-time rock-n-roll is, in fact, badass, Sheen’s growling criticism and shouted anger is muffled only by the ever-present cigarette dangling from his mouth. He’s an aging Guido-type with an open-neck satin shirt, and inflated confidence, and a mysterious way of drawing out the best in his dancers, one that usually involves throwing the nearest folded chair.
he’s such a well-respected actor who’s worked with Tim Burton, Woody Allen and Ron Howard. I suppose that’s what’s so great about Sheen’s career so far. He’s happy to sacrifice whatever level of stardom and recognition he may have been afforded thanks to his talent and good looks for something even more elusive that blockbuster fame and Academy trophies: the unique ability to disappear into even the most bizarre of characters; to convince audiences he’s no longer Michael Sheen, affable Welshman and ex-husband of thee Kate Beckinsale, but instead, an amalgam of the oddities and freakish individuals he plays on the screen. Michael Sheen might, in truth, be as weird and out there as the characters he inhabits. That’s what makes him great.
FOX’s ‘Prodigal Son’ returns on Tuesday, January 12.
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onebadwinter · 4 years ago
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Baron Helmut Zemo Tropes
Taken from Here and Here
Anti-Villain: Sometimes verges on this, though it's a case of Depending on the Writer.
Arch-Enemy: After his father's death, he takes this role to Captain America and leads the Masters of Evil after inheriting the title.
Aristocrats Are Evil: He's a baron after all, and believes his aristocratic heritage entitles him to rule.
Avenging the Villain: Helmut's original motive was to kill Captain America because he killed his father. Eventually, Helmut came to the realization that actually, Heinrich was an awful father and an even worse person.
Badass Normal: Has no powers, but regularly fights the likes of Captain America and the Avengers. He usually has a contingency that will allow him to deal with his opponent's plans anyway; it's only when these contingencies fail (as happened during his battle with Moonstone at the end of the initial run on Thunderbolts) that he's in trouble.
The Big Bad: Of his fare share of arcs, particularly those involving the Masters of Evil.
Brain Uploading: He only survived being decapitated because Techno uploaded his consciousness to a computer.
Butter Face: A Rare Male Example. He has the body you'd expect of somebody who can keep up with Captain America in terms of physique... but that handsome form is contrasted by a hideously malformed visage. For a while, he had a young, dashing look again after hijacking the body of the Helmut from another Earth, but only two years later his face got disfigured again. When he got Carla Sofen's Moonstone, he used it to fix that, but when Melissa broke it again...
Calling the Old Man Out: During his trip back in time, he ran into his father while the latter was gleefully doing mad science for the Nazis. Helmut had long since discarded any Nazi prejudices he had once had, and was fuming watching his father put down other races, the handicapped, etc. Finally he had enough and started beating the hell out of him while giving a "Reason You Suck" Speech. Quite the sign of Character Development for the guy who started out worshiping and avenging his father's memory.
Captain Patriotic: At the beginning of the Thunderbolts, he disguised himself as Citizen V, supposedly the son of a previous hero who'd gone by that name, whom Zemo had killed. Zemo went the whole hog, even decking himself in a cape designed after the American flag.
The Chessmaster: Zemo has a plan for everything, and lays them out months in advance.
Cool Mask: Wears a tighter fitting version of his father's mask.
The Cynic: Has a generally negative view of humanity.
Daddy Issues: He loved his father, and his father loved him... until the Adhesive X incident, where he became outright abusive in every way. Originally, Helmut blamed Captain America. Now, he acknowledges that his father was just a horrible human being.
Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: He once shot the Grandmaster, one of the Elders of the Universe and a being way outside his normal weight class, through the head. Admittedly, there were mitigating circustances that allowed him to do this, and the Grandmaster did get better (because, hey, comics).
Disney Villain Death: Many, many times (see Never Found the Body below).
Even Evil Has Standards: Arranged the death of one of his ancestors during a time-travel jaunt, after he found out the man was a rapist and a mass-murderer who did it all For the Evulz. He later clashed with another ancestor when he thought he was harassing a girl (the two were actually in love, and he quickly apologised).
Evil Genius
Evil Is Petty:
The Faceless: He rarely ever removes his mask, due to his face being horribly scarred in a accident.
Facial Horror: His head has been slashed up so badly that it's practically a skull, with ribbons of flesh draping over his eyes and sliced-off cheeks and lips. The sight of his face visibly disgusts everyone in the original Thunderbolts.
Freudian Excuse: Raised by his father to believe in his inherent superiority. There wasn't a lot of dad hugs down in that South American jungle, mostly just rants and lectures.
Good Scars, Evil Scars: Hideously disfigured beneath his mask.
Grand Theft Me: After becoming a "ghost", his mind was transferred to the actual son of Citizen V (Techno noted it was basically him playing a joke). That is, until an energy conflict - the V-Batallion tried to teleport Citizen V as the body was being sucked into a portal - made his mind be expelled into Techno's machinery. But given he arrived at Counter-Earth, this meant Zemo could do a literal case of the trope, and took the body of his self from this world.
Heel–Face Revolving Door: Cannot make up his mind which side he is supposed to be on. He even once took a bullet for Cap despite being his sworn enemy.
In the Blood: The arrogance and the drive for control certainly are.
Joker Immunity: Unlike his father, he can never seem to be put down for long.
The Leader: Of the Masters of Evil and the Thunderbolts.
Legacy Character: To his father, Baron Heinrich Zemo XII.
Manipulative Bastard: Zemo's very good at getting other people to do what he wants, playing on their emotions and desires.
Master Swordsman: One of the best in the Marvel Universe. Zemo's dueled the likes of Captain America and survived several decades worth of warfare on a time travel jaunt.
Nazi Nobleman: Started out as one, though he's moved away from fascism in recent years. Nowadays his goals align more with Dirty Communists.
Never Found the Body: During the run of Thunderbolts alone he was declared dead on four separate occasions, all of which turned out to be false. In each instance, his body was never found. By the fourth time, most of the team just assume he'll turn up eventually (not that they want him to).
Noble Demon: He's much more noble than his father,for sure.
Purple Is Powerful: Signifies his aristocratic leanings.
Secondary Color Nemesis: Purple, to oppose Cap's blue and red.
Take Over the World: He insists it's to save it. Some people (like Songbird) aren't convinced.
Taking the Bullet: Once leapt in the way of an energy blast an insane Moonstone aimed at Captain America. Messed his face up bad.
There Are No Therapists: This guy is seriously messed up and would probably have turned out differently if he got professional help.
Token Evil Teammate: Alongside Techno, he serves as this for the first iteration of Thunderbolts. While most members of the team fall somewhere between The Hero and the Anti-Hero, Zemo shows no signs of having softened whilst playing-hero, and alongside Techno manages to almost conquer the world and turn it into a Darwinist nightmare. He also constantly mocks his teammates for wanting to be heroes, calling them "weak" and "traitors to the cause" when they show the smallest signs of heroism outside of their pubic duties.
Unlucky Thirteen: He's the thirteenth Baron Zemo.
Well-Intentioned Extremist: In his mind, at any rate, after some Character Development, he becomes determined to take over the world for its own good. That doesn't mean that he's not an Axe-Crazy terrorist who's willing to perform some truly heinous actions for the sake of the "greater good." Zemo: I would never have hurt a world I worked so hard to save.
Western Terrorists: More like this than a Nazi.
Wicked Cultured: When being held at swordpoint by his worst ancestor, an evil aristocrat who believed only in the absolute of power, said ancestor's son (who'd struck up a friendship with Zemo) asked what was more absolute than power. Zemo's answer? "To be, or not to be."
Worthy Opponent: Sometimes sees Captain America this way, and definitely sees Sharon Carter this way.
Xanatos Speed Chess: He's good at incorporating the gambits of others into his plans, as evidenced by his deft manipulation of Moonstone when they were both members of the Thunderbolts.
One of his nastiest acts of spite was destroying a box of Cap's treasured belongings, including some of his last links to the past, right in front of his eyes.
What was his initial plan in founding the Thunderbolts? Pretend to be heroes, earn America and the world's trust, become famous and respected, and then gather knowledge on the other heroes to... sell to the criminal underworld? Eventually, Moonstone points out this is a freaking stupid plan.
Taken to the highest extreme possible. When he actually did have the power to implement whatever change he might have wanted, Songbird shut him down with the intention of killing him out of not trusting him. What were what he believed could have been his last words?
MCU Zemo Tropes
Adaptational Attractiveness: He's quite handsome here, while his comic counterpart usually has to wear a mask to hide his hideously charred, disfigured face. This is true to his first appearance in the comics as a one-shot villain, before he was scarred upon becoming a recurring character.
Adaptational Heroism: In The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, when he does don his iconic comic book alter ego, unlike in the comics where he was a straight-up one-note supervillain, Zemo here is depicted so far as an Ambiguously Evil Anti-Hero ally of Avengers Sam and Bucky without mostly ever betraying them until his escape from the hotel in the fourth episode with most of his redeeming and justifiable qualities shown upfront more than his villainous qualities that Civil War mostly showcased, but still likely an on-and-off antagonist simultaneously during his Enemy Mine with the two superheroes.
Adaptational Nationality: In the comics Helmut Zemo is German, but here he is a Sokovian. Ironically, his actor actually is German, and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier sees a bit of his German accent creep in. He also has a vast array of vehicles and a private plane in Germany, and seems very familiar with both Berlin and the German language. Whether this is a Retcon into making him part German or just a Mythology Gag is yet to be seen, though he does identify Sokovia as "his country".
Adaptational Nice Guy: His comic counterpart and that of his father were literal Nazis who wanted mass genocide and world domination, and while the Helmut of the comics did grow out of the former, he still tends to try the latter. This version of Zemo, despite being on a black ops killing team, has a much simpler and more sympathetic motivation, while his father was merely a civilian. Neither have any ties to HYDRA (aside from Helmut's exploitation of HYDRA's Winter Soldier project), while the versions from the comics are both prominent members of that organisation.
Adaptational Wimp: In the comics Zemo is a major adversary of Captain America and the Avengers, with a particular emphasis on his skills at fencing and manipulation. While this version retains his cunning, he is also presented as much less of a direct threat to anyone despite being a former black operative; when Black Panther decides to bring him in alive, he goes down with barely a struggle. Most of his success ties into this, with him exploiting his lack of obvious supervillainous affect to stay under the heroes' radar until his plan requires him to show his hand, then relying on Steve and Tony's flaws and personal issues to do most of the work for him. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier shows that he hasn't forgotten how to do his own dirty work, however, putting his soldier skills to use alongside his usual guile and strategizing once he gets back into the fray.
Adaptation Personality Change: In the comics, Zemo is generally depicted as an unapologetic villain who is primarily driven by a selfish desire to rule over others. His film version, on the other hand, has a much more sympathetic motive for his villainous actions, as he's just a victim of the Avengers' collateral damage in Sokovia seeking revenge for the death of his entire family.
Affably Evil:
Alas, Poor Villain: His defeat in Civil War is treated as an utterly somber affair, with him having nothing left after completing his plan and hoping to commit Suicide by Cop at T'Challa's hands before trying to kill himself when T'Challa refuses to be consumed by vengeance as Zemo has. Even though he got what he wanted (up to a point), it doesn't change the fact that his family is gone forever.
The Alcoholic: Following his escape from prison in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Zemo reveals himself to be a little bit of a tippler, partaking in shots, champagne, helping himself to Sharon's expensive liquor collection, then taking more shots at a club. He apparently approves of the way they party in Madripoor.
All for Nothing: He wanted to destroy the Avengers and was content with them dividing. Thanos's arrival and the events of Endgame undo all of that. In fact, the Avengers are no doubt more beloved than ever as a result.
Anti-Villain: Despite the grim and often hypocritical in hindsight actions he resorts to, he does have some good traits and was hoping for a cleaner way to get what he wanted first. Also, his motive — revenge for the collateral damage-induced loss of his family — is at least a little sympathetic.
Apple of Discord: His Evil Plan is to find evidence that Bucky Barnes murdered Tony Stark's parents while under HYDRA control and show it to Stark, so Bucky's friend Steve Rogers and Tony will turn on each other over whether to spare or kill Bucky, and the Avengers will be ripped apart as they side with one leader or the other.
Arch-Enemy: Since the death of Ulysses Klaue, it seems Zemo has taken his seat as Wakanda's most wanted for the death of King T'Chaka. Not a day after he breaks out of prison, Ayo is already hot on his trail to capture him.
Aristocrats Are Evil: It's revealed in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier that he is a nobleman like his comic counterpart. Though unlike said counterpart, his upbringing had nothing to do with him becoming a villain since his father was by all accounts a decent man in this universe.
Badass Longcoat: The events of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier have Zemo wearing a stylish winter coat, complete with Conspicuous Gloves.
Badass Normal: Unlike most of the Avengers, he's just a plain old human. But, through sheer patience and ingenuity, he still managed to tear them apart. During the trip to Madripoor he proves to be no slouch in combat either, reminding everyone he was former special forces. He also comes much closer to permanently stopping Morgenthau than Falcon or Bucky have ever managed so far, largely because he's fully willing to kill.
The Bad Guy Wins: Downplayed. Zemo has achieved his goals but with never with the fully desired outcome.
Batman Gambit: He's good at finding ways to make other people do things for him by exploiting their predictable behavior.
Beard of Evil: He has grown a beard during his eight years in prison as seen in Episode 2 of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
Beware the Superman: His return in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier reveals his own take on the idea. While he is against the idea of a Super Soldier on principle, he is not specifically against them as people, but more how they are precisely put on a pedestal, their flaws washed away/ignored and subsequently inspire Blind Obedience. He specifically notes how the personal loyalty inspired by Steve Rogers to Sam and Bucky (then, even now) precisely drives them to such extremes—even breaking the law much like they did to free him. Sam and Bucky do not protest the point. He admits that Steve was not corrupted by the power he was given but points out there was only one of him compared to the many who would abuse it. He is proven right on this point by John Walker taking the super soldier serum and going off the deep end.
Big Bad: Of Captain America: Civil War. He exploits and exacerbates the ideological differences between Captain America and Iron Man, resulting in the eponymous Good vs Good conflict that threatens to destroy the Avengers.
Big Damn Villains: As Sam, Bucky, and Sharon are pinned down by bounty hunters in the Madripoor shipyard, Zemo suddenly makes a grandiose entrance in full villain garb on a ledge, killing several assassins by shooting a nearby gas tank with his pistol before going to ground and taking down the rest in close combat, opening up the heroes' window of escape.
Blue Blood: The Falcon and The Winter Soldier reveals that he was always a baron. While the fall of Sokovia took away most of the power of the title he still has a lot of money and connections as a result of his position.
Breaking the Fellowship: Thanks to his efforts, the Avengers are severely compromised, with several of the foundational friendships that held them together torn apart and anyone who sided with Cap imprisoned or branded a fugitive. Even Tony and his supporters still bear physical and mental scars caused by fighting their friends.
The Bus Came Back: After being imprisoned at the end of Civil War, Zemo returns in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, with the title characters seeking his assistance in tracking down the source of the Flag Smashers's Super Soldier powers.
Cape Busters: Has a personal grudge against the Avengers and plots to destroy them by pitting them against one another. By the time of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, he has apparently narrowed his vendetta to all super soldiers, stating that they "cannot be allowed to exist." At the same time, as stated above in Beware the Superman, his is more nuanced compared to other versions of this trope.
Character Tic: He has a habit of tilting his head whenever he's attempting to manipulate someone. It seems to be a subconscious thing he does, as he immediately stops doing it when Sam notices and lampshades it in Episode 4 of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier.
The Chessmaster: He plays all the Avengers like pawns. He frames Bucky for a crime, to have the world hunt him and lure him out of hiding. This partially causes the Avengers to turn on each other, divided over Bucky's innocence. He takes the UN interrogator's place, extorting information out of Bucky and using the trigger words to activate Bucky's soldier conditioning. Before finally showing Tony the tape of what really happened to his parents, sending him into a murderous rage to kill Bucky.
Colonel Badass: He used to be a Colonel in the Sokovian Special Forces, and he is one of the most effective foes the Avengers have faced — though not because of his combat abilities, but because of how effective he is about executing his plans.
Comic-Book Movies Don't Use Codenames: In Civil War, he's never called "Baron Zemo", the title he goes by in the comics, and is instead referred to by his military rank Colonel. This is subverted in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, which reveals that he was Sokovian royalty and has several characters address him as "Baron".
The Comically Serious: His stoic demeanour tends to stick out when he's in the same room as Sam and Bucky, like when he awkwardly jumps to the defense of Marvin Gaye's "Trouble Man" soundtrack, or his crappy dancing in Sharon's nightclub.
Composite Character: He takes Klaue's role as the man who murders King T'Chaka.
Cool Car: He actually has a lot of these. His family owned an impressive collection of classics, with plenty of Rolls' and Bentleys in his garage. It's a taste he himself had acquired, as he, Sam, Bucky and Sharon make their getaway out of Madripoor in a super-charged muscle car he had stashed in the docks.
Crusading Widower: His wife was among the civilian casualties in Sokovia. He keeps a recording of her last voice message on his phone.
Cunning Linguist: Zemo's multilingualism allows him to assume different identities. Aside from his native Sokovian, he speaks English, German, Russian, and presumably French, given that he was able to convincingly impersonate a French-speaking psychologist.
Death Seeker: Once he has put Iron Man against Bucky and Cap, he first attempts to persuade Black Panther into killing him, then decides to shoot himself. Black Panther catches the bullet before snagging him a headlock so he can face justice.
Determinator: He manages to find new resolve after Civil War, and Iron Man's sacrifice has done little to change his views. With Iron Man dead and Captain America retired, he decides he will stop the creation of any and all super soldiers in the world no matter what happens.
Divide and Conquer: His plan against the Avengers, seeing that there's absolutely no chance he can fight them on his own. He even compares the Avengers to some sort of a mighty empire, which can only be felled by using this tactic.
Driven to Suicide: Tries to goad T'Challa into killing him, and then to shoot himself when he refuses. Neither works out for him; making enemies of a guy with Super Strength and a bulletproof suit was a bad idea, evidently.
Elites Are More Glamorous: His family is Sokovian nobility and he was colonel in EKO Scorpion, Sokovia's black ops kill squad. Even if Sokovia was a developing Balkans country, that still makes him pretty dangerous.
Enemy Mine: Downplayed Trope. Despite not personally hating Sam and Bucky, the latter two consider their alliance with Zemo this due to Civil War and the damage he caused; the only reason they tolerate him is that he can accomodate them with the resources they need to take down the Flag-Smashers. To his credit, Zemo doesn't hesitate in helping their cause because of his Beware the Superman beliefs, even expressing interest in facing Karli Morgenthau herself.
Even Evil Has Standards:
Evil Genius: While he has combat training, his greatest strength is his intellect. Aside from his abilities as The Chessmaster, Zemo was able to crack the encrypted HYDRA files on the Winter Soldier program that Black Widow released to the Internet and build a very effective EMP bomb in his hotel room.
Face Death with Dignity: When T'Challa finally catches up with him at the end of Civil War, he's completely calm and fully prepared for T'Challa to kill him to avenge his father, even seeming to acknowledge that in his mind T'Challa's revenge against him is just as justified as his own revenge against the Avengers. Later, in episode 5 of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, he's completely calm and accepting when it looks like Bucky is going to execute him, and later he calmly walks away with the Dora Milaje when they show up to take him into custody, knowing there's a decent chance he's going to be executed in a spectacular fashion in Wakanda for killing the king (for some reason the Dora Milaje went to all that trouble just to turn him over to the U.N. where he'll be held in the same prison that used to hold Captain America's half of the Avengers, but he's got no way of knowing that).
Facial Scruff: His brief appearance in the second episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier has Zemo with this due to his time spent in prison. Downplayed in that it looks relatively thin despite having been locked up for eight years at this point, and he shaves it off shortly after.
Fantastic Racism: He has a distaste for enhanced individuals in general, and super soldiers in specific. Specially if such super soldiers are put on pedestals he deems completely unearned.
Flaw Exploitation: He turns the Avengers, particularly Steve and Tony, against each other through a series of Batman Gambits with the ultimate goal of making them fight each other to the death — or if not that, at least to the point of no longer being a cohesive unit. In particular, he reveals to Tony the truth of what happened to his parents knowing that he'll go into an Unstoppable Rage against Bucky and that Cap will prioritise keeping Bucky alive even at Tony's expense.
Friend to All Children: Invoked in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. In the fourth episode, Zemo earns the trust of a few children in Latvia by offering them sweets in exchange for information. But he also uses to opportunity to manipulate them into thinking Bucky and Sam aren't to be trusted.
Four Eyes, Zero Soul: When he infiltrates the UN compound to activate the Winter Soldier, he wears a pair of glasses as part of his disguise.
From Nobody to Nightmare:
Gambit Roulette: The final part his master plan relies on little other than his assumptions on the personalities and capabilities of various characters after studying thousands of pieces of intel from HYDRA and S.H.I.E.L.D. that Black Widow dumped online back in Winter Soldier. The whole thing would have fallen apart if...
Godzilla Threshold: Sam and Bucky see recruiting him to stop the Flag-Smashers at this...and ultimately cross it when they run out of options.
Heads I Win, Tails You Lose: Even if any of the above had happened, Zemo still would’ve won because his entire goal was for the Avengers to disband - whether through an amicable parting-of-ways or a bloodbath - it was always a matter of how big his win would be. The only real flaw in his plan was the interference of Black Panther, and the creation of the Sokovia Accords, both of which he’d have no way to account for.
He Who Fights Monsters: He wants to take revenge for the death of his family, which he blames on the Avengers for causing collateral damage in the Battle of Sokovia. In doing so, he is responsible for the deaths of dozens of innocent people himself. He even earns someone coming after him for revenge in T'Challa.
Hidden Agenda Villain: His motives remain unclear for much of Civil War and are only revealed as the final battle is taking place.
Hidden Depths: Like Sam, he's a fan of Marvin Gaye and considers "Trouble Man" a masterpiece.
High Collar of Doom: He does the Marquee Alter Ego and Not Wearing Tights through the whole of Civil War, but his winter gear in the third act features a large collar turned up, giving off this vibe. His supervillain gear in Falcon and the Winter Soldier also features one of these, albeit with his comic self's fur trim included.
Human Shield: Thanks to his EKO Scorpion training, is fully capable of taking hostages to hide and shoot behind, as a group of assassins in Madripoor discovered.
Hypocrite:
Interrupted Suicide: After explaining his motivations to T'Challa and apologizing for the death of his father, Zemo tries to shoot himself in the head. T'Challa, however, has none of that, and stops him to make sure he pays for his crimes and turns him over to the authorities.T'Challa: The living are not done with you yet.
It's Personal: Zemo has a personal vendetta against the Avengers. His family was killed during the Battle of Sokovia and he simply wants revenge on those he holds responsible. As pointed out in Beware the Superman, he extends this to any Super Soldier held in such high regard, which is why he has no problem teaming up with Sam (who's more or less Badass Normal like himself) and Bucky (who is a Super Soldier, but isn't exactly held in high regard).  When he, Sam, Bucky, and Sharon come across the HYDRA scientist responsible for creating more Super Soldiers after the failed Siberian Winter Soldiers, Zemo quietly and stoically shoots the man before the team is attacked.
Jerkass Has a Point: In episode 4 of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Zemo explains why he doesn’t believe that super soldiers should be allowed to exist. By his own previous statements, Sam would probably agree with much of what he says, and John Walker spends the rest of the episode illustrating his arguments.
Kick the Son of a Bitch:
Kill and Replace: Murders the psychologist who was supposed to be evaluating Bucky and takes his place, taking the opportunity to activate Bucky's brainwashing during the evaluation.
Knight of Cerebus: He's a Villainous Underdog, but he manages to tear the Avengers apart through tactics. Unlike previous villains, his methods includes manipulating Tony into trying to execute Bucky to avenge the deaths of his parents and turning on Steve in the process. Averted in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier when his Laughably Evil side lightens the mood.
Know When to Fold 'Em:
Laser-Guided Karma:
Laughably Evil: Downplayed the next time he makes an appearance as he becomes The Comically Serious in an Endearingly Dorky kind of way when he joins in Sam's conversation with Bucky to praise Marvin Gaye's "Trouble Man" soundtrack, or his lame dancing in Sharon's nightclub.
Manipulative Bastard: He is very skilled at manipulation, having studied the Avengers' psychological profiles in order to exploit their individual weaknesses and play them against each other.
Man of Wealth and Taste: Zemo is a baron and more than loaded, owning a private jet, a fleet of classic cars, a personal retainer, and plenty of money and stashed resources.
Marquee Alter Ego: In Civil War, Zemo does not wear a mask — or any kind of costume at all, unlike his comic book counterpart. This changes in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
Master of Disguise: Zemo uses prosthetics and heavy makeup in order to convincingly make himself look like Bucky Barnes in the security cameras, fooling just about everyone into thinking the latter was responsible for the UN explosion. He later pulls a Kill and Replace on the psychiatrist who was intended to interview a contained Bucky with no one none the wiser until things start going wrong. Although the latter example is downplayed as when Tony finally discovers the real psychiatrist's body, he looks decidedly nothing like Zemo's impersonation of him.
Misplaced Retribution: Zemo holds the Avengers responsible for all the damage Ultron caused; while Tony and Bruce did create Ultron (after the former was influenced by Wanda), the "end all human life" thing was still his idea. The rest of the Avengers, however didn't know about Tony's plan, and did their best to stop Ultron once he went rogue.
Moral Myopia: He seeks to avenge his family, but he ends up killing multiple innocents who surely had family of their own. He acknowledges this, seeing as how he apologizes to Black Panther for killing his father but by that time he’s hoping to be killed so he can join his family, either by T’Challa or his own hand, so it’s more about easing his conscience rather than remorse for what his actions indirectly caused.
Movie Superheroes Wear Black: Instead of the purple and gold costume he had in the comics, he sticks to dark civilian clothes. Near the end of Civil War, he has a pitch-black coat with a large collar. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier trailers and promo images however reveal he’ll be getting a new costume featuring his signature purple mask and even incorporating the classic ermine trim on his collar.
Nazi Hunter: As part of his Adaptational Nice Guy he's no longer a member of the Nazi-affiliated and fascistic HYDRA group, but is shown to despite and openly oppose them, telling Karpov that "HYDRA deserves its place on the ash heap". The Falcon and the Winter Soldier has him openly despise Nazis and reveals that he'd been hunting down and killing HYDRA members for years as part of his quest to destroy the Super Serum, long before the destruction of Sokovia.
Necessary Evil: How Bucky, and especially Sam, view him in their fight against the Flag-Smashers. No one knows more about the super-soldier serum and Hydra than Zemo, and fortunately for them, they have a common enemy in the Flag-Smashers.
Nice Job Fixing It, Villain!: While his plan does succeed in its goal, it does allow Steve to find Bucky, after fruitlessly spending two years scouring the Earth for him, and gives them an ally who can get the brainwashing out of Bucky's head.
Nice to the Waiter: He is quite friendly and courteous to both a staff member of the hotel he stayed at for Civil War, and his old family butler.
No-Nonsense Nemesis: Zemo is an extremely pragmatic man who knows full well that he's just an ordinary person in an extraordinary world, and realizes that it will give him no quarter if he were to dally about with regards to his vengeance. He has no choice but to be utterly cutthroat if he wants to complete his goal. This is especially shown in his first full-blown action sequence in Falcon and the Winter Soldier, taking down assassins after himself and the heroes in a surprise attack that wouldn't be out of place in a first-person shooter game.
Non-Action Big Bad: Although he has military training, he never directly fights any of the Avengers in Civil War, acknowledging that he could never physically stand up to the likes of them. Instead, he relies more on subterfuge and deception. Becomes a Subverted Trope by the time of Falcon and the Winter Soldier, showing he's fully capable of taking down several assassins after the heroes, though all of them are still normal humans.
Not So Above It All: After being freed from prison in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Zemo shows that he isn't a stoic and unpleasant individual 24/7. Notably, he jumps in on Sam and Bucky's conversation about Marvin Gaye's Troubleman soundtrack to give his own thoughts on the record, and he can be seen thoroughly enjoying himself Madripoor, drinking quite a bit of hard liquor and awkwardly dancing at the Little Princess nightclub.
Nothing Left to Do but Die: After getting Tony to fight Steve and Bucky, Zemo decides to listen to his wife's voicemail one last time, before deleting it and attempting to commit suicide.
Nothing Personal: He tells T'Challa that he is sorry for killing his father and that he seemed like a good man in Civil War. While conversing with Bucky for the first time since the events of that film in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, he says this verbatim about using him to tear apart the Avengers.
Not Wearing Tights: He doesn't wear anything remotely resembling a costume in Civil War. However, he dons the purple mask in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
Outliving One's Offspring: His son was a casualty from the Avengers' fight with Ultron.
Old Money: He is generationally wealthy due to his family being Sokovian royalty.
Only Sane Man: In The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, it says a lot about Sam's present circle of associates that (other than Sharon Carter) Zemo is by far the most mentally well-balanced individual Sam has around him at his job.
Papa Wolf: The reason he's out to destroy the Avengers? His family was killed in their fight with Ultron.
Patriotic Fervor: Averted. As Zemo himself remarks ruefully, while he served in Sokovia's armed forces, his drive for vengeance isn't out of any love for the country, as he never actually had much patriotic feeling. The Falcon and The Winter Soldier shows that he does have some serious grievances over how it ended up, though, even chastising Sam and Bucky for not visiting the memorial.
Politically Correct Villain: As part of his Adaptational Nice Guy he's no longer a member of the Nazi-affiliated and fascistic HYDRA group, but is a fan of Marvin Gaye and understands Trouble Man (Sam's favorite album) to be a condensation of the African-American experience. Also berates Sam for stereotyping himself as a "pimp" just because he's flamboyantly dressed.
Purple Is Powerful: The Falcon and the Winter Soldier sees Zemo don a purple mask, coat, and gloves as he resurfaces to the criminal world.
Put on a Prison Bus: Zemo is taken to prison by Black Panther before he can commit suicide, ultimately sitting out the next few years until his return in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.  And it happens again in Episode 5 of the aforementioned series, where he's taken by the Dora Milaje to the Raft.
Pyrrhic Victory: Zemo succeeds in fracturing the Avengers and getting the majority of them branded as fugitives, but he is also captured by Black Panther and still has to face prosecution for the murders he committed. It also works vice versa on his capture being a Pyrrhic Victory for the heroes. Best summarized by the following exchange:Everett K. Ross: So how does it feel? To spend all that time, all that effort, and to see it fail so spectacularly? Helmut Zemo: ...Did it?
Revenge Myopia: Getting his revenge was worth anything ��� including inflicting upon others the same pain he complained about suffering. Lampshaded at the end of the movie, when T'Challa observes that the revenge he seeks has consumed him. Worse still, because he tore the Avengers apart, they had no gameplan and were unable to present a united front against Thanos, leading to even more families the universe over being devastated by the Snap.
Rogues Gallery Transplant: Downplayed. While Zemo is still an enemy of Captain America and The Falcon as he was in the comics, he also ends up becoming an enemy of Black Panther's, due to his involvement in King T'Chaka's death. It extends to the entire nation of Wakanda as well, as they immediately dispatch Ayo to apprehend him when he escapes from prison in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
Royals Who Actually Do Something: His noble lineage while serving in the Sokovian special forces makes him this.
Secretly Wealthy: He may have been living the gritty villain life in Civil War (probably to fly under the radar), but The Falcon and the Winter Soldier reveals that he is a wealthy Baron like his comics counterpart. Sam even reacts with "So all this time, you've been rich?"
A Sinister Clue: Zemo is left-handed and is the Big Bad of Civil War. Shooting a gun with his left hand starts off his Big Damn Villains moment in Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
Sucks at Dancing: While the gang rests and spends the night at Sharon's club in Madripoor, Zemo's dancing moves leave him wanting. Let's just say he was channeling his inner Commander Shepard.
Suicide by Cop: After apologizing to T'Challa for killing his father, he says that he seemed like a good man "with a dutiful son", saying this last part with a meaningful glance, obviously hinting that he's fine with T'Challa taking vengeance upon him now. When T'Challa refuses to do so, Zemo attempts to just shoot himself, but T'Challa thwarts this effort as well.
Superhero Movie Villains Die: Subverted. After completing his plan to turn Iron Man and Captain America against each other, he first attempts Suicide by Black Panther. Attempts being the operative word, as T'Challa refuses when he realises how close he came to turning out like Zemo. As a result, Zemo attempts to shoot himself in the head, but Black Panther stops him and turns him into the authorities, leaving him incarcerated but very much alive.
Supporting Protagonist: Of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, as most of Bucky's and Sam's story and dynamic are sometimes told from his viewpoint during his team-up with them.
They Look Just Like Everyone Else!: There's nothing from his looks that would suggest that he's more than just an everyday guy.
Took a Level in Cheerfulness: He's much more upbeat in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier than he was in Captain America: Civil War. Which makes sense: in the latter he had just lost his family and was on a revenge quest whereas in the former the stakes aren't as personal and he's had time to grieve for his family in prison, meaning he has the time and temperament to joke around, make fun of "allies" and dance badly.
Took a Level in Kindness: Downplayed, but in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, he's much friendlier with Sam and Bucky than he was with Tony and Steve in Civil War. Justified, as this time around he's working together with them to take down the Flag-Smashers and even then he still takes the time to engage them in relatively civil conversations.
Tragic Villain: He pursues his vengeance purely because he feels he has nothing else to live for without his family. This is highlighted by his decision to goad Black Panther into killing him and, when that doesn't work, shoot himself.
Tritagonist: Of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, when he teams up with Sam and Bucky in their crusade to defeat the Flag Smashers, while being more developed as a character in contrast to his debut in Civil War along the way of the narrative.
Tranquil Fury: Despite spending the whole movie on a murderous crusade, Zemo avoids all the theatrics of Loki or Ultron and seldom even raises his voice. This includes when he finally spells out his motives to the heroes.
Troll: Even when he's not manipulating or killing everyone around him, he's kind of a dick, as seen in his reappearance in Falcon and the Winter Soldier, reciting Bucky's trigger phrase, knowing it doesn't work, just to upset him, needling Sam about his experience in the Raft, and later telling his retainer to serve Sam and Bucky them any food that's gone off.
Truer to the Text: Zemo in Civil War was a borderline In Name Only depiction of him. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier retroactively adds a lot more aspects of the original comic character, such as his noble status, his costume, and his physical prowess.
Unknown Rival: To the Flag-Smashers, particularly Karli Morgenthau. Do to being enhanced with the super-soldier serum, Zemo considers the Flag-Smashers to be dangerous individuals, and is more than willing to form an Enemy Mine with Sam and Bucky to take them down. Karli on the other hand, isn't even aware that Zemo exists until he shoots her and destroys the serum right in front of her. Even then, she seems more content to get up and run than to try to confront him for his actions.
Unwitting Instigator of Doom: He successfully managed to break up the Avengers, hoping to bring down the most powerful team of beings in the universe to avenge the deaths of his family. Unfortunately for him, it worked a little too well, as they don't stand on a united front when Thanos arrives and, despite putting up a good fight, get flattened by the Mad Titan. Said Mad Titan then uses the Infinity Stones to wipe out half of all life in the universe, turning the world into a total mess that it spends five years trying to recover from until the Avengers find a way to set things right. Even when they do undo the Snap, the world falls into utter chaos once again trying to handle those that were restored to life, leading to the Flag-Smashers taking rise and causing just enough trouble to force Bucky and Sam to bust Zemo out of jail to help them.
Villain Protagonist: So far of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, when he teams up with Sam and Bucky to take down the Flag Smashers, getting more screen time and more of his development unlike in Civil War.
Villain Respect: As of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Zemo develops this towards Sam Wilson due to his refusal to be ehnanced into being super soldier while maintaining his idealistic outlook. He also concedes that Steve Rogers was not corrupted by the power he held but holds him as an exception.
Villainous Underdog: He's not a Physical God, not an alien, nor a Super Soldier. He's just a former military colonel with patience, a simple yet effective plan, and The Power of Hate. This is exactly why Sam and Bucky decide to bring him into their crusade against the Flag-Smashers.
Weak, but Skilled: Invoked. Zemo is a professionally trained special ops colonel who has the combat skills to take down regular men with ease. However, he knows that no amount of skill can destroy a group of enhanced individuals like the Avengers, and so relies on his manipulation and espionage skills to turn them against each other instead.
Weapon of Choice: A Smith and Wesson 6906 pistol, which he uses to execute the other Winter Soldiers and attempt suicide.
Well-Intentioned Extremist: Zemo's objective in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier is to stop the creation of any and all super soldiers, believing that they create symbols of facism like the Red Skull once did. He accomplishes this in the fourth episode by shooting Karli Morgenthau multiple times and then smashing the remaining vials as Nico is helping her escape him.
What You Are in the Dark: When Zemo corners Karli and discovers the last of the Super Soldier Serum in her possession, rather than take it for himself, which would have made his mission a lot easier, he smashes the vials and would have successfully destroyed them all had Walker not intervened.
Wicked Cultured: He's a connoiseur of music and art, as revealed in Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: He has quite a sympathetic motive for his mission of revenge against the Avengers, namely that he blames them for the death of his family.
Xanatos Speed Chess: He's not in control of everything that happens in Civil War (for one thing, he has nothing to do with the Sokovia Accords), but he's good at taking advantage of unexpected situations to further his plans. Even more so in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. In Civil War, at least he still instigates most of the events, but in the show, he's broken out of prison without having expected to and is more or less thrust into an ongoing conflict he has nothing to do with. He still manages to play the heroes and the villains—that he utterly disagrees with—and so far has gotten away completely unscathed, once again having succeeded at what he set out to do.
He's the Big Bad of Civil War and is more than willing to commit mass murder to achieve his ends, but the times he acts polite or remorseful are genuine. He states he'd rather avoid unnecessary deaths if he can, has a few standards, apologizes to T'Challa for killing his father, has regular courteous interactions with a staff member of the hotel he's staying at, and even eventually apologizes to Bucky for using him. Considering he's just a grieving man who's dedicated to avenging the deaths of his family, it makes sense he wouldn't act like a cackling maniac.
By The Falcon And The Winter Soldier, he is shown to be fairly courteous to those around him (who, apart from his family butler were his enemies before) and he is capable of holding civil conversations with Bucky, even offering him a genuine apology for his actions in Civil War. He also agrees to join Sam and Bucky's crusade against the Flag-Smashers, without the driving of a hard bargain one might expect from him. He is also fully willing to lend his resources from the criminal underground to Sam and Bucky to take the Flag-Smashers down, no questions asked.
While none of the Avengers die as a consequence of his plan in Captain America: Civil War, he accomplishes his main goal in dividing them and is content with this. While the looming threat of Thanos forces them back together in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, the reunion turns out to be temporary — by the time of Spider-Man: Far From Home, WandaVision, and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, the Avengers are still very much defunct.
In The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, he successfully killed the man who recreated the super soldier formula and destroyed all but one of the remaining samples while inadvertently leading to John Walker gaining the Super Serum for himself. This turns in Zemo's favor after Walker brutally executes a defenseless Flag Smasher in broad daylight in front of civilians, corrupting the image of super soldiers in the public eye. He willing gives up a chance at pulling a Villain: Exit, Stage Left to visit a memorial and allows him self to be captured, his work done.
He framed Bucky Barnes for bombing the United Nations, then relied on everyone else including Captain America hunting him down for it, and further that no one but the Avengers would even be capable of killing Bucky, to get access to Barnes and his knowledge of HYDRA bases.
He arranges for his ruse to be discovered by the media, relying on Tony to find out and make amends with Captain America, so they'll both find the Siberian compound where Zemo reveals to them that Bucky killed Tony's parents.
His entire plan is based on assumptions from the S.H.I.E.L.D. intel on the Avengers he's studied that Captain America's over-protectiveness of his friends and Iron Man's complex over the death of his parents would mean not only that the two would turn on each other if Bucky's involvement in the Starks' death was revealed, but that Steve wouldn't have talked to Tony about Bucky's potential involvement beforehand.
His setup gambled on the fact that it is a conflict that only works if there are no voices of reason to hold either of them back. The fact that the airport fight left only two active members of the Avengers, Bucky and a third party present in the Hydra compound in a place where no one would interfere was a happy accident for him since most of the Avengers present could have prevented things from reaching the breaking point. Of course, this is covered under Heads I Win, Tails You Lose.
Notably, this is also why he finds Bucky a bit tolerable, since he is being bewared of.
In a stark contrast to his comics depiction, he lacks any affiliation with HYDRA and outright states that they deserved to be brought down. A conversation in Falcon and the Winter Soldier reveals he despises the Red Skull and those who idolize him, and he kills Doctor Nagel while the man is gloating about being a god.
Despite his profound hatred of the Avengers, he declined to unleash the other five Winter Soldiers and shot them dead rather than risk someone else doing so, as they were worse than Bucky and would do untold damage to the world given the order. He also seems uncomfortable with the concept of experimenting on humans in general.Zemo: If it's any comfort, they died in their sleep. Did you really think I wanted more of you?
Zemo was "just" a special forces operative, but when his family was killed, he used his intel on HYDRA to take on the Avengers and came closer to destroying the team than any previous villain.
Falcon and the Winter Soldier reveals that at some point, he became involved with the criminal underground, under the simple but accurate alias of "Baron".
A) Captain America and Bucky had captured Zemo before Iron Man arrived (then again, he was in a fortified bunker that would take serious fire-power to break through).
B) Iron Man had not figured out where Cap and Bucky were headed in the first place.
C) Iron Man had not come alone, meaning there might have been someone to restrain him or talk him down after he learned the truth.
D) Black Panther had succeeded in killing Bucky during one of their three fights during the course of the film (of course it’s highly unlikely that he even knew the Black Panther existed).
E) Captain America told Iron Man that the deaths of his parents were orchestrated by HYDRA.
Zemo hates the Avengers after the collateral damage they caused killed his family. So he decides to split the team up and in the process causes collateral damage that kills other people's family members.
Zemo believes that "gods" like the Avengers should not be allowed to exist. Sam points out that be decreeing who deserves to exist, he's speaking like a god.
Tortures and kills Vasily Karpov for information. Karpov is not only a still loyal HYDRA operative but one of the main leaders of the Winter Soldier project and ordered the death of the Starks and his slow death is just desserts. He does the same to  the HYDRA scientist responsible for making more Super Soldiers in Falcon and the Winter Soldier, finishing his work from Siberia.
He also happily participates in the interrogation of Doctor Nagel, the Mad Scientist who recreated the Super Soldier Serum via human experimentation, and personally guns the man down.
Zig-zagged; he knows very well that he can never kill the Avengers himself, since more powerful men than him have tried and all have failed, which is why he makes a plan to get them to kill each other for him.
In the secret HYDRA lab in Madripoor, he and his comrades come under attack. Not knowing where the assailants are, Zemo makes a quick getaway, causing Sam and the others to think he bailed... only to show up moments later when the assassins are in plain view, making it much easier for him to take them down.
 When the Dora Milaje apprehend him a second time in episode 5 of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, he surrenders himself without a fight, presumably both because he knew he had no chance of victory and because he had already achieved his goal of destroying the current iteration of the super-soldier serum.
He uses Bucky's Trigger Phrase while the latter's locked in an apparatus, making him go on a rampage. By the end of Civil War, he himself is locked in the same apparatus.
He kills T'Challa's father in the course of his Evil Plan. After T'Challa learns the truth about this, he foils Zemo's attempted suicide to ensure he faces justice for his crimes.
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bloededhoine · 4 years ago
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okay i saw this trend going around and decided to give it a try: making my sister vibe check the witcher characters!
warning: she's really mean
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machacho (what the fuck kind of name is that?)
buff. everyone knows it bc he enters a room by groaning loudly and complaining about “wow it’s so hard to bench press 500 lbs like wow i wish i could just do like 110 and get a workout but im so buff I can’t smh”. lowkey hated by everyone but still gets the ladies. 100% would ditch you in the morning and then forget he fucked you and try to hit on you in two months if you had different hair. alcohol. 1/10 sorry (you should be you bitch that's my husband)
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henrietta
gives off super bitch energy. but not always a bitch. also she loves that her reputation is that she’s a bitch. but a serious badass. could kill you. if you fucked her and like ran out in the morning she’d find u and cut ur dick off (accurate). but also can be a pussy ngl (you are what you eat ig). she’s like either a bitchy simp or an independent badass. no in between. 4/10 (why 4/10 that's so low what the fuck?)
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josh
john paul jones is his style inspiration (???). wack. broods for fun. if he’s brooding don’t interrupt. can’t deal with emotions. like seriously dude plz go to therapy (true). but he’d rather die than admit he needs help emotionally. thinks he wants a girlfriend and when he gets one he bolts immediately bc commitment issues. then lowkey feels bad and wonders why it keeps happening. see again: go to therapy 6/10
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brad
really good at commanding armies. really bad at emotions. he’s great at winning wars but still can’t grasp that human life is...ahem...valuable. like would be confused why ppl were mad if he sent all his soldiers to their death if they ended up winning the battle (ok of everyone on this list he looks LEAST like a soldier whatttttt). 3/10
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broderick
acts tough. lowkey a softie but doesn’t know how to be. emotionally stunted. thinks peak flirting is like punching women (JAJSJDJD). loves playing mario kart and would 100% destroy the console if he lost. absolutely loves beer. like beer is his best friend (beer and dandelion). not great with money. but again, he really does want to be nice he just legit has no clue how. also his friends aren’t exactly helpful in that department (his friends are idiots so yeah). 6/10
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triss lite (THATS SO FUCKING RUDE)
mean but tough. like super tough. could cut you. drinks misogynist’s tears for breakfast. absolutely hates the patriarchy. not great on racism tho (???). gets into trouble bc she sometimes forgets that she doesn’t need to be mean around people who like aren’t misogynists. like will sometimes say really mean shit to her friends and then they get hurt. cannot apologize. like cannot. 5/10
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joker (i mean... yeah)
dumb. and annoying. like he pisses me off. i don’t like him. not like a mean person just fucking annoying. like bro shut up. would not think sexism, homophobia or racism exist. not because he’s a sexist, homophobe, or racist. but bc he’s just really dumb. 2/10 (finally some good fucking analysis)
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angie
feminist icon. but lowkey a man hater. it’s iconic tho we forgive it. would rather die than be in a relationship with a man. does not know fear. 100% carries ninja stars wherever she goes and is freakishly good at wielding them (it do be kinda canon tho). her fav pastime is going to bars and getting guys to buy her drinks. then when they go to talk to her she throws the drink in their faces. intimidating with good reason 8/10
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stupid face (THATS UNCALLED FOR WHAT THE FUCK)
cannot bathe. does not know hygiene. super powerful tho. but like when u enter his castle it just smells so fuckin bad (what??). people are scared of him but they shouldn’t be. he’s a pussy. cannot command an army at all (yeah). literally would cry if someone tried to fight him 0/10
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chad
loves frats. like thinks they’re the cornerstones of America. 100% thinks spain is the same thing as mexico. ceo of “I can’t be misogynistic my girlfriend is a woman”. but doesn’t have a girlfriend. just one night stands. would def has a note on his phone ranking the girls he sleeps with and doesn’t refer to them by name. just like “long legs, c cup 6/10” (EXCUSE YOU HE DRINKS HIS RESPECT WOMEN JUICE BY THE GALLON). got the scar bc he tried to be an asshole to angie (GOT THE SCAR CAUSE HIS DAUGHTER IS KINDA A DEMON). -1000/10
hit the 10 image limit but let me know if you want more!
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typinggently · 5 years ago
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Feral Bruce Wayne with his rogue gallery?
This was thrilling to think about!!!
A general note at the beginning– the thing that makes Bruce who he is, the way he believes in the possibility of good in everyone, is of course unchanged in Feral Bruce. Which means that his no killing rule and his compassion for his villains still stand unchanged. Also, I think he keeps his silent stoicism for the most part.
Also - when I say “Bruce” here, know that I’m referring to Feral Bruce. It makes for an easier reading experience. But now.
Feral Bruce vs. the Gotham Underground
Bane: Mads Mikkelsen was a professional dancer and a lot of that grace translates into his fighting choreographies – I think it’s the same with Bruce. He’s strong, but he’s also very graceful and athletic. So the epic fights between him and Bane are less “who’s the bigger hulk w the stronger punches” but more a match of different styles clashing. Also, I admittedly only know Nolanverse Bane and I love him dearly. He’s very intelligent and very charismatic, so I think their confrontations could be very interesting. I also just like the mental image of Bane trying to get a hold on Bruce who’s doing the flips over his shoulder.
The Riddler: That’s a special kind of relationship. The Riddler hates and loves Batman in equal measures because on one hand, he drives him to new creative heights, but on the other – the guy doesn’t even have to try. How does he do it?? No one ever solved his riddles this fast!! Inspector Gordon is always fascinated when Batman shows up, looks at the smashed cake/blue umbrella/ripped up telephone book for a moment and then says something like “He’s planning to break into the Mustard Museum at 8pm tomorrow” ??? A true detective. (I had to think of the 60s show where the riddles were always complete mumbo jumbo and Robin would be like !!I’ve got it!!” and say just…the weirdest shit.. and everyone would be all “Ohhhh yes why didn’t we think of that?!” except Bruce does that now. He’s got the brain to jump to the most absurd conclusions and always be 200% right. Show up, say nonsense with a grave expression, melt back into the wallpaper. Watch Riddler have a meltdown because you know the answers to all his punny questions)
The Penguin: See, I say Bruce still has the stoic exterior and the stealth factor and the whole Vampiric vibe. However, he also has that Dadaist Ballet fighting style and a very erratic attack pattern. What I’m saying is that his go to move is stealing Penguin’s umbrella and whacking him on the head with it. Neither of them appreciates the comedic element of that move, even though they pull it off like a silent film comedy duo, time and time again.
Scarecrow: Since Bruce is so expressive, so eager to fill his head with knowledge and so driven by his own emotions which he feels so intensely, I feel like Scarecrow would be the most terrifying villain for him. He seems the type to be genuinely helpless and overwhelmed when trapped in his own horrific imagination. Feargas would most likely cause a complete and utter violent-erratic meltdown. It happens only once, since it drives him to improve the suit so it can never happen again, but I think that Scarecrow is one of the villains he truly doesn’t like going against.
Catwoman: There’s a photo of Rob sitting at the stage to watch FKA Twigs perform back in 2014 and the way he looks at her has not left me since I’ve seen it for the first time. That’s Bruce @ Selina. And yes, sure, I’m very much a SuperBat endgame person, but I do acknowledge that those two had chemistry/a true, meaningful relationship. I feel like he felt comfortable enough to make his weird, dry jokes at her while wearing the cowl and that’s all that really needs to be said about how deep that affection went.
Poison Ivy: She made the mistake of using her love dust on him…once. Bruce respects her intelligence and she respects his dedication, but all their meetings post-dust are super awkward. There’s simply no proper villain-hero discussions to be had and one-liners to be exchanged when there’s the shared history of him tenderly taking her hand and saying in the most earnest tone “I’ll find a chemical that deconstructs rubber tires for you. You’re still going to jail, but I’ll come to hold your hand.” It’s? something?! It’s kinda sweet but also not the intended result (“Of course I’ll let you go, green queen of my heart!”) at all.
Harley Quinn: Bruce adores her. He genuinely thinks she’s a fascinating person and would probably love to hang out with her, but alas! It cannot be. They have to work together at some point, though, and Bruce is so pumped that he can solve a case with the brilliant and bubbly-sparkly Dr Quinzel that he fucks up. By which I mean that when she comes up with the weird one-liner, he responds perfectly in kind, thus betraying his stoic ballet dancer image. It’s probably something like - Harley: “It’s starting to smell a lot like BurgerKing in here…” Batman, completely unprompted: “-because you’re about to get beefed”
Two-Face: Bruce has always admired and loved Harvey - He’s charming, charismatic, intelligent and very good at mingling, small talk (something Bruce can’t do for the life of him). So fighting Two-Face is tearing his heart to shreds. It hits so close to home and it hurts to see Harvey in the condition he’s in. While it might not have been romantic love, Bruce still feels a raw tenderness for him, and while he tries not to let it show, it’s still one of the hardest fights to fight, every time.
Joker: With other villains, Bruce relies mostly on his combination of silence/element of surprise + strength + random fight pattern. It’s very graceful to watch. Joker, he just punches in the face. That’s where the feral comes through. Doesn’t even let him finish his jokes.
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To sum it up: The girls know Batman is weird. They love him. (Harley probably made him a friendship bracelet at some point, with tiny little dangly bats and little H’s & B’s.)
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I love these villains so much and it was such a joy to think about them and Feral Bruce in this context, so thank you so much for this ask!!! I had a ton of fun writing this and I hope you had fun reading about Bruce’s funky little adventures :)
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soyouareandrewdobson · 4 years ago
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Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na RACIST! (how Dobson thinks Batman is a supremacist, why I think Batman is not so good and Frank Miller is problematic
Over the last couple of years, Andrew Dobson has mad eit clear that he is not a fan of the character of Batman much (or anymore), calling him a Mary Sue and an embodiment of toxic masculinity as if that term means something nowadays considering how often it is thrown around. And don’t get me wrong, if you don’t like Batman as a character, that is completely fine with me. I myself am not the biggest fan of Batman myself. Or rather should I say, his overexposure in the comics.
Cause honestly, I do not hate the character on concept. I watched reruns of the Adam West Batman show from the 60s and the animated 90s show long before I even saw the Burton versions. Batman Brave and the Bold is one of my favorite animated shows of the 2000s. And I think that there are quite a few good Batman stories, shows and games out there overall. I do however believe that when it comes to Batman in the mainstream comics, things have taken a nose dive for a long time. Writers like Grant Morrison, Scott Snyder and Tom King in particular have over the last 10+ years (at least in my opinion) not just attempted to write stories about Batman as a hero, but also put him into the center of ever escalating events and philosophical wang fests so often, the comics and its characters (Batman and his villains alike) have become quite ridiculous. As a result Batman as a comic series is at times just too edgy, people get sick of certain characters (I like the Joker, but the way how he was handled in some of Snyder’s stories was ridiculous to the point they should have just called him Satan) and Batman comes off as a Gary Stu almost by default, cause the only way a “normal” human could even dare to deal with the over the top situations he faces, is by being even more over the top and smart and awesome by default.
 Now that we got my soapboxing regarding why I think Batman is not as good as a comic character anymore out of the way, lets see what Dobson’s take on Batman is and why he thinks he is turning Bat- I mean bad.
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 He believes that Batman turns into a fascist.
... I would ask if that is a joke, but I know that Dobson does not get humor at all or can tell a good joke if he was possessed by Leslie Nielsen.
Okay, so lets just try to dissect why this is dumb.
First off, while I did not talk about it in detail, I did mention that there are different incarnations and versions of Batman to enjoy. Hey, Dobson himself said that the one he enjoyed the most was the Batman of the animated series in the 90s. Which btw I highly recommend. And so do others. But here is the thing: There is not one “ultimate” version of Batman to stick to. There are different interpretations of the character. And most people are okay with that. Heck, there are more than enough people who both enjoyed the 60s Batman and Burton’s Batman. The important thing is, that all those interpretations need to have a certain key element of Batman still in order to make the character recognizable as who he is to be. Which in my opinion is the willingness to fight for good even in the face of some serial killer level baddies and show also once here and there his smarts as well as a bit of heart (guess what people, Batman can be compassionate too if he needs to be) while at the same time wearing a costume as he does and try to convey the image of being “the night” to put fear in the hearts of those cowardly criminals.
 Which is why people in general will call writers out on being bad, when you do not “get” Batman or what people in general associate Batman to be. But Dobson seems to insinuate at least indirectly that people are dumb for not understanding it. That he is supposedly the only one who “gets” Batman right. No Dobson, you are not the only one. The shitton of people who mocked Batman vs Superman of which you were a part of, are proof enough.
 Next, I have to admit I find it hilarious that he believes that Frank Miller’s version of Batman is what he believes people consider slowly the mainstream version of the character. No they don’t.
 Let me try to explain it with this version a bit, seeing how Dobson does not and in doing so is utterly misinformative. In the late 2000s, comic writer Frank Miller, known for work such as Sin City, 300 and his run of Daredevil in the 80s, was tasked by DC comics to write “All Star Batman and Robin” a miniseries in 12 issues. While the thing has actually pretty good artwork by Jim Lee (an artist Dobson wishes he could be), the story itself is very, very bad. While Miller was in the past quite respected and was the man behind “The Dark Knight Returns” in the early 90s (a comic even I think is pretty decent as a story about Batman as an older man taking the cowl up again)  , his work in general even at this point was not that good. Miller had become an openly racist person towards people of muslim background after witnessing 9/11 in New York in person, Batman in his work became a vigilante who gets away with levels of assault, violence and edgy philosophing and beating his meat (metaphorically) that it just became pretty obvious that Miller had turned into a racist grandfather with power fantasies whose ideas oozed into his work. I am not denying the accusations Dobson throws here at Miller. His Batman in All Star is violent, acts like a self righteous psycho, kidnaps an underaged boy and does at one point consider that if he had Green Lantern’s power ring he could make the world “better” than Hal Jordan. Which considering his actions so far in that comic makes any person with self preservation instincts and empathy  wonder, what “better” means. Additionally, other characters like Superman, Wonder Woman and the mentioned Green Lantern don’t really fare good either when it comes to having likable personalities, making you wish a villain like Luthor would just get rid of those “heroes” already just to assure us they could not go crazy next tuesday.
So yeah, it is a shitty version of Batman, despised by many to the point All Star Batman is mocked to the nth degree. Miller himself became even more controversial and hatred when he wrote and got Holy Terror released, a beast I do not even want to touch upon at the time righ now. I just say it is bad as shit and one of the worst writen and drawn things I ever saw.
 HOWEVER… this version of Batman is not the mainstream one. I repeat: this is not the mainstream one, “accepted” by a majority of people. As the paragrpah previously show.
The character All Star Batman is considered ONLY associable with Millers miniseries of the same name, that did not even properly conclude as it was put on endless hiatus with issue ten. It has never become inspirational for any other portrayal of the character so far and DC comics also does not endorse the character in correlation with its main universe, even if they still sell tradepaperbacks of the series.
This, if you have any reading comprehension, points towards one of the biggest lies in Dobson’s comic: The idea, that THIS Batman is the one that’s been popular for the last 15 years or so, as STATED by Dobson himself in the second panel of his comic.
 No. No, this “Batman”, the violent psychopath who uses guns and drives a tank, is not the mainstream and never was so in the last 15 years. Or I should rather say 20. See, this comic was published like in 2015. Meaning he is referring to Batman from between 2000 till 2015.
Lets see what versions of Batman were popular at this point
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So we got a Batman who was there for a girl dying cause of something done to her brain, a 60s inspired Batman who still was badass and worked well with other heroes and saved the world a few times, a videogame Batman who would not even have let the Joker die when his poison finally got the better of him (Arkham City), a Batman who travelled backwards through time into the present and then tried to use his fortune to support heroes in other parts of the world to do good (I acknowledge though, the Batman shooting Darkseid thing was crap, even if Darkseid is the god of evil in DC) and we even got (though not shown here) a Batman who even when he drove a freaking tank did not run over peolpe with it (Batman, Nolan trilogy) and would rather accept people hating him than being a hero, by taking on the blame of Harvey Dent being killed to not taint the laters reputation. Oh and did I forget to mention that Nolan’s Batman almost sacrificed himself to prevent Gotham from nuclear destruction?
And before someone says “gotch’ya” by pointing at another rinfamous work by Miller, known as the Dark Knight strikes again… I said popular. That comic from the early 2000s was not popular and again NOT referenced much by mainstream media or mainstream fans as good.
 Now I will say, Batman as in the mainstream comics at the same time got unfortunately darker to the degree I hinted on when I made this post. Cause the last 15 years were comic wise the time of Morrison, Scott and others in particular. Who were involved in such “brilliant” moves as the Court of Owls story, the introduction of Professor Pyg, turning Joker into a satanic archetype villain stu, Batman having the brilliant idea to go Big Brother Eye, the No Man’s Land shit, having to deal with more brutal murders than previously etc. Yes, mainstream Batman got more violent. But the violence was less in the character itself as more within the world he was part of. Mainstream Batman comics took on a more violent tone than there was before. But ironically, even if Batman had to face more brutal beatdowns and villains, by comparison he is one of the most “kind” characters compared to the ones he faces or even works with. This is a character who had to teach his own son that murder was not okay, cause the kid was raised by an evil murder cult.
 And even with the mainstream comics such as Detective Comics and Batman main series becoming darker… they are not pro-fascist or go into that direction. I read a lot of DC in general, not just Batman, and Batman is not going sieg heiling or beating up people because of the color of their skin or because they are poor. When Lex Luthor was president, Batman was one of the main heroes opposing him. Mainstream Batman is beating you up for being a murderer and highly violent criminal with a gimmick, independent of your political agenda. And the writers are also not pro fascist, including even post 2015 Frank Miller.
 Yeah. Frank Miller, whose work I am not fond of and who I think is a racist asshole who had things coming for Holy Terror,  is not really writing (or at least publishing) racist Batman anymore.
Don’t get me wrong, I still think the guy is bad and I believe if he had a chance to get his opinion out unfiltered, we would be in for a shitstorm. But I actually read up on his Dark Knight 3: The Master Race thing because I was worried how racist that is and how DC would recover from that dud. Turned out… it was not as bad as you would expect with a title like this. The “Master Race” referred in that story to a group of racist kryptonians who thought they should take over earth because their powers made them superior. While Batman was not the most positive character in it, he was fighting against them with many other heroes. This Batman was actually a vast improvement personality wise from Batman in Dark Knight strikes again and All Star. So yeah, Batman written by racist grandfather was still a hero. Granted, I think a lot of that was also thanks to the fact that DC had partnered up Miller with someone who kept things tighter around him, but still. Fascist Batman is not a thing the comics and the majority of fans want.
 Ironically, if you want to see how a publisher taints the image of a hero people look up to by making him more racist… well, Dobson’s “praised” and woke Marvel did once something called Secret Empire. Which had Captain America turn into the Fuehrer and taking over America. And the Nazis for a lack of a better word, were “competent” enough in the story that the heroes really only won in parts thanks to a shitton of asspulls. So… yeah.
I mean, the event still ended with the good guys winning and the bad guys defeated, but still.
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eyebright-iris · 5 years ago
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Review: Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)
“I’m the one they should be scared of.  Not you, not Mr. J – me.  ’Cause I’m Harley-fuckin’-Quinn.”
A triumphant riot of not just girl-power, but the true indomitable spirit of women who have been wronged their entire lives kicking back at the ones who have tried to ruin them.
Birds of Prey is truly one of the greatest movies I have seen in a long time, and this is after having seen some fantastic competition.  Finally, a Harley movie that actually cares about her as a character, as a person, that shows off all the things that makes her great and somehow doesn’t have to make her the film’s sole lead to give her the space she needs to perform.  She’s naïve, excitable, an emotional rollercoaster in a pair of rollerblades and the most delightful not-quite-villain to watch on screen.  Harley has broken up with the Joker and set out on her own, but she never forgets the clown look she is so known and loved for.  Where so many Joker depictions try to show of the madness of clowns, the scary side to make the Joker a formidable villain, Harley Quinn is joyous.  She’s a jack-in-the-box with a rocket launcher, pigtails and smiley-face mallet and maniacal glee in every bit of mayhem she causes.  Yeah, in her own words, she’s not a good person – but you want to be her best friend anyway because you can’t help but love her. Every outfit was sexy but not sexualised, all about Harley’s wild self-expression and not about how much of her ass could fit into each shot; you can feel that this was directed and produced by women; created by women, a project loved by the women behind it. There’s enough emotion to make you really feel for the characters despite the comedy, but manages to flip effortlessly between genuine emotion and humour without cheapening the authentic feelings like other films have done in the past (looking at you, Deadpool).
The film also makes brilliant use of its 15 rating with an explosion of foul language and violence – but none of it gratuitous.  The fights are gritty, lively, and feature none of the signature lady-fighting technique synonymous with Black Widow that involves bringing a man down with her thighs around his face.  The women in this movie punch, brass-knuckle or bare-knuckle; they swing bats and break limbs, they smash windows and noses and get punched back themselves because they aren’t reduced to something pretty for the time of the fight; the fights are fun, but never feel fake.  There’s enough weight behind the combat scenes to carry each of them without losing the fun of watching them.  The Booby-Trap fight scene is the obvious standout, the title scene of the movie where we finally have everything the movie promised us delivered on perfectly, but there are so many others – Harley’s raid on the police station with the shotgun is another personal favourite.  And good news – rumours of Harley having an ex-girlfriend are in fact true!  Bisexual badass Harley Quinn takes centre-stage.
But speaking of Harley, this isn’t just her movie: I couldn’t review this film without paying proper homage to the other characters.  Renee Montoya, a detective overshadowed when her partner took credit for her career-making case, watching him be captain while she never gets the respect she deserves.  For a movie with a cop as one of its leads I was surprised (very pleasantly) at the general tone the film takes towards the police (in colloquial terms, BoP said “fuck blue lives!” and I love it).  Renee’s a force to be reckoned with, a good heart in a bad city and she knows it. The film openly makes fun of how she speaks like an 80s cop movie, but only for the cheese of it all, because the intention behind the cheese, the desire to do good despite the rules, is what this film is all about and while I won’t spoil Montoya’s ending, I was ecstatic for her.  Oh, and did I mention she has an ex-girlfriend who appears multiple times in the movie?  Dinah Lance, Black Canary, is an iconic heroine of DC.  A crime lord’s club songbird with a bite, she clearly has a rough history with police and a lot of mistrust, but there’s a heart of gold beneath it all and she breaks all the rules she’s set for herself to save an innocent life.  Dinah also gets to show off her powers in a fight and it does not disappoint.  Lastly of the Birds, we have Huntress.  A mystery for much of the movie, she’s a lot of motorcycling around and mysteriously killing people for reasons unknown. However, when she does join the gang and come into the light, she’s incredible.  A ruthless assassin with not great people skills which make her formidable but adorably awkward as well, her character realistically reminds the audience that childhood trauma can indeed make superheroes – but that doesn’t magically undo the fact that it is, in fact, trauma.  Her interactions with Cassandra Cain are touching and she’s a fascinating case of someone with no real stake in the affairs that all the other characters are caught up in but takes a stand regardless because it’s the right thing to do.  Also, all these ladies are in fact very beautiful and powerful and kickass and I am very gay.
Cassandra makes the last of the protagonists and she doesn’t let her young age or small stature make her seem any smaller against her co-stars.  Fabulously cast and brilliantly acted, Cassandra is a little shit that people can’t help but take a liking to, but also very much a child in a frightening world who has no idea what she’s gotten mixed up in.  I can’t lie, it’s also very refreshing to see a kid being played and acted like a damn kid, not a thirty-year-old in a schoolgirl skirt.  The Booby-Trap fight where the Birds and Harley are furiously fighting dozens of goons whilst working to protect Cassandra is a really powerful scene, not just for the technicolour girl-power but also because the sight of women working together to protect a young girl in ways they themselves could not be protected is…*chef’s kiss*.
I don’t want to spoil any more than I may already have done, but the villains are phenomenal.  Ewan McGregor does an amazing job with Black Mask, terrifyingly unstable and violent, yet so entertaining at the same time. Also, queer-coded (or canon, if you take McGregor’s own words on the matter) villains are absolutely no issue with me when at least two of our main cast of incredible ladies are queer on screen in this movie (and yes, imo, the bad guys are gay your honour).
Conclusion:
A supernova of harlequin madness and an absolute resounding triumph.  Birds of Prey is everything we needed when Suicide Squad’s own neon-painted violence failed to live up to its potential.  The movie is vividly coloured and non-stop fun.  It’s lurid, violent, and perfectly Harley.
10/10
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advernia · 5 years ago
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this is for that anon who asked about the danganronpa!ikerev au Σ(・口・) thank you for having an interest in this au, by the way! (´∀`) the format’s not exactly lore-ish per se since when luci and i talked about this, we plotted it out to be game-like - but still, here you go~ it’s like a prologue of sorts, i guess!
the tea party
everyone’s invited - red + black + neutrals + alice - except the tweedles + mousse, whoops. tho i was amusing myself with the idea that they could be something like ndv3′s monokubs, lol.
but since it’s also alice in wonderland themed, maybe the three are like some odd guides popping out randomly now and then??? they say they’re helping but dean’s too cryptic, dalim cycles between being vague or being an unhelpful bastard, and mousse... yeah.
the killing game tea party is set in the ikerev gardens / the civic center and in true danganronpa fashion, they can’t leave the premises. new rooms + places for exploration are also only unlocked after certain events. sometimes if they feel like it, the tweedles or mousse could open areas themselves, which makes them even more suspicious.
they claim not to be working with monoamon, but everyone calls bullshit bc how the fuck can they move so freely + open areas then??? they don’t answer that question at all, but eventually there’s the inkling that even they themselves don’t know why they’re granted that freedom too.
there’s no strict stuff about the time, but somehow everyone knocks out unconscious come midnight and wake up exactly at seven. food’s readily available at the tea party table, looking always fresh. they can see the outside, but some odd invisible barrier’s keeping them from going too far.
guests: red & black
no set protagonist, lol - let’s imagine everyone having their own routes!
the red + black main five wake up seated on their respective seats on the table. not simultaneously, mind you. the ‘protagonist’ wakes up first and when he does, he’s greeted by the sight of an odd stuffed rabbit with a monochrome pattern staring at him, wtf. 
“finally awake,” it says and protag’s like no shit sherlock but wait wtf - talking stuffed rabbit???????????????????????
it ignores all the basic questions (where am i, who are you, why can you talk etc.) but responds to the why am i bound / chained to this chair, and it says:
‘if you want to break free, you have to remember your title.’ and with that the rabbit hops away, leaving the protag either a) even more confused (kyle, zero, luka, fenrir), b) agitated (jonah, ray, seth), or c) thinking about the title (lancelot, edgar, sirius).
eventually after a moment of mental + physical struggle, their title hits them in the head and it spills out from their lips and hey presto, the chains on ‘em are suddenly lifted! by this time, their ‘rival’ chara wakes up.
‘rival’ chara can vary, pure (black vs. black) or cross (red vs. black). let’s say that the pure rivalry is your normal game mode and more centric around the chosen protag’s dynamic with his group (black or red) + a little with certain neutrals. the cross is your hard difficulty, probably filled with more bullshit, and has a storyline that involves everyone (with an ending that more or less still leaves you with tons of questions).
for pure black, luci likes the matchups of ray vs. seth & luka vs. fenrir. red, kyle vs. jonah & edgar vs. zero. lancelot and sirius are faced off with a rival from the neutral group, blanc and loki respectively.
for cross we have: ray vs. jonah, lancelot vs. fenrir, sirius vs. edgar, luka vs. kyle, and zero vs. seth. note that the rival chara isn’t exactly antagonistic by nature, results may vary depending on game difficulty lol.
anyway, eventually everyone wakes up and they get to remembering their so-called titles. it’s only after they’re free that they realize they can’t remember their names, much less anything else.
but by simply looking at each other’s outfits + introduction of self through titles... the other group aside, it’s logical to first assume that they know each other. their clothes have similar colors, their titles end with the same symbol, and they’re seated on the same side of the table... question is, why can’t they remember each other???
the rabbit pops up when the mood’s gone quiet, and it’s oddly chipper as it introduces itself as amon. it answers and ignores questions on a whim, and when it finally has enough it informs everyone that there are people still missing - without them, the tea party can’t start.
what the fuck is this tea party about, someone tries to say but amon’s gone away. left with not much of a choice, everyone decides to search the area for these missing people, with this ‘tea party area’ as the rendezvous point after maybe thirty minutes or so.
guests: neutral
these guys have a harder time bc unlike the red + black that are already grouped together, the four are located in separate areas and are also chained to something (a certain cat’s been chained to a damned tree). 
the protag will always encounter amon first, and the remaining three will meet dean, dalim, or mousse. tho instead of being told the remember your title phrase, they get a remember who you are instead.
they eventually remember, break free, and set out exploring the place in hopes of finding anyone else / jogging their memories. but before they’re found by either the reds or the blacks (or both), the white rabbit meets the mad hatter, and the cheshire cat meets the joker.
the neutrals at first are hesitant to go along with whoever finds them, but eventually they comply when they hear that these strangers also went through a similar experience as they did. when the four are brought to the tea party table, a round of introductions go on and now they’re fourteen in total - but there’s still one seat left open.
since the neutrals are obviously different / don’t pose any similarities with the two groups in any way, suspicion floats in the air. that mood is diffused immediately by the white rabbit, who everyone doesn’t mind actually listening to. he points out that maybe they should try finding that last person before really engaging into a proper talk.
everyone’s sure they’ve checked around, but there’s not much places to go when some barrier-like force holds them back from going to certain areas. but suddenly the cheshire cat hits the jackpot, discovering a path hidden by the rosebushes in the gardens that lead to... a chapel???
the moonlight shining down + the surrounding rosebushes makes the chapel look pretty, but that’s not what they’re there for anyway - when everyone walks to the chapel doors, they see that there are two large chains crossed together binding the door shut, the links of one chain all colored black and the other red - thinking that those chains follow a similar formula to those that bound them, the white rabbit suggests that they try confirming if someone’s inside first.
they shout, rattle the chains, peek through the windows, look around for any other entrances, but nothing. no one replies, no other entrances, the windows are made out of stained glass so you couldn’t see inside. someone suggests breaking the windows, but suddenly the tweedles + mousse appear out of nowhere, standing by the chapel doors.
majority go wtf who u and how’d u get here??? the three that suddenly appeared don’t care about that though, and instead stare at the kings. mousse holds two banners in his hand - dean takes the red one, dalim takes the black one... and go to the king of hearts and king of spades respectively.
the twins hold out the banners to the kings, expressions equally serious. they ask: who are you? and while the kings don’t answer at first, they regain composure and speak out their titles, taking the banners in their hands.
the moment the kings speak their titles the banners change form and take the shape of swords - suddenly weapons appear before the rest of the army people too, and while the whole thing is odd; the weapons are actually... sort of familiar to have by their side.
dean and dalim say nothing more and go back to where mousse stands - the quiet man looks at everyone with a strange glint in his eye, and like a whisper, he says: never forget - and they’re gone.
now everything’s just downright confusing again, but the kings decide to use their swords to take down the chains of the chapel, for starters. hey presto, it works! and with those gone, they could walk into the chapel...
guests: alice
the chapel looked pretty from the outside, and was equally pretty from the inside. intricately designed stained glass, neatly arranged pews, simple yet elegant tapestries, a grand cross by the altar, a body lying facedown by the altar... yeah, pretty.
...................... a body!?!?!??!?!
chosen protag gets to the body first, and surprise surprise, it’s a girl! the moment the protag shifts her body to see her face, a sharp pain pierces his head - she’s familiar, she’s familiar, but not a single concrete memory takes form.
everyone goes through this when they see her face, and when the last person who sees her has recovered a bit from the sudden headache, the girl starts to stir.... and when she focuses her eyes on the protag, his title comes out from her mouth and.... what the hell?
she’s not wrong, but how the hell does she know??? before anyone can get to asking her that, amon suddenly pops up from the chapel’s entrance, bathed in moonlight and looking extremely pleased. 
“took you lot long enough. now... let’s have a mad time, shall we?”
fourteen men, one woman... how many can survive this tea party?
miscellaneous stuff
hours before oliver is tragically murdered, alice and the protag will have a conversation in the chapel - it’s like alice is gauging the protag’s resolve, and at the end there’s a promise. alice leaves first after that, and as he watches her leave the protag gets the odd feeling that he’ll never see her again... which proves true, since he’ll be condemning her to death come the trial. oof.
first trial always ends up with oliver as the victim and alice as the executioner, lol... but luci and i like the idea of anyone could’ve murdered oliver granted that they were at the wrong place at the wrong time - in any route, it always happens to be alice. was it by accident, or by choice??? hmmm....
her memento item changes depending on the protag! so for example, if zero or fenrir, the item is a pair of earrings. loki or sirius end up with a choker. ray with a necklace, edgar with a wristwatch, etc... the item proves useful on the last trial.
it’s actually a shame that oliver and alice are cut off immediately??? the former proved to be knowledgeable of the machinery present in the building, and the latter was actually like blanc in the sense that she could get everyone to calm down and listen... plus since she was familiar to everyone and vice-versa, she might have been helpful in regaining their memories. so much for that.
amon finds their deaths very convenient himself, stating that the mad hatter + alice were going to be a pain and would spoil the tea party if they lived any longer. to why that was, no one’s quite sure yet. amon seems to dislike blanc, too.
each executioner’s punishment is recreated through a unnervingly realistic diorama set up in that one place they frequently go to... thus alice’s can be found in the chapel. the actual bodies of the victims + executioners are actually nowhere to be found, though... that aside, why exactly was this being done??? was it because amon was simply a sick bastard??? or as morbid as it was, were the dioramas meant to send a message??? hmmmm.....
murder cases & themes also vary throughout routes! usually, the victims or executioners are related to the character’s route theme in the sense that they’re the opposite of it or are burdened differently about it as compared to the protagonist...
so say for example, zero’s theme is purpose / duty.... chances are the victims / executioners on his route are people who are also strongly related to this theme. whiiich means that ray or luka could play a role on his route lol whoops spoilers or for ray, who deals with guilt... people who deal with certain burdens are of interest. whiiiiich means that edgar or kyle are probably involved whooops
danganronpa itself has philosophical + psychological themes, so add that up with lewis carroll’s alice in wonderland which is philosophical by nature... and you get a shit ton of questions about judgement + morality + causality + life + death + truth + deceit that recurs on every route.
delivery and angles vary - for example, loki’s route takes a bleak perspective on causality through his flippant decision-making at the beginning. though quite the unreliable narrator, one can get the idea that kyle is obviously haunted and gravely affected by the deaths he witnesses, whether a victim’s or an executioner’s.
big question: is there a mastermind, or is this all in their head??? has everything gone mad, or was this an inevitable reality??? curious indeed...
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dibs4ever · 6 years ago
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Dick Grayson Fatherhood
Dick loved being a father, honestly, he never put much thought or fantasy into being a dad one day but here he was an actual father for real and he loved it. It scared him. He worried constantly that somehow some baddie would figure out Nightwing had a kid and hold him against him. Or perhaps a criminal would want to kidnap Bruce Wayne/Commissioner Gordon’s Grandson And he acting as Nightwing will have to jump into action without leading on that they had his kid.
He’d have to hold back from killing someone if they as much of harmed his son.
His favorite thing to do with Nathan was to see how bendy he was. It sounded weird but it was the truth. At almost 8 months old Nathan was probably going to take his first steps any day. The doctor said he was advanced and that his keen balance skills might have spurred from his acrobatic genes. He loved seeing bits of himself in his son, he also loved seeing bits of Barbara, like the way he crinkled up his nose when he was concentrating. Or how quickly he picked up on baby sign language. He was also super attached to Barbara, which everyone joked he got from Dick.
Barbara. She was an amazing mother. He couldn’t have asked for someone better to be the mother of his child. He never imagined she’d be so attentive but she was. In fact, he almost got in a fight with Roy last week after he made a remark about how Barbara was “almost a hippy” mom. He knew he meant it as a joke but it still aggravated him.
“Batman says to go to 46th and 10th” Barbara pulled him out of his thoughts
He looked toward the bat-clad girl, he loved her so much. He wanted to be with her so badly, but he needed to respect her and her wishes to keep their co-parenting platonic.
Currently, they were on patrol together for the first time in over a year. Before he faked his death, before he returned to find her with his 6-week old son, before he bought an apartment for them to live in.
They had tried not to patrol together, wanting one of them to be with their son at all times. But tonight called for it. Joker had apparently set multiple hidden bombs off around Gotham set to go off at 1 am. Nightwing and Batgirl has to deactivate one on the West Side Village Apartment building. One of the largest in Gotham. Now they just needed to locate it and deactivate it.
“Why don’t you check the basement and I’ll check the lobby?” Batgirl suggested
Dick glanced at the clock “BG it’s 12:30”
Barbara nodded “I know Hunk Wonder, of we don’t find anything we meet back at the 3rd floor at 12:45.”
Nightwing smiled at her nickname “Right, don’t wanna cause a rage of panic unless we absolutely have to. “
Barbara nodded and they both jumped into separate directions
Dick searched and searched in hopes of finding the bomb but had no luck. He heard Batgirls communicator buzz in
“Hey Wing”
“Hey Red, I hope you’re calling to tell me you deactivated a bomb. Really don’t want to deal with panic stricken civilians”
“Unfortunately not”
Dick sighed glancing at the time-12:40 “Looks like we’re evacuating a building. Meet you in 5” he signed off before running to the stairs.
They opted to pull the fire alarm pinning it as the best way to get people out as quickly as possible. That didn’t mean they still didn’t have to convince some people to leave. Dick was aiding an elderly woman he had just spent the last 5 minutes convincing to leave. (She has only agreed when he told her he’d help her with carrying her cats out.) He passed Barbara as she was walking back into the building.
“Where are you going?” He asked
Barbara looked at him “Back in, doing a last go around”
Dick shook his head “It’s 12:55, get out of the building “
Barbara shook her head “No you “
Dick sighed “Babs I’ll do the last walk through” he handed the woman her cats and pushed her gently out
Barbara looked at him “Dick please one of us has to go out and make sure they are safe. For well you know who.”
Dick nodded “Which is why I’m telling you to get out now Barbara Please I’m begging you. He needs you more than me”
Barbara shook her head “I’m not leaving you”
“And I’m not leaving here till I know the building is empty” Dick said
Barbara looked at the time 12:56 “Well I guess that makes two of us” she thought perhaps he would agree to come out with her if she stood her ground. This had been her plan all along. She knew he’d want to keep going back and forth into the building. Testing his limits with time. She didn’t want to take a chance of losing him again. But he was walking back up the stairs again. She followed behind
Dick looked at her “Babs please”
She shook her head “No”
Dick bit his lip, “Damn it” he mumbled
Before she knew it he had scooped her up and was running with her out the door. He set her down “Stay” he growled before running back in. Which surprised her. She thought she had him.
She attempted to run back in but was stopped when the building exploded “No!” She screamed falling to her knees where she began sobbing. Then through the rubble, Dick walked back out. In his arms was a cat. The same old lady he had helped out last rushed forward he was able to hand it to her before falling to his knees. Barbara rushed over to him
“I promised-I’d save all her cats if she got out” he whispered
Barbara held his face in her hands, whipping off the soot that covered his cheeks “Oh Grayson” she whispered
“I don’t break promises” he started to chuckle but then began coughing
Barbara stood pulling his arm over her shoulders and helping him up “Let’s get you home so I can give you a check up”
Barbara did just as she promised after he showered she was ready to patch him up and give him a breathing treatment to help clear his lungs after some other treatments she ordered him to go to bed, which he wasn’t complaining about since he was honestly exhausted. He was awakened when his bedroom door creaked open. Although the room was dark he knew who it was. She waited till she crawled into the bed beside him to speak “Checking in on me?” He grinned
Barbara didn’t say anything for a while “You scared me today”
Dick was quiet for a moment “I’m sorry”
She took a deep breath “I thought I’d lost you again”
“Babs I get into this mode when I’m Nightwing and I don’t even know what I’m doing. I think about that now and think how careless it was so no need to lecture me.”
She nodded “I just-all these thoughts flashed before my eyes”
“When I saw the clock hit 1 it did for me too.”
Barbara looked at him “Like?”
Dick looked down at her “Like you moving on, marring some normal guy, and Nathan calling him daddy”
Barbara shook her head “That would never happen”
“Yeah your right, I already told Jason if anything happened to me he should marry you and raise my son“
Barbara grimaced at the thought “Did you really?”
Dick chuckled “No I didn’t Babs. But still the thought of another man raising him hurt”
Barbara hugged his waist resting her chin on his shoulder “That wouldn’t ever happen, Dick. Your an amazing Father to him. I can't even stand the thought of another man acting as his dad.”
Dick looked at her “Oh yeah? You don’t ever want to be with another man again? You just want to be single the rest of your life?”
Barbara scrunched up her nose confused at first but then realized what he was saying “I-I never thought of it like that”
Dick smiled “If its any conciliation I can’t see myself ever finding anyone to be a sizable mother to how amazing you are”
Barbara smiled
Dick smiled “So if we don’t want to be with anyone else, we’re both living together and we both have a baby together than why don’t we-“
Barbara shook her head “Dick”
Dick shifted “Come on Babs think about it”
She sighed
He shifted so that they were facing each other “The fact that you and I both don’t want to date anyone else. The fact that our son is so well adjusted with us together. We’re already living together-very happily I might add. We’re basically a couple who doesn’t show any affection toward each other.”
Barbara looked up in thought “But Dick, what would people assume.”
Dick shook his head “Who gives a flying leap about what people would assume. I love you and I know you still love me. We don’t want to be with other people so what’s the use in us being miserable and lonely when we can both just stop being stubborn and be together” he whispered pressing their foreheads together “If it helps we can keep the whole thing under wraps till we’re ready to tell people”
Barbara laughed lightly “Yeah cause keeping it under wraps from my dad worked so well last time. After you came back we kept from my dad that you were Nate’s father for what? A week?”
Dick chuckled “A week and 3 days thank you very much” he booped her nose then fell back to his back and thought back on the day “Grayson why do you keep calling my grandson Chavo? He said”
Barbara smiled and began playing with his hand “Well Commissioner, you see its Romani my father used to call me that” Barbara spoke the line Dick had said
Dick ran his free hand through Barbara’s hair “Oh really what does it mean?” He continued the story
She shook her head “Then you had to come out and say ‘Son’”
Dick nodded “And it all clicked”
Barbara rolled so she was resting on top of him “He wasn’t mad but he wasn’t happy he said, ‘What? When did this happen, I thought you two were just friends “
Dick laughed “You can yell at me all you want for slipping up with the son thing but at least I’m not the one who responded to that with ‘Seriously Dad, I thought you were the detective. We haven’t kept our hands off each other in years”
Barbara laughed “Hey its the truth” she ran a hand through his hair “He still loves all three of us though regardless. Unlike my grandmother” she rolled off him and lied beside him again.
Dick shifted “I really wish you’d make up with her. She’s the only Great Grandparent Nay Nay has.”
Barbara shook her head “Dick when we took him to the retirement home to meet her 5 months ago she took one look at you and before she even met you all she saw was your skin tone. Then when she figured out her great-grandson was half Romani all she did was ridicule us”
Dick was quiet “It’s just the generations she grew up in. Your dad stood up for us” he pointed
“She was wrong though. Everywhere I go people tell me how beautiful he is. I felt so bad the other day Artemis and I went to the park with the kids and this couple kept commenting on how cute Nathan was. How much they loved his eyes and his tan skin, how his smile was so beautiful. Meanwhile Arty was sitting there with the twins. Her and Wally’s kids are really cute too” Barbara made sure to address
Dick nodded “Yeah they are” he leaned forward “But you and I-we really did make a beautiful child together didn’t we?” She hadn’t retracted so he nuzzled her neck. And when she didn’t retract to that he began planted soft kisses in the crook of her neck
Barbara sighed “Okay”
He lifted his head up “Okay?”
“Let’s give us a go again. If not for us let’s do it for Nate. He deserves to have his parents together. The least we can do is tell him we at least tried to be together” she reached up running her fingers through his hair. A giddy smile growing on Dick’s face before he leaned forward placing a passionate kiss on her lips
“Does this mean I get to move into the master bedroom with you?” He asked pulling away slightly
Barbara grinned “We’ll see Lover, just keep kissing me” she said before pulling him back to her.
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skull-slurper · 6 years ago
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New Pet | Part 2
Joker x Reader smut
There still isn’t a bunch of smut but it’s coming up. I hope you guys like it.
Warning: Violence, language, not much smut yet
Word count: 1,839
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The Joker continues to stare at me the entire ride, which wasn’t to long actually. We come to hard a stop as we reach a giant mansion, it was almost as dark as the outside of the Joker’s club. He exits the vehicle and I stay there, to afraid to move. My doors opens from the outside and the Joker has his hand extended towards me. I grab it and step out of the car quickly, the door slamming behind me causing me to jump.
“We’re home doll.” The joker says to me as he rests his hand on my waist. “You’ll be staying here for a while, so you better like it.”
As we enter the front doors there are a lot of men around. ‘Does he have his guards everywhere he goes?’ As the door shuts behind us all of the men turn and stare at me. My makeup has ran down my face by now from all of the tears.
“Come with me.” The joker grabs my arm and drags me up the stairs to a huge bedroom. “This is where you will sleep. In here, with me.” He opens his arms up to the room like his is presenting an award.
“Why do I have to stay here?” I ask softly, hoping that he won’t get mad.
He pushes me onto the edge of the bed, “Because now you are mine.” He growls, his face right in front of mine now, “I claimed you by killing Jake.” He pushes my hair out my face, his hand now lying on my cheek. “You will do what I say when I say it, with no attitude to go with it. Is that clear?”
I feel my eyes start to water up again. ‘Don’t cry! Don’t cry! Don’t cry!’ I repeat over and over again in my head trying to hold them back. “Yes.” I say as I shake my head, looking down towards my knees.
“Yes what?” The Joker tilting my chin up so our eyes meet.
“Yes J.” I respond quickly
“Good girl. You call also call me Mr. J. Stay here and go to bed. I have business to do right now, but I’ll be back later.” He goes to kiss me on the forehead but I pull away. He lets go of my face and growls at me, walking out of the room.
I wake up a few hours later and the Joker is still nowhere to be seen. ‘I need to get out of here before he tries to kill me too.’ I throw the silk sheets off of me and start going through his things. There is a dresser on the other side of the bed, it is obviously the one he uses the most. I open the drawer and find a hand gun lying on top of a bunch of papers. 'I’ll take this just in case.’ I grab the gun and put it up, under my dress on my hip.
I walk over to the door and try to open it slowly, hoping there is no sound to come from it. As the door starts to open I hear footsteps coming down the hall. I hurry and close the door and jump back into bed, throwing the sheets over myself. The door opens and I pretend to fall back asleep. I can hear the Joker’s purr as his footsteps creep closer to the bed.
'What is he doing?’ I ask myself, trying to keep my breathing slow. He stands there forever it feels like and then just leaves. The door closes softly, I’m almost not able to hear it. I run up and hold my ear to the door, the Joker’s footsteps fading down the hallway. 'I can’t go out that way anymore.’ I look around trying to find a plan B. 'The window!’ I run over to it, opening it softly yet quick. There is no screen on it so I just need to jump out.
I’m getting ready to get out but I get scared. I’m on the second floor, that’s a long fall. I get out onto the little space of roof under the window and peer over the edge. 'I guess I’ll just have to go down that pilar.’ I wrap my arms and legs around the pilar and shimmy may way down. I was out, and I was ready to bolt. I scan the front yard and there are a few guards standing outside. I decide to follow the trail of bushes along the fence, using them as walls.
I’m half way through the yard when I hear the Joker come running out of the house, slamming the door, yelling, “Where is she?!” I knew I had to get out of their now before he finds me.
“She hasn’t passed through here boss.” A guard saying, gesturing at the yard.
“I don’t care how she got out, or when. Find. Her. Now!” I can see how enraged he is. I fear that if he catches me he’ll kill me.
My body had froze from fear, I wasn’t walking through the bushes anymore but just standing there like a deer in headlights. I watch as the men start to scramble and I snap out of if. I start crawling through the bushes and find a hole under the fence. I wouldn’t fit through it as is so I decide that I would just have to make it bigger. As I’m digging this hole with my hand I hear his voice.
“Tisk. Tisk. Tisk. What a naughty girl, trying to escape from me.” He grabs the back of my shirt, pulling me up so I’m facing him. I start crying, this time the tears are fake. I still plan on getting out of here if he likes it or not.
I move closer to him bowing my head, “I’m sorry Mr. J, I just want to go home so badly. I have nothing here. No clothes, no phone, nothing. Can I please just get my stuff?” I give him puppy dog eyes, trying to play the innocence card. As I move closer to him trying to distract him with my words I grab the gun I stashed in my dress.
“Doll face, you won’t need any of those things once I’m done with you.” He tilts my head up and uses his maniac smile on me. Was he being serious or just trying to scare me? I start to tremble afraid of what he just said and of shooting him. He sees that I’m scared and looks down, catching a glimpse of the gun.
I step back quickly, pointing the gun right at him, getting ready to shoot. “You seriously think you can shoot me? You didn’t have the guts to do it in the club, you don’t have the guts to do it now.”
“I can, and I will. Don’t take another step towards me Joker.” Showing him that I have no respect for him at all.
He growls at me, “You shouldn’t have said that.” He steps closer to me. As he tries to hit the gun away from himself I pull the trigger. He falls to the ground, holding his shoulder. He looks down at his hand which is now covered in blood. The gaurds come running over, two of them helping the Joker up while the other two pull me back and take the gun from me. One of them is Logan.
“Take her upstairs, Now!” He is trying to catch his breathe while grunting from the pain. Logan and the other guard yank me forward, dragging me into the house towards the bedroom. I’m back to where I started. Back into this huge room where I’m stuck with him.
I had been sitting up in the room for what feels like forever now. In reality it was probably only an hour or so. I had listened to the men call the doctor, the doctor arrive, Joker’s pain, and then silence. Once the front door had closed for the final time for the night I got scared for if the Joker came upstairs. I hear footsteps coming for the room and I hide in the closet. The bedroom door slams open. I peer under the crack between the closet door and the carpet and see a man standing there. He starts to move towards the closet quickly, I can tell he is in a panic, so was I. The door opens and I freeze. It was Logan.
“You got the boss good, I’ll give you props for that.” He lets out a slight chuckle and smiles at me extending his hand to help me stand up. “None of us would have the balls to even point our gun his way.” While exitting the closet he escorts me to the bed, I take a seat on the edge. “He does want to see you though, just be brave..” he pauses looking confused, “What’s your name again?”
“I’m Y/N.” I smile, “Thank you so much Logan, and I’m sorry I lied to you at the club, I’m not a dancer.” I bow my head in shame.
“I know you aren’t, but you weren’t to bad. You could possibly be a dancer one day.” We both laugh and he opens the bedroom door for me to go see the Joker. I walk down the stairs, slowly turning around the corner looking for the Joker. I catch his bright hair in the corner of my eye, he is laying across the couch. His bloody shirt is thrown on the floor infront of him and his shoulder is wrapped.
I sit across from him on the coffee table, he stayed laying there. I know that he knows I’m there but doesn’t want to acknowledge my existence. After a few moments of silence he speaks, keeping his eyes shut, “You actually shot me.” He says in a quiet, sore voice.
“I didn’t mean to.” I was telling him the truth. I just wanted to scare him into letting me go, not actually shoot him. Would never actually shoot someone.
He opens his eyes and sits up, I can see his pain. He slaps me across the face with his left hand, since his right shoulder was shot. I fall off of the table onto the ground, resulting in a loud thud that echoed through the entire marble home. He
He was now looking into my eyes, “You could have killed me.” He looks shaken from what he had just said.
“At least I would be free asshole.” There was more attitude in what I said then I expected. His eyes widen, he is confused on how I can be so hostile.
“Why do you want to leave me doll?”
“I barely know you, you stole me you prick. Nobody would want to stay in that kind of situation.” I stand up yelling down into his face, showing him that I had the power right now.
“I did.”
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sebeth · 7 years ago
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Babs-a-thon, Part 5
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Warning, Spoilers Ahead…
 Oracle debuted in Suicide Squad #23.  The true identity of Oracle was a complete mystery – man, woman, group?
Oracle would provide information for the Squad until the mystery was solved in Suicide Squad #38. It was a rather low-key revelation: Amanda contacts Oracle in cyber-space.  Oracle questions why Flo (the Oracle’s usual contact) isn’t the one reaching out. Amanda informs Oracle that Flo died on a mission.  The next panel reveals a wheelchair-bound redhead, a Batgirl plushie on the desk, mourning the loss of her friend.
I love the subtle revelation of Oracle’s secret identity.  No storming the secret lair and gasping in shock.  A simple one-panel revelation that relied on the art to provide the clues to her identity.  Not that it didn’t blow my mind at the time.
A small pause in the Babs-a-thon to promote John Ostrander, Kim Yale, and the 1980s’ Suicide Squad title. If you haven’t read the Ostrander/Yale run – what are you waiting for?  Ostrander & Yale created two of the most unique, groundbreaking, and iconic women in comics:  Amanda Waller and Barbara Gordon as Oracle.  The Squad consistently had multiple female characters – Flo, Karen, Nightshade, Enchantress, Mind-Boggler, Plastique, Vixen, Duchess, Jewlee, Poison Ivy – all different types of personalities, all written well.  The development of the villains was great – Captain Boomerang and Deadshot owed their prominence to this title.  Read this series!
Back to the Babs-a-thon –
Barbara had two more prominent appearance in the Squad.  In Suicide Squad #48, Barbara visits her therapist.  Babs reveals she has a recurring dream – she runs down a corridor to open the door – the identity of the person on the other side changes – it ranges from the Joker, Jim Gordon, Batman, to Batgirl herself.  The individual always has a gun and shoots her.  Babs doesn’t reveal the multiple choices to the therapist and focuses on the Joker –
“And then I feel the bullet boring its way through my body.  My legs give way, useless as my spine is severed.  There’s this awful wrench and grinding in my back – like a clutch out of gear – and then pain.  There’s a woman screaming for rescue that never comes.  And the room stinks of cordite and blood – my blood – and the Joker claws at me.  And there is pain.  And then the Joker is beating me, and he smells like paraffin and rotten lilacs, screeching I’m not cooperating, and every blow reverberates through my shot-out, shattered spine.  And there is pain.  And then – then – when he’s – when I’m naked – he starts taking pictures and I can’t stop him! And when – when he’s done – the Joker just…laughs!”
“For six months all I had was pain.  They had to build a bridge between sections of my spine just so I could sit up straight. And I will never, never, never walk again.”
The therapy session would be taking place around 2 years after the Killing Joke.  The Batman Chronicles story mentioned 6 months of therapy and Babs spent a year training with Richard Dragon, throw in 6 months to establish contact/work with the Suicide Squad = 2 years.
Bab’s paralysis/recovery, Jason’s death/resurrection, the 4 Robins, and Dick becoming Nightwing are all examples of why the New 52 compressed 5-year timeline doesn’t work for the Bat Family.  Barbara and Jason’s respective Joker traumas were the defining obstacle of their lives – it took time and much inner strength to overcome.  In the New 52, Babs, in a space of 5 years, became Batgirl, was paralyzed by the Joker, created the Oracle identity, formed the Birds of Prey, disbanded the Birds of Prey, regained the ability to walk, discarded the Oracle identity, and regained enough athletic ability to resume the Batgirl role. So, Babs was paralyzed for less than a month?  Still traumatizing but it removes the strength and struggle it took for Babs to even create the Oracle role.
The therapist informs Barbara: “You have a right to be angry.  It was a heinous act.  It was unfair.  You need to tell other people about your rage – like your father.  Whenever you’re with him, you put on the act of perky, plucky Barbara Gordon. Why?”
Barbara responds: “What good would it do to get mad?  He’d only feel more ashamed and guilty.  He holds himself responsible.  Dad always refused to have an officer of duty guarding us like they do in other cities. Wanted to be more ‘accessible’ to the taxpayers.  We were ‘accessible’ all right.”
“But you do blame him – and Batman.  Not unreasonably!”
“I mostly blame myself mostly.  I should’ve known better than to just pop open the door without seeing who it was.”
“Why? Why should you have known better?”
Barbara leaves the therapy session, worrying that she has “another murderous sociopath stalking me!”
“And whose fault is this one, Barbara?  Batman’s? Dad’s?  Simon LaGrieve?  Uh-uh. You wanted to be a superhero again so you created a computer version and called yourself Oracle.  But you weren’t as good as you thought you were.  Stop it!  No more self-pity.  No more playing the victim!  Whatever it takes, Thinker, I’ll deal with you – myself!”
Trademark Barbara determination and independence on display.
Suicide Squad #49 was near the tail-end of Babs’ run with the team.  Barbara continues to be stalked by the Thinker.
Babs is at the Gotham City Police Department Shooting Range: “What am I doing?  I hate guns!  Shut up! You know very well what you’re doing! You’re preparing to kill someone. You touched that maniac’s mind! You know what he wants to do! Carmichael’s a sociopath!  He wants to kill you, your father – anyone who care’s anything about you!  You swore – never again!  You’d never be a victim again!  Isn’t there any other way?  Of course there is – I could just go tell Dad.  But that would be the end of Oracle.  The only place I have left where I can walk, where I can run, where I can dance is the cybernet!  I lost my physical mobility because of one madman, must I lose my mental freedom as well?”
Notice that Bab’s never entertains the thought of contacting Batman or Nightwing.  It reinforces the pre-Crisis and immediate post-Crisis canon that Barbara was not an intimate member of the Bat Family.  I’m in the minority but I prefer it this way.  I love Bab’s as an independent, adult woman, who, while inspired by Batman, carved her own path as a hero – one who didn’t need or require his guidance or approval.  I prefer that Batman, amazed by Bab’s intelligence, strength, and determination, brought her into the fold after she created the Oracle identity.  I feel Bruce saw Babs as well-intentioned but lacked the “true dedication” in her Batgirl career.  He wasn’t wrong as Babs had retired her Batgirl-career pre-Killing Joke.  Post Killing-Joke, Bruce realized Babs wasn’t here to play!  We shouldn’t underestimate the guilt Bruce felt – not only for the shooting but for laughing with the Joker.
Babs wonders if she can bring herself to shoot Carmichael: “I won’t be a victim again.  But does that mean I must become a killer?  It flies in the face of everything I was taught – everything I believe!  But perhaps everything I was taught to believe is wrong.  Don’t we have the right to defend ourselves?”
Barbara hides out at the Hotel Tamarindo.  Carmichael storms into the room, yelling for “Amy!”
Babs/Amy claims she only ships computers to Oracle but has never seen the actual person.
Carmichael throws Babs out of her wheelchair and threatens to “rip open her mind” and discover the truth.
Carmichael’s interrupted by Amanda Waller’s entrance: “So there you are, you nasty boy, you.”
“I know you.  You’re Amanda Waller!  I read all about you in the papers a year or so back!  But you couldn’t be Oracle – or could you?!”
Carmichael tries to control Amanda’s mind but fails.  Amanda and Carmichael brawl while Barbara grabs her gun: “Stand away from him, Mrs. Waller.”
“You can’t do it, girl.”
“I’ve got to do it! He’s a sociopath – he wants to kill me and my family – my friends!”
“Who you really trying to kill, girl?”
Babs visualizes shooting the Joker, Batman, Jim Gordon, and Batgirl.
“No one.  Take this, please, Mrs. Waller.”
Waller knocks Carmichael unconscious and offers Babs continued work with the Suicide Squad: “Also got an offer to make to you.  You got a thing about privacy.  Fine. I won’t pry.  But I think we can be a help to each other if you’re willing to listen.”
“You saved my life and helped keep me from taking a life.  All right, Mrs. Waller – I’ll listen.”
I love the mutual respect between Babs and Amanda.  Amanda didn’t threaten or blackmail Babs – she simply made an offer and was willing to back off if Barbara declined.  
For those unfamiliar with Amanda’s backstory, she came from a poor background, suffered numerous heart-breaking tragedies, and built herself up by pure force of will.  I think Amanda sees herself in Barbara – another woman brought down low by outside forces who raised herself up through pure determination.
Barbara would continue to aid the Suicide Squad but I’m switching to Showcase ’94 #12.
“A Little Knowledge” by Scott Peterson and Brian Stelfreeze.  The short story takes place during the Prodigal-era of the Bat titles. Babs has stopped working with the Squad and began to make appearances in the Bat titles.  
Babs hears a knock on her door – she opens it (using the peephole first), and discovers a rodent impaled by a knife.
“I can’t help wondering if they have to deal with this kind of thing in Metropolis.”
Babs receives a call: “I’ve been watching you.”
What is it with Babs and stalkers?
Barbara continues her work day: “A note from Robin.  Great kid. Knows his stuff, too.  And he always thanks me for the help.  Means more to me than the money they send my way once in a while.”
Yes, Tim is polite and gracious.  Unlike Bruce.
“Not that I’m complaining. Their generosity is what keeps me state of the art.  Still, as much as I love Robin, I wish I didn’t get the feeling that he and Alfred were the only ones sending the mysterious checks I receive, funneled through dummy corporation seven times removed.  Like I wouldn’t find out.”
Sorry, boys, you can’t fool the Oracle.
Babs continues to receive calls and weird notes.
Barbara is out grocery shopping when someone shoots at her: “I’m on my way home when the first shots fired. I see it hit the pavement before I hear it, and I’m already looking for places to dive.  Then I remember I can’t dive anywhere anymore.  I’m about to be shot.  And there’s nothing I can do.  Again.”
Babs returns home and receives another threatening call.
Babs has an origin/Killing Joke flashback:
“It was the Batman who made me want to become a hero myself.  And even after he made it clear he didn’t want another partner, I kept at it.”
Independent Babs for the win!
“It was fun.  Until the night when all the fun went away…forever.”
“I worked with what I had. From my days as Gotham’s head librarian I knew how to find out whatever I needed.  If I could do that for citizens, I could do it for colleges, non-profit corporations, private investigators and super-heroes.  Having been blessed with photographic recall, I studied a dozen newspapers, four dozen magazines, and my main haunt, the computer bulletin boards.  I even hacked into the Gotham Bar Association to take the exam, just out of curiosity. Passed the first time, piece of cake. But the whole time I was improving my mind, I never got over losing the use of my legs.  Although, when I think back on it all, I can’t believe I used to fight crime with a brown belt in Judo.  A brown belt, for God’s sake.”
Barbara decides to talk to a friend.  Enter Batman (Dick Grayson) via Batcave phone call.
Barbara confides in Dick: “The last time I was in a physical confrontation I shot a secret service agent. The time before that I got my spine blown out by the Joker.  You can see why I’m a little nervous.  Not exactly a great track record.  I’m afraid.”
Dick advises: “Barbara, look – it…it never really goes away, you can try to lock it up, you can pretend you don’t feel it, but…but the fear’s always there somewhere.  You can never escape it.  You just have to overcome it.  You have to prove you’re stronger.  Do you want help with this guy?”
“No.  Thanks, Dick, but…no.  I need to do this on my own.  I need to know if I can.”
My personal feeling is Barbara was brought into the Bat Family circle during the Knightsend/Prodigal era.  I believe Dick is the one that invited Babs into the “family”.  Not in a romantic way.  Bruce was largely absent during from Gotham during this era and Dick will always be the more social/team-oriented member of the family.  I see a reveal similar to the Batwoman/Nightwing moment in Batman: Bad Blood.  The twist being that Barbara knows the secret identities – she’s had a lot of time to research since the Killing Joke.
Babs waits in her apartment. She receives another call: “Get ready, little girl.  Here I come.” And the lights and phone go out.
Babs uses a back-up generator to access her computers.  The security cameras reveal a Nick Riley: “And I finally understand who wants to kill me, and why.”
“I finally push the button. The first thing I installed.  The think I hoped I never have to use.”
Riley enters the apartment: “You and me, we’re going to have a whole lotta fun.”
“No.  I don’t believe this is going to be very much fun for you at all.”
Babs beats the man into unconsciousness.  She then calls out to another man: “You can come in now, Mister Armonk.”
Armonk was sent to jail for murder two years ago with the assistance of Barbara Gordon.  Armonk prepares to shoot Babs but she whips out her escrima sticks and knocks him out.
Batman compliments: “Nice job.”
“Batman?  How long have you been here?”
“About five minutes. I came as soon as I got your signal.”
“Why didn’t you give me a hand?”
“Didn’t look like you needed it.”
“Hey, you looked good. Really good.  How did it feel?”
“It felt good.  I hope I don’t need to do that again.  But it feels good to know I can.  It may not be swinging from rooftops, but…but it’s not bad. Not bad at all.”
Babs would shortly form the Birds of Prey, first as a partnership with Black Canary and later expanding into a full-fledged group.  One of my favorite series but it’s simply too lengthy to include in a Babs-a-thon.
Barbara’s other major development of the 90’s/2000’s was her romance with Dick Grayson.  I started as a fan of the pairing.  Babs – in the immediate post-Crisis era – dismissed Robin as a flirtatious, too young boy.  Pre-Crisis, Babs dated Clark Kent and had a lengthy romance with Jason Bard.  In both eras, Babs was intrigued by Batman.  The point I’m making is Barbara dated adult men because she was an adult.
Shortly after the Prodigal era, Barbara and Dick began to head in a romantic direction.  What I wanted, and what was initially portrayed, was Barbara falling for an older, more mature Dick.  Dick is an adult and their age difference is no longer an issue for Barbara.  Their early romance had touching moments as Babs let down her guard and allowed Dick in. Dick was still healing over the brutal end of his relationship with Starfire, so it made sense to go slow.
It didn’t take long for the pairing to jump the tracks for me.  First, Babs is continually de-aged to become Dick Grayson’s one (only?) true love. First, no.  Second, why does Babs have to be the one to have her history and accomplishments removed to accommodate Dick?  Why does she lose her independence to become yet another sidekick of Batman? Third, Dick’s true love of his teenage/college years is Starfire.  It’s Dick’s first intense, full-out love experience.
I could go on for a while about this pairing but I’ll save that for a separate post.
This concludes my Babs-a-thon.  The issues mentioned in parts 1 – 5 cemented my impression of Barbara: an intelligent, determined, driven woman.  I adored Barbara as Batgirl but it’s as Oracle that she became a force of nature in the DC Universe.
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