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sohotthateveryonedied · 4 years

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A Legacy to Protect

Read here on AO3!

Summary:

(Tim learned that word last week from a medical documentary.)

Tim’s parents don’t know he does this. Neither do the nannies. If anyone found out that their nine-year-old boy was out roaming the streets every night after bedtime, climbing fire escapes and leaning over roof ledges to get photos of Batman and Robin, they would have an aneurysm. (Tim learned that word last week from a medical documentary.) The dynamic duo hasn’t been spotted yet tonight, but there’s still time. They usually do a sweep through Crime Alley between 12:30 and 1:15, according to Tim’s notes. He keeps a notebook small enough to fit in his jacket pocket, the pages scribbled margin to margin with red crayon in honor of the Boy Wonder himself. Tim sits on the roof’s edge, his camera settled beside him. It’s a shiny black one with a strap to hang around his neck and everything, just like a real photographer. Mom and Dad sent it over for Tim’s last birthday while they were touring through Egypt, and it was only a week and a half late this time. Tim doesn’t blame them. His parents work hard, harder than half of the other rich socialites who attend those fancy dinners and balls Tim gets dragged to. We need to present a good image for Gotham, his mom always tells him. If you’re not the best you can be, then there isn’t much of a point in doing anything, is there? I’m really good at pictures, Tim offers. I don’t mean hobbies, sweetheart. Those don’t count. If you want to get anywhere in this world, you need to start focusing on what’s important. Like Drake Industries.

Tim slips his notebook out of his pocket and opens it to a fresh page. Octobur 3, 12:16 a.m. — no sign of batman and robin yet. very cold weather. saw a cat sitting on the sidewalk and tried to pet it but it ran away.

Tim is going to be a great detective one day. He’s already got the surveillance part down. Suddenly the air rings with the crashing sound of trash cans being overturned. Tim quickly pockets his notebook and grabs his camera. He leans over the side of the building, ready to shoot. He scans the dark alley for a criminal, a really quiet angry mob, maybe even the Joker himself hatching a scheme. Instead, all Tim’s lens catches is a stray dog eating scraps from a dumpster. Tim sighs but snaps a photo anyway. Bummer. He leaves the dog to its meal, standing and turning his camera’s gaze to the night sky above. The moon is full, even if the stars are obscured by Gotham’s constant veil of smog. He takes a few pictures, rotating to catch new angles over cracked walls and smoky rooftops. He’s in the middle of snapping a photo of a neon sign for something called the “Booby Trap” when he spots a blur of yellow cape obscure half of the frame. A jolt rolls through Tim and he grins. Finally. He lowers the camera, scanning the area for where the cape went until he finds him. Robin—Dick Grayson—is swinging below, his bright costume stark against the black Gotham streets. He’s laughing about something, chattering to a figure Tim can’t see. But he knows he’s there, keeping to the shadows. Batman. He can’t lose them. Not before he gets some more shots for his hero album. Tim takes as many as he can, following the Boy Wonder with his camera as he flies down the street. It’s like watching the sun rise. He’s graceful, all joyful bounds and tumbles, fluid with every movement. A true Grayson in flight. Tim takes a step backward to keep him in frame, but he’s closer to the edge of the building than he thought he was. With a yelp, Tim’s foot slips off the edge and then he’s lost to gravity altogether. He drops his camera, arms cartwheeling as he falls with a shout. It’s never occurred to Tim until now just how tall two-story buildings really are. It feels like he falls forever, trapped in a bubble of timelessness. Weightlessness. Until he lands. Tim’s leg crashes into the concrete first, buckling on impact with a sickening crack that vibrates through his entire skeletal system. Tim gets out the beginning of a scream, but it’s less than a second later that he lands on his back, the wind getting knocked from his lungs. Panic surges through Tim’s body, ice water injected straight into his veins. He just fell off a building. Tim fell off a building and he definitely heard a snap, even if he can’t feel it yet because of the adrenaline which is another thing that medical documentary said, and he’s too far away to get home and he can’t walk and he doesn’t have a cell phone and he’s all alone in Crime Alley and— Tim gasps. There’s the pain, right on schedule. He whimpers as a throbbing sensation radiates through his leg, amping up in intensity with every beat of his heart. He doesn’t want to look at it, knowing full well that it’s broken. There’s no way it isn’t broken from a fall like that, and his elbow stings so he must have scraped it on his way down. He’s pretty sure he hit his head, too. This is so freaking bad. Taking deep breaths, Tim sits up despite the aches rattling his body. He bites his lip, smothering a whimper when he sees his foot facing a direction that it definitely shouldn’t be facing. It’s broken. It’s so, so broken. Maybe he can set it? Tim read about that once, about how setting broken bones makes them better. If he can figure out how to do it on his own, maybe it’ll be okay. No one needs to find out what happened tonight. As a test, Tim tries to move his leg just an inch. Agony surges through his leg instantly and Tim bursts into tears on the spot. It hurts. Everything hurts so badly and he knows that big boys aren’t supposed to cry—that’s what his dad tells him. Only wimps cry. You’re not a wimp, are you? But Tim’s leg hurts and he’s scared and he doesn’t know what to do, so he bites down on his sleeve and tries to muffle the sobs that burst through. He just wanted to take pictures. That’s it. He wasn’t even doing anything dangerous—he wasn’t fighting bad guys or breaking up scuffles on the street. He only wanted to see his heroes. “Hey, kid? You okay?” Tim flinches, snapping his head up and frantically wiping his tears. The image standing over him takes his breath away. It’s him. Robin. Dick came to save him. Tim can’t see behind the mask, but his face is twisted with concern as he eyes Tim’s predicament. “Yikes. That doesn’t look good.” For some reason that only makes the crying start anew, Tim biting down on his lip in an effort to keep the hitching breaths to a minimum. It must not work because then Robin is kneeling in front of him, his hands warm on Tim’s shoulders. “Hey, hey, it’s okay. I’ll get you home to your parents, yeah?” Tim sniffles. “They’re not—they’re out of the country. The nanny comes in the morning.” He screwed up. He screwed up so bad. Dick’s brows furrow beneath the mask. “There’s no one watching you?” “I’m responsible.” In spite of the salty tears coursing their way down his cheeks, Tim lifts his chin in an effort to look tough. He can take care of himself, he’s been doing it for years. Dick—Robin, this is Robin—reaches up and touches what must be a communication device in his ear, like they have in spy movies. “B, I’ve got a kid here. He fell off a building and got pretty banged up.” A pause. “He said they’re out of town. Should I take him to Thompkins? Yeah, I can carry him there. Just two blocks, right?” Another pause, this one longer. “Yeah, yeah, I’ll be careful. No one’s going to mess with me when I’m lugging around a crippled kid.” He laughs, winking at Tim. “See you back home.” Then he’s facing Tim again. “You got a name, kiddo?” “Tim.” “Nice to meet you, Tim. I’m Robin, your hero for the night. Do you have any other injuries I should know about?” “Um.” Tim thinks it over for a moment. “I think I hit my head. And my elbow hurts.” As if Robin can’t perfectly see the bloody scrape there for himself, staining Tim’s sleeve red. His parents are going to be so mad when they find out that he ruined his nice jacket. Robin prods the back of Tim’s head carefully, checking for damage. “What were you doing out so late?” “I...like to take pictures. Stuff like the sky and the street and—” Crud. He completely forgot about the camera. Tim twists, scanning the alleyway until his eyes land on a bulky black shape a good ten feet away. “Oh, no.” Robin follows his line of sight and retrieves the camera, turning it in his hands before handing it over to Tim. “I take it this is yours?” There’s a huge crack right through the middle of the front lens. Tim’s heart sinks. “My parents are going to kill me when they see this.” “Don’t worry, Tim. When your parents see the leg cast and bruises they won’t care about a dumb camera, they’ll be too busy worrying about you.” He clearly hasn’t met Tim’s parents, then. Now that he thinks about it, though, Tim might be in the clear after all. It’s not like Mom and Dad notice much of anything Tim does even when they’re home. He wouldn’t be surprised if they miss the cast and broken camera altogether. “I’m gonna carry you to the clinic, all right? It’s not very far, and I’m friends with the doctor there. She’s super nice, and best of all, she doesn’t snitch.” He stoops down, getting ready to lift Tim into his arms. “This might hurt.” Tim’s eyes widen. “Wait, wait, stop.” Dick’s hands are off him in an instant. “What’s wrong?” “Your—your uniform. I’m going to get blood on it.” There’s already a red smear on his glove from where he touched the back of Tim’s head. “You just fell off a building and you’re worried about my uniform?” “It looks expensive.” Robin laughs. “You don’t need to worry about that, trust me. A few blood stains never hurt anyone. Can I pick you up now?” Tim nods, and then he’s being lifted swiftly in the air, one arm beneath his knees and the other wrapping around his shoulders. Robin was right: it does hurt. Tim lets out a squeak as his broken leg is jostled, sending waves of pain blazing through his nerves. He clutches the camera until its hard edges dig into his palms, just to give himself something to focus on so he doesn’t cry again. “Sorry, sorry,” Robin murmurs as he settles Tim against his chest. “I know it hurts. Don’t worry, Dr. Thompkins will give you some painkillers when we get to the clinic.” Tim doesn’t respond. He’s almost positive that if he opens his mouth now, nothing is going to keep the sobs at bay. He already cried in front of his hero once tonight; he can’t let it happen a second time. As if sensing Tim’s inner turmoil, Robin says as he walks, “It’s okay to cry, you know. I cry all the time. It doesn’t make you any less brave.” That’s the final crack in the dam. Tim lowers his head so his face is turned into Robin’s tunic and lets the tears fall. “It’s okay, Timmy. I’ve got you.”

#whumptober 2020 #batfamily #batfam #tim drake #red robin #robin #idiot duckboy #dick grayson #nightwing #batman #batbros #batboys #dc comics #fanfiction #fanfic #no.3 #falling

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onebadwinter · 3 years

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The Joker Tropes Part 2

Taken From Here and here

Nether Realm Studios especially seems to love making Joker out to be evil incarnate. In Injustice: Gods Among Us and its sequel, he loses all his cred (and life) once he nukes Metropolis; Harley ditches him entirely, Batman just completely gives up on indulging him any more, even Guest Fighters like Hellboy consider him worthless, and non-Batvillains such as Grodd and Brainiac and even Darkseid loathe him for either Metropolis, or just in general principle. Mortal Kombat 11 shows that even the MK cast see him as a scourge upon the realms, and also express distaste toward him for either his nuking, a previous outing, or because he's seen as a buffoon who cannot be taken seriously (this is usually the case for other villain characters).

About the only person who can tolerate him for long is Lex Luthor, only because they both have the same level of hatred for their respective enemies. Even then, Luthor prefers to keep his distance from the Joker, if only because a bored Joker screws with everything For the Evulz.

In the animated series, he claims to have been beaten as a child when interviewed by Harley Quinn. It is unknown if this is true. According to Batman, he's simply making it up.

In one issue of New 52, he claims to have been driven insane by an abusive grandmother, who also bleached his skin to its present pallor.

In the same continuity, he is one to a baby gorilla he adopts, trains up as a gun-wielding henchman, and ultimately gets killed off for laughs.

In the comic book adaptation of Injustice, it's implied Harley fears Joker would be one, and gives their daughter to her sister, lest he kill the child. It's left ambiguous whether the Joker's even aware of the ruse.

Averted in one story, wherein one of Arkham's doctors realizes Joker's faking insanity just to piss off Batman as revenge for his disfigurement. Another doctor finds the report and excitedly reveals it to the current head doctor, only to learn that the Joker left it for everyone to read, since the paper's written by Harley Quinn, and therefore worthless as evidence.

In Batman: The Man Who Laughs, it's established that the name "The Joker" was given to him by the media, and he liked it so much that he decided to call himself that.

The same happens in Joker (2019), where Murray tells the audience to "look at this joker" when talking about Arthur. Arthur took it to heart.

Batman: Arkham Knight takes this even further by revealing that being forgotten is the only thing the Joker truly fears.

Just to demonstrate how much disregard he has for his henchmen, a reoccurring motivation for offing his own lackeys is failing to laugh at one of his jokes. Or laughing too late. Or laughing for too long. Or laughing at the wrong joke. He's... unpredictable.

The Joker loves it when people laugh with him, whether genuine or not, but if someone laughs at him, they're most likely already dead.

Joker loves attention and being above the normals, so never imply that he's not interesting or unique. Terry exploits this flaw in Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker just to drive him to a Villainous Breakdown.

The Batman Who Laughs. Since the character's first appearance in Dark Nights: Metal, the mere mention of him is enough to put The Joker in an uncharacteristically un-jolly mood and is a good way to get on his bad side. In fact, the dislike of this twisted version of his archnemesis is so great, that when Lex Luthor and The Legion of Doom started cooperating with him against Joker's protests, he quit the legion (after non-lethally jokerizing every other member of it) in disgust.

If you're going to hurt Batman, do it right. One of the supplementary stories for Joker War had him beyond furious with Bane - to the point of promising him he'd kill him in a way he would never see coming - for showing so little imagination in killing Alfred in City of Bane without even letting Batman listen to it to torture him. By his reckoning, if you have a great gag to break the Bat, use it to break the Bat - don't blow it by having Robin be the only one to witness it.

Originally Conrad Veidt from The Man Who Laughs.

Later portrayals base themselves on his actors, with Cesar Romero a popular candidate, and after Jack Nicholson came in, artists such as Alex Ross base him on him, such as the actor's distinct widow's peak and slicked back hair.

During Knightfall he and Scarecrow killed several members of a SWAT team, and one of his last actions in Batman: No Man's Land was to kill Commissioner Gordon's second wife, Lt. Sarah Essen.

One of the alternate realities seen in Zero Hour! was one where he killed Commissioner Gordon instead of crippling Barbara.

Part of the reason Gordon takes over the post of Commissioner in both The Dark Knight Trilogy and Batman: Arkham Series is due to the Joker killing Gillian Loeb. Additionally, the first game in the latter series, Asylum, he sees several of Arkham's guards killed by him and his men.

He's holding a dead cop's corpse in his intro in Injustice: Gods Among Us and using it as a puppet. He also talks to the body of one of the Regime enforcers who captured him once he breaks out and heads to Gotham.

Whether he was driven insane or was already insane and became completely bonkers.

Where he is on the spectrum between "wacky prankster" and "utterly depraved and sadistic sociopath and murderer".

Whether he is a senseless, performative terrorist wreaking havoc for kicks or a deceptively cunning and competent criminal mastermind. Or both. Usually both.

He's no Batman, but sometimes he is a proficient hand-to-hand combatant, Knife Nut or marksman, and other times a flimsy wimp who goes down in one punch. In some of the grittier settings, his raw strength, numbness to pain and viciousness are enough to level the playing field with Batman.

Whether he actually loves Harley Quinn varies. In the animated series, (where Harley first appeared) the writers haveoutright said he's a sociopath incapable of loving anyone, and just sees her as a useful mook. Some other works imply he really does love her on some level (although he's usually still an abusive asshole.)

He can either be Faux Affably Evil, Laughably Evil, just a Monster Clown, or some combination of the three.

At least one such incident implied he would be interested in Batman... but only after he was dead. Again this may only have been a tactic to get under Batman's skin or truthful admission. The readers will never know for certain.

His plot in The Killing Joke is to put Jim Gordon through the wringer hard in the hopes of driving him mad. He'll also try to drive Batman over the edge (particularly, drive him to break his "no killing" rule), sometimes by cutting off all of Batsy's human connections.

The Dark Knight reworks it into Driving Gotham To Senseless Violence with wanton acts of destruction or terrorism, just to prove everyone's as bad as him deep down.

Ironically, a 1952 story has the Joker get himself falsely committed to an insane asylum, to question a patient who knew the location of a cache of money. The end of the story has him Laughing Mad due to a prank Batman used to disguise his identity.

He didn't have his signature laugh. This seems to have been a way to "goofy up" the character to make him less terrifying in the days of the Comics Code Authority. Later on, he'd learn to giggle while remaining terrifying.

He actually committed crimes for moneynote , and wasn't really interested in causing chaos or terror for a joke's sake.

Building off of that, his plans weren't really "insane" until the Silver Age (at which point it's not even fair to say this was exclusive to him), nor was there any question of the character's mental stability.

His obsession with Batman wasn't there, much less the idea that he would pass up chances to kill the Bat or learn his identity. This aspect was probably introduced to explain the Bond Villain Stupidity he (and every Batman villain) had become infamous for in the Silver Age.

His clown-like complexion was actually makeup in his early appearances. He even removed his makeup to disguise himself as a cop, which was referenced in The Dark Knight. It's later revealed that the look is permanent after falling in a vat of chemicals.

The Brave and the Bold #111 and #191 have him team up with Batman to clear his name after being framed for several murders. The first instance turned out to simply be a framing the guilty part occasion but the second instance was actually genuine on Joker's part (except the person Joker seemingly murdered turned out to be faking their death).

He also does this with Batman whenever The Batman Who Laughs is involved (specifically in the Dark Knights: Metal series).

He abruptly ends a partnership with Red Skull when his Nazi affiliation comes out. Red Skull simply wonders why he is so surprised when he thinks that the Joker would make a great Nazi. The Joker is NOT happy about this, proclaiming "I may be a criminal lunatic, but I'm an American criminal lunatic!" It even provides the trope's image. And yes, folks, even an equal-opportunity murderer like the Joker despises the Nazis!note

The exception is mentioned again in the Last Laugh arc where the Joker immediately refused to join the American Neo-Nazi Aryan Alliance group in the Slab after he was offered membership. Joker: I'm evil and all that, but you guys are just plain mean.

Will not harm dumb animals and doesn't condone it. There's no humor to be had in that. Higher primates apparently do not qualify but a lot more effort went into that one.

While in Arkham with villain Warren White, AKA the Great White Shark, Joker calls him the worst person he ever met. He states that while he may kill people, even he doesn't steal their kids' college funds.

Sees nothing funny about someone parking in a handicap spot when they're not handicapped. However, he does think it's hilarious to hurt them in ways that will make certain they'll always be able to park there.

A girl named Janey Bennett, whose class was studying criminal behavior, became pen pals with the Joker while he was in Arkham. When Janey revealed that her father, the mayor of Motor City, was abusing her (exactly how isn't specified, though it was implied to have been really bad) the Joker broke out and, convinced that the authorities would be of no help, tried to force the mayor into admitting to his crimes and giving him Janey (so that he could find a better home for her) by threatening to contaminate the city's blood supply, going through with it (because the ends justify the means) when the mayor refused to give in to his demands. He originally intended to give her to Batman as well so he could protect her but at the end decided to give her to her mom. Joker: I mean, stealing a city blind is something I can admire... but being mean to one's own daughter... that just makes my blood boil.

For a rather literal form of "standard", the Joker's team-up with Carnage in Spider-Man and Batman: Disordered Minds fell apart in part because the Joker, known for his love of theatrics, found Kasady's desire to get straight to killing boring. Conversely, Kasady didn't like the Joker's flair for theatrics.

The Joker absolutely loathes The Batman Who Laughs, to the point where he drops his usual joking demeanor and is deathly serious whenever directly referring to him, even willing to work together with Batman to face him when it comes down to it. When Lex Luthor goes behind his back to make a deal with The Batman Who Laughs (going against the only condition Joker has for joining his plan), Joker responds by Joker-gassing the Legion of Doom, putting Lex into a series of deathtraps, trashing Lex's Power Armor, and quitting the Legion. In the process, he tells Luthor how he had planned on ruining the Legion utterly on the verge of victory, and as nightmarish as his plan sounded, he claims it is nothing compared to what the Batman Who Laughs is going to do.

While he still gloated about it and found Commissioner Gordon kneecapping him funny after remember that he'd crippled Barbara, the actual act of killing Sarah Essen in the penultimate issue of Batman: No Man's Land is one of the few times the Joker wasn't happy with something he himself did, considering he's seen walking away while scowling afterward, leaves the babies he originally planned to murder unharmed and immediately turns himself in to the police.

Emperor Joker sees the Joker disgusted with a corrupted Jimmy O Lsen tormenting the Superfamily and Batman when they're turned int animals.

Later one he is disgusted when his minions vandalize the Moai on Eastern Island.

Again, when he rescues Lex from The Batman Who Laugh's infected minions in Hell Arisen, the mere mention of his alternate universe rival prompts him to have a very uncharacteristic Freak Out. The Joker: I told you. I told you not to deal with him. You should have shot that thing in the head the second you had it in a cage! It is wrong. It is a wrong thing.

Played more straight in his relationship with Punchline. Only time will tell if it lasts.

There’s also a comic storyline when Hush informed that a dirty cop Office Halmet killed his wife Jeannie. The Joker wanted nothing more than to kill said cop in revenge. Then there’s Batman: Three Jokers where, despite it being being heavily implied he was abusive, the “Comedian” Joker is seen setting up fake tea parties with dolls, clearly trying to substitute them for his wife and child showing that he does miss them and desire to be a family with them.

While The Dark Knight is one of the few times the Joker's clown-like appearance is the result of make-up, he does sport a Glasgow Grin.

While Joker still has the permanent clown look, it's combined with the Glasgow Grin.

While Batman: Endgame would see the skin of his face restored with a chemical called Dionesiumnote , at the start of The New 52, the Joker had the Dollmaker skin his face and then, after he recovered it, spent Death of the Family wearing it like a Leatherface-esque mask. And even in Endgame, his restored face ends up badly burned as the result of the finale battle between him and Batman, though it still ends up restored again.

Gotham sees neither Valeska escape this. After his death in season 2, Jerome (the proto-Joker) ends up resurrected in season 3, but because Dwight thinks his attempt to revive him failed, Dwight ends up cutting off Jerome's face ala Death of the Family and Jerome ends up stapling it on when he catches up with Dwight and while he later has it properly reattached, there's still scars from what happened. Jeremiah, Jerome's twin and the show's true Joker, ends up with the "perma-clown" appearance due to Jerome having the Scarecrow brew something up to spray in Jeremiah's face, but season 5 sees his fateful fall at Ace Chemicals badly scar his face and sear off most of his hair with only stringy patches left.

Averted entirely in Joker (2019), where his clown appearance is entirely makeup, and the worst it gets is painting his iconic smile on his face with his own blood from a car crash. Not even a Glasgow Grin or anything, the blood is from his hand and his face only has a few normal cuts on it.

While Batman is a rather serious character who refuses to kill anyone, The Joker is a rather comical character who revels in death.

Joker's gadgets tend to be rather goofier but much more lethal, such as the Joker Venom that he often uses to kill his victims.

While Batman gets along well with his sidekicks Robin and Batgirl, Joker frequently abuses his sidekick Harley Quinn and has tried to kill her before, not to mention all the times he has been a Bad Boss by killing his henchmen for any reason you can think of, sometimes for no reason at all.

While Batman's backstory is well known, even by the citizens of Gotham who know of the tragedy of the rich Waynes' in Crime Alley, no one knows anything about the Joker's backstory, but most versions he tells are consistent in two things: he was a nobody, and possibly someone poor.

In most adaptations, his voice is high-pitched in contrast to Batman's Badass Baritone.

Why he went by the name the Red Hood has changed over the years: The Killing Joke claims he was a failed comedian driven to crime to support his pregnant wife. The trauma of his disfigurement from jumping in the acid and his wife's earlier accidental death drove him insane. However, even this backstory is questionable, as the Joker himself calls it "multiple choice".

In Injustice 2, an intro with Atrocitus has the Red Lantern wondering what drove the Joker to nihilism.

In the animated series, he claims to have been abused as a child when interviewed by Harley, but according to Batman, it's just another ruse to escape Arkham.

The purple suit and matching pants with either an orange and/or green shirt with a bowtie or tie, remains the definitive Joker look one that many artists and costume designers have given spin on. He is sometimes known for wearing a cool hat but other times goes hatless. Heath Ledger's custom-designed purple long-coat, trousers, blue shirt and green Waistcoat of Style with a tie has likewise become iconic and famous for its contemporary and downright stylish update on the classic look.

The original Red Hood outfit which is a black suit, white shirt, bowtie with an opera cap and a bizarre red dome is also quite famous.

The Hawaiian tourist outfit he wore in the notorious scene in The Killing Joke.

The white suit he wears in Miller's The Dark Knight Returns as well as the white nurse maid outfit with red wig in The Dark Knight is also quite notable.

The Future Joker look from Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker which went with a mime look (black body suit, slicked-back hair) is also quite distinct and unique.

The first issue of Batman with Joker's debut has him described as having "burning, hate-filled eyes" and the moniker, "the harliquin of hate".

The Man Who Laughs had Bruce dosed with a light version of the Joker Venom and he felt his perspective shift into a paranoid vengeance were he felt everyone deserved to be punished for his parent's death just for existing.

Death of the Family had Batman describe how Joker's irises are always narrow when looking at anyone but Batman and that it is usually an indication of negative feelings toward something with Bruce mentioning that his eye are the eyes of someone who hates everything he sees.

In the Justice League storyline "Rock of Ages", Martian Manhunter has to put in incredible effort to reorganize Joker's mind long enough for him to give up the cataclysmic Philosopher's Stone. The briefly sane Joker immediately says My God, What Have I Done? verbatim as he hands it back, before quickly losing his mind and going back to the laughing madman.

The famous example from the end of The Killing Joke, where Batman tries to convince him to allow Batman to rehabilitate him before their vendetta kills them. Joker considers it for a long, somber moment before quietly reflecting that they're both too far gone.

Batman: Cacophony ends with Joker being pumped full of an inhuman amount of antipsychotic drugs to keep him under control while in recovery from a near-fatal stabbing. Batman takes the opportunity to have a relatively-sane conversation with him, though it's somewhat subverted by Joker still being a homicidal sociopath even while heavily sedated.

He even gives multiple reasons on how he came Back from the Dead in Injustice 2 and will go along with whatever his opponent thinks is true, despite being Dead All Along in story mode and only appearing as a hallucination to his ex-moll.

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns sees him kill David Endochrine and Ruth Weisenheimer, who were clearly based on David Letterman and Dr. Ruth Westheimer.

During Knightfall, once he realizes that Azrael isn't Batman, his plan's gone to hell, and one too many criticisms from Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert stand-ins, he kills the stand-ins.

In one of the issues for the The Batman tie-in comic, The Batman Strikes, he terrorizes a stand-in for Conan O'Brien. This becomes darkly Hilarious in Hindsight as the real O'Brien voiced Endochrine in the animated version of Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. In the series proper, Harley's debut had the two of them terrorize a stand-in for Dr. Phil for the climax.

If you want to know how truly terrifying The Batman Who Laughs is, look no further than the way Joker acts whenever discussing him. He doesn't laugh, he doesn't smile. He becomes calm and serious and simply tells whomever he's talking to that the TBWL is "a wrong thing that shouldn't exist". Someone HAS to be scary if the very thought of him makes Joker act like a calm rational sane person.

In Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, the clown has a massive Villainous Breakdown when Terry mocks him for his failed attempts to break Batman.

On the rare occasion Joker gets bored and leaves Gotham, expect everyone to think of him as just a silly clown, until the bodies start piling up.

One issue of the Robin Series had him talking about having Abusive Parents, only for a psychiatrist to tell him it's the seventh story he's told now.

Batman lampshades on this to Harley in the animated series, thinking it's another lie to gain sympathy.

The Killing Joke claims he was a failed comedian driven to crime to support his pregnant wife. The trauma of his disfigurement and his wife's earlier accidental death drove him mad. However, even this could be a lie, as he himself calls it "multiple choice".

It's even discussed in Injustice 2, as Atrocitus wonders what drove the Joker to nihilism. Despite only appearing as a hallucination to Harley in story mode, he spews out multiple theories for his Unexplained Recovery and will say Sure, Let's Go with That in non-canon fights. Was he resurrected by someone, or is he from another universe? Did he escape from either the Source Wall or the Phantom Zone, or is he just an apparition?

Shadow of the Bat #38, Tears of a Clown: He celebrates his anniversary of the day he was a still sane, but hapless comedian, and was thrown out of an exclusive Stand-Up Comedy club for an unfunny act the patrons mercilessly heckled. It was the last straw as he agreed to provide to his family by pulling a job for the Red Hood gang. So he kidnaps all the patrons and reenacts his act with control collars that will kill them when they laugh. Oddly enough, the patrons are hardcore Stand-Up Comedy fans, so they can't remember the number of times they've booed someone. However, even this origin story could be a lie.

It's come to be his primary disfigurement over the original skin bleaching.

In Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, Terry McGinnis exploits this by delivering an epic Boring Insult so the clown will have a Villainous Breakdown.

King Barlowe proved to be a big one in his Thanatos Gambit in the episode "Joker's Millions" of The New Batman Adventures. In a spiteful Video Will, he gives the clown his millions, revealing in his tape that most of it was fake. Expecting the clown to splurge on it, he won't have enough to pay off the IRS, allowing Barlowe to get the "last laugh" after his death, without the Joker coming after him.

Alan Moore's "I go Loony" from The Killing Joke, an in-panel song-and-dance tune that was eventually made into an actual song belted out in Batman: The Killing Joke.

Batman: The Brave and the Bold has "Where's the Fun in That?" from the episode "Emperor Joker".

Batman: Arkham City ended with him covering The Platters' "Only You (and You Alone)", Batman: Arkham Origins had him cover Hank Williams' "Cold, Cold, Heart" and Batman: Arkham Knight had him provide an original composition, "Can't Stop Laughing".

Action Fashionista: This incarnation of the Joker has a wide variety of garish outfits for every occassion — most of them straight from the comics.

Adaptational Attractiveness: Metal teeth, lack of eyebrows, and tattoos aside, he's still being played by the youthful-looking real life Pretty Boy Jared Leto; especially since the last two cinematic Jokers were a creepy middle-aged gangster with a botched face-lift and a filthy, scarred vagrant (even the mentally unwell clown-for-hire doesn't scream Mr. Fanservice one bit). This version looks more like Marilyn Manson.

Adaptational Nice Guy: A very downplayed example. While he's otherwise the same Clown Prince of Crime we all know and love to hate, he appears to genuinely care for Harley, and even throws her out of a falling helicopter to save her life. Almost any other iteration of the Joker would do that to save his own skin or rid himself of her.

Adaptational Skimpiness: This version of the Joker tends to be shirtless a lot more than he has in any other medium. It mostly seems like an opportunity to show off his tattoos.

Adaptation Distillation: Leto's Joker seems to be less of the "evil philosopher" that Heath Ledger portrayed him as in The Dark Knight, and instead seems to be a cross between the garish, larger-than-life Mark Hamill version from the animated series and the Arkham games, and the creepy, deeply twisted Brian Azzarello version. David Ayer had also stated that he looked specifically to the Golden Age Joker for reference, providing reason for many to believe that Leto's Joker is a modern re-imagining of that incarnation.

Advertised Extra: Heavily featured in Suicide Squad promotional materials, barely appears in the film for more than seven minutes. According to Jared Leto, several of the scenes he shot were not included in the theatrical cut.

Ambiguous Disorder: In Suicide Squad, most of the time the Joker seems... not all there compared to Harley. In addition of psychopathic tendencies, the Joker has random bouts of maniacal laughter, confusion, and slurred speech-like patterns. All attributes that stem from punch-drunk syndrome. Considering he has faced Batman one too many times, it makes sense that the Joker's mental stability is finally catching up to him.

However, come Birds of Prey, they broke up, mirroring the comics where they do have an Relationship Revolving Door. It appears to stick, as Harley publicly calls it quits between the two of them.

His tattoos are very reminiscent of the Joker in All Star Batman and Robin.

Ax-Crazy: Like all the incarnations before him, calling him a violent psychopath is one of the biggest understatements you can make.

Bedlam House: Spent some time at Arkham Asylum, where he met Harley. Then he broke free from it with the help of both Harley and his gang.

Chewing the Scenery: An important part of the character is his theatricality.

Cool Car: A bright purple sports car with underglow lights and a "HAHAHA" license plate.

Dented Iron: It's subtle, but the numerous scars on his body and metal replacement teeth in his mouth are clear signs that his frequent run-ins with Batman are taking their toll.

Disney Death: He seemingly dies in the crash of his helicopter... only to come back to free Harley from her high security prison at the end of Suicide Squad.

The Dreaded: In true Joker fashion, everyone is terrified of him.

Establishing Character Moment: One that takes place before he even makes his official debut in the setting - he killed Robin (a minor) and vandalized his outfit to mock Batman over his inability to save him.

Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Insofar as much as the Joker can love anyone, anyway, but he does seem to genuinely care about Harley. Eventually, subverted.

Evil Has a Bad Sense of Humor: He considers the brutal murder of a minor as a joke he played on Batman. When he's torturing Harleen Quinzel, he promises not to shatter her well-kept teeth while flashing his own hideous metal dentures. When Harleen later has him at gunpoint, Joker just says "please don't kill me, I'll be ya friend" in a snarky tone.

Evil Is Hammy: It's not The Joker if he's not Chewing the Scenery. And, sure enough, he does.

Evil Is Petty: The graffiti on Robin's costume seems to imply that Joker murdered him just to prod at Batman. It is confirmed in Suicide Squad that Joker and Harley killed him.

Evil Laugh: It's kind of his thing. One notable example is when he chuckles while surrounded by an arsenal of weapons.

Fake Shemp: Indie rocker Johnny Goth stood in for Jared Leto in Birds of Prey, in the flashback where he and Harley torture and tattoo the big mafia thug Harley later bumps back into.

Foil: To Batman as usual, but with some new additions. After 20 years, Batman became more jaded and cruel, while the Joker somewhat mellowed out and his criminal activity became more professional. Batman didn't settle down until the death of Superman while the Joker grew attached to Harley Quinn.

In Suicide Squad Griggs' smug indifference about his gambling debt immediately becomes pure terror when he realizes the Joker has gotten involved.

He is so feared that even the likes of Black Mask would rather steer clear of him. Harley's enemies only start gunning for her in Birds of Prey when it's become clear that she's no longer with him.

G-Y

The Ghost:

There is an allusion to him in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice ("HA HA HA Joke's On You, Batman" painted across the chest of the dead Robin's empty suit in the Batcave), but he doesn't actually appear.

He gets mentioned a lot in Birds of Prey, but he's only seen very briefly in some flashbacks, always from the back (including footage from Suicide Squad). There is a whole Deleted Scene where he and Harley have a domestic dispute. Harley leaves the house through the window and the Joker throws her stuffed beaver out through the window. In the film proper, she's just kicked out of the house, with no shot of Mr. J.

Greater-Scope Villain: His role in Batman v Superman. Despite not actually appearing his murder of Robin by this point has driven Batman down a darker, more vengeful path that goes against Batman's traditional moral code; the one that the Joker is always trying to prove is wrong. Batman's rage towards Superman blinds him to the possibility of Lex Luthor being the real threat long enough for Superman to die fighting Doomsday. In a way the Joker's actions contributed to Batman's failure.

Guttural Growler: This Joker is noticeably more snarly than previous incarnations.

Handshake Refusal: He doesn't like to shake hands, as Monster T finds out.

Hell-Bent for Leather: Wears a purple crocodile skin duster at some point in the film.

Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: Despite being a homicidal sociopath, he seems to truly love his girlfriend Harley Quinn. Then in Birds Of Prey, he coldly and violently breaks up with her.

Joker Immunity: He appears to die when his helicopter is shot down about halfway through Suicide Squad. To absolutely no one's surprise, he shows up alive and well in the final scene. It helps that he's the Trope Namer.

Knife Nut: And by God, does he have enough blades.◊

Lean and Mean: This Joker, while muscular, is quite lean, especially compared to the heavily muscled Batman.

Love Epiphany: Well, "love" is pushing it, but Joker realizes his affections for Harley when she dives in the chemical bath that ultimately turned Joker into what he is. Symbolic in the sense she was agreeing to join him in madness. Further adding to the complexity of the scene; Joker was tying up a loose end, having used Harley to escape from Arkham. He lead her to her demise and intended to leave her for death but at the same moment realized she had entered his world and his madness. Joker never anticipated the amount of utter devotion Harley would have for him, something inside him just couldn't walk away from her, so he jumped in to save her.

Manipulative Bastard: He manipulated Harley into helping him escape Arkham because she fell in love with him. When she served her purpose, he would have had her kill herself jumping into a bath of chemicals to prove her feelings. He instead saves her from this demise because he has a Love Epiphany in the moment.

Monster Clown: Like the previous film versions, Joker is an Ax-Crazy criminal with clownish makeup. Green hair notwithsanding, his white makeup, red lipstick and absence of facial scars make him look closer to a mime than his predecessors.

Noble Demon: In Suicide Squad, his whole motivation is to rescue Harley Quinn. His commitment is so strong he doesn't even waste time with pranks or petty acts of cruelty. Everything he does is for someone else.

Only Known By His Nickname: He's only known as The Joker, or "J" / "Mr. J".

Outlaw Couple: He and Harley Quinn are lovers and partners in crime.

Sadist: Even though there was only a few select scenes of him, one of them is him torturing Harley. It's disturbingly obvious that he is positively gleeful over it. And he doesn't seem to have lost any sleep over murdering Robin, either.

Pet the Dog: David Ayer confirms that while he did push Harley out of the falling helicopter, his intent was in fact to save her life.

Satellite Love Interest: To Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad. His characterization revolves entirely around Harley, not even getting involved with the main plot.

Scary Teeth: Several of his teeth are made of metal. According to David Ayer, Batman punched his teeth out after he killed Robin, leading him to replace them with metal teeth.

Screw This, I'm Outta Here!: Although he has a presence at the start of the film, The Joker appears to have left Gotham City to be controlled by Black Mask in Birds of Prey, with Roman saying that Joker has already skipped town.

The Sociopath: He's chaotic and remorseless, much like his previous versions. Special mention goes to his murder of Robin, which he topped off by spray-painting a cruel taunt for Batman onto the boy's costume.

Tattooed Crook: His torso is covered in jester-themed tattoos. He also has a few on his arms and face.

Villain of Another Story: He mainly appeared in Suicide Squad, but his biggest act of villainy to date — killing Robin — happened some years before Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, in which he doesn't appear. The spray-painted message on Robin's empty suit ("Ah ah ah joke's on you Batman!") in the latter film can't be anything else than his doing.

Where Does He Get All Those Wonderful Toys?: Is seen with a rather impressive arsenal of guns and knives. And even says to warden Griggs, at some point, "I can't wait to show you my toys." note Notably, he manages to hijack the gunship which was sent to extract Waller and the squad so he can rescue Harley.

Would Hit a Girl: In the past, the Joker electroshocks and manipulates Dr. Harleen Quinzel into allowing her to fall into a vat of chemicals, in order to become Harley Quinn.

Would Hurt a Child: He killed Batman's sidekick, Robin, while the boy was an underage minor.

You Gotta Have Blue Hair: His hair is bright green.

"Knightmare" Joker

"You won't kill me. I'm your best friend..." Appearances:

Zack Snyder's Justice League

"You need me. You... need me... to help you undo this world you created, by letting her die."

The Joker meets up once more with Batman in the nightmarish alternate future where Darkseid has conquered the Earth and Superman turned evil. But things aren't the same anymore between the two legendary foes.

See also the Knightmare page for more on that setting's characters.

Break Them by Talking: He deliberately tries to agitate Batman by reminding him of how many people have died on his watch.

Cop Killer: He wears a bulletproof vest with at least two dozens police badges on it. Whether these were good cops killed prior to the apocalypse or servants of the oppressive regime of Superman after the apocalypse is not detailed.

Costume Evolution: He has ditched his garish gangster suits for what looks like either a medical gown or a butcher gown, complete with orange gloves and a bulletproof vest with a dozen police badges pinned on it. He got rid of his "Damaged" forehead tattoo, let his hair grow and put red makeup around his mouth, looking closer to more common depictions of the character.

Enemy Mine: He and Batman had the worst kind of enmity imaginable, but the Earth being conquered by Darkseid is enough of a Conflict Killer for them to call a truce and work together to try undoing this mess.

Evil Has a Bad Sense of Humor: He utters the line "We live in a society" while gazing upon the devastated landscape in the trailer. This is clearly a Meme Acknowledgement, and it's quite awkwardly used given the context (is there really any society left in this post-apocalyptic world?). It doesn't appear in the actual film, however. The line was improvised by Leto.

Evil Laugh: Even with the world being in such a sorry state and him still being sane enough to acknowledge how bad the situation is, he'll still let some laughs out, even though they sound more subdued than ever.

Evil Versus Oblivion: Even he sees the necessity of teaming up with Batman to try undoing what Darkseid did to Earth.

Future Badass: He survived the apocalypse brought upon Earth by Darkseid and looks like he's geared for guerilla actions.

My Card: He gives a Joker card to Batman as a symbol of their truce. Shall the Dark Knight want to break that truce, he'd just have to tear that card up. The card could be seen strapped on Batman's assault rifle in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

Nice Job Breaking It, Hero!: Joker gets a high reminding Batman how costly his mistakes in the past have been.

The Nicknamer: He nicknames Mera "my little fish stick" and Robin "Boy Wonder".

Progressively Prettier: Despite being worse for wear, this Joker is arguably even better looking than his previous appearance, with his over-the-top tattooed gangster image toned down and his androgyny played up. Ironically, this version also more closely resembles the Heath Ledger incarnation.

Thousand-Yard Stare: He has such a stare when looking at the devastated horizon as he starts talking to Batman.

Villain Has a Point: While he’s the one who killed Robin, he gives Batman a minor What the Hell, Hero? for sending “a Boy Wonder to do a man’s job.”

Vocal Evolution: His voice is much softer and higher pitched than it was in Suicide Squad.

#TheJokerInformation

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scandalsavagefanfic · 4 years

Note

If the Batfam were Lanterns, which color do you think they'd be?

Lantern Corps are like Hogwarts Houses. I can (with my extremely limited understanding of the Corps) make a case for most of the Bats being a good fit for most of the corps.

Honestly, it would seriously depend on my mood, which canon I was using, and which stories I wanted to tell. But I’ll try to keep it pretty brief.

{{{Side note... all the Bats can be Green. But the ones I’ve chosen to be Green are because it fits them best and/or none of the other fit at all. (Also, this is excellent timing because I’ve just learned on Discord the other day that Indigo wearers are NOT compassion incarnate and that they are, in fact, terrible people forced to feel compassion for all the people they’ve hurt... so I will not be using that one at all... not really anyway...)}}}

Bruce: Red/Rage.

In the early days of Batman, probably Yellow but, lets be real, Gotham criminals aren’t scared of Bruce anymore. He’s not “instilling great fear”. What he is, is a tightly wound ball of barely controlled rage. He fits Red better than anyone else in the family.

Dick: Blue/Hope.

I feel like this one is easy and obvious. To me, Dick is the hopeful center of not just the batfam but the entire DC universe. If I were to write a Blue Lantern Dick fic it’d probably be centered around the idea that he’s the first Blue Lantern to be able to access the power ring’s full powers without the presence of a Green Lantern OR go really sappy and like, make his brothers Green Lanterns and they’re this juggernaut of a team. Although Red Lantern Dick has just, oodles of potential, I think at his core Dick is an agent of hope, the bright spot to follow through the dark tunnel because it brings you out the other side.

In fearful day, in raging night,With strong hearts full, our souls ignite,When all seems lost in the War of Light,Look to the stars-- For hope burns bright!

That’s Dick.

Jason: Violet/Love.

Red Lantern Jason is valid and I may or may not have one in the works but rage is not what motivates him. Jason wasn’t mad at Bruce for not saving him, he was hurt when he thought he wasn’t loved enough to be avenged and was seemingly easily replaceable. No, Jason’s primary emotion is love when his character isn’t being butchered for a cheap shout out to the poll that killed him. No matter how many times his family kicks him to the curb when they’re mad at him, he’s right back at their side when they need him. Read their oath and tell me that’s not Jason (especially post-Flashpoint Jason):

For hearts long lost and full of fright,For those alone in blackest night,Accept our ring and join our fight,Love conquers all-- with violet light!

Tim and Barbara: Green/Will.

I’m so set on Green for these two that I can’t even think of anywhere else they might fit. More than any of the others, Will defines them. Tim’s very first story is him being more determined that Batman and Nightwing. He works his ass off to be the best Robin he can be, he stubbornly searches for Bruce when everyone else believes he’s dead, he doesn’t give in or give up when even Dick is trying to convince him that the loss is affecting his mental health... when Tim sets his mind to something, he fucking does it. And Barbara... the Joker crippling her could have ended her superhero career. But she said “fuck that” and didn’t let the clown take the thing she loved so much and built an intelligence empire to support the entire superhero community.

Steph: Should probably be Green too,

just because her parents are crap, Bruce treats her like garbage, she had a baby as a teen, and Black Mask tortures the shit out of her and she doesn’t let any of it stop her from doing her thing. No one believes in her and she just... persists. So yeah, I guess I’m gonna use Green more than I thought, lol. Although... since Steph was kind of written to showcase all the self-destructive tendencies that DC kept trying to insist Jason had as Robin... if I were going to play with the Ultraviolet Corps, I’d use Steph to do it.

Cass: Yellow/Fear.

If Cass doesn’t instill great fear, it’s just because someone doesn’t know what she’s capable of. She may be non-lethal, but she’s terrifying in all the ways Bruce was/wishes he is. I kind of see Yellow Lantern Cass as being a lot like Soranik in Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps Rebirth before she gets pissed at Kyle and ruins things.

Damian: Orange/Avarice.

At least Damian when he’s young and first shows up. When he assumes Robin, and everything of Bruce’s is his by right. I mean... the oath for the Orange Lantern is “The power is mine, this is my light. Be it in bright of day or black of night. I lay claim to all that falls within my sight. To take what I want, that is my right!” And I think that kind of perfectly sums up Damian’s early attitude. Right now he probably belongs either in Red or Violet depending on what you want to write.

Duke: Green/Will.

Mostly because he started the Robin Movement (not to be confused with being a Robin) in Gotham to affect change and lead/was responsible for a bunch of kids. It takes a lot of strength and will to look around you and try to change the things that suck. Also... none of the others really fit for him.

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fuckallthegood0nesweretaken · 4 years

Text

The Dove and Her Hound - CH. TwentyNine

Title: A New King

Words: 2,040

Warnings: Slight language

A/N: It’s almost over! Just one more chapter and the series is done, I can’t believe it! Also, if you’d like to request something, send me an ask. I’d love to write something for you!

Taglist: @tonbluemchen @affection-rabbit @art-flirt @10morgan10 @thatting @iwontdance-dontaskme @simsvetements

Previous Chapter - Next Chapter

Sandor Masterlist

Game of Thrones Masterlist

Masterlist

~~~~~~~

It had been a week since your son had been born and many things had happened. You learned that one of Daenerys’ dragons had been killed, most of the fleet destroyed, and Missandei captured. Brienne had come to visit you and the child as well. She apologized for the way she handled things when she encountered your trio years ago. She did not know the significance Sandor had in your life and never knew how to approach you about it. You accepted her apology immediately and you apologized to her as well for your naïve attitude and your hate towards her.

The same night Brienne apologized to you, Jaime Lannister fled Winterfell to go back to Cersei. You had known that Brienne and Jaime were together and when you found out he left, you went to console her.

“He doesn’t deserve you,” you said. “If he leaves you for another woman when he had you then he’s not worth your tears.”

You wiped away the tears running down her cheeks and looked her in the eyes.

“You are strong. You are beautiful. You deserve better. Don’t let one man ruin things for you forever. It’s okay to still love him, but don’t let that take over everything.”

Brienne gave you a watery smile and sat up a little straighter.

“Thank you, Lady [y/n],” Brienne said. You stood up and kissed her forehead.

“You should get some rest. I have a feeling that we’re going to do some traveling soon.”

---

Turns out that you were right. A raven arrived from King’s Landing a week later and before you knew it, you were traveling down the Kingsroad. Brienne and Sansa hadn’t wanted you go with them because of the baby, but you went anyways. It took little less than a month to get to the Capital and it looked nothing like you remembered.

Buildings and houses were charred and crumbling. Ash was still on the streets, swept away into corners. The Red Keep was almost all burnt down. The people of King’s Landing were trying their best to rebuild their homes and lives but it would take years to get things back to the way they were.

The raven had told you where to go and once more, you found yourself in the Dragonpit. You were seated between Sansa and Brienne, your babe on your lap. Bran and Arya were next to Sansa. You were the first ones there. Ser Davos and Gendry were the next ones to arrive, with Yara, Robin, Yhon Royce, and the rest to follow. Another person showed up with the last group and you couldn’t breathe. It was Sandor, alive and well. The two of you locked eyes and your chest hurt. He looked like he was going to approach you when Greyworm brought out Tyrion before you in chains. Jon was nowhere to be seen.

“Where’s Jon?” Sansa asked Greyworm.

“He is our prisoner.”

“So is Lord Tyrion,” you said. “They were both supposed to be here.”

“We will decide the fate of our prisoners. This is our city now.”

“If you look outside the walls of your city, you’ll find thousands of Northmen who will explain to you why harming Jon Snow is not in your interest.”

“And you will find thousands of Unsullied who believe that it is.”

“Some of you are quick to forgive. The Ironborn are not. I swore to follow Daenerys Targaryen and Jon Snow put a knife through her heart. Let them give him what he deserves,” Yara said, venom spewing from her words.

“Say one more word about killing my brother and I’ll slit your throat.” Arya’s face was ruthless and cold. Yara made to stand up but Ser Davos beat her to it.

“Friends, please. We’ve been killing each other for too long.” He turned to face Greyworm. “Torgo Nudho. Am I saying that properly? If it weren’t for you and your men, we would have lost the fight with the dead. This country owes you a debt that can never be repaid. But let us try. There is land in the Reach. Good land. The people that used to live there are gone. Make it your own, start your own house with the Unsullied as your bannermen.”

“I agree. We’ve had enough war. Thousands of you, thousands of us. You know how it ends. There has to be another way,” you said.

“We do not need payment. We need justice,” Greyworm spat. “Jon Snow cannot go free.”

Ser Davos sat back down and Tyrion let out a small breath.

“It’s not for you to decide,” Tyrion said.

“You are not here to speak!” Greyworm shouted. “Everyone has heard enough words from you.”

“You’re right. And no one’s any better for it. But it’s not for you to decide.” Tyrion looked up at everyone. “Jon Snow committed his crime here. It is for our King to decide. Or our Queen.”

“But we don’t have a King or Queen,” Royce said.

“You’re the most powerful people in Westeros. Choose one.”

“Make your choice. Quickly.”

Everyone was silent for once and was looking around at the other people. Nobody spoke until your uncle stood up. He started a little speech talking about him being one of the senior lords in the country and that he knew a little bit about statecraft. It was then that Sansa intervened.

“Uncle. Please sit,” she said. He kind of spluttered a bit and only sat down when Sansa gestured to his seat with her head. He backed into a pole and it took all your willpower not to laugh.

“Well, we have to choose someone,” Royce said. That’s when Sam got up and suggested that the people help pick a monarch. Everyone did laugh at that and Sam sat back down, more than slightly embarrassed. It was a funny notion, but you didn’t laugh at your friend.

“I suppose you want the crown,” your uncle said to Tyrion.

“Me? No. Half the people hate me for serving Daenerys and the other half hate me for betraying her. Can’t think of a worse choice.”

“Who then?” You asked.

“What unites people? Armies? Gold? Flags?” Tyrion shook his head. “Stories. There’s nothing in the world more powerful than a good story. Nothing can stop it. No enemy can defeat it. And who has a better story than Bran the Broken?”

You sat up a little straighter and looked at your siblings in confusion. When you looked back at Tyrion, he kept speaking.

“The boy who fell from a high tower and lived. He knew he would never walk again, so he learned how to fly. He went beyond the wall. A crippled boy. And he became the Three-Eyed-Raven. He is our memory, our history. All the wars, weddings, births, massacres, and famines. Our triumphs and our defeats. Our past. Who better to lead us into the future?”

“Bran has no interest in ruling and he can’t father children,” Sansa said.

“Good. Sons of Kings can be cruel and stupid, as you well know. His will never torment us,” Tyrion said to Sansa. To Greyworm he said, “That is the wheel our Queen wanted to break.”

“From now on rulers will not be born. They will be chosen on this spot by the Lords and Ladies of Westeros to serve the realm.” He turned to Bran. “I know you don’t want it. I know you don’t care about power. But I ask you now, if we choose you, would you wear the crown?”

“Why do you think I came all this way?” Bran said after a moment. Tyrion looked a little shocked that Bran had actually said yes and you knew that the other people in this meeting were feeling the same way.

“To Brandon of House Stark, I say aye,” Tyrion said. Everyone was quiet until you and Sam said ‘aye’ at the same time. Tyrion sent the both of you a grateful look. Your uncle was next followed by the men from the Vale. Yara and the new Prince of Dorne agreed as well along with Gendry and Ser Davos. Brienne agreed as well, but you saw that Sansa was trying to pick out words again.

“You know I love you, little brother. I always will. You’ll be a good King. But tens of thousands of Northmen fell defending Westeros. And those who survived have fought too hard and too much to ever kneel again,” Sansa said. “The North will remain an independent country, as it was for thousands of years.”

Bran nodded in consent and you could see the relief flood through Sansa’s body.

“All hail Bran the Broken,” Tyrion said. Everyone stood up and repeated those words. When everyone sat back down, Tyrion bowed to the new King and started to make his way out of the Pit.

“Tyrion,” Bran called. “You will be my hand.”

“N-No, your grace. I don’t want it.”

“I know. And I don’t want to be King.” Tyrion shook his head.

“I don’t deserve it. I thought I was wise but it turns out I’m not. I thought that I knew what was right, but I did not. Choose Ser Davos. Choose anyone else.”

“I choose you.”

“You cannot,” Greyworm said angrily.

“Yes I can. I’m King.”

“This man is a criminal. He deserves justice.”

“He just got it. He’s made a lot of terrible mistakes. He’s going to spend the rest of his days fixing them.”

Greyworm was angry and he spat out, “That’s not enough!”

---

After about an hour of talking, a decision was made. Jon would go back to Castle Black as a member of the Night’s Watch. You and your sisters wanted him freed completely, but you recognized that this was the only way for your brother to keep his head. You would miss seeing him every day, but you’d lived with this before so it shouldn’t be too hard. Jon was to leave that evening and you had a few hours before you had to say goodbye. Everyone was slowly trickling out of the Dragonpit when Sandor came up to you.

“Dove,” Sandor said quietly. You froze and slowly turned around.

“I thought I told you not to call me that.”

“You did.”

“Why are you here, Sandor?” Your voice sounded tired and Sandor could see it in your eyes.

“I heard you were here and I wanted to talk to you.”

“Talk about what? How you left me for some petty revenge? How I gave birth with you not by my side? How I have been raising our son without you?”

“I-I have a son?” Sandor’s heart skipped a beat and your chest tightened at the sound of his voice breaking.

“Yes.”

“What’s his name?”

“Eddard. Eddard Stark.”

“Are you going by Stark too?”

“Ever since you left me.” Sandor was silent for a moment. He stepped closer to you tentatively.

“Would you ever take me back?” You sucked in a breath, eyes wide.

“I know I fucked up and I know it will take a lot to fix it. If you’ll even take me back, that is. But even if you decide not to, I want you to know that I still love you. I always have. I’ll always love our babe and I will do anything for the two of you.”

His voice was so quiet you could barely hear it, but it was also so loud that it was ringing in your ears. Your eyes filled with tears and you gestured to Sansa to take Eddard from your arms. When your arms were free, you wrapped them around Sandor tightly. It took him a few seconds to respond, but soon you were being spun around. You let out a giggle that was cut short by Sandor kissing you. It was a sweet kiss that you broke shortly after it began.

“While I love kissing you, I think you’d like to officially meet your son, yes?”

Sandor’s eyes lit up and Sansa brought over your son. You took him from her and gently placed him in his father’s arms. You showed Sandor how to hold him properly and the sight made you melt. Finally, your family was complete.

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galahadwilder · 5 years

Note

Hey! I'm following you for ML stuff, but I finally figured out you were into Batman as well, took me awhile. Do you have any advice on where to start for people who want to get into it? I just want to know which Robin is which when I read fanfiction hahaha. Thank youu

So the first thing to know is that there is no single Batman comic that will explain the entire Batfamily, because there are so many of them that the Manor must be running out of bedrooms by now. The second thing is that I’m not great at figuring out a starting place—a lot of comics are sort of aggressively mediocre and I can’t exactly tell the standout ones from the bad. Anyone who has any suggestions for anon, feel free to comment with them!

(In terms of fanfic recs: read literally anything by @unpretty. They are a wizard. Their fanfic is so good it has literally won awards.)

Now, a brief introduction to every member of the Batfamily that I can currently remember—save Alfred and Batman, who I am assuming you already know.

The Robins

Dick Grayson (Robin I, Nightwing II, and Batman IV). Richard John Grayson was a former child acrobat, member of the flying Graysons, and the first child adopted by Bruce Wayne. He is a human disaster of a Hufflepuff who makes terrible life choices, leaves his Nightwing costume on the floor of his apartment where literally anyone can see it, and doesn’t know how to cook anything but cereal. Despite his terrible lack of self-sufficiency, actually gives amazing life advice and is the heart and soul of the Batclan. There are villains who are willing to kill to protect him.

Jason Todd (Robin II, The Red Hood II, Red Robin I, Batman III). Jason Todd is the ballsiest Robin, having met Batman while attempting to steal the tire from the Batmobile, and, upon being confronted by the Goddamn Batman, decided the best course of action was to attack him with a tire iron. Jason is passionate and impulsive, but also extremely studious and intelligent. Well-liked despite his abrasiveness. He is the first Robin to die in the line of duty; when he came back, he and Bruce had a falling out over not killing the Joker, and now their relationship is rather shaky. Jason uses guns and has moonlighted as a crime boss in order to better control Gotham’s criminal element from the inside, which works mostly because he has nerves of steel and the ability to spin stunningly convincing bullshit at the drop of a hat.

Carrie Kelley (Robin II.5): See “Elseworlds and Future.”

Tim Drake (Robin III, Red Robin II, Drake I, Batman Beyond II): Tim has the greatest intellect of the Batclan; however, unlike Barbara (see “Batgirls”), Tim’s wisdom score is through the bloody floor. He figured out Batman and Robin’s identities on his own, and after Jason died he walked up to Bruce and basically told him “I know who you are and I’m Robin now,” which... worked. Tim is the least physically gifted of the Robins, but he makes up for it in detective skills and tactical intelligence. He was the only Robin to still have living parents outside of the Batfamily, though they were murdered soon into his career. He dropped out of high school and was acting CEO of Wayne Enterprises for a time. He has crippling depression and is implied to be suicidal.

Stephanie Brown (Spoiler I, Robin IV, Batgirl III): see under “Batgirls.”

Damian Wayne (Robin V): Damian is the son of Bruce Wayne and Talia al Ghul, and was raised—unbeknownst to his father—by his mother and grandfather to be an assassin, as well as to be the best at literally everything (for context: despite being a young teenager, he technically holds multiple unaccredited PHDs). However, this stunted his social development, so he is rude and abrasive almost constantly, though he has been getting better and his closest friends and family can see that he’s covering for a superiority/inferiority complex a mile deep. Damian has a constant need to prove himself and has taken up his father’s adoption habit, though he prefers animals. Animals are better than people.

Duke Thomas (Robin ??, The Signal): Duke Thomas was the first metahuman Bruce allowed into the Batfamily. Originally decided to take on The Riddler by himself at the age of... seven or so? Eventually joined a collective called “We Are Robin” and fought crime, unsanctioned. After his parents were driven mad by Joker Venom, Bruce took him in. He now fights crime in the daytime, unlike the rest of the Batfamily, using his nebulously-defined extrasensory abilities to augment his Batfamily training.

The Batgirls

Barbara Gordon (Batgirl I, Oracle I): while Tim may be the most intelligent member of the Batclan, Babs is the all-around smartest. Her intellect is damned high, and unlike most of the Batfamily, Barbara is actually capable of making good decisions. She just... decides not to, most of the time. Barbara is the daughter of Commissioner James Gordon and was the first Batgirl; she lost the use of her legs when Joker shot her in the spine, but refused to take a backseat in the Batclan’s war on crime and became Oracle, hacker extraordinaire who directs the activities of every single vigilante in Gotham from her clocktower lair. She has since regained the use of her legs and reclaimed the Batgirl mantle, turning Oracle into a living AI.

Helena Wayne (Batgirl I.5, Huntress I): see “Elseworlds and Future.”

Cassandra Cain/Wayne (Batgirl II, Black Bat I, Orphan I): Cassandra is the daughter of assassins Lady Shiva and David Cain, and had what is hands-down the worst childhood of the entire Batfamily (her father would shoot her in the leg, and if she flinched, he’d shoot her again). She was raised without spoken words, and as a result the language centers of her brain are more adapted for body language than words. This gives her a kind of combat clairvoyance where it’s nearly impossible for a human combatant to surprise her. After her first murder, she swore to never again take a life, and joined the Batclan to atone. I personally believe that she is Bruce’s favorite child and the true heir to the mantle of the Bat.

Stephanie Brown (Spoiler I, Robin IV, Batgirl III): the daughter of Arthur Brown, a criminal known as Cluemaster, Stephanie became a vigilante specifically to oppose her father and then just had a bunch of mission creep. She is brash, sarcastic, and reckless, but has oodles of passion and natural talent. DC editors hate her, so she ends up screwing up or getting pushed aside a lot, but she is much more competent than she appears and is extremely good at getting people to underestimate her.

Others

Kate Kane (Batwoman I): Kate Kane is Bruce’s cousin, dishonorably discharged from the military under “dont ask don’t tell,” though this has likely been retconned thanks to DC’s sliding timescale. She is actually specifically not connected to the Batfamily, being more of an auxiliary member by her own choice—as a military woman, she dislikes their methods and considers them sloppy. She uses guns, has her own rogues’ gallery unconnected to her cousin’s, and is extremely competent.

Jean-Paul Valley (Azrael I, Batman II): Jean-Paul believed himself to be an ordinary college student, but was in fact a genetically modified super-soldier created to punish the wicked through the use of magic and advanced technology. He eventually broke his conditioning thanks to Batman and joined the family, even taking over for Batman briefly after Bane broke his back. (This proved to be a terrible decision.) He fights using powered armor and enchanted medieval weaponry.

Harper Row (Bluebird I): I know very little about Harper except that she is openly bisexual and uses hilariously oversized sci-fi guns.

Claire Clover (Gotham Girl I): a metahuman with Superman-like abilities; however, the more she uses them, the faster her lifespan burns away. Last I checked, she was working with Bane for some reason to do bad things to Batman. Don’t know why. She’s odd.

Lonnie Machin (Anarky I, Moneyspider I): may or may not be the son of The Joker. Lonnie is a genius Anarchist, but not of the “bomb-throwing” variety—in fact, he detests bombers. Briefly acted as Tim’s Oracle, since, thanks to extensive neurological self-modification, he’s one of the few people in Gotham who is actually more intelligent than Tim is.

Helena Bertinelli (Huntress II, Batgirl briefly I think?): daughter of a crime family that got wiped out by a rival crime family. However, she didn’t know her family was mafia, and as a vigilante in Gotham ended up trying to operate under Batman’s rules. Wasn’t very good at that—she’s a bit too vicious and brutal, despite her attempts to rein herself in. Uses crossbows primarily.

Elseworlds & Future

Terry McGinnis (Batman Beyond I): the definitive future Batman. Thanks to Amanda Waller and superscience shenanigans, Terry is the biological son of Bruce Wayne. He wears a highly advanced batsuit that is closer to powered armor than a costume, which gives Iron Man a run for his money. Unlike Bruce’s obsessive preparedness, Terry’s skillset lies in improvisation.

Carrie Kelley (Robin II.5): the Robin of the dystopian timeline of The Dark Knight Returns. It’s been a while since I read DKR, so I don’t remember much about her.

Helena Wayne (Batgirl I.5, Huntress I): Bruce and Selina’s daughter from another dimension.

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thefightingbull · 4 years

Text

Poison

(For anon’s request for a song fic. Poison by Alice Cooper) The following is a unrequited, aged up fic. Enjoy! Jason centric as requested :)

There were a lot of reasons to obsess over Jason Peter Todd. There was the cruelty done to him so easily seen in his teal blue eyes. His lips were sharply defined and despite the scarring over his left brow and down his left cheek, he was handsome in a classically filthy way that made most thing of hot, rough sex. His scowl made it clear that he would kill and not even care.

The desire to love was warned off by his bad boy attitude. Wanting to hold Jason couldn’t happen either. Every instinct anyone with half a brain warned them that it was too much, too dangerous. Jason Todd was untouchable for many reasons, but the largest being that was he was poison to the soul.

Rumor had it that he’d once been an angel. His cherubic curls and brightly shining hope were second only to have of his predecessor. But now? Now he was The Red Hood. An ice-blooded killer with a thirst for death and darkness. Anyone he came in contact with was sucked into a world of violence, pain and eventually death.

And yet Damian Wayne wanted him.

He wanted the thrill of taming Jason.

Wanted the former Robin with a burning hunger he’d never experienced before.

Damian often imagined what it would be like to kiss those lips raw. To feel the heat of Jason’s mouth around him. To have the murderer pinned and caught beneath him, Jason’s body sweating and writhing under his own powerful body.

He kept his distance though. He heeded the warnings of his brother, but especially that of his crippled father. The Red Hood was responsible for the death of Robin and had paralyzed Batman shortly after coming back to Gotham. Nightwing alone had escaped physical damage, but he’d still been punished. Still been bitten by the poisonous viper Jason had become.

Dick Grayson, Nightwing. He was only a shell of the man he’d once been. That bright ray of sunshine was overcast permanently. Untrusting and unwilling to ever take a chance again. His brother learned the hard way that the poison coursing through Jason’s veins was nothing to be taken lightly.

Jason Todd moved through the shadows of the underworld and Damian couldn’t help but watch him. Listen to him. Shiver and shudder whenever the man spoke of his fanatical mission to destroy anyone who stood in his way as he purged the city of Gotham.

More than anything, Damian wanted to hurt him. Wanted to take hold of that thick black mop Jason called hair and rip it back. He wanted Jason squirming. To hear that deep, hateful voice, scream Damian’s name. Hear Jason scream his submission.

The call, the urge. It was more than skin deep. It was a desire from the depths of Damian’s soul. But that poisonous hate. That vile venom… It would taint every touch. Taint every kiss. But he wanted. God forgive him, but Damian wanted Jason despite it all.

Jason was perfect for him. Lethal. Efficient. Powerful. Merciless.

The very thought of Jason had wormed its way beneath his skin. Even when Damian hated him, he found his obsessive lust was as potent as ever. What he wouldn’t do to have him. To defeat and break him. To tame him. To claim him as his own.

Damn his instincts. Instincts that in one moment to told him not to reach out or follow the younger man. To have and to hold beaten down with common sense and logic. Jason was damaged goods. Polluted by green pools that promised a new beginning but had actually done nothing more than warp and destroy any shred of decency Jason had in him.

Some day Damian would capture The Red Hood. He’d bind him down and he’d taste that sweet, venomous poison.

For now, though, he’d watch from afar. Watch and plan and crave.

#aged up damian #slightly reversed robins #damijay #unrequited #songfic #Jason Todd #poison #alice cooper #evil jason todd #evil red hood #crippled batman #dark #not beta read #100 followers #prompt fill

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bitchinrichie · 5 years

Text

Fears of the Past ch 6

Major IT ch 2 Spoilers

Ayyyyyy I’m back babey, this is the last chapter of this fic I hope you all enjoy it. Thank you for being patient with me

**********************************

You left Stanley’s side, running and panicking to see if IT had really killed your friends, Stan was calling after you but you kept going up the incline to the edge where you saw Richie and Eddie disappear. Reaching the top, you found nothing,

“Richie!! Eddie!”

“Down here!” You heard Eddie’s faint voice from below in a another cavern. Gaining the attention of the others, you all make your way down to them; Eddie is hovering over Richie who seems to be unconscious. His glasses were broken but still intact and he sort of looked peaceful. Eddie, however, was about to go into cardiac arrest,

“Why isn’t he waking up? This isn’t- he’s gonna wake up. GUYS WHY ARE YOU JUST FUCKING STANDING AROUND WE HAVE TO HELP HIM”

“What do you want us to do? He’s unconscious, we can’t do much-” Stan stated in all fairness but Eddie wasn’t having it.

“HE’S YOUR BEST FUCKING FRIEND AND YOU AREN’T GONNA FUCKING DO ANYTHING?!” You all knew that Eddie was just upset but as you looked at Stan, you could see him break inside. He backed away from beside Richie while you glared at Eddie but he was looking at Richie again. Mike went over to console Stan while the others tried to form a plan.

After just moments of silence, IT started digging its claws into the cavern, trying to get to you all, drooling and screaming. A plan was made to sneak past IT and make it into the narrow passage back toward the sewers, you helped Eddie grab Richie following behind the others.

‘I SEE YOU LOSERS YOU CAN’T HIDE FROM ME” The dumb clown had found you again, clown, he was just a clown….

“Guys, I have an idea, everything in nature must act in the shape or form they come in right? IT’s just a clown, we just have to make IT believe that,” you set Richie down or tried to at least as you felt his hand grip yours,

“Fuck, what did I miss?”

“Richie! Fuck are you okay? Are you bleeding? What hurts-” Eddie was promptly cut by Richie pulling him down and kissing him. It was very quick but his point was made,

“You worry too much, Eds” Richie hazily smiled before realizing what he had just done, quickly standing up, not looking at Eddie; on the other hand, Eddie was blushing and his mouth was in the shape of an ‘O’.

“Not that you guys aren’t adorable but we should probably take on the killer clown first,” you joked and they both nodded standing further away from each other. You all were joined as a group again facing Pennywise, standing side by side, once again ready to fight. Stanley wasted no time,

“YOU’RE A STUPID FUCKING CLOWN, THAT’S ALL YOU ARE AND EVER WILL BE!”

IT cowered into itself even if it was the slightest bit, you all saw. IT was angry and it wouldn’t back down easily but neither would any of you. You looked over and saw Stan was shaking, grabbing his hand and intertwining your fingers, nodding at the other losers. The Losers Club was going to win this fight, your fears subsiding, it was only an outdated clown.

***

No matter how terrifying Pennywise could be, he was still a coward and if none of you showed fear, he would have nothing over you. So long story short you all basically bully IT to death and it’s very therapeutic, this was what set you all free. IT had terrorized you as a clown, father, friends, family, and monsters to feed on childlike innocence. And now you were free.

No more lost memories or hesitation due to a killer clown, you all could live out the rest of your lives with the people you truly loved and who truly loved you back. Unfortunately now was not the time for that because the cavern started to collapse. Running to get back up into Neibolt was very stressful but since everyone was on an adrenaline high from murdering a demon, it went pretty quickly.

Stan pulls you close as you run out of the rotting house that was currently sinking into the ground. He buries his face in the crook of your neck and you can feel his heart beating insanely fast. The others crowd together as the house disappears,

“Honey, it’s over, it’s gone. We’re free,” you whisper to him and some to yourself. He nods and lifts his head up to look at you,

“Is Rich okay?”

“He’s fine, he wasn’t seriously injured.” He nods again, his eyes holding all of his pent up emotions and you wish he wasn’t so hard on himself.

“I almost didn’t come, I thought- I wanted to end it.” He didn’t look at you in fear of the shame he guessed he’d see on your face.

“We were all scared, I understand, we all do. IT hurt you really badly. But we defeated it together and without you, it wouldn’t be the same. You saved us Stan,” you wipe his tears and kiss his cheek. He finally looks at you and his eyes hold pride and love, a look you missed on him.

***

The quarry. It was peaceful, just like it was when you were teenagers and swam around in your underwear. One last place that wasn’t touched by the horrors you all witnessed, you wanted to cleanse yourselves.

“No, this is stupid and gross and we could get like seven diseases from swimming in that water, fuck you guys.” Eddie was complaining profusely that you’d all die, he was always kind of a protector. Not that you listened to him.

Bev jumps off first, followed by you and Stan and of course the others. Richie having to put Eddie over his shoulder as he jumped in. You could hear Richie laughing as Eddie screamed at him for making him jump into the dirty water,

“Hey! Are we gonna talk about what happened between you two?” Bev smirks at the two and they freeze.

“Uh listen I um I wasn’t thinking- it was a spur of the moment, I’m so sorry Eds I just-” Eddie cut him off by kissing him again,

“You talk too much.” He smiles nervously, pulling away from Richie but he just hugs him tight, crying into Eddie’s shoulder. You were so happy, you knew Richie loved him, even if he didn’t tell you. The looks he gave Eddie were the same ones you gave Stan. Oh. Stan.

“Uh hey guys? If we’re sharing stuff. Um I’m- I am bisexual.” You didn’t dare look at anyone’s face, you were too scared of being rejected by your friends and your true love.

“Thanks for running it bi us,” you whip your head up and find Richie smiling at you with understanding and encouragement. Bev squeezes your arm, Bill and Mike giving you a thumbs up, Ben and Eddie high five while smiling at you, and Stan looks at you with pure adoration.

“There is nothing in the world that change my feelings for you, I love you Y/n,” he wraps you in his arms and feel so loved and supported than you have in decades. Richie and Eddie join you two, hugging you tight which induces an all out group hug. This was your family, your friends, your love, and your life.

***

2 years later

You were currently sitting on the couch while your lovely husband makes you lunch because he won’t let you do anything around the house anymore. You still lived in Los Angeles, Stan wanted to move in with you after everything that happened in Derry. He told you that he wouldn’t make you move since you were a famous animator for Disney, you told him it wasn’t a big deal but he was so proud of you. You had dreamed of working for Disney since you were 11, Stan always encouraged your drawing so you dedicated a short to him, Piper that played before Finding Dory.

You and Stan had always been huge Disney fans and when you took him to see the movie, you watched his reaction to the short before it. He cried. That was two years ago and now you were married, he proposed not even a week after that and you were married two months later. It wasn’t a huge wedding but all the losers came and your father was there as were Stan’s parents. It was beautiful but you were just happy to finally be with your soulmate and now with a little one on the way. Stan was beyond ecstatic when you told him you were pregnant, his little songbird.

“Honey, are you sure you don’t need help? I’m not crippled you know”

“Yes! I can make lunch, Y/n. No, but you’re carrying our child and I don’t want you stressed out,” Stan was dedicated to making you comfortable and doing everything so you didn’t have to.

“Richie did ask me to be his maid of honor so I’m going to be doing something eventually,” Richie and Eddie were getting married in three months and Richie claimed both you and Stan as maid of honor and groomsman and Bev as a bridesmaid. Eddie was pissed at first but he gets Mike and Bill and Ben. Richie clarifying that he very much was the wife in the marriage.

Stan sighed and you could hear him laughing to himself as he approached you with your soup, he kisses your stomach and then your lips before eating his food,

“So I’ve been thinking about names.. If it’s a boy I was thinking Wren or Robin. If it’s a girl, Aya or Rosella,” he smiles warmly at you. You haven’t told him about the gender yet,

“I like Aya.” he smiles but looks at you in confusion until it clicks.

“You- it’s a girl?” you nod and he immediately wraps you in his arms, hugging you tightly and he’s crying. He lets go to kiss your tummy again,

“My beautiful girls. Aya means bird in Hebrew, so my little birdie, you’re gonna be daddy’s little girl huh?” You smile and you feel tears on your cheeks. You never thought you would be here, that any of you would be free.

You married the love of your life and having his child. Bev and Ben got married last year and travel all over the world, Bill and Mike are engaged and moved down to Florida and Bill finally finishing a book well, and Eddie and Richie finally getting married soon. You all took back your lives and now you’re making up for lost time but by now those 27 years don’t matter. No longer did you have nightmares of your fears of the past but dreams of what awaited you, you’d always be losers but you no longer had anything to lose.

@honeybunthegalwithteethforeyes @eddiegaykaspbrak @tozierchee @chipoisaloser @multi-parker @tropicaluris @checkontherep @adritozier @happyhanlon @itsbaconheree

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thedcmonshead · 4 years

Text

All’s Fair...

WHO: Ra’s and Stephanie @itspciler

MENTIONED: Tim Drake @cleverbxrd, Bruce Wayne @xwxynxs

WHERE: An old meatpacking facility in Gotham’s industrial district.

WHEN: The day after Stephanie’s kidnapping.

WHAT: Stephanie wakes up to find out who took her and why. Ra’s uses the opportunity to make a statement to the Batfamily, and to get under Stephanie’s skin long after she’s sent home.

TWS: Oh, man. Kidnapping, torture, predatory behavior, blood, threats of grievous bodily injury (not enacted), psychological manipulation and trauma.

RA’S: He’d never been the type to take ’no’ for an answer.

He liked to consider it a virtue, despite the trouble it had landed him and those he cared about in on more than one occasion–it had been a refusal to back down from a challenge that had led him to the discovery of the Lazarus Pits in the first place, all those centuries ago, and refusal to listen to Sora that had led to the events that had transpired at the young prince’s healing. That had been, as far as Ra’s had ever been concerned, his fault, if not in the way the sultan and his pig of a son had tried to paint it.

But in all those centuries since, his refusal to accept ‘no’ had been a saving grace. There was no resource out of his reach, now, no item he couldn’t obtain, no person he couldn’t sway or break.

Not even, despite what the boy seemed to hope, Timothy Drake. The boy would become his Heir–it was, as far as he was concerned, an inevitability. The only thing that was in question was how difficult the boy was going to make it for him, and how much pain Ra’s would have to cause in turn to get him to yield.

He was no fool. He knew the training Batman gave to his children, knew that trying to break Tim’s will by attacking the boy himself was both unlikely to work and likely far too difficult compared to the other options–the boy’s genius and tactical abilities was a large part of why Ra’s wanted him, after all. And it wouldn’t do to damage the boy too much.

But the boy did get so very attached to his friends. Stephanie Brown, it seemed, even more so than most. Which was why the young woman was here, wrists bound above her head and head slumped down as Ra’s waited for the sedative his men had attacked her with to wear off.

He didn’t have to wait long.

STEPH: There was a certain sense of contentment Steph had been filled with upon leaving the manor. She had been staying there with Tim since they got together, likely being on the too clingy side but she liked to wake up Tim’s entirely too cute sleepy face and be around him while catching up on her own work. Eventually she knew she had to go back to her tiny apartment, do some laundry, and let Tim have some space. She wasn’t exactly thrilled to go, but it was fine.

She really should have expected that things couldn’t stay just that: fine.

Her phone and keys had dropped from her grip the moment someone grabbed her outside her door, lashing out violently, elbow connecting with a stomach and foot slamming down on someone’s toes, but it was useless. The needle plunged into her skin and the sedative was delivered, her body swaying and eyes drooping before she descended into darkness.

The girl’s head was pounding the moment she came to. Her stomach rolled and she had to take a few moments to gather her wits about herself before it registered her wrists were bound above her head and she was definitely not anywhere near her apartment. Don’t panic. It was a cardinal bat rule, panicking got you nowhere. Steph took a few steadying breaths, raising her head and opening her eyes.

Ra’s Al Ghul, of course.

The snarl was instantaneous. Steph spat at his feet and glared. “What the hell do you want, you fucking asshole?” She snapped, jerking roughly at the bondage around her wrists in hopes of finding any sort of give or a way she could escape. Her stomach dropped down to her feet and she sucked in a sharp breath; Tim. “If you touched him then I’ll kill Batman’s cardinal rule myself.”

RA’S: Well, that was an amusing surprise. Ra’s didn’t bother biting back the grin that curled across his face in response to the immediate flare of fury the girl lashed out with. "Oh, my, and hear I’d heard you were the sweet one,“ Ra’s drawled, clasping his hands behind his back and regarding her smugly. "I do believe you just answered your own question–quite correctly, I’m afraid. But don’t worry, I haven’t touched him yet.” He smiled, a bright expression that didn’t match up to his words or their surroundings. "He’s a bit slippery to get on his own, and the last time I tried, I got a base blown up for my trouble. This time I thought I’d have him come to me. Hence why you’re here.“

He paced forward, taking the girl by the chin and forcing her to hold his gaze, fingers digging bruises into her jaw. "Timothy may want little more than to stay away from me, but one of those few things is to keep me away from his loved ones. If he knows I have you, knows that you’re being hurt because of him, he’ll throw himself at my feet to keep you safe. And you know it, don’t you, Miss Brown?”

An assassin entered from behind him with a tripod, and Ra’s ignored the man as he began setting it up. “Of course, we’ll have to get the message to our little songbird first. I’m sure he’d figure it out on his own, eventually, but I think I’ve given the boy more than enough time to evaluate my proposition. I’m not particularly inclined to give him any more.”

STEPH: Steph didn’t bother to stop the glare on her face despite the dread creeping up her spine. “I live to crush men’s expectations of me.” She snapped, eyes narrowed and flickering around to try to take in her surroundings and get any sort of clue where she could possibly be. The overwhelming sense of doom was pressing down on her, making it almost hard to breathe through the panic that threatened to overcome her. “That’s because he’s smarter than you’ll ever dream to be, asshole.”

Jolting back, the girl tried to yank her face out of his bruising grip and snarled. The crippling guilt and dread took hold of Steph’s heart. She knew he was right and hated it. If she had been better, been more aware maybe she could have gotten away, or at least got a text to one of the bats. This is why she was a failed Robin, a failed Batgirl. The thought made tears sting at her eyes, but she refused to let them fall, especially not in front of him.

Staring at Ra’s for a long moment, not bothering to reply to his monologuing, Steph jerked forward and spit right in his face. “Fuck you, you absolute nut.” She said harshly. “He’ll never take you up on whatever insane idea you’ve formulated in that wonky brain of yours. I’d rather take whatever shit you insist on throwing at me then ever letting him even consider the shit you have planned.”

RA’S: Modern young women and their resentment of men. Perpetually tiresome–he hadn’t liked it when it had started showing up in his own daughters, and he particularly didn’t like it in a prisoner. He oughtn’t be surprised, though; anyone that Timothy hung around with for too long was apt to have the boy’s same resentment for authority and antagonistic style to dealing with losing control. "Smarter? No, no. Smart in a different way, I will give you that–which is, of course, why I want him.“ Amongst other things.

He was satisfied, for a few moments, at the sight of tears welling in the girl’s eyes, but then she was spitting in his face, and Ra’s grip on her chin dropped down to her throat. While he wiped his face with his other hand, that one squeezed. Centuries of training and use of the Pits had lent him strength enough to strangle someone with one hand, if he so desired, but he let her have just enough air to stay conscious. At least, until his other hand came slamming into her stomach, forcing what air she’d been dragging in from her lungs.

"The detective will take me up on my offer, because he will have no choice,” Ra’s snarled, leaning in. "I’ll tell you what–I’ll even let you see your little boyfriend give himself to me, just so you can have that image in your head any time you think of him. Him yielding to me because of a stupid little girl he thought he could have when I already laid my claim. And he knew it would be useless, too–he could have gone for someone strong, someone better-trained, but he picked you. You made it so easy for us to get a hold of you, he can’t have expected any less. Perhaps that’s why he chose you–the team won’t miss out if you don’t come back alive.“

STEPH: The satisfaction had lasted all of ten seconds before the fingers closed around her throat and squeezed. She jerked uselessly, and a whine escaped her as her body thrashed in an attempt to break the man’s touch. Black spots were starting to dance in her vision, then came relief, sucking in all the oxygen she could get. That is, until Ra’s hand slammed against her stomach and all air left her once more. She gasped and her chest hitched uselessly until her lungs remembered how to work and she gasped in all the air she could manage.

Ra’s face was entirely too close to Steph’s and despite the bruises forming around her throat and how shaken she felt at nearly being strangled until she passed out, she snarled and bared her teeth at him. His words were meant to hurt, to barb at her until she bled and lost all hope in Tim, in the bats, but despite the sting, she ignored it. "You’re one sick creep, Ra’s Al Ghul.” Steph managed to finally choke out, regardless of the harsh sting in her throat. “I bet it just eats you up inside that he can’t fucking stand you. That you left those scars on him and that not him, but we all want to see you taken down. He’ll do it do. If anyone can do, it’s him.”

Steph was from Gotham. She was used to villains, used to crime and the potential of getting hurt with her night job, but there was a deep fear in her she was hiding. She was dreading the torture Ra’s may likely inflict on her, the own scars she’d get from this, maybe even a matching one across her cheek like Tim if he was sadistic enough to do just that. It didn’t matter. Steph could do it, endure it. Anything to keep his grubby paws off of Tim. “Give me your worst, old man. You’re not touching him.”

RA’S: It was a pittance of recompense, feeling her spasm under his grip, listening to her choke for air. Fortunate, then, that he had plenty of time to punish her, for spitting on him and for Tim.

Her words earned a sneer, Ra’s leaning in to speak into her ear. “Eats me up? Oh, Miss Brown, you truly have no idea,” he breathed. “There isn’t a single part of my immortal soul that feels anything but glee at seeing those scars. Seeing my marks on him.” He pulled back, dropped his hand from her throat. “You will never know that feeling, I’m afraid. Because he will be coming with me.”

He reached into his breast pocket and drew out a sheath covered in intricate silver inlay. He circled behind Stephanie, drew the blade out with a snick. “Don’t worry. I’ll leave you some marks of your own to remind you of him. Of me.”

The blade sliced along her shoulder, the skin pulled open immediately despite the blade’s sharpness by the stretched position of her arms. “We have hours until I’m to meet him. We’ll give him something as pathetic to look at as your fighting skills, hm?”

STEPH: There was a grimace on the blonde’s face, stomach churning at his disgusting words. “You’re fucking sick. He’s not coming. I won’t let him. I’d rather you mark me up just like you did him than ever let you touch him. I would walk through hell and back for him. This is nothing.” She swallowed hard the moment the fingers finally left her throat, the moment of relief short lived as soon as she sees the blade taken out. Her blood turned to ice, dread crawling up her spine and rendering her momentarily frozen.

The muffled whine was out before Steph could stop it, biting down roughly on her bottom lip in attempt to keep it quiet, feeling the skin split open and blood start trickling down her skin. She let out a few shuddery breaths, trying not to shake with the fresh pain blooming across her shoulder. “You have a sick sense of humor, Ra’s. I’m from Gotham. You’re about as scary as a house cat.” She got out through gritted teeth, through the burn in her shoulders and arms, increased tenfold by the cut on her body.

RA’S: “Fortunately for you, my dear, it’s out of your hands. Otherwise you’d be going back to your family in pieces.” It was so very satisfying, the way the girl’s eyes went wide in fear the moment the blade came out, but not nearly as satisfying as the whine the first slash to her skin brought from her lips.

“Oh? I’ll keep that in mind.” Ra’s dragged the blade along her ribcage, next, breath warm against the back of her neck as her shirt and skin sliced open again. “Perhaps I should give the two of you some matching scars. He has quite a number. Not as careful as he ought to be.”

The next slice mimicked one of Tim’s scars with eerie accuracy, a stripe of crimson welling up across her collarbone as he circled back to her front. “Do let me know when you get bored, will you, Miss Brown? I have plenty of tools we can play with before my meeting with your boyfriend.”

STEPH: The mere thought made her stomach roll, fingers curling up into tight fists above her head where they stayed tied up uselessly. The fear was enough to practically choke her with it. She swallowed hard, unrelenting in her hard glare at the man before her. She had to be strong. For Tim. For all the Bats, but mostly, for herself. The blade sliced into her ribs, pained noise being pushed through her lips and breath hitching. Her skin felt like it was on fire with each slash. It was excruciating.

Steph wanted to cry out, but didn’t want to give Ra’s the satisfaction of it. The slashes were nothing compared to what he could do, what she was sure he had planned. “Cute.” She bit out through gritted teeth. “Might as well do the cheek one next if you really want us to match.” The snarky words were out and she wanted desperately to stuff them back into her mouth, swallowing hard. Sometimes she was too much of a smartass for her own good.

“Bored? Me? Never. I’m having a great time. Do you do this as a leisurely activity for all your brainwashed idiot assassins? Just curious. I mean. They’d have to be pretty stupid to think you’re someone worth following after all.”

RA’S: There were few things he enjoyed more than watching people’s instincts war with each other. Brown’s instincts to lash out with sharp tongue, to make herself seem powerful with confident words, fought clearly enough against her instinct to self preservation–the words she herself uttered often had her wincing in immediate, fear-laced regret. Action, equal and opposite reaction. Confidence and doubt.

“Do you know, Miss Brown,” he began, shifting the knife in his grip, “That I used to be a doctor? A surgeon, even, on the days it was necessary. Back then there was no difference in education, you see–the butcher down the street could serve as a surgeon in a pinch. For obvious reasons, I was preferred.”

The hand with the knife came up to cup her cheek, one finger wrapped around the tip of the blade to keep it controlled. Wouldn’t do to put her eye out on accident, not when they were so very expressive. Not given this.

“It’s easy, in the blur of battle, to get lost in the adrenaline, hm? To move on instinct, to strike out with unknown purpose but to knock one’s opponent back a step. I prefer being rather more deliberate with where I cut.”

His other hand shot up, and his thumb hooked around her chin as a finger pressed between her lips, forced her jaw down and held it in an iron grip before the thought to bite could even cross her mind. “I have half a mind to take your tongue, Miss Brown. It would probably do both of us a favor.”

STEPH: The fear was ever present. Ra’s was a dangerous man, Steph knew this, but he seemed to enjoy when she reacted as such. She could hear Tim in the back of her head, telling her to stop and have some goddamn self-preservation, but she knew it’d all end the same. Well, she had a sneaking suspicion that no matter how she reacted it was going to end the same way, bloody and her injured as some sort of sick present to Tim.

The flare of anger was instantaneous. Her eyes hardened and she watched Ra’s cup her cheek, resisting the urge to flinch away. “You talk a lot. It really is rather boring. Are you going to tell me about your childhood trauma next? Get in line, we’re all traumatized from shitty fathers, bad conditions, et cetera,” she deadpanned, a strangled noise coming from her the instant her mouth was forced open.

That is probably exactly what he meant. Steph didn’t know if this was a good idea in the slightest, but it gave Tim more time. To figure out a plan, to avoid whatever hell inducing idea Ra’s had for her boyfriend. She was a fighter, always had been even before her vigilante days. So there was a moment, a split-second decision, Steph’s hard eyes not flinching away from Ra’s. Her foot came down and slammed onto his, digging her heel in as hard as she could.

RA’S: She had the same attitude as Timothy, but not the same intelligence or self-preservation instincts. Not by half. Ra’s hissed, drew back from her and glared with a ferocity that would have any of his own men dropping to their knees in supplicant apology.

Ra’s considered the girl in silence, for a long moment, before finally moving to the winch in the wall. The building they were currently in had once been a meat packing facility, which meant plenty of useful equipment, for his purposes, and ingrained bloodstains more than ample to hide the new ones.

Her feet were pulled off the ground, leaving her weight to pull on her shoulders and wrists, where they were bound. Liable to be pulled out of their sockets, if he left her there long enough.

The smile sent her way was venomous. “That’s quite enough of that, I think.” The cuts would be pulling even more, in the new position. “Now, I think I’ll let one of my brainwashed idiot assassins keep you company for a while, hm? After all–I have a surgery to prep for.”

STEPH: Steph glared right back him despite the intense urge to shrink back and try to avoid the ferocity coming off of him in waves. Her heart was racing, the silence dragging for entirely too long. Then he was moving and she could feel her heart drop right down to her feet. The dread increased by tenfold. Her already incredibly stiff and sore arms screamed in protest the moment she was lifted off the ground, feet kicking and attempting to find purchase, only to make her wounds bleed further and ache in burning pain. She sobbed out in pain for the first time, not able to muffle it in the slightest.

The girl’s blood turned to ice, the words ringing around in her head. “No, no—” The panic threatened to choke her with what that could mean. She was sure it was what he wanted to accomplish, but the fight or flight instinct was draining out of her and leaving her with an overwhelming sense of doom instead. Her head was spinning with how much her body was screaming at her, the pain practically making her nauseous.

Steph just wanted Tim, but also wanted him as far away as possible. The reminder was enough to rekindle the fire that was snuffed out. “Fuck you, Ra’s Al Ghul.” She choked out, not as fierce as she had once been.

RA’S: The kicking would only make it worse, but it was irrepressible. Instinct, to scrabble for purchase, to try to reach for some ledge to alleviate the pain. She wouldn’t find one. She would find her company being kept by a man with an excellent propensity for handing out pain without breaking bones. Well. Too many bones.

Ra’s returned an hour later, with the blue mask of a doctor around his face and nitrile gloves snug around his wrists. Even behind the mask, a smile was evident by the expression at the corner of his eyes. “Miss Brown! How are we feeling?”

He had no intention of taking her tongue, no. But appearances could be even more valuable than the action.

STEPH: Swallowing hard, Steph could feel her fingers trembling as Ra’s left the room and left her in the hands of the assassin who looked entirely too pleased to have the reigns handed over to him. “Just you and me, ugly. I’m sure this is just thrill—” Her words were cut off by a fist to the face, a loud cry of pain as her nose immediately started gushing blood.

She lost time of it all, the hour Ra’s was gone was filled with pain and blood. Her left eye was swollen shut, likely already bruising from the ferocity of the hit she had been delivered. There was blood dried over her mouth and chin, her breathing considerably most labored due to one too many hits to her chest. She knew she had a few cracked, if not broken, ribs. Likely, at least one of her shoulders had to be out of the socket, but she couldn’t even tell. There was just so much pain she was having a hard time telling what hurt and what didn’t.

The moment Ra’s stepped into the room, donning gloves and a face mask, her stomach churned violently. A broken sob fell from Steph’s lips and she shook her head weakly, it flopping forward almost uselessly as the room spun from her movements. “No, no, no—” she groaned weakly, eyes shut tightly. “No.”

RA’S: “Shh, shh.” He closed the door after himself, issued his next order without even looking away from Stephanie. “Let her down. I can hardly do anything with her up like that." Stephanie was winched down to the floor–all the way down, arms still suspended above her while Ra’s watched her be lowered to her knees. He grabbed the girl’s chin, again, this time almost gentle.

"My, you are a mess, dijaaj. Is there something you want to ask me?”

STEPH: The relief off of her arms had the girl sobbing in utter relief, practically slumping back when her knees hit the ground. The room was spinning, black spots dancing in front of her vision, her whole world threatening to fade into darkness once more. She let out a harsh breath, looking up at Ra’s when he grabbed her chin, grimacing at the feel of his hands on her skin.

Steph was having a hard time even keeping what day it was straight in her mind, blood loss and pain making her mind scrambled. This felt like a trap. She couldn’t figure out how, but it was totally a trap. Right?

“What could I possibly want to ask you?” She slurred out, the blood and tears on her face and her words tripping over each other not reaching the bite she would want in it. There was the lingering fear of what could happen to her making it sound entirely too meek. She was so tired. So very tired, but she had to keep going. Tough it out, keep Tim safe.

RA’S: “What indeed, little one,” he murmured, patting her cheek. She was clearly barely conscious, barely present in this conversation at all, let alone up for playing games.

Almost submissive, the tone, there, the way that her gaze had lost much of its heat. “I would take your tongue, for being so sharp. But say something sweet, and maybe I can let you rest, hm? Would you like to rest?”

STEPH: There was a slight flinch away from Ra’s when he patted Steph’s cheek and the mere thought of resting was so very tempting. Her entire body was screaming out in pain, begging her to take the opportunity.

“Yes.” Steph admitted weakly. “But more than anything I want…you to stay the fuck away from Tim.” Her stubborn nature reared its ugly head, her protective nature she held for those she loved dearly giving her one last ditch attempt at this. It was increasingly hard to push through it, but she trucked forward. “What do you want? Is that what you want me to ask? What you gain from hurting me? Do you need the cue for the monologue? Go ahead. Can’t promise I won’t pass out.” She muttered, held flopping tiredly to lean against her aching arm that was still suspended above her. Her eyes screwed shut tightly, tears escaping and trailing down her cheeks.

RA’S: The girl really couldn’t stop herself from talking. Quite the inconvenient affliction for someone intending to fight Gotham’s brand of criminal (she said that Ra’s liked to talk, but clearly she’d never had dealings with Nygma). Ra’s clicked his tongue, brushing at her tears with his thumb. "Tt, no, you already know what I want, as you are so insistent on pointing out. I’m just asking for the magic word, proof that you can manage that tongue of yours so I needn’t take it.“

That didn’t mean he’d be leaving her alone, of course.

STEPH: Sucking in a harsh breath, the girl flinched back as soon as his thumb brushed against her tear stained cheek. "Magic word, huh.” She muttered tiredly, her head spinning. “Is it please? I don’t beg.” She got out, knowing she was definitely making this harder for herself.

There was a quiet sense of doom, of…acceptance. She hated that. “…I want to see him.” Steph whispered after a beat. “Please.” She finally said sincerely, black spots dancing in her vision.

RA’S: “It is, smart girl,” he chuckled, the mockery in the epithet evident. She didn’t beg, she insisted, but then a moment later, she cracked. As he knew she would.

She didn’t beg for what he’d been nudging her toward, but that was alright–he hadn’t been specific, he supposed, and she had done what he wanted. That didn’t mean she would get what she did ask for. "He isn’t here, dijaaj. And I won’t be bringing him to see you–who knows what ideas the boy might get if I did? You’ll just have to keep what you have here, I’m afraid,“ he said, tapping her between the eyes even as he reached into his pocket for a vial. He twisted free the cap, brought it up to her nose. "Breathe in.”

STEPH: Steph shuddered and felt something in her crack, tears starting to slip down her cheeks in earnest. Her bottom lip trembled and she let out a broken sob. “Please. Just—just one time. I don’t…please.” Here she was begging Ra’s Al Ghul of all people just to see Tim. She was sending Tim off to his death. She killed Tim. Why wasn’t she better? A better fighter? A better bat. She didn’t even deserve her Spoiler mantle, let alone any bat related one.

A truly broken sob ripped its way from deep in Steph, feeling the beginnings of a panic attack crawl its way up her spine and shake her to the core. “No, no! Please, just let me see him! One time, please!” She jerked her head back roughly away from the vial beneath her nose, shaking her head rapidly. The whole world tilted on its axis and she swayed, breathing hard and fast through it, trying to not pass out. “Please,” Steph whimpered weakly.

RA’S: There it was, finally. It didn’t matter how strong they started out–Ra’s had centuries of experience in breaking people on his side, and the willpower and time to keep pushing until he could tear down anyone else’s. Ra’s moved his hand around to cup the back of the girl’s head, keeping her from pulling too far away.

“Shh, shh. There’s nothing you can do now, Miss Brown. Perhaps next time you’ll be more careful.” He smirked. "Don’t worry. I’ll leave you that little cheek scar you kept asking for, just so you have a reminder of him instead.“ He tightened his grip, bringing the vial under her nose again. "Now sleep.”

STEPH: Next time you’ll be more careful. The words were ringing in Steph’s ears, her vision blurring with how hard she was crying. Even Ra’s could see she was an absolute failure. The words were on repeat, but nothing turned her stomach and made her heart rip apart more than the mere knowledge she was the death of the love of her life.

“No, no! Please, no—” Steph sucked in a breath rapidly, unable to catch her breath and did just what he requested without intending to. The world around her started to darken around the edges and as it closed in around her, with one last sob she gasped out, “Timmy.” Then it all turned to dark.

#f: discord #d: all's fair #c: stephanie brown #tw: kidnapping #tw: torture #tw: predatory behavior #tw: blood #tw: threats #tw: grievous bodily injury #tw: psychological manipulation #tw: trauma

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bat-losers-inc · 4 years

Text

Kintsugi: Chapter 10

Summary: Final Crisis/Red Robin AU. Dick admits Tim to a psychiatric facility after Bruce is lost in time. Jason finds him suffering at the hands of a Scarecrow-copycat and breaks him out. While safe in Jason’s apartment, Tim still struggles with panic attacks and drug withdrawal. At a loss for what to do, Jason calls Roy Harper.

Pairings: Jason Todd & Tim Drake, Jason Todd & Dick Grayson, Roy Harper & Jason Todd.

- - - -

Tim woke to the early afternoon sun with his face pressed deep into the mattress and the sheets tangled up around his ankles. He wiped away the drool that puddled against his cheek. A line of plastic tubing snaked across the mattress to follow each of his movements. With inquisitive fingers, Tim followed the trail to its origin point in the crook of his arm where an IV needle was fastened down tightly with medical tape. Too tightly, in fact. Tim could feel where the skin puckered and pulled tightly against the adhesive tape.

“Leave it.”

Tim flinched at the voice from behind him. He stopped picking at the edge of the medical tape and rolled over to see Jason slumped in a chair, one hand massaging his eyes. Had he sat there all night? Tim pushed himself up until his back rested against the wall behind the bed.

He cleared his throat as best he could with his mouth so dry and managed a throaty request. “Can I have a glass of water?”

Jason stood, thumping his chair down on the wood floor as he went. He appeared again a moment later at the top of the stairs with a glass of water. Tim held out an eager hand to take it from him but Jason stepped to the side and planted it down on the bedside table with more force than was absolutely necessary.

He returned to his seat.

Tim blinked.

He’d anticipated Jason’s anger, but the fact that Jason had brought him back to the apartment and cared for him made Tim think it would pass in a day or so. For now, he drank slow sips of his water and waited to see what choice Jason would make: voice some of the thoughts that were obviously consuming him or return downstairs and leave him to sleep.

To Tim’s surprise, he did neither. When his glass was empty and he couldn’t take the silence anymore, Tim asked, “Where’s Roy?”

“Blackgate.”

“Arrested or just visiting?” he said, trying to pull a laugh from Jason. Not even a twitch from Jason’s stony expression.

“He went to talk to Croc.”

“Killer Croc? Why ?”

Jason sighed and squeezed at the bridge of his nose. “He’s Roy’s sponsor. Last night... wasn’t good for his sobriety. There’s an NA meeting this afternoon and Croc told him to stop in.”

Tim placed his empty glass back on the bedside table. “Is he going to leave Gotham?”

Jason sighed and rubbed at his eyes again. “I would say there’s a fair chance of that happening, yeah. He was never too happy being here, and even if you apologize for your little stunt last night, I don’t think that it’s gonna change his mind.”

Tim stared at him. “Apologize? Who said anything about me apologizing for last night?”

It was the first time since he’d woken that Jason met his gaze and now he held it with a critical intensity. “ I did . Things got heavy here last night and you ran off to hide from it the only way you knew how. Addictions are hard to break. He understands that Tim, but you still need to apologize.”

“Sorry... but you’ve got it all wrong,” said Tim. “I didn’t make a mistake last night. I made a choice to fuck up my detox because I’m not ready to get clean yet. So, whatever narrative you’ve been quietly spinning to yourself or anyone else about why I did what I did... it’s a lie.”

Jason held up a hand. “No. Just...no. That’s just your fear talking. You were afraid of Dick when he showed up here, so you ran. When your withdrawal was too much for you to endure you went looking for drugs to feed it. And now you’re afraid to get clean and you’re trying to run from this too.”

“ No , I walked out when I saw the pissing contest you two were having and suddenly realized that neither of you gives a shit about me. Not really. I’m just another means for you to rub Dick’s face in the mud, and vice-versa. And yeah, of course, I’m afraid to get clean— who isn’t— but that doesn’t mean I have to let you force me into it.”

“You really believe—” Color rose in Jason’s face. “Fuck you! Seriously? I broke you out of a mental hospital, patched you up, and risked my ass to get the information you need to detox safely and this is the gratitude I get? You haven’t said thank you to me once. Not once! ”

“Thank you! For what? Making a major life decision for me and just expecting me to run with it? Gee, thanks !”

“I didn’t ask you because I didn’t think there was another decision. It wasn’t your choice to start using in the first place so I assumed you’d want to get clean as soon as possible.”

“Put yourself in my shoes for a moment, okay? I survive that living nightmare of a situation where nothing I said or did could stop a forced drug addiction from happening. And then I wake up on your couch as you detailed my 12 step recovery plan with Roy— the sponsor I never asked for— on his way.”

“Do you have any idea how scary that was? I wasn’t ready for rehab, not even close to ready to go through it when I still felt so raw and shaky. But, you saved me. How could I say no without it being seen as spitting in the face of your kindness?”

Jason rubbed aggressively at his upper lip. “You think you know me so goddamn well. You don’t though and you could have told me!”

“Like I’m telling you now?” countered Tim. Jason’s mouth shut like a trap, hurt flashing briefly across his features. As if sensing how Tim was reading his every expression, Jason turned away towards the window, staring resolutely at the low-hanging gray clouds that floated sluggishly past them.

Tim plowed on, wishing, no needing , his point to be heard. “Wanting to be clean and the reality of getting there are two very different things, Jason, and my ability to make that choice matters a whole hell of a lot.”

“If it was so horrible here then why didn’t you leave sooner, huh?”

“And go where?” snapped Tim. “With what?”

He counted out the reasons on his fingers— for the bad he’d need to use his toes, for the good he barely needed one hand. “I’ve got nowhere to live that Dick doesn’t already know about and no money to rent a new place to lay low in because by court order my bank accounts have been frozen. And even if I could go somewhere and hide, I’m too sick and broke to get the drugs I need. If I left here, I’d either be alone and sick with withdrawal pains or locked up in another ward. Dead in a week, either way, I’d say.”

Jason’s eyes flickered down to his lap.

“Fuck, Tim,” he said quietly, “Don’t say things like that.”

“It’s the truth, I’m sorry if you don’t want to hear it.” Tim continued, pleading his case as best as he could, praying he hadn’t killed all of Jason’s sympathy for him. He’d take even just a scrap of kindness. “You were the only one that could keep me safe. I had to stay, even if that meant lying to your face. But now I think it’s time we stop living in this fool’s paradise and face reality.”

“Fine, then tell me for real why you won’t consider getting clean... because I know you’re too smart to make such as stupid a choice as continuing to use an abusive substance.”

Tim dropped his gaze and picked at the bedsheets by his hip. “What does it matter? You’re just going to think I’m crazy like everybody else.”

“What did I tell you about slotting me into the same stupid category as everyone else? If there's one thing you should know about me, it’s that I’m very anti-establishment, especially when it comes to those idiots we call family.”

Tim’s lips twitched and he found himself smiling down into his lap. Well, it was worth a shot… at the very least he’d learn if Jason was as good as his word.

“I don’t think Batman died during his battle against Darkseid. I think he got blasted back to a different time and he can’t find his way home. He’s out there… wherever, whenever, and I have to find him before the trail runs cold. I need to be able to focus on my research. I need to be able to go out and track down clues. That’s why I can’t quit the benzos now. I can’t do any of those things if I’m sitting around for a week or more puking into a bucket, having panic attacks, and generally being a useless sack of shit.”

“And what was your plan if you tracked down a clue that led you into a fight? Especially if it led you to Darkseid, a.k.a the guy who wiped the floor with Batman. You’ve got to know you’re crippled in a fight while on those sedatives.”

“I was planning on figuring that part out when I got to it.”

Jason rolled his eyes. “Oh, fantastic.”

“Oh, like you haven’t done it too!” snapped Tim. He turned away, arms crossed tightly across his breast.

It didn’t deter Jason in the least. “Yeah, and the last time I did it got me killed. ”

It was a stalemate of an argument and Tim was smart enough to realize that their points of view were so starkly different, it was unlikely that they’d ever come to see eye to eye. Chalk it up to upbringing, personality, whatever… this was a hurdle they’d probably never cross and he just had to accept it.

Perhaps Jason was thinking the same. “What if we negotiate a deal?”

“What kind of deal?”

“You agreed to start detox and I’ll let you do your research into Batman’s disappearance. If you catch a lead that needs on-the-ground investigating, I’ll track it down for you. This way you can still work towards getting better without worrying about wasting time being on bed rest.”

Tim thought it over. Finally, he decided to put a stop to the tension. The truth was he didn’t want to fight with Jason and he also wanted to be better than this version of himself that spent half his days thinking about where he’d get his next fix.

He sighed. “If I say yes will you please stop with the dead guy comments? Because I swear the guilt trips are worse than the puns.”

A small hesitant smile crept its way onto Jason’s face. When he spoke his voice was full of quiet hopefulness. “You’ll stay?”

“I’ll stay.”

Jason’s smile seemed like it was also there to stay. “Good. Now there’s somebody else who needs to hear it too. Dial 1.”

Jason tossed Tim his phone and Tim did as he was told, wondering with nervous breath if Roy was going to pick up.

#kintsugi #Jason Todd #tim drake #roy harper #batman #batman fandom #batman fic #angst #tw drug addiction #tw drug problems #friendship hurt comfort #hurt comfort #red hood #Red Robin #Arsenal #LittleDarlingXOX #bat-losers-inc #myfic

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thecomicsnexus · 5 years

Photo

BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS JUNE - DECEMBER 1986 BY FRANK MILLER, KLAUS JANSON AND LYNN VARLEY

SYNOPSIS (FROM DC DATABASE)

It is a dark, depressing world where criminals run amok in the absence of superheroes. Gotham City is terrorized by a gang of vicious and aimless teenage murderers, the Mutants. A now 55-year-old Bruce Wayne has been retired for ten years following the death of the second Robin, Jason Todd. Attempting to bury his guilt over Jason's death, Wayne has turned to alcoholism, near-suicidal recreational activities, and has funded the rehabilitation of Two-Face in an attempt to prove to the world - and to himself - that a man's demons can be truly exorcised. On the eve of Commissioner Gordon's forced retirement, however, two events push Wayne to reestablish the presence of his alter ego: a major crime wave hits the city, and Two-Face's rehabilitation goes awry. An enormous bat crashes through the windows of Wayne Manor, symbolizing the psychological return.

Re-donning the cape and cowl, Batman must deal with a world where even the petty criminals are homicidal maniacs who kill for thrills. He no longer has the absolute support of the police, public, or government. Reporters and psychologists see the Joker as a victim and Batman as the madman.

Batman has changed since he last put on the cape: though still quite strong and up to the physical task of apprehending ordinary criminals, Wayne is forced to acknowledge to himself that his advanced age and long period of inactivity have diminished both his skills and his ability to withstand and recover from injury. And, unknown to anyone, the Joker has likewise emerged from retirement. Catatonic and without his trademark evil grin in Arkham Asylum for the ten years of Batman's absence, the Clown Prince of Crime reawakens to his twisted, hateful obsession of the Dark Knight, upon hearing a television report about Batman's return.

Upon Batman's return, journalists, experts, politicians and the public debate the rights and wrongs of Batman's methods and influence: some like Lana Lang praise him for reclaiming the streets from the criminals, while others criticize him for not observing the civil rights of these same criminals.

Finally, an out-of-control, nearly suicidal Two-Face threatens to blow up Gotham's Twin Towers; however Batman is able to deduce and foil the scheme. In their struggle, Batman removes the bandages that have been covering Dent's face, expecting to find Two-Face's visage split in its classic dichotomy. Instead, he sees Dent whole and handsome on the outside, but fully lost within his own mind. In Dent, Batman sees a "reflection": just as the restoration of Harvey's face led to the final destruction of his sanity, the Batman persona has become all the stronger for having lain hidden under Bruce Wayne for a decade.

Batman struggles against Gotham's newest criminal threat, the vicious Mutant gang and their anonymous leader. As he walks to work, contemplating his upcoming retirement, Jim Gordon is almost killed by a 17-year old boy with an M60. In the course of rescuing a young child, Batman discovers that a cash-broke Army general and war hero has been arming the Mutants, in return for the money to help his sick wife. When Batman confronts him, the General commits suicide. Meanwhile, the Mayor has appointed a qualified woman as Gordon's successor, Ellen Yindel, who worships Gordon but despises vigilantes. And a young girl who owes her life to Batman, Carrie Kelley, decides to seek out her hero and takes on the role of Robin.

Following his leads, the Caped Crusader succeeds in tracking down the Mutant lair and defeating them with the monster Batmobile, an armored supertank rebuilt by Batman during riots ten years ago, with large cannons and machine guns that only fire rubber bullets. In a brutal hand-to-hand fight, Batman is defeated and almost killed by the Mutant Leader, as the aging Caped Crusader tries to prove to himself and Alfred that he is a force at any age. Luckily, Carrie, in her new Robin costume, has been following Batman, and manages to save him.

Batman returns to the Batcave where Alfred tends his wounds and argues with him over the danger to Carrie; meanwhile, the Mutant Leader is brought into custody. The Leader's absolute animalistic nature is fully revealed when the Leader manages to tear out the Mayor's throat while in custody. Gordon and Batman conspire to defeat the Mutants psychologically by staging a fight between Batman and the Leader in front of the whole Mutant gang. Using his greater experience and his environment, Batman cripples the Mutant Leader in full view of his followers. While many of the Mutants are arrested, many more now latch on to Batman as their role model, dubbing themselves the "Sons of Batman." However, their interpretation of Batman's quest will leave much to be desired.

Finally, James Gordon looks forward to his retirement from the madness of Gotham and regretting the predicament that Batman will find himself in: caught between criminals and the police.

Newly awakened from his catatonia, the Joker has been slowly returning to his mad schemes while still incarcerated. He convinces his psychiatrist, the fame-seeking and Batman-hating Dr. Bartholomew Wolper, that he is not only sane but regretful. Seeking to discredit Batman, Wolper intends to exhibit the Joker on a late-night show in order to "prove" that the Joker is actually a victim of Batman's own "psychosis". Not pleased with this turn of events, Yindel places a heavy guard on the building. However, she still sees the primary threat as Batman and intends to arrest him if he appears. As the police are occupied with attacking Batman, the Joker murders everyone in the studio with his "smile gas" and escapes. Batman follows him to Selina Kyle's, where the former Catwoman has become a depressed, alcoholic and overweight madame. The Joker uses two of her girls to drive local politicians to suicide. He then beats and dresses Selina Kyle up as Wonder Woman, leaving a clear clue for Batman to follow.

When the police burst into Selina's flat, Batman and Robin escape, but Yindel notices the young sidekick and adds "child endangerment" to the list of charges against Batman. But he then calls her up on her radio to say that it is up to her to rescue the Governor from another Joker threat. Yindel is left lost for words.

With the police on his heels, Batman, accompanied by Robin, tracks the Joker down to a county fair. They arrive too late to prevent the Joker from poisoning to death a group of young Cub Scouts, but Robin is dispatched to prevent the Joker's accomplice from blowing up a rollercoaster loaded with riders. Robin succeeds in getting the bomb clear of the ride on the moment of exploding, but in the fight that follows the Joker's accomplice is killed. Meanwhile, Batman pursues and defeats Joker in a bloody and violent showdown. Throughout the past days, the Batman has been preparing to do what he never could before: kill the Joker and end the cycle of meaningless deaths once and for all. But in the end, he still cannot bring himself to kill his old enemy, stopping himself before fully killing the Joker, leaving him paralyzed instead. The Joker, laughing madly, commits suicide by twisting his own broken neck, intending for the police to charge Batman with murder.

In the meantime, Superman has become an undercover agent for the American government and he travels to Gotham to persuade Batman to keep a low profile. However, tensions with the Soviet Union are reaching a head over U.S. support for a South American country named Corto Maltese, and Superman is called away to "deal with it". Also, the Sons of Batman have begun to make their presence known, taking an even more brutal - and deadly - tack towards criminals than Batman. Despite Batman's non-involvement, the actions of the "SOB's" only incenses the growing anti-Batman forces in the government and media further.

When the USSR launches a nuclear warhead called Coldbringer in response to Superman's presence in Corto Maltese. Superman manages to divert the missile to an uninhabited desert area before it detonates, but damage is done nonetheless. The warhead was designed to disrupt all electronics and communications in the Western Hemisphere as well as throw millions of tons of dust and debris into the atmosphere. Deprived of the sunlight that gives him his powers, Superman nearly dies. Gotham descends almost immediately into chaos as the blackout hits, with rioting and looting rocking the city. An airplane crippled by the electromagnetic pulse crashes into a building, feeding the panic. A few citizens, including Jim Gordon, pull together to fight the fires and retain some semblance of civilization until the power is restored.

Though near death from wounds inflicted during his fight with the Joker and the police, Batman applies his ingenuity to restoring law to Gotham. He and Robin muster a force of Sons of Batman and train them in non-lethal methods as a means to stop looting and ensure the flow of needed supplies. Gotham, ironically, soon becomes the safest and best-fed city in America. Seeing this as an embarrassment rather than a blessing, the U.S. government dispatches Superman to take the Dark Knight down. Warned of their plans by Oliver Queen, the former Green Arrow who is now a bitter one-armed revolutionary, Batman prepares for his ultimate clash. Armed with an artificial powered exoskeleton, the Batmobile, synthetic kryptonite and a mysterious pill, Batman confronts Superman in a final showdown at Crime Alley, where Wayne's parents were murdered decades earlier. Batman manages to defeat the weakened Superman, only to apparently die of a heart attack at the stroke of midnight. At precisely the same moment, Alfred oversees the destruction of the Batcave and Wayne Manor, before suffering a fatal stroke immediately afterward.

The news that Bruce Wayne was Batman spreads throughout the world; however, Wayne's stocks and funds have been sold and liquidated to his "heirs" and Wayne boardmembers, Wayne Manor and Batcave destroyed, and all evidence as to his methods and tools wiped out. At a funeral attended by Gordon, Kyle, Yindel, Carrie and others, Clark Kent is plainly ravaged with sadness and guilt. Just as he turns to leave, however, he hears a faint heartbeat coming from the interred coffin. After staring at Carrie for a few silent moments, Kent gives her a wink and leaves. Wayne has faked his death with planning, skill, and his knowledge of chemistry; Carrie digs up his living body as soon as possible. Wayne had hoped to keep the secret even from Superman; with his wink, however, Kent confirms Wayne's hope that he would play along with the charade. Bruce Wayne, finally looking forward to his life, leads Robin, Green Arrow, and his army deep into the unexplored caverns beyond the Batcave, preparing to continue his fight for justice in a more low-key, but equally important, way than in his "previous life."

FRANK MILLER IN 2006

REVIEW

I added the text because one of the characters in this story is clearly Fredric Wertham, the author of “Seduction of the Innocent” that, to me, still affects the people in power at DC Comics.

And Frank Miller.

The creation of Carrie as a Robin is not an exactly progressive move. There have been many interviews with DC writers and editors where they try to avoid answering questions about Dick Grayson as Robin, and his nature as a ward of Bruce Wayne. It’s almost as Wertham’s ghost is still haunting them with the concept that Bruce, Dick and Alfred are living a homosexual dream. I would normally think it was progress; Even when Bill Willingham made a lot of mistakes when he took on Robin, you could say that Stephanie Brown as Robin could have been progress had they not killed her off. I am also mentioning this because it will become a thing in future stories in this same universe, where Frank Miller makes fun of Dick Grayson’s “feminine side”, and Batman’s rejection of that. Like a broken couple where one of the sides decided to be straight.

But let’s talk about this story now. While I know Miller is a bit fascist sometimes, I completely understand where he was coming from when he wrote this. He was living in a world that wasn’t that different from the one in DKR. And as he said in interviews, he was mugged many times, the city was in chaos and he was watching a lot of Clint Eastwood stories.

The Dark Knight Returns could be satire, could be many things, but in essence is a western. This is not a bad thing. The Nolan trilogy is also a western. Urban westerns.

As a western it makes a lot of sense. You could also add a “Sci-Fi” to that western, but to me, it encapsulates 1986. It has everything that was an issue back then. Gangs, corruption, homophobia, racism, misogyny, the cold war, the doomsday clock, etc. And just like in westerns, Bruce Wayne feels the calling once again, to come out of his retirement to save his city.

Miller is also drawing and the composition of the pages is sometimes genius. You can see themes in the sequences even when they are not connected, and even more, the use of Lynn Varley’s colors is also an integral part of this book. There is a black and white version of this story, while it looks a bit more like other Frank Miller’s creations, I think Lynn Varley adds an important layer to this story and it feels incomplete.

Now let’s talk about Batman v Superman a bit, because the mistakes of WB are a recurring thing. After this novel was published, the modern age kicked in. Suddenly everything was grim and gritty (it was progressively becoming darker, but now it was jarring). Heroes were flawed and conflicted and violent. I think that was the wrong lesson learned from DKR. DKR is a western, it’s dystopian, it has to be violent because it’s a before-its-time-elseworld. This is not Batman, and as long as you understand that this is not canon, you will not make the mistake of thinking this is Batman. To make things even clearer, Miller went on to write Year One a year later. While that story takes a lot from DKR, it is clearly Batman. He didn’t mess with the original. To this day, Year One is the gold standard of Batman origin stories (I love Zero Year more, for different reasons). So when someone says that people need to grow up and stop complaining about Batman using lethal action. In a movie that takes heavily from DKR, you can see they didn’t understand who Batman was (or even Superman). Now, I enjoyed the extended version of that film as it really explains more about Superman and Lex Luthor, but it is very flawed in terms of story. I would say that them being violent wasn’t the main issue there, but they didn’t need to be. If people keep reading DKR as something to imitate, we will never get the Batman and Superman we love. Unless, of course, that they do an adaptation of DKR.

Speaking of, there is an adaptation of DKR and it is beautiful. It’s two animated movies, but I remember thinking they were superior to the book in terms of narrative. This was something that just didn’t work with the narrative in the Year One adaptation. What works in the page, won’t always work on the screen (perhaps Sin City being the best example of something that works well on both).

This book also introduced things to the Batman mythos, even if it isn’t canon. I do not remember now if Jason’s uniform behind a glass was a thing before this (maybe in an Earth-2 story), but it is here, and it will be in the future of Batman comics. Then we have Sarah Essen (only named Sarah here). She will eventually make it into Year One, and later brought back, you know, until No Man’s Land. The batmobile in this story looks a lot like the one in the Nolanverse, and perhaps the most influential thing coming out of this story, is the idea that Batman and Superman are too different to be friends. That lasted a long time.

In the end, you may not like Frank Miller, but his talent in this story is undeniable. Janson and Varley also make this a masterpiece. Just like the Death of Superman hooked a whole generation of comic-book readers, this story was the same hook for another generation. And they still talk about the moment they read DKR for the first time and how crazy it was for them. If you read the material at the time, they have to be right. Except for some sophisticated titles like Swamp Thing, Vigilante and Omega Men, the rest of the DCU was still trying to grow up. Well, DC was about to grow up too fast.

I give this story a score of 10.

#frank miller #lynn varley #klaus janson #dc comics #comics #review #1986 #modern age #batman80 #batman #the dark knight #dark knight returns #dkr #robin #carrie kelley

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teamoliv-archive · 4 years

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(If you’re still accepting these at all lol) What if Atlas never became such a thing? If atlas just stayed as Mantle? (For any!)

Let’s play “What If?”

For this I want to add on a few hypotheticals to this what if. We’re going by what would happen if the kingdom of Atlas was never founded and as a result I’m going to make the following assumptions:

Because a brand new kingdom isn’t created to balance the arrangement, the Atlas Military also isn’t instated and Mantle is set up more like a traditional kingdom.

As a result, the wealth disparity between Atlas and Mantle isn’t nearly as drastic and it’s only one region with less barriers between social classes.

Technological development in Atlas remains the same and James Ironwood is still elected to the position of headmaster of Atlas Academy (May as well let the academy keep its name.) This is mostly for the sake of the show’s consistency.

Knight and Paladin robotic units are still in production by a council-subsidized company and sold as privatized security (and in heavy use by the Mantle council, bringing its own controversies) and the SDC still maintains a monopoly on dust.

With all that in mind, let’s see how this affects Team OLIV’s story.

For starters, let’s go into how this affects the people who benefit the most from Atlas’s wealth and are crippled by Atlas’s lack of it.

Without the creation of a hyper-wealthy upper class, the Baskerville family isn’t nearly as powerful. With sympathetic ties to the previous Mantle regime ideology and nowhere near as much of an upper-class bubble, Cassandra’s family remains little more than an old-money family like many other non-business Atlas families with old histories. Without as much security in her position, she is in less of a position to talk up Tyrael opening an investment business when they meet and eventually marry.

The Cheshire Financial Group is still founded, but in a more mellowed political landscape and with Cassandra having less justification to shut out Tyrael’s old team, the company also heavily finances its partner service- Blood Brothers LLC which Tyrael never leaves in this timeline. Redmond is still hired as an analyst and accountant on Cassandra’s behest.

Without the Atlas military to enlist in, Cobalt also remains with his old team as the mercenary group’s fourth member. He still meets Poppy Goodfellow and marries into Shin’s family, now that the financial base of the company remains in Mantle. Blood Brothers LLC becomes a renown elite huntsmen company that charges premium rate and is often only hired for the most dangerous of jobs. They still charge millions for their services with no questions asked.

The Goodfellow family, without the wealth disparity of Atlas and Mantle nor the military getting preferential treatment on huntsmen missions to stop them, grow up in a more middle class environment than before and the need for money is lessened, Robin is not recruited by Jade out of desperation and without Jade to act as an enabler for Robin’s baser impulses, he instead becomes a heavily-respected huntsmen in Mantle much like his parents. Violet is also never attacked in a panic to keep her away from Jade as a result, giving her more confidence going forward in Atlas Academy.

With the Cheshire Group not having to worry about illicit means to make a lot of money, Tyrael never meets Jade and Ivory instead grows up like any other upper class girl in Mantle. However, she still joins Atlas Academy when she’s old enough, growing tired of the lifestyle, something both her parents and the core Blood Brothers Group support fully. They give her private training, leaving her just as skilled as when she enters Atlas in the canon timeline, on genuine huntress internship this time.

Jade, for his part, is struggling more than he would have. Without Tyrael’s financial backing the Red Arena remains an elusive small-scale red room operation and has no resources to go beyond Mistral’s seedy areas and doesn’t cater to wealthy criminal interests especially without Robin to rocket the bloodsport up to noteriety. While events aren’t kicked off to start the Red Arena plotline as in canon, Jade remains a present and dangerous element of the Mistrali underground despite his lesser role in it.

However, this butterflies away several major events:

Because Jade’s primary players are never recruited, Cassandra Cheshire isn’t killed and Lilac never goes on her crazy revenge ploy. She doesn’t test her weapons out in the mine by Pineyard, freeing Lapis and Lazuli from their entire situation. She and Morado have an uneventful wedding without anyone exploding.

Lapis enters Atlas Academy without the major chip on his shoulder or the horribly negative view of his peers. His sister follow suit and they eventually begin travelling back and forth to Mantle to help their home village. Lazuli is slower to realize how her semblance works, however, and it takes her quite a long time to really learn how. As a result, she initially fails out of Atlas Academy two years after she enrolls before seeking private tutors and leaning on Lapis for support in the meantime.

Team MINT doesn’t go through the horrible trauma they faced at the Red Arena and are significantly more adjusted when they eventually enroll in Beacon Academy.

Because Jade’s reach never goes to Vale, Officer Melina Briar is never declared dead, no is her family ever attacked. Molly and her older sister, Clover, both attend Beacon Academy with Molly graduating with honors. She never meets Ivory or Team OLIV, but her status as the daughter of one of Vale’s most celebrated cops helps her and Clover’s careers greatly.

However, things aren’t all good for everyone:

Onyx Cheshire never existed. The young Jett was still captured by Mistrali slavers and sold to Jade’s operation where he grows up in a more bloodthirsty and unhealthy environment than even the cutthroat politics he does in canon. Auburn still spends her formative years with her neighborhood being terrorized by crime and rackets and only barely manages to make it to Mantle’s prep academy like in canon. However, she stays to attend Atlas with Lazuli, but finishes graduation. Once that is done, Auburn returns to her home to try and exact vengeance on the people who ruined her life, resulting in a long-standing hatred between the two cousins. Auburn is maimed much like she was in her canon fight with Onyx and vows to see Jett and his master either jailed or killed.

Lucianna never joins the Atlas Military as it doesn’t exist, but becomes a formidable huntress. Instead of the failed mission that caused her injuries and cost Cobalt his arm, she is injured in a separate mission and retires early to a live of contemplation and prayer in the Consecration. Again, she adopts a radical doctrine and rises to the head of the church. However, without Atlas to use as a target for her new crusading ideals, she extends her doctrine to Mantle at large, insisting they have lost their way and that the kingdom must be purged much the same as in canon.

Without Violet leaving her home for a few years due to the events of the Red Arena, she is indoctrinated alongside her old friend Sapir and joins Lucianna’s ‘purification’, a choice that puts her at odds with her family who are now around to oppose the high priestess’s ideals.

#teamoliv #Onyx Cheshire - Hypotheticals #Ivory Reynard - Hypotheticals #Lapis Hamelin - Hypotheticals #Violet Goodfellow - Hypotheticals #Tyrael Cheshire - Hypotheticals #Lilac Cheshire - Hypotheticals #Cobalt Ymir - Hypotheticals #Molly Briar - Hypotheticals #Mother Marianne - Hypotheticals #Robin Goodfellow - Hypotheticals #Jade Leroux - Hypotheticals #Lucanna Markella - Hypotheticals #Sapir Antiny - Hypotheticals #Auburn Huldre - Hypotheticals #Anonymous

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reddeaddamnation · 5 years

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A little critique and defense for Game of Thrones ending:

We can all agree on two things - the ending was bittersweet and not something we expected or generally wanted. But all-in-all it wasn’t bad either. Here’s a small summary of what I think about the characters. Now I don’t think ill of any of the characters, let’s have that in mind. I am just critical towards the writers who decided they were going to win us over by plot-twists instead of plot.

Bran: The new king nobody expected. Ever since his adventure to become the three-eyed Raven, he never stopped repeating how he wasn’t Bran Stark anymore, he doesn’t want to be lord of anything, but all of a sudden we are gifted with a scene of him becoming king and not objecting to it. Personally, I think he saw what was going to happen, since he has the Sight and can see into the past and future. When he said he doesn’t want to be lord, he probably just didn’t finish his thought because of mystic aesthetics and whatnot. “I am not Lord, I am a king.” Still, I think it was a bit forced in my opinion.

Sansa: I’m happy she got what she deserved. She grew out a lot during the last seasons but the fact that she became queen to an autonomous kingdom because she is tight with the new king is a bit of a reason the other six kingdoms to riot. “After all, why should the north be their own kingdom when we can be too?” That was a risky move and it would have been safer if they either stayed the way they were or split up entirely. After all, Edmure is Sansa and Bran’s uncle, sweet Robin is their cousin and Edmure openly admitted his dismay.

Jon: “Yeah, just...send him north, because we don’t know what to do with him anymore. He doesn’t want to be king anyway, am I right haha?” Typical hero. The only difference being just building up his character and plotline all these years just to see it crumble into the nothing is a reason to cry alltogether even if you don’t like his character. Absolutely useless the entire season if not for the fact that he killed Daenerys before she turned all of Westeros into a fiery pit of hell. It was somewhat hinted that he is Azor Ahai, he killed Nisa Nisa(Daenerys) but then...absolutely nothing. At least Ghost got a scratch behind the ear.

Tyrion: His endgame was something you would generally expect from someone who spent all his life around strong political figures, wooing them with his charisma and wit and saving his life with that or bribes. He has never fought in his life and it was expected for him to survive, again at a high position near a strong political figure.

Jaime: He is the embodiment of “A wolf can change his coat but not his teeth”. And he said it himself, he pushed a child out of a window and turned him into a cripple, manipulated and killed many people all for his sister-lover. In other words, he was just her errand boy the entire time. His “redemption arc” was just another way to show that wherever he goes and whatever he does, in the end he will always be back where he started - with Cersei. Honestly, I believed he would be the one to sit on the throne in the end.

Cersei: She got what was coming to her indeed, but her death was almost too ridiculous. She could have been killed by Arya, Tyrion, Jaime, but no. She at least deserved a face-to-face meeting with Deanerys. This last season they turned her into the typical antagonist.

Arya: She had her five minutes of tumblr fame when she killed the Night king but that was it.

And finally,

Daenerys: The world was saved from a terrible political leader. She died like she lived. Cruel, manipulative, ungrateful. I’m not going to talk too much about her insanity, because that happens when you lose two dragons, all the people you loved and nobody sees you as a ruler even though you came to their land to save?? them. Missandei was killed because Cersei knew Daenerys would break and took the opportunity. One of her dragons died fighting other people’s battles, the other one was killed again on Cersei’s order. Jorah was the only person she could rely on since a young age and he is gone too. But I have a feeling she never really appreciated them until they were gone. Other than that, I don’t know if it was intentional or bad writing, Daenerys is an awful tactician like she proved in the battle of Winterfell, which lead to her losing a big chunk of army. Ambition and repeating “I am your queen” aren’t the factors that make a ruler good. I could write a lot more about her but I believe this is enough said.

Let’s not forget that this is my opinion and I am not forcing it on anyone, feel free to give other opinions.

#game of thrones #got s8 #got ending

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adamwatchesmovies · 5 years

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The Worst of 2019 (So Far)

And now we get to the opposite of yesterday’s post: the worst of what we’ve seen so far. Time to give them a proper thrashing before they (hopefully) fade into obscurity. Disappointingly, there's a general lack of films that were bad but in an interesting way. Mostly, it’s either been the same sorta dreck we usually get with a couple of unusually offensive stories and a couple of soul-crushingly bad superhero flicks. Curious? Read on.

10. Serenity

I like to save my #10 spot on the “Worst of” list for a movie that has a chance of becoming a favorite among those who love bad movies. Serenity is competently enough made that it does not belong in the same category as The Identical or Runaway. It’s another kind of bad movie, the kind that baffles anyone who sees it and who will have film historians scratching their heads in the future. It’s not quite on the same level as 2017’s “The Book of Henry” but close. Top-notch actors at the top of their career in a story so poorly conceived it would’ve been brilliant if it weren’t awful and utterly absurd.

The revelation that everything we've been seeing is actually part of a video game programmed by an angry teen who hates his abusive father, and that his actions are tied to those of Matthew McConaughey's character is the kind of nutty decision someone at some point should've questioned. My advice? Surprise some unsuspecting friends with it. Periodically pause the movie so they can write down how they think it'll all fit together and then watch their faces as they're proved wrong.

9. After

I’m not going to remember After down the line so this is my opportunity to give it another flogging. I can’t believe fan-fictions of real people is a real thing and that one of them was deemed legitimate and popular enough to be turned into a movie. It plays out like the clone of a clone of a clone of Twilight. At least that movie had danger in the form of vampires and werewolves. This has nothing to offer except embarrassing drama and a prepubescent’s idea of what romance and love look like. I saw it in the theater with a friend and thank goodness she was there; it made what would've been a chore... slightly more bearable.

8. Dumbo

I’ve already gone on about how I feel about Disney’s string of live-action remakes. For the most part, they fail to validate their own existences; they’re just copies of the original but with “real” actors dancing around animated backgrounds, objects and locations instead of everything being traditionally animated. Dumbo isn’t like Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast. It does try new things. It diverges from the source material significantly in the worst way. The titular character winds up playing second banana to a bunch of circus performers no one cares about and in the end didn’t contain an inkling of the emotion the 1941 version did.

7. Dark Phoenix

This one’s a triple-whammy. Not only was it a deeply disappointing way for Fox’s X-Men series to end, it retreaded old material in a way that was worse than X-Men 3: The Last Stand AND it was a box office bomb. By the time the story finally comes alive… it’s just about over. The whole thing feels like a mistake, bringing in aliens and asking us to invest in characters we just haven’t had enough time to fall in love with. Makes me wonder what the future of the characters is going to be like. Yes there are a number of heroes and heroines we haven’t yet seen, but are people going to care, even when the brand gets a new coat of paint from Marvel Studios?

6. Men in Black: International

Was anyone asking for the Men in Black series to return? Maybe if they'd had a dynamite story this could’ve overcome the public’s general disinterest, but this was an extremely generic plot you could figure out easily minutes in and lost touch with what endeared us to the first. Even with the combined forces of Tessa Thompson and Chris Hemsworth failed, it to generate many laughs. Worse, to make sure I got any references or Easter egg it might drop, I re-watched all of the previous Men in Black movies, including the horrific Men in Black 2.

5. Replicas

This movie goes about itself in such a convoluted way. First, Keanu Reeves plays a scientist working for a company that wants to transplant the mind of dead soldiers into androids. Then, his family is killed in a car crash, prompting him to use the mind transfer tech to put their memories into new clone bodies of themselves. Problem is, he only has the means to clone three out of four family members. This means he has to erase all memories of his youngest daughter from the others’ brains. Following me so far? Good because it keeps going from there. Actually, that’s just the start of it. It’s a classic case of TMSGO - too much sh*t goin’ on. Even with all that, it STILLL managed to have gaping plot holes. No surprise it came and went as quietly as possible.

4. Hellboy

This one hurt. I wanted to see a superhero horror film badly. The early interviews I read about them wanting to adapt Mike Mignola’s books more closely than the Del Toro films got me excited. I was a little apprehensive when the trailers showed some goofy stuff but I figured these were included to draw people in. I should've listened to that sinking feeling. The actual film is awful, one giant mistake after another. Without a doubt, this featured the year’s worst special effects and even this I could've forgiven but the would-be humorous tone was badly misjudged and the story bloated with way too many elements that might've worked... if we weren't also trying to tell the character's origin at the same time. Hellboy ends with a teaser promising more and there’s no way we would’ve seen a sequel even if this had made money at the box office. Cool demons though, for what it’s worth.

3. Shaft

Looking back, I’m struggling to think of anything worth seeing in Shaft. I hated the film’s approach at comedy, particularly when it reverted Samuel L. Jackson’s John Shaft into the kind of man who proudly doesn’t understand modern sensibilities and spews out one homophobic joke after another. The plot was uninspired and uninteresting - not to mention generic - and none of it felt like it belonged on the big screen. On the upside, it prompted me to view the original trilogy with Richard Roundtree and those were enjoyable.

2. Simmba

Simmba is unlikely to be on the “Worst of 2019” list next January. It probably won’t be at the #2 spot. The film mixes two wildly different tones but not well. It begins as a romantic crime comedy, a dated one, sure. Simmba staging a phoney crime in order for the woman he’s attracted to to call him for help and then use the call as an excuse to stay with her through the night is creepy but I guess it might’ve passed like 20 years ago in North America. What makes this a bad film is the way it then introduces a character’s gang rape and murder as a way to prompt the anti-hero onto a righteous path. From there, it turns into this vigilante revenge film that has disturbing implications. You probably haven’t heard of it before now, much less seen it. I don’t recommend you check it out.

Runner Ups:

Aladdin

A controversial choice, as many casual filmgoers seem to have fallen madly in love with it (similar to the way they ate up 2017’s Beauty and the Beast) but honestly, what does this film do better than 1992’s Aladdin? Add an unmemorable song for Princess Jasmine to sing? Reduce the number of talking animals in order to give us more… nothing? Pile on the CGI to the point you wonder why it was made with live-actors in the first place? Like the innumerable direct-to-video sequels of classic films who've been all but forgotten, I tell you this Arabbian adventure won't endure.

Tolkien

So much potential squandered on a boring story. It didn’t take an astute viewer to recognize the film was crippled by the studio failing to obtain the rights to Tolkien’s actual work. I get the feeling we'll see another shot at a biography of J.R.R. Tolkien in a couple of years and this will be the Christopher Robin to the much superior Goodbye Christopher Robin.

The Hustle

It’s an unfunny comedy, what more is there to say? Rebel Wilson makes yet another bad career choice playing the same character she always plays. I only realized it was a remake of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels while writing my review, which is unfortunate. Hopefully I can expunge this film from my memory soon enough and forget anything it might’ve spoiled about the original Bedtime Story or the 1988 remake.

1. Unplanned

The numerous instances of technical incompetence - mostly coming from the performers who are given lackluster material - would be enough to condemn Unplanned to this list. What made me hate the film is the way it blatantly lies and attempts to manipulate the audience into further entrenching themselves in a certain point of view through cheap, manipulative means. I can respect that genuine passion was poured into the project but the way it goes about it is shameful. Do not go see it, even if you're curious.

Yuck. That last one really left a bad taste in my mouth so I'm going to talk about a movie I did enjoy and am enthusiastic to direct you towards Alita: Battle Angel. Rosa Salazar as the titular Alita impressed me and I really dug the action scenes. I'll also right a wrong from last year by reminding you to find and watch Paddington and Paddington 2, both movies I should've put on my "Best of" lists the years they came out. I don't know what I was thinking but I keep coming back to these in my head. They're excellent for kids and adults.

And with that said, the list is over. Back to our regularly-scheduled film reviews until something big comes up. Thoughts or comments on the list are welcome and I hope you enjoyed reading.

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