dbqpiooi

[macbethheadband]

Its not even that deadloch is a comedy parody of a detective show its not ‘funny broadchurch’ its just broadchurch with australians and australians are just such shit talkers that everything sounds funny

[incorrectbatfam]

Which of the batkids have been in a child safety tether (as in, you are safe from the child) and why?

[at the amusement park]

Bruce: Now have fun, but remember that safety comes first. If I catch you doing anything unsafe, you're gonna have to wear this backpack with a rope so I can keep an eye on you. Understood?

8-year-old Dick: Yes sir!

Dick: *immediately starts climbing the Ferris wheel*

Bruce: Ten seconds, that's a new record.

———————

[before a gala]

12-year-old Jason: I'm not a pet. You can't put me on a leash.

Bruce: Like I said, it's only if you misbehave. All you have to do is smile for the cameras. If you feel uncomfortable, just tell me and we can go early.

Jason: Ugh, fine.

[later]

Alfred: Master Bruce, I saw Master Jason outside removing the hubcaps from a very expensive limo.

———————

14-year-old Tim: According to my research, you've used a child leash to keep Robin in line, and I just want you to know that you've got nothing to worry about when it comes to me.

[3 years later]

Bruce: Why are you covered in blood?

17-year-old Tim: I got a new spleen.

Bruce: Where exactly did you get it?

Tim: That's private medical information.

———————

Bruce: *talking to Commissioner Gordon*

16-year-old Steph: *tries to sneak to the ice cream truck*

Bruce: Nice try, young lady.

Bruce: *clips the leash on*

———————

Cass: *on the leash*

Barbara: What'd she do?

Bruce: She had coffee. This is a precaution.

———————

Damian, on the leash: This is humiliating!

Bruce: It's what happens when you try to sneak batarangs into a birthday party.

Damian: Can you at least loosen it? It is chafing.

Bruce: Sure.

Bruce: *loosens it*

Damian: *grabs a cake knife, cuts the cord, and sprints away*

———————

Tim: Duke's lucky he doesn't have to deal with the child leash.

Duke: Child leash? Like the thing they use on preschoolers?

Damian: Mhm. Father would put us on it when we misbehaved.

Jason: You cut it in half the first time. You barely even had it on.

Duke: Is it that green one on the Batcave floor?

Steph: Green? The one I had was purple.

Dick: No it's not, it's blue.

Jason: Nope, pretty sure it was red.

Tim: Mine was a shade of orange.

Cass: Pink. Didn't have black.

Dick: Wait, guys, are you thinking what I'm thinking?

[later]

Bruce, on a long rainbow leash: I should've seen this coming.

[trungles]

Cross-posting an essay I wrote for my Patreon since the post is free and open to the public.

Hello everyone! I hope you're relaxing as best you can this holiday season. I recently went to see Miyazaki's latest Ghibli movie, The Boy and the Heron, and I had some thoughts about it. If you're into art historical allusions and gently cranky opinions, please enjoy. I've attached a downloadable PDF in the Patreon post if you'd prefer to read it that way. Apologies for the formatting of the endnotes! Patreon's text posting does not allow for superscripts, which means all my notations are in awkward parentheses. Please note that this writing contains some mild spoilers for The Boy and the Heron.

Hayao Miyazaki’s 2023 feature animated film The Boy and the Heron reads as an extended meditation on grief and legacy. The Master of a grand tower seeks a descendant to carry on his maddening duty, balancing toy blocks of magical stone upon which the entire fabric of his little pocket of reality rests. The world’s foundations are frail and fleeting, and can pass away into the cold void of space should he neglect to maintain this task. The Master’s desire to pass the torch undergirds much of the film’s narrative.

(Isle of the Dead. Arnold Böcklin. 1880. Oil on Canvas. Kunstmuseum. Basel, Switzerland.)

Arnold Böcklin, a Swiss Symbolist(1) painter, was born on October 16 in 1827, the same year the Swiss Evangelical Reformed Church bought a plot of land in Florence from the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Leopold II, that had long been used for the burials of Protestants around Florence. It is colloquially known as The English Cemetery, so called because it was the resting place of many Anglophones and Protestants around Tuscany, and Böcklin frequented this cemetery—his workshop was adjacent and his infant daughter Maria was buried there. In 1880, he drew inspiration from the cemetery, a lone plot of Protestant land among a sea of Catholic graveyards, and began to paint what would be the first of six images entitled Isle of the Dead. An oil on canvas piece, it depicts a moody little island mausoleum crowned with a gently swaying grove of cypresses, a type of tree common in European cemeteries and some of which are referred to as arborvitae. A figure on a boat, presumably Charon, ferries a soul toward the island and away from the viewer.

(Photo of The English Cemetery in Florence. Samuli Lintula. 2006.)

The Isle of the Dead paintings varied slightly from version to version, with figures and names added and removed to suit the needs of the time or the commissioner. The painting was glowingly referenced and remained fairly popular throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The painting used to be inescapable in much of European popular culture. Professor Okulicz-Kozaryn, a philologist (someone with a deep interest in the ways language and cultural canons evolve)(2) observed that the painting, like many other works in its time, was itself iterative and became widely reiterated and referenced among its contemporaries. It became something like Romantic kitsch in the eyes of modern art critics, overwrought and excessively Byronic. I imagine Miyazaki might also resent a work of that level of manufactured ubiquity, as Miyazaki famously held Disney animated films in contempt (3). Miyazaki’s films are popularly aspirational to young animators and cartoonists, but gestures at imitation typically fall well short, often reducing Miyazaki’s weighty films to kitschy images of saccharine vibes and a lazy indulgence in a sort of empty magical domestic coziness. Being trapped in a realm of rote sentiment by an uncritical, unthoughtful viewership is its own Isle of Death.

(Still from The Boy and the Heron, 2023. Studio Ghibli.)

The Boy and the Heron follows a familiar narrative arc to many of Miyazaki’s other films: a child must journey through a magical and quietly menacing world in order to rescue their loved ones. This arc is an echo of Satsuki’s journey to find Mei in My Neighbor Totoro (1988) and Chihiro’s journey to rescue her parents Spirited Away (2001). To better understand Miyazaki’s fixation with this particular character journey, it can be instructive to watch Lev Atamanov’s 1957 animated film, The Snow Queen (4)(5), a beautifully realized take on Hans Christian Andersen’s 1844 children’s story (6)(7). Mahito’s journey continues in this tradition, as the boy travels into a painted world to rescue his new stepmother from a mysterious tower.

Throughout the film, Miyazaki visually references Isle of the Dead. Transported to a surreal world, Mahito initially awakens on a little green island with a gated mausoleum crowned with cypress trees. He is accosted by hungry pelicans before being rescued by a fisherwoman named Kiriko. After a day of catching and gutting fish, Mahito wakes up under the fisherwoman’s dining table, surrounded by kokeshi—little wooden dolls—in the shapes of the old women who run Mahito’s family’s rural household. Mahito is told they must not be touched, as the kokeshi are wards set up for his protection. There is a popular urban legend associated with the kokeshi wherein they act as stand-ins for victims of infanticide, though there seems to be very little available writing to support this legend. Still, it’s a neat little trick that Miyazaki pulls, placing a stray reference to a local legend of unverifiable provenance that persists in the popular imagination, like the effect of fairy stories passed on through oral retellings, continually remolded each new iteration.

(Still from The Boy and the Heron, 2023. Studio Ghibli.)

Kiriko’s job in this strange landscape is to catch fish to nourish unborn spirits, the adorable floating warawara, before they can attempt to ascend on a journey into the world of the living. Their journey is thwarted by flocks of supernatural pelicans, who swarm the warawara and devour them. This seems to nod to the association of pelicans with death in mythologies around the world, especially in relationship to children (8). Miyazaki’s pelicans contemplate the passing of their generations as each successive generation seems to regress, their capacity to fulfill their roles steadily diminishing.

(Still from The Boy and the Heron, 2023. Studio Ghibli.)

As Mahito’s adventure continues, we find the landscapes changing away from Böcklin’s Isle of the Dead into more familiar Ghibli territories as we start to see spaces inspired by one of Studio Ghibli’s aesthetic mainstays, Naohisa Inoue and his explorations of the fantasy realms of Iblard. He might be most familiar to Ghibli enthusiasts as the background artists for the more fantastical elements of Whisper of the Heart (1995).

(Naohisa Inoue, for Iblard Jikan, 2007. Studio Ghibli.)

By the time we arrive at the climax of The Boy and the Heron, the fantasy island environment starts to resemble English takes on Italian gardens, the likes of which captivated illustrators and commercial artists of the early 20th century such as Maxfield Parrish. This appears to be a return to one of Böcklin’s later paintings, The Island of Life (1888), a somewhat tongue-in-cheek reaction to the overwhelming presence of Isle of the Dead in his life and career. The Island of Life depicts a little spot of land amid an ocean very like the one on which Isle of the Dead’s somber mausoleum is depicted, except this time the figures are lively and engaged with each other, the vegetation lush and colorful, replete with pink flowers and palm fronds.

(Island of Life. Arnold Böcklin. Oil on canvas. 1888. Kunstmuseum. Basel, Switzerland.)

In 2022, Russia’s State Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg acquired the sixth and final Isle of the Dead painting. In the last year of his life, Arnold Böcklin would paint this image in collaboration with his son Carlo Böcklin, himself an artist and an architect. Arnold Böcklin spent three years painting the same image three times over at the site of his infant daughter’s grave, trapped on the Isle of the Dead. By the time of his death in 1901 at age 74, Böcklin would be survived by only five of his fourteen children. That the final Isle of the Dead painting would be a collaboration between father and son seemed a little ironic considering Hayao Miyazaki’s reticence in passing on his own legacy. Like the old Master in The Boy and the Heron, Miyazaki finds himself with no true successors.

The Master of the Tower's beautiful islands of painted glass fade into nothing as Mahito, his only worthy descendant, departs to live his own life, fulfilling the thesis of Genzaburo Yoshino’s 1937 book How Do You Live?, published three years after Carlo Böcklin’s death. In evoking Yoshino and Böcklin’s works, Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron suggests that, like his character the Master, Miyazaki himself must make peace with the notion that he has no heirs to his legacy, and that those whom he wished to follow in his footsteps might be best served by finding their own paths.

(Isle of the Dead. Arnold and Carlo Böcklin. Oil on canvas. 1901. The State Hermitage Museum. Saint Petersburg, Russia.)

INFORMAL ENDNOTES

1 - Symbolists are sort of tough to nail down. They were started as a literary movement to 1 distinguish themselves from the Decadents, but their manifesto was so vague that critics and academics fight about it to this day. The long and the short of it is that the Symbolists made generous use of a lot of metaphorical imagery in their work. They borrow a lot of icons from antiquity, echo the moody aesthetics from the Romantics, maintained an emphasis on figurative imagery more so than the Surrealists, and were only slightly more technically married to the trappings of traditionalist academic painters than Modernists and Impressionists. They're extremely vibes-forward.

2 - Okulicz-Kozaryn, Radosław. Predilection of Modernism for Variations. Ciulionis' Serenity among Different Developments of the Theme of Toteninsel. ACTA Academiae Artium Vilnensis 59. 2010. The article is incredibly cranky and very funny to read in parts. Contains a lot of observations I found to be helpful in placing Isle of the Dead within its context.

3 - "From my perspective, even if they are lightweight in nature, the more popular and common films still must be filled with a purity of emotion. There are few barriers to entry into these films-they will invite anyone in but the barriers to exit must be high and purifying. Films must also not be produced out of idle nervousness or boredom, or be used to recognise, emphasise, or amplify vulgarity. And in that context, I must say that I hate Disney's works. The barrier to both the entry and exit of Disney films is too low and too wide. To me, they show nothing but contempt for the audience." from Miyazaki's own writing in his collection of essays, Starting Point, published in 2014 from VIZ Media.

4 - You can watch the movie here in its original Russian with English closed captions here.

5 If you want to learn more about the making of Atamanoy's The Snow Queen, Animation Obsessive wrote a neat little article about it. It's a good overview, though I have to gently disagree with some of its conclusions about the irony of Miyazaki hating Disney and loving Snow Queen, which draws inspiration from Bambi. Feature film animation as we know it hadonly been around a few decades by 1957, and I find it specious, particularly as a comic artistand author, to see someone conflating an entire form with the character of its content, especially in the relative infancy of the form. But that's just one hot take. The rest of the essay is lovely.

6 - Miyazaki loves this movie. He blurbed it in a Japanese re-release of it in 2007.

7 - Julia Alekseyeva interprets Princess Mononoke as an iteration of Atamanov's The Snow Queen, arguing that San, the wolf princess, is Miyazaki's homage to Atamanoy's little robber girl character.

8 - Hart, George. The Routledge Dictionary of Egyptian Gods And Goddesses. Routledge Dictionaries. Abingdon, United Kingdom: Routledge. 2005.

[favvn]

At the risk of being a contrarian (because I have browsed the tag, I've seen the complaints), The Deadly Years isn't entirely out of character for Jim Kirk. It's just that we get to see him at his worst again.

Back in season 1, the Conscience of the King shows that he will pull rank on both Spock and McCoy--the two people on the entire ship that Kirk allows himself to be closest to--to keep them out of his life and to shut down their concerns for his well-being. Kirk is not sick or inhibited by anything in this episode (other than haunted by his past). His decision to use the Enterprise to transport the acting troupe doesn't delay a mission or risk lives outside of the Enterprise, although it does inadvertently endanger one member of his crew (Lt. Riley). In other words, he acts selfishly in this episode and lashes out towards those who want to help, much like he does in The Deadly Years.

Earlier in the season, The Galileo Seven shows that Kirk will reassert his authority as captain to put off completing a mission to deliver emergency medical supplies to Makus III and aid a colony overrun by a plague because he has "standing orders" to investigate quasars. This mission is ordered by Galactic High Commissioner Ferris, which the Enterprise is transporting to oversee the supply transfer. Ferris himself later states that he outranks Kirk and can cite regulation to support his taking command of the ship to complete the mission once Kirk makes it clear he intends to take 2 full days to locate and retrieve the Galileo's crew rather than use those days to get to Makus III. This situation is interesting in that it shows how Kirk can respond negatively to those holding authority over him, especially when those same people question his decisions. Ferris is technically correct when he argues that the Galileo did not need to be launched to begin with, given how Kirk would rather trade the life of a colony for the lives of seven crew members.

I realize TOS is inconsistent about background details with how Starfleet operates owing to its standalone story structure, and this instance of "standing orders" is yet another case of that structure hindering the world building. While Kirk doesn't follow the Prime Directive even at the best of times (best of times being the absence of a cult. I'll grant him that exception), he will ignore a high galactic commissioner to follow "standing orders" all of a sudden because, at his core, Kirk doesn't want to follow orders. He's the captain. He's supposed to be the one in charge. If he's a perfectionist (his guilt at losing crew members during missions to the point of Spock having to console him, although this also comes from his survivor's guilt from Tarsus IV), it wouldn't surprise me a bit if he has control issues alongside it. In other words, for all the good Kirk tries to do and strives to do, he is still just as capable of acting selfishly and in his own best interests, and he has done so since the start of the series.

More to the point of The Deadly Years, aging is not always painless or graceful. We get to see Kirk starting to forget recent events and commands (forgetting recent events and conversations is one of the first symptoms of Alzheimer's disease) to the point that he is an active risk to the safety of the crew. Of course, he will be in denial about it, to the point of anger and deflection. It's a painful thing to reckon with, to live in a body that doesn't work like you know it should, and to have others place judgments onto you for it because they're in perfect health. Not everyone can accept that with grace. This doesn't make Kirk out-of-character. It makes him human.

[girlactionfigure]

THURSDAY HERO: Victor Bodson 

Victor Bodson was a Luxembourger politician who created an escape route for German Jews fleeing Hitler and saved over 100 lives, at great risk to his own.

Born in 1902 in one of the smallest countries in Europe, Victor was equally comfortable on the athletic field and in the halls of power. An avid swimmer, boxer and motorcycle racer in his youth, Victor became a successful lawyer and political activist. He became a member of his small country’s Board of Deputies in 1934, and the next year was elected to a council seat in Luxembourg City. 

Victor lived on the Sauer River, which forms the border between Luxembourg and Germany. As Hitler and the Nazis rose to power in the 1930’s, it became increasingly difficult for Jews to leave Germany. Desperate  Jews began crossing the treacherous Sauer River, hoping to find safety in the small kingdom. Fortunately for them, Victor Bodson was waiting on the other side to ferry them to safety. An expert driver and mechanic, Victor equipped his vehicle with a specially-designed apparatus to completely hide the passengers. When the Jewish refugees exited the river, they followed secret directions to Victor’s house, where he provided them with dry clothing and other basic needs. Then he ferried them to safe houses that he’d arranged and prepared beforehand.

Victor continued his heroic lifesaving efforts for seven years, from 1933 to 1940. He did this despite knowing that if the Nazis found out, he could be executed without trial. He took many risks during those seven years, never knowing whom he could trust when looking for people to hide Jews, never knowing if the Nazis were on his trail, and traveling through treacherous forests during bitter winter months. The exact numbers are unknown, and Victor did not talk about his brave actions, but historians estimate that he saved approximately 100 people – not to mention all those peoples’ descendants.

In May 1940, Germany invaded Luxembourg and Victor was unable to continue helping Jewish refugees. Most of the Luxembourg government fled in a motorcade, but Victor stayed behind to provide help amid the chaos. Later, using knowledge of backroads gained during his time as a motorcyclist, he escaped to France, then Portugal, and finally to Montreal, Canada where he became part of the Luxembourg government in exile. For the remainder of the war, Victor continued to help Jews and other refugees by providing them with entry visas to Canada and the United States. In 1942 the Gestapo put him on their most wanted list, but they were unable to do anything to him because he was so far away.

After the war, Victor returned to his homeland and served as a high level government commissioner, first in the justice department and later as the transportation minister. In 1971, Victor was deeply touched to be recognized as Righteous Among the Nations by Israeli Holocaust Memorial Yad Vashem. He wrote a beautiful letter of gratitude for the honor, humbly downplaying his own actions and saying that he was simply fulfilling his human duty to help others.

Victor Bodson died in 1984. He remains a source of pride to his countrymen who named the beautiful Victor Bodson Bridge after him. 

For saving one hundred lives over seven years, we honor Victor Bodson as this week’s Thursday Hero.

[ironwoodatl01]

Batman; Gotham by Gaslight

Within the annals of cultural, pop cultural, and historical crime, there are few whose macabre methods could reach the bloody depths that 'yours truly,' Jack the Ripper, managed to plumb.

Five brutal deaths were all it took for that deadly name to resound for Five centuries. The echo of the deed has so scarred the psyche of man that Man collectively found 'champions' of their own to face the blood-soaked beast on the battlefield of 'what if' in an attempt, perhaps, to find a semblance of cold closure on one of the most famous cold cases in history.

A murderer must be hunted by a detective, and there is no more excellent detective at DC's disposal than Batman to solve the mystery of Jack the Ripper. It is a contest between legendary figures, a Dark Knight on a quest to capture a monster, two ghosts playing a grisly game of hide-and-seek through the foggy alleys of a Victorian-era Gotham lit not by neon ...but by Gaslight.

Ironically, even though Batman is DC's greatest detective, barely any detective work is done in both the movie and the original comic it is adapted from. Any investigative work done by Batman in both mediums to uncover the identity of Jack is brushed over, and the reveal of the killer's identity had nothing to do with anything Batman had done throughout the narrative.

Ultimately, Batman is almost railroaded into solving the mystery, and the climax is somewhat underwhelming and blunts the effect of the twist reveal of Jack the Ripper's true identity.

YES. Commissioner James Gordon IS Jack the Ripper. This risky reimagining elevated this adaptation to a height that its original comic did not achieve. The twist shocked the system for any DC fan familiar with Batman's relationship with Gordon. It is also expertly hinted at throughout the film for any sharp-eyed viewer interested in a whodunit, as the narrative presented many possible suspects, but Gordon was the only one who would have fit all the facts of the mystery. The twist was further muddied by the inspired decision to design Jack the Ripper to be as angular as possible, while Gordon had a softer, more rounded silhouette.

This culminates in a climactic showdown atop a burning Ferris wheel, which was ironically begun by a knocked-over gas lamp. At the end of a brutally animated brawl, Gordon allows himself to be consumed by the fire of the burning wheel. He is a good man driven into hellfire by his hellish desires. Was he the last evil of a bygone age sacrificed for a better future? Or was he just the latest in a never-ending cycle of self-destruction, doomed to go around in a wheel until the wheel eats itself alive?

Whatever the case, Gotham by Gaslight turned a throwaway 'what if' comic story into a film that embodies everything that makes a Batman story great. The film shows that, even if lit by gas, Gotham is still a city that needs its Dark Knight, regardless of what the city deserves.

[yona049]

𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐱 𝐟𝐞𝐦! 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

Part 1

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Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

○○○○○○○○○○○○○○

Preview~

𝚈/𝚗 𝚒𝚜 𝚊𝚗 𝚘𝚛𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚊𝚛𝚢 𝚓𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚗𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚝 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚍𝚊𝚒𝚕𝚢 𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚎𝚝. 𝙸𝚗 𝙶𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚖 𝚜𝚑𝚎 𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚔𝚜 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚗𝚎𝚡𝚝 𝚋𝚒𝚐 𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚢 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚊 𝚗𝚎𝚠 𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚢 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚖𝚘𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗. 𝚆𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚊𝚗𝚢 𝚕𝚞𝚌𝚔, 𝚜𝚑𝚎'𝚕𝚕 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚏𝚊𝚌𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚏𝚊𝚌𝚎 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝙶𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚖'𝚜 𝚏𝚊𝚟𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚎 𝙲𝚊𝚙𝚎𝚍 𝙲𝚛𝚞𝚜𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛.

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°

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𝘿𝙞𝙨𝙘𝙡𝙖𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙧!!!

𝗜 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀! 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗗𝗖 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗗𝗖! ^○^

Warnings :

○Poison.

○Fainting

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"C'mon Gordon! I took a 2 day ferry from Metropolis just to get here! The least you can do is let me see him!"

Y/n was following hot on Commissioner Jim Gordon's heels as he rushed though the police station.

"I don't need the damn Daily planet on my case! I already have the Gazette to deal with." he growls as he stops at his desk grabbing his lighter and cigarette case.

Y/n stops beside him glaring at him intently. She was a reporter who had one job, get a story on Gotham City's favorite vigilante. The Batman.

Gordon lights his cigarette before leaning against his desk and taking a pull from it. He puffs out the smoke before gritting his teeth and making eye contact with the reporter.

"Miss L/n, what makes you think I could get you an exclusive with the bat?" he says.

Y/n only gives him a look that makes Gordon roll his eyes at the stupid question. Only a reporter like Y/n would be able to figure out how the bat gets all his info and who from?

"Gordon, this is my one chance to get a promotion, a good one. You've known me since I was ten! C'mon, just this once." she whimpers almost like a puppy gripping her reporter bag slung over her shoulder.

The commissioner only sighs, shaking his head. "Not this time kid. This is something I promised your dad I'd never let you get involved with." 

He puts his hand on the top of her back and respectfully pushes her towards the exit, snaking their way through the busy police station. 

"Look, while you're here I'll buy ya a drink and we can do some catching up. It's been a while." he stops on the steps outside the entrance.

Y/n sighs and scratches her head out of frustration. "Yeah, I'd love to." she gives a genuine smile before saying her goodbye to The commissioner and walking off into the Gotham night air. 

She stops in the alleyway beside the police station and leans against the building wall. Taking her phone from her pocket she scrolls though the contacts and presses on the name "Glasses man"

Putting it up to her ear she listens to it ring out. Finally, a nervous voice plays out. 'Hey! This is Clark-ah Kent! Leave a message!' 

Y/n sighs before talking. "Hi Glasses, you’re probably asleep right now, I didn't realise what time it was before I called. Anyway, just calling to say you might wanna keep my seat warm. I got nothing from my source. I might just book a ferry home tomorrow. At least it means I can still throw paper planes at your desk. I'll-"

She stops when a shadow flies over the ally and heavy cape flutters echo through the night air. Her lips curl into a hopeful smirk as she looks up at the rooftop seeing the bat signal shining in the smokey clouds.

"Huh, my luck might have just changed." She ends the call and shoves her phone in her pocket.

She hurries deeper into the alley way and immediately she spots the fire escape. Y/n puts her hand on the cold iron ladder before she looks down at her shoes. "Ugh, no way I'm ruining these shoes too!"

After kicking off her shoes she starts climbing to the roof before she finally reaches the top and manages to climb onto the rooftop without gaining any attention. With bare feet she crawls behind a vent and peaks around it at the shining bat signal and two men standing beside it.

The Batman and Jim Gordon in deep conversation. This was her chance, she lifts her phone from her pocket and gets ready to calmly approach the masked vigilante.

A sudden whistle through the air catches her attention, a red cape shines even brighter as the bat signal shines onto it and slowly the S symbol comes into view.

Y/n moves her hand over her mouth to stop the excited squeak when Superman lands beside batman.

'Two heros? Oh! I'm definitely getting that promotion!' She thinks full of excitement.

Batman looks back at superman and his deep growled words manage to remind Y/n of where exactly she was and what her situation was.

"Did you find it?"

Superman nods and opens his fist to reveal a small vial of green liquid. It glows steadily reflecting against the confused look of Jim Gordon who takes it in his hand. 

"What is this? It looks like Joker venom." 

Batman gives a growl and shakes his head. "Not just Joker venom. My scanner is picking up fear toxin too. I'd have to do a deeper scan to be sure."

Finally, Superman looks up from the vial’s hypnotizing green glow. "Few hours ago, Batman alerted me of unusual chemical readings in a warehouse by the docks. Once I got there, I only found this swept into a corner. Looked like they left in a hurry."

 

Batman lifts his head." If Joker and Scarecrow are working together to combine their toxin's, we could have a bigger threat on our hands. And by the sound of it, there could be more." 

Gordon nods and gives an extensive sigh, rubbing the back of his neck, rolling the vial back and forth in his palm. 

Y/n lifts an eyebrow before using her phone to take a picture of the three standing together and looking down at the picture deep in thought.

'Two deadly Toxin's combined, what could the motive be except to cause chaos? Perhaps other villains. But Scarecrow and Joker aren't criminals without purpose, even if they are psychotic they wouldn't work together without a final goal.'

She turns her head back to the scene in front of her when a loud beeping sound interrupts her train of thought. 

The vial in Gordon's hand started beeping and perhaps out of reflex he tosses the deadly time bomb in his hand. 

Superman's eyes fly wide as he rushes to protect both Batman and the commissioner from an oncoming blast. 

However, the vial rolled across the roof until it finally hit Y/n's bare feet and her heart jumps to her throat. 

"Oh shit." she says out loud when suddenly the vial burst's open and Y/n gasps for her last bit of fresh air. 

She pulls her head to her knees and holds her nose, mouth and eyes shut. The toxic gas burns her skin and her eyes start tearing with the fumes banging on her eyelids.

'I can't hold it much longer. It burns!' 

Slowly she gives in to a lightheaded dizziness and falls sideways onto the ground letting her hand fall off her nose. 

Not a moment later the gas clears when Superman swoop's her out of the green gas. She hangs limply in his arms as they hover in the air for a second. 

Superman's gaze turns to pure horror when he sees his co-worker in his arms. Once the toxic gas has evaporated into nothing more than a tickle in the wind Superman lands back on the roof and approaches a worried Jim Gordon and expressionless batman.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

𝐈𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐫𝐬! 𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰! 𝐀𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐈 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤!𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠!

\ (•◡•) /

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[scotianostra]

On December 1st 1787, the first modern lighthouse in Scotland was lit at Fraserburgh.

Made by Thomas Smith and Robert Stevenson at Kinnaird Head, the lighthouse was built on top of a 16th-century castle, and is now Scotland’s Lighthouse Museum.Kinnaird Head near Fraserburgh, built on an 16th Century castle, was the first lighthouse to be put into operation by the Commissioners of Northern Lights, and sustained the most powerful lamps of their time.

The lamps were 17 whale oil filled burners and were said to be visible from 14 miles away.The lighthouse was constructed by Thomas Smith and his son in law Robert Stevenson, grandfather of author Robert Louis Stevenson, with a lantern set at a 120 feet above the sea on a corner of Kinnaird Head Castle. Each oil-burning lamp was backed by a parabolic reflector and arranged in three horizontal lines to produce a powerful beam for seamen working some of the toughest waters in Europe.

Previously, coal fires had generally been used to guide sailors to safety. Mr James Park, a ship’s master, was appointed “Keeper of the light” at 1/- per night, The appointment was made on condition he had another person with him at the lighthouse every night, who he was to instruct in cleaning the lanterns and lighting the lamps. Whale oil was brought to Kinnaird Head by Smith, a tin smith of Broughty Ferry, which was a major whaling port of the day.

In 1824, a new lighthouse tower was built within the original castle tower with Robert Stevenson building a new lantern and reflector array.

In 1929, another first was recorded for Kinnaird Head when it took possession of a radio beacon. During WWI, enemy bombers struck the lighthouse only once despite repeated, heavy bombardments on the surrounding area due to Fraserburgh’s ammunition works. Records show that on 19 February 1941, two bombs from an aircraft exploded 50 yards from the Lighthouse Buildings. Damage included 41 panes of broken glass.

The Wine Tower at the lighthouse is the only surviving remnant of the old castle, and in fact is the oldest building in all Fraserburgh. Legend tells us that Isobel the daughter of Alexander Fraser, 8th laird of Philorth had fallen in love with a servant piper, and that the laird was not happy about this. So to separate the two the laird had the piper tied-up in the cave under the Wine Tower known as Selches Hole (Seals Hole). The laird then locked-up his daughter in the uppermost floor of the tower and retired to Kinnaird Castle.

Unfortunately for the servant there was an abnormally high tide due to a storm, and the poor man drowned. When Isobel the laird’s daughter was informed of her lover’s fate, she was distraught and committed suicide by jumping from the top of the tower onto the rocks below. The rock that she fell on is still painted red to this day. It is said that Isobel is seen prior to bad weather, and when the weather is bad it is said that you can hear the skirl of the pipes being played by the ghost of the piper for his lost love

[tomtenadia]

Detours to You

After many months of inability to write I think I am back. The path to this fic has been one long detour... This is based on the original version I started writing a while ago... then I stopped and stupidly binned it. I had tried something else but that story will remain in my wips. Then I had a chat with @backtobl4ck and it rekindled the will to go back to the original story. I have been writing for the past few days and this time I feel good about it.

It's basically a single parent au/ secret child trope/ second chance romance/ firefighter Rowan and Bookshop owner Aelin.

There will be fluff and some angst too.

The title is from a song by Jordan Davis called Detours (thanks to @leiawritesstoriesfor the obsession)

I only have the prologue for now

Hope you will enjoy it

The house was a mess. Rowan stared at his living room and all he saw was a sea of boxes. And  tripping hazards. His entire house was a trove of safety red flags and the firefighter in him was trying to tackle one mission at the time and get the house back in order. He had moved back to Orynth after a five years absence. A painful spell back in his homeland in Wendlyn after his father passing. His mother fell deeply into depression so he had decided to go back to be with her.

The entire clan had been shocked shook by Alasdair passing. So Rowan had moved back to be with her, put dreams on hold for his family.

Until one day his mother told him that she was sick of having him around and begged him to go back to Terrasen and live his life. And when the job opportunity of a lifetime was served on a plate for him, he knew what to do. A month later he had found a house and had started the slow painstaking back and forth on the ferry between Wendlyn and Adarlan to move his life back.

Now, looking outside the floor to ceiling window at the white landscape outside he finally felt at home. He was born in Wendlyn but his family had moved to Terrasen when he was about ten for his father’s job. He had grown up there, made friends and then joined the TFD as a firefighter as soon as he was done with school, after Lorcan dragged him to an open day at one of the local firehouses. They went through academy together and became best friends. And it was during one of those nights out that he met her. Aelin. The woman of his dreams and the love of his life. They had not started with the right foot but slowly a tepid friendship had began to blossom until it became more. So much more. Until his dreams and his life fell to pieces. 

And now five years later he was ready to start again. 

He had bought a house at the edge of Orynth, very near the boundaries with the mountains. His father had left a substantial amount of money for him and his mum and he had saved it until he moved back to Terrasen and decided to buy his dream house.  Two storey house with green wooden walls, a front porch and gardens back and front. At the back he had a path leading to the woods. It was the perfect place for a family.

Rowan finished folding another empty box and stopped to stare at the snow that had started to fall outside. He had missed it. Wendlyn was warm and it never snowed and Rowan had longed for the cold dark winter months. 

After a moment he went back to his job and kept unpacking. The following day was going to be his first day at his new job. While still in Terrasen he had raised to the rank of Captain, in Wendlyn he had been promoted to battalion chief. Surprise hit him when he had started looking for jobs in Terrasen and the commissioner had contacted him and offered him the job of Chief for the whole of Orynth. Apparently Lorcan, who had succeeded him as captain, had let it slip that he was coming back and a day later he got a phone call for a new job. He was nervous but he was looking forward this new challenge. 

An hour later the living room had started looking a bit more liveable and the only boxes left to unpack in that room were his books. He had to build the bookcases first. And that’s when he realised, shelves spread on the floor, that he had no tools. 

Rowan swore mentally, then forced himself to get changed and dragged himself out to an hardware store. The house had come furnished and he had little to build. He had just forgotten the bookcases.

The trip to the hardware store had been fruitful and now he was walking back to his car. The city was crowded as it was the beginning of November and the winter festival was already underway, shops full of patrons picking gifts for the solstice.

It was at the end of the busy road that he spotted a head of blonde hair he hadn’t seen in five years. She was facing a piano shop and her usual smile lit up the evening.

Aelin was a mere ten metres from him and all he could do was stare. And when she turned, his world stopped. Aelin was holding the hand of a little girl with the hair as silver as his. 

Rowan stood, incapable of thinking or move. Silver hair. It was not a common trait in Terrasen. It only ran in his family, a genetic mutation on his father’s side.

Which meant…

A daughter.

The girl looked towards him and he froze when she waved at him with a big smile on her face.

“Let’s go Maya,” he heard Aelin say.

The girl waved back at him and they disappeared.

Rowan stood still on the pavement.

The image of a little girl with silver hair etched in his mind.

taglist

@swankii-art-teacher @elentiyawhitethorn @aelin-bitch-queen @bruiseonthefaceofhumanity  @mis-lil-red @thegreyj @sailorsassley @leiawritesstories @clairec79 @morganofthewildfire @sv0430 @heartless--aromantic @autumnbabylon @rowanaelinn @backtobl4ck @susumaus98  @gracie-rosee @mybloodrunsblue @tanvee1231 @avenrebekah @whoever-you-choose-to-love  @theywillnotsingforme @universallytreepost @black-daisy-water @goddess-aelin @whispers-in-the-darkest-heart @lovely-dove-zee @athena127

[reine-du-sourire]

So my RA/Batman AU is centered around Halt being airheaded playboy Prince (Princie) Halt O'Carrick by day; strong, silent, scary Halt the Ranger by night.

No, I have no idea how he zips to and from Clonmel and Araluen. This is a joke, remember?

Anyway, Will is Robin.

Gilan is also Robin.

Crowley is Alfred, albeit a younger and ginger-er Alfred.

Duncan is Commissioner Gordon.

Pauline is Barbara Gordon, as you cannot convince me she wouldn't be absolutely fantastic with computers.

Or possibly she's Catwoman.

Or possibly she's Alfred, and Crowley is Catwoman, and Alyss is Barbara.

Sir Rodney is Harvey Bullock.

Morgarath is Joker as soon as he can be convinced to dye his hair green.

Or possibly he's Penguin, but with Wargals instead of penguins, and Ferris is Joker.

Abelard is the Batmobile.

[batmancomicanalysis]

Is Heath Ledger’s Joker subtextually racist?

1. “Little (a reference to the racial slur "boy"), uh, Gambol (the leader of Gotham's black gang) here won’t be able to get a nickel (used due to its phonetic and structural similarity with another n-word) for his grandma (a reference to the more prominent role of grandparents within the African-American community: the 3rd subtle racial allusion in a fourteen word sentence, plus Joker's scar story to Gambol is a tale of an abusive father)”, followed by a furious Gambol’s “Enough from the clown!” (The Joker's immediate hostility with Gambol implies that he is far less "tolerant" than the other underworld crime bosses, who treat Gambol as a de jure equal), The Joker puts uppity Gambol "in his place"

2. “A freeeeeeeak”, mockingly imitating The Chechen’s accent

3. He kills at least seven African men on-screen (including two of the three or four most prominent African characters; Gambol and commissioner Loeb), three very dramatically, burns the most prominent Chinese character alive (who The Joker identified as unmasculine based on his physiognomy and referred to as "the television") and has the third most prominent Latino blown up

4. He forces three unemployed African men to fight to the death for a job; a nod to the apocryphal concept of “mandingo fighting”, with The Joker taking on the role of an especially cruel 19th century slavemaster

5. His “social experiment” with the ferries (one largely European-descended, the other largely African and Latino) utilises and exacerbates racial fears and antagonisms, with his bomb plot foiled by an African prisoner

6. His primary philosophical influences (Nietzsche, social Darwinism) are consistent with the genealogy of fascist ideology

7. His primary targets (police, lawyers, politicians, journalists, plutocrats and criminals) are primary antagonists in fascist ideology

8. He wears white facepaint (the whitest character in the text, like Voldemort, Judge Holden or Mr. Sinister) and is portrayed by an actor of Northern European descent

9. He is a sadistic psychopath, a terrorist and a misanthropic nihilistic cynic, philosophically antithetical to egalitarian humanism (of which "anti-racism" is a core principle) and represents an extreme critique of the Western liberal order (which holds "racism" as the most cardinal sin and sanctifies certain groups, see George Floyd)

10. Batman/Bruce Wayne is consistently coded as an anti-racist liberal from an anti-racist liberal family, which dialectically positions The Joker (Batman's opposite) as a racist

11. “There are no real boundaries to what The Joker would say or do.” - Heath Ledger

While there's nothing in The Joker's professed motivations or actions which strongly suggests he cares about preserving the European race, he no doubt views the concept of "racial equality" as absolute garbage; one of societies' cardinal lies which it uses to artificially hold itself together. The idea that The Joker would have any problem with "the n-word" or believe that all races are equal is laughable in itself. However, while he disdains racial egalitarianism and works to unleash the primal force of ethnic tribalism, he does hold some values in high regard, masculinity for instance ("What happened? Did your balls drop off?"), he's not a total nihilist. He has zero respect for the weak and cowardly but respects Batman.

[ausetkmt]

DARIEN, Ga. — Descendants of enslaved people who populate a tiny island community are once again fighting their local government, this time over a proposal to eliminate protections that for decades helped shield the Gullah-Geechee residents from high taxes and pressure to sell their land to developers.

Residents of Hogg Hummock and their supporters packed a courtroom Thursday night to oppose a proposal by McIntosh County officials to cast aside zoning ordinances that limit homes to modest sizes in the enclave of 30 to 50 Black residents on Sapelo Island off the coast of Georgia.

After more than 30 people spoke out against the proposal over two hours, the county zoning board made some hasty changes aimed at appeasing island residents and then voted to send the amended ordinance to McIntosh County's elected commissioners. The five-member commission has the final say, and could choose to vote on the original zoning proposal that rattled island residents when it meets next week.

The rules were enacted in 1994 for the sole purpose of protecting one of the South's few remaining communities of people known as Gullah, or Geechee in Georgia, whose ancestors worked island slave plantations. Their isolation from the mainland meant they retained much of their African roots and traditions.

Residents say losing zoning protections would drive out Hogg Hummock residents by attracting wealthy transplants eager to build large beach houses, causing land values and property taxes to soar.

“It’s the erasure of a historical culture that’s still intact after 230 years," said Reginal Hall, a Hogg Hummock landowner whose family has deep roots on the island. "Once you raise those limits and the land value increases, we only have two to three years at most. If you talk about the descendants of the enslaved, 90% of us will be gone.”

A sticker celebrating the Geechee heritage is seen on a pickup truck, June 10, 2013, as passengers board a ferry to the mainland from Sapelo Island, Ga. One of the few remaining Gullah-Geechee communities in the U.S. is in another fight to hold onto land owned by residents' families since their ancestors were freed from slavery. The few dozen remaining residents of the tiny Hogg Hummock community on Georgia's Sapelo Island were stunned when they learned county officials may end zoning protections enacted nearly 30 years ago to protect the enclave from wealthy buyers and tax increases. Credit: AP/David Goldman

Gullah-Geechee communities are scattered along the Southeast coast from North Carolina to Florida, where they have endured since their enslaved ancestors were freed by the Civil War. Scholars say these people long separated from the mainland retained much of their African heritage — from their unique dialect to skills and crafts such as cast-net fishing and weaving baskets.

Hogg Hummock earned a place in 1996 on the National Register of Historic Places, the official list of America's treasured historic sites. But for protections to preserve the community, residents depend on the local government in McIntosh County, where 65% of the 11,100 residents are white.

The current ordinance designating a special zoning district for Hogg Hummock limits homes to 1,400 square feet (130 square meters) of heated and air-conditioned space, prohibits paving except for building foundations and requires a permit to demolish any structure deemed eligible for the National Register.

Sapelo Island, Ga., descendant and land owner Reginald Hall speaks at a news conference outside federal court, Dec. 9, 2015, in Atlanta. One of the few remaining Gullah-Geechee communities in the U.S. is in another fight to hold onto land owned by residents' families since their ancestors were freed from slavery. The few dozen remaining residents of the tiny Hogg Hummock community on Georgia's Sapelo Island were stunned when they learned county officials may end zoning protections enacted nearly 30 years ago to protect the enclave from wealthy buyers and tax increases. Credit: AP/David Goldman

County attorney Adam Poppell said the square-footage limit had proven impossible to enforce. The zoning board hoped to satisfy Hogg Hummock residents' concerns about supersized homes by voting to limit development to no more than 10% of a lot, as opposed to 40% in the existing zoning ordinance.

Hogg Hummock resident Jazz Watts said he felt the changes were rushed and that the zoning board should have thrown out the entire proposal.

“They need to start over,” Watts said. “There are too many questions that they can't even answer.”

Patrick Zoucks, the county manager, defended the zoning proposal in a statement issued before the Thursday meeting, saying it was“in the best interest of the residents of Hogg Hammock and all of the citizens of McIntosh County. ”

“Nothing about this issue involves race, or the discriminatory application of the regulations,” Zoucks said.

Commissioner Roger Lotson, whose district includes Sapelo Island, opposed the original proposal to eliminate the maximum home size in Hogg Hummock. He said the zoning board's changes, while welcome, seemed rushed. And he noted the county commission could reject them altogether and vote on the original plan.

“All they're doing is giving us a recommendation,” Lotson said.

It's not the first time Black residents of Sapelo Island have battled with the county government.

Some families have sold to outsiders who built vacation homes. In 2012, dozens of Hogg Hummock residents and landowners swarmed the county courthouse to appeal painful tax increases caused by soaring property values. County officials rolled most of them back.

Residents then sued the county in federal court in 2015, arguing a lack of government services such as firefighters and trash collection were eroding the island community. The case was settled last year, with McIntosh County agreeing to improve emergency services and road maintenance. Some residents also had their property taxes frozen through 2025.

Lotson said he's unsure how his fellow commissioners will vote, though he's trying to persuade them that Hogg Hummock is worth preserving.

“It’s a step back in time," Lotson said. "And the fear of many, including myself, is that by allowing any size house over there, soon the uniqueness of Sapelo will go away.”

[allthecanadianpolitics]

The British Columbia Ferry Commission has set a price cap on ferry fare increases of 9.2 per cent for each of the next four years. However, both the transportation minister and B.C. Ferries say the commissioner didn't factor in the recent $500-million provincial government contribution meant to keep rates more affordable. Commissioner Eva Hage said in a statement that her preliminary decision considers B.C. Ferries' labour difficulties, high inflation including rising fuel prices, and an aging fleet of vessels. She acknowledged her decision doesn't take into account the recent $500-million announcement by the province, but it will be considered before she finalizes the price cap on Sept. 30.

Full article

Tagging: @politicsofcanada

[walkingstackofbooks]

TOS 'The Galileo Seven' Rewatch:

"On board is Galactic High Commissioner Ferris" groaaaan. You know it's going to be a frustrating episode when there's some bureaucrat on board. I forgot that was a part of this episode.

--

And god, he's so SMUG. He's positively smirking at the news the shuttle has been lost!

--

Oh, Spock, my logical boy. / know you have feelings even if everyone else is blaming you for keeping them under control 💔

--

Seriously Bones? Clearly it makes sense for you to say some words for Latimer while Spock keeps working.

--

"That would seem to solve the problem of who to leave behind." Spock and Scotty are a good team actually.

--

"I am depending on luck, Lieutenant." God, what a situation to be in. Oh, Jim.

--

"I have a certain scientific curiosity about what has happened to Mr Gaetano." You lie to yourself, Mr Spock. You're worried.

--

The massive spears are absolutely hilarious. Oh dear XD

--

Scotty finally stepping up. "That's enough!" Good man.

--

Jim somehow thinking he'll persuade the Commissioner not to have to abandon the search by arguing that his search parties are still out there.

--

"I for one so not believe in angels."

But he does believe in him Kirk enough to jettison the fuel. Mr Spock, my heart 💖💖

--

Scotty looks so proud of him. "Like a flare? That was a good gamble."

--

Ohhh. Jim's reaction is devastating. "It just burned up in the atmosphere." The way he sits back and barely even reacts to Uhura saying five people have been beamed back. He's so shaken. I guess that's also confirmation that two have not come back. And he doesn't know who. Ouch, my heart, his face is just so numb.

And then the barest hint of a smile, or possibly wanting to cry at the end there. God.

--

Jim teasing Spock about his illogic. THE WAY HE PUTS HIS ARM AROUND HIM. AHHHH.

--

The hysterical relieved laughter at the end is always sure A Thing 😅

--

I don't know when the 'trope' in horror movies came about of minorities dying and the white person surviving, but I know when I was first watching this I was pretty certain Boma and Mears were going to die and it's always quietly pleasing that of the four "disposable" characters, they were actually the two to survive.

[lazaruspiss]

Downtown Gotham: Part One

Elliot Center: Construction on the Elliot Center was officially completed in 1937. Gotham City was still recovering from the Great Depression back then, and the opening of a new media oriented business resulted in thousands of new jobs. As a media conglomerate, the Elliots have an almost infinite amount of information not only on Gotham City, but its citizens as well. This makes them potentially quite dangerous. With the rapid rise of new technologies and digital footprint tracking, I've had to keep a careful eye on the information they gather so that our identities are not compromised. Thankfully, a discreet visit to their servers is usually all that's necessary to adjust any potentially dangerous information they may acquire.

First Church of Gotham City: In 1612, not long after the first Dutch settlers arrived in Gotham City, a church was built on one of Gotham's main islands. It was the first permanent Christian establishment of the new colony. The First Church of Gotham had to be almost completely rebuilt after a harsh storm toppled most of the structure more than a century ago, giving it its current architectural look. Its towers offer a good view of the New Trigate Bridge and the shores of the Financial District. It was named a historical landmark in 1962 after the Elliots showed interest in buying and demolishing the church to expand the Gotham Gazette's office space. This is also where I met Azrael for the first time. He had been sent by his order to keep an eye on Gotham City. He left after a while, though I suspect his order is far from finished with this city. If that's the case, I'm afraid I'll be forced to confront Jean-Paul sooner or later.

Gotham City Ferry Company: The Gotham City Ferry Company has existed in one form or another since the early 1800s. Bartholomew Wycliffe first established it as a private company to run ferries to the smaller towns across the harbor. It was converted as a public utility in the early 1900s as the popularity of cars grew. The workers went on strike a few years ago after a series of incidents brought to light how corrupt management cut corners on safety, leading to substandard equipment and situations that endangered their employees. The union attempted to negotiate the purchase of new boats, as most of the ones in use at the Ferry were proven to be deathtraps, but the Transportation Commissioner refused anything but short-term fixes due to budgetary constraints. A sizeable donation from the Wayne Foundation helped in the acquisition of second hand yet safe barges. Now the ferry can make almost twice as many journeys in a week, while maintaining proper safety standards.

Gotham Gazette: The Gotham Gazette was created by Edward Elliot almost two centuries ago to bring worldwide news to the citizens of Gotham City. In 1894, the Gazette's offices and presses were moved into a mid-rise office building before it was renovated into a new tower in 1935. Ever since I came back to Gotham City after completing my training, stories about me have appeared on the front page of the Gazette almost weekly. Alfred does his best to turn down any interview requests, but sometimes they are inevitable, especially when they come from Vicki Vale. She doesn't give up easily. But the Gazette is also an important tool in keeping my secret identity hidden. Having articles written about Bruce Wayne's drunken adventures helps keep any suspicion away.

Gotham City General Hospital: Gotham City General was first opened in the 1870s under the name St. Luke's Hospital. It was later expanded and then sold to the Gotham General Hospital Foundation. In the 1970s, my parents led several fundraising efforts to further develop and upgrade the hospital. When I returned to Gotham City, I decided to continue their efforts and financed the construction of a new modern pavilion, which has been named the Wayne Family Memorial Wing. After Leslie Thompkins retired, there was a brief moment when we needed a new doctor on hand in case of a medical emergency. One of my contacts pointed me in the direction of a nurse who works in the Trauma Unit. I only needed his help a handful of times, but he was reliable.

[d-field22-blog]

First appearance: Batman #1( April 25, 1940) 

Story:   All it takes is one bad day to drive a man to lunacy. That has not been more true than this case right before us. Falling into a vat of chemicals, forever bleaching and destroying the sane man he use to be. During the early days of Batman's career, he has tussled with a mad scientist named Dr. Death, and has faced the gangsters of Gotham, while aiding in the cleansing of Gotham's corrupted police force, and giving the citizens of Gotham hope for a brighter future. That was before that fateful April Fools' Day. When the Gotham Merchants Bank was robbed of an enormous portion of the mob's money, their weapon supplies was confiscated by an enormous trench coat wearing woman, and finally Andre Falcone, the eldest son of mob don Carmine Falcone was murdered by a crazy criminal wearing a red shaded cloth mask. As the weeks has passed, the mad man now proclaiming himself as the Joker, caused much havoc and death throughout Gotham. From breaking out and recruiting the inmates of Arkham, killing off all of the closest allies of the mob such as Mayor Graham, former chief Angel Rojas, Councilman Arthur Reeves, and inadvertently killing new Police Commissioner Sarah Essen one of the few uncorrupted police officers in Gotham and Jim's colleague as well as his first girlfriend. Eventually, he would cross paths with the entire mob families of Gotham and would leave the Falcone estate wrecked and given a price on his head, courtesy of Carmine Falcone himself, who simultaneously placed a price on Batman's head as well. Eventually the Joker would make what would be known as his "big break" when he killed and impersonated new stand up comedian Jerry Valeska whom was scheduled to be a guest on the Late Show with Murray Franklin.  Killing Murray with the same toxin he used to kill Andre which he calls Joker toxin, the Clown Prince of Crime revealed himself to the public and held the entire studio and half of Gotham's Entertainment District hostage. After dealing with the would be bounty hunters after the prices on Batman and Joker's head, the Dark Knight along with the rest of the CGPD go to defuse the situation. As Gordon and the officers go to stop Joker's henchman led by his second in command Bruno, Batman goes to the studio to stop Joker who is holding everyone hostage while he "entertains" them while robbing them all of their riches. However, Batman walked into a trap and Joker looked to blow up the whole studio with him and the audience with it while Joker escapes. Defusing the bomb with only a few seconds to spare, Batman learns that Joker has fled to his lair of the abandoned carnival.  Fighting through the inmates, Batman quickly discovered that Joker's next plan was to poison Gotham's water supplies with his Joker toxin. Learning that Batman had survived and stopped the explosion, Joker became rather furious at Batman for "ruining his big night". Fighting him on top of the Ferris Wheel, the Joker had nearly fallen to his death if it weren't for the Batman saving his life in the end, despite everything he had done and decided to allow the courts to do their work. Since being sent to Arkham Asylum after the court deemed him insane, Joker only saw the asylum as his second home and would frequently escape Arkham to cause mayhem across Gotham. During his stays, he became acquainted with Dr. Arkham's daughter Astrid and has eventually turned new doctor Harleen Quinzel to his side. Throughout the years, the Joker had been responsible for many atrocities, and is said by many that he was the first true sign of what was to come, and would be part of the catalyst of the Mob's end. 

Author's input: Ah the Joker. Batman's arch enemy and in my honest opinion(sorry MrRogues) rightfully so. He is by far my favorite Batman rogue and he is perhaps the perfect foil for the Dark Knight and is the prefect Yin to Bruce's Yang. There have been many different origins and versions of the Clown Prince of Crime, and many of them in their own unique ways are spectacular and all differ from one another. However, most if not all have one great thing in common. Whether he is just a cackling prankster, an old school gangster with bad plastic surgery, a gritty anarchist, or anything else in between, the Joker has caused nothing but mayhem and chaos on Gotham and for the Batman for over 80 years and counting. The Joker time and time again has proven that he is the Caped Crusader's greatest adversary. From laughing fish, kidnapping/torturing Commissioner Gordon, killing Robin, crippling Batgirl, old classic heists, and even crimes so over the top, you'd have to be insane to think of them. Case and point. Completely insane and completely unpredictable, this clown is somebody you DO NOT want to cross, and surely not a clown you wish to invite to birthday parties.

Bio: Real name: Unknown Occupation: Professional criminal, Base of Operations: Gotham City Eyes: Green Hair: Green Height: 6ft Weight: 160lbs

Attributes: Homicidal Maniac, Unknown Past. Has a strong reputation of creating multiple stories for his past. High intelligence Skilled chemist. One such toxin is his infamous Joker Toxin. A gas that stretches the victim's face into a grin matching his own, followed immediately by death. Strong hand-to-hand combatant. A vast variety of knives, guns, bombs, and many other deadly means. All based on party gags.

Dream voice actor: Mark Hamill. Time and time again, Mark said he was done. But the Joker in him begs to differ. With a character that has stuck with him for more than two decades. Mark Hamill is in my opinion, THE greatest Joker EVER!! I hope he continues to play him, until the day he dies.

Featured songs: I go looney by Mark Hamill, Joker's song by Miracle of Sound, or Smile by Nat King Cole. These are no-brainers to have as his featured songs. I mean come on. Do I even need a reason to choose them as such? I go looney is the song he sang in both the Killing Joke graphic novel and was brought to even greater heights in the film by the magnificent Mark Hamill. Joker's song is pretty self-explanatory as well. Joker is singing about his relationship with the Dark Knight. Smile was not used for Joker's case not once, but twice! The first that I can recall was from the spectacular fan film Patient J by Batinthesun, and another version was used in the Joker film trailer. Honestly, I am NOT a fan of the film for quite a few reasons. Mainly it just doesn't really seem like Joker to me. But I digress, I chose the Nat King Cole version because it is the one most people remember, or talk about and it is very nostalgic for me. With all that said, these three songs all fit the Joker like a worn boot. whether you find them eerie, fascinating, creepy, or whatever, there is one absolute. They all just scream Joker.