#danny sees gordon as a dad

[riot-ghost]

Commissioner Gordon was ostracized within the Gotham Police department. He knew this was because of his ties to the Bat, his late hours, constant overtime. He knew that even the good officers, while he couldn't tell too much who was who, didn't mean to ostracize him. It happened on accident, he's sure. He picked up some clues from the world's greatest detective. Rumors went around, running rampant about him. He just couldn't care so much about them.

Everyone knew that Commissioner Gordon always took his late dinner at 9:37 at night. Everyone cleared from the break room. Gordon opened the door, taking a heavy breath. He was still expecting the empty room. It felt empty, in a way Gordon had picked up from The Bat. He pulled his burrito out of the fridge, opening the styrofoam container and eating a bite. "You're not going to heat it up?" Gordon barely manages to catch his burrito, his whole soul leaving his body.

"Jesus Christ, kid, you scared me." Gordon lets out a heavy breath, seeing the new detective sitting at a table in the corner. He's eating... Something indescribable. He looks tired, his long black hair bulled back into a high ponytail. His face seems disproportionate, large prominent features. A crooked nose, a wide, thin mouth, large eyes accompanied by large bags. His skin was pale, dusted with faded freckles and litchenburg scarring. The young man- still a boy, practically, shrugged at Gordon's words, eating another bite of the odd food. "No one warned you I'd be in here?" Gordon decided to sit with him.

"No, they warned me. But the past couple of days they've been... Avoiding me." Dr. Fenton, Gordon remembers his file passing over his desk. He could never be a cop- he was a detective-by-hire because of some medical condition. Gordon feels a pang at the emotionless words.

"Ah, they avoid me too." Gordon takes another bite of his cold burrito. "So, how have you been enjoying working here?"

"Well, it's been alright, I guess." Fenton took a drink from his thermos- which has a straw in it. It goes unsaid that this was the only job Fenton could really get. Close to the force, anyways. His medical condition refrained him from being a proper officer, so he wasn't officially a Gotham PD detective. He was an out-contract detective, receiving the same work, pay, and hours as the regular detectives.

"Getting around the town well enough?"

"Well enough, I suppose. Almost got robbed." Fenton held three doctorates- criminology, psychology, and natural sciences. All at the young age of 22.

"Almost?" Gordon snorts a bit at that. "Scared them off with your badge?"

"I don't have a badge. And I don't have a gun, if that's what you're thinking. I guess they just thought I was too pathetic to have much cash." Danny shrugged.

"Oh come on, you're not pathetic." Gordon is a bit taken aback that the boy doesn't carry any weapons. He makes a mental note to get him a badge.

"I looked pathetic enough not to rob."

Gordon feels like he missed something there, because Gotham robbers would rob a kindergartner if they were unattended. Regardless, he and Fenton sat in silence for a good couple of minutes. "What are you eating?" Fenton asks eventually.

"A burrito from the Mexican stand on Westwood."

"Why are you eating it cold?"

"Because if I reheat it, then the sauce becomes a solid liquid and everything gets soggy. What are you eating?"

"It was supposed to be stir fry?" Danny stared down at the leftovers container. "I'm not good at cooking. No videos ever make sense, so they don't turn out right."

"Your parents didn't teach you?" Gordon asks.

"No, they weren't the best chefs. They did pass on the family fudge recipe though. I can make some killer fudge." He laughs a little bit at that.

"I'll bring you lunch in from now on." Gordon says. "Until we can get your cooking sorted out, anyhow. Normally my daughter and I spend Tuesday nights fixing dinner together, so you'll get the best meals Wednesday."

"You don't have to do that." Danny seems a little caught off guard by the kindness.

"I can't have one of my youngest detectives going hungry!" Gordon smiles. "Besides, you're the first person in the precinct to eat dinner with me in nearly twenty years. You keep eating with me, it'll be no problem. I enjoy the company." Danny smiles at him and Gordon is reminded of someone, but he can't remember who.

Over the next couple of weeks, Gordon and Danny get well acquainted in their overlapping shifts. Danny works the nights and sometimes early mornings, similar to what Gordon does. Gordon finds himself feeling fatherly to the young man, who's working and picking up significant overtime to pay off his student loans. He learns that Danny moved here from Illinois- it was the only PD he could work at. He had no formal fighting training, but apparently his mom had taught him some moves. They had yet to overlap in the field, and it was easy for Gordon to forget that the boy was really a detective.

"Danny?" Jim paused, having finally made his way to the crime scene. Danny was crouched over a dead body, using his gloved hands to inspect the wound- the word Joker carved using some sort of knife.

"Gordon?" Despite all insistence, the boy still used his last name.

Jim has to stop himself from asking him why he's here. Danny's eyes shift to a spot behind him and James sighs. "What happened?" Batman's voice startled the last officer in the room, who quickly stuttered an excuse and left.

"The Joker broke in, tortured her, and left." Jim says. "We just have to figure out why."

"No, we don't." Danny looked back at the body, his eyes unfocused. "It was political. Do you see the swelling here on the neck? No lacerations, and no bruising. Allergy, I suppose, or a poison that reacts similarly. No clawing at the neck or face, but heavy rope burns on the wrists and ankles. The cuts were sloppy, and from the bleeding, it was done after she had died. Maybe five, ten minutes after? The window wasn't fully closed when it was broken into, do you see how the glass fractured there at the top?"

Jim blinked, and Danny continued. "It doesn't fit the motive of a mad-man like the Joker to do this. Who you're looking for is a woman, younger than the victim, maybe around twenty or thirty?" His eyes unfocused again. "Hmmm." He snaps back, looking around. He stands, his hands shaking a little. He looks around, eyes landing on the shelf. He scans it, using gentle hands to lift the potted plant. He pulls out a camera, unplugging it. "A Direct Link- model E47C." He sets the camera in an evidence bag.

Batman gives a grunt- and if Jim isn't mistaken it was one of approval? Danny held the camera out to Jim. "That was some fine detective work today, kid." Jim sets his hand on Danny's shoulder. Danny glances off to the side nervously. He locks eyes with Batman. "Danny, this is Batman. Batman, this is Dr. Daniel Fenton, the newest detective on the force."

Batman holds a hand out. "I look forward to working with you." Danny pulls off one of the disposable gloves, reaching out to shake his hand. "You're shaking a little, are you alright?"

"Medical condition." Danny answers. "You're taller than I expected."

"It's the ears." Jim represses a smile. "You go ahead and get your deductions filed. I brought pasta." Jim watches Danny leave. He turns to Batman, who's staring him down with that signature I-know-everything™ face. "What?"

"When are you going to let him know that you're mentoring him?" He says it like a sentence, and was that amusement in his tone?

"I'm not." Jim turns to the window.

"You brought him pasta."

"He never learned to cook."

"So you're teaching him." There was definitely amusement in his tone now.

Jim huffed. "We're getting old." He finally sighs. "We both have full grown kids. Crime and corruption are still thick in this city." Batman is standing next to him with a swoosh in his cape. "Retirement... I could see myself with it. Sipping cocktails on the beach. A beach with sunshine and no broken down carnivals."

Batman is silent for a moment, as if considering this. "So you see Fenton taking your place?"

"Like you see your Robin." Jim admits.

[satoshy12]

New Gotham SWAT Commander Danny

After the Joker once again took the Gotham Gala hostage, the people in the Gala were surprised, as for once the police were able to do anything about it. As the SWAT came in and shot Joker and his goons down.

And saved the Hostage? Bruce Wayne's daughter Cassandra. Not normal.

All were confused; normally, the cops just wait for Batman or fail.

It turns out Gotham had a new SWAT commander who took the shots on the Joker.

+

Danny was pissed but happy too; he just worked here because his mother's brother, Uncle James, works here too.

Then Dad sent him here to learn about police work and see different kinds of things, not just Amity Park. Just defusing Bombs seem to get boring for Danny.

And the first thing he did at his job was kill a clown gang?

Well worth it.

I have no idea why people look so surprised; it's just a clown with a gun, not Superman.

A gun does the job.

And Cass was here too, the last time he saw her was as she teached Ellie ballet.

As Danny was new, he had no real idea about the crime world of Gotham.

When the Gordons visit, they don't talk about Gotham, and the people in Amity Park never cared about the outside world.

They have their Fenton shield as a defense against alien invasions or similar.

Danny meet the cute Cass as she teached Ellie Ballet, who was the Joker took hostage.

Danny shooting Joker had nothing to do with Cass. He saw it later it was Cass after they were done.

Danny was professional and not lead by emotion. A new clean cop in Gotham.

[dcxdpdabbles]

Could you write something where Danny is a teen dad to de aged Ellie? Bonus points if he lives in Crimr Alley and beats the Joker to a pulp for hurting his kid

Danny is trying his best.

It's not easy being a father at age sixteen. It's not easy having to leave his home in fear of what his parents will do to his clone-turned-daughter.

It's not easy watching her every day, wondering if her core will break down further, and instead of just de-aging this time, she'll end up dead. It's not easy worrying about her health in the most crime-infested city with a terrible job and relying on his pitiful check or the funds his sister can sneak to him.

But nothing good in this world is easy, and he wouldn't trade Dani for anything. Yes, she had lost her memories and acted like a real two-year-old, but he adored watching her eyes light up as she relearned the world.

Danny loved her to bits, and even buying her those cheap coloring books and crayons from the dollar store made Dani smile brighter than any star. They may struggle to pay rent and bills or buy food, but Danny can always scrape by, keeping her warm, fed, and house.

He worked at three different dinners, each part-time, since none of them were legally allowed to hire him full-time because of his age. Danny didn't have a single day off, but he had a few hours every day with Dani, which was enough.

While he worked, he asked his next-door neighbor to watch Dani. Now, it may not be the best thing to trust a stranger with his daughter but said neighbor is a ghost and one of the friendly kind.

Danny met her when he first moved in. Apparently, her haunting was one of the reasons the rent was so cheap. She never gave him her real name, but she stayed with Dani all day and had enough ectoplasm to physically touch things. Danny could sense her intentions with his core and knew her motherly adoration for Dani was authentic.

Privately, Danny called her Three since she haunted apartment three, and she sort of looked like she stepped out of the nineteen-thirties, complete with an attractive Transatlantic accent. She was an up-and-coming radio co-host, taking a segment to read stories to housewives before being murdered in her home.

Three never said why or how it happened, but she had been haunting the apparent complex for so long; her lore was well documented among the locals.

They say one of the Waynes had killed her after learning that his wife had fancied Three. But it was never proven and it became another theory that the rich would laugh at every once in a while.

(Three's face always twisted whenever she heard the name Wayne. Her hand would always reach up for a heart-shaped locket she refused to take off even in death.)

Since most people couldn't see ghosts unless exposed to ectoplasm for enough time, the stories of her attacks on anyone trying to get close to her apartment snowballed out of control. Danny thought it was unfair how evil they made her sound. Though it's true she had a strong distaste for men, she had a soft spot for children.

Danny had just been through the wringer; he had double shifts, one stacked right after the other. One of the dinners had let two people go after they had been arrested for moving illegal substances, and Danny had to cover until they found a replacement.

A woman had yelled at him for almost thirty minutes straight about a wait time for her surprise party of fifteen. A man threw up on their counter, and to top it all off, a kid had run into him while he was carrying a tray of food, causing him to spill everything.

Thankfully, the mother was horrified and apologized profoundly, but it had been almost too much for him. So when he was sweeping up broken plates and saw Three franticly flying at him screaming about some clown, well, Danny was doing his best.

And his best was fighting things far stronger than he.

____________________________________________________________

Jim Gordon's early afternoon gets interrupted by the Joker only three minutes after he is supposed to head home for the day. After escaping from Arkham a few months ago, the clown went to the ground, and everyone was nervous about what he was planning.

Jim's team hadn't heard any whispers or had any idea what the Joker was up to, which made everything worse. Usually, when something big and wrong was going to happen, they would catch at least one thing beforehand.

That's why the sudden broadcast of the lunatic had everyone jumping out of their skins.

"Good evening, Gotham. I want to welcome you to tonight's show. It's going to be killer." Joker cackles. He has somehow hacked into almost every screen in the city, his white devilish face appearing on TVs, phones, tablets, and even roadside advertising.

His voice echoes through the city as Jim barks at his employees to trace the signal.

"Recently, I felt it necessary to remind everyone that one is never too young to have a funny bone." The Joker continues, holding up a plush toy to the camera. He waves it a little, pressing the ginning bunny as close as possible so people can see its mouth has been sewed into a sickly wide smile. "I'm sure a few of you have noticed that certain school buses never arrived home."

The blood in his veins goes cold. How many buses? Which school? What kids were they? How old? Why had they not heard of the kids not arriving until now?

There are too many questions and nowhere near enough answers. Jim hates how useless he feels playing this sick man's game.

"But not to worry! You'll see your little ones again! After being guests on my very own game show! Every thirty minutes, one lucky child will get to compete for your amusement, and if they survive, they get an extraordinary prize-!"

His words are cut short by a dark figure flinging itself at the Joker and punching him to the ground. Thank every dark cloud in the sky that the Bat was on the case.

"Basty! Have you come to play- wait. You aren't Batsy." Joker's delighted tone melts into anger as the figure straightens to a young teenage boy.

"You have my daughter. Give her back." The teen tells the clown, voice flat and cold. "Three said your goons took her from her balcony."

"My boys take a lot of people." Joker laughs hoping up a flower. With a press of his finger, the teenager is covered in Joker Vemon. Jim's heart falls as the boy stumbles back, rubbing at his eyes. Joker laughs harder until the kid picks up a chair and slams it onto his head.

There wasn't even a chuckle from the boy. Huh.

"You have my daughter. Give. Her. Back."

"Or what?" The Joker taunts, snapping his fingers. There are sounds of people moving, likely the goons. "Kill him."

The boy doesn't seem to react to the men rushing at him. Someone knocks the camera stand over, and the view of the fight is taken away as it rolls on the ground. Thankfully, it ends up pointed at a wall, where they watch the shadows of the teenager and the Joker's goons fight.

It's hard to tell who's winning, with all the shadows blending together whenever they get close, but the fact that he hasn't heard the kid drop yet means he's holding his own. Jim's eyes narrow at the wallpaper, trying to figure out why it looks so familiar.

It hits him just as a little girl phases through the wall. Yes, phases, as if walking through it like a ghost. This would make sense since -

"That's Nightowl Apparemtents!" Ricky, the new cop from Crime Alley, cries, echoing Jim's thoughts.

"It's what?" Asks Sara

"Nightowl apparements. It's the oldest place in Crime Alley and one of the most haunted. They said a lover of a Wayne was killed there. She kills anyone who tries to rent the place. They do ghost tours occasionally, but no one dares to her hallway. That wallpaper is famous because it's the only one in Gotham with the original founding families' symbols." Ricky explains, watching the little girl tilt her head and then start to flout. Everyone shivers as a second figure bleeds out of the wall behind her.

This one is much more blurry, but the faith outline of a beautiful woman covered in blood hovers behind the girl staring at the fight. She's dressed in clothes that Jim is sure was decades ago, and unlike the little girl, she makes him feel very unsafe.

The ghost of Apparement three. Barbara had gone through a paranormal phase when she was fifteen and dragged Jim to all the haunted places in Gotham. Nowhere had made him feel as uneased as Gotham's cemetery- the most haunted place- but those apartments were a close second.

The ghost spots the camera, sneering at it and Jim actually jumps back.

"Oh, gods!" Ricky shouts, turning his head away. "I'm so sorry for looking into your eyes without permission!"

"It's not a telephone! It can't hear you, Ricky!"

"That's not the point, Sara!"

"Daddy!" the little girl cries, holding up her finger. "I got an ow-ow."

At once, the sounds of combat stopped, and then the screams began. It's nothing like Jim has ever heard. He's been on the force long enough to know what a human in pain sounds like, and those sounds—well, he prays that the Joker had decided to bring in animals.

If it makes him sick to his stomach he is worried about the regular people watching.

The little girl doesn't look away, tilting her head to the side like a curious child of two would and still holding her tiny up. After a moment, Jim realizes the screaming has stopped. There is silence before Joker falls beside the girl, beaten beyond recognition.

If it weren't for his purple sit, Jim would have thought him a goon.

The little girl doesn't blink an eye as the teenager rushes to her, kicking the Joker.

"Let me the ow-ow." The teenager demands, taking her hand in his. There is a moment of tense silence as the woman's ghost louts around him with a sneer. "A papercut! You gave my daughter a papercut!"

The ghost woman screeches, rage in every part of her cry. Jim feels his heart beating out of his chest, frozen in absolute terror as she reaches down for the Joker and drags him through the floor.

The man's screams are heard even through the muffled flooring.

"Holy shit," Sara breathes, voice trembling.

"This is why no one with a brain messes with Nightowl's ghost," Ricky hisses, rubbing at his cross. "How that kid go it to attack the Joker and not him and his daughter-"

The teenager gathers the toddler into his arms, his image fading with a hiss.

"-That was a ghost. The teenager that beat the Joker to near death was a ghost." Ricky swallows. "I am never stepping foot down that street again."

Somewhere in Gotham, a woman is sweating bullets after the feed is cut by Batman, who arrives with the rest of the Bats minutes afterward.

"Say, Mom, wasn't that the boy you were yelling at today in Teddy's Diner for Uncle Ron's birthday."

The woman's eyes swing back to the TV, where the waiter's face is frozen on the screen, his green glowing eyes almost staring into her soul. "Yes.....yes it was."

"Oh crud. I think we're cursed now, Mom. Way to go."

[artemismoorea03]

Jim Gordon had seen a lot of things in all his years as both an officer and Commissioner but for the most part things stayed at an arms length or he was able to easily separate himself from situations. Of course, there were incidents that were a bit harder to seperate from like Barbara becoming paralyzed due to Joker, all the times he or Barabara nearly died, kidnappings, and watching friends and loved ones either die or go down a dark path, but for the most part his life wasn't too crazy.

At least that was until one summer that all changed rather dramatically. In the form of a redhaired teenager showing up at his police station. She was around 17 and was wearing teal pants, a black shirt and a teal headband. But no matter her age or what she was wearing it didn't change the fact that she looked like Barabra had when she was younger.

That mixed with the fact that she specifically asked to see 'Jim Gordon' was something that made all of the Gotham PD point her in his direction. Once they were face to face the girl let out a shaky breath.

"My name is Jasmine Fenton, I'm your second cousin and I need your help protecting my brother from my parents and Batman."

Jim was shocked, blinking confusion away as he held up his hand. "Wait wait. You're my-"

"Second cousin. My mother is Madeline Walker."

Maddie. He knew Maddie though he had only met her a couple of times. Her mom and his dad were siblings. That explained why Jasmine looked so much like Barbara at least.

"Maddie... right, I remember Maddie. Okay, so why does your brother need protection? Specifically from your parents and Batman?"

Jasmine played with her hands. "My... my brother is different, Commissioner Gordon and my parents found out. They hurt him... badly. So we came here because you're the only one who might be able to help us but if Batman finds out we're here then Danny could get hurt again. B-but my parents and the government are wrong out him! H-he's not evil, he's a hero. H-he's a hero but because of what he is... he's labled as evil..."

Jim frowned, "Okay... is your brother a meta?"

Jasmine shook her head. "No."

Damn. Meta protection act wouldnt help here.

"Alright... is your brother with you?"

Jasmine sniffled then nodded. "He's in the car sleeping."

Jim stood up, grabbing his jacket off of the coat hanger. "Take me to him, please."

"You won't hurt him?"

"You have my word."

Jasmine looked at him, her teal eyes filled with more exhaustion and anxiety than any childs should be. Then, she let out a shaky breath and lead him out of the room.

They walked through the police station before Jasmine lead him out to the parking lot to the furthest corner of it where a beat up red station wagon was parked alone. Jasmine then gestured to the back window as Jim looked in.

The seats had been laid down and blankets laid out in a makeshift bed where a teenager around 14 or 15 laid sleeping on it. The teenager had healing bruises on his face and arms as well as a multitude of bandages that Jim could see peeking over the blanket, specifically on his chest. What had Jim the most concerened though was how pale the boy was and how weak his breathing seemed.

Any doubts Jim might have had immediately flew out the window. It no longer mattered who these two kids were they were kids in trouble.

"Why didn't you take him to the hosptial?" Jim asked, looking at Jasmine who looked ready to cry.

"Because if the Government finds out where he is they'll take him away and kill him. What he is isnt supposed to exist and is listed as 'dangerous'." She sniffled.

Jim frowned. The goverment couldn't know yet they took the risk to come to him? They must have been desperate.

"Okay, let me see your keys. I'll take you kids to my place to hide then call my daughter."

"Y-your daughter?" Jasmine asked, handing the keys over regardless.

"Yeah. She's good with these kinds of things and if she can't help I might know somebody else who can." Jim explained, climbing into the drivers seat as Jasmine ran to the other side.

"T-they won't turn us in, right?"

"No, they wont. My daughter is a librarian and my friend is a butler, they know how to keep secrets." He promised, pulling away from the police station in the direction of his house.

He could only hope that he would be able to help these two kids, and that whatever fear they had of the Batman wouldn't end up being justified fears.

[stealingyourbones]

DPXDC Prompt Masterlist #401-450

401. Bat Tutor

402. Time to Give an Old Friend a Call...

403. Wes Weston, Reporter for the Gotham Gazette

404. Unwanted Heirloom: The Ghost King's Contract

405. Danny: CCPN Photographer

406. Danny: Gotham Biochemist

407. New Management and Better Ghost Gear

408. Ancient Flowers for Poison Ivy

409. Fix and Unthaw (Dr. Freeze)

410. Sam finds Injured Jason

411. Dangerous Feedback (GL)

412. Batman took Ghost Drugs

413. Wes Weston finds Jason Todd

414. Magic and Monster Fucker (John Constantine)

415. Glow In The Dark Eyes (Wes)

416. Constantine meets Clockwork

417. Ghostly Wing AU

418. Do Not Enter: Radiation Hazard (DP)

419. Eldritch Dreams and Nightmares

420. Danny is Terry's Dad

421. Jason's Aunt: Sam Manson

422. Jason Watches his Death Again

423. GZ Out of Sync with Reality (Fav Prompts)

424. What a Tall Woman

425. Jason Time Swap AU (Fav Prompts)

426. Jason Rewatches the Titan Tower Incident

427. John Constantine Saves Danny

428. Only Liminal People can see Ghosts. Tim isn't Liminal

429. Danny Possesses Jason's Motorcycle.

430. Killer Moth's Sidekick

431. Impaired Speaking Jason with Ghost Speak (Fav Prompts)

432. Jason and Jazz go to the same Gym

433. Oracle meets Jazz Fenton

434. Danny thinks GL's are Ghosts

435. Maddie is Friends with Jim Gordon (Fav Prompts)

436. Danny owns a DC Character's Soul

437. Tech Disaster

438. Dani meets Dick Grayson.

439. Dick Mistakes Jazz as Babs

440. Billy's Twitch Chat Rants

441. Kwan works in the Wayne PR Dept.

442. Ra's tries to Clone Tim. Instead Teleports Dani

443. Danny meets the Ghost of Robin

444. Twinsies! (Damian and Danny family bonding)

445. Damian gets Revived. Wakes up in GZ

446. Danny is Wayne's Personal Pilot (Fav Prompts)

447. Tim Drake's Secretary: Daniel Fenton (Fav Prompts)

448. Golden Age Superman Meets Danny

449. Dan Phantom and Jason Todd are Bros

450. The Speedforce rejects the GZ

[dc-sideblog]

WIP Wednesday

Rules here. Send me an ask with a title in it and I'll write three sentences for that WIP

Fics:

Blood Drinking Dead on Main:

“Danny, do you know what this means?” Sam asked. “It was Lois Lane, oh my God, it was Lois fucking Lane, the woman who revealed aliens were real and named Superman and exposed Lex Luthor and tanked his presidency and—”

“Danny, Lois Lane knows who I am!” Val shrieked. Val was not immune to Lois Lane fangirling. “She wrote about me in the Daily Planet! That shit’s international, Danny, do you know how—”

“Dude, she talked about the rumors of you being dead!” Tucker said.

“Tuck, man, I think everyone knows I’m dead. My name is Phantom and I’m a ghost.”

“No, I mean, about you being faded or whatever. ‘Cuz you haven’t been seen in two years. Everyone’s gonna think your parents killed you.”

“Tucker!” Sam yelled.

“What? She kinda implied it!”

“She so did not!” Val said. “She said Phantom was missing in action. Like a soldier or something.”

“Damn. All I did was move to Gotham. That makes it sound like I got shot.”

“You did get shot. Repeatedly,” Sam said dryly. “And literally that’s what everyone here thinks. It’s weird, Danny. Heroes don’t just disappear for good reasons. They’re always dead.”

“Except for me! I beat the odds.”

“Danny, my man, I get where you’re coming from, but you are very much also dead. Like yes, congrats on retiring, but you did die. I was there and everything,” Tucker said.

Avengers Crossover:

He went back to the main conference room. Everyone was currently on a call with Fury.

“—is a hero on their world. They’ve been giving us pretty mixed messages about him,” Steve said.

“How do you mean?” Fury asked.

“One minute they’re saying their dad shot Batgirl, the next they’re saying he’s a hero and would never hurt Robin. Either way, they’ve been training—and possibly in the field—since they were little kids. Robin’s still a little kid. Sir,” Steve drew himself up, “This sort of back-and-forth, mixed opinions on a parent is common in abuse victims.”

“You think they’re being abused?”

“I do.”

“Where do we stand on getting them back to their universe?”

“Strange will be here in a few hours.”

Fury nodded. “Stall. I’ll contact Strange myself. Those kids don’t go anywhere until we’re sure they’re going somewhere safe. You understand me?”

“Yes sir.”

“Good.”

Fury cut the call.

Caretaker Kara:

Robbing a house was different than robbing a store. The group scouted ahead. They took days doing it. Planning. Watching. And then they broke in at night, with Zach—the leader—doing something to the door that made it open without a keycode.

Though Kara didn’t even see a place to input a keycode. Was it all biometrics? How was Zach doing this?

Anyway, they got in. The group scattered about, seeking out technology and jewelry. Kara was assigned to lift the heaviest things. Big, bulky tech items that made eyes gleam.

And the cold storage unit that was just chock full of food.

She loaded everything into their van and began to eat. Others stared at her. She held out half a food item to offer it to Gavin, who shook his head, a strange look on his face. Kara shrugged and kept eating.

They let her take whatever she didn’t eat back home with her that night.

Assassin Cass:

She didn’t know how to explain. How to make him understand how dehumanizing it was. The worst event in her life had nothing to do with her. Like she was just a pawn in the game between Joker and the law. Only relevant in how hurting her would hurt Commissioner Gordon by proxy.

She was made to suffer, her legs taken away, her ability to walk for the rest of her life just gone… to cause her father mental anguish.

She had dealt with this shit as Batgirl before. People hurting her to hurt Nightwing, because they were dating. People hurting her to hurt Batman, because she was one of his. No one had ever taken it to this level before, but it seemed to be a running theme. Babs’ pain was only relevant so far as it distressed the men in her life. The men in her life who their enemies respected far more.

She didn’t know how to explain it. That that was the worst part. Not losing the use of her legs. But how much it hadn’t mattered. How much she hadn’t mattered.

A pawn in someone else’s game.

Early Adoption:

“Is it true Batman kidnapped you because your dad is the Riddler?” Harper asked. Harper was super cool. She was in the grade above Stephanie and she had dyed her hair blue with Kool-Aid all on her own. She and Steph always claimed two swings right next to each other at recess before anyone else could. They went higher than anybody.

“My dad is Cluemaster,” she corrected. “He’s not smart enough to be the Riddler.”

“Oh,” Harper said. She paused. “Did Batman make you tell him all his plans and stuff?”

“No.” She huffed out a breath. “Batman says I’m too young to fight crime. Which is so unfair, because Robin started when he was my age. I just wanna punch my dad.”

Harper nodded sympathetically. “He should let you.”

“Exactly.”

This was another reason why Harper was the coolest. Plus, she knew how to fix any broken video game, which was basically a superpower.

[ewingstan]

I obviously loved Pact, but I think one thing it was really missing for me was a stable cast of characters for Blake to bounce off of. Taylor had the Undersiders and Danny, Sy has the Lambs, Blake could have had the Toronto Cabal or the Thorburn extended family or his allies in Jacobs Bell, but actually doesn’t have anyone but Rose (until he’s post-boogeyification, at which point Ethan and Green Eyes actually serve the part quite well). Almost none of the groups above actually get to spend enough time with Blake to form a meaningful connection to him, or in the case of the Toronto cabal, for us to see the connection played on before its severed. I think more time devoted to Blake spending time with any of these groups would have helped sell me on Blake as a character; part of what helps contextualize a protagonist’s behavior is seeing other established characters react to them, and having the protagonist consider other character’s reaction in choosing what to do. Hell, even a Brian or Gordon-type figure to say “woah there buddy, that’s kind of a risky play” before Blake rushes head-first into some crazy plan would help sell that Blake is actually taking risks and making meaningful decisions, and not just perambulating around as the narrative requires.

Half the driving tension in the first parts of Worm was Taylor trying to balance being a mole with wanting her new villain friends to like her, or with being a villain and having a normal relationship with her dad. Even in instances like the cafeteria confrontation scene in Worm, where Taylor drops the civilian facade and acts as if Emma and the other students aren’t there, the framing of her acting that way despite an established character’s presence really helps sell the radical shift the moment spells out for the story. I hardly ever felt the same way in Pact, just because it never felt like anyone would feel surprised/disappointed/betrayed by what Blake did. No matter how crazy and desperate he got, no one was around who knew him well enough to do anything but have their suspicions confirmed about the mysterious Thorburn diabolical/boogeyman.

And yeah, that’s certainly part of the intended tone of the story, that no one will lower their barriers to Blake and that he spends the whole thing dealing with unknown, unwelcoming elements. It sells the idea of being thrust into a strange and frightening world. It sells the constant desperation, the feeling that Blake is a mouse stuck in a Morris Water Maze, padding around for an invisible floor and constantly in danger of drowning.

And it accomplishes all that! But there are also times where its nearly as exhausting for the reader as it is for Blake.

Also, there are times where Blake having real connections would just help sell the tragedy better. The readers having more of a sense of Blake’s friendship with the Toronto cabal would make it hurt that much more when Ur happens and they start treating him like a freaky stranger. It’s really cool when all the hated traits of the Thorburn extended family get reframed as survival tactics that come in clutch in key moments, but it would work better if we had more time to see them in their original antagonistic context. And the rock bottom Blake hits where his most trusted comrades are some dead kid and a cannibal mermaid works really well in establishing how Blake is losing his old sense of self even as his literal old self is being replaced by branches and sparrow-bone, but it would hit even harder if he had any trusted comrades before Evan and Green Eyes.

How did other people feel about this aspect? Did the more ephemeral connection between the protagonist and the greater cast work better for other people?

[popentertainment-moviereviews]

THE EXORCIST: BELIEVER (2023)

Starring Leslie Odom, Jr., Ann Dowd, Jennifer Nettles, Norbert Leo Butz, Lidya Jewett, Olivia Marcum, Ellen Burstyn, Okwui Okpokwasili, Raphael Sbarge, E.J. Bonilla, Antoni Corone, Danny McCarthy, Norah Murphy, Chandu Kanuri, Richard Carr III, Malena Cunningham Anderson, Emily Rachel Gordon, Linda Boston, Nick Benas and Linda Blair.

Screenplay by Peter Sattler and David Gordon Green.

Directed by David Gordon Green.

Distributed by Universal Pictures. 121 minutes. Rated R.

David Gordon Green and Danny McBride have spent the last few years briefly rejuvenating and then quickly continuing to sully the legacy of the popular horror film franchise Halloween. And let’s face it, multiple sequels and reboots had done enough harm to the series’ reputation even before Green and McBride got their hands on the IP, but Halloween Kills and Halloween Ends were just as bad as any of the multiple terrible earlier sequels.

Now they have moved on to take on another legendary horror franchise, one which also had a terrific first film followed by some horrifically bad sequels. (The Exorcist II: The Heretic, anyone?) However, the original 1973 The Exorcist was a revelation at the time. People in the audiences at the time were passing out in the aisles from horror. But the world has changed a lot over the years, and what was shocking in 1973 is not necessarily going to be so extraordinary 50 years later. The new filmmakers are looking to make a trilogy of this new reboot. Let’s hope they do a better job this time around.

From the evidence of The Exorcist: Believer, whether or not that is going to happen is… maybe? But they will have to work harder than this.

The Exorcist: Believer has some scary parts and some interesting philosophical and religious viewpoints, but sitting through it you mostly feel: what’s really the point of this?

Sort of like the Halloween films, they are somewhat trying to deconstruct horror tropes – and I guess that’s a good thing. Also like the Halloween series, The Exorcist: Believer basically completely ignores the existence of all the other movies in the series other than the classic original film. That should only be a good thing.

So why doesn’t it really work?

The story is basically a stand-alone storyline, although for the fans the movie brings back the original star Ellen Burstyn – still radiant and vibrant at 90 years old. Sadly, it seems a bit of a waste to bring Burstyn back – and believe me, when she is on screen, she is phenomenal, the best part of this movie – only to quickly… umm… mostly sideline her.

Instead, Believer tells the story of two young teen southern girls (Lidya Jewett and Olivia Marcum) who disappear for three days, and when they come back, they are acting increasingly odd. Eventually it is decided that during their three lost days, a demon must have possessed them. (It is never exactly explained how a demon can be in two different bodies at once – I’m no expert, is that really a thing?) Of course, two girls mean twice the cursing, twice the scary phenomena, twice the worried parents. It also sets up a “Sophie’s choice” that the demon eventually torments the parents with.

Interestingly, this exorcism is somewhat removed from religion. The Catholic church refuses to cooperate with the exorcism (seeing a PR disaster in the waiting), although one priest (EJ Bonilla) briefly helps out after the others are well into process of the exorcism, to extremely negligible effect.

Instead, the ritual is handled by the parents (a church-going couple [Jennifer Nettles and Norbert Leo Butz] and a faith-challenged dad [Leslie Odom Jr.]), a local preacher, and a once aspiring nun who has been working for decades as a nurse (Ann Dowd).

One of the big problems, I suppose, is that unless you are very into the religious aspects of the thing – and perhaps even if you are a total true believer – an exorcism is a strange and totally inhumane procedure. It’s chaotic, clunky, and brutal, and sadly this filmed approximation of an exorcism makes the movie share those traits.

It’s too bad, because the new film does try exploring some interesting themes – family dynamics, faith (and the lack thereof), guilt, community and missed opportunities. Sadly, the ugly and frenzied climax overshadows what little intrigue the filmmakers have stirred up. And frankly the ending feels unfinished, like Believer is the first act of a three-act play, which for better or worse, it is.

Jay S. Jacobs

Copyright ©2023 PopEntertainment.com. All rights reserved. Posted: October 5, 2023.

[lacontroller1991]

The Other Stevens: Chapter 1

Main Master List The Other Stevens Master List

Warnings: age gap relationship, drinking, language, sexual passes, sexual innuendos, mention of masturbation

Word Count: 1.6k

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The first time you met Gordo Stevens was at a pool party. You were 17 and had just moved to Houston attending Seabrook High where you met Danny who had immediately invited you over, and you were quick to accept.

Every weekend you, Kelly, Danny and Jimmy would hang out at the pool until Gordo would eventually stumble out of his room or onto the driveway, drunk as a skunk, and killing the mood. You weren’t an idiot, however, you know about him and his ex wife and despite him being “damaged goods” you found Gordon Stevens to be insanely attractive, attractive enough to be the sole object of your attention.

And so it began, your obsession. You’ve read every single news article, seen every public video footage, seen every photo of him and it was never enough to satisfy you. 

By the time you were 19, you knew he saw you, and not in the traditional “you’re right in front of me” aspect but in the sensual aspect. He started to take notice of your smooth sunkissed skin, your long glossy hair and your plump, luscious lips - always shining with a strawberry lip gloss he’s seen you use. He’s also started to take notice of your long, toned legs and your perfect perky breasts. He also noticed your radiant smile whenever he was around and the way your body always angles toward him no matter where you were sitting. But, Gordo Stevens isn’t naive. He knows that your attraction for him is all in his head and that a girl as gorgeous and young as you would never go for a lumpy, middle aged has been. He’s wrong. Because what he doesn’t know is that everytime you come over, you’re always wearing a pure, white lingerie set underneath your clothes, hoping that one day he’ll finally take a hint and have you as his, but for now, lonely nights and lingering glances will have to do.

It’s early springtime in 1983 and the sun beats down on you. Despite wearing next to nothing, the sun still warms your skin up. Sitting up on the lounge chair, you look over to your friends, pushing your sunglasses up into your hair. “Hey guys, Imma head inside for a drink. Can I get you anything?” Danny looks at you from his spot next to you and offers you a toothy smile and you resist the urge to roll your eyes at his flirtatious nature.

“I’m good, thanks though. What about you guys?” Kelly and Jimmy shake their heads in denial and wave their drinks in the air before Danny turns back to you. “Dad should have some Buds somewhere in the fridge,” he mentions as you mumble a ‘thanks’ and make your way over to the patio door, shimmying down your bathing suit top to expose more cleavage than necessary. Stepping into the house you let a small moan slip from your lips when you feel the cool AC hit your skin.

“Hot out there?” His voice shocks you as your head whips to the kitchen where Gordo stands, hand in a jar of cheeseballs. You smile at him, causing him to shift awkwardly.

“Oh, hi Mr. Stevens. Didn’t see you there,” you make your way into the kitchen as he subconsciously backs up against the fridge and sucks in his gut. You stop in front of him, causing his heart to hammer in his chest. You look behind you and Gordo uses the time to quickly brush the crumbs off his shirt. “But yes, it’s hot out there, which is why I came in for a drink.” Gordo and you remain still for a minute before he realizes he’s standing in the way.

“Shit, sorry,” he scoots out of the way as you brush past him and grab a can of beer out of the fridge. He eyes the can. “Aren’t you a little too young to drink?”

You smirk and open the can, guzzling the amber liquid and letting some drip off your chin and onto your breasts, pretending to not notice the way his eyes follow the drip of the foamy liquid down your chest. Finishing off the can, you use the back of your hand to wipe away the excess as you look down to your breasts with a laugh. “Shit, seems I completely missed my mouth,” even though your words are innocent enough, Gordo can’t stop the gears turning in his head. You reach behind him and grab a glass of water and fill it up in the sink, loving the way his eyes burn holes into your back. “I mean, I did just turn 20. Drinking age is 18, so no, I guess. Guess I’m old enough. Technically an adult,” you shrug your shoulders as you turn around and rest against the counter, casually sipping on your water as he sets down the bag of cheeseballs and coughs, trying to collect his thoughts. Noticing the way he seems to struggle with himself, you let a small smile plaster onto your face. “Oh by the way, when is Sgt Slaughter’s next match? I keep trying to ask Danny but he never seems to remember.”

“You’re interested in wrestling?” Gordo raises his brows in shock as you nod.

“Yeah, I love watching them beat each other up. It’s so staged and hilarious.” Gordo smiles and laughs along with you as he raises his own beer in agreement.

“It is, but the next match is Tuesday. Do you-”

“Jeez (Y/N), what’s taking so long?” Danny crashes through the patio door, causing you and Gordo to jump. You smile at your friend. 

“I was just asking your dad when the next wrestling match was since you can never remember,” you tease the elder Stevens kid as he rolls his eyes and pushes past his dad only to grab a couple of more beers. You don’t miss the way Gordo kinda just shuffles to the side. “Danny! Use your manners. That was rude,” you scold him and Gordo’s lips twitch upward into a smile as Danny rolls his eyes. 

“Ok well, wrestling is stupid and you’re missing all of the fun. Come o-” he eyes the living room for a second and pinches the bridge of his nose. “When’s Sheila coming over?” You and Gordo look over to the living room and Gordo blushes, embarrassed about the mess. He immediately goes over and picks up a couple of cans, trying to tidy it up and you move to join him but Danny grabs your arm and drags you with him. “No, come on, he can clean it up himself.”

“Daniel. That’s your father, why the hell are you talking to him like that?” You jerk your arm away from Danny as he searches your face for any signs that you’re joking but when he finds none he scoffs. “I’m gonna help your dad. I’ll be out in 10, ok?” He nods his head and opens a beer.

“You’re too nice for your own good. You’re gonna miss the fun,” he calls out before exiting the house, leaving you and Gordo alone. Walking over to him, you help pick up various cans and papers and Gordo huffs.

“I don’t know what the hell happened to him. Ever since he turned 15 he’s been a pain in my side,” Gordo comments, throwing away trash while you smile at him in concern.

“Yeah, he can be a jerk sometimes. But that wasn’t ok. My dad would have spanked me. Hard,” you joke but Gordo’s thoughts run dirty. You take notice of his blank stare. “Mr. Stevens? Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” he snaps out of his trance and struggles to maintain eye contact with you, especially with your breasts pouring out of your top. “Thanks for helping me. I have a cleaner but she’s been out sick.” You wave him off and stand to your full height before stretching, letting your top ride up over the bottom of your breasts causing Gordo’s eyes to trail down your stomach, as his thoughts run wild. His dick twitches in his pants. He needs to get out of there and as soon as possible because if he doesn’t, well, he doesn’t know what he will do. “You should probably get back out there, don’t want Danny throwing a fit again.” He laughs and you smile, fixing your bathing suit top a little. 

“Yeah, I probably should. It was nice talking to you Mr. Stevens.” 

“It was nice talking to you too,” you wave him a goodbye as you head back out to his pool, stealing a beer from Danny and plopping down next to Kelly to discuss whatever girls discuss. Gordo doesn’t focus on it too much, not when his cock is aching in his pants. 

Scurrying away to his room, he quickly locks the door and unbuckles his pants, shoving his hand in to massage his member, he allows a moan to escape his lips. He knows it’s wrong and he shouldn’t be touching himself to the thought of you, but he can’t help it. He can’t help the way the beer falls onto your breasts, or when you lean over, you expose everything to him, or the way your breasts are too big for the top. He realizes that none of it’s his fault as he pictures your hand working him instead of himself. If anything, it’s your fault for being so pure, but so dirty and it drives him insane. 

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General Tag List: @marvelousmermaid @himbovillain-anon @babblydrabbly @a-reader-and-a-writer @fairchildflag @infatuatedjanes @niki-xie

MCB Tag List: @ed-baldwin @reveluving @sugapapichulo @violetmuses

[talesofhestia]

Content

Aesthetics | Edits | Gifs | Multiships | Fics | Headcanons | Others

Marvel ⏤ Steve Rogers Defense Squad ＋ Sam Wilson Defense Squad ＋ Sharon Carter Defense Squad

DC ⏤ Core Four (Tim Drake, Conner Kent, Bart Allen & Cassie Sandsmark) Defense Squad ＋ Batfamily ＆ Superfamily

Teen Wolf ⏤ Stiles Stilinski Defense Squad

Supernatural ⏤ Team Freewill–centric

Star Wars ⏤ Luke Skywalker Defense Squad ＋ Grogu Defense Squad ＋ Pro-Jedi

One Piece ⏤ Mugiwara no Ichimi–centric ＋ ASUL Siblings (ASL Brothers + Uta) ＋ Shanks being Luffy's (and Uta's) dad

Other fandoms ⏤ Pokémon, Inazuma Eleven (Break Trio–centric), Naruto (mainly: Hyūga Hinata–centric or Team 8–centric), Fairy Tail, Percy Jackson, Harry Potter, Shadowhunters, Good Omens…

Ships that are most likely to appear ⏤

All fandoms mentioned above: Nakamaship | Platonic Relationships Marvel: Samsteve | Sam Wilson 𝘅 Steve Rogers， Staron | Steve Rogers 𝘅 Sharon Carter， Stony | Steve Rogers 𝘅 Tony Stark (only in Earth-616, Earth-20051, Earth-12041, Earth-8096, Earth-TRN814 & Earth-TRN562)， Stucky | Steve Rogers 𝘅 Bucky Barnes (only in Earth-199999)， Steve Rogers 𝘅 Bernie Rosenthal， Steve Rogers 𝘅 George Batroc (only in Earth-616)， Steve Rogers 𝘅 Namor， Steve Rogers 𝘅 Namor 𝘅 Jim Hammond， Namor 𝘅 Jim Hammond， Reed Richards 𝘅 Sue Storm… DC: Timkon | Tim Drake 𝘅 Conner Kent， Timbart | Tim Drake 𝘅 Bart Allen， Timkonbart | Tim Drake 𝘅 Conner Kent 𝘅 Bart Allen， Timkonbartcassie | Bart Allen 𝘅 Tim Drake 𝘅 Conner Kent 𝘅 Cassie Sandsmark， Dickbabs | Dick Grayson 𝘅 Barbara Gordon… →Arrowverse: Supercorp | Kara Danvers 𝘅 Lena Luthor， Superflash | Kara Danvers 𝘅 Barry Allen， Superarrow | Kara Danvers 𝘅 Oliver Queen… One Piece: ZoLu | Roronoa Zoro 𝘅 Monkey D. Luffy， LawLu | Trafalgar D. Water Law 𝘅 Monkey D. Luffy， SanLu | Sanji 𝘅 Monkey D. Luffy， NamiVivi | Nami 𝘅 Nefertari (D.) Vivi， UsoKaya | Usopp 𝘅 Kaya， Frobin | Frank 𝘅 Nico Robin， Sako | Sabo 𝘅 Koala， Mishanks | Dracule Mihawk 𝘅 Shanks， Akagami no Shanks 𝘅 Makino， Nefertari (D.) Vivi 𝘅 Monkey D. Luffy… Teen Wolf: Sterek | Stiles Stilinski 𝘅 Derek Hale， Stora | Stiles Stilinski 𝘅 Cora Hale， Stackson | Stiles Stilinski 𝘅 Jackson Whittemore， Stanny | Stiles Stilinski 𝘅 Danny Mahealani， Dackson | Jackson Whittemore 𝘅 Danny Mahealani， Berica | Vernon Boyd 𝘅 Erica Reyes… Supernatural: Destiel | Dean Winchester 𝘅 Castiel， Drowley | Dean Winchester 𝘅 Crowley， Denny | Dean Winchester 𝘅 Benny Lafitte， Saileen | Sam Winchester 𝘅 Eileen Leahy， Samwena | Sam Winchester 𝘅 Rowena Macleod， Sabriel | Sam Winchester 𝘅 Gabriel… Stars Wars: Dinluke | Din Djarin 𝘅 Luke Skywalker， Mara Jade 𝘅 Luke Skywalker， Bobaluke | Boba Fett x Luke Skywalker， Dinbobaluke | Din Djarin x Boba Fett 𝘅 Luke Skywalker， Hanleia | Han Solo 𝘅 Leia Organa… Percy Jackson: Percabeth | Percy Jackson 𝘅 Annabeth Chase， Solangelo | Will Solace 𝘅 Nico di Angelo， Frazel | Frank Zhang 𝘅 Hazel Levesque， Percico | Percy Jackson 𝘅 Nico di Angelo， Jercy | Jason Grace 𝘅 Percy Jackson， Solackson | Will Solace 𝘅 Percy Jackson… Harry Potter: Hinny | Harry Potter 𝘅 Ginny Weasley， Romione | Ron Weasley 𝘅 Hermione Granger， Drarry | Draco Malfoy 𝘅 Harry Potter， Linny | Luna Lovegood 𝘅 Ginny Weasley， Nuna | Neville Longbottom 𝘅 Luna Lovegood…

AU: Earth–129916 | Cast

Earth–129916 is a universe that I have been writing for a few months for a series of stories that I will publish in AO3. The stories will be published first in my native language (Spanish); later, I will translate them into English.

This universe mixes concepts from comics, movies and series. Above all, from the following canonical universes:

Earth–616

Earth–20051 (Marvel Adventures Comics)

Earth–199999 (MCU)

Earth–12041 (Avengers Assemble)

You can see all my posts from this universe here.

[right-brain-of-froggy2]

Christmas in July: Bonus Day 28

Thank you to the lovely @drileyf​ for the idea of Scott reading the letters the brothers sent! This is a piece to accompany piece Chapter 14 with the brothers writing letters to Scott away in the Air Force. Hope you enjoy!

AO3 link here!

“Hey Tracy, catch.”

Scott opens his eyes in time to see an object flying towards his body. It hits him square in the chest with a smack. He picks it up and twirls it around in his hands. Roberts ducks out of the bunk room continues on to pass out gifts from his mail sack like he’s Santa Claus arriving two weeks too late.

“Ooh, letters from a honey?”

“Come off it, Johnson! We all know women are scared of Tracy here,” Sven teases. His buddies clamor around Scott on his bed in their matching black shirts and olive-green cargo pants.  

“Only the pretty ones.”

“You’re just saying that from experience,” Scott fires back. He rolls his eyes at his friends’ antics. They try and try to get a rise out of him, but he knows they’ll never succeed. They’d need to take pointers from John for that. Scott flips over the bundle of letters and slides off the rubber band. All of the letters are addressed to “Scott Tracy” in varying handwriting with a Kansas return address. Scott grins as he flips through, accounting for each brother.

“So, who’re they from then?”

“My brothers back home.”

Sven and Danny coo like Scott is a little dog. But they quiet down after a minute. Sven throws an arm around Scott’s shoulder as he tears into the earliest postmarked letter. He stretches out his spitshined boots out in front of him. “Wanna read ‘em out loud?”

“Hey, this is John. It’s almost Christmas in a month. Virgil and Alan have found the stash of Christmas decorations the day after Thanksgiving. It’s an absolute shitshow of glittery ornaments and candy canes here. Man, I don’t think I’ve sent a handwritten letter since I was a kid. Sorry for not writing before now. My final studying is going fine, and I toured Stanford and Harvard for a visit day. That’s all I’ve got, I guess. Oh and Gordon signed me up for helping at the elementary Christmas concert because apparently, I don’t have enough Christmas spirit. Whatever that means. Ho ho ho.”

“Damn! You’ve got smarty pants Johnny over here at Ivy Leagues and you’re stuck as a military meathead,” Danny says with a whistle. “Not like you’ve got to live up to your little brother or anything.”

“Hey now, I’m technically enrolled in Yale. I’ve got the course load to prove it!” Scott retorts. In another three years he’ll have prestigious degree and be a lieutenant. He rereads John’s letter and smiles. Typical Gordon to rope in John into something he desperately does not want to do. He tucks the letter beneath his thigh on the mattress and moves to the next one.

Scott doesn’t have to read any of the words to know it’s from Gordon. What other brother would write in multicolored glitter markers and have an exclamation point after each and every sentence?

“Hi Scooter!! Dad said to write you because you might be lonely. I think he thinks I’m lonely. I’m not though, I’ve got lots of friends in swimming! This is my first Christmas that you won’t help put up lights. Don’t tell Dad but he might break his back. Virge will help. We baked a few cookies but it’s not cookie day and they’re yummy! I should send you one from the recipe I came up with sometime. I’ve heard they’re very good form everybody! Which base are you at? Johnny said he was going to send this letter for me with his. I don’t know what else to talk about over letter! That one clothes store to us hung up all these pretty candy canes in the window and Alan copied it here. I love you!”

None of the letters are addressed from Dad, but it sounds like he’s around for the holidays this year. That’s something, at least. Especially if he’s forcing Gordon to write to him a letter that takes more than five minutes. It brings a fuzzy feeling to his chest that bubbles out as a smile.

Danny taps the paper where Gordon signed his name. “Cute kid.”

Scott shakes his head hard enough for his dog tags to clink together. “Wait ‘til you meet him. You’ll change your mind then.”

“Oh, are they coming to the passing out parade?”

“Yup. They couldn’t make it to the basic graduation since they all came down with a stomach bug,” Scott says. He shudders at the thought of being home while all four of his brothers were ill with that. It was the one time he was glad to be in basic. “I don’t think I’ve got much of a choice.”

“For them coming?”

“For assignment. Commander Hughes is insistent I come with him out to Akvar for my first tour,” Scott responds. His bunkmates shudder at the mention of Hughes. His name is well known throughout the cadets and Scott was (un)lucky enough to become his star pupil.

“Rough, buddy. I’d lick dirt before having Commander Hughes as my commander.”

“Where’re you headed?”

“An outpost of Bereznik,” Danny responds. “Me and Sven both. They’ve got a few rumblings starting and USAF wants to establish a presence.”

“Fun times.”

Scott pops open the next letter sealed with space stickers. It’s Virgil’s handwriting but he sees it’s signed in big, bulky letters only a kindergartener could manage.

“John said that you are busy and don’t have lots of time. That’s okay cause I love you anyways! When you get home, we can play space explorer. John’s not as fun as you with it. It’s okay you can’t come home for Christmas. I’ll save you cookies and presents and a stocking in my room.”

They all laugh like it’s something funnier than a little kid excited to be talking to his big brother. Scott adds it to the pile of letters under his leg. Virgil follows next with a very brief letter before going back to John and the others. Christmas is lonely on base, but Scot has his buddies and proof that his brothers are thinking about him. Maybe it’s not all bad.

Sven and Danny nudge his shoulders, point out how Gordon’s going to be their favorite little brother if only from the mischievous nature, listen to Scott as he reads each one aloud. At some point, Loren joins the trio on his own bunk. He’s a bit older than the other cadets but a friendly personality amongst the rough and tumble. Scott nods to him. He closes his eyes and listens in. No one comments on the few times Scott’s voice catches of the way his eyes water. No one laughs because it’s never funny when a soldier cries.

Scott finishes with the final letter, John’s letter, and a quiet voice.

“Guess who didn’t get caught yesterday for Christmas Eve dinner. I miss having you have my back though- Gordon is pricey. Half my chocolates! You would have helped me for free, I know.”

It’s all of their first times being away from home for Christmas. They’ve got little brothers and little sisters, nieces and nephews, parents and older siblings all waiting for them like Scott’s brothers are waiting for him. Scott can’t help but to imagine what this Christmas would have been like back at home with everyone with John’s story.

“…Hope you have a Merry Christmas and they let you have some time off to come home soon. Alan has been guarding your presents from the other cousins like a Rottweiler. We all love you.”

Danny’s the first to speak. He thumbs the pile of letters sticking out. “You’ve got a good few brothers, Tracy.”

“Yeah, yeah I do,” Scott says.

Commander Cory’s voice echoes from the center of the bunk houses, loud enough to hear through the shut door. “Cadets! Get off your asses and out to the shotting range!”

He pulls out the stack and replaces the rubber band. The four men stretch as they stand to follow orders. Scott pulls on his uniform top. Before buttoning it up to his collarbone, Scott slips all the letters into the interior pocket.

Scott snags his issued rifle from the rack on the way out.

He gets back to work with the letters from home driving him on.

[artemismoorea03]

DPxDC Writing Prompt Idea

I have no idea if this has been done before but I just had this idea so if it has been done feel free to ignore this but I gotta share this.

So, I always see these prompts of different characters being related to different DC characters. For example I've seen some where people say that Tucker is related to Lucius Fox. Dash is related to Harley Quinn. Jack being related to Bruce Wayne. Danny related to Tim/Damian/Dick or any of the other Batfam but one I haven't seen before is one that I feel could be easily used.

Maddie Fenton is related to Jim Gordon.

Now, I've never seen this or even heard people talking about it and I can kind of understand why. Maddie is shown to have a sister but like - hear me out anyways.

Maddie has a cousin, she has met him a couple of times as a kid and only once as an adult when Danny was around 7. There wasn't any real reason for it, just a Family Reunion and an excuse to spend time as a family, something she often forgot to do when she was so determined to get the Ghost Portal open.

Her cousin is Jim and his daughter is a good ten years older than Danny. She had heard that Jim was quickly rising in rank in Gotham City and that his daughter - despite the occasional odd truancy issues - had her head on straight. Jazz also adored the older girl and followed her around the entire reunion, looking almost like Barbara's little sister.

Danny got closer to Jim than his daughter though, and started talking about things that he probably shouldn't have. After all, what 7 year old has a filter? What 7 year old knows not to mention the fact that sometimes their food attacks them or that Jazz is learning how to cook because sometimes mom and dad forget to feed them because their research is important. The more Danny talks the more concerned Jim gets, but he's also conflicted.

This is his cousin, the same cousin who the time Danny fell and scraped his knee peppered kisses on each and every one of his freckles on his face and danced with him until the pain stopped and then patched him up and danced with him again. This is family. He's sure that Danny is just... making things sound bigger than they are, as children do - at least he hopes that's the case.

But on the off chance that there is something going on he slips Jazz and Danny both his number and gives his cousin the same number in case anything came up.

As the years go on though Jim starts to see more red flags. Small things at first - Jazz asking how to change the batteries in a fire alarm. Danny calling to ask if pot-lids could be stuck in the microwave to cover rice. Basic questions that could be asked to a parent or a parent should be doing for their kids anyways. But whenever Jim asked about this the answer was the same.

"Mom and Dad are busy in the lab."

This continued for years until a call from Jazz one night seven years after he'd met them for the first time. She was crying and sobbing, her voice shaking as she tries to get the words out.

"Danny had an accident. Mom and dad aren't home, what do I do?"

Jim was 900 miles away, he had no way to get to them. No way to get him to them. So he did what he could and instructed her to hang up with him and call for an ambulance. Jazz was scared though, she didn't trust the doctors but thankfully Danny's voice could be heard.

The relief Jazz had when her brother woke up was enough to make Jim feel like he was going to throw up. The call ended shortly after that but he made sure to call a few days later and ask his cousin how Danny was doing.

"Danny? He's just fine!"

"That's good. He healed from the accident then?"

"What accident- oh, Jack no, that goes to the right - your other right. Jim, sorry I have to go. We can talk about this later, okay?"

Jim was appalled. Jazz had called him in tears, hyperventilating and Danny had been unconscious - Jazz though he was dead - and their parents didn't have any idea?

It was a little over a year later that he got another call. Just as frantic, just as scared, but much worse.

Danny was all but screaming in the back ground, voices were telling him to holds still and that they knew it hurt but he was bleeding out and he needed to hold still. Terrified, hurt, betrayed voices. Jazz again explained the situation, this time eerily calm.

"I can't go into details over the phone but we're coming to Gotham City to seek Asylum against a law that will get Danny killed. We need you to keep Batman off of our tails until Danny is healed. We'll handle everything from there."

"Healed? Healed from what?" Why did these calls always happen during work. "Jazz, what is happening? You have to give me something if I'm going to protect you guys."

"... My parents cut Danny open, Jim. They cut him open and he's hurt bad. Myself, Danny, and two of our friends are on our way to you now." Jim felt like his jaw hit the floor then snapped back up so hard it gave him whiplash as he sank back in his chair. "Before you ask; no. Hospitals aren't an option. Danny isn't a meta and they weren't violating any laws when they cut him open. Which is why we need you to keep Batman away from us for as long as possible. What... what Danny is shouldn't exist and if anybody gets a hold of him they'll cut him back open, turn him into a super weapon, or destroy him."

"Then why call me. I'm a police commissioner. What makes you sure you can trust me?"

"I'm not. Neither are the others with us but the only thing Danny has said since we saved him is 'Go to Jim'. We're following his lead on this. So... I'm trusting Danny, who has his full trust in you, Jim. Don't let him down."

[ao3feed-brucewayne]

Fellas is it creepy to lobotomize your boyfriend in front of his dad?

by Demonic0Angel Bruce is suspicious of Jason’s newfound pacifism and he can’t help but wonder what happened. But one day, as he comes to see Jason, he spots a woman taking him and bringing him into a lab… (Idea: Mad Scientist) Words: 2311, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English Series: Part 7 of DPxDC Halloween One-Shots Fandoms: Danny Phantom, DCU, Batman - All Media Types Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Categories: F/M, Multi Characters: Jason Todd, Jazz Fenton, Bruce Wayne, Barbara Gordon, Dick Grayson, Damian Wayne, Batfamily Members, everyone’s there but I’m just gonna name the speaking roles Relationships: Jazz Fenton/Jason Todd, Batfamily Members & Jason Todd, Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne Additional Tags: Ecto-Contaminated | Liminal Jazz Fenton, Good Sibling Jason Todd, Protective Bruce Wayne, Bruce Wayne is Bad at Communicating, Bruce Wayne Tries to Be a Good Parent, POV Outsider, Autopsies, Dissection, Body Modification, Human Experimentation, Dark Character, Unreliable Narrator, Voyeurism, Consensual But Not Safe Or Sane, not to Bruce tho lol, Mistaken Identity, Lazarus Pit Madness (DCU), Obsessive Behavior via https://ift.tt/ozBAhLw

[ashposhmarkley5]

Check out this listing I just added to my Poshmark closet: Angels In The Outfield VHS Tape (1994) ⚾️.

[kiragecko]

DC Sidekick Age References

Here’s a dump of all the references I’ve found. Know I’m missing a lot, and quite a few were found on other sites that didn’t give me the most precise info.

If you know of anything else, can correct a mistake you see, or want to discuss comic book aging - please send me an ask, message, or reblog!

?? - means I don’t know where the info is from, “quotes” are direct copies of the wording in the comic

-

?? Parents died when Bruce was 8

Detective Comics #27 (May 1939) – Batman introduced

Detective Comics #38 (Apr 1940)  – Dick is (8 when parents killed/9 when Robin) 12 when he becomes Robin, it's Bruce's 3rd year as Batman

More Fun Comics 73 (Nov 1941) – Green Arrow Introduced

1962 - JLA formed

1964 – Dick teams up with Wally and Garth

Teen Titans 1 (Jan-Feb 1966) – Teen Titans form, Donna is introduced (all 5 are 14ish?)

Detective 359 (Jan 1967) – Babs introduced, has PhD, has graduated

Batman #217 (Dec 1969) – Dick graduates high school, enrolls in University (starts 3 months later)

1971 - Roy discovered using drugs by Ollie and Hal in a drug den (he was trading arrows for drugs), retcon has Wally and Dick discovering him at tower and making him promise to get help

Justice League 116 (Mar-Apr 1975) Charley Parker is 16

Batman Family 10 (Mar-Apr 1977) – Dick is teenager, Babs is 25

Teen Titans 53 (Feb 1978) – Dick, Wally, Donna, Vic all started college at same time

DC Special Series: The Flash Spectacular (May 1978) – Wally graduates high school

New Teen Titans 1 (Nov 1980) – Raven forms New Titans, Gar is 16 during run

New Teen Titans 2 (Dec 1980) – Slade meets team, Grant dies

1981 - Dick drops out of university after 1 semester, he never really was interested

New Teen Titans 20 (June 1982) – Vic turns 19, Donna already is

Tales of the New Teen Titans 2 (July 1982) – Raven turned 18 just before forming Titans

Batman #357 (Mar 1983) – Jason’s first appearance

Detective Comics #526 (May 1983) – Bruce adopts Jason, Dick is there and approving

New Teen Titans 34 (Aug 1983) – Terra turns 16

Batman #368 (Feb 1984) – Dick gives Jason the Robin costume, Jason becomes Robin

Blue Devil(84) – Eddie is 11/12

Tales of the Teen Titans (May 1984) – Joey introduced, Author describes him as 17?

New Teen Titans #39 (Feb 1984) – Dick stops being Robin, Wally quits being a superhero/the team

Tales of the Teen Titans 50 (Feb 1985) – Terry and Donna's wedding (she got married while 19)

New Teen Titans 10 (July 1985) – Kole says she's at least 18

Crisis on Infinite Earths 7 (Oct 1985) – Supergirl dies in Superman’s arms after mostly destroying the Anti-Monitor, who has to flee reality

New Teen Titans 18 (Mar 1986) – Dick turns 20 (“Dick Grayson celebrates his birthday away from home with a traditional Tamaranean feast.” (While sulking because Kory got space-married))

New Teen Titans 20 (May 1986) – Roy locates baby Lian, Terry Long is 29

?? Roy is 22(when he gets Lian)

Batman #404 - Batman Year One (Feb 1987) – Bruce is 25, spent 12 years training, became Batman at 26, Barbara Gordon is pregnant, her and Jim move to Gotham

Detective Comics #571 (Feb 1987) – we see Bruce’s fear gas induced vision of Jason’s tombstone (birth: 1974 – death: 1986, so he’d be 12)

Secret Origins 13 (April 87) – 15 years ago, it was Dick’s 5th birthday. Soon after tenth birthday, parents are killed. [Set during New TT 18])

Batman #409 (July 1987) – Jason becomes Robin (In Detective Comics, Jason has been Robin the whole time, but is still being wwritten with Pre-Crisis personality)

Flash 1 (June 1987) – Wally turns 20

New Teen Titans Ann 3 (Nov 1987) – Danny Chase is 13 and introduced

Batman #416 (Feb 1988) – Dick in Gotham, meets the new Robin on patrol. Confronts Bruce later, says he was ‘fired’ less than a year ago (since then he was briefly in college), makes Bruce admit he missed him. Dick finds Jason again, expose the drug dealers, and Dick gives Jason his old costume (symbolically, since Jason already has one) and a phone number, Dick was Robin for 6 years

Batman #427 (Winter 1988) – Jason dies

Batman #436, Batman: Year Three (Aug 1989) – 2 years since Dick stopped being Bruce’s sidekick (When he became Nightwing? Or when he quit?), parents died 10 years earlier

Batman #441, A Lonely Place of Dying (Nov 1989) – Tim 13, was 7 when Dick’s parents died

Robin #1 (Jan 1991) – Tim debuts as Robin

New Titans 84 (March 1992) – Joey dies

Deathstroke, the Terminator #15 (Oct 1992) – Rose introduced

Team Titans 3 (Nov 1992) – Robert Long is born

Adventures of Superman 500 (June 1993) – Kon appears and escapes from Cadmus with Newboy Legion, John Henry Irons first appearance, Eradicator and Cyborg Superman also appear for first time

Batman: BTAS: Robin’s Reckoning (1993) - 'Richard 'Dick' Grayson: Age 10'

Detective Comics 668 (Nov 1993) – Tim gets license (because dad is disabled) even though he hasn’t turned 16 yet, gets beat up by Jean-Paul

Flash 92 (July 1994) – Bart aged to 14

?? Shortly after Knight’s End – Tim is 15 and in the 10th grade

Flash 0 (Oct 1994) – Wally is 23

Damage 1(94) – Grant is 16

Deathstroke, The Terminator Annual 4 (Aug 1995) – Rose is 14, “What would that do to a kid? A fourteen-year-old girl whose father is an assassin she’s never met?”

Wonder Woman 105(95) – Cassie is 14

Tempest 1(96) – Garth spends many months in other dimension

Aquaman 20 (May 1996) – Garth aged 3-4 years in other dimension, now older than other Titans

Teen Titans 1 (Oct 1996) – Argent, Risk, Joto, Prysm all turn 16(they were conceived by seed things on same day)

Superboy Annual 2 – to Kon: “Happy birthday, Kid - - number one in a long successful series, we hope.” “He will effectively remain sixteen years old - - forever!”

Green Lantern 82(97) – Robert Long is 3

Wonder Woman 121(97) – Terry and Robert die

Secret Origins Giant 1(98) – Bart is “Three. Fifteen. Depends.”, “you’re almost 15, Tim.”

Titans 5(99) – Donna is 23

Titans(99) – Lian is 4

Sins of Youth(99) – Kon 16, aging normally again

Aquaman 63 (Jan 2000) – Future Garth tells granddaughter Donna about Cerdian being born (think this is his weird birth issue)

Wonder Woman Secret Files (2002) – „Wonder Girl is a precocious outgoing 15-year-old named Cassandra „Cassie“ Sandsmark.“

Bruce Wayne: Murderer (2002) – Oracle says Tim is 15

Batgirl #37 (April 2003) – “Cain said ... today was ... my birthday.”

Batgirl #39 (June 2003) – “I see an eighteen-year-old girl, who’s out of her depth.” (Babs about Cass)

Robin #116 (Sept 2003) – Dana: “Oh, I’m so glad we’ll all be together on Thursday ... !” Tim: “Why? What’s Thursday?” Jack: “Yeah. What’s Thursday?” Dana: “Wait a minute – seriously? Tim: “Yeah. Tell. Us.” Dana: “It’s nothing – never mind. Just leave your schedules open for a nice family dinner.”| Jack: “Dana, what’s – “ Dana: “Shh! Thursday ...  the 19th of July ... ?” Jack: “Um ... oh! Right!” | Steph: “So – Thursday!! Are you excited? Got any ideas for it, yet? ... Tim ... ?” [Tim is asleep.] | [Ives and Steph come over, with pizza that says “Happy B-Day Tim.”] Ives: “Sixteen spankings – get that boy up!!” | Dana says: “I remember when I was in 11th grade.” | he also gets the first ‘clue’ for Bruce’s ‘birthday present.’

Teen Titans 1 (Nov 2003) – Gar is 19, Is this Joey’s return?? (He’s puppeting Slade)

Teen Titans ½ (2004) – Rose’s early years, with a ‘6 years ago’ flashback, she was raised in a brothel her mom ran, tutored, never allowed the outside world, but had relationships with kids her age

Detective Comics #790 (Mar 2004) – Jason’s 18th birthday “he would have been 18 today”

Teen Titans 8 (April 2004) – Raven looks 'barely older' than Cassie

TEEN TITANS #1/2 [2004]: The flashback panels totally sync up with my age theories; Flash to 10 years ago: Dick Grayson’s parents die. Flash to 6 years ago: Rose Wilson is schooled at home by her mother, Lili. Flash to 5 years ago: Ravager I is killed. Flash to 3 years ago: Slade is forced to kill Jericho. Flash to 2 years ago: Cadmus attempts to clone Superman. Flash to 18 months ago: Rose deals with the death of her mother. Flash to one week ago: Bart Allen is shot by Slade.

Identity Crisis 4 (Dec 2004) –(Tim still 16)

Green Arrow 47(05) – Mia is 17

Return of Donna Troy 3(05) – Cassie barely 16

Nightwing: Year One(05) – Dick is 26

Batgirl #65 (Aug 2005) – Cass decides to figure out if Shiva is her mom, Jason and Cass roughly the same age

Flash(05/06) – Wally is 26

?? Robin #136 – Tim still 16 ???

Detective Comics #868 (Oct 2010)– Kate is 32 years old??

One Year Later(Mar 06)

Flash 1(06) – Bart 4 years older(20?)

Blue Beetle 2 (June 2006) – Find out Jaime was in space/a pocket dimension for One Year Later

?? Just prior to 52 (July 2006-July 2007)– told Tim is 17 (long before he’s also  17 in Red Robin, 52 is 1 year long)

Teen Titans 42 (Feb 2007) – Eddie is 17

Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds 3-4 (Apr-June 2009) – Bart and Kon back, same as when died

Batman 677 (July 2008) – Batman over 30

Batman: Battle for the Cowl (May-July 2009) – Damian is 10, Ends with Dick and Damian becoming Batman and Robin

Brave & The Bold 2 (May 2007) – Kara is 17, “You have food in the refrigerator older than her, Hal. Who are you, Ollie? No bad thoughts. She’s seventeen.”

Batgirl #1 (Oct 2009) – Steph starting college

Batgirl #7 (Apr 2010) - Damian is "what happens when you work with a 10-year-old."

Red Robin #12 (July 2010) – Tim spent “a few months” looking for evidence before returning to Gotham, becomes emancipated minor

Detective Comics #871 (Jan 2011)– Mention that Dick and Babs went to prom together

Red Robin #25 (Sept 2011) – Tim “and you are only 17”

The Batman Files (Oct 2014) – Jason was 15 at death (seen on death certificate)

?? Rebirth Young Justice series – Cassie: “didn’t mean to end up back in high school feeling - - like I did back when I went to high school.” Later, she says she’s in Metropolis “Working. Going to school in the fall.” So she’s probably starting college.

?? Bart in some Rebirth comic: “Am I six? Am I nineteen? That’s a really freaky thing, right?”

?? At some point: Donna says shes a little older than Kyle

[moviewarfare]

A Review of “Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021)”

The movie that hardcore dedicated Zack fans fought for has finally been released. I'm not a huge Zack fan and I honestly didn't like Batman v Superman (BvS), although I did like Man of Steel, I also supported the movie because I believe the movie released should've been Zack's true vision. I watched Justice League (2017) in theatres when it came out and thought it was a very bland movie that had very obvious reshoots from another director in it. If I had to give that movie a rating then I would give it a 1.5/5. The premise is still the same "Fueled by his restored faith in humanity and inspired by Superman's (Henry Cavill) selfless act, Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) enlists newfound ally Diana Prince (Gal Gadot) to face an even greater threat. Together, Batman and Wonder Woman work quickly to recruit a team to stand against this newly awakened enemy. Despite the formation of an unprecedented league of heroes-Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman (Jason Momoa), Cyborg (Ray Fisher) and The Flash (Ezra Miller) -- it may be too late to save the planet from an assault of catastrophic proportions". So does this live up to the hype or is it overrated?

Let's get this out of the way first, this version is infinitely better than the 2017 version. The best scenes in the 2017 version were all Snyder from watching this version. I did wonder how different this version was going to be from 2017 one but it feels completely different. I would say 70% of the 2017 version is in this movie but the editing, removal of Whedon scenes and addition of new scenes changes this into one with tonal consistency and coherent storytelling. Since this version is longer, it also feels like there are more build-up and tension throughout. Due to this every scene that was also in the 2017 one now feel a lot better and earned. The screenplay is still written by Chris Terrio but unlike BvS it feels a lot more engaging and not unironically silly. Some powerful and emotional lines here resonated with me which is quite surprising.

Additionally, the action scenes are more enjoyable in this one due to its R rating and how it's longer now. The biggest change is to the action in the climax where instead of in 2017 where Superman does everything, the team all contribute so it feels like everyone was relevant to the team. Junkie XL returns to score this version from BvS and it is amazing. His score adds a lot of impacts compared to Danny Elfman's 2017 version. It's a lot more memorable and makes scenes feel more exhilarating. There is also an Aquaman and Flash theme of the sort that sounds great albeit not as iconic sounding as say the Wonder Woman, Lex Luthor or Superman theme from BvS. The cinematography by Fabian Wagner is pretty good for the most part and there are still those gorgeous shots that we expect from Snyder. The humour from the 2017 version is now toned down substantially so no more "wHaT iS BRunCh? or Flash landing on Wonder Woman boobs, thank god. Surprisingly, there is still a fair amount of humour here compared to BvS which some say was lacking in a lot of fun. The humour in this version land a lot better and is the right amount as well which add some levity to a mostly serious natured story.

The biggest improvement this version has is the characterization. Cyborg has a proper fleshed out arc in this version. You have a greater understanding of his dislike for his dad and his feelings about his current situation but still having a believable development where he grows to accept who he is now. He is the heart and soul of this movie in thanks to Ray Fisher's wonderful performance.  They turned a character I barely cared about even before the 2017 version, into one of the most interesting and memorable characters. His relationship with his dad played by Joe Morton is some of the best aspects of the Justice League. They also conveyed his power very well and made it seem incredibly powerful. Flash is also improved a lot as he now has more to do. Despite still being the comic relief of the team, he is no longer unbearably annoying or treated as trash compared to Superman and is now actually doing super cool things that make him way more interesting. Ezra Miller is quite lovable in those comedic moments which are genuinely funny but when the serious moments come, he delivers a great performance.

Aquaman has some slight improvements as well. More scenes are explaining his reluctance to become King of Atlantis and also some more scenes showing his stone-cold outwards personality but hidden kindness compared to the others. I also love his interactions with the Flash including a small scene where Flash is asking Aquaman which looks better which is just a nice interaction. He also does a bit more aqua looking powers in the neat climax. Wonder Woman has more action scenes that make her more badass which is nice. Her animosity and rivalry against Steppenwolf is a lot clearer as well. She also has some nice interactions with nearly every member of the league including Superman and Alfred. Batman has a naturally continuing story from BvS where he is the one who is trying to assemble the team. His interaction with Alfred are some of the best with Alfred questioning him not doing things with a reason but from guilt instead. Unfortunately, his action scenes don't live up to that of BvS and he doesn't change at all from beginning to end. Superman appears near the end, so there isn't much to his character arc or story since it was just beginning. He wears a black suit in this version but it doesn't have much significance in terms of story or reason behind it apart from it looks cool I guess? Batman and Superman the most iconic characters are the weakest characters in the story surprisingly. Steppenwolf (Ciarán Hinds) has clearer motives this time around as he now wants to collect these Motherboxes to get back into his master, Darkseid, good graces again. His new design makes him look more alien and his action scenes make him more fearsome. He is a better villain compared to the 2017 version but is still just someone for the league to fight rather than an interesting villain.

However, some characters don't improve in this version including Lois Lane (Amy Adams) who in every scene is just mourning Superman. She is described as a key character but doesn't do anything else apart from hogging screen time. Commissioner Gordon (JK Simmons) has fewer scenes in this version compared to 2017 and both just involve him talking. Makes me wonder why JK Simmons bulked up for the role just for talking scenes.

The 4-hour length of this movie is honestly fine since it is releasing on streaming and since fans have been fighting for ages, they might as well see everything that Zack shot. However, in terms of the story, the movie could still convey important aspects without having to be 4 hours. There are a lot of scenes that drag on for too long or pointless scenes that don't add much which could easily be cut. The pacing of the first half is incredibly slow as well and it takes a fair amount of time for things to start picking up. There are also some scenes with slo-mo and some vocal song in the background that are kind of cringy and go on for way too long as well. The team don't even assemble until over 2 hours. The ending also goes on for too long which is weird as there is a very satisfying ending but then it keeps going. This new additional shot ending from Zack is cool but it feels slapped on. There are also some scenes concerning a certain character that occurs over halfway through the movie but is just really distracting from the main plot. They then appear at the ending but it feels kind of unnecessary for the story. I don't particularly mind the 4:3/square ratio that this movie has but it does take a while to get used to and I still find 16:9 would look better on my TV. Finally, some of the CGI looks bad and unpolished which is slightly distracting because they are very noticeable.

Overall, I was incredibly surprised at how much I enjoyed this version of the movie. I'm not a big fan of Zack Snyder but this might be his best work so far. I am glad he got to release his vision of Justice League and hope that this isn't a complete one-off thing. This was a great win for fans and was worth the long, gruelling fight.