#i finally am getting around to playing arkham knight

[klanced]

i just finally watched the batman (2022) and need a repository for my thoughts

anyway yes i know i am the voltron blog but you all must understand. and this is key to my lore. that i am an insane batman fan. i haven't kept up with comics in recent years but i am a total sleeper agent when it comes to batman and i've been waiting literal months to watch The Batman (2022) and i finally watched it last night and have been marinating in my thoughts since. and also my parents are tired of hearing my ranting and watching me walk around in circles.

ANYWAY.

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cinematography

this is literally the best looking batman film in years, if not the best looking one ever. the color grading was like a balm to my eyes, especially after the slog fest that is some of the other superhero movies... even with the constant rain the city never looked washed out, reeves and his set designers made such awesome choices when it came to fluorescent and neon lighting... the DINER SCENE!!!!!!!!!!! also omfg the way they made battinson the Red and Black Batman like what an excellent color combination. i loved it. i need to buy some of the theatrical release posters post HASTE.

more than anything this movie was SHOT like a comic book and so many scenes looked like they were ripped straight from a comic book, like i could visualize the paneling and everything... so freaking baller.

my family wasn't super impressed but i think it's because they expected an action movie but No You Don't Get It. batman sees the world as a gritty detective noir movie but to everyone else in gotham they're living in a horror movie and that is BATMAN CINEMA!!!!

when the riddler was arrested i was like 'wait there's still 40 minutes?' and then i preceded to have my mind completely blown. i kept questioning what reeves was doing only for him to IMMEDIATELY correct me minutes later. literally, let this man cook he knows what he's doing. when bruce lit the flare i didn't immediately get it -- and then the little mayor's boy reached for batman without any hesitation. and then the crowd began to follow him, closing the distance. and then he began to lead them to higher crowd. And Then I Got It.

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2. gotham

yes i'm devoting an entire section just to the city.

gotham city is one of the hardest things to get right in any kind of batman media. like gotham is Not Normal and that should always be something hovering in the background. but many directors just don't bother because gotham architecture is so fundamentally different from normal sensibilities that building lore accurate sets would be both incredibly costly and almost impossible to do. but matt reeves tried and the movie was so unbelievably better for it.

bvs gotham was basically just new york city and don't even get me STARTED on how futuristic minimalistic modern the nolan movies were. ugh.

but when bruce and alfred were in their penthouse suite surrounded by fifty layers of gothic style trim my dad verbally said 'are they in a fucking church or something' and like YES DAD! that's the POINT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! gotham is supposed to be borderline CAMPY GOTHIC like the city itself is not just a setting, it's a full blown supporting character. the city looking batshit is essential lore and PIVITOL to the world building that has produced a man dressed up as a bat to fight crime like you DON'T GET IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! batman is divorced from our reality but he is GROUNDED IN GOTHAM!!!!

actually side note i've been playing gotham knights on the PC and 1) the game is way better than critics gave it credit for and 2) GOTHAM LOOKS SO GOOD IN THIS GAME. THE LIGHTING IS CRAZYYYY. best adaptation of gotham city fr, i loved the arkham video game series but the panache. the style. it became so diluted after arkham asylum fr.

my one criticism is that reeves needed to make one more rooftop set it was so silly that all the characters kept returning to the same gcpd roof with the bat signal on it.

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3. plot

FINALLY A MOVIE WHERE BRUCE IS A DETECTIVE. i've waited literal years for this. i do wish batman had been a little bit more active/proactive in the plot, i.e. not strictly following with riddler's games, but this is also early batman so i'm more forgiving of his rookie mistakes... however in the second movie i expect him to be on his BALL GAME!!!! give me plot-armor-borderline-prescient batman PLEASE MR. REEVES I BEG OF THEE.

LOVED this adaptation of the riddler. using the zodiac killer as an inspiration for the riddler was amazing, brilliant, showstopping, spectacular. and they kept a little bit of camp in paul dano's performance which i appreciate. i don't think we'll ever go back to batman forever levels of camp, but that's okay </3

there was a nod to the character of hush in the movie (at least that's how i'm choosing to interpret it) but i don't think they could ever use hush in the future because they already adapted so much of his gimmick for the riddler... but that's okay tbh i don't think hush is that interesting anyway.

at its core the batman was a buddy cop movie and i LOVED that. jeffrey wright KILLED it as lieutenant gordon and the dynamic between batman and gordon was amazing. excellent usage of our favorite future-commissioner, you could really see they already had an established rapport but their bond was becoming even stronger... their conversation in the interrogation room was so amazing, as well as their scene with the penguin.

my one criticism is that alfred became non-existent after a certain point. also lowkey the lego batman movie did a better job at the 'bruce realizes that his trauma has made him reluctant to form bonds or deepen them because of his fear of losing anyone else' subplot. lego batman movie on top!

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4. characterizations

everyone and their mom has already talked about how this version of bruce wayne is more focused on developing his identity as the batman versus his identity as brucie wayne so i won't repeat those essays. but i will say that i have such high hopes for bruce's development in the sequel. like the way the movie ended with him emphasizing how he needs to become a 'symbol of hope for the city' reads to me as him preparing to finally re-enter gotham society as Billionaire Bruce Wayne and i am SO READY FOR IT.

but what i actually want to talk about is how amazing catwoman's development is. i love how much backstory they gave her in this movie. i will always love the nolanverse version of catwoman but you really learn almost nothing about selina in TDKR. but in the batman selina's is this fully fleshed out character. you can immediately guess what her life has been like. and her motivations in the story... the way she was prepared to run until she found annika... and then she immediately changed gears and focused on vengeance for annika and her mother... god, i love it.

cobblepot's character was also so, so good. you can intimately tell that he's a two-faced bastard who's spent years being a yes-man purely so he can climb the social ladder. i know colin farrell is going to rock the HELL out of that monocle in the sequel.

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5. hopes for the future

i know it's too late but i reallyyy don't want joker to be in the sequel. i unfortunately think that's more or less guaranteed though since they've already casted barry keoghan. and his performance was really good. i'm just tired of seeing the joker in batman media. (inb4 keoghan absolutely kills it in the sequel and makes me eat my hat). i don't really consider batman to have one arch nemesis, only that the joker has consistently ruined batman's life more often than all the other villains.

literally the one hill i will die on is that reeves NEEDS to include robin at some point. PLEASE. you can't have batman without a robin, he gets so lonely. literally that's all i want. i want battinson to become a dad so, so bad. you have no idea.

and (and this is key) robin must be a kid. a pre-teen aged 14 or younger. "oh but that's so unrealistic, child superheroes totally break the immersion" well I DON'T CARE. FULL THROTTLE ON THE CHILD ENDANGERMENT. let children fight crime, for the culture.

[okay, okay. make it a robin origin story where dick grayson is introduced and is plot-relevant but he doesn't actively patrol and fight crime and only becomes robin at the very end.]

introduce robin in batman 2, and then have robin be a participating older teen/adult in batman 3.

my incredibly indulgent ideal batman 2:

at least two years have passed (bruce is more or less settled and has finally hit his stride). he has mastered air gliding and now attacks villains from the rafters instead of just constantly walking out of the shadows. i want to see arkham-level combat So Bad.

selina is mentioned, but doesn't really appear (and there are no other love interests.

actually wait i change my mind about joker. joker can be included in the movie IF the red herring "main plot" is that he's using a circus as a base of operations (because clowns and circuses).

i say red herring "main plot" because the movie starts with a joker crime spree, so you think the movie is going to be all about the joker, but then he leads batman to his circus base and it turns out that PSYCH! THIS IS ACTUALLY A DICK GRAYSON ORIGIN STORY. because joker's base of operations is haly's circus.

batman is snooping around looking for evidence and that's when he comes across dick grayson, age 10.

kid dick grayson. PLEASE. PLEASE.

batman decides to visit the circus as bruce wayne. You Know What happens.

plot plot plot

COURT OF OWLS SUBPLOT.

bruce has to balance hunting down the joker while also protecting this little kid he pretends he isn't totally attached to.

this is incredibly indulgent because i have no idea how you would balance joker screentime with that of the court of owls. idk. that's what's fanfiction is for i guess c:

i have decided that over winter break i am going to rewatch all the batman movies from 1980s onwards so i can revise my Batman Cinema power rankings. i will create some kind of metric or spreadsheet so i can grade and quantify each movie.

hell i should also replay all my favorite batman video games. because those are basically just movies anyway. and i miss kevin conroy :(

thanks for reading. god i love batman.

[theprophetsayeth]

The Devil in the Knight AU

"Did you really make a deal with the devil?"

"You're going to be a star..."

Those were the last words he remembered as he sunk into sweet death's embrace. Only to be pulled out by cruel fate. He screamed as chemicals ate away his skin, his lips, his eyelids while his broken body twitched. He cried to God and begged for death, but the devil heard him instead.

"Did you really make a deal with the devil?"

Perhaps, or perhaps the devil couldn't let him go. He promised stardom and it was so.

"You're going to be a star..."

My AU mostly is about life in Gotham City and how the environment affects these characters. For example, we'll follow Joker's journey in discovering his identity . Though Joker is considered insane in comics, he's mostly a super psychopathic villain. I would like to display him as genuinely ill then transition him to the twisted devil we know. He begins as a street level criminal, stealing cars and doing a few heists. But because of his odd behavior (arguing with himself, punching himself in private, laughing out of nowhere) he's mostly passed on and nicknamed the Joker as a joke and a warning to anyone hiring. He suffers from very violent thoughts and he's afraid he'll one day act on it. So he makes a no kill rule.

When he finds himself in desperate need of cash, he does a heist by himself with the help of his silly little inventions and surprises everyone when he succeeds. his toys catch the attention of The Riddler, a self-made Villian, who's in need of an assistant. Together they create contraptions that left the police department stumped. But Riddler being Riddler, created tensions when he kept turning down Joker's ideas, calling them silly pranks. Which Joker took offense because weren't his riddles the same? The time spent with Riddler proved to be draining for Joker and he mentally declined, arguing to himself more out in the open, laughing manically, and ranting violence randomly. One day Riddler pushed him too far. During one of their schemes, Joker traps Riddler and Batman together in a contraption he designed himself. This would be known as Joker's first act as a Villian. The Batman captures the Joker and by trial, Joker was diagnosed as mentally insane and was sent to Arkham Asylum and assigned to Harleen Quinzel.

--

After the hostage situation, Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn help Joker in finding out who he was after Ivy recognizes him from long ago. However, the revelation of his identity greatly upset Joker and so finally accept the truth of his life:

"So that's the big joke, huh? This was all a joke! Me going circles and circles, around and around shredding my mind for the littlest clue to finally know who I am!

That's the joke, huh.

I'll always wake up drowning, waiting for death to take me. But the Devil will always show up to save me!

Just so we can play this stupid game of ours.

Fine!

Joker decides to break his rule. As his first and last act as a Super Villian, Joker kidnaps Robin (Jason Todd; age 12) and gives him several trials. In the end, Batman does succeed but circumstances prevent him from reaching in time. Joker blows up Ace Chemicals with Robin and himself inside. The only thing Batman finds is the Joker's torn jaw and Robin's little hand.

I'm digging doing fan art and fanfiction, it really does help getting the creative juices flowing.

[a-forger-and-a-point-man]

Oppenheimer / immediate thoughts

ok nolan fans let's talk, i just got back.

i am very well acquainted with 20th century american history but i did not do any additional research on oppenheimer the man or the trinity test because i wanted to be surprised by the movie's narrative and imagery, so keep that in mind as you read. i'm not fact-checking for the time being... i want to go do my own reading at my leisure when it's not past midnight.

DON'T GO SEE IT IN IMAX. SAVE YOUR MONEY AND A HEADACHE. it's not inception or dunkirk or the batman films or interstellar. just go to your local theater or wait until it's available to stream. trust me on this. i'll explain why in the spoilers section below.

YOU'RE BEING WARNED. SPOILERS AHEAD.

-this was the least nolan-y film that nolan has ever made. i see more of following in it (his very first film) than i do any other project. it was definitely a bit of a different direction for him.

-this is basically a biopic of sorts about oppenheimer. it's not about the war nor is it really about the bomb. it's about an awkward, conflicted, and possibly mentally ill physics genius who seems to not know how to do much in life beyond quantum physics theory. like yes, he's got a brilliant mind, but he's far from a well-rounded, impressive human being. the guy was a hot mess long before anyone mentioned the word bomb.

-taking that into consideration, i can see how the suffering of humans (whether the navajo nation in new mexico, or the japanese people) doesn't play a role in the film. japanese victims are mentioned, but briefly in one scene. that doesn't make any of this right. in fact a more entertaining, eye-opening, and timely film should have included more of both - but i see now that nolan wanted to focus on ONE man and cillian is indeed in practically every. single. scene.

-cillian should be nominated for an oscar and win it.

-humans are very complex and you CAN both build the bomb AND feel bad about it, yes it's entirely possible and normal, but the film is still 3 hours of white guilt. i'm openly saying it. the reason you shouldn't see it in imax is because it's 3 hours of middle aged white men sitting around making terrible decisions. it's SO MUCH TALKING, jesus.

-IMAX cameras are stupidly loud, which is why most filmmakers don't use them. you can't hear dialogue. they're for action scenes. so that very much explains why i was just ITCHING for subtitles on this. so many different accents and everyone mumbling and the score was louder than their voices and ARGHHH nolan why.

-female characters are unremarkable and underused. i know nolan and i know how he uses female characters. at this point i'm convinced he just doesn't know how to write them, and he can only work with male-driven stories and you know what... fine. it is what it is. unless he brings female writers on board, nothing will change, because he can't do it himself.

-why are there sudden bare tiddies in a nolan film. fanboys, did u love it? did u get what u wanted? was that it? finally, a sex scene in a nolan film? it added nothing and i could argue it took some things away. sorry folks. entirely unnecessary.

-ok THE BEST PART was the surprise cameos. cillian was in every scene and yet he was the least famous person among big oscar winners sometimes! it was wild! i was internally screaming at gary oldman as harry truman. excellent choice to play him like the clown he was. AND EINSTEIN??? did y'all catch that or no??? i knew it right away from the voice and the kind eyes. it's the GUY FROM THE PIT IN THE DARK KNIGHT RISES. he helps bruce recover, and narrates the ascent of "the child". terrific casting! and i haven't checked IMDB yet, but is borden (not named after the character from the prestige!) played by the arkham patient from the dark knight? the one who gets shot in the leg and interrogated by harvey dent?? tell me i am recognizing the right guy! and then we had matthew modine... casey affleck... rami malek who appeared for like 3 mins maybe?! AND Y'ALL, JOSH HARTNETT????????????????? OMG my biggest crush when i was 15. that was craaaazy. but i do like seeing nolan bring back his friends... it's very much a nolan circle as we all know. and once you're in it, you're in it!

-the use of sound was VERY GOOD. the explosion actually being silent, because light reaches us before sound? but also the way the buildup was so intense and so hyped up and then just.... complete silence to reflect on the monstrosity being produced, and how nothing will be the same.

-there was a lot of train sounds to emphasize the railroad, but also... anyone notice that the stomping noise in oppenheimer's head almost felt like a train was coming through? TELL ME YOU DIDN'T THINK ABOUT COBB'S GUILTY CONSCIENCE IN INCEPTION, and how a train would ram through the dream. nolan doing an homage to himself is absolutely hysterical and i am here for it i guess.

-i'm not sure how audiences abroad will feel about all the scenes in washington with congressional testimony. does that stuff carry over well? do you get the references? it's such inside baseball, i know, and it adds so much time to the film, and yet MORE scenes with middle aged white men talking. i could have done with less of the black and white "present day" scenes and more about the impact of the bomb, or maybe more about kitty's life and how she overcame her (presumed?) alcoholism and depression.

-the casual discussion about the 11 cities shortlisted to drop the atomic bomb "but not kyoto because of its cultural importance" made people laugh in the theater as intended, but honestly like... nothing in the movie is funny. it's really heavy stuff and i still stand by the fact that the bomb should never have been produced, despite what oppenheimer and others tried to say. because even its production is incredibly dangerous. it's not just about where you fucking drop it.

-did i mention there is too much matt damon. like, too much.

-rami malek is the only person of color with a speaking role in this film. that's right.

-ok what else guys??? i wanna hear thoughts. there's a lot more but i'm so tired at this hour

[yougetthegirligetthecoroner]

Welp, I finally did it. I finally got 240% in Arkham Knight. But why did this game get me tearing up so bad?? Like I knew everything that had happened in it??? To be honest though, I am relieved at the fact that I never have to do a Cobra Challenge again but at the same time, I would play the game again in a heartbeat. Thank you Arkham Knight, for being that annoying older cousin who is a nightmare when they're around, but you really miss them when they go.

[siremasterlawrence]

The Joker’s Asylum

“How did I end up in here? Right that’s it I forgot.” Bruce Wayne says locked in a cell.

“The Joker did this to me, he saved me, and I change believe it.” He breaths.

This has been a trying moment for him the day he finally cracked.

“Lights out in five minutes.” The voice over the speaker comes through.

Bruce lays on in his bed staring at the moon as the last twenty years play on repeat.

The Previous Night

“Commissioner, what’s going on tonight? You said it was urgent.” His voice stern with worry. Gordon signs handing him a envelope marked Dark Knight.

“The Joker arrives not long ago with a gasp dropping his laughing gas everywhere. He left this for you then dash out in a fit of laughter.” He says turning to see nothing.

“How does he do that?” Gordon says back at his desk he walks around and sits down frustrated. Meanwhile, Nightwing slows his motorcycle to a decent speed to catch up with Bruce.

“The Joker means business this time I can see that, what did he mean though?” Dick questions a fueled with rage Bruce. “The night I accidentally turn him into what he is.”

They stop right in front of the gates of the notoriously inefficient Arkham Asylum. The gates open automatically as they drive on to the block speeding to the top of the hill.

“Nightwing, go through the back entrance for me, I need you to rescue all of the staff, and then meet me.” Bruce yells. Richard Dick Grayson shakes his head in steady agreement.

He dashes out of the main lawn into the bushy area, tracking the display of odd colors, and find style back entrance with ease. “Thank god for skeleton keys.” He says.

He sneaks in sly flipping upward onto the beams his gymnastic skills were still very apparent. He began to crawl through the hallway finding the the Asylum staff in a fit of giggles.

“Well...well...well boy wonder seems like you still the biggest fool. Did you think this plan would work?” The Joker shouts in a style clapping profusely as he presses a oddly shape button.

The pipes began to vibrate infrequently

as he holds on for dear life, and finally the pipe oh burst. Exploding over him is the Jokers laughing gas as he falls to the floor below.

“That’s it Nightwing inhale the goodness soon you won’t even now your own name anymore. Ooohhh hooooo hahahahaha.”

He walks in the opposite direction for his main course.

Batman has been searching the entire facility for some clue to the mad clowns plans in vain. That is till the figure stood in his peripheral view dears him on. Bruce can’t believe the level of sheer nerve.

“Sorry Joker, but your plans for tonight are about to end.” He warns the clown who is unperturbed by it.

“Oh Batman! Such a party pooper let me

help you out with that.” He smiles swinging away using a Pat to constantly hit him.

Blocking several of the attacks he has no idea that the Joker is leading him away.

“What game is it this time you sicko? What do you want with Gotham now? Haven’t you done enough to tortured us all.”

“Hahahahahahahahaah”

“What’s so funny clown?”

“You say I torture, but all I did was provide a bit of happiness.”

“You are sour puss Bat fink we need to get you a new way of life.”

He kicks Batman back as he falls into a cell and is promptly locked in.

The Present

“Wakeu, wakey Bats let begin your limb over due rehabilitation.” He says

“Joker stop this.”

“I made this batch of my specially patten Joker gas for you.”

Steel doors descend down blanketing the walls with protection.

The gas pumps out covering the room as he reaches for his mask.

His belt has been removed and he begins to cough.

“I will not allow you to win this Joker.”

“Tsk tsk Batman, I have already won.”

“Hahahahaha hahahahaha “

“What did I say? The laughter on you gets better every minute”

“Mwahahahahahahahahahahahahaha “

The rate of gas slowly as it begins to fade and any remnants of Bruce Wayne are gone.

“Hey Bats, what’s the best kind of hero?”

“A crooked batty fool”

“Mwahahahahahahahahaha”

“I knew you would like it.”

The joker opens the door to his new super hero protégés, and Nightwing proudly at his side.

That Night In Bruce Wayne’s Mind

“His did this happen?”

“Who am I?”

“Why am I here?”

“All thanks to the joker.”

Bruce is at a lost when a project of his new life airs before him. His body is all smiles as he kisses the joker and dawns a extremely psychedelic costume.

The end.

[batarella]

The Commander - Epilogue (Arkham Knight x Reader)

To everyone who liked, reblogged, or took the time to read The Commander series, to all the sweet, kind comments I receive everyday, to everyone who motivated me to post this story, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

The Commander took me five years to finalize, three times I had to rewrite it, and it wasn’t until I’d posted it when I knew this was how I was going to thank you guys. I am a writer because of all of you.

I already have a Commander Sequel in mind, and I’m so close to finalizing the story. You all made this happen. Thank you.

WORDS: 1741 WARNINGS: FINALLY SOME FLUFF

Masterlist

THE COMMANDER - MASTERLIST

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People.

Cars.

Kids.

Lights.

Laughter.

Like they never left a mark.

Was this peace?

There were barely any clouds. Every crevice on the cement road, she could make out. Everything was light. Even with such noise, it wasn’t much of a disruption. No weight for her to lug around, nothing standing at the top of her head. She could hear a conversation a few yards away, from two girls her age. They seemed to be a couple, since the one was holding the other’s hip and had her lips on her nose.

And on the other side, a kid tying his bike onto a post. He walked over to a hotdog stand and gave the man a few coins from his pocket. No one was screaming, or crying. Everything was comfortable.

It was like she could hear the faint playing of piano keys, and someone humming a soft, beautiful song. It matched the slow beating in her chest, and how her thoughts have never been so calm. Everything around her, it was soft. Was this even Gotham?

Y/N took the hood off her head and felt the warmth reign over her scalp. No one turned their heads at her. She was just somebody standing on the curb of a street. She wasn’t Deadshot at the moment, nor the Commander ever again.

On the three days she spent at the abandoned apartment, she had more sleep than that of the past several weeks. That was all she needed. Rest.

She’d eventually decided, on her time alone, to take a long-needed break. Just to be at peace. Visit Zoe. Visit her uncle’s grave every week. She needed to be Y/N. At least for a while. She’s done more than enough to prove herself. This was what she really needed.

She crossed the street to Pauli’s Diner. It opened for the first time since the incident today. On the first day of everything feeling normal, she just wanted to feel like she was. A full breakfast meal at nine o’clock, with the sky this bright, at least once, she could say she tried.

She stepped back, a bike almost running her over. She heard the boy on it scream ‘SORRY!’ before eventually driving away. Y/N continued walking, and the further she got, the more people surrounded her. The diner was almost full, but she could see a few empty tables.

As Y/N stepped on the curb and turned to the corner, she saw him. Even with the crowd, even with the noise, she could always see him more than anyone else.

A brown leather jacket, a black shirt underneath, and no cap nor a hoodie. Jason looked absolutely radiant. And his smile, she was going to remember that. His hair was kept, his hands on the side and not stuffed to his pockets. His head was held a bit higher, and he no longer hid his face.

And from the way he looked at her, she felt just as beautiful.

Y/N froze, so he walked nearer to her, slowly. As if after his every step, he took one more part of her in. Jason stopped at an arm’s length in front of her. He didn’t pull her, or kiss her. He just looked at her.

She did too. The sight of him would’ve brought tears to her eyes if not for everyone else around them

But it didn’t feel that way. Everything else around them, it was like they weren’t even there.

They weren’t the Arkham Knight and the Commander, nor Deadshot and Red Hood.

They were just Jason and Y/N. And if anyone who were to look at them, knew this wasn’t something one would usually see. Them without their suits, wearing normal clothes, looking much like everyone else. They wouldn’t believe it. But she did, and it was the most beautiful version of Jason she’s come to see. Because this was him, the boy she fell in love with.

“Hi.”

Jason’s voice. Even that seemed lighter. She opened her mouth, swallowed before she’d choke. “Hi.”

He smiled and turned his head over to the diner’s entrance. “You hungry?”

She nodded, still keeping his eyes locked onto him. Jason walked to the door and held it open for her. She walked closely past him, wanting to be close to his body, inhale his scent. Jason closed the door.

All the red seats pressed against the window were taken. They only had the smaller tables and chairs at the center, so they took the one furthest away from everyone else. Y/N sat down, her hands firmly on her lap, while Jason took the menus lying on the table.

“What will it be?” a waitress came up to them and licked the tip of her pen.

“Two chocolate smoothies and two burgers,” Jason said, handing her the menu. The waitress left.

Nothing was holding them back. She’s never felt so free. Y/N kept staring at Jason’s face and he couldn’t help but look down and laugh.

“You gonna say anything at all?”

Y/N slowly shook her head and grinned with her teeth. “I’m fine like this.”

He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. “How are you?”

“I’m good. But I’m gonna have to move out soon. Can only do so much without electricity or water.”

Jason looked at her, and there was so much shine in his eyes, she could get lost in them forever. “You clean up real nice,” he said.

“Likewise.” She leaned forward, and the moment her hand touched the table’s surface, he took it.

And at that moment, she no longer held back. She touched his forehead with her own and felt him smile, felt his warmth, felt him as he is. The kind, gentle side of him.

“I have something to show you…”

Y/N pulled back. “What?”

Hurriedly, Jason took out his phone. It was new, she could tell. He took a second finding something and placed it on the table so she could see.

It was pictures of an apartment. An empty one. The kind of pictures he’d find on a rental website. A one bedroom flat with a small living area, kitchen, and bathroom.

“I was gonna get the studio,” he swallowed. “But I thought, if I wanted someone to move in with me, might as well go all in.”

The look on her face was one she couldn’t have read if she saw it herself. Y/N pulled further away. “Move in?”

Jason tightened his hand around hers, and the other held her knee, squeezing it so lovingly. “Come live with me, Y/N.”

She didn’t even have to look at the pictures, and the tears, they were sure to fall some time. She could hold them back for now. She could cry when they were alone.

Or now, because a tear defied her efforts and fell down the side of her cheek. This was all too beautiful. He was too beautiful. A relationship. A proper one. With him. The man she’s looked at more than the stars.

And she was on that island again. And she’d swam from the unmoving waters of the lakes, onto the bottom of the bristling waterfall. And the water was hard on her skin, pressing, but it was cool and brought out any blackness left within her. Jason was her light. She could be his.

The smile on her face was too telling. Yes. Fuck yes, of course she wanted this. More than anything anyone could ever give her. Yes.

“You ask me to move in with you before you ask me on a date?” she smirked, and Jason sat back on his chair.

“Alright,” he said. “Will you go on a date with me at Pauli’s Diner for some burgers and smoothies?”

Y/N laughed, but as she fell forward, Jason caught her face and leaned against her again. And she didn’t say anything more. She just looked at him, stared at him. Then she leaned in for a kiss.

Soft. Gentle. But something she needed. Jason slightly moved his lips to graze so delicately over hers, that when she pulled away, he leaned in for more.

Sooner, she pulled away again, leaning against his arm that had made its way on top of her chair. “I love you…”

Her words made Jason kiss her again, harder this time. “I love you, too.”

Their noses slightly touching, Jason whispered to her so softly, “Is that a yes on the apartment?”

“Yes,” she closed her eyes. “Yes.”

“Good. I was hoping on that half of the rent.”

She pulled away, scoffing, but Jason just laughed and pulled her back in again, his hand on her hip and the other around her shoulders. She leaned into him and felt his lips soft against her head. Y/N closed her eyes.

This was what it was like. To be held by someone so tightly that the world didn’t seem to matter much anymore. To be in love, to be cute. To be peppered in kisses and be told they loved them. To feel so light. To have nothing be so complicated.

She knew it was always going to be complicated. They can never back out from the life they actually had. It will never be easy. And she could see it now, worrying about each other’s life at risk every night, crying, fighting. She could see that. But it was the moments like these, the sweet, short, but soft moments, that she was willing to go through anything just to have.

Neither of them mentioned Batman, or Crane, or Slade, or anything about that night. They looked at each other, kissed, pulled them closer, for such a long while until the waitress came in with their orders and set them on the table.

If it meant giving up the life she had for this, she’d give it away in a heartbeat.  But with Jason, she didn’t have to give up anything at all. He was that few hours every few days when she hadn’t an idea what to do, no one to talk to, or the arms she’d long for at her darkest, or the smile she needed to see when she couldn’t smile herself.

Nothing about her had to change. He loved her just as she is.

-----

THE COMMANDER - MASTERLIST

-----

Taglist: everyartistwas-firstanamateur  @sarcasmismyfirstlove @damned-queen-of-gotham @idkmanicantenglish @wunderstell @birdy-bat-riya @get-loki@everyday-imfangirling @comic-nerd-dc @multifandoms916 @icequeen208@offendedfishnoises @egdolan @xemiefx @arkhamtoddler @elsenthal@mythicbitchx @supremehaunter @ burning-alive  @lucy-roo  roseangel013bf 

[jeromesxreader16]

Such a Joker (50)

Part 49 Here

~o0o~

Jim POV:

As I come out of my office I see a large number of cops watching Jeremiah sitting calming in the holding cell. "Don't you all have work you should be doing?" I yell towards them as they scatter.

"Pardon me, Jim."

I walk over to Jeremiah raising my brows. "What is it?" "I'd like to press charges against Bruce Wayne's butler. I mean, just look at my face. I can't have my wife seeing me like this."

I scoff smirking with pure anger, "I think you look great."

"And I'd like to speak to Bruce again. We couldn't really talk before what with his girlfriend bleeding out all over him."

"You tried to prove you're better than your brother. But I'm still here. I'm searching for (Y/n), and the city's still here. You're a failure, Jeremiah. Enjoy Arkham. Your brother did. I'll be the one to make sure (Y/n)'s visiting hours will be less than none."

"Bring me, Bruce Wayne... I'll let you speak with (y/n), and I'll tell you where the other bombs are." I walk closer engaging. "We have all your bombs."

Jeremiah nods with an underlying smirk, "The maze bombs, yes. I mean the other ones. Jim, as an engineer, you expect systems to fail. So, you build in redundancies. And I am a very good engineer."

"You're bluffing."

"Am I?" He smirks at me waiting for a reaction.

"You're right, you know. I did fail. I didn't yet understand the vision I was servicing, but, I do now. My eyes are open as will yours be. When you realize I'm not bluffing, bring me, Bruce Wayne. And I'd like a coffee. Black. Two sugars."

~

"How many bombs are there? Where are they?" I challenge him again. "I want to talk to Bruce Wayne."

"Tell me where they are, you son of a bitch. Who's helping you?"

"Bruce Wayne."

I grunt, shaking my head in frustration, "You are never gonna talk to Bruce Wayne. You hear me?"

Jeremiah shrugs smirking, "Then more people will die and you will never see (Y/n) or meet your grandchildren." I look up meeting his icy eyes with cold blood. "What? You're lying." Jeremiah sighs, "My wallet, right sleeve, forth slot, a sonogram photo of my two twins. I don't bluff, Jim. Why do you think I ask for your blessing? Wouldn't want your daughter unwed and knocked up, huh? But once again you resented her happiness, and she ran right into my arms. You never were good at holding on to what you care about, were you, James?"

~

Bruce finally walks in as I'm strapped to the dolly awaiting transportation to Arkham. "Hello, Bruce. It's great to see you."

"Where are the bombs, Jeremiah? Where is (Y/n) Gordon?"

"Closer, please."

As Bruce teds near I speak again. "Tell me. How is the young lady doing?" Of course no reaction. I smile switching subjects, "You know why we're destined to be best friends? Because we're very much alike. You are as I used to be. At war with your true nature. You must truly embrace it if you ever want to be free. I'm just trying to help you."

"Trying to help me? By torturing Alfred? Trying to destroy Gotham?

By shooting Selina? You think we're alike because there's a darkness inside both of us. But the difference is, I know how to control mine."

I scoff smirking, "I think you could be so strong. I see it. He sees it too." Bruce looks at me confused walking closer. "What do you mean, "he"?"

"Where are the other bombs?"

I roll my eyes looking up at the camera playing the game, "What bombs?" "Bombs you planted around the city. You blew up the Mayor."

"Ah, that bomb. Yes, that was the only one. But it did what it had to do. It got you here."

"You said, "he." Who do you mean?"

I smile gasping at Bruce. "The one who opened up my eyes. Who showed me that everything I was doing, was not to create a Gotham of my own for (y/n), and I, But yours, Bruce. The Gotham you need. Your dark island. And it will come to be, Bruce. Tonight."

"Tell me his name," Bruce demands empty-handed.

"What did the doctors say? Will the little bitch ever walk again? What vertebrae did I sever? I was hoping for the lumbar..." "TELL ME HIS NAME!" I laugh at his anger. "You already know his name. You're his heir."

Bruce gasps letting my suit wings go. "Ra's al Ghul... No, it can't..."

"Shh." The lights flicker as the room goes dark and I am freed from this hold.

~

Enter the building I see (Y/n) waiting with Ra's, overlooking the old city. "Jeremiah! Ra's was just telling me he could marry us!" I grin walking over as the men get Bruce ready for the arrival.

"Could you?" Ra's nods smirking, "Just say when my boy. I can-" "Now." I pull out two solid gold bands passing mine to (Y/n). "You're prepared." She giggles. "I've been waiting."

Ra's chuckles offering off a quick blessing to us as a couple. "Do you Jeremiah Valeska take (Y/n) Gordon as your lawfully wedded wife?" "I certainly do." I grin watching my love. "And do you, (Y/n)-" "Yes." Ra's gestures between us chuckling. "Wonderful, you may kiss your bride, Mr. Valeska."

I scoop her in my arms kissing her deeply. I pull away as the men waltz a masked Bruce into the room. "Ah, hate you missed the ceremony, friend." I walk over pulling the bag off of his head.

"How did you two..." "Find each other?" Ra's finishes, "I'd like to think it was you, Bruce. You brought us together."

Ra's turns to me and (Y/n) as we look at the city. "I trust things went smoothly?" "Like clockwork. Did your men retrieve my bombs?" "They are en route to their positions as we speak. From here, we can take in the full majesty of Gotham's destruction."

"You're both insane!"

Ra's shakes his head in disappointment, "I know it's difficult to fathom, Bruce. But Jeremiah and I are doing this for your benefit."

"How is destroying Gotham supposed to help me?"

"Because I had a vision. That out of this crucible of blood and fire will rise the Dark Knight that your city needs. That I need."

I scoff pulling away from (y/n) and joining Bruce and Ra's. "To be honest, Bruce. Prophecies, visions. Not really my cup of tea. But our friend revealed something to me. That my twin obsessions, rebuilding Gotham and rebuilding you, are one and the same. You're the brother I never had. The one Jerome never could be. We will create a legacy in this city. Gotham falls. We rise. Together."

Barbara walks in passing each of us towards Ra's. "Oh, hey, Bruce. Freak. (Y/n), looking beautiful!"

"Hello, Barbara. I'm really glad you came." She sighs shrugging. "Bad news, baby. I'm not leaving. Gotham's in my blood. And I don't think I can let you leave either. You see, you say you're leaving. But I've got a feeling you're gonna be back. And I don't like looking over my shoulder."

"Need I remind you, Barbara. You've already tried using that knife. And also, you're outnumbered."

She hums smiling "Hmm. That Demon's Head is really not working out for you, huh?" Suddenly Oswald yells striking us and the fight breaks out quickly.

Tabith tackles me to the ground as I search for (Y/n) in a blind panic. She holds her knife to my neck sneering, "So you know, this is for Selina." I flip her overtaking the blade from her and pressing it to her skin. "In that case, it must be very disappointing for you to be dying like this." She smirks and moves her arm. "I'm not talking about you." She pulls her trigger making me search where the bullet traveled.

The bombs go off destroying the city as my wife falls bleeding from the bullet that pierced her. "No!" I growl rushing over. She cries holding her chest. "Jer-" "No, no, don't speak. You're going to be fine." The city burns down as my love's life source lowers.

"You're going to be fine, love. We're all going to be safe. Tomorrow is a new day,"

~

Staying by her bedside the entire night as the doctors work to remove the bullet, and stabilize her and the babies. "She should wake soon, Sir. The children are healthy. She's lucky it wasn't any closer to her heart." I nod boring my eyes into her face.

"Thank you, Doctor."

(y/n) mumbles and opens her eyes slowly. I smile leaning over, "Rise and shine, beautiful." She looks up at me confused, then looks down at her chest gasping, "That bitch." she sneers growling and trying to sit up. "No, no, don't try that." She gasps, putting a hand on her belly. "Jer-" "They're alright, doll. You're very lucky. All four of us are."

She looks over to me putting a hand on my cheek. "What do we do now, Jeremiah?" I smile rubbing my hands on her stomach. "Now, my love, we enjoy our marriage, and wait for our children." Her cheeks glow as I speak of our children. "I love you, Jeremiah." "I love you too, Mrs. Valeska. Always."

~ Day 87~

I sit at the radio discussing yet another call on the state of Gotham to the officials over the bridge. "Your people have decided to ignore evacuation orders." "No, no, no, no. It is clear you don't understand." "What's to understand, Mr. Gordon? I'm afraid you're making your-" "For the last time... after the bridges blew and the government declared Gotham off-limits, the city was up for grabs. Given over to criminals and murderers. New territory is controlled by whoever has enough power to hold it. I mean, we have Penguins in City Hall, for God's sake. Barbara and the Sirens control an area around their club. It's the only place in Gotham not suffering for food or booze. Barabra trades mostly for information. It's women only, but men can buy windows of time. To the west Jonathan Crane, the Scarecrow. Victor Freeze is further north warring with Firefly. And to date, there have been no confirmed sightings of Jeremiah Valeska, or my Daughter, (y/n). Then there is us. The GCPD controls a ten-block area around the precinct, where we feed and protect 150 civilians. That number could grow as who knows how many others are trapped around the city. These are innocent people who couldn't get out. The Government has a duty to protect them. You have a duty to help them." I finish waiting for the response.

"We've been over this time and time again. No one is allowed in or out of Gotham."

"People we are protecting are not criminals." "And anyone who stayed after the evacuation order is no longer the government's responsibility." "We're surrounded by hostile forces. We are running out of food, ammunition. There are children here. You need to evacuate them." "A committee is being formed regarding the situation in Gotham."

I huff shaking my head. "At least let us resupply ourselves."

"We understand the situation."

"You DON'T understand. If you did you would do something. Just say we're on our own." The radio waves stay silent as no response comes through. I nod gruffly and turn off the communication.

I look to the corner of the desk seeing a photo of (Y/n), along with the photo of the unborn twins. I sigh holding them to my heart. "Please be okay."

~

"I like Jeremy," Jeremiah says as we relax on the couch together. "And for a girl?" He hums thinking. "What if we stuck with the J name? I kinda like Juliet." Jeremiah looks at me smiling. "I think that's lovely."

I stroke my small belly with love. "I just want them here already." Jeremiah laughs kissing the top of my head. "They'll be perfect."

~

Months pass of us hiding, gaining followers, and then finally start to dig under the city for our escape. Fully 6 months pregnant and things are just seeming harder. "You're sad," Ecco says frowning. She scoots over massaging my shoulders. "Tell me what's wrong." I sigh stroking my stomach feeling a wash of sadness. "I miss my dad. I hate to say it, but I do. These kids won't have a Grandpa." Ecco nods sighing dramatically. "I am so sorry, (Y/n). I wish I could help." I smile leaning my head on her shoulder. "How's that bullet feeling in there?" I tease as she giggles. "It's still rolling around in here!" She shakes her head, knocking the loose pieces in her brain. "I still can't believe you did it." She shrugs giggling, "Anything to help you, (Y/n)."

"Come on, let's see how the boss is. It's been a while since I've seen the progress."

Ecco helps me down the steps into the area where they're digging the large tunnel. "Wow! Looks, good everyone!" I yell, making the workers greet me with forced smiles. "Darling." Jeremiah clams walking to me, placing hands over my stomach with a grin. "Ecco, you're not supposed to bring her down here. It's dangerous." He glares at her. "Jer, I wanted to, she was obeying me." He reluctantly nods waving her away.

I switch the radio station finding a slow song and smiling. "Dance we me, Jer." I grasp his hand swaying with him to the music. "We're close aren't we?" I nod laughing. "Just three more months, Jeremiah." He shutters with a smile. "I can't wait." 

[scara-meow-che]

IF YOU GET SOME FREE TIME YOU SHOULD PLAY YOUR TURN TO DIE ITS SERIOUSLY AMAZING IM PRETTY SURE ITS A FREE GAME TOO!! I think I'm becoming more of a actual gamer then anything 😭 I literally just play games and watch anime most of the time except for studies, my roommate doesn't really bother me she's just very quiet she does have her hair dyed like xiaos so maybe that's why she reminds me of him BUT I WILL SAY IM A NAGITO AND KOKICHI KINNIE SO WATCH OUT [I'm really chaotic with the caps I'm sorry 😭]

💬 — PLS I USED TO BE SO INVESTED IN GAMING TOO!!! LITERALLY, MY LIFE REVOLVED AROUND GAMING A FEW YEARS BACK WHEN I WAS STILL IN HIGH SCHOOL 😭😭😭 (i used to play COD, resident evil, persona 5, batman arkham knight, etc)

i haven't checked the game yet so i might take a look after finals 😳 my profs are a bunch of assholes like??? it's only a week 'til this sem ends (i'm an upcoming third year for the next AY so i am scared PLS HELP) AND THEY KEPT ON GIVING TONS OF ACTIVITES AND PAPERS LIKE???? it took me a whole day looking for references just to answer one question for this activity 😭😭 and they expect us to finish it within 3 DAYS??? </3

and it's fine for the chaotic all caps! i do it too HUASHCKJSDVKDS AND KOKICHI KINNIE!!!! I AM CLOSE TO JUNKO THO BUT ASKJVCNHDSJVS

[purplelurkinghini]

Switching Gears

I promise I never planned on writing 3k+ words of Arkham Knight Riddler X AFAB!Reader fanfiction. He’s not even my favorite version of The Riddler, but he is the one that inspired this tall order of hurt/comfort, fluff and smut.

If you’re an adult and enjoy the idea of Edward Nigma being a switch as much as I do, check out what’s been collecting dust in my Notes for the past month under the cut!

"Boys, could you give us a moment?"

"Sure thing, boss," the hired knucklehead nodded towards you before even addressing his actual employer. "Hey, boss, think you can stand?"

"What are you implying, you meathead?"

The fact remains that it was these meatheads who caught him when he fell off the malfunctioning assembly line. He’d been a sleepwalker’s step away from being dismembered and reassembled into one of his riddlebots. It stung like salt sprinkled in his wounded pride, but he could ignore the sting.

What he couldn't ignore were his own men (he doesn't employ boys, thank you very much) taking orders from you. Who do you think you are talking over him? Nobody talks over Edward Nigma! 

"I can stand just fine, thank you," he sneered even as he struggled to straighten himself. He was on his own two feet again and he'd be damned if he'd depend on anybody to walk on them. "Some privacy, please." It was him they should be following, not you. When they exited the restroom, it was his order they were following, not yours.

"When's the last time you ate?"

The man with all the answers was perplexed by your question. He knitted his brows closer, one of them even twitching as his eyes (more bloodshot red than brilliant blue) watched you approach him with no regard for the rage that was boiling just underneath his frown. 

"Or slept? Or took a goddamn break?" 

You bellowed and it bounced off of the tile walls to beat against his eardrums. Each step you took closer made each word ring louder. And, as if the volume of your voice alone knocked the wind out of him, he sunk back against the sink, holding himself up with one hand while the other rubbed at his temples.

"Could you talk any louder?" He grunted out, gathering his thoughts. Eating? Resting? Sleeping? None of those are on his schedule and they haven't been for a while now. Halloween was only weeks away. Everyone was expected to make sacrifices, but was he really ready to lay down his own life? He almost did just that tonight. He was at a loss for words, but he found enough of them to speak a full sentence: "I can’t hear myself think."

"Edward," he hardly heard you huff out his name. And, once he removed his grimy glove from over his eyes, he barely saw your face and how it contorted with concern. "You're tired." 

A warm hand of yours on a cold cheek of his had him slumping his head forward in defeat. You were right, of course. He was tired. Beat. Drained. Bone-deep.

"I finally got the boiler running." You needed both hands to hold up his head, so you cupped his scruffy chin. "You're not getting into bed with me while smelling like an abandoned auto repair shop."

That should've stung like the dash of salt that it was. It was soothing instead, much like the circular motion of your thumbs against his sunken, unshaven cheeks. He could do little more than scoff. "I already bathed."

"Yeah, but that was before you took a tour of the sewer system," you smiled and he mirrored you, just as broken as the actual mirror behind him. You took his gloved hands into yours and he held onto them like his life depended on you. Given his sorry state, it was highly probable that it did. "Everything’s set up in the locker room. I bought new towels and everything."

"Green?" Edward learned to walk again as he followed you.

"How did you know?" You gladly guided him, never letting go of his hands.

"Just a guess."

•••

"Boss, the food's here! Where should I-"

The boss cut him off while almost cutting into the other boss' cheek: "In the office, please." 

You were in the middle of shaving him and Edward must have been exhausted to trust anybody wielding a sharp object that close to his throat. And he was exhausted. Beat. Drained. Bone-deep. It was a good thing he had your bare legs wrapped around his waist (about as snug as the towel covering it) keeping him up on his feet.

He couldn't see through the walls, but his employee sounded embarrassed from behind the one he was hiding. "Sorry, boss and...boss. I didn't mean to-"

"Wallace, is that takeout?"

"Thank you, Wally! In the office, okay?" You shouted from atop the sink, running the straight razor under the tap."It's sushi from that place you like. There should be some orange juice and waffles in those bags, too."

"You sent him grocery shopping and he...went shopping for groceries?" He wrecked through the wrinkles in his brain for another answer, a less obvious one. "Why?" Playing the fool never put anyone in a flattering light and it sure didn't make The Riddler seem any smarter.

"They need to eat and so do we."

For once, he'd been asking the wrong questions. He had to work on rephrasing it as you worked some aftershave into his sore skin. "Why did you send my men to do your bidding?"

Not even your hands could massage the wrinkles out of his morose face. "Who else was I supposed to send?" You combed back his damp hair (you had to get under the makeshift shower to shampoo it yourself) with your blunt nails and looked down into his eyes. "There! Handsome again!"

Vanity and curiosity made up the cocktail that sloshed around in his stomach as he looked over your damp shoulder and into the steamed mirror. With one hand clearing it for view and the other still secured on your thigh, he scrutinized his sour expression. His eyes were encircled by dark rings where they laid inside his sunken sockets and his hair, slicked back and shiny, was turning grey just above his ears. He'd never admit it, not even to himself, but Edward Nigma has seen better days. 

"I told you, didn't I?" You tore his attention away from himself by bringing the two of you that much closer together, your towel-covered chest pressed against his bare one. "The scruff had to go." You threw your arms around his neck, prompting his hand to return on your thigh. You breathed the words so close to his lips, it felt like you were feeding him air.

"You didn't cut me twice," he moved his lips against yours, but his own didn't catch. He moved his mouth again, this time to stretch it into a grin."I'm sure to recover from the one time that you did." 

"Asshole," you huffed, as if you'd been holding your breath for a kiss. "Stop playing."

"You forget who you're talking to, boss," Edward enunciated the last word by squeezing your side. "You forget who's in charge."

"Wasn't it you?"

His smug smile was all but slapped off his face when you tightened your thighs around him. He closed his eyes and clenched his teeth as he was faced with a challenge: you. You were always a challenge.

There was more merriment than malice in his words, yet he still snarled them: "You shouldn't talk while on your high horse," There was more pride than playfulness in the act, yet he still slid both of his hands under your thighs and snatched you up. "You never know when it's going to throw you off."

"Edward," you shrieked, startled. "Put me down!" Securing your arms around his neck and squeezing your legs around his middle, you braced yourself to be bucked off your high horse. "You're gonna drop me! Put me down!"

There was something almost soothing to be found in your screams. The sound of your sudden surrender was better than the pity party you'd been throwing him. "When have I ever let you down?" It was a rhetorical question. He had been literally leaning on you just a shower ago. He was tired of feeling helpless, control slipping from his fidgeting fingers. He was tired of being held like some invalid, thoughts slipping his mind. 

Yes, he was tired, so it was about time he retired. And, since his office was as good as any bedroom and the cot he'd build in the back could accommodate two, you were joining him.

"I think it was just an hour ago that you let yourself down."

"But not you." Edward was elated by the return of the roaring fire in your belly, and by the lingering looks of his men (yes, they were his) as he passed them. You had towels (and each other) to cover yourselves with, but that was enough to give them ideas. Ideas only he alone was allowed put into practice. 

•••

The computer screen displayed the time in neon green. 4 AM was mere minutes away when he tossed you onto the cot's cold covers and collapsed on top. His head wanted nothing more than to be laid on a pillow, but his other head was restless. You ended up rolling a sleep-humping Edward off of you. 

"And you called me a tease." He didn't have time to whine or wrestle you into submission. His stomach was doing both of those things to him. 

"You're literally starving and so am I," you had to leave him and his makeshift bed in order to grab the takeout Wally had dropped off on the desk. 

By the time you fed him his first sushi roll, it was 4 AM.

"This might just be the best meal I've had in weeks." He sucked the tips of each of your fingers clean after inhaling his last roll. "Remind me to talk to Crane about sparing the old and his business." 

"The doctor owes you one." You returned the favor by licking the length of the two fingers offering the last spring roll to you. "He owes me one, too. If I hadn’t fished him out of the harbor-"

“He never would've gotten his first."

"It was mouth-to-mouth, Edward."

"It was the closest he ever got to being kissed," he laughed, but the bitter taste of it lingered for longer than he would've liked. He let his fingers linger against your sweet mouth, just to balance out the flavor. "He wanted to get closer still."

"What are you talking about?"

"He'd asked about you as soon as he could use his jaw again."

You grinned behind the digits you'd drooled all over. "Jealous?"

"Don't be ridiculous-"

The digital watch on his wrist started beeping at 4:30 AM.

"What's that?"

"It's time to wake up."

"Wrong. It's bedtime." Then, like the tease that you are, you wrapped your hand around his wrist to turn off the alarm just as your lips wrapped around his middle finger. You sucked him into your mouth, all the way down your throat and up to his knuckle.

Once his hunger had been satiated, he could tame his tiredness. Edward felt like he had enough energy to play. And he wanted to play with you

"Your mouth is saying one thing," he tipped your chin up with his wet fingers for a closer look at your salacious smile. "And acting out another. Double-meanings and double-entendres. Is that a riddle of your own? You're adorable!"

He was pleased with the pout he made you put on. He even chuckled as he chased your mouth with his own. You were being quite childish by moving your head from side to side, but he's sure you'd say the same thing about him and his games. 

"Don't patronize me," you spit fire at him, but he didn't even flinch. He was feeling up your scorching skin under his shirt's (he was wearing the matching pants) collar. The grip he had on your throat was weak, yet it knocked the air out of your lungs.

He'd finally caught your lips with his and you tasted as sweet as the victory you surrendered to him and as intoxicating as the sake you shared. 

"Patronize you? I wouldn't dare," he followed you down once the back of your head hit the pillows. "Why, you'd swallow me whole before I opened my mouth."

"Maybe I will," you held onto his hand that lay resting instead of flexing around your neck.

So confident he was in his coercion of you, he took his hand along with your own off of your throat. He pushed the both of them against his clothed crotch and the burgeoning bulge it covered. 

"Oh, I know you will, little sphinx." 

Edward enjoyed the sound of surprise that almost slipped out if you, even as he suppressed it with a kiss. He enjoyed the feeling of your fingers on his erection even more. He should've expected his watch going off for the second time and you immediately taking advantage of the distraction it provided. He didn't anticipate either.

He huffed as he was pushed off of you and back into the pillows "Did you press the snooze instead on the off button on purpose?" 

It was your turn to tease again, so you didn't hold back. Pressing your palms against his bare and breathless chest, you picked at the scabs of his wounded pride. "You're the Riddler. You figure it out." You didn't give him enough time to figure it out, however. You went straight to straddling his hips and squeezing your thighs around them.

His old pajama pants weren't enough to protect his crotch from being set on fire. With no bottoms getting in its way (you were wearing nothing but his top), the searing heat sipping through your slit had soaked all the way through the flimsy fabric. 

"Well, aren't you clever?" His voice was strained as he spoke. He was straining himself trying to stand still. How long would that last?

There was nothing logical about that little cunt of yours collapsing the colossus that was his reason. And that was just it, wasn't it? This had nothing to do with logic - it was all about instinct. 

When he bared his teeth and sunk his claws into your sides like some animal, it was all about instinct. 

"Enough games," Edward erupted. He didn't even sound like himself anymore, but rather a snarling beast. "Because of you," his growl was low as he pushed his pants down his pelvis. "I can't even think straight." 

His cock sprung up and slapped your pussy. Oh, it stung so sweet!

The sooner he emptied his balls, the faster the blood would come rushing back to his brain where it belonged. 

"I'm not done playing," you hissed as Edward's erection hit you. And, before he could grab it himself, you flattened it against his stomach by slotting it in between your slit. "I don't think you are either."

"Why, you little-" He gasped like a dying man. Your labia moving up and down his length had him gulping on all the air he lost. "I knew you'd be the death of me." His hands weren't his own after being cuffed by your own on either side of his face. "I knew you'd...you'd swallow me whole."

"Only if you ask nicely," your moaning was marred with mockery.

He'd give you a piece of his mind, if he had anything left to give. He'd lost it between your legs, between your second pair of lips and that inebriating liquor you were drooling all over his dick.

"Ask me to fuck you, Edward."

"You. Ask. Me." His hips couldn't stop moving, snapping against his will, like he was trying to buck you off. "Nicely."

"Eh-Edward," you warbled your words above him, your hold on his hands weakening. "Ed-OH!"

And, when he thought all his brains had already been blown away, you made them explode (and his other head almost do the same) all over again.

It all happened in a blink of a neon light. Your thighs tightened around him and your spine arched all the way back, taking your torso with it. You whipped your hair back as you fell on your hunches. Finally, your chest expanded and contracted, your skin shining with sweat (he had a peak of your puckered nipple once his shirt slipped off your shoulder) in the green glow of the monitors. 

He'd only halted his hips out of fear of disrupting the dreamlike image. He might've stopped breathing altogether.

"Edward," you sighed, slumping your head forward. 

He hissed your name, sucking some much-needed air through his clenched teeth. 

With your knees now up and your hands spreading them further apart, he got a front-row view of your red slit, his purple hard-on, and the slick that spread out between the two like spiderwebs. "Do you want to come?" 

"Trick question," he growled as he gathered himself. "A valiant effort." Yet, he still fell. He was on his hunches and threatening to overthrow you when you pushed him back into his place.

"An honest question." You had a hold on him, one hand pressing down on one pectoral as the other squeezed his shaft.

"N-naturally," he inhaled through his nose, eyes blown into two black holes and his lips chewed red. 

"Ask me to fuck you," you grinned, the grip on his cock loosening to move up and down the length of it. 

How many times did he have to remind you who is in charge? At least one more time? So be it! Wrapping his hand around your smaller one, he started stroking in a hurry. Oh, but you couldn't let him, could you? You just had to smack his hand away and secure your own around his wet and spongy head. 

"What are you-"

"You said I could swallow you whole if I wanted to," you licked your lips as you slid down his body, slowly stroking him again. "Don't you want me to?" When you were eye level with it, you spit in your other hand before wrapping it around the base. 

"Rhetorical question," he swallowed, tasting the last of your saliva on his tongue. Your last kiss was just a memory on his lips. Your next one would be tainted with his own taste, he'll make sure of it. "Of course I do."

"Say it," you demanded, his entire dick and life in your hands. "Say 'please'."

"Let me come," he ordered, your entire head of hair in his hands. 

"You didn't use the magic word." You held him still, stroking no more. And, with your cool and calculating tone, you spoke searing words against his shaft. "Please let me come."

"Puh-please," Edward endured the sound of his own submission, that pathetic plea of his. He could no longer endure his own erection. "Please swallow me whole."

"Good boy," you praised him, finally (oh, finally) pressing your pursed lips against his penis. "Such a good boy." You peppered him with kisses as you climbed all the way up to his painful, purple cockhead. 

"Please," he pulled your hair with one hand and pushed it away from your face with the other. "Please let me come."

Edward Nigma himself couldn't tell you what did the trick. If he were to guess, he'd say it wasn't just one thing. Your loving praise, your talented mouth, and your playful teasing were all contributing factors. Therefore, when he came down your throat as you finally (oh, finally) swallowed him whole, it was you in your entirety that had made him come.

"Edward," you whispered into his ear. "Are you asleep?"

"What is the only question you can't answer yes to?" With his weary eyes closed, he used his trembling fingertips to locate your lips. He kissed them, suckled them, tasting the tang of his own come on them. "I'm not, but I will be soon."

"Fucking finally," you sighed into the side of his neck. 

You must've been tired yourself after all the trouble you went through cleaning his cock. He'd almost fallen asleep to the feeling of your kitten licks. Now, with a leg and an arm swung over his side, you started snoring against his spine.

It was 5 AM when his alarm went off for the third time. 

"What the fuck is that?"

"It's bedtime," he ripped the watch off of his wrist and buried it under the pillow.

"Good night," you kissed him between his wing bones and he felt like he might fly away with the Sandman, if only for one tonight.

"Good night."

[thegeekerynj]

All Death Metal Review (And nothing from Sweden!)

Death Metal: Trinity Crisis One Shot 

Writer: Scott Snyder   Artist: Francis Manapul

‘And who are YOU supposed to be? I’ve faced enough Dark Knights that no Batman scares me anymore!

Ha! Then it’s a good thing I’m not a Batman! I’m his MOTHER!’

———————————————————————————————————

Sweet Christmas! That took me by surprise!

Harley kissing Jonah Hex, that was really sweet, and gods awful creepy, and kinda gross,  after the exchange, and some thought…

This is it, Gentle Readers… the Beginning of the End of the Beginning of… Oh, crap, now I’m lost… This is where the story starts rockin’!

The Gang’s all together, and the Black Lantern Bat has determined what they need to do.

The plan? Split up, naturally. That AL-ways works…

When we left them in DM #3, the Lanterns are protecting the Home Base, and taking out the Crisis Energy Antennae on the Earths left in the known Universes, The Flashes are off and running through the Speed Force, trying to find Metron, and stay ahead of the Bathattan who Laughs, while the Trinity (Superman / Antilife, Black Lantern Batman and  Warden Wonder Woman) along with Swamp Thing, Harley, Hex and Jarro, head for Castle Bat, to gain access to the Crisis Earths, where the Crisis Energy is being harvested for Perpetua.

**WHEW!**

Getting into the Castle involves getting past an army of Dark Knights… and we have a bunch of real winners here! 

Bat Monday - Salomon Grundy in Bat ears, I could have busted a gut laughing, until I thought about what kind of weapon a zombie with Batman’s training could be, and shivered…

Kull, the daughter of Batman and Wonder Woman, corrupted by the Dark Universe…

Ark, the living embodiment of Arkham, with all of the knowledge and abilities of ALL her worst inmates…

Chiroptor, the amalgam of Batman and Chemo (Great Elder Gods!!)… 

And the Pearl, Martha Wayne, in the equivalent of HellBat Armor, complete with her iconic pearl necklace.

This is a real mindscrew for Batman, and the panels depict it, most intently.

One nice thing about Scott Snyder… he is consistent about tying up loose ends. Once we are in Castle Bat, we find out what happened to Barbatos, the Big Bad from Dark Nights: Metal. Not that we were actually wondering, since we got Perpetual, and the Batman Who Laughs, but, like I said, it ties up the package nicely.

Then, we are introduced to the character I have been most happily waiting for… the Robin King, and his Utility Belt of Death!

Gentle Readers, this is the story we have been waiting for, the chapter which tells us what the Heroes Plan of Action is, and where the story has been going, for over 40 years. You see, the opening page of this book tells us where this story began… with Marv Wolfman and George Perez, and Crisis on Infinite Earths!

Not to spoil too much, but Crisis, Infinite Crisis, and Final Crisis, ]well… they have all played a part in getting us to this story. It seems, the “Crisis Energy’ has fed Perpetua while she was trapped within the Source Wall, and, now, she wants it all, so she can recreate the Universes in her image.

Great job, if you can get it…

I can’t say enough good things about this story and artwork, as Snyder and Manapul have put together a really tight, hard hitting bottle / lead story, bringing us to the next step in the saga… 

Jeebus on a popsicle stick, I hope no one lets me down… that will hurt!

Out of 5🌶        🌶🌶🌶🌶.5

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Death Metal: Multiverse’s End #1

Writer: James Tynion IV   Artist: Juan Gedeon

‘Mr. Rabbit?

Yes, Young Lady?

Thank you for saving me.

What a kind thing to say! It was so scary out there, and you stayed so brave. I don’t think I could have done it without your courage.

You’re really, really soft.

I use a special carrot shampoo.

———————————————————————————————————

Once upon a time, about a million, bazillion years ago in cranky fat man years, somewhere around 1982, Roy Thomas and Scott Shaw! brought Earth-C into the DC Multiverse, the earth of anthropomorphic animals… yes, they brought Super-Hero Cartoon Animals to the Super Hero Universe.

Our introduction to this Earth was Rodney Rabbit, a comics writing and drawing hare, who created the Just’a Lotta Animals comic by day, and was Captain Carrot, a Superman-esque rabbit, who got his powers from super charged carrots, when danger struck.

But, I digress… because I got really excited!

So, we have teams on the 6 Earths, each Earth holding a tuning fork, focusing the psychic pain energy of the population to Perpetual, powering her attempts to recreate the Multiverse in her image. The Earths in play, Earth - 3 (Crime Syndicate), Earth - X (Nazi Earth), Earth - 29 (Bizarroworld), Earth - 43 (Blood League World) and Earth - 50 (Justice Lords Earth) are all worlds of pain and suffering.

Their energy is the right flavor for destroying, and creating.

The heroes, organized and led by the Green Lanterns of Sector 2814 (Hal Jordan, Guy Gardner, John Stewart, Kyle Rayner, Jessica Cruz, Simon Baz), are working to take down the Antennae before the energy can be fed to Perpetual to power her Cosmic Undoing. 

So, teamed with the Lanterns, we have Hawkgirl, Kid Flash (Earth-22), President Superman (Earth-23), Wonder Woman (Earth-6) and Captain Carrot, all hellbent on stopping the respective Antennae.

The problem… Each Earth’s inhabitants have been laced into the antennae, to directly feed the psychic energy to it..since the energy is effectively terror, well, what better way to induce some? Of course, this isn’t the only problem to be contended with…

Leave it to James Tynion IV to come up with a way to make a villain creepier than the Batman Who Laughs… How, you ask? Well, take the true polar opposite of Batman, and make him realize HE IS what Giggles says he is, and you have an interesting new ballgame.

You see, while the Batman who Laughs is the Ultimate CORRUPTED Batman, Owlman is the Anthesis of Batman, the purest EVIL to the Batman’s GOOD. And he plans to make sure that he continues to be the True Opposite…

Gedeon’s artwork is rough, but considering the story being told, and the pain portrayed by the characters, it fits, perfectly. Some times, I see Joe Staton and Nic Cuti in these pages, a little cartoony, but that’s not a complaint… The story concentrates a bunch on Guy Gardner and Cap, so, it seems to fit (and the art is reminiscent of the ‘A Guy and his G’Nort’ storyline from 1991). 

All in all, a very good story, and a fantastic use of a truly underused treasure.

Out of 5🌶        🌶🌶🌶🌶

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Speed Metal #1

Writer: Joshua Williamson   Pencils: Eddy Barrow   Inks: Eber Ferreira

‘Hey, Flash Family, Is it true a Flash has to die in every Crisis?!’

———————————————————————————————————

And the levels of snark from the Darkest Knight have reached Epic Levels!

The first three pages of this issue give us a rehash of everything  having to do with Wally West, since the beginning of the Rebirth Era, from Barry pulling Wally out of the Speed Force, to Barry and Batman finding the Comedian’s Smiley Face button embedded in the Batcave wall, to the events of Heroes in Crisis and Flash Forward.

The action picks up as Barry, Wally, Wallace and Jay leave the Batman’s Vault, in search of Metron’s Chair, with the Darkest Knight hot on their trails. 

In the Speed Force.

With the Darkest Knight’s presence corrupting the Speed Force, Barry and Wally bickering the entire time, I’m reminded of why I hated the post Crisis Flash… Wally wasn’t mature enough to wear the mantle of Barry’s fame.

Sure, he had the speed, he was even faster than Barry, but he was still the same jealous little kid inside, the one who needed to be patted on the head, the one who couldn’t get on with the Titans, even though he was probably the most powerful of them. 

He was just an immature kid, and here, Williamson dragged that all into the foreground once again.

All so Wally West, the King of the Redemption Arc, could have another Redemption Arc…

Sorry, that did me in. 

The rest of the story is pretty good… the art is wonderful, the Jay / Barry / Wallace interplay is really kinda neat, and all the Black Flashes… well, I’m a sucker for Death icons, so a mass of Death Speedsters, well that’s fun with a CAPITAL F!

But, did we need another Wally gets to whine story?

Sorry, this wasn’t the finest arc of the Death Metal Saga.

Out of 5🌶        🌶🌶🌶

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Death Metal #4 ‘Shot In The Dark’

Writer: Scott ‘Scream King’ Snyder   Artist: Greg ‘The Muscle’ Capullo  Inks: Jonathan ‘Bloodied’ Glapion

“So, ever wonder why you never see A Harley Who Laughs’?’

———————————————————————————————————

And, that Gentle Readers, is the crux of one of those puzzles about this series… Why don’t we ever see more twisted versions of the Villains who infest Earth Prime?

The Robin King (this is the character who rates SECOND on my memorable Characters list, especially with his own One-Shot—— Who’s First?? Time, Gentle Ones in time…) puts the explanation out there, and it is very simple.

And worth the read… But, I digress.

So, Issue 4 picks up with Sergeant Rock describing what has been happening on Earth - Prime, and we finally get to see who has been carrying him around… AMBUSH BUG! Yes, the character that made the Fourth Wall more transparent than an open Anderson window has been carrying Rock around as his own personal narrator…

Which, if you know the Bug, is a joke unto itself.

So, here we go, the ride is picking up steam, and we are now following 6, count’em SIX, separate story lines. A guy could get whiplash, or Bullwhip or some other third rate character… But, I digress.

We have the Trinity storyline, the SpeedMetal storyline, Multiverse’s End, and the Lantern Storyline from the last issue, the Justice League / Legion of Doom story… am I forgetting anything? 

Oh, and of course, the Robin King.

Where to start with this… I guess the simplest place to start is the artwork.

Greg Capullo’s pencils are absolutely wonderful. For anybody who it's to watch the process of drawing I want to watch so he's got a really wonderful touch I recommend Greg Capullo’s Instagram site. As he's drawing pages for these books, he posts the pencils as he finishes pieces of the process . Normally, he has six or seven photo panels showing exactly what he's been doing.  In man cases, this involves crowd scenes, with extensive detail. His work is beautiful, it’s easy to see why he is such a sought after talent.

Jonathan Glapion’s inks on Capullo’s pencils are comparable to Austin on Byrne, and Janson over Miller, Janson over Colan… Enhancing, and not hiding the intricate detail rendered in the pencils, adding that last flash of lightning to bring it all together. The balance struck between them is almost organic, a constant growth between the two, bringing them to levels bordering on the true Classic Art teams of the last 50 years.

I do not make these comparisons lightly

Now, to the story. Scott Snyder is powering a roller coaster with a rocket sled. The coordination between the different aspects of these stories is both intricate and daring. With all the different aspects of this story spinning like plates on sticks, Snyder juggles the plot lines, and what is left to him by the myriad of writers as Emmet Kelly did in the heyday of Ringling Brothers.

His deft touch, and subtle influences are balanced by lace covered sledgehammer blows, leaving the reader reeling, and wanting so very much more.

Scott Snyder, much like Tom Taylor, has pulled out all the stops, cut the brake lines, kicked out the jams, insert favorite euphemism for creating a high speed, non-stop mad ride to Hell!

And, much to my wallet’s chagrin, I am very happy about it.

Now, as it crosses to other books, and other writers pick up the reins, I am sure Snyder will still be the whip hand driving the story, not allowing some of these writers to go too far astray (unless it’s Tom King… then, well Woo Hoooo!)

I can’t say enough good things about this story, or the team creating it. I’m beginning t feel a little biased, but, what the heck.

Out of 5🌶        🌶🌶🌶🌶.5

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Death Metal: Robin King #1 ‘The Robin Who Would Be King’

Writer: Peter J. Tomasi   Artist: Riley Rossmo

‘Aw! Come on, this is the fun part!

Get up and let’s FIGHT!’

———————————————————————————————————

Games, within games, within games…

So, the Batman who Laughs wasn’t infallible.

And the Robin King is going to be the bigger threat to the Darkest Knight than any combination of the Trinity, Flashes or their cohorts.

At least, that’s my takeaway from this issue.

We continue the story of the Robin King, as started in the Tales of the Dark Universe one shot.  Bruce has grown up, and grown into his sociopathy, and genius. He has used the family fortune to get all the training necessary, and to accumulate all the tools, to begin his reign as the true Evil Overlord of Gotham.

Utilizing his accumulated weapons, he has taken out Commissioner Gordon, Firestorm, Animal Man, Adam Strange Blue Beetle (Ted Kord), and the Red Tornado, all in truly spectacular and extraordinarily grisly fashion.

While the Black Hole Implosion for Firestorm was a particularly well thought out death, I think, so far, the ‘Mortal Coil’ Death, for the Red Tornado was the most imaginative… making his powers totally uncontrollable, while moving him closer to his ultimate dream, to be a real person, before his form totally destroys itself from the stresses of his own speed.

Marvelous! Fantastic! Gross!

Enter the Batman who Laughs, with the proposition to make the Robin King special, one of his own…

But, he’s a Robin, so, off to the Groblin Pit he goes!

Hence, his mistake, and possibly another chink in the boiler plate of his plans… since Bruce Wayne is NO Robin!

Peter Tomasi’s scripting for this issue is simply remarkable. The creep factor he brings to this iteration of Bruce Wayne is almost eviscerating. Reading this was painful to my eyes and psyche, feeling the levels of insanity drip off the page, and scratch across my mind like a little bird’s unnaturally sharp talons.

He really hit all the horror factors.

Then, there was the artwork for this story. Riley Rossmo’s artwork set the mood for this story. His shattered pencil / inks style, which can be distracting, was integral to telling this story. It allowed the Reader to view this story as if it were playing out in Bruce’s mind, its all the fracturing being how he is viewing the world.

For me, this story has been the highlight of the series… thus far. I am anticipating this, which is near the midpoint of things, is setting up the Wednesday Night Episode…so, - 

Tune In, Gentle Readers! 

Same Bat-Time

Same Bat Channel!

The Best Is Yet To Come!

Did I neglect there is a B-story, with Signal, Spoiler, Orphan and Red Robin taking on Quietus, the amalgam of Batman Ras’ al Ghul and Duke Thimas, from another Dark Universe, written by Tony Patrick and drawn by Daniel Sampere?

This story brings in a plot line for ‘What’s happening for the Other Bat-Family Elements’, as they try to find their way through Castle Bat’s myriad streets… 

I am guessing we will start to see more of these stories.

I am completely fine with this, rather than having to recap things later…

Out of 5🌶        🌶🌶🌶🌶.5

[geekgemsspooksandtoons]

Why Bioshock Rebirth Part 3 won’t be a thing for a while

Guessing that title will work. I think considering now and on this day. There isn’t much else to do. I’m finally gonna talk about this. This is gonna be a long one. I’ll think about adding a keep reading thing as I make this. 

If any of you are a Bioshock fan or follow me. Or whatever else. I have this reimagining AU named Bioshock Rebirth. It has people who like it. There are mainly three parts on my mind. 

Part 1 and 2 basically deal with Rapture. Which are basically a reimagining of the main stories of Bioshock 1 and 2. With the events of Minerva’s Den being the epilogue. Part 3 from my mindset would deal with something outside Rapture. But I’ll talk about that later.

Yet I feel like to me. The reason I am not wanting to make a part 3 as soon as possible. Because it’s really tricky for me. I think I’ll just make the points and what my plans possibly were. Including I am gonna publicly reveal what my version of Zachary Hale Comstock would of been. Which is may be the most craziest decision. Whether people like it or not.

Now I just finished this post. I’ll put the tag after I write this. I will reveal I have a Bendy reimagining AU on my mind. But I want Dark Revival to come out soon. Which is why I don’t wanna focus more time on part 3. Along with other things. I feel proud or so with my work on Rebirth. I’m glad people love this AU/reimagining of Bioshock I made. :) So I will add the keep reading option. Now here is my detailed development of part 3. Not everything about it is there. But it’s a lot.

1. Part 3 would of taken 5 years after Bioshock Rebirth parts 1 and 2. Parts 1 and 2 took place in 2002. While part 3 takes place in 2007. Meaning the character ages have changed.

Basically Archie Wynand is 28. Elizabeth Comstock is 24. Brigid Tenenbaum is 40. Eleanor Lamb is 22. Even though Archie/Jack and Eleanor had her their ages sped up by people. With Archie being 10 and Eleanor being 12. But again there ages were sped up. Also the Little Sisters and Big Sisters that have been rescued have grown up too.

It depends on what characters would return. Like Delta/Johnny being 42. Daisy being 34. Booker being 43. Considering it’s not in Rapture. I don’t know if many characters would of returned. Yet that’s because I didn’t start writing possibly the main story for part 3. In case if anyone is worried. Many of the Vox Populi are fine. They must of moved on with their lives with Rapture sadly being a mess.

2. From what I get. The main story again was outside of Rapture. I seemed to be going with my old ideas I had for this AU. A public Rapture or the idea of Rebirth’s version of Columbia.

Considering Rebirth was born from the mistakes and retcons of Burial At Sea breaking the multiverse. Basically me disowning, shaming, yet acknowledging that DLC. So the idea I seem to be going with is that Columbia is the aftermath and America trying to make their own kind of Rapture. A public Rapture in a way for tourists. Something kind of like Jurassic Park.

Yet I don’t think it would be fully in the sky. It would be an island on water. With possibly Rapture under it. They built it over Rapture. 

Again Columbia is like America’s pale imitation of Rapture. With Rapture being discovered by America. Basically making profit off of it. Despite how tragic the results of Rapture of.

3. More on the main story. I think what it would be or as of now is Archie, Elizabeth, Brigid, and Eleanor going to Columbia or America’s public Rapture to stop Comstock. Considering this city has become a mess. The original idea is that it some how became worse than the tragedy of Rapture. 

With Big Daddies and Little Sisters being legalized. And Splicers or so possibly becoming more I guess crazy. With an old or possible dark idea of a Splicer eating out of a Little Sisters neck. Yet that’s really dark and just me showcasing some how this place became worse than the original Rapture.

4. Vigor’s in Rebirth would of been America’s knockoffs and pale imitation of Rapture’s Plasmid’s being reworked by Jeremiah Fink to make them more accessible so that you don’t have to inject them into your wrists. You could just simply drink them. 

Basically again they are strangely knockoffs and pale imitations in a way.

Shock Jockey is Electro Bolt. Devil’s Kiss is Incinerate. Bucking Bronco is Telekinesis. While some are again knockoffs. But some are original being the other Vigor’s.

But considering an idea from my anonymous friend who has helped me with this AU. With them mentioning well I’ll copy what they said instead. I’ll put the “ around it.

“Ironic considering the stereotype about most of the world's products being inferior knockoffs made in China. I can imagine that Fink's imitation of Rapture's products might be even more unscrupulous and dangerous compared to the original versions in Rapture, as the greater capitalist system intersects with the small-scale capitalism of that city.”

5. To be honest and I want to get this out of the way. The reason I am not making part 3 right away. Because I want to see if the leaks about Cloud Chamber’s Bioshock 4 are really true. Spoilers.

Basically the leaks being about that Rapture seemed to have been discovered. Now London is at war with ADAM being used. You play as a character named Lucas with other characters like Eleanor Lamb joining you. I want to see if this is all true. So I can see how Cloud Chamber interpreted of how the world would react to a city like Rapture. 

While there are folks who have made criticisms about people discovering Rapture being the end of the world. Basically being critical about the Bioshock series going in a Resident Evil like direction. Which I can totally understand.

But I’m gonna be honest. I want to see what Cloud Chamber are doing. Yet this horrible thing I’m gonna say next. As someone who’s.....opinions of their planet and maybe species is I guess low....I kind of don’t care. Because I want to see the chaos of the consequences if a place like America discovered Rapture. 

It’s maybe my darker side and my action junkie side having the best of me. I am strangely interested to see Hell on Earth all because governments got fucking greedy with ADAM. Again my opinion on my planet and whatever else is tricky.

Fuck it like we as a species deserve it. But I’m sounding pessimistic. I want to see war torn London destroyed by ADAM junkies.

5. My direction for part 3 I feel is weaker and not as powerful as parts 1 and 2. Because the general idea of part 3 seems to be, “America is fucking stupid. Because it empowers young rich pricks like Zachary Hale Comstock and makes shit like Columbia. Our country needs to be fucking better if really are the land of the free” It feels less original and been done before.

Compared to the first two part’s stories of humanity, found family, love, forgiveness, empathy, and compassion. Along with other stuff.

While I recall my inspiration for this idea long ago was this video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXjJOmRkN6s If I recall it being like an example of....America’s thought process of it thinking it’s awesome or whatever the Hell. I wanna say stupid thinking. But that video is awesome. Amazing what that person did.

Also my version of Comstock I feel is less threating and less interesting than the likes of villains like Andrew Ryan, Atlas/Frank Fontaine, and Sofia Lamb. Unless I really tap and dig deep into his character.

There’s also the other thing part 3 I feel unless I decided. It doesn’t deal with dimension travelling and all that crap.

6. There’s another thing is that I used many of the major characters from Infinite and incorporated them in Rapture. Such as Elizabeth, Booker, Daisy, and the Lutece twins. I haven’t done much with Annabelle because she sadly died before the events of parts 1 and 2. Also Bluto is practically Rebirth’s version of Songbird when he was in Rapture. He was the Proto-Daddy.

Fink and Comstock are the only major Infinite characters I haven’t used.

7. Bluto’s robotic corpse would of been found by Fink and Comstock. He would of been rebuilt into Songbird as being the supposed mascot and guardian of Columbia.

It’s also a way of torturing Elizabeth mentally. Because two men practically took her protective older brother’s corpse and rebuilt him as something else. With the added angst that Songbird still have memories of Elizabeth.

8. Another reason why I don’t feel so highly of part 3. It’s because it just seems unrealistic. Which may sound stupid. My ideas of America’s own Rapture like place becoming somehow worse than the original Rapture seem crazy.

Along with things like legalized Big Daddies and Little Sisters seems crazy. Despite how stupid my country is. The idea of taking human beings and turning them into that under an American government seems like bullshit. Unless they didn’t know. 

Yet it seems to be dissing on America. Considering the direction of Comstock I’m going with is more like, “We’re America and we are great.” Yet everything goes to shit.

Along with the crazy idea of the place being built in 5 or maybe 4 to 3 years. Which is why I wanted to give it a timespan.

Also it’s a fun easter egg that it’s the time span of the original Bioshock’s development. Unless I make part 3 in 2013. But don’t think I should.

9. There’s been a recent idea of Lucas being an antagonist. Something similar to the Arkham Knight from Batman Arkham Knight. But I should wait and see if this Lucas character is seriously real. Yet what I have read about him, he reminds me a bit of Booker.

I’m guessing and even was thinking a bit more in detail. Lucas being a US Marine who was born in 1981. He’s 26 during part 3. Possibly being an anti-thesis to Archie’s character. Now I’m thinking he may of met Arch during possibly tours. Even though they weren’t really friends but knew each other.

With Archie being an earnest and kind man. Now this makes sense. Lucas being jealous of Archie’s position as, “The Demon Of Rapture” and, “The Killer Of Fontaine”. Lucas being a bit more angry and less honorable than Archie.

Man these ideas make more sense than Comstock being an anti-thesis to Arch. Yet we also have Frank Fontaine and Booker Dewitt being anti-thesis to his character too. But the idea of Lucas is strangely perfect.

The ideas I am having are he’s Columbia’s poster boy of a super soldier. But without the horrifying results of Archie’s origin possibly. Since Lucas I’m imagining is more equipped with stuff(Again thinking of Arkham Knight)....fuck this is strangely perfect. 

Man we haven’t gotten more info on this who I am calling Lucas Parkside....fuck I thought of more of him being a deeper character or so.

10. But again about Bioshock 4. Considering Rebirth is the result of Burial At Sea and also Infinite breaking the multiverse. It combined the worlds of the main universe(Bioshock 1, 2, and the Rapture novel if you want to include that) and Infinite. Which resulted in a timeline where Rapture was made later during the cold war. Along with characters like from Infinite being more connected to Rapture because of the events of Burial At Sea.

Yet Bioshock 4 or those Parkside leaks. I question if I should put them in here too. Because it’s unknown if well the events of 4 happened yet in the main universe. Unless we take into the good ending being canon. With 4 taking take in the 70′s what I read.

I’m rambling, I’m sorry about that. Basically the events of the novel and first two games happened. But the events of Infinite and Burial At Sea disturbed the main universe. And whatever I’m using some weird comic book logic. 

Again I hope sometime but soon I want more information considering Bioshock 4. 

11. I guess I’ll just reveal this now. Including I called him a young rich prick. I gave a hint early on. In fact this character was hinted at in memes. But him combing in Comstock was something I was surprised by long ago. Yet I felt I guess could be genius or whatever.

Only two friends of mine know. The anonymous friend. And also @feckinatlas

Zachary Hale Comstock in Bioshock Rebirth would of been the Mark Zuckerberg of Bioshock.

While there was the idea of making him the, “Radec” or something similar to make him more threating. But Booker is already that. Including the Mark Zuckerberg angle is something I’m interested in.

Yes Comstock is Rebirth is younger than his main universe counterpart. He’s also not Booker and possibly not related to him.

One of my original ideas was that he’s a year younger than Elizabeth. But I changed that and may make him possibly 30 or so. Or even Archie’s physical age or 29.

An old idea I even told Feckinatlas that him being Fontaine’s kid. But Frank never knew about him. Practically making even more of a terrible father. Yet I don’t know if I’ll go with that idea. Yet it seems better than Comstock being a kid of Booker. Which I don’t like. I was trying to keep the Booker and Comstock connection. I’m still wondering now.

Yes I think that’s all I’ll reveal now.

Edit I forgot this one other important thing. Oh crap two actually.

12. Considering Ava Tate survived and escaped Rapture. She would of been one of the villains in part 3. Basically she sided with Fink and Comstock. Ava is kind of like that character who might not care what side she’s on. Despite she has redeeming qualities in her.

13. Even though this wasn’t part of the main story. To be honest there are ideas that one of Elizabeth’s looks is like her Burial At Sea look. Yet she’s not a femme fatale. Basically it was the idea of her and Archie going undercover. With Elizabeth trying to pose as a femme fatale. Which in reality she isn’t. She’s still the same joyous girl that people love. It’s something a bit more strangely adorable.

Also Brigid tried to teach her some stuff of trying to act different. I remember talking about this with my anonymous friend. It’s mainly silly and adorable stuff before meeting her seeing Ava. Like Arch being pouty that he may have to put on a tux. When he’ll put on something like maybe Clark Kent would wear. He doesn’t wanna look like a rich prick and would rather have black ops gear on. While Brigid and Elizabeth find it adorable and funny he doesn’t wanna dress like Ryan and whoever else. Despite they would kick him out if he looks very normal.

But again Brigid teaching her some tricks. Along with Elizabeth trying to smoke to look cool. But she coughs and again it’s adorable. XD

This idea is like before the main story. But I should develop it more. It could still be before the main story. I wanted to share this because I forgot about it. 

[wonderfulworldofmichaelford]

Is It Really THAT Bad?

I’m going to warn you all now. This one is going to get a bit angry at the end. Normally I would try and remain as professional as possible, but in this case, I don’t feel like I would be able to.

Batman & Robin is a film that has lived in infamy since its release in 1997. Upon release, it was critically reviled, and this hatred of the film continued long into the modern day, where it frequently tops “worst films of all time lists” to the point where it actually is listed on the Wikipedia page for “List of films considered the worst.” It was nominated for at least 11 Razzies but only won a single one, and it went on to be a frequent punching bag on the {REDACTED] Critic’s web show, where he would get irrationally angry at the mere mention of the Bat Credit Card. In contemporary reviews, Mick LaSalle of The San Francisco Chronicle stated “"George Clooney is the big zero of the film, and should go down in history as the George Lazenby of the series,” which is less of a criticism and more of a compliment, if I’m being totally honest.

Most of the stars would take a negative stance towards it as well, with legend stating that if you tell George Clooney that you saw the film in theaters, he will refund you for your ticket out of his own pocket. Chris O’Donnell likewise is not particularly fond of the film, stating "It just felt like everything got a little soft the second time. On Batman Forever, I felt like I was making a movie. The second time, I felt like I was making a kid's toy commercial." And, perhaps most depressingly, Joel Schumacher himself was apparently very apologetic for the film, though this may or may not have come about because of years and years of vitriol being directed at him for making this film.

In the wake of Mr. Schumacher’s passing, I decided to re-watch the film, as I am famously rather fond of it, and I am going to tell you all why the answer to the question “Is it really THAT bad?” is a loud, resounding, NO.

THE GOOD

There’s honestly quite a lot to like here, more than you might think. I think first and foremost what you need to understand going in is that this is a silly, cartoonish take on the Burton style, blending the silliness and camp of the West series with the drama and aesthetics of the Burton films, all while adding some over-the-top, colorful flair. John Glover, who appears in the film as a cartoonish mad scientist, even has gone on record as saying "Joel would sit on a crane with a megaphone and yell before each take, 'Remember, everyone, this is a cartoon'. It was hard to act because that kind of set the tone for the film”… the last sentence makes the statement very baffling, but at least even the actors were aware of what they were doing. If this doesn’t sound appealing, well, the opening is sure to warn you off, as it is a suiting up montage with various shots of the firm butts, large codpieces, and stiff batnipples of the Dynamic Duo. The movie is very upfront about what you’re in for.

On the subject of the infamous batnipples, Schumacher stated "I had no idea that putting nipples on the Batsuit and Robin suit were going to spark international headlines. The bodies of the suits come from Ancient Greek statues, which display perfect bodies. They are anatomically correct." It seems a very odd choice, but it’s pretty clear that he meant it as an amusing little design choice and nothing more. Of course, this hasn’t stopped everyone and their mother from spewing homophobic comments about how he was purposefully making the film gayer, even from star George Clooney, who has said that he played Batman as a gay man and was told by Schumacher Batman is gay. It’s so disgusting that people did and continue to do this, because honestly, the costumes are fine, and even if they are meant to be fanservice… so what? O’Donell and Clooney’s asses look nice, as does Alicia Silverstone’s when she dons a suit. The fact hers is just as form-fitting as the other two really shows that the whole idea Schumacher did it because he was gay is ridiculous; the man was very egalitarian about the fanservice in the movie.

Whatever else Clooney says, he does a pretty great job as Batman and Bruce Wayne. His speech at the end of the film where he talks to Mr. Freeze and reminds him that he is a good man and offers to help him is honestly one of the few moments in any Batman film where Batman actually feels like the one from the animated series, a man who fights crime but also wants to help the people he’s trying to stop. Clooney just has a very natural charisma that lends himself to playing a hero, and while there are a few awkward moments in the performance, he captures the fun and charm a more lighthearted Batman should. Michael Gough’s last turn as Alfred is also surprisingly poignant, and a lot of mileage is gotten out of his genuinely tearjerking subplot.

Of course, the very best part of the film is the villains. Uma Thurman is clearly having a ball as Poison Ivy, and she gets to have a ludicrous amount of costumes as well as numerous moments of fanservice. She also has the power to turn every man around her into a simp, which is absolutely amazing and leads to quite a few scenes of Batman and Robin slapping each other over her. But f course, there’s really no doubt that the best part of the film is Mr. Freeze. He’s a combination of the sillier Mr. Freeze from the West days and the more modern take of the character most are familiar with, the tragic anti-villain who wants to save his wife; such a character would take a talented man capable of comedy and drama in equal measure. And who better than Arnold Schwarzenegger? Joel Schumacher wanted a man who looked like he was chiseled from a glacier, and Arnold certainly fits that description. He spends the movie juggling some of the most corny puns you can imagine and a lot of truly powerful, understated drama, and it really does work. You honestly get the sense that Arnold really gets Mr. Freeze and what makes him a great character. Also, that suit he has is amazing.

As a final note: the Bat Credit Card is absolutely not stupid. Linkara has defended it in the past, giving reasons why and how it could actually work, but really, all that needs to be said is… is this any more ridiculous than Shark Repellent Bat Spray?

THE BAD

So don’t get the wrong idea here; this film is far from perfect. As is the case with any comedy, the humor can be hit or miss; not all of the puns land, not all of the jokes are great. You’re never going to get a perfect comedy no matter how hard you try, and this is no exception.

As for performances, I think O’Donnell’s Robin and Silverstone’s Batgirl are a bit wonky. O'Donnell has long been a source of derision for his whining, and while I think the hate is a bit overblown, he does spend a ludicrous amount of time in this film being snippy, miserable, and arrogant. I think he actually fights with Batman more than any of the villains! Still, his performance isn’t horrible, he just gets a bit too whiny at a few points.

Silverstone is a bit of a bigger problem, but she’s not quite as bad as even I remembered. She’s pretty much Batgirl in name only, since she’s related to Alfred in this, but she’s mostly okay. The issue really is that her arc in the film is relatively bland and feels a bit shoehorned, which comes to a head where she fights Poison Ivy in a designated catfight, obviously because they didn’t want Batman to punch a woman in the face I guess. There’s just one issue with that:

On the subject of Ivy, while she definitely does have plant powers here, they’re strangely underplayed. She rarely uses them even when it would probably be beneficial, instead relying on Bane to do most of the fighting for her. Ah, Bane… Bane is one of the few things about this film I can’t really muster up any sort of defense for. While his creation scene is rather cool, it doesn’t lead to much of interest, as this version of Bane is pretty much a mindless supersoldier lackey who serves Poison Ivy. Now, this was still relatively early in Bane’s existence, as he had only debuted in 1993 and was really most famous for his signature “breaking the Bat” move, but it still is baffling why, with that famous thing fresh in everyone’s minds, that they would just choose to go and basically make Bane into Evil Diet Captain America. Surely they could have either saved him for a sequel or utilized him in a way more befitting of the character? I think this Bane is kind of responsible for the negative perception of Bane as this big, dumb bruiser, something that works like The Dark Knight Rises and Arkham Origins have thankfully gone a long way to rectifying. Bane is at his best when he’s a cunning genius bruiser; here, he’s nothing but a glorified prop.

Is It Really THAT Bad?

The answer is no. No it isn’t. AT ALL.

I’ve always felt this film came out at the wrong time. It was towards the end of the 90s, during the Dark Age of Comics when everything was dark, gritty, and edgy. The world didn’t want a movie like this back then; they wanted stuff like Blade, who would come in shortly after this film and show us how to make that aesthetic work. I guess in terms of Batman they wanted something more like Dawn of Justice, which really speaks volumes to how awful the 90s were for superheroes. 

Look, I’m not trying to convince anyone this is the greatest Batman film ever. Even I don’t think that; Batman Returns, The Dark Knight, and Under the Red Hood are all much better films. But is this really the worst Batman film now that we have the deeply misogynistic and disgusting The Killing Joke and the relentlessly bleak and unpleasant Batman v Superman? Hell, it’s not even worse than Batman Forever! At least the Batman in this film has some kind of emotional range beyond “plank of wood!” And even calling it the worst sequel ever is just… so baffling. Again, this is definitely better than Batman Forever, lack of Jim Carrey notwithstanding. And can you honestly look me in the eye and tell me that this is worse than any of the Terminator sequels after the second film? Worse than Iron Man 2 or Thor: The Dark World? The almost half dozen Alvin and the Chipmunk sequels? This is only the worst sequel or even a bad sequel if it is the only sequel you’ve ever seen in your life.

A lot of the hate for it from back in the day carries a strong undercurrent of homophobia. Much like the infamous backlash against disco, it’s seriously uncomfortable, and it definitely is cruel how accusatory people were towards Schumacher’s intentions for the suits of the heroes in the film. The fact that even the two main stars have gotten in on it is a bit disgusting, though O’Donnell questioning why there needed to be a codpiece is certainly less offensive than George Clooney saying he played Batman as a gay man for… whatever reason. Was he implying that Batman being gay made the movie worse? I’m not sure what he’s on about there. Even The New Batman Adventures made a cruel dig at the film; notice the sign and the effeminate-looking boy. You could only get homophobia this good in the 90s!

The hatred of this film is absolutely overblown. It’s so ridiculous. #70 on the bottom rated movies of IMDB? #1 on the 50 worst films of all time list from Empire? Doug Walker’s personal punching bag whenever he needs to talk about a bad sequel, to the point where he literally said no one wanted a comedic take on Batman in his worst sequels video? Come the fuck on.

Joel Schumacher may or may not have ended up hating this film, but he certainly was made to feel like shit for making it… and it is honest to god not that bad! But he was just absolutely eviscerated, to the point where this was a fucking headline when he died:

Literally fuck all of these people. Fuck io9 for their insensitive headline. Fuck Empire for rating this as the worst film ever. Fuck Doug Walker for his constant bashing and his shitty old “chimp out over the Bat Credit Card” gag. Double fuck Mick LaSalle for shitting on George Clooney’s performance while also trying to say George Lazenby’s Bond was bad. In fact, fuck George Clooney for his weird idea that playing Batman as gay is a bad thing (sorry George, but I can’t defend this). Fuck the Razzies. Yes, it was nominated, but I just feel it’s always a good time to say “Fuck the Razzies.”

I will never say you have to love or even like this film, but the sheer amount of vitriol and hatred for it is absolutely beyond me. At worst, this film is just a bit too goofy, and at best, it is a fun tribute to the campy days when Batman just couldn’t get rid of a bomb. I didn’t take off my score this time. I’m proud to say I gave this an 8/10, personally. If I’m being honest, a 6.6 – 6.9 is more appropriate, because it does have quite a few issues, but god, this film is not bad at all. It’s silly, goofy, campy, and fun… but bad? Not by any stretch of my imagination. And fuck the critics for convincing an entire generation that this is Batman at his worst, when we have Batman fucking slaughtering his ways through criminals and fucking Barbara Gordon on rooftops these days. I will always take stupid ice puns over misery, murder and creepy intergenerational sex, thank you very much.

I hope you can rest easy, Mr. Schumacher. Maybe you didn’t love your film in the end but, wherever you are, I hope you know I loved it.

[dumbkiri]

Fate Changes Three

Parts: [1, 2, Here, 4, 5 ]

Summary: [Name] and Barbara’s lives are on the line. Batman has a difficult choice to make and while he abandons the only person that keeps Jason alive in memories, [Name] is content with his decision. This is her chance. 

Pairing: Jason Todd x Female! Reader

Genre: Action, Slight Angst

Word Count: 3.1k //  7 pages

Warnings: Guns, Suicide, Blood, Death

"Because like you, Juliet, Romeo never died."

 His words haunted her like her nightmares. His modified voice still echoing in her head. His Arkham symbol planted in her memories. Everything about him, threw her off her tracks. It was bothersome that she couldn't find out who he was. Then [Name] thought about the star-crossed lovers.

Romeo died in the story. What did the Arkham Knight mean that Romeo never died? Juliet was under the influence of a sleeping potion which gave Romeo the impression that she died. He mourns for her like a true lover and voluntarily drinks poison because he believed she was dead. Juliet not even a moment before wakes up from her sleep and finds Romeo dead. Juliet then stabs herself in the heart. 

......

“Because like you, Juliet-”

Juliet, she was still alive. She was only sleeping. 

“Romeo never died.” 

Romeo was tricked.

“I fear too early, for my mind misgives-”

The Arkham Knight wasn’t going to let her kill herself. 

“Some consequences, yet hanging in the stars-”

If Juliet had woken up earlier, she wouldn’t have allowed Romeo to drink the poison. Because she was alive.

“Shall bitterly begin.”

The roles...they switched. 

......

 "Where's Barbara?" [Name] asked sitting in the middle between two armed guards. Her eyes trained on the Arkham Knight sitting casually in the passenger seat. His fingers drumming to the song playing on the radio. She recognized the singer's voice: Frank Sinatra. The man who sang the famous song in her dreams. 

"Hey," She addressed the Arkham Knight, "I asked you a question." 

Her attitude earned a hit from the guard on her right. He slammed the butt of his gun on her chest. She reacted with a strangled gasp. Her wounds hadn't fully healed. She was surprised she was still alive. 

"Barbara Gordon is in another car. Away from you." The guard on her left gave her an answer.

 She nodded her head and weakly said, "Thanks."

 Her head hung low and she was very exhausted. [Name] hated showing her weakness, but tonight was like no other night. Tonight she was going to experience fear and that scared her to no end. The rest of the car ride, [Name] had slept. The guards, of course, kept a close eye on her. Even the Knight would look over his shoulder to see what she was doing. Every time, he would see [Name] twitch in her sleep. It was either her fingers or her legs that often twitched. Sometimes she would flinch so hard that the guards would point their guns at her only to see that she was still sleeping. 

"Man, Batgirl has some weird habits," The guy on her right said. He set his gun down and looked at his partner.

 The left man replied back, "She flinched so much in only five minutes." 

The Arkham Knight scoffed and turned the radio higher before saying, "She's having a nightmare." The two guards looked at each other and shrugged. The Knight knew more about Batgirl than they did. They weren't going to question his knowledge. They weren't that stupid.

 [Name] heard what the Knight said and cringed. Only one person knew why she flinched in her sleep. Not even Batman, Alfred, Barbara or Tim knew.

 ……

“Jason, do you ever think that we could live outside of Gotham?” [Name] asked sitting in the backyard of Wayne Manor.

 Jason was casually laying next to her with his arms behind his head. The blanket beneath them providing sanction from the damp green grass it was placed on. Jason’s blue eyes traveled from the stars to [Name]’s back then to the stars again. “Not really?” He said with an unsure tone in his voice. The teen didn’t quite understand what she was trying to say.

 [Name] rested her chin on top of her palm and watched as the stars twinkled happily above them. Her [e.color] eyes reflecting the beautiful night sky. She bit her lip and finally got the courage to say what she wanted, “I think that in order for me to be happy, I need to live somewhere else. Gotham reminds me too much of-" She paused and rephrased her sentence, "Gotham isn’t a place for me to be.”

 Jason sat up at her words, “You’re not serious, are you? Gotham is your home." He watched her as she stayed quiet. Jason continued with a nervous stare. His heart racing faster than when she confessed to him. "It’s where Bruce taught us how to fight. Where Alfred comforts us in the time we need it. It’s where you help me come back to Earth.” He was not happy with her at the moment and [Name] knew that.

 “Jason,” She softly said, her eyes no longer on the night sky. Instead, they were staring straight into deep ocean blue eyes. She wanted him to understand why she wanted to move away from Gotham. “I need this. I need time away from Gotham. From crime fighting. Bruce offered to help me move to Metropolis. It’s not too far from here and I’ll still visit you guys. It’s not like-”

“You don’t get it, [Name]. I need you here with me.” Jason said and scooted closer to her. He placed his hands on her arms and brought her closer to him. “You...I like you, a lot. And you telling me that you want to move away from Gotham makes me feel like I did something wrong. Tell me, what did I do?” 

[Name] smiled at him and felt that he was calming down. That he was willing to listen to her reasons. “Jason, you did nothing wrong. If you did, I would tell you. But you,” She removed one arm away from his grasp and used that hand to reach his head. She brushed her fingers through his hair and then traced his jawline, “You will always be my home, Romeo. Don’t you ever forget that.”

He sighed and rested his forehead on her shoulder, “When will you move?”She resumed combing her fingers through his hair. Her eyes went back to the stars, “I move next week.”

Jason picked his head up from her shoulder and pressed his lips on her cheek. He then spoke up, his voice frail and soft, “At least write to me, okay?”This earned a giggle from the [h.color] haired teen. She covered her mouth and gave him an incredulous look. “Write letters? What century are we in?” [Name] laughed and laughed while Jason crossed his arms over his chest.

 He was currently pouting where he sat. “Writing letters is more personal than sending emails or messaging through technology, alright?”

[Name] couldn’t stop her laughing and Jason had about enough with her teasing. He grumbled under his breath and stood up off the ground. He began walking away, but [Name] grabbed his hand gently in hers. He turned back and saw her hair dancing with the light breeze. Her eyes reflecting the moonlight. 

“Of course, I’ll write to you, Jaybird,” She promised. 

Jason smiled and pulled her into his arms.

 They sealed the promise with a sweet kiss.

……

"[Name]."

It was someone familiar calling out to her. She knew that soft voice. That caring voice. 

"[Name], please, wake up." 

She felt someone tap her foot and she flinched in her sleep. Her eyes begged for her to open up and she begrudgingly agreed. [Name] blinked her eyes open slowly and her focus was absolutely trashed. It took her at least a minute to see who was sitting in front of her. "B-barbara?" [Name] asked sitting up in her position which caused a groan to escape her lips.

 "I wouldn't move too much if I were you. You put up quite a fight tonight. Not only that, but you been shot, survived a car crash and earned bruises from those military guys." Barbara let her head rest against the crate behind her. Her arms were also bound behind her back. She didn't look as bad as [Name] did, but it was evident that she endured just as much.

 "Before you ask, the Arkham Knight stuffed us back here. It looks like a large storage room." [Name] nodded her head, "You can see more than I can." She blinked her eyes again and the darkness around her was starting to get lighter. Her eyes were adjusting.

 "Barbara, do you have any idea of who could be the Arkham Knight?" Barbara shook her head, "No." Then she brought her green eyes to the beaten Batgirl in front of her. "Y-you have an idea, don't you?" "I am not sure," [Name] looked down at her legs, "he gives me these vibes. His actions...they remind me of him."

 Barbara squinted her eyes, "What do you mean 'him'?"

 [Name] sucked in a breath. It took her exactly two minutes to spit the sentence out. "They remind me of Jason." 

Barbara shook her head. Denying [Name]'s words of truth. Jason was dead and her friend needed to get over that fact. "He died," Barbara reminded [Name].

 [Name] involuntarily cringed at her words, "I know, just listen-"

 "The Joker killed him. We all saw the tape. We all saw him murdered in cold blood." Barbara was once again, relentless with her words. "He died, [Name]. He died being Robin." 

"I know!" [Name] yelled at her friend fighting back her tears. Why does everyone have to remind her that Jason was dead? "All I'm saying is that his actions were close to Jason's. I was hinting that maybe the Arkham Knight knew Jason. A childhood friend-" Not possible. "Or a classmate," Wrong. "Someone who knew him." Never.

 You know what you're saying is wrong. You know deep inside that- 

"How do we know it can be one of those options?" 

"Because it's someone who has a large target on Batman. Someone who knows Batman himself possibly even his true identity." Barbara finished. 

The door to the storage room opened. "I assume you two know Batman's true identity." Scarecrow popped out of nowhere scaring the girls for a quick second only for that fear to turn into anger. They weren’t going to answer an obvious question. Scarecrow knew for a fact that they knew who was under the mask. He walked closer to them and his feet stopped to stand in between them. Scarecrow looked at Barbara and then to [Name]. His sinister eyes boring into her fear stricken ones.

"Batman is here as we speak," Scarecrow informed them, "It's time for him to choose which Batgirl he wants to save." 

"What do you mean?" [Name] asked the tall man. He gave her a smile; a creepy and sinister one. Then she looked at Barbara, but her green eyes were trained on the floor. The commander's daughter knew what was going to happen, but she was still drawing a blank. "You'll see, Batgirl."

 The Arkham Knight walked in silently and picked up Barbara. He carried her over her shoulder and ordered his men to help [Name] up. They followed his order and lifted her off the floor. She gasped out loud and the Arkham Knight whisked his head in her direction. He watched as she hunched over in pain. Her face contorted and her arms wishing to hold herself together. Her face was decorated with more scratches and bruises. He wondered what her suit was hiding beneath. Broken bones? More bruises, but much more darker, yellow? 

 "Enough with the dramatics, Batgirl," Scarecrow chastised, "the real show has yet to begin." The Arkham Knight followed after his men. Barbara silent as ever and [Name] wincing every time his men lifted her off the floor. She was too tired and weak to fully stand, so they resorted to dragging her body to the cell she was going to be stuck in. Fear gas would soon be in her system screwing up her already screwed up mind.

 ……

[Name] was carelessly thrown into her bulletproof glass cell. Her body roughly colliding with the floor. Her neck aching in pulses that matched her heart rate. She coughed up and spat blood on the floor. In so much pain, she curled up into a ball and cried out from it all. 

"Batgirl." She heard Batman call out to her and she weakly looked up from the floor. "Bat...man," She groaned and pushed herself off the floor only to stumble against the nightstand next to her. Something clinked against the floor and she brought her full attention to it. There mockingly laying in front of her was a loaded pistol. 

She then looked in front of her to see her mentor. "Batman, I tried to stop them. But I ended up crashing into a tank and the car- we could have died on impact. I could have, but the Arkham Knight...he sav-" 

"Save your breath, Batgirl," Scarecrow popped up on the screens behind her. The background dark and the light on him. "Batman, the task is grueling ahead of you. Standing before you is your current Batgirl, the one you held dear to your heart." [Name]'s heart raced. "And in the other cell is your former sidekick, Barbara Gordon." The Scarecrow chuckled. "You have one choice to make tonight. Save your current Batgirl or the crippled one. You have two minutes to decide. Every ten seconds you wait, a light dose of fear toxin will be injected in their system via the collar they wear." 

[Name]'s hand flew to the collar around her neck. She didn't even know when they put this on her. Why couldn't she have felt it earlier? Her eyes were then directed to her right where she saw Barbara sitting down in her wheelchair. "Your time starts now." Scarecrow finished and [Name] ran up to the front of the cell. She placed her hands on the glass and called out to her mentor, "Batman, you have to save Barbara!" She felt a sharp prick at her neck and her vision slowly changed on her. 

"No, no," Barbara yelled out holding her hands to her head. "Leave me alone!" 

Batman looked between the girls. [Name] banged her hands on the glass to get his attention, "Listen to me, this may be the last time I get to speak to you," another dosage of fear toxin entered her system, "I don't blame you for anything. Not even Jason’s death for which you blame yourself. It wasn’t your fault that the Joker got to him before we could.”

She closed her eyes, so she won't see the horrors in front of her anymore. But that didn't stop the voices.

 "You left me alone to die, now look where you ended up. Alone.” Jason taunted.

 "Not true, you aren't him," [Name] responded with heavy breathing. Her lungs working at a fast rate due to her panicking. She took a deep breath in and stumbled away from the cell to see Jason’s dead body lying helplessly on the floor. Batman was no longer the center of her attention because the fear toxin was clouding her vision. 

The Joker’s laugh echoed in her head and she slapped her hands over her ears. But she could still hear his demented cackle; one of pure evil. Then she heard Jason screaming and yelling as Joker tortured him over and over. Her knees buckled and hit the floor with a pop. 

"I c-can't," [Name] cried and looked behind her to see the gun laying on the floor. She crawled over to the weapon and felt the familiar cold kiss her fingers. 

"What will you do, Batman? It seems both of them are willing to kill themselves." Scarecrow watched amused by what was happening. 

Both Batgirls reached for their weapons. Batman wasn't going to let either one of them to pull the trigger. But he had to think fast. With a heavy heart, he gave [Name] one last good look at her. This is not how he wanted to remember her. She was always so bright. So loving. Yet [Name] gave him permission to save Barbara before her. So he worked on opening Barbara’s cell before the redhead could reach the gun on the nightstand.

 ……

[Name] wasn't going to deny that her heart ached when Batman chose Barbara over herself. Who was she kidding? Barbara will always hold a special place in Bruce Wayne's heart while [Name] wasn't even sure he saved a spot for her.

[Name]’s mind drifted to the pistol. Her fingers wrapped around the cold gun and she stared at it helplessly. She could end it all right here. Pull the trigger and let her brains splatter against the wall behind her. She could let her body fall limp into Death's arms and have him take her away to wherever God deemed her soul to rest. But suicide isn't welcomed in Heaven. Taking your life was an insult to God who gave you the ability to live. At least that's what the nuns at the orphanage told her. 

"You can be with me."

 [Name] flinched at how cool and calm Jason's voice was. She knew he was standing right behind her in his Robin costume. She knew the fear toxin was still being applied in her body. Running its course and digging a deeper hole, a place where should would fall in and never come back to the surface.Her fear was coming to life. But she had to look at him again. Just this once. 

Slowly, she turned her body around and her eyes widened. Standing before her was Jason, but he looked better. He was wearing casual clothing which consisted of a red tee and jeans. The outfit she last saw him in. 

"Don't you want to be with me, [Name]?" 

BANG!

 She jumped up at the sound of a gun going off and she went to turn around to see what Batman was doing, but Jason stopped her. 

"You don't want to look over there, it's not pretty." He warned her and placed a hand under her chin to keep her eyes on him.

 [Name] closed her eyes and her hand gripped tighter on the weapon. Batman didn't save Barbara in time and he won't save her either. Because she was going to be with Jason. No one was going to stop her anymore. No Batman. No Arkham Knight. 

"All you have to do is pull the trigger. Then I can hold you in my arms forever." He cooed and removed his hand off her face.

 [Name] opened her eyes and looked at the gun one last time. The metallic black color shining in a different light. The weight of it light as a feather. She cocked it and lifted the barrel toward her. It touched her chin and she smiled.

 This was it.

[br-uwu-cewayne]

DID????

DID THIS ABSOLUTE BITCH???!!

REALLY PUT HIS TOWER RIGHT FUCKING NEXT TO ONE OF MINE???!?

[thirsty4theextraordinary]

Everything Burns - Chapter 9

Pairing: Ledger Joker X OC

Warnings: none

Word count: 2414 

Previous Chapters: Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 l Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8

Chapter 9: The Fundraiser

She wasn't sure at what point that night, she had past out, but it can’t have been very long after they had got back in. It was late or rather early, the sun was just beginning to rise as they stumbled into her apartment together. Joker was giddy with happiness, he held he tightly to him and she felt better than she ever had in her life before. When she woke it was morning and to her surprise, the Joker was still there. He smiled madly at her as she removed her stiff body from the sofa and stood her make-up was sticky and it made her slightly itchy.

"I sent our home video to the news station, in no time The real batman will come running or better yet he will show us who he really is," giggled The Joker and Scarlett smiled through her yawn.

She headed off towards the bathroom to scrub her face, as she heard him switch on the TV clearly waiting for them to show his tape.

"I can't wait for the police to find the clue I left them," said the Joker giddily jumping up and down in his seat as he searched through the new channels on the TV.

"Clue" she queried.

"I may have had a little help acquiring the DNA of Commissioner Loeb, Judge Surrillo and Harvey Dent," said the Joker happily.

"Wow, impressive," said Scarlett her eyebrows raised slightly.

"I know, I am, and all this time you thought I was just ignoring you. I've been busy, sweetheart. All three are gonna die tonight. I've got connections now, Mob bosses, crooked cops, Arkham inmates, I've got quite the team now. I know where the Judge and The commissioner are gonna be but Harvey is an unknown at the moment, but once the police work out my clue, they will send a cop to Harvey and I may just tag along. I think Harvey is gonna be the most fun, so I think I'll supervise that one myself. As for the judge and the commissioner, they are already taken care of all they need is a little push" said the Joker laughing madly and Scarlett only grinned.

The phone rang and The Joker shot it a disgusted look as Scarlett answered.

"Hello" she called into the phone and The Joker looked at her strangely and so she poked her tongue out and he simply copied her.

"Hello Miss Jesterson, this is Alfred," said the British accent at the other end of the phone.

"Oh Hi Alfred how are you?" she said happily to the only other Englishman she knew in Gotham.

"I'm very good thank you for asking, I hope you are well, I'm just calling to invite you to Bruce's fund-raiser this evening for Harvey Dent. I did try to call last night but there was no answer" he said

"Oh yeah sorry, I was out last night, but a fund-raiser for Harvey Dent you say?" she said into the phone and The Joker was by her side in a second like a dog being called for dinner. He was nodding at her madly and looked as though he was about ready to snatch the phone from her hands.

"Urr yes, of course, I'll be there, I'm sure I can dig something out to wear, what time?" she said as The Joker continued to jump up and down slightly.

"It starts at 8, we will see you tonight?" said Alfred.

"Yep see you tonight, bye" she called before she hung up and the Joker burst into laughter.

"This is perfect! Now I know where Mr Dent will be" he cackled and she looked at him happily.

"And you can watch the show!"

"But you have to go as you, no Jester tonight," he said shaking his finger in front of her face and she nodded happily before she leaned forward and kissed his finger lightly, before skipping off towards the sofa, leaving him slightly bemused.

He explained his full plan to her as they sat for most of the rest of the day together. The Judge had a bomb planted in her car and the commissioner had a poisoned bottle of scotch as for Harvey the Joker felt that he needed the personal touch, and all this was to get Batman to come out and play. Scarlett wondered if The Batman knew just what he was in for. She couldn’t help but be in pure awe of Joker and just how much of genius he really was. 

Around 6 The Joker left to ready the boys and she began to ready herself, she felt like something was really going to happen tonight and the anticipation was killing her. As she dug through her wardrobe, for something to wear, she found the dress the Joker had got her from her birthday, that felt like so long ago now.

She spent the full hour and a half, getting ready, styling her hair, painting her nails and applying her make-up, when she was finished she was very pleased with the results and she called a cab. When it arrived she jumped in and headed for Bruce Wayne's penthouse. 

She thought over everything the Joker had told her and that's when it finally made sense. Why was the Joker going after Harvey more than the rest? Because Harvey was the icon of good in Gotham, he was Gotham's White Knight and if the Joker killed him then Batman was sure to show his true face. But maybe there was something to The Joker's plan, something more than just killing Harvey.

She thought about everything and that's when she finally understood, he wouldn't just kill Harvey. He would break him down, turn him against the Batman and show Gotham that deep down everyone is bad, no matter how good they seem, no one is incorruptible. That was The Joker's ultimate play.

When she arrived at Bruce's penthouse the room was already full of people chatting, causing the room to sound as though it were full of a thousand flies. The mutterings of the people were almost so distracting she didn't notice when Alfred Pennyworth approached a tray of drinks in his hand.

"Care for a drink?" he said smiling warmly at her, his rough accent not far off her own.

"Alfred how are you?" she said happily with a nod before she took a flute of champagne from the tray.

"I'm very good thank you, and yourself, we heard about your aunt," he said his face growing solemn, she had almost forgotten and so dropped her smile quickly.

"Well yes, I'm fine, we lost contact when I moved here so I hadn't seen her in a long time and she was very old. But I was rather fond of her growing up in England, she used to make the best cake" Scarlett said smiling sadly and Alfred returned the expression.

"I think I'm probably going to fly home next week sometime," she said and Alfred only nodded before a voice of a waiter called and he turned away.

"I'm being beckoned but make yourself comfortable there is food over there," he said motioning with his head with a smile before he was called again.

"Oh right bloody hell, I'm coming" he moaned before he turned his back and walked away.

Scarlett didn't know anyone there, though these people were not the type of people that Scarlett often hung around with, nor did she have any wish to associate with.

She mingled her way into a conversation and soon was laughing along with their grandiloquent jokes.

"So what is it that you do then, Scarlett?" said the woman to her right, in an overly friendly way. She knew it was a fake politeness and she despised it but she needed to keep her cool. 

"I'm a nurse practitioner at Gotham General Hospital" she replied smiling before she took a sip of her drink.

"Oh wow, that super, but I don't think I could do it myself. I think if I got vomited on I would vomit too" said another overly pretentious woman and she laughed slightly.

"Well I work on the wards so there isn't so much of that now, but I used to work in the emergency department. There it wasn't so much the vomit as the blood and guts" Scarlett said with a laugh but the others didn't seem to get her joke and looked at her strangely. Scarlett sighed and grabbed another flute of drink as the waiter passed and excused herself from the group.

The elevator doors opened and out stepped Rachel Dawes and Harvey Dent. Rachel spotted Scarlett almost instantly and headed over whispering a quick word in Dent's ear, before heading over to were Scarlett stood. Scarlett smiled happily at the brunette woman, though she had never really liked Rachel. It was just something about her, she didn't know what it was, she just didn't like her. They had met when they were young, Bruce introducing the pair when they were hardly teenagers. But before she had to force pleasantries with Rachel, everyone's attention was pulled away as a helicopter began to land on the helipad outside the penthouse.

Scarlett watched as Bruce climbed out the helicopter, before helping out three tall beautiful women, he walked over to the door with one under each arm and the third following behind, Alfred held the door for him.

"I'm sorry that I'm late. I'm glad to see that you all got started without me." Bruce called as the door was shut behind him and the girls under his arms dispersed into the crowd.

"Now, where is Harvey?" Bruce began making his way through the crowd.

"Where-?" Bruce spotted Harvey and made a beeline for him.

"Harvey Dent, the man of the hour," Bruce said holding his hands out towards Harvey.

"Where's Rachel Dawes?" he said looking at the crowd again before he spotted Rachel and Scarlett stood together.

"She is my oldest friend. Come here," he said motioning for Rachel to go to him, Rachel crossed her arms over her chest and gave Scarlett a look before she headed off to meet Bruce.

"You know when Rachel first told me she was dating Harvey Dent, I had one thing to say: "The guy from those God-awful campaign commercials?" "I believe in Harvey Dent." Yeah, nice slogan, Harvey." Bruce said the crowd around Scarlett laughed in chorus.

"But it caught Rachel's attention. And then I started to pay attention to Harvey … and all that he's been doing as our new DA. And you know what? I believe in Harvey Dent. I believe that on his watch Gotham can feel a little safer, a little more optimistic. Look at this face. This is the face of Gotham's bright future. To Harvey Dent. Let's hear it for him." Said Bruce and in unison, everyone began to clap.

After that Bruce dispersed into the crowd and Scarlett moved away, not allowing Rachel to catch her in conversation again. Nor did she have much interest in talking to Bruce, after all she knew she was here simply for numbers and politeness. Having met the Joker meant that Scarlett looked at certain things differently now, and her friendship with Bruce was defiantly one of those. Was he really her friend or did he just feel sorry for her because she had no one else. But she did now, she had someone who filled her life so perfectly that all other would naturally be pushed aside. 

Bruce's house was on the top of one of Gotham's highest buildings and she peered over the edge, through the enormous glass windows that surrounded three sides of Bruce's front room. For a moment she imagined throwing herself out the window and over the edge. The wind flying through her hair, before the ground came up to meet her and then there was nothing. Her beautiful thoughts were interrupted by a voice and Scarlett turned to the man leaning on the window beside her.

"I don't think we have met, I'm Marcus," said the man and Scarlett faked a smiled.

"Scarlett" she offered her name but not her hand.

"So how do you know Harvey then?" he said making small talk, inside her head she was imagining blowing his head off but her face told none of this as her sweet smile continued.

"I don't but I went to school with Bruce," she said and the man only nodded. After all that all it really was, they went to school together, there really was nothing else the pair had in common. 

"Wow from your accent I wouldn't have known you were educated here," he said and she simply shrugged her shoulders.

"So Australia?" he asked trying to guess her accent, she resisted the urge to roll her eyes or even worse and smiled laughed slightly.

"Not quite, England," she said a fake cheery smile on her face.

"Oh well they all sound the same to me," he said and Scarlett resisted the urge to kick him through the window.

"You are stunning you know that," he said trying to change the subject, this time Scarlett did roll her eyes.

"What?! You don't believe me, I bet half the men in here agree and the other half are gay," he said with a chuckle, she didn’t bother faking a smile this time.

"Look, I'm not really here to be flirted at, in fact, I supposed to be meeting someone here a bit later on" she admitted to him, but Marcus didn't seem that broken down.

"So you are dating this guy?" he said

"No" she replied, She wasn’t sure what she and Joker had. Was it more than friendship, it certain felt like more. 

"So, what's the problem then, we are only having fun," he said raising his eyebrows at her.

"Is that what you call it?" she asked sarcasm dripping from her words.

She couldn't wait for The Joker to get here, she knew she would have to keep up her act even then but at least then there would be some entertainment.

"So can I have your number?" asked Marcus, bringing her out of her thoughts.

"Umm no," she said before she smiled kindly and wondered off past him

But she didn't get far when finally the night started getting good.

"We made it!" called an all to familiar voice.

[raven-wraith]

A Completely Subjective (Objective) List of Titles to Examine (Purchase), Play Through (Waste Your Life), and Enjoy (Enjoy) During Quarantine (Part 1)

We know what’s happening. It’s April 1st, but the joke has been going on for far too long. Trapped in our homes with Covid-19 actively shooting people in the streets outside, we have to find a way to pass the time. As an avid gamer and professional uncooked cookie dough eater, I have compiled a list of games, both multiplayer and singleplayer that anyone and everyone should play for an enthralling experience. These games range from the newest releases to golden classics, so be warned if, I don’t know, Halo Reach appears. By the way, Halo Reach is appearing.

Single Player Games:

Darkest Dungeon

As our first game on the list, I can only reserve it for the front so at least all of you that don’t read the whole list know about this game. On the surface, Darkest Dungeon looks to be another turn-based, number-crunching, party-building slaughter fest. That’s because it is. But, at the same time, it is so much more than that. Past the Steam reviews that just say, “This game is hard,” or “This game is dope,” nothing can even explain the absolute depth that Darkest Dungeon has to offer.

Red Hook and Klei Entertainment take a unique approach to party building and world crafting. While usual party crafter games like Final Fantasy drive their quests and dialogue to carry the story, it is far more subtle but interesting in the way it is told through Darkest Dungeon. In fact, it is so subtle, that by the time my girlfriend and I had beaten the game and watched the last few moments of the last cutscenes, I didn’t even realize I was, in fact, making all of those decisions and choices to shape the story as it was told. 

Darkest Dungeon revolves around making smart but very hard choices that cannot be delayed for later. The greatest part is that these choices are not presented to you in the usual press-one-of-two-buttons-for-a-different-ending format that games of choice are so used to giving. Instead, it is on a far more personal level. Choices like thinking of inventory space for gold or supplies, whether or not to starve the party for just one more room to rest at a fire, who will be drinking and who will be gambling to forget about the horrors of the quests they’ve had to endure. 

The greatest part is that the game even embellished the idea of loss after choice, emphasizing to not be torn up over a stressful situation, a difficult obstacle, or even a hero’s death because the game still has so much to go, there is no time to cry like a bitch, There is only time to look forward and time to still cry like a bitch. 

I recommend this title to anyone who enjoys perfect indie games(1), those that really break through the barrier of creativity and deliver a totally unique experience.

DOOM (2016)

Doom. Baby, holy SHIT. I was reading a thread where a user simply put that “Doom is the only game where the boss music is for you.” And never in my life have I agreed so much with one singular sentence. The first entry in the Doom rebooted series is beyond comprehending complex stories and intensive strategy. Instead, it emphasizes brutal encounters and visceral gameplay mechanics.

Id has outdone themselves with this title. While the Wolfenstein games from MachineGames have been refreshing, none of them have even come close to touching the near cathartic execution of this game. Doom is a game that is centered around moving fast and hitting hard. Your character, the Doom Slayer (or Doom Guy), is not hindered by the multitude of weapons they carry. He is also an armored definition of brute force. Not a single word leaves our protagonist's mouth, but his actions speak volumes and his purpose in the game is clear right from the beginning. Rip and tear. In that order.

A first person shooter that doesn’t hold back, I was surprised to see lots of mechanics and gameplay choices from the very first Doom had made a return. Ammo and health pickups, rooms filled to the brim with demons to slaughter, and an unforgettable soundtrack produced by Mick Gordon that even pays homage to the original’s. These are the cornerstones of Doom (2016) and I wholeheartedly recommend this to gamers who don’t even enjoy first person shooters as there comes a point in the chaos where it is almost calming for the player. 

Infamous Second Son

From the very first time I could even have a conscious thought, I wanted a game where I could not only be a superhero, but I could be a superhero voiced by Troy Baker. When I saw that we were in no shortage of games like that(2), I asked again, but this time specifying that I wanted a kick-ass superhero game where I would inevitably be voiced by Troy Baker. That is when Infamous Second Son was announced in 2013 and my infant child teenage brain literally melted. 

Infamous Second Son released only a few months after the PS4 dropped, showing off it’s specifications and hardware to such a grand degree, I still know the very grains of sand that rendered it on the beach of Seattle. The game is exactly how I’ve asked. A superhero story of a kid that uses his powers to fight an evil villain. As the villain explains their goals and the hero becomes stronger and more powerful, Seattle only becomes that much more of a diverse playground to fly around, jump and punch, and at one point even start to level whole buildings.

Being the powerful hero only gets more fun as the game progresses as the number of abilities expand from simple smoke tricks to straight up lazers. Delsin, our main character, is also clever, witty, and likeable. I can only emphasize his features in the PS4’s rendering technologies, but you just have to play it yourself.

The game also includes moral choices. While these choices are far more linear to be bad or good, the outcomes are not only very different, but the entire balance of gameplay changes as morally exclusive powers are unlocked for your character. This game demands you play it over again just to see how the other missions, powers, and endings even feel, let alone look. A memorable title, I would recommend this to anyone with a PS4, 100%

Salt & Sanctuary

Now before we go off the deep end, I am going to stomp all questions and rumors now. Yes, this is a difficult game. Yes, it has no online support but can still be 2-player couch co-op. Yes, it is made by two people, husband and wife. Now before we turn away, I would like to share that Salt & Sanctuary is the very testament that hand-crafted games from independent companies will always be in competition with AAA titles. 

The game has a massive world, sprawling with bosses and enemies that are never the same throughout the whole game. The enemies, almost immediately, take the spotlight for me, tied only to the landscapes. You go from fighting hatchet throwing bandits to fighting golems the size of buildings only one area apart. If Pyramid Head from the Silent Hill series and Mr. Krabs had a baby, it's an enemy. There are flying gremlins, evil pirates, Cthulhu daemons, skeleton wizards, lightning-breathing parrot lizards, unicorns (fuck those guys by the way), a demonic fart, short jesters, tall jesters, and more crazy amalgamations of pain. 

The design of the world is to behold. It is apparent that inspiration from other titles that loop back on each other are apparent here. Things like the first Dark Souls come to mind, where the player would loop back to the main hubs by progress and exploration, shortcuts to home could be made. It seems that Salt & Sanctuary takes this on a global level, which is perfectly done. Please, I beg of you, if you find nothing else on this list, get this game.

Marvel’s Spider-Man

Fucking Spider-Man. Be Spider-Man. That’s the game. 10/10.

(1)  *cough* *cough* Castle Crashers *cough* Bloons Tower Defense 4 *cough*

(2)   Batman Arkham Knight as Robin, Resident Evil 6 as Jake, LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes as fucken everyone, Bioshock Infinite as Booker, Injustice: Gods Among Us as I’m realizing that DC might own this guy, Saints Row IV as The President, and more