#reformed dark dan

[night-wilf]

Writing prompt 06:

A few of the bat kids have discovered a favourite private bar that doesn't care for their names or ages, just that they pay for everything. They don't even try to hide their identities or masked name as no one cares. Given one of the regulars is a human sized plant thing that Ivy likes to kick around with, they shouldn't be surprised.

The name of that bar? Phantom's room.

Edit: Phantom's room: the halfway point between dimensions (some really good ideas in the comments!)

The rules are fairly simple to follow:

- Just pay for whatever you get or things will be personal

- Do not bother anyone

- Do not be overly loud

- Pets are permitted and must be cleaned up after, some warning is appreciated

- If injured, don't bleed all over the floor

- Do not ask for alcohol if under 18

- Do not approach alternate/different timeline versions of yourself as they can't see you

- Parking is free unless you are intoxicated trying to go home alone

- State allergies when ordering and something will be made

- No fighting

- Do not ask questions

Jason seems to like the tall ginger bar tender who enjoys his antics and they share scar stories to pass the time. Her dark haired partner sometimes breaks the magic for fun.

Damian likes the large security guy always on duty, nice guy with a rough past and it's nice to talk out stuff with someone willing to listen. Has he become a minor father role to him? Maybe. Does he help with his homework? Yes.

Tim likes to play chess with the blue skinned guy who sits in the corner reading, he's a good talker when not more confusing like the riddler.

Everyone has their favourite and usually visit after a patrol for some water and food before going home. If they come in injured a mysterious gel is slathered over it and they are healed 10 minutes later. Asking to take a sample home is answered with a firm no, as the stuff to can become addicting to humans.

Fair enough.

Though there is nothing online and the "owner"/cook is a boy who died at 14 and somehow still kicking around town. Some family who worked for the criminals of Gotham and got their son killed when he turned on a device, Jason's love interest seems to be the same situation.

Despite that, it takes them a while to tell Bruce as they don't want him ruining it for him. Alfred coming along one day after overhead a conversation between Dick and Jason. Only to find his favourite brand of whiskey already poured for him and an old friend who died long ago waiting to chat with him over a bottle.

He was... gone for some time with that one.

[laxxarian]

Danny was confused

I mean, Vlad literally outright says his plans right at Jack's ears as clear as crystal but Jack somehow manages to wishy washy away from his head but when the Fentons had to go to a gala at Wayne's manor, Jack was all aware and perceptive around Bruce.

Turns out, they both were relatives and Jack didn't seem to like Bruce. Jack just could smell the "fakeness" around Bruce. But I guess it's because Vlad would actually slip his tongue and be honest, his voice and the way he acts, Jack didn't feel off when he is with Vlad.

But with Bruce? Naw.

Danny looks at Bruce and he seemed nice, a bit *weird* around here and there but he was still nice. But then again, he can't trust billionaires and just as Danny felt that untrusting vibe, he heard a disgusting voice coming from behind him.

"My, oh my, if it isn't the Little Badger?"

Danny narrowed his eyes, disgust was all over his face, "Vlad." he replied with venom.

And that's cue on Jack to wrap his arm around Vlad's neck and starts talking to him cheerfully just so he could get away from Bruce.

To Vlad's dismay, he went along with Jack. And to Danny's dismay, Bruce started a conversation with him. Then to Jazz's wondrous night, her and Maddie were outside to take a breather so Danny was all alone and unguarded and stuck with Bruce Wayne, introducing himself and his ward, [pick ur choice].

.......…

Btw, I also wanted for Clockwork to show up, saving Danny but that's just too much lelelelellel.

[little-pondhead]

I am in the constant struggle of which version of Reformed!Dan I like more. There’s the “acts like a big brother to Danny” trope, or the “acts like Danny and Vlad are his parents” trope.

I can’t choose they’re both hilarious.

[purple-goo-writes]

What if....

Klarion the Witch Boy was Dan? Slightly reformd no longer destroying the world and de-aged back to 14 Dan Phantom? Except even reformed, Danny's Gremlin Nature and Vlad's Need for Dramatics results in one Chaos Lord fucking with the DC world cause his good older self and Guardian only told him he couldn't kill anyone again.

Plus these mini heroes are so stuffy, they need to live a little! The Light was a bit boring though.

Everything is fine and Dandy until some cultists asshole tries to summon his Dad, thinking the Ghost king was still Pariah Dark. Now he is teaming up with the mini-heroes in order to take down a dark magic cult to stop the summoning, much to their confusion and suspicion.

Robin: why are you helping us?

Klarion/Dan: because Pariah might not be king anymore but who is King will ruin my fun!

YJ: ?!?!

Klarion: *mentally* Dad is soooo Embarrasing! If he is summoned and sees me with the mini-heroes he will he will think I have /shudders/ friends.

[nerdpoe]

Danny and Dani and Dan get Alfreded in three fell swoops

So like, sad time, but Alfred dies while Bruce is doing his world tour. He never survived long enough to see Bruce become Batman. Died alone in the Manor, after a particularly nasty fall and a broken neck.

But that was unacceptable.

Master Bruce, insufferable boy, could not lose another paternal figure in his life. Also the Manor was still a mess, and Bruce would need someone to make sure he didn't accidentally poison himself.

So he hid his corpse on the Manor grounds, and got to work.

And he was so glad he stayed; sure, it had taken a bit to stop glowing, but really the floating thing was amazingly helpful in reaching the chandelier, and after Master Bruce had returned he had gotten so many grandchildren.

Fast forward; Danny defeated Pariah Dark, he is Crown Prince of the Infinite Realms, Dan is attempting reformation and is technically a Prince by relation, and Dani is attempting to be Dan's parole officer and is definitely a Princess 100% she never forgets that no sir.

And Danny gets approached by some of the Observants, and they tell him that there is a very powerful ghost in Gotham, one that fully and completely blends in with humans and really needs to come to the Infinite Realms to complete his paperwork. But whenever they show up, this ghost thinks that they're there to force him to stay in the Infinite Realms.

And he kicks their asses.

Brutally.

For a bit he had a tiny kid ghost with him kicking their asses as well, but the kid randomly disappeared one day.

The Observants very clearly outline that this ghost is not Gotham herself, although the tax-evading criminal has been seen having tea with her.

Danny has no desire to deal with this; he just graduated high school and needs to focus on what college he's going to choose, so if Dan or Dani want to throw hands with some weird Gotham Ghost then by all means. Fuck taxes anyways, what did the Zone even take for taxation, what-?

So Danny splits his time college hunting and trying to find out how tax laws work in the Ghost Zone.

Dani goes to the old man first, and Alfred promptly sits her down and gives her cookies and hot chocolate, treats her like the kid she's never been treated like between Vlad and all of the Zone focusing on the Princess thing, and she feels at home for the second time in her half-life.

Dani gets a call from a nervous Observant, and promptly tells him she isn't going back either so nyah.

Dan goes to pick her up, and Alfred asks him if he is quite alright, he looks rather tense, and that if it is a fight he wants then the Justice League could probably use a new member, after all Alfred knows an upstanding young man when he sees one, and clearly Dan just needs a chance to prove to himself that he can be good.

Just like another young man Alfred knows.

Dan gets a call from a nervous Observant, and tells them that he's a little busy stopping an alien invasion, and is a tentative member of the Justice League now so he doesn't have time for their bullshit.

Also fuck taxes.

Finally, Danny has no choice.

He goes to drag this random old man and his little sister back to the Zone himself.

Alfred takes one look at him and slowly slides a flier for Gotham University across the kitchen island.

"Your younger sister speaks well of you," the dead butler says, eyes beaming, "and I believe that, given what she has said, you qualify for one of the Wayne Educational Grants for a full ride, so to speak."

Alfred never gets dragged into the Ghost Zone, although eventually he does learn that they weren't trying to drag him into the Land of the dead but were just trying to get him to do paperwork.

He never goes.

Bruce, however, is very fucking confused as to where these strange kids came from.

[hypewinter]

After reforming Dan, Danny gets it into his head that he can reform Pariah Dark too. He takes a break from his kingly duties to go down to Earth. Both as a way to teach Pariah the wonders of humanity and to make sure Dan has actually changed his ways.

[flamingpudding]

Fictober23 Prompt: 17 - "I never said it would be easy."

Fandom: DPxDC

Rating: T

Warnings: -

A/N: I saw a post with a comment that Dan chronological wise is ten years old according to a wiki, I haven't seen it myself but I decided to run with it for this anyway.

It was supposed to be a normal morning but that got quickly interrupted by a long drawn out shout of 'Bruce' and a white and black blur suddenly flying though their ceiling right at Bruce. Two out of four present bat-kids instantly sprang up from their chairs into defense positions and with drawn weapons. The other two only arched an eyebrow before turning their attention back to their breakfast with a suppressed laugh, they had seen that black and white blur often enough during their times as Robin.

Damian glared at his older brothers as he stood with drawn throwing knives while Tim after a second of realization sighed, righten his chair from the ground and sat only slightly embarrassed at how Dick and Jason laughed.

Hovering above their breakfast table with his hands on Bruce's shoulder was now Phantom also known as Danny Nightingale, looking completely frazzled. The source of the yell as well as white and black blur from seconds ago.

"Bruce! I need your help! Please! I can't ask Jazz because she is busy and I sure as hell won't ask Trenchcoat. I don't think Supes can handle them and you're like the only one else I could think of to ask! Bruce, please!"

None of the bat kids really knew how long exactly Bruce had known Phantom. The man had only recently admitted to personally knowing the Ghost Hero when Nightwing had caught Phantom collapsing onto Batman and de-transforming and Batman handling it like that hadn't been the first time. They only knew that he had been an unofficial member of Justice League Dark and was the one that helped Jason with his Pit Madness as well as came to visit every now and then as Danny. What they had learned additionally from Alfred was that Phantom was the adopted son of Alfred's old friend and that when Bruce had been younger, he often came to visit or to hang out with them to escape his own family drama.

The bat-kids had figured out that way that Bruce and Danny were probably something akin to childhood friends that both also worked in the hero buisness.

Either way no one was in danger and so they watched on with curiosity as to what Phantom wanted. So far the Ghost Hero was still rambling on and on about something he couldn't entrust to anyone other than Bruce, while their father was leisurely taking a sip from his coffee completely pokerfaced like he was used to the other man rambling at him like that.

"Danny." Bruce finally cut in as the other was about to restart his entire plea for help. "World ending or personal."

The white haired man blinked as he finally floated to the side and let his reformed feet touch the ground. "Both? Sort of?"

Bruce grunted, the universal sigh for the other man to elaborate and the children payed attention interested on what was going on.

"I have a diplomatic meeting with the Tempest Dimension. One of their Demon Lords discovered that interdimensional travel is actually possible by having created a portal when he tried to teleport somewhere in their Dimension. I can't take Dani and Dan with me for this, the last time I allowed them to accompany me they nearly caused a dimensional war. Clockwork doesn't want to watch them, Jazz is to busy trying her newest psychological tortur- I mean therapy on Joker and I can't make the fruitloop watch them since both Dan and Dani swore they would wreck havoc if I leave them with him during football season."

Bruce arched an eyebrow and Danny pinched the bridge of his nose. "Yea I know, but last time Trenchcoat watched them he nearly sold his soul again to never ever babysit them again. And Clark is too nice to watch them, they will use it against him."

Bruce hummed. "How old are they now?"

"Five and ten body wise since the assimilation process with their bodies finished a couple years ago. They should start normal aging soon."

The bat-kids exchanged confused, disturbed and partially horrified looks at what the two men were talking about. There were so many questions they had. They were wondering if they could make Bruce talk about his childhood and get some information about Phantom that way. Tim had attempted researching him once and barely found anything besides some disturbing information about a haunted tourist town called Amity Park that was Phantom's territory.

"Bruce! Please! They have a dragon with a human body in that dimension! I just know that Dan or Dani will attempt to fight him!" Suddenly an idea popped in Dicks head and exchanged a glance with his siblings, checking if they had similar thoughts.

"We could watch them!" Dick then piped up, this was their chance to find out more about Phantom and his relationship with their dad.

Wide green eyes blinked at Dick and for a moment he felt like he had made a grave mistake, especially as he noticed Jason was sneaking away now like he decided he did not want to be part of any of this. Which is fair but come on, this was their chance.

"Are you sure?" Phantom questioned him carefully, side eyeing Bruce who was still calmly sipping his coffee and gave phantom a slight nod.

"You said five and ten, right? How bad can it be watching kids their age! They can even hang out with me and Dami!"

"Do not involve me-" Damian's complaint was shushed by Tim stuffing a pancake in the others mouth, earning him a death glare from their youngest but it was good to know that at least one of them was on his side with this plan.

This time Danny exchanged a full on look with their father, it appeared like they were silently talking. Something Dick doesn't really remember Bruce doing with anyone in the way he saw it right now.

"Well if you say so…" Phantom slowly agreed before reaching with his hand into a green portal pulling out a heavy looking bag. "This is the medicine box. If either of them look the slightest bit melty use the syringes in here. That's ecto-dejecto and basically ghost medicine for them. Though for emergencies there is a portal amulet that leads right to Frostbite."

The bat-kids looked stunned at what Danny was holding up before putting it back into the medical box and pulling out a silver green thermos front he bag. "If Dan misbehaves in any way or form use this to put him in time out. Just point the open Thermos in his direction and press the button down here. Pressing the button again will release him, but if he misbehaves to the point of having to use the thermos you can leave him in there until I pick them up again."

They knew that Phantom wasn't completely human but was that normal parenting? Hadn't they seen him use that thermos on enemies of the JLD before? And he was using it to discipline his kids?

"They know better than to overshadow anyone to get their will but in case one of them does, these bracelets should keep you safe from it. Otherwise call Bruce, he is one of the four and a half adults they listen to too."

"Is all of that really necessary? I am just babysitting them right?" Dick asked, still a bit stunned as Phantom handed him the bag.

"Yes. I never said it would be easy." The man only answered before opening another portal and sticking his head through for a brief moment.

A little girl of five hopped out of it a second later looking like a perfect copy of Danny Nightingale's human form, though what was more shocking was the hulk of a man with flaming hair coming through the portal growling and snarling at them as the grown man stood behind the girl with crossed arms. From the corner of his eyes Dick saw Phantom pinching the bridge of his nose. Before he floated over to the tall man and quite frankly pinched and pulled on that man's ear.

"Dan. Human-form now."

The man continued to growl and snarl for a moment with blazing red eyes before two white circles formed around his middle. A transformation they had seen a couple of times before from Phantom after Bruce had admitted to knowing him personally and introduced him as Danny.

Instead of the hulking beast of a man there was now a ten years old boy that looked surprisingly similar to Damian just lighter skinned and blue eyed. The boy still growled at them with his arms crossed while the little girl giggled. Damian was looking at the two with narrowed eyes before he turned his stare on Bruce.

"This is Dani and Dan." Danny introduced the two kids and Dick heard Tim mutter something about unoriginality when it came to naming. But before anyone else could comment on anything or even greet the kids an eyeball appeared out of thin air. The ghost hero and his kids looked at it for a moment before the man sighed dismissing it with a wave of his hand.

"I have to go now! Dani, Dan behave and play nice. If anything goes wrong Bruce has my emergency summoning pendant!" A second later Phantom disappeared through the portal the kids had come in, the little girl, Dani, gleefully shouting a quick "Bye mom!" Before the portal closed.

There was a moment of silence before Damian decided to break it. "Father, I believe there is something you have failed to inform us about."

"And that would be?"

"The existence of blood related siblings you have sired with Phantom."

[bet-on-me-13]

Dan is (Insert Character)

So, I've recently fallen in love with the idea of Dan being reformed and being a part of various characters Backstories, like This post about Dan being a Farmer Friend of the Kent's

So here are a few more examples of that!

Dan is Thomas Wayne: Dan is reformed and moves to Gotham to start a new life, while there he meets and befriends the elderly Wayne Couple, who never managed to have kids. Eventually the Wayne end up adopting Dan (who changed his name to Thomas), and he becomes Thomas Wayne. He even has a Kid. Unfortunately as a Parole Requirement, he had to lock away his powers, meaning he couldn't save himself or his Wife the day they got murdered in a Mugging. He became a Full Ghost, and in his rage at the death of his wife he relapsed into his old Violent self. Danny, while he understood the feeling, unfortunately did have to arrest him for his rage filled rampage. His Sentence is finally up, and he wants to see how his Son is doing.

Dan is Billy Batsons Dad: A little known fact about Billy Batson is that whenever he transforms into Shazam, he unconsciously makes himself look more like his Father than a future version of himself. So imagine his shock when, in the middle of a fight, one of his enemies takea a closer look at him and suddenly yells out, "Is that DAN!?". Billy now wants to know how these Extra Dimensional Monsters know his Dad's name. And why they seem Terrified of him...

Dan is Alfred's Dad: Alfred is taking one of his famously rare Vacations, and the rest of the Batfam decides to ask where he is going. "Oh, I'm going to visit my Father" "Wait what? Aren't you like 100 years old?! How is your dad still alive?!" "Did you not know? Alfred is a Demigod" "WHAT?!"

Dan is Jonathan Kent: Dan settles down somewhere in Smallville, Kansas. Unfortunately, as a Halfa he isn't physically capable of having kids, but as luck would have it a space pod carrying a small baby crashes into their fields one night. When that baby starts developing powers, Dan is experience enough to help him control them though. Just imagine one day, a Villain discovers Superman's Civilain Identity and tries to attack his Dad, only for his dad to be stronger than him.

Dan is Ra's Al Ghul's Dad: Dan was reformed and decided to get sent back in time to live his life, so he wouldn't interrupted the present Timeline. While there he met a lady and had a Kid. Unfortunately, he was forced to return to the Zone to wait for the Future to happen when his son was barely into adulthood, but he did decide to give him a Birthday Gift. The Lazarus Pits. Once in the Zone, he had to wait for a few centuries to pass before he was allowed to return, but once he was allowed back to the Living Realm he immediately began to search for his Son. The Pits should have kept him alive this long, so hopefully he lived a nice long life. Wait, who are these Cult Guys around his Lazarus Pits? And, where is his son? And why does that lady feel so familiar? Who is that little Demon Brat?

Dan is General Sam Lane: Simple really, Dan is Lois Lanes dad, and she is technically a Quarter Ghost but she had never awakened her powers. If you want to use the Injustice Timeline, then Lois gets resurrected after a few days and finally awakens her Halfa Powers. She is there to stop Superman from fully turning to the Dark Side, and asks her Dad to help Clark keep his emotions in check.

What do you think?

[poisonousquinzel]

Batman: The Animated Series Harley Quinn being the Blueprint for Modern Harley Quinn

my actual version of this post

Working On The Side Of / With The Batfam

Harlequinade (EP) • "Batman and Robin have no time to spare in stopping the Joker from detonating an atomic bomb, so they enlist the help of Harley Quinn to hunt the Joker down."

Batgirl Adventures • "When Poison Ivy is captured by mobsters, Harley Quinn must act quickly to save her, so she turns to the only hero she can find: Batgirl!"

Batman: Gotham Adventures #43 • "Who's out to get Harley Quinn? Batman has to take her on as a sidekick to find out. The answer awaits deep in Harley's history...that is, if she and the Dark Knight survive the traps set for them all over Gotham!"

Batman: The Adventures Continue Season 1 (2020) #12 | Season 3 #2, #5, #7

-

Also before anyone comes @ me all "oh but what about her participating in the Death in the Family storyline", I've made a post here talking about the exacts of Harley's involvement in Jason's death.

Trying To Have A Better, Reformed Life / Redemption Arc

Batman: The Animated Series "Harley's Holiday"

Batman: Gotham Adventures #10

Batman: The Adventures Continue Season 3 (2023) #2

Ending Scene In Batman Beyond: Return Of The Joker

Being A Little Goofy Gal

Batman: The Adventures Continue Season 2 (2020) #7

Batman: The Animated Series • "Holiday Knights", "Harlequinade", "The Man Who Killed Batman"

Dressing Revealingly / Being Sexual

Batman: The Animated Series • "Harley & Ivy", "Harley's Holiday", "Holiday Knights", "Beware The Creeper"

The Batman Adventures: Mad Love

Being Bisexual (cry about it♡)

Paul Dini: When Bruce and I did the Harley and Ivy miniseries, it was certainly implied that [Ivy and Harley] had a relationship with each other—they shared hugs and kisses. I didn’t want that to overpower what the story was, but the relationship between them is so natural.

Paul Dini: The more I worked with [Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy], the more I could see [a romantic relationship] happening. Unfortunately, at the time, in an animated kids cartoon, you really couldn’t get into the complexity of that or honor what a relationship like that could really be. We just showed them together as friends and on fairly intimate terms when they were out of the costume, but nothing was implicit because if we couldn’t do that relationship properly then we didn’t want to do it at all.

Batman: The Animated Series • "Holiday Knights"

Batgirl Adventures (1997)

Love Is Love (2016)

Batman: The Adventures Continue Season 3 #2-7

Breaking The Fourth Wall

Batman: The Animated Series • "Harley's Holiday"

HQ, turning her head towards the camera: "Talk about grasping at straws. Oh, well, at least I'm going out on a joke."

Being A Domestic Violence Victim (And That Being A Prevalent Aspect Of Her Story)

"Everyone else sees the Joker laugh, only Harley has ever seen him cry. It's the only reason she stays with him.

Harleen, having once been a therapist, has touched onto his vulnerability. She knows who he is underneath. That’s what keeps her there."

- Arleen Sorkin [Batman: Animated | Interview Add-On Comment]

Batman: The Animated Series • "The Laughing Fish", "Harley & Ivy", "Mad Love"

Justice League • "Wild Cards"

The Batman Adventures: Mad Love (comic)

Harley Quinn: Mad Love (Novel)

Batman: The Animated Series | The New Batman Adventures Episodes

Harlequinade Aired: May 23, 1994 Writer: Paul Dini Director: Kevin Altieri

Harley's Holiday Aired: October 15, 1994 Writer: Paul Dini Director: Kevin Altieri

Holiday Knights Aired: September 13, 1997 Writer: Paul Dini Director: Dan Riba

The Man Who Killed Batman Aired: February 1, 1993 Writer: Paul Dini Director: Bruce Timm

Harley & Ivy Aired: January 18, 1993 Writer: Paul Dini Director: Boyd Kirkland

Beware The Creeper Aired: November 7, 1998 Writer: Rich Fogel Story by: Steve Gerber Director: Dan Riba

The Laughing Fish Aired: January 10, 1993 Writer: Paul Dini Director: Bruce Timm

Mad Love Aired: January 16, 1999 Writer: Paul Dini Story by: Bruce Timm & Paul Dini Director: Butch Lukic

Justice League Wild Cards Aired: December 6, 2003 Writer: Stan Berkowitz and Dwayne McDuffie Director: Butch Lukic

Ending Scene In Batman Beyond: Return Of The Joker Story: Paul Dini, Glen Murakami, Bruce Timm Screenplay: Paul Dini Director: Curt Geda

The Batman Adventures: Mad Love Writers: Paul Dini, Bruce Timm Pencilers: Bruce Timm Inkers: Bruce Timm Colorists: Bruce Timm, Rick Taylor Letterers: Tim Harkins Editors: Scott Peterson, Darren Vincenzo

Batman: Gotham Adventures #43 Writers: Scott Peterson Pencilers: Tim Levins Inkers: Terry Beatty Colorists: Lee Loughridge Letterers: Albert DeGuzman Editors: Joan Hilty, Harvey Richards

Batman: Gotham Adventures #10 Writers: Ty Templeton Pencilers: Rick Burchett Inkers: Terry Beatty Colorists: Lee Loughridge Letterers: Tim Harkins Editors: Darren Vincenzo

Batman: The Adventures Continue Season 1 #12 Writers: Alan Burnett, Paul Dini Pencilers: Ty Templeton Inkers: Ty Templeton Colorists: Monica Kubina Letterers: Josh Reed Editors: Andrew Marino

Batman: The Adventures Continue Season 2 #7 Writers: Alan Burnett, Paul Dini Pencilers: Rick Burchett Inkers: Rick Burchett Colorists: Monica Kubina Letterers: Josh Reed Editors: Andrew Marino

Batman: The Adventures Continue Season 3 #2 Writers: Alan Burnett, Paul Dini Pencilers: Kevin Altieri Inkers: Kevin Altieri Colorists: Monica Kubina Letterers: Josh Reed Editors: Andrew Marino, Ben Meares, Katie Kubert

Batman: The Adventures Continue Season 3 #5 Writers: Alan Burnett, Paul Dini Pencilers: Ty Templeton Inkers: Ty Templeton Colorists: Monica Kubina Letterers: Josh Reed Editors: Ben Meares, Andrew Marino, Katie Kubert

Batman: The Adventures Continue Season 3 #7 Writers: Alan Burnett, Paul Dini Pencilers: Ty Templeton Inkers: Ty Templeton Colorists: Monica Kubina Letterers: Josh Reed Editors: Ben Meares, Andrew Marino, Katie Kubert

Batgirl Adventures (1997) Writers: Paul Dini Pencilers: Rick Burchett Inkers: Rick Burchett Colourists: Rick Taylor Letterers: Albert DeGuzman Editors: Scott Peterson, Darren Vincenzo

Love is Love (2016) Writer: Paul Dini Illustrator: Bill Morrison Colourist: Robert Stanley Letterer: Sal Cipriano

Harley Quinn: Mad Love (Novel) Written By: Pat Cadigan and Paul Dini

I am aware this last one isn't technically in the BTAS universe, but later on in the novel, it blends into the Mad Love comic/episode and then goes past it. I only used scenes that were originally featured in the comic/episode as they are just those scenes in a purely written form.

Harley Quinn: Mad Love (Novel) Pg. 261 He lowered his head and slumped, the very picture of dejection. Harley couldn’t stand to see him that way. She cuddled up next to him and took him in her arms. “I know how to make some smiles, puddin’,” she said in a playful, sultry voice. His whole body stiffened under her touch. “Puddin’?” But she knew it was hopeless; she’d done the wrong thing again. A moment later, he was leading her down the stairs by her nose, pinching it so hard between his thumb and forefinger that she cried out on every step. “Ow-ow-ow-ow-ow! That hurts! It really, really hurts! Please, puddin’—” He pinched even harder as he led her to the door, opened it, then turned her around. “How many times do I have to tell you?” he roared, applying his foot to her backside. “Don’t call me puddin’!” Harley scrambled to her feet just as he slammed the door in her face. She started to beg him to let her in but suddenly all the fight went out of her and she sank down to sit cross-legged in front of the door. Thrown out again; how many times was this? She’d lost count. No, she hadn’t. This was the twenty-fifth time. That averaged out at roughly three times a week for the past two months. - Harley Quinn: Mad Love (Novel) Pg. 255 “Hey, that’s a real gasser, ain’t it, Mistah J?” she said between giggles. In the next moment, Gordon thought the nitrous was making him hallucinate as events took a sharp turn into the surreal. The Joker grabbed the floppy points on Harley’s hat, pulling her to him so they were nose to nose. “I deliver the punchlines around here!” he bellowed into her face. “Got that?” “Yessir,” Harley Quinn said, her voice tiny and fearful. The Joker shoved her aside and the jolly Clown Prince of Crime persona was back.

[renthony]

Anyway here's my reading list for my big film censorship project in case anyone's been wondering what I've been up to when I'm not being a stupid idiot cringey fandom blogger or whatever the jackasses think I am:

Vaudeville, Old and New: An Encyclopedia of Variety Performers in America, by Frank Cullen

Vaudeville and the Making of Modern Entertainment, 1890-1925, by David Monod

From Traveling Show to Vaudeville: Theatrical Spectacle in America, 1830-1910, edited by Robert M. Lewis

American Vaudeville as Ritual, by Albert F. McLean Jr.

American Vaudeville As Seen by its Contemporaries, edited by Charles W. Stein

Rank Ladies: Gender and Cultural Hierarchy in American Vaudeville, by M. Alison Kibler

The New Humor in the Progressive Era: Americanization and the Vaudeville Comedian, by Rick DesRochers

Humor and Ethnic Stereotypes in Vaudeville and Burlesque, by Lawrence E. Mintz

"Vaudeville Indians" on Global Circuits, 1880s-1930s, by Christine Bold

The Original Blues: The Emergence of the blues in African American Vaudeville, by Lynn Abbott and Doug Seroff

Waltzing in the Dark: African American Vaudeville and Race Politics in the Swing Era, by Brenda Dixon Gottschild

The Wizard of Menlo Park: How Thomas Alva Edison Invented the Modern World, by Randall Stross

Edison, by Edmund Morris

The Rise and Place of the Motion Picture, by Terry Ramsaye

The Romantic History of the Motion Picture: A Story of Facts More Fascinating than Fiction, by Terry Ramsaye (Photoplay Magazine)

Before the Nickelodeon: Edwin S. Porter and the Edison Manufacturing Company, by Charles Musser

The Kinetoscope: A British History, by Richard Brown, Barry Anthony, and Michael Harvey

The Man Who Made Movies: W.K.L. Dickson, by Paul Spehr

A Million and One Nights: A History of the Motion Picture, by Terry Ramsaye

Emergence of Cinema: The American Screen to 1907, by Charles Musser

Dancing for the Kinetograph: The Lakota Ghost Dance and the Silence of Early Cinema, by Michael Gaudio

The First Screen Kiss and "The Cry of Censorship," by Ralph S.J. Dengler

Archival Rediscovery and the Production of History: Solving the Mystery of Something Good - Negro Kiss (1898), by Allyson Nadia Field

Prizefighting and the Birth of Movie Censorship, by Barak Y. Orbach

A History of Sports Highlights: Replayed Plays from Edison to ESPN, by Raymond Gamache

A History of the Boxing Film, 1894-1915: Social Control and Social Reform in the Progressive Era, by Dan Streible

Fight Pictures: A History of Boxing and Early Cinema, by Dan Streible

The Boxing Film: A Cultural and Transmedia History, by Travis Vogan

Policing Sexuality: the Mann Act and the Making of the FBI, by Jessica R. Pliley

Screened Out: Playing Gay in Hollywood, from Edison to Stonewall, by Richard Barrios

The Ashgate Research Companion to Moral Panics, edited by Charles Krinsky

A Companion to Early Cinema, edited by Andre Gaudreault, Nicolas Dulac, and Santiago Hidalgo

The Silent Cinema Reader, edited by Lee Grieveson and Peter Kramer

The Harlot's Progress: Myth and Reality in European and American Film, 1900-1934, by Leslie Fishbein

Oscar Micheaux and His Circle: African-American Filmmaking and Race Cinema of the Silent Era, by Pearl Bowser, Jane Gaines, and Charles Musser

Banned in Kansas: Motion Picture Censorship, 1915-1966, by Gerald R. Butters, Jr.

Black and White and Blue: Adult Cinema From the Victorian Age to the VCR

Complicated Women: Sex and Power in Pre-Code Hollywood, by Mick Lasalle

Dangerous Men: Pre-Code Hollywood and the Birth of the Modern Man, by Mick Lasalle

Pre-Code Hollywood: Sex, Immorality, and Insurrection in American Cinema, 1930-1934, by Thomas Doherty

Forbidden Hollywood: The Pre-Code Era (1930-1934), When Sin Ruled the Movies, by Mark A. Vieira

Sin in Soft Focus: Pre-Code Hollywood, by Mark A. Vieira

Hollywood's Censor: Joseph I. Breen & the Production Code Administration, by Thomas Doherty

The Dame in the Kimono: Hollywood, Censorship, and the Production Code, by Leonard J. Leff and Jerold L. Simmons

Moral House-Cleaning in Hollywood: What's it All About? An Open Letter to Mr. Will Hays, by James R. Quirk (Photoplay Magazine)

Will H. Hays - A Real Leader: A Word Portrait of the Man Selected to Head the Motion Picture Industry, by Meredith Nicholson (Photoplay Magazine)

Ignorance: An Obnoxiously Moral morality Play, Suggested by "Experience," by Agnes Smith (Photoplay Magazine)

Close-Ups: Editorial Expression and Timely Comment (Photoplay Magazine)

Children, Cinema & Censorship: From Dracula to the Dead End Kids, by Sarah J. Smith

Freedom of the Screen: Legal Challenges to State Film Censorship, 1915-1981, by Laura Wittern-Keller

Picturing Indians: Native Americans in Film, 1941-1960, by Liza Black

America on Film: Representing Race, Class, Gender and Sexuality at the Movies, by Harry M. Benshoff and Sean Griffin

White: Essays on Race and culture, by Richard Dyer

Black American Cinema, edited by Manthia Diawara

Colorization: One Hundred Years of Black Films in a White World, by Wil Haygood

Hollywood's Indian: the Portrayal of the Native American in Film, edited by Peter C. Rollins and John E. O'Connor

Wiping the War Paint Off the Lens: Native American Film and Video, by Beverly R. Singer

Celluloid Indians: Native Americans and Film, by Jacquelyn Kilpatrick

Native Americans on Film: Conversations, Teaching, and Theory, edited by M. Elise Marubbio and Eric L. Buffalohead

Framing Blackness: The African American Image in Film, by Ed Guerrero

Toms, Coons, Mulattoes, Mammies, & Bucks: An Interpretive History of Blacks in American Films, by Donald Bogle

Hollywood Black: the Stars, the Films, the Filmmakers, by Donald Bogle

White Screens, Black Images: Hollywood From the Dark Side, by James Snead

Latino Images in Film: Stereotypes, Subversion, and Resistance, by Charles Ramirez Berg

Reel Inequality: Hollywood Actors and Racism, by Nancy Wang Yuen

Visions of the East: Orientalism in Film, edited by Matthew Bernstein and Gaylyn Studlar

The Hollywood Jim Crow: the Racial Politics of the Movie Industry, by Maryann Erigha

America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry, by Daniel Eagan

Movie-Made America: A Cultural History of American Movies, by Robert Sklar

Of Kisses and Ellipses: The Long Adolescence of American Movies, by Linda Williams

Banned in the Media: A Reference Guide to Censorship in the Press, Motion Pictures, Broadcasting, and the Internet, by Herbert N. Foerstel

Censoring Hollywood: Sex and Violence in Film and on the Cutting Room Floor, by Aubrey Malone

Hollywood v. Hard Core: How the Struggle Over Censorship Saved the Modern Film Industry, by Jon Lewis

Not in Front of the Children: "Indecency," Censorship, and the Innocence of Youth, by Marjorie Heins

Degradation: What the History of Obscenity Tells Us About Hate Speech, by Kevin W. Saunders

Censoring Sex: A Historical Journey Through American Media, by John E. Semonche

Dirty Words & Filthy Pictures: Film and the First Amendment, by Jeremy Geltzer

Flaming Classics: Queering the Film Canon, by Alexander Doty

Masculine Interests: Homoerotics in Hollywood Film, by Robert Lang

Monsters in the Closet: Homosexuality and the Horror Film, by Harry M. Benshoff

New Queer Cinema: A Critical Reader, edited by Michele Aaron

New Queer Cinema: The Director's Cut, by B. Ruby Rich

Now You See It: Studies on Lesbian and Gay Film, by Richard Dyer

Gays & Film, edited by Richard Dyer

Screening the Sexes: Homosexuality in the Movies, by Parker Tyler

Out in Culture: Gay, Lesbian, and Queer Essays on Popular Culture, edited by Corey K. Creekmur and Alexander Doty

Out Takes: Essays on Queer Theory and Film, edited by Ellis Hanson

Queer Images: a History of Gay and Lesbian Film in America, by Harry M. Benshoff and Sean Griffin

The Lavender Screen: the Gay and Lesbian Films, Their Stars, Makers, Characters, & Critics, by Boze Hadleigh

The Celluloid Closet: Homosexuality in the Movies, by Vito Russo

Tinker Belles and Evil Queens: the Walt Disney Company From the Inside Out, by Sean Griffin

The Encyclopedia of Censorship, by Jonathon Green

[the-witchhunter]

DP Ramble: Dan/Dark Danny

Sometimes, it’s just weird to see Dan aka Dark Danny appear in fics sometimes. Not all the time, but sometimes it just strikes me as odd. I’m not saying I don’t like seeing him, I do depending how he’s handled. It’s just how I’ve seen fics just include him as part of the family. They’ll have a throwaway line about him being reformed or redeemed and that’s as much of a justification for him being there as it gets. 

It strikes me as odd because that is a major character change that is getting handwaved. Like, it’s implied there’s character development and growth, but it doesn’t want to include any of it, it just wants to tell you it happened and it feels like a misstep to me because there is sooooo much story to be had there. There’s all sorts of interesting character dynamics and conflicts surrounding that, because Dan is a villain and did terrible things both to the world and Danny, and even if it never happened in this timeline, does that really mean what he did doesn’t matter?

And I get that not everyone wants to tell a story about how Dan got “redeemed” in order to tell their story that includes him, but it always feels like there should be a bit more to it than that. I think if you’re going to write something like that, you as the author should have an idea HOW him being included happened even if you don’t write it because that’s something that can and should really affect how the characters interact

Whether or not Dan can or should be reformed/redeemed is an entirely different conversation, but it’s one of those things that is major enough it feels like it should have some impact. 

What do y’all think? Maybe this is something I’m noticing more in crossovers, maybe I just think it’s happening more than it really is

[night-wilf]

Writing prompt 97:

Sam reluctantly goes with her parents to some Gala out of town. Choosing a reformed and bored Dan as her plus one. He is doing community service and regained his humanity mostly so Danny considers this a few hours towards that.

Though he needs to wear a power inhibitor.

Sam happily turns up to the Gala with a living brick wall as her friend for her evening for the evening. Not expecting the family to ask if he is a clone of Bruce, looking so similar it is uncanny.

This should be interesting.

[mysteryideasgroup]

MSA X DP: The Ultimate Enemy Chapter 12: Jazz, Arthur and Jane with Portable Fenton Ghost Peelers/Dark Danny, Dark Sophie and Midnight Dan knock Jazz, Arthur and Jane unconscious and drag Jazz, Arthur and Jane away/Meanwhile in Dark Future/Meets Reformed Vlad, Reformed Juleka and Reformed Diesel

---COMMERCIAL BREAK---

Scene opens on Casper High, Mighty Falcon's High, University School, then to the testing room. Lancer is now sitting at the desk at the front of the room, and Disguised Dark Danny, Disguised Dark Sophie, and Disguised Midnight Dan are still copying answers from the answer sheets to their tests. They looks up at the door and see Jazz, Arthur, and Jane frowning at them through the glass. They looks around quickly, and then a transparent copies of their adult selfs peels off and dives into the floor as they scowls back at them. Out in the hall, the copy slips up behind them and zaps them as they pull the Fenton Peelers. They scream and then collapse, unconscious, to the floor. They drag them offscreen by the ankles.

Scene change: back in the Ghost Zone...

Danny: Well, that's Vlad for ya. [We see that he is looking at a gigantic purple football.] Subtle as a flying mallet. [He pushes the football aside to reveal a swirling portal. He jumps through into a dim cave packed with equipment.]

Sophie: ? Wait... It’s football game? Going to see them, Jaleka

Dan: On the way, Diesel...

Old/Future Vlad: Come to kick a defenceless old man while he's down? [We see a beard and one arm, the fingers tapping the arm of a chair.]

Old/Future Jaleka: Not working, defenceless old woman... While she’s down? [We see a hair tied in a bun lower back, her hands held lower]

Old/Future Diesel: Not enough, not work. Helpless old man, he's down

Danny: Defenseless? Old?

Sophie: Not working?

Dan: Not enough? What?

Danny approaches Vlad's large, V-emblazoned chair from behind; he is sitting at a bank of consoles, chemistry glassware to the side. Vlad spins about abruptly. He is still wearing a suit, but it is torn and stained and he is barefoot. His hair and beard have grown long and there are dark rings under his eyes.

Sophie sees Jaleka turn to show. She is wearing Dress Long and Mary Shoes but with a coat long, She has tied her hair in a bun lower Upsweep. She has puffy eyes.

Dan sees Diesel turned to walk to show. He is wearing a suit, torn and stained, orphaned clothes and boots. His hair has grown long, faux hawk long hair and long beard. He has puffy eyes.

Danny: Man. What happened to you?

Sophie: ! Oh my God... What happened to you?

Dan: Not better, what happened to you?

Old/Future Vlad: I could ask you the very same question, my boy. Although perhaps [he stands with the aid of a cane] I should ask what "hasn't" happened to you. Yet. 

Old/Future Jaleka: I can ask you the very same question, my girl. They have what they? See it... What happened to them?

Old/Future Diesel: Right, my boy. Same ask, what happened with them? We have to tell them that they are not good.

----

For @laurasanchez36

AUs Alternate Universes Crossovers belongs to me 

All belongs to my msa x dp ocs sonas

All belongs to her msa x dp ocs sonas

Mystery Skulls Animated MSA belongs to Ben and MysteryBen27 of YouTube YT Series 

Danny Phantom DP belongs to Butch Hartman of Nickelodeon Series 

[laurasanchez36]

The Dark Spirit of The Black Charro My NEW MSA X Danny Phantom: Reign Storm Enemy, later Reformed OC

Full Name: The Dark Spirit of The Black Charro

First Name:

Last Name:

Nicknames:

Gender: Male

Profile Pic

Age: 12 (in the past), 35 (deceased)

Blood Type:

Occupation:

Actual or Past Occupation:

Favourite Shows/Games: ___/___/___

(___,___,___)

Favourite Food:

Instrument:

Favourite Animal:

Family Members Relatives:

Other Family Members Relatives:

Species: Human, later Ghost/Human/Demon

Friends: His demon-ghost minions and Parian King (Former), Sophie Kingsmen, Monty, Elise, Juleka, Danny Phantom, Vlad Plasmius, Dan Turner, Diesel, Girls' Clue Club Team, Mystery Teams, All the ghosts and others (All Current)

Enemies: Sophie Kingsmen, Monty, Elise, Juleka, Danny Phantom, Vlad Plasmius, Dan Turner, Diesel, Girls' Clue Club Team, Mystery Teams, All the ghosts and others (All Former), Parian King (Current)

Alignment: Bad/Neutral, later Good

Likes: Ruby Gem (in the past) Ruby gem and Pariah King giving him some dark powers, Possessing and Mind Controling Muffet/Maisy Pepper with his Ruby gem (briefly), Muffet/Maisy Pepper was freeding from getting Possessing and Mind Controling about his Ruby gem (current), getting revenge on Dash Baxter, Eveline and Jerry, getting his ruby gem back, Being a halloween jumpscarer prank

Dislikes: Trapped in the cave, Being stuck and trapped in the cave (in the past), vlad plasmius or juleka or diesel takes his ruby gem away from him, Muffet/Maisy Pepper was freeding from getting Possessing and Mind Controling about his Ruby gem (former), muffet pepper gets possessed, Not being a halloween jumpscarer prank

Hobby:

Goals:

Weapons: Two Sword Twins and Rope

Powers and Abilities:

Skills and Abilities:

Skin Colour:

Eyes Colour: Brown (in the past) Red (his demon/human/ghost)

Hair Colour: Black

Clothes:

Shoes:

Accessories:

Nationality:

Sexuality:

Mustache Styles:

Hair Styles:

@sfcabanasstarcgs and @mysteryideasgroup

This one sounds likes Spirit of El Bandito (from Be Cool, Scooby Doo) and El Charro Negro (from Las Leyendas/Legend Quest)

[danturner-dpask]

Old Diesel (Reformed) Full Appearance

Nicknames:

Family Members Relatives: Dan Turner (Adoptive Son: Dead/Deceased)

Other Family Members Relatives:

Friends: Patricia Turner (Dan's Mom: Dead/Deceased), DJ Turner (Dan's Dad: Dead/Deceased), Jane Turner (Dan's Older Sister: Dead/Deceased), Peach Turner (Dan's 2 Older Sister: Dead/Deceased), Dewey Turner (Dan's Older Brother: Dead/Deceased), Demi Turner (Dan's Youngest Daughter: Dead/Deceased), DJ.Jr/DJ Jr. Turner (Dan's Youngest Brother: Dead/Deceased), Susan/Susie Williams (Dead/Deceased), Henry Peterson (Dead/Deceased), Dan Turner (Alternate Timeline/Normal Original AU), Sophie Kingsmen (Alternate Timeline/Normal Original AU), All his Friends (Alternate Timeline/Normal Original AU), All his Friends (Dark Future AU: Survivors), All his Dead Friends and Missing Friends (Dark Future AU: Dead/Deceased and Missing/Presumed Dead/Unknown), Danny Phantom (Alternate Timeline/Normal Original AU), Aria Kingsmen (Sophie's Mom: Dead/Deceased), Eddie Kingsmen (Sophie's Dad: Dead/Deceased), Monty Myres (Dead/Deceased), Elise Libman (Dead/Deceased)

Enemies: Midnight/Midday/Mid Dan (Archenemy: Dark Future AU/Fallen Hero AU), Dark Danny/Dan Phantom, Dark Sophie/Soph Kingsmen

Species: Human with Ghost hybrid (Formerly), Fully Human (Current)

Status: Alive/Active

Alignment: Good

Likes:

Dislikes:

Hobby:

Goals: Helps Dan return to his own time at home

Weapons: Ghost Gloves Gauntlets

Powers and Abilities:

Skills and Abilities:

Paraphernalia: Ghost Gloves Gauntlets

Weaknesses:

Fears/Phobias: Monophobia

Hair Colour: ___

Clothes: Same with worn-out

Hair Styles: ___

Moustache Styles:

Beard Styles:

----

For @laurasanchez36

Diesel Johnson (Dan's Archenemy/Reformed) (Dark Future AU) belongs to my new msa X dp oc sona enemy/reformed Arch-Enemy/Reformed

----

Crossovers of AUs Alternate Universes belongs to me

AUs Alternate Universes Crossovers belongs to me

AUs Alternate Universes and Crossovers belongs to me

The Legend of Ghosts Teams/Groups/Gangs to my new msa X dp ocs sonas Teams/Groups/Gangs enemy

Danny Phantom DP belongs to Butch Hartman of Nickelodeon Series

[lastweeksshirttonight]

It was 95 degrees with 35% humidity today, my house feels like the inside of a blast furnace, and somehow I decided this was prime "watch and write about John" hours. So greetings from the surface of the sun, we've got more LWT to see!

Last Lee Tonight (wherein there is, theoretically, a universe where John Oliver is writing Tumblr reviews of Lee's topical news comedy) Season One, Episode Seven

(original air date: 6/15/2014) Major topics covered: US immigration reform, Washington Football Team Interview: Stephen Hawking

Trigger warning: racist iconography

"If you don't learn the recorder, you're fucked." "Seriously though, playing the recorder sets you up for life."

So uh, fun story. Remember how last week I said that the YouTube channel was finally starting to get the hang of things by episode six, aside from the occasional oddity of a one-minute clipped joke here and there?

The YouTube team didn't upload the main story from this episode to the LWT channel. At all.

We're still in prime "figuring this shit out" mode! Strap in!

That's consistent across the entire episode. After the last episode, which saw the show starting to coalesce into its modern form, this episode seems to go back to the drawing board and toss all kinds of shit at the wall to see what sticks - it's honestly most reminiscent of episode one. The opening segments are lightning-fast and don't transition into each other well, the central topic doesn't go nearly as deep as you'd expect it, and there's a random (but amazing) interview at the end of the show. I wonder if the next episode will swing the pendulum in the opposite direction again.

John starts our episode banging and then punching the desk, going in the opposite direction from our last episode. He seems to be taking out his rage on the glass countertop, which he looks very silly doing.

We begin by revisiting net neutrality, from Episode Five. (I'm linking it because I wrote this months ago, and if your executive dysfunction is anything like mine, you totally forgot everything about the episode.) In that episode, John described Tom Wheeler as a dingo, and somehow Tom Wheeler was asked about the LWT episode in a FCC meeting. He speaks like a literal robot and refutes, in the weirdest way possible, the idea that he's a dingo. How is that the thing you focus on from that whole segment. How. What? Christ.

The unsaid caption "Satire is not C-SPAN, however." goes without comment, which is unbelievable to me. That phrase cracked me up so hard I had to pause the episode. I know there was a rich vein of missing the point entirely and subsequent dingo humour to mine here, but come on John, that caption is a gift.

We then move to Iraq, where ISIS forces crossed nearly the entire country in five days and stole $400 million dollars. This bit only goes for about a minute before we move to another topic, Obama visiting the Standing Rock Sioux reservation and pledging aid. We finally then transition into a discussion of the Washington Football Team, who, at the time, were still refusing to change their goddamn racist name and iconography, which I will not be using here. (I did learn from writing this that apparently they have rebranded - FINALLY - as the Washington Commanders in 2022, after two seasons of being Washington Football Team.)

I appreciate how John lets an extremely sincere and powerful commercial made by Native Americans regarding the offensive name largely speak for itself, aside from one dark joke at the end, before discussing what an abject shitwhistle former Washington Football Team owner Dan Snyder is and how pathetic his protestations are.

It did take a while, but Snyder was ousted from his ownership post of the team in 2021 after a massive expose of sexual harassment under his watch was released in 2020. He's been mired in investigations over financial conduct, fraud, and deceptive business practices as well, to which I can only say "good".

The night's main topic, which has no YouTube video anywhere (I'm sorry), is immigration. John says he has a vested interest in the topic and the audience laughs, which is funny-weird because it doesn't seem like John is trying to humorously highlight his insider nature here. The real focus here is the debate over immigration reforms, as the system is (and remains) very broken and anti-immigrant sentiment is high all over the world.

I do wish this clip was on YouTube. It's not the most informative piece on immigration, but is a nice window into how much John loved this country prior to the beginning of its full collapse. This definitely takes much more from The Daily Show mold, being a comedic monologue interspersed with news clips that allow John to riff on the state of immigration, as opposed to later LWT immigration segments, which tend to be exceptionally sobering. This one is comparatively light-hearted and surface-level, and John delivers the material with a very comfortable confidence. I don't think the segment itself is a standout, but I really like John's attitude here.

We technically get our first animal-fucking joke during this segment, which is about bears only fucking face to face and stops John cold as he helplessly giggles over it. One step closer to getting all the running jokes in order!

Somehow, the end of this with the animated Actual American Tale video is on YouTube, so please enjoy one of the most depressing things LWT has ever put together. It's genuinely far more distressing than the actual main topic segment.

The episode ends with the only appearance of "recurring segment" Great Minds: People Who Think Good, where John interviews Stephen Hawking. Interestingly, I was listening to a podcast today (gonna likely make a separate post on it) where John talked about how much he loved interviewing Hawking and how he wanted to showcase the man's wit and humour more than his intelligence. I think that the interview is incredibly successful in that regard.

I adore this interview so much. Never have I had so much fun watching John get totally roasted.

Random notes:

Lee is a very predictable man corner: today we get a black suit jacket with lavender shirt and dark purple tie, which is a great look, 9/10. The only thing keeping it from being a 10 is that it's missing an element of boldness. Maybe a deep purple jacket or a shinier tie?

Lee continues being predictable in a second bullet point: the interview outfit is a black suit jacket with a light-blue and white checkered shirt and black tie. Definitely a pedestrian but still solid look and I still love the baby blue on John, so I give this 7/10.

Please stop making me talk about American football in these, John, I beg you.

"I lost my virginity to the sound of a man ranting about Bulgarians." This is so far the best line of early LWT, I will bear no other arguments.

There are no random 1 minute YouTube clips of isolated jokes this episode! 🎊

Once an episode, someone from the past 20 years of American political culture pops up that I've completely forgotten about and am upset to be reminded of. This week, it's Michele Bachmann, who I refuse to look up to see what she's doing now. You cannot make me think more about Michele fucking Bachmann.

There is an extended interview with Stephen Hawking that adds a few nice bits, like John asking Stephen a meandering hypothetical about him being a drug lord with inconsistent staff.