#this turned into some kind of war and gotham is the only casualty

[nelkcats]

Possessive Nature

Danny was worried, Undergrowth was coming for a visit and that would be completely fine if Poison Ivy wasn't blocking his way home while proclaiming that her babies deserved better.

Sam had gotten both ghosts to talk and now they had a sort of uneasy truce, and Danny needed his help to stop killing the plants in his new apartment in Gotham so he ended up asking for some advice, to which Undergrowth agreed.

Danny's first thought was that he was screwed, Ivy was going to meet Undergrowth and they would try to rule the world, maybe put it in a state of permanent vegetation; that would be good, if they didn't plan to destroy everything that was there. His second thought was his mistake in thinking of Gotham as an "uneventful" place. His third thought was to call Batman.

Unfortunately he couldn't continue thinking because the Ancient of nature arrived at his location, he surveyed all the greenery and seemed to marvel, before noticing the halfa in the center of the whole mess. Danny would have been long gone if Ivy hadn't planted a stupid variety of blood blossoms during her attack; he couldn't do more than greet the Ancient with a grimace, it was obvious that he couldn't move much.

The wonder on Undergrowth's face faded and he frowned, summoning his own ghost flowers and staying away from the deadly variety of blood blossoms.

Bright side: Undergrowth and Ivy had not teamed up to rule the world.

Downside: He discovered how possessive ghosts are as Gotham became the modern day Amazon.

Fuck, he really didn't want to explain it to Batman.

[kimberly-spirits13]

For Wandering Dreamers (Bonus Story & Not Technically Part of the Series Just Same Universe It’ll Make Sense)

Synopsis: You had a chance to watch Spoilers for Justice League Dark Apokolips War and it ended it angst and fluff

Notes: This is taken from the same concept as my For Wandering Dreamers series and is just what would happen if you watched the movie in that set universe since you still have access to your old phone. This is also a bit angsty at the beginning and fluff at the end.

Warnings: Spoilers for Justice League Dark Apokolips War, language

Word Count: 1770

You were sitting on your bed in Wayne Manor, phone in hand, now connected to your computer. It was the release day of the new movie back home where you were from and you were pumped for the movie. The only issue for you was seeing Damian and Raven together on screen what with you dating him and all. It was a bit weird but you weren’t going to let that stop you from watching the movie.

           Damian was going out for patrol and had just left. You didn’t really know how violent this movie would be but there were rumors that it would be pretty hardcore. It was just a movie though, and you were sure to teleport into a universe that wasn’t as... doomed as Flashpoint.

           Damian walked out of the room after one last kiss before you started up the movie and sat back to embark on whatever was supposed to happen. You watched as the movie started getting kind of intense.

           “A bit early dontcha think DC?” You muttered arms crossed.

           The film continued and eventually you stumbled across some of the bloodiest and most violent scenes that you’d ever witnessed. Would it have kind of messed you up watching it without knowing that this stuff was real? Yes. But now, knowing that this thing really happened, it hurts in a new kind of way.

           You watched as your favorite heroes died one by one. It was the most antagonizing thing that you’d ever seen in so long. Babs, eaten alive, Hawkman having his wings ripped off, it was like watching everyone that had raised you as a kid be killed off one by one. It broke you seeing what happened to the heroes as the casualties started sky rocketing. What really made you sick was the Titans dying.

           Star was split in half, her blood everywhere and spine showing through, Conner’s neck was snapped and then you saw it, Dick being stabbed to death. The sound made you feel queasy you felt sick to your stomach and then your heart dropped when the parademon saw Damian. You felt tears well in your eyes on anticipation only breathing when he was just knocked into the water seeing as there was a chance of his survival.

           It was hard going on, but know you were glued to the screen watching in anticipation of what was to happen. Eventually after sticking your nose up to what you knew as the DamiRae parts of the movie in jealousy, you got to one of the last battles. It was Damian vs Bruce and you knew it was not going to be pretty. If there was anything that you would never show him besides this entire movie, it was going to be this part and you knew it. You grimaced at the words that Bruce said. They echoed in your mind, his voice sticking there for a few seconds.                  “Your mother mentally broke me.” He continued, “You’re a burden.”

           “Damn B, I know you’re brainwashed and crap but what happened to Batdad?” You said getting a bit mad at the dialogue.

           After a little while, you watched in absolute horror as Damian jumped in front of Bruce. You were at a loss of words watching him shrivel into what looked like an ancient version of himself. Words clumped into the back of your throat as you started to cry hearing Raven screaming and then the climax of the movie hitting. It was terrible seeing him like that. You didn’t stop crying when he was revived either, you didn’t stop until the end of the movie where finally you went to the bathroom for a second.

           Damian wasn’t due to be home for a bit. It was an amazing movie, but seriously? You thought you’d be sick seeing the outcomes of Dick and everyone else. Yes, Flash would hopefully fix everything running into the Speed Force, but it costed everything. You went to the shelf in your bedroom, grabbing your character guide to flip through it. Tears only really came for those with the worst deaths. You didn’t know what happened to some of the characters but you were sure it either wasn’t good, or they weren’t in the movie at all. It was weird seeing everyone in this light and really didn’t affect you too terribly until you thought of Diana. She was the mother you never had and your childhood hero. Watching her become this cyborg version of herself, losing everything was something you didn’t take well.

           You flipped the page to her four pages and cried looking down at the now broken hero, seeing her in a whole new way of defeat and near death. You didn’t realize how much time had passed when you got a knock on the door and a voice that was certainly Damian’s.

           “Beloved?” He asked before you said he could come in, “Are you alrig-“

           Damian stopped dead in his tracks looking at your tear stained face with much concern and then saw the book open in your hands and the black screen of your laptop, it turning off automatically.

           “What happened?” He asked scooping you into his arms and sitting on your bed.

           “E-everyone d-died.” You choked up, “A-and Diana, she, I just, she was completely broken." “Y-you...” You trailed off not wanting to continue, the look on your face being very evident too Damian that that was the case.

           “Y/N, it doesn’t happen here, you know that. It was you who told me that this kind of thing would have already happened since it just got made into a movie.” Damian said, “Everyone is fine.” “I’m fine, I’m here with you, and you’re fine.”

           You looked up at him and shut the book before deleting the file of the movie, “Do not go watching that Damian.”

           “I won’t beloved, you have my word.” Damian promised tucking you two in and shutting off the lamp, “Remember, I’ll always be right here with you. I love you.”

           “I love you too.” You said not falling asleep as quickly as typical.

           It was a few hours later when a dream came on about the movie. You were there in some kind of clear box watching from afar. Damian was bleeding looking up at Bruce before it forwarded more and you saw the league in ruins once more. Damian was strapped into a machine and you were trying to get to him. There was no use in this however. He looked at you and pleaded for help before suddenly, without a moment’s notice, he shriveled into the grey corpse you had seen him in previously.

           “Y/N! Beloved wake up!” Damian was shaking you awake gently before you shot up, sweat covering your face and tears starting to stream down your face as you latched onto Damian, his arms wrapping around you tightly.

           “You’re okay Y/N, it was just a dream.” Damian said tenderly.

           “Please don’t stop talking.” You whimpered feeling him start to trace patterns ono your back as he started talking again, his hot breath dancing on your shoulder.

           “My love, when we first met I couldn’t believe that you were from a different universe.” Damian chuckled some, “To think you were so accustomed to Gotham and fought that man with such pride, I could have thought you had lived here your entire life. After I- you took me back to the cave, I thought you would have demanded to become a vigilante along with the rest of us.”  “I’m glad that you didn’t, it makes me feel better knowing that you’re safe but can also handle yourself at any given time. I’m so sorry that you had to see what you did in this kind of context.”

           His touch became still on your back before he took a long, drawn out sigh as if he was thinking about what he was going to say, “I love you like I love the stars, they are a small light of mystery and beauty in this world.” He smiled some kissing your shoulder.

           “I love you like the ocean, your thoughts and it infinitely deep and everchanging.” He kissed your other shoulder.

           “I love you like I love stories, complex and an escape from reality.” He kissed your jaw.    

           “You are my sun, the light of my life.” He kissed your other cheek”

           “You’re my rest and comfort” He kissed the tip of your nose, “My first love, not just a meaningless relationship.” He kissed your forehead, “My eyes, seeing the beauty in the world.” He then kissed your eye and smiled as you grinned some, “You are my beauty, something that I adore every day.” He lightly kissed your other eye.

           “But most importantly,” Damian paused as you opened your eyes some, “You are my last love, my beloved, and my entire world.” This time he pulled you in for a real kiss, something that felt like it lasted for days or even centuries.

           “I love you Damian.” You smiled as he fell back onto the pillow, taking you down with him and holding you closely still to his chest as you literally laid on top of him.

           “I love you Y/N.” He smiled running his fingers through your hair and fell asleep quickly after you did.

           You awoke from your sleep, light pouring into the bedroom.

           “Good morning beloved.” You heard Damian mutter, a smile in his voice now with an accent.

           “Good morning Dami.” You replied yawning some.

           “Did you sleep well after everything?” He questioned running his fingers through your hair.

           “I did, thank you.” You laughed, “That is the last time I watch that movie.”

           “I’m glad you’re doing better, it sounded like a terrible thing to see what with now knowing it’s relevancy.” He explained, an arm still wrapped tightly around your waste as he sat up.

           You laid in his lap before sitting up, facing him. You were straddling him, your feet pressing against his hips but only because you had socks on. He kissed you lightly smiling into it. You laid your head on his chest and sighed.

           “Last night felt like a fever dream.” He chuckled at your comment.

           “I assure you beloved, it was not a dream.” Damian said, “The good parts especially weren’t.”

           “I’m glad for that.” You smiled, “Anyways, we should probably get breakfast now.”

           “But what if we stayed in bed?” He asked.

           “What if we quickly ate something and had a relaxing weekend?” You asked.

           “That sounds wonderful.” Damian said as you guys got up to head downstairs and start your weekend.

[thegreenfairy13]

Sisyphos

Another drabble for my ongoing collection which you can also find on Ao3. This one was specifically written for the Gobblepot Spring Event 2020 for the prompt ‘pastels’. I hope you like it :)

There are some colors you’d never associate with Gotham. It’s a city that doesn’t know sunshine, but it knows gold, it’s a city that doesn’t know warmth, but it knows crimson, it’s a city that doesn’t know nature, but it knows glass and stone. 

If you’d paint Gotham, you’d use charcoal, not pastels. Pastels...Pastels are colors you use for happier cities. Those blurry shades are suitable for luscious landscapes seen through the eyes of an awe-stricken beholder, not for depicting the deathly inhabitants of Gotham. 

But sometimes, the mind plays a trick on even the most steadfast person. Sometimes, we look past the grime and focus on the tiny glimpses of beauty instead. 

Jim Gordon lost his optimism years ago. Sometime between pulling the violated body of yet another disobedient thug’s corpse out of the Gotham-river and holding a dying kid’s hand in his, another casualty of the endless mob-war that followed Falcone’s death, he came to the conclusion that humanity was just another word for cruelty. 

The conclusion left the policeman vulnerable and approachable for seduction. Sometimes, even Jim Gordon wanted to believe in kindness again - even and especially if his inner alarm warned him not to fall for the tomfoolery. 

But then who could blame him? If you turn up the lights high enough, crimson turns rosy, and purple lavender. After going through cycles of depression, willing and unwilling drug-abuse, torture, and pain he had reached his breaking point. 

Suddenly, all his morals and ethics seemed foolish and inappropriate for a city like Gotham. And wasn’t he just like Sisyphos, the man who kept rolling boulders up a hill just to see them rolling down again every time he thought to have reached the top? Unlike Sisyphos, his boulder caused death and destruction every time it hit the bottom. 

So Jim gave in. 

It was so much easier than to keep fighting and struggling. If Gotham wanted to succumb to the darkness, who was he to deny her? Going with the flow was relaxing, liberating even. 

And he swam right into the big, purple shark’s wide-open mouth. 

Oswald had been waiting for this moment since he had first laid his eyes on Jim. Oh, the good man of the law had always been intriguing: so just, so strong, so selfless. Gotham’s self-proclaimed savior. The mobster had always had a talent for twisting and turning things and people his way, but with Jim, it had always been especially difficult. He had almost given up hope on this one, but as they say, good things come for those who wait, and despite his superficial impatience, the birdman knew how to wait. 

So when Jim broke down for good, Oswald was here to pick him up and piece him back together according to his likings. 

“Tell me, Jim,” he inquires, “do you still only see the world in black and white?” 

And Jim shakes his head mutely, because ‘no’, now his entire world is a thousand shades of gray. 

[fishfingersandjellybabies]

Fates Be Damned - fic

Characters: Dick Grayson, Bruce Wayne, Damian Wayne, Jason Todd, Tim Drake, Cassandra Cain, Selina Kyle Summary: Batman Incorporated was waging war against Leviathan. But Dick would be damned if he let Damian become a casualty to this fight. A/N: A fix it for Batman Inc. 4 from like five years ago!!! Because I’m clearly up with the times. Bruce’s starting dialogue is from that issue. I don’t want to call this a hurt/comfort fic, because it’s not a happy ending for everyone, and I’d be interested in anyone thoughts on the ending I chose because it’s not a ‘everything tied up neatly’ kind of ending like I tend to do. Anyways, this all happens over a year as hinted at. Alfred was away in the last part, and he is still in constant contact with Dick and Damian. Dick and Damian keep up their training, though really do enjoy not being vigilantes. No, Damian does not take Dick’s last name. Batcow and Goliath, of course, come with them to live in the ‘burbs, and the family visits often. Bruce does too, eventually.

~~

It felt like someone shocked him. Or maybe slapped him, or just said the sky is falling.

Because this…this wasn’t happening, right?

He looked to his brothers, to Tim and Jason, and saw his own near-revulsion mirrored on their own faces.

So it wasn’t a dream. Or a miscommunication.

Here they were, in the middle of a goddamn war, all hands on deck. And Bruce just told one of their ranks, just told Damian – little, mostly innocent, eleven-year-old Damian – that he had to leave the life he chose, the life he loved, and go back to his mother, the one who hurt him more than anyone in the world.

And Damian’s face is wrecked. Dick had never seen this child cry, but here, there were tears in his eyes, and terror in his voice, as he tried to reason with Bruce, explain how much he gave up, how much he did. Just to belong, just to be loved by his old man.

How much he didn’t want to go.

But Bruce… Jesus Christ, Bruce just shook his head.

“If you don’t, Gotham, the world, will be plunged into chaos. And you, Damian…” Bruce sighed, like he was disappointed. “You’re going to be responsible…”

It was out of his mouth before he thought about it.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Dick snapped. Damian jumped in surprise, and Bruce turned so quick he may have given himself some sort of whiplash.

But any surprise Batman had immediately disappeared. “Excuse me?”

“He’s eleven, Bruce.” Dick hissed, balling his hands into fists. Damian had looked away now, stepped forward and grabbed Bruce’s cape to regain his attention, plead his case. “He’s eleven years old, your fucking son, and not only are you blaming him for this mess, you’re going to force him to go back to Talia?”

Bruce’s shoulders slumped. “Dick, you don’t understand…”

“The woman who put him through hell for most of his life?” Dick’s fury rose with every word, and he could feel his muscles start to shake with adrenaline. “The woman who put a fucking hit out on him, and you’re going to send him back to her?!”

“Dick…”

“No. No.” Dick started shaking his head. In his periphery he could see Tim and Jason glancing at each other, Damian still trying to take back Bruce’s attention. “You know what? No, I’m done. Because I let you take him back, I let you break up our partnership and regain guardianship even though I knew, deep down, it was a terrible idea, for both him and you. I let you uproot him and isolate him. I even let you abandon him for your rendezvous with Selina, or any time you felt the need to play Brucie Wayne halfway across the world.”

He stepped forward now, his breathing heavy as he got into Bruce’s face.

“But you must think I’m a goddamn idiot if you think I’m going to let you sacrifice him just because you and Talia can’t get along, and got the whole world involved in your stupid spat.” He poked Bruce in the chest now. Over and over, to emphasize his words. “Damian is innocent in this, and for you to have the audacity to blame him…” Dick bit his lip, and shook his head. “The needs of the many don’t outweigh the needs of the few. Not here. Not with your own fucking son, Bruce.”

“Dick, if there was another way you know I’d-”

“I’m done listening. I’m done being your soldier in this. I’m done letting you hurt him, for nothing.” Dick growled. Without waiting for a reply, he shoved past him to where Damian was standing, and scooped the boy up into his arms. “I’m taking him, and we’re going into hiding until this garbage is finished. I’ll help run computers with Oracle, and ping the communicators when I’m online.”

“Dick…!”

“I’m disappointed, Bruce.” Dick glanced back, just once, holding the back of Damian’s head. “You’ve made better plans in worse situations. And the one you settled on here, to save the day, was to sell your son back to the demon?” He narrowed his eyes. “Shame on you.”

Damian didn’t argue as Dick moved towards the door. Just wrapped his arms and legs as tightly around Dick as he dared. His breaths were shallow and hiccupped, and Dick could feel the tears splashing away from his cheeks.

“G-G-Grayson.” He murmured.

“I know.” He whispered, kissing Damian’s head. He couldn’t tell him it was okay. Because it was a lie, and Dick couldn’t do that to him. Not right now. “But I’ve got you.”

Damian dug his traumatized, trembling fingers into Dick’s neck.

“I’ve got you now, kiddo.”

~~

Dick had been right, in the end. Bruce did come up with a better solution.

The world was saved. Talia and her army were dealt with. Blah, blah, blah.

That’d been about a month and a half ago, and it was still Dick’s kitchen table in a tiny rented house away from any city that Damian sat at every morning to eat his breakfast.

Bruce had called a week after the battle ended. Told Dick about the final fight between him and his once-lover, the injuries sustained. How everyone, from family to communities, were coping with the aftermath.

Dick listened politely, waiting for the real reason for the call.

“So…yeah. Everything has been settled. Talia won’t be bothering us again for a long time.” Bruce huffed, trying to be nonchalant. “You can…bring Damian home whenever it’s convenient for you.”

Bruce couldn’t see it, but Dick smiled. A sneering, cold, angry smile. “Who said I was bringing him home at all?”

And then he hung up.

Damian had been in the room during the call, drawing in the corner and taking pictures on his phone of his dozing pets. He’d heard everything Bruce said, just as he heard everything Dick said.

So when Dick tossed his phone on the table and looked up, it was no surprise that Damian was staring at him.

“What?”

“You…” Damian tilted his head thoughtfully. “You’re not making me go back to Father?”

Dick blinked as he leaned back in his chair. “Do you want to?”

Damian’s eyes lowered, his lips twisted in thought.

“…No.” He decided, looking back to his art. “I…after what happened, I…don’t think I’m ready to see Father yet.”

“Okay.” Dick smiled. “Sounds good to me.”

Dick turned on the TV. Damian went back to drawing.

~~

It was no surprise when the Batman showed up at his door in the middle of the night.

“Took you long enough.” Dick muttered dryly when he answered the door with crossed arms. Stephanie, Batgirl, stood sheepishly behind him, clearly not wanting to be there as his partner.

“I need to see him.” Bruce growled.

“Well, he’s sleeping.” Dick smirked. “So how about you call again in the morning and make an appointment.”

“He’s my son, Dick.”

“Yeah, well.” Dick shrugged. “Maybe not anymore.”

And Dick knew Bruce well enough to see the hit that was coming, and block it.

“Oh, going to break into my house and beat me up?” Dick laughed, even as Stephanie tried to get between them. “Where was all this concern during you and Talia’s little tiff, hm?”

Before the fight could continue, there was a harsh whisper from further into the house. “Oh, will you two knock it off?”

Bruce hesitated, and glanced over Dick’s shoulder to find Tim standing at the mouth of another hallway. “If you two wake him up, I’m kicking you both out. He has a test in the morning and needs his rest.”

Bruce blinked, allowing Stephanie to push him away from Dick. “Test?” He looked at his eldest. “He’s in school?”

“Well he’s not getting private lessons from Alfred anymore, so I enrolled him here.” Dick pretended to dust dirt from his shoulders. “He’s still struggling with being a child genius and making friends, so Tim comes by and helps tutor him sometimes, since he knows what that’s like.”

“…This wasn’t a permanent move, Dick. For either of you.” Bruce scolded.

“Yeah, well. Maybe I decided it should be.” Dick spat. “He doesn’t need to be Robin, he doesn’t need to be out there on the streets like that anymore. And…maybe I don’t either. Haven’t thought about Nightwing once since we moved to the suburbs, if I’m honest.”

“Domesticated? You?” Steph snorted. ��I’ll believe it when I see it.”

“It’s wild, Steph.” Tim called from behind him.

Dick shot her a warm grin, but Bruce cut their own small moment off. “I want to speak to my son.”

“Well, A, I’m also your son and you’re speaking to me, so. You already have.” Dick mocked. “And B, you’ll talk to him when I say you can. Which is not right now.”

Bruce tried one of his tactics, pushed into Dick’s space and glared down at him. “He’s not your son, Dick.”

Dick shrugged, keeping his sneer. “Maybe he actually is.”

Dick smoothly backed away. “You’re welcome to a drink, snack or nap while you’re here. And if you don’t want any of those, then you can just get the fuck out, I guess.”

“Dick…” Tim sighed as Dick stood next to him.

Dick smiled. “You play host, Timmy. I’m beat. Mind if I hit the hay?”

He didn’t wait for an answer, just disappeared down the hall behind Tim.

Later, after he’d entertained Bruce and Stephanie, and gave them a little more insight into Dick and Damian’s new life – Dick’s job at a youth center, teaching each other how to cook, Damian’s friends – Tim checked on Dick before heading to the guest bedroom himself.

Dick wasn’t in his own room, and that didn’t surprise Tim at all. He sighed, turned to Damian’s room, and found Dick in there, all but octopus-wrapped around Damian.

Tim frowned at the escrima stick his sleeping older brother still held at the ready, though.

~~

It was never stated out loud, or made official.

Damian lived with Dick now. Permanently.

It was one of those things that everyone knew, but no one talked about, at least, not in front of those involved.

Dick’s friends quietly texted each other about it. The Justice League murmured amongst themselves when Bruce wasn’t on the satellite. The rest of the Batfamily did what they could to just bridge the gap.

Bruce was more closed off than normal, and he talked about his eldest and youngest less and less. Even their codenames of Nightwing and Robin were like forbidden words.

There were cases with their uniforms in the cave now. And Batman’s other partners found him staring at them often.

Dick and Damian didn’t patrol anymore, and Robin and Nightwing hadn’t been seen since the War of Gotham, and the fight against Leviathan.

Most people thought they were dead. No one corrected them.

But Dick and Damian seemed to have traded their gauntlets for gardens. They walked the dog around the neighborhood every night. They meal-prepped, had movie nights, attended the local neighborhood block party.

To their neighbors, it was a single young father and his son. Just some normal folks with their not-quite-normal pets, trying to get away from the city life, and the darkness of Gotham. The father was charismatic and handsome. His son a bit aloof, but polite when approached.

They didn’t talk about their past. Didn’t talk about things like the boy’s mother, or any other family. They came from Gotham, that’s all anyone in town knew.

And they were happy, that’s all anyone in town knew, too.

~~

Jason watched him for a few moments, slowly taking a gulp of his beer. Then, he slowly lowered his bottle and smacked his lips thoughtfully.

“You’re too giddy about this.”

Dick looked up from Damian, who was sleeping against his side. The child had fallen asleep after the three had had dinner, and continued to curl into Dick’s side in his slumber as the sun lowered behind the horizon.

“Too giddy about what?”

Jason motioned to Damian. “Being his dad.”

Dick blinked, and then fell into a huffed laugh. “I’m not his dad.”

“I bet he’d beg to differ.” Jason murmured. Paused to look at Damian himself. His chubby cheeks and long lashes. How small he was. “…If you didn’t want to give him back to Bruce in the first place, why did you?”

“I thought it was best for him. He’d always wanted to be with Bruce. It wasn’t my place to keep him from that.” Dick hummed, glancing back down to Damian himself, brushing his hair away from his eyes.

“Could have just asked him.”

“I also didn’t think I was ready to be a dad. It was a lot, that time Bruce was gone. Being Batman, raising him…” Dick shrugged. “I wasn’t doing that great of a job, despite what you all apparently think. And he deserved better.”

“And now after everything that’s happened, do you regret what you did?” Jason asked. “If you could go back, would you have kept him with you instead?”

“…I don’t know.” Dick sighed. “Maybe. If I knew Bruce was going to be this much of a prick, then yes. I would have kept him as far away from Bruce as humanly possible.”

“Well, better late than never on that last bit, right?” Jason snorted. He let the laugh die off as he took another drink of his beer. “You ever going to speak to him again?”

“I speak to him now, Jay, you know that. Just not…you know, frequently.” Dick defended. “But I know you mean in regards to Damian, and…no. I want to talk to Damian about it first, but I don’t think he’s ready.”

“Dick, it’s been months.”

“Yeah, and Bruce was trying to give him away forever.” Dick nearly spat. A sore spot still, Jason assumed. Though he wondered if it was a worse sore spot for Dick or Damian. “It’s…a lot to deal with. You were there, you saw how Damian reacted.”

“Yeah, he cried. Never seen that before.” Jason admitted. “Has he talked about Bruce at all?”

“In passing, and…coldly. Very detached.” Dick’s brows furrowed. “Doesn’t call him Father anymore. Just Bruce. Sometimes even Mr. Wayne.”

“Harsh. Does Bruce know that?” Jason asked.

“Tim knows, and I’m betting he’s mentioned it to him.” Dick explained. “But, I digress. It’s not something I want to push him on. I just…want to be here for him instead. In the interim, whenever he’s ready. Stuff like that.”

“AKA…like a dad.” Jason smirked.

“Shut it.” Dick laughed. “…What’s your thoughts on all this?”

Jason took another drink from his bottle, picked up his phone and read a quick text message. “I think Bruce was a piece of shit, deciding that was the only option for ending that stupid battle.” He placed his phone back down. “And I think you did the right thing by getting Damian out and as far away as possible.”

“Think I should have kept him?”

Jason thought a moment more. “…Yes.” A quick sniff. “And I think you should have gotten him out of the life. You getting out too was just a bonus, I think.”

Dick smiled warmly. “Thanks, Jay.” He inhaled. “I thought I’d miss it more, being Nightwing and all that, but.” He looked down at Damian, ran his hand up and down Damian’s arm. Damian just burrowed deeper into his side. “I don’t.”

“They say having kids changes you.” Jason reminded. “And this time around, you aren’t trying to juggle seven hundred different things. And you’re not grieving.”

“True.” Dick mumbled, staring down at the boy in his arms. “…I hate Bruce for what he tried to do.”

“We all do, I think.” Jason offered. “Damian’s a shitball, but…he didn’t deserve that.”

“Do you think Bruce understands that yet?” Dick asked.

“…I don’t know.” Jason admitted. “It’s hard to tell with him.”

Dick nodded, then slowly leaned his head against Damian’s, looking at Jason with a soft smile.

“Thanks for stopping by, Jay.” Dick hummed. “I really love when you do.” Then a laugh. “And Damian will never admit it, but he does too.”

“Yeah, yeah. It’s what’s family is for, and all that shit.”

Dick laughed and closed his eyes. Jason just took another drink.

~~

“…Do you blame me?” Bruce, not Batman, asked, though his cape waved softly behind him. Cassandra and Tim glanced at each other, then to Bruce’s back, as he did not face them. Selina tilted her head. “Do you hate me?”

“Hate, no.” Selina hummed. “But blame? Well, Bat. What you almost did was terrible. Would you blame us if we did?”

“It was…” Bruce looked down at the streets below them. “I didn’t think I had another choice.”

“But in the end, you did.” Selina reminded. She looked at the younger two heroes, gave them an encouraging smile. They didn’t return it. “You found another solution that didn’t threaten your child’s life.”

“It was…” Cassandra offered. “A…poor choice.”

“And the only reason we don’t hate you is because Dick stepped in and stopped it from happening.” Tim added. “He saved Damian…and if he hadn’t gotten in your way, this conversation would be going very differently.”

Bruce closed his eyes, swayed slightly in the wind. “Would it make a difference if I said I was sorry?”

“We’re not the ones you should be apologizing to.” Selina sighed. “You know that, Bat.”

Bruce didn’t open his eyes. “…Do you think he’s happy?”

“I know he is.” Tim almost hissed. It was harsh and angry, but controlled, contained. Businesslike, and so very Tim. “He’s probably happier than he’s ever been, which is funny to say since you broke his heart and he’s still trying to put those pieces back together.”

“And better,” Cassandra cut in. “He is…safe.”

“And alive.” Selina continued.

No one spoke after that, for just a moment. Let those words – happy, safe, alive – linger between them, and float through the air into the Gotham night.

“…I miss him. I miss him and Dick both.” Bruce whispered. “Am I allowed to?”

Selina walked up behind him and put a hand on his shoulder. “You’re allowed to have emotions, Bruce.” A smirk, just for him. “In fact, we’re all pretty sure a lack of emotions is what got you here in the first place.”

Bruce tried to smile back to her. It didn’t feel right.

“…But to answer your question.” Tim exhaled, like he was exhausted. “No, we don’t hate you. We’re mad-”

“Pissed.” Cassandra interjected.

“-but would we be standing here if we hated you?”

~~

It’d been ten months.

Ten months of Damian living with him, away from Bruce – and they hadn’t talked about it. Not once. Not even a mention, or a second.

It made him anxious, worrying about what might be clouding Damian’s brain, but it also made him happy. Because Damian seemed freer here, outside of Gotham, away from the costumes.

Away from his father.

He smiled so much out now. Laughed out loud, let himself feel.

And as much as he knew they needed to talk about it, Dick just didn’t want to wreck that.

But still – the tension of the topic was palpable. And Dick didn’t want that to get worse.

So it wasn’t his plan to talk about it right now, as they lay in the backyard, resting against Batcow, gazing at the stars above them.

But as he watched Damian pointing constellations out to his dog between them, the words just slipped out.

“I’m sorry.”

Damian looked up at him, confused. “For?”

Dick just kept staring at his charge, his voice quiet. Mournful. “For what Bruce did to you.”

Damian’s creased brows smoothed. He glanced down, reaching out to pet Titus’ head, and shrugged.

“I wish it didn’t. I wish I could have stopped him before he ever said anything.” Dick whispered. “I wish I didn’t have to take you away.”

“But I’m glad you did.” Damian interjected immediately, eyes fierce when he met Dick’s eyes once more. “Who knows where I would be right now if you hadn’t.”

Dick tried to give a little smile at that.

“…How are you feeling, though? Are you doing okay?” Dick asked. “Are you…happy?”

Damian leaned back, stared thoughtfully up at the stars.

Then smiled.

“Happier than I’ve been in a long time.” Damian decided. “A very long time.”

Dick allowed himself his own grin then, then shifted to pull Damian into his side and kiss his head.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Dick murmured into his hair. Damian merely shrugged again. “…Well, if you ever do, I’m here, okay?”

Damian looked up at him. His face was open and his smile was bright.

“I know you are.”

~~

The manor was quiet, that was the first thing Damian noticed as he stepped in the front door.  Quiet and dusty.

He didn’t take off his shoes, didn’t plan to be here long, just looked around as he made his way towards his father’s study.

The house was so empty, he could hear the scratch of a pen from down the hall. When he reached the door, the noise was almost deafening.

He stood there, though, for just a moment. Collected himself, inhaled. Then pushed the door open.

Bruce was at his desk, proofreading some sort of document for Wayne Enterprises. There was the shadow of a beard around his face, and his hair was messy. He looked tired, but not Batman tired.

Old man tired.

He looked up at the movement of the door, and his eyes widened as he registered who it was. He learned back in his chair, braced the armrests like he was about to stand, but Damian held up his hand to wave him off.

“I’m not staying.” He said quickly. “Just…wanted to stop by.”

“…What are you doing here?” Bruce asked quietly. “In Gotham, I mean.”

“Grayson is having lunch with Gordon.” Damian hummed. “I asked to tag along, said I wanted to see a friend too.”

“…He doesn’t know you’re here.” Bruce concluded.

“No. But I will tell him later, when we’re finished.” Damian nodded. He hesitated for a moment, looked around the room, at the art and style. He didn’t feel any sense of nostalgia, though. Didn’t miss this place at all.

He sighed, and looked back at Bruce.

“…Father.” The word sounded strange, he hadn’t said it in so long. “I know we haven’t talked or seen each other since…since that day.” Damian started. He could see the pain in Bruce’s eyes immediately. The guilt. The regret. “Both through my own choices and Grayson’s interventions.”

Bruce waited, looked like he was holding his breath.

“But I just want you to know that I forgive you.” Damian said plainly. “I forgive you for what happened.”

Bruce watched for a moment, then slumped. “You don’t have to.” He whispered. “I know I don’t deserve it.”

“Debatable.” Damian shrugged. “But that doesn’t change anything, not from my perspective. I forgive you.”

Bruce looked down.

“So don’t…feel guilty. It’s okay.” Damian offered. “I...want you to be happy.”

“I’ll be happy when you come home.” Bruce admitted, not looking up. “…I miss you.”

Damian didn’t seem to expect that response. Blinked in surprise, then looked guilty himself.

“I feel that I am home.” Damian murmured. “With Grayson.”

Bruce closed his eyes.

“And I apologize for that, I know it’s not something you wanted to hear.” Damian sighed. “But…I’m happy to extend an invitation to you. To visit whenever you like.”

Bruce didn’t open his eyes. “Dick won’t like that.”

“I’ll get him to come around.” Damian paused then. “He won’t say it, but he forgives you too, or at least is in the process of it. He was only upset because your decision was not what he felt was best for me, and that’s all he wants.”

Bruce did look up at that.

“He just wants what’s best for me. And I’ve found that the life we’ve adopted since we left is that.”

“That’s…good.” Bruce forced himself to admit. “I’m glad. For you and Dick both.”

“Thank you.” Another hesitation. “And thank you for everything you’ve given me thus far. I appreciate it more than I can ever say, even with our last meeting what it was.”

Bruce flashed a grim smile. Thank you for introducing me to Dick, is what Damian wouldn’t say.

“…But I better get going. Like I said, I can’t stay. And I actually do have a friend I’d like to visit.” Damian ended. “…It’s good to see you…Father.”

“You as well, Damian.” Bruce stood. “Thank Dick for me. For protecting you when I should have.”

“I will.” Damian promised. Stopped again, like he didn’t know what to do next, then merely gave a quick wave. “Goodbye, Father.”

“Goodbye, Damian.”

Damian nodded, and disappeared back into the hall. Bruce didn’t follow.

Just sat back down, and hid his face in his hands as he heard the front door close.

[ty-talks-comics]

Best of DC: Week of March 27th, 2019

Best of this Week: Detective Comics #1000 - Various Writers and Artists

Possibly more controversial than I'm thinking it'll be, I'm glad Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo did the job of reintroducing Slam Bradley into the DC Universe. Slam Bradley, of course the way I choose to remember him, was one of DC's first characters and the precursor design to modern day Superman. He was a 1930s dick (detective in this case) who made his name in infamy with racist depictions of Chinese people being swung by their braids with toothy grins. He's likely the reason DC won't reprint some of the early Detective Comics works in a compendium.

This is without a doubt, a great celebration for one of the greatest comic book characters of all time, if not THE greatest. The difficulty in reviewing something like this, much like Action Comics #1000 (if I reviewed that one, I don't remember) is that so many stories have their ups and downs, hits or misses and there's so much ground. But some of these were so good that this book is getting an entry all on it's own this week.

He's been made better in recent years with a badass run as a side character in Ed Brubaker and Darwyn Cooke's Catwoman (2001) as a cool former police officer with a son by the name of Slam Jr. on the force. He was probably some of the best parts of his short time there and was very compelling in interactions with Selina.

Kevin Smith and Jim Lee have arguably done some of the best and WORST Batman projects ever, but through the good and the bad, both have immense talent and their tale “Manufacture for Use” added a beautiful layer to the significance of the metal plate that his emblem is made out of.

The book is simple enough, a montage of Batman fighting his greatest villains shows in the background while his alter ego, Matches Malone, has a conversation with a merchant peddling in the various pieces of gear left by villains. He has Harley hammers, crazy quilts and even freeze guns, but there's only one weapon Malone is interested in; The Gun belonging to Joe Chill. The weapon that killed The Wayne Family.

He and others had been leaving Batman clues since his first days as a hero to have him join a guild of detectives, solving unsolvable or very difficult cases and knowing that Slam is one of the detectives along with Hawkman, Hawkgirl, Martian Manhunter, The Question, Detective Chimp, Elongated Man and his wife, Sue Dibny is relieving and fantastic.

I'm glad DC hasn't shied away from him given his past history. Even his inclusion in Superman of China based on his former character, warts and all, seemed like DC was kinda ashamed of it, but here he is, as awesome as he was later in life!

Upon seeing it, Alfred questions why Bruce would keep it as a trophy, nothing the ridiculousness of The Penny and the Dinosaur, he sees the gun as strange or even perverse. Batman, however, wishes to never see it cause anyone pain again, melting and forming it into an oval adorned with the symbol of a Bat.

Batman has dedicated his life to stopping crime in Gotham at all costs, but not everyone see his methods as being right or just. Doctor Leslie Thompkins has been looking over Bruce since his parent’s murder and oped that he would take his pain and do something productive with it, actually fix Gotham, but instead she sees how vengeance has consumed him, turning him into something of a violent monster himself and she’s not wrong. They meet each other on the anniversary of his parent’s murder in Crime Alley and are beset upon by a group of teenagers whom Batman viciously slaps the hell out of. Dr. Thompkins stops him out of fear and Batman looks like the real villain here.

If that isn't chilling...

Brian Michael Bendis is a GREAT Batman writer. Checking out his 15 pages in the Batman Walmart 100 Page Giants, much like Daredevil, Batman is a character that is PERFECT for him. “I Know” drawn by frequent Bendis collaborator, Alex Maleev, is amazing. Penguin started becoming disillusioned with the meetings put together by villains like The Joker on how to finally get rid of The Batman, Penguin begins to muse about who had the money to fund Batman. I believe he proposed the idea to the others, but they all shot him down, citing times Batman showed up when Bruce was a hostage or how he “blubbered like a baby.”

Penguin didn’t let it go, however, and prepared Suicide Bomb Penguins to attack Wayne Manor while Bruce was hosting a ton of high profile Gothamites. It would have been the end of Bruce Wayne.

Warren Ellis writes some very character driven stories, but when he has to get technical, he is a master as good as any. In “The Batman’s Design” he goes over Batman’s methodology when taking on criminals, treating things like a chess game that he’s already won. He leads the criminals to a trap and plays them like a fiddle, setting off an explosion that knock out or send some flying, determining a sniper’s location and just being so terrifying that the leader just hands him a bomb switch before his ass gets destroyed.

Becky Cloonan does a great job of alternating between cool and warm tones for when Batman is in the shadows vs contending with explosions he’s setting off. Batman looks slim, but imposing regardless. This is definitely some of her best art so far!

Now… if you ask any of my friends from when I was in The Navy, they’ll tell you about how I waited in line for Batman: The Arkham Knight. I was excited. I was elated. The conclusion to an amazing trilogy of games that shaped a newfound love for the character for me! And it bloody sucked. I HATE Arkham Knight with a passion. If it’s not The Batmobile, it’s the Joker, if not the Joker, it’s the Knight himself, if not him, then Scarecrow as the shitty final villain.

I really loved the noir tone that was set by Elizabeth Breitweiser’s colors over Steve Epting’s art. Things are very dark and cool. Batman is shrouded in shadow and Doctor Thompkins acts as a small light by comparison. There is great contrast when action happens with warm tones as Batman slaps the teens and Batman standing in the shadows as Leslie and the kids are under the one light is powerful.

Suffice to say, I was not pleased when it was said that The Arkham Knight would finally be appearing in comics different than his video game counterpart, but… I dunno, I kinda like him here.

His characterization seems to be that of someone who has lived in Gotham and has seen Batman’s methods of treating the poor citizens, the weak and the sick. He sees Batman as a cancer, a darkness that needs to be exterminated for Gotham to truly thrive. The best thing, there’s precedent for this kind of character.

One of the first few arcs for Detective Comics involved a cool set of villains known as The Victim Syndicate, people who have been hurt or grievously injured in Batman’s relentless pursuit of crime. These guys put Batman’s team through the ringer, almost turning Stephanie Brown against him completely as Tim Drake had been presumed dead at the time. Another casualty of war. If I remember right, The First Victim noted that there was someone or something coming for Batman soon and if that’s the Arkham KNight, then I am excited.

The Victim Syndicate was one of James Tynion IV’s best ideas during his run and I really hope whoever the creative team is for Detective Comics thus forth lives up to the quality. Peter J. Tomasi and Doug Mahnke are both amazing, so I have high hopes if its them.

But Penguin had an epiphany. Ending Bruce Wayne would not end Batman. Batman would become focused. Driven. Possibly to the point of killing. Bruce Wayne is the only thing keeping these villains alive, so Penguin relents and never reveals what he believes he knows, until years later when Bruce is old and mute… but who says that Bruce has lost a step? He zaps Penguin who is taken away as Bruce tells him that he knew, pretty much calling him a “coward ass bitch” as he’s taken away.

Overall, while there were few misses, this collection of stories had great ideas, great characterization, heart and was just fantastic. Looking forward to another 80 years!

This one was just cute. The Batfamily interacts with each other and take a FANTASTIC family photo drawn by Tony S. Daniel. Starring, Batman, Alfred, Nightwing, Batgirl, “Robin” Damian Wayne, Red Hood, Batwoman, Catwoman, “(Red) Robin” Tim Drake, Spoiler, The Signal, Cassandra Cain Ace the Bathound and Huntress. It’s a well put together double splash page and everyone, even Bruce seems happy.

[asagimeta]

How Arrow’s Ending May Impact Crisis On Infinite Earths

Today the announcement came that Arrow is officially ending next season- and with a shortened season at that, meaning that the show will officially end right after Crisis On Infinite Earths

Both of these things say alot, and could give us some pretty huge clues about what's coming next year, for Crisis, Arrow, and the Arrowverse at large

Here's what we know so far about what the Arrowverse will look like next fall, and about Crisis:

-All Arrowverse shows + Black Lightening have been renewed

-Batwoman has officially received a pilot order, though it's unclear if she'll go to series

-Arrow, The Flash, and Supergirl are the only shows so far to be confirmed for Crisis, however, Legends Of Tommorrow has not been ruled out

-Black Lightening has been kept out of the Arrowverse so far but has made consistant nods to it, this is important to consider for what we know about Crisis

-Berlanti promised that Crisis would "take some big swings", and said it was "highly likely" that a charector would die

-Arrow is ending this year, and with a shortened season order, will be ending shortly after Crisis airs

-All three of the confirmed Crisis shows have made storylines regarding a bitter future, wherein the namesake of each show (Arrow, The Flash, and Supergirl) are no longer around

-All three of the confirmed Crisis shows currently have someone from the future in the main timeline (Mia of Arrow, Nora of The Flash, and Brainy of Supergirl)

-At the end of Elseworlds, Oliver made a deal with the Anti-Monitor, the details of wich are currently undisclosed, in order to save the lives of Barry and Kara

-In the comics, Barry and Kara both die during Crisis

-The point of Crisis was to merge the many universes that DC had built, as it was becoming too difficult for them to keep having a million continuities running at once, Crisis merged all Earths into one Earth temporarily, before starting to splinter off again, and eventually being split back into a basic 52 (... wich also didn't last but I'm ending it there)

-The Flash and Supergirl have both proven that foretold futures can, in fact, change (via the amount of time into the future that Barry is supposed to dissappear in The Flash, and the entire incident regarding Pestilence in Supergirl)

-Superman and Lois are currently living on Argon to raise their first-born child, Clark said they planned to be away for "a few years", so it may be unlikely that we see him during Crisis

With all of that out of the way, I'm going to split the rest of this into three parts:

I. What Arrow's Ending Means For Crisis

II. What Crisis Means For Arrow's Ending

III. What All Of This Means For Oliver Queen

I. What Arrow's Ending Means For Crisis

It's important to note that Arrow was not cancelled, it's ending- meaning that the writers likely had some involvement in this decision long before it was announced

The writers, in fact, commented to say that they made the decision "based on what's best for Arrow", so I'm willing to bet that they've known the end is near for a long time, either because of the CW hinting at it, or because they've felt the stories are going that way- and considering Arrow's substantial ratings, I tend to believe the latter

I wouldn't be surprised if they've been planning to end the show since they started planning Elseworlds, maybe even since they started season seven with the flash-forwards, meaning that whatever their plans for Crisis are, they've known for some time that it'll coincide with the end of Arrow

Crisis is known for being a historic time in DC history, many people define DC's universe as pre and post Crisis.... just as many will probably define the Arrowverse as pre and post Arrow

By ending the show, Arrow has opened it's self up to be THE prime target in Crisis in a way that on-going shows like Supergirl and The Flash simply can't, because Arrow's charectors can be permenantly changed, or even killed, in Crisis without there having to be concern about what this will mean for the future of the show, wile some things will naturally be off limits for Crisis due to the continuation of the flagship shows (IE: you probably can't kill Supergirl and then have four more seasons of a show called Supergirl, if you make a giant change to Barry Allen's charector design, like, say, cutting off his hand, that's a decision that The Flash as a show will have to live with for quite some time, etc- ofcourse, providing these decisions aren't retconned) but with Arrow no longer having that worry, I would suspect the biggest blows to hit Arrow charectors, as they'll have the least overall long-term consequences

Arrow ending will also provide a big reason for Crisis to exist at all, from a logistics standpoint- namely: Dimension travel

Right now, the only shows in the Arrowverse that share an Earth are Arrow and The Flash- and possibly Batwoman, if she's ordered to series

Supergirl has it's own Earth, Legends Of Tommorrow are kind of constantly in limbo so they hover above this problem, and Black Lightening isn't even part of the Arrowverse at all

The reason this is important is because of how popular crossovers are becoming with the Arrowverse, not only is it now a yearly event to gather everyone together, but they also like to do mini-crossovers at times (such as Arrow VS Flash and the musical episode Supergirl and The Flash shared) but these crossovers are hard enough to do from a real life standpoint of scheduling conflicts, writing them into the stories is an even bigger problem... particularly if you have to include a reason for heros to put down what they're doing and go to a different dimension

Merging the shows into one universe would solve alot of logistical problems, make it easier to have crossovers (especially miniature ones), ensure that there's a wider expanse of charectors from each series involved (again, if they all share a universe, it's easier to explain why people are dropping what they're doing to help in a crisis, it's not a matter of "someone has to stay on our earth wile I do The Thing") and potentially continue to create larger overarching universal storylines

Plus, it'd be fun to have the official clearance to involve Black Lightening, Salim Akil may not have wanted to in the past, but Greg Berlanti also said a couple of years ago that he didn't want to add any more superhero shows to the slate after Supergirl.... now we have Black Lightening and Batwoman, and honestly, the CW may have offered Akil quite a nice financial benefit to merging his show with the Arrowverse, this would, after all, give his charectors space on other shows and thus bring in more cashflow to him as a result

However, much like the X-Men being merged into the MCU, all merges have to come with a price....

And that price could be Arrow

Crisis was notorious for not only merging universes, but also DESTROYING universes, or destroying PARTS of universes....

The main universe will likely still be Arrow's, given that this is the same earth that The Flash and possibly Batwoman take place on, it'd make the most sense, wich also means that if a merge takes place, the place most likely to be the sacrificial lamb* is going to have to be from this Earth, as Supergirl and Black Lightening would both have the majority of their Earths destroyed to merge into Earth 1, it would be too much (from both a story standpoint and a filming standpoint) to destroy National City or Freeland, and you can't start Batwoman with Gotham being destroyed- especially as one of the main mysteries of Batwoman is supposed to be what turned Gotham into a trash pile in the first place, that means that the sacrifice will have to be either Central City or Star City.....

Star City is the obvious choice as it'll no longer be needed- literally, The Flash will still have to film and will need Central City as a location, as a set, as their home, but with Arrow ending, no one will need the Star City location anymore

Now this doesn't mean everyone in Star City will die, they'll just have to be relocated as the city is more or less sucked into the vortex that merges the Earths, as Crisis will involve Arrow and the main companions involved, I think it's safe to say that most of the charectors will get out alive

*(I say that there needs to be a sacrificial lamb because of stakes, you can't threaten high stakes that only apply to NPCs- that is, you can't have a massive war without there being casualties that you actually know and not just random extras that play dead bodies very well, this is the geographical equivolant of that)

With Star City gone, this could actually provide a great chance to allow some of Arrow's charectors to pop up as guest stars on other shows, Roy Harper could join Legends for a wile, Felicity could pop up in Central City for an episode here or there, that sort of thing

Now remember what I said earlier about the Arrow charectors being having the most likelihood of taking those "big swings" Berlanti mentioned? Well, it's time to get to The Big Gun....

I think Arrow ending might seal the fate of Oliver Queen, and his death in Crisis On Infinite Earths

Let's remember that deal he made in Elseworlds to save Barry and Kara, now that deal- whatever it was- may have only applied to that one specific incident wherein they ran/flew around the world in opposite directions.... but it also may have been his saving them from the death that Crisis is meant to deal them, after all it would be pretty hard to have Supergirl without... you know... Supergirl, and I have a hard time believing that The Flash, as a show, will really be ok with flash-forwarding twenty years in the future forever- the make up on current charectors alone would be exhaustive, not to mention figuring out things like political and technological changes, deaths and births, and everything else it involves, so unless The Flash from 20 years in the future plans to turn back time at some point and retcon that timejump, it just.... wouldn't work- though I do wonder, if Kara and Barry are spared, what this will mean for Nora and Barry, given they're both from a future that would now no longer exist

In addition, Mia has said that she grew up without Oliver, what could have kept him away from her for so long other than death?

So could Crisis kill off Oliver Queen and destroy Star City in a merge of all of the Arrowverse shows together? Let's move on

II. What Crisis Means For Arrow's Ending

Arrow will end shortly after Crisis occurs, so it's almost rediculous to think that Crisis could go by without a major impact to the Arrow charectors

It's important to note that Oliver Queen is not the only Arrow, if Oliver DOES die, Arrow could end with the birth of the new Arrow, whoever is taking up his mantle, perhaps Mia, or even a new charector that we haven't met yet who will ultimately study under Oliver next season

If Star City is destroyed, that could also offer the opportunity for the new Arrow to join another team on and off, New Arrow might decide to join Legends- who always has a revolving door of cast members- or could take up residency in Central City to learn with Barry, or maybe even pop up in Gotham here or Freeland there, Supergirl is the one show that sticks out as not being able to fit with the tone of Arrow as easily, but that doesn't mean a crossover here will never happen

A new Arrow could be a semi-permenant cast member somewhere, but more likely they'll just pop on occassion as a fun guest appearance

Ofcourse this also means that the end of Arrow it's self could be extremely bitter sweet, depending on how many episodes are left after Crisis, we might see a very bleak end, with Oliver's funeral and everyone trying to pick up after such a heavy loss......

But this assumes Arrow will end AFTER Crisis at all

It's entirely possible that the CW bumps up Arrow's premiere by a couple of weeks so that the official end of Arrow is BEFORE Crisis, giving the chance for a legitimately happy series ending (possibly with the birth of Oliver and Felicity's new baby and a sense of finality there, to give real closure to the fans) only to come back a week or two later with Crisis and have sort of an "after credits" version of what happens, giving Arrow fans the opportunity to let themselves have a happy ending and AVOID the heartbreak of Crisis if they so choose

After all, unless you're a fan of multiple shows in the Arrowverse, there's no reason for Arrow fans to have to watch Crisis if Arrow is already over, and even if you are a fan of the other shows, the crossovers rarely have a lasting effect on the shows themselves, Elseworlds was a big deal but you didn't have to see it to still follow Supergirl, and even if a big change happened to the universe at large, like the universes merging, that's really not something that impacts the individual shows so much that they're impossible to follow otherwise

Choosing your ending may be the Arrow writers' gift to fans- stick with the finale' and live happily ever after, or go on and watch Crisis and live with with a possibly bittersweet ending

Ofcourse, that brings me to my next point....

Even if Oliver dies, that doesn't mean he's gone.....

III. What All Of This Means For Oliver Queen

The first superhero death retcon was, fittingly, Superman, with the fittingly named storyline "Death Of Superman", ever since, no matter how dead a superhero may seem, it will almost never stick for real

As evidenced by the constant sureness that Avengers: Endgame will bring back everyone that was dusted by Thanos, the website iswolverinestilldead.com, and hell, the fact that the DCEU killed and ressurected Superman in the course of what, three or four years?

The big question (besides the obvious) that was asked once Crisis was announced is "What will happen in 2020? How can they possibly top Crisis On Infinite Earths?", it's a good question, but if Oliver dies then it WILL have an answer.....

The Revival Of Oliver Queen

Oliver can't die and come back five minutes later, it would remove stakes from the storyline (remember from earlier about Star City?) it would make all of this feel pointless, the loss of Crisis- the weight of Oliver's deal, HAS to be felt, he HAS to stay dead........ for a little wile

Staying dead for a year would certainly be a very heavy weight for the audience to carry, but the possibility of Oliver's ressurection being the crossover event of 2020 could possibly draw even more veiwers than Crisis, because then Arrow fans, who have been suffering for a full year without Arrow in any capacity, will get not only Arrow, but Oliver himself

The crossover will still have the man who started it all, wich is, honestly, needed to make the crossovers continue to have the same excitement that they've had so far, and it would be fitting to make the first crossover post-Arrow ... well, ABOUT Arrow, as Arrow is what started all of this, Oliver is what started all of this

The revival storyline could lead to a new tone for the crossovers too- mystery rather than action (not to say there won't be action, there will certainly be plenty of big fight scenes once the mystery is solved) but one thing I've noticed is that the crossovers are slowly adding mystery more and more into their plots, and 2020's stretches across four or five nights rather than just three- wich will be possible with the addition of Batwoman and Black Lightening- the first two or three episodes could be almost entirely based on solving the mystery

You can't have a bigger fight-event than Crisis for DC, but there are other ways to one-up an event, and not TRYING to one-up the action might be the key to doing that, by focusing more on the story versus the action

With Oliver back, we could see him again booping in and out of other shows, appearing in crossovers every year again, and having some sensation of Arrow not really being *gone*, but with him being dead for atleast a year, the stakes of Crisis will definitely be felt too

In conclusion, I feel more certain than ever that Oliver Queen will die in Crisis..... but that won't be the end of him

He will be back, someday

[v01d-ch1ld]

If Bitterness is My Cancer, Fire is My Cure

If Bitterness Is My Cancer, Fire Is My Cure

              Sirens could be heard in the distance, the flames licking the sky, shrapnel everywhere it was glorious! The night was ablaze with fire and screams, and the aching in her head finally eased. The voice was pleased with the current spectacle and Rebecca was in no position to deny it anything if she wanted to maintain basic mental faculties. Her father was laughing just about as loud as she was as she danced while singing “Funhouse” by P!nk. People were running in all directions, cars were crashed in the middle of the road, and another explosion rang through the Gotham night. The violence inspired a new fit of giggles from Joker, Harley, and the Jester. Her new name sealed her fate. She smiled her wider than normal smile and leered at the frightened civilians. She was enjoying this. She was enjoying this. The adrenaline coursed through her veins lighting up her senses, making everything brighter and sharper than before.

             Flames licked at what was her old apartment. She was done with that life and this was the last step in becoming what she was meant to be: free. Her feelings were shallow, and she could only keep up the happy face for so long. Laughter turned to open tears as she broke down inside, the last fragile remnants of her sanity being severely taxed. That was her life. She was happy and now she can never have it back. A part of her was mourning while the other part was laughing.  On her knees, she cried in the center of the chaos around her. The Joker looked on his protégé without emotion as she shed the last of her normalcy down her pale cheeks. He felt almost nothing looking on at the beast that he created mourn the civility it once had. Bitterness was raging inside his heart for the life he left behind, the family he was denied, the love that left him, the child that denounced him, and the God that forsook him. He felt no pity toward the wayward monster crying in the street, only happiness because he took back something that he had lost. She was like a child’s toy to him.

             It had almost been two years since Rebecca went missing and, on this night, she died. There would be no funeral procession, no priest, no coffin, and no grave. She died with the exhalation of breath and smoke into the sky and flames burning her a funeral pyre. From the ashes, came a new being, the Jester a creature of pure pain and malice. There was no sympathy, no feeling, just emptiness, and self-satisfaction. Jester stood up, laughing once more, and got another bomb threw it into another building and howled when it blew, sending debris and broken burned bodies everywhere.

             “Gotham is going to burn tonight!” She shrieked, twirling around. Joker looked on at the spectacle of the monster he created revealing in her newfound power of lawlessness and chaos. He was almost proud in a way.

             Fire trucks came rushing down the streets, screaming along with them were police sirens. On the other side of Gotham Batman was getting a police signal. Arson in the Narrows. He rolled his eyes and turned back to the Bat Computer because he thought the fire department could handle it, but he kept it on in case things complicated themselves. Then the words “Joker” “girl” “psychopath” “advanced civilian casualties”, and “bombs” came in through the transmission and he was set on his feet hard staring the police radio. By now, the Bat signal was up for sure. Damian was out of town with the Titans and had been for weeks. Tim came down the elevator in costume already, but without his mask.

             Tim looked like he hadn’t slept in a century, which was close to the truth. He grabbed his gauntlets, mask, and bo staff from his corner of the cave. After him, Nightwing came down without a word. Things were still tense between them and Bruce, but Dick was at least allowed back in Gotham after Rebecca had been pronounced dead. Dick got on his bike and left without a word. Tim got in the Batmobile proceeded to tap on his wrist computer. Bruce sighed pulled down his cowl and got in the driver’s seat, tearing rubber after Dick. Sometime between the mansion and the Narrows another motorcycle made up the procession to the crime scene.

Jason had been relatively missing except for a few bloodbaths in the last few months but he sped behind the Batmobile and popped a wheelie. The Red Hood looked like he meant business, more guns on him than usual and it looked as though he had procured some new toys. The plumes of black smoke guiding them to where Jester was having her debut bash.

At the scene of the crime, the police and Jester and Joker plus their goons were in what was basically a small war. Joker gas was flying over cars and tear gas came flying back. Volleys of bullets were being exchanged between officers behind riot shields and Joker gang behind cars with gas masks on. Jester was shooting with the advanced precision the tutelage of Deadshot can get you. Her .50 caliber custom purple and green pistols were tearing through the small blockade of officers. Joker was lobbing gas grenades and calculating an escape route, Harley was shooting her bazooka, creating a diversion for Joker to sort a way out of this. The many henchmen were trying to stay alive and watch for the Bat. Officers were unable to get back up due to Joker and company blocking the only route that it could come from due to the wreckage behind them, and they were also scrambling to keep civilians away from the danger zone. Gordon was in back trying to strategize how they were going to take down the Clown Prince of Crime, his Princess, and his whore.

Jim Gordon wasn’t a fool. He knew that there was no way to put this down without the help of the Bats. He just hoped that they would hurry. More and more property was being damaged and more and more officers were dying with every minute. Suddenly, there he was: Batman and three of the four of his entourage.

“Hello, Commissioner Gordon.” Batman greeted his friend. Nightwing was on top of a police car trying to gauge the enemy, Red Robin was calling Batwoman and Robin for backup and Red Hood was loading his guns with rubber bullets, per his agreement with Batman, and putting his hollow pointe magazines in his pockets for safe keeping.

“Thank the stars you’re here. The Joker came here with Harley and a new girl and they lit the place up and then the new girl began to blow up other buildings in the vicinity. She is just as crazy as Joker and extremely lethal. She has been laughing that horrible laugh all night,” Batman looks over to see Jester in near convulsions laughing as she shoots with deadly accuracy, “They have Joker venom gas grenades as well as bombs and we have been doing all we can just to hold them here.” Batman nods.

Nightwing calls out, Jester just disappeared. Then a bullet comes dangerously close to nailing the Commissioner in the head. Batman tackles him to the ground just as Red Hood uses his helmet’s head’s up display to see that the Jester has taken a sniping position on top of one of the buildings that aren’t burning. Red Hood then runs through the burning cars and wreckage to find a fire escape, leaving the others to deal with the Joker and Harley Quinn. This new chick was good. He needed to know how good if he was going to kill her. Switching to his hollow bullets her made his way up the fire escape of a building that was adjacent to the one that Jester was firing from. Making it to the roof he takes aim and fires, but she moves right as he takes the shot, the bullet missing by millimeters. She takes out her .50 caliber pistols loaded with mercury charge bullets. Of the two the mercury charge was the more lethal. Both had exploding bullets, but the mercury fulminate acted like a crystal of pure nitro in the center of the bullet, actually exploding inside the body instead of shattering causing about double the damage of a normal hollow bullet. Jason figured this out when he dodged and the ac unit behind him imploded, almost blowing him clear off the ledge.

“Hey! You have good aim, but I bet you that I’m better!” Jester called to the vigilante hanging off the side of the roof. He pulled himself up and back on to the roof.

“Trust me, honey, you don’t want to put up that kind of wager with me.” Red Hood barked back.

“You’re all bark and no bite, babe, I’ll have you ragged and bloody in five shots. Bet.” She smirked. Tossing her short hair over her shoulder and unholstering her other pistol from her left shoulder.

“You’re on! But don’t say I didn’t warn you. It’s a shame to have to ruin- AGH!” He was cut off by a bullet in the shoulder. The pain was blinding, and he knew that arm was completely out of commission despite the adrenaline coursing through his veins in alarming volume. Switching to his left pistol, he took aim and fired.

             “FUCK! That hurt!” A bullet had caught her in the calf of her left leg while she was trying to dodge. She put a bullet into his thigh and hit behind some scaffolding. The bullet was hollow, so she pulled out what she could and prayed that the rest wouldn’t hit her bloodstream for the next ten minutes, otherwise she was fucked.

             Thunder cracked, and the rain came down in sheets. Drenched and irritated, Red Hood leaped onto Jester’s roof. He walked over to where she ducked and found nothing. Two gunshots, two bullets in his torso. Whipping around at speeds not good for his now busted ribs, he saw only a pair of high heels disappear behind a ventilation unit.

             “One shot left, sweetheart,” he looked around,” and I know that you won’t do it!”

             “Bet,” came from behind his ear before blinding pain and the sound of something shattering. His helmet lay broken on the rooftop. She had hit the butt of her gun right into the crown of his head. Dizzy, he looked around with his gun cocked hoping to get another shot in before he had to retreat. His legs were swept from under him and he looked up to see her with a gun to his forehead. Jason was cocky and looked her straight in the face. He wasn’t scared of death.

             Rebecca was in shock. Jason. Jason. The Red Hood was Jason Todd. Memories painfully burst in her brain, overwhelming her. She screamed and collapsed as her head felt like someone was spreading acid into her neural synapses. Curling into the fetal position she started to wail like someone going through the worst torture possible. For her, it was. She had just tried to kill the last ground she had to stand on. Jester in her brain was elated but she was horrified. She had just tried to kill the last thing she had to love in this world. She was going to go stalk him tonight as she had been for weeks. Just to make sure he was okay. But now she could only scream as memories buried under a year of torture came warring to the surface.

             Jason had no idea what to do. He hadn’t even touched her, and she was screaming her head off. He was pretty sure she was crying. His leg collapsed under him from blood loss, and from this vantage point, he could actually see her face up close. Through the ugly pallor and the dark circles around her eyes and the black lips, he could still see her. Rebecca. No. After all the Joker had done he still was always able to top himself. He made normal criminals look like misdemeanor offenders. This took child abuse to a whole new level. Jason swore.

             “This has to be a trick.” He said to himself

             “It isn’t,” said that horrible voice in the back of his head. It was right no matter what he had found in his years of vigilantism.      

             “Jason! H-help me.” Her voice came weakly through the tears. She curled in on herself tighter. There was no mistaking it. It was her in the flesh.

             “I will. I promise.” He picked himself up off the flooded roof and looked down at the pool of bloody water surrounding them. It looked like a murder scene. He hooked a grapple onto the other roof and swung down, leaving her up there to bleed.

             Jason collapsed on top of the Batmobile. Harley Quinn was inside and unconscious. In a grand show of endurance, he peeled himself up off the hood and limped over to where Dick was ducking from bullets.

             “Dick.” He called softly. It was forbidden to use each other’s real names while they were in costume per Bruce’s rules, but he figured now was a good time to bend the rules a little.

             “What happened to you?” Dick looked concerned for his little brother. He was bleeding through four bullet holes and there was a steady stream of blood coming from his mouth.

             “I-I found her. Rebecca.” He gasped out before he was forcibly hunched over in a coughing fit. “Jester s-she is Becca. I shot her. She’s up on the roof.”

             Dick was flabbergasted. Everyone thought she had been dead for months. It had been two years since she went missing. He and the others had mourned for her. Now he finds out she is alive and bleeding on a roof. He nods to Jason and grapples up to the roof, avoiding bullets from all sides on his way up to rescue his little sister.

             Jason chuckled to himself. His life was such a clusterfuck. Smiling, he heard Tim calling to him as he passed out.

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