#thomas cult resurrection

[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?

[docgold13]

Batman: The Animated Series - Paper Cut-Out Portraits and Profiles

Thomas Blake

The mysterious and charismatic Thomas Blake was an adventurer and thief who resurrected an archaic cult that dated back to the days of ancient Egypt.  Known as the 'Cult of The Cat,' the order worshiped all things feline and honored cats by way of theft.  The cat-loving Blake situated himself as the leader of this cult and accrued a sizable following of loyal acolytes.  Blake and his minions stole numerous valuables from all over the world and lived a lavish lifestyle off of their ill-gotten gains.  

Selina Kyle, the master thief known as Catwoman, had discovered this cult and snuck into its mansion compound.  There she stole a golden cat statute yet was found out by Blake and his followers.  

The cultists chased Catwoman all the way to Gotham City where she elicited the help of Batman.  Armed with machine guns and Tekko Kagi claws, the cultists proved more formidable than Batman had initially anticipated.  They managed to capture Catwoman and brought her back to their master.  

Although the theft of the statue was deemed punishable by death, Blake was quite smitten by Catwoman.  Despite his lieutenant’s jealous objections, Blake offered Catwoman a place within his order.   Catwoman happily agreed.  

Batman, meanwhile, had tracked down the cult’s mansion and snuck in to rescue Catwoman.  Yet Catwoman betrayed Batman, knocking him out and offered him to Blake.  Amused Blake chose to have Batman sacrificed to their gods.

Somewhere down the line, Blake had acquired a genetically altered big cat that had been engineered to resemble a sabertooth tiger.  Batman was placed in a pit and the tiger was released to consume him.  Catwoman could not sit idly by and watch her beloved Batman killed so she leapt into the pit and somehow managed to sooth the beast.  Blake’s cultists attacked, yet now the tiger defended Catwoman and battered off her attackers.  Batman fought Blake but their battle was interrupted when the tiger swatted Blake in the back, severely injuring him.    

The police where called in and the various cultists were all apprehended.  Blake was carted off to hospital.  Catwoman, meanwhile, had mysteriously disappeared and had taken with her a large portion of the various jewels and valuables the cult had amassed.   

Actor Scott Cleverdon provided the voice for Thomas Blake with the feline felon appearing in the third episode of the second season of The New Batman Adventures, ‘The Cult of The Cat.’ 

[kdreader02]

So you all know the fucked up ship polls and stuff

Well

Clare and Lucian: Lucian is a psychiatrist who likely killed Clare’s twin brother as an experiment, and she becomes unhealthily fixated on revenge and he in turn becomes obsessed with her.

Sawyer and Calder: Calder is a cult leader with powers in a post apocalyptic world and Sawyer has been raised to see him as a god. And he marries her when she’s sixteen and he’s six years older.

Eri and Shiki: Inspired by Elisabeth das Musical, Eri is a woman pushed into acting by her family, and Shiki is Death, fixated on her and being together with her, but does he even exist?

June and Thomas: Thomas is a serial killer who forces depressed aspiring author June into becoming his unwilling accomplice. Puts her through psychological and physical abuse.

Mariya and Tomoe: a genuinely loving couple in Meiji era Japan, Mariya tragically dies and Tomoe refuses to let her stay dead and resurrects her THREE times because she keeps dying.

Tsukasa and Naomi: two vampires who are mutually obsessed with each other. Will do anything and kill anyone if it means protecting the other.

[fantastic-nonsense]

If you’re comfortable sharing, I’d love to hear more about your thoughts/ideas about religion/the afterlife, and how that’s influencing your Batman religion fic!

the tl;dr is that I'm a cradle Episcopalian whose mother is an Episcopal priest and that's deeply influenced my view on both the afterlife and religion in general. Personally? My view on the afterlife is...probably closest to the "heaven and hell aren't any kind of physical place or specific experience, it's eternal communion/separation from God's grace and your loved ones" interpretation.

Generally, I think that organized religion should be a way for people to come together under a general agreement of doctrine and behavior, discuss/argue about any deep difficult questions they have about the universe together, and experience the divine as a collective. I'm happy with the Episcopal Church and I've never felt a reason to deeply question my commitment to their particular understanding of the Christian tradition; I like the beliefs, rituals, and practice I grew up with and even though I've explored other denominations and other religions altogether, I've always landed right back where I started. They're a progressive denomination that, as a collective body, is genuinely committed to living out what I see as God's mission for humanity: caring for the world as it has been given to us and loving and helping our neighbors as ourselves. So I stay here.

As far as those beliefs affect the 'Bruce Wayne Religion Discourse Fic' (as I've lovingly termed it):

DC has decided on multiple occasions that Bruce is an atheist, to which I say: that's dumb DC, you have multiple pantheons running around and one of his best friends was literally the Goddess of Truth for a bit. The Abrahamic god canonically exists in-universe and the Spectre is his wrath embodied. The afterlife is a place people can physically go to and come back from (otherwise resurrection couldn't happen). This is the hill I die on when it comes to comics and it's that absolutely no character who lives in that universe should be an atheist (I've talked a little bit about this before here in regards to Tim Drake). They can be a non-worshipper, and frankly that's a completely understandable place to be in the DCU, but being a non-believer makes them look unbelievably dumb and illogical.

Anyway: Bruce is canonically Jewish due to the Accidental Jewish Retcon, which happened when DC created Kate Kane, an explicitly Jewish character, in 2005 and then made her Bruce's maternal cousin. This makes Martha Wayne (and thus Bruce) ethnically Jewish. However, it is ALSO canonically true that Thomas and Martha were buried as Christians, and the Waynes have been heavily coded as Episcopalian for decades. And yet he's supposedly atheist despite growing up in two religious institutions that have long-standing and exceptionally forgiving traditions around questioning/challenging divine authority, exploring doubt, and doing deep dives into theological doctrine.

So we're in an interesting place where Bruce canonically grew up in an interfaith household until his parents were murdered and also explicitly explored the tenets of multiple religions and spiritual practices during his training years abroad. And yet no writer wants to touch it! We get oblique references to his Jewish heritage occasionally, but other than that we largely do not see religion happen in Batman stories unless the central character is Helena Bertinelli/Huntress (a devout Catholic) or Jean-Paul Valley/Azrael (a cult survivor who basically acts devoutly Catholic). So I went 'well okay, I'll do it.' So the fic is focused on Bruce’s childhood growing up in an interfaith household and his incredibly complicated relationship with organized religion as he grows up, becomes Batman, and starts acquiring kids.

While I have not written anything except a tentative outline for it, I think my own beliefs are probably affecting how I approach the fic even conceptually, as I'm both Episcoplian (influencing how I'll approach that part of Bruce's exploration) and more than happy to explore my personal headcanon that Bruce ends up with a frankenstein set of beliefs that mix-and-match Episcopalian Christianity, Reform Judaism, Buddhism, and a few other things. It would be difficult not to, given all that he's seen, done, and experienced. Bruce is a very skeptical person who deeply believes 'seeing is believing', and I'll be trying my best to balance Bruce's canonical approach to such matters with how the DCU has portrayed religion and how the varying religions deal with massive soul-searching questions IRL.

......also I simply think that if Ollie Queen ever tells him that he met Jason in heaven/the afterlife while he was dead, Bruce would go home and cry for an hour, and I kind of want to write that scene.

[proclaimtheword]

Bible study notes: Gospel of John, Acts, Romans

I had finished the book of Acts yesterday evening, in about a week since I finished the Gospel according to John (I decided to skip the first three gospels for some reason, then just planned to continue on until Paul’s letters; I will come back to it before I finish the NT with Revelation). I had a lot of notes from John, mainly affirming Jesus’ authority, divinity, teaching and resurrection.

A memorable scene for me (as I typically imagine the story play out in my head while reading) is towards the end when the Risen Christ sits down, eats and talks with Peter and John, the disciple he loves, who also says to have written the book. After previously being denied three times when He was being tried, Jesus gives Peter a chance to redeem himself in an almost poetic, parallel manner:

Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Feed My lambs.”

He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Tend My sheep.”

He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep.”

‭‭John‬ ‭21‬:‭15‬-‭17‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

There are many important events in the gospel, but to me that was the most heartfelt and impactful. How the Lord is so good and faithful, even to us who fail Him! Truly He is God and Savior. I was even more in love with Jesus.

And indeed Peter redeems himself—in the next book, Acts, he preached Jesus everywhere, despite facing persecution from both Romans and Jews. As Jesus said to Peter, “On this rock, I will build My church, and the gates of hell will not overcome it.” We see the apostles laboring to get the church off the ground. They were brave and emboldened by the Spirit, and did many wonders in Jesus’ name. I truly believe the apostles’ testimony of the Risen Christ. This is the cause of our faith: the apostles testified that Jesus is the Messiah, and that He rose from the dead, and we must repent and be baptized so we may be forgiven for our sins.

Again, one of my favorite “scenes” from this is when the crowd had plotted to kill Peter and the apostles who miraculously escaped from jail with God’s help, and a council teacher named Gamaliel stands up to them and says:

[…] keep away from these men and let them alone; for if this plan or this work is of men, it will come to nothing; but if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it—lest you even be found to fight against God.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭5‬:‭38‬-‭39‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

And it made me think, yes! Indeed it is the work of God. If our faith was in vain, it would not have survived and persisted for 2000 years amidst all challenges. How else could you explain that a small group of men started what pretty much was a cult that was heavily persecuted during those times, and that became a dominant global religion that it is today? Jesus told the disciples to preach and baptize “to the ends of the earth” and said, “I will be with you to the end of age.”

God is faithful! In Romans, Paul writes “If God is for us, who can be against us?” In this first book of letters he shows his incredible reasoning and oratory skills. He argues between law and grace, how salvation came first to the Jews then to the Gentiles, and both are equally saved by the same faith in Jesus Christ.

Conclusion: translations, how I read and study, and keeping reverence for the Bible

I have been reading the Bible for about two weeks now. I use NKJV personal size by Thomas Nelson, and I absolutely love it. It’s large print, easy to read, leather copy cover, big and sturdy to hold which makes reading that much more enjoyable. I like my bible clean, I don’t make any marks, and I take good care of it, not only because it cost me money, but also I believe there is a way to study and show respect for the Bible. One thing I realized is that I don’t need to make too many highlights or notes simultaneously. Sometimes the busyness makes you think you’re understanding when you’re actually not, so it’s better to simply read and enjoy and reflect on the text. I can always deep dive a second time. This is how I feel I can go through the Bible quite easily. At this rate I might finish the NT in less than two weeks.

[permease23]

@involuntaryataraxia

Pietro Lorenzetti (Sienese, c. 1280-1348)

Detail: Descent from the Cross (c. 1320)

Fresco detail

Lower Church, San Francesco, Assisi

Essay on The Cult of the Virgin Mary in the Middle Ages

The Virgin Mary and the Church

A mother figure is a central object of worship in several religions (for example, images of the Virgin and Child call to mind Egyptian representations of Isis nursing her son Horus). The history of the Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus Christ, depends on the texts of the Gospels. Embellishments to her legend seem to have taken form in the fifth century in Syria. The life of the mother of Christ was exceptional: she was born free of original sin, through the Immaculate Conception; she was taken to heaven after her death; and, just as Saint Thomas doubted Christ's Resurrection, so he doubted Mary's Assumption. Theologians established a parallel between Christ's Passion and the Virgin's compassion: while he suffered physically on the cross, she was crucified in spirit. The Council of Ephesus in 431 sanctioned the cult of the Virgin as Mother of God; the dissemination of images of the Virgin and Child, which came to embody church doctrine, soon followed.

The Virgin Mary in Byzantine Representations

The Virgin Mary, known as the Theotokos in Greek terminology, was central to Byzantine spirituality as one of its most important religious figures. As the mediator between suffering mankind and Christ and the protectress of Constantinople, she was widely venerated. The Virgin is the subject of important liturgical hymns, such as the Akathistos Hymn, sung at the Feast of the Annunciation (March 25) and during Lent. Narrative artistic representations of Christ's mother focus on her conception and childhood or her Koimesis (her Dormition, or eternal sleep). Most images of the Virgin stress her role as Christ's Mother, showing her standing and holding her son. The manner in which the Virgin holds Christ is very particular. Certain poses developed into "types" that became names of sanctuaries or poetic epithets. Hence, an icon of the Virgin was meant to represent her image and, at the same time, the replica of a famous icon original. For example, the Virgin Hodegetria is a popular representation of the Virgin in which she holds Christ on her left arm and gestures toward him with her right hand, showing that he is the way to salvation. The name Hodegetria comes from the Hodegon Monastery in Constantinople, in which the icon showing the Virgin in this particular stance resided from at least the twelfth century onward, acting to protect the city. A later type is that of the Virgin Eleousa, imagined to have derived from the Virgin Hodegetria. This type represents the compassionate side of the Virgin. She is shown bending to touch her cheek to the cheek of her child, who reciprocates this affection by placing his arm around her neck. Byzantine images of the Virgin were adopted in the West. For example, Early Netherlandish paintings such as the Virgin and Child by the Master of the Saint Ursula Legend and the Virgin and Child by Dieric Bouts reveal an interest in Byzantine representations of the Theotokos.

The Virgin Mary in Western Representations

Most Western types of the Virgin's image, such as the twelfth-century "Throne of Wisdom" from central France, in which the Christ Child is presented frontally as the sum of divine wisdom, seem to have originated in Byzantium. Byzantine models became widely distributed in western Europe by the seventh century. The twelfth and thirteenth centuries saw an extraordinary growth of the cult of the Virgin in western Europe, in part inspired by the writings of theologians such as Saint Bernard of Clairvaux (1090–1153), who identified her as the bride of the Song of Songs in the Old Testament. The Virgin was worshipped as the Bride of Christ, Personification of the Church, Queen of Heaven, and Intercessor for the salvation of humankind. This movement found its grandest expression in the French cathedrals, which are often dedicated to "Our Lady," and many cities, such as Siena, placed themselves under her protection.

The Virgin Mary in the Later Middle Ages

The hieratic images of the Romanesque period, which emphasize Mary's regal aspect, gave way in the Gothic age to more tender representations emphasizing the relationship between mother and child. The early fourteenth-century Vierge Ouvrante from Cologne articulates her role in Christian salvation. When closed, the hinged sculpture represents the Virgin nursing the Christ Child, who holds the dove of the Holy Spirit. Her garment opens up, like the wings of a triptych, to reveal in her body the figure of God the Father. He holds the cross, made of two tree trunks, from which the now-missing figure of Christ hung. The flanking wings are painted with scenes from Christ's infancy or Incarnation, that is to say, the embodiment of God the Son in human flesh.

(from the Heilbrunn Timeline website)

[lockoutkey]

I meant the city within the world of the comics. I don’t have a list for everything wrong with the trash fire that is that show.

I will still give you the list I do have, though

The Gotham Lazarus Pit leaks constantly into the groundwater of the city. Courtesy of Bane, the drug venom is also permeating most of it, along with Joker Venom and the same shape shifting cosmetic that turned the various Clayfaces into, well. Thomas Wayne may or may not have dumped psychoactive chemicals into the water as well.

The air is worse as on top of the lead, something that can actually also be said of the water, there is also joker gas, fear toxin, and bio-engineered plant pheromones and pollens designed to melt people in Gotham’s permanent smog lair, so if you breathe it you’ll have the worst high ever and then die as your lungs liquidate.

Both the water and air can have further problems depending on what Dr. Death and Ra’s al-Ghul have decided to use in their respective attacks recently, as well as those previously mentioned toxins increasing in concentration in the aftermath of an attack by any of the relevant villains

There are psychotropic attacks by Mad Hatter and Dr. Hugo Strange

There are psionic attacks by Dracula and the Court of Owls

The Court of Owls similarly are economically crippling the city, which only worsens the corruption problems and leaves Wayne Enterprises as the only reason people in the city can stay afloat.

Cultists among the Arkham staff sacrificed patients in order to open a hellmouth beneath the asylum. It was sealed by Jason Blood but still whispers to the patients and staff. There is also a madness hypersygil engraved into its architecture by its architect and founder, Amadeus Arkham.

The city is mystically influenced by the tomb of the malevolent warlock Doctor Gotham at the center of the city, blood curse on the land caused by the genocide of the tribe originally living there by the first colonizers, the starheart, the court of Owls again, and the separate demon cult founded by Dr. Simon Hurt, theoretically worshiping the dark god Barbatos as the Court of the Owls do, but in actuality communing with a fragment of Darkseid.

That blood curse is so potent it almost made The Spectre call down his full power as The Wrath of God on the city to destroy it and turn the survivors into salt

The Waynes are separately cursed by a witch named Annie, who was made scapegoat to the at-the-time town’s poor crop one year and avenged herself on the line of witch hunter Nathaniel Wayne who had ordered her burned and, while being correct about her being a witch, was wrong about her having any connection to the harvest.

A separate witch, Amity Arkham, also burned, cast a curse that only affects her descendants in the Silverlock family, allowing her to possess them in order to continuously burn the city generation by generation as the villain Calamity, until the last two generations was defeated by Batman and the first Robin and managed to take back control of her body with the help of her friend Mia Mizoguchi respectively.

Slaughter Swamp also resurrects corpses but is not a Lazarus Pit or Lazarus Pit adjacent.

Further confirmation New York City is irl Gotham

[phantom-le6]

Film Review - Batman: The Doom That Came To Gotham

Our look into films released in 2023 now moves from DC’s live-action theatrical releases to those created for the home-release animation market, as we check out the Elseworlds-based Batman: The Doom That Came To Gotham…

Plot (as adapted from Wikipedia):

In the 1920s, Bruce Wayne travels abroad for twenty years following the murder of his parents Thomas Wayne and Martha Wayne, searching for answers behind the criminal mind. While investigating the disappearance of Oswald Cobblepot's expedition crew, Bruce subdues an undead crewman, Grendon, who was freeing an otherworldly creature encased in ice. Bruce, his protégés Kai Li Cain, Dick Grayson, Sanjay "Jay" Tawde, and butler Alfred Pennyworth retrieve Grendon and return to Gotham City, unaware that Grendon was infected with one of the entity's parasites, with Jay staying on the ship to watch over him.

Arriving at Wayne Manor, Bruce and his group are shocked to find the corpse of professor Kirk Langstrom in the library, as Bruce hallucinates a demon speaking through it with Langstrom's voice. After he disposes of Langstrom's corpse, Bruce is visited by Jason Blood, the host of the demon Etrigan, who informs Bruce of a ritual which must be performed with his death, and the destruction of Gotham.

Bruce, Kai Li, and Dick are later invited for dinner at hunter Oliver Queen's mansion. They also meet Harvey Dent, who tells them about Langstrom's obsession with the bats he had been studying. Donning a bat-themed suit of his making, Bruce (under the alias of Batman) investigates Langstrom's work at Robin's Row, which is related to the Cult of Ghul, a group who worship an ancient demonic deity, with the Testament of Ghul being the tool required for the ritual. Seeking the Testament, he stumbles upon cult member Talia, who steals it to resurrect her father Ra's al Ghul.

Meanwhile, Grendon manifests ice abilities and escapes, killing Jay, while Dick is killed by a crocodilian mutant. While searching for Talia, Bruce discovers a book detailing Ra's's connection with Iog-Sotha, an inter-dimensional demon with power over darkness.

Grendon then meets with Talia and it is revealed that the key to Iog-Sotha is the seed that he was infected with. The seed emerges from his body, killing him in the process, to become Poison Ivy, who scratches Dent and mutates half of his body into a portal. Ivy and Oliver fight and kill each other, with the latter giving his holy weapons to Bruce and Kai Li.

Bruce is met by Jim Gordon who tells him that his daughter Barbara wants to meet with him. Batman goes to Arkham Asylum to see her and meets Thomas Wayne's spirit, who reveals his past. Centuries ago, he, Cobblepot, Henry Queen and Langstrom’s father established Gotham City, discovered the Testament in a cave, and used its magic to bring health and prosperity to the previously barren land, gaining long life and wealth in the process. However, this also awoke Iog-Sotha and brought him to the threshold of their reality.

Bruce takes Oliver's weapons and the bottle housing Etrigan, bids farewell to Alfred, and leaves Kai Lai in charge of the Batcave, before leaving to fight Talia. He kills her but is unable to stop Ra's, who transforms into a demon. Bruce accepts his prophesized role as the Bat, transforms into a bat-like monster, and kills Ra's, but Iog-Sotha has begun to enter.

Seeing the bottle housing Etrigan, Bruce releases him and escapes the caverns as they explode, killing Dent, and Etrigan traps Iog-Sotha within them. Kai Li delivers a speech in Bruce's memory as he watches over Gotham from the bell tower.

Review:

My initial draw to this film was that the Blu-Ray extras for Batman: Gotham by Gaslight suggested the story was a kind of sequel to the Gotham by Gaslight narrative.  Sadly, that’s not really the case; both are Elseworld productions set in eras that pre-date Batman’s debut as a comic-book character, each of which combines him with some other concept as well, but each is a separate story rather than being a shared continuity.  Where Gotham by Gaslight gave us a Victorian-era Batman combatting Jack the Ripper, this story centres on an inter-war Batman of the late 1920’s trying to combat some kind of doom cult.  The story combines Lovecraftian horror with the world of Batman in this 1920’s setting, which is fine if you enjoy horror as much as you do superhero lore.

Alas, I’m someone who only enjoys horror when it’s a sub-genre within superhero/science fiction stories, so when I see the two combined, I’m counting on the superhero element to remain more prominent.  With this film, that element is relatively prominent in the early and middle areas of the film, but it goes too far into the realm of mysticism and Lovercraftian madness for me towards the end, or at least farther than I feel a character like Batman should go.  In most iterations, including the initial parts of this film, Batman is staunchly anti-mysticism, always knowing that all things have rational explanations and never trusting anything even remotely mystic.  Because of this, I’m not a fan of the idea that as the film progresses, we see this Batman abandoning that stance and actually embracing the mysticism he’s facing.

If this was an element inherent to the source material, then this is one of the few times where I could have done with an adaptation straying a bit.  For me, this would have been better if had turned out the “outer god” was just Starro, the weird monsters were all just scientific mutations and only the Ghuls and Etrigan were in defiance of Batman’s analytical mind.  As it is, it’s interesting to see this world to retain the idea of Batman’s apprentices but in a new way that only alternate universe storytelling allows for.  We saw this in Gotham by Gaslight, where the first three Robins were all street thieves ultimately taken in by Bruce and Selina.  In this film, we see Dick Grayson picked up in another part of the US, an Indian variant of Jason Todd and an English-sounding version of Cassandra Cain, one of Barbara Gordon’s successors as Batgirl in DC lore.

The film is well-cast and said cast performs well; some notable mentions among the voice actors include Trek alumni like Tim Russ, Jeffrey Combs and Brian George (Tuvok on Voyager is Russ’ main Trek credit, while Combs has played several key DS9 and Enterprise roles, while George once appeared as Dr Bashir’s father), as well as film actors like David Dastmalchian (appears in the Ant-Man trilogy for the MCU, James Gunn’s Suicide Squad film and Oppenheimer) and Navid Negahban (the Sultan in the 2019 live-action remake of Aladdin).  Fans of Disney Channel sit-com Jessie may also find some familiarity in hearing the voice of Sanjay, the Indian variant of Jason Todd in this film, as Karan Brar who played Ravi on that show provides this particular voice.  It’s also interesting to see how many Batman villains have apparently been combined with existing Lovecraftian monsters, suggesting some fans of HP Lovecraft may be among the various writers who have shaped the Batman rogues’ gallery down the years.

Overall, I think the film is interesting and well done for the most part, but for me the superhero element needed to gain the upper hand more towards the end and bring about a different conclusion.  As such, I’m only inclined to hand down a 7 out of 10 for the film we got, and hope that any future Elseworld-based animated films do better at favouring the superhero over anything they’re being combined with.

[ao3feed-brucewayne]

london calling (to the underworld)

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/yJs68dY

by marriedwithchildren

“Do you know what a bat’s main predator is?” Jason leans forward, and her eyes glow something wicked. “A hawk.” "Only if they are alone, of course," she continues. "But that's exactly what you are, isn't it?" Bat and hawk sit there; alone and alone; and finally Jason remembers the sickly feeling of being caught in death's trap.

After Jason Todd kills Joker, he thinks his problems in life are gone for good - that he can finally heal that jagged scar of death across his soul. That is until mysterious murders begin to happen in Gotham, all with a puzzling pattern, and Joker is apparently spotted again, leading him to realise that souls like his are just not meant to rest.

or; jason learns how to reconnect with himself and his family through the surprising familiarity of some mysterious murders. (and im very tired of the same old plots dc use so have decided to take it upon myself to make my own plot for the comics)

Words: 2383, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Fandoms: Batman (Comics), DCU (Comics)

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Categories: Other

Characters: Jason Todd, Dick Grayson, Tim Drake, Damian Wayne, Bruce Wayne, Barbara Gordon, Duke Thomas, Stephanie Brown, Cassandra Cain, Alfred Pennyworth, John Constantine, Roy Harper, Original Characters

Relationships: Minor or Background Relationship(s)

Additional Tags: Murder, Murder Mystery, Necromancy, Dark Magic, Occult, Resurrection, Talking To Dead People, Attempt at Humor, Batbrothers Bonding (DCU), Batfamily Dynamics (DCU), Batfamily Angst (DCU), Batfamily-centric (DCU), Jason Todd-centric, POV Jason Todd, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Childhood Trauma, Mental Health Issues, Psychoanalysis, Character Study, Good Sibling Dick Grayson, Bruce Wayne is a Good Parent, eventually, Literary References & Allusions, literary foils, Symbolism, Major Original Character(s), original villain characters, Female Friendship, except theyre all murderers, Female rage, Enemies to Friends, Mystery, Plot Twists, Jason Todd Heals, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Cults, Death, Character Growth

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/yJs68dY

[morguenecrosis]

[balillee]

why 'there's no lore going on' right now in the dream smp - The Misfits Analogy

Fans of television, especially British television, will probably be familiar with an early 2010's show called Misfits. The show ran for five seasons spanning 2009 to 2013 - while the first two seasons (the first moreso than the second) are regarded more as cult classics, the latter half of the show completely falls in writing and production quality due to one significant change - the cast.

Seasons one and two of Misfits was centred around the original misfits gang - Nathan Young (portrayed by Robert Sheehan), Kelly Bailey (portrayed by Lauren Socha), Simon Bellamy (portrayed by Iwan Rheon), Alisha Daniels (portrayed by Antonia Thomas) and Curtis Donovan (portrayed by Nathan Stewart-Jarrett).

The show was good for two different factors from my perspective -

The intersection of superpowered television and interpersonal conflicts that broke the norm for stereotypes.

How the cast reflected modern British society.

In summary, the show followed a group of five young offenders at a community service centre. Not too interesting - but give them relatability, realism and explore their character development and their existing stereotypes/tropes through the use of superpowers? Genius.

Nathan was most definitely the fan favourite character of the show - he was outgoing, annoying, larger than life in a lot of ways and in all senses, he was a skeevy asshole who would insult characters at every turn. He was very much the class clown of the show and any British viewer could probably see someone they remember from school in Nathan, except Nathan was lovable and you could sympathise with him because you could see him struggling primarily at home and with his family.

Spoilers for the show - Nathan's power was immortality and the ability to resurrect himself from death. This power wasn't explicit immediately either to Nathan or to the audience unlike all of the other young offenders, and it reflected his 'nothing can hurt me ' attitude. Nathan was a character who could take any comment and brush it off like it was nothing, and he in the physical sense could take being thrown off a roof, impaled and practically buried alive and be sitting in his own coffin with his iPod all fine and dandy.

Kelly was also another standout example - her character reflected the stereotype of a chavvy girl, 'council house and violent' - loudmouthed, not very smart, questionable fashion choices and a bit abrasive. The only difference is that the show knew they had to subvert that stereotype - instead, Kelly was smart in her own way and she was empathic -> her superpower was the ability to hear other people's thoughts, and later, she became superintelligent and when her character left the show she decided to move to Uganda use her newfound rocket-scientist level intelligence for good. She was still loudmouthed and definitely chavvy, but she was also a whole human person who cared about other people and who was definitely intelligent.

If I kept going, I'd be lamenting about how season one's cast well reflected and subverted stereotypes and expectations using their superpowers, but I'd be here all day and that's really not the point I'm trying to make.

By the end of season 2, Robert Sheehan, as the standout performance from the show, decides to move on to greener pastures (which,, I don't blame him, being stuck on E4 would have been a nightmare for his career and look where he is now? He's a fan favourite as Klaus in TUA now!) - thus, Nathan is written out of the show in a post- season 2 special in which he gets locked up in prison in America.

This was the first character to get written out of the show.

In season 3, we lose Kelly who moves to Uganda with Seth to defuse landmines, and Simon and Alisha are both killed, and the only remaining member of the original ASBO five is Curtis.

Season 4 rolls around, and we pretty much have an entirely new Misfits cast - Curtis, and then we have Rudy (who had been present since season 3), and then we have new additions Jess, Finn and Abbey.

Let me tell you that by this point in the show, all of the fans had lost interest.

Not only had the two biggest fan favourites, Nathan and Kelly, left the show, but you now have to replace four out of the five original cast members with new ones that don't function the same way the originals did. What type of person is someone with X-ray vision trying to represent? You could argue that maybe Jess is good at figuring people out, but I don't really remember this being explored that much in the show. And the difference between this reflecting a minor personality trait is that the original cast didn't do that - in dumbed down terms, Alisha was a 'sket' who had the power to make people horny for her, oftentimes against her wishes, through skin-to-skin contact. That's much more impactful and there's a lot more to explore there.

Episode 7 of Season 4 of Misfits is the clearest indicator of the departure of the original show's intentions and explains perfectly why it didn't work the way it used to.

For the entirety of the season, Jess had been crushing on a guy called Alex from a bar she frequented (who later went on to replace Curtis as the fifth Misfits member in season 5, go figures) who, as far as we had seen, not at all reciprocated those feelings nor was there any indication of him wanting to.

In episode 7, we figure out why.

Jess, using her x-ray vision, finds out that Alex's penis was stolen by a trans man.

I'll be honest, when I first heard it, I thought it was a joke.

The show went from having a diverse cast, not only in terms of having two black characters in it's main cast, but also in it's diversity of character tropes that they aimed to subvert - to then having a mainly white cast in a show that actively perpetuates harmful stereotypes about trans people being dangerous.

Now, and I want to preface this, I don't think that the Dream SMP is malicious in the same way that the writing of that episode of Misfits is. I don't think the SMP is malicious at all. What I want to highlight is how the change in cast directly mirrored when the audience dropoff was and when the show itself started to go south in terms of quality, production and what they wanted to achieve.

For the sake of my argument, there is currently three seasons of the dream smp. The start of the server up until the end of the initial disc war is the prologue, season one encompasses Wilbur's L'Manberg and the Pogtopia arc, ending on November 16th, season 2 starts November 17th and ends January 20th (the disc war finale) and season 3 spans from January 21st to the present day.

Most of the fans of the Dream SMP can tell you that the primary story of the server is centred around quite a few certain characters who viewers started watching to see more of. I'm guilty of this myself - I primarily watch the SMP for Tommy's story, and I also stick around for Wilbur, Tubbo, Ranboo and a little bit for Phil, Techno and Jack Manifold. Those were the people I was invested in and those are the stories I like to follow. Not to discredit or to downplay the work or the stories of other characters, but I can imagine that there are a few people who watch the SMP primarily for a close few perspectives/storylines, and following some storylines over others just because you're not interested in them is completely fine and there's nothing wrong with that at all.

In season one, there was always things going on with my favourite characters. Tommy was always getting himself into spots of trouble and making up different schemes to get people to come visit L'Manberg as a tourist attraction, or getting people to support the rebellion, and this was interspersed with the heavier, plot-driven moments such as Wilbur's mental breakdown, the festival, the pit fight and the season 1 finale. This got me invested in him as a character because he had been there for quite a while and we'd seen him develop and grow into the character we now see in season 3.

In the back half of season 1 came Techno, who really shook things up and threw a spanner in the works and provided a totally different perspective - unlike Dream he didn't hate L'Manberg because he couldn't control it, and unlike Wilbur he didn't have a personal connection to it and he didn't know it's history. Techno initially hated L'Manberg because it was a government he knew nothing about (and still knows nothing about even today), and because violence and destruction is kind of his thing.

We had a well balanced cast of characters - not too many - that we could follow and who all had varying perspectives, experiences and personalities. We had clearly defined groups of individuals with different morals: you had the people on the side of Manberg, the people in Pogtopia who wanted Manberg blown up, the people in Pogtopia who didn't want Manberg blown up, and on the side to compliment it all you also had the Badlands, comprised of three longstanding members of the server,,,, and then Antfrost who was kidnapped by Tommy that one time. It was all wrapped up nicely in a neat little bow and there was structure to it all. There was one plot that went in one direction, and despite the many perspectives, it all ended up in the same spot and the story ended. There was a conclusion.

In season 2, the two primary additions to the 'cast' were Phil and Ranboo, whose characters complimented the existing story well. Phil functioned mostly as a successor to Wilbur alongside Ghostbur by exploring well the departure of Wilbur as a character in that moment, and he also functioned well as a companion to Techno's character. Ranboo, on the other hand, had a pretty good complimentary solo story that could be followed alongside the main plot, however his story wasn't too distant from the main story to the point where he was completely removed from it - he had direct involvement in different events such as the exile conflict, his connection to Dream as the main antagonist of the season and his involvement in blowing up the community house.

Season 2 starts with a focus on two different spaces - it breaks up a longstanding duo and the storyline diverges into two halves: Logstedshire and New L'Manberg, and you have Techno's short 'retirement' arc working decently to compliment it and also to set the tone for his character going forward in that season. In Logstedshire we see the aftermath of Tommy being exiled from L'Manberg by Dream - we see him endure what is (in canon) at least a month of isolation and physical and psychological abuse and it culminates on December 15th when Tommy rescues himself, jumps from the tower and goes to hide in Techno's house (which acts as a good precursor to his involvement in Techno's storyline in that season). On the other side, we follow Tubbo in L'Manberg dealing with Presidency - he talks a lot and gets 'friendly' with Dream, he prepares to run against Ranboo in the coming election cycle (primarily because he doesn't want to be President) and we see his interactions with the power-hungrier Quackity who all too often takes the reigns and this culminates in the creation of the Butcher Army, and following the Butcher Army's attack on December 16th, once again, we have two clearly defined sides:

One one side, we have Tubbo, Quackity and Fundy who represent L'Manberg, and on the other we have Tommy (who is unaware of the Butcher Army's attack), Phil and Techno, and more in the middle we have Ghostbur and Ranboo.

Season 2's finale format is a clear departure for the format of November 16th, but it's not a poor choice - I think, especially considering the story that they were telling, it worked perfectly. On November 16th, pretty much everyone was streaming their perspective of the event; at the time, there were even compilations of everyone's reactions to Wilbur blowing up L'Manberg. On January 20th, however, we only had two perspectives - Tubbo and Tommy.

I'll say it now, while Season 2 was definitely Clingyduo's season, it didn't focus solely on them. There was also a big focus on Techno as a character, whose arc came to an end a little earlier on Doomsday, and there was also a focus on Ranboo a lot as a solo character, and he streamed a little later on January 20th with what I refer to as the 'epilogue', where there was also a shift in his character to expect moving forward.

Why season 2's finale worked is because it was centralised around only three characters, only two of which we ever see the perspectives of, and it was the finale of the longest running storyline of the entire narrative - the disc war. Two boys who were on their last life, making their last stand at the one man who pulled the strings to make their lives miserable - those two perspectives only, and it worked. We didn't have compilations of everyone reacting to the things happening around them which worked for season 1, instead, we focused on these two characters whose turn it was to get the focus, and we had iconic and moving moments. We had the two boys walking down the prime path saying what they could only assume might have been their last goodbyes to the people that still had a shred of care for them, we had the two sailing to where they would face off against Dream for their final stand and finally talking about their feelings a little and dreading the implication that if they were both to die, nobody would live to tell their stories, we had Tommy choosing his best friend over his discs time and time again, and we had Punz - Dream's last confidant - standing against Dream and bringing everyone with him and sending him to prison, now on his last life too.

Everything about it was perfect. The more focused ending worked for the ending of season 2 because it was their time to have their climax moment - and it wasn't some spectacular display of explosions or violence like in Wilbur's finale on November 16th, where the ramifications hit everyone and we got to see it, nor was it a show of violence and almost oppressive dominance like Techno's finale was on Doomsday, where we saw everyone's breakdown and how the people contributing to the destruction of L'Manberg, no matter how righteous they thought they were, did not care to understand how much they were hurting and destroying the lives of the country's citizens. On January 20th, Tommy and Tubbo went into it thinking they were going to die, they got their asses handed to them despite how hard they tried, and they had their behinds saved by Tommy's preparative thinking by people who weren't there to save them more than they were there to get rid of Dream.

Season 3 suffers a lot from a lack of focus, awful pacing and really poor timing.

Seasons 1 and 2 occurred during the brunt of the coronavirus pandemic, where everyone was stuck at home and had more time to stream because it was their primary form of content and because it was the best way to communicate with their friends. Thus, the pacing of those seasons was extremely steady and things were always happening.

Now, lockdown restrictions have eased quite a bit, and creators can branch out a lot more and can meet with each other in real life and can do vlog-style content. Therefore, they don't stream as much, and the focus of the Dream SMP story has shifted more towards newer or sideplot characters. If you enjoy those characters, that's fine, but when they take the focus away from the characters and the storylines the majority are expecting, a lot of people won't try to keep up with it and from their perspective there'll be a massive lull in narrative content.

What I'm saying, is that Tommy streaming for thirteen days in a row in July 2021 is a fucking pipe dream. It happened in December because the story was consistent and the pacing was steady and he had the time and the want to be there. Now, Tommy's off making his vlogs and hanging out with his friends and thus he can't stream as much as he used to. He's sort of suffering from the Robert Sheehan problem, isn't he? Tommy is still involved with the Dream SMP and his story is definitely continuing, and his narrative in season 3 is really starting to pick up with the newer developments, it's just that he doesn't have as much time to play the role anymore because he isn't streaming as much.

I'm not saying this is a bad thing - it's obviously making him happy that his content is changing and I'm fully supportive of that.

So when all of these meetups are happening and we don't have as much content from the main characters that we follow anymore, what happens?

Well, the fans get a little itchy. This fandom, especially. They might throw out a comment or a tweet asking when they're going to stream on the SMP, or if they really don't understand why the Dream SMP is good, they'll ask when the next 'lore stream' is, and they'll lament a little about how the content and the story has slowed, especially in contrast to the fast pacing of season 2 which only lasted a little over two months with much more story going on than in season 3 despite it having been going on for triple the time. What they'll get in response is that the Dream SMP is still going on and that lore is still happening.

On all accounts, these statements aren't incorrect. Lore still is happening.

But when you've been following lovable characters for two seasons, setting up their struggles and then switching the focus onto newer or 'sideplot' characters that you haven't really followed before, there's going to be a bit of moaning about it on twitter dot com.

The SMP now suffers from having too many characters, too many unfocused narratives, and poor pacing/ditched or unfinished storylines from the characters we used to follow and love while we're being told to love other characters instead.

I never really cared too much about the egg subplot, I'll be honest. I was a little interested in the involvement of Sam, Puffy and Ponk, but other than that, I wasn't really too invested. It very much tried to replicate the 'you should have paid me more' moment from January 20th at the Red Banquet, and it really didn't hit as hard because most of the characters there were either ones that didn't belong there at all (like Niki, Fundy, HBomb, and Purpled), weren't that involved with the plotline and felt out of place with the established characters in that storyline (Techno, Quackity and Ranboo), or were new characters that were difficult to get on board with because they hadn't really had too much of a story beforehand (Hannah and Foolish), or in the case of Antfrost, characters with no known motivation to be there other than that being the storyline they're currently in. Not to discredit those involved or their characters, but the Red Banquet really tried to replicate what the disc finale did with it's focused perspectives and it's Punz moment, and it failed.

Now, following the egg subplot's finale, I'm meant to focus on Las Nevadas, Snowchester and the Syndicate.

Las Nevadas is the most consistent storyline, however it's biggest problem is that it is filled with new characters or ones that are barely there. Despite how long he's been on the server, Purpled really is a new character if only because he's only really become a character recently - Foolish is still considered new, Slimecicle is new, Fundy rarely streams on the SMP. The only consistent longstanding and heavily involved characters that are a part of Las Nevadas are Quackity and Sam, and even their streams are infrequent, with a lot of Sam's perspective not even focusing on Las Nevadas but instead the prison.

Snowchester's plot is very much dying, dead and in the water. She's suffering. We haven't seen Michael in over a month, a nuke is still missing, Jack Manifold is dubiously a citizen and Tubbo doesn't even think he has a character on the SMP. It breaks my heart.

The Syndicate suffer from a lack of existence. The four characters really aren't a friend group in canon - all of the stuff about them hanging out all the time and them basically being a book club is all fanon. They've hung out as a four all of twice, the first time they ever got together they celebrated someone's death and then basically invaded Snowchester to give themselves a reason not to destroy it, terrifying Tubbo in the process. The second time was because it was Techno's birthday.

Now, Techno is in prison, and the only reason Phil hasn't read the will to progress the story is likely because of difficult scheduling with other server members, which is written off in canon as Phil not wanting to accept the possibility of Techno potentially dying.

Literally reading the will and having the Syndicate figure out that Techno's in prison with Dream will solve all of season 3's formatting issues and have the story back on track.

Currently, we don't really have two clearly defined sides the way we always had. We were meant to root for L'Manberg against the Dream Team, we were meant to root for Pogtopia against Manberg, and in season 2 we had a lot more moral ambiguity and room for side switching between the forces of Dream, Techno and Phil against L'Manberg, and then we rooted for Clingyduo against Dream.

I can predict that if the will is read, here's how a good conflict can arise.

Two clearly defined different sides - Las Nevadas on the side of Pandora's Vault, and the Syndicate (currently consisting of Phil, Ranboo and Niki), and you have compromises to make. If the side of the Prison wins, Techno and Dream stay in Pandora's Vault without a proper trial and being treated inhumanely, and there's also the threat of the rest of the Syndicate also being imprisoned. If the side of the Syndicate wins, the prison is taken out and Techno and Dream are no longer being treated inhumanely - problem is that Dream's out, and he's very much dangerous because despite what c!Dream apologists will tell you, he's not docile and he's not going to have a healing arc with Techno because he doesn't think he's done anything wrong and Techno can't tell him that he's done anything wrong (because Techno is the most wilfully ignorant character who gets to be political it's INSANE) - he'll go right back to the evil, abusive bastard he was, obsessed with Tommy, probably worse now that he can easily get Wilbur to do anything he wants and more vindictive against Quackity. Plus, if the Syndicate take down Las Nevadas they'll hold the most power on the server systematically and the so-called anarchists will ironically be the top dogs of the server.

Then towards the middle you'll probably end up having Wilbur, Benchtrio and Jack Manifold - Tubbo and Jack would prefer Techno and Dream staying in prison, except Tubbo's really not on the greatest terms with Q at the minute (because Q's paranoid and making conflict with parties that would have otherwise helped him out and thought they were friends), whereas Tommy would be stuck between wanting Techno out but needing to either keep Dream in or kill him, and Wilbur will be having to pick between aiding Dream's escape from prison or staying with Tommy, because he can't have both. Ranboo will probably be having the same problem as Tommy, except he's on the side of the Syndicate and will have to pick between the Syndicate or keeping Dream imprisoned.

Season 3 is salvageable, it really is. You can fix the poor pacing and you can fix the lack of focus with literally one revelation from fucking Philza M|necraft. But as it stands now, season 3 suffers from a similar situation as Misfits - almost replacing the cast of characters we've followed for the longest time with a new one in a format completely different to the original seasons.

[schmope-is-dead]

ohoho you thought i was dead

6/27/53 - Digory and Steven had gone on a walk, Tom had decided not to go with them. Digory tried to admit his crush on Steven, but found his crush was possessed, and about to be sacrificed to the cult known as The Unknowns. Digory took his place, sort of dying. 

6/30/53 - Steven was found by Tom 

7/5/53 - The day Tom went looking for Digory, but instead found a knife in his own stomach, placed there by one of the members of the cult known as "Memento Mori." They left him there however, as they had heard footsteps. The footsteps were a distressed Steven, looking for his friends. Steven died, he literally just tripped on a rock and died. Their bodies were soon found later that night. 

7/7/53 - Tom's body was stolen by the cult "Memento Mori", of which Tom's mother, Mary, was wrongly accused of doing and put in custody. Tom later woke up in the hive, finding he had been abandoned by the cult there. He had been sacrificed wrong, and was resurrected and had his soul claimed by the voices instead of becoming a sacrifice. He found a bunch of notebooks in the pockets of other bodies in the hive, using them to make his first entry, which was later found by the reporters. 

7/12/53 - The local newspaper got a hold of the story. They wrongly assumed Tom had committed suicide, based on the stabs to the abdomen. Tom corrupted for the first time, leaving his body to be marked by Memento Mori with several sigils carved into him, which was later found by reporters. Tom's mother was brought out of custody from this development. 

7/13/53 - The article got temporarily moved to the front page, as many readers loved the story. The reporters finally got the okay from the police to show Tom’s diary entry. Digory's body had been moving quite a bit. Digory had little to no control of his body at times, as The Unknowns had gained control.

7/14/53 - The article was brought back to its original page, as parents complained about kids seeing its content. The article didn't have too much, just reporting on what it was able to say.

7/17/53 - Steven's funeral. Later that night, Digory's body went missing. His corpse was found laying by Steven's grave, though locals said he had earlier been sitting at the edge with his eyes glowing. Though the sitting part was true, the glowing eyes part wasn't. Tom found one of the papers and sent a letter to the paper, stating that they should stop immediately, as Tom thought it was inhumane to take pictures of corpses and use them for simple entertainment. He also made a few entries of why he thought the reporters should stop, some never found. 

7/19/53 - Tom's funeral. Tom watched this from the forest, he gave up hope of being found. He made a few entries. He also started growing his first set of horns, which came with fairly painful headaches. He thought he was dying and made a goodbye entry, which he later made a follow up one saying "The world hasn't seen the last of Thomas Jones, I can promise you that." 

7/20/53 - The article has a sponsor, as the police are starting to monitor what they show, and need some support to still be able to run. Tom burnt down the morgue, taking Digory's body with him. He thought Digory was still alive, and he had hope of everything being normal again. Unfortunately, that led to Digory's body finally dying from smoke inhalation, leaving The Unknowns unable to use it. He woke up in the middle of the night, he felt like he had to go to the hive. He found Digory, dead, and burns on the both of them. Tom assumed this meant he had murdered him and didn't remember, leaving him distraught. He didn't remember committing arson. Tom sent a letter to Digory's family, he was going to send something meaningful, but he could only find himself writing the simple phrase, "Diggy could've lived."

7/21/53 - Tom stole some bandages from the local corner store for his burns, nothing much.

 7/23/53 - The reporters turned to radio, as the police were monitoring what they put in the newspaper. They found some of Tom's entries. The reporters were starting to be less down to earth and think of supernatural possibilities of Tom being alive. Tom found a rat, he thought he should keep it, since Digory always liked rats. Of course, the rat was Digory, but Tom didn't know that. Memento Mori found Tom, they thought they should try to befriend him, as they had seen corrupt Tom, and thought they should take responsibility for what they had done. Tom has started leaving his entries in places hard for the reporters to find them, as he quite despised them. 

7/25/53 - The news station could only evade the police for so long. This was their last story on the situation, as their audience had been losing interest. Tom was now part of Memento Mori, and he had accepted that as his life from now on. 

1985-1989 - Tom tried to rejoin society, with the help of a girl named Roxy. He got a job at a diner, it was nice to be normal for a bit. He went under the alias "Timothy Johnson". He learned how to act like he was from this time, and soon adjusted. With Roxy’s unfortunate death, Tom was so distraught that he resigned from his “normal” life.

2005 -   The system starts breaking because Madison is now busy with her children and can't get too many sacrifices, leaving Tom to take care of the sacrifices for her and help the younger members get their sacrifices. This angers the voices, they used to get far more sacrifices. So, they decided to do something about it. They have a member of themselves who's still separate enough to possess someone on their own. The member is Steven, and he possesses Damien. At this point, Steven is aware that he's been tasked with possibly hurting Tom, but since he's only so separate from the voices, when he's not part of them, he starts almost combining with Damien, and grows hatred for Tom. Steven brings Damien back to the Conglour (the Memento Mori house) and pretends everything is normal. Of course, everyone is suspicious, but Steven is just close enough to acting like Damien that people only talk about them between themselves, and don't confront Damien. Madison, being Damien's wife, *was* able to tell however. Steven had been reporting back to the voices every night, how everything was going, how Memento Mori was just weak enough that the voices might be able to escape the hive safely. The only person in the way was Madison. Steven was tasked with murdering her, Damien pleaded with him not to hurt her. Steven ignored Damien's pleads, this was his job, even if it was to murder an innocent girl. Steven took Madison out for a walk into the forest, he brought her to the river. He drowned her. Now, Steven had only been tasked with keeping Tom at bay, to keep him from getting into trouble. After all, he was the voice's lab rat, he was special. But, with Steven's hatred for Tom, he took it too far. He took Tom to the hive and explained himself. Sure, it was a bit of a cartoon villain thing to do, but Steven wanted Tom to know exactly who was killing him. During this, Damien had been trying to separate himself from Steven, and had just enough control to stab himself in the chest. His last words were him telling Tom to tell his children he loved them.

2020 -  There were reports of people going missing in the forest. When they were found, their bodies would be mangled in horrible ways, or unconscious. Tom was now the primary caretaker of Ava and David, though he would also help take care of the other kids. Tom was wary of the missing people cases, were the people he cared about in danger? Tom investigated, all of the missing people cases lead to the same clearing in the forest. Tom got possessed. It was a strange kind of peaceful for a moment, it was Digory, he was able to see his best friend again. Digory was.. Confused. The other looked familiar, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. He looked over the boy for a few seconds more. Green eyes, a bit more bright than he remembered, but still.. Freckles.. Red hair.. That same smile.. Digory knew who this person was supposed to be, it was his old friend Tom, but they seemed so different. His friend always wore the same sweater, his friend’s hair was always neatly brushed, his friend would always wear brown slacks, Digory didn’t know this person. It must’ve been a weird thing to see a person talking with themselves as if they were two people in the same body, so you must understand when Ava snuck out of the Conglour to find Tom, she was very confused. After that, Digory let go of possessing Tom and instead possessed a rat. Tom brought Ava and Digory back to the Conglour. About a week later, Tom got the idea to bring Digory to the hive to get him his own body so that he wouldn’t have to possess a rat. The voices hate the unknowns, including Digory, so Digory’s body has scars on him and burn marks on his back. The scars were just to remind Digory what they thought of him, but the burn marks were to punish Tom for being friends with one of the unknowns, to remind him what led to all of this.

2021 - Just a break from all the depressing shit, just Tom and Digory being gay

and more to come, please kill me i have severe brainrot

[scandalsavagefanfic]

Chapters: 2/? Fandom: Batman - All Media Types, Flashpoint (Comics) Rating: Explicit Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Jason Todd/Thomas Wayne Characters: Jason Todd, Thomas Wayne Additional Tags: Drug Use, Drug Addiction, Coercion, Consent Issues, Dubious Consent, Not on Thomas’s part, Brother Blood is a drug lord, Blood and Gore, this Brother Blood is based off the Teen Titans: The Judas Contract animated movie version, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, The blood and gore is not the sexual kind Series: Part 2 of Baptism. Penance. Grace. Summary:

Before the events of Beautiful and Good, before Jason and Damian’s fateful meeting, Jason Todd and Thomas Wayne save each other’s lives. From bringing down a powerful cult, to an untimely death, and mysterious resurrection, their doomed love is as unlikely as it is passionate.

[aion-rsa]

Best Games to Play in 2021

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While 2020 was a landmark year for the gaming industry thanks to the release next-gen consoles and PC graphics cards, there are plenty of exciting new games coming in 2021. From highly-anticipated sequels like God of War: Ragnarok and Resident Evil Village to brand-new experiences such as Chorus and Deathloop, there’s plenty to look forward to this year.

We’ve curated a list of the 2021 games we’re most excited about, including big AAA blockbusters as well as imaginative indie titles. Keep in mind that we’ve only included games that at the very least have a vague “2021” release window attached, which is why we’re not including games like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild sequel, Elden Ring, or Final Fantasy XVI. We’ll of course update this article as new 2021 titles are announced.

Here’s what you have to look forward to this year:

The Ascent

TBA | Neon Games | XSX, XBO, PC

The Ascent was originally planned as an Xbox Series X launch title before it slipped into 2021. A twin stick shooter at its core, The Ascent features a cover system as well as the ability to target high and low points on enemies, all in a destructible, open world cyberpunk setting. You can also fully customize your character with a variety augments.

Though Neon Games is a small studio, Epic Games was so impressed with early work on the title, that Neon was awarded a grant to help cover development costs. We’re really looking forward to this smaller take on the cyberpunk genre.

Axiom Verge 2

TBA | Thomas Happ Games | Switch

Metroidvanias from indie developers are a dime a dozen nowadays, but the original Axiom Verge stood out thanks to its tight controls, varied weapons, and compelling story. Axiom Verge 2 looks to largely be more of the same, but with even better graphics and more complex enemy patterns. The game has been in development for the past four years, but should finally be out in early 2021.

Balan Wonderworld

March 26 | Balan Company and Arzest | XSX, PS5, PS4, XBO, PC, Switch

Balan Wonderworld is a modern take on classic platformers of the 32-bit era. You choose from one of two characters and explore a variety of worlds mixing reality and imagination, but the real hook is the 80 different costumes you can find that unlock new abilities for your characters.

The game was directed by Yuji Naka of Sonic the Hedgehog fame. Fans of the platformers of the early ’90s don’t want to miss this one.

Back 4 Blood

October 12 | Turtle Rock Studios | XSX, PS5, PS4, XBO, PC

Valve may not have been able to get its act together to make a new Left 4 Dead game, but the developer behind the best-selling franchise has a spiritual successor in the works. Just like in Left 4 Dead, you’ll team up with three other players to take on waves of the undead in missions that change every time you play. There will also be a competitive 4v4 mode with one team taking the role of the zombies.

We went hands-on with the Back 4 Blood alpha, and so far, it does play a lot like Left 4 Dead with updated graphics, which isn’t a bad thing at all if you miss the classic horde shooter. The card system, which bestows interesting perks (and buffs) to players and zombies, does add a bit of variety to the usual formula that make this one a sleeper hit in the streaming world.

Bravely Default II

February 26 | Claytechworks | Switch

The first two Bravely Default games released on the 3DS were typical fantasy RPGs bolstered by their unique risk-reward battle system. Players could use brave points to stack up attacks for big damage, or default to save them up and take less damage in a turn. It kept those games fresh, even if they sometimes dragged on for too long.

Bravely Default II brings the series’ unique combat exclusively to the Switch for the first time. And true to its Final Fantasy inspirations, the characters and story are completely original, so you don’t need any familiarity with the earlier games.

Chivalry 2

June 8 | Torn Banner Studios | XSX, PS5, PS4, XBO, PC

Chivalry: Medieval Warfare was a huge multiplayer hit on the PC when it was released in 2012. Unfortunately, with lagging developer support, most of the community moved on to other games long ago.

Now, Torn Banner is hoping to bring players back with the sequel, which boasts next-gen graphics, improved combat, and massive 64-player battles. Needless to say, Chivalry 2 could be the next big thing in multiplayer. The game is currently in Closed Alpha, so you might be able to check it out before release if you sign up here.

Chorus

TBA | Fishlabs | XSX, PS5, PS4, XBO, PC, Stadia

There’s been a serious lack of good third-person space combat shooters in recent years, but Chorus looks to rectify that. In this single-player game, you’ll play as Nara and her sentient ship Forsaken as they work together to track down the cult that created them in what Fishlabs is calling a “dark new universe.” It kind of looks like Goth Star Fox.

Unfortunately, we haven’t really seen anything more from Chorus since it was announced last summer. Hopefully, the radio silence ends soon.

CrossfireX

TBA | Smilegate Entertainment and Remedy Entertainment | XSX, XBO

CrossFire is a hugely popular tactical first-person shooter in China and South Korea, even though it’s barely made a mark in the West. Fortunately, Microsoft is bringing an updated version of the shooter exclusively to its consoles in hopes that it’ll catch on. Expect lots of tense, objective-based multiplayer action, and though the series isn’t known for its single-player, we’re looking forward to what Remedy can do with this mode hot on the heels of the excellent Control.

Like several of the titles on this list, CrossfireX was planned as a launch title for the Series X, but was delayed into 2021 due to development issues caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Let’s hope we don’t have to wait that much longer for this one.

Deathloop

May 21 | Arkane Studios | PS5, PC

What if you could combine the movie Groundhog Day with the Hitman series? It’s likely that no one had actually asked that question before Deathloop. You play as Colt, an assassin stuck in a time loop on an island in the midst of a party that resets every day. You have to eliminate eight targets before midnight and avoid dying yourself, or you’ll end up at the beginning of the loop again.

Deathloop also features a multiplayer component that allows players to jump into your game as an assassin named Julianna, who is tasked with taking Colt down before he can complete his mission. This PvP aspect should result in some very interesting playthroughs.

While Microsoft now owns Arkane as part of its purchase of ZeniMax Media and Bethesda Softworks, don’t expect Deathloop on the Xbox any time soon. It’s still launching exclusively on the PS5 and PC.

Diablo 2: Resurrected

TBA | Vicarious Visions | XSX, PS5, XBO, PS4, PC, Switch

While Diablo III’s reputation has improved substantially since its controversial 2012 launch, there’s still a vocal group of gamers who prefer the second game in Blizzard’s genre-defining action RPG series. Knowing how much this game means to a lot of people, Vicarious Visions has said it’s not out to reinvent the wheel for Resurrected. The updated 3D graphics will display in 4K, but you can switch back to the original graphics at any point with the press of a button.

And while there will be some quality of life improvements like a shared item stash and automatic gold pickup, don’t expect any revolutionary changes that will spoil the original experience. This should be exactly what we need to tide us over until Diablo IV hits.

Disgaea 6: Defiance of Destiny

June 29 | Nippon Ichi Software | Switch

After a couple of well-received remakes, the first new Disgaea title in more than five years should be out in 2021. This time around, the offbeat story focuses on Zed, a zombie who attempts to use something called “super reincarnation” to stop the seemingly invincible God of Destruction who is slowly destroying all worlds.

While both the PlayStation 4 and Switch are dialed in for Japanese releases in January, so far only a Switch version has been announced for the West.

Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance

June 22 | Tuque Games | XSX, PS5, XBO, PS4, PC

Baldur’s Gate isn’t the only Dungeons & Dragons video game series back from the dead. The cooperative action-adventure series Dark Alliance once again allows players to journey into the world of the Forgotten Realms with up to three other friends online. And unlike Baldur’s Gate 3, Dark Alliance is releasing in completed form, so you can expect a full campaign right out of the box.

The Elder Scrolls Online: Blackwood

June 1 | ZeniMax Online Studios | XSX, PS5, XBO, PS4, PC, Stadia

Last year’s Elder Scrolls Online expansion finally brought the world of Skyrim to the MMO, and ZeniMax is keeping the blasts from the past coming. This year’s expansion, Blackwood, brings back elements from Oblivion, with a whole new campaign that sees you face off against Daedric Prince Mehrunes Dagon 800 years before the events of The Elder Scrolls IV. It’s all part of the year’s big Gates of Oblivion storyline.

The expansion adds the Blackwood region to the game, which includes the Imperial city of Leyawiin from Oblivion, and also finally brings a Companion system to the game. Recruit an NPC to fight by your side and explore the land of Tamriel.

Evil Dead: The Game

TBA | Boss Team Games and Saber Interactive | XSX, PS5, PS4, XBO, PC, Switch

The Evil Dead movies are considered all-time horror classics, but success has always eluded the franchise in the world of video games. But that could be about to change. Announced at The Game Awards, Evil Dead: The Game sees Ash and friends taking on waves of Deadites on several maps, including the iconic cabin in the woods. Gameplay appears to be similar to Saber’s previous adaptation, World War Z, which was a solid title that never quite seemed to find an audience.

Far Cry 6

TBA | Ubisoft | XSX, PS5, PS4, XBO, PC, Stadia, Luna

By now we all know what to expect from Far Cry: hop into a tropical paradise, blow up a bunch of outposts, and methodically take back the land from the big bad guy. After a detour into the American wilderness with Far Cry 5, the next entry in the series heads to Yara, a fictional Caribbean country heavily based on Cuba. And with Giancarlo Esposito of Breaking Bad and The Mandalorian fame playing the big bad El Presidente, you know we’re in for some especially awesome villainy.

Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker

TBA | Square Enix | PS5, PS4, PC

After one of the worst MMORPG launches ever, it’s a miracle that Final Fantasy XIV is still around a decade later. Not only did Square Enix turn things around, this game is now regarded as one of the very best in the genre.

Endwalker, the game’s fourth major expansion pack will conclude the story of the warring gods Hydaelyn and Zodiark, which has been running since the game’s 2013 relaunch. This won’t be the end of the MMO, though. Square still says it has several years worth of stories to tell.

Along with the obligatory new zones and quests, Square has promised two new classes. The first one shown so far, the sage, is a healer who battles with floating swords. 

Five Nights at Freddy’s: Security Breach 

TBA | Steel Wool Studios | PS5, PS4, PC

The Five Nights at Freddy’s series has been terrorizing gamers for more than a half decade now, and Steel Wool Studio is looking to up the scares with the power of next-generation graphics. We don’t know how exactly the game will play yet, but the announcement video showcased a very cool looking shopping mall with an ‘80s motif. On the PS5 and PC, Security Breach will support real-time raytracing, so Freddy and the gang should look better than ever.

Ghosts ‘n Goblins Resurrection

February 25 | Capcom | Switch

After a lengthy absence, the crushingly difficult Ghosts ‘n Goblins series has been revived. Resurrection, which is a whole new installment and not just a remake, features the series’ classic 2D gameplay, with the knight Arthur fighting his way through hordes of monsters and environmental hazards. And of course, the new graphics look much better than the old NES and SNES games. Best (worst?) of all, this modern take is just as punishing as its predecessors so be prepared to die A LOT.

Ghostwire: Tokyo 

TBA | Tango Gameworks | PS5, PC

Tango Gameworks has only released two titles to date: The Evil Within and its sequel. Anyone who played those games can tell you, the developers know horror. With a variety of deformed enemies and a mind-bending plot, The Evil Within titles are two of the scariest games of the last decade.

Ghostwire: Tokyo is a brand new IP that moves the action to the third-person. Instead of the typical firearms, you’ll be dispatching ghosts with psychic powers. Expect an exceedingly creepy experience regardless.

God of War: Ragnarok 

TBA | SIE Santa Monica Studio | PS5

Sony has said almost nothing about the next God of War game except that it’s coming next year. One thing we do know is that Ragnarok is the mythical battle leading to the death of the Norse gods. With Kratos’ history of deicide, it only makes sense that he’ll be killing a whole lot of them in the next game. The previous title also hinted at a showdown with Thor, the god of thunder (no, not the Marvel guy), which should be pretty epic.

Guilty Gear Strive

June 11 | Arc System Works | PS5, PS4, PC

The latest in the long-running Guilty Gear franchise should be out early in 2021 with some interesting new fighters as well as exciting returning characters. There will be a dedicated dash button and a new feature will let opponents who are knocked into walls cling to them. If you can land enough attacks, you will break through the wall and initiate a stage transition.

Arc has promised “a completely new Guilty Gear” with Strive. We’re not sure about that, but the trailers showcasing the franchise’s trademark mix of 2D and 3D graphics look better than ever.

Halo Infinite

Fall | 343 Industries | XSX, XBO, PC

After a disappointing reveal last July, Halo Infinite was bumped from the Series X launch to Fall 2021. The game has been described as both a sequel and a “spiritual reboot” for the series, so it will be interesting to see how far 343 Industries handles Cortana’s heel turn after the fan backlash Halo 5: Guardians received.

Many fans weren’t happy to hear more microtransactions will be added to Infinite in the form of “coatings” (shaders) that can be purchased to customize Spartans in multiplayer. It doesn’t help that players have yet to even see any multiplayer gameplay from Infinite.

Hopefully, the delay will give 343 the time it needs to put out a game that lives up to the series’ reputation.

Hitman III

January 20 | IO Interactive | XSX, PS5, PS4, XBO, PC, Switch, Stadia

IO’s rebooted Hitman games are among the most underrated titles of the last few years, streamlining the series’ once finnicky systems and placing Agent 47 in huge sandbox levels with more ways than ever to eliminate his targets. If you own the previous two games, you can import maps and progress to take advantage of Hitman III’s improvements on any platform, but only the PS4 version will support the PSVR headset for the ultimate Hitman experience.

Horizon Forbidden West 

TBA | Guerilla Games | PS5, PS4

Thanks to its unique post-post-apocalyptic setting and fluid gameplay, Horizon Zero Dawn was one of the best open world games of the previous generation. The sequel looks to out do the original with even more varied environments like deserts, beaches, and the ruins of San Francisco. And there will of course be more mechanized prehistoric beasts than ever before.

While Forbidden West is coming to the PS4 as well, the PS5’s DualSense controller should provide the definitive experience thanks to its haptic feedback. You should finally be able to feel what it’s like for Aloy to pull back on her iconic bow.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD

July 16 | Nintendo | Switch

The Legend of Zelda series turned 35 this year and Nintendo is celebrating the milestone with an HD remaster of one of the most underrated installments in the long-running franchise. Skyward Sword takes things back all the way to the very beginning of the Zelda timeline, telling the story of how the mythical Master Sword was created. Along the way, players are in for a fun adventure including some interesting experiments with motion control.

While it’ll likely never be as beloved as the games before it or Breath of the Wild, this Wii installment is still worth experiencing, especially if you missed it back in 2011.

Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga

TBA | Traveller’s Tales | XSX, PS5, PS4, XBO, PC, Switch

There have been plenty of Lego Star Wars games, including one that already adapted the “complete” saga, but this will be the first to feature the entire Sequel Trilogy. Even if you’ve played through those other games, The Skywalker Saga will feature never-before-seen levels and gameplay.

Traveller’s Tales promises an absolutely massive game, too. Each of the nine films features five levels, and the movies can be played through in any order. Nearly 500 playable characters are expected to be included in the final game. We’d love it if Mando and Grogu make the final cut, too.

Mario Golf: Super Rush

June 25 | Nintendo | Switch

It’s been a while since Nintendo dropped a new Mario Golf game, but it’s finally happening on the Switch. While Super Rush offers up much of the same Mario Golf action you know and love, it does have an interesting new mode called Speed Golf, which pits competitors against each other as they race down the course in real time to see who scores first. It should add a bit of pep to the chill vibes of the series.

Mass Effect: Legendary Edition 

May 14 | BioWare | XSX, PS5, PS4, XBO, PC

Nearly a decade since its conclusion, the Mass Effect trilogy remains a favorite among many gamers. BioWare hasn’t commented too much about what to expect from this remaster, but we know the visuals will be upgraded to 4K, and all of the excellent post-launch DLC will be included. The developer has also promised other upgrades to bring the titles up to modern standards, so maybe we’ll see some changes to the first game’s finicky combat. And if Bioware is feeling particularly ambitious, we might even get a few hints as to what they have planned for the upcoming sequel.

The Medium

January 28 | Bloober Team | XSX, PC

Originally announced way back in 2012 for the Xbox 360, PS3, and Wii U, The Medium was shelved for years due to technological constraints before finally resurfacing in 2020. Gameplay focuses on a medium who can instantaneously travel between the real world and the spirit realm to solve puzzles, something that just wasn’t possible until the current crop of consoles adopted solid state drives.

Bloober Team has quietly built a reputation for itself with excellent single-player horror games like Observer and Layers of Fear, and The Medium is their most ambitious game yet.

Monster Hunter Rise

March 26 | Capcom | Switch

The excellent Monster Hunter: World helped the series find a large audience in the West, although the game’s more demanding performance requirements kept it off the Switch. Fortunately, Rise is built specifically for Nintendo’s portable-console hybrid. And rather than a watered down port of World, Capcom this is a full-featured sequel with a new, more vertical map and all 14 weapon types from Monster Hunter: World and Monster Hunter Generations. If you’ve been waiting to jump on the Monster Hunter craze on the Switch, now is the time!

New Pokemon Snap

April 30 | Nintendo | Switch

Nintendo is unleashing peak late ’90s nostalgia with this revival of the Pokemon Snap series for the Switch. Wrapped in a modern package, New Pokemon Snap is more of the on-rails photography game you loved when you were a kid. The game features over 200 Pokemon to capture with your trusty camera, which you can upload online to share with other players. And true to the Instagram era, you can now touch up your pictures, adding blur and filters, adjusting the zoom, and more. This is a must-buy for Nintendo fans.

New World

August 31 | Amazon Games | PC

Amazon has had its sights set on the gaming world for quite some time, quietly pumping money into a number of projects, and New World could be its breakthrough hit. In this MMORPG set on an unnamed land in the Atlantic Ocean in the 1600s, you’ll wield bows, hammers, hatchets, magical staffs, musket rifles, spears, and swords against a variety of fantastical creatures. There will also be plenty of opportunities to gather resources, craft and build settlements. Best of all, there’s no monthly fee to play.

Launching a new IP is always difficult, and MMOs are a particularly difficult genre to break into, but if any company has the resources to succeed, it’s Amazon. 

Nier Replicant ver.1.22474487139…

April 23 | Square Enix | PS4, XBO, PC

Before Nier: Automata was hailed as one of the best games of the last generation, there was simply Nier, a quirky, slightly janky action RPG that nevertheless found a devoted fanbase on the PS3 and Xbox 360. Square Enix has been cagey on exactly what improvements we’ll see in Replicant, an updated version of the original, saying only that it’s somewhere between a remaster and a full remake. 

The screenshots we’ve seen so far look absolutely gorgeous, and the combat system will also be updated to more closely resemble Automata’s gameplay. Considering that Nier‘s graphics and combat were criticized at the time, Replicant could end up being the definitive version of the experience.

Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection

June 10 | Team Ninja | XBO, PS4, Switch, PC

Before there was Dark Souls, masochists flocked to the Ninja Gaiden series, which basically wrote the book on punishing action games. If you’ve been missing this franchise of late, Koei Tecmo is re-releasing three of the 3D installments in a sleek new collection for modern platforms. Included in the box are Ninja Gaiden Sigma, Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2, and Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge, plus most of the downloadable content released for these games.

No More Heroes III

August 27 | Grasshopper Manufacture | Switch

Another game that was bumped into 2021 at the last minute, we actually haven’t seen that much from this one, even though it should be out soon. Screenshots show Travis Touchdown wielding his trademark beam katana and performing pro wrestling moves on enemies. And everything looks much better on the Switch than the first two games originally released on the Wii.

As we’ve all come to expect from Suda51 and Grasshopper Manufacture by now, the story sounds absolutely bonkers, involving a weird parody of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and aliens posing as superheroes who Travis must now defeat to save the world. It doesn’t make a ton of sense, but No More Heroes fans wouldn’t have it any other way.

The Outlast Trials

TBA | Red Barrels | PC

While The Outlast Trials will be the third game in the Outlast series, it won’t follow the plot of the previous games and instead will focus on the subjects of some sort of Cold War experiment. Those earlier games didn’t feature any combat, instead forcing you to evade enemies to survive, and it’s a safe bet that The Outlast Trials will follow a similar gameplay structure. It’ll also feature four-player co-op, a first for the horror series. Knowing Red Barrels, you should expect something really scary.

Outriders

April 1 | People Can Fly | XSX, PS5, PS4, XBO, PC

Outriders combines the shooter and RPG genres in some unique and engaging ways. At the start of the game, you’ll pick from one of four classes: the time manipulating Trickster, fire-controlling Pyromancer, the seismic-powered Devastator, or the Technomancer, each of whom has a full-featured skill tree. Some have compared the title to live service games like Destiny and The Division, but Outriders also has a style of its own, presenting itself as a grittier alternative to those games.

Persona 5 Strikers

February 23 | Omega Force and P-Studio | PS4, PC, Switch

It’s a tradition at this point for Atlus to spin-off a Persona game into as many other titles as possible. We’ve already seen rhythm and dungeon crawler spin-offs of Persona 5 (and even a Super Smash Bros. cameo from Joker), but this is The Phantom Thieves’ first foray into the hack and slash genre. Gameplay is a mix of the usual Dynasty Warriors combo attacks, but there are also turn-based persona battles as well. And of course, expect plenty of Persona 5’s usual style and flare. 

Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis

TBA | Sega | XSX, XBO, PC

Wait, didn’t Phantasy Star Online 2 just come out? Well yes, but only in the West. Japan has been playing the game since 2012, which is why the MMORPG might feel a little dated. New Genesis is a half update-half sequel with updated combat, and for the first time in the series, open world areas. It’s more like the Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn update instead of a whole new game. The best part is that you’ll be able to transfer over your character from PSO 2 to New Genesis, and like its predecessor, it will be completely free-to-play.

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake

TBA | Ubisoft | PS4, XBO, PC

The Sands of Time was arguably the best game of the PS2 era, which is why a remake is long overdue. Fan reception regarding the new art style has been mixed, though it certainly does look better than the original 2003 release. But how this remake plays remains to be seen.

While lauded for its tight platforming and time-bending mechanics, The Sands of Time always suffered from lackluster combat. Let’s hope Ubisoft has ironed out all of the kinks with this remake, though.

Originally planned for a January release, Ubisoft recently pushed the game back to March 18, so we’ll have to wait just a little bit longer for the return of the Prince.

Psychonauts 2 

TBA | Double Fine | XSX, PS5, PS4, XBO, PC

Fans have been waiting for a Psychonauts sequel for 15 years now. Fortunately, it looks like Double Fine’s follow up will finally see the light of day in 2021. The first game was praised for its varied levels and puzzles, and Psychonauts 2 will again see Raz delving into the psyches of other characters, with hilarious and frightening results. Raz won’t be completely alone for this journey as Double Fine has announced that he will be joined by a new glowing companion voiced by Jack Black.  

Rainbow Six Quarantine 

TBA | Ubisoft | XSX, PS5, PS4, XBO, PC

Rainbow Six Siege is still one of the most popular multiplayer games on the market years after its release, which is why Ubisoft isn’t looking to get in the way of its own success with Quarantine. While Siege focuses on PvP combat, Quarantine takes its inspiration from that game’s popular limited time Outbreak mode. In this spin-off, teams of three work together to eliminate an alien threat controlled by the AI in dynamic missions. The game won’t be completely independent from Siege though, with at least some of its roster of operators also being playable in Quarantine.

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart

June 11 | Insomniac games | PS5

There hasn’t been a bad Ratchet & Clank game yet, and Rift Apart seems poisted to continue that trend. The basic gameplay will be similar to the excellent 2016 reboot, but Insomniac is taking advantage of the power of the PS5’s SSD to introduce instant travel between completely different worlds. From what we’ve seen in gameplay trailer so far, the mechanic is very impressive in action. Equally stunning are the game’s visuals, which will support real-time raytracing and full 4K resolution.

Resident Evil Village 

May 7 | Capcom | XSX, PS5, PC

Resident Evil Village is a direct sequel to Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, but don’t call it Resident Evil 8, as Capcom is emphatic that the focus will be on the mysterious occurrences in a European village and not the larger Resi universe. From the one trailer we’ve seen, we know that Ethan Winters will be returning from the previous game, and this time around he’ll be joined by series regular Chris Redfield. 

Gameplay will again be in first-person, so you should notice quite a few similarities with Resi 7, but with improved graphics and much shorter load times since this will be one of the first major next-gen releases that won’t have a PS4 or Xbox One version.

Scorn

TBA | Ebb Software | XSX, PC

Scorn looks like an absolute nightmare, but in the best possible way. It is, after all, directly inspired by the art of H.R. Giger of Alien fame and Polish painter Zdzisław Beksiński. In Scorn, you play as a skinless humanoid searching for answers in a horrific techno-organic open world. At the very least, it promises to be the most disturbing title of the year.

Shin Megami Tensei V

2021 | Atlus | Switch

While the Persona spin-off series gets most of the attention nowadays, the original Shin Megami Tensei franchise is still going strong, and the latest title in the long-running series should be out worldwide next year.

This is the first Shin Megami Tensei developed using the Unreal Engine 4, so it should look fantastic, but expect similar gameplay to previous titles, including turn-based combat and lots of negotiating with demons to try to get them to join your party.

Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury on Switch

February 12 | Nintendo | Switch

When it was released in 2013, Super Mario 3D World was easily one of the best Mario games in years, effortlessly combining the 3D movement of newer games in the series with the level design and multiple characters of the original NES games. You could play as Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Toad, or Rosalina, and they could each don catsuits that opened up all sorts of new platforming opportunities. But maybe 10 people played it because no one bought the Wii U.

Fortunately, the game received the re-release it deserved this year. Plus you get a whole new campaign called Bowser’s Fury, an interesting twist on the usual Mario level structure that’s worth a playthrough.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2

TBA | GSC Game World | XSX, PC

The original S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games were praised for their horrifying atmosphere, survival horror gameplay, and unique setting in the radioactive Chernobyl zone. Even now, almost 14 years after its release, Shadow of Chernobyl holds up pretty well, even if the graphics are dated.

At this point, we know more about S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2’s troubled development than the game itself. The title was first announced in 2010, cancelled in 2012, and then revived in 2018. The trailer released in 2020 looks promising though, and Microsoft has announced that the game will be available via Game Pass on release day.

Valheim

February 2 | Iron Gate AB

Valheim came out of nowhere to become one of the big success stories of 2021, selling more than a million copies less than three weeks after its early access release. If you aren’t caught up on the latest Steam phenomenon, think of it as Minecraft mixed with Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. You and up to nine other friends are dropped off in the middle of a Viking afterlife to survive, craft, and battle mythical creatures.

Iron Gate AB has been vague about what exactly to expect from future updates, but the studio has teased future customization options for homes and ships, and eventually even a new biome to explore. 

Warhammer 40,000: Darktide 

TBA | Fatshark | XSX, PC

Fatshark’s previous Warhammer Vermintide games were among the best co-op titles of the last generation, featuring heart-pumping four-player multiplayer action against hordes of rat men. The latest installment, Darktide, has a lot in common with previous Vermintide games, except that the setting has moved to the sci-fi-heavy Warhammer 40,000 universe. Players will control members of the Inquisition, who are sent on a mission to exterminate a heretical cult known as The Admonition. The game will feature the same visceral melee combat as its predecessors, but this time all that killing is done for the glory of the God Emperor. 

Wrath: Aeon of Ruin

TBA | KillPixel

First-person shooters have come a long way in the last couple of decades, but some times you just want to run and gun in a dark fantasy setting as quickly as possible. And remarkably few modern games provide that experience. Enter Wrath: Aeon of Ruin, a spiritual successor to Quake, Doom, and Hexen, built on the 25-year-old Quake Engine.

Wrath has been in Early Access since November 2019, and what’s been released so far is very promising, looking and sounding like a lost PC shooter from the late ‘90s. The full game should be out later this year. 

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from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/384cD7p

[captainlordauditor]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Batman - All Media Types Rating: Explicit Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Dick Grayson/Jason Todd, mentions of Thomas Wayne Jr/Dick Grayson Characters: Dick Grayson, Jason Todd Additional Tags: Earth 3, Bottom Jason Todd, Bottom Jason Todd Week 2020, Anal Sex, Oral Sex, Bloodplay, Incest Kink, Brother/Brother Incest, Underage Sex, Unsafe Sex, do not try this at home, gothic horror, Porn with Feelings, yes this is both of those things, mentions of extreme underage sex, Alternate Universe - Dark, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied Childhood Sexual Abuse, Cults, Codependency, Dick Grayson is a Talon, Thomas Wayne Jr is a bad sibling, Brief suicide ideation, sort of kind of tim drake bashing, in that Dick doesn't like him, no Tims were harmed in the making of this fic, a Jason was, Resurrected Jason Todd, canon typical resurrection, i can't believe that's a tag i just wrote, Mentions of Murder, light gore, Partner Worship, small!Jason, Unhealthy Relationships, Established Relationship, Just everything, if you'd warn for it assume this fic might have it, Consent Issues, due to, Age Difference, Graveyard Sex, idk if that's a tag but it should be, jason todd channels mary shelley but somehow even more goth, Court of Owls, Alternate Universe - Court of Owls | Talon (DCU), Fanart, Fanfiction with Fanart Summary:

Talon spends every night curled at the gravesite that proves his failure.

Tonight is different.

For Bottom Jason Todd week 2020, the prompts Earth 3 and tiny!Jason

[ao3feed-brucewayne]

london calling (to the underworld)

by marriedwithchildren

“Do you know what a bat’s main predator is?” Jason leans forward, and her eyes glow something wicked. “A hawk.” "Only if they are alone, of course," she continues. "But that's exactly what you are, isn't it?" Bat and hawk sit there; alone and alone; and finally Jason remembers the sickly feeling of being caught in death's trap.

After Jason Todd kills Joker, he thinks his problems in life are gone for good - that he can finally heal that jagged scar of death across his soul. That is until mysterious murders begin to happen in Gotham, all with a puzzling pattern, and Joker is apparently spotted again, leading him to realise that souls like his are just not meant to rest.

or; jason learns how to reconnect with himself and his family through the surprising familiarity of some mysterious murders. (and im very tired of the same old plots dc use so have decided to take it upon myself to make my own plot for the comics)

Words: 2383, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Fandoms: Batman (Comics), DCU (Comics)

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Categories: Other

Characters: Jason Todd, Dick Grayson, Tim Drake, Damian Wayne, Bruce Wayne, Barbara Gordon, Duke Thomas, Stephanie Brown, Cassandra Cain, Alfred Pennyworth, John Constantine, Roy Harper, Original Characters

Relationships: Minor or Background Relationship(s)

Additional Tags: Murder, Murder Mystery, Necromancy, Dark Magic, Occult, Resurrection, Talking To Dead People, Attempt at Humor, Batbrothers Bonding (DCU), Batfamily Dynamics (DCU), Batfamily Angst (DCU), Batfamily-centric (DCU), Jason Todd-centric, POV Jason Todd, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Childhood Trauma, Mental Health Issues, Psychoanalysis, Character Study, Good Sibling Dick Grayson, Bruce Wayne is a Good Parent, eventually, Literary References & Allusions, literary foils, Symbolism, Major Original Character(s), original villain characters, Female Friendship, except theyre all murderers, Female rage, Enemies to Friends, Mystery, Plot Twists, Jason Todd Heals, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Cults, Death, Character Growth

source https://archiveofourown.org/works/44141178