#» dr. arkham › ic

[rogueportraits]

Gold, for Jeremiah?

A  MEMORY  THAT  IS  COLORED          .    .    .

Jeremiah fiddles with the picture frame. It's Art Deco in its stylings: an original from the era. Gold gilt, an angel-maiden reaching high at something beyond as her wings make the top of the frame. He wipes at a fingerprint (his own?) with the edge of his sleeve. Someone's at the door.

"Come in."

It's Dr. Jacosta Joy, the new psychologist. Jeremiah sets the picture down quickly, considers turning it face-down. But that's a clear sign of guilt, and he is not guilty. Not in this, at least.

"Is there something I can do for you?" he asks.

"You can explain the schedules you have clinical staff on," Dr. Joy replies, stepping into the room. Her arm is crooked around a stack of files - patient folders, judging from the embossed ARKHAM STATE HOSPITAL logo at the top one's corner. "Fifty-five hours a week on average, Dr. Arkham."

Dr. Joy's tone is nothing but professional. Jeremiah can, with the great practice he's been afforded, easily detect the venom in her voice. Two, of course, can play at that game.

"It is a hospital, Dr. Joy. Those hours are far from unheard of in residencies or in other institutions. I understand that you came from out-patient treatment, but at Arkham-"

"How many hours do you work a week?"

Jeremiah's eyes flicker to the photograph again. The gold frame almost looks like wax in the hazy afternoon light. "As medical director, my hours are flexible."

Eighty, sometimes, but he's not going to admit that to a new hire straightaway. He knows what the water-cooler gossip is. He'll go mad, just the same as his namesake relative. Or he's already gone mad, after the recent nastiness with Zsasz and the... changes in his personal treatment philosophy. Funny, that last one.

"Forty?" The venom's somewhat more obvious now.

He rubs at his temples and meets Dr. Joy's gaze. "Often nearing seventy, when I count. Are you satisfied, Dr. Joy?"

"Hell," she says simply, and looks shocked at the word loosed from her mouth. "Don't you have a daughter?"

Her eyes are on the frame too, now. Jeremiah wonders, idly, if she could see through the backing. But that's mad. He shakes the thought away with a twitch of his finger.

"Niece. But this hospital doesn't run itself, as you've realized. Nor does it fund itself, which is the reasoning for your shift schedule. If you have any more questions, Dr. Joy, you're more than welcome to bring them up at the staff meeting on Wednesday. But I have work to get back to."

Paper files from the basement levels. Incomplete patient histories. The former administrator, Cavendish, is long gone (and buried, Jeremiah remembers with a shiver), but he haunts this place in every "misplaced" file.

"A family photo?" Dr. Joy asks, not unkindly.

"Yes," Jeremiah answers, and looks to the door with intent.

Dr. Joy sees herself out.

Jeremiah looks at the photo. It's worn around the edges from the decades, the gelatin-silver print faded. Doctor, child, wife. Amadeus, Harriet, Constance. It looks to be spring in the photo, and for a moment Jeremiah can see a hint of green in the black-and-white foliage. A trick of the light.

He puts the frame in his desk drawer, careful to not scratch the glass.

[greenglowinspooks]

consider: danny son of Joker

All Sharp Angles

—

Danny had always known that he was adopted; far before his parents had actually up and told him, anyways.

He’d just never looked like his family.

Where his parents were soft curves, he was all hard angles. He was lean and slender, almost willowy once he got his growth spurt, where his parents were broader and thicker-built.

Where his father’s hair was a warm, light black, like a cup of coffee, his was dark and cold like an oil spill.

Even his eyes were wrong; sure, his father’s eyes were blue too, but his were far darker. Danny’s were as light and frigid as arctic ice; even before he had died, they had never reflected enough light to seem alive.

So, when his parents finally told him the truth once he turned 15, it was honestly more of a relief than anything else. He wasn’t uniquely strange, he just didn’t look like his parents because he wasn’t related to them.

Still, he couldn’t help but be curious as to where he had come from. Sure, he liked his parents’ stories about the Fenton family and their rich (probably false) history, but he had roots branching elsewhere, too.

So, with money he had earned from washing cars and mowing lawns, he had bought a DNA test for 50 dollars, and sent a vial of blood in to whatever shady company he had bought it from.

The results…

He stared at the letter in shock.

He had already crumpled to the ground; luckily, he had been standing on the plush carpet of his room rather than the kitchen tile when he had opened it.

Father - Unknown

Mother - Dr. Harleen Quinzel

Fuck. Fuck.

That couldn’t be right, could it?

He checked the reviews of the company with manic speed; not a single other person had been named as being related to a rogue.

Could it be a prank?

Surely, the actual Harley Quinn never had time to have a child. Or, if she did, she would’ve been made to keep it by the Joker.

He began to google in a daze.

…

After a few minutes, he had his answer.

The longest time that the Joker had ever been in Arkham was for a year and a month.

He had gone in roughly 9 months before Danny was born, which technically gave Harley the time to have a child, put it up for adoption, and lose some of the baby fat before the Joker came back, all without him ever knowing.

Harley had also been mysteriously inactive for most of that time, too, which only gave more credibility to his theory.

What was he supposed to do with this, though?

It’s not like he could tell anyone. It’s not like it really changed anything in his day to day life, aside from his entire worldview.

Obviously he told Sam and Tucker, as well as Jazz after a few days.

Obviously he didn’t tell his parents.

…

In the end, not much came of it.

It was just another fact of life, another thing eating away at Danny’s mind. Another fear to internalize.

He had gotten so good at ignoring it, in fact, that he didn’t even remember where he came from when he was accepted to Gotham U, and drove a whole day to the only university willing to give him a scholarship.

…Well, as long as he keeps his nose out of trouble, it won’t matter much anyways. After all, what are the odds he actually meets anyone who might be able to figure it out?

[paradiseprincesss]

espresso | jonathan crane

this was my first fic ever...bare with me lol.

summary: a meet cute that turns into domestic life with our beloved dr. crane.

warnings: swearing, slight implied age gap (reader is in her early 20's, jonathan is late 20's), fluff

word count: 2.1k

masterlist

as the rain continued to pour down from the sky onto the city of gotham, you sat in the bedroom of your apartment in your favourite pyjamas, phone in hand as you gushed to your friend about the encounter you had today.

"i swear, it was some meet cute situation straight out of a romance movie," you say over the phone, giggling, "holy shit, he was so cute though, but yeah - that's how he asked me out."

you were telling your friend about how earlier in the day, you so happened to bump into a very handsome stranger at your favourite coffee shop - well, technically, he bumped into you. as you were turning around to walk out of the coffee shop, iced coffee in hand, you suddenly gasped at the feeling of hot coffee spilling on your sundress.

"jesus, im sorry-" you heard a flustered voice say, and you quickly look up to find a handsome, tall, dark haired stranger, with eyes so blue you could still get lost in them through the glasses he was wearing. he was reaching over to grab napkins off the counter, and awkwardly tried to pat the coffee off your dress.

you laughed softly, and shook your head while taking the napkins from his grasp and tried to get the remnants of coffee off yourself, "mistakes happen," you softly assure the stranger while doing so.

after a few moments of fumbling around with napkins together, you tossed them aside into the trash, and he spoke to you again.

"i apologize, i've had quite the morning, and i was not looking where i was going, are you alright?" he asks, and you lock eyes again. god, he was actually gorgeous.

"i'm alright, it's okay," you assured him once more, "i get it, we all have days like that." you say softly, with a little smile, noticing his suit and tie.

he looks at you quietly for a moment, seemingly taking you in, before gently speaking again, "i'm sorry, i'm not usually this brash or forward by any means, but are you seeing anyone?"

you stare at him with surprise for a moment, before responding to him with a slight blush dusting your cheeks, "...no uh, i'm not, why? tryna ask me out on a date or something?" you quipped, suddenly feeling a little bold.

"i am, yeah. how about you give me your number and i'll take you out to dinner sometime this week?" he casually asks you, and you stared at him surprised again - this handsome stranger (who, by the way, just spilled coffee on you?!), was asking you out on a date...how could you say no?

"oh, um, yes, okay. yeah." you say, slightly flustered, as he pulls his phone out and gives it to you so that you could add in your contact information. after you gave him your number, you smiled softly at him as he spoke to you again.

"i'll text you, sound good?" he asks, casually again, which makes your heart leap for some reason, and all you could do was nod, as you made your way out of the coffee shop with your iced coffee.

and that's how you ended up on the phone with your friend gushing about the event that unfolded earlier on in your day.

"maybe he's the one." your friend teased, with a giggle.

"could you imagine?" you say back, laughing.

"and it was the worst hangover of my life." you joked, a glass of your favourite wine in hand as you looked at the man across the fancy restaurant table from you.

"i haven't been hungover since college." he laughed along with you, looking at you with a smile.

you we're on a date with the man who had spilled his coffee onto you, who you learned was jonathan crane; the chief psychiatrist at arkham asylum. you told him your name, and what you were currently majoring in. with the car he picked you up in and with the restaurant he took you to for the first date, you were already falling, quickly too. clearly, he had a taste for the finer things in life.

after a few more drinks, and good food, the two of you continued on talking as if you had known each other forever. then, the two of you headed out, and he drove you back home to your apartment. as he pulled up to your apartment complex, he parked his car and insisted that he walk you up to the front doors of the building. what a gentleman, you thought.

as you got to the front of the complex building, you turned around to thank him, and he smiled softly at you.

"yeah, of course,” he says with a pause and then he sighs, “god, you’re so beautiful.” he whispers softly, taking his hand, tracing your jawline and cupping your face softly, and before you knew it - you were leaning into his touch, and you felt his lips on yours.

"i can't stop thinking about you, i miss you." he sighs to you, over the phone.

jonathan was stuck working late again at arkham asylum, and yet he still he still made time to call you, just to hear your voice once more. the two of you had been dating for a few months now, and you'd never been with someone before who treated you with such love and adoration.

you stared at the vase of red roses on your table, which he brought to you weekly because he 'knows they're your favourite', as he always said, and you smiled to yourself softly.

"i miss you more." you said dreamily over the phone.

there was silence on his end for a moment, before he eventually sighed and spoke again, "you don't have class tomorrow, right?"

you smile to yourself again, knowing he usually followed this up by asking to see you or something along those lines, "...no."

"can i see you?"

your heart leaped at those four words you loved to hear, "yeah, of course. come over?"

again, he was silent for a moment - almost as if he was lost in thought. you didn't blame him, working late at an asylum was tiring. after a few moments, he still didn't say anything, and you spoke into your phone again, softly, "jon?"

"you should move in with me. i dunno, just a thought..." he trails off, suddenly speaking up again.

you felt your cheeks heat up at the thought of actually living with him, moving in. "...why not?" you say, with a breathless laugh.

"let's discuss tomorrow, i'll drive to yours around noon, but i have to get back to work," he sighed, "i love you."

i love you, you could never get tired of hearing those words come out of his mouth, "okay, i love you too, jon. see you tomorrow."

and with that, you hung up - giggling like a schoolgirl with a crush. jonathan was whipped for you; he was wrapped around your finger, and you loved it. you knew he was thinking of you and you only every night, every day, 24/7 really.

jonathan wrapped his arms around you, hugging you from behind as you cooked dinner in the kitchen.

"missed you at work today." he softly says, placing a soft kiss behind your ear, and a few more down your neck, making you giggle.

"my mind kept wandering to you during class today," you confess, feeling his arms stay put around you, "dinner should be ready in around 15 minutes."

"theres fresh roses on the table for you, darling. got them on my way home from work for you, appreciate you making dinner, you didn't have to." he tells you, kissing your cheek before unwrapping his arms from you, as he made his way out of the kitchen.

feeling content and loved, you sigh happily to yourself, finishing up your cooking. after dinner, the two of you sat cuddled up on the couch together, watching some show on netflix you were currently binging. as you stayed there, snuggled up in his arms, you felt him take a gentle hold of your hand, and his thumb brushed over the diamond ring on your finger.

oh right - the diamond engagement ring that he had proposed to you with just after your two-year anniversary. he had put in so much effort, taking you away for a weekend vacation, where he surprised you with a hotel room littered with rose petals and candles. he told you how much he loved you; how he just adored you and couldn't see himself living a life without you in it.

he gave you his heart, and you gave him yours. he knew after you found out about him being scarecrow, and you were actually okay with it, that he was going to make you mrs. crane.

it's funny, really, you didn't mean to find out, but jonathan was working suspiciously late for the last couple weeks, and your mind automatically went to the worst; an affair.

however, after doing some snooping around (you pulled a joe goldberg, obviously, and started following him around when he said he was at "work"), only to find out that he was in fact not having an affair, but just fear gassing people around gotham in what appeared to be a burlap scarecrow mask of some sort. phew!

a part of you knew that this was indeed fucked up, but i mean hey, he wasn't cheating, and he treated you so good, we all look past certain things for the people we love, right?

when he came home one night around 3 am, he found you waiting in the living room of your shared apartment, arms crossed and a pout on your pretty face.

"you scared me! i thought you were cheating on me. next time just tell me if your...doing whatever your doing with that toxin stuff you create at work." you exclaimed at him, looking cute as ever while doing so.

he was silent for a moment - shocked, actually. he didn't know what shocked him more, the fact that you thought he would ever betray you like that with another woman or that you didn't care about his secondary...job.

"...darling, i can't tell if your being satire or not." he says cautiously, taking a few steps closer to you on the couch.

"i'm really not." you roll your eyes, and huff.

jonathan was silent again, before laughing softly and shaking his head, coming over to wrap his arms around you, his voice low and gentle.

"i love you but-"

"i followed you." you say quickly, knowing that he was going to say something along the lines of 'but how did you find out?'

he gives you loving look, and smiles softly at you. he says nothing and instead, just pulls you into a deep kiss, in which you happily return.

"you're crazy, you know that?" he whispers against your lips, and you give him a look.

"and you're not?" you quip, and he's suddenly dragging you to your shared bedroom, hands all over your body.

"shhh." he whispers, peppering kisses all over your neck as he pushes you back on the bed.

looking at your husband with a doting expression, you sigh contently, iced coffee in hand. the both of you had the day off, and you both decided to start the day with a cute morning coffee date.

as he puts his cup of black coffee down, he takes your hand in his, and smiles softly at you.

"we should go on vacation again soon, i need a fucking break from work." he says, and you knew work had been exhausting him recently - no, not his actual job, he was talking about his other job, you know the one where he goes around terrorizing gotham.

"d'wanna go to mexico?" you ask, suggesting your favourite vacation spot, and he nods, holding your hands tighter.

"wherever you want to go, we'll go." he says gently, thumb brushing over your ring.

as you were about to say something back to him, his arm almost knocked his cup of coffee over.

"watch your arm - don't want espresso all over me again." you tease, smiling softly at your husband.

[unadulteratedsoulsweets]

A DC X DP IDEA #34

Do cry me a river

Imagine dis…

I re-watched some of my favorite anime when I was a kid and… Another idea popped up if I do say so myself.

If the words Yukina and Ice Maiden ring a bell then you know which direction I am heading…

…

Deep within Gotham, specifically, its underground city seems to be buzzing with intrigue and curiosity at something new. Now, when something new has appeared all of them are watching, as if it was not the usual drug or weaponry to use on the other heroes. All eyes were on them, each turn and each step this new player had brought into the game were all being watched and carefully cataloged.

But the moment it had proved its worth each and everyone, from the big names and players of the underground that stretches from Gotham to its neighboring cities to all those who had a single line of connection to the underground. All began clamoring to buy and claim such precious little things.

All of them began to whisper among the shadows and had all of them in traded hushed tones in fear of the Bats who may have or have not been listening.

Let me tell you… It wasn’t any ordinary rumors, but it was all because of a new production of pearls. Pearls, strange and enchanting pearls, that glowed with an otherworldly greenish blue hue. Unlike the typical black, white, pink, and rare blue pearls that adorned the necks of Gotham’s elite and the rich, these are not only rare, mysterious, and sought after not for their beauty but for the miracles they had performed.

These pearls were said to have amazing therapeutic abilities. Stories circulated about wounds healing in seconds, incurable diseases disappearing, and organs regenerating as if by magic. The pearls' magical qualities increased their value to astronomical levels, making them a sought-after treasure on the illicit market. Wealthy collectors and desperate folks were both eager to pay for everything to obtain them.

But despite their efforts to be quiet some noise and rumors had already reached the ears of Gotham’s vigilantes.

…

Gotham vigilantes had already heard of these new pearls slowly circulating in the underground world. Batman had it at the end of his priority as it was just a gemstone and in some cases had his attention, Red Hood didn’t even bother as it was not drugs and thought of it as another rich eccentric trend that soon to fade, so did the rest of the vigilantes dismissing them without a second thought.

…

One evening, Red Robin was on his usual patrol, this night his patrol route was line on keeping an eye out for the upper echelons of Gotham’s elite as there had been a massive Arkham breakout meaning that the rich were out for grabs for the usual kidnapping and ransom.  

He intercepted a poor attempt at a robbery between a wealthy civilian, their bag had released all of its contents in a fit of panic. Red Robin helped the said civilian to gather their things all up after he had tied the robber with some zip-ties. As he was gathering their things he picked up a unique-looking necklace. A simple silver necklace with a singular greenish-blue pearl in its center. The unusual color caught his attention but never thought any of it until tomorrow morning.

The next morning, As Tim was dressing up for his morning job as the CEO of Wayne Enterprise, he noticed something peculiar. The scar from his missing spleen, a constant reminder of a near-fatal injury, and another reminder that Ra is a creep for stealing a minor’s spleen had vanished. Alarmed and more awake than seconds ago, he hurriedly went to Dr. Leslie’s clinic for an impromptu check-up. The X-rays revealed the impossible, his spleen had regenerated as if it had never been missing in the first place.

…

The Bats are now scrambling for any information about the mysterious pearl that Red Robin had contact with just last night.

Meanwhile, Danny was imprisoned in a remote, strongly fortified manor. Unlike Yukina from Yuyu Hakusho, Danny's tears transformed into a powerful healing agent capable of miraculous recoveries.

This wealthy captor, who had been a player in the underground for quite some time yet always had the ambition to be more than just a buyer, when he became aware of Danny's existence and his tears' healing abilities, had been exploiting him to create the greenish-blue pearls that were now circulating in the black market.

Danny was not alone in captivity. He was accompanied by his younger, de-aged self, Dan and Ellie. Both had been captured and used as leverage to compel Danny's cooperation. The three were confined in separate, high-security quarters that were closely monitored and strongly guarded.

…

As chaos is slowly filling up the streets of Gotham, at the edge of the city’s border there stood a woman with a purpose.

Talia al Ghul, the Demon Head's daughter and mother of Damian Al Ghul-Wayne, commonly known as Robin, is well-known for her strategic abilities. She embarked on a personal mission to protect and save her son Danny from the pig who dared to hurt him.

Danny, Talia and Bruce's first kid had been hidden from the world, even her father, for his safety. Safety? She felt selfish for the first time, keeping Danny concealed from everyone except her. Talia had decided to keep him concealed, including from his brother, Damian.

Talia had lately received an unusual package—a VHS video with a green sticky note bearing the letters "CW." The film contained a warning and a guide, as well as critical information about the forces that had kidnapped her son and instructions on how to exploit something she had never seen before.

The tape revealed Danny's captor's identity, a wealthy and powerful figure deep within Gotham's underbelly who had discovered Danny's new powers and was forcing him to create healing pearls. The video also contained plans and security information about Danny's detention facility, as well as the network of individuals involved in this nefarious enterprise.

Talia devised a strategy based on the tape's information, contacting trusted allies and resources while also depending on her network and the element of surprise. Talia walks through the city like a ghost, her love for Danny so strong and unwavering that she is willing to eliminate anyone who endangers her son's safety.

…

PS: If someone out there wants to continue or make a fic about this you are free to do so, don’t forget to tag me though.

PPS: This one is for the month of August since I’m going to be a bit busy so ENJOY!!!

[satoshy12]

Toddler Danny Fenton and Arkham psychiatrist Jazz

After a attack had gone horrible wrong, Jazz ended with a toddler Danny and a infant Ellie. Well she already raised him once a 2 time will be easier. She had gotten even a Job in Arkham and was protected by Clockwork. It was a normal day for the young promising psychiatrist Jazz Fenton at her working day in Arkham as she was in a therapy season with Victor Fries.

As Danny walked just in. And saw the Super Villain Mr Freeze and had gone:" Ah!" The Ice villain already used to it:"Yes I am Mr. " "YOU ARE DOCTOR VICTOR FRIES! Why did you not said you meet him! I read his study of the Cryotherapy and Cryogenic." (And yes Danny had read the books as he had gotten his Ice powers to learn more about the element.)

Jazz:" I am really sorry Dr. Freeze about my Son." Jazz had not gotten the talk back as Danny started to talk in a storm about what he learned and asked question who the scientist answered with a smile, he was much more relaxed then with him and was kind of happy that this tiny toddler understood the talk from Cryogenic to pathology and neuroscience too.

[fantastic-nonsense]

Hallo!! So you replied to me on twitter the other day with your Batman Comic list thingy (its late and im tired while asking this) and I was wanting to ask if you know any really good Mr. Freeze comics I should look for and read? Love that dude fr

Hi! I'm happy to!

so the tl;dr on Mr. Freeze is that he's basically a totally different character in comics that came out before the Batman: The Animated Series episode "Heart of Ice" in 1992 than in comics that came out after that episode. The DCAU version is really the definitive version of the character, and the popularity of that portrayal changed how he was portrayed in comics afterwards. And honestly...the majority of his good stories have been told within the DCAU and its various connected comics. He's unfortunately an extremely underutilized villain in the comics even after BTAS made him popular. So, that being said, here's a few good Mr. Freeze stories.

DCAU-verse:

Batman: The Animated Series S1 Ep. 14, "Heart of Ice"

Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero

The Batman Adventures: Sub-Zero

The Batman Adventures: Dangerous Dames & Demons

Batman: Gotham Adventures #1, 5, 40, 43, 45, 51, 53

Many of Freeze's major non-DCAU comic appearances can be found in Batman Arkham: Mr. Freeze, and here's a list of his most prominent (and decently-written) appearances in the comics:

Batman (1940) #121 (Freeze's first appearance)

Detective Comics (1937) #373

Batman: Mr. Freeze (by Paul Dini)

Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #190-196, "Cold Snap" and "Snow"

Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #201-203, "Cold Case"

Gotham Central #1-2, "In the Line of Duty"

Batman: Gotham Knights #59, "Fire and Ice"

Batman: One Bad Day: Mr. Freeze

He also shows up as the co-villain (along with Penguin) in the Detective Comics "City of Crime" storyline (Detective Comics #800-808, #811-814) and as a supporting villain in the final arc of Cassandra Cain's Batgirl solo, Batgirl (2000) #65-73.

Hope this helps, and have fun reading!

[baambastic]

I'm doing @broosepayne's poll tag game.

Rules: Make a 24-hr poll with the names of your WIPs and then for whichever wins, write one sentence for each vote it gets.

Check under the Keep Reading for summaries.

Chris Kent, Kathy Branden, Maya Ducard, & SuperFamily Members - The World Didn’t Stand Still

Kathy Branden decides to use her shop’s teleporter to peer in on the Phantom Zone. She comes back with Chris Kent in tow. But this isn't the Earth Chris knows, and the Phantom Zone wants him back.

Tim Drake, Dick Grayson, & Damian Wayne - The Cola Caper

The United States government has placed an embargo on the island of Santa Prisca, along with a recall of all recent Santa Priscan commercial imports. Tim and Dick are more concerned that the embargo means no more Zesti Cola for them. They decide they have no choice but to infiltrate Santa Prisca and the headquarters of the Zesti Cola Company to acquire the Zesti Cola secret recipe.

Original Male Character, Garfield Lynns, Selina Kyle, Victor Fries, Stephanie Brown, & Tim Drake - Fly High, Little Firefly

Fusing The Batman (2004) with the main continuity. Back during Dick’s days as Robin, Garfield Lynns, AKA Firefly, worked with Dr. Jane Blazedale, a partnership that ended with Lynns becoming Phosphorus and being remanded to Arkham Asylum. To the knowledge of neither Lynns nor the Bat, however, the partnership between Lynns and Dr. Blazedale also resulted in an unexpected pregnancy. Dr. Blazedale named the boy Benjamin, Benji for short. Following a revelation about his father's identity, Benji decides to sneak into one of Lynns's old hideouts and steals the Firefly equipment.

Tim Drake, Young Just Us, Caitlin Snow, & Batfamily Members - Snowfall

Tim is investigating a case involving Mr. Freeze and a dangerous ice machine powered by a Self-Sustaining Thermodynamic Ultraconductor Engine. During the fight, however, Tim gets knocked into the STU engine, taking out the coolant system and causing the whole thing to explode. In the aftermath, Tim discovers that he has become a heat vampire, much like Caitlin Snow, AKA Frost.

Damian Wayne, Jonathan Samuel Kent, Kathy Branden, & Maya Ducard - Young Titans: Beginnings

Damian Wayne, AKA Robin, was well aware that each of his older brothers has had a super hero team to call their own. Richard led the Teen Titans and later the Titans. Todd led the Outlaws. Even Drake led Young Justice, as laughably immature as that team was. Damian, though, has yet to lead a team of his own. He decides to change that. Enlisting the aid of his friend Jon Kent, AKA Superboy, Damian sets out to form his own team of superheroes: the Young Titans!

Jason Todd & Damian Wayne - Gotham's New Dynamic Duo!

Talia al Ghul sends Jason Todd away from the League of Assassins with a Damian Wayne in tow. When they get to Gotham, however, Damian stays with Jason instead of meeting Bruce. Damian eventually starts fighting at Jason's side as a vigilante.

Talia al Ghul, Bruce Wayne, Damian al Ghul, Alfred Pennyworth, Ravi, Ra's al Ghul, and Ace the Bat-Hound - Flight of the Demon's Daughter

Jason Todd stays dead, and Tim Drake doesn't become Robin, so Talia al Ghul is forced to take matters into her own hands, even if it means betraying her father. She brings her son along for the ride.

Jason Todd, Tim Drake, Billy Batson, Anita Fite, & Others - The Echoes of Our Unjust Deaths

Tim Drake, Jason Todd, and Billy Batson keep having nightmares about their own deaths. Only, the nightmares feel so real that they can actually feel the pain. Billy realizes that the source of the nightmares is magical in nature, and so the three of them, along with Anita Fite AKA Empress, work together to get to the bottom of it and stop whoever's doing this to them.

Batfamily Members - The Gotham Grand Prix

The Batkids have a race through Gotham City.

Billy Batson & Dick Grayson - Batson and the Bat’s Son

Dick Grayson has tracked a labor trafficking ring from Blüdhaven to Fawcett City. Witnessing some of the ring's thugs kidnapping a kid off the street, Nightwing follows them back to their base of operations. He busts the trafficking ring and frees all of the kidnapped persons, including that night's victim, Billy Batson. With Billy unconscious, though, Nightwing turns him over to Child Welfare Services. On a gut feeling, he asks Oracle to see what she can find on the kid. After discovering Billy's homelessness and looking into his history with foster care, though, Dick decides to foster him. Billy allows it (for now) only because he knows Dick is Nightwing, and so Billy trusts him. Dick, for his part, slowly realizes that Billy reminds him way too much of himself when Bruce took him in. And Dick doesn’t even have an Alfred to help. Oh no.

Selina Kyle, Billy Batson, & Tim Drake - Stray Tiger Cub

When Selina Kyle finds a kid passed out in an alley, skin and throat laced with Lichtenberg scars… well, she’s always had a fondness for strays. Told from Selina’s perspective. Something has gone wrong with the Rock, turning the magic lightning against Billy’s body. It leaves him powerless and without a voice.

Billy Batson, Kent Nelson, Khalid Nassour, Marvel Family, & JLI - Crossroads

JLI era, Billy Batson is taken on by Doctor Fate as an apprentice alongside Khalid Nassour.

[twistedtummies2]

Year of the Bat - Number 5

Welcome to Year of the Bat! In honor of Kevin Conroy, Arleen Sorkin, and Richard Moll, I’ve been counting down my Top 31 Favorite Episodes of “Batman: The Animated Series” throughout this January. We’re now in the Top 5 of the countdown! TODAY’S EPISODE QUOTE: “My fault…I didn’t get the joke…” Number 5 is…Mad Love.

It was hard to choose between “Mad Love” and our previous pick, “Heart of Ice.” In some ways, I would honestly argue the latter is technically better than the former…but the reasons I place “Mad Love” over it are twofold. One, I just like Harley more than Mr. Freeze, in general. Plain and simple. Two, while “Heart of Ice” helped to re-invent a backstory for a great villain, and thus revamped them in an inspired way for future generations…this story is a bit different. Originally published as a spin-off graphic novel for the show, “Mad Love” was adapted into an actual episode during the TNBA era. It is the official origin story for Harley Quinn, and – considering everything that goes into Harley BEING Harley, so to speak – I think that’s an even more noteworthy achievement.

Harley’s origins had been hinted at a few times in earlier episodes, most notably “Harlequinade,” which I already covered earlier in the countdown. But “Mad Love” finally gave viewers the full scoop, and adapts its comic source pretty darn faithfully. With one or two possible exceptions (among them being the infamously…questionable redesign for the Joker in “The New Batman Adventures”), it once again improves on its source material, making Harley even more sympathetic than in the comic version, as well as tightening up the pace and using the full breadth of this visual, moving medium to its advantage. “Mad Love” begins with Harley feeling fed up with the Joker paying more attention to Batman than to her. This causes her to reminisce on her past, and the full story of her background is revealed: once upon a time, she was Dr. Harleen Quinzel, a new up-and-coming psychiatrist at Arkham Asylum. It’s implied, however, that Harleen was more interested in using the inmates as research material for her own ambitions, than she really was with curing them. Her ambitions, combined with an inborn naivete, led to her being seduced by the Joker, and she fell in love with her deranged patient. After a particularly grueling battle with Batman left the Clown Prince of Crime badly injured, Harleen finally snapped, and – determined to help her “puddin’” out – she became the wild card that is Harley Quinn.

This, however, is not the end of “Mad Love.” That’s just the beginning. We cut back to the present, where Harley forms a surprisingly clever scheme to kill Batman, hoping that if he’s finally out of the picture, she can finally have the Joker all to herself. I feel hesitant to say much more in great detail, for a lot of reasons, but suffice it to say things don’t go the way Harley expected, and the audience is given an uncomfortably deeper perspective on the dangerous relationship she and the Joker have. All three main characters – Batman, the Joker, and ESPECIALLY Harley Quinn – really make this story great. Harley’s origins themselves are classic, of course, and have really never changed much since this story. Certain details and elements have been expanded on or slightly altered over the years, but the basic concept has remained fixed. However, it’s the look at this trio and their relationships to each other that makes the story so splendid, as well as so disturbing at times. It also allows all three actors to deliver some of the best performances in the entire series; with the exception of “The Laughing Fish,” in fact, I would argue this is Mark Hamill’s single best performance as the Joker in all of the Animated Series (discounting movies and later series spinoffs, like “Justice League”). For Conroy, it’s an episode that allows his Batman to shine, even when he’s not the focus, as he shows his own cunning side in the way he’s able to manipulate both villains to come out on top. And of course, for Arleen Sorkin, this was the saddest, most heartbreaking story she ever got as Quinn, and she brings everything into it, showing that she could manage the tragedy of Harley as well as the humor. Also, the title references a Peter Lorre movie. That’s just cool, A+.

We’re getting close to the end now, friends. Tomorrow we move on to Number 4! Hint: “Gotham can be a Wonderland, Alice! Tonight, let me be your guide.”

[diddle-riddle]

Bruce: Did you spend the evening at Mad Hatter’s place again? Robin!Dick: Yup! He baked cookies and he invited buddies for his tea party! Since Victor was there too, I had tea, cookies and ice cream. That was super fun! Oh by the way, Jervis started renaming you the ‘Jabberwocky’, I hope you don’t mind? Bruce: Not like I had a choice in the matter... _____

Bruce: What do you mean, you had dinner already? Where were you? Robin!Jason: I hanged out at Eddie and Jon’s place! I thought I told you. I spent the evening playin’ Star Wars video games with Ed, then when his Spooky Scary Skeleton arrived he started cooing at him like an enamored schoolgirl. That was frankly embarrassing but also hilarious. Jon invited me to stay for dinner, Ed spent the whole time watching him with adoration and giggling when he spoke ‘bout his new experimental toxin formula. I really need to do something to bring those two together! Bruce: Great, now you are playing romance adviser for Riddler and Scarecrow... _____

Bruce: You did what for Penguin?! Robin!Tim: Mr Cobblepot has been enchanted to benefit from a little help from someone who has business savvy to order to optimize the repartition of his accounts and separate his mob boss schedule from his legal activities in his restaurant. He recruited me as his assistant, and so far he tells me every day I am a talented, brilliant young man with a promising future ahead of me. I like him a lot. Bruce: Sure you do... _____

Bruce: Why are you visiting him at Arkham every day?! Robin!Stephanie: Because I am super proud of him, why else? Plus he needs someone’s full support! Eddie is finally reforming for good but the procedure itself will take many more months, he needs to be encouraged at each step! Tomorrow I’m bringing a box of his favorite sweets, a detective comic and a science article he will entirely criticize, that’ll be funny. His doctor doesn’t want any riddle-based stuff in his cell, but I found other entertaining books. What B, did you forget Eddie is my dad, my mom, my big brother, has been my imaginary friend when I was little, is my childhood buddy and remains my all-time beloved BFF? Bruce: Unfortunately, you told me so already... _____

Bruce: Where do all those cats come from? Robin!Damian: Miss Kyle’s cat Isis had babies. She showed me how to care for kittens in her, Dr. Isley and Dr. Quinzel’s shared lair. I nursed them and watched over them the previous three months, that’s what I did whenever I pretended I sneaked out to ‘hang out with Collin’. Now that they are of age, I am adopting the five of them! Bruce: ... At least they’re cute.

[sl-newsie]

Behind Masks (Dr. Jonathon Crane x OC) Ch. 19: Dig Deeper

(Warning: Intense gore near the end)

“So you scammed his mother’s necklace?”

Selina smirks triumphantly and leans up against the wall. “Like taking candy from a rich crippled baby.”

My jaw drops. “Crippled?”

“Yeah. He walks with a cane.”

How did I miss that? I literally just had dinner with Bruce last week! This whole killing spree’s starting to go to my head. Tonight is another girl’s night and the chosen location is Ivy’s hideout at the plant nursery.

“So are you going to cash them in?” I ask. 

“No. They’ve actually grown on me,” she replies and toys with the pearls around her neck. “Part of me feels troubled about taking them. He’s actually kinda sweet for a rich guy.”

Hm. Selina is not the first person I thought would lower her guard.

Harley gasps and twirls around in the swivel chair. “Aw! You like him!”

Ivy rolls her eyes. “Not every story needs to involve romance, Harl.”

I keep quiet. Why did this subject have to come up again? I should’ve known. I can keep up a charade so people don’t know who the Reaper is, but can I convince people that I loathe the idea of love? No matter how hard I try it’s the same routine every time. Tricking myself to accept love, growing hope that it might last, and ending with fear of getting in too deep.

"Ya alright hun?” Harley notices my lack of chatter.

“Yes. I’m merely comparing the state of being in love to that of being deranged. The symptoms mirror each other.” Your mental state clearly proves that. “And now that crime has spiked we’re forced to witness madness on a daily basis. Before asylums, deranged people were kept in almshouses or in jail. Insane asylums were officially established by King George III, the first one being Bethlem Royal Hospital in London in 1247.”

Oh no. Not another rant! But I can’t stop.

“Before the 1774 Madhouse Act, non-licensed practitioners treated patients with little regard to their well-being. Asylums became popular by the 1880s, designed to cure patients with moral treatment but instead ended up becoming like small towns for the insane. Before moral treatment, the methods that doctors throughout the 1800s thought that the methods that could cure insanity were completely unethical. Restraints, isolation, electroshock therapy, ice baths, and lobotomies.”

Harley’s head perks up at the mention of such practices. For the past five minutes the three women’s eyes have glazed over. This is what Crane must have felt like when he used to teach.

Catwoman picks at her nails and gives me an odd look. “Squarely, you sound just like Crane. Blabbing on like an absent-minded professor.”

I’m not the only one who noticed.

“I remember how twisted the system was,” Harley inputs. “With all the movements to shut down asylums through neuroleptic medication and patient rights advocates, it’s a wonder how Arkham is still running. It’s more of a jail now than a hospital.”

Good. The conversation is drifting elsewhere. “You would know. How many times have you escaped? Twelve?”

“Thirteen, actually.” The blonde grins. “Lucky number, am I right?”

Selina isn’t convinced and points to me. “What’s crazy is that you and Crane used to work in that nuthouse too. How’d you do it?”

Good question. It’s almost hilarious to think about how naïve and eager I was to help back then. To think that being a good person could get me anywhere in the world. Eight years. Eight crazy years and all I have to show for it is a bloodstained soul.

“His motive was experimentation,” I explain. “Mine was foolishness. But it was time that I took a page out of Crane’s book and remembered how twisted Gotham is.”

“Aw, come on! We’re not all that bad.” Harley nudges me.

Ivy scoffs. “No offense Harl, but you literally turned into a maniac after working with that berserk clown.”

She shrugs. “It’s just a joke.”

“He kills people at random,” I argue. “How can you still love him?”

She’s getting angry. “What about you and Johnny boy? He makes people go crazy and you still love him.”

I raise my own voice. “That’s-!” Different? 

Have I really fallen in love with a psycho? No. I- I can’t… All the same routine…

“Don’t kid yourself, honey.” Ivy gently pats my back. “You're head over heels for that creep.”

“He’s not a creep, I-”

“See? You always defend him,” Selina points out. “You love him.”

“Says the one putting the moves on Batman!” I bite back.

“My catch is a vigilante. Harley’s is a maniac. Yours is a mad scientist.”

All assortments of thoughts, teasing, and criticism rage inside my head. I thought I was good, now I’m bad. After everything I didn’t think anything would penetrate my quest for justice. Am I even capable of love? 

Now Ivy joins in. “I still don’t know how you put up with that weirdo.”

“At least Batman’s got a good side,” Selina says.

I set my jaw straight. “So does Dr. Crane, if you dig deep enough.”

“You’re sounding more brainwashed every time I see you.” Ivy shakes her head.

It’s not brainwashing! Hell, how would Crane even do that? The most we see of each other is once a month at best. And despite his recent actions to compliment me I doubt there is any part of him that would care for me, let alone love me. We’re both damaged. He has his phobias to study, I have sinners to punish. 

But my argument is a lost cause. These women won’t change their minds about me.

“Well ladies, it’s been fun. But I have to get going.”

I should find others who wouldn’t mock my ways of thinking but they’re the closest thing to a friend group I have. The only one who might understand is Jonathon but he is clearly off the list. Besides, there are many more important things to stress over. Such as the rumor of the League of Shadows returning.

“Hello hello,” a voice taunts next to me.

I groan and look away from the orchestra concert. “What do you want? I’m trying to work.”

Tonight’s performance is hosting for a guest list of rich bureaucrats. I did a little computer work and concocted a list of targets attending. Little do they know that this concert will be their own finale.

Of course the variable I do not account for is the pop-in from Dr. Crane.

“I just happened to be passing by and thought this could provide some entertainment.” He smirks and looks around at the venue. “Quite impressive. You’re upscaling to mass genocide now.”

I rise from my seat and stiffly walk to the back of the theater with Crane in tow. Never mix work with emotions, Prentiss. Just focus on pressing that button.

“It’s efficient. Now if you’ll excuse me- Hey!”

Dr. Crane gently pulls on my arm and makes me come to a halt. His playful expression has shifted to one of concern, one that keeps scanning my arms.

“You’re wearing long sleeves.”

“Brilliant observation, Sherlock.”

“I mean you’ve been wearing long sleeves far more often than usual. Any reason why?”

I meet his crystal eyes with a sarcastic glare. “It’s to cover up another sunburn.”

He shakes his head, his eyes never shifting away. “No. There’s more to it.”

My heart backflips as his hands inch down to grab my black satin sleeves and pull them up, caressing my marked skin as he pulls the fabric away. The secret I’ve been hiding. It’s on perfect display now. 

Crane doesn’t say anything right away. His jaw drops slightly and he keeps running his surprisingly soft hands over my bruises and scars. 

He finally speaks. “What happened?”

That tone sells it. On my end it sounds heartbreaking and full of sympathy. On a mugger’s end it might sound as if Crane would find them and kill them on the spot. 

“A few fights,” I whisper.

He continues to examine my wounds. “With who?”

I use a casual tone in attempts to downplay the matter. “Some alley thugs. Some rich bastards who took me on ‘dates.’”

I can handle pain from these wounds. But the look of hidden anger, jealousy, and panic in those ocean eyes is something that clenches my heart and chills me to the bone.

“Dates?” Crane asks.

I shake my head and look to the sky. “The things I do for revenge. I go on dates with the people I’m stalking to help further my plans.”

“At this cost? To let them do this to your gorgeously toned arms?”

Since when does Jonathon care so much about me being hurt? This is Gotham. Pain is a constant here. If anything the mental pain of fear is far more brutal than any cut I receive.

“It’s the scars on the inside that define me, Dr. Crane.” I want to pull away from his touch but my feet keep cemented to the floor. “Sacrificing myself to those people’s cruelty will be worth seeing their petrified faces when I strike the fatal blow.”

He catches onto something. “What’s that?”

A wicked smile grows on my face and I jerk my head to the sprinkler system above us. “My own experiment, Dr. Crane. When I press a button, a mist will be released into the crowd. That mist reacts with the tear ducts to form freshwater tears that evaporate at a faster rate.”

“Ah, I see. They won’t be able to close their eyes without discomfort.”

“You try sleeping with your eyes open,” I snicker. “Once I’ve witnessed the effects I’m going to end their suffering with a quick cut to the throat.”

“I guess we both came here with similar motives,” Crane smiles, still holding my arm.

I frown. “Hm?”

“Look up.”

What is he-? Oh. 

“Ah. The air vents. I should have guessed. Should I be concerned?”

Crane keeps staring at the ceiling and tilts his head in consideration. “Possibly. You may not be immune to this new dose. As usual I must ask you to inform me of any side effects you encounter.”

He means it. I might see those glowing eyes again! I could die. After all this he’s still heartless enough to poison me. 

“Actually…” He rethinks something and suddenly pulls me away to the lobby. 

“What are you doing-?”

“Just shut up!” Crane barks. “Don’t ask, just- Keep walking.”

So he does feel guilty. The same way I feel when the scattered thought of using my scythe on him passes by. We’re two villains at a standstill, circling closer and closer until we collide and die. In a way this is very sweet of him.

If only the sleazy man in the tux wasn’t waiting in a car outside.

Crane sees he’s expecting me and demands an answer. “How many dates have you planned? Who is he?”

The sight of him makes me want to gag. Now that I’ve been exposed to more gentlemanly behavior the idea of plunging back into a fake date seems dreadful. Is it so wrong to want to stay with Jonathon and forget about it?

“He- He’s Alexander Remmington,” I whisper and show him the knife I’ve hidden in my dress skirt. “A womanizer who’s cheated on his wife more times than I can count. I’m supposed to cut out his heart and leave his corpse on his front doorstep.”

He sees us looking. Please don’t- He’s walking over. No no! I don’t want this anymore. I want to get away from this place and-

“Hey babydoll.” The man holds out a hand. “Ready to go?”

“Actually she’s going to be staying in tonight,” Dr. Crane asserts sternly and tightens his grip on my hand.

My nerves clench. “Stay out of this-”

“Oh really?” Remington asks cockily and reaches to grab me again. “Nonsense. Let’s go.”

“I-”

He gives my arm a sharp tug and pushes me towards his car. “Get. In.”

“She’s not going anywhere with you.”

Crane puts a protective arm across me and stands between us. Remington sees it as a joke.

“Oh! I see I’ve got competition, four-eyes.”

The fear doctor’s gaze doesn’t falter. “How original. A rich man with a brain the size of a pebble mocking a doctor.”

“Jonathon, please stay out of this-” I beg and try to pull him away.

“Oh-ho! So this is the illedged Scarecrow?” Remington mocks. “And he likes my night’s squeeze! Well, pleased to meet you Doctor Crane- Ah!”

All in a flash Crane pulls out my knife and backs Remmington up against the wall with the blade to his throat. What the Hell is happening?!

“Since this night is going to end in your death anyway, I’ll do it myself.”

He plunges the knife into Remmington’s chest and gives it a stiff twist. The victim howls in pain and his legs buckle, but Crane doesn’t let him fall. Instead he pushes the blade in and out until I swear he’s carved a hole in Remmington’s abdomen. He’s not really going to- Oh. He is. Crane drops the knife and sticks his hand into the wound, pulling out a bloody red heart. Blood spills from the organ and drips onto Crane’s jacket but he merely wipes it away as if it were spit. The gash in Remmington’s chest gushes more blood as he crumples to the floor. Dr. Crane glares down at his corpse and tosses the heart on him. 

What just happened?

“If you’re going to kill them why not do it without subjecting yourself to them?” he asks after a moment of silence, cleaning the blood off of his glasses.

I finally find my voice. “You know exactly how my job works. I’m the black widow of dates! But that- I don’t understand.”

You say one thing but act the complete opposite. You say you couldn’t care less if I live or die yet you look as if you’ll murder any guy who looks at me the wrong way. You did murder the guy who looked at me the wrong way!

“Should I have just let you go, then? Let him abuse you until you bleed and cut his throat?”

We’re both trying to shout and keep angry but it’s not sticking. He’s trying to reach for my hand but I back away. Every inch of my skin is on fire and pairs with the churning in my stomach. Almost like it’s telling me I want… What is happening to me? 

“Maybe I deserve it.”

It’s barely audible. A smidgen of a whisper that drifts through the city noise. But he still hears it. Jonathan’s stern face flickers to show a look of pitied shock.

“Is that why you allow it?” he murmurs, still trying to get closer. “Calico, you can’t-”

“The Hell I can’t!” I snap and jump back, quickly bending down to grab my knife. “I blame myself because I’m the only one to blame. I see it now. All this time I’ve been blaming Gotham for me doing… this. But skin deep I was already a monster in the making. Everything, everything has been adding to this.” My lip trembles and I brandish the knife to keep him away. “This is how it is. Until I’m caught or God strikes me down Himself. Now please leave me alone.”

Run. Run. Run! It’s amazing how far one can get in heels. Soon I'm out of breath and hiding in a gloomy alley, my once-glamourous dress tattered and muddy. I’ve got to get out of here- Somewhere safe. He’ll just come looking at my apartment. I need to crash somewhere else-

Hopefully Selina won’t mind if a familiar stray spends the night.

[rogueportraits]

i tried to be inconspicuous. -and to Jeremiah!

miscellaneous sentence prompts

“Did you?”

Jeremiah is seated at his office desk, which is remarkably clear of any detritus of work or life. An in/out-box paper tray has two neat stacks of paper in it. There is a framed photo next to his computer monitor, but Anarky can’t see whatever’s in the frame from where they’re standing. Jeremiah’s glasses catch the light just-so, reflecting it and making his eyes unreadable. He slowly, intentionally steeples his hands.

“There’s nothing inconspicuous about a vigilante in my office. This is a secure hospital. The patients here don’t need to be harassed by people like you.”

He gets up, rounding the desk to look Anarky in the eyes - or, at least, their mask’s eyes. It would be more imposing if they weren’t two inches taller than him.

“If you have a genuine question about my institution, you can write a letter or an email about it. If you believe yourself in need of treatment, I encourage yourself to try a local clinic or private therapist. If you’re here to cause my patients any more suffering, then get out.”

[emotionalcadaver]

Part 9: The Scarecrow & The Shadow

Fandom: The Dark Knight Trilogy

Pairing: Jonathan Crane x OC

Summary: Worried about the potential consequences of either of them getting arrested, Vanessa presents Jonathan with a proposal.  

Word Count: 2,360

Notes: I know that technically very few states have self solemnization in real life, but we’re just going to pretend that Gotham has its own special laws regarding that because this is what I always envisioned for them. Warnings for references to sexual content.

Previous Part • Series • Next Part

Vanessa watched from the entrance as the police car pulled away, hands stuffed into her pockets, frowning. Beside her, Jonathan sighed, taking off his glasses and cleaning them before sliding them back up his nose.

“Come on, let’s get out of the rain,” he said, making a move to go back inside the asylum. When she didn’t follow him, he stopped. “Nes?”

“Coming,” she tore her eyes away from where the police car had just been, going to follow Jonathan back inside. Neither of them said much as they went to the elevator, Jonathan punching the number for the floor of their offices. Vanessa followed him into his office, closing the door behind her.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, head tilted while he adjusted the cuffs on his shirt.

“That was close.”

“Not really,” he shrugged.

“We’ve had too many incidents here over the past few months. People are going to start to get suspicious.”

“Most people already believe that the asylum is cursed or haunted or both.”

“Jonathan,” she said sternly. He sighed.

“The cops around here are dumber than a box of rocks. They couldn’t solve a case if the answer was written out for them at the crime scene in blood.”

“That Jim Gordon is smarter than the others,” she said, lowering herself onto the couch. “I think he’s been suspicious of us since we got rid of Dr. Arkham.”

“Hm,” Jonathan hummed, looking out the window, lips pursing as he considered. Straightening, he came to sit down beside her. “So what do you want to do? Get rid of him?”

“That will only make them all more suspicious,” she shook her head, sighing. “I don’t know.”

He reached across to take her hands, rubbing over her knuckles with his thumb. “We’ll be fine.”

“We should prepare for the possibility that someday, someone might figure out what it is that we’ve been doing here.” 

Jonathan’s ice blue eyes searched hers carefully, before nodding. “Okay. You have anything in mind?”

“Not right now,” she admitted. Her mind was spinning with undeveloped ideas; but nothing concrete. There were so many angles to cover, it would take some time.

“Well, we can both mull it over at least. Talk about some ideas after work,” he checked his watch. “I have to get downstairs to an appointment.”

“Okay,” she let him go. He kissed her tenderly on the cheek before rising from his seat.

“It’s going to be fine, Nes.”

She nodded.

∗ ∗ ∗ 

“I do have an idea,” she said, nervously swirling her wine in her glass, watching the deep red liquid swish around and around and around. Beside her on the couch, Jonathan shifted, arm wrapped around her shoulders. Vanessa was leaning up against his side, her legs stretched out on the remainder of the couch not occupied by either of them. It had been a long day at work; both of them more than content to just curl up on the couch together with a bottle of wine, Chinese food, and a horror movie for the evening. 

“Oh?” Jonathan asked curiously, pressing pause on the movie. “What is it?”

Bringing her wine glass to her lips, Vanessa swallowed down the remainder of the alcohol in a nervous gulp, leaning forward to set it down on the coffee table in front of them. Taking a deep breath, she twisted her hands together, glancing at him anxiously.

“Now, listen…you can say no, if you want,” she started. One of his brows kicked upwards, but other than that, he didn’t say a thing. “I’ve been reading up about laws, about certain options for immunity if one of us gets caught. And, um…” she stuttered around the words, utterly unsure of how he would feel about what she was going to suggest. “The most sure way for a couple to prevent being compelled by a prosecution to testify against one another is through marriage.” 

Jonathan stiffened against her, pulling back to set his wine glass down on the end table and look at her more fully, eyes wide. Vanessa swallowed hard as she stared up at him levelly.

“Vanessa,” he said, very slowly, and she could see his mind working a mile a minute behind his beautiful blue eyes. “Are you asking me to marry you?”

“I–” she felt her cheeks flare with warmth. “Only if you want to.”

He let out a sharp laugh at that, sitting up more fully, encouraging her to do the same as he tucked some hair behind her ear and clutched her hands. “If I want to…” he cradled her face, kissing her on the mouth.

She smiled, leaning closer to him, until their noses bumped, closing her eyes and resting her head against his palm. When she opened her eyes again, he was staring at her with an analytical expression, though the softness with which he often regarded her was still there. Turning her head, she kissed the center of his palm. “I love you.”

Jonathan’s eyes softened further, throat working as he swallowed, leaning in closer to kiss her again. Then he pulled away, standing while still holding her hands.

“What are you doing?” she asked. He pulled her to her feet.

“Doing this properly.”

“What–” her eyes widened as he sank down onto one knee in front of her, heart jumping into her throat as she blinked hard at the sudden, unexpected tears springing forth into her eyes. “I thought that you didn’t care about being traditional.”

“I don’t,” he rubbed her knuckles with his thumbs, cracking a smile. “But I’m willing to make an exception for this,” he cleared his throat dramatically and she giggled, squeezing his fingers. When he spoke, his voice was deadly serious. “I love you. You’re my favorite person in the world,” his fingers flexed around hers, his cheeks turning pink. “I want to spend the rest of my life with you,” she jumped when he lifted a hand to caress her cheek, wiping away a few tears that she hadn’t even realized had fallen. “And I would very much like not to be forced to testify against you if we ever get arrested.”

She laughed at the unexpected joke, the hand he had on her face returning to clasp her fingers in his.

“So,” he drew in a deep, nervous breath. “Vanessa Charlotte Sullivan, will you marry me?”

“Yes,” she said, almost instantaneously, and he surged up from where he was kneeling, arms going around her waist as he kissed her. She beamed against his lips, hands cupping his cheeks, laughing joyfully as he pressed her down firmly into the couch, lips salty form the combination of their ecstatic tears.

∗ ∗ ∗ 

Vanessa made an appointment with the county clerk’s office that weekend, and they headed down there first thing Saturday morning, hand in hand. They were dressed nicely, but not over the top: Jonathan in just a dark suit while Vanessa wore a lacy black dress she had yet to find an occasion to wear.

Neither of them had ever been particularly interested in the idea of a wedding. It all seemed rather ridiculous and over the top to them. Not to mention that neither of them had any other real friends or even acquaintances to invite to a wedding, had they decided to have one. 

At the end of the day, they both agree that self-solemnization was the best course of action for both of them. No religious fuss to get Jonathan’s hair to stand on end, nor witnesses or an officiant staring at them as they spoke deeply personal words to each other to make Vanessa feel all violated and twitchy.

Gotham was one of the few places in the country that allowed self-solemnization. And made it a surprisingly popular place for eloping couples. Vanessa didn’t particularly care why Gotham allowed self-solemnization when the rest of the state didn’t; she was just thrilled that the process involved as little fuss as possible. 

“You two been together long?” the clerk asked as she checked their photo IDs and began to doll out the paperwork they would need to fill out.

“Since college,” Vanessa said simply. 

“That’s lovely,” the clerk smiled at her sweetly. She just nodded, fingers squeezing against Jonathan’s arm as they filled out the paperwork and handed it back.

“And just sign your names here,” the clerk presented the paper to them. Vanessa wrapped her arms around Jonathan’s waist as soon as the clerk had retreated away to give them some privacy.

“Last chance to change your mind,” she whispered in his ear, pressing a kiss into his cheek. It wasn’t like either of them were all that invested in any form of a traditional lifestyle. Had it not been for the possibility of one or both of them getting arrested at some point, they probably would have forgone marriage all together. Neither of them needed a slip of paper to know that they would be together forever.

But still, there were benefits of that little slip of paper that neither of them could dismiss. Not to mention the peace of mind it would bring her. It would do good to have all their ducks in a row; should shit one day hit the fan.

 Jonathan snorted, turning his head to nose at her hair affectionately before scribbling his name down on the line and handing her the pen. She reluctantly let him go to take it between her fingers, laughing as she felt him hug her from behind, kissing her temple and hooking his chin over her shoulder. The pen scratched against the paper as she signed her name, heart jumping as she looked down at the two near illegible doctor’s signatures side by side on the paper.

Glancing over her shoulder at Jonathan, she smiled at him with lowered eyes, stroking his cheek. “Hi, husband.”

His laugh vibrated against her back, leaning closer until their foreheads touched. “Hello, wife,” he purred, pressing his mouth against hers. The kiss was deep and heated; a far cry from the usual quick pecks that they usually shared in public. Like he was trying to tell her without words just how happy he was; how much he loved her.

Once they broke apart, she cradled a hand at the back of his head, keeping him close as she hummed in happiness, nuzzling at his nose. Finally turning away, she picked up the paperwork, and together they took it over to the clerk, holding each other’s hands. 

“Anything else?” she asked the clerk as she took the paper.

“No, that’s everything. I’m assuming that you would like to file right away? There’s no waiting period in the city of Gotham.” 

“Yes, please.”

The clerk nodded. “Then you’re all set. Congratulations, both of you.”

“Thank you,” they both said, heading to the exit.

“That was much easier than I thought,” Jonathan commented.

“I thought that surely they would give us more shit about it,” Vanessa commented, hugging his arm. Their apartment wasn’t all that far away, and the moment that they were inside and the door was shut behind them, she pressed him up against it firmly, chuckling at the little yelp he let out as she crowded into his space and kissed him.

“Mm…what’re you doing?” he chuckled as she moved her lips down to his neck.

“There’s still one thing left that we have to do,” she purred into his skin, enjoying the way that he shivered and tilted his head back against the wood of the door.

“Is that so?” he teased, eyes shining mirthfully behind his glasses. Vanessa nodded, hands smoothing out along his chest as she tilted her head up to kiss him again, grinning as his hands landed on her hips and he started to walk her backwards.

“At least we won’t technically be living in sin anymore,” she said dryly. Jonathan snorted.

“Granny would be so thrilled,” his voice dripped with sarcasm.

“I’m sure that we can come up with many other things to do that would have horrified her to her very core.”

“God, I love you.”

Laughing, she wrapped her arms around him, letting him scoop her up into his embrace, both of them kissing enthusiastically as he carried her into the bedroom.

Later, much later, they were curled up in bed with an opened bottle of champagne that Jonathan had bought earlier in the day, licking grease from the pizza they’d ordered off of their fingers. Vanessa stretched, the soft material of Jonathan’s shirt riding up her bare thighs, smirking to herself when she caught him staring. Not that she could blame him, as she allowed herself to appreciate how he looked in his boxer shorts and nothing else.

With a hand on the small of her back, Jonathan drew her in closer until she was pressed flush to him, one of her thighs hooked over his hip and her palms on his chest.

“I like being married to you,” he admitted, dropping his head into her neck, spreading kisses down it and then moving onto her shoulder. Vanessa wrapped her arms around him, heart squeezing happily at the words. Even though they’d technically gotten married for the immunity, she couldn’t say that the idea of him as her husband didn’t make her feel a little giddy; all warm and fuzzy with affection. 

And she did love him. More than anything. And she knew that he loved her; no matter what she did. What atrocities she had inflicted; or that had been inflicted upon her. Vanessa knew that her mind was sick. Twisted and torn, probably beyond repair. Just like his. They were the same in that way too, true equals in every sense of the word. It was incredibly soothing, to know that he loved her without expectations, without limits. No matter how much of a monster she became. 

 She supposed that in a way, at least in her mind, they had already been married. 

“Mm. I like being married to you too,” she told him, grazing her lips along the shell of his ear. Jonathan just hummed in deep agreement, and pulled her closer.

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[madame-fear]

Nolan Scarecrow taking interest in woman in police force that people say is not afraid of anything, doesn't even flinch. Some police officers try from time to time scare her but she just sucker punches them out of reflex. And after some time he actually see it happening. Of course it's leads to unwanted crush

• He heard many things about you several times. You are a police woman with the reputation of being colder than ice itself, and not even slightly flinching at things that are supposed to cause "fear".

• Of course, his first thought was that you were an interesting subject for experimenting with his fear gas. Were you afraid of anything? How would you react to the fear toxin? What things could you possibly hallucinate with the fear gas? Many questions surrounded his mind.

• With all honesty, he would be pretty amused, yet intrigued about you. He certainly wanted to meet and talk with you.

• When someone tells them that some Police officers – fellow colleagues of yours – tried to spook you by jump-scaring at you and you just hit them right in the face with a punch, he'd sincerely chuckle at the thought of it happening.

• He likes your tough personality tbh 😍

• When he finally had the chance to meet you, he would be charmed by your looks and by how badass you looked – especially knowing the fact that you weren't afraid of anything and threw sucker-punches at your colleagues who often tried to scare you with no success at all.

• That day, he was lucky enough to see that special punching moment happen with his very own eyes!

• A silly police officer – which is unluckily your colleague – and you, were assigned to work on a special case that happened at Arkham and you had to talk to Jonathan and ask him about it.

• Your colleague, being the typical rookie police officer, wasn't really paying attention to the case and just took the opportunity of trying to spook you since you seemed so focused on the case; after him as well having heard about you being..."unspookable"

• And oh, how dumb he was to try and do such thing with you.

• You were talking with Dr Crane all focused on the conversation, and your colleague just jumped right behind you and tightly gripping your shoulders while yelling "Boo!"

• In a sudden spin, you turned around grabbing his hand and pulling it towards your body, and punched him right into his face – making everyone around you turn around and stare at the scene.

• Oh my god – was Dr Crane impressed by your toughness? Hell yeah he was. The way you grabbed the other officer and punched him right in the face without even flinching was so impressive! It was better than he had imagine.

• That very second, he realised, he was slowly and awkwardly falling for your enchantingly brave personality. He didn't even want to crush on someone, but holy shit you're personality is hot af.

• And that punch was definitely gonna leave a pretty dark bruise on the officers face for a while...and maybe more than just a bruise.

[twinhood-2dot0]

A Shallow Dive Into: Batman’s Rogues Gallery Part 2

Here, part 2. The first one somehow got 7 likes??? I barely even put any effort into it. This one is also gonna be pretty low effort :P I started writing another post yesterday and I wrote 1360 words and I’m only like only a ⅓ finished??? And I kinda spent the whole day watching an anime start to finish 💀.Anyways, let’s get into some more that I missed.

The Al Ghul’s

Ra’s al Ghul (Raysh-Al-Ghool or, Raas-Al-Ghool. Even DC writers can’t agree, although I’m more accustomed to Raysh, I think that was how it was pronounced in the DCAU and the Arkham games. It’s Arabic for “Head of the demon”) is a man born around 700-450 years ago, who discovered the powers of the Lazarus pit, which has the power to bring people back from the dead and used it to prolong his life. (Yeah, this how pretty much most of the dead Batfam characters came back to life. Jason Todd, Kate Kane (Batwoman), who died for like one issue a few meters away from a Lazarus pit, Riddler, as mentioned before, when he got cancer and took a dip in the pit and figured out Batman’s identity.) Ra’s al Ghul, in his long life, played a part in like a lot of historical moments, and later comes to resent humanity and becomes an environmentalist. I’m not very familiar with the character unfortunately, with all of my experience being the Batman Begins version, the kinda weird role he played in Arkham City, and JLA: Tower of Babel where he takes down the entire Justice League using Batman’s countermeasures for his own allies, and the Injustice series, which I don’t remember much of except that he has like a nature sanctuary with various critically endangered species and he was besties with Animal Man.

Talia al Ghul is the daughter of Ra’s al Ghul, on-and-off love interest for Batman, and mother of Batman’s biological son, and also on-and-off ally of Ra’s al Ghul. She also played a part in Jason Todd’s resurrection and consequent training.

Ra’s also has one other daughter, Nyssa, but I honestly didn’t even know she existed until I played Arkham Knight. She has much less appearances than her sister.

Lady Shiva, while not a member of the family, has relations to the League of Shadows, so I thought I’d group them together. Lady Shiva is among the best martial artists in the DCU, able to best even Batman. She’s also the mother of Cassandra Cain, the other best fighter, although more so because of her procognitive abilities. 

Man-Bat

Wow, the realisticness makes him so much scarier.

Dr. Kirk Langstrom is a zoologist cursed with deafness, and in an effort to cure his deafness, creates a serum with the help of bat DNA but it goes horribly wrong and is turned into a giant bat. In recent publications, he’s more of a sympathetic villain acting more on primal rage than malice. His interpretation in Arkham Knight was done really well. Although Arkham Knight is not a horror game, there’s a ton of jumpscares. While just gliding and grappling to different buildings, the player may be randomly met with the shrieking face of the Man-Bat, and you have to go to his lab and piece together what he has done and create an antidote.

Mr. Freeze

Dr. Victor Fries’s (pronounced “Frees”. Yeah, DC names are often very on the nose, just look at E. Nygma and Harleen Quinzel.) wife Nora Fries is afflicted with a terminal illness, and is cryogenically preserved by her husband in hopes that a cure might one day be discovered. While working, he’s trapped in an accident that made him unable to survive outside of sub-zero environments, forcing him to wear a cryogenic suit, and he turns to crime to find a cure.

Mr. Freeze was originally just another bank robber with a freeze ray, but Paul Dini changed his origin story to the current iteration in an Emmy Award winning episode of Batman: The Animated Series titled “Heart Of Ice”. Scott Snyder, as much as I loved his stories, controversially retconned this in the New 52 reboot and made Fries a man who got obsessed with a cryogenically preserved woman named Nora Fields.

The Court Of Owls

A newer addition to the Batman mythos, appearing first in Scott Snyder’s Court Of Owls and City Of Owls arcs that kicked off the New 52 Batman series. The Court Of Owls are Gotham’s own Illuminati. A secret society made of the wealthiest and most powerful citizens of Gotham, they have existed for centuries, controlling the city from behind the shadows, along with the help of immortal assassins named the Talons.

Batmen of The Dark Multiverse

Scott Snyder’s 2017 crossover event named Dark Nights: Metal introduced us to the Dark Multiverse, a multiverse where everything that can go wrong, does go wrong, and is doomed to destruction. We’re introduced to the Batmen (and Batwoman) of The Dark Multiverse, who are all different versions of Batman with some drastic changes.

Joker 

A fan favorite, and the leader of the Batmen, is The Batman Who Laughs. This Batman gave into the urge of killing Joker, after he killed all his rogues, thousands of Gotham citizens and Jim Gordon, and is infected with a version of the Joker toxin that turns him insane, making him a Joker with the brain and physicality of Batman. He tricked the Batfamily and killed them all, and hid in his Batcave for a week, emerging to kill the Justice League, and he turned Damian into a mini-Joker and recruited the children affected by the Joker toxin as his “Rabid Robins”. This guy is freaking horrifying in all of the stories he appeared in.

Superman

The Superman of Earth -1 goes on a killing spree, even killing Lois Lane, leading Batman to decide to use lethal force. After his attempts with a Kryptonite spear doesn’t work out, he ingested a version of the Doomsday Virus (Doomsday is the monster that killed Superman in The Death Of Superman, the virus causes people to develop features like it.) aiding him in killing Superman, but after his victory, the virus spread and he could only watch helplessly as it destroyed his world.

The Flash

After all of the Batfam dies, Batman is compelled to take extreme measures, and tries to get The Flash to give him access to the Speed Force too, and when he refused, he used all the weapons employed by his Rogue’s Gallery to defeat him, chained him to the Batmobile (merged with the Cosmic Treadmill, it’s a treadmill that Flash uses to time travel accurately and stuff), and drove both of them into the Speed Force, absorbing The Flash and his powers, with Barry forced to watch as Batman murders each of his villains.

Aqua(wo)man

In a universe where everyone is gender-swapped, Bryce Wayne’s lover Sylvester Kyle (bleugh) is killed by metahumans, and starts killing every metahuman. After killing all of them on land, she meets Aquawoman, and peace negotiations turn into a conflict, and then she steals her trident, and kills her with her own weapon, and in retaliation, the Atlanteans drown Gotham City and a large part of the world, leading her to perform surgery on herself to give herself Aquawoman’s powers and designed an underwater army called the “Dead Waters''. Does that qualify as a navy?

Okay, there are a few more, like Cyborg Alfred Batmobile Batman, Ares Batman, Killed all of Green Lantern corps as a kid with a Green Lantern ring Batman, but I’m lazy, sorry. Maybe next time, cya, I gotta go finish Chainsaw Man.

[the-antiapocalyptic-man]

What is Mr. Freeze and Nora like in Headverse?

(I have this little personal canon where Nora actually became friends with a young Harvey Dent during her illness, but most of that would be it's own post)

I really like the idea of Nora befriending little Harvey!

As Headverse Victor and Nora, they were Austrian immigrants to Gotham City during the city's Golden Age. Victor is still a scientist and brought over all his research into advanced cryogenics, getting work with Ferris Boyle's Gotham Corporation, while Nora used her ballet training to land various film roles, most famously as the superhuman villainess Lazara Zero, an American take on the Irma Vep archetype in the League of Shadows serials (the bulk of which are now considered lost media). They ran in the same circles as Dr. Aloysius Fox, Adrian Arkham, "Ol' Calamity" Silverlock, Alan Scott, Sammy Zhao, and of course Alfie Pennyworth and his bankroller Pat Wayne.

After being diagnosed with MacGregor's Syndrome, Nora retired from acting and Victor threw himself into his work, doing whatever he could to give her more time, to save her. Boyle, unsatisfied with his results and unconcerned with Nora's eventual fate after she rebuffed his own advances years earlier, cut Victor's funding. Desperate to complete his research and safely freeze Nora while he researched a cure, Victor adopted the persona of "Mister Zero" began robbing various business (almost all subsidiaries for the Gotham Corporation) using an experimental direct-cryonic beam emitter (it would be a few decades before he caved to calling it a "Freeze Gun" as was already in popular use by the press at the time).

After a confrontation with Batman (Aloysius) and Eagle, Victor was changed forever: while the process was still misunderstood at the time, Aloysius exploding Victor's freeze gun in his face to save Boyle's life had the unintended consequence of activating Fries's latent metagene. While his altered biology gave him the ability to withstand extreme cold temperatures that would kill most baseline humans, it also left him unable to survive outside the cold.

With the compromise of Boyle's arrest and a promise of funding from Wayne, Victor retreated to a private laboratory with a frozen Nora, both of them unseen for decades, visited only by Aloysius and Pat's children and then grandchildren from time to time.

It was during a visit by Lucius Fox and a young Bruce Wayne that everything went sideways. While Victor's body hadn't aged in all this time, his extreme isolation and obsession had aggravated existing mental illness in full blown delusion. Now calling himself Mister Freeze and guided by hallucinations of Nora--awake and reborn as his White Queen--Victor had outlined plans to freeze all of Gotham before upgrading to an impossible attempt at plunging the entire world into a new ice age.

While Bruce--now having taken up Al's old identity as the Batman--stopped Victor's plan, he was forced to move him to a special facility at Arkham Psychiatric Hospital. While Bruce advocated for allowing Victor special permission to continue living with Nora, he was overruled by Doctors Hugo Strange and Jeremiah Arkham--the former out of an obscene urge to see how far he could plunge the various costumed criminals Batman brought him into madness, and the latter out of a petty urge to undermine his cousin.

It was under these circumstances that Nora was kidnapped by the League of Assassins--inspiration for the very films that had made her famous--disappeared into their ranks. Victor never forgave Bruce for this failure to protect the only person he ever truly loved, antagonizing the Wayne family into the Beyond era and Terry McGinnis's time as Batman.

tl;dr cold wife guy really hates rich people, mostly for good reasons

[muses-of-the-memory]

"Time with the Goddess of Adventure"

While visiting Toon Town, the home of the Toons, I introduce Lucas to Xandra, the Greek Goddess of Adventure, and ally to The Three Caballeros; Donald Duck, Panchito Pistoles, and Jose Carioca.

Lucas was starting to take a liking to the Greek Goddess of Adventure, that he couldn't help himself but latch onto her back, causing Xandra to carry him. But she allowed this as she was taking a liking to him as much as me when I visited.

This is for Grey DeLisle's 51st Birthday

A quick fanart Birthday Gift for Grey DeLisle-Griffin's 51st Birthday this year. Let us give thanks for Grey DeLisle for voicing these characters below.

Azula/Actress Katara/Ming-Hua from Avatar: The Last Airbender/The Legend of Korra

Mandy from The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy

Major Dr. Ghastly from Evil Con Carne

Miss Dimsdale, The Tooth Fairy, Vicky and Tootie from The Fairly Oddparents

Daphne Blake from Scooby-Doo since The Cyber Chase

Black Canary from Batman: The Brave and the Bold

Sam Manson from Danny Phantom

Lizzy Devine from Codename: Kids Next Door

Vambre from Mighty Magiswords

Ice Queen and Breakfast Princess from Adventure Time

Emily Elizabeth from Clifford the Big Red Dog

Femme Fatale from The Powerpuff Girls (Classic)

Frankie Foster, Duchess, and Goo from Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends

Kitty Katsweel from TUFF Puppy

Lupe Toucan and Ingrid Giraffe from My Gym Partner's a Monkey

Riley Darling from The Replacements

Catwoman since Batman: Arkham City

Flicker from Handy Manny

Wonder Woman, Giganta and Lois Lane from DC Super Hero Girls (2019)

Aquata and Arista from The Little Mermaid III: Ariel's Beginning

and Martin Prince and Sherri and Terri from The Simpsons

@the-world-hopper