#You know that trope of Batman sneaking away? Yeah I think his kids do it to him and he HATES it

[violent138]

The Batman part 2, scene 14, directed by me

Gordon: "You know something. What?"

Battinson, in the middle of reviewing evidence with Gordon: "Not here; Robin and I will get back to you."

Gordon: "Yeah before you do that, where is he again?"

Batman:

Batman, turning in a circle: "When did he--?"

Gordon, slightly smug: "No idea. It's kind of annoying right?"

Batman, scanning the active crime scene and shuffling to the side, pressing his comms: "Robin. Robin where are you? Robin? Dick?"

Martinez, turning around: "Excuse me?"

Battinson:

[wearetakingthehobbitstogallifrey]

Kdrama recs Part 1

Hullo and welcome to the kdrama life @camsthisky​! The following list is not in any particular order, other than the fact that I start with a more rom/com vibe and head toward more romantic/action or action. All the following kdramas are set in the modern day, and part 2 of my recs for you will be either darker kdramas set in present day or historical dramas.

Let the list begin!

1. Strong Woman Do Bong Soon: 

Do Bong Soon is a v smol woman who has super strength and who wants 1. To create her own video game 2. Get her police officer crush to return her affections. Which like, police officer is kinda cute but he ain’t that special. Bong Soon winds up becoming a bodyguard to Ahn Min Hyuk, the extremely rich, kinda spoiled, ridiculously extra CEO of a gaming company who does not like the police for secret reasons, and sadly does not have a good relationship with his family. (He a lonely boy underneath everything.) Min Hyuk finds out about Bong Soon’s powers, is in TOTAL awe of her, offers to train her in fighting, and literally falls head over heels for her.

The caveat with this show is there is a subplot or two that annoy me, BUT I just use the 10 second skip button and it is totally worth it because the romance is super cute—SUPER CUTE (also I have a list of favorite actors and Park Hyung Sik is def on it—one minute he is an adorkable, blushing bby the next he can be intense and sad)

He cute

2. Her Private Life: 

Hello fake-dating!! Ryan Gold (an adoptee who didn’t live in Korea for a while) is a former artist who stopped painting because he couldn’t deal with his Stendhol (?) syndrome (among other traumas). Deok Mi is the classy art curator of a famous museum who definitely does not have any secrets she wants to keep from the world—well, other than the fact that she is the number one fangirl of kpop idol, Cha Shi-an (who also appreciates art) and has a major crush on him. Ryan becomes director of the art museum and there is a whole thing with getting Shi-an involved in an art show.

Following this and a series of unfortunate events a false rumor starts that Deok Mi and and Shi-an ARE dating. It’s a little complicated to summarize, but basically what you need to know is that Ryan and Deok Mi become a fake couple so there won’t be a scandal for Shi-an or violence done to Deok Mi by rabid fangirls. I enjoy the fake-dating trope a lot, and how it becomes real for both of them! The leads are played by Kim Jae Wook and Park Min Young, who both have incredible range. Lots of soft moments in this one! Good kisses, a scene where the faves bake together, and also Ryan wears a lot of deep v-neck shirts and jackets which is an attack on me personally.

The show also contains a bit of angst, which I LOVE. Hand-holding becomes an important theme 😊

RYAN NO

3. Crash Landing on You: Rich South Korean heiress/fashion designer Se-ri accidentally winds up in a North Korean village, and really REALLY wants to go home. Mostly because there are no scented candles or spa-like bathtubs in the vicinity, but also because she could easily disappear into a NK jail and never return. A North Korean captain named Ri Jeong Hyeok finds her and decides not to turn her because, one, he’s a good guy who doesn’t want to turn an innocent person over to what might be her death, and two, turning her over might get his four underlings in trouble for reasons. Said underlings are his family, basically, and they are a deLIGHT. One is an argumentative proud sort who likes to drink and to feel important and who tries to provoke (and gets provoked by) Se-ri at every opportunity, one is a lover of banned South Korean dramas, one is a 17 year old bby who misses his mom, and one is the silent but most loyal follower of the captain. 

Besides all these people, there are two other characters (including a surprisingly wise conman) who become faves and major players in the plot.

There is a great mix of humor, romance, found family, and angst, and I love it very much. A few things don’t go the way I want them to near the end, but a bit of imagination and fanfic can fix anything 

ALSO I FORGOT THE CAPTAIN GETS SUPER SULKY FROM TIME TO TIME AND IT IS HILARIOUS

Show of hands, who thinks they will meet again

4. Are You Human Too: A FAVORITE SHOW OF ALL! TIME!

What do you do when your husband dies and your evil mega-rich father-in-law takes your son away from you and keeps you from seeing him ever? Well, if you are scientist with more genius than positive coping methods, you build yourself a robot son who looks exactly like your real son. Great solution, am I right?

Nam Shin III is the name of my favorite robot son, played by the inestimable Seo Kang Joon. He is the purest bby you will ever meet, being designed so that he never lies and so that he will immediately go to hug anyone who cries. He seems quite a contrast to the bitter human Nam Shin, who hates his gilded prison life, hates his Grandpa, and tries to sneak away from his right hand man, Secretary Ji Young Hoon, his only friend in the world. The girl in the show is Kang So Bong, an ex-UFC fighter who was so badly injured she had to quit. She is at first a bit jaded and mercenary because of her past, but she has a golden heart that just needs to be reminded of its existence.

Not going into details to avoid spoilers, but everything upends when the robot Nam Shin has to take the place of the human Nam Shin. The show is a soft, funny, angsty exploration of what it means to be human, with some good found family throughout. The character development is phenomenal, and the connection between So Bong and Nam Shin III is *chef’s kiss*. I just want to give a shout out to Seo Kang Joon who plays a duel role like you wouldn’t believe, to SKJ’s smile, to the soundtrack, and to the character of Young Hoon, a loyal, steady, and self-sacrificing secretary that we do not deserve  (gosh tho he looks good in blue!)

Look at my robot son getting a long-looked for affirmation! (his lil smile!!!

5. W: Two Worlds: 

This show unique because it  meta as HELL! Oh Yeon Joo is a junior doctor and the daughter of a webtoon artist whose big hit, W, is coming to a close. Much to her surprise, she gets pulled into the world of the comic where she encounters and saves the main character, Kang Chul, a former Olympic shooting champion who was blamed for the murder of his entire family, and whose sole desire is to find the real killer. It’s a good romance between them, and I also love Kang Chul’s relationship with his hyung, which, tho it is not always a main focus, is present and wonderful. Kang Chul himself is both intelligent and adorably bratty, charismatic and angsty, soft and fierce, and he is one of my favorite kdrama characters for sure.

As for the meta, the show does a fantastic job exploring the rules of the comic world, of how one can enter and leave, the importance and power of main characters and supporting characters, and the purpose of an author. There is always another twist coming, and it is just so much fun!

UM SIR PLS POINT THAT ELSEWHERE

6. Healer: 

I watched half this show and never realized that the female lead is played by Park Min Young, same actress as in Her Private Life. Someone had to tell me lol! She’s just so good at playing different people. In this show, she is Chae Young Shin, a reporter for a celebrity tabloid who has big dreams of becoming a famous reporter who investigates stories that actually mean something. She is a bit quirky, very cute, very brave, and probably one of my favorite female leads. She lives with her dad above his coffee/teashop bakery and is friends with all the ex-cons he has defended while doing his other job of lawyering.

Anyway this show is more of a romantic/action drama. To get an idea of the titular Healer, picture what you would get if you took some of Batman and Nightwing’s aesthetics (wearing black, hanging out on rooftops, punching people, flipping around, etc) and put them into a night courier who likes to watch National Geographic and dream about one day going off to an island where he can live all by himself for the rest of his days because oh yeah he is a loner whose only friend is an older woman who sets up his jobs and whom he has never actually met.

There is also an older reporter that Young Shin looks up to, the fun tabloid office where she works, a heck lot of mystery surrounding some tragedy involving a group of reporter best friends/found family back in the 80’s/90’s, and of course both members of the OTP have childhood trauma that has made them who they are today. One of my favorite things that happens in the show is that Healer has to go undercover for a while, Clark Kenting it up in Young Shin’s tabloid office, which overnight becomes a real news agency for reasons.

The action is LOTS of fun, and the romance is really soft and cute, and better still, when there is a misunderstanding or something that gets in their way, they almost immediately talk about it and resolve issues. They TRUST each other and give the benefit of the doubt where many tv couples would break up or get in big fights. I find it (plus the character development) very refreshing.

I couldn’t find a gif of my favorite fight sadly. This will have to do

7. Lawless Lawyer: This has Lee Joon Gi. Watch it.

Just kidding, there are many other reasons to watch the show, but it is true that Lee Joon Gi is one of my favorite actors. The man has phoenix eyes, a jawline that could cut silk, diamonds, you name it, and such a deep well of emotional acting that it literally kills me when his characters rage/weep/love/etc.

Anyway, in this legal thriller/romance/action drama, LJG’s character Bong Sang Pil is a beautiful, very extra ex-gangster/now lawyer who opens his own office, ready to fight villainy and avenge his mom with the law or with his fists, whichever is more useful at the time. He has a right hand man named Manager Tae and recruits a bunch of thugs as his minions, and they all become a weird sort of family as the show goes on.

Ha Jae Yi is a quiet badass lawyer who has no time for sexist idiots and gets her license suspended for smacking one of said fools. She gets recruited to assist Sang Pil, and they find their goals align as both their mothers were destroyed by the villains.

Speaking of the villains? EXCELLENT acting by them all, like they need to go down obviously, but you can’t help but be in awe of a few of them or even get attached to one or two in a weird way. Props to the show for having one of the best female villains I have ever seen

What an icon

Here you get two gifs of him

Sorry I needed to make it a magical three lol

~~

Tune in next time for historical dramas and modern dramas that are a bit darker!

[kittyanonymity]

A Ladybug in Gotham #2

Marinette is forever flustered

Well, ya know, I’ve got at least 2 chapters of this, so why not just post the second one too, right? XD Also, I hope you guys are ready for like, Ultimate Chloe. I love that brat, and I’m gonna be pissed forever at her lack of redemption. Also, I am totally going to abuse the tropes, be prepared. Also, cussing. These kids are nearly 18, and I tell you what, I have heard too many teenagers swearing like sailors. Our kids won’t be that bad, but the adults? No promises ;P

Ao3

Part 1 Part 2 :HERE: Part 3 Part 4 Part 5

Enjoy!! <3<3

~~~~~~

Marinette awoke to the frantic ringing of her phone, and she groggily reached over and answered it. She’d stayed up late, talking to her parents, reassuring them she was ok; her mother had been furious, but Marinette had assured her it hadn’t really been Madame Bustier’s fault.

Marinette yawned as she put the phone to her ear, “H-hello…?”

“Marinette! Get down here now! They’re trying to leave you!”

At the sound of Chloe’s voice, Marinette shot up out of bed, “What!”

“That’s what I said! Lila fed Mme. Bustier some cock and bull story about you not feeling well after the ‘drama’ last night! I tried telling her, but she won’t listen! She won’t let me off this damn bus!” Marinette flung herself out of bed, nearly tripping over her own two feet.

“I’m on my way, Chloe!”

“Hurry! I can’t stall these idiots forever!”

Chloe hung up, and Marinette threw open her suitcase, digging through her clothes. Baggy jeans, with her new shoes, and an off the shoulder pink crop top were thrown on haphazardly, and then Tikki was there, holding her new Robin hoodie.

“Here, Marinette!” Marinette smiled, thanking Tikki before she was pulling it on, and grabbing her purse. She stuffed her phone in quickly, and then opened it up to let Tikki and Kaalki zip in. She zipped her bag up quickly, grabbed her key card, and was running for the stairs; she didn’t have time to wait for the elevator.

She hit the lobby running, sprinting for the door, but she could already see the bus leaving; she caught Chloe’s eyes through the door, seeing her through the bus window. She looked furious, and the last thing Marinette saw was her turn on their teacher, shouting at the top of her lungs.

By the time Marinette made it out the doors, the bus was already turning around a corner, and out of sight. She wanted to scream.

“Marinette?” She looked down through watery eyes to see Tikki peering at her from her purse. Her kwami looked distraught, “Are you ok?” Marinette took a deep breath, and wiped her eyes.

“No, I’m not. I can’t believe they would do this…” She sighed, adjusting her bag, “I’ll just walk I guess…”

Wayne Tower couldn’t be too far, right? She started walking, heading the same direction as the bus, making sure to make space for any other pedestrians. The streets were crowded this early in the morning, with many people on their way to work, and she had to dodge several people who were too busy staring at their phones to pay attention.

She was so tired. Tired of all this pettiness, and she didn’t like how angry it made her. She hated being angry more than she hated being upset. Anger took so much energy to maintain, but sadness could just be felt, and then it would pass; anger clung to her mind like cobwebs. Small, but there; always there. Marinette sighed as she turned the corner the bus had disappeared behind.

And promptly yelped when she ran face first into someone.

She stumbled back, eyes shut tight, and tripped over her own two feet. Marinette braced for the impact of the concrete, but was shocked when an arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her forward. She was met with brilliant green eyes, and dark hair when she finally looked up. The young man stared down at her in slight shock, but he smiled a bit when she looked at him. Her heart thudded dangerously in her chest, and shocks danced across her back where his hand was braced. Wait, he was saying something! Pay attention!!

“Are you alright?”

Marinette nodded, not trusting her voice as he pulled her back up, straightening her. Her face flushed.

“Uh, th-thank you, sir.” His smile grew just a bit, as he held her hand and brought it up to his lips, kissing it softly.  

“It’s not a problem. It’s the least I can do for the woman who saved my niece yesterday.”

Marinette’s eyes grew wide, and her blush escalated to her ears, “You’re Mar’i’s uncle?” Well, she could see the resembelance at least.

He lowered her hand, and nodded, “Damian Wayne, at your service, miss Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Thank you for protecting Mar’i yesterday.” She waved her hand.

“P-please, you really don’t have to thank me! It was no problem at all!” Damian observed her for a moment before he nodded.

“If that’s what you wish, miss Marinette.”

“Please, just Marinette is fine! We’re nearly the same age, it looks like, heh.” She rubbed the back of her neck, and his smile grew a bit teasing; she was so easily flustered.

It was cute.

He quickly noticed though… That she was completely alone in the street.

His smile grew tense.

“If I may, Marinette… I thought you were here on a trip with your school. Where’s your class?”

Marinette paused; because holy shit, she was talking to the youngest son of Bruce fucking Wayne, the sponsor for this whole trip, and he was asking where her class was. She chewed her lip for a moment, before she finally sighed. She couldn’t lie; that wouldn’t be right.

“They… left me behind.”

Damian blinked, “What?” he asked flatly. Marinette flinched, chancing a glance up at him.

“My friend Chloe called me, telling me the class was trying to leave me behind. One of my classmates told our teacher that I wanted to stay in my room after… yesterday. Chloe couldn’t stall them much longer, and I tried to catch up.” She sighed, gripping the strap on her purse tighter, “I made it to the lobby in time to see the bus pull away.”

Damian scowled, “Forgive me, but your teacher sounds like an idiot.”

Marinette snorted, and then covered her mouth, sneaking a bashful glance at him; it made his scowl fall, and he smiled.

“Where is your class going right now, Marinette?” She rubbed the back of her neck, averting her eyes.

“Th-they’re uh, actually heading to Wayne Tower…” Damian couldn’t help but laugh at the irony, and Marinette stared up at him in slight awe. When she’d researched Gotham, she had of course read up on the family that was sponsoring her school’s trip. She knew Bruce Wayne had several children, but the only one she consistently found mention of was Damian Wayne; and it seemed he wasn’t nearly as much the Ice Prince as everyone thought he was.

Because my god, he was gorgeous when he laughed.

He gave her a grin, and offered her his arm, and Marinette snapped out of her daze.

“Well, it’s quite the walk, Marinette. Would you let me give you a ride?” Marinette stared at him, looking from him to his offered arm; and as she thought about it, she realized… She felt pretty comfortable around this guy.

She smiled, linking her arm with his, “I think I’d really appreciate that, Damian; thank you.”

Damian returned her smile with surprising ease, “The pleasure is mine, angel.”

~~~~~~~~~~

‘Why did you do that you imbecile! Who kisses a girl’s hand on the street like that!! Augh!!’

Damian bit his lip as he got in his car, Marinette secured in the passenger seat. He couldn’t believe what had come over him! He’d never reacted like that to a woman before. And then he called her angel! He snuck a glance at her to see her texting on her phone, before she smiled, and put it away; he averted his eyes in time for her to look over at him.

“Thank you so much for this, Damian, I mean it.” She gave him a smile, and Damian cursed how his pulse quickened; he still returned her smile though. It felt almost criminal not to.

“It’s no problem. I was going to head that way eventually.”

Marinette’s smile turned playful, “Oh? What was the first order of business for you today, dear sir?” Damian snickered at her tone of voice, before he actually remembered why he’d been there; though he had to admit, her accent was adorable.

“Funny enough, I was coming to meet your class at your hotel.” He retrieved an envelope from the interior lining of his jacket, and held it out to her, “Father asked me to bring you this.”

Marinette took the envelope with wide eyes, and Damian continued speaking as he started the car, and he pulled out into traffic.

“Your classes’ schedule didn’t have you leaving until 10 A.M., so I thought I had plenty of time to arrive; imagine my surprise, running into you.” Marinette offered him a sheepish grimace.

“Sorry about that. There are a couple students in my class who… prefer things done their way.” Damian nodded, an amused smirk on his face.

“I’ve noticed.” He grinned a bit, glancing at her, “Nice hoodie by the way. I didn’t know you guys knew about the Bat pack in France.” Marinette grinned, glancing down at her new jacket.

“There’s actually not a whole lot of information on anyone besides Batman, but I have a lot of respect for his work, and how he cares for the villains he fights,” Giving him a wink, Marinette said, “But Robin’s colors suit me better, and based on the videos I’ve seen, he’s an excellent fighter.” She sighed, leaning back in the seat with an almost wistful look on her face, “I would kill for a sparring partner like that.”

Valiantly fighting his embarrassment, Damian cleared his throat, “You like martial arts?”

Marinette nodded, “Yeah. I started doing it so I could protect myself from the akuma at home, and then I found that, well, I really liked it? It’s invigorating, and it helped me quite a bit with my confidence. I started gymnastics a bit after that, just to help with my flexibility and agility.” She grinned, shrugging her shoulder a bit, “It’s been a great time.”

“Well, why don’t you have a sparring partner?” Marinette sighed.

“I used to, but…” Marinette bit her lip, and Damian saw her glance at him, like she was considering something before she finally huffed, “Well, he-he kept… asking me out. It didn’t matter if I told him no, or not, he just kept asking. And it was fine at first, you know, we were only 13, it was funny. And then…” Her hands tightened on her bag, “and then one day, it wasn’t. I had a boyfriend, Adrien; we were only 14 at the time, but god… God, I loved him.” Damian couldn’t help but frown at the bitter way she said it, before she laughed a bit, “I wasn’t very smart, back then. But my partner, when I told him I was dating someone, he just lost it, started going on and on about how I was leading him on.”

She sighed again, this time a deeper, more tired kind of sound, and Damian hated the misery in it.

“We don’t really hang out that much anymore, except for when we need to.” Marinette turned and looked out the window, watching the people go by as they drove, “And sometimes, I feel guilty that I’m happy about it. I’m glad that I don’t have to see him unless it’s absolutely necessary. I just spar with my maman when she’s free, but she’s not as enthusiastic about it as she used to be; it hurts her more now.”

She jumped when Damian reached over, and gently held one of her hands in one of his; she looked at him, but he was staring at the road.

“If you're so willing, I’ll spar with you, angel. I’ve got quite the history in martial arts, so I should last a while before you put me in the dirt.” He grinned, glancing at her, and Marinette couldn’t help but laugh. Damian stopped at a stop light, glad he got to look at her like this.

She was beautiful when she laughed, oh god.

If he wasn’t careful, she’d hear his heart trying to break through his ribs.

He gestured to the envelope in her hands, “You should go ahead and open that.” He turned his attention back to the road as the light turned green, and Damian heard her tear the envelope gently, careful of any trash. After a moment, she gasped.

“What!”

Damian couldn’t help but laugh at the shocked, incredulous sound of her voice, and she turned to look at him, a flush high on her cheeks.

“Did you know?!”

Damian slowly stopped laughing after a moment, grinning as he pulled to a stop in front of Wayne Enterprises. He looked at her, “Did I know my father was going to invite you to dinner at the manor tonight?” His grin turned teasing, and he shrugged a shoulder, “Maybe. Now, let’s go find your class, angel.”

~~~~~~~~~~

Chloe and Alix were waiting for her when they walked through the doors of Wayne Enterprise, or Wayne Tower as some of the locals called it. Chloe reached her first, wrapping her in a tight hug, while Alix hung back.  

“Oh thank god! I thought we’d lose you for good in this damn city!” Chloe pulled back, checking her friend over from head to toe, while Marinette laughed.

“Chloe, I’m fine; I made a friend, the one I texted you about and he helped me get here.” That made the blonde pause, and Damian froze as her gaze swivelled to him. She gave him a shrewd once over as her eyes narrowed.

“What’s your name?” Damian smiled, and held out his hand.

“Damian. You must be Chloe. Marinette told me you’re her best friend.”

Chloe gave him a cheeky grin, and took his hand, shaking it, “No last name?”

Marinette pursed her lips, “About that, Chloe…” She gestured her friend to come closer, and once Chloe leaned over to her, Marinette whispered in her ear, “This is Damian Wayne, Chloe. He’s the youngest son of Bruce Wayne.”

Marinette watched as Chloe’s eyelids fell, and a broad smile spread over her face; her eyes slid over to the rest of the class, a fiendish twinkle in her eye. Damian nearly took a step back at the look on the girls face, and Marinette looked properly concerned.

“You don’t say~....” Chloe drawled, her smile devious; Marinette swore she could see her hair curling into horns. With a hum far too cheery, Chloe looped Marinette’s arm with Damian’s before looping her own through Marinette’s other side.

“Let’s go greet everyone shall we, Mari-bear? Oh, and Damian dear?” Damian raised a brow, and promptly paled at the smile Chloe gave him, “Say nothing about your last name, got it?”

He nodded, “Yes, ma’am.” Marinette blushed, while Chloe looked at her with a pleased smile.

“Ok, I like him; good find, DC~.” So saying, Chloe promptly lead the charge, so to speak. The three of them walked up to where Madame Bustier was speaking with-

Damian groaned, right as Dick looked over and saw him, and by association, Marinette and Chloe. The look of utter glee on his older brother’s face would haunt him for days to come, he was sure. The teacher noticed them a moment later.

“Marinette, there you are! Lila told me you didn’t want to join us today.”

Damian felt Marinette’s whole body tense, and because he was looking at her, he saw her eyes narrow in rage. He felt a little bad at how quickly the heat rushed to his cheeks.

“Mme. Bustier, I never said anything like that, and if that had been what I wanted to do, I would’ve told you directly when I told you what happened before curfew last night.”

Damian felt himself straighten at her tone of voice; this wasn’t the first time she’d had this conversation, was it? He paused for a moment though.

Because there it was.

That confidence from the surveillance camera, displayed before him.

God, her eyes were so blue, he could stare at them for ages…

And promptly realized he was doing just that, and looked away.

‘Pull yourself together, damnit! You are smooth! And don’t let them walk all over her!’ He glanced back at her as her teacher responded to her in french, ‘Not that she needs my help, because wow, she’s pretty when she’s mad.’

Damian frowned when a new voice joined the conversation.

“I-I’m so sorry, Marinette, I thought you meant it when you said you wished you could sleep all day. I wouldn’t have told Mme. Bustier otherwise…”  He looked at a brunette wearing orange as she stepped over, tears running down her face. Damian raised a brow at the act; they weren’t actually buying this were they? One look around at most of the class, and it was obvious that yes, yes they were.

Marinette gave Lila a flat look, “I didn’t even talk to you yesterday, Lila; Chloe did. I generally try to not talk to you.” The girl’s cries grew in volume, and Madame Bustier gave Marinette a look, but before she could say anything, Dick intervened.

Clapping, he looked around at the gathered students, “Now that everyone’s here, let’s begin the tour! Right this way guys!” He winked at Marinette as he walked away, starting the tour. Several of the students gave Marinette a dirty look as they walked away, following Dick; two boys slowed, sharing a look with Alix. The pink haired girl simply nodded, and they went ahead.

Marinette sighed as she followed at a more sedate pace, keeping several feet between them and the class. The three of them kept their arms linked while they walked, and Alix skated up next Chloe.

“Are you ok?” Marinette glanced over at Chloe as she asked, and sighed, looking ahead of them at the backs of her classmates. Madame Bustier was walking with Lila consoling the girl as she ’cried’.

“As good as I can be, I guess.”

Chloe looked to her left as Alix nudged her, and the pinkette nodded her head to a nearby bench.

“Hey, Chlo, can we talk real quick?” The small group came to a slow stop, and Chloe stared at Alix for a moment, before she finally sighed rather dramatically.

“I gueeessss~....” Chloe turned and looked at Damian, and he had to remind himself that he regularly fought people much more terrifying than Marinette’s best friend.

It did little to reassure him.

“Damian, dear, can I trust you with my girl here?”

He nodded, glancing at the back of the class as they continued walking, “Without question.”

Damian met her eyes, and they stared at each other for a moment before Chloe slowly smiled; and unlike the one from before, Damian was surprised to see how genuine it was.

“Good. We’ll catch up soon,” Chloe waved her fingers at them, before wrapping her free arm with Alix’s, and then the two girls were walking away, to a more private spot. Damian glanced down at Marinette at his side, and couldn’t help his snort of amusement. Marinette looked up at him, moving her hands from her face, her face aghast.

“Don’t laugh! I can’t believe she said that!” Her cheeks were so red, she was sure she was going to melt. Damian snickered as they resumed their pace, lagging further from the class now. He saw Dick glance at them from over the heads of the students; he ignored him with practiced ease, giving Marinette a grin.

“Sorry, angel, but at least you know she genuinely cares for you.” He noticed when she glanced away, a small smile on her face, and his stomach flipped pleasantly.

“I’m glad to have her in my life, Alix too. I wouldn’t be here without them.”

Her voice didn’t waver, nor did her expression fall; but Damian felt that those words rang deeper than she meant them to. He unlinked their arms, Marinette looking at him in shock, before he laced their fingers together. Damian had never found it so easy to smile, and now, he could hardly stop.

“You are a strong young woman, Marinette. Your friends see what your class doesn’t, and personally…” His smile grew as her cheeks flushed even brighter, “I’d really like to get to know the person whom they love so much.” Damian watched as she bit her lip, giving him a small smile.

“You know, Damian, I think it’s a little funny.” He grinned, not noticing how he rubbed his thumb idly over hers; Marinette did, and she was almost shocked to find it comforting.  

“What’s that?”

The color in her cheeks dimmed, if only slightly, and he was startled when she gave him a cheeky grin, “Half this city is convinced you never smile, but you have one of the most gorgeous smiles I’ve ever seen.”

Damian would deny tripping over his own two feet until the day he died. He didn’t fall, of course not; he was Robin for heaven's sake. But he did stumble, his cheeks bright red. He turned his head back towards her, ready to tease her, but he stopped.

Marinette was laughing.

Head thrown back, shoulders shaking, and her eyes closed in good humor.

‘Oh my god, I am smitten, send hELP!’

Damian couldn’t stop the small smile on his face as her laughter died down to chuckles, watching her rub her eyes with her free hand. She gave him a grin when she recovered, and bumped her shoulder with his.

“What, can dish it, but can’t take it?” He scoffed, and Marinette giggled at the look he gave her.

“Hardly. I was just caught off guard, angel.” He grinned, looking at her, “You banter well, you know.” Marinette hummed, the tune playful.

“Suuurreee I do, I toootally believe you.” She laughed at the mock offense on his face.

“Ok Sass-master, it’s timeout for you. I’ll have to tell my father to cancel that dinner I guess…” Marinette laughed, knocking their shoulders again.

“Who exactly is the sassy one here again?” Damian shrugged.

“Why not both?” That sent Marinette into another peal of laughter.

Damian noticed several of her classmates looking back, almost in shock; but it was Dick who grabbed Damian’s attention first.

His older brother was staring at him, trying to continue his tour guide spiel and failing; Damian promptly rolled his eyes, and returned his attention to Marinette. If his brother wanted to let his mouth hang open and play bug catcher, well it wasn’t his problem. His grip on Marinette’s hand tightened gently as he watched her slowly calm down.

He… could almost get used to this.

~~~~~~~~~~

Deeming their location secure enough, Alix swivelled on her skates and turned to Chloe; which would’ve been great if the blonde was actually paying any attention. Instead Chloe was staring after Marinette and the guy she’d come in with. Alix sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose at the look of utter glee on Chloe’s face.

“Chloe, who is that guy? What is going on?” When Chloe looked at her, Alix could feel the vindictive satisfaction roll off of her in waves. She grinned.

“That, my dear Alix, is Damian Wayne.” Alix snorted, startling herself into laughter.

“No, no way! You’re shitting me!” Chloe simply nodded.

“Yep. The very same one that Lila has been boasting about dating all. DAY.” Alix grinned, putting her hands on her hips as she regarded Chloe with amusement.

“What are you planning, Chlo?”

Chloe turned back, her eyes finding the couple - and wouldn’t that be an interesting development~ -, and she watched as Marinette threw her head back and laughed. Chloe smiled, gently crossing her arms as Alix came up and leaned on her shoulder.

“I don’t think I’ll have to do much, Al. Lila will do my work for me, and she won’t even know it.” Chloe’s smile softened as she watched her friend tease one of the coldest boys in the world, “He makes her feel safe. And right now, that’s enough.” Alix nodded.

“It’s like they’ve known each other forever. Isn’t that a little fast?” Chloe made a so-so movement with her hand.

“Marinette knows her heart better than most of us. She has the best instincts out of anyone, especially since Lila happened.” Chloe sighed, before flipping her hair over her shoulder and giving Alix a smile. It was a smile full of razors.

“Besides, that boy is terrified of me already; I’m not sure what Mari-bear told him, but it was effective.” Alix laughed again, reaching up and ruffling Chloe’s hair. The blonde yelped and batted her hand away.

“Rude!” Alix just kept laughing.

“So, just to clarify. Lila has been telling everyone she’s dating Damian Wayne, who is right there," she pointed at him, noticing how far away the class was getting, “and Marinette has no idea about this yet, does she?” Chloe shook her head, and Alix’s grin grew.

“So, we’re just gonna let those two be disgustingly adorable, and then when everyone finds out, it’ll be a solid strike to Lila’s little castle, right?” Chloe booped Alix on the nose, her smile devious.

“Exactly. Let’s go catch up, and watch our girl’s back.”

~~~~~~~~~~~

This was not how today was supposed to go.

Adrien grit his teeth as he heard Marinette laugh at something else that guy had said to her. He hadn’t heard her laugh like that in years, not even when they were together could he get her to laugh like she was now. Ignoring the fire raging in his gut, Adrien chanced a glance back at the pair.

She was staring up at this guy like he was a breath of fresh air, and she was drowning. The fire in him turned sour as Marinette flushed, swinging their hands between them.

She used to look at him like that. He wanted her to look at him like that, always.

Adrien turned away with a click of his tongue, stuffing his hands in his pockets. He was going to use this trip to win her back, one way or another. They were meant to be together, they both knew it. Ladybug had been nothing more than an infatuation, but Marinette? Sweet, adoring Marinette, who had constantly gone out of her way for him; bringing him food, and anything else he’d happened to mention. And he’d lost it all, just because she wanted to expose Lila; his miraculous, and the girl he'd loved.

A growl rumbled in his chest, startling Nino next to him. Adrien played it off with a cough, smiling at his friend and telling him he was fine.

He wasn’t fine; but he would be once Marinette was back at his side.

Where she belonged.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

@coffeetoffee HOLY SHIT i just saw someone run into the Ice Prince on the street, and he didn’t kill them?????? WHAT??????? #IcePrince #onlyinGotham #DamianWayneCANsmile #WAIT #wheresmycoffee!!!?

~~~~~~~~~~~~

And that is chapter 2! Chapter 3 technically isn’t finished yet, so I won’t post again for awhile probably. ALSO! Adrien gonna make a BIG mistake next chapter! BUT! Dumb boi will learn. ALSO ALSO! We’ll meet the brothers!! YAY! Jason is my favorite, with Tim being a close second; I just never cared much for Dick. (lMAO ;D)((I’m sorry, I swear I’m an adult lmfao)) I’m fairly well versed in DC things, so it might get a little messy down the line; especially since I’ve pretty much said ‘Fuck Miraculous canon’ since season 3 lol 

Hope you guys liked it!!! The tropes continue!! YAY!

Part 1 Part 2 :HERE: Part 3 Part 4 Part 5

Tag List Cause I almost forgot!! (sorry not used to tumblr lol)

@vgirl-10123 , @crazylittlemunchkin  @queen-of-the-trash-planet-tm , @bluerosette23 , @casual-darkness

[bigskydreaming]

DC should bring back Shrike. He’s a great foil to Nightwing and their dynamic hits so many of the most popular tropes. He was a villain from the pre-Flashpoint Nightwing series, but his origin is from the Robin: Year One comic.

So in Robin: Y1, Batman and Robin went up against Two-Face, who captured them both when they were trying to rescue this judge. Two-Face then rigged things so he could kill either Batman or the Judge, and then told Dick he’d flip a coin to see which one died, and Dick had to choose heads or tails. Dick tried to trick Two-Face, but miscalculated as he didn’t understand yet that the only way to beat Two-Face is to just not play his games at all, because they’re always rigged. He picked saving the Judge, trusting Batman to get out on his own, but Two-Face just killed the judge another way as soon as Dick made his choice, before Bruce had time to get free. Then Two-Face beat Dick almost to death before Bruce got loose and got Dick out of there and to Leslie, in time to save him.

This is the story people reference about how Bruce benched Dick because of how badly Two-Face hurt him, only actually Bruce fired him in this comic. (Yup, Dick was actually fired as Robin twice, here and then when the Joker shot him when he was 16). Bruce of course was just freaking out about almost losing Dick, and Commissioner Gordon had warned him if anything happened to Robin, he was going to make sure Robin ended up in child protective services (like that had done Dick a lot of good the first time). Of course, Bruce didn’t actually say any of this to Dick, but instead flipped out on him, said he was done as Robin, and literally told Dick it was his fault a man was dead, because he didn’t listen to orders and followed Bruce to fight Two-Face instead of leaving. 

So, as soon as he was healed, Dick ran away. Left a note saying he didn’t know what point there was in him being there anymore if he couldn’t be Batman’s partner, since Bruce didn’t need a son. He spent an indeterminate amount of time living on the streets and eventually took down Mister Freeze all on his own, handing him over to Gordon and then telling him don’t worry, Robin’s done now. And then at some point after that, he was found by a guy named Shrike and some of his men. Dick fought against them and did well enough to catch Shrike’s interest, and they abducted him and took him back to something the other boys there called “Vengeance Academy.”

Here, for several weeks, Dick and a bunch of other boys abducted off the streets were trained as assassins. Dick didn’t want anyone connecting him to Bruce (and he hadn’t been in the public eye much at that point before running away), so he said his name was Freddy Lloyd - Lloyd was his mom’s maiden name. Don’t remember if the Freddy had significance, but whatever. Anyway, Dick of course excelled here, and his chief rival was another kid named Boone. Shrike pitted them against each other, encouraged their rivalry. Like they were sent out on one mission, and Dick stopped Boone from killing a guard, which pissed him off, but when they got back, Shrike praised Dick for it, saying you should never kill anyone other than your intended target or something like that. Point was, Boone hated Dick, and especially hated how Shrike seemed to favor Dick.

Eventually Dick was able to sneak away long enough to slip a note into the Batcave, telling Bruce about the Academy and where to find it and hopefully bring it down, and then went back because of course then he was gonna try and do it on his own in case Bruce didn’t get the message or was busy with other missions. Except Shrike then sent Dick out on his first kill mission, and clearly knew more about Dick than he’d realized, because not so coincidentally, that contract was to kill Two-Face.

Dick and Boone and a couple others went on the mission together, with Dick supposed to take point, and it ended up with Dick about to shoot Two-Face, having him at his mercy and pointing a gun at him...before ultimately throwing the gun out the window because this wasn’t who Bruce had taught him to be. 

Of course Boone is quick to turn on Dick then and with the other boys are able to knock him out and drag him back to Shrike, where he’s being tortured as a traitor/failure when Batman arrives and busts it up. Chaos ensues, Dick gets loose, Two-Face shows up having tracked Boone and the little punks who tried to kill him back to the Academy, and then at some point Two-Face shoots Shrike a bunch of times right before Shrike confronts Dick up on this catwalk near the ceiling...and Shrike falls and is impaled on his own sword, dying. Boone saw just enough to be convinced that Dick killed Shrike.

Dick goes home with Bruce, they patch things up, Bruce says he can be Robin again, he smooths things over with Gordon, blah blah blah, etc. At the end of the story though, Boone is shown being approached by Talia, with it being revealed that Shrike had been a member of the League of Shadows, and the Academy was meant to find the most promising young candidates to induct into the League. 

Boone was trained by the League and then years later, as an adult, struck out on his own as a mercenary and he took the name Shrike in honor of the teacher he’d idolized. And then he showed up in Bludhaven targeting Nightwing, who he’d recognized as his old rival, thanks to his fighting style. (The Academy was where Dick supposedly learned to fight with his escrima sticks, which he only started using regularly as Nightwing).  

But basically, Boone and Dick have a lot of the same dynamics that people like with him and Slade, or him and Jason, only Boone’s the same age as Dick and not part of his family, lol. They have significant history together as rivals who trained under the same teacher, Boone likes to call him Freddy to fuck with him because he knows its a reminder of a time Dick hates thinking about, and Boone knows his secret identity. None of them had worn masks at the Academy, so it wasn’t hard for Boone to later connect his old rival to the Dick Grayson he saw in the tabloids. BUT Boone has never told anyone Nightwing’s real name, not to protect him but rather because he doesn’t want to make it easier for anyone else to kill Dick, since that’s like....his main goal. He hates Dick because he blames him for the death of his teacher, the original Shrike, who Boone greatly looked up to even though he always seemed to favor Dick, with the latter being ungrateful and not caring that he had the approval Boone desperately wanted. And also, Boone is obsessed with proving once and for all that he’s better than Dick.

The last time Shrike showed up that I can think of pre-Flashpoint was when he joined the Secret Society of Supervillains or whatever the fuck that was called.....right around the time that Dick infiltrated it in his faked villain persona as Renegade. Unfortunately nobody ever really did anything with Shrike’s presence there as they instead focused on Slade, but there was a lot of missed potential there IMO.

But yeah, I have no idea how all that would work with the Rebirth continuity - mostly because I refuse to TRY and make sense of Rebirth continuity/origins, they make no sense, what are timelines and ages even - but would be great for a version of R:Y1 to be established again and Shrike brought back. He’s practically tailor made to be the perfect archnemesis for Dick.

[morelovelyandmoretemperate]

All from A to Z :)

Oh my Lanta. Really? I mean, I’ll do it, but wowza. Thank you, anon. :D

A - Ships that you currently like a lot. (They don’t have to be OTPs because not everyone has OTPs.) Friendships, pairings, threesomes, etc. are allowed.

I’m not honestly a huge shipper. I prefer bromance to romance... if I HAD to pick a ship or two? Demitri/Anastasia from “Anastasia”, and Mr. Darcy/Elizabeth Bennet from “Pride and Prejudice”. Always get me every time.

B - A pairing–platonic, romantic or sexual–that you initially didn’t consider, but someone changed your mind.

Mmm... Spirk (Star Trek) and McKirk (Star Trek). Damnit, I didn’t want to get sucked into this hell hole, but here I am.

C - A ship you have never liked and probably never will.

Sherlock/Anyone. I just don’t see romantic relationships there. I mean I can see how people get the Johnlock thing going, but honestly... I don’t ship him with anyone. Again, bromance before romance for this one.

D - A pairing you wish you liked but just can’t.

Dean Winchester/Lisa (Supernatural). But that might be because that storyline was pretty weak.

E - Have you added anything cracky/hilarious to your fandom? If so, what?

Some of you may well remember that there is a little known one-shot lurking out there inspired by @faragonart‘s Hiccup in Aperture Science drawings from... Jeez, like a year and a half ago? Not sure. But it’s out there. It’s cracky as hell.

F - What’s the longest you’ve ever been in a fandom?

Been in the Teen Titans fandom for... jeez uh... 13 years? Harry Potter is closely behind at 12.

G - Have you ever had an OTP? If so, do you remember your first one? Who was in it?

Again, not super shippy. When I was a wee tot I adored Robin/Starfire on Teen Titans, but the older I got the more I was like “I just don’t see it.” I do love me some Harry/Ginny (Harry Potter).

H - What is your favorite source text for fandom stuff (e.g., TV shows, movies, books, anime, Western animation, etc.)?

Usually tv shows. Almost always. Sometimes movies. Rarely books.

I - Has Tumblr caused you to stop liking any fandoms, if so, which and why?

Tumblr has turned me off of so many fandoms before I ever even saw the show, because I was sick of it before I ever got a chance to enjoy it, including but not limited to: Steven Universe, Gravity Falls, Voltron, Troll Hunters, Hannibal, etc.

J - Name a fandom you didn’t think about until you saw it all over Tumblr. (You don’t have to care about it or follow it; it just has to be something that Tumblr made you aware of.)

Supernatural. Honestly had no idea what it even was before I saw it on here, and then of course I got obsessed.

K - What character has your favorite development arc/the best development arc?

Ooohhh. Sherlock is one of my faves, just watching him become more.. human, is great. Jesse Pinkman and Walter White (Breaking Bad)... there are so MANY.

L - Say something genuinely nice about a character who isn’t one of your faves. (Characters you’re neutral about are fair game, as are characters you merely dislike. Characters that you absolutely loathe with the fire of ten thousand suns are exempt, as there is no point in giving yourself an aneurysm over a character that you hate.)

John Winchester has a pleasant sounding voice when he isn’t screaming at his children? Does that count?

M - Name a character that you’d like to have for a friend.

Lorelai Gilmore (Gilmore Girls). I want to be her.

N - Name three things you wish you saw more or in your main fandom (or a fandom of choice).

Jesse Pinkman character analysis and canon compliant Harry Potter learning to deal with his upbringing.

O - Choose a song at random. Which ship or character does it remind you of?

“Reflecting Light” by Sam Phillips- Luke/Lorelai (Gilmore Girls)

P - Invent a random AU for any fandom (we always need more ideas).

I actually developed a relatively in depth baby bots AU for Portal in one of @faragonart‘s streams. The idea was more or less that in an effort to tame Glad0s, they scientists desperately tried to bring the human part of her (whatever was left of Caroline) back into control by appealing to her maternal instinct with android baby bots, creating first Virgil (who was too soft spoken and non-assertive, and brushed aside before being reassigned to maintenance) then Wheatley (who was too curious and outgoing, and caused her to become increasingly hostile against him to the point that his memory of it was wiped, and he was left with nothing more than an inherent fear of her), and finally having no choice but to bring in Caroline’s actual daughter: Chel. If anyone wants more than that, I have it all written down somewhere and I’ll hunt it down and share.

Q - A fandom you’ve abandoned and why.

Ooooh. LOST. Too weird, my dudes. Far too weird. And Grey’s Anatomy.

R - Which friendship/platonic relationship is your favorite in fandom?

Merlin/Arthur, Sherlock/John, Harry/Hermione, this is a looong list.

S - Show us an example of your personal headcanon (prompts optional but encouraged)

Hmm... alright, so @orhowfar and I were watching Anastasia a few weeks back and I went dark af and just proclaimed that I think Dimitri was abused by the staff of the palace. He very clearly gets manhandled rather aggressively on a fairly frequent basis, and his self esteem is virtually nothing. So we came up with this whole big thing where his favorite of the nobility was always Vlad, who had kind eyes and a big belly and would sneak him sweets when he assisted, and after helping the princess escape and being knocked unconscious (by a blow to the head from a gun which 100% broke his nose btw have you ever noticed?) He finds himself with nowhere to go. He runs into Vlad and there’s a moment of pure panic because Vlad knows how bad things are right then, but they both just nod, and wind up taking care of each other. Vlad becomes something of a father figure to Dimitri. He notices pretty early on that Dimitri doesn’t like contact unless he’s initiated it, something that carries over into adulthood, despite his best efforts, but it does get better. Vlad just makes sure to let Dimitri come to him as often as possible instead of reaching out first. Etc. etc. it was a LONG thing.

T - Do you have any hard and fast headcanons that you will die defending?

Hiccup’s hair looks the way it does because he won’t sit still for a haircut- he’s always off doing something or other- so his father will just randomly grab a handful of his hair and slice through it with his knife to keep it manageable. Hiccup barely notices until after Stoick’s death when his hair is suddenly longer than it’s been in years and then he remembers and ouch.

U - Three favorite characters from three different fandoms, and why they’re your favorites.

Merlin- self sacrificing, intelligent, lovable little dork with immense power.

Dean Winchester- self sacrificing, intelligent, lovable little dork with virtually no self esteem or self preservation skills.

Jesse Pinkman- self sacrificing, intelligent, lovable little dork with virtually no self esteem or self preservation skills who is far too broken and has seen far too much but is desperate for love.

V - Which character do you relate to most?

It varies... I related to Jesse Pinkman more than I probably should have but... given current circumstances.. yeah. I understand Lorelai Gilmore on a spiritual level as well.

W - A trope which you are virtually certain to hate in any fandom.

“Bad guy is reformed and becomes besties with the gang”. Get away from meeeeeeeee.

X - A trope which you are almost certain to love in any fandom.

One character slowly humanizes another through little acts of affection and teaching and both learn from the other and become best friends in the process.

Y - What are your secondhand fandoms (i.e., fandoms you aren’t in personally but are tangentially familiar with because your friends/people on your dash are in them)?

Hmmm... does The Office count? I see a lot of The Office second hand.

Z - Just ramble about something fan-related, go go go! (Prompts optional but encouraged.)

They have never once cast a decent Dick Grayson (Batman) and let me tell you why because when a child is of Romani descent they are not some little pale white boy with dark hair. They have a very specific look and I have yet to see it. Not to mention they never pick the right body type. Dick is an acrobat first and foremost; he just learned to adapt that into a fighting style. He would not be some top heavy bulky af ripped dude with giant shoulders and biceps and thighs as wide as a tire, he’d be lean and wiry and small. He needs to be fast, be able to get and keep himself airborne, and fold into all sorts of weird shapes (the kid is basically a damn contortionist). He’s strong as hell, but it’s not just big ass muscles, it’s... *deep breath* he’s not the body type they keep casting. Furthermore, that kid is definitely his own special brand of damaged and I get very tired of seeing the “so sarcastic and carefree” attitude given to him in movies and tv shows, but I also can’t stand the other extreme: the cold, clinical, calculating, trying to be Batman nonsense. That’s not who he is. He’s smart and capable, and certainly can be serious, he’s been playing a part in public for most of his life, just as Bruce does, but he’s also very careful not to become what Bruce has... I could go on about this for a long time... @cinemamind, help me? 

Thanks for the request, anon, sorry this is SO long...

[britesparc]

Weekend Top Ten #352

Top Ten Cartoons of my Childhood

After last week’s celebration of cinematic vulgarity (in which our hero, despite dropping more Fs and Cs than an explosion at a Scrabble factory, still managed to forget about Nick Frost in Shaun of the Dead), I wanted to restore balance to the Force somewhat by turning the clock back to simpler, more gentle times. In fact, we’re rewinding eighty-plus years by looking at children’s cartoons of my youth.

So here we have, quite simply, my favourite cartoons from when I was a kid. Now I’m saying “when I was a kid” to mean the 1980s – despite the fact that I was, really, still a kid for most of the 90s too. But Batman: The Animated Series debuted early in the 90s, and at that point I think the crossover between what I loved as a nipper and what I love now started to happen. I don’t think I can rank where Young David would place Batman without Old David weighing in to call it the greatest animated show of all time (fun fact: it is). So I’ve stuck to the 80s, which rules out the likes of Animaniacs, Reboot, Tiny Toons, Aladdin, X-Men, and loads more. Maybe I should have just called this “cartoons of the 80s” and been done with it. But here we are.

So, in conclusion: these are, to the best of my memory, my favourite cartoons from when I was a small boy. I’ve tried to think about what I loved and remembered from back then, rather than attempt to appraise what the shows are like nowadays; many of these I’ve not seen for decades, and some of them really do not hold up (Turtles in particular is rather shonky, and even my beloved Transformers varies wildly in quality). But they are what they are, and exist as articles of their time; I loved all of these as a nipper, and in many cases went out of my way to get comics, books, toys, and other manner of merchandise relating to my favourite telly programmes.

Now let’s take a trip down memory lane!

The Transformers (1984-1987): I mean, come on; how could I not? This show casts a longer shadow than anything else. I’ve also watched more of it than other shows, and more recently, so I can confidently say that although it was a relatively cheap toy cartoon from 35 years ago, a lot of it holds up well, so strong were some of these characters and the inherent concept of Robots in Disguise.

The Real Ghostbusters (1986-1991): I loved Ghostbusters almost as much as Transformers. I had the fire station, Ecto-1, a proton pack, the works. I’ve watched some of this relatively recently, too, and it’s very, very good – Old David likes it a lot more than the 80s Transformers toon. There’s even an episode where they bust Orson Welles’ ghost. True story.

Garfield TV Specials (1982-1991): I’m specifically talking about the often whimsical, frequently bittersweet, sometimes bonkers specials that aired sporadically throughout the 80s, many of which I owned on VHS. I remember CITV showed the first few in short groups, so it felt like a short Garfield TV series; but the invention and beautiful painterly style stuck with me, along with the music. Garfield and Friends (’88-’95) also gets a warm mention here, but was wackier and skewed younger, and even as a kid I didn’t love it as much as the more complicated Specials. Also shout out to Happy Birthday, Garfield, which was a behind-the-scenes look at Jim Davis and the Garfield machine, and was a phenomenal influence on little me.

Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles (1987-1996): funnily enough, I always associate the Turtles with the 90s, but I know they debuted in the 80s and I think the TV series aired over here in 1989, so I’m counting it anyway. Turtles was kind of a defining “Big Show” for me as I entered double digits, replacing previous faves Transformers and Ghostbusters (I think Garfield continued in the background as a comic strip). I obsessed over the toys and the merch and the fact that we were denied ninjas and nunchucks on this side of the pond. For shame. Last time I saw the original show I thought it was awful, however.

Muppet Babies (1984-1991): oh, I loved this. I’d have been quite young I guess, although probably the same age as when I was watching Transformers, so go figure. But this was really my main intro to the Muppets, and I remember when they more-or-less featured the Muppet Babies in Muppets Take Manhattan, and seeing them rendered in live-action blew my tiny mind.

The Raccoons (1985-1992): this show seemed to go on forever, a mainstay of my childhood. I remember watching the original TV movie/special, with its human cast and the dogs that go into the woods looking for a star, or something, and finding it a bit weird that those characters were more or less ditched in the series proper. But I still loved it, and I remember it as being rather sophisticated and more complicated than the usual kids’ fair; Cyril Sneer was, obviously, a bad guy, but I seem to remember him becoming complicated and genuinely loving his son who he didn’t quite understand, and slowly warming up over the course of the show. He wasn’t Megatron or Skeletor, is what I’m saying. Plus you had Bert Raccoon, who was a bit of an arse and not always in the right, either. I’ve not seen it in years so maybe I’m misremembering, but Little David found it compelling.

Count Duckula (1988-1993): I know Duckula debuted on Danger Mouse, and I did watch DM too, but really I’m all about the duck. Being a big fan of vampires I was all over this, and I just found everything about it hilarious. I was a bit of a Yankophile too, so I liked that David Jason gave him an American accent. I had tons of Duckula comics, most of which I reckon we threw away. But yeah – loved this show.

Duck Tales (1987-1990): sticking with the duck theme, we have this gem. One of the greatest themes in TV history, and humanity’s favourite Scot, Scrooge McDuck. This was a rollicking, hilarious adventure show with tons of personality, and really helped to kickstart the Disney animation boom of the late 80s/early 90s, which in my mind also encompassed things like Roger Rabbit and the resurgent animated movies, too. I even went to see the movie! I’ve yet to see the remake, sadly, but I applaud the casting of David Tennant.

Inspector Gadget (1983-1986): who didn’t love Inspector Gadget? I think this was probably one of those where it was the repetition of tropes and scenes – “sorry about that, Chief”, “I’ll get you next time, Gadget!” – that made it popular. Gadget was cool, Claw was scary, Brains was funny; this was top-drawer telly. I even wrote a synopsis, a few years ago, for a movie sequel called Inspector Gadget Returns, in which Gadget is old and washed-up, and a grown-up Penny has to bring him out of retirement when Dr. Claw returns. Kinda wish I was an established screenwriter so I could pitch it to someone, to be honest.

Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds (1981-1982): aw, this show was very sweet. I remember watching it when I was very young (it’s the only show on this list that basically pre-dates me!), and my mum would do the voices of the characters for me. I really don’t remember it very well or how it holds up, but I know that for a little while there, it was seriously my jam. Teeny Tiny David loved it something rotten. If we’re sticking with anthropomorphised animals doing classic literature, I remember Willy Fog much better, funnily enough, but this just sneaks in based on that early childhood love.

Well, there we go. Now I want to watch all of these again. And Willy Fog, for that matter.