#almost always for non-batman reasons

[britcision]

Honestly, as someone who created a searchable summary of every chapter of Dungeon Meshi within 2 weeks of starting it, I am actually the poster child for overconsumption of canon 😅

So when I say DC has too much, is all contradictory, and worrying about it will only suck the fun out of it, it is very much a professional opinion

Look for the characters who interest you, and people who talk about those characters passionately; I got a good grasp on Duke from a really wonderful tumblr poster with actual comic panels cited, and they mentioned every run they loved

Personal recommendation from me, because I shouldn’t tell others to do things I won’t do: Batman: the Brave and the Bold. Specifically the Music Meister ep, it’s the only one I watched all the way through but it’s just… perfect

The plot is literally Batman being the straight man for a musical episode that would make Ember proud, asking the other characters to please stop singing and take this seriously

(They do not in fact do this)

(Batman does of course sing precisely once, because even as the straight man he can lean in)

It’s fun, silly, and lampoons all of the dark and gritty Batman tropes from the live action movies in the best cartoon fashion

Also, the animated Batman: Assault On Arkham movie from 2014 if you liked the Suicide Squad because it’s got Harley, Deadshot, and Killer Frost and King Shark are just OTP now I make the rules

It’s weird that “hey, maybe read or watch some DC content” seems oddly controversial in DPxDC fandom

Presumably you enjoy the characters since you keep using them, you’ll probably like one of the comics tv shows or movies(especially the animated movies)

we don’t HAVE to treat the entirety of DC canon like it’s Phantom Planet

[ere-the-sun-rises]

Batfam and the Lazarus Pit

This isn't my idea, and I honestly can't remember if @frownyalfred or @bruciemilf came up with this idea first, but it's been living in my head rent free and I need to get it out.

There are Lazarus Pits under Gotham, even contributing to why the city's so cursed. The Bats have each used a Lazarus Pit at least once (maybe not Spoiler and Signal, but I'm not sure). I'm fairly sure it's also canonical that the more you use it, the more prolonged the effects are and it kinda changes you incrementally but permanently.

Enter the Batfam, who train like crazy and are Olympian-level athletes all on their own, and using the Lazarus to help each other on death's door. (They don't tell each other when they do this, and they think it's never been done to them - except Jason, he can always tell - but they also don't share when they've done it to others.)

As time goes on, everyone gets older, stronger, more proficient at their jobs. Some take on younger teams, some proteges, some fly solo or stick around home. It's one of the OG Leaguers who points it out one day when they're having a civilian lunch - probably Ollie or Hal. In my head Bruce is one of, if not the youngest, OG Leaguers. So it's not crazy when Clark or Barry start to wrinkle around the eyes or get grey in their hair well before Bruce would. Bruce is also a public figure - he's got appearances to keep up.

But then ... Bruce is over 40 and his hair is still as black as it's ever been. His wrinkles are from his scowling and focus, only crinkling around the edges of his eyes and mouth a little bit. Idly, Hal wonders out loud if Bat's eyes have always been so dark, almost like coals. Barry notes that Bruce is way bigger than he used to be, that he bulges the suits he wears to galas with his size. Ollie, who's own beard is greying, bitterly points out that even Bruce's stubble is still black.

And suddenly, Bruce hits 50 and he's still thick-chested and dark-haired. The other Bats only seem to get more and more ... more. No non-meta can spar with them anymore unless they hold back and they seem to have endless stamina and pain tolerance. Clark and Diana think nothing of it, but the other fully human Leaguers start to wonder what's really going on. If maybe Bruce had lied to them. But J'onn swears that in their own minds, all of the Bats fully believe they're human. Aside from the suspicion, there's no reason to believe otherwise. They still bleed and scar, no matter how beautiful they seem to remain. No matter that Bruce keeps going and going and going even after others his age have been retired for years.

Fed up one day, Ollie asks him how he does it. Dermatologists? Botox? Just For Men? Bruce snorts and rolls his eyes. He smirks, "Good genes, I guess."

Bruce is nearly 70 when the grey creeps into his hair and his body starts to slow. His children are still active as ever, and when Tim takes up the Batman mantle, Bruce retires to train new heroes. One young hero complains that Bruce hits like one of the Amazons she trained with but he only responds that he's never stopped being the Bat even with tbe cowl off.

And then ... Leaguers start dying. Gradually, age takes them one by one and they's succeeded by the heroes they've mentored and the children who followed in their footsteps. Grey is starting to creep into Dick and Jason's hair, but they're still as vibrant and lively as ever.

It's only when it's just him left of humans of the original group that he actually considers why. If anyone should have died young, it should have been him. And yet, he's nearing 90 and not nearly as withered as some of them had been when they passed away. The vitality he's always attributed to his genetics and continued activity can't explain why all his children remain as beautiful and capable all their lives as he has. So one day, he gathers his wayward children down in the cave like they used to 50 years ago and asks them to be completely honest with him.

"Have any of you used the Lazarus Pit on anyone here without telling them or reporting it?"

The silence he's met with is deafening.

[frownyalfred]

Whenever I read your posts about Bruce's plastic surgery and adjacents, I mainly imagine botox, fillers, and brow lifts. Instead of the partial face reconstructions. Neither of which are especially bad.

And it cracks me up, as well as unnerves me, to imagine Batman with his cowl highlighting his lips with migrating filler. I just don't think the fear factor would have the same effect.

I always say, the filler we notice is bad filler -- lots of celebrities get very tasteful, minimal filler in places we won't notice. Even the big stuff like a full face and neck lift can look terrible when overdone, and tasteful when minimally invasive (see Debbie Harry for a good example of this).

I love thinking about the world of reconstructive plastic surgery and how it applies to the Bats, so much so that I wrote that fic about it. I've been watching a ton of TikTok videos about it, and it's truly artistry -- when to add filler, when to add plates, when to go in and graft, etc. They're all very subjective decisions, and it generally is all done with the goal of looking as much like the previous version of yourself, not anything new. And with modern technology and practices, people can get pretty damn close these days.

But yeah, just a few rapid-fire things I could imagine Bruce getting for Batman and non-Batman reasons: Rhinoplasty (revision or reconstructive), fillers (age-related volume loss in cheeks and lips, but very minimal), laser resurfacing/etc (he doesn't spend a ton of time in the sun but this helps him look younger for the cameras etc), botox (eyebrows, he scowls way too much without it, and maybe the corners of his mouth), reconstructive surgery (one bad hit across a cheekbone shattered it, the orbital bone above, and maybe his jaw/a few teeth?), scar revision (long thin scar at hairline from almost being scalped by a shattered cowl; tabloids play it off as a bad facelift scar if they see it heh), dental implants (slowly but surely, all of his teeth are replaced with titanium implants to avoid losing them all with one bad hit), and maybe a hair transplant in his later later years (expected of a billionaire, good work is much more available these days, modern tech keeps improving; if not a transplant then he probably eventually uses meds/minox. unless he's lucky enough genetically to hold onto all of it into his 70's a la Alfred (Jeremy Irons)).

[dyns33]

Rafiq alruwh

I'm not sure yet if this will be a Bane x reader oneshot or not.

I like it like that, but I could find ideas for part 2. My only problem being that I still need to finish others Tom Hardy's characters story, while wanting to write Feyd Rautha stories.

As much as Y/N listened to these stories over and over again, she couldn't imagine the feeling everyone would describe.

The moment your skin touched your soulmate's skin, and suddenly everything became clear, better. A feeling of joy and the burning need to stay by this person's side forever.

It was a rare phenomenon that scientists could not explain. It was completely impossible to know when this would happen, or if it would happen, because fate seemed cruel. Most people either didn't have soulmates or didn't have the chance to meet them in their lifetime. The world was too big and time too short.

There were still skeptics, who claimed that it was all nonsense, lies, invented by people blinded by love or who wanted to give themselves a certain gender. Only those who ended up meeting the person changed their mind, the others remaining too jealous to accept the truth, considering that it was only a romantic utopia.

Y/N wanted to believe in it. She dreamed of meeting her soulmate and experiencing this special moment.

Her parents were not meant to be together. It was visible.

In her entourage, she had an uncle who had had this experience, a few neighbors, a friend, and all had said the same thing.

What they had in common was that they were all good people. Maybe that was one of the reasons.

“You might have had to choose another type of profession then.”

"Mom…"

“I’m just saying that cop is not the most popular job in the world.”

"And I would say that choosing to be a non-corrupt police officer in Gotham is almost like being a saint."

"You'll end up getting killed, long before you meet your soulmate. I'll never understand why you wanted to be a cop, especially in this town."

There came a day when her mother's fears almost became a reality. The day when terrorists took the entire city hostage with a bomb, preventing everyone from entering and leaving.

It was probably not what she had thought when she talked about dying, but for several months, hidden with her colleagues, Y/N thought about her soulmate, trying to imagine this meeting that would probably never happen.

Staying mainly with Blake and Gordon, she tried to hide her pain, but it did not escape Miranda Tate, who took her hand with a gentle smile and asked what was tormenting her.

“We’re going to die here.” Y/N whispered. "I mean, I'm not afraid of that, that's the risk of the job. But… I didn't think it would be like this now. I wish I had met my soulmate before."

"Your rafiq alruwh. I didn't think many people cared about it here."

"My what ?"

"That's how my father called soulmates. I grew up with a lot of stories about it, because he and my mother were related. I prayed a lot to be that for one of my friends, but no. Our destinies are linked, but not like that.”

"Sorry."

"Even if I would have liked him to be mine, I wish him happiness and that he meets his other half one day. A being worthy of him, of his love and his protection. He deserves to be happy. You too, you seem kind. Maybe you shouldn't have been here."

Her words were strange, but Y/N didn’t tell the others. It wouldn't have changed anything anyway. Even though she had discovered that Miranda Tate had the detonator, that she was the real leader of the terrorists, the streets remained controlled by the militias.

As always, they were saved by the Batman. She had never really known what to think of the vigilante, protected by Gordon and hated by everyone else. He clearly wanted to help Gotham, but his methods remained illegal, and not necessarily effective in the long term.

His death was a tragedy, but not necessarily the end of a symbol. Hope was still there, even stronger, and the Gotham police were determined to ensure everyone's safety.

Y/N felt this determination too.

Still, she froze as she inspected the sewers with Blake and Ramirez. They too had a moment of hesitation, as their lamps illuminated a body. A huge body, sitting against the wall, face hidden by this frightening mask.

There had been a search for Bane and his men after the explosion. Witnesses said the Batman fought him, and won, but they found nothing.

Obviously, the terrorist had managed to drag himself here to die.

"What do we do ?" Ramirez asked shyly. “Should we put a bullet in his head ?”

"What ? Why do you want to do this ?"

"To make sure he's dead. I've seen a lot of movies, man, I know the mistakes to avoid."

She didn't approve of the speech, but Y/N agreed, it was necessary to check it out.

Feeling almost stupid, she moved forward slowly, her hand reaching towards Bane to see if he felt a pulse.

She didn't expect the large hand that quickly grabbed her neck before she could touch him.

Fear paralyzed her body, and yet there was something else. An indescribable, incredible feeling, which resembled happiness but more intense, which was absurd in this situation.

Y/N felt so lost that she didn't realize the hand was relaxing, just resting against her skin instead of squeezing and snapping her neck like it easily could have done.

"Habibi…" was the word spoken with difficulty by Bane, who stared at her with an indecipherable expression.

“Let her go right now, you bastard !”

Maybe he was as confused as her, or maybe he was too weak, but the terrorist didn't avoid Ramirez's punch, while Blake grabbed Y/N to pull her as far away as possible.

She stood still, not understanding what was happening, as Ramirez called for reinforcements, proud of having been able to knock out the giant, even though he knew as well as anyone that he would have had no chance. if his mask hadn't been damaged and he wasn't half dead. It was not possible.

Bane couldn't be her soulmate, Y/N refused to believe it. A man like him had no soul, not after everything he had done, and above all why would he be destined for her ? She didn't feel like she had committed a crime that deserved such punishment.

She was probably never going to see him again anyway.

If he survived to Blackgate, he would be locked there forever. Even if she had permission, she had no intention of visiting him.

But the feeling remained there, strong, impossible to ignore, demanding more. An incomprehensible need to be close to the one who had touched her, so that he would touch her again.

Y/N resisted. She gave her report to Commissioner Gordon, forgetting a few small details, and indicating that she did not wish to follow this case, leaving Bane's case to better agents than her.

This seemed to surprise him, as he considered her one of his best people, but he accepted.

However, it was impossible not to think of her soulmate, since the whole town was only talking about him and his arrest. The television was on loop every day, and her colleagues thought they were doing the right thing by keeping her informed of progress.

"They say his face is horrible. I think there are photos in the file."

"I'd love to see that ! I can't imagine that fucker at all without his weird mask. Do you think he has a normal voice without that thing ?"

“I can go get it so we check.”

Ramirez's gaze met hers as he stood, and without her needing to speak, he knew it was best for him to sit back down and change the subject.

Y/N didn’t see the photos. She absolutely didn't want to.

After several weeks, she asked to take a vacation, claiming to still be traumatized by what had happened to her, in addition to the near destruction of Gotham. She needed some time to rest.

Turning off all the screens and her phone, she tried meditation to clear her mind, so she could get some sleep and forget that her soulmate was a crazy, half-dead terrorist who would soon be judged.

This miserable attempt being a failure, she turned her phone back on shortly after midnight, only to be bombarded with calls and messages, coming from several colleagues, Blake, and Gordon.

"What is happening ?" she asked, calling the Commissioner back.

"Damn, I almost sent men to check on you, you weren't responding ! Where are you ? Are you okay ?"

“I’m at home, why ?”

"Don't panic. Blake will come get you."

“Gordon, what’s going on ?”

"He hasn't said anything since his arrest, keeping very quiet, and then yesterday Bane spoke. He asked to see you, giving your name. The other agents are categorical, it's impossible that he knows ot, no one told him. The agent simply replied that you were not on the investigation, and even on vacation… Damn, he…"

“Gordon, what ?”

"He escaped, Y/N. We don't know how. No one knows where he is, or what he's going to do. But since he talked about you, I don't want to take any risks. Don't move, John will come right away."

She could have told him that she knew very well why Bane had spoken about her, and that it was undoubtedly necessary for her to leave without delay, but fear held her back.

Even if it wasn't her fault, what would the commissioner think when he learned of her connection to the fugitive ? He was a good man, but all men had their limits, and she would be the first to be wary of someone designated as Bane's soulmate.

After hanging up, she jumped out of bed to grab her gun and shoes, ready to wait for Blake to arrive in her living room.

Y/N froze in the middle of the hallway, seeing the huge figure standing between her and the front door.

His face was covered by a scarf, his posture a little less proud than in the videos she had seen of him during his city hostage situation, he appeared to be in pain, but it was obvious that if she tried to pass, he would retain her without the slightest difficulty.

“Habibi.” he whispered, and indeed his voice was different without his mask, more human. "What a joy to see you again. More beautiful than I remember or on pictures. Will you come with us without resistance ? I don't want to hurt you."

"Hands in the air." she replied, pointing her gun at him, ignoring the urge to hug him. “Don’t move, my colleagues are coming.”

"I admire your sense of duty and honor, Habibi. But I will not return to prison, ever again. And I will not leave you either. I thought of you every day. Is your neck healed ? I need to repair my wrongs to you.”

“I said, put your hands in the air.”

“So you leave us no choice, Habibi.” he sighed, looking behind her.

We. He said we, and someone gave him her name. Y/N reacted too late, one man grabbing her gun, and the other not holding her shoulder, injecting something into her neck with a syringe.

In an instant, she found herself on the ground, her vision blurring, but her body not panicking, as it was invaded by an incredible sensation. Bane had reached out to hug her, his eyes smiling as he ran a hand over her cheek.

"It's okay. I'm taking you home, rafiq alruwh."

All her life, Y/N had waited for this moment, this feeling, this sentence. She told herself that the stories we said to children were really stupid, as her eyes closed.

[strong-with-the-sarcasm]

Part 12 - it was just for fools

"We were searching for reasons to play by the rules, but we quickly found it was just for fools." -Mary On A Cross by Ghost

Masterlist Part 11

Wonder Woman, with her extensive diplomatic training, was the perfect speaker to bring before the United Nations council. 

There was something regal about Diana, something that demanded attention from all genders and ages, her accent smooth and light with eyes hardened with barely concealed anger at what brought her to their door. 

The Anti-Ecto Acts. 

Diana understood war. There was very little she hadn’t experienced where it concerned the subject, from betrayal to a very personal loss, but now she had another chance to draw from her past. 

Prevention of a war. 

Only fools would believe a war against the Infinite Realms, the land of the End and death incarnate, that which holds every afterlife for every belief, was winnable. 

Every death on humanity’s side, was another solider for the King of the End. 

That was yet another point. 

The Once and Future Star King, Vanquisher of the Dark, Protector of the Light, Great One…. Was a Protector spirit. The spirit of a child who died wanting to be saved. 

Diana sighed, awaiting her fellow heroes in the meeting hall, Black Canary, Superman and Batman (with his ever tiny Robin) were already present. Red Robin was sat with a tablet, reading through a collection of data instead of conversing. 

It was almost seven on the dot, the meeting filled with nearly all members of the League, when Constantine portals in with a flask in one hand and a book in the other. 

“Not a word.” He grumbles around an unlit cigarette held between his lips, unceremoniously dropping into an unoccupied seat. 

Despite the surprise of John Constantine being on time for something, much less a Justice League meeting, Diana had other concerns to deal with. 

Namely, the repeal of the Anti-Ecto Acts. 

An unexpected summoning was a shard of ice in her spine, twisting like a knife of betrayal in the nerves, utter agony. Jazz had little warning, little time to brace herself before she was hooked behind her navel and yanked. 

Thank the Ancients she wasn’t in the shower, because whoever had the audacity to summon the Ghost King was not going to receive an eyeful for their trouble. 

Jazz allowed her armor to materialize, a slick sensation of water down her back soothed the lingering pain of the brutal summons, but her back plate soon settled firmly in place and irritated the nerves more so. 

Just as her helmet locked into place, sealing her fully into her armor, green smoke announced her arrival with a dramatic flair she couldn’t find humor in. 

Rested on one knee, head bowed, the Regent was quite an intimidating sight for the uninitiated. 

Her helmet, full coverage with a crown of green shards embedded into its pulsing ebony metal, only allowed the green tint of her eyes to shine through. Once her head lifted, the several shivers her gaze got proved how effective it was at unnerving others. 

With a breath, the Regent stood. 

“You have tried to summon the King of the End, why?” 

John Constantine was many things- a liar, a cheater, a non-believer- but he was certainly not a fool. He’d been against summoning the Ghost King, knowing full well to whom they would be dragging unwilling instead. Somehow the title of Regent failed to comprehend to most present, which was not Constantine’s fault in the slightest. 

(Hey, at least he was mostly sober summoning, right?) 

(Had to give credit where it’s due.) 

Bats was unamused with Constantine’s first warning of ‘Do not fuck with’ when Phantom had first shown himself, but this was ridiculous really. A message was always better than trying to summon the King, who would want to be interrupted right? 

Yet again, the Magician was overruled. 

(At least he didn’t have to sell his soul this time.) 

(The Phantom already gifted the glued together remnants to his Regent.) 

(Morbid as it was, at least John knew it was in better hands than some half wit demon he’d scammed.) 

No one answered before the Regent spoke with some amusement lacing her words, “I should have known a summon from you, Constantine, would be painful.” 

(Was it a good or bad sign that the Regent didn’t immediately call him ‘Sad Trenchcoat man’?) 

Diana politely interjected, “Greetings, My Lady. We apologize for the unfortunate experience and will endeavor to do better in future meetings.” 

(Good old Diana.)

“Greetings.” The Regent replied, helmeted head slightly tilted as she studied the others present before her, having been ignored for the time being. 

Wonder Woman pressed a fist over her heart with a slight bow of her head as she spoke again, “May I introduce the Justice League and it’s founders; Batman, Superman, and myself, Wonder Woman. You are familiar with Constantine, who is a member of Justice Dark.” 

“I am the Regent of the Realms, Lady of the Acropolis, you may refer to me as either.” Jazz intoned, serious as was only right for her titles. “I’ll ask once more… Why.” 

Constantine, despite the familiarity he held with Phantom, shivered in the presence of the Regent. The owner of his soul could command he turn on his allies, zap away his free will with only a few words. Sure, he had some doubts that the Regent would, but that doesn’t mean she couldn’t. The AEA proved that the Infinite Realms had every right to declare war on the Living and its citizens would be drafted to fight in the Legion, regardless of mortality status. 

John was many things- a liar, a cheater, a non-believer- but he was not a soldier or a fool.

He would be called to arms, as a magic user and battle-blooded soldier. There would be no choice, no deal he could make that would see his fate change. 

It was fortunate that the Regent didn’t want a war, but there was only so much she could do to hold back the growing tide of angry entities that wanted vengeance on parents, siblings, and children taken from them. 

(Ancients above and below, he needed a drink.)

It was times like this that brought the Regent back to her long days of training in the Acropolis. The echo of steel against steel, dodging ecto-blasts, deflecting weapons with her bracelets, Pandora’s steady words…

Pandora was many things- Leader of the Acropolis, Guardian of Hope, teacher, advisor, so on and so forth.

Pandora might be a ghost, an Amazon tasked with guarding her box, a Warrior of the ages past, but she was ultimately the Ancient of Peace. 

The Peace she never knew in life, war-hardened as she was. Raised with one hand clutching a weapon and the other an open palm, Pandora was a diplomat at heart. War had not been kind to her, but still, she taught her pupil (the Regent) the importance of listening. 

Many issues could be solved when one took the time to shut their mouth. 

Draw weapon, draw blood.

Aim at nothing you’re not willing to destroy.

If your opponent believes they have the upper hand, break it.

(These are just a few rules of war.) 

(She knew them all by heart.)

(Each one ingrained on her body, scars a testament to a faith in her training and herself.) 

The only rule Pandora had given her where to concerned Peace was this: 

Reach for it, but know that hearts aren’t so easily swayed as minds. 

It was why Jasmine never bothered trying to negotiate with the GIW. Their hearts were black and there was no changing their minds. 

Here she was, summoned by the Justice League with their own diplomatic trained Amazon at the ready. Pandora would be proud of her sister-in-arms, because despite the Regent’s unknown threat potential Wonder Woman had not reached for the sword at her side. Instead, she’d done a traditional Amazon greeting, from one warrior to another, a sign of respect that Jasmine had not expected to ever receive outside the Acropolis. 

“We had expected to summon the King, but were unaware of a Regent, my lady.” Wonder Woman spoke, but Constantine interrupted whatever she would have said next. 

“We wanted to discuss the possibility of war against the living, Regent.” 

Jasmine snorted, the voice-modulating function of her helmet made it sound funny to her ears, “Blunt as always, Constantine. You’re worried I would order you against your allies?” 

The Sad Trenchcoat Man blinked once, twice, “Bloody Hell, you don’t waste time, do ya?” 

“You possess the power to command Constantine?” 

That question had come from Lady Gotham’s first Knight, steady with no discernible emotion in voice. His hands were resting on his utility belt, which was a bad sign of his current judgment of her character. 

“For the sake of honesty, yes, Dark Knight, as the keeper of his Soul Remnants, I could command the Magician to do my bidding.” The Regent continued, “However, it was a gift and Phantom is fond enough of the Sad one that I wouldn’t use it unless I had no other choice.” 

“What would constitute ‘no other choice’?” 

Huh, Jasmine was starting to understand why Phantom chose Batman to give the Ghost Files too. She could feel the determination and protectiveness radiating off his soul, a familiar (though less powerful) sensation she only got from her little brother. 

“War.” The Regent retorted, “I’m beginning to understand why Phantom would choose you, Knight.” 

Constantine perked up a bit, “Didn’t you avenge him?” 

“Yes.” 

Wonder Woman came forward again, “My Lady, we wish to discuss the conditions of Peace between the Living and the Infinite Realms.” 

Jasmine smiled a bit sadly, though no one could see it, “I would be honored to.” 

If anyone asked, Red Hood did not swoon when he witnessed his future wife girlfriend kick a man straight in the balls so hard he saw God. 

Jazz was a beacon during a Gotham night, beautiful red hair seeming to catch fire with every light that danced across it, shoulders back and head held high his girl resumed her steady pace towards her apartment. This was a typical night for them, minus the would-be mugger and Jazz being unaware of the Red Hood following from above to make sure she got home safely. 

(Jason hadn’t been able to convince her to carry a gun.)

(Nonetheless, he knew his girl could take care of herself, but that didn’t stop the worry.) 

Hood wasn’t convinced about the safety of the area bordering his Alley, The Ridge,  with two relatively unknown metas acting as it’s Vigilantes and seeming to drive down the crime rate in the neighborhood to near extinction faster than he’d seized control of his own territory. It was odd that the metas weren’t crossing into the Alley, seeming to go around it and more into Gotham proper when they decided to roam, as if they respected the Red Hood claim more than the other bats. 

(Wasn’t that just a hoot.) 

(Two non-bats had more respect for him than his own family.) 

The Ridge was the lesser known little brother to Crime Alley, with its residents being mostly three-jobs and a drug problem demographic, but with Phantom and Regent the area had begun to show a bit more life. Sure, most of the builds were on the wrong side of dilapidated, hanging on with duct tape and a wad of gum, but when it was just bright out enough- no matter the time of day- Phantom’s ice can be seen glinting from miles around as it curved itself around foundations and floors to stabilize the structures. It hadn’t melted in the slightest the two months since it’s been formed. Hood had even tried to get a sample for testing, but the ice would not budge. Hell, he’d even taken a cheap shot at it- nothing. Well, except for the fact that you could now see a bullet encased within the ice. 

Phantom was a chill guy, apparently. 

(Hood internally groaned at the unintentional pun.) 

(Quick mental note made to shoot Dick in… well, the dick.) 

Red Hood had been gritting his teeth against the warm sensations of protect-anxiety-nervous for days, sensing danger every time he closed his eyes. Something had invaded Gotham and was messing with the Pit. 

No, not the Pit. The Pit was gone, no longer bubbling in his gut or green edging his vision, it was gone and replaced with something else. 

Something that gave him trouble, but was definitely a step up from Pit Madness. 

(And what a time for it to vanish, with Jason dating Jazz no more bloody nightmares when she was in his arms.)

He’d followed that ball of anxiety in his chest across Gotham, unconsciously avoiding Bruce’s usual patrol route and he climbed up to one of the gargoyles that kept vigil over the clock tower. Barbie hadn’t opened the comms to ask him what the hell are you doing here, but he wasn’t going to waste what little time he had with Phantom before he had to return to the Alley. 

The kid wasn’t older than Tim, but was ethereal in his form that felt cold to Hood. There wasn’t any sign that Phantom had been hurt by the Drs. Fenton, but Hood was all too aware of how looks could be deceiving. 

(The fuckers had vivisected him.) 

With every word passed between them, had Hood confirming the Ghost Files information to be accurate as far as Phantom was concerned. He was a teenager, a ghost in Gotham who was under the protection of the Regent and Ghost King. 

(Though incredibly corrupted, Barbara had been able to find a few frames of clarity.) 

(Lo and behold, the death of those bastards.) 

(He knew he recognized the armored figure, but couldn’t figure it out.) 

(It was right there on the tip of his tongue.) 

That same ball of anxiety loosened its hold with Phantom, a sense of protect-worry overwhelmed whatever else was in his chest. 

Phantom was a kid, ghost or not, vigilante or not. 

(No more dead robins.) 

It took two days and twelve hours for Jason to finally connect the dots between Regent and why in Hell he felt he knew the armored knight. 

Jazz was in her kitchen, hair braided and swinging back and forth against her back as she hummed and swayed in time with the soft music playing. His girl looked good in his Gotham Knights t-shirt, shorts revealing her toned thighs and legs, neckline of her borrowed shirt riding low enough to reveal several hickies he’d left on her earlier on the couch. Pride warmed his chest as he watched his darling Jazz, love for her settled deep into his bones. He knew she was the one for him, no going back, even if she didn’t know everything about him-Red Hood, his death, etc.

Jazz was made of steel and iron, forged with love and cracked with betrayal. Who had betrayed her in the past was obvious, her parents, their death must’ve been a mixed bag. Not to mention making the decision to allow their souls to be claimed by the Regent of the Infinite Realms. 

He had no doubt she would be unafraid of his nighttime persona, but he didn’t think he could handle her judgment of his past sins. He loved her too much and wanted to be good. 

The music stopped, dragging Jason out of his thoughts to find Jazz watching him with concern plain on her face. 

“Jace?” She lightly called for him, helpless to her he rose and gently wrapped her in his arms, her head tucked comfortably under his chin. 

“I’m ok, Jazz, just have a lot on my mind.” 

His girl hummed lightly, the sound vibrating slightly through Jason’s chest where her head rested. 

“Penny for your thoughts?” 

“They’re not worth that much.” 

Jazz pinched his side in retaliation for his lightly self-demeaning comment, but ultimately let it go. Another reason he loved her, she didn’t tolerate his bullshit. She’d been horrified to hear his comments about his self-worth, as much as he was joking, and had firmly threatened to punt his ass into the sun if he didn’t start getting a better self-image. 

To his credit, he listened and began seeing Harley for counseling, which he knew he’d needed when he’d finally gotten a working braincell again after his dip in the line green Kool-aid. He’d put it off long enough, believing that the Pit wouldn’t let him remain calm enough to discuss his abandonment issues and mental health. 

The Pit wasn’t churning in his gut anymore so any anger he felt was all Jason’s, and Jason’s alone. It was oddly satisfying to know that he was once again responsible for how he handled his anger. 

Jazz never really demanded anything, only insisting on some boundaries at the start of their relationship when it was difficult to keep his hands to himself while she was in his sight. His darling was the same this why she set those boundaries so they could get to know each other without it just devolving into sex. 

Sure, they have done some heavy petting and Jason definitely liked leaving his mark on her, but they hadn’t felt compelled to go further. Now that they had been together a little over a month the heat between them settled into a slow summer in his blood, no more threat of them acting like a pair of degenerate dumbasses with lesser brain function. 

Not that Jason would ever be against having sex with Jazz, he loved her and wanted to know her in every sense, but he had to confess several things before he could allow himself to be put off guard with his pants down. The big Y-incision scar on his chest was horrific and Jason didn’t want to scare his girl away before he had a chance to come clean. He wanted, no, needed Jazz to accept every part of him- life, death, Jason and Red Hood. He was ready for her to know the truth. 

What he wasn’t ready for, like last time, was the bomb.

A/N: Yes, beta read by @meditating-cat! Great beta reader, really appreciate the quick response and notes. Thanks!

We're gonna have a bit of a time jump between the summoning and the cliffhanger, which means that Jazz being summoned happens after. I wrote it this way for a reason... I think. Don't quote me on that.

Anyways, special red tint this time, because I just watched Death in the Family for the first time before writing this part and...I didn't like it. No, I'm not sure why I don't either. Jason is my favorite character for a reason.

Now, if you'll excuse me I'm gonna go read Wayne family adventures to make myself feel better.

Thanks for reading!

PS: 3k words???

[the-cat-and-the-birdie]

Can we take a moment and talk about

Miguel, Hobie, and the Black!Reader

a.k.a Black Men aren't the only one who date black women so why are there only Black!Readers for black characters????

Don't think anyone has said it but I would like to see Miguel with some Black readers/Black OCs.

Like, I wanna see Miguel with a Boujee black woman, a loud one, a meek one, a stallion, a petite one-

I just wanna see Miguel x Black!Readers and Miguel x Black!OCs.

Black people are everywhere, in every fandom.

So black readers should be giving rep everywhere - not just with radical black characters like Hobie

Black women and black people in general IRL have our features demonized or looked down upon. In media, in the beauty industry, the fashion industry, hair industry, you name it. Our skin tones are 'too dark' to match well with makeup, our bodies too curvy or different, or hair too thick and hard to manage.

I think having characters openly express interest in them is radical - whether the character themselves are black or not.

The reason the Black Representation within Hobie romance fics stands out so much because every other character LACKS that.

In almost every other x reader fandom, black people and our features are ignored and erased for 'sweeter' things like blushing or 'running their fingers through your hair'

Like... Why can't there be a fic where Miguel compliments his Black partners hair. Or tries soul food?

You don't have to be a radical leftist like Hobie to find black people attractive.

So there's no reason for black!Reader to be confined to Hobie - or black characters at all.

You can write Dean Winchester with a Black!Reader. Or Sherlock Holmes, or Hobie Brown, or Miguel O'Hara.

Attraction to black people is so often seen as a fetish - that most white people and white characters never openly exhibit admiration or love towards black features and culture. They'd rather push us and our differences aside because acknowledging them and their beauty makes people uncomfortable. But those same characters will always 100% be implied to find white women attractive.

And in the Superhero Movie Sphere it's even worse.

ie. It's VERY VERY rare you will find Tony Stark with a Black woman.

The large majority of the women you see with Tony Stark early in the movies are WHITE. The ones he's taking to at galas and playing roulette in front of and kicking out after one night stands - White and blonde. If he sleeps with them - white and blonde.

And that's fine in the general population - a nonblack man who 'loves women' and loves sex just... not being seen with black women at all.

But if Tony Stark went two movies sleeping with only women that aren't white - uh-oh!! That draws attention!!

It's completely okay and not a fetish to be super attracted to white features in isolation, but if you take interest in non-white features without validating white women in the same breath then you're nasty and a fetishist and a racist.

Another example - Batman.

Zoe Kravitz was the first time we've seen Batman openly go after a black woman since maybe Eartha Kitt in 1967 - OVER 50 years apart

In the Christian Bale movies - he never flirts with black women. This classy, smooth Bruce Wayne isn't seen interacting with them. I mean... Why? Does he not like them? Or are the all the black people in Gotham just too poor to be around him to begin with?

????????? That don't add up. But that's how most characters are.

If a nonblack male character is shown in a relationship with a woman - the chances of that woman being cast as a black woman hits the FLOOR.

Their first choice is almost always white.

And the saddest thing is

Spider-Man is the biggest example of black erasure in romance and the effects it causes.

That's why when Zendaya got cast as MJ - it was a problem.

Because before then, during the 70 semi years of Peter Parker's existence - he was never shown on screen being attracted to black women in any capacity.

Betty, Gwen, Felicia, MJ - all white. In the cartoons, white. In the remake, white. Silk is probably one of - if not the - first POC we see Peter with. And they don't date, they've never been shown on screen, and over the past years Cindy has had a better written relationship with Felicia than she ever had with Peter.

For half a century we were conditioned to believe that Peter Parker dated white women with no representation or deviation.

Back in 2016 when TASM series was coming out, if you were a black reader who wanted to see yourself represented in any way or capacity on screen or in Fandom - good luck.

We're use to seeing these very romantically forward guys never flirting or fucking or dating black women. We're conditioned to accept this as normal.

It takes a genuine toll.

That's why when I was younger, I use to feel so insecure. Wondering if my favorite characters or celebrities would even find me slightly attractive. The idea that my favorite character wouldn't find me attractive because they've never been seen with a Black partner or interest ever not even once in passing hurts.

As a teen I just accepted that these characters 'Don't like black people' and can't find them attractive in that capacity. Because I mean, I have no reason to think they do - when most nonblack characters won't even look at a black female character for longer than 5 seconds.

Growing up I just accepted that these characters and the fandom as a whole did not see anything beautiful about me because of my race.

That's why Black readers should be more widespread.

We should be telling people that non-black men finding black women attractive is NORMAL.

I read SO many fics of black characters and go 'okay but they wrote reader as white.'

I have NEVER read a fic of a non-black character and gone 'okay they wrote the reader as Black'

Y'all.... You can write interracial relationships with characters that aren't black.

Interracial Relationships are not a special magic tool you can use to pair black characters up with non-black readers. Interracial Relationships go both ways.

If you're down for writing Hobie x NonBlack!Reader and writing an interracial relationship there - why are y'all not down for Miguel x Black!Reader?

Why are interracial relationships good when the black man experiences attraction outside his race towards nonblack people - but bad/unlikely when the nonblack man experiences attraction outside his race towards black people?

'Hobie loves everyone' Okay, Miguel would too. But I don't see the 'Hobie Loves' people rushing and pushing for inclusion in the Miguel tag. They don't care if fanwriters show Miguel 'loving everyone'.

They don't go -

'Miguel loves latinas, Miguel loves black women' in Miguel's tag.

Even though nonblack men experience attraction towards black people and black women everyday across the world.

Some are even married to us - can you believe it??

In conclusion - More Miguel x Black!Reader. More Miguel x Black!OC.

Give Miguel AfroLatino Babies!!!!

Give Miguel O'Hara a Nigerian Wife so help me God

Anyway - Big up @hrhmimieucliffe and their AMAZING Black OC Giselle, who has a ~thing~ ;) with Miguel (they are v cute!!)

More Miguel x Black!Reader. More Miguel with Black! OCs. I want a Miguel that likes his women like he likes his milkshakes - tall, sweet, thicc as fuck, and FULL OF CHOCOLATE

And once again, that's on WHAT!!!!

[msfcatlover]

Nightwing!Damian would still be of the Corruption, though he has so many healthy relationships in his life that its influence on him is slipping. His swarm is smaller now than it’s ever been. His power fades day by day. He might even manage to be human again someday (he doesn’t know how he feels about that, when his swarm are so beloved & his monster side has always been a source of pride for Damian.)

Tim was always going to be of the Eye, being Oracle only doubles down on it.

Cass in the TMA AU is basically Agnes Montague, but for the Stranger. That wouldn’t change either.

Steph was only just starting out when Damian took her under his wing. She never fully got caught in the spiraling fixation on destroying her father by any means necessary, she couldn’t pursue one goal to the exclusion of all others, and as the first fully human (non-Alfred) member of the team, everyone would be doing their best to protect that humanity, monitoring her for any sign of supernatural influence and guiding her away before it could get its hooks in her (they are still Bruce’s children, after all.) Until she came out of the dirt, unsheltered & unprotected, already marked so many times over, with fear & rage boiling in her blood. Until Talia gave Steph her mind back, gave Steph a purpose again, and the rage boiled over plasmatic hate. Until Steph laughed like a roaring maelstrom, sparks crackling in her wild hair, something bordering on madness in her eyes, and Talia thought: Oh. I have made a mistake. (The storm would be leashed, eventually. Steph does have self control, she has goals to achieve, plans to make, and power alone could not do that. But in that moment, when Steph realized her killer was still killing people despite everything that had happened, in her pain & fury, she gave in. She stepped backwards off that invisible ledge and plunged headfirst into what she knew she was Becoming. She embraced it, wholeheartedly. In that moment, it almost wasn’t Stephanie Brown in that garden, but the Cataclysm itself inside her skin. Almost.)

Duke… I’m still struggling to think of a good match for, but honestly in this AU… His ability to connect, to make people listen to him, his desire to step up & save the city himself if he has to, and the fact Duke is the eldest/first batkid in this AU (giving him & Bruce even more in common when Batman had only ever fought alone) all make me want to say Web. BUT with his powers, his ability to lead a crowd, the sheer scale of his potential, I also want to say Vast? What little I know of Gnomon also says Vast, ALTHOUGH…. …we could play off their shadow control, invert Duke’s light powers for this AU, and say Dark. Which would make Duke borderline antithetical to Web!Bruce, but hey, maybe Web!Bruce wants to prove to himself just how much choice he still has—that the Web can make him as uncomfortable as it likes, but he’s still going to take care of a child in need. (Assuming he is going against the Web’s wishes, of course, and it isn’t reverse psychologying him…) (My gut says Web!Duke, though. The more I think about it, the more I like Web!Duke conceptually… but I am worried that it doesn’t fit him. That Duke’s all-or-nothing “if no one else is going to, I’ll do it myself” attitude & raw charisma is not close enough to the Web’s need for control. I don’t like it when people just assign characters an Entity for the Aesthetic(TM) or for shallow, surface-level reasons—it has to resonate with their own personal failings, or else what’s even the point?)

Jason was human when he joined the family, and they’d want to keep him that way… but I think by the time he gets back from the Red Robin arc, Jason would’ve been claimed by the Hunt.

Dick gets scooped up by the family almost immediately in this AU, and Cass does her best to temper in his early-days bloodlust. With Cass as his Batman, I think Dick would be tempted by the Vast, but ultimately chase after her by embracing his own Otherness. (Or Dick was already a Stranger when his parents fell. But honestly, I like the arc of Dick learning to love himself & following in his mentor’s footsteps so much more than making him a Stranger because Circus.)

[spider-jaysart]

Character ask: Damian Wayne (duh!)

@venetiangoldroz

Lolll

1. How I feel about this character:

Small boy!! Very intelligent, has a good heart that he usually tries not to show off too often but it is always there with him, sweet animal lover, and is a cool, crazy, weird kid that I love so much lmao

2. All the people I ship romantically with this character:

Jon Kent

3. My non romantic otp for this character:

Jon Kent

4. My unpopular opinion for this character:

Some fans don't like that Damian is a fan of Dinah Lance as a singer, but I personally like it lol. I don't like how silly he was made to be about it though, like singing one of the songs out loud in public for example, because he would never actually do that all lmaooo, he would keep that to ONLY himself lol. Also, I'm hearing now that it was actually a crush he was having on her, which I hate. Like, yes, he's an adult in that specific comic, but I'm tired of DC making him fall for almost every female and older woman that he interacts with, like just let him be normal about them already!!! I just like him being a fan of her music and that's it

5. One thing I wish would happen/had happen with this character in canon:

Not just one thing, cause I'mma list them all here

Start getting the respect he deserves after so much😤, cause like he literally changed himself and went through so much development for years now, but it's still not enough for DC writers or even some fans!! Like, just what do you want from him anymore????? He's been trying so much for too long now!!

For writers to stop treating him like he's nothing but evil, because he's not!! He's just a kid who grew up with a kind of life that's VERY different from everyone else's and was just taught ever since from a really young age to see things in other ways because of that. He does have a heart, it's the reason why he's made so much effort to become the person and hero he is today now and has left the whole League life behind. And about him being a tough person, that's just literally his dang personality, it's not something that adds to him being "evil" at all either

For DC to also just let him choose and make his own path as a hero when he grows up. He shouldn't become the next Batman by force or go through with becoming head of the Loa either, one of the big parts about his character is about discovering who HE actually is and figuring out what he really wants for himself instead, so he deserves to make his own choices by his own will. He should also become a vetinarian when it comes to getting a career

Stop with the white washing and start consistently representing his Arab side more, just like how the artist Gleb Melnikov did very boldly and also wonderfully in Robin 2021 when drawing him

And another one for the writers is to also stop making him crush on older woman!!!! PLEASE!! Just cut it out already!!! This entire thing has been going on ever since he was just 10 years old and nothing about it has ever been "cute!" or whatever they think of it as! It's just freaking weird and I don't understand why DC writers keep doing that to him! He's just a kid, not a grown man, so treat him like it!!! And stop deaging woman who were also already much older just to be with him and stop setting him up with his own female family members too! That one's already happened twice now (Mar'i and Cassandra) and now I'm scared that the writers of the second Supersons movie are gonna push that into there too with Cassandra AGAIN and ruin the film that way, which I really HOPE that doesn't happen AT ALL!😖

Let him have an actual relationship with his Mother instead of keeping them distant so much! Damian deserves to have her in his life too, not just Bruce as his Father, and she also deserves to have him in hers as well. Despite how things may be, they really love eachother a lot and it's not fair that they don't get to be as close as they were before, which is also really heartbreaking to think about honestly

Damian should also get to have a relationship with Respawn too that can develop into a sibling one at some point if ever he ever does appear again in the future

Never let him act like a normal person, let him forever be his weird, strange self, because that's literally one of the biggest things that MAKES HIM DAMIAN and I love him for it lol. Batman and Robin 2023 tried to change this about him in it's protayal and I hated it, it felt like some imposter, which just frustrated me a lot and made some things boring too. This goes for other kinds of mischaracterizations that were done to him too, like Gotham War as the most recent example, which was a big time failure at doing it well in a different way. Writers need to learn how to get to know him better first before actually writing him in their stories, deciding how he will react and treat things that happen in said story and it's plot. Here's something else much better too, he needs to start getting writers who actually like/love, respect, and actually understand him!

I think that's all for now loll but Thank you for the ask, @venetiangoldroz !! Sorry about the little delay btw, but I enjoyed answering this!!!

[caliburn-the-sword]

a (non)comprehensive list of all characters that i as a child decided were asian because representation hardly existed in the early 2010's, with varying degrees of asian-coding and/or canon. it also gets more unhinged

will not be tagging SHIT because i would like to not experience hate but also i feel like my mutuals would somewhat enjoy this. as a kid, my only requirements were that they either 1) had dark hair 2) had dark eyes or 3) had unnatural hair/eye/skin colour in which case i could go nuts

list is under the cut:

you liked these fairies cause you were gay?? i liked them because they were asian to me we are NOT the same (i am also gay). both are asian coded so i wasn't wrong. also shoutout to vidia for being asian and an absolute BITCH. i think her back is sore from carrying the bitchy asian rep. no one's doing it like her

musa from winx. also asian coded so it works

batman. NOT to be confused with bruce wayne. bruce wayne is white af even to me as a child. but when he had the mask on i could project on him and call him chinese

dick grayson's robin in almost all cartoon iterations (pictured above in the batman) but also including:

to be clear, this is NOT to be confused with dick grayson the civilian, or dick grayson as nightwing. by my 9 y/o logic those guys were both white af. but when dick grayson had the robin mask on that gave room for me to project, as such they're asian

zatanna zatara is wasian IN MY HEART. to ME her mum is chinese and obvi her dad is italian so she's almost just like me (chinese/spanish). idc argue with the wall

superman but ONLY the justice league unlimited version

huntress bertinelli, for the same reasons as zatanna, was always wasian to me. but she gave off half korean, half italian vibes. i will not explain myself

now is raven from a different plane than us?? yes. however azarath is home to asians idek

sorry guys jinx is a bad bitch so she's also asian

while we're at it, beast boy is also asian but ONLY in teen titans. unfortunately young justice beast boy is whitewashed (he was never asian to begin with). i asked my sister if she ever asian-washed characters when watching tv she said no (rudeass) but i provided multiple teen titans as an example and my mum was like "wait?? beast boy isn't asian?? i thought he was asian??" so beast boy is actually mum-approved-asian. i don't make the rules

draculaura from monster high was always asian to me idc what the haters say. everyone say thank you to the monster high reboot for giving me asian draculaura because frankly i deserve it

also. robecca steam is south asian in my heart

jackson jekyll was also asian. idk. he just was

now, since the eah reboot made draculaura wasian i'm BEGGING for there to be an eah reboot because they will do my girl raven queen justice. SHE is asian

kitty cheshire is also asian i don't make the rules

sorry guys duchess swan is also asian

while i'm at it, faybelle thorn is also asian talk to the wall

now i need you guys to pinky promise to be nice to me. percy jackson was wasian to me until ethan nakamura was introduced. only after ethan's introduction did my 13 y/o ass let percy be white again

tony stark is asian but ONLY in iron man armoured adventures

now, a plethora of xmen evolution characters are actually asian (source: i made it the fuck up) these include, but are not limited to: wolverine, x23, wanda and pietro

[penncilkid]

Can't remember what started it, but I've been on a bit of an Alexis kick recently and started thinking about my headcanons/version of here. So now I'm subjecting y'all to it /lh

Note: Yes, I am partially ignoring some elements of canon. I don't love the way she's written for several reasons— and also because I can play with these dolls however I'd like to. In addition, I will be re-contextualizing Sam's turning as well as discussing it to a certain degree. If that doesn't seem like your kind of thing, this post isn't for you.

Alexis turning Sam against his consent was wrong. I think it would be interesting if there were additional layers behind this decision. Both statements can co-exist. Don't act a fool on my post. /srs /lh

Anyways, thoughts under the cut (CW for mentions of violence/vampiric attacks + Sam's Turning's CWs):

The basics:

Her name before turning was Alexis Guevara. (I'm not a fan of "Getty", sue me /lh). Her family is/was of Cuban descent, and her being Latina/non-white is vital to my vision.

Alexis was empowered but humanborn prior to her turning. She was specifically a telepath, which caused a lot of strife with her family.

With this as context: She was kicked out of her home originally because of too many outbursts/incidents involving her hearing things that "weren't there" or "knowing things she shouldn't". The final straw was when she freaked out in the middle of a church service, screaming as tried to warn everyone that someone planned to attack them soon. When they went outside to check, there was no one there (Translation: Person obviously left after hearing Alexis give away their plan somehow).

After being kicked out of her home, she ends near Dahlia/some sort of city. Part of my inspiration for her stems from the version of Selina Kyle in Batman: Year One. After migrating, she quickly became a part of a small, tight-knit community of fellow black and brown otherwise isolated empowered people. In my mind, there was about 4 others she looked out for with her being one of the older ones.

In alignment w/ the timeline, Alexis is turned after a rogue vampire attack. But there's layers to it. The rogue vampire in question attacks more than just her. Everyone in this small community she considered her apart of is hurt in some way. She is one of maybe two survivors, if that. As she laid there waiting to die she could hear the thoughts of those around her as they died, calling out for one another— for her— before they passed.

Now that that's out of the way, you may be wondering: "Okay, what's so special about all of that?" Everything because I think it colors everything she does moving forward.

Part of the "turbulent progeny" reputation attributed to Alexis earlier in her turning stemmed from her throwing resources at struggling empowered (and/or unempowered) people seemingly willy nilly until William stepped in and was like "I need you to slow it down."

I imagine that discussion went something like: "You can't just do this, Alexis—" "Why not! It's not like DUMP is doing shit, William—" "There are procedures to this—" "FUCK THOSE! People need money to live, I should be allowed to fucking give it!"

This leads into how she gets roped into the vampiric espionage (like Porter). In exchange for her services to William's goals/initiatives/etc., she gets almost completely unrestricted spending for whatever she'd like. The vast majority goes back to the communities she wants/wanted to help.

The other angle to this is Alexis wanting to get back at vampires. She's gotten comfortable enough with her new lifestyle to not resent being a vampire, but she wants to hurt some of these bastards like they hurt her and her family all those years ago.

"Okay PK, but you mentioned Sam's turning. What does that have to do with anything?" I was laying out parameters and background, we can get into it now.

As it's explained in canon, I've always interpreted Alexis and Sam's relationship prior to everything as a friends with benefits/situationship type dynamic. Physically intimate above all but still close in other ways. Alexis hoped for more/a deeper connection with Sam, but it was painfully clear that the chances of that happening were dwindling with every night they spent with each other.

Night of the turning comes about. As it's described in canon, Sam is impaled, likely bleeding out, he's in rough shape. In my mind? With all the prior context? Alexis started experiencing a trauma response (which wasn't helped by the exposure to blood as well). As Sam assured her that he would be fine/he could heal himself (which, imo, was still debatable), Alexis was in full-on flashback mode. She was blinded by her panic and fear response, locked into a "this time, I can save them" mindset that had marinated over decades since she was first turned. She couldn't bear to watch someone she cared about die in front of her. Not again.

This wasn't the first time something similar happened. When Vincent was first brought to the Solaire estate, turned but unconscious, Alexis instinctively panicked because he was still covered in blood clothes and such (+ missing his prosthetic). Her mind went into that same "something's wrong, help him" mode, just this time William was there to stop her/assure her that he was already safe.

Alexis fully accepted her scolding from William after it got explained/revealed what happened. To say she regretted it would be a lie. Would she have wanted it to play out differently? Yes. Does she wish Sam had asked her to be turned— that the accident never happened— that she had never reached out that night? Yes. But she doesn't regret turning Sam. In her mind and heart, she was able to save someone this time. She can't fault herself for that, no matter how many complex emotions she feels about it.

Though he took her ability to invoke Sam (rightfully so), I imagine that (in a tweaked version of canon) Vincent, William, and Porter know the context of her turning and acknowledge that what happened was, in some parts, because she was triggered. At the first mention from Sam to leave her alone, she did. She tries to make herself scarce, avoid him as much as possible, keeps her distance if they have to be in the same space— She respects the fact he doesn't want her around and hasn't tried to press those since he was turned. They can forgive her for that much.

I've yet to firmly settle on a vision for Alexis and Sam's dynamic in the present day. But I think the crux of it, at least closer to when Sam was first turned, is: Alexis "We didn't talk like that, that wasn't what our time was supposed to be because that's not what he wants" Solaire (In reference to how she was turned) x Sam "Save the sob story for someone who gives a damn, Alexis" Collins.

That's pretty much the sweeping overview on my thoughts on/vision for Alexis. I'll likely design her at some point (my current height headcanon for her is 5'4", for those who would want to know). What can I say, she compels me /lh /pos

[havendance]

A collection of Helena Bertinelli/Huntress panels that are important to me:

(Detective Comics #653)

Batman: That's not the way I work. I'm not a killer. Huntress: You sanctimonious... You're looking for fair play in Gotham? I got you all wrong, Batman. I thought we became what we are for the same reasons; because the streets took away everything we loved.

Detective Comics 652-653 were my first introduction to Helena's character and this was the panel that really stuck out to me about her and who she was. This is what I kept coming back and thinking about. The contrast between them. They way that they're almost similar. Just "I thought we were the same". That's the good stuff right there.

(Huntress (1989) #2)

Huntress: I'm not strong. On TV... those overgrown wrestlers wear show-off flashy costumes... symbols of how strong they are. But it's not strong people who need costumes... It's the weak ones. Weak people who have to hide behind spooky capes and masks... make themselves seem more fearsome... so no one will see them for the harmless creatures they are... harmless as a frightened little girl who's lost her parents.

One of the things that really compelled about Huntress '89 (and to an extent Huntress '94, though that one just wasn't as good) was the dichotomy between the Huntress and the scared little girl that Helena still felt like underneath it. The contrast between the front she puts up, the way she puts on the mask and lives in it, and just how part of her is still caught up in the tragedy that birthed the Huntress in the first place.

(Showcase '93 #10)

Helena (internal narration): Maybe's not the word for it. Monday morning: David Stone will never have a chance to turn savage, never know a child of his own...but I can't bring myself to think it's better this way. Survival is always better.

Helena throughout the entire two part story that this concludes has been reflecting on the cycle of violence. It's really fascinating to see the way that her cynicism interacts with the fact that she really does want to help this student of hers who's been abused by his father. And the way she reflects on it you can see also thinking about herself and the Huntress as a product of violence and you get this impression of self-loathing as well. It's all just a really interesting story and I definitely recommend checking it out if you get a chance.

(Nightwing #29)

Huntress: How can you do what you do? Nightwing: Meaning? H: Look at this town. How can you play the white knight? How long can you stick to your “code”? N: As long as it takes. H: And if you fail? And you will fail. N: Then I fail, Helena. N: But I won’t let them win by becoming one of them. H: You have to play by their rules to defeat the. N: It’s not broken. H: What? N: Your ankle.

I've talked about this page before in multiple contexts, but like, I just really like it. It's an interesting look at what separates Helena from the bats. Her cynicism of you have to play the game to beat them. And also the last exchange "it's not broken... you're ankle", I just really like it. It works for me.

(JLA #32)

Kid: Do you have super strength? Huntress: No K: Are you invulnerable? H: I'm afraid not. K: Then how are you going to save him? What are you gonna do? H: I'm going to do everything I'm capable of doing!

I think this one speaks for it's self. I just boils down what I find compelling about non-powered heroes.

(Huntress: Cry for Blood #6)

Question: There's still time. Helena: Blood cries for blood, Vic. H: Santo killed his sister. Q: Dammit, where does it end? Q: When is it enough?

I'm going to be totally honest, this one's here because it appeals to me personally. I am obsessed with the motif of "blood cries for blood" (and also the Santo killed his own sister thing, because I'm always this close to catching kindly ones brainrot). Anyway, vengeance. Very compelling.

[confusedhummingbird]

how they keep insisting on dickb**? its weird; I still hope they give dickkory something and I sound selfish but I dont want any other romance for Star (ps: I wouldn't call dickb** romance it has 0 story/substance/feeling) I'm being selfish cuz dickkory is ROMANCE I dont want see it more trashed by dc than it already is; even tho Kory had bfs n I dont mind a unserious bf I always can see Dick being the only one for her, I hope they don't do anything non-dickkory romance for Star sorry Im selfish

I can understand that honestly. Dickkory is such a great ship and it's so sweet and romantic. I honestly can't imagine the two of them with someone else. They are soulmates.

I feel like Dickbabs is around for another way to make sure Dick stays with the Batfam. Dick is a very popular character and keeping him around gives an extra reason to read Bat books.

Also add in the people who have nostalgia and love for Dickbabs from Batman the animated series. It isn't the first or only time DC uses the love for that show as a way to gain popularity. Just look at Harley Quinn and having Kevin Conroy voicing Bruce in many different projects before his passing.

But I feel like they keep him not only from Kory but also from the Titans as well. They are also family to him but they almost always refuse to have him talk or reference them unless it's in Titans books.

[maximumwobblerbanditdonut]

FILM AND MOVIES

What Went Wrong With… SAS: Red Notice (2021)?

A review of SAS: Red Notice by What Went Wrong Or Right With...?

SAS: Red Notice is the latest Sky Original film to premiere on the satellite platform and unfortunately it’s another dead duck. Based on the book of the same name by Andy McNab, the plot is about a family-based, terrorist group known as the “Black Swans” who take over the Channel Tunnel. Interpol’s “Red Notice” (which alerts police worldwide to internationally wanted fugitives) gives this film its title (at least I think it does, although in S.A.S. terms it could mean a government sanctioned hit). Regardless of its meaning, the main part of the storyline (the hi-jacking) takes almost half-an-hour to get to, and once it does, it’s not exactly enthralling. The film begins with a preamble about “psychopaths” delivered by Tom Wilkinson’s character William Lewis who goes on to say “psychopaths who can learn to love are as rare as a black swan”. This I assume, refers to his baddie daughter Grace played by Ruby Rose or possibly the good guy Tom played by Sam Heughan. This kind of wannabe poignant dialogue is pointless to ponder over however, since this isn’t a character study of someone taught to kill and the parallels between the military and terrorists, or whether someone can switch off their violent tendencies and become compassionate. What this is, is a load of D-list actors saying “awight mate” a lot, posturing, chewing gum to look butch, and shooting guns, largely in the dark. Oh, and apparently, the elite of the elite in the S.A.S. are also bilingual botanists.

I’ll admit that I haven’t and probably never will read an Andy McNab novel, so I’m judging this adaptation against similar action movies. The plot to me, seems very late-80s or early-90s, very much like Ruby Rose’s bowl hair cut. SAS: Red Notice wishes it was in the same company as the original The Taking Of Pelham One Two Three, Die Hard, and every classic derivative action movie such as Speed, Under Siege, and Executive Decision but it’s instead more of a Chuck Norris or Michael Dudikoff-type flick.

Directed by Magnus Martens, the look and feel is more “TV” than cinema, and bad television at that. Magnus can’t seem to coax a believable performance out of anyone, and that’s alongside his appalling framing and camera movement, not to mention the seemingly non-existent art direction which leaves us with what looks like a home-made movie. The cast aren’t much better. Aside from the always decent Tom Wilkinson, the acting talent is also firmly in made-for-TV territory. We have Noel Clarke looking as convincing as Major Bisset as his Detective Inspector in Bulletproof, Anne Reid who played Jean in dinnerladies is still Jean from dinnerladies, and Andy Serkis plays Clements by overacting and probably wishing he was dressed in spandex and covered in white dots playing a different kind of gorilla.

We also have the aforementioned Sam Heughan as Tom or Thomas Buckingham III, a contrived yet somehow unbelievable rich, posh, heterosexual white male who lives in what looks like Wayne Manor with a butler not too dissimilar to Batman’s. Sam is a terrible, soap-opera-esque actor and as the lead, he’s the main reason why this film looks so cheap and tacky. Bad acting doesn’t end with Heughan however; we also have Ruby Rose playing his arch-nemesis Grace Lewis.

I suppose it’s progress to see a British Prime Minister played by a person of colour (Ray Panthaki) and someone from the LGBTQ community play the villain or antagonist in an action film but Panthaki is essentially a one-term baddun, and Rose is so lacking in charisma and acting skills that she won’t be spoken about in the same breath as Alan Rickman’s Hans Gruber or even Eric Bogosian’s Travis Dane, which kind of defeats the purpose. Grace Lewis is instead, in the same league as Thomas Gabriel or Alik from the inferior Die Hard sequels. Rose can’t even act like she’s been shot in the neck or smile convincingly with her “this isn’t a disguise” wig on whilst trying to ward off authorities, let alone look menacing or have a knife-fight (or spoiler alert: die).

Whilst on the topic of Grace, her tactic of “kill the men and the boys, leave the women to spread the fear” conveniently leaves out the all-too-common rape and torture. Make no mistake, this is a sanitised view of conflict where mercenaries, contractors, war criminals, and terrorists are completely unconnected to any military unit. The film begins with contractors tasked to clear a village in Georgia in order to lay a pipe line, and this seems very War On Terror and Black Water-esque (especially the name “Black Swans”) but the way in which this story is told, it’s less Iraq and more Tie Rack with a bunch of suits trying to make some soulless and shallow money from militarism. There’s no real opinion on whether contractors should be used in war, it’s more “it’s okay until they leave witnesses” which is a dodgy message to convey. That being said, even our hero Thomas hears his butler recount a story of Buckingham’s forefathers chopping off a Maharaja’s finger during an Indian “uprising” in order to take their ring, which means even the protagonist has a lineage of wrongdoing but I’m sure viewers of this trash will glaze over this. In order to bolster the concept of “good guys can do no wrong”, the wedding vows at the end of the film are cringe-worthy and go to show how not only the writers, but everyone involved in making this crapfest, love the idea of the infallible war hero who cannot and should not be criticised (or prosecuted) because they do such a difficult job… “For better, for worse, in war [and] in peace, knowing that in war, your crazy brain is always right”. 🤮

Whether pro-war or anti-terror or just unadulterated militarism, all this criticism is of course pointless to mention, as nobody watching Red Notice is looking for deep, meaningful subtext and opinion-challenging concepts. The camouflage-covered cinematic cliches of “this isn’t what I signed-up for!” and “take the shot!” are both present which means this is a hackneyed, straight-to-streaming, non-action, action film. I wouldn’t have minded if this shite contained a plot about what great jobs snipers do or how difficult counter terrorism is, instead it’s another mindless, gung-ho release. And while I’m at it: who gives a toss about what happens to a fictitious government and this film’s uninteresting characters during the end credits? Please don’t make a sequel or try to start a franchise about the exploits of Tom effing Buckingham the pissing Third!

As a Sky Original, I have to mention the inclusion of Sky News presenters Gamal Fahnbulleh and Jayne Secker (and Ben bloody Shephard of ITV’s Good Morning Britain) doing some suspiciously, similar-to-real-life acting. Similar to Jeremy Thompson in Shaun Of The Dead, the news casters’ or broadcasters’ acting looks as convincing as the actual news and their “breaking news” bulletins are read with the same vigour. Ignoring the fact that Sky are both feeding and eating itself in the creation of this film, it’s always disconcerting to see real-life news presenters read scripts as well as they do on air, which goes to show they’re not journalists but actors who err… read scripts for a living. But I guess that’s for another article.

Back to the film, no matter its formulaic-ness, it would have been a much better idea for John McTiernan to direct SAS: Red Notice, for the sole purpose to try and get his post-prison reputation back to the level of his original Die Hard and Hunt For Red October heyday. I’d like to think that the maker of the original action masterpiece from which all others originate could surely make even the lamest of scripts buzz with exhilaration? Instead, thanks to a director who cannot direct, especially action scenes, I wasn’t thrilled or excited at all.

Apparently notices of the rouge variety are very popular right now because confusingly, there’s a Dwayne Johnson “Red Notice” movie in the works too, unconnected to the McNab book but an action flick nevertheless. One thing’s for certain: this version isn’t the one that stands out. Even with a large Andy McNab fanbase, this is gonna go

BY WHAT WENT WRONG OR RIGHT WITH...? ON MARCH 11, 2021 • ( 7 COMMENTS )

This is the time to remember! the time is not gonna change 😬

[lol-jackles]

Hi! I like your blog, it's very informative. Thank you for answering the questions. I have a couple, I hope you can answer.

So, the first one. I noticed that Jared is officially declared at only three of the eleven Creation conventions. Given the rumors about his participation in the upcoming Disney series about Nova, could this be the reason for his absence from most of the cons in 2024? The contract with the studio would oblige him to be available to work on their projects, right? Would that be a priority?

Although Disney isn't having the best of times right now, are they still developing this series?

In this regard, one more question: for what period is a contract with such corporations concluded? I read that they used to be imprisoned for five years. Has anything changed? That is, I am interested in this point: if work on the series has been suspended, the contract is not broken. So for the duration of the contract, Jared will not participate in other projects, including conventions?

If that's not the case, what is your opinion on why Jared is almost not participating in SPN cons next year?

And the last question: your forecast, how will Jensen's career develop next year?

I'm sorry if my questions are a little silly, I don't understand the movie business at all. And in how the organizers of the conventions work, too. I hope you can help me figure it out.

My guess is yes, Jared may be limiting his convention appearances due to filming commitments for non-Walker projects.  Jared has repeatedly told Gilmore Girls stories when he wasn't scheduled to film on a particular day so he slept in.  But GG had rescheduled filming and decided they would film Jared's scene on the said particular day.  Jared's friend had to break into his apartment to wake him and get him to the set.  The experience gave him nightmares and he vowed to always be available even if the AD said he's not scheduled to film that day.  Disney is notoriously unforgiving so IF he will be working in the Nova project then he best make himself available.

Disney had a series of film flops this year, including a Marvel film with the lowest box office opening. Every long-running franchise goes through growing pains. Just as James Bond franchise didn’t die when there are a few clunkers at the box office, and Batman managed to survive the Batman & Robin debacle, the Marvel franchise won’t die, it's an institution at this point. Sure it's a little tired and nursing a black eye, but as we all know, that’s often when heroes rise to their best selves.

While Disney and every major studio are cancelling projects, they still need new contents.  Recently Disney's CEO has pretty much said that going woke is making them go broke so they will be course correcting their Marvel brand by returning to more traditional storytelling entertainment aka more male-centric contents aka Chippendale for the female gaze.

"imprisoned" for 5 years??  Maybe you're thinking of a typical 5-year tv series contract.  Studios have these contracts in case the show is a big hit and syndicated in season 4 or 5 will make them even more money as long as the lead actor don't run away, which is why tv contracts are at minimally 5 years.  This doesn't prevent the actors from taking other projects, it just prevents them from leaving the original project. So yes, Jared can technically take on other projects but his first obligation is to fulfill the requirements of his first contract, which means being available for filming.  

With that said, while TV contracts are typically 5 years, it is easily 7 years because in California all personal service contracts well limited by law to a maximum of 7 years without re-negotiation.  With that said, if the show is a hit, the actors will often band together and ask to re-negotiate their contracts after 2 or 3 years. The studio will usually accede to this, because they don’t want to jeopardize a hit show, though the actors are technically in violation of their contracts.

But regardless, I also think in general Jared is moving away from SPN-only conventions anyway.  Not only because he has a fanbase outside of SPN and its genre, but he also he wants to find work for his Walker colleague where multi-fandom conventions are more suited.

[fortressofserenity]

Popular with casual readers

In all honesty, I think it's cool that comics like the Sandman actually have fans who are outside of the superhero comics fan subculture that permeates Anglophone comics discourse. When you think about it this way, superheroes are practically more of an acquired taste for some people. You'd have to put up with how and why characters who get superpowers often almost always end up as either superheroes or supervillains, rarely if ever remaining civilians themselves.

Why they have to wear those flashy outfits whenever they get those powers or skills at all? That's not to say it has no analogy among popstars and musicians except that they manage to make this look tasteful, instead of being both garish and ugly as it is with a lot of superhero outfits to be honest. (Let's face it, there's no getting around how ridiculous it is to dress up like Batman in real life, no matter how understand your cause is.)

Even as somebody who's experienced with superheroes myself, there's something about the superhero genre that breaks my suspension of disbelief at times. Not so much about the outfits but rather a curious double standard where non-powered characters are allowed to become superheroes and supervillains, but but almost all superpowered characters get to be superheroes and supervillains when they needn't to if they see no reason why.

Somebody with the ability to make silk independent of silkworms could always turn to a career in weaving and textiles, though you'd have to have some knowledge of silk making to pull this off. Superpowered characters could still be useful in a different way really, especially if they're disinclined towards combat that you'd really have to learn something else to figure out what they could do with those. Not necessarily in a sexual way.

But more in the sense of putting those abilities to good use in things like textiles, healthcare, cooking, sewing, rapping and so on. Superheroes and the like seem to be orientated on combat, even if it gets tiring seeing superpowered battles every now and then. It's not hard to see how and why Sandman resonates with people outside of superhero fandom: it has some of the stuff that's right up with their alley and sensibilities, it's also got things they'd like to see in comics.

Same goes for Elfquest as well.

[hext00ns]

Outrunning Karma

Chapter 2: twos a real fucking annoying coincidence

Ships: Stylenny

Warnings: (Non-permanent) Main Character Death, Cults

AO3 L!nk in Comments!

It probably wasn’t that smart of him to have made himself known so soon.

Mysterion was swarmed with thoughts of the encounter the other day as he snuck his way between buildings. Keeping his eyes peeled for anything out of the norm.

Seeing Karen after so long almost had him feeling sick. The range of emotions that had exploded through him. He could hardly handle half of them. But it wasn’t like he could just let her get hurt. Who knew that that guy was gonna do to her. Mugging her was the best case scenario. Having seen that only after two days of being back in Colorado had his blood hot with anger, fear, just about anything else in between.

Karen was an adult now. She could keep herself safe. But even then, the need to protect overshadowed any other rational thought. He was fighting back any feelings of guilt. It was a necessity for him to leave. Coming back was just as much of a necessity. But he was going to make sure to cause as little harm and hurt to Karen, or anyone, to the best of his abilities. Besides, what was the chance that he would need to save her or anyone else that knew him before he could leave again? It was a once in a million probably.

Before he could keep throwing himself in his guilt, his phone began to buzz in his pocket. He always kept it on silent just in case. He made his way into an empty rooftop out of view before picking it up.

“What do you want, Damien?” he hissed out in his gruff voice.

“Are you Mysterion-ing right now? Your voice sounds stupid when you do that, you know.”

Mysterion rolled his eyes at the other’s words. “The voice does not sound stupid. It sounds super cool. Like fuckin’ batman.”

“Sounds just as lame as it did when we were eight. Sounds just as lame now. Besides, who the hell said you can pull off a Batman?”

“I do, smartass,” he grumbled back. “Dude, I’m literally out on the town doing my ‘thing’. What the hell do you want?”

“Dad wants to know if you’re coming down for dinner tonight.”

“Is that seriously why you fucking called me?” He could hear the chuckles from the other end but they didn’t sound like Damien’s. “Tell Pip I said he can go fuck himself.”

“Noted,” responded Damien. At the same time Mysterion could hear Pip’s higher voice giving a sound of distraught. “Though my dad really did wanna know.”

Mysterion sighed, “I don’t know man. I’ll see. I’m still trying to get this all done as soon as possible so I can be out of Colorado.”

“Speaking of,” Damien started back up. “The actual reason I called was to let you know how fast the news of you being back has spread.”

“What?!” he hissed back. “You gotta be fucking with me.”

“I called my uncle to double check. Karen has already told both Broflovski brothers about her heroic rescue.”

Mysterion ran a hand over the bare part of his face with a sigh. “But it’s just Mysterion… Their memories are still intact, right?”

He could almost hear the nod in the other’s voice. “As far as any of us can tell.”

Mysterion gave a sigh. It was better than nothing. He needed to be more careful, though. Especially out of the mask. There was too much riding on all of this.

After a last quick word, he hung up with Damien and went back to his patrol.

It wasn’t even twenty minutes before he found something suspicious.

A man being followed down the street. It could have been just two people walking but it was the way the second figure moved. Their whole body covered in what looked like a shroud and keeping their form hunched over and features out of view. His suspicions were also added with the way the second person kept pace with the first.

Mysterion got closer as the two walked, keeping a close eye. He needed to be careful just assuming things about people. It could just be some anti-social guy walking in his own way. Or anyone really. He needed real reason to drop down and intervene.

Thankfully, or unfortunately, that opportunity was given to him rather quickly.

The second figure waited till they were in a darker part of the street and suddenly sped up. Grabbing the man from behind and holding a cloth to his mouth.

Mysterion didn’t waste another second jumping down, landing right behind the duo. He grabbed the person from behind, startling them enough to let go of the other man. He then pulled them off him and spun them around to see their face.

He was surprised to see an older woman under the cloak. However, he was only given a split second to see her as he noticed the man falling down towards the concrete.

Mysterion dropped the woman and threw himself just enough to catch the man from hurting himself. Unfortunately, it seemed Mysterion’s luck really was dogshit. He recognized the man near instantly as Stan Marsh.

Fucking fantastic.

He didn’t have enough time to sort through anything, however, as he couldn’t let the woman get away. He tried to get Stan to the ground as gently yet quickly as possible. He then jumped to grab the woman and throw her to the ground.

“The hell did you do to him?” he hissed.

“It’s just chloroform!” She screamed back out in fear. She moved around sporadically to try and get Mysterion to let go. “Get off me!”

“Not until you tell me what you were doing!” A dark cloak and chloroform were some suspicious signs of what he was in Colorado for in the first place.

She paused her struggling to take a new look at him. Her face then gave a venomous glare to the masked vigilante. “You wont stop us this time.”

He was too caught off guard by her sudden shift. He was about to ask her what the hell she was talking about before he felt a sharp pain in his chest. She had somehow gotten a knife between them and lodged it into him. It took no time for his body to start screaming. The adrenaline settling into his blood.

He didn’t think she pierced anything important. However, blood loss was a genuine concern. He needed to deal with this woman and whatever the fuck he was gonna do with Stan before he lost too much.

He really hoped he had enough adrenaline to make up for it.

The woman took his surprise to kick him in the leg and get him to let go. She started to make a break for it down the road. He couldn’t lose this lead.

He stumbled into a run to chase her and once again grab the back of her cloak. He tugged hard and threw her down to the ground. He pulled out a zip tie and forced her wrists into it. He was out of rope for the time being. But he was always prepared.

Once she was bound he pulled her up by her collar.

“Who are you?” He hissed into her face. “Why were you trying to kidnap that man? What do you mean I ‘wont stop you this time’?” He gave her a few firm shakes as he hissed out his questions.

She kept trying to get away from him. Thrashing about to try and loosen his grasp on her. “Fuck you!” She hissed.

He reared back and landed a hard punch to her cheek.

She let out a shout of pain. She spit out blood and a tooth onto the ground. Maybe he had done that a bit harder than he should have.

“You’d really hit a fuckin lady?” She spat out.

“Answer me,” he growled in response.

She frowned, clearly having not gotten the response she wanted from him. “Do whatever the fuck you want to me. Kill me if you want! You’re not gonna win in the end, Mysterion.”

The way she hissed out his name was full of a vitriol that he wasn’t expecting. In fact, he was pretty surprised she knew his name in the first place.

He was about to go in for another attempt of intimidation when he heard a groan from Stan. Shit. He almost forgot about him. He stood and threw her back to the ground. “Keep your ass here,” he said before giving an exceptionally hard kick to her chest. Hopefully the pain will keep her where he needs her long enough to settle things with Stan.

He went back over to the man and looked down on him. Maybe the chloroform hadn’t gotten that into his system. He seemed out of it but not completely down for the count.

Stan looked up at him with blurry eyes. Maybe if he was lucky the other wouldn’t even remember seeing him.

Mysterion grabbed his arm to pull him up. “Are you alright?” He asked.

“Dude,” Stan groaned out. “I’m not, like, twelve again, am I?”

The vigilante shook his head. “No, you’re not.” Once he was able to get him stable on his feet he took another look at him. “Can you stand on your own?”

Stan paused, seemingly trying to evaluate his current situation. “I think so?” He looked back to the taller’s face. “I’m not going crazy, am I? You’re seriously Mysterion?”

“I’m not gonna answer that.” He let go of Stan tentatively, making sure the other really could stand on his own before fully taking a step back. “I’ll watch you go home. You’ll be safe the whole way there.”

“Oh,” Stan mumbled back. He looked like he was trying to blink the dizzy out of his system. “Are you seriously alive? And just saved my life?”

The vigilante shook his head. “Stop asking so many questions. You need to get home where it’s safe.”

“Dude,” Stan groaned out. Sounding more lucid as he spoke. “I have, like, seven years of questions. I’m not letting you just shrug me off like that.”

Mysterion opened his mouth to speak but stopped when he heard the sound of feet running. Looking to the side the cloaked woman had finally gotten to her feet and was making a break for it. He looked back to Stan and only responded, “Actually, you are.”

Mysterion then took off after the woman down the road. Not ready to let her get away so easily.

***

When Stan did get home he was almost annoyed with himself for not running after Mysterion and that woman. Unfortunately, even though he could stand and get himself home fine, the actual feeling of being chloroformed hadn’t left him. Even if it wasn’t enough to keep him completely down, he didn’t trust his legs enough to run. Just enough to get him onto the bus home.

Kyle was sitting at the kitchen bar with his laptop and a mug. He wondered, momentarily, if he should just hold off on the whole ‘Mysterion’ thing till later. Then again, if Kyle found out he didn’t tell him immediately he wouldn’t stop hearing about it for a month.

Stan dropped his bag to the couch, along with his jacket. Mentally telling himself he’d pick them both up later. With a sigh, he just started with, “So I saw Mysterion.”

It seemed he had picked the worst timing there as he instantly heard Kyle spit. Looking up to see he had spit his sip back into his cup and started coughing.

Stan ran up to the other and patted his back, trying to help. Only for the ginger to wave him away with a hand.

Kyle put down his mug and looked at the spillage on his shirt and keyboard. Which, thankfully, wasn’t a lot. He then looked up at Stan with an annoyed, yet baffled, face. “The fuck do you mean you ‘saw Mysterion’?”

“He, uh, saved my life,” Stan explained as he walked to the fridge and grabbed a soda. Also grabbing a few paper towels to hand to Kyle. “From getting kidnapped.”

“Kidnapped?!” Kyle responded with a hiss. He dropped back into his chair and placed a hand on his face. Holding out the other to grab the paper towels. “You and Karen are going to give me a fucking heart attack, man.”

Stan crossed his arms. “Hey man, it’s not like I asked for an attempted kidnapping to happen.” He sighed and ran a hand over his neck. “Man, I don’t even know what that freaky woman wanted.”

“Maybe she was some kinda creeper,” responded the other as he started blotting down the spillage on his shirt and computer.

Stan frowned as he sat down next to him. “Ugh, weird. I tried to get Mysterion to talk but he just ran off after her.” He took a few sips of his drink but his mind kept racing. “This is weird, right?”

“Oh definitely.”

Another pause passed between them.

“What are we gonna do about it?”

“What can we do about it,” Kyle hissed, finally turning to look directly at the other. “None of us know his true identity and he clearly doesn’t wanna talk to any of us. Besides,” he continued and turned back to his, now clean, computer. “It’s probably for the best. He probably is looking into something super dangerous that we shouldn’t be a part of.”

“And what if that ‘super dangerous’ thing has to do with seven years ago?” Stan pushed back. “What if that’s why he left? To look for answers himself?”

“And what if someone else dies, Stan?” Kyle snapped back. His brow had furrowed deep into his face with emotions ranging from anger to sorrow and seven years of things he probably should've gone to a therapist about.

All Stan could do was frown for a moment. They didn’t talk much about this kinda stuff for a reason. It might have only been seven years ago but it still felt fresh as if it had been just last week. Seven years ago changed all of South Park and everyone’s lives. Yes he wanted answers, but Kyle had a point. A point that felt like a knife to the gut.

“Sorry,” came out the mumble beside him. “I didn’t mean to…”

“You’re fine dude,” Stan sighed. “I get it.” After a bit of silence Stan stood up to grab his phone. “How does pizza sound tonight?”