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dundunny · 2 years ago

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Gotham Knights

I’m still finishing up Batgirl’s story, but I beat Gotham Knights. I inevitably compare it to the Arkham series, especially considering it’s the same studio that did Arkham Origins, but really it should be its own standalone.

Let me start off by saying it’s not a bad game. The battle system is much smoother than Arkham’s, and there’s quite a bit of variety between the characters, whether it’s Batgirl’s devastating, hard-hitting blows, Red Hood’s instant-kill headshots, Robin’s ability to sneak and take down an area group of enemies before the battle even starts, or Nightwing’s flowing acrobatics. Everyone is well-rounded and I never felt that any character was the weak, useless one. It just depends on your playing style.

I’ve stated before my love is in the environments, and I like Gotham here. The map is on the borderline of being too big, but the developers managed to keep each neighborhood unique with enough landmarks that you’re usually pretty good on mentally figuring out your location. The area around Wayne Industries vs. Robinson Park vs. the industrial area around the Cauldron allows me to subconsciously tell where I am and the general direction of where I have to go. It’s equally fun to climb and jump over the rooftops as it is to drive through the streets with the motorcycle.

The story is solid and pays good homage to the Court of Owls introduction in the comics, although there are some flaws. Like, we’re arresting Kane? For what? We’ve already established the Court gets whomever they want out on appeal. And Judge Moreno may be willing to sign the warrant, but that doesn’t mean she’ll be the presiding judge for the trial. So that whole section of the plot was silly. However other than that, it’s great to see the team come together to try and figure out Batman’s last case. The maze scene in particular is quite poignant. It really portrays Dick and Tim’s insecurities well, and Jason’s fears of being a monster, and I nearly cried with Barbara when I played Montoya’s call to HQ that Gordon got shot.

And it’s nice to see the Batfam act like human beings to each other for once. Batman’s video recordings where he describes his inner feelings, fears, and joys is something you rarely see in the comics nowadays. (Major shout out to Batman’s VA Michael Antanakos. He’s not Conroy, but his crooning voice was very pleasant to hear.) Jason is in therapy and taking steps to move forward. Tim adores his siblings and likes hanging out with them. Barbara and Dick, although broken up, maintain a strong relationship. Particularly post game, if you just sit in the Belfry and listen to the conversations, you can tell they’re moving forward.

However I need to address the biggest problem: There aren’t enough villains, and to compensate for that the developers made the game repetitious. This game has Mr. Freeze, Clayface, Harley Quinn, and Talia al-Ghul, and you fight the first two twice. Let’s compare that to Arkham Knight, where you fight Azrael, Harley Quinn, Penguin, Deathstroke, Firefly, Deacon Blackfire, Hush, Professor Pyg, Two Face, Nyssa al-Ghul, Mad Hatter, Killer Croc, and Black Mask. And you also had very involved plots with the Riddler, Man-Bat, and Mr. Freeze. You’re so busy juggling all these enemies and subplots that there isn’t any reason to fight regular criminals out on the street. Not only does Gotham Knights require you to fight these random criminals over and over, 90% of the sidequests are basically grind quests. Oh what does Montoya need? For me to break up a criminal deal at the same parking lot I’ve broken up six criminal deals in the past? All right, time to make it a seventh. That’s not interesting. You know what is interesting? Boarding a blimp-prison after hearing Killer Croc got out, only to discover they’re hanging prisoners in cages on the ceiling. Or duking it out with the Mad Hatter in this crazy book wonderland. Or the visceral horror and feeling physically sick when you walk in on Professor Pyg and discovering what he was doing to all those people.

DLC was super lame too. Literally it’s just the same six rooms repeated for twenty-five levels with the same enemies until you get to the bottom and meet Starro. I was excited to fight him, but really it’s just fighting massive group of regular enemies, whom you’ve already beaten just to get here, as you escort Starro to prison. That example I gave in the previous paragraph about the blimp-prison? That was Arkham Knight DLC. Yeah, they definitely could’ve done better.

Besides that, I think one of the best parts of the Arkham series was overhearing conversations from the criminals in the streets. They were so funny and I would stop what I was doing just to listen to completion. Gotham Knights had potential considering this was the first game with normal civilians wandering around, but everything is just one-line quips. They need to get those writers from Arkham back. They definitely worked on Origins, so what happened?

With all my complaints I did enjoy it; after all I played it four times just to see all the cutscenes with each character. The main story is relatively short, I’d give it maybe ten hours, and including sidequests maybe fifteen to twenty. So if you’d like to have a pleasant weekend or two, I’d say try it. And honestly it’s worth it for this scene:

youtube

One question though: Was that lapdog alive, or was she petting a taxidermy?

#gotham knights #batman #nightwing #red hood #robin #batgirl

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lafayetteworld · 3 years ago

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Robin 2021

Okay, so it's been a while since I've been actively posting on tumblr, mainly because I haven’t had time. That being said, the commentary I am about to make on the Robin 2021 series is not meant to offend anyone and while I am particularly critical, I also acknowledge that some people genuinely like it/prefer the direction its's going in. And that's fine. But I did want to break down why I feel the current series is just 'meh' to me at the moment and it’s not necessarily because Damian is potentially being shipped with a newly introduced character.

Please be aware, that there are lots of spoilers.

So, to start off, I am a big fan of the older Batman and Robin (2009) series, where Damian had partnered up first with Dick and later Bruce (2011). I do no think they are flawless, certainly. I think, in particular, the Nobody plot - excluding of course the interactions between Batman!Dick and Robin! Damian which are gold - was very good. In just a handful of issues, I think we were offered a great insight into Damian's character and how layered he is.

My first thoughts when I heard about Robin 2021, based on the announcement: Damian will follow his own path, for some reason he retains the Robin moniker which is weird but okay, it does seem like something he'd do I suppose. He will participate in mortal kombat-sort-of-tournament, which will showcase his abilities and in the process, 'he will seek his own destiny' (which I believe was a line used in the actual announcement). The reason he wants to win? Initially, it appeared to be only because he wanted to prove to be the world's best fighter -- which by the way, how is only a tournament of this level only coming up now? Anyways, ignored that. Not a big deal. The idea of watching Damian fight different opponents was appealing either way.

The art of those comics is perhaps nowhere as striking/appealing as Robin 2021 and there's certainly not as many elements to it, but there was just something about it. I stopped reading comics after, for reasons I can't recall but I do remember finding out that Damian was killed off sometime after. I was super heartbroken over it but luckily I found out about it right around the time DC decided to bring him so really I had to wait a short while to see the little shit being Robin again.

I am not as familiar with the arc on Alfred's death but I know Damian watched what was basically his grandfather figure die in front of his eyes. How it was addressed after was rather poorly and that's a discussion for another time, just as it is that hot mess of Gleason's Titans.

My hopes may have been too high in thinking we will be offered the introspection we'd seen in Batman and Robin, or him deciding what type of vigilante he wants to be. Like who remembers Damian admitting 'sometimes I don't know who I am or what I want' or him saying he does not wish to be like Nobody. That was so poignant.

First issue of Robin 2021 was a disappointment. I know that there's a lot of damage to the character that had to be addressed but why did he die from like the beginning? Why is it the first thing we see is the author's OC defeat him? I mean, we really didn't need that to find the tournament's rules. Anyway, I was so sold on the art that I could have overlooked all that, except then the art became inconsistent so.....

Do I think Flatline's design is awesome? Yep. Do I like that she is potentially a badass female fighter? Sure. Do I like her abilities? Somewhat? They haven't been explored that much. But to me, having an OC appear out of nowhere and kill the character I was hoping to watch mature/develop is a bit underwhelming. Then, we start getting references of how poetic it is that Damian may fall in love with the first girl that kills him. I thought it was funny at the beginning but subsequent issues only seem to point that actually, the author does want to use Flatline/romance in this journey of growth that Damian is undergoing. I mean, we really shouldn't be romanticizing that she killed him? The girl is serious about winning too. That she caught him off guard is actually rather awesome but I don't think it had to mean anything more than Damian meeting a potentially dangerous fighter and that he needs to be less reckless.

Damian is a pretty complex/difficult character with a lot to figure out. Why does he need a girlfriend? Why can't he have friends that helps him grow or mentor figures? Him and Rose have such a great dynamic, for example.

I see a lot of people saying 'well, he's a teenager boy so it's normal'. Yeah of course it is. But why can't it be the opposite? Damian isn't a normal teenager. Out there, may be teenagers who feel the same. They don’t care about this stuff.

It is so frustrating, and underwhelming. Not because there's anything wrong with Damian having a crush. Not because there's necessarily anything wrong with Flatline. But because there's no need.

Why is it just because he's a teenager he has to have a romantic interest? If romance is introduced in a plot, surely it doesn't have to be just because 'he's a teenager'. And if he does, why does it have to be an OC that hasn't been explored very well? Flatline could be a seriously cool character without needing to be a romantic interest for Damian and vice versa, Damian has so much to figure out on his own. So for me it's not the shipping that’s an issue, it’s the reasoning and how it may perpetuate clichés when there’s other angles that could be explored.

Also, why the hell is Alfred used to drive Flatline's likeability? If Alfred is Damian's guilt manifesting, then that's actually Damian thinking that?

'I like this one, Master Damian.'

Seriously. I really hope we end up finding out that was tied in with Flatline's ability or something. So, Williamson won't explore Damian's guilt over Alfred but he'll give us a panel where Alfred (or a manifestation of him) is basically giving his thumbs up for his OC. That doesn’t sit well with me. Not so early in the series, anyway.

Why is this whole manga thing keep coming back? Yes, Damian reads manga. I loved this addition and I think it's great that Williamson actually brought it in. The fact that it was Flatline who found it seems cliché. And no, I don't think it's a parallel between the shojo manga characters and them two. I really hope that particular manga has a deeper meaning than that. The fact that we keep seeing the blood sprayed (or is it cuts? not sure) on it does seem to hint at that.

There were some good moments. Damian and Dick. Basically every single interaction between Damian and Ravager. The whole Damian and Conner could have been developed better, because it seemed rather sudden they had a heart to heart when Damian can be such a distrusting little shit. Damian reuniting with Goliath.

Why is it that we're five issues into this series and it's all over the place? I don't dislike it. The art is great, although there's so many inconsistencies. But it's been super hard to feel in any way about it other than just 'meh'.

Issue #6 was boring. I didn't mind Flatline and Damian analysing other fighters, it was interesting actually, but that it's still being framed as heading towards a romantic relationship is so.....well, eugh.

Overall, I just don't feel there's enough...substance? Damian does interact with a wide variety of characters and there are a lot of things going on - batfamily searching for him, Ra’s Al Ghul (which was funny yet so odd the way he was characterized), the whole tournament and magic island, so on.

Flatline is not the issue for me, but rather one part of why the series has not managed to appeal to me. I do feel there's a bit too much of her. Or rather, there's not enough of her as a character and too much of the whole 'they're teenagers so they'll have to end up having a crush on one another because he's a boy and she's a girl who literally stole his heart'. Like, I wouldn’t mind having Flatline or other fighters background explored, just to see the types of people they are and so on.

I wish there'd more of Damian's inner thoughts too. If not that, then give us more fights. Not just snippets. It's a tournament. Let's see how badass they all are. Damian’s fight scenes in #6 were beautiful but brief. I hope the next issues will give us more of that. As someone who does like Damian x OC fics, I can’t blame the author for wanting to hype their own OC, but I am also a great fan of friends to lovers, slow burns, friendships can be just as great as romantic relationships, of taking the time for mental/emotional growth.

Anyways, if you've made it to the end of this commentary, I applaud you. Once again, if you do like the whole Damian x Flatline thing, that's cool. I don't, but I do understand to an extent why people find it appealing. And if you think the Robin 2021 series is amazing, then I am happy for you -- I wish I could be this enthusiastic about it.

P.S just saw the cover for issue #7 or is it #8 ? I think I may cry.

#damian wayne #flatlinedc #robin 2021 #spoilers #just an analysis of how I am finding this series so far #robin 2021 spoilers it's not a terrible series but not good either imo

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icerosecrystal · 4 years ago

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Jasonette - A Second Chance Pt. 1

This one-shot contains major character death as well as blood and violence. BTW, to clear up their ages at the beginning of the story.

Alfred: IMMORTAL, MY CHILDREN

Bruce: 44

Dick: 29

Jason: 24

Marinette: 23

Tim: 21

Damian: 14

(Marinette’s POV)

Ladybug had failed all of Paris. She had gone into today’s battle, thinking that she and her partner Chat Noir would work together to defeat Hawkmoth. But, right when she had asked Chat Noir to take Hawkmoth’s miraculous, he froze. He then did the worst thing she could imagine he laughed. Chat then walked up to Hawkmoth while Hawkomth chuckled, “Little Bug, even your partner doesn’t support you anymore. Just give up.”

Ladybug froze, her mind racing. Her partner had betrayed her. He had decided that the cause they had been fighting for the last decade was no longer worth the fight. (I was going to make you’ll do the math, but then I saw I already told you Marinette’s age above, lmao.) She screamed in frustration and then shouted, “ Never!”

Ladybug or Marinette was a great fighter, especially after having been in the superhero gig for so long. But, Chat Noir was also pretty good, and he was allied with both Mayura and Hawkmoth. It was safe to say that the odds weren’t looking well for Marinette. She was growing tired, and Tikki didn’t have much energy left within her.

That’s when it happened, Marinette made a mistake. The next thing she knew, Hawkmoth had her pinned to the ground and had pulled off her miraculous, consequently revealing her identity. Hawkmoth handed over her miraculous to Chat Noir, who put it on. Chat, then turned into a deep purple, and a voice asked him, “What do you wish for, oh young one?”

Chat replied, “I wish for the rebirth of my mom, Emilie Agreste.” Marinette’s heart stopped. Her ex-partner was Adrien Agreste. And if he’s assisting Hawkmoth, that must mean that Hawkmoth is Gabriel Agreste, her idol. Then Natalie Sancoeur must be Mayura. Marinette came to those conclusions in a matter of seconds. But, after a minute, she started feeling sluggish. She felt her heartbeat slow down. She was so tired. She just wanted to sleep forever. She didn’t feel so good at this point. Through her blurry vision, she saw a woman that looked like Adrien’s Mother appear. As Emilie returned to full consciousness, that’s when Marinette started losing consciousness. The last thing that she heard in a whisper was, “ A life for a life, that was the price.” Before she closed her eyes, succumbing her body and mind to the darkness that lay ahead.

(Talia POV)

Talia Al-Ghul was expecting a lot of things today. What she was not expecting was to find Paris in a mid-battle, for one of the heroes partners to betray them, the villains winning, and then said hero dying. She looked at the body of the girl that everyone was staring at and thought she didn’t deserve to die like this, plus she might be useful to the league. Talia pulled up her mask to cover her face and then blended in with the shadows. No one actually so her until she grabbed the girl and disappeared. Her actions prompted a lot of commotion back at the battle location.

Talia boarded her plane, carrying the body in her arms. She was slightly worried about the potential effects the Lazarus pit could have on her. She had experienced the worse side-effects, courtesy of one Jason Peter Todd-Wayne. Talia could still remember his screams as he clawed his way out of the Lazarus Pit and started to attack all the assassins with the intent to kill anyone and everyone. They had barely managed to restrain him. She hoped that this girl would not receive similar side-effects. But, based on the amount of trauma and betrayal she held within her like Jason, it would be inevitable.

Once Talia arrived at the league with the dead girl, she walked out of the plane got some bandages. Talia then took the girl, or rather Marinette. She found out from a face scan that pulled up all her legal documents as well as her background information, to her father, Ra’s. Once she arrived before her father, she bowed her head in respect for him.

“Ahhh, daughter, you’ve returned. And who is this you’ve acquired.”

Talia answered, “Her name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng, twenty-three-years-old, and an excellent fighter. She lived in Paris, France, and was the main hero. Today was the final battle, and her partner ended up betraying her, getting her killed in the process.” She then handed over all of Marinette’s legal documentation as well as her background info to her father.

Ra’s looked through it and then asked, “How would she be a useful asset to the league?”

Talia responded, “After what happened with Marinette, she would have a thirst for revenge on the people that wronged her. I’m enunciating that we can use that to our advantage. The only problem is that Marinette carries around a lot of trauma, betrayal, and loneliness like Jason Todd. I’m concerned that she might have the same reaction for dipping in the pit.”

Ra’s nodded, considering the idea and agreeing that a person with the thirst for revenge would be a useful addition to the league.

Talia watched Ra’s, hoping to get an idea of what he was thinking. He then beckoned for her to follow him. He leads her to the Lazarus Pit, and Talia now knew that Ra’s supported her decision. She put Marinette down and wrapped her in bandages before dipping her in the pit. What happens next is alarming.

Marinette has the same reaction as Jason. This time though, everyone was ready. Talia quickly took hold of her and started whispering how she got to her destination and how she came back to life. Unlike Jason, though, Marinette doesn’t have as much of a temper, which helps Talia efficiently calm her down faster. Talia then tells Marinette, “Would you like to be an Assasin and fix those who have wronged you?”

Talia wasn’t asking. They would force Marinette if she refused, but they wanted to be her ally rather than as her foe. But what would she choose?

(Marinette’s POV)

A burning sensation was all Marinette felt. But she was supposed to be dead. So, what was she doing alive she got out of the green ooze that she was inside. Marinette frantically looked around while clawing the bandages on her to get rid of the burning sensation. When it didn’t work, she tried to claw her way out of the goop to ease the burning until someone caught her around her middle. The same person took her out of the green goop and started whispering reassurance in her ear. Marinette relaxed until the women asked a question that would change everything, “Would you like to be an Assasin and fix those who have wronged you?”

The logical side of her brain argued that she shouldn’t yield herself to killing others, that it was wrong. The other side of Marinette’s brain felt hazy from dipping into the ooze. It was also hazy because of her grief, pain, betrayal, trauma, and loneliness argued that revenge was the only way to go. She slowly let the murky part of her brain take over until revenge felt like eating ice cream on a hot summer day, great. She nodded her head in agreement with the proposition. The woman smiled and then introduced herself as Talia Al-Ghul, the demon head’s daughter. She spent the rest of the day explaining everything about the league to Marinette. Talia also explained rules that applied specifically to her. By the end of the day, Marinette had an outfit that she would use on missions and during training. Talia then left Marinette to settle in. Marinette looked around the room and sighed, getting ready for experiencing this every day from now on.

(Four months time skip)

It had been four months since Marinette became a member of the league of assassins. And as expected, she was a valuable member of the order. Her need for revenge drove her to work harder on missions.

One morning, Talia awoke Marinette with some news. “You will be going to Gotham to check on my son, who should be 14 now. You will observe how he communicates with his family, and if there any problems arise, you will assist them. Report back to me every day, understand?”

Marinette nodded, “Yes, Mistress.” Talia nodded back and then left to get the plane ready. Marinette wore her usual assassin outfit.

Marinette then went outside and stood before Talia. Shed waited for Talia to give her to okay to board the plane. Once she did, they both got on and reviewed everything they knew about Damian and the Waynes. By the time they arrived in Gotham, Marinette had memorized the information of every single Wayne. She said goodbye to Talia and tracked down Damian, watching him from afar in the shadows.

(Time Skip of a Week)

It had been a week since Marinette started observing Damian. She had to say that he was growing soft. Although, it had been four years since Damian was under league supervision. Everything was going all right on the bat’s patrol until it wasn’t.

The bat family was fighting some thugs at the docks when a thug snuck behind Damian, or rather Robin, and shot him in the stomach. Damian fell to the ground in pain, but still alive. This action provoked Marinette to let out a deep, feral growl. She then grabbed some of her throwing stars and launched them at the thug, effectively killing him in the process. Her actions lead the bat clan to shift their attention to her. They quickly fought off the remaining thugs. They then walked up to a bleeding Damian and Marinette standing in front of him as if to guard him.

Batman then asked, “Who are you, and why are you here?”

Marinette answered, “My name is Dark Angel. I was sent by Mistress Talia to look after Damian for a little bit and see how he’s fitting in.”

Batman then stated, “You killed the man.”

Marinette shrugged, “It comes with the job description. I’m an assassin. You know, a murderer who targets people that would be better off dead?”

Batman sighed, “Nobody is better off dead.”

Marinette shrugged again, so done with this conversation, “Speak for yourself.”

(Jason’s POV, sorry for the abrupt change)

Jason stared at the woman in front of him, who must be his age. He recognized her behavior from somewhere. Jason suddenly realized where he had seen this behavior before he exhibited this demeanor after he came back to life. That meant that she had died, and Talia was using her want for revenge like the league used his.

Jason asked, no stated, “You died.”

Dark Angel stiffened, “Who wants to know?” Yup, her reaction confirmed his suspicions she had died and was then brought back by the Lazarus Pit. Most likely recently by how raw her emotions still were.

Jason walked up slowly to her and remarked, “You died and later brought back to the Lazarus Pit. You probably have a thirst for revenge. I can see a lot of you in me. I can help you.” He tried to be as gentle as possible, which was hard considering his character.

Dark Angel backed away while shaking her head, frantically", No, you know NOTHING ABOUT ME! YOU DON’T KNOW THE BETRAYAL, THE TRAUMA. YOU KNOW NOTHING!!!“ She then ran away, trying to get away from the Bat Clan.

Jason looked over at Bruce, or Batman, with determination clear, in his eyes, "I’m going to go find her.”

Batman nodded, “Take RR and Nightwing with you. I’m going to take Robin back to the Bat cave, where Agent A can patch him up. Once you find her, bring her to the cave so that we can talk with her.”

Jason then nodded and grappled in the direction that Dark Angel went, with Red Robin and Nightwing following in his wake. After running for a little bit, they caught sight of her blending in with the shadows. They decided to split up to cover more ground. Jason ran as fast as he could along the rooftops when he finally caught sight of Dark Angel. She looked to be crying. When she saw him, she jumped off the roof and opened a portal falling through. Jason jumped after her and barely went through in time. He then fell on top of something and groaned. Jason got up and looked around. He realized that he was standing on the Eiffel Tower, was he in Paris?

(Marinette’s POV)

After Jason or Red Hood confronted her and tried to compare herself to him, she ran. She started crying, the emotions too overwhelming to not cry. Marinette cried for a little bit. But, she then caught sight of Red Hood running up to her. She glared at him and asked Kaakki to open a portal. A week after she had managed to become an assassin, she had returned to her room and got the miracle box back in her possession. Talia had no idea, and Marinette had no desire to tell her.

She jumped through the portal, she landed on the Eiffel Tower, and took a deep breath. Behind her, she heard a loud thud and then a groan. She whipped around to find that the idiot Red Hood had followed her through the portal. She saw him get up and look around before a look of realization spread through his face. Marinette saw him look at her. She quickly ran away. She felt him running after her. But she had a mission, and she wasn’t going to stop until she accomplished it. Marinette’s mission the demise of everyone that ever hurt Marinette.

She ran to the Agreste Mansion and went through Adrien’s open window. She saw him sitting at his computer happily looking at something. That asshole, he killed her and was enjoying life himself. “Adrien,” she crooned sweetly, “How are you? Are you having a good time since you got your mother back by killing someone else?”

Adrien looked frightened, “How do you know that?”

She walked up to him, hips swaying. She then pulled out her dagger and slid her finger across the blade, “I know a lot of things about you. Like how you are a selfish, asshole.” She then pulled him closer to her and put the dagger to his neck. “You deserve to die, slowly and painfully, and I will happily help you.”

Before Adrian could scream for anyone, Marinette had already stabbed him in the stomach where his lungs were. She was going to do his heart or behead him, but that let him off too easy. The look of pure horror etched onto his face as he fell on the floor with blood all over him, and the floor had Marinette smirking. She grabbed the cat miraculous off of Adrien’s finger and the ladybug miraculous off of his ears. She knew that Red Hood was behind her, but she couldn’t care less.

Next, Marinette went looking for Gabriel and Natalie. It looked like Emilie was out right now. So, Marinette wouldn’t kill her. She also didn’t take part in killing her. She found Gabriel and Natalie in the house’s atelier. Once they saw her, they prepared to attack her. But she had already whipped out a gun and had shot both of them. She had tried to shoot them approximately below where their heart was. As Marinette got closer to examine them, she realized that she had damn good aim. The bullets had hit them directly in the area she was hoping. Close enough to kill them, but far enough to cause them pain. Their blood was gushing out of them, and Marinette could tell that they would die. She grabbed the butterfly miraculous and the peacock miraculous. She brought Adrien downstairs to lie next to his family. Marinette then went back into the shadows with Red Hood following her right as Emilie arrived.

Marinette watched as Emilie looked at her dead family and started sobbing. Emilie then took notice of the note next to them.

It read:

THEY TOOK A LIFE, AND NOW I DESERVE TO TAKE THEIR LIFE FROM THEM IN TURN. EMILIE, YOU ARE SPARED BECAUSE YOU TOOK NO PART IN ANYTHING.

~DARK ANGEL

Marinette watched Emilie drop down to her knees and continue wailing while crushing the note in her hand. Marinette watched closely, and she wondered if her parents did the same or if they replaced her like everyone else. She shook the thought off and then went to another house, the house of Liar Rossi.

Marinette her house, and went around it trying to find the liar. She found Lila in her room, practicing her crying. Marinette smirked to herself. She always knew that Lila had to practice crying with how many crocodile tears she let loose every day. She snuck up behind Lila and whispered, “I’ll give you a real reason to cry.”

Lila stopped her tears and turned around, scared out of her mind. “Who are you?”

Marinette snickered, “I’m Dark Angel, or more specifically, you’re worst nightmare.”

Lila started crying again, except this time, her tears weren’t as fake as her life. “PLEASE DON’T HURT ME, I’LL DO ANYTHING! I HAVE A LOT OF INFORMATION ABOUT THIS COUNTRY’S GOVERNMENT!”

Marinette took a knife out and ran it across Lila’s skin, causing a scream out of her, “Here’s the thing, Ms. Rossi. You are extremely selfish. You were willing to sell out your country just like that. Plus, I know you’re lying. It doesn’t take a genius to figure it out. So, here’s the deal, the more you lie, the more I torture you.”

Lila spent the next thirty minutes telling lies. When Marinette knew she would be confessing, she gave Lila’s phone to Red Hood so that he could film her confession. Lila then broke, “OKAY OKAY, I AM SO SORRY!!! I DON’T KNOW ANY OF THE CELEBRITIES I CLAIM I DO. I DON’T HAVE TINNITUS EITHER! MARINETTE DUPAIN-CHENG WASN’T BULLYING ME, I BULLIED HER. I THREATENED HER IN THE FIRST PLACE WHEN SHE FOUND OUT MY LIES AND THREATENED TO TAKE AWAY ALL HER FRIENDS. I SUCCEEDED. I WAS ALSO WORKING WITH HAWKMOTH AND HELPED MAKE ADRIEN WHO WAS CHAT NOIR BETRAY LADYBUG!!! NOW PLEASE DON’T KILL ME!!!”

Marinette sneered and said, “Don’t worry, I won’t kill you.” Lila looked at her in hope until she stabbed Lila in the stomach, saying, “Oops, I lied.”

As Lila died, Marinette went to Red Hood and took the phone from his editing the video before sending it to all of Lila’s contacts. When she sent it to Alya, she asked her to post the video on the Lady blog before watching it. She then looked over at Red Hood, who was looking at her in shock. “Don’t worry, pretty boy. I’m not assassinating anyone else. Just torturing them.”

She then went to each of her classmates’ houses and tortured them, depending on how loyal they were to Lila. The person who Marinette tortured the least was Juleka, and the person that she tortured the most was Alya. Once Marinette had finished torturing all of her ex-classmates, she looked over to Red Hood and said, “Okay, I’m ready to go now.”

Red Hood looked at her, confused, “If you were going to go with me either way, why did you run?”

She shrugged, “Your clan had found me out. I wanted people dead. Plus, I was emotional as hell after your whole speech. I also still need to check up on Damian.”

(3rd Person POV)

Red Hood nodded and beckoned for her to open a portal. Marinette did so, and they both dropped through, ending up in the Bat cave. Their sudden appearance surprised all of the current occupants of the cave. Marinette walked up to Damian and asked him, “Are you okay?”

Damian replied, “Tt, ” and then nodded in affirmation.

Before Marinette could say anything else, Batman told her, “I now want you to explain to us who you are, why you’re here. Got it!” He then gave her the Bat glare in case she wouldn’t listen to him.

Marinette nodded and then spoke, “Hi, my assassin name is Dark Angel. My birth name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng.” A flash of recognition flashed through everyone’s faces. Unbeknownst to Marinette, Hawkmoth had been broadcasting the final battle. Everyone had seen when Hawkmoth had revealed her identity and when she had died. “I was a superhero in Paris. My partner and I were in the final battle when I found out that he had betrayed me and Hawkmoth’s side and was playing me this whole time. The villains won, and they made a wish to revive a dead person. In return, someone else had to die. In this case, it was me. The next thing I know, my whole body feels like it’s burning, and I’m inside of a pit full of green goop. Mistress Talia promised me revenge for the people that had hurt me. I excepted her offer. Since then, I’ve been an assassin for four months now, training every single day for hours. Talia told me to watch your family for a little bit as a mission, which was what I was doing until Damian got shot. You know the rest.”

Red Robin looked at her skeptically, “Where did you and Red Hood go when we tried to find you.”

Marinette looked at Red Hood before carefully answering, “I had some business in Paris, so to speak.”

Nightwing then asked, “And what was this "business” and how the hell did you get to Paris?“

Marinette sighed, rubbing her forehead to ease the throbbing, "You’re not going to let this go, are you?” When she saw everyone shake their head, she answered, “Fine. I was able to get to Paris because I have a miraculous that can open portals.” She showed them the miraculous and then demonstrated it to them. “Once I got to Paris, I committed my revenge. I killed my old partner, Hawkmoth, and Mayura. I also killed a liar who took away everything from me and was also working with Hawkmoth. I also exposed the liar. Finally, I tortured all of my old friends. Yay, I told you everything. Can I go now?”

Everyone looked at her, horrified that she was talking so casually as if she hadn’t just admitted to murderer and torture. Before anyone could say anything, Red Hood shouted, “No!” While taking off his helmet.

Marinette looked at him in irritation, “No? And why fucking not?”

Jason looked over at her, “Because I’m not letting Talia use you anymore.”

Marinette sighed, knowing he was right. Now that she had gotten her revenge, her mind was a lot more clear, and she realized why Talia wanted her to be an assassin in the first place. “Fine, so I’m staying here?” Everyone nodded, still in a daze from everything they just learned.

Marinette shook her head, and Alfred (THE AMAZING GOD THAT HE IS) came into the Bat Cave when Marinette was going to ask someone to lead her upstairs. As Marinette walked upstairs, she hoped that things would work out for her.

(one month time skip)

Marinette had been staying with the Bat Fam or rather Waynes for a month now. She honest to kwami had no idea how they were still alive. The number of times they pulled a weapon on each other was frightening, to be honest. As she got to know each of them, they felt more like her brothers and father, except for one person, Jason damn Todd. She really liked him. He was so gentle with her, and at first, she didn’t understand why. But one day, Jason told her his backstory. To her surprise, it was similar to hers. Once she figured that out, they connected on a whole other level. In fact, they had both sworn that they would try not to kill again. And naturally, the one guy who will probably ever understand her, she had to have a crush on.

Another problem was Talia Al-Ghul. She still hadn’t come to find Marinette. So she was either planning something big. OR SHE WAS DEAD! What, a girl could dream. Marinette then heard a crash downstairs. She ran downstairs and what she saw had her reeling. Talia was in the middle of the living room, playing with her dagger. Once she saw Marinette, she smirked, “Marinette, you’re here. We can go back to the league now.”

Marinette shook her head, “I like living here, and I don’t want to leave.”

The smile that was on Talia’s face disappeared, “Even if you do like it here, you still have to get revenge on the people that wronged you.”

Marinette clicked her tongue, “That’s the thing, I already did revenge on them. I killed the main ones and tortured the rest.”

Talia yelled in defeat, “Well, if you won’t come back, then you’ll just die!” (I know I made Talia super sweet at the start of the story. But let’s face it. She’s a manipulator and a bitch) She then charged Marinette with her dagger in hand. But before she could reach Marinette, she was dead on the floor with multiple bullet holes going through her.

Marinette, with a gun in her hand, sank to her knees sobbing. The Wayne family, having heard the gunshots, hurried to the first floor. There they found a sobbing Marinette and a dead Talia. Jason hurried to Marinette and pulled her into his arms. “Hey, Pixie, what’s wrong?” Marinette shook her head, still sobbing. The rest of the family, seeing that Marinette wasn’t calming down, decided to give some words of support before taking Talia out of the room and cleaning the blood.

Jason picked up Marinette, who was clinging to his leather jacket and took her upstairs to his room. He whispered soothing words in her ear the whole way. Once they arrived, he put her down on the bed and cuddled her, “Marinette, Pixie, Baby, I need you to tell me what’s wrong so I can help you.”

Marinette’s sobbing started dying down. Eventually, it was only an occasional tear with some hiccups and sniffs. “I made a promise that I wouldn’t kill anymore. I broke that promise. Deep down, I really am a murderer.” She started sobbing again.

Jason sighed and crooned to her, “Oh, baby. Do you really think that? I used to murderer people all the time. Does that still make me a murderer? No! It doesn’t make you a murderer either.”

He then started kissing her cheek, her eyelids, her button-nose, her forehead, her head, her jaw. He trailed kisses down her neck while speaking, “I- love-you-so-much. And nothing-is ever-going- to change-that. You- are not- a- murderer.” He then planted a fervent kiss on her lips, which she deepened.

They continued kissing until Marinette broke away to say, “I love you too. You helped me so much when I was broken.”

Jason looked at her in the eyes with a raw intensity, “Then if you love me, never blame yourself for what happened to you.”

She smiled softly, “I promise”, before kissing him once more, with a deep passion.

He pulled away this time and told her, “You have a chance to have a second chance at life. Not many people get that. Use that second chance to fulfill everything you ever wanted. Leave the past behind. Be who you really are. Who you were before everything. But move into the future, with me by your side.”

“A second chance,” Marinette whispered, “A second chance.” Before kissing him once more. She was going to be okay. They had each other, and they were going to get through everything together. Together no matter what, they were going to give themselves a second chance, and they were going to spend every second of it together.

#mlb x dc #maribat #batman #miraculous ladybug #jasonette #jason x marinette #marinette x jason #marinette dupain cheng #jason todd #talia al ghul #league of assassins #batfamily #salt #adrien agreste #gabriel agreste #lila salt #marinette died #revenge #assassin marinette

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kisa-is-dummy · 3 years ago

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🦇DC AU Headcannons: BatFam Edition + JL/TT - Pt. 3:

Robin it's a pretty chill guy...to point he unintentionally scares his friends and family with his behaviour. Ok, not exactly chill, but more of a what it seems like a lovely person that turns out to be, assumingly, a member of a cult that requires human sacrifices most of the time. Think about Angie Yonaga, from DanganronpaV3: Killing Harmony.

Robin and Raven created such a bond that she doesn't even cringe whenever he does something weird or stupid. I mean, everyone in the tower is weird in some aspect, including herself, so cringing is pointless in this. And also due "Daddy Issues".

Alfred and the other Bat-Kids were concerned about Duke's new life in the Wayne Manor, since Bruce made himself crystal clear about his "opinion" when it comes to metahumans. They were relieved when his reaction was to treat him equally, but Dick still suspects that he made a contigency plan for Duke till this day.

Just like Bruce, Dick didn't take his parent's death so easily. At a very young age, he have desires to kill someone, to scar someone for life, and also has a twisted sense of justice. Alfred was horrified, not by him having this kind of thoughts although being really young, but because Bruce had the exactly same thoughts as a child.

Alfred decided to teach little Bruce how to do stuff like cooking, sewing and laundry, because while he doesn't know when his time on earth will come to an end, he knows that Bruce wouldn't hire a new butler, even if he really needs one.

Jason and Damian weren't the only ones who thought that the No Killing Rule was pathetic. Literally EVERYONE thought the same, even Dick when he became Robin for the first ever. But in his case, he just didn't say anything because he assumed Batman would be upset if he said anything negative about the rule. But giving some more extent, he was around 18 years old when Batman first-changed the rule and allowed emergency killing. Robin then decides to not waste the chance and went after Slade to end his life for good.

This one is actually kinda cannon, but not mentioned at all due it's irrelevance. About Dick being part Romani. Well, in this timeline, he's still half Romani, but he was born and raised for a few years in Romania until him and his parents went to USA for a presentation...and never returned. As for his fully Romani family, they never knew what happened after they went to USA because his parents couldn't keep constant contact due busy schedule and Dick couldn't remember the number. But he did reunite with at some point, with the other Titans as guests.

Again about the killing rule, that was the cause of the rift between Robin and Batman. Basically, Robin couldn't keep his disagreement about it to himself anymore and let it out, to his father's unamusement.

Wonder Woman, even though being raised by and being around women only her whole life, after leaving Themyscira, she started to realize that some women can be just as cruel as men, or worse. One "great" example is Talia Al Ghul.

If this Batman and Injustice! Batman ever meet, $#¡t will hit the fan.

#batfam #dc comics #batman #batfamily #wonder woman #wonderbat kinda #batgirls #robins #signal #alfred pennyworth #k enough tags i'm tired

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ultrahpfan5blog · 3 years ago

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Injustice - Movie Review

I'm not much of a gamer so I have never played Injustice or Injustice 2, but I know the story. I have also read some of the year 1 comics. So I know the gist of what happens in this universe. It always felt like a story that was difficult to adapt into one movie without some major plot changes because the story is so dense and has the involvement of so many characters. And unfortunately, the movie has those same faults. The film doesn't quite figure out how to juggle all these characters and its attempt to put everything into one movie makes the resolution feel very rushed.

The general plot of the movie is the same. Superman turns the world into a police state after the Joker tricks Superman into killing Lois, who is pregnant at the time, which in turns sets of a nuclear bomb that destroys Metropolis. Half the league supports him while Batman leads the resistance against this. And its essentially the story of how Superman spins out of control as he is inflicted with further and further opposition and tragedy.

The first act or so of the film is pretty good. The tragedy is depicted pretty well. Superman's spiral, his murder of the Joker, and the breakdown of his relationship with Batman is shown quite well. But then at a point, there is a turn in the Superman character where he goes from misguided to tyrant and that happens way too abruptly. There is also way too many characters. The whole subplot regarding Ra's Al-Ghul and Amazo seems pointless other than to add a couple of action scenes. Also, the introduction of another Superman is also kind of pointless the way the movie handles it. In the comics, the uncorrupted Superman beats tyrant Superman easily, which was kind of the point of introducing him. Again, it felt like the whole purpose of this was to have an action scene. Then stopping Superman by just introducing a widowed pregnant Lois from another universe felt a little weak. Characters are also mishandled. I mean, Flash's death is basically disrespectful to the character. He isn't even mentioned the rest of the movie. Given he has one of the most important arcs in the comics/games, it seems particularly egregious. Dick also dies in a ridiculous way although I loved how his character stayed involved and accepts his death. Batman's reaction to his death was one of the best scenes of the movie. Harley Quinn was another character that was absolutely unnecessary. She really was an annoyance and given she is a co-conspirator in the death of Lois and the destruction of Metropolis, its quite ridiculous she gets to run around with the heroes like that.

On the positive side, there are a couple of changes for the better. Damian isn't quite as much of an unlikable douche as he is in the games and comics. While the way he kills Dick is really dumb, at least there is a genuine sense of sorrow and he comes around when his father is in danger. Also, while Wonder Woman is still kind of skivvy with her romantic advancement on a grieving Superman, and her change in heart is also ridiculously abrupt, at least they don't make her a complete villain. In the games and comics, you could argue she is the real villain. While it is interesting to explore that as a concept, without the time in the movie to do that in depth, I'm glad they didn't go that direction completely, although I wish they had removed the romantic advancement on Superman. That was unnecessary. The voice acting is a mixed bag. Hartley as Superman, Derek Phillips as Nightwing, Reid Scott as Green Arrow, and Anson Amount as Batman are the only ones that stood out to me. Kevin Pollak as The Joker didn't work but at least he's only in the movie for a short time.. Everyone else has too small a role to really make much of an impact.

Overall, its a bit of a disappointment, especially coming of the back of The Long Halloween 2 parter which was pretty great. Injustice probably needed a 2 parter to full flesh out the stories and the characters. Its just an ok watch but I think this is one that casual fans might like more than the fans of the games/comics. Overall, like a 5/10.

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sparkleofpizza · 4 years ago

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The archer - Tim Drake x reader 3/?

Requested: no

Warnings: swearing, flashback in italic

Taglist: @isthataladybag

Summary: Y/n Queen will be living in the Wayne Manor for a while, and Dick Grayson decided to be the Cupid between her and his little brother Tim Drake.

Word count: 2.918

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6 - Part 7

Tim trusted Bruce. He trusted Bruce a lot, he was Batman after all, he took care of the city very well and would never let a known threat just live there normally. But Tim was a detective as well, he felt a bit bad for it, but he had to dig a bit on you.

After finding out you are Oliver's sister and not Roy’s, and that you had been trained by Talia al Ghul, he realized he knows nothing about you or your past. If it was anyone else staying at his house, he would've already found out all of their secrets and everything they had ever done in their life. He couldn't let a silly crush get in the way, or your pretty conquer smile. He felt very bad for snooping around, but he had to do it. It was who he was.

You were out for the day, you had to take care of a few papers at Gotham University since you would be studying there in a few days. You had invited Tim to accompany you, and he really wanted to, specially since you knew nothing about Gotham and could easily end up going somewhere dangerous (everywhere was a bit dangerous, but still). He told you he had to work on a few papers for Wayne Enterprises and suggested you invited Jason to join you.

So now, there was Tim. Sitting alone in his room, laptop open, a mug of warm coffee by his side, and he was ready to look you up. He started typing, doing the thing he always does when he needs to dig dirty on people he is tracking for a case - he still felt terrible about doing this behind your back, but he pushed it to the back of his mind, it was just the crush he had on you talking louder than common sense.

Y/n M/n Queen. Birthday: xx/xx/xxxx. Birth place: Star City.

Moira Queen - mother (deceased)

Robert Queen - father (deceased)

Oliver Queen - brother

Emiko Queen - half sister

Tim started reading everything he could find about you. Good student with great grades, former cheerleader, socialite knowing for mingling with important people from Star City. Has been saved by the Green Arrow a few times when kidnaped for being a Queen, and then Deathstroke's victim. Footage of you out there being Silver, in the years where you were activated the most, now a days you're hardly ever seen as vigilant. Associated with Thomas Merlyn - mercenary, Malcom Merlyn - mercenary and assassin. Joined the League of Assassins for five months after being held as a prize on a fight between Malcom Merlyn and Oliver Queen, resulting in the loss of Oliver and you being sent to the League. Trained by the whole al Ghul family. Often associated with Roy Harper and Connor Hawke. Teamed up with Red Arrow and Kid Flash before.

Tim was pleased he didn't find anything bad about you. All of this was ok, even the League of Assassins stuff. He was relived, but now was feeling ever guiltier than before. Should he tell you what he did? Would you be mad?

He closed his laptop, rubbing his eyes. Maybe he was just tired, that's why he did all of this. There was no need for you to know any of this.

"Drake." Damian said, barging into his room, hands behind his back and chin held up high "I think we need to discuss the fact that Queen is a former member of the League of Assassins."

Tim sighted "I already looked it up, she is fine, Damian."

"Then look it up again and harder. You are letting your feelings cloud your judgment."

And with that the little boy left.

You were sitting at a cafe with Jason in Gotham Downtown. You had already delivered the missing papers at Gotham University, and now were enjoining an iced coffee with him. He had a hat and sunglasses on, trying to hide his identity, he was supposed to be dead and hasn't made his big debute just yet.

"So... Dick seems to be trying to be the cupid between you and Tim." he commented, taking a sip of his Frappuccino "What do you think about that?"

You chuckled "I am certainly not opposed to that."

Jason's eyebrows shot up "Really? So you are crushing on my replacement?"

"Stop calling him that, you know he didn't want to replace you." you rolled your eyes, no you didn't know that, but from what you learned about Tim, you could tell that wasn't his intention when he took the mantle of Robin "And yes, I am crushing your brother. Although I have no idea what he wants from me."

The man in front of you rolled his eyes back at you, not like you could see trough the dark lenses covering his eyes. Of course you were crushing on him, if you were already willingly to defend Tim without even knowing everything.

"Dick wouldn't have came up with this idea if he didn't think Tim was interested in you as well. But, I can try and talk to him if you want to. Please, don't."

"Geez, why did you volunteer if you don't want to?"

"Because I am trying to be nice to you."

You shook your head, sipping on your iced caramel macchiato. You only hope that Jason don't rat you out to Roy, you don't want your brother to find out about you having a crush on Bruce's son thought Roy. God knows he didn't know how to keep the gossip to himself.

"What's the deal with you being trained by the demon's mother?"

Ah there it was, the question you knew would come eventually. You regretted telling them the truth in the first place, but you also knew that if they found out later and on their own it would have been worse. They would probably think you were trying to hide it from them because of bad motives. It wasn't, you just didn't really like to look someone in the eyes and say hey, did you know I was trained by assassins?

"I already said it isn't..."

"Yes, it is." he cut you off, not buying any of your bullshit "I know you are not the bad guy, if that is why you are afraid of telling me the truth. I just want to know what happened. I know how the league can be... brute."

You bit on your lower lip, staring off into distance.

The air was warmer than you remembered it from a few years ago, maybe it was because you were younger and was only trying to see the best into the situation - it was like a trip, right?

You looked out of the window, watching the trees' leafs waving with the wind, people walking in a group outside, looking for any inconvenience. You wondered how long it would take for you to be killed if you decided to escape.

"It is time for your training." Nissa al Ghul informed you, standing at the door of the room you were currently calling yours

"Again?" you asked, not turning around to face her, you didn't want her to see your blank face "I just finished training with your sister."

Nissa sighted, pushing back the brown hair that was around her shoulders. Her hand left the handle of the sword tucked into her belt. She had promised Oliver that she would do her best to keep his sister out of harm ways, but there was only much she could do. Going against both her father and sister was not a smart idea, and although it wasn't often that she saw eye to eye with them, they were still her family, and Oliver and you were simple... friends? Maybe, that was a complex term.

"Yes, again. My father is waiting for you and he doesn't like when people keep him waiting."

You nodded your head. There was no point in fighting like you did the first couple of weeks. You knew you were outnumbered, and God knows when your family is coming to rescue you, if they can succeed in doing so.

As you walked around, silent footsteps, no sign of your approach, you saw Ra's al Ghul. Before you could even blink, he had his sword down to your neck, you on your knees as you helplessly stared into his eyes. His angry eyes.

"Never keep your opponent waiting. It gives him the time to explore his surrounds and learn the best path to ambush you the moment you arrive."

You pushed his sword back, not caring that the blade cut into the palm of your hand. You allowed the blood to drip on the floor, pushing yourself off the floor and grabbing your bow and an arrow from the quiver on your back.

Fighting with Ra's made you think that maybe this was going to be your life from now on. Sparring everyday until you had to kill for the first time, then sparring harder until you got sent on a mission, for your first kill. You wondered if maybe you would be stopped by your brother and friends, if you would allow them, or if not, if they'd succeed in stopping you.

"It was just Malcom's Merlyn fault." you stated, turning your gaze to Jason who was still staring at you "He provoked my brother into a fight, I was the prize. Malcom won and the league finally got a Queen so they could mold into the perfect assassin. Thankfully, Tommy joined Oliver and they both got me out of there."

Jason nodded, it wasn't a full story like he was expecting, but hey! He doesn't like to talk about his time at the league too. Hell, he thinks not even one of his brothers know fully everything that happened there with him. Somethings are better left unsaid, and apparently, for you, this was the case. He was ok with that, that was your story to be told, and if you didn't want to share it, then you didn't have to.

"Yeah, Roy mentioned a couple of times how much of an asshole Merlyn can be." He said, earning a laugh from you

“He knows how to be a pain in the ass.” You nodded your head in agreement “I thought Bruce had said something about it to you guys.”

Jason shook his head, it was typical Bruce to not share informations with the rest of them. Jason learned from him how to be closed off and not share his feelings, even when Dick would bother him about it.

“No, he didn’t say anything.”

You persued your lips “Oliver asked him for help at the time, you know, because of Bruce’s connections to Talia. He wanted to know the best way to outsmart her. I thought at least one of you knew...”

“Bruce probably thought it was for the best to keep this kind of information away from Damian. He doesn’t like to talk about his time at the league, I don’t like to talk about my time at the league. Dick would’ve found a way to ask us how we feel about it, and Tim... he would’ve found a way to ask us how was our time there, trying to learn more.”

You nodded your head. You couldn’t blame Bruce for not talking, you were actually relieved he didn’t, that way the boys got to know you because they wanted to, and not to prove you weren’t an assassin living in their house. You’ve never even killed anyone before, so... maybe you should’ve started the conversation with Jason by stating that fact, it would’ve been better.

“I never killed anyone.” You addded, voice just above a whisper “I thought you should know that.”

“Well, then I am glad the league didn’t break you enough to start killing.” He smiled at you

Dick was sitting at the kitchen with his brothers. Damian was going on a rant about you, exclaiming everyone should keep an eye on you, just in case.

Dick grabbed a cookie from the plate, they were still warm, freshed baked. He could understand why his little brother was worried, but Tim looking you up?

“I already talked about it with her today.” Jason sighted, presssing his hand trough his face “She isn’t an assassin, Damian! Let this go!”

“I can’t believe you were digging dirty on her.” Dick said, shaking his head in disappointment “I thought you were crushing on her! Damian said he saw you guys almost kissing yesterday!”

Tim blushed “I just had to make sure she was who I thought she was. We knew nothing about her, now we do. Her parents are both dead, she doesn’t have a criminal record, and she’s never killed anyone before.”

You stopped dead in your tracks, frowning. Did you hear them correctly? Did they look you up just to make sure you weren’t a bad person? Ok, you understand them being wary of you after they found this whole league of assassins thing out, but Tim...? You just couldn’t believe he had the nerve to do this instead of asking you, you would’ve told him anything he wanted to know.

Maybe you were being a fool, trusting him blindly when you shouldn’t. You were being a fool for just starting to fall for this boy who clearly doesn’t trust you enough like you trust him, and clearly his crush on you means nothing.

Frustrated, you went back to your room, closing the door behind you. Right now, you were regretting having agreed to wait for Oliver to come back from his missions to look for an apartment to live in Gotham.

You grabbed your cellphone from the bedside table, clicking on the screen and then holding it up to your ear.

“Hi, I need to talk to you about something.” You said as soon as he picked up

“Hello to you, too.” Connor Hawke said on the other end of the line “Who ate your ice cream?”

You rolled your eyes. Once when you were younger, Roy ate all of the ice cream there was on the fridge and you were pissed for the rest of the day. Now, every time you are on a bad mood, they would ask who ate your ice cream. Very funny.

“Hi, Connor. How are you?” You asked after taking a deep breath, taking your anger out on your best friend wasn’t going to solve your problems

“I’m fine, but you apperently aren’t. So tell me, what did Gotham do to you? Or perhaps what did the Wayne boys did to you?”

You sighted, taking a sit on the bed, Connor knew you too well. He also knew the troubles you went trough growing up as a Queen and as the Green Arrow’s sister. He was always there for you, so he knew a lot how you coped with things and how certain small things had a big impact in your life.

You started by telling him about the sparring session you had with Jason and how it ended up with everyone finding out about you being trained by the league of assassins. And then proceeded to tell him about what you overheard at the kitchen.

“I know that me being part of Team Arrow should make me understand why Tim was researching about me. We have been betrayed by people close to us before, and I really want to be resenoble about this whole situation, but...”

“But you are upset about it. You wish he had came to you to ask you all this questions.” Connor finished up your train of thoughts

“Yes, God yes! I wish he would’ve just came to me, I would’ve told him anything he wanted to know, and damn, I know this makes me sound like a fool.”

“Just a little bit.” Your best friend laughed “I am happy to see you are developing feelings for him, even if I am a bit mad he was suspicious of you. But in our line of work, we should always be too careful.”

You pushed your hair away from your face, staring at the cream walls in front of your. Connor was right, you were overreacting because you were developing feelings Tim and you wanted him to trust you because trust is fundamental in a relationship. You couldn’t help but think that if it was the other way around, you would’ve done the same thing.

“You’re right. Thank you, Conny.”

“I am always right, and please, don’t call me Conny.”

You chuckled, flopping down on bed so you could rest your back on the soft mattress.

“Should I talk to him about it?” You asked quietly

“If it is going to make you feel better than you should approach him with the subject, if not, let him come to you, it will be a proof if it is worth nurtrishing feelings for him.”

After you ended the call, you kept thinking about what Connor had said. He did know how to give good advise, and waiting for Tim to tell you was indeed a good test to know if it was actually worth it to have a crush on him. Maybe you shouldn’t let him know you knew. Let’s see what he’s gonna do.

After all, he wasn’t the only one who came from a family that knew how to keep emotions on check.

#tim drake x reader #tim drake x you #tim drake x y/n #tim drake imagine #tim drake headcanon #red robin x y/n #red robin x you #red robin x reader #red robin imagine #jason todd x reader #dick grayson x reader #damian wayne x reader #roy harper x reader

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jaydicksummerexchange · 4 years ago

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JAYDICK EXCHANGE: SEPTEMBER 3

[ ❤ Works posted so far! ❤ ]

SECOND TO LAST DAY OF THE JAYDICK EXCHANGE!

Why the second to last instead of the last? That’s because we’ve reached 114 Exchange works for 2020! The more treats get added, the more we time we add to our juicy cabooses and keep the exchange train rolling. Until Saturday that is. Tomorrow is the final posting date, and we’ll reveal the wonderful participants on September 5 no matter what.

Here are today’s releases!

Claws by anonymous for solomonara [ART, Not Rated, No Archive Warnings Apply, Dick Grayson/ Jason Todd]

Additional Tags: FanartHurt/Comfort, Injured Jason, Secret Identity, dick's teams don't know the red hood's identity, dick's harem of morally ambiguous older men, dick: he's not older, dick: wait i mean he's not my villain boyfriend, dick: damn it

Summary: Dick takes the Red Hood to a Titan safehouse after an injury. Explanations are expected.

Learning To Love The Fall by anonymous for 3isme [ART, Teen, No Warnings Apply, JayDick]

Additional Tags: Fanart, Alternate Universe - 1920s, Mechanic Jason Todd, Plane Pilot Dick Grayson

Summary: It's the early 1900s and the country of Gotham is recovering from a long war.

Trying to get a better life, Jason Todd has been moonlighting as an underground plane mechanic for illegal aeroplane racers, getting a cut of whatever the pilot wins. After one particular competition, he's accused of sabotage and, despite his protests, forced into deeper debt. At the end of his rope, he runs into Dick Grayson, ex-ace of the Gotham Air Force and supposed dead man. The war hero was supposed to have been shot down near the end of the war. Regardless, this pilot is the best chance Jason has to grab hold of that better life, and he's not going to let it go.

The Still and Quiet Surface by anonymous for TheWayneManner [FIC, General Audiences, No Warnings Apply, Dick Grayson & Jason Todd]

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Gift Fic, Ficlet

Summary: Dick leaves the sea behind and never looks back.

Scents & Sensibility by anonymous for Nitrojen [FIC, Explicit, No Warnings, JayDick]

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Regency, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Fae, References to Jane Austen, although the writer has a pretty dark secret concerning our dear friend jane, Getting to Know Each Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added

Summary: Prompt - Something along the lines of the Princess and the Pea. It can be A/B/O, modern, fantasy, or even something that takes place in canon where there's some kind of curse. Have fun with it!

Give It A Shot (of espresso) by anonymous for morimaiter [FIC, Teen, No Warnings, Dick Grayson/ Jason Todd]

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, Hurt/Comfort, Barista Jason Todd, Flirting, Awkward Flirting, Sexual Tension, JayDick Summer Exchange, very minor injury, art included

Summary: Dick was one of their regulars. And yes, that was his real name. The first time he’d asked Jason to write it on his cup Jason had given him a death glare until the man had whipped out a driver’s license to prove it. ‘Richard John Grayson’, printed right there. It hadn’t been an innuendo after all, just an unfortunate choice of nickname. He came into Gotham Grinders (and hell if Jason hadn’t heard enough innuendos about that name to make up for any lack of innuendo in Dick’s own) every Tuesday and Friday, which happened to always be Jason’s shifts. Every time he asks for some new over-the-top order, and every time without fail he also asks for Jason’s digits. Jason replies every time with:

“I’m sorry sir, we can’t give out personal information to customers. Will that complete your order?”

(Fic + Art)

Lazy Days by anonymous for BehindTheRobinsMask [ART, Teen, No Warnings, Dick Grayson & Jason Todd]

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe, Married Life, Married Couple, Established Dick Grayson/Jason Todd, Literal Sleeping Together, Lazy Mornings, Domestic Fluff, Fanart

Summary: It's the weekend! Jason and Dick sleep in after a long night on the streets.

Taken in the Butt by the Gay Vigilante Acro-Bird by anonymous for solomonara [ART, Teen, No Warnings, JayDick]

Additional Tags: Romance Novel, Cover Art, Jason Todd is an Author, Partial Nudity, Birds, Vintage Gay Pulp Novels, Chuck Tingle-Adjacent, Please Forgive me, FanartDigital Art, JayDick Summer Exchange

Summary: The Red Hood has a secret: he's a part-time romance novelist.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, business, events and incidents are the products of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea by anonymous for stribird (timidGoddess) [FIC, Mature, No Warnings Apply, Dick Grayson/ Jason Todd]

Additional Tags: Heavy Angst, Self-Doubt, Lazarus Pit, Panic Attacks, Established Relationship, Bad Decisions, Romantic Fluff, Amnesia, Broken Promises, Road Trips, On the Run

Summary: Jason couldn’t do that. He could never forget what Dick meant to him. Which is why he had to bring his Bluebird back. Which is why he had to remind Dick of everything that he had lost.

Even if that meant forcing him into the Lazarus Pit. Even if it meant cursing him in the process.

tell your boyfriend, if he says he's got beef, that i'm a vegetarian (and i ain't fucking scared of him) by anonymous for prompt_fills [Mature, No Warnings Apply, Dick Grayson/ Jason Todd]

Additional Tags: Fluff and Humor, Crack Treated Seriously, Damian Wayne is a Little Shit, Protective Damian Wayne, POV Damian Wayne, Batman: Reborn, Jason Todd has a Heart, Damian Wayne Has a Heart, Dick Grayson is Damian Wayne’s Parent, Dick Grayson is Batman, Mutual Pining, enemies to idiots to lovers, Misunderstandings, Damian Wayne Plays Therapist, Jason Todd is Bad at Feelings, Dick Grayson is Bad at Feelings, My Continued Mocking of Tim Drake (it's loving i swear), Donna Troy is a goddess and no one deserves her, My love for Donna Troy is so strong that I projected it onto Damian and I am not sorry, Unbetaed we die like Jason Todd refuses to, Past Dick Grayson/Slade Wilson, Jealous Jason Todd, Pining Dick Grayson, BAMF Donna Troy AND MORE

Summary: It had taken a few weeks for Damian’s ill-fated hopes for the more platonic explanation of Grayson’s unseemly conduct regarding Todd to expire because Damian (unlike Drake) is not an idiot (and Brown had prattled on about every instance of very clearly not platonically fueled tension, slowly crushing Damian’s remaining hopes for Richard’s taste in romantic partners). Denial, heavenly as he has now known it to be, can only take one so far. And as a pragmatist and the grandson of the great Ra’s al Ghul and son of the great Bruce Wayne, he assesses the situation from a logical perspective, free of any emotions clouding his impeccable judgment, and comes up with a solution that benefits both himself and Grayson.

Jason Todd must die.

Or the story of how Damian Wayne became the number one shipper of JayDick and is not at all happy about it.

Si solo fueras tú by anonymous for fallogory [ART, Gen, Creator Chose No Warnings, Dick Grayson/Jason Todd]

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Royalty, Fanart, Kid Dick Grayson, Adult Dick Grayson, Kid Jason Todd, Adult Jason Todd, King Bruce Wayne, Prince Damian Wayne, Prince Dick Grayson, Poor Jason Todd, Hurt Dick Grayson, Jealous Damian Wayne, Dick Grayson Needs a Hug

Summary: Blue came first

Then Green arrives

Then Blue meet Red

And Green hate that

Or where Dick was Bruce's bastard child who was forced to lived like a prince until Damian's born and meet someone who make his world be upside down.

the smell of cold stone by anonymous for abcission [FIC, Mature, No Warnings Apply, Dick Grayson/ Jason Todd]

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - College/University, Bisexual Dick Grayson, Autumn, American Football, College Football, Blow Jobs, First Time Blow Jobs, Getting to Know Each Other, Getting Together, referenced Jason/Kyle, Past Dick Grayson/Koriand'r, Past Dick Grayson/Roy Harper, past dick grayson/wally west - Freeform, implied Roy/Kory, implied Roy/Wally, implied Donna/Kyle, future besties Jason and Roy, Roy's eternal crush on Donna, frat boy Dick, Fluff

Summary: Their eyes meet on the quad one day; he’ll probably never see the frat boy again, but he’ll be nice fodder for Jason’s dreams at least.

#2020 jaydick exchange #dcu fanfic #jaydick summertime blues.#jaydick #dickjay #dick grayson & jason todd

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hyunrun · 4 years ago

Text

Dream SMP/Batfam

This is my reasoning for connections between Dream SMP members and the Bats. This was all just for fun, but feel free to give feedback if you’d like! And do say if I’ve made a mistake. I haven’t done everyone, so if there’s anyone else you’d like me to do, lemme know! Please read, I spent a good while on this :D

Batman (Bruce Wayne)/Technoblade: Technoblade's Dream SMP origin story starts with his parents dying, so the backstory fits. He swears to kill all orphans because of the way they killed his parents (Similar to the way Bruce wanted to stop crime from running rampant in Gotham). Techno is also, technically, an orphan as Bruce was. I've always imagined Bruce's voice to be kinda like Techno's, especially that monotone tone he uses, and especially when he's Batman and not Bruce Wayne. Bruce Wayne is -Bat-man and Technoblade is a pig, need I elaborate? Both of them seem to stay up till ungodly times of the day, and I'm sure their sleep schedules are never on the same clock as anyone else's, Bruce's because of his vigilante lifestyle and Techno because... well, he's a Minecraft YouTuber. Both of them have a father figure, although not biological. They also have a friendly rivalry with a fellow content creator/hero (Cough Dream/Superman cough). We say Dick/Wilbur is dramatic, but you can't possibly mean to tell me Batman/Technoblade isn’t subtly more dramatic. They practically invented being dramatic in their respective businesses.

Alfred Pennyworth/Philza Minecraft: Is the father figure to Batman/Technoblade. Is really a force of chaos but everyone pictures them as a soft, loving dad because we all have parental issues and we need more father figures. Both of them are very badass in their own ways. Old and British. Here's a parallel I thought was pretty cool. Philza had been building up his hardcore world for 5 years before he died. It was like his home disappeared in front of his eyes as he fell away from his life. I'm not sure which continuity/arc this is from (Please do not hate on me, I am but a small child) bUT I do know that Alfred died of a heart attack/stroke at the same time the Wayne Manor was destroyed. His home was destroyed as he died. Just as Philza's had been.

Damian Wayne/TommyInnit: Is never really loved by anyone at first glance (From the fandoms). Tommy's the loud, annoying one, Damian's the grouchy, haughty one. But everyone eventually gravitates towards their characters later on. Their families were wary of them at first but grew to love them. Both of them are the youngest, and generally angriest child. Both are not American, Tommy being British and Damian, Arabic. They both have ICONIC mothers. MotherInnit is a queen, we all know this. If she can handle Tommy, she can handle absolutely anything. Talia Al Ghul has a reputation of her own right, and while she hasn't quite the pristine repertoire, she definitely strikes a strong mark on people. Now, this is a dumb connection between the two, but hair!! Tommy’s seems nice and floofy while Damian's is generally drawn spiky, and I think that's a cool contrast. Their love for pets is also important to note. Tommy's the one that's known for starting wars over the deaths of his pets, and it's easy to know that Damian wouldn't hesitate to hurt someone if they did anything to Titus or Batcow. It’s been shown on multiple occasions that he loves his pets a lot.

Jon Kent/Tubbo_: Best friends with Tommy/Damian. Do not try to argue that Jon and Damian aren't best friends because come onnn. And PLEASE do not take this as a dumb excuse to ship Tommy and Tubbo, as I know people ship Dami and Jon. Both are the embodiment of chaos wrapped in kindness, and both are definitely the more stable of their friendship with the other gremlin children. I am confident that both would probably refer to their parents as mother and father dearest. You cannot convince me otherwise. Tubbo has already done so, and Jon would never disrespect his parents, so this would obviously be the next best alternative for when he is upset by them. Jon’s powers fluctuate upon shifts in emotion and he can’t really control his powers, like the shifting of Tubbo’s alter egos. We never know when Toob or Big Law will creep out of the shadows.

Dick Grayson/Wilbur Soot: (Second) most dramatic in the family, though perceived as the drama queen because of their boisterous personalities. The one that was probably a theatre kid in school. The lighthearted one that keeps everyone cheerful, but also the one with the easiest path to a horrid descent into madness. They have a flair for drama, the glitter and sparkles to Batman/Technoblade’s sombre smoke and haze, which is why they work together so well. The closest family member to Tommy/Damian. Their little brother/big brother dynamics are just impeccable. Both are the most simped for by their respective fanbases (from what I’ve seen). The token pretty boys. Both artistically talented in different ways, with Wilbur’s music and Dick’s acrobatic skills. Also the ones that get constantly shipped with every woman they literally even look at. They also express their dramatic tendencies through their clothes, Dick with his jazzy Discowing suit and Wilbur’s dramatic L’manburg outfit.

Superman/Dream: The OP gods, need I say more? Friendly rivals with Technoblade/Batman. Very often perceived as ‘Perfect’ which they are not, but many refuse to accept that. A funny parallel I drew was the fact that both of them are famous in their own rights, but can just walk around and not get recognised despite millions of people knowing their online/superhero identities. Both are technically not human.

Stephanie (Batgirl/Spoiler)/Sapnap: Both of their names start with S! Not my only reasoning, but I’ll take it into account anyway. Both are basic looking in my head (Blue eyes blonde hair for Steph?? There’s at least 3 other girls that look EXACTLY like her in the nearby DC universes. And Sapnap blends in with every other white boy, though I love him regardless.) but both also have immaculate personalities to make up for it. They’re the most normal people out of all their co-streamers/superheroes in my eyes, also my favourites. (I didn’t realise as I put them together that I loved them most but here we are). They’re both great at dumb banter. They don’t have huge, hilarious bits often or any constant jokes that are pulled on time and time again, but their general atmosphere makes everything seem like a joke. They may not be the best at what they do in their friend groups but are actually really good nonetheless and do not get due credit for their effort and talent sometimes. Has a warring relationship with Damian/Tommy (Sapnap over the pets and Steph and Dami didn’t have the most friendly relationship at the start)

Jason/BBH- Same but opposite but same. Exists to cause chaos. I wouldn’t have associated these two with each other till the Badlands became a thing… but then the Badlands became a thing and I had to. Now, I know that technically Bad doesn’t have a grudge against Techno, but Jason would totally set up a whole empire just to mess with Bruce’s plans, just to get in the way, to instigate, to fan the flames of the fire till he’s driven Bruce to his breaking point. Bad isn’t exactly trying to do that, but he’s only around for the chaos. He’s only here for his own benefit, and he’s only here for that because of the hurt caused to him by the nation he came from. A parallel being Jason causing havoc because of the pain Bruce caused him. Besides, both have a cool red and black colour scheme, and both wear jacket!! Both are also technically not alive (If we're considering BBH as a demon).

Roy Harper/Skeppy: I have absolutely no explanation for this, but it just Fits. Besides, they have cool opposing colour schemes and are best friends with BBH/Jason!!

Aaaand last but not least

Jason/Technoblade: Now you must be thinking But Kaly you already spoke about them! And yes, I did, and they do go really well with their respective characters but I couldn’t simply ignore the connection between these two, so I thought I might as well write about it. Technoblade was an English major (If I remember correctly) before he dropped out to pursue his youtube career. Jason, though this may not be a well-known fact, was a definite literature nerd at school before he met his demise. Their cut off education in English is an interesting parallel to me. Both of them also have destructive tendencies, with Technoblade being an anarchist and Jason periodically running an underground empire to make sure he can do whatever the hell he wants to. They don’t generally care who they hurt on their way to reach their end goal. Jason’s reckless shooting and killing clearly shows this, as he continuously justifies his actions by saying he’s ending crime rather than just making it wait in line for its turn to pop up again, while Technoblade’s release of the withers and excessive use of his firework crossbow clearly shows that the deaths of the residents of L’manburg do not matter to him as long as he abolishes the government.

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incorrectbatfam · 5 years ago

Note

For the vampier au: how do they each get turned?

The year is 1000 BCE. Ra’s and Talia Al Ghul rule the Persian empires as two of the first vampires in existence, existing largely in secret. They make it their goal to turn as many people over to their side as possible, whether by battle or biting. Biologically, Damian was born a vampire and they utilize some arcane magic to make him appear as a child forever, because even back then people knew that children were far better at getting their way than adults. Honed as a weapon for literally millenia, Damian Al Ghul practically becomes a cryptid in his own right. Villagers shared stories of people who saw the child and never being the same—or worse, never returning. The Al Ghuls were responsible for the most well-known vampires in history, including the famous Count Dracula.

The year is 800 BCE. At 200 years old, Damian was still considered very young for a vampire. He is sent on a mission to turn to their side a young lady who was practically viewed as a goddess by other women, and who aspired to become one of the greatest poets of all time. Talia dropped Damian off on the island of Lesbos. Faster than lightning, the child warrior swooped down and bit the legendary Sappho. Now an immortal, Sappho dedicated her eternity of free time to her passion for writing, where she composed her famous Ode To Aphrodite. Eventually she got bored of Greece, so she changed her appearance and set off exploring the greater Asian continent.

The year is 1206. Genghis Khan had conquered much of the world. Under the Mongol empire, it was as common for women to serve in army as men. One of Khan’s most distinguished fighters came from the Manchuria region. She was a mercenary for the army, a lone wolf. And though she found thrill in battle, she was lonely. And, as fate may have it, so was Sappho. They met in a village where the army was stationed and forged a tight-knit partnership. They laughed together, they fought together. And the thought of being separated was unimaginable. So when Sappho revealed herself to be a vampire, the Mongol warrior jumped at the chance to become one too. And so she was transformed with consent, and together they roamed the world in search for adventure.

The year is 1775. The two girls had heard of this supposed New World and the colonies Britain established. They wanted to see it for themselves. Changing their names and appearances to something more Anglican, Stephanie Brown and Cassandra Cain boarded a ship set for what would become modern-day New Jersey. Immediately they found a stark lack of immortals there and they didn’t want to be the only ones, so they set off on a biting spree, turning men, women, children, and even a few farm animals (two dogs, a cat, a cow, and a turkey) without care. One of these victims was an elderly English nobleman named Alfred Pennyworth. Cassandra took the animals under her wing, while Stephanie felt bad for Alfred because he seemed to have nobody around. So the girls “adopted” Alfred as their grandfather so he wouldn’t be lonely either.

The year is 1871. Haly’s Circus was the most popular traveling show during Europe’s Industrial Age. Disguised as mother and child laborers working behind the scenes, Damian and Talia were on the lookout for new potential soldiers. And who would make a more perfect killer than the swift, agile Flying Graysons? Talia tried persuading John and Mary nicely, using Damian’s adorable boyish face, and they did give in. At least, at first. But within a few months of John, Mary, and Richard being turned, the parents changed their mind. They wanted nothing to do with Ra’s Al Ghul’s agenda and threatened to expose the vampires to the world. Talia had no choice but to get rid of them. She paid a lower-level mortal criminal to rig the ropes and douse the trapezes in holy water, which would lead to the downfall of John and Mary. The press reported it as a tragic accident. Alfred, who was at the circus during his holiday when it happened, couldn’t help but notice the burn marks on their hands. He chalked it up to coincidence or a prior unrelated injury in the end

The year is 1920. All that the grieving Richard Grayson wanted was to get away from the ghost of his past. He traveled to America, settling in the subpar city of Gotham, New Jersey. As much as he wanted to drink his troubles away, it was just his luck that he arrived at the beginning of Prohibition. His apartment was near a speakeasy, though, so he frequented that. The underground bar itself was owned by mob boss Jason Todd, who was notorious for brandishing guns and picking drunken fights—and winning all of them. But his streak would end when he had one too many glasses of moonshine and challenged an unwilling Richard Grayson to a fistfight. “What, you gonna back out, ya little dick?” Jason taunted. The former Flying Grayson himself wasn’t in the most sober state ever, so after some convincing and people placing betting money on the table, they took up the challenge. It was the roughest fight that bar had ever seen, and in a final act of self-defense, Richard bit Jason. (Granted, it wasn’t in the neck, but a bite was a bite). Jason becoming vampire wasn’t the worst consequence. No, it the older one being stuck with a terrible nickname: Dick.

The year was 1965. One of Ra’s fortune tellers predicted an influx of young soldiers arriving in Vietnam before war was even declared, and Ra’s sent his grandson to a rural village in the country undercover to find more recruits as the League of Assassins’ influence was diminishing. The environment of thick, bushy jungles worked in Damian’s favor as he was able to hide and strike on French and U.S. soldiers. He even managed to turn all but two members of a New Jersey infantry. Later on, the government reported one of the drafted soldiers, Duke Thomas, as missing, but in reality the young man went into hiding with two other vampire soldiers on his squad. And it was a reasonable move—mass media was on the rise and the last thing anyone needed was vampires being exposed as real to the public. Not only that, but Duke displayed abilities that the other two didn’t have, likely attributed to the combined effects of vampire magic and chemical agents like Napalm used at the time, and neither General Grayson nor Lieutenant Todd knew what to make of it.

The year was 1999. A teenage Tim Drake was out on a late-night grocery run to get more supplies, because 2000 was in just a few months and everyone was preparing for the supposed end of the world. He made the grave mistake of taking a shortcut through Crime Alley in an effort to get home on time, and was bitten in the leg by a “homeless” kid who seemed to appear out of nowhere before scurrying off. He didn’t experience anything strange for the next few years. He got plenty of sunburns, but he burned easily even before the incident. He kept his bedroom dark and stayed awake all night, but so did a lot of teenagers during that grunge/post-punk era. Silver felt weird, which he brushed off as an allergy. He avoided churches but that was because religion was never his thing. He craved red meat and avoided garlic, but hey, people had their likes and dislikes. It wasn’t until about five years later, when Tim realized he hadn’t aged a day, that he considered doing some research.

The year was 2019. Bruce Wayne was at one of his famous Wayne Enterprises gala on New Year’s when he met a stunningly beautiful woman named Talia. She slipped a little something into his drink when he wasn’t looking. Bruce couldn’t remember what happened after that, only waking up with a killer hangover and strange hickey on his neck. He had been Batman for a while now, and when he started experiencing unexplainable things he sought the help of the magician Zatanna, who found out that somebody turned him into a vampire. If he wasn’t brooding before, he definitely was now, and it didn’t help that the butler was a smartass. Alfred revealed to Bruce that he had been a vampire the whole time, looking over the Wayne family since Thomas’s father’s father, because the wealthy Waynes made easy targets for the supernatural. In an attempt to make Bruce feel less alone, Alfred invited Stephanie and Cassandra over for dinner (“Alfred, great to see you again! It’s been, like, a hundred years!”). It was over dinner that Bruce asked questions and the older vampires told their stories, and Alfred offhandedly mentioned something about Haly’s Circus that caught Bruce’s attention. Fresh burn marks from touching a trapeze? Something didn’t seem right. Though the case was over a century old, Bruce did some searching on the Batcomputer and found too many discrepancies in the Flying Grayson case for it to be just a regular accident. With Stephanie and Cassandra’s help, Bruce traced the parents’ deaths back to the League of Assassins. But one new questioned surfaced after all this: what happened to Richard? That question would be answered a few weeks later when Bruce dug up another cold case: a file about an MIA Vietnam War soldier from Gotham, Duke Thomas. He tracked down Duke’s whereabouts, and it turned out he was hiding from the League of Assassins with two other missing people from history: the circus performer Richard Grayson and mobster Jason Todd. Bruce offered him the best damn thing in their eyes: sanctuary. He took all three of them under his bat wing and they joined his immortal crusade against Gotham crime. Some time later, Talia introduced Damian to Bruce under the guise that Damian was Bruce’s son, citing the night she met Bruce at the party. Damian only agreed to Talia’s infiltration plan because he was sick of how Ra’s treated him, like an object rather than a being. So although the paternity test came out negative, Bruce still insisted that Damian was his son and kept him. As for Tim Drake? His story is pretty much the same: deducing Batman and Nightwing’s identities and demanding to join them—classic Timmers move

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teentitanimals · 4 years ago

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im working on a BIG Batfamily project, and WOW have i realized how much harder this is gonna be than i first thought it was... for now, have an excerpt- or, rather, Selina Kyle’s information card of the project :) im pretty proud of this! information and story subject to change

Selina Kyle-Wayne

birth name: Selina Calabrese

Main Alias: Catwoman

Other Aliases: Catbird (in Gothtopia), The Cat, The Cat Burglar, Irena Dubrovna

Current Age: ~46 (When first CW; 21. When had HK; 36. Retires CW; ~55. At death; ~70.)

Birthdate: March 14th (Alternatively; March 31st)

Hair Color: Black

Hair Length: Short

Eye Color: Green

Race/Ethnic/Skin Color: Half-Cuban; Possibly Italian, Scottish, and/or Latina descendant (White)

Sexuality: Bisexual

Gender: Female (She/her)

Height: ~5’11” (Tall)

Weight: ~146lbs (Sorta Heavy)

Build: Slender, Curvy

Biological Parents: Maria Kyle, Rex Calabrese

Step-Father: Brian Kyle

Alleged Father: Carmine Falcone

Biological Sister: Magdalene “Maggie” Kyle-Burton

Biological Half-Brother: Aiden Mason

Brother-in-Law: Simon Burton

Biological Cousins: Nick Calabrese, Antonia Calabrese

Alleged Siblings: Sofia Falcone, Alberto Falcone, Mario Falcone

Surrogative Sister: Holly Robinson

Ex-Lovers: Sam Bradley Jr., Eiko Hasigawa, Moreland McShane

Husband: Bruce Wayne

Parents-in-Law: Thomas Wayne, Martha Wayne

Siblings-in-Law: Thomas Wayne Jr. (On Earth-3), Rochelle Wayne (in Elseworlds: Reign of Terror)

Surrogative Father-in-Law: Alfred Pennyworth

Surrogative Sister-in-Law: Julia Pennyworth

Cousins-in-Law: Kate Kane, Beth Kane, Bette Kane

Surrogate Daughter: Arizona

Biological Children: Helena Kyle, Helena Wayne (from Earth-2)*, “Aion” Wayne (In Batman in Bethlehem)

*(HC; Helena is legally her adopted daughter on Earth-1.)

Step-Children: Damian Wayne, Athanasia al Ghul, The Heretic (clone of DW), Tallant Wayne (clone of DW), Alina Wayne (maybe), Bruce Wayne Jr. (On Earth-3839), Dick Grayson, Lance Bruner, Jason Todd, Tim Drake, Cass Cain, Duke Thomas (maybe), Terry McGinnis, Matt McGinnis

Daughters-in-Law: Koriand’r, Dana Tan

Step-Grandchildren: Mar'i Grayson, Jake Grayson, John Grayson II (On Earth-2), Sasha Todd, Clark Wayne (On Earth-3839)

Step-Great-Granddaughters: Lois Wayne (On Earth-3839), Lara Wayne (On Earth-3839)

Catwoman Run: ~34 years

Succeeded By: Eiko Hasigawa, Holly Robinson, (First Name N/A) Black

Wikipedia. Batman Wiki. DC Database. DCAMU. Animated Series. Comic Vine.

(tw; self-harm, suicide, child abuse, illegal prostitution, drug addiction, sexual abuse, death)

Selina Calabrese was born to Rex Calabrese and Maria Calabrese with a sister two years older than her named Magdalene Calabrese. When Selina was very young, her mother escaped from Rex, also known as The Lion, leader of the Calabrese Crime Family, and became the husband to Brian Kyle, legally changing all their names to Maria Kyle, Maggie Kyle, and Selina Kyle. Maria had a son with him, Aiden Kyle. Their relationship was not healthy, with Maria being very suicidal and Brian being drunk and abusive. He would often yell at and harm Maria and her kids, and Maria, although she loved her kids, was distant, more often spending time with her cats. One day, Selina came home from school to find her mother dead in the tub, having cut her wrists until she bled out. A year later, Brian died from alcohol poisoning, and Selina called the police, packed her bags and ran away. Maggie and Aiden were taken to the orphanage, and Aiden, being fairly young, was almost immediately adopted by a family, where his name was changed to Aiden Mason. His contact with his half-sisters was cut off, although he would eventually seek them out as an older teen and young adult. Maggie was adopted after a few months, and was raised very religiously. She kept in contact with Selina best she could.

On the streets, Selina would steal food, clothing and other material from grocery stores. She was eventually caught and put in the orphanage. She acted out a lot, causing her to be sent to Juvenile Hall. When she turned age 13, she was sent back to the orphanage. There, she realized the place was embezzling money. To make sure she never told anyone, they put her in a bag and dropped her in a river. Selina managed to escape, and then stole documentary proof of their embezzlement to give to the police, some money for herself, and her own files in hopes of reuniting with her brother or sister. Instead, she found out that Brian was not her birth father, and that her father was an unknown mobster man. Selina continued living on the streets, stealing food and jewelry to meet her own, as the money she stole would not last forever. She would be taken in by an old thief gang leader named Mama Fortuna, who treated the kids under her care like slaves. Eventually, Selina would run away with a friend from the gang named Sylvia. They could not survive on their own and always had a shortage of money, and Sylvia took up prostitution to support them both, and grew to hate Selina for it. They parted ways.

When Selina was 17, she began illegally working as a prostitute under an abusive pimp named Stan. She stumbled upon a 13-year-old Holly Robinson who was being sexually abused by a cop. Selina beat the cop up, inspiring Holly who said that was the first time anybody had shown her she could fight back. The two became roommates. To pay for living expenses and food, Selina continued stealing, and Holly eventually became an illegal prostitute too when she was 16, despite Selina being against it. Her underage status resulted in Stan getting into a fight with a drifter, who, unbeknownst to them, was Bruce Wayne in disguise. A few weeks later, Holly would wake Selina up to show her Batman, still new and fresh, beating up corrupt police officer and former Commissioner Branden. Selina, inspired by how someone can don a costume and have everyone either be happy or terrified to see him that she can do the same too, would confront and fight Stan about his abuse, officially having her and Holly quit prostitution. She spent money to buy an expensive costume- her first Catwoman costume. She robbed a local store, and one of the security guards called her “Catwoman”, which she liked and chose to be her name. Stan, wanting revenge on Selina and Holly for quitting, kidnaps Maggie. After a few days, Selina locates him, saves her sister, and beats him to death in a rage as Catwoman. Selina informs Maggie of her new persona, who disagrees heavily, especially seeing as she killed a man, but promises to keep quiet.

The police investigate Selina and Holly, and one police officer sexually harasses Holly. Enraged, Selina went out as Catwoman with intent to kill him, but Batman intervened and made her see how her anger blinded her. Terrified she was a danger to Holly, she sent Holly to live in a convent with Maggie, who was a nun (although she would later give up her nunage to marry her husband, Simon Burton). Catwoman would begin her crime life properly, crossing paths with the likes of the Joker, the Riddler, Poison Ivy, and others, and flirting with Batman, of course. While Selina continued on to be a thief as Catwoman for the next few years, Holly felt she did not fit in the convent, and eventually found herself back on the streets. She got addicted to drugs and went back into prostitution.

While Holly was away, Selina temporarily got a new roommate, a young blonde girl nicknamed Arizona who reminded Selina a lot of Holly. She took her under her wing, and Arizona acted like her sidekick for a while, before she eventually found her own feeting and started a life on her own. She still kept close contact with Selina, though.

After five years, a gang leader named Bone killed a close friend of Selina’s named Lola MacIntire, who knew Selina was Catwoman and let her crash at her place after her apartment was destroyed. Bone wanted revenge after Catwoman had stolen from him. This devastated Selina, who viewed it as completely her fault. At Lola’s funeral, Selina encountered her old friend, Gwen Altamont, and the two began working together. Catwoman stole cars for Gwen, and encountered a metahuman thief named Spark while on the job. Catwoman convinces Gwen to let her work with Spark, and the two plan to rob Penguin of the fifth dagger they need to complete a set of valuable knives. Catwoman stakes out at the restaurant Penguin likes to eat at a day before he would be there, which Spark questions why they are doing so a day before. Catwoman notices a young hooker getting tranquilized and dragged into a van. Catwoman leaps into action, Spark soon following. They save the girl, and, after questioning local prostitutes, find out there have been multiple kidnappings and murders like this. Catwoman investigates and plans to defeat the kidnappers. After failing to stop a kidnapper in the act, Catwoman contacts Detective Carlos Alvarez, a detective who has been chasing her tail but that she knows is a genuinely good cop, for help. They track the kidnapper, Matilda Mathis aka Dollhouse, the daughter of Dollmaker, to a mansion. Catwoman fights Dollhouse, but Batman interrupts their fight, allowing both to escape. Catwoman questions her ability to be a vigilante, knowing she’s a better thief.

After those series of murders to other prostitutes, Holly quits being a prostitute and heads to her and Selina’s old apartment. She is pleasantly surprised to find Selina lived there after the destruction of her other apartment, and the two reunited. Holly began working as a spy of sorts for Catwoman, gathering information of what was happening on the streets of East End. Although she eventually stopped taking drugs after living with Selina for a few months, she felt concerned that she was still looking at the world through the eyes of a junkie to gather intel. During this time period, the Scarecrow releases a gas that makes everyone believe they are in a utopia- Gothtopia. There, Selina believed she was Catbird, partner to Batman. Where Batman could see glimpses of reality, Catbird just thought him delusional. While people who could see through the illusion questioned their sanity and committed suicide, Catbird began investigating a criminal named Steeljacket, who was also convinced their reality was an illusion. Steeljacket explained that the suit he was wearing kept him alive and he needed her thievery skills to get him the money to repair it. Catbird helped him, and the familiar adrenaline rush of a robbery made her remember her real identity of Catwoman. After Batman freed the city from Scarecrow’s toxin, Catwoman reminded him of how they shared both a partnership and a true romantic relationship in Gothtopia. Batman denied the extent of his romantic feelings, even though the toxin showed them both what they wanted to see.

A few years later, Black Mask, who held a vendetta against Catwoman, kidnapped her sister Maggie and Simon, killed Simon, and then forced Maggie to eat her husband’s eyes, driving her insane. Black Mask also kidnapped and beat Holly with the help of an old childhood friend of Catwoman, Sylvia. Catwoman kills Black Mask, Holly kills Sylvia, and they save Maggie, who is put in a psychiatric institute. Holly isolated herself and nearly fell back onto old habits. Selina decided Holly needed time to heal outside of Gotham City and needed proper training, so she sent Holly to a rural safehouse where she trained in hand-to-hand combat with Ted Grant. Selina and Slam Bradley, a detective friend of Selina’s, located Holly’s long lost brother Davey, and the two reunited.

Eventually, Black Mask was revived by a Black Lantern, and immediately sought out Maggie, threatening to kill her and anyone else Catwoman cared about. Catwoman, with the help of Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy, defeated Black Mask again. Maggie escaped, and no longer wanted anything to do with Selina, blaming her for her insane condition and Simon’s death, and believing Selina was possessed by a cat demon. Maggie sought out Sister Agatha to exorcise her sister, but when Maggie saw Agatha’s cat, she snapped and killed Agatha’s cat and then Agatha because she believed Agatha was in league with Selina’s cat demon. Maggie then searched through Agatha’s relics and tools, stumbling upon a supernatural substance in a container that warped Maggie’s sense of reality further. To Maggie, an angel was released and claimed it would help her destroy Selina’s cat demon. Maggie finds Selina and Harley Quinn and attacks them with heightened abilities. Harley refers to Maggie as “Sister Zero”, and then becomes possessed by the “angel”’s influence. Catwoman manages to get through to Harley, confusing her enough to escape Maggie’s control. Selina forces Maggie to escape, who starts to formulate a new plan to save her sister’s soul. The angel told her to team up with Azrael and Crusader during Gotham’s Judgement Day, which she does. Maggie believes she is her sister’s test of faith, which means either Selina will get cleansed of her cat demon, or Maggie will die. But in the end, when Maggie has a chance to end Selina’s life, she can’t bring herself to do it. Maggie ends up back in a psychiatric institute and starts to slowly heal, although sometimes Sister Zero breaks out.

Holly begins a relationship with a girl named Karon, who she moves into the apartment of. She also becomes the supervisor of a group of street kids known as the Alleytown Gang, training them to act like the spies and informants of Catwoman’s network. Unbeknownst to Holly, Selina had grown tired of seeing her role as Catwoman ruin her life over and over. Selina burned her suit, but would be forced to don it again after a woman named Roulette contacted her about a competition between thieves that threatened the lives of children. Catwoman got a new suit and raced to save the lives of the children. After competing in several rounds, she realized that there never were any real children in danger. Roulette had actually been hired by a man named Hunt Stone who wanted any evidence that connected his ancestors to a famous murder stolen and erased. Selina began sabotaging every aspect of her strictly regimented and planned out days, until Roulette was forced to declare her the winner of the Race of Thieves to make her stop. During this time where Selina went missing, Holly acted as Catwoman to keep other criminals at bay.

With Catwoman I back in action, Oracle asks Catwoman, Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn to keep an eye on Vicki Vale, who has evidence on the members of the Batfamily that need to be destroyed. Selina notices an artifact in Vicki’s possession that she had once stolen. It reminds her of the days when Batman used to chase her, and she reminisces on them. Her flashback is interrupted as Harley breaks into the room they were monitoring, wanting to get her hyenas back because they had stolen them from her. Vicki bolts out of the room, and they lose her trail, but Selina managed to get her phone number. She planted a fake call to lead Vicki out of her apartment, allowing Selina to break in and take pictures of her Batwall, which Batman and Oracle needed. Selina reminisces about her crime life.

When a mysterious malefactor came to Gotham with a yearlong plan to ruin Batman’s life, Catwoman began investigating into the turf war between the Penguin and newly returned mobster Carmine Falcone. She was captured by Falcone for causing him grief years ago and he nearly killed her, but Professor Pyg attacked Falcone, having a vendetta against him. Catwoman plans to kill Falcone, who she suspects might be her biological father, but before she can, Batman intervenes. She leaves Falcone and his mob to Batman, but sometime later while trying and failing to stop a deal to sell a baby snow leopard for its fur, a young girl locates Selina. She tells Selina that her father wanted her to attend a meeting in Blackgate Penitentiary. Her real father was Rex Calabrese, the crime boss from whom Falcone had taken power. Selina declined the request at first, but a street kid named Jade came to find her next, informing her the girl before her was killed by gang violence. Selina asked Rex for his guidance in becoming a mob boss herself to keep the mobsters in check from killing any other kids. The leadership of the Calabrese Family and the ownership of the Egyptian Nightclub were passed onto her as the legal heir. Catwoman, wanting to make sure Batman knew she was still on the side of good despite becoming the head of a crime family, told Batman everything she knew about the group of Arkham escapees still on the loose. After she got invited to a secret weapons sale that were actually weapons stolen from Batman’s own supply, Catwoman began to research high bounties in Gotham, and was tipped onto Stephanie Brown. Catwoman kidnapped her without realizing she was the current Batgirl. She was rescued by Batman and the situation was resolved. Soon Batman got captured by Lincoln March, and rioting broke out across the city. Selina forced her people to help prevent the riots while also secretly making strategic thefts to further her causes. During this time, Selina gave up her Catwoman mantle to Eiko Hasigawa, a heir to the rival Hasigawa crime family, and a love interest of Selina’s.

Eiko’s time as Catwoman was short-lived, though, as Eiko and Selina merged the Hasigawa and Calabrese families, leaving Eiko as their leader while Selina went back to her normal life… Sort of. She realized she was pregnant from a one-night stand with Sam Bradley Jr., and Holly Robinson took on the mantle of Catwoman at Selina’s request. Selina made up a fake identity, Irena Dubrovna, to peacefully give birth to her daughter, legally known as Helena Dubrovna. Sam Jr. had died by the time Selina realized she was pregnant, but his father, Slam Bradley, wanted to provide for his new granddaughter. Selina could not resist the thrill of Catwoman, and donned the suit alongside Holly a few times. Unfortunately, Film Freak and Angle Man had deduced where Selina lived after catching the two Catwomen on film, and kidnapped Helena. Selina easily rescued her daughter, and then had Zatanna Zatarra mindwipe the two villains of Selina’s identities. With Batman’s help, she faked “Irena” and Helena’s deaths, putting Helena up for adoption. She asked Zatanna to wipe her mind of knowledge about Helena so she wouldn’t put her in danger again, but Zatanna refused.

After returning to her solo role as Catwoman for nearly a year, Selina allowed herself to be arrested and sent to death row at Arkham Asylum for the murders of over two hundred terrorists. It was her friend, Holly, who had really committed the crime, but she trusted Batman would prove her innocence, therefore saving her and Holly’s lives. Nearly a year later, Helena Wayne, biological daughter of Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle, from Earth Never-Two passes into Earth Never-One and gets trapped. Helena meets this world’s Selina Kyle. The two become close, with Helena still mourning the death of her mother in her universe and Selina missing her daughter. Selina was worried that being too close to her alternate universe daughter might lead her to the same fate as her Helena Kyle, but this Helena was an experienced adult who had lived through an Apokoliptian war. She was a capable vigilante who could hold her own perhaps even better than Selina herself, and Selina felt her concerns fade away. After another year passes, Selina asks if she can adopt Helena Wayne, despite Helena being 21-years-old. Helena, surprised, agrees. Almost a year after that, Bruce proposes to Selina and she accepts, becoming his wife.

Selina Kyle is, in general, highly flirtatious, seductive, and willing to use her looks and her charms to get what she wants- in fact she’s even proud of it. She’s also, much like her namesake, graceful, sly and light-footed, known as one of the greatest thieves out there. Despite her past of being an abused victim, she stands with her head high since she first donned the Catwoman suit (it can be quite enconfidating, that anonymity). She was never one to sit back and let herself or others get abused, and she sympathizes heavily with abused children, young women and sex workers especially. While her career as Catwoman started out to support herself and her friends, it eventually became an addictive adrenaline rush she couldn’t give up. Even though she’s ‘reformed’, she still has sticky fingers and loves the thrill of getting away with small robberies, especially when her husband is the Batman. She enjoys getting under his skin. She isn’t too big on black and white morality, instead choosing to do whatever is necessary for the situation. She’s not ‘above’ killing, but she’s no homicidal murderer, and it’s never her first option, although attacking her loved ones is a sure way to push her closer to the edge. Although admittedly in her earlier days, the empowerment of being Catwoman got to her head, and she let rage cloud her judgement, leading to her being more willing to brutally harm and kill. She’s very willing to take risks, enjoying the danger even, and she’s incredibly stubborn and persistent. She never had much of a villainous ego, nor does she have a superhero complex. She walks the line between the both with confidence, never worrying about being in the gray. Sometimes it ticks her off when Bruce and others think she should commit completely to one or the other, when she’s perfectly fine where she is.

Reblogs appreciated! Stay tuned for the finished project, which is this... but for every Batfam member ever

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gothamdetected-a · 5 years ago

Text

an idiot’s guide to ra’s al ghul.

ok so at this point im really gna say fuck dc canon, and go completely off piste and write my own.

dc really don't know how to write this man a backstory and he literally has one of the least developed and simultaneously confusing origins of any batman rogue. so here, lemme fix that.

ra's al ghul is a moniker, a title that is passed down. anyone who leads the league of assassins/shadows, becomes ra's al ghul (roughly translated to the demon's head). this explains how a White Man, henri ducard was able to become ra's al ghul in batman begins. at the passing of the head of the league, the next in line, by order of physical and mental prowess, becomes the next ra's. bruce himself is, at one point, supposed to pick up the mantle - the current ra's considers him his only worthy successor (a la arkham city & some of the comics from the 80s/90s), the man who will replace him and exceed him. however bruce, due to his unwavering morals and refusal to kill in order to bring "justice" ends up spurning the league, and is disowned by ra's in a very effective way - he tries to kill bruce. ra's still holds some sort of belief that bruce will return to him, despite all of this. he uses talia and then damian as a pawn in this game, to draw bruce back to the league and have him become the next demon's head.

so who is "ra's", or at least the goateed, green pant suited, scimitar wielding ninja who is most commonly seen as THE "ra's"? well, dc couldn't really make up their minds, so i'll do my best to patch it together from the 8 different versions, and compile something that agrees with most of it.

ra's was born approximately 600 years ago, to a man known as the Sensei (an asian martial artist) and an unknown mother of arabic descent, somewhere in the middle east. little is known about his early years, other than he was obsessed with the sciences, and became a physician with a wife named Sora. he made many discoveries ahead of time - understanding microscopic pathogens, how to cure diseases such as cholera and typhoid, although his greatest discovery was the Lazarus Pits - a natural phenomenon containing a mysterious green liquid with immense restorative properties. ( this is not to be confused with the fountain of youth at shangri-la, which his father, the Sensei, used). ra's uses the pit on the son of a local sultan who is dying, but when the boy returns, he is not all there. the empathy is gone, and he gets pretty funky about killing people, including ra's wife, sora. it is important to note, at this point, ra's is not called ra's, but dc have never given him a name so idek what to call him. so we don't know his real name, age, or what his chilhood was like. lets keep it that way, we stan an air of mystery.

the death of his wife and the overpowering grief leads to a fixation with revenge - ra's trains furiously to master martial arts and eventually kills the sultan, his son and razes their city to the ground. at this point he becomes "the demon's head" and founds the league, with the aim of eradicating evil from the world, mostly through assassination and genocide. which, you know. isn't great. this is also the period in which ra's begins to use the lazarus pit on himself, in order to prolong his life. he seeks more pits throughout the world, travelling extensively, and finds three more: one in switzerland, one in what will later become gotham, and one on infinity island, making a grand total of four. dc can go fuck themselves there is literally only four, you can't just keep making more when it's convenient. ra's intends to only use the pits until a worthy successor can be found for the league, but two problems occur; one) he starts going a bit nuts from over using the pits, and it does become like an addiction and two) he never finds someone he considers worthy.

so, skip through a bunch of wars he fought in, the league becoming globally established, and the industrial revolution. ra's doesn't like that. bad machines, destroying the earth, coating the skies with pollution and leading to greater inequality. so ra's decides it's time to purge humanity, and leave only the people he deems worthy behind, in a fresh clean world (in a real james bond villain move.). he builds wonder city, beneath gotham and around the gotham lazarus pit, but the city is never used because ra's does something mad stupid and falls in love. so much for eco terrorism, he's now off having babies with a woman named melisande. or one particular baby - talia. due to ra's having been using the pits for centuries before boning this poor woman, talia comes out with slowed aging abilities. ra's eventually murders melisande when she gets antsy about him training their kid to be a master assassin. he does a very similar thing with a russian lady to produce talia's half sister, nyssa. so by now the 20th century is in full swing, ra's has a cute lil murder family and the league has become a smaller part of a huge underground organisation called The Demon, at which ra's sits at the head. he still hasn't found a successor though, and he's getting Old. the lazarus pits are no longer bringing him back 100% - he loses more and more of his sanity with each ressurection. and then. wow. bruce wayne appears. and ra's sees a huge amount of himself in this kid, the loss, the anger. boom, we got ourself a successor.

we all know how that wound up.

so ra's is now Personally Mad at batman, and we get the Contagion storyline. back to his old, eco-terrorism ways, ra's unleashes the clench, a really nasty virus that's definitely worse than your average cold. batman eventually finds and disperses a cure, but gotham is Mad Fucked. damian wayne is born, trained by his mama and gramps, and then abandoned at 10 on bruce's doorstep. there's a brief interlude where bane also goes to train under ra's in the hopes of being the worthy successor and marrying talia instead, but then everyone realises he's one sandwich short of a picnic and ra's kicks him out in his ass once batman beats him in another fight. there's also some funky moments where ra's

• tries to resurrect thomas and martha wayne. it goes about as well as you'd expect.

• pisses off both of his daughters who start to work against him. talia half teams up with supes. wild.

• lets his guard down and most of the lazarus pits are destroyed, leaving only the one beneath gotham.

• tries to body swap with his grandson (i literally hate dc)

• watches batman accidentally kill his old dad the Sensei, by dragging him into a lazarus pit which destroys the nasty man's corrupted soul and heals bruce tf up which is how dc get away with him looking permenantly 30

• has another, estranged child, who becomes the White Ghost

• helps tim find bruce after he "died" but then becomes a lil bitch over it and tries to do a ninja take over of gotham and destroy anything about wayne. he fist fights tim, and dick, and then lo and behold it was all a test or some shit, which is the dc version of "he woke up and it was all a dream".

• makes superhumans in whale wombs which honestly, when i read the issues, i wanted to Die. literally straight up end me.

there's a bunch more stuff but im not a masochist enough to keep going. the point is, he's an old naughty man, kind of bruce's father in law, definitely insane, and dc will probably drag this mans back at some point. but i like to go with the arkham knight ending, where bruce chooses to cut a half-resurrected ra's off from the last of the lazarus pit, and drops his dying body off at the gcpd to an indeterminate fate, while nyssa becomes the new demon's head. its a good ending. makes sense. works well with everything. gives him a solid out. but honestly they won't leave him alone and he'll be back soon i'm sure, being pesky and owning really freaking cool swords.

so yeah, that's a rough and ready guide to ra's al ghul, because dc really can't manage this themselves and i'm made to pick up the slack.

#nyall should let me know if theres anyone else you want me to do this for #just kind of compile and simplify some of the most confusing characters because honestly #i have so much fun doing stuff like this #and just geeking tf out and using the full breadth of my dc knowledge #which is still nothing compared to the entirety of canon but still #uwu love me please #\system\directory\hidden.txt ›› META #long post /

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thattimdrakeguy · 8 years ago

Note

How do you feel about Tim and Damian's relationship?

I found it very interesting and enjoyable to see it grow.

However, I hate when ever I see the fandom talk about it, because they always make it straight black and white. OH DAMIAN’S THE BAD GUY, BUT OH TIM DID THIS SO HE’S THE BAD GUY.

It’s a relationship that grew, but no one ever acknowledges the growth.

They constantly never show parts of it, or they just speak about it in a bias way.

I’m gonna try my best to explain there relationship, so sorry if I’m not that good

I’m going to try to do it the best I can, to show both of there point of views, as I’m sick of all the bias posts.

———————————————————————————–

So for background on the two:

Damian came from a place where to succeed you had to kill, to gain a place you wanted, you have to kill.

Tim at the time had two of his best friends die, his girlfriend die, an adopted sister he thought to have been dead, his parents, and it’s hinted at his step mother even died. So he’s in a very fragile state mentally which makes his hard for him to trust anyone

and I find that important to there relationship, because that’s why they viewed each other as they did. They both had reasons for it, reasons they couldn’t help because it was outside of there control, but still effected them.

Another thing I find to be important, Damian was meant to be written from an antagonistic point of view at first. You can go back to how it’s how he was raised, but that doesn’t change the fact that he was very bad and could even be described as evil.

He was abused, but so are most villains in someway. Damian was to a certain extent portrayed as a villain.

The first thing Damian did with Tim was dis-respect him, lock Alfred in a closet, show Tim a man’s head that he murdered, and then continues to attempt to kill Tim.

The first Tim did, was try to welcome him in the warmest way he was able, try to explain that he should change in the best way he could, even after he showed Tim a man’s severed head.

If it sounds like I’m making Tim the good guy, it’s because in that situation he is. People seem to constantly ignore that Tim did actually try to help Damian at first.

but because Damian did try to kill Tim, and harm Alfred. He lost Tim’s trust, he lost a lot of it, you can even say all of it. Damian completely incapacitated Tim. I see that being as a good reason not to trust someone.

At that point, there relationship is pretty back and white. Damian tried to kill Tim, after he tried to help him. Damian did have an abused past and that’s why he did it, but he still did it.

The next time Damian interacts with Tim is when someone wants to take his body.

Damian is terrified of that (for good reason) and tries to find Bruce in hopes that he can help him.

This is when Damian is first viewed as a more sympathetic character and shows that he is just a child. A child with a big ego problem, and is definitely pretentious, but all that can chip away at the first big sign of fear he has.

but the first person he meets is in the cave is Tim. Who at this point, does not trust Damian, after all he did try to kill him, but this is the first time Tim is shown to be closer to the aggressor, despite not really having the intent to fight him, just to stop him, although he does show that he will fight him if he has too, as he does not trust what he says.

Damian, being that he was raised too, again attempts to harm Tim, hoping he can find someone who can help him.

Tim is the bad guy here, but people always forget to see it from his point of view. This is someone that tried to kill him, he doesn’t trust him. That’s black and white, but that’s all Tim has actually seen from him.

However Damian is being shown from a sympathetic point of view, which makes Tim seem more like the bad guy from the reader point of view.

Damian finds Alfred and tries to gain his help, but ends up looking like he was trying to hurt him from Tim. He was not trying to hurt him, but from the angle Tim saw, he tried to hurt him.

So Tim tried to stop him, triggering another fight.

I keep seeing posts about how Damian’s misunderstood, which he is, but they keep making things black and white by ignoring Tim’s POV.

Damian doesn’t show any reason why he should trust him, he just tries to harm him, if I remember correctly he did try to talk to Tim but quickly went into fight mode within 2 seconds. Which did not help Tim want to trust him. It just makes Tim’s suspicion seem even more true.

All Tim knows about him is that he constantly harms and even kills people, and that he’s an Al Ghul. So Tim believes that he’s just sent as a mole. Which is reasonable to believe given what all Tim actually knows about him.

So basically so far all Tim has seen of Damian is his bad side, or what keeps coming off as his bad side. He has given no reason to make Tim trust him.

They do not have to many note worthy interactions for a while

So at this point it is clear that Damian does have a sympathetic side, he has a bad past, and was raised in a bad way. While Tim does not trust him one bit. Damian did try to kill him.

Neither one are the clear bad guy if you look at it from a big picture way, but both can be sympathetic, or the bad guy depending on the way you view it.

They do have interactions during Battle for the cowl, but that books a mess and a lot of characters are done out of characters, no one’s motives are very clear, so it’s hard for me to explain that the way I want, but Damian did try to help Tim during that time, but I can’t recall a reason why, and if my memory serves me right he did do it in a very arrogant “OH SO YOU NEED HELP YOU LOSER” type of way. But I may be wrong as my memory on that book is very light.

So there next big interaction is when Damian became Robin. Tim a kid who had just had almost everything taken away from him, had just gotten everything taken away from him.

Damian brags about it, is entirely rude, so Tim punches him in the face.

I have seen posts about how Tim did punch a kid, but this a kid Tim knows had dealt with plenty of worse punches and hardly cared or even felt it, and did manage to nearly kill him in a fight. He is hardly a typical innocent defenseless kid to him, he is a kid raised from a young age to deal with pain, and fight back from pain. Damian’s pain tolerance is a lot higher then a normal kids, his intelligence is above an average kids. Damian just isn’t an average kid.

It isn’t right to punch Damian who is just a kid, but he is not a typical kid and Tim is aware of that. It’s not entirely black and white as people make it out to be.

Damian did make fun of someone who had almost everyone important to him die, or at least made him think they died, and just took a way the most important thing to him..

Neither one of them are right in the situation, but it’s easily arguable with the fact that it was a physical aggressive move, that Tim is the aggressor in the situation.

However Damian was the one that made him become hostile by mocking him as he hit his breaking point, so it’s easily arguable that Damian was the aggressor at the same time.

So neither of them interact for a decent chunk of time.

Till Tim put’s Damian on his hit list. A list with the intent of putting whose ever on it a way.

Damian who had made progress in the time is furious and takes out on Tim coming so far as to attempt to kill him

which is actually arguable in my opinion, because Damian could’ve seen that Tim was going to land it, when he cut his grabbling line, but at the same time Damian’s abilities differ from writer to writer. Some making Damian a hot head who just does stuff, while other’s make him a more cold calculated knowledgeable fighter. So it’s hard to tell to me if Damian did or did not try to kill Tim, but he did start the physical fight.

Something I’d also like to point out is Tim was never around for Damian’s time as Robin, he never saw him learn why he shouldn’t kill or learn respect for others finally. The last Damian, Tim saw, was the one that made fun of a man while he was down.

Tim never started the fight, it never even showed Tim try to put him away.

For all anybody knew, he just put him on there as a thought, and was going to wait to see if he should even keep him on there.

Regardless Damian has the right to be frustrated against Tim as he is going to be angry about how he still gets disrespect from him, despite learning.

but he never saw said learning. So it’s a complete gray area in the situation. Both have good reasons for why they did what they did. I see plenty of people try to make Tim the bad guy in the situation, but they either forget or ignore the fact Tim was never there.

It’s not a black and white situation, I wish people would stop talking about it as such.

Afterwards Tim even eventually see’s Damian’s progress. Telling Bruce that “Dick’s done great work with him.”

He does make it clear he doesn’t like him, which I personally can’t blame. Damian is mean spirited, it’s how he was raised. It’s going to take longer then three years for something that implanted in him to escape.

I see it as being easy to see them both having a mutual respect for each other when they both realize each others situations.

but the reboot started and we never really managed to see the progress again. Instead deciding to undo all of Damian’s progress, and turn Tim into a completely different character at his core. So I’m not going to put in any interactions they have after the reboot, as it’s an entirely different context.

So personally there whole relationship is gray, nothing black and white about it. To see someone take stuff out of context, or ignore stuff because someone doesn’t like one of the characters is dis-heartening for me.

I hope people actually try to think of there relationship in a less bias way.

#Tim Drake #Red Robin #Damian Wayne #Robin #Batfam #Batfamily #Bat family #DC Comics #DC #Comics

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johnnyhasfeelings · 7 years ago

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Batman #34 Lacks Longevity, But Hits the Mark Every Time

Batman #34 is the second issue of the arc “The Rules of Engagement”, and feature Bruce and Selina confronting Talia al Ghul post their engagement. Batman #33 was an amazingly fun romp through the reaction of the bat-sons, included the cameo of Tiger, and was ultimately an amazing set up of character and conflict, all while continuing to highlight the chemistry between the two leads. And while Batman #34 will likely be lost to time, not having the same punch as the issue preceding it, it absolutely hits the nail on the head regarding art, character, and writing. Despite the fact that its only function seems to be a transition and build up to the main confrontation between Talia and Selina, and then Bruce and Damian (hopefully only one of those encounters will involve swords), it is more than serviceable for its purpose.

Let’s start by talking about the actual format of the comic, referring to the use of cells to tie together multi-page scenes. Which is to say that each scene is marked by a style of cell organization that is drastically different than the scene preceding it. The first scene, which introduces Bruce and Selina fighting Talia’s ninjas, maintains the format of quick ‘cuts’ between Bruce and Selina. Over five pages. The first page has equally sized cells, creating a 9x9 layout. The second and third pages are two full-paged cells. The interesting thing here is that they aren’t splashes. They are distinct cells, separated by white borders. The fifth is a two-page splash. Doing this effectively builds up the suspense of the battle, and introduces the audience to the situation – the banter the whole way through maintaining the air of the relationship between Selina and Bruce.

Now, I won’t go into every use of cells as unifying tools in this issue, but I will bring up another instance that impressed me. Bruce and Selina were fighting the ninjas over the course of three pages. Each page was interrupted by a page of advertisement. And while this interruption definitely disrupts the flow of story, because advertisements ALWAYS do that, the use of cell structure compensated for it. A format of diagonal cells throughout the entire page, going up and to the right, tied the scene together despite interruption. It was really impressive. Definitely a technique I want to steal when making my own comics. Typically, the diagonal might have been distracting, but it was actually unifying.

Another thing that was really interesting was the color. While the background, and insignificant villain fodder, were all warm colors (even the sky) and tended to blend together, slight costuming decisions in each of the major characters really helped to bring them to the foreground. Bruce was in almost all black, except for a yellow bandana that stuck out in contrast to his typical costume. Selina wore a cool-gray cloak that really stood out. Talia and Damian were both sporting green, and Dick and Clark both wore blue. It was really interesting to see the use of color to actually distinguish characters from each other. Whether or not it was intentional, the characters wearing similar base colors were those who could be connected in one way or another. Bruce and Selina were connected romantically, a unification enhanced in their costumes. Damian and Talia are connected through blood, and, although they are wearing very different shades of green, they both prove to be stumbling blocks in Bruce and Selina’s relationship – both are willing to challenge it (although Damian has much less destructive intentions than his mother). Dick and Clark maintain similar views, as well, which is enhanced in the way that Dick holds Damian back the same way Clark does. Dick continues to be a master of playing the line between Super and Bat in this issue, a reflection of his mentor, his namesake, and everyone in between.

Okay, now onto the fun stuff. Damian.

Despite the fact that Bruce and Selina are ostensibly the main characters of the arc, it has focused a lot on Damian and his reaction to the engagement. Batman #33 spent and equal amount of time with Bruce and Selina and the family – actually dedicating more of the issue to the development of the family and their reactions than the journey of the couple. Now, I’ve already written about how Damian’s reaction is indicative of his inability to understand how and why Bruce would devote himself to a villain, despite shunning his mother. There is the implication of Damian’s realization that his family will never be whole – and Dick definitely picks up on that. This continues into Batman #34, as we see a little bit more of the boys having followed Bruce and Selina. The only disappointing thing here is that we miss out on a great opportunity to see an interaction between Dick and Tiger. Tiger’s appearance in #33 was random and fun, and it was kind of disappointing to see that he was just that – a one cell cameo.

Back to Damian.

First is his interaction with Clark. Damian is being Damian, talking about how he’ll kill Clark. And Clark, to his credit, isn’t patronizing – he recognizes how Damian is probably completely capable of killing him. He also brings up Jon, which shuts Damian up almost immediately. This behavior reflects this notion that Damian doesn’t want more people to leave– it highlights his anxiety that Bruce is finding solace in someone other than him – not only as Robin, but as his son. Damian spent so much of his life trying to prove himself to others – but especially to Bruce. He’s spent his entire live thinking he didn’t need compassion from others so long as he had power. But, starting with Dick, he’s felt love. And now that he’s felt it, he isn’t ready to let it go – ‘break ups’, so to say, or rather, emotional distance post – emotional closeness, I guess, is something that he isn’t equipped to handle. Which is pretty much the theme of Damian’s arc in this storyline. It’s nice that this kind of throw away comment about Jon is actually a sort of metonymy. This smaller piece of Damian’s life being representative of the greater issue of this arc.

Okay. Now, let’s talk about Dick.

Dick is the one who was instantly by Damian’s side in the last issue. Dick is the one that went with Damian to follow Bruce and Selina. Dick is the one who sits on the stairs to wait with Damian for Bruce and Talia to explain themselves.

And Dick hesitated.

Dick can often be seen as this golden boy – especially in his relationship with Damian. He’s the brother that took in this little ball of murderous rage and loved him until he learned to love back. But this comic reminds us of Dick’s humanity as he hesitates – weighing the option of staying with Damian or forcing Damian to come back home with him. Because Dick was never going to leave Damian on his own – we have to be completely realistic about that. Dick hesitates because he knows that the incoming confrontation can only end badly.

But the beauty of Dick’s character is that he’s going to stand by Damian’s side, until the very end. Because that’s how the Dynamic Duo works! Dick is really showing his own passion and understanding of partnership.

The relationships in this were spot on. It ended with a solid cliff hanger – Talia challenging Selina to a sword fight. All in all, an extremely solid issue that shows just how much effort was put into what should have just been a throw-away transition.

But those are just my feelings.

#Batman #JHF

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