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t4tmagicians · 8 months ago

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Bruce apologizes to Harley as he fastens her wrists behind her. She barely seems to react, staring into the still-smoldering embers of the warehouse.

"Arkham again?" she croaks, when police officers approach them. Bruce mutters something affirmative, and all of a sudden, he's offering to drive her to the asylum himself.

She slumps in the front passenger seat of the Batmobile, streaked with soot and ash and tear marks cutting clean lines down her face. She looks tired.

"He's gettin' sick of me." She explains, no prompting necessary. Bruce can see the weight on her shoulders. They pull up to Arkham, the gates opening for the Batmobile without question.

"He threw you out a window a year ago. What's different now?" Bruce asks, keeping his voice soft. For a moment, he sees no difference between every tired young woman he meets on the street, beaten down by the world, and the diamond-patterned woman next to him.

"He don't laugh when I get hurt no more." Harley sighs, like it's a great tragedy. It probably is, for her. Bruce tempers down the tiny spark of hope in his chest.

"Maybe explore other options." Bruce offers. Harley snorts in laughter, loud and sudden.

"What other options are there?" She says, voice light and airy, but Bruce can hear the fear in it. What other options are there for Harley Quinn?

Bruce pats her on the back when she's in her cell at Arkham. She curls up dejectedly on the bed, and he mentally schedules a visit to her.

"I'm worried about Harley." Tim brings up during breakfast one day. "She's barely tried to escape Arkham at all this week."

Bruce passes Cass the salt, and bumps his visit up. "Hm."

"Bats." Harley greets, leant against the wall of her cell, shuffling playing cards. She's allowed to wear makeup, plenty of others do, but she has decided to forgo it. She looks almost naked without dramatic black shapes lining her eyes.

"Harley." He's quiet for a moment. "Any reason you're still in here?" They both know she could leave if she wanted to, she understands the security too well to be truly trapped.

"Where would I go?" She spits, tearing the two of hearts apart. "Joker don't want me, family acts like I'm dead already -" she sighs, all the vitriol draining from her. "Not pretty enough to turn tricks, I reckon."

"There's a bed in the Batcave." And Bruce leaves after five more minutes of stunned silence.

Harley is camped out on the cot they use for medicinal purposes. Someone's thrown a soft red blanket over her, and she's definitely using a spare cape folded up as a pillow. She still looks tired, but less so.

"I'm glad she's here." Jason says, as they cut off their motorbikes as quietly as possible. "I'm - I'm not exactly giddy to see her, y'know? I'm just glad she's here."

"Yeah," Bruce agrees. "Me too."

#harley and bruce friendship you mean so much to me #harley quinn #harleen quinzel #bruce wayne #batman #dc #ficlet

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pastrydragon · 2 years ago

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Accent, speech pattern and Voice headcanons for the Gotham Rogues.

Riddler

In casual settings, Eddie has a slight New Jersey accent and cusses with the frequency you would expect from that.

He almost always has perfect grammar and has a very impressive vocabulary.

But there are some situations where "Fuck" just does not have a suitable replacement.

When he's going against Batman, The Riddler adopts a more trans Atlantic accent since it goes with his gameshow aesthetic.

Also since a LOT of his schemes are publicly televised he doesn't want to cuss on camera or forget to project his voice.

So adopting a different accent helps his brain remember how to act on camera so he can always appear classy.

Edward's voice is a bit more high and nasally than average, but not to an annoying degree. It's not particularly unique either. So if he remembers so change his voice slightly then he can make a phone call to anywhere and they won't recognize him.

Emotional variations include his accent getting thicker when he's angry or exhausted.

Scarecrow

John has a very rural Georgian accent.

Scarecrow: The Master Of Fear has a rather dramatic way of speaking due to his love of classic literature and poetry.

His years in academia have also left him with a very intellectual and scientific vocabulary.

John speaks with a kind of intensity and eloquence that you'd expect on a stage rather than at the front of a classroom.

A smooth baritone only enhances the effect.

Had he not been a professor, he would have made a killing as a raidio star or television narrator.

John only breaks out Southernisms when he's embarrassed. "Well I never!" "Why I outta-" he also stammers when embarrassed. otherwise his speech patterns don't have noticeable emotional variation except the ones he puts there.

Mad Hatter

Jervis has a strong Bristol accent. Which is an English accent that strongly pronounces R's and tends to slap an L at the end of words that should end in a vowel.

The classic example is Opera'l instead of Opera.

His voice is naturally high and soft, often making him sound much more indulgent toward others than he's actually feeling.

Although he does quote the Alice books often, he does not quote longer passages exactly unless he's having an episode.

The rest of the time he'll change them to fit what's happening or merely reference them.

If he's feeling particularly lucid and cheery, you may not even hear mention of the books at all.

Stress will cause longer more accurate quotes and chip at his lucidity along the way.

His only other emotional variation comes out when he's feeling flirtatious.

Jervis's voice tends to get more breathy and cooing around people he likes. He also goes harder on his R's giving some words a purr like sound.

Harley Quinn

We all know and love our girl Harley's Brooklyn accent.

Honestly I can't make an improvement on the BTAS version so scroll down.

Poison Ivy

Pam has a Virginian accent. It's the kind of southern bell accent you'd associate with Blanche Devereux.

Pair that with a voice like a lounge singer and everything that comes out of her mouth sounds sexy.

Even when she doesn't want it to.

It's actually pretty annoying for her.

Unlike John she uses plenty of southernisms such as "I Reckon" "Over yonder" and of course the venom filled "Bless your heart."

Catwomen

The Miami accent is strong on this women, and it tells you exactly why she moved to Gotham.

You can't wear all black leather in the kind of weather Florida's got.

Miami heat isn't sweet to everyone.

Being a second generation Cuban immigrant, she speaks Spanish fluently and while she speaks both it and English seamlessly she has run into one glitch.

She will occasionally forget whether a turn of phrase was originally English or Spanish.

She called John a dancing skeleton once and no one has let it die. From Esqueleto rumbero- Literally: Dancing skeleton, Meaning: Very thin.

Her actual voice is a pretty standard alto. Like Ed, as long as she disguises her accent she can basically call wherever without being recognized.

Another rogue that hits their R's harder while flirting. But it's less a seductive purr and more an "Oh, I'm being HUNTED" kind of sound to hear.

Bane

Bane is directly from Venezuela and has the accent to match.

His English is phenomenal for someone who's only been speaking it a few years but it's not always perfect.

Whenever he doesn't know or forgets the word for something he'll describe it using other words until the other person figures it out for him.

For example, this interaction between him and Riddler: "I need the office knives." "... I'm sorry, what?" "The office knives, with the holes in the handle." "Hmmm, is the answer perhaps scissors?" "YES! I need the scissors!"

Edward is the grand champion of figuring out what Bane is saying if Catwomen or Music Meister isn't there to translate the word from Spanish.

Bane has a naturally loud and deep voice which can make him sound aggressive even when he's not trying to be. His size doesn't help.

But really he's a very calm and levelheaded person.

If he's actually angry, you'll know it from how quiet deliberate his speech becomes.

A quiet Bane is a dangerous Bane.

Joker

New York accent.

Drops occasional NY phrases but doesn’t mention anything culturally significant to New York unless someone else brings it up.

He doesn't remember what part of New York he's from but if asked he'll say Coney Island.

His jealousy over Eddie growing up in Wildwood is real.

Harley swears up and down he's from Staten Island and anyone familiar with the different New York accents would agree with her.

Joker has a pretty distinct reedy voice that all gothamites will recognize as soon as they hear it.

It gets even higher on the rare occasion he's scared or nervous.

Music Meister

SoCal (Southern California) accent.

This accent is also called Valley Girl.

He's originally from San Diego and spent his early twenties in LA so the accent is thick and locked in.

He moved to the east coast to attempt a Broadway career before turning to villainy and kind of regrets not moving back west first.

He's the first person to complain about cold weather and bad Mexican food when the chance pops up.

But he's gotten too fond of the other rogues to seriously consider leaving.

Even if the Scarecrow keeps smacking him with a newspaper every time he misuses the word "literally".

He automatically starts singing his words when he becomes frightened or incredibly nervous. Which made sense until he revealed he did that even before he got his powers.

Odd.

Killer Croc

Waylon has a thick cajun accent, that along with a naturally growly bass voice can make it difficult for others to understand him.

He prefers speaking French to English and will go out of his way to talk to people he thinks might speak his preferred language.

Jervis, Edward, Victor Fries and Joker speak with him in French when in a one on one conversation.

Yes Joker speaks French, no he doesn’t remember why or how. He honestly didn’t even know he could until he met Waylon.

Waylon is incredibly charming and personable once you figure out what he's saying, he's definitely the most well liked rogue among his peers next to Harley.

Emotional variants include getting even more growly when angry and speaking completely in French when distracted.

Penguin

A lot of people say he has an English accent, he doesn’t, never say this in front of him.

The man is WELSH, and he has ruined people’s lives over having his accent confused on particularly difficult days.

He takes great pride in his heritage and being accused of being “English” of all things is one of the quickest ways to sour his mood.

No offense to Mr. Tetch of course, it's the principle of the thing really.

He rarely speaks Welsh these days unless visiting extended family.

He does use the proverb “Deuparth gwaith yw ei ddechrau”(Two-thirds of work is starting), mostly to himself but he’ll use the proverb with others when appropriate.

Emotional variants include his voice getting squawk like when scared. He also laughs like a mad pelican.

Clayface

I forget who came up with this originally and I'm kicking myself for not remembering but I've adopted the head canon that Clayface was an "aging" K-pop/drama star that was on tour in the states when his manager coerced him into trying an experimental cosmetic treatment that turned him into Clayface.

So Clay has a very strong Korean accent and probably speaks the worst English out of all the rogues.

It's passable but he understandably just wasn't expecting to need it this much.

Despite his difficulties he still somehow gains control over the majority of his conversations and seems to exude likability.

He's trained for years to make his voice as soothing and pleasant as possible and he's not going to let being a mud monster ruin his hard work.

Until something triggers his traumatic memories and sends him into a frothing rage full of bubbling curses or a depressive meltdown where he becomes a pile of blubbering goo.

He's totally incomprehensible when he's having either kind of breakdown even to other Korean speakers, honestly HE doesn't even really know what he's saying.

Many of the rogues have hired him to put his acting skills to use in various schemes and Clayface is amazed at all the new voices he can do.

He's also been Music Meister's backup vocalist for a few of his schemes so you know he's legitimately good.

Bookworm

He has a rather general east coast accent.

Until he gets angry and starts cursing in Portuguese.

You'd never guess because he's an ashy fucker and his skin never sees the sun since he spends all his time reading inside, but the guy is mainly indigenous Brazilian.

You might be able to get a clue from his facial features if he wasn't wearing the world's thickest glasses and a hat.

He has near permanent "Library voice" so people often struggle to hear him above everything else that might be going on.

His voice is surprisingly sonorous and captivating when he can be well heard.

Since Arkham doesn't often get new books, fresh literature was fought over until Joker suggested "AudioBookworm" which is just Bookworm reading the new book aloud for everyone.

Until his little used voice gives out a bit at which point Scarecrow or Mad Hatter will step in until the end of the chapter.

Mr. Freeze

Victor has a moderate Icelandic accent.

Riddler and Joker have a competition going to see how many lines from Skyrim they can trick him into saying.

Victor figured it out immediately but plays dumb to this day in order to fuck with them.

He said "Hey, you. You're finally awake." to Edward after he woke up from a nap in the rec room once and Victor will treasure the face that nerd made forever.

Victor has a bit of a "resting bitch voice" he always sounds annoyed.

Unless he's talking to Nora, then he just sounds like a simp.

Not really a voice head canon but he gets hiccups very easily from laughing.

BONUS Nora

Nora is from Belarus so she often got mistaken for having a Russian accent.

But unlike Oswald she rarely cares enough to correct people much less get angry over it.

Nora speaks with great confidence and authority, even when she doesn't necessarily have either.

Her voice definitely broadcasts "Don't even fucking THINK about arguing with me."

The personality and accent get her the nickname "Ice queen" wherever she works.

Which is very unfair, she's a kind and compassionate women!

She's just also right and she should say it.

Nora's voice becomes utterly saccharine around Victor, they're absolutely obnoxious to listen to together.

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brookebeamsbig · 7 months ago

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💭 harley quinn #32-37

it's time to process tini howard and sweeney boo's second story arc. unfortunately, harley is still hammering it out with the multiverse, but this time she is working with lady quark instead of against her. kinda.

now we have a new force to reckon with - the brother eyes.

howard is again enjoying throwing in dc deep cuts with the brother eyes (meaning I once again got to do a google deep dive). I do appreciate this true conceptualizing of harley in a broader, shared universe.

in howard's story, the brother eyes work for lady quark. on a craft level, this is an excellent setup for what howard's trying to do in this arc because so does harley. this creates a parallel within howard's tale that mirrors the overarching parallel howard bases her story reasoning upon.

because why are the brother eyes so interested in harley? in watching her and understanding her and mapping her? because she was once a sidekick who made something of herself. and they want to do that, too.

I like this idea. I like it a lot. it creates a unique story around one of the things that makes harley truly special. but I never said howard had bad ideas.

but before I get into the perils of howard's writing, I want to do a run down on some other important players in this arc.

in harley quinn #32, we get introduced to lux kirby, p.i. lux is a completely new character from this creative team, but I couldn't help feeling a sense of deja vu when they appeared. the "detective" seeking out a multiversal harley murderer felt a lot like something out of stephanie phillip's last arc. just sayin.

however, ultimately, I liked lux and what they brought to harley and this story. they were a fun catalyst and means to much of the action. I always vibe with a character like that. and they were a good friend. harley struggled a lot with her mental health and self-perception in these issues, and lux helped ground her.

speaking of friends, KEVIN'S BACK :DDD. and acting like kevin. god bless.

I was sososo pissed when howard essentially fucked kevin over at the beginning of her run. but she definitely put in the time here to make it up to us. that sequence where harley had to anticipate kevin's choices in order to locate him in the multiverse was genius.

there's also two groups of characters from the first arc that play an important role in this one - bud and lou and harley's college class.

y'all know I always love the babies. I appreciate that howard wanted to do something big and bold with them. I liked the twist where they were the suspected murderers. BUT a lot of their actions here were just convoluted to create conflict and drama. like... we can't tell harley the brother eyes are out to get her because... why???

and I thought it was fun having harley's class get dragged along in her adventures. but every time, it felt like howard got the concept but fumbled the execution. harley's class ends up on warworld? cool! but it feels too smooth and rushed and weird. harley's students get turned into omacs? oh no! except there was no emotional or consequential impact.

sadly, that's a common occurrence for howard's writing. howard has exciting ideas, but her writing is too surface level with bad transitions and flow. much of the time I feel like I'm reading her bulleted outline, not the final story.

she rushes pivotal moments. we end an issue with the brother eyes about to reveal harley's worst moments, but then we gloss over that at the beginning of the next one. she throws out plot threads and doesn't carry them through. we should be concerned that the warworld royal family has been turned into omacs, powerful weapons to be used against harley, but then we don't see them anything until they're healed.

that's not to say every single line or scene is bad. howard has said that harley's mental health is one of the most compelling parts of harley's character to her. we can see that reflected in the comics - in the storyline and themes but also in the moments that shine.

I thought the multiverse sequence in harley quinn #37 was the strongest part of this arc. (this does not count the framing narrative.) each scene portrayed harley's fears and doubts about her own capabilities and power in a creative way. what if she became the controlling one in her relationship? what if she was good but still so unstable she had to be locked up? what if she pushed everyone who cared about her away?

sweeney boo's art also had some great moments depicting harley's mental state from her spiraling to her negative self-talk.

however, as with everything in this run, the depiction of harley's mental health has its downsides. howard leans too much into sentiments like "oh no, everyone will think I'm bad!" "oh no, everyone's just putting up with me! "oh no, I'm such a screw up!" and "oh no, I'm going to get in trouble! better hide!" it reads too childish and infantilizing for a capable grown woman who has a PhD in psychology and a lifetime of living inside her own mind.

of course, I think harley's going to have worries, doubts, and fears as she navigates being a hero. exploring this is good since this is the story route we're taking. but howard often fails to strike the right balance.

unfortunately, this bleeds over into the depiction of harley and ivy's relationship. there's this idea that ivy has to handle or deal with harley. that harley's too loud and too much. that harley could disappoint ivy at any moment. harley shouldn't be a problem. harley should be a partner.

along those lines, when harley and ivy aren't fighting, ivy isn't doing... anything. she's just there. in a way that feels eerie. like we're still in knight terrors: poison ivy #1. you can see it in the facial expressions.

harley hides her shenanigans from ivy for most of howard's twelve issues because "oh no, ivy's going to be mad at me!" even when harley finally tells her what's going on, ivy sits it out. and it just... really sucks. ivy is harley's PARTNER IN CRIME. always has been. she should be IN ON THE SHENANIGANS.

I do acknowledge that this might be a broader dc editorial problem since ivy has her own ongoing and concurrent story, but STILL.

this second story arc was far from one of my favorite harley quinn tales, but at least now we can move on from this multiversal madness. (please gawd let us move on from this multiversal madness.)

#harley quinn #poison ivy #harlivy #dc comics #comics #harley quinn 32 #harley quinn 33 #harley quinn 34 #harley quinn 35 #harley quinn 36 #harley quinn 37 #comics review #spoilers

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dipstar1489 · 7 months ago

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Gotham Villains Headcanons

Got a couple of warnings. I won’t go into detail about the triggering topics, but best to get them out of the way now: references to death (specifically murder), mention of abuse, and a reference to cancer.

The Gotham villains are only famous in Gotham, so whenever a tourist questions why a circus clown is the greatest villain, you can bet that Joker would personally go after you and make it clear his a force not to reckon with.

Most of the villains have a bit of a friendly rivalry with the Bat Family. Like, both sides would ABSOLUTELY destroy the other, but if one side would come to battle while obviously severely injured or isn’t in the mindset to fight, the other would call it quits and wait to battle them till side one gets better. Joker used to have this relationship with Batman up till Joker mercilessly damaging the Robins some time before he killed Jason.

Joker can be actually funny and he crimes would be hilarious if not the circumstances.

Riddler and Joker meet at a puzzle competition before they became evil and the Joker won by cheating hence Riddler’s hatred for Joker.

Joker’s first and most consistent crime he commits is identity fraud and even he doesn’t remember his true name. The only thing that’s consistent is that he ran away from home, but the circumstances are always shifting.

Penguin, Riddler and Bane work together. Penguin is the owner of the club, Riddler rigs the games and Bane is the bouncer. Bane is also Penguin and Riddler’s third wheel.

Penguin hates Catwoman because of she’s a cat lady. No other reason.

Penguin will always close his business for a week while he mourns the extinction of a bird.

Penguin would 100% buy Elton John’s bird outfit if given the chance. Riddler poked fun at him for wanting such a ridiculous costume, until Penguin brought out the spandex, to which shut Riddler up quickly.

Penguin has been referred to as Mary Poppins way too many times and he owns it.

Never hurt or insult a bird in front of Penguin or you’ll be his number one target. Doesn’t matter if it’s a rubber duck, he’ll go after you.

Most villains are an activist and will actively defend their cause. Poison Ivy with nature, Harley and Two-Face with abuse survivors, Penguin for birds conservation, Catwoman with animal shelters (cats are just her specialty), Mr. Freeze with ending cancer and global warming, and Riddler with mental health.

Two-Face and Catwoman would occasionally play with kittens together in their free time.

Harley Quinn as bat family’s personal therapist with the family using their hero names. For example, first name Night and last name Wing.

Harley is basically the villains’ therapist as well and overcharges her clients if they personally offend her whether it be murder or killing one of Ivy’s plants. The only person Harley will outright refuse her service to is Joker and that’s because she knows what that asshole can do.

Jason sees Harley and Ivy as aunts if they become allies and he will call them in when Bruce disagrees with him, resulting in a chaotic coparenting system of “Well everyone’s gonna blow out someone’s brains eventually,” “Not when we’re trying to order a chicken sandwich Harley!”

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riddle-me-ri · 1 year ago

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Alice type reader and march hare type readers are all well and good but I'd love to see a general (or Gotham, Arkham, btas) Jervis x queen of hearts type reader!!

a/n: asdfg yes, yes, yes I’m so here for this! Will likely do a dormouse reader in another post in the future especially if there's a mighty need from others lol. I couldn’t really come up with an idea for a drabble, so I decided to just go with headcanons and to just go ahead do all the Mad Hatters hehe Hope you enjoy anon!

The Mad Hatters with a Queen of Hearts-Type Reader

Arkhamverse Mad Hatter:

- Jervis admires you.

- He has to get respect and attention the hard way, it’s fun, but far more difficult than it has to be.

- Not you though, you walk into a room and everyone shakes in their boots.

- They know not to mess with you, to respect you (and Jervis doesn’t have to threaten them).

- Jervis especially appreciates how protective you are of him.

- The only person that gets to see your softer sweet side is him.

- And boy, does it make him feel incredibly special.

- You're his queen of hearts and he's your mad hatter king (it's all nonsense anyway)

BTAS Mad Hatter:

- Jervis is slightly intimidated.

- He prays for the poor souls that ever have to come face to face with your wrath.

- But he does manage to charm you and you allure him.

- You will be a very powerful ally to have and vice versa.

- Soon you two are unstoppable.

- Jervis appreciates your loyalty and your tenacity.

- He has never met anyone so fierce and determined.

- He is forever grateful to have you by his side.

TNBA Mad Hatter:

- Much like his BTAS counterpart, he’s intimidated.

- Unsure what to make of such a strong minded individual.

- He is mesmerized by you however.

- Jervis is used to being behind the scenes…quite comfortable with it until the end.

- But seeing you command a room and take charge…it's captivating to the scientist.

- He's pleasantly surprised when he finds how fond you are of him.

- Jervis still gets nervous when you yell or scream.

- But he does take pride in knowing he is one of the few to calm you down.

Gotham Mad Hatter:

- Jervis is enamored with you.

- Your fire, your rage, your destruction…

- It's something he's always felt but to see it in someone else…

- It's incredible, it makes his heart race.

- You two will paint the town red.

- Gotham will fall to its knees for you two.

- And no one would stand in your way.

- Yes, off with their heads, indeed!

Harley Quinn: TAS Mad Hatter:

- Jervis will pretend he's not impressed with you.

- But in reality he's actually shaking like a leaf.

- However, you do amaze him with just how violent you are.

- Jervis enjoys watching you fight to protect him and your plans.

- It makes him chuckle with glee to see you take down multiple adversaries.

- He has no problem helping you clean blood off your pretty face.

- Jervis relishes in the fact you've only got a soft spot for him.

- You two are a force to be reckoned with.

Joker’s Asylum Mad Hatter:

- Jervis is mortified at first.

- The Queen of Hearts is a blind fury.

- He already experiences enough anger and aggression in his life.

- Surely he wants no more of it.

- He also admires your strength and tenacity.

- He’s perplexed when he sees you aim your fury towards those that wronged him.

- You protect him? Y-You care about him?

- Perhaps your fury isn’t all that blind after all.

Secret Six Mad Hatter:

- I just have an inkling he gets a rise out of seeing you get angry.

- Jervis loves to see how red your face can get, how loud you can scream…

- And yes, he’s still referring to when you're angry.

- He enjoys it because he knows that he can quickly simmer your temper.

- Or better yet, you’ll punish him later for making you get upset.

- Either way leaves Jervis snickering to himself

- You can be short and cruel, it's true.

- But Jervis can see the passion and that will always captivate him back to you.

#ri writes #arkhamverse mad hatter x reader #btas mad hatter x reader #tnba mad hatter x reader #ratter x reader #gotham mad hatter x reader #harley quinn the animated series mad hatter x reader #hqtas mad hatter x reader #joker's asylum mad hatter x reader #secret six mad hatter x reader

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