#i made a carmine pony for this bit

[melly-artes]

She’s epic gaming, Drayton.

[unikittybigbrightworldau]

OC “Wiki Pages”: Mabel

Nicknames (aka): May

Affiliations: Central Unikingdom High School Marching Band and Color Guard

Family: Carmine (father), Meryl (mother), Millie (older sister), Douglas (younger brother), Scarlet (younger sister), Max (youngest brother)

Friends: Rosa, Unikitty, Puppycorn

Color: Red, orange, beige, brown, light brown, dark brown

Special Features: Sparkles on her face, red leaves, musical skills, wooden body

Character Influences: @ra1nb0w-ph0en1x, Timber Spruce (My Little Pony Equestria Girls), Whittles (Mario franchise)

Likes: Music, marching bands, playing her clarinet or piccolo, band class, hugs, sparkles

Dislikes: Ants, hot dogs, feeling left out

Gender: Female

Pronouns: She/her

Birthday: December 5

Quote: “Afternoon! How are ya?”

——

Debut: TBA

Headcanon Voice: Mabel from Minecraft: Story Mode

——

Mabel Maples is a character in the Unikitty: Big Bright World series. She is a citizen of the Unikingdom who makes friends with Unikitty. Her voice is similar to Mabel's voice in Minecraft: Story Mode.

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Physical Appearance: Mabel is a maple tree being (or a Stumplet, as she calls herself) who is Unikitty's age. Her head appears to be a sideways stump, which her face is carved into. She has light brown eyes with carved "eyelashes" and a small circular nose. She often dabs sparkles onto her face. She has small red maple leaves for hair, and her "space buns" are trimmed to look like larger maple leaves. Her torso resembles a tree trunk with the bark poking out near its bottom. Her arms resemble branches, as they have little maple leaves growing on their sides. Her legs resemble smaller trunks, and her feet resemble roots.

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Personality: Mabel is a very open-minded girl. She listens to other people when they need to talk to her. She's good-natured and imaginative, and she always puts her best foot forward. She's quite a hugger as well, and she's known by her friends as giving some firm and strong hugs. Mabel likes to listen to music and learn about it. She plays the clarinet and the piccolo. Mabel‘s super interested in marching bands and what they do, and she is a part of the band at her school. She hopes to become a drum major. 

Mabel is optimistic, walking through life with a smile on her face. She loves to entertain others and find and spread joy. She never shies away from going all out. For this reason, she does whatever she can to make sure people stay entertained, at her band concerts and other occasions. She’s determined to leave a seed of herself in others’ memories, if you know what I mean. Before her life is over, she’ll make her mark on the world, and she swears by it.

Mabel does things with lots of energy, but it’s hard for her to recognize when she’s going too full-throttle. Sometimes, she has to remind herself to slow down.

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Trivia

Mabel looks a bit similar to Spinel from Steven Universe and Circus Baby from Five Nights at Freddy's, but this is all coincidental.

Her interests came from Jezabat's idea to create a character who is in band, inspired by her best friend @ra1nb0w-ph0en1x.

One of Mabel's instruments is the piccolo because most professional piccolos are made out of wood.

Her design takes inspiration from the Whittles from Super Mario Galaxy 2 and the Mario Party series.

Mabel is sensitive to heat.

If a bug bites her, she'll begin to feel weak and woozy.

Mabel is a lesbian.

Mabel and her family moved to the Unikingdom from Botania when she was about five.

Mabel also appears in Jezabat's Cuckoo Land Pals AU, in which she is an attendee at Camp Action and Artsy Unikitty's love interest.

Jezabat pictures her and Unikitty having a romantic interest in each other in Big Bright World as well.

----

In Other Languages

Arabic: مابل / "Mabl" 

Spanish: Mabel

German: Mabel Blatt

Swedish: Mabel Blad

Italian: Mabel

Swahili: Nyekundu

Portuguese: Mabel

Korean: 메이블 / "Meibeul”

Japanese: メイベル / "Meiberu"

Chinese: 枫叶 / "Fēngyè" (Maple Leaf)

Polish: Mabel Liść

Greek: Μέιμπελ Φύλλο / “Méimpel Fýllo” (Mabel Leaf)

French: Maybelle

Russian: Красная Мэйбл / "Krasnaya Meybl" (Red Mabel)

Hindi: लाल मेपल / "Laal Mepal" (Red Maple)

Thai: ใบไม้แดง / "Bımị̂ dæng" (Red Leaf)

Turkish: Mabel

[lfthinkerwrites]

A Riddle for a Bat, pt. 7

Title: A Riddle for a Bat

Fandom: Batman

Pairing: Riddlebat

Rating: T, for canon violence and hostage situation.

Chapter Summary: Bruce and Edward go to pay Falcone's driver a visit, but an incident there significantly affects their relationship.

Previous Chapters: 1/2/3/4/5/6

AO3 Link

The two were barely back in the Batmobile when Nigma began to recite information about the suspected mole. "Mark Cragen, age 37. He's been employed as Carmine Falcone's driver for the past ten years. Address is 4525 Avenue D, apartment 1505, Gotham Starlight Apartments Gotham City."

Bruce nodded as he programmed the address into he onboard Batcomputer. He could see Nigma staring gleefully at it out of the corner of his eye. He did seem to have developed a fondness for his tech in the last few hours. As soon as he was done, Bruce fired the engines on the Batmobile and it took off. Bruce considered the information Nigma gave him. "Gotham Starlight Apartments. That's in the Downtown interior. Pretty fancy neighborhood for a driver."

He heard Nigma chuckle a bit. "Quite. Which makes one wonder, how exactly he affords it."

"Thorne's been paying him off," Bruce said. He almost smiled a bit, before he caught himself. As much as he enjoyed working with Dick, it was almost refreshing to be partnered with someone who was more of an equal, rather than an apprentice. Nigma certainly kept him on his toes. "What else do you know about him?"

Nigma hummed a bit. "I happen to know from a reliable source that he also has a bit of a gambling habit. Gotham Racetracks, every Thursday afternoon. He regularly spends a few hundred dollars betting the ponies."

"Which is probably how he made contact with Thorne. He's been running the racetracks for years." They were at a red light now. Bruce turned to glance at Nigma and was surprised to see him looking back, genuine admiration on his face.

"Well done. I may let you join my detective agency at this rate."

Bruce scoffed. "I'm afraid I'll have to pass."

Nigma shrugged. "It was worth a shot." He chuckled again. "Trading barbs with the Dark Knight himself. And to think, Nina and Deirdre never thought this would happen."

Nigma seemed to be in a good mood. Perhaps he'd be a bit more receptive to questions. "How did you meet those two? On another case?"

Bruce detected a faint flush form on Nigma's face. "Not exactly," he said. He sighed. "I suppose I can tell you. Back when I first joined GCPD, a few of the more boorish of my former colleagues thought I needed to 'loosen up' a bit, so they took me to a strip club." Bruce watched the other man fidget with his sleeve a bit. "I was in my twenties at the time, I wasn't quite so-I didn't quite have the nerve to tell them-I wasn't out yet." He gave Bruce a furtive look, almost as if he was afraid that he'd pull over and toss him out of the car.

"Ah," Bruce said and he felt relief as Nigma visibly relaxed. To tell the truth, he'd had his suspicions back at the party. He had to stop himself from shaking his head. Poor Ronnie, once again falling for someone completely unattainable.

"Well, anyway," Nigma continued. "The lot of them pooled a few hundred together and got me a private room with Deirdre. As it turned out, she was about as interested in men as I am in women. We spent a half hour talking with each other, mostly about how idiotic my colleagues were." He smiled in earnest. "She introduced me to Nina a few days later and we've been as thick as thieves since."

Bruce nodded. "So it's not purely professional. It's a genuine friendship."

Nigma turned to give him an arch look. "Is that so surprising?" He shrugged when Bruce didn't answer. "I suppose I've always been attracted to more unconventional types. I find them much more stimulating than the average person. You must be too, I think. Why else would you do what you do?"

"I do what I do for the good of this city," Bruce said immediately. "Not because I enjoy it."

Nigma scoffed. "You regularly face off against mobsters, people with extraordinary conditions and powers and a psychotic clown, all while dressed up like a bat. You can't tell me you don't enjoy it just a little bit."

Bruce didn't answer as he considered Nigma's words. He couldn't deny that there was a part of him that was exhilarated whenever he sped off in the Batmobile, that was proud whenever he'd solved a challenging case, that was excited when he used his grappling hook to fly through the night sky. He knew how much Dick enjoyed the life, for the same reasons. Despite this, Bruce never lost sight of what he stood for, of why Gotham needed a Batman. He'd lived that reality when he was eight. "I don't think you do what you do purely for the enjoyment," he said finally. "You must have had the greater good in mind at some point. Wasn't that why you joined GCPD in the first place?"

Nigma's smile turned into a dark scowl. "I was naive once," he said. "I won't be making that mistake again."

"What happened to you?" Bruce probed. "Why did you leave GCPD?"

"Why are you so fixated on that?" Nigma asked, his voice becoming almost venomous. "What does it matter, who I used to be? How is it relevant to the case at hand? I'm not about to start asking you why you started wearing that cape and cowl!"

Bruce's eyes narrowed. "It matters because it's what's been motivating you to take down Thorne. " When Nigma didn't respond, he tried in a softer tone, "Did Loeb or Thorne threaten you? Push you out?"

Nigma for a long time said nothing. Then he spoke so softly that Bruce almost couldn't hear him. "They didn't do anything to me." Bruce was about to ask him more when he folded his arms and pointedly turned to look out the passenger window. "I'm not talking about this anymore."

Bruce sighed, then turned back to concentrate on the road ahead of them. Whatever had happened at GCPD, it was apparent just how badly it had hurt Nigma. It had embittered him to the point that he'd changed his own last name in order to sever his connection to his past. Bruce wondered for a moment who Edward Nigma had been before that, or rather, who Edward Nashton had been. He was beginning to regret that he hadn't known that man. Finally, he caught sight of their destination. "We're here," he said.

He pulled the Batmobile into the parking lot across the street from the twenty story building that was Gotham Starlight Apartments. He unbuckled his seatbelt and pressed the button that opened the hood of the car, allowing himself to get out. Nigma followed him out, not making eye contact. "Be careful," Bruce said. "He may be expecting us."

Nigma rolled his eyes. "I do know how to conduct myself around suspects, thank you very much." He pushed past Bruce without making eye contact. Bruce frowned. So he'd decided to be difficult. Wonderful. He followed Nigma to the front door of the building. Bruce checked his watch. It was 2:00 am. Only a resident with a fob would be able to get in at this hour. Normally, he'd simply grapple his way up and go in through a window, but somehow he doubted Nigma would approve of going airborne. Instead, when he approached the locked door, he pulled out a device from a pocket on his belt. "What's that?" he heard Nigma ask. It seemed that his natural curiosity won out over his sullenness.

"It's a device to disrupt the time lock on the door," Bruce explained, placing it on the handle. The device lit up for a few seconds, then beeped before the door popped open. Nigma sniffed.

"Well done. If you want to do things the easy way, I suppose." He entered through the open door and walked towards the elevators without a look back. Bruce followed, shutting the door behind them. He made it to the elevator just as it was about to shut and stood next to Nigma, neither man speaking or even looking at the other. It was a long elevator ride to the 15th floor. As soon as the door opened, Nigma was out, taking a right turn down a hallway. Bruce followed, taking note of their surroundings. It was quiet and the hallway was empty, as Bruce suspected it would be given the hour. The denizens of this part of Gotham were either asleep or still out.

Suddenly, Nigma paused before him. Bruce caught up to him, his guard up. "What is it?"

Nigma pointed at the apartment in front of him. The door was wide open. Bruce stepped forward, a Batarang at the ready. "Stay behind me," he whispered. He stepped forward through the open door and into a living room. In the center of the room, in a pool of blood, lay the body of a white man. As Bruce took cautious steps closer, he saw two bullet wounds on the man's chest. No doubt this was Mark Cragen, Falcone's driver.

"No, no no no no!" He heard Nigma hiss out behind him. "Damn it!" The other man stomped his foot. "This was our best chance to get Thorne! Now there's no way to link him!"

"Thorne must have thought that too," Bruce said. He crouched down to get a closer look at the body. "He probably sent the same man who attacked Falcone at the hospital to make sure Cragen couldn't talk." He'd probably done the same to any informants he had in Maroni's camp as well.

"Wonderful," Nigma spat out. "I'm going to search his room to see if I can't salvage something out of this." Bruce watched the man walk past him and down a hallway to the left. If there was any evidence linking Cragen to Thorne, the killer had probably already taken it. The real evidence would be left on the body. Bruce moved his fingers to examine the wounds. .38 caliber, same as the gun the attacker at the hospital used. Then he took a closer look. The wounds were still bleeding.

Bruce moved his fingers to the pulse point on the dead man's neck. There was no pulse of course, but the body was still warm. The man had died only minutes ago. Bruce got up to his feet. The apartment was at the end of the hallway and he and Nigma hadn't seen anyone else in between getting off the elevator and arriving here. Either the killer had gone down the stairs-

Or he was still here.

Bruce ran down the hallway towards the bedroom. "Nigma!" he shouted. In seconds, he'd made it to the man's bedroom, only to stop dead in his tracks. He was too late. Before him stood the blond man from the hospital, one gloved hand covering Nigma's mouth. The other, holding a gun to his temple. Nigma's green eyes were wide and he looked Bruce beseechingly. The man gave Bruce a crooked smile. "I see you got a new partner, Batman. What happened to Robin?" He smirked a bit. "Did I kill him?"

Bruce's eyes narrowed and he stepped forward. "Let. Him. Go."

The man took a step back, shaking his head a bit. "No, I don't think so. You take another step forward, and I'll blow his brains out." Nigma struggled a bit to get out of the man's hold, but the killer only dropped his hand from his mouth to wrap his forearm around his neck. Bruce froze. If what had happened at the hospital was any indication, the man was serious. The killer laughed. "That's a good rodent. Now, hold your hands up where I can see them."

"Don't!" Nigma shouted. "Just take him out!"

"Sounds like your partner's got a bit of a death wish," the killer said.

"More like I've seen more hostage situations in this Godforsaken town than you've killed people," Nigma shot back. "If you kill me, what exactly is stopping Batman from breaking every bone in your body?"

The killer's smirk fell as he considered this. While this was happening, Bruce's hand slowly crept to the reverse Batarang he kept on his leftmost utility belt pocket. He'd used it before in situations like this. He just needed Nigma to keep the killer distracted for a few moments more-

The killer smirked again and began dragging Nigma towards two windowed doors on the far left side of the room. Bruce followed his movements and his own eyed widened when he realized what they were. A balcony. They were on the 15th floor. The killer pushed through them, dragging Nigma outside and Bruce quickly followed. The killer was now alongside the balcony railing, Nigma on his right side, only inches away from being over the railing. He was looking down, his eyes large as saucers. "Your partner's got a pretty smart mouth," the killer said. "Tell me: can he fly too?" Then he gave Nigma a short, sharp shove and the private detective tipped over the railing and off the building with a piercing cry.

Bruce vaulted over the railing a second later and dove down, headfirst. Nigma was free-falling, his arms outstretched. Bruce in his vertical dive was catching up to him, but three floors had gone by. 12 more. Another second, and he'd caught up to Nigma, grabbing hold of the man. Three more stories had passed by. 9 more. "Hold on!" he shouted and Nigma complied, throwing his arms around his torso. Bruce angled them so that his body was facing the ever approaching ground and pulled out his grappling hook. 5 more stories. He had to get this right. He took aim and fired back up towards the balcony railing. 3 more stories. The hook met its target and the pair were suddenly vaulted back up. Nigma's grip tightened even more onto Bruce. As soon as the balcony railing was in sight, Bruce grabbed a hold with one hand, the other hand tossing Nigma back onto the safety of the balcony. As soon as he was sure Nigma was on solid ground, Bruce pulled himself over the railing and back on the balcony. He took a quick look. The killer was long gone, as he suspected. He might still catch him if he jumped back down toward the street-

Then he caught a glimpse of Nigma and froze. The man was curled up onto his side, his breath coming in short, sharp gasps. Bruce immediately went to his side. "Nigma?" he asked. "Are you alright?"

Nigma couldn't answer him at first. "I can't-I can't breathe-I can't-"

Bruce realized he was having a panic attack. He looked back to the street. He couldn't leave Nigma in a state like this. He gently brought his hand to Nigma's back and rubbed it. "Deep breaths," he said. "Take deep breaths. You're alright."

"What time is it when an elephant sits on your fence?" Nigma gasped out.

Bruce frowned. "What?"

Nigma took another deep gasp of breath. "Ask me a riddle," he said. "Helps me when I get like this. What time is it when an elephant sits on your fence?"

Bruce nodded. "Time to get a new fence," he said. "Where does a 500-pound gorilla sit?"

"Anywhere it wants," Nigma answered. He began to gasp again. "I thought I was going to die-"

"But you didn't," Bruce said, continuing to rub his back. "Deep breaths, Edward. Mr. Smith has four daughters. Each of them has a brother. How many children does he have?"

"Five," Edward answered. He turned to look at him. "Did-did you just call me 'Edward'?"

Bruce didn't acknowledge the question. "Feed me and I live. Give me water and I die. What am I?"

"Fire," Edward answered. His breath had slowed down and he slowly rolled over onto his back.

"Are you alright?" Bruce asked.

Edward nodded. "I'm getting there."

"Has this happened before?"

Edward shook his head. "Not since GCPD. I can usually manage it better." He'd lost his hat in the fall, but otherwise, Edward didn't look the worse for wear. Edward pushed himself up to a sitting position. "The killer-"

"He's gone by now," Bruce said. "Relax, Edward."

"No!" He shouted. "That was our best lead! How could you let him just get away?"

"You were falling to your death," Bruce said bluntly. "Saving you was more important."

Edward's mouth dropped open at that. He looked up at Bruce with a strange wonder in his eyes. The smug, preening persona of the private detective was gone and now Bruce suspected he was beginning to see bits of the true man, of Edward Nashton. Edward groaned and shook his head. "I don't believe it. I'm not partnered with you for a few hours and I've already been a damsel in distress. The girls will never let me live it down."

"You'll live," Bruce said. He got up to his feet and picked Edward up, carrying him in a bridal hold back into the apartment. The other man flushed a bit but otherwise offered no resistance. "What happened to your cane?"

"I must have dropped it when our homicidal friend grabbed me," he answered. Bruce set him down on the bed for a moment, then scanned the room. He saw the cane laying on the floor just past the doorway and grabbed it, handing it back to Edward without a word. "Thank you," Edward said. "What now?"

"I'm taking you home," Bruce said. "I think you've had enough excitement for one evening."

Edward's eyes narrowed. "The patronizing is not welcome," he said. Then his shoulders slumped. "But you're right. I have things I need to see to tomorrow anyway." He looked back up at Bruce. "This isn't the end of our partnership, is it?"

Bruce should probably say yes. There were still many unanswered questions he had though. And there were things he wanted to know about Edward. "No," he said and a part of him was happy at the look of relief on Edward's face. "I'm not taking you to high rise buildings again though."

Edward shot him a sardonic look. "I am just lucky, I guess."

Instead of an apartment building, Edward directed him back to his office. "Do you live in your office?" Bruce found himself asking as he followed Edward into the building.

"No," Edward answered. "The floor above it. Cramped, but functional." Bruce followed him up the stairs and into a small apartment. Bruce eyed it critically. Cramped was a bit of an understatement. It wasn't quite a studio apartment, as there was a hallway that presumably led to a bedroom and bathroom, but he could barely detect where the boundary lines between the kitchen and the living room. There were unused rooms in Wayne Manor that were bigger than this.

Edward opened a closet and removed his green jacket before hanging it up. "I really did like that hat," he mourned. "Oh well." He walked past Bruce towards his kitchen. "I need a drink. Do you want anything?"

"No," Bruce answered. "I won't be here long." While Edward was occupied in the kitchen, Bruce's eyes happened to go to his round dining room table. On it was various newspaper clippings, mostly of Thorne and Bruce himself. He raised an eyebrow at the dates on some of the clippings. Just how long had Edward been interested in meeting him? Besides the clippings was an open planner. Bruce could make out a few events in Edward's messy handwriting, but one, in particular, caught his attention. LUNCH WITH KRISTEN. WEDNESDAY, 1:30. That was today's date. Bruce remembered the third set of initials on Edward's whiteboard. K.K. Was this Kristen K.K.? He thought about looking through the planner when he heard Edward's footsteps walking back towards him. Bruce looked up to see the other man running his hand through his now messy auburn hair awkwardly.

"By the way," Edward said. "Thank you. For saving me."

"You're welcome," Bruce said. He turned to leave when Edward's voice called him back.

"What now?"

Bruce considered this. "I need to speak with Maroni," he said. "When you're up to it, ask your Maroni sources if they've heard anything unusual. If there's any chance Thorne's informants in Maroni's gang are still alive, we need to find them. I'll be in touch."

Edward nodded. "Well...good night then, I guess."

Bruce left without another word.

As soon as he was back in the Batmobile, Bruce radioed Wayne Manor. "Dick? Are you still awake?"

"Sleep is overrated," came Dick's reply. "So. How did the new partner work out?"

"It was...an interesting experience. There's someone I need you to look up."

"Shoot."

"See if you can find any information about a Kristen linked with Edward Nashton."

[coppicefics]

MAJOR SPOILERS FOR ‘MASKED OMENS’, PLEASE DON’T REBLOG!

[Image Description: Image 1 - A simple rendition of the Masked Singer UK logo, a golden mask with colourful fragments flying off of it. The mask has a golden halo and a golden devil tail protruding from either side. Below, gold text reads ‘Masked Omens’. Overlaid on top of all this are the words ‘MAJOR SPOILERS’ in large white capitals.

Image 2 & 3 - A double-page spread from the ‘Feature’ section of the Capital Herald, dated Saturday, 15th May 2021. The information is arranged in boxes with pale peach coloured backgrounds. Each box also contains a picture of the character or characters described therein - two of these characters are symbolised by random background characters from Good Omens. Full transcript below the cut. End ID.]

The Capital Herald, Saturday 15th May, 2021 Feature, page 8-9

Where are they now? The Celebrities behind the masks of The Masked Singer UK’s first live series, three months later They sang, danced, and were unmasked live in front of the nation. But what do their lives look like beyond the mask? We caught up with 2021′s Masked Singers to find out what’s changed MARY HODGES with additional contributions by EDWARD BIGGS & SCUZZ FISHER

Page 8

Top left: Dr. Raven Sable - APPLE Dr. Sable is awaiting the dates of an inquiry into the hospitalisations of Adam Mann and Lilith Root, former ambassadors for his CHOW brand, who allege that their conditions were the direct result of their employment with him. If the allegations are upheld, it's likely that Sable will be struck off and will no longer be permitted to practice medicine. Already, sales of his CHOW lifestyle products and books are down and stocks in his company are plummeting. Sable maintains his innocence on all counts.

Top right: Newton Pulsifer - AXOLOTL Anathema Device - BLACK CAT The unexpected it-couple of the year were spotted having a cosy picnic just last week. It seems love's young dream still has its hold on this adorable pair, who obliged passing reporters with a few posed photographs before asking for privacy for the rest of their date.The two made their relationship public at the beginning of April, and so far they show no signs of tiring of one another. Pulsifer is preparing to provide commentary on the Premier League starting in August, and Device is scheduled to set off on a UK tour in October.

Centre left: Carmine Zugiber - WAR Zugiber recently returned to Celestan, just in time to report on its division into Lestern and Fernor. While the fighting has now largely died down, Carmine intends to stay on in the country to report on the political situation as it develops. While some of her reports will be published through News World Weekly, she's also established a new website of her own where she can, as she says in the introductory post, “dig deeper into the underlying factors beneath the headlines”.

Centre right: Esther James - NINJA After leading the Red Roses to Six Nations victory in March, James began work – alongside her girlfriend, Jane Adams – on setting up a charitable foundation to encourage LGBT+ youngsters to pursue their sporting dreams. Officially set to launch in June this year, Off The Pridelines will offer scholarships, help connect youngsters with teams, and run various support services, as well as a training and accreditation scheme for teams and venues to become more supportive. “A lot of gay and trans kids have a lot of fear tied up with school PE lessons, changing rooms, and sports. Many don't know where they can safely train or play,” James states in the foundation's pre-launch press pack. “Off The Pridelines aims to fix that and help them become more confident and active without having to hide who they are.”

Bottom left: Sergeant Shadwell - BELL As well as forming an unlikely duo with Marjorie Potts – the two have been spotted together in tea shops, at antiques fairs, and even admiring the properties in the window of an estate agent's – Shadwell has been making frequent trips to the town of Little Dyvyn, where work on the restoration of Godleigh Manor has recently been allowed to begin. “Lucy [Godleigh, the owner] is really keen to keep the Wytchfynder Army informed and involved in the process, and I think it's really interesting to get to see inside the walls of the place,” Shadwell told viewers in a recent YouTube video, “so I reckon I'll pop in every so often, have a look around and report anything interesting I find out. For example, that rattling noise from the first video? Turns out there are wooden window shutters inside a hollow wall, and a draft was blowing through them. Something to keep in mind in future 'haunting' cases.”

Bottom Right:

Agnes Nutter - BONFIRE “Some stories wait for no-one,” as Nutter tweeted a couple of weeks ago, and that certainly seems to have been true of her latest book. Just a month after she first mentioned that she'd begun writing a new novel, Nutter has already reported that the first draft is almost finished, and she appears to be planning for a September release date. “I'm going to dedicate this one to my new friend Marjorie,” she told Twitter, “she's been a font of fascinating anecdotes and very generous in allowing me to draw inspiration from them.”

Page 9

Top left: Pat Maputi - SQUID P-White's Chalkdust tour is in full swing, with packed crowds selling out arenas across the UK and Europe. Tickets are currently on sale for the American stretch of the tour, which should keep Pat busy until next spring. After that, Maputi plans to “sleep for about a month and then start writing a new album”, they told the Capital Herald – although they will be making time to attend the Blue Peter garden party. For now, though, it's life on the road for Maputi as they wrap up this leg of the tour.

Top centre: Aziraphale Fell - GOOSE Anthony Crowley - SNAKE The Amazing Mr. Fell's magic show has been sold out for three solid months, ever since his appearance on The Masked Singer, and even adding extra shows on Wednesday and Saturday afternoons doesn't seem to have entirely sated the public's demand. Fell himself seems to be spending most of his time off in the company of Anthony Crowley, predominantly in various London restaurant establishments. Most recently, the two were spotted enjoying a late lunch at the Ritz to celebrate the announcement that Crowley has been cast as Rafferty in the new TV adaptation of Sir Thomas Parsett's The Grasswater Affair. “Yeah, thrilled to get another go at Grasswater,” Crowley told the Capital Herald, “and with the support of Noel [Garmin, showrunner] and all the people who've helped me reach the point where this is possible.” Asked about the nature of his friendship with Fell, Crowley seemed lost for words, but Fell stepped in with a brief statement. “I'm afraid it's quite ineffable. And, if you don't mind, I believe those are our desserts.” So it seems The Masked Singer's contestants still have some mysteries for us!

Bottom left: Marjorie Potts - TEAPOT Madame Tracy has been a very busy woman – as well as returning to TV with her show Drawing Back the Veil on Saturday nights, she's also still writing for the New Aquarian and overseeing her increasingly popular Psychic Hotline. But despite all this, she's also found time to be seen at the forefront of a couple of protests, notably against proposed changes to the Freedom Pass system, alongside fellow Masked Singer contestants Agnes Nutter and Sergeant Shadwell. The latter has also been seen making frequent calls to Potts' Camden address – but she's tight-lipped on the subject. “I don't kiss and tell, dear,” she told our reporter – and perhaps you can draw your own conclusions from that.

Bottom centre: Lawrence Richmond - PONY Last week's General Election - the third in four years - saw Richmond lose the Toffley South seat he'd occupied since 2005. In a speech to his supporters immediately after the result was declared, he announced his intention to take a brief break from politics in order to spend more time with his family, and is currently holidaying with wife Victoria and son Horace in the South of France.

Right-hand column: AND THE REST... Jeremy Wensleydale While Wensleydale is currently in rehearsals for a production of Turandot at Glyndebourne this summer, he has also found time to announce that he will be spending the autumn recording an album of some of his favourite operatic and choral numbers, along with a number of famous voices. This will be Wensleydale's first full album since 2018, and is already eagerly anticipated by his many fans. Brian Thames Thames is now coming to the end of his latest tour, The British Inquisition, and has recently found time to appear on several comedy panel shows and chat shows. He's then scheduled to run an online comedy masterclass, which he'll be recording immediately after his tour ends. “I had a teacher at school who told me I had a real talent for helping people remember things. I think usually it was just because they remembered the jokes. So I could hardly pass up this opportunity - this one's for you, Miss Tyler.” Pepper Moonchild Moonchild is currently filling in as a presenter on The One Show, and recently announced that she hopes to publish a detective novel next year. “I've been getting loads of advice from my literary hero, Agnes Nutter – it's something I've always wanted to do, but my agent at the time advised against diversifying too much. My new agent has been nothing but supportive - they even put me in touch with a good literary agent, so now all I have to do is write the best book I can and see how it goes!” Adam Young and Warlock Dowling After years of rumours and speculation about their relationship, presenters Adam Young and Warlock Dowling eloped to tie the knot in New York last weekend.“We didn't tell anyone we were getting married,” Dowling said, after breaking the news on Pam and Sam AM earlier this week. “Our families were a bit surprised! But we just wanted it to be really low key, a day just for us.” “Yeah, some glares were exchanged when people realised they'd missed out on a wedding,” Young confirmed. “But we're going to plan a big party soon! Besides, we didn't do anything in the Big Apple that wasn't worth the trouble we got in for doing it.”

[End Transcript]

[britesparc]

Weekend Top Ten #298

Top Ten Batman Costumes (Comics Edition)

So following on from last week's examination of my favourite Batman costumes from the movies (which, on reflection, ended up including a whopping four appearances from the only Batman who was da bomb in Phantoms), I now move on to a far more controversial topic: Batman's costumes from the comics.

I think everyone more or less has an image of what Batman "does" or "should" look like, and I imagine it's more-or-less in line with either the blue cape/yellow oval style of the seventies, or the black cape/black bat of the later Bruce Timm years. But having read the comics for a while, it becomes apparent that Batman changes his suits more often than the cast of Sex and the City. That bat is a regular clothes horse. The Batcave is basically the Carousel Boutique (what, don’t you guys watch My Little Pony?). What I'm saying is: Bruce Wayne has worn a lot of different costumes over the years.

Some of this is artistic license; the way Artist A draws a suit versus Artist B. Kelley Jones and Mike Wieringo both contribute chapters to the "Contagion" storyline, and they might as well be drawing different characters let alone different interpretations of the same costume. That's good; I like them both. I like a good bit of diversity. But there are traits I like to see in the Batsuit, and I think it'll become apparent as we go on. Put simply: I like the colours to be as bright as the character allows, which generally means a lighter shade of grey; I tend to prefer the yellow oval, but I don't really like the blue cape; I like compartments on his belt; I like some degree of armour or other kibble to be visible on his gauntlets and maybe boots, but generally speaking I like his suit to be free of segmentation or design.

And – of course - I like it when the inside of the suit is full of Dick Grayson.

Oh, and by-the-by: I've tried to make this about significant and distinct redesigns of the costume, not just one artist versus another. You could argue that Batman's suit didn't change significantly from the forties to the seventies, despite a plethora of artists working on the title in that time. These are, in my opinion, actual different costumes, not just styles of artwork. But I've tried to find who designed them initially too.

Now, to the Bat-Poles!

Batman Reborn (Frank Quitely): this is how to streamline and reinvent an iconic costume. I'm overly partial to Dick Grayson's stint as Batman – the best Batman comics of the last, ooooh, twenty years at least starred him and Damian – but this is actually a subtle adjustment to the existing suit. A simplified metallic belt with bat-buckle, lighter hues in the body and the cape, plain black logo, and – best of all – chunky gauntlets with solid metal blades. I still feel that they should have gone for the yellow oval at this point, but all in all, it's nearly perfect: totally looks like Batman, but everything is just so neat and on the button.

New Gotham (possibly Scott McDaniel? I’m not sure!): this is essentially the "default" Batman costume in my opinion, and has been for nearly twenty years now, despite the changes that have come along in that time. It was when Bats lost his yellow oval full-time, which was a very big deal, and also had a sensible, utilitarian belt with visible pouches and pockets.

Dark Knight Returns “black bat” (Frank Miller): probably one of the most iconic Batman costumes of all, and ostensibly very, very similar to the “New Gotham” costume above. But it’s the Milleresque touches that make it stand out: the hugeness of the bat on his chest; the short ears; the visible seams. Although it took a little while for the no-oval look to catch on full-time in the comic or on TV, this is still a hugely influential costume. And yes, I guess this is an “alternative universe” look at a possible Batman future, but come on – this is one of the all-time iconic batsuits.

New Look (Carmine Infantino/Neal Adams): possibly still the definitive go-to look for Batman. Infantino is responsible for the “New Look” style – pellet belt, yellow oval, blue cape – but Adams deserves so much credit for his slightly later interpretation. The way Adams drew Batman during his phenomenally influential run on the character alongside Denny O’Neil is just sublime. True, I may prefer my cape tones darker, but no one can deny just how iconic this design is.

Endgame (Greg Capullo): Batman’s current costume. What I like about this is how it incorporates some colour into the modern design; the bat emblem has a yellow outline, the cape has a purple interior. It’s a solid, streamlined look, far more “dark knight detective” than “caped crusader”, but still acknowledging the more outlandish, adventurous aspects of Batman.

Batman 666 (Andy Kubert): one thing I didn’t want to do with this list was feature loads of different out-of-continuity, alternate universe Batmen; there’s no Kingdom Come armour, no Gotham By Gaslight suit, no Red Son coat. But I’ve made an exception for this costume. Partly it’s because, having made allowances for Dick Grayson Batman, I figure I’ve got to account for Damian Wayne Batman too; and partly because, in the Grant Morrison stories in which it features, it’s presented more as a definitive future rather than an alternate universe. But it’s basically Batman in a natty trenchcoat with a Dracula collar. It rocks.

Year One (David Mazzuccelli): broadly speaking, it’s very similar both to the Dark Knight Returns suit and to the New Gotham outfit. But it’s a slightly softer, rounder design; the cape is shorter, the bat smaller. It’s less bulky, suggesting not only a younger frame within, but also that this is a less armoured costume; Bruce has not yet learned what will be necessary protection during his quest (and also, maybe, he hasn’t quite perfected the technology yet to give himself lightweight armour).  

Zur-En-Arrh (Tony Daniel/Dick Sprang): oooh, now we’re talking. I freaking love this outfit. In fact, it’s only so low down because I know it’s useless as an everyday Batman costume; but its use in either story – Batman – The Superman of Planet X or Batman R.I.P. – is just outstanding. Dick Sprang is – presumably – the guy who first came up with the design, when it was worn by Tlano, a scientist on Planet X. It’s such a cool one-off interpretation of Batman’s design: all bright colours and sharp edges. But tweaked by Tony Daniel during Grant Morrison’s barmy batshit run on the comic, it becomes something even more: a dark subversion of Bruce’s psyche, a homemade rough-and-ready suit that’s nothing like Batman but is really Batman unhinged. It’s terrific, and terrifically entertaining.

Batman Inc (Yanick Paquette): I’m pretty sure Paquette is the guy who designed the Incorporated costume. It’s tremendous, but like so many suits here, is just ever-so-slightly not perfect for me. I love how it’s essentially just a one-piece suit, almost like overalls, with strap-on extras; there’s a chunky utilitarianism to the gloves and boots that I love, and the belt is a great mashup of practical pouches and Silver Age style. Plus it’s not only got a yellow oval, but a pronounced yellow oval that’s actually a searchlight. Tremendous. Not keen on the codpiece, however.

Zero Year (Greg Capullo): another one of those costumes that’s brilliant, but perhaps only really works in its given setting. Bruce as street vigilante, it’s got a rough homemade aesthetic: torn-off sleeves, combat boots, simple gloves, no cape. It’s great to look at and works really well in its given story, but obviously couldn’t function as a full-time Batsuit.

And check out Greg Capullo, two entries! Clever chap.