#kinda like Joker and Harley Quinn but it's actually both sides instead of one

[vacz]

"Who are you looking at?" Bad End Friends (Comic)

I've spent all day trying to finish this comic! AHHHHH

So I present you an idea of a ship... Hunter x Ice Finn

"Why?" Well, if we think in the fact that in Adventure time's multiverse all the versions of Finn always ends up having a romantic relationship with a version of Huntress Wizard, and we take Bad End Friends as a canon alternative timeline where Finn didn't destroy Ice Finn's crown and so he later joined Bipper, how would Farmworld!Finn ends up with his version of Huntress Wizard as Ice Finn? Well the answer is simple: He doesn't end up with directly another version of her but someone who is similar to her... And guess who is more similar to Huntress Wizard?

That's right! Hun- Beast Wirt. I personally think Beast Wirt has actually more similarities with her since they both are like spirits of the forest who almost have the same personality, HOWEVER, I think Hunter and Ice Finn would have more CHEMISTRY and let me explain why:

They both are insane, they MATCH THEIR FREAK.

Ice Finn wouldn't be weird out for Hunter's appearance at all, like he did with the Lich, so Ice Finn would judge him according to his action and god- he gets it, At first he would hate him because Hunter is literally chopping people! But after getting an explanation of why he does this, Ice Finn would sympathize with the feeling of "wanting to protect your family" and want to help Hunter with his brother. Ice Finn proposed to Wirt the chance to save lives without having to change that much, and Hunter couldn't resist it, he could finally do something good for humanity! Maybe he could even redeem himself!

IT'S A KING AND KNIGHT DYNAMIC WITH SOME TONES OF PANTHERS IN CRIME

Hunter would watch around for people, and if he finds them then he should bring them to Ice Finn so he could freeze them. However, most of the time he spent it around Ice Finn himself, sometimes helping him with spells or other stuff like cooking, and other times just hanging around together. Their relationship is more equal than it seems, Hunter is just as enthusiastic as Ice Finn in saving lifes the way they do, Ice Finn constant joy and quick reactions are like fresh air for Hunter, who misses some real emotion in life, while Ice Finn has someone who actually cares about his safety and it's not manipulating him for his own selfish desires. Hunter loves Ice Finn's madness because it is a constant of movement, life and joy! While Finn isn't weird out at all by Hunter's more creepier madness, and actually finds him pretty cool and charming. They both don't judge each other and they are openly crazy together

Hunter is normally submissive, and has a craving for love to the point that he could fall really HARD for someone who shows him affection, of course Hunter would be protective and very jealous if someone tries something with Ice Finn, he thinks Finn as one of his more precious properties so Hunter would not let go this guy. Ice Finn is not innocent either, he was the one who kidnapped Hunter in the first place, Ice Finn makes him sleep on a cage even, you can say he also sees Hunter as a pet, one he loves so much but a thing at least...

However, even if they have these things that for normal people would be very toxic, for them is living a romance, a strange and delusional romance, where both souls lost deep in madness find each other to be their own guide though the black ocean of insanity

So tell me your opinion, I hope you guys like it! ^^

[resisteverything]

Five ways the Harley Quinn show is better than spindlehorse.

1. It’s sex positive. In Helluva boss and Hazbin sex is selectively respected, and there are many jokes about STDs. Meanwhile in the Harley quinn show when Joker tries to insult Harley based on her HPV, Bane educates him on how most sexually active adults have it, and it’s never mentioned again really. The eat bang kill comic has a sex worker character who is both a sympathetic character and isn’t a victim of sex work. It’s not perfect, season four blows and it basically ruined nightwing butt jokes, but that’s an outlier and you know vizie wouldn’t have take four seasons to do even worse, and even then the joke isn’t shaming anyone for being horny.

2. The show actually centers and explores the sapphic relationship at the center of it all. It’s deranged how in Hazbin which is supposed to be a wildly raunchy adult cartoon, there is no indication that Charlie and Vaggie ever had sex, or ever wanted to. If you cut adam from the show I could believe that angels never have sexual feelings. While Harley Quinn on the other hand consistently centers these two as a couple, like even if they hadn’t become a canon relationship the two would have been infinitely more shippable than Chaggie are, and once they did they were just the best.

3. I never get the feeling that the show is written by someone who doesn’t know how to swear. A character talking like she doesn’t know how to swear is actually played for laughs when it happens because it’s meant to be her having uncharacteristically lost control of the situation.

4. The show cares about its premise. It’s not secretly about another thing. Season 2 kinda did that with Harlivy but they’re the main characters and their dynamic is central to the series. The show is about Harley Quinn’s quest to become a great villain and her relationship with Ivy, until season 3 which is about that but also Harley’s redemption which leads to her being a hero. But before then the story continues to explore this stuff instead of finding some new stuff. There’s no half an episode dedicated to some unimportant side characters.

5. The humor seems to be better from what I remember. No one is just saying crass shit to no one, they have humorous conversations. Not much I can describe but the humor I remember shows self-awareness.

[elfdyke]

HAHA OK UM. ivy exposition time hehe… come read my thoughts i put down in text for you all to read about what i perceive this fictional woman’s backstory to be (this is a lil more cohesive than my harley one but. YEA)

smal cw for VERY brief mentions of abuse (ivys dad + the joker r mentioned)

Ivy grew up in an emotionally vacant house. Her father was very emotionally abusive + occasionally physically. Her mother was hardly around. This caused her to have to take on a lot of responsibility for herself and basically grow up way sooner than she should have

She put a lot of effort into her schoolwork. She had a very caring and helpful science (either biology or environmental science) teacher, she nurtured Ivy’s love of botany

She got a scholarship to acclaimed college and essentially got a free ride? she worked on the side to pay for any spare expenses.

Woodrue was one of her teachers, he was academically lauded for his work in botany but hadn’t been very relevant in the recent scientific discoveries, essentially he was a big shot who got kind of washed up, but Ivy had studied his research extensively and found him incredibly inspiring.

They end up fostering a very intense relationship STRICTLY focused on their scientific research. (SHES LESBIAN.) They’re trying to prove a hypothesis Ivy’s presented about idfk.. accelerating plant growth. Harnessing toxins certain plants create for their healing properties…IDK I DON’T KNOW SCIENCE <3</p>

Their entire work relationship and all the shit they do feels like going 120 mph down a road the wrong way and she loves it. This is truly the first time she’s had full control over her own life and has someone who actually (as she believes) sees her as an equal and recognizes her intellect.

They end up escalating things because they’re both so desperate to prove Ivy’s hypothesis, and Ivy volunteers her own body for them to test their work on. She refuses Woodrue’s offer because its her theory, so she should be the one to suffer if things go wrong…

WHICH THEY DO. Shit goes sideways and Ivy experiences adverse reactions which cause her to become bed stricken (she refuses to go to the hospital because she’s afraid that the toxins could be extremely dangerous, and doesn’t want anyone to suffer because of her science).

She also tells Woodrue to keep his distance, because she wants him to be safe from it too, and he essentially just ghosts her. She’s upset about it but first blames herself because she feels like she’s done nothing but prove everyone right about what a failure she is.

She starts noticing changes affecting her, and its all kinds of fucked up. I can elaborate on this later <3. But essentially her physiology starts warping due to the green encompassing her, growing up from her hands and feet. I think the green parts of her body are cool to the touch, have a plant like texture, and MAYBE? Have plant cell structure ingrained in them vs animal cells.</p>

Also, the green initially starts slowly spreading up her body but she’s able to halt its progression, in order to lose herself completely (think of the kinda deal in annihilation, instead of sexy green plant lady ivy).

She catches wind that Woodrue had HER research published and is taking full credit for her hypothesis, without naming her whatsoever, and it essentially breaks any semblance of humanity she had left.

At this point she’s kind of crazy powerful and can control plantlife as we all know and love <3 She figures out that Woodrue is having a conference where he’s holding some kind of really important lecture on ‘his’ hypothesis, and plans to unmask his deceit in front of the entire scientific community. </p>

She also discovers that he’s warped her discovery from something she wanted to benefit humanity and the environment, to something to gain profit from, essentially going against everything she believed in.

She bursts into the conference and when she sees Woodrue, she essentially blacks out and next thing she knows she’s essentially pulled a Carrie…. NOT EVERYONE DIES!!!! But its brutal and fucked up and she 100% absolutely slaughters Woodrue and makes an example out of him. This is the point in her story where she officially loses any chance she had of her past life as Doctor Pamela Isley.

She uses his desecrated corpse to warn everyone in Gotham, in the world, that the green has woken and will no longer stand by and be desecrated by humanity.

Ivy does a lot of work trying to collapse industries that harm the environment across the world for a while but it’s also hard for her to much alone, and she almost gets bested a few times @_@ She’s absolutely a formidable threat, but she’s also one person with a massive weakness to fire

She ends up slinking back to Gotham to recover after a particularly nasty encounter

Something abhorrent happening in Gotham catches her eye and she can’t stop herself from making an appearance and attempts to wreak havoc before ultimately getting caught and shipped to Arkham for her “extremist beliefs”

Dr Harleen Quinzel is paired with her for weekly meetings.

Harley realizes very quickly Ivy is most certainly Not insane and repeatedly tries to get it appealed, but no one will listen to her. (Ivy was locked up in Arkham specifically bc of her environmental activism/terrorism)

Ivy’s very snide at Harley at first, looking down on her for being so bright eyed and bushy tailed about everything. She’s very much bitter about how she’s repeatedly been wronged, and always cast as a villain despite her believing she’s doing what she can to save the earth.

Ivy and Harley argue about if women can ever achieve anything in this world, the way its built. Harley says she’s sad ivy feels that way but knows she’s going to make a difference. She’s different and she’ll change things.

Ivy doesn’t entirely believe her but seeing someone so downright full of life and hope really does spark something in Ivy that never really dies down.

Eventually Harley gets reassigned and taken off Ivy’s case. They didn’t have a lot of time together but I think that Harley makes a worthy impact on Ivy. This is also before Harley has interacted much, if at all with the Joker

Time passes, Joker’s manipulation ensues, Harleen becomes Harley.

Ivy sees Harley Quinn during a run in with the Joker but doesn’t recognize her at first.

Until she speaks.

Ivy gets hit with a wave of nausea upon realizing how Harley’s fallen from the proud and bright girl who was sitting across from her in Arkham.

After that she uses the green to try and keep tabs on Harley and one night after a particularly bad beating, Joker kicks Harley out and Ivy manages to swoop in and rescue her from near death.

ALSO, IMPORTANT! Ivy struggles a lot with her disgust toward humanity vs her desire to protect Harley. It’s the reason it takes her a while to actively seek a hurt and broken Harley out and rescue her. (she resents herself a lot for not acting sooner, when she realizes how extensive Harley’s injuries are)

TOSSING THIS HERE . about Ivy’s sexuality. I can’t see her ever really opening herself up to any romantic relationships any time during her school life. She’s very driven and focused on her studies and her research. She never really gave her attraction to anyone much thought, so I think that she just expected she would never feel attracted to anyone? Until she meets Harley. I think that meeting Harley kind of opens her eyes like. Wait I can feel this? I deserve this kind of love? With a woman?… she has to work through some shit but she is a big lesbian in love with her weird little clown girlfriend

um i think thats all hehe…. i have more but i kinda wana write a fic about harls and ivy getting together from my interpretation so…… TUNE IN NEXT TIME <3</p>

[queerbutstillhere]

Addressing the Batman Conspiracy theories, on the Wayne Family true crime podcast.

(this is based off of my post. I just had fun with this, and yes it's very chaotic. I hope it makes sense!)

"Welcome, listeners, to this months episode of the Wayne Family Circus-"

"That is NOT what it is called and you know it!"

"Okay okay! Shut up Tim!"

There was a hard cut in the audio. You, the listener, smile and put your car into reverse, backing out of your parking spot, you had a long drive to get home, and hopefully this new podcast will entertain you.

"As I was saying! Welcome to episode seven of Crime In Our Midst - I still hate that name - today we are discussing our most requested case. The Mysterious Batman. We will be discussing where he came from, and conspiracy theories involving him," the voice said, ending with a hum. "Today, I am your host, and for anyone who doesn't know, I'm Dick Grayson, the eldest Wayne child. To my left is our illustrious father, and number one theory for today, Bruce Wayne."

"Dick, I told you I didn't want-" a new, deeper male voice started.

"Next to him is Jason, the second eldest and the wildcard of the family."

"Sup bi*****," was the voice response.

"Master Jason," an older accented voice inputted.

"Sorry Alfie."

"Then we have Cassandra Cain-Wayne."

"Hello!" A chipper female voice said.

"They can't see you wave, Cass."

"Oh, sorry."

"Tim Drake is also present, as always. Tim have you ever missed an episode?"

"No," a softer male voice said with a hum.

"Even Damian has missed."

"Tt, that is because I have a life, unlike Drake."

"I am literally a CEO-"

"And just then you heard Damian Wayne, our youngest and saltiest member. Say Hi, Damian."

"Salutations," a younger sounding, yet still accented voice said.

"So formal," the host, Dick, said with a laugh. "And always, we are moderated by our Butler and Grandfather, Alfred Pennyworth!"

"Hello, listeners."

"And this week, we are joined by special guest, Barbara Gordon, daughter of Ex-Commissioner, Jim Gordon. He's not here in person, because he said, and I quote, 'This is bs and there's no amount of money you could pay me to be on your weird podcast'. To which I would like to counter, Jim, we most likely could pay that amount of money-"

"Grayson, you're rambling again," Damian said, sounding annoyed.

"Why did Dick get to host this episode?" Jason asked.

"Because it's Bruce didn't want to, so it was my turn next, shut up Jason."

"Come at me!"

There was another hard cut and a few seconds of pause. You chuckled, already enjoying this pointless bickering.

"So. We're going to start at the beginning. Batman, the masked vigilante who guards Gotham and battles crime, appeared way back when in the 2000's. He was considered a criminal for a long time, mostly due to his method of fear and violence, despite that he never killed, and solved countless cold cases - much like we do, if I might add -" Dick started explaining, paper could be heard rustling.

"Yeah but we don't dress up in spandex and go out every night and punch people, Dick."

"Okay, obviously, Jason."

There was muffled sniggering and then a grunt as someone got hit.

"Boys, calm down and let your brother finish explaining."

"Thank you, Bruce!" Dick exclaimed, there was the beginning of a yell and then another audio cut.

"Batman eventually became a founding member of the Justice League of America, alongside heroes such as Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Green Lantern and the Flash. It was around this time his protege, Robin, joined his side for the first time. Batman would eventually become the hero of our city, stopping criminals such as the Joker, Bane, Harley Quinn, the Riddler, and Poison Ivy, whom we all Stan," Dick's smooth voice continued.

"Dick," Bruce warned.

"Continuing! It is believed that Batman has had five or six different Robin's over the years, including two female ones, though neither were Robin for very long. The Batman has become a international, and even interstellar hero, working with the Green Lantern Corp on many occasions. I don't think I need to go into further detail, as almost everyone knows who the Batman is. Now let's get into theories!"

"Oh, finally," Tim said, followed by a muffled yawn.

"Shush, Drake. Let Grayson finish talking."

"Now most the theories are about Batman's secret identity or where he came from, right? And obviously the number one theory is that Bruce Wayne, our dear daddy here, is Batman."

"Do not ever say those words again," Jason groaned out.

"I most likely will."

"Can we all just agree this theory is absolute bulls***?"

"Damian!"

"I am speaking the truth father. I live with you, I can confidentially say you do not spend your nights running around Gotham unless it is in a sports car with some annoying woman-"

"Master Damian."

"My apologies Alfred."

"Can I give the evidence?!" Dick exclaimed.

There was mocking noises, and yet ANOTHER hard audio cut.

"So the main source of evidence is that Bruce Wayne and Batman have never been seen together. Which isn't true, because I have seen, and there is photographic evidence of such, which of course, you can find on our website!"

"The second evidence is something about them having the same a**, which I would rather not go into because of obvious reasons. Third, is all of us kids, somebody on Reddit mapped out all of our arrivals with in a years time of the Robin's arrival, and they think that we are the Robin's."

"Implausible. Have you seen Drake? He couldn't be a Robin, he'd snap right in half. And the second Robin died in an explosions, wouldn't that be Jason?" Damian countered.

"There actually was a kid Bruce fostered for a bit named Jason that actually died in an accident," Dick explained. "People think that Jason is the Robin."

"So we're not going to discuss the fact that you had another kid named Jason?"

"Jason, we've already discussed this a million times, I did not bring you into the family because of your name-"

"Can I continue?!"

"Please," A female voice piped in, Cass.

"Okay, the rest of the evidence is just kinda, fishy, I guess? Someone reports having heard Bruce actively state he was Batman as an excuse to not be on a jury duty, but let's be honest, who hasn't? Lastly is that Bruce Wayne disappears a lot around the time big things are happening, which is quote 'awfully coincidentally.' but circumstantial. An example of this is about five years back, Batman and Bruce Wayne both disappeared for a week, and then when Batman came back, he was reportedly 'different, more cheerful, and more charming. Less threatening', while Bruce Wayne remainder missing. Nearly a year later, Bruce Wayne returned, and Batman once again became gruff and intimidating. Shall we discuss this theory?"

"I don't see what we need to discuss," Damian grumbled.

"It's really not good evidence, but it is a good theory," Tim chipped in.

Jason spoke next. "I haven't been here for long, so it seems plausible to me."

"Jason!"

"What?!"

More bickering. Audio cut. This is getting a little weird with all the audio cuts.

"I think we can all agree that Bruce is not Batman," Cass said finally.

"Dad thinks the Bruce Wayne theory is dumb, and he's been working with Batman since year two. They're nothing alike. He suspected Bruce for a few years, but started seeing them in the same room and area and finally had to drop the theory," another female voice spoke, sounding bored.

"See? So, not plausible, moving on," Damian said dismissively.

The next theory was about some random middle aged man, the whole team thought this one wasn't terribly plausible either.

The third theory was that Batman was some type of alien, and this caused a lot of loud bickering and arguing.

The final theory was that Batman was a vampire, and all the kids seemed to like this theory, while Bruce was less then amused.

"Okay, Bruce, who do you think the Batman is?" Jason asked the second Dick closed out his presentation.

"I think he's a hero who protects the city and the planet, and had saved my life, and the lives of those closest too me, many times. If he wishes to keep his identity secret, then we should respect that the same way we respect Superman and Wonder Woman."

"Boooooo!" Jason and Tim yelled.

"Come on, Bruce. Really, give us an answer."

"Okay, I can't because I do actually know who it is," Bruce admitted.

"WHAT?" Tim screeched.

"You know who the Batman is and never told us?!" Dick exclaimed.

"Did you really miss his speech just now?" Damian asked with a huff. "He obviously wants to protect The Batman."

"You won't tell us?" Cass asked.

"Nope."

More bickering over this for a moment.

"Okay, how many agree with Vampire theory?" Dick asked.

There was a pause in the audio.

"Okay that's four. Any takers on alien theory? . . . No hands. Smith theory? And that's one. Jason and Damian, do you want to elaborate?"

"I still vote for Bruce Wayne theory," Jason said with a sigh.

"OH MY GOD-"

"OW! BRUCE HE PUNCHED ME!"

"BOYS!"

There was muffled speaking and sounds of hitting.

"Damian?"

"I don't like any of the theories."

"Do you have your own then?"

"Not particularly, but I suppose if I would have to give one. . . I believe the Batman is just some random guy with some behavioral and mental issues, and decided that the best way to combat crime, instead of becoming a police detective, was to put on spandex and Kevlar and a bat mask and theme everything after bats."

Dick chuckled. "Well there you have it folks. We finally tackled the Batman conspiracy, now could you please stop flooding our social medias with requests for it? Take that as you may, but obviously, as Bruce said, even if some of our members may know the identity of the Batman, we will not disclose that information, because it's not ours to give away. It's his choice and his privacy, so do not ask us who he is. We will not tell. Guys, anything to say?"

"I'm tired-"

"Tim you're always tired!"

"Ookaaaay! Anyway, next month is Bruce's turn, since we switched, and as always, we'll be putting up a poll on Twitter to see what case you want us to discuss! Until next time, this is the Wayne family signing off!"

"Goodbye."

"Peace out."

"Farwell."

"Death is inevitable."

"Time is a social construct."

"Children- Thank you for listening!"

"Please free me from this hell-"

"And in all the other ways to say it, Goodbye, and Goodnight!"

And you, dear listener, were left to listen to dead silence for a few minutes until you reached your destination, thoroughly confused, and mildly unsettled.

[b-rainlet]

That bitch Ecco

*insert John Mulaney’s ‘She’s a bitch and I love her so much!’ here*

Why I like Them/Why I don’t

Her introduction is her punching Jerome in the face, how can someone not love her, omg. 

I mean, we know nothing about her which maybe makes it harder to relate to her but I just think it makes her more intriguing. Like, what about her parents? Her Father apparently left when she was little, but what about her Mum?? When did she meet Jeremiah? Why the fuck did she pledge her life to him? Please, she’s a badass, why is she hanging around with him???

(Also where the fuck did she learn to fight, did she teach herself? Was she doing some kind of martial arts? Was she trained as a spy or something?? What is her past?????)

And then we have her going from a proxy to being Harley and like....once again, there’s no explanation as to why. I just enjoy thinking scenarios for her, wondering why she turned out the way she did and I am going through her tag daily, looking for some Ecco centric stuff - or even Eccomiah stuff that focuses on her a little (but she’s part of the female characters who get sidelined for Wayleska, just like Selina, which...I ship too! It’s nice! But sometimes I wanna have her tagged in a fic where she actually has a role aside from being mentioned once). 

(Also I am a hypocrite and I hate when Selina is being pushed aside or forgotten when other Bruce ships come to play but I have some Selina/Jeremiah wips where I’m like ‘Bruce who????’ ahkdhaskjd, sue me for loving girls). 

Also, Ecco is simply adorable and I saw her shake her head to rattle the bullet inside it and was like: Baby

(If Jeremiah won’t treat her right, I definitely will). 

Favourite Episode/Favourite Season

She has so little episodes where she features, but she’s a delight in every scene she features in. 

Favourite Season would probably be Season 5 because she has a bigger portion of screentime there and she’s Harley instead of Proxy or Mummer and while both of those personas are awesome (and fear-inducing), she’s a lot of fun crazy and unhinged. 

Favourite Episode is Ace Chemicals, I’d say. Not that she has a big role in it (that would probably the scene where she fights Selina) but she’s interacting with Jervis there and that scene not only is my header but also made me ship them (and caters to my bisexuality alsjsadnln). 

Also I have a fanfic in the works based on that scene because you cannot tell me that Jervis isn’t all heart-eyes over her. 

(In my heart, every single villain adores Ecco and hates Jeremiah and they put up with him for her - but they’re all just quietly waiting for her to leave him lmao, they got the chocolate and roses ready, just in case). 

Favourite Line

The only Ecco lines I have in my head are ‘Our cover is blownski’ and ‘She got me, Daddy’ and the last one made me fucking nauseous to listen to within the circumstances (I mean, deep fry Jeremiah? Really? No.) so I don’t have a favourite line I think. 

But she also doesn’t talk much ashkhks, she either doesn’t talk at all as the mummer or let’s Jeremiah monologue. 

(She’s probably more of a ‘Do it’ instead of talking about it girl and I stan her). 

Favourite Outfit

ALL OF THEM

They’re all beautiful, props to the costume department

(also sorry you can't see them well, I used gifs from old edits that where still on my phone)

OTP

You would think it’s Eccomiah - and I do love them a lot - but I would give an arm and a leg for some Ecco/Jervis or Ecco/Selina content. 

(Also Ecco/Bruce could be adorable and fucking hilarious at the same time, I love them). 

Ecco is very much shippable with everyone and I’d read anything about her (pls I’m desperate). 

(Also she deserves to be treated like a queen by someone to make up for the awful way Miah treats her in canon, so am I gleefully imagining scenarios of her leaving him and finding someone who treats her right while he’s cursing everything and feels miserable? Maybe). 

Brotp

All the girls! Like Ecco and Ivy and Bridgit having meetups where Ivy and Bridgit keep telling her to dump her trash boyfriend askhjafbska 

(But tbh, I can see every duo I’ve listed as an OTP as a Brotp too and vice versa. I mean...., you should like your spouse as a friend too askdkjdbkb). 

Idk why, but I can’t really warm up to Ivy/Ecco (which is basically Harley/Ivy), but maybe that’s precisely because it would be like Harley/Ivy and I’m not really a fan of those two. 

(I also have to admit that I enjoy Ecco a lot more than Margot Robbie’s version of Harley Quinn). 

Headcanon

Umm...idk? I kinda thought about her being russian? But I think that’s quite a popular thought, I saw some people mention it before! 

My headcanons usually change to adapt the current au I am thinking about but a hc I keep in most of them is that Ecco was pretty straight to the point before she became Harley and that she isn’t one for social cues. She’s blunt. 

(Which for me mostly means that Jeremiah pre-spray tried to flirt with her and she just. Didn’t respond to any of it. Not because she isn’t interested but because she doesn’t think much about Miah offering her things like sleeping in the guest bedroom. Makes sense, he works late and she’s within reach in case he needs anything, while he overthinks everything and basically offered her to move in with him lmao). 

Unpopular Opionion

Idk if that’s unpopular but she’s a really good Harley Quinn version (I think all their villain versions are very good? Like, they also have the best joker version(s), Gotham knows how to entertain me). 

A wish

Please, whoever’s in charge, drop what the writers would’ve done with her if Gotham wouldn’t have been cancelled, I am curious. 

Was she meant to die and be replaced at one point to show how Miah is actually looking for the ‘finished’ Harley version, like it’s alluded to in the finale? If she’s not his forever companion, would she have betrayed him at some point? Or if she is supposed to be Harley, would she have teamed up with Ivy at some point?

Would we have gotten more scenes of her interacting with other villains? Would we have seen a bit more of her past or maybe a flashback scene of the shooting? 

(I don’t think so, they probably would’ve kept her an insignificant side character but an enby can dream). 

Also, if I’m already wishing, someone release the cut scenes involving her. 

An oh-god-please-don’t-ever-happen

Finale? Which Finale? Gotham ends with Bruce leaving and nothing happens after that :)

5 words to best describe them

I’ll give you four ;)

Endearing

Cuckoo

Consecrated (to sth.)

Overlooked

My nickname for them

WIFEY

[thewriterwithnoplan]

Dirty and Useless (Part 4)

Summary: Jason Todd had always said there were only two types of cop; Dirty and Useless. So when Y/N comes along with a spunky partner and a laughable code name it’s safe to say they don’t exactly see eye to eye. But if they’ve got anything in common it’s their secrets. Both are hiding behind masks whether they know it or not. Will the Robin get the Nightingale to come out of the shadows? Pairing: Titans!Jason Todd x Reader Word Count: 1248 Warnings: None.

Several Months Later

Star city wasn't all that bad. Well, it was, but at least the part of town Y/N lived in was kinda okay.  It wasn't exactly anything fancy but at least it wasn't in the Glades - where criminals seemed to run rampant. Melisa didn't seem to mind the place, in fact, she'd found herself right at home claiming that there was more work to be done here than in Chicago. So for her sake, Y/N was trying to pretend she at least tolerated the place.

In reality, Y/N found Star City to be unnervingly quiet and miserably normal. The woman had lived the better part of her life in Gotham, where there was never a bleak day. And then she'd lived in Chicago where it was constantly noisy, sometimes obnoxiously so. Most of the time Star City's silence deprived Y/N of a proper nights rest. Quiet - where she was from - always meant that something was brewing, and she didn't like that one bit.

But if the simplicity of Star City hadn't been enough to annoy Y/N the living costs were. The two Sparrows had actually been living together ever since Y/N had dragged Melisa along on the impromptu move. It seemed easier and safer.

"Hey N/N," Melisa called from across the house, "What do you want for dinner?"

Y/N shuffled into the kitchen, towelling off her hair from the relaxing bath she'd been indulging in. She opened the fridge and winced. Melisa leant over her shoulder and sighed through her nose. A noise that the H/C haired woman had come to associate with forgetting to go grocery shopping and leaving dishes in the sink instead of in the dishwasher. Two things that both Sparrows - among other less frivolous things - were infamous for.

"Pizza?"

"Yup," Y/N slammed the fridge shut, "I'll make the call. You, sit down, it's been a big day and I don't think I've seen you sit down once."

Melisa groaned, "You know I get antsy after a takedown. Besides you're not much better. You'd still be at your desk listening to the man's confession on repeat if I hadn't forced you to wash off."

"It just seemed to easy," Y/N threw the towel over the back of a dining chair.

"Probably because it's us or Green Arrow. I mean who do you want to be busted by, two young adults or a grown-ass man wearing all green with a bow and arrow?"

"We're pretty badass but I guess I see your point," The H/C shrugged as she began hunting for her phone. Melisa simply rolled her eyes half-heartedly and flopped onto the living room couch.

It took Y/N ten minutes to locate her phone. She wouldn't have found it - still in the pocket of the jeans she'd abandoned - had the thing not been ringing. The shrill notes helped her find the device, prompting her to swiftly answer the No Caller ID. In her line of work, there was no telling who would be on the other end. Usually, it was simply someone from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Every now and then - often after she took down someone especially powerful - she'd get a few threats to spice up her boring nights.

So you can imagine her surprise when an almost unsure voice asked, "Y/N?"

"Speaking," Y/N perched onto the edge of the bathtub. "Who's this?"

"Jason Todd. We met earlier this year." The woman's face hardened and she debated hanging up then and there.

"I thought I told you not to call this number again."

"I know," He obviously didn't, "But I wouldn't be calling if it wasn't important."

"Alright, fine. This is me giving you the benefit of the doubt," It was really just that she was curious. What had driven Gotham's second Robin to ask her for help? "I'll listen, listen and that's all."

There was silence on the other end of the line. It wasn't the boring silence that plagued Star City, it was pure Gotham silence. The kind that meant something bad was brewing, that a swarm of villains were about to besiege the city or terrible news was about to bring your whole world crumbling down.

"I need you to come back to Gotham," Jason paused for a moment as if waiting for her to blow up, "Harley Quinn is at large again, escaped from Arkham."

Y/N scoffed, "Don't tell me big bad bats is afraid of a clown."

"He's not. I'm the one asking for your help. As far as he knows we've never even heard of each other," At least Jason Todd had some sense of self-preservation if not a fully functioning brain. "I've heard the stories about you and Harley. You might be the only one who stands a chance anymore."

Y/N wouldn't have been able to resist the urge to roll her eyes, even if she'd tried, "Well obviously you haven't heard the stories because I actually like Harleen. I won't fight her."

"It's not her we're fighting."

"Then who?"

There was another pause, "...She and the Joker broke up."

"Good for her."

"No, not good." Jason sighed deeply and Y/N could almost picture him running a hand down his face in exasperation. "Joker is pissed. In fact, he's called in back up. Gotham's about to be a warzone. Joker, Scarecrow, Penguin and the Riddler are one side of it but... Look, we can't do this alone. We need your help."

A million thoughts ran through the H/C haired woman's head. A cacophony of voices calling her toward her childhood home and yet a million others screamed for her to run. To run so far that even Jason Todd and the great Batman would never find her again. Maybe if she hung up right now, grabbed Melisa and...

And then what? They'd move again, Melisa wouldn't hesitate to follow Y/N but could she do that to her fellow Sparrow? Could she uproot Melisa's and her own life again in another attempt to run away? No, running was not the answer, not anymore. She would stay here, Star City may have been boring but Melisa liked it. So that was enough for Y/N.

"Harley's gonna call in Poison Ivy, Catwoman and Deadshot." Y/N glanced through the bathroom door and into the hallway that lead to where she knew Melisa was waiting for her. "Don't bother calling this number again, that's all I've got for you."

"You told me that being a Sparrow meant the freedom to choose between good and evil. Well, the Nightingale is a symbol of love and hope," Jason gripped his phone tighter as if it could keep her listening. "Frankly, Gotham could use a bit of both. I'm not asking for his daughter... I'm asking for my partner."

"Don't try to contact me again."

"Wait!"

She hung up on him, pressing the phone into her forehead as she tried to steady her rapid breathing.

"Shit."

She threw the phone across the room, creating a shower of shattered glass. Y/N stood, leaving the bathroom and the remains of her smartphone behind. She turned down the hall and found herself in her bedroom. The H/C simply stood there for several moments, staring at the expanse of her room. When she finally moved it was to run a hand slowly over her eyes.

And then Y/N Wayne began packing.

[harley-quinnn]

Home - Part Two

Joker x Reader (as daughter) x Harley

{A/N} The moment I kept you guys waiting way too long for! I am so sorry, but I do hope you enjoy this part two! Thank you guys for the love, you don’t know how much it pushes me to keep writing even when I’m feeling overwhelmed with other things! Also, I apologize for the format, I am posting this from my phone but will fix it soon!

xo Harley

Warning: Kinda fluffy!

“I don’t know about this guys..” you started nervously, chewing your lower lip. “I don’t think my dad.. Bruce, is going to take too kindly to this.”

“Don’t be silly, sugar! He’s gotta understand, ya have ta’ do what you wanna do first an’ foremost!” Harley assured you, squeezing your shoulder.

Today was special. After a sort of battle royale for days over who was to keep your attention, you finally got Bruce to allow you some time with your biological parents, The Joker and Harley Quinn.

“Do ya like it?!” Harley asked excitedly, bubbling over like champagne in a flute as she waved a hand out to gesture toward an abandoned, yet still lively fairground full of carnival games and graffiti.

“We found this old dump an’ turned it inta’ paradise,” she swooned, prancing over to The Joker, who was leaning against a large lamp post, his eyes intently on Harley as she approached him.

“We wanted to make things… homey,” he grinned, every metal tooth seeming to gleam under the flashing lights.

You looked around, clearly impressed by their own ability to run a working carnival, no matter how sinister it looked, under the cities radar. It wasn’t until you set sights on your favorite game that your eyes lit up just as much as your mother’s. You knew Bruce was worried, but something in you told you there was nothing to be worried about. It all seemed to melt away, an excited feeling replacing all of the negative.

“Oh! There’s a shooting game!” You exclaimed, running off to the other side of the makeshift fair. “These are my favorite!”

As you stepped up to the booth, you noticed the bullet holes and the worn down decor even closer. The gun that sat atop of the long counter was real, not like the plastic ones you’d handled at the actual fair. Reluctantly, you placed your hand around it, the trigger fitting just nicely under your finger as you swallowed hard. You’d never held a real gun before, Bruce never allowed anything of the sort, but something in you felt like this was all too right.

You licked your lips, leaning down a bit with full concentration as you kept your eye on the target. There were purple and green teddy bears with fluff hanging out of the seams -and some possibly tainted with blood- hanging from the booths awning. You wanted one, and not because you asked, but because you earned it.

A rush of what could’ve been mistaken for madness washed over you as you pulled the trigger, tearing a hole into the target, then another and another, and another. All until you ran out of ammunition to continue the game. The buzzers ran wild, organ music began to play, and the targets roughly reset themselves as you reached up to grab a bear.

Just as you did, you felt a cold hand grab yours, tearing it from its place in the air. Reaction had you looking toward the person responsible, and you realized it was The Joker.

“Where on earth did you learn to aim like that..?” He asked, clearly bewildered at your skills.

“I.. I don’t know. It just felt.. right,” you trailed off, your eyes set on his.

His stare was cold, but within them held a hint of pride for his daughter. You were able to find that and pull it all the way out, feeling proud of yourself all of the sudden.

“Pretty good, right?” You asked, a large grin on your face as your hands seemed to place themselves on your hips.

“Pretty good?” He repeated, as though it were an understatement.

“I say you’d give Deadshot a run for his money!” Harley chimed in, sitting atop a cotton candy stall counter and pulling bits of pink and blue fluff from a paper cone.

The Joker then reached up for the bear you had your eye on, yanking it down from its spot and handing it over to you. Though he still seemed harsh, there was a softness to the gesture you didn’t think you’d ever see from the likes of him, daughter or not. He was still getting used to the notion, it was all too clear, but you could tell he already had a soft spot for you.

“She’s not wrong..” he growled, seeming deep in thought, as though he were plotting something.

“Aw, J, look at us!” Harley swooned. “We’re a lil’ family, just like I always wanted! She’s playin’ games and you’re handin’ her bears.. We’re makin’ up for lost time already.”

You smiled, a warmth radiating through your heart as you clutched onto the bear, holding it close to your chest.

You were happy- happy with them. It wasn’t that you didn’t love Bruce, he was your father for your entire life up to this point, after all. Still, as you sat there, soaking in your father's pride and delighting in your mother’s pure joy, your thoughts trailed back to him. Clutching on to the bear just a bit harder, you tried to keep your composure. A rush of emotions seemed to flood your head and chest until they had nowhere else to go. The sound of Harley’s small giggles were quickly drowned out by the sound of your sniffles as you wiped your cheek with the stuffed animals ear.

Immediately, Harley was off of the counter and standing in front of you, her hands placed on your arms with a look of concern on her features. The Joker was beside her, his eyes on her only as his face turned back to that of a calculating coldness. It looked as though he weren’t even sure what was going to happen next.

“Sweetie, what’s tha’ matter? Don’t ya like tha’ carnival games? Aren’t ya havin’ fun with us?” Her voice pitched higher with each question, sounding as though she might break down next.

The pout on her red lips gave her away as she looked at you, pulling you in for a hug.

“C’mon, sugar.. We- we really wanted this ta’ work out..”

“It’s not that,” you sniffed quickly, looking down at the gravel beneath your feet. “It’s just…”

“What…?” The Joker asked between gritted teeth, drawing out the word as though it might last forever.

“Bruce..” was all you could manage before you heard Harley sigh, giving you a tight squeeze.

“If ya don’t wanna stay with us, sugar, ya don’t have to,” she sniffled. “I just hate the thought of losin’ ta’ that damn bat…. again!”

Her eyes flashed with anger as she pulled back, but quickly toned it back down. The Joker’s face was still coldly expressionless as he stood beside you both, never that great with the mushy emotions.

“What? No! I would love to stay with you guys,” you chirped softly, watching her eyes soften even more. “I just feel bad.. You know, dad...Er, Bruce, protected me my entire life. He loved me so much, and made sure I had everything. I’m hurt that he didn’t tell me the truth.. I still love him. And all of this just feels strange. But this feels so much like home that it’s almost scary and…” you trailed off, Harley and The Joker hanging on your every word, staying quiet.

“I don’t know if I can choose just one side. You guys are perfect, and I want to spend all the time in the world with you!” You exclaimed, your eyes lighting up like the carnival game lights the surrounded you as you squeezed your teddy bear prize. “But I can’t just cut my dad off altogether.”

Harley chewed on her blood red lower lip, clearly in thought before she perked up again, seeming to completely ignore the conversation.

“Come play a game with me!” She giggled instead, grabbing the teddy bear from you and setting it aside before grabbing your hands and pulling you towards a high striker game covered in graffiti under its colorful shining bulbs.

Before you had time to wonder what was going on, what they thought of your feelings, she was already leaping to grab an oversized mallet from behind the game.

“This is my own mallet, not much else a gal can do when somethin’ fits her just right…”

She looked down at the mallet, a nostalgic grin on her features while her eyes traveled slowly to The Joker’s, who was now leaning up against a run down truck beside it with a large, toothy grin. There seemed to be something there that the two of them shared, and while you wondered if it was supposed to be an innuendo, you curtly recalled they were your parents, inciting a slight inward cringe instead.

“But I want ya ta’ use it! There isn’t another mallet around here that’ll do tha’ trick, anyway,” she said, handing the large mallet over to you with the same grin.

You eyed her for a moment, unsure of just what was going on. On one hand, it seemed like she wanted you to use it. On the other, it seemed she’d never let another soul touch it- willingly, anyway. You held your hand out, gingerly taking it from her pale, slender fingers. It was heavy, almost too heavy, and you wondered how on earth she managed to carry it around so easily.

With that, The Joker moved to swiftly flip a switch, turning the carnival game on further with a neon buzz to play the game.

“Step right up…” he growled, holding his hand out to lead you forward and in front of the game.

You took a few steps as he suggested, lugging the mallet with you over your shoulder. As you stood before it, the voices you heard more often than not these days began chattering away, saying things you weren’t quite able to make out. The colors and the lights became more vivid than they had been seconds ago, and a sudden urge to smile crossed into your aura. As you let the feeling wash over you, you lifted the mallet and..

Wham!

The bell’s shrill ringing filled the air and springs went flying next to shards of broken glass from the lightbulbs at the top.

“Woo-hoo!” Harley cried out, clapping her hands and cheering again.

“That’s my girl!” The Joker roared, wrapping an arm around your shoulders with an excited squeeze.

The grin remained on your face as you examined the game- it was broken, completely shot from the amount of power you’d thrown into it. You had to admit, you were pretty impressed with yourself.

Harley moved in then, taking your shoulders into her hands and squeezing them.

“You’re ya mother’s daughter,” she grinned, her features soft once more.

Your smile faltered then, all of the conflictions you felt returning at once. With a soft sigh, you turned away and walked to sit on a nearby swing, your parents following lightly.

“We don’t wanna push ya inta’ anything,” Harley reassured you, sitting on the swing beside you daintily.

You thought for a moment before speaking. It was all so clear, who you really belonged to. You swung a mallet like your mother and shot a gun like your father. Never mind the similar features and the blood relation. Oh- and the strangeness that went on in your mind.

But as you continued to think, you began to grin without realizing it. Thanks to growing up with Bruce, you had a shot at growing up with a decent, law abiding upbringing. You didn’t condemn your biological parents, but you certainly were glad to have gotten the education you did, the silver spoon kind of living, and the morals. Harley and The Joker would have been great parents, sure. But you wouldn’t be the same person you became had you grown up with them. This way, you had a taste for both lives. You got to choose your own fate.

“You okay?” Harley asked sweetly.

“I am,” you said confidently, snapping out of your thoughts. “And I think I’ve made my decision.”

They both looked excited and terrified at once, facial expressions you never thought they’d ever wear.

“And…?” The Joker questioned.

“I’m going to move into my own place, whether Bruce likes it or not. And I’d like to keep all of you in my life. It would be silly for me to choose just one side in all of this, wouldn’t it? I am so much of all of you. I’d like to find out who I really am for myself,” you said quietly, nodding once afterwards.

Harley squealed with excitement and rushed over to hug you, something you weren’t expecting.

“I was hopin’ ya wouldn’t cut us out forever! When ya get your new place, I’ll help ya decorate! I’m real good at it, aren’t I, J?” She asked, and he rolled his eyes.

“Sure, sweetheart...If you call pink and blue decor.. good,” he scoffed.

She narrowed her eyes at him before turning back to you with a wide grin, nodding quickly. It’ll be like a cotton candy haven, I promise!”

“And if you need to get away from her, the club is just down the street,” The Joker grinned, lifting his nonexistent brows.

You laughed, happy to see them so content with being able to share you.

“I’d never cut you guys out forever.. Our lives, our memories together.. They’re just getting started. I need my parents. I.. well, I love you already.”

“And we love you, honey..” The Joker replied as Harley agreed happily.

They weren’t so bad, for being bad guys- at least when it came to their daughter.

[juuheizou]

A Defense for Mutsurie (Meta-ish I Think?? Maybe??)

Okay I have always hated and still hate this pairing (actually I forget it exists until something on my dash reminds me that they are a fan-favorite pair and only then does my apathy boil over into hatred, but same difference), so let’s get that out of the way now before someone clicks the “read more” expecting something positive bc I have been steeping this hatred for at least four years now and this is how I feel:

TL;DR every single panel I photographed for this post and then some could just as easily be read as “they don’t even like each other as people and have no romantic interest in each other wth" and that is in fact how I personally read it, but if someone really wanted to push the romance angle, they could conceivably move each other’s character development along through a deeply unhealthy romantic relationship and subsequent breakup.

CW: mentions of abuse, mentions of bullying, unhealthy relationships, long post, like an absurdly long post jesus christ

Disclaimer: I kinda ignore the entire second half of the series for so many reasons that would really need their own post to get into, though ultimately my own happiness and ability to enjoy this manga, so I am writing this with pre-Rushima characterization in mind, but it has been a fan-favorite ship since all the way back in the Auction arc, so we good.

Let’s start with some Abuse 101. Survivors of abuse (bullying is a form of abuse, even ignoring the second half or so of the series) often get caught in a mean cycle of leaning towards whatever is familiar and end up repeating what happened to them with different faces. Low self-worth plays a part in that cycle, and Mutsuki does indeed have low self-worth.

That in mind, I can see Mutsuki perhaps gravitating to Urie because men with power over him who hurt/mistreat others (thought it was worth getting specific, since his anxieties toward men imply that something happened even before the Rushima debacle, but simply being made to feel small and worthless works too, if we are just acknowledging the bullying at the Academy) are what’s familiar, what he has internalized he must be worth, and that is what Urie, internal dialogue and hidden feelings aside, is.

Urie is not a nice person. This isn’t an attack on him or on anyone who thinks he is interesting as a character. It’s just a key part of that character. One example of oh so many, nice people do not threaten to kill their teammate to keep them at a distance (shown below, context seemed needed, so see Ch.1 for the whole scene if you don’t want to take my word for it). As a natural consequence, no one is particularly friendly towards him either. He is alone because he is mean.

Mutsuki, on the other hand, was not a bully but a victim of bullying. No matter what characterization you acknowledge, he didn’t do anything to be bullied at the Academy. That’s how bullying works. Bullies and apologists will justify it, but it is never really about the victim or the victim’s fault: it is always on the bully. He is alone because other people are mean. 

Arguably, he even makes an interesting foil to Urie because they have that isolation in common and it reflects in both their self-esteem, but only Urie is unkind while Mutsuki is kind to the point of putting himself in danger to help others.

The reason this matters is Mutsuki sympathizes with Urie and treats their experiences with being alone like the same thing when he comforts him during the Auction, though, as outlined above, they are not.

I am not saying this is the same thing as Stockholm Syndrome or that being a prick is the same thing as being abusive, but Mutsuki’s concern for Urie is frankly closer to that kind of dynamic than any kind of attraction or ‘understanding him’ or whatever the shippers call it. 

Given their backgrounds and the characterization leading up to that moment, it has always rubbed me the wrong way that the fandom, for the most part, did not read it that way and decided “new favorite ship” rather than “that’s fucked up”. 

Still not calling Urie abusive (to quote another frustrating series I can’t seem to fall out of, it’s not a crime to be an asshole), but the real dynamic v. what the fans got out of it does, to a degree, remind me of Harley Quinn and the Joker. Canon showed something tragic. Fans twisted it into something romantic.

So we’ve justified Mutsuki pursuing Urie. Why would Urie reciprocate when he has done nothing but look down on Mutsuki this whole time, let alone actually been nice to him? 

And has absolutely no qualms putting him in danger and risking his (Mutsuki’s) life for his own gain?

This is where we get hypothetical, considering they did not actually pursue each other and get together, but here’s what makes the most sense in my head: Mutsuki is kind to him no matter how unkind he is back. He equates their struggles and would probably see putting a limit on his sympathy as putting Urie through what he went through. 

Urie could exploit that, if deep down, he hates being alone. He has exploited what he knew were vulnerabilities with both Shirazu

And Yonebayashi

So before anyone tries to accuse me of being unfair to Urie, he has no problem manipulating people to achieve his end. In fact, it is a reasonable interpretation that he did manipulate Mutsuki and his compassion/desire to protect others, in the part of the Auction where he is assigned to get an injured Mutsuki to safety and instead takes a detour to confront a large group of ghouls.

It would not be the most out of character thing of him to encourage Mutsuki’s warped perception so that he can keep being a misanthropic prick, but he doesn’t have to be one alone. Mutsuki would be a means to circumvent the natural consequences (isolation) of his actions (having the personality of a venomous sea urchin and, you know, taking deliberate measures to isolate himself).

The only redeeming side to this toxic sham of a relationship is when it ends, when Mutsuki breaks that mean cycle his past conditions him to get caught in and leaves. He is done being pushed around and looked down upon and Urie is one person too many to take that shit from. No one gets to make him feel like Urie made him feel again. He learns to stand up for himself and comes out of it stronger. 

In fact, we see him stronger and carrying himself with more confidence for the brief moment between him leaving the Quinx and everything going to shit (for reasons outside the Quinx or the two of them, btw) on Rushima. 

Urie needs consequences. Especially being so self-centered, his flaws need to betray him, affect him negatively. Losing the last person left who will put up with his shit would accomplish that. If even Mutsuki can’t take it, he has to question whether his isolation is his own fault. He has to decide whether he wants to keep his cutthroat attitude or start acting like he cares about people other than himself and maybe not be so alone. He learns to be decent (maybe even *gasp* nice) to people and comes out of it kinder. 

Again, a version of that does happen with them working separate in canon. He is not necessarily shown to be kinder, but he is at least better at working with a team, considering he is leading the Qs and they aren’t falling apart at the seams.

Not implying that correlation equals causation in either of these last two points, but I figured I would supply as much canon support as I can, just to back up the idea that the theoretical character development I have in mind would be plausible.

I alluded to Harley Quinn and the Joker in terms of how the fans saw something tragic and twisted it into something romantic in that scene during the Auction, but there is another reason I picked that specific reference. I read a post once that ended with “The Joker is not Harley’s love interest. He is her origin story”. I liked that, and I think, to a less extreme point, it applies to this ship too. They would be terrible for each other as love interests, but they might have had some interesting potential as each other’s origin stories*. 

*If you’re into using romantic drama for character development, of course. Personally, romance is my absolute least favorite plot/character device, but I have this little thing called integrity and thought it was most fair to at least acknowledge that potential.

[redvioletz]

Do you think the batcat wedding will totally destroy batjokes ?

Honestly no, I don’t, and for a few different reasons.

Disclaimer, I am by no means a Batman comics expert (or batpert if you will), Also since Batman has been written by multiple people with different perspectives over the past 70 years (not to mention portrayals in cinema and games), I am not going to debate whether anything is canon or not. To me though, everything can be considered “canon” in its own setting.

[[also note, may contain some spoilers if you haven’t read White Knight]]

—–

Ok now to the question:

For me at least, saying the batcat wedding will destroy batjokes is like saying White Knight destroyed batjokes. In White Knight a good portion of the comic focused on the relationship between the OG Harley Quinn and Jack Napier/Joker, with the ending being a rushed wedding. Yet here we are, still talking about Jokes lovin Bat and Bats lovin Jokes.

Building on this point, aside from people using White Knight as evidence that Joker loves Harley (which is another debate I don’t want to get into lol), it builds on the eternal obsession and infatuation Joker has for Batman. In turn it also shows the dependency Batman has on Joker. It’s the ying-yang dynamic we’ve grown so familiar with from the two. Because of this relationship with Joker, it makes it pretty much impossible for Bruce to “settle down” in the typical sense.

What I think we should remember with the batcat wedding is who’s behind the plot and what is it they are trying to explore. I read a GQ interview with Tom King and he alluded to the motive behind the batcat wedding:

I was just looking for something new to do with Batman, and the thing that would really fuck him up is not making him sadder… but what would happen if we made him happy? He has that power to turn grief and pain and turn it into hope. That’s his whole power. He’s like a machine that works that way—so what happens when you reverse that, feed the machine what it puts out? Give him hope, give him happiness. Does the machine still function?

There’s a lot of story there. I happen to be living a very incredibly happy life. I’m happily married, I have three beautiful children, I’m super proud of serving my country, and I have my dream job. But I find myself with a ton of anxiety and craziness about all that stuff! Like the happiness itself kinda drives me insane? So I’m kinda putting that onto Bruce a little bit.

[Note King also is a former CIA officer and fought in Iraq]

Pulling from this I find the whole point of the story arc is an experiment of “If you give Bruce the opportunity for a [somewhat] stereotypical idea of a happy life, will he really be happy?” or will he find himself overwhelmed by it? Or even devoid of purpose? Honestly, this arc will likely put his relationship with the Joker in the spotlight, being something that may estrange his oncoming marriage to catwoman. 

Speaking of the feline fatale, I think we also should look at the internal dilemma this marriage may cause for her. In that same interview, King mentioned this about catwoman:

I think I make a lot of mistakes when I write Catwoman. I think I write her too idealized, too perfect. [Writer/artist] Joelle Jones actually came to me and we started talking about Catwoman, and she said “Don’t forget, she’s a burglar. She robs people. She’s dangerous.” She’s not just super-perfect, Batman’s idealized version of a person. She’s her own person, she makes horrible mistakes, and she makes incredible comebacks from those mistakes. And you have to keep that in mind. That this is a very broken person. She’s a survivor, she didn’t know her parents, she raised herself on the streets of Gotham—the worst city in the history of fictional cities—and she somehow rose up to become someone who could hang out with both the Joker and Batman, who could walk in both worlds. I love writing that character, but you always have to be careful that you don’t perfection-ize her or something. You have to make her as flawed or as cool as a real person.

This is really important to me because despite popular belief I think Selina is a badass. She is fierce, independent, and resilient, having to work tirelessly to get to where she is today. So much so that I believe her burglary skill set and persona have become a core part to her identity. Marrying Bruce could put her at odds with the identity she’s shaped for herself. Does she give up her criminal ways? Since the 90s Selina has been someone who dances on the silver lining between criminal and crime-fighter, but can she fully commit to one side? If anything this experiment will give further insight into the complexities of cat-woman. 

On top of all this, there is Joker. Selina makes herself an even bigger target on Joker’s list by marrying into the bat-fam. From various stories we know the Joker is not afraid to torture the bat-fam for the sake of getting batman’ s attention. Plus if Death of the Family is anything to go by, Joker’s obsession will only escalate. He may see Catwoman as a threat to his relationship with Bat, that its something that weakens him. And likely, he’ll exploit that weakness in the worse possible ways. At the end of it all though, it really depends on what paths King decides to take. 

In short, if I had to bet my money on this, no it won’t destroy batjokes. Instead I think its going to fuel the batjokes, and we’ll likely find the fuel within Bruce’s perspective throughout the narrative. 

[susandsnell]

it's been bugging me for a while now, but five worst parts of the dark Knight and one good part. bc I know you hate the movie 😂😂

boh. oh my gosh. b please don’t hate me.  😂😂

Five worst parts of the Dark Knight: 

5. The Filmmaking. More specfically: LONG AND WASHED OUT PALETTE. IT’S SO FUCKING LONG. IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE OVER TWO AND A HALF HOURS WITH TEN PLOTS TO WRAP UP AND HAVE NO FUCKING COLOURS IN IT. WE GET IT, NOLAN, A MAN DRESSED UP AS A BAT BRINGS YOU NO JOY AND SO NOW WE HAVE TO NOT HAVE ANY JOY IN OUR HEARTS EITHER, THANKS A LOT. HERE I THOUGHT I WAS SUPPOSED TO HAVE FUN AT A MOVIE ABOUT BATMAN, BUT YOU SURE PROVED ME WRONG. 

4.  The Writing. Holy pretentious dialogue Batman! Where do I begin?Harvey Dent’s “I will state the theme of my arc in the most lazy and blatant foreshadowing speech until Emma Stone literally says she’s gonna die in the opening of The Amazing Spiderman 2″ gets quoted all the time and yes, superhero movies aren’t known for their subtlety, and not all great movies need to be subtle, but the “die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain” is egregious not only for the reasons I stated, but is a nauseating indicator of the film’s cynicism (despite what the boat climax purports to be proving!). Alfred’s “some men just want to watch the world burn” speech is similar albeit less facepalmy and Theme Stating. It’s blunt and heavy-handed, overly expositional, and very hit-you-over-the-head with regard to commentary. 

And here’s the thing! It could work in the context of the type of movie it is - The Shape of Water pretty much opens with a statement of the “who the real monster is” idea, but it works because the film is a fairy tale and presents itself as such, whereas this movie wants to have its cake and eat it too as a “super adult DEEP subtle COMPLEX movie” with incredibly clear and simple shit like this. Beyond that,  Nolan really has a dialogue issue in a lot of his works where nobody just has a fucking conversation. Everything has to be the most serious issue in the world or a ten thousand word treatise on the fundamental dichotomies of human nature or some shit you’d hear in a freshman philosophy 101 course from that guy nobody can tolerate who thinks he’s G-d’s gift because he wears glasses or some shit, I don’t know. Even the Joker, an agent of chaos, gets wrapped up into it! Like he is a showman, but the yammering and rambles of shit that isn’t even that deep but pretends to be gets on my damn nerves. And the worst part is that it comes at the expense of the characters. 

They don’t really…develop emotional bonds (even with Rachel, the token woman And Therefore the Object At Which Emotions are Thrown). I’m not invested because none of these characters are real or relatable or have human interactions. The script shouldn’t be an anchor that drowns the actors and suffocates the characters to the point that there’s no chemistry, no connection, no believable core. Alfred is practically Bruce’s father and I get no love out of them! Harvey and Bruce don’t connect at all! Lucius Fox, the only POC in the entire movie, is literally reduced to a plot device despite having moral concerns! 

3. That damn third act. This one takes special mention because it just pisses me off. It’s just too much! The chase with the Joker would be fine, but that’s not the end. His plot already extends way beyond where it would logically end (hence the bullshit runtime), but on top of that, on top of the drama with the escape ferries hammering you over the head with the point they’re trying to make about humanity and the obnoxious moralizing, and then you have Harvey’s fall to the dark side which I’m sorry, needed a lot more time than just getting crammed in to the back end of the movie. His descent into evil happened way too quickly. Two-Face is a great villain! But take Batman the Animated series (to me, the best adaptation of Batman there is, while not perfect) as an example: he’s established as a character and his descent into Two-Face receives the full focus of entire episodes and impacts the characters later on! Having him play sideshow to the Joker is a huge mistake, especially with something as huge at play as threatening Gordon’s family; it completely disrupts the focus of the plot and unnecessarily prolongs the film as a whole, but he goes down pretty easily in one of the movie’s shitty-ass fight sequences that I’d make their own point if there weren’t worse things because I can’t tell who’s punching who. And if you’re gonna rush Dent into villainy only to kill him, that makes his whole plot kinda a waste.

And The Dark Knight Rises was a lot more criticized than the Dark Knight, so how’s this for a fix for the entire trilogy? Don’t kill Two-Face. Keep Joker getting carted away gloating about having corrupted him, but then have Two-Face get away too.  Don’t make whitewashed lamely written Bane the villain of the next movie - instead, let the tail end of this movie build Two-Face up as the main villain for the final part! That way, you have more time for development, cohesiveness, consequences, exploration of themes, and you don’t waste characters. 

2.  Batman / Bruce Wayne’s entire character. Okay, so whenever I fawn over the Lego Batman movie and how it confronts the issue with modern portrayals of Bats and rightfully points out it’s not deep, he’s just a humongous dick, this feels like the source material of that popular portrayal. Of course, it pre-dates it in the comics - Miller and company are to blame for Grimdark Asshat who Batmansplains, but I feel like Dark Knight especially, for its success and greater accessibility as a film, is what widely propagated this portrayal. 

Secret identity or cape and cowl, there is a serious issue in your Batman movie if your Batman is terrible. He’s the protagonist, the titular character, and he’s fucking terrible! At best, Bruce Wayne is like…completely deadpan and not even there (I don’t give Bale shit because I think a lot of the fault lies with the writing/direction, Ledger was pretty much the only lively performance in the movie), placeholder of a protagonist. At worst, he comes off as deeply self-centered, self-aggrandizing, entitled, and violently unstable. I don’t care how bad the Joker is, when in custody, he still had legal rights, and Batman fucking tortured him. Even brutal criminals should not ever be tortured for information! And the film never engages with Bats reaching the point of beating people to a pulp as means of interrogation; he just feels conflicted about who’s worse and broods over it after the fact instead of, I don’t know, maybe thinking twice about torturing someone. The darker Marvel Netflix shows have their characters doing a lot of grim things, but the narrative or other characters almost always holds them accountable for it in ways beyond “aww, I feel kinda sad that I beat mentally ill people to a bloody pulp” – it challenges them often, or has other characters call them out. Batman just does this shit and people are like “oh you shouldn’t do that” and he’s like “AHHH I’M A MONSTER” and it borders into uncomfortable real-life implications with regard to authority and violence. There’s something to be said for introducing grey morality into superhero media, and I get the anti-hero thing, but Dark Knight codified the “white guy grimdark antihero being actually just a terrible fucking person who is the good guy in name only” deal we see in a lot of our media today.

It’s one thing to have a complex and flawed protagonist, but you have to balance that out with redeeming qualities, otherwise, he’s not even a fucking superhero! Again, I refer back to the 90s animated series: Batman has his moments of ruthlessness, but it’s balanced out with the philanthropy work we see in Bruce Wayne, and moments of genuine compassion that he shows many of his enemies – he apologizes genuinely to Two-Face, often tries to give them an out, and is frequently super kind to Harley Quinn, bringing her the dress she was accused of stealing when she was sent back to Arkham in the episode where she tried to redeem herself, and frequently trying to get her to acknowledge that the Joker is abusive towards her, as well as convince her she can still start over and be a good person. On top of which, Batdad is super popular in both the show and the comics. He’s frequently shown as having an especial soft spot for children; addition to all his adopted kids, you also have a lot of his interactions with children, whether as Bruce or as Batman, marked by gentleness, care, and compassion, largely based on what he went through as a child. 

You get no such moment in the Dark Knight. I cannot for the life of me think of kids who would go to see this as a Batman movie and leave looking up to Batman and wanting to be like him except on the surface level of wearing a cool costume and punching bad guys. There is nothing heroic or admirable about this Bruce. He fights crime as a vigilante - brutally, I might add -and this time, it comes off more as a desire for vengeance than a desire for justice, a point which the film raises, but ultimately doesn’t resolve or engage with in a satisfying character arc. 

The closest thing we get to humanizing this character is his relationship with Rachel, and even then, his interactions with her have heavy shades of Friendzoned Nice Guy which is especially bullshit because he won’t pursue a relationship with her yet is bitter about any decisions she might make about her own love life. He doesn’t even care about her that much as anything more than a conquest! He really doesn’t, and Alfred tearing up the letter proves that – with regards to how he behaves towards her, it really feels like it’s not so much that the letter would break his heart as it is that he’d resent her beyond the grave! 

Worse yet, he gives no shits about anyone else. This has a lot to do with Nolan’s scripts having a toxic masculinity problem where it’s not cool for guys to sympathize with or have emotional bonds amongst themselves, but like… he’s allies in a shared venture with the other characters, and nothing more. Alfred is practically his dad but you wouldn’t know that. Gordon, as revealed in TDKR, was kind to him after his parents’ deaths, but they’re just partners. Harvey is a rival for claiming a woman!  In other adaptations, Bruce and Harvey’s friendship is fleshed out a lot so the guilt and shock of his transformation into Two-Face is really impactful! Here, Bruce doesn’t really give a shit beyond it just being another thing to do. 

And that’s what heroism and motivations are to Batman in this - just a thing to do. I don’t want to watch a hero who’d rather bitch about doing good than actually just fucking do good, this is the safety of your city, not a school essay! He doesn’t really seem to want to help people, he wants to complain about people, but then thinks he’s so fucking special and such a snowflake martyr for still helping them regardless! It’s such a deeply childish and yes, toxically male mentality. I know it’s become a meme, but the ”I’m not the hero Gotham needs, but the hero that it deserves” line pisses me off so much for this reason, as well as the fact that he thinks that Gotham’s flaws justify the fact that he beats the fuck out of people and roars in their face to get answers; I think the perfect refutation to both that line and how a superhero protagonist that explores what heroism means can actually be found in Wonder Woman – “It’s not about deserve, it’s about what you believe.” In fact, that’s what made Wonder Woman so good (and feminist!) – it’s rejection of toxic masculine ideals and emphasis on love, compassion and vulnerability being one’s strength, and that people are inherently deserving of being saved if you believe in the good of the world - a much better treatise on good and evil than “see, people sometimes don’t explode boats but they still suck so it’s okay for a billionaire in furry cosplay to beat the shit out of mentally ill people because that’s what this city deserves, a guy who’s more into violence than saving people.” He just doesn’t care, so why the hell should we?

And there’s just no arc. He just reacts to shit and that’s it, which makes him boring when he’s not being a fucking maniac. Despite the script not allowing him to have feelings for other human beings, having him break his no-kill rule with Harvey at the end would have been impactful….had he not already broken it in Batman Begins by leaving White Ra’s al Ghul (Liam Neeson I love you but there is no reason to have whitewashed him or Talia the way Nolan did in the series - same as he did with Bane and arguably Catwoman since she’s been portrayed as a WOC many times before, actually come to think of it, there is a LOT of whitewashing in this trilogy) to his death. 

The film comes up with no real way to challenge it’s hero, have him grow, or change, or even show consequences for his failure to change, making him come off as stunted, unlikeable, and yeah, not much of a hero.

1. The sexism. (You knew this was coming, and yes, it is the worst part). I already mentioned how the men in this movie all fall prey to toxic masculinity as is common with Nolan characters, then even more characteristic of a Nolan movie is The Dead Girlfriend, Wife, or Daughter (you know, the only three things women could ever be!) of Sad White Guy(s). Rachel is the only female character (strike one) and she is handled nothing short of atrociously. Her entire job as a lawyer, intelligence, and hard work established in Batman Begins (which is also too grimdark but actually doesn’t piss me off half as much!) is hardly even mentioned and takes a backseat to her being a prize for the men (including her boss!) to throw feelings at and squabble over. While the male characters have no personality except for one characteristic and a goal because this script was written by an edgy thirteen year old boy, Rachel has no personality except to be a living emotional crutch/plot device. She does not exist as an autonomous individual outside her relationships to the men in the movie. Shit, she’s barely autonomous within these relationships! Bruce is a bitter little shit about her not wanting him back and we’re supposed to feel for him despite him literally offering her nothing relationship-wise for two movies and actively pushing her away at times! He feels he can’t be with her, but the framing is such that she shouldn’t have the right to be with anyone else, either! What the hell? I would even go so far as to say that her choosing Harvey just as she gets blown up, as well as how both of them got to that point, almost feel like the narrative punishing her for not wanting Bruce. More male entitlement bullshit. 

 And her fate…well, I mean. There’s a damn reason The Dark Knight is my go-to example when I want to explain what Fridging/Stuffed in the Fridge means. After having every possible stereotypical pigeonholed white girl trope tossed at her, Rachel is killed off callously for the character development and man angst of not one, but two self-obsessed stubbled white guys who make it about themselves and their right to act like phenomenal turds. She’s Helen of Troy – a woman blamed for people’s reactions to her (Harvey becoming Two-Face, Batsy or Bruce being saaaaaad, etc). She’s the Lost Lenore; a person reduced to how their death impacts their romantic interests.  We have reached peak Nolan here, and frankly, peak Batman too, because the franchise (comics, movies, etc) has always had this same problem with its treatment of women. Her fucking death isn’t even about her! It’s Harvey’s fucking villain origin and Bruce’s sad ending and Alfred’s resentment and note-burning and would she have waited, oh boo hoo, how about, did she have a fucking family, what would have happened if she hadn’t been murdered young, et fucking cetera. 

The thing that really gets me is that Rachel is by no means the worst treated woman in speculative fiction (especially not those that make a claim to some degree of intellectualism); she’s white, so her death is beautifully tragic and she’s put on a pedestal rather than being subjected to racialized misogynistic tropes (being treated more roughly by the narrative, having her suffering ignored or erased altogether, her death being callously ignored except for a throwaway line of dialogue, etc), she’s not unnecessarily and gratuitously sexually brutalized for shock value (that looks uncomfortably like fetishism at times) like the women on Game of Thrones or in nu!Bond movies, or, if we’re still in the Batman universe, Barbara Gordon in any iteration of the Killing Joke (which is another tentpole of misogyny in the Batman universe and I fucking hate it and it clearly influenced the Dark Knight, so, chicken, egg). She isn’t forcibly sterilized and her inability to get pregnant treated as making her a freak like AOU Black Widow. She has no pointless and insulting fanservice scenes like Carol Marcus in her underwear in Star Trek: Into Darkness. Her suffering is not treated as empowerment like any number of women written by Joss Whedon, she isn’t used to be chewed up and spat out and destroyed in a romance with either a guy who terrifies her and in whom she’s shown no prior romantic interest or an outright villain who has caused her nothing but pain in some stupid half-assed not-redemption arc where she has to sublimate herself and be stupidly forgiving beyond the willing suspension of disbelief so some horrible man can evolve.

But why this sexism sticks out to me is that it’s so insidious; if it were more on the nose like the examples I listed above, it’d almost be less jarringly offensive, but it masquerades as her being an empowered yet tragic character and weaves into an overall narrative that validates all the tropes I mentioned, and legitimizes itself in a way that feels fundamentally dishonest about how sexist it’s being. Worse yet, there’s the fact that The Dark Knight is more than just self-contained; its influence on not just comic book movies, but all kinds of media as we know it, is undeniable. And as far as setting the example goes? This hugely well-regarded, influential film is almost entirely white, and tells us that women exist as distractions, tragedies, and extensions of men’s storylines, and this bullshit has been echoing in similar media works since. 

AND NOW, THE ONE (or multiple!) NICE THING(S): 

All this being said, I admit there actually are a lot of things I like about this movie if I can separate them enough from the main issues! 😂For one thing, Hans Zimmer’s work on the score is top-notch; I listen to Like a Dog Chasing Cars and Harvey Two-Face all the time and the music alone provokes stronger emotions for the characters than anything in the movie actually did. The opening heist is just fantastically entertaining, and up until the messy third act, the pacing and plot is pretty tight and engaging! Heath Ledger’s performance as the Joker is of course fantastic; although he’s not my favourite Joker, he really gave it his all, and is by and large the highlight of the film. Nolan is really good with visual appeal (with the exception of that damn colour palette) and the shots are fantastic. I really love the chase scene with the Joker and wish the rest of the movie held my excitement like that.  

Finally, it’s odd to say this, but I really like the world of the movie once I ignore the characters and plot. The Gotham that was built in Nolan’s trilogy, the contrast between the classes with the lavish receptions and dinners versus the underbelly, the corruption versus the goodness, how these disparate elements work in a terrible symbiosis, the architecture and technology reflecting this character – it’s incredibly vivid, both grounded in reality and yet sufficiently speculative fiction-y enough to be intriguing. I just wish that the people in it matched the quality of the setting. 😂😂😂

[bandlovergirl98]

Random Bio Tag

Tagged by: No particular user, just saw this kind of tag in my feed, got bored and just let my brain rip on the screen!! 

Gender: Female

Star sign: Gemini

Height: About 5′3 

Sexual orientation: Straight, as you can see in my profile picture those are a few of my band member crushes, I have more tho lol! XD 

Hogwarts house: Gryffindor

Favorite color: My staple rule of thumb for this is that black can go with anything or make a whole outfit. I also like neutral and dark colors. 

Favorite animal: Anything feline-like, especially as babies, kinda wish they could stay that little, but I know that they gotta grow up sometime, and that’s okay, it’s part of life!! 

Average hours of sleep: On school days, six, breaks and vactions, about seven or more. 

Cat or dog person: Both. As much as I love dogs, gotta be honest here speaking from experience, I feel like one too many Filipino households own a dog, kinda wanna be different and own a cat instead when I have my own place in the future. 

Favorite fictional character: My favorite fictional characters would definitely have to be Batman, Green Arrow,Wonderwoman, The Flash, Speedy, The Atom, Harley Quinn, Katana, Killer Frost, Poison Ivy, and The Joker!! 

Number of blankets: Two to three depending on the temp and thickness of the  blankets. 

Favourite singer/band: Let’s just say my music taste ranges from hardcore punk to classic heavy metal to hard rock to Disney Soundtracks, Hamilton, La La Land, and Wicked Soundtracks to Melanie Martinez, and I love one too many bands to count as seen in my bio lol!! 

Dream trip:  I would definitely love to visit London one day. The castles and the statues of their monarchies look very beautiful and so do their other sights. I’ve also heard the food is amazing, and there’s just something about their accents I cannot explain, also for the history and other bits and pieces of their culture. Also, who knows, maybe I might bump into a Bring Me The Horizon or Asking Alexandria member! XD

Dream job: Definitely a journalist, maybe a music journalist, and on stage talent at Warped Tour and in festivals like Rock On The Range, Northern Invasion, Carolina Rebellion,Welcome To Rockville, Chicago Open Air, etc. as a freelance touring musician on the side doing either lead vocals, acoustic guitar for acoustic sets, and in actual sets, rhythm guitar, bass guitar, or drums, definitely gotta do backing vocals tho!! 

When was this blog made: About three years ago. 

Number of followers: 167 Thank you guys so much for following me!! <3

What made you decide to create this blog: I decided to make this blog out of love for music mostly, but also for other stuff I’d say. 

I will now tag @ghostbytes @techteddyposts @rainbowpikachu47 @1xile @socialanxietyofficial @acmustdie @doland1sturb1a @gayestmaidenofthemall @upon-a-burning-body-bag  @my-chemical-sadness and @music-is-life-alyssa

You guys can do this if you’d like, but don’t have to if you don’t want to. 

[chickadee333]

Impossible Love Masterlist

Without further ado, here is my finalized Masterlist for my novel Impossible Love. At over 85,000 words, you guys are serious readers to put up with this!

(Update: You can also find my fic on AO3 at this link. It’s easier to read there.)

As always, my intention is to write a good, well thought-out story with some sexy, smutty stuff thrown in, and I hope you enjoy it! I like to create some angst-y situations and just have things build up from there. A little sexual tension is fun, right?!? Just another fair warning: This novel contains adult content. Most of my chapters have extremely graphic depictions of sex and violence and, on one occasion, both of them together. But this is ultimately a love story, so I definitely hope you stick around for the ending.

Impossible Love: A Novel by Chickadee333 (aka D):

Chapter 1: A New Beginning

Chapter 2: A Troubled Past

Chapter 3: An Unspoken Lust

Chapter 4: A Forbidden Desire

Chapter 5: A Heartbreaking Discovery

Chapter 6: A Manipulated Promise

Chapter 7: A Welcome Freedom

Chapter 8: A Certain Homecoming

Chapter 9: An Uncertain Decision

Chapter 10: A Hostile Takeover

Chapter 11: An Indelible Mark

Chapter 12: A Time Together

Chapter 13: An Agonizing Choice

Chapter 14: A Forced Confession

Chapter 15: A Tormented Mind

Chapter 16: A Yearning Heart

Chapter 17: An Unspeakable Betrayal

Chapter 18: A New Normal

Chapter 19: A Terrifying Strength

Chapter 20: A Contrived Existence

Chapter 21: A Tragic Revelation

Chapter 22: An Imminent Return

Chapter 23: A Forever Future

(They really sound like romance novel titles, don’t they? I kinda did that on purpose since this is truly a love story...)

If you are interested in reading about my motivation and inspiration, please see my Author’s Note below!

I just wanted to give you a little background about my writing and my inspiration. Actually, my inspiration is all of you incredible people. If there were a Tumblrs Anonymous meeting, I’d be the one raising my hand saying, “Hi everyone, I’m a long-time lurker, first-time poster...” My fangirl head just explodes reading all of the crazy, sexy shit you post. And then the art that is on here! You guys are so fucking talented. My stuff is rubbish in comparison and I only hope that someday I can produce amazing art like all of you do. It is truly an inspiration. In fact, seeing the art on here is what prompted me to purchase my Wacom tablet in February. I eventually plan to have at least one drawing composed for each chapter, though that will take some time.

When I was a teenager, I voraciously read comic books (mostly X-Men) and fell in love with that world of characters and their struggles. I learned to draw by teaching myself forms, figures, shapes, and shadows as I saw them in the comics. I had always wanted to write and draw for comics, but that was a pipe dream and I instead went to college and grad school for something far, far different (science). So, this is my chance to fulfill my fantasy of writing and drawing as I always wanted. You have no idea (or maybe you do, actually) how satisfying it is to finally get this stuff out of my head and into print. When I was a teenager, my angst-ridden, sex-starved mind always wished that the comic books could have been a little X-rated—replete with sexy artwork, too. But it never happened and never would happen in mainstream comics, which is why I finally felt the need to let all of these words pour out along with the artwork to accompany them. It was almost like I was waiting for something like Suicide Squad to come by so I could latch onto it and create my ancillary, alternate universe.

I first saw Suicide Squad at the end of December and I was struck by the fact that there was so much opportunity to create a really interesting story that could never be shown in a PG13 movie (too sexy, too smutty). I spent the first three weeks of January letting the movie marinate in my mind while thinking about the characters and making up little fantasies in my head. Then I saw a note that I had left for myself one year earlier encouraging me to “write more”—which was especially jarring considering that I wasn’t writing at all. So, I decided that I would take the opportunity and start writing down my fantasies. It started with Chapter 1 and how I had wished Joker had broken out of prison in the movie. Instead of torturing Harleen, he would succumb to his pent-up desires and have sex with her. I thought it would end there but it just took off. I wrote 30,000 words in literally two weeks, and I’m continuing to write and ride this out as long as I can sustain it. I have my entire story fleshed out and outlined and I expect to have a total of 14 or possibly 15 chapters when it is concluded. Update: A little over 10 weeks later and I have finished 23(!!!) chapters at 85,000+ words, thus concluding my novel. I’m a little sad that it’s over and I definitely don’t want to stop writing, but I think I’ll focus on my drawings for now. But who knows... I have set up my story for a potentially interesting prequel (Joker’s backstory), so maybe I will eventually work on that... 2nd Update: I will be writing a sequel, not a prequel, and I expect it to be the same length (a long-ass novel, LOL).

I will admit that I am not an expert on the Joker and Harley. I have seen the Suicide Squad movie, but I have not read the novelized version of it and I do not plan to. I know the names of some characters (like Frost) from having seen them float around, but I have been making up my own characters to fit my own story. In fact, other than Joker, Harleen, and Frost, most of my characters are original to a degree. When I write, I like to envision my characters played by an actor/actress so I can describe them better and I will eventually share with you my “cast of characters” for this novel (I actually have it posted already in the end notes on my AO3 page). I also have a running soundtrack in my head as if the story were a movie, and I’ll share that with you all as well (also found at that link).

As for Joker and Harley, I know some basics about them from the movies, some comics, the animated series from the 90s, and things that I’m seeing you guys post here on Tumblr. However, I have never been happy with how the comics/tv shows/movies have portrayed characters like the Joker. It always feels like these kinds of characters are too often portrayed as two-dimensional as their image is on the page. Where is the range of emotion? Where is the depth? I love a crazy, insane character, but they are not compelling to me when there is only crazy and nothing else. Why are they crazy? What is their back story? What drives them? What are their motives? What made them who they are? Is there any piece of humanity within them that can be salvaged? That was one thing that I think they got right with Suicide Squad—Leto’s Joker was portrayed as not only an insane, trigger happy loose cannon, but also suffering emotionally in Harley’s absence. I like kick-ass characters that show vulnerability. It is fucking sexy. I think it is important to add those extra layers of personality in order to make the character feel more real.

As for my portrayal of Joker, I intended to show his emotional and vulnerable side. You know he has one. He is still a flesh and blood person, after all. And he was a real person before becoming the “idea” of the Joker. In my world, he had a normal family life as a child (until his family died in an accident), he went to school, he got some degrees, he used his genius brain to start a business, he had a fiancée and a baby on the way. But shit happened and he is now the way he is. He has anger management issues. He is violent. He is fucked up. And he accepts that. Having said that, however, I was never a fan of Harley Quinn obsequiously fawning over the Joker no matter what abuse he put her through. I do not condone domestic violence and it makes me feel pity for her when I think of her returning to her abuser. In stories where she is portrayed that way, I just want to grab her by the shoulders and tell her that she deserves better than that! I know I would not stay with my abuser—no matter how great the sex was. In real life, I work in a social services field where I have managed cases in which my clients have suffered for too long at the hands of their abusive spouse or partner. That is a fucking difficult thing to be confronted with. It is not sexy; it is heartbreaking. And I find that these real life experiences inform the way that I write. For that reason, I am writing my Harleen as a strong, empowered, independent woman. My Joker, while still the insane, trigger happy loose cannon, is written to show facets of vulnerability and emotion. I think that makes him more attractive to know that he is more than just “crazy” and abusive. I like to show that he has desires, dreams, and urges. I think that kind of depth and dimension can sometimes be missing from the comic books—not always, but sometimes.

I do want to say that there are some brilliant fanfics out there that follow comic book canon with the abusive Joker and the submissive Harley. They really hold true to the characters, and that is an incredible feat within itself—to take a character, to know their personality, and to write a story that is true to how they would act. It’s very impressive. I might finish reading with a feeling of “God damn, Harley, you gotta stop letting Joker walk all over you!” And, to me, that means that the writer was successful because they elicited a true emotion within me—whether it is pity or anger or happiness or angst. So, this is not a put-down for those who do write true to the characters. I have mad respect for you. It’s not my bag, baby, but I will read it and enjoy it and I will walk away having felt something and that is the most important thing. Art in any form should make you feel. It should make you react. It should shock your sensibilities. It should inspire. It should make you think. And that is what I hope my art—both my writing and my drawings—do for all of you.

Sorry to have blathered on for so long, but thank you for reading if you made it this far! Your likes, comments, reblogs, and messages bring a huge smile to my face when I see them. It’s like opening a present when I check my Tumblr activity and see that someone has reached out to me. And please feel free to reach out to me with any comments or questions about anything!!!

So, I thank you from the bottom of my heart and I’m so glad that you enjoy my crazy fantasies as much as I like writing and drawing them!

XOXO,

D

[bandlovergirl98]

Random Bio Tag

Tagged by: No particular user, just saw this kind of tag in my feed, got bored and just let my brain rip on the screen!!

Gender: Female

Star sign: Gemini

Height: About 5′3

Sexual orientation: Straight, as you can see in my profile picture those are a few of my band member crushes, I have more tho lol! XD

Hogwarts house: Gryffindor

Favorite color: My staple rule of thumb for this is that black can go with anything or make a whole outfit. I also like neutral and dark colors.

Favorite animal: Anything feline-like, especially as babies, kinda wish they could stay that little, but I know that they gotta grow up sometime, and that’s okay, it’s part of life!!

Average hours of sleep: On school days, six, breaks and vactions, about seven or more.

Cat or dog person: Both. As much as I love dogs, gotta be honest here speaking from experience, I feel like one too many Filipino households own a dog, kinda wanna be different and own a cat instead when I have my own place in the future.

Favorite fictional character: My favorite fictional characters would definitely have to be Batman, Green Arrow,Wonderwoman, The Flash, Speedy, The Atom, Harley Quinn, Katana, Killer Frost, Poison Ivy, and The Joker!!

Number of blankets: Two to three depending on the temp and thickness of the  blankets.

Favourite singer/band: Let’s just say my music taste ranges from hardcore punk to classic heavy metal to hard rock to Disney Soundtracks, Hamilton, La La Land, and Wicked Soundtracks to Melanie Martinez, and I love one too many bands to count as seen in my bio lol!!

Dream trip:  I would definitely love to visit London one day. The castles and the statues of their monarchies look very beautiful and so do their other sights. I’ve also heard the food is amazing, and there’s just something about their accents I cannot explain, also for the history and other bits and pieces of their culture. Also, who knows, maybe I might bump into a Bring Me The Horizon or Asking Alexandria member! XD

Dream job: Definitely a journalist, maybe a music journalist, and on stage talent at Warped Tour and in festivals like Rock On The Range, Northern Invasion, Carolina Rebellion,Welcome To Rockville, Chicago Open Air, etc. as a freelance touring musician on the side doing either lead vocals, acoustic guitar for acoustic sets, and in actual sets, rhythm guitar, bass guitar, or drums, definitely gotta do backing and/or vocals tho!!

When was this blog made: About three years ago.

Number of followers: 167 Thank you guys so much for following me!! <3

What made you decide to create this blog: I decided to make this blog out of love for music mostly, but also for other stuff I’d say.

I will now tag @ghostbytes