#penguin our hero
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So this @laurenillustrated artwork and all the vintage-dream-casting at @hotvintagepoll got me thinking: if Scooby Doo were a thing in the 1890s, then a few years later it would be a NATURAL for silent Hollywood. So who do we cast in Hal Roach’s hit 1915-1919 series of Scooby Doo live-action comedy shorts?
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Shaggy and Scoob are both easy, because look, here’s Charley Bowers! He always plays chaotic pottering-around-with-machinery types, which is exactly the vibe that 1890s Shaggy gives, and he does so with a surrealist slapstick edge that’s perfect for the material. On top of that, Bowers is a pioneering stop-motion special effects artist—so he can also be our lead animator, and the rapport between live-action Shaggy and his animated Scooby will be delightful.
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Like Shaggy, Velma has to have a certain slapstick quality (“Where are my glasses? I can’t see without my glasses”), so it’s lucky we have Alice Howell—nicknamed “the female Charlie Chaplin” by the tiresome people who use that type of comparison. The point is, she can give Velma the bookish self-possession suggested in the 1890s look, AND also run through a gajillion doors in a wacky hallway chase culminating in a spectacular pratfall.
(Mabel Normand is another contender, but her acting style seems a couple notches too naturalistic for Scooby Doo. I definitely see her directing a bunch of the shorts though.)
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Fred needs to be both a conventionally hot manly-hero type and a bit of an idiot, so hello Reginald Denny! This British actor emigrated to Hollywood in the early 1910s, became a comedy star, and played himbos so well that he was still playing them into the 1960s. He’s even in the Adam West Batman movie as the naval hero Commodore Schmidlapp, who’s so ditzy he doesn’t realize he’s been kidnapped by the Penguin.
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Daphne is a fun one—let’s assume that by this point, Pearl White is tired of all those straight-up action serials like The Perils of Pauline, and wants to do a spoof for a change. With silent comedy shorts there’s always a chance the plot will wander away and leave the individual gags running the store, and White brings enough tension and gravitas to prevent that situation and keep things moving. At the same time, since she favors action roles, she can easily match the dynamism of Bowers, Howell, and Denny.
And that’s to say nothing of all the silent actors who could appear in bit parts on their way to fame. Maybe the gang tears the mask off the ghost, and discovers it’s an early-career Buster Keaton?
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Tim did not wake up in his bed. No, he woke up a dirty alley in the heart of Crime Alley.
Tim, hand pressed over his ear: Oracle, can you fill me in.
Silence. Not even static.
Tim looks down for the first time and notices he’s not in consume. He’s not Red Robin, but Tim Drake. And pointy does not have any of his equipment on him.
What the heck. He was pretty sure he was fighting the Penguin earlier. Had that bird knocked him out and strip him?
No. No, he’s in the same clothes he put on the morning before. The same clothes that he wore to that stupid W.E meeting.
Tim, muttering to himself as he slowly leaves the alley: Ok. Ok calm down Tim. You can figure this out.
He pats himself down, looking for his phone to call the cave. He finds it, noticeably cracked but still functional.
No signal.
Tim: Just my luck. Looks like I have to walk home.
When Tim gets to the entrance of the cave he finds it sealed shut. Like glued to the seems with concrete shut.
Ok. That’s ok. Tim’s siblings prank him all the time. This is nothing new. Just incredibly inconvenient.
Takes him an additional 20 minutes but he’s finally in the cave, thanks to one of the multiple entrances. Thank god for Bruce and his paranoia.
“As you can see here. Batman had a tool for pretty much anything and everything. “
Tim froze at the unknown voice in the cave. Sticking to the shadows he crept forward to peer inside without being seen.
The cave looked sterile. Velvet rope blocked off the Bat computer, and off to the side a table was out displaying case files and Bat-a-rings.
What the.
“And if you look over here, you can see what our hero’s wore to protect our great city.” The same voice drew Tim’s attention to the group of people in the middle of the room.
They looked like tourists. Cameras out, faces a mixer of intrigued excitement or boredom. They were fallowing a lady, presumably the tour guide, to there Jason’s memorial was.
Tim was quick to sneak into the back of the group and act like he was just another bored teenager. He had to figure out what was going on and if that meant touring his own house, so be it.
Tour guide: And here we are. The Robins. the boy, or girl, Wonders. Now there were a total of 5 robins, but Stephane Brown only hold the mantle for a short time. In order the Robins were first, Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Tim Drake, and Damian Wayne.
This isn’t good. First some lady was giving a tour of the Batcave of all places and now she knows their names. And she just told about 20 people and god who knows how many more.
She knows.
She told.
Everyone knows.
Fuck.
Ok, maybe the bats went into hiding? That had to be what happened. But then why would they leave Tim? Did they think he was dead?
The tour went on. The guide went on and on about things that didn’t really matter or were completely inaccurate. Tim was trying not to freak out the longer it went on.
Finally the group went to the elevator, except the small 2 passenger elevator was replaced with one of those big ones that could hold a large group of people.
The manor proper was very much in the same state as the cave. Things were roped off while other items were displayed. It made his head hurt.
Tapping the shoulder of the guy next to him.
Tim: Hey, do you remember what the name of this place is?
Guy: Uh, yeah kid. Kinda hard with the cheesy name.
Tim: Which is? Sorry bad memory.
Guy: The Bat- Museum. Seriously kid. I know that this stuff is boring but you gotta learn your history. The Bats were good people.
Tim, trying not to show the panic at the perfect that he’s been hearing all day.
Tim: Yeah you’re right.
Thankfully the cave seemed to be the end of the tour as the guide lead them to the main foyer.
Tim in all his panic glory, ran out the doors the minute people were leaving.
Muttering a desperate plead to any god in the universe.
Tim: Please don’t be right. Please don’t be right. Please don’t be dead.
With all the stealth his shaking form could do, Tim makes his was around the Manor to the secluded privet cemetery.
Tim’s heart dropped in his chest. Even at a distance he could make out several graves in the once nearly empty lot.
Not bothering with the gate, Tim climbed and hosted himself over landing hard on the ground.
But he
Did
Not
Care.
Tears unwilling fell from his eyes as he read the names on the new graves.
His family’s names.
On sleek marble.
Dead.
Even Alfred had his own stone. Right next to Bruce, like he always did. Like he forever will do now.
Tim stared blankly at his own grave that was in the middle of Steph’s and Jason’s. The one he crawled out of. But not this time.
In loving memory of Timmothy Drake- Wayne
Beloved son, friend and hero.
“Reach for the stars chum.” - Bruce Wayne, adopted father
Tim fell to his knees, tears streaming down his face.
He failed.
He failed them.
Again.
He couldn’t protect his family a second time. What a worthless “hero” he was. He couldn’t even die right!
White light surrounded Tim’s crying form.
Phantom stood, tears still falling down his face.
With one last look at the graves around him, he flew up and away from Gotham.
Away from the city he failed.
Just like Amity.
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Random highly specific dick grayson fanfics I’ve been craving
An exhausted 18/19 yr old Dick finding Jason trying to steal the wheels off of Nightbird (his car) and instead of reprimanding him he just launches into a really proud rant about his car and how much work he put into her and god kid you got a good eye for parts. I just replaced the tires with ones where the rubber self heals. And none of that commercial crap either, actual self healing rubber that could get a bullet shot through it and still close up a second later. Oh and did you notice the seats? Just polished the leather on em! Go on sit, sit! Comfy, huh? You wanna get a bite to eat? Cool. I think bat burger’s hero-meal comes with a bat-mobile toy. Not as cool as my lovely lady of course, but close enough. Jason is absolutely baffled. This is Nightwing? The one all those new gangs that moved from bludhaven decided facing was worse than fighting for territory in the narrows? Fleeing unsuccessfully might be add considering Nightwing’s presence in gotham. He was so…nice? In that weird slightly off putting way that most of the real good people he knows have.
Dick and Damian both longing for the days where it was just them: Batman and Robin. The best. Dick having a whole moment where he curls around nearly completed adoption papers and sobs because Damian was his. For a year Damian was his to protect, his to guide, his to love. But now they aren’t even in the same city and barely go on patrols together let alone have movie nights cuddled up on the couch (it’s only reasonable Richard. Penguins huddle to conserve body heat). And Damian in the manor staring blankly at his drawing of gotham that Bruce hung up in his office. He didn’t make it for him. He made it for Richard. But what was he supposed to do when Father saw a piece dedicated to “dad” while Damian was flipping through his sketchbook? Tell him it was actually for his oldest son instead of him? Tell him that sometimes Damian wishes bruce never came back so that Richard didn’t have step back from them?
Dick who cooks tons of different cultural dishes within the same meal and when questioned about it he’s just like ???? That’s what my mom used to do??? We lived in so many different places it felt weird limiting our food to one culture per meal.
Dick being like Garfield Logan’s big brother long before Jason comes into the mix. Gar frequently turning into a baby elephant just because it makes dick coo over him more than any form. Even a kitten!
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Wallace And Gromit Knew To Balance Having Comedic Villains While Still Making Them A Threat
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I think one thing that Wallace and Gromit shows is that you can balance humor and threat at the same time. All of these villains are comedic but they are also able to pose danger to our heros. I mean most of them are one offs except the Penguin but the rest showed that humor doesn't adhere from a villain not being able to be competent.
#helluva boss#helluva boss critical#vivziepop critical#vivziepop criticism#vivziepop#helluva boss critique#helluva boss criticism#anti-vivziepop#hazbin hotel#hazbin hotel critical#wallace and gromit
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When Drew Doughty got his first taste of best-on-best hockey, he was the youngest member of Team Canada at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, and things didn’t start so well for him.
Naturally, it was a conversation with one of the “veterans” that helped him reverse course and turn the event into a career-shifting experience.
Never mind that the player was just two years, four months and one day older than Doughty. It was the type of player who was born a veteran.
It was Sidney Crosby.
“He was young,” Doughty recalls, “but I remember after one of our first practices I was walking onto the bus and he was like, ‘Hey, come sit beside me.’ That was the first time I had a real conversation with him. He knew I was nervous as hell, and he brought me in and sat me down.”
In addition to the physical and mental gifts that made him one of the sport’s few truly generational players, the 37-year-old possesses a level of awareness and emotional intelligence that have taken him to another level entirely.
As close friend Nathan MacKinnon puts it: “I’m sure there’s a lot of successful people that no one really wants to be around, but guys just gravitate towards him. He’s got an awesome personality. He’s a great storyteller. He’s just a fun guy to be around.”
MacKinnon says it’s Crosby’s first time playing with a team full of his biggest fans and, while half-joking, that sentiment rings true. Doughty and Brad Marchand are the only players he’s previously won with. And ask the younger players on the roster about their personal encounters with No. 87 during this event and they light up.
Mitch Marner says his overtime winner over Sweden was surreal because it came on an assist from his boyhood hero. Thomas Harley calls Crosby a “god,” adding, “You’ll go blind if you look at him too long.” And 23-year-old Seth Jarvis is still buzzing about the fact Crosby took the time to introduce himself following a Carolina Hurricanes-Pittsburgh Penguins game in January.
“Well, f—,” Jarvis says. “I wasn’t about to approach him. I’d be a little starstruck.”
You can take the boy out of Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, but fame and fortune never took any of the Cole Harbour out of Crosby.
Marchand could only chuckle during a recent dinner at his buddy’s house in suburban Pittsburgh when he walked into the living room and saw a rocking chair made entirely out of wood from Halifax.
“That’s what he sits in every day,” Marchand says. “He’s just a very down-to-earth guy, which at his level and the things that he’s accomplished doesn’t happen often. A tremendous amount of respect for him.”
Everyone here does.
so beloved
#pittsburgh penguins#sidney crosby#mitch marner#toronto maple leafs#seth jarvis#drew doughty#nathan mackinnon#colorado avalanche#team canada#4 nations face off
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I don't fully know who you are, but people seem to be asking important(?) Questions so I will ask the most important question, Pineapple on pizza , yes or no.
I'm allergic to pineapple, so that answers that question for me rather definitively, but let me tell you about my little sister. I was an only child for 20 years of my life when I was gifted with a little sister. When she was an early teen my wife at the time Erin, who is a vegetarian who can't digest meat at all, and I took her to Comic-Con. We had a party to go to at night (I think it was Penguin) and so we left her in the hotel room with money to buy herself pizza that would be delivered to the room. We figured she'd get something and we could eat leftovers later if there were any.
So what pizza did my little sister order?
Hawaiian.
A pizza with pineapple, which I was allergic to, and Canadian bacon, which Erin couldn't digest.
And our intolerances are such that you can't simply take the pineapple or meat off and eat the rest of it. The juices are enough.
My sister absolutely did this on purpose.
She is my hero.
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Burning Love
Chapter 5
Main Masterlist | Fic Masterlist | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter
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The rest of the chain was outside by the time you managed to waddle downstairs, huddled around a cooking pot with Wild at the helm for breakfast.
"(Y/n)!" Wind greeted, waving you over with his bandaged arm, drawing the other's attention. You waved groggily, plopping down next to the youngest hero on a nearby log. "Is Four okay, we haven't seen him yet."
"You say that like we haven't been hearing him," Legend muttered with a scowl. You were too tired to defend Four's honor, so you just waved off the pantless hero with a scowl of your own.
"Well, he's alive."
"Goodie."
"Legend, I swear to Hylia—"
"OKay!" Warriors cut off your impending insult with a loud clap of his hands. "We'll continue this when everyone's had coffee, yeah?"
"Great plan," you shot him a thumbs up while Legend muttered something ineligible in the background. Wild materialized behind you with a cup of steaming goodness, handing it over wordlessly. "You're the man, Wild."
"I'm the man," he parroted, returning your high-five with the speed of a shooting arrow.
"So," Twilight interjected and the seriousness of the conversation instantly increased. "He's cleared for travel?"
"More or less," you sipped your coffee and felt a bit more Hylian than you did a minute ago. "I still haven't figured out what's going on with him," you paused, an idea hitting you harder than Wind's windhammer. "Time, didn't you mention a library being here?"
"The Town Archive," the oldest hero intoned, expression contemplative as he mulled over your idea. "I've visited it once before, but it's certainly old enough to have some information."
"It sounds like the best place to start," Sky joined the conversation with a hum. "We don't know how dangerous his ailment is, or even what it is, for that matter."
"I agree," said Hyrule, turning his curious gaze to Time. "How many books do you think it holds?"
"Hundreds, I'm sure," Time answered, tone curiously wistful, and if you weren't drooling at the thought of all that literature, you sure were when Wild passed you a bowl of egg-fried rice. He looked up with a resigned expression. "Four, how kind of you to join us."
You glanced back quick enough to watch Four half-stumble down the stairs, shuffling over in a distinct rendition of Wind's impression of a 'penguin'. "Good morning to you too, old man," he plopped down beside you and accepted Wild's procured bowl of rice with a grateful hum. "Where's my coffee?"
"You're too young to be drinking that," Legend replied, taking a very loud, very obnoxious sip of his own.
Four cocked his head, puzzled. "I'm am?"
"And I'm the Queen of Lorule."
"...You're not?"
"No."
"That's... unfortunate."
"Sigh."
"Anyways, what were we talking about?"
"You, short stack," said Warriors. "We were about to ask if you wanted to stay behind and recuperate?"
"Why would I?"
Warriors deadpanned. "You're not exactly at one-hundred percent, and someone's got to protect (Y/n)—"
"Um, rude," you crossed your arms over your chest, your spoon sticking out of your mouth like a pipe. "Bold of you to assume I'm not coming with."
Silence.
"Jeez, tough crowd..."
"You're tough," you retorted before realizing that wasn't the insult you'd been hoping for. "Anyways, the library might be our only shot at helping you, Four," you said, bumping shoulders and ignoring the withering gaze Twilight sent the shorter hero. "And! Books!"
"Can't miss out on that," the blacksmith responded with a grin.
"It seems we've come to an agreement," Time observed. "We leave in ten," he paused at Wind's puppy dog eyes, sighed, and somehow managed to look five years older. "...or when Wind has finished his breakfast."
Everyone cheered as Wind brought his spoon to his mouth in slow motion.
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The town archive was unlike anything you'd seen before. Tall and imposing, its shadows towered way over your approaching group. Four's side was warm against your bare arm as you led him forward, not for lack of trust, but after seeing him wobble down the inn stairs, you were taking no chances.
"Woah," Four breathed. "It's bigger than my old forge."
"Yeah?"
"Definitely."
"Are you sure? You're not pulling my leg?"
"I think you'd know if I was pulling your leg."
"I hate you both," muttered Legend, and you didn't need to see his face to feel his undoubtedly dark glare burning holes into your back.
"Aw, let them be," Wind came to your rescue. He looked at you and winked. "He's just upset because he had to listen to some couple flirt last night."
"Wind."
"Sorry, we," he amended sassily. "had to listen to some couple flirt last night."
"...Was it good?" You asked with mounting terror.
"Not at all, but we're not allowed to talk about that."
"For good reason," Legend hissed. "It was the worst thing I've had the displeasure of hearing, and I've listened to Wind snoring."
"Hey!"
"We're here," Time announced, and you'd never been more grateful for a subject change.
The heavy wooden doors creaked open, the rusty metal plaque on the right one glinting softly in the sunlight. Squinting with all your might, you managed to make the scrawled lettering out to be "Town Archive", which was about as accurate as you could get here.
The group shuffled in, and you were instantaneously impressed at the impossibly large bookshelves lining every veritable wall, closing in on the lectern in the center in ordered rows. "Wow," you said in awe, deftly release of Four to peruse the massive directory on said lecture. Your hands glided the leather cover of the colossal book, only pausing to sneeze when you opened it and a cloud of dust shot forth. Most of the boys had begun to scatter, chatting individually about what they hoped to find—though you were sorely tempted to scream that libraries didn't have Lizalfo talons when you heard Wild make that particular quip—but Twilight, Time, and Four remained silently by the entrance.
"How many trees you reckon it takes to make a book that big?" Twilight asked in a hushed tone.
"More than one," was Four's response. "A big one... or four small ones."
Your eye twitched at the nonsensical exchange, but you forced yourself to refocus on the directory.
"...Why are you like this?" Time sounded as exasperated as you felt.
Your pointer finger traced down the 'D' list, eyes scanning over every title with fading interest. You had already searched over ten pages, and not a single thing had stood out among the dizzying selection. It was beginning to seem that you would never find an answer to the conundrum, which was as painful as it was maddening. As a medic, it was your sworn duty to help the sick, even more when the sick person in question was your dear friend, and you were determined to not add to your list of regrets.
Until you flipped to a random page, seconds from burying your head in your hands, and something finally caught your eye.
"I found it!"
"Found what?" Four appeared at your side almost instantaneously, flanked by Time and Twilight.
You tapped the scrawled title with a blossoming grin. "'The Complete Guide To Hyrule's Races'!"
"That sounds promising," Time's expression was curious. "Do you think you can find it?"
"I can try," you shut the book, the pages thudding together with a thud of finality. "The directory said it should be on the second shelf in one of the back rows, so I'll start there."
The heroes bade you good luck as you headed off in search of your prize. Twilight grunted softly as soon as your cape fluttered from view. "Ya know yer only diggin' yourself into a bigger hole, right?"
"Huh?" Four's face was the picture of confusion, but Twilight knew it was all a ruse.
"Don't play dumb," he chided. "Ya haven't given it any thought?"
Four's gaze flicked between the two heroes, and Time, who looked as though he had seen enough, motioned them to one of the quieter corners of the library. "Now," the older hero's gaze felt like a piercing beam. "What's this all about?"
Twilight snorted, tossing his head in Four's direction. "Wouldn't be about nothin' if he would man up already."
Time stared at the smaller hero, clearly demanding an answer with the sheer force of his mind alone. Too bad that Four didn't feel like passing out details of his (nonexistent) sex life like they were candy.
"It's no one's business, old man," he crossed his arms over his chest, expression a nigh-perfect recreation of Legend's resting-bitch face. "And that's final."
"It's only goin' to get worse," Twilight ran a hand down his face, eyes turned to the ceiling in a plea for divine intervention. "An' it's that medic's business, too."
"What about (Y/n)?" Time's gaze hardened protectively; the old man cared for you and it showed clearer than day on his scarred face. "Four."
"Don't," the smithy fixed him with an unusually harsh glare. Time's working eye narrowed; something was amiss and he was determined to find it. "You're not part of this, none of you are."
"So ya admit it's a problem?" Twilight interjected.
"No!" Four snapped. He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I need more time, you can't expect me to..."
"We aren't expecting you to do anything," Time said slowly, looking equal parts ready to throttle someone and offer one of them a hug, just as Twilight muttered under his breath: "'cept what's right for ya and that medic."
Four bristled. "It's not like that."
"It could be."
"I can't— you have no idea about any of this," the smithy's face was growing redder and redder, irises flashing blue, as he growled. "S-So stay out of it!"
"Oh, we have some idea," Twilight shot back. "Don't tell me ya've forgotten our conversation?"
Four's expression twisted in discomfort, but it was quickly replaced by annoyance. "How could I forget?" he snarked. "You know they're not—"
A memory of last night flashed in his mind's eye, but Four dismissed it; there was no way you saw him... like that, he wanted to scream. You were just too nice for your own good. He tried not to think of the way your gaze roved his body when he undressed, chalking it up to misplaced curiosity. How could you want him when there were so many other options, as much as it pained him to think it?
"—it's fine, I'm going outside."
Twilight opened his mouth to fire back, only pausing when Time laid a hand on the rancher's shoulder, shaking his head with a somewhat defeated expression. Twilight huffed, but held his tongue.
Until cheery footsteps broke through the silence and your head peeked around a nearby bookshelf. You grinning vibrantly when you caught sight of them, and it was the most beautiful thing Four had seen in his life. "There you are, I can't believe you all disappeared on me like that!"
"Sorry," Four said rather sheepishly. His gaze snapped to the crumpled sheet of paper in your right hand. "What's that?"
You shrugged, holding it out for him to examine. Twilight shifted closer, subtly sniffing with a look of barely disguised interest. "I thought notes from a scholar would be more useful than a textbook, is all."
"It was a textbook?" Time questioned, and you made a face.
"Unfortunately," you grimaced harder. "I've seen enough of those things to last a few lifetimes."
"We can tell," Twilight observed, tipping his head to the barely legible symbols covering the page. Four wrinkled his nose, slightly miffed at the unfamiliar language. "Can ya read it?"
"A bit," you answered. "It's written in ancient Hylian."
"Ancient, huh?" Twilight leveled a knowing look in Four's direction. The shorter hero growled and shoved at his chest, and the rancher surrendered with a guffaw. "Ah'right, ah'right!"
"Do I even want to know?" you deadpanned.
Crash!
"Fuck!" came Wild's distinct screech, and you nearly tripped over yourself rushing to the source of the noise. Four moved to follow, but halted when Time's hand sealed around his wrist.
"Four."
"Let me go."
"What is it, exactly, that you are afraid of?"
Four's eyes narrowed. "I'm not afraid."
"Ya are," Twilight joined the fray with a jaded frown.
Four tried yanking his arm away, but Time's grip held true. "What do you know? It's not like you—"
"Wrong," the rancher interrupted tersely. "'M trying to help ya because I am the only one."
Four froze. Surely he couldn't be implying...
"Don't give me that look," Twilight drew closer, towering over the smithy with a distinct wildness in his usually calm eyes. "Ya never thought ta' question why I leave fer a week every six months, or why I don't go off alone with yer little medic?"
"Y-You don't like (Y/n)?" Four was at a complete loss for words as the realization hit him harder than one of Wild's bombs. "How—"
"This ain't about me," Twilight's tone took on a distinct snarl that had Four wondering how he hadn't connected the dots in the first place. "It's about you and yer problem with makin' things easy on yerself. Ya think distance will make everythin' fine an' dandy? I can promise ya, it won't."
"But—"
"You can only deny yer nature for so long," there was a distinct sliver of regret in the older hero's tone that made Four wonder what exactly the rancher had experienced to look that way. "An' once it's gone, you're never going to get it back."
"Guys!"
All heads turned to you, and Four felt the inexplicable urge to gather you in his arms and never let go. Until he noticed your panicked expression and lack of paper. "Come on," you urged hurriedly. "We've got to get the hell out of here."
"What happened?" asked Time, beating Four by a millisecond.
Your expression turned grave. "Lizalfos,"
"In the library?!"
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Sigh. He'll get it eventually. ALSO Twi, you dog!
Just as a disclaimer, I've never played OOT so I have no idea if the term 'town archive' even exists in their world, but I'm going to pretend it does for the sake of the smut.
#linked universe#linked universe x reader#the chain x reader#link x reader smut#lu x reader#lu four x reader#lu fic#lu four#loz#loz fanfic
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A list of all the books mentioned in Peter Doherty's journals (and in some interviews/lyrics, too)
Because I just made this list in answer to someone's question on a facebook group, I thought I may as well post it here.
-The Picture of Dorian Gray/The Ballad Of Reading Gaol/Salome/The Happy Prince/The Duchess of Padua, all by Oscar Wilde -The Thief's Journal/Our Lady Of The Flowers/Miracle Of The Rose, all by Jean Genet -A Diamond Guitar by Truman Capote -Mixed Essays by Matthew Arnold -Venus In Furs by Leopold Sacher-Masoch -The Ministry Of Fear by Graham Greene -Brighton Rock by Graham Green -A Season in Hell by Arthur Rimbaud -The Street Of Crocodiles (aka Cinnamon Shops) by Bruno Schulz -Opium: The Diary Of His Cure by Jean Cocteau -The Lost Weekend by Charles Jackson -Howl by Allen Ginsberg -Women In Love by DH Lawrence -The Tempest by William Shakespeare -Trilby by George du Maurier -The Vision Of Jean Genet by Richard Coe -"Literature And The Crisis" by Isaiah Berlin -Le Cid by Pierre Corneille -The Paris Peasant by Louis Aragon -Junky by William S Burroughs -Absolute Beginners by Colin MacInnes -Futz by Rochelle Owens -They Shoot Horses Don't They? by Horace McCoy -"An Inquiry On Love" by La revolution surrealiste magazine -Idea by Michael Drayton -"The Nymph's Reply to The Shepherd" by Sir Walter Raleigh -Hamlet by William Shakespeare -The Silver Shilling/The Old Church Bell/The Snail And The Rose Tree all by Hans Christian Andersen -120 Days Of Sodom by Marquis de Sade -Letters To A Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke -Poetics Of Space by Gaston Bachelard -In Favor Of The Sensitive Man and Other Essays by Anais Nin -La Batarde by Violette LeDuc -Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov -Intimate Journals by Charles Baudelaire -Juno And The Paycock by Sean O'Casey -England Is Mine by Michael Bracewell -"The Prelude" by William Wordsworth -Noise: The Political Economy of Music by Jacques Atalli -"Elm" by Sylvia Plath -"I am pleased with my sight..." by Rumi -She Stoops To Conquer by Oliver Goldsmith -Amphitryon by John Dryden -Oscar Wilde by Richard Ellman -The Song Of The South by James Rennell Rodd -In Her Praise by Robert Graves -"For That He Looked Not Upon Her" by George Gascoigne -"Order And Disorder" by Lucy Hutchinson -Man Crazy by Joyce Carol Oates -A Pictorial History Of Sex In The Movies by Jeremy Pascall and Clyde Jeavons -Anarchy State & Utopia by Robert Nozick -"Limbo" by Samuel Taylor Coleridge -Men In Love: Masculinity and Sexuality in the Eighteenth Century by George Haggerty
[arbitrary line break because tumble hates lists apparently]
-Crime And Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky -Innocent When You Dream: the Tom Waits Reader -"Identity Card" by Mahmoud Darwish -Ulysses by James Joyce -The Four Quartets poems by TS Eliot -Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare -A'Rebours/Against The Grain by Joris-Karl Huysmans -Prisoner Of Love by Jean Genet -Down And Out In Paris And London by George Orwell -The Man With The Golden Arm by Nelson Algren -Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates -"Epitaph To A Dog" by Lord Byron -Cocaine Nights by JG Ballard -"Not By Bread Alone" by James Terry White -Anecdotes Of The Late Samuel Johnson by Hester Thrale -"The Owl And The Pussycat" by Edward Lear -"Chevaux de bois" by Paul Verlaine -A Strong Song Tows Us: The Life of Basil Bunting by Richard Burton -Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes -The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri -The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling -The Man Who Would Be King by Rudyard Kipling -Ask The Dust by John Frante -On The Trans-Siberian Railways by Blaise Cendrars -The 39 Steps by John Buchan -The Overcoat by Nikolai Gogol -The Government Inspector by Nikolai Gogol -The Iliad by Homer -Heart Of Darkness by Joseph Conrad -The Volunteer by Shane O'Doherty -Twenty Love Poems and A Song Of Despair by Pablo Neruda -"May Banners" by Arthur Rimbaud -Literary Outlaw: The life and times of William S Burroughs by Ted Morgan -The Penguin Dorothy Parker -Smoke by William Faulkner -Hero And Leander by Christopher Marlowe -My Lady Nicotine by JM Barrie -All I Ever Wrote by Ronnie Barker -The Libertine by Stephen Jeffreys -On Murder Considered As One Of The Fine Arts by Thomas de Quincey -The Void Ratio by Shane Levene and Karolina Urbaniak -The Remains Of The Day by Kazuo Ishiguro -Dead Fingers Talk by William S Burroughs -The England's Dreaming Tapes by Jon Savage -London Underworld by Henry Mayhew
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FRANCESCA ROOT-DODSON as Ecco
GOTHAM (2014-2019) ↳ 5.03 Penguin, Our Hero
#gothamedit#eccoedit#gthmnet#gotham#ecco#ecco gotham#userkraina#smallscreensource#filmtvcentral#dcmultiverse#dcugifs#season 5#5x03#ours#gifset#by kayleigh
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Fandom/Activism
I interrupt my dive into Abigail DeKosnik’s work to note that as the United States moves deeper into its (apparently endless) election season, we’re seeing a lot of fandom-as-activism starting to emerge, as well as activism-as-fandom. De Kosnik herself was one of the early writers on fandom/activism, writing “Participatory democracy and Hillary Clinton's marginalized fandom” for the very first issue of Transformative Works and Cultures in 2008; more recently, Aja Romano wrote about how Donald Trump’s followers can be seen to be acting like a fandom for Vox: “If you want to understand modern politics, you have to understand modern fandom.”
TWC hosted an entire guest issue on Transformative Works and Fan Activism, edited by Henry Jenkins and Sangita Shresthova; Jenkins and Shresthova also collaborated on By Any Media Necessary: The New Youth Activism (NYU, 2016) which collects essays on fan activism. Other essays on fandom/activism have been published by TWC with Alex Xanthoudakis’s Mobilizing minions: Fan activism efficacy of Misha Collins fans in "Supernatural" fandom (2020) and Hannah Carilyn Gunderman’s Fan geographies and engagement between geopolitics of Brexit, Donald Trump, and Doctor Who on social media (2020) being recent examples. Meanwhile, Tanya Cook and Kayle Joseph are the authors of Fandom Acts of Kindness: A Heroic Guide to Activism, Advocacy, and Doing Chaotic Good (Penguin Randomhouse 2023), a guide on how to use fandom and fannish strategies to make a difference.
Some examples of fandom/activism emerging this U.S. election season include Heroes 4 Harris: Kamala-Con which is scheduled to happen online today, Sunday September 8, 2024, 1pm PT / 4pm ET: this is billed as “a Comic-Con for Kamala” and “the largest fandom led gathering in support of a presidential candidate in American history.” It will feature: “actors, writers, directors, and super fans of Hollywood's most inspiring heroic fandoms” and promises not just inspiration from some of our favorite stars (Mark Ruffalo, Sean Astin, Rosario Dawson and others - not to mention Henry Jenkins himself) but also breakout groups and training in “fan mobilization.”
Meanwhile, Lynda Carter (always a Wonder Woman!) is also trying to get out the fan vote for Harris with her group Geeks & Nerds for Harris Walz (@GeekOutTheVote); this is also billed as “a fan activist campaign” and they are planning special online events, the first of which will be an online call on September 24, 2024. As they describe on their website: “Fandom has never just been about media consumption. Fans are artists, creators, and digital ambassadors. When we share what we love, it radiates around the world. And to paraphrase the Vice President, it’s how we show them who we are. By connecting battle-tested campaign canvassing strategies to the heritage and practices of fan communities, we can encourage fans to get out the vote in key battleground states.”
Donald Trump, aside from being his own fandom with himself as fan in chief, also seems to have had some self-identified fandoms collectively organizing for him over the years - these include Fans of Kanye West, Fans of Race Car Driving, and, strange but true, Fans of the 1980s, who apparently believe that Donald Trump would also be a fan of 80s horror movies, Scritti Politti, and the soundtrack to Pretty in Pink. (I’m not making that up; it’s on their Twitter.) That said, Mel Stanfill’s newest book Fandom is Ugly (2024) argues that, despite its popular reputation, media fandom is not essentially progressive; that in fact, “reactionary politics and media fandoms go hand in hand.” Stanfill’s book looks at the ways in which fans have organized in conservative, reactionary, or even hateful ways, from Gamergate to the collective abuse and harassment of actors in the latest Star Wars franchise.
The discipline of fandom studies is now being used to study all different kinds of affiliations and advocacy movements, not just those based around film, tv, sports, or music. Fan studies is now applied to political and social movements. Jenkins is still a powerful voice on the relationship between fan studies and participatory democracy (whether progressive or reactionary): read this 2024 interview with him published in Communication and the Public: “The path from participatory culture to participatory politics: A critical investigation—An interview with Henry Jenkins.” As Jenkins notes:
Part of the ethos of fandom is to ask questions—from nitpicking to imagining other outcomes, different trajectories for character arcs, and other worlds where the story might occur, all of which is expressed through fan works. I would say that fans are often more critical than the general audience in asking these questions, which makes them somewhat different from many partisans and activists I might know who rarely question their beliefs and ideological commitments. And fans are more tolerant—as an aggregate—of different interpretations than partisans are of different ideological stances. So, you could do worse in grounding a democracy than engaging with fans.
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just remembered The Wild existed, I used to think it was a disney movie but apparently it's not?
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It was distributed by Disney.
My special memory of The Wild was my dad and I were driving to the theatre to see it, but a movie reviewer came on the radio and talked about how much the movie was bad, and my dad awkwardly telling me how critics are just harsh on movies like that. The critic was right.
The Wild is fascinating because most people assume it’s just a shitty knockoff of Madagascar. The story goes tho that the two movies were in production at the same time (and The Wild possibly earlier..), and Madagascar was simply the cheaper and faster of of the two and was released much earlier. There is a very possible chance that Madagascar was actually a knockoff of The Wild in a similar matter to Dreamworks’ Antz and Shark Tale, rather than the other way around.
I don’t know enough about the production history of The Wild to know for sure if that theory holds weight. Would be fascinating if true because Madagascar is still very much the better of the two. It’s been a while since I saw it but I remember it even as a kid finding most of of the jokes not being very funny and the how everything looked kinda creepy.
The only thing that I usually remember about this movie is the flesh eating wildebeests, and the fact the main characters were on an animal curling team.
youtube
This clip is also now pissing me off because they call the curling target the “red bullseye”. That is not what that’s called, it’s the house. The penguin also seems to chuck the stone (turtle) like some combination of discus and bowling, and in the next scene not in this clip we see our “heros” use their anaconda as a sling to shoot their stone. These animals are dogshit at curling, it’s disgusting to watch.
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"Apologies" AU - Masterpost
"Before Popstar, Adeleine lived on 'Shiver Star,' the embittered residents' nickname for the frozen husk of old Earth they were left on after the migration. But she isn't sad, for she has a best friend in her older brother. And he would give up anything to protect her...."
Characters: Adeleine, Noir (loosely based on unused Dark Matter design) / Dark Matter Swordsman, Gooey, King Dedede, others...
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Note that this "comic" started as a well-received one shot that proceeded to grow into a series. As a result, it's very experimental. Expect random inconsistencies and continual artstyle shifts.
Bolded text are the newest posts
[Apologies AU] -Shiver Star- “Apologies” “One Sneeze” (illust) “Summer” “A Walk in the Snow” “The Swordsman” “Wonderful Gift” (illust) “Damnation” “Salvation” “Unstoppable” “Brightest Star”
-Dream Land 2- “Sibling Reunion” “Big Brother Instincts” “Unsung Hero” “The Perfect Vessel” “To Protect” “Matter Over Mind” "Darkened Skies" (illust) “Last Will” “Ego”
-Side Stories- "Freeze" "A Cold Hell" "No Friends"
"Honestly, it was all worth it"
"Never Never Land"
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[Noir Fontaine - Initial Ref Sheet] [Noir Fontaine - Kirby OC Tourney Profile]
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[Noir's Field Trip]
Please see the above post for links to all Noir content following Dream Land 2. In short, I submitted him to a silly popularity contest and let people ask him questions, many of which served to reveal his backstory and emotional state during various events. It also provides the lead up to Noir's ultimate fate, ie, The Good Ending.
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[White-Haired Noir] “Dark Matter Painter” (gift art - how this whole idea started...) "Have You Ever Killed Before?" (reblog sketch - W.Noir is born...) "Why Did You Stop Me...?" (reblog text + sketch - W.Noir in Kirby 64)
“You’re a good knight!” (illust - W.Noir and Ribbon) “The Body Remembers” (illust - W.Noir's scars) "Knight Costume" (sketch - W.Noir and Meta Knight) "My Trauma" (sketch - W.Noir and Meta Knight)
"Like Brother Like Sister" (comic, white-haired Noir origin) "Each From His or Her Own World" (comic, one of various endings)
"Three Challenges Noir Had to Face and One Meta Knight Did" (fanfic - W.Noir and Meta Knight in Planet Robobot) "Cold Air" (fanfic - W.Noir and Meta Knight's first meeting)
"The Little Prince" (illust - Adult W.Noir) "Brighter Skies" (Sketch - Adult W.Noir and Kirby)
[Snowflakes Timeline - cw: body horror + bad end] "I'll Never Leave You" - Script + Sketch "...Zero Three..." - Sketch + Script + Illust "Melted Snow" - Script + Fictional Boss Fight "Null v0.3" - Sketch + Silliness
[Extras - Art (canonincal)] “Ugly Scarf” (illust - our first look at Noir) "It'll All Make Sense Soon, Right?" (illust - Noir + Adeleine) "You Won't Win..." (illust - Noir's last moments) “Was I A Good Brother...?” (illust + text - storycrafting for Noir) “That’s…Funny…” (illust - Adeleine's notebook) "Blue Penguin Scarves" (illust - Dedede and Noir's Scarf)
"Happy Birthday!" (sketch - Adeleine and Noir)
[Extras - Art (non-canon)] “Full Regalia” (illust - Dark Matter Blade “Gijinka”) "No Hands Club" (sketch - incredibly short MariPav Crossover) "Looking Over You" (sketch - Angel Noir he's not dead yet!!) "Hell Branch x Apologies" / 2 / 3 (sketch - unexpected crossover!?!) "Games You Play When..." (sketch - the siblings + Steven meme) "Family Wedding?!" (sketch - the siblings + Raquelle/Rimura) "Adeleine meets Dark Matter Painter" (sketch comic) "Noir meets White-Haired Noir" (sketch comic) "Hell Branch x Apologies Returns!" (sketch comic) (Leads to same post as "...AGAIN" below)
"Ending D" (illust - Everyone dies...) "Sempai Noir" (illust - Adeleine draws Noir) "sEmPaI bLaDe" (illust - Gooey draws Noir)
[Extras - Scripts] “Vestige” (script - Susie + Adeleine) "Evil Science" (script - Meta Knight + Susie) "W.Noir and Taranza + Adeleine and Magolor" (scripts) "...AGAIN." (script - Noir in Dream Land 3) (Leads to same post as Hell Branch Returns" above) "Why Does Life Suck?" (more Hell Branch crossover)
"Re_Birthday" (script/sketch - Noir reflects as Adeleine mourns)
[Extras - Asks] "Warning Sign?" (text) "W.Noir and Meta Knight" (text) "What was Gooey...?" (text) "Adeleine, Noir, and 'bullies'" (text) "Noir as Dream Land 3's Dark Matter" (text) "Dark Matter Painter's Light" (reblog; White-Haired Noir lore) "Why hell though?" (text)
[Shiver Siblings Takeover] (For one weekend, I let Adeleine and Noir "answer" any asks about them. White-Haired Noir shows up too. Somewhat non-canon, but surprisingly connected?!?)
Please Send Positive Thoughts to... Which Kirby Adventure... [w/ Sketch] If You Had a Wish-Granting Clock... Food and Warm Clothes Arrive... [w/ Sketch] A Crystal Ball to See the Future - Noir... [Comic] A Crystal Ball to See the Future - W. Noir [Comic] Have You Been to the Forgotten Land... [Comic] (This ^ one is canon to W.Noir btw!) So Zan Roasted Your Sister Online... A Conversation (?) With Marx [Comic] Thanks for the Fun Weekend [w/ Sketch]
#Apologies AU#Adeleine#Dark Matter Swordsman#Noir (human-form DMS)#Gooey Kirby#Kirby#Hooray it finally has its own masterpost!#Now I can stop copy/pasting 100 links per post!!#I added in some missing asks and bonuses for one!#And better organized categories for another!
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Since the post was popular lemme add a few more things Mar’i has said in interviews to convince people her family aren’t all vigilantes:
“Uncle Duke is the one sane person in our family, of course he’s not a vigilante.”
“I heard Grampa’s knees crack getting out of his favorite arm chair. I doubt he’d be able to keep up with Penguin let alone Poison Ivy.”
“Auntie Cassie and Auntie Stephy have two little boys at home. The only mystery they solve most days is ‘is this stain chocolate or poop?’ And let me tell you how 9 out of 10 of those mysteries end.”
“What do you mean ‘there’s no way someone like Barbara Gordon could be a hero?’ Because she’s a wheelchair user? She might not be gallivanting around in bright green spandex shorts, but she is my hero and has been since I came to Earth.”
“My dad’s idea of an ‘adventurous night’ looks more like trying out a new restaurant, putting on a face mask, and watching reality TV. Oh I’m right there with him! Just because I’m borderline indestructible doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy drama.”
“Superboy and Robin are just friends, despite the clear sexual tension between them. I adore working with them both, even if they should just kiss already.” (Fully talking about her own boyfriend and uncle, knowing that a lot of people ship them. Jon and Damian think it’s hilarious)
“My younger cousins are 6, 5, 4, 3, and 2. They haven’t even registered that I’m a hero, I’m just Riri who takes them flying. Safely I should add, but I’m still the coolest person in the family. That being said, if people thought my aunts and uncles were a handful, just wait for my cousins.” (Only names her cousins if given permission from their parents, she’s very protective of them.)
“Grampa took in my father in his early 20’s. He could barely get Dad off the chandelier, but yeah, could totally get him focused enough to fight crime.”
“Uncle Jason might be grumpy but he’s secretly a giant nerd. He’s one of the biggest reasons I can speak English as well as I do. How could he be any kind of vigilante?”
#mar'i grayson#damian wayne#duke thomas#bruce wayne#jon el#jon kent#barbara gordon#jason todd#stephanie brown#cass cain
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Here's my ideas for a season five of Batman 1966. This took so long to write. It felt exhausting. So I think this is my last post on all this for a while. If you read all of it, I don't think I'll be blamed for that decision.
Season 5: Season Five would be the last season before Robin goes to university and Batgirl goes on to become a congresswoman (or perhaps it's the season where all of that happens). I will work those story beats in somehow over the course of this season, but the more important thing is maintaining a sense of charm with this season. It'd still have 70-80 episodes (probably), but I think some of my focus would become dedicated to Introducing the League of Assasins, and having Batman '66 embrace the vibes of James Bond or Mission Impossible.
Episodes 1 and 2: Batman and Robin deal with Tiger Shark (Lloyd Bridges), a rich oceanographer who lost everything in a big scandal years ago; and who now moonlights as a cutthroat criminal in tiger patterned scuba gear. His hideout would be at the docks somewhere, and his henchmen would all have aquatic themed names.
Episodes 3 and 4: Batman and Robin team up to fight against The Minstrel (Van Johnson), their old musically inclined foe. He's broken out of jail to get revenge on The Dynamic Duo (as he promised he would way back in Season Two), and only the dynamic duo is capable of stopping him. But when The Minstrel hacks into all the computers and technological devices in Gotham, it becomes clear that they'll have to fight both him and his army of machines.
Episodes 5 and 6: Batman and Robin encounter The Bookworm (Roddy McDowall), who's now using famous crimes in books as the inspiration for his own crimes. But this episode doesn't explicitly feature too many Sherlock Holmes references. Mostly because I want to save all those references for a later date, because they can probably sustain a whole seperate story with The Bookworm.
Episodes 7 and 8: Catwoman (Julie Newmar) opens up a bold new discotheque in the heart of Gotham City. But things don't end up going according to plan. When Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson stop by to experience a night of fun and entertainment, they end up stumbling onto Catwoman's plot to rob all the dancers blind. Coincidentally, Barbara Gordon was also in the crowd that night (on a date with Jason Bard) and so Batgirl hops into the fight too!
In the end, it becomes clear that at least two of the Catwomen were involved in this fraudulent operation (Eartha Kitt was in on it too), and that means double trouble for our terrific trio! Can our heroes successfully save the day? Or have the feline felons finally achieved the impossible!?
Episodes 9 and 10: The Penguin becomes engaged in a new crime spree, when he learns that the deed to his family's old manor was never actually handed off to anyone. Technically, he's still in charge of the old Cobblepot estate! So Penguin manages to challenge all this in court, and successfully manages to win himself back his ancestry.
Batman and Robin still end up investigating him, though. Especially since his estate is now being used as a hideout for some of gotham's worst criminals and crooks. It'll be hard to prove, but Batman and Robin need to break Penguin's clean new record, and end the sympathy he keeps evoking by always talking about losing his heritage. Because he can't be allowed to use his manor as an aerie of evil!
Episodes 11 and 12: A story involving Mister Freeze.
Episodes 13 and 14: The League of Assassins storyline really begins here, as The Mad Hatter (David Wayne) returns to Gotham from England. He was released from Scotland Yard on good behaviour, and now he's seemingly all set up to establish a fine haberdashery in the center of town.
But despite trying his best to remain on the straight and narrow, The Mad Hatter ends up relapsing into hat thefts and mad schemes. Batman and Robin have to be called in to stop him, and he ends up sent back to the penitentiary. Meanwhile, a mysterious shadowy figure is watching from a high tech monitor, directing all their other agents to begin attacks on the Batman. He's meddled in their affairs for the last possible time…
Episodes 15, 16 and 17: Batman and Robin run into The Scarecrow, who's looking to break into a science lab to expand the power range of his fear toxin. Batman is too late to stop him, as The Scarecrow successfully tests the fear toxin on him. That's why this is a three parter, by the way. It's because part two is just one long flashback, finally introducing us to all the core events in Bruce Wayne's past. Losing his parents, being raised by his Uncle Phillip, deciding to become batman, etc. But in the end, Batman still manages to defeat Scarecrow. Mostly through the help of Robin, who helps his mentor and father figure recover his sense of self.
Episode 18: This episode would be a solo adventure with Batgirl and Jason Bard again. It'd also be the episode where I begin setting up Barbara's political ambitions. Barbara and Jason go to see a popular youth politician in the Gotham area, when said politician finds himself under attack by Poison Ivy and The Siren. Both are attacking him for different reasons (Poison Ivy for ecoterrorism reasons, The Siren for mysterious reasons tied in with the League of Assasins), but they successfully hypnotize his entire campaign team into turning on him.
When everyone turns on him, Barbara suits up as Batgirl and goes into action alongside Jason Bard. They manage to save the day, but Barbara ends the story very sad and reflective. The Gotham area doesn't have too many youthful faces in politics, and she fears it's breeding apathy. She wants to try and do something about all of that…
Episodes 19 and 20: A Christmas Special, and one of the last few storylines not to be tied to the League of Assasins plotline (for a while, at least). Mister Freeze and Marsha, Queen of Diamonds team up to hatch a mad scheme involving eternal winter and the theft of as many diamonds as possible. Batman, Robin, Batgirl and Jason Bard all end up having to deal with this case, even though it's all happening the same week as Christmas.
Sadly, crime never takes breaks, so neither can our heroes. But still, the story would end with a happy ending of sorts: Bruce Wayne and family spending the holidays with Commissioner Gordon and family. Meanwhile, the state penitentiary has organized a Christmas party. Safely allowing mad criminals like The Joker, The Riddler, Catwoman and The Penguin their brief moments of respite and revelry in a life of mad crime capers and failed schemes.
Episodes 21 and 22: A famous international criminal known as The Great Dane (Victor Borge) arrives in Gotham City, and he brings his remarkable talents with the piano to bear a most delightful fruit. While he performs in concert halls all throughout Gotham, his men go out and rob the city blind. Nobody can pin anything on him, though. He's one smooth operator.
Batman and Robin successfully manage to locate his hideout, but then they learn that the Dane was expecting them. And he's prepared a most devious trap. With the push of a button, Batman and Robin are lowered down a trap door and locked inside The Dane's Wolf cages. His babies, his wolves are the dane's pride and joy (and his engine of disposal for enemies).
Episodes 23 and 24: Batman and Robin end up dealing with The Joker, who's broken out of jail because he's been personally slighted. A popular entertainment magazine listed the best comedians of our era, and they never mentioned him! Him, The Clown Prince of Crime! Joker takes this as a sign that the world doesn't respect him, and it leads him to break out of jail to prove his skills as a comedian.
Harley Quinn also shows up in this story, serving as joker's partner in crime. She's more or less his permanent assistant now, joining him on all his capers (but occasionally pulling some of her own). But their efforts to prove their comedic value leads them to once again match wits with Batman and Robin, as the greatest comedy caper of all begins.
Episodes 25 and 26: A new villian comes to town on Valentine's Day: Cupid (played by Dean Martin), a suave performer who plans to hypnotize the citizens of Gotham. He wants to have a world where everyone loves him and fawns upon him, and he's going to use any and all methods at his disposal to achieve said result.
Episodes 27 and 28: The Riddler bursts onto the scene once more, as Gotham is menaced by riddles and clues delivered via acrostics. It's a new method for The Riddler, one he's hoping will help him finally get one up over Batman and Robin! But when Batgirl and Jason Bard also get involved, well… will four heads prevail where two might fail? Only this episode of Batman has those answers!
Episodes 29 and 30: King Tut is back in town, and he's become convinced that Catwoman (Eartha Kitt) is the goddess Bast. So he kidnaps her and tries to force her to be his queen. The Terrific Trio of Batman, Robin and Batgirl all have to come together to rescue Catwoman, as Tut himself has built an incredibly elaborate shrine to Bast's glory. Catwoman also tries to sneak out of Tut's pyramid, but you'd be surprised how hard it is to escape from. For once, King Tut has spared no expense in his worship of the gods.
Episodes 31 and 32: Batman and Robin run into The Penguin and Egghead, both of whom are competing to steal different rare bird and/or egg themed objects. The dynamic duo go out on the hunt for both of them, and they do eventually manage to capture them. But our heroes never even realized that these villians had more to their rivalry than just wanting the same objects.
No, they were competing for the rights to join the League of Assassins, a prestigious criminal guild looking to expand it's tendrils into Gotham. Lola Lasagne was the one who came to them with the proposal, and she was using them as pawns in the league's schemes. Since she escaped punishment here, she'll be back to menace Batman some other time. Namely, she'll be back next episode, as Batman and Robin travel to Texas to confront her!
Episodes 33 and 34: Batman and Robin travel to Texas to bust up Lola Lasagne's branch of the League of Assasins. But she's got a new partner down in Texas, a crooked gangster (played by Walter Matthau) who's invented many elaborate traps and gadgets to stymie the dynamic duo.
While Batman and Robin try to deal with the League, they end up accidentally running into an old set of allies: The Green Hornet and Kato! It turns out their neck of the woods was being victimized by the League of Assasins too, and so they'd come to Texas for the same reasons as Batman and Robin. So this old group of four teams up once again to battle the forces of evil! They go their separate ways at the end of the story, but they both wish each other luck on their quest to defeat the League.
So while there is an established story reason for Batman and The Green Hornet to reunite, this story is also me cynically attempting to pitch a Green Hornet season 2, where The Hornet and Kato fight off the many powerful members of the League of Assasins, who're attempting to infiltrate the criminal underworld.
Episodes 35 and 36: Batgirl and Jason Bard are helping defend Gotham while Batman and Robin are away, but they end up running into an old foe again: Signalman (played by Andy Griffith). Signalman has broken out of jail to try and get the attention of Catwoman (played by Lee Meriwether) who has some kind of connection to him. What that connection is remains unclear. But the one clear thing is that Signalman really cares about her, and he wants to draw her attention again.
Episodes 37 and 38: This could be a two parter, or it could be another tv movie. But Two-Face is back again. And this time we're going to do the comics thing, with the split personality and the anger and the paranoia. Harvey Dent is Gotham's District Attorney again, and he's interrogating an infamous mobster in one of Gotham's Courthouses. But just when it looks like he's got the crook on the ropes, he pulls out a vial of acid and splashes Harvey right in the face!
Since Batman was sitting in the gallery (in his civilian identity of Bruce Wayne), he was unable to get to Harvey in time. And by the time he does get to him, it's too late. His previous deformation has happened again, and this time it might be permanent. Two-Face is back, and his two sided crime spree is just beginning anew! Robbing two piece suits, bicycle shops, bicoloured stores, etc. Everything fits the Two theme, or else!
So this episode does actually have all the tragedy of a modern Two-Face story. Because it's clear Harvey Dent is mentally unwell, and that he's got a temper and probably really needs help. But the silly aspects are kept in touch too. Namely the obsession with the number two. Everything is dictated by his coin, and all his crimes (whether they be good crimes or bad crimes) hinge on some variation on the number two.
Oh, and the final note about this story: Batman is led to believe the League of Assasins is responsible for Harvey's disfigurement, which makes him now have a personal vendetta against the League. But did the League actually do it? Shockingly, no. This time it was all the Court of Owls (something we're not gonna learn until at least a season or two away from now).
Episodes 39 and 40: The Cluemaster and Marsha, Queen of Diamonds team up to commit a series of deadly crimes involving magic and puzzling clues. Batman and Robin are almost defeated and killed by this mad team, but they eventually manage to capture them. And once they have them in custody, we learn that they were brought together by the League of Assassins, who had many agents and allies in the Gotham area. Marsha and Cluemaster refuse to rat on their allies, besides giving Batman a clue to investigate in London.
Episode 41: Batman takes off on an cruise to London, little dreaming that Catwoman (Julie Newmar) is also on the boat, planning to hold it for ransom. Her and Batman end up getting in a scuffle over it, but by the time their fight is over, the boat has been utterly ruined. So Batman sends her to jail, and then prepares to take a flight to London instead of a cruise. But little does Batman know; a second Catwoman (Lee Meriwether) is continuing to follow him. She masquerades as the pilot on his plane and helps him get to england.
And before anyone asks: Robin isn't in this episode (or the next few in this league storyline). Batman was worried about Robin after his near death in the fight against Cluemaster and Marsha, so he's forbidden him from following him to London. All this means is that Robin and Batgirl are going to a nice team-up story back in gotham, however.
Episode 42: With Batman leaving for London, someone has to guard Gotham. So Robin and Batgirl guard it while Batman is away. Batgirl successfully manages to find time away from running her political campaign to help, leaving Jason busy running all of that (and unavailable to help in this episode). And while it's just the two of them in gotham, they end up having to deal with both The Joker and The Bookworm, who are competing to steal a rare copy of Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy, which has recently been acquired by a famous antiquarian living in Gotham.
Episodes 43 and 44: Arriving in London, Batman ends up fighting off against some old enemies of his: Lord Marmaduke Ffogg and Lady Penelope Peasoup. It turns out that they're the ones responsible for testing Cluemaster and Marsha to see if they were worthy to join the League. But before Batman can get to them, they distract him by sending The Puzzler (yet another of the league's operatives) to bait him into a trap.
The Puzzler leads Batman to a castle near Loch Ness, where him and another of the league's operatives, a young socialite known as Lady Ophelia Keswick, bait Batman into a trap involving illusions and drugged food. Batman manages to escape from their trap in the castle dungeons, but he's too late to capture Lord Ffogg and Lady Peasoup. They escaped. But at least Batman can take The Puzzler and Lady Keswick to Scotland Yard. Then it's back to the United States, where Batman has to await news of the League's activities.
Episodes 45 and 46: Before Batman can leave for Gotham, he's baited into investigation a mysterious crime wave in Paris. The perpetrators? None other than The Clock King and The Sandman! Both members of The League, they've combined their skills to make a sand that can freeze time. So together, these two have been robbing Paris blind with their new "time sand". Only Batman can stop them now; but is even the dynamic duo up to the challenge?
This episode would definitely have a famous french celebrity in a wall climbing cameo. Maybe Maurice Chevalier, or Leslie Caron or something? Definitely a famous french celebrity of the 60s or 70s.
Episodes 47 and 48: Batman returns to Gotham City, only to find it's now been taken over by the combined forces of Nora Clavicle, Poison Ivy and The Siren. Turns out Nora Clavicle was an agent of the League too, and now she's planning an extra special trap for Batman and his allies. Locking him and robin in jail and manipulating most of the city's women, it ends up falling on Batgirl and Batwoman's soldiers to save the day and rescue Gotham from the evils of these three villainesses.
And yes, this episode contains a record number of women. Pretty much all the major female henchgirls over the past four seasons make minor camoes in this episode, excluding the ones who actually seemed to reform. That's just to give you an idea of how intensely jam packed this episode set is.
Episodes 49 and 50: Batman and Robin have to deal with The Minstrel, once again. Since The Minstrel's whole attire and gimmick revolves around Gilbert and Sullivan's song: "A Wandering Minstrel, I", The Minstrel has logically decided to take everything up to the extreme now. Crimes specifically based on different Gilbert and Sullivan operas drive the Minstrel's new crimes. Can Batman and Robin stop this musical maestro before he steals the spotlight (and the spoils) once more?
Episodes 51 and 52: Barbara Gordon's political campaign is almost destroyed by False Face and Clayface II, both of whom have been hired by the League of Assasins to distract Batman and Robin. So Batman, Robin, Batgirl and Jason Bard all end up having to deal with the tumultuous chaos of False Face and Clayface's frame job on Barbara Gordon's congressional campaign. Meanwhile, the leads on The League of Assasins are still null and void for Batman, something that won't change for at least a few more episodes.
Episodes 53 and 54: Batman deals with Shame, who's currently working solo again (since Nora Clavicle convinced his wife to leave him).
Episodes 55, 56 and 57: The Joker and The Scarecrow both end up breaking out of jail at the same time. But instead of having those two disrupt the orderly structure of gotham society, a new villian pops up to steal their thunder! Presenting The Thespian (Leslie Nielsen), a dramatic tragedian capable of bringing a tear to anyone's eye. With a charmingly delivered speech, this mad performer can dampen anyone's mood (including The Joker and The Scarecrows).
So while Batman and Robin start out Episode One planning to deal with Joker and Scarecrow, Episodes Two and Three end up firmly focused in on The Thespian and his tragic crimes. A real showstopper, this villianous rogue commands the scene whenever he's in it. With his hideout at the theatre and his henchmen all having themed nicknames based around tragedy and sadness, he truly is a foe to be threatened by.
Luckily for Batman, though, him and robin manage to successfully defeat The Thespian by turning his own gases back around on himself. Now reduced to a crying wreck, Batman manages to learn that he's another agent of the League of Assasins. And from him, Batman successfully pries the location of Lord Ffogg and Lady Peasoup. So finally, Batman can get back on the League's trail (solo, once again).
Episodes 58, 59 and 60: Batman heads to a small country nestled in the Balkans, where he finally manages to confront Lord Ffogg and Lady Peasoup. But before he can defeat them, they reveal their new ally in the form of Doctor Cassandra Spellcraft and her husband, Cabala. Yes, these two old foes of Batman were also members of the League of Assassins, and Batman has walked right into their trap!
Now trapped in a dungeon, unmasked and at the league's mercy, Batman ends up meeting Talia al Ghul (played by Sophia Loren), daughter of Ra's al Ghul, the head of The League. Teaming up with her, the two of them successfully manage to escape from the dungeon and confront our four antagonists. But in the middle of the scuffle, Lord Ffogg attacks Talia with a blade. And in retaliation, Talia shoots Lord Ffogg in cold blood.
After Batman comforts her for a little while, Talia leaves without a word. She leaves Batman to report Lord Ffogg's death, and to get the other three criminals to jail safely. But now that Batman has made himself known to the highest echelons of this secret society, it's only a matter of time before their leader comes looking for him…
Episodes 61 and 62: Batman returns to Gotham, just in time to help Robin deal with a new crime spree being put on by The Riddler and The Bookworm, who've come to realize they're not that different from each other. Together, the two of them have led a massive crime spree while Batman was in Europe. And Robin was unable to handle them all alone. So now that he's back, Batman has to try and help Robin deal with them.
Episode 63: Batgirl and Jason Bard have an adventure completely independent of Batman and Robin. While the Dynamic Duo is busy with The Riddler and The Bookworm, these two have to deal with The Penguin, who's been planning to orchestrate a separate scheme involving the illegal smuggling of some priceless caviar and cigars. His expensive tastes require him to smuggle most of his fine food and amenities in from across the ocean, you see. So Batgirl and Jason have to go out at sea and play coast guards for the day, as they prevent Penguin's shady smuggling deals from going through.
Episodes 64 and 65: Batman has to deal with Lady Shiva (played by Nancy Kwan), an elite member of the League of Assasins who was sent out to try and kill Batman. She stalks him all over Gotham City, which leaves Batman so distracted he never once manages to find the time to investigate Robin's absence. But that's a topic for the next episode. For now, we get a martial arts style brawl between Batman and Lady Shiva.
Episode 66: While Batgirl runs her political campaign and Batman deals with Lady Shiva, Robin has successfully snuck off from Gotham City to try and pursue the League of Assassins. So in this episode, we catch up with him in the middle of asia somewhere. While he's trying to infiltrate the league's headquarters, he accidentally runs into Catwoman (Lee Meriwether) too. It turns out she's been hunting the League since way back in episode 34. So she's successfully gained entrance into the League, and now it's time for her to report back to Gotham with her findings.
But because of Robin entering the picture, things get more intense. Catwoman and Robin have to successfully escape from the league's headquarters without being caught. We catch brief glimpses of Ra's al Ghul and his men, but we don't really have any guest villians this time. This episode ends with Robin and Catwoman getting caught by Ra's, and it's really more of an episode designed to build up to the dramatic two parter that begins after this.
Episodes 67 and 68: Batman is confronted by Ra's al Ghul (played by Ricardo Montalban), head of the League of Assassins. He's kidnapped Robin and Catwoman (Lee Meriwether), and he baits Batman into working with him to save Dick Grayson from a rival assassins society. But the twist is naturally that there was no rival assasins society, and this was all just an excuse for Ra's to test Batman.
Batman finds Robin half beaten to death, and he loses it. He beats Ra's in a fencing match, a hand to hand combat duel, and then successfully blows up the league's hideout somewhere in asia. This looks like the end of Ra's al Ghul and his League of Assassins. But it probably won't end up being the end…
Episodes 69 and 70: Batman is trying to deal with a still recuperating robin, yet an old enemy from the past has resurfaced to menace gotham yet again. The Cavalier (played by Tony Curtis), that evil musketeer of mayhem, has returned to loot gotham for everything it's worth. And Batman has to stop him, while also protecting a recovering robin from taking excessive damage.
Since Robin is injured and Batgirl is away (currently running for congress with her campaign manager Jason Bard), Batman has to turn to Batwoman to help him stop The Cavalier. And Batwoman brings in her niece Bette, the original Batgirl (although she now goes by Flamebird). So this new/old trio of crime busters now have to team up to stop The Cavalier and protect Gotham City.
Episodes 71, 72 and 73: It's Halloween Night, and Bruce Wayne is holding a fancy party with Kathy Kane. Dick Grayson is beginning to recover, so he's there alongside Bette Kane. Batgirl and Jason can't make it, but Aunt Harriet, Leslie Thompkins, Commissioner Gordon and Chief O'Hara all show up. The night is going incredibly well; all until Solomon Grundy shows up to ruin things.
Yes, it turns out that all the old rumours about Slaughter Swamp were correct. Every Halloween Night, he rises from the grave to wreak havok on the people of Gotham. Being a mindless creature of the swamp, there's no way to stop him. You can only delay him until he sinks back into his grave. So with him on the rampage, Batman, Batwoman and Flamebird have to save the day yet again. They delay Grundy until the Dawn of November 1st, but he still seems unstoppable. Over the course of the night, Catwoman (Julie Newmar) even joins them, but nothing helps.
It's then that a dimensional wormhole opens, and The Huntress (Helena Wayne) steps out. She reveals that Solomon Grundy actually isn't from this earth. He's from Earth-Two, and he needs to be sent back where he belongs. So Batman, Catwoman and Huntress team up to capture him (while Batwoman and Flamebird protect the citizens of Gotham). During this episode, we'd hint at Helena's parents being the Batman and Catwoman of her earth, but we'd never say it outright. And after Solomon Grundy is corralled back through the dimensional portal, we'd never see her or solomon grundy again. So yeah, the Halloween special would be absolutely wild here.
Episode 74: This hour long finale barely even features Batman in it. It's all about Batgirl and Jason Bard. With Batgirl running for Congress in her civilian identity as Barbara Gordon, election day is about to come to pass. Will Barbara win!? Well, we won't know that until the end of the special. Because Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn decide to crash the polling stations, and they bring chaos and mayhem to the streets. Batgirl has to suit up and prepare to go into action against them.
So Batgirl defeats Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy and then saves the day. After that whole adventure, we get the results of the election: Barbara won her election, and she's going to DC as a Congresswoman! Flying out to watch her get signed into Congress are Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, Kathy Kane, Bette Kane and Commissioner Gordon and his wife. It's a beautiful moment. It's also probably one of the last times we're going to see Batwoman and Flamebird. But rest assured: this isn't the end of Batgirl. No, Batgirl is going to do what she did in the comics: continue doing superhero work, and balance that with life as a politician.
#batman 1966#batman 66#this was the league of assasins season#i tried to have as many of them as possible#ra's al ghul#talia al ghul#lady shiva#plus a green hornet crossover!#the green hornet#green hornet#batman#jason bard#robin#dick grayson#batgirl#barbara gordon#my ideas#story ideas#comic ideas#ideas#fic ideas#fanfic ideas#writing ideas#comics#batman ideas#dc#dc comics#league of assassins
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Untitled Batfam/Squid Game cross over fan fic
Summary: a sad fan fic where the batfam are in a squid games-esc game playing dodgeball and it comes down to Jason and Tim as the last players on each side but Tim is too scared to say anything so it’s up to Jason to decide whether his team lives or dies and I gave the surviving Robin crippling survivors guilt as they refuse to open their eyes and witness their brother dead on the floor.
Background info: This is chapter 3 of a WIP a few people asked me to post. Basically Bat fam in a squid games situation were forced to split up into two to play dodgeball. They didn’t get to choose the teams and they get one minute to strategize before the game started. The transparent wall kills anyone who crosses it. All of which is explained in chapter one that I haven’t written yet lol. Not important but the teams are Alfred, Tim, Stephanie, Damian, Roxy Rocket, Harley Quinn, Deathstroke, Penguin, and Two Face. The others are Bruce, Selina, Jason, Tiffany, Lucius, Kate, Riddler, Killer Croc, and Scarecrow. If there are any grammar mistakes, just know I’m illiterate. Enjoy!
Ever since they broke off into teams, Alfred had not taken his eyes off Bruce. And while Bruce had done an excellent job at hiding his grief for Dick and Luke, Alfred knew better. Bruce may have been putting on a Batman exterior, but his eyes held the same look as the recently orphaned eight year old latching onto his petticoat, unsure of how to answer Officer Gordon’s questions about his parents’ murder.
Unsure.
Seeing his younger master unsure was what terrified him the most. If it wasn’t for the transparent wall having split the court, Alfred would have been over with his adopted son helping him plan, but instead he was standing with his grandkids attempting to figure out what to do while those that terrorized their nightmares were trying to convince them to win instead of throwing the game.
“Oh please! Like they aren’t over there talking the same shit!” Penguin squawked. “They’re going to kill us all the second they get and be thrilled we’re dead!”
Stephanie clinched her hands, “we need to delay the game! As long as possible at least!”
Roxy laughed, “I’m with this one. Make it exciting!”
“Don’t be stupid,” Deathstroke snapped.
“Aw come on, Willy,” Harley pouted. “Don’t be mean. The poor girl just wants her fake family to rescue them! There’s no chance they will in time, but these hero types always have a hope in them that’s hard to shake.”
“Quinn,” Damian ordered, “please stop talking. We have less than a minute to plan.”
“Planning our own deaths,” Mad Hatter shot. “You hero types never pass up an opportunity to sacrifice yourselves for the greater good. No, we gotta throw all of them in the front lines and make sure they get out fast.”
“You want to throw the three most physically fit members of our team under the bus?” Deathstroke pointed out sarcastically. “Great idea.”
“Fuck you!” Stephanie snapped, raising a fist. “You had no problem pushing Dick down! If it wasn’t for you, he’d be alive!”
Deathstroke rolled his eye. “I told you, I slipped.”
Stephanie threw the first punch which lead to a loud argument of people holding each other back, screaming over each other, and otherwise preforming a mockery of teamwork. Alfred almost joined the fray before turning and noticing Tim was not in the circle. He was standing close to the barrier and staring ahead at the other team.
Alfred approached him, wincing from his now relocated shoulder. “Master Drake, is everything okay?”
Tim shook his head vaguely. “We’re going to die. All of us here. We’re all going to die.”
Alfred’s heart sunk into his stomach, but he kept a gentle expression. “Why do you say that?”
Tim gestured to Bruce in their much more cooperative group huddle. “Batman doesn’t know what to do. I’ve been watching him, Alfred. He hasn’t said a word in their meeting. He also hasn’t let any of us move far away from him. He doesn’t even realize he’s doing it. He’s trying to spend what little time he has left with us. I’ve seen him be less protective when Darksied nearly wiped all of humanity, but… he’s completely given up now.”
The lump in Alfred’s throat grew bigger. He placed his good hand on his shoulder and felt Tim shaking under his palm. “That doesn’t mean there’s no hope, Master Timothy.”
Tim shook his head. “Alfred, don’t try to pretend. We both know we’re not making it out of this school alive.”
Alfred didn’t know what to say as he secretly agreed. Fortunately, the whistle blew so he never had to come up with the words. “Planning period over. The game is about to begin. I repeat. Planning period over. The game is about to begin.”
Everyone got into a vague position to start. All of the inmates were at the front with the bat family further away from the center. Five balls dropped from the ceiling as a new ten minute timer started ticking down. The villains all ran for the balls and started throwing. Alfred and Lucius were not nearly young or healthy enough, and unsurprisingly were benched quickly. All the vigilantes were moving on instinct and muscle memory rather than a desire to live. Each time a ball got caught, someone else was called back in, but that was the only time the bat family spoke. Other than that, they were dodging as best as they could. The only two who were having any resemblance of fun was Harley Quinn and Roxy Rocket who couldn’t help but taunt and jeer at every person who got out. Once both were knocked out by a well aimed throw from Kate, the court was silent because of rule #3. It was obvious those on the bench wanted to say something, but none of them were willing to be shot just to make fun of someone being hit.
Reguardless of where they stood morally, both teams were all were nervous to be playing. All kept subconsciously glancing to Batman every few seconds for a way to get out of the situation entirely. Unfortunately, Batman was not playing the game. No matter how hard he tried, Bruce was the one on the court. Bruce found it impossible to ignore their glances at him for answers.
Similar to red light/green light, after each person was eliminated a whistle blew from no where and their name was called, except this time it wasn’t followed by a gunshot. That didn’t mean Bruce’s heart rate didn’t go up with each blow of the whistle. He kept seeing Dick’s face blown apart by a sniper rifle at too close range, hearing Luke’s chest ripped open by the same gun and Tiffany screaming in fear. Even Clayface and Bane perishing in an equally hideous display crossed his mind. He didn’t want anyone else to die, not even the Arkham inmates. It was senseless violence. All of it. Even then, as Two Face hurled a ball at Riddler’s bad leg with the intention of hurting him more, there wasn’t a reason for it.
Bruce kept trying to rationalize the scene. He was playing dodgeball in an elementary school with his family and enemies. That was the extent he could go. When he managed to get a ball in his hands, all he could think to do was roll it on the ground so no one got out. It was completely pointless. If that timer hit 0 everyone would be dead. Someone was going to have to decide who lives.
Bruce only became aware of his movements when he allowed himself to be hit by a disbelieving Tim who stood alone on the opposite side. Bruce didn't say anything and selfishly walked back to the stands. The ball that bounced off Bruce had rolled back to Tim’s side of the court, hitting his shoe.
“I-I thought he was gonna catch it,” Tim stuttered to the sole member of the other team.
Jason laughed humorlessly. “Bats not sacrificing himself for the greater good? You’re kidding yourself.”
Tim unsteadily picked up the ball at his feet, an unwilling passenger in his own body. He held the ball in his hand shaking violently but felt as though it was ten feet away. He could hear the countdown on the timer. He only had 42 seconds left on the clock. It wasn’t enough time. Less than a minute for half of his family to live. But which half? How does he choose? How could he? He was a teenager, a kid really. One side had more people, more members of his family. But he couldn’t let Damian, Alfred, or Steph die. But if he did let himself live with the others, the rogues had already declared their promise to kill them the moment Batman was dead. The inmates had a numbers advantage on them. They could easily overpower an elderly injured man and three kids who wouldn’t be able to defend themselves without Batman’s help. Tim felt everyone staring at him wanting to shout out their opinions and what he should do. He almost wished they could as it might have blocked out the sound of his beating heart.
“Jay… I can’t do this,” Tim whimpered, shaking where he stood.
Jason searched his mind for a sarcastic comment to shoot back at his brother to make him laugh, but he couldn’t come up with anything. “Tim… man, it’s gonna be alright,” Jason consoled.
“I… I can’t do it. I can’t. We’re all gonna die and it’s gonna be my fault but I can’t choose…”
“Don’t then,” Jason blurted out trying to give him some solace. “Throw it easy. I’ll either catch it or not. It won’t be your fault then, just mine.”
Tim shook his head, “no. We…. Jay it makes more sense for your side to live. Sacrificing yourself I get, but… the only way you have any chance to get out is Bruce and Lucius. We’re just kids over here, and they’re gonna kill us the second Bruce die-“ he stopped himself from finishing his sentence, having to take a deep breath to keep himself from completely breaking down. “But… I don’t want Damian to not grow up. I don’t want Steph to not see Cass again, I don’t want… I don’t want to-“ It was all he could say before sobbing.
“Tim,” Jason’s voice cracked. “There’s not enough time left…” Jason didn’t even realize he was talking, his lips moved without thinking. “E-either way one of us is dead. You don’t even have to choose anything! All of the balls are in your…are in your court, so no matter what… it’s me who has to decide…”
The gravity of it caught up to Jason in that moment. It really was up to him no matter what. Tim could throw whatever he wanted, but he had to either fight for his life or die for his brothers’. Tim was right. Unfortunately, there were more rational adults with more skills on his side. If there was any chance of getting out before the games ended it was with Lucius and Tiffany’s tech skills to override the locks, Selina’s stealth to steal a weapon, Kate’s martial arts skill, and Bruce’s planning. But that would mean…
Jason looked up and saw Steph smiling comfortingly and tears streaming down her face, Alfred standing dignified with Damian uncharacteristically vulnerable leaning up against his leg, refusing to look at the court. Tim was hugging the ball to his chest tightly, the only thing he could do at the moment, trying his best to keep from crying.
The clock was ticking down, now at ten seconds. Jason had to make up his mind quickly. He found Bruce’s eyes and quietly asked what to do. Bruce looked away and down at his hand in his lap clutching onto his wife’s. A small gesture that told Jason what he would do if the roles were reversed.
Jason turned to Tim and gave him a single nod. He had made his decision. Tim threw the ball up in the air and time seemed to freeze. All eyes were on the second Robin, watching his every moment. They saw his feet move to become more center with the ball, directly in its path.
There was the sound of the ball making impact. Jason closed his eyes and waited, the familiar feeling creeping up in him that death was about to come. Jason hated that the last image Tim would ever have of him would be of him shaking and terrified, but no matter what he did he could not manage to muster up a smile onto his face.
“It’s gonna be okay-“
BANG
BANG
BANG
BANG
BANG
BANG
BANG
BANG
BANG
No final words were granted. No goodbyes were given. One by one, the sound of bodies dropping to the floor echoed in the tiny gym. The former Robin’s eyes had shut tight with the first gun shot, not wanting to see his brother mutilated before him. He could feel his brother’s brain matter coating his hands and the blood soaking into his shirt but as long as his eyes were shut, everything was fine. As long as his eyes were closed his family was alive. As long as he didn’t look, almost all of his siblings were still standing.
He didn’t cry as he stood there. He couldn’t if he tried as his grip of reality started to pull away from him. This was his nightmare, his absolute nightmare. The former Robin couldn’t think of a worse scenario for him to be in. It was just up to him and his brother to choose the fates of his family. There was no way this was happening. Kidnapping almost his whole family to play children’s games to the death?! That’s completely insane. It may have been Gotham but-
Scarecrow.
It had to of been. He had to be under the influence of fear toxin. There’s no other way. It was the only thing that made any sense. It was all of his worst fears wrapped up into one. A high dose of fear toxin.
“This isn’t real,” he said out loud. “This isn’t real. This isn’t happening. This isn’t real. This isn’t real. This isn’t real.” He repeated this over and over and over again, each time somehow shutting his eyes tighter and tighter, refusing to open them. He knew this couldn’t have been true, the timeline of events was too coherent to be a hallucination, but he could manifest it into being fake if he tried hard enough. He could make it true. He could make it so his brothers were alive. If he just repeated this, it would-
“It’s going to be alright,” a man’s voice said, clasping a firm hand on his shoulder. “You’re going to be alright.”
Jason snapped out of his trance to see the rubber ball still in his hands. There was the clear sign of skull and brain coating the outside of it, the last remainder he had of Tim. The transparent do-not-cross wall was already dividing the court, but Jason could not bring himself to look through it and instead stared down at the ball in his hand.
“I-I caught it…” Jason stated, holding it up to Bruce beside him. “I caught it.”
Bruce nodded, jaw tensed, swallowing a lump in his throat. “It’s okay. You’re going to be okay.”
Jason looked right through Bruce. “I caught it…” he breathed out and lowered his arms. “I caught it…”
Bruce didn’t say anything, but instead wrapped his arms around his son and pulled him in tight. Jason did not hug him back. He didn’t seem to have noticed at all that he had moved. The ball in his hands was the only thing grounding him to reality as it was a fact that he caught the ball. He saved Bruce, Selena, Tiffany, Kate, and Lucius.
He caught the ball.
“I caught it,” Jason was still repeating over and over as Bruce gripped him tighter. “I caught it.”
“Thank God you did!” Ed Nigma scoffed, limping down the stands. “I was worried you were about to do something stupid.”
Jason didn’t hear him. His chin was resting on his adopted dad’s shoulder. The ball was pressing in under Bruce’s ribcage but similar to the last living Robin, he didn’t notice anything other than Jason’s grip on this world slipping away as he kept stating how he saved his life. Bruce was already numb from the moment he turned around and saw his oldest son had been shot in the head. His daughter, father, and other two sons shared the same fate.
Jason still hadn’t cried nor stopped repeating himself. It might have been better if he did either. Bruce didn’t know what to do or how best to comfort him. It was Bruce’s fault he was like this. Bruce purposefully tagged himself out, not so Tim would have a chance, but so he didn’t have to make the final decision.
“I… I caught the ball,” Jason finally differed slightly from his script. “I caught the ball.”
“It’s going to be okay, Jason,” Bruce comforted. “You didn’t do anything wrong. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
Bruce wished his voice wasn’t so monotone. It might have helped if he has some emotion, angry or sad, or anything. But Bruce pushed down all of his pain, all of his feelings. He didn’t allow himself to grieve, not yet. Not only was it unproductive, but he knew once he started crying he would never be able to stop. He had to focus on what he had, and all he had was four people outside this game presumably trying to break them out, a wife who he loved deeply, his one living cousin, one of his oldest friends and his loyal daughter, and one surviving son right in front of him who was unable to cope with the decision he made and would haunt him forever.
“You did nothing wrong,” Bruce repeated. “It’s going to be okay. You did nothing wrong.”
Bruce didn’t know how long they stood there repeating themselves over and over, each one not interrupting the other.
Eventually, a gentle hand was placed on Bruce’s back. “Sweetheart,” Selina consoled, “we should probably go before they kick us out.”
Bruce did not make a conscious effort to let go of Jason, but he found himself walking towards the gym door all the same, one arm wrapped around his son to guide him.
Jason was still clutching the rubber ball in his hand when the voice announcement came on overhead. “No taking game items outside of the playing field. I repeat. No taking game items outside the playing field.”
Selina unwrapped herself from Bruce’s side, stopping Bruce from taking a step out the door. “Jason,” Selina cautioned gently.
Jason looked through her and held up the rubber ball just like he did minutes earlier to Bruce. “I caught it.”
Selina smiled as warmly as she could. “I know. I know you did. We have to leave it behind now. Is that alright?”
Jason’s eyes went to the ball where a fragment of Tim’s skull was practically glued to it with now dried blood. “I…caught the ball…”
Selina reached out carefully and placed her hands as best as she could so she didn’t touch any gore on it. “I’m going to take this from you. Can I do that?”
Jason watched his own hands unwrap themselves from the ball and have it settle in Selina’s hands.
“Thank you, Jason,” Selina thanked before going back to the stands and gently placing it down on the bleachers so it didn’t make a sound.
“Y-yeah…” Jason mumbled, still holding his hands out as though nothing had been taken from him.
Bruce rubbed Jason’s arm for comfort and continued walking down the hallway once Selina was next to him again. The only sound down the hallway was Jason’s mutters of catching a ball getting quieter and quieter.
“B-B-Bruce?” Jason asked as they neared the corridor to the kindergarten classroom.
“Yes?” Bruce responded.
“I…I think I’m done,” Jason admitted. “Yeah, I don’t want to play any more games. I’m gonna… I just want to go home.”
Bruce stopped in the hallway and turned to be in front of him with Selina stopping a step behind Bruce. Bruce suddenly did not see a 19 year old Jason Todd standing in front of him, but rather the 12 year old Boy Wonder who just wanted to do good in the world. He didn’t know what else to do other than kneeling down to his knee and grabbing Jason’s arms. Bruce couldn’t think of what to say, but somehow the words came out of him. “You made a hard choice back there, Jay. No one would deny that. There was no right or wrong decision, only one that-.”
“They probably felt how I did…” Jason muttered.
Bruce felt his heart shatter as Jason’s eyes finally focused on him. “I…I made them watch the clock tick down to their deaths. They didn’t deserve that.” Bruce froze, finally understanding what Jason had been trying to tell him. He watched as Jason’s eyes shifted away from reality once more and stared off into the abyss. “I caught the ball…” Jason began repeating again.
The first tear fell out of Bruce’s eyes without him knowing. They were silently streaming down his face, knowing for a fact that this was his fault. He left the decision up to Jason. This was Bruce’s doing. And he would have to live with that for the rest of his life.
#batfamily#batfam#fan fiction writer#fan fiction#red hood#Jason Todd#bruce wayne#batman#tim drake#dc fanfic#dc comics#dc universe#dcu#I made 3 friends cry with this but I lowkey think they’re lying to make me feel better#I have no regrets writing this#imo the only other chapter I have written is sadder than this but…#I have no idea how to format on this app so sorry
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Violent Apprentices
MEANWHILE in the bat cave, our heroes talk about their periling issues...
Flash (Barry Allen): ...and now he's back from the dead, and while he isn't killing as many people as before, he is still hurting people to extreme!
Batman: And did August have this level of violence before he became Godspeed?
Flash: No, August was like any other officer in the CCPD. Which is saying something, we have one of the nicer police forces in the country. (That's just a headcanon. Yes ACAB, but these bastards are nice)
Batman: The way you're describing him reminds me of one my old protege. Jason Todd.
Flash: The Red Hood?
Batman: Yes. Except, Jason learned the hard way of why he shouldn't kill. Although he did return to using guns.
Flash: Really? That's seems very...reductive.
Batman: Yeah, I was surprised too.
Flash: Heh, imagine if they met. Wouldn't that be terrific.
Batman: Don't make me laugh, Barry. It would be the end of the world if that happened.
Flash: Yeah it would...
*Meanwhile in a more crime-orientated area of Central City, danger was afoot as the Red Hood monitored Penguin and Captain Cold and The Rogues.*
Penguin: As you can see here, we have the latest equipment in subzero freezing based weaponry. Perfect for handling those pesky speedsters! Wank!
Captain Cold: How much for the freeze grenades?
Red Hood: Snart, they're free if you really wanted them.
*All weapon were aimed at the anti-hero, ready to fire.*
Penguin: RED HOOD?! You followed me all the way here!
Red Hood, with both of his guns brought out: Yeah, because you're not supposed to be here. Now pack things up, and waddle your ass back to Blackgate before I make.
Captain Cold: I don't think you're the one to talk here. Me, my buds and sis take on the Flash every day. A guy who looks like he came from Mortal Kombat and carries guns doesn't scare us.
Red Hood: Really? Well, I've fought Mr. Freeze before. You're just a watered down copy.
Captain Cold: Oh you are so...*a look of fear strikes Cold's face*...MIRROR MASTER NOW!
*Mirror Master rapidly fired his mirror gun at the equipment the Penguin had presented. Penguin squaked both from fury and surprise. He cursed at Captain Cold as he and the Rogues teleported away in a flash of light. But then came a brighter light. A white blinding light. Screams from Penguin's men followed as the light zoomed around the area. Red Hood reached for something in his utility belt but stopped when the white blur caught and picked up Penguin.*
Penguin: What are you??
*The man in the white and gold costume resembling the Flash's uniform pulled the crime lord closer.*
"I am Godspeed"
Red Hood: Put the crime lord down!
*Godspeed glared at Red Hood and the guns he pointed at him with. The masked vigilante tossed Penguin aside and approached the Gothamite. Red Hood pointed at Penguin.*
Red Hood: Go anywhere, and I will make you a legless bird, got it?
Godspeed: I can stop a pullet the second it leaves a gun, who do you think you are?
Red Hood: I'm Red Hood, I usually work in Gotham City.
Godspeed: Red Hood...the crime lord?
Red Hood: For a time, now I just do vigilante work against Gotham's elites. Basically what batman did before the crazies arrived.
*Red Hood walked over and cuffed Penguin.*
Red Hood: I'm starved, wanna grab some Big Belly Burger?
Godspeed: ...why not?
---
*our Anti-heroes munched and chewed on their burgers as they discussed their various adventures as masked vigilantes while sitting in a big belly burger.*
Red Hood: Are you sure you didn't hear of me? Because I had similar reasoning when I fought Batman. Although it was focused on just killing the Joker.
Godspeed: That was 100% my idea, I had no intentions of copying your actions. I also fully intended on killing everyone in the Flash's rogues gallery. But I did emphasize Reverse Flash because he killed Flash's mom. I honestly thought Flash would agree with me. I feel dumb for thinking that now, and for wanting to kill those people.
Red Hood: Mutual feelings, except I'll never feel bad for trying to kill Joker. That fucker has it coming.
Godspeed: How is he still alive? I know the Gotham justice system is bad, but I didn't think it was that terrible?
Red Hood: It is shit, but he just keeps coming back. Rumor has it, he's immortal. I don't believe it though. I think he was just a guy who wanted attention.
Godspeed: That makes more sense to me. He does seem like an attention whore. Reverse Flash is similar in my opinion. Except he specifically wants the attention from Flash. I mean he did kill my brother just to help motivate me into being Godspeed so that I would be enemies with the Flash.
Red Hood: He killed your brother? Joker killed my mom the same day he killed me! Well, he used a bomb, but still.
Godspeed: Joker killed you? Reverse Flash killed me!
Red Hood: That is so coincidentally strange!
Godspeed: I know!
"Oh you have got to be kidding me..."
*Both vigilantes look and see Barry Allen in his civilian clothing*
Red Hood: (Whispering) Is that...?
Godspeed: (whispers back) Yup. (speaks normally) What? Never seen two vigilantes eating at Big Belly Burger?
Red Hood: They do it all the time in Bat Burger over in Gotham.
Barry: ...I'm tired.
---
Flash: (while running through Central City) And so they're just talking about how similar they are. I think they're friends now.
Batman: (in the bat cave listening to the communication link) I'm not surprised, Red Hood was following a lead that Penguin was going to give new weapons to the Rogues.
Flash: Oh...wait what?!
#Dc comics#DC#Batman#The Flash#Flash#Godspeed#DC Godspeed#Red Hood#Jason Todd#incorrect quotes#incorrect dc quotes
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