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thesuitelifeofjughead · 5 years ago

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Riverdale Rewatch Review - Season One

Hey guys! So, as everyone knows, there’s like, this big thing happening in the world right now causing everyone to have to stay inside and a lot of people have way more free time on their hands than they know what to do with. I am one of those people. After I finish my schoolwork I find that barely even half a day has passed. What do I fill that time with? Animal Crossing. But also, watching Netflix.

I’ve wanted to rewatch Riverdale for the longest time, and I figure that now is the best time to do it.

So, the way this will work, I’ll give my overall thoughts and review of the season, my favorite episodes, and then I’m going to give you a play-by-play of my thoughts while rewatching each episode under the break. So, without further ado:

Overall Review

Looking at the bigger picture of everything I know Riverdale has come to be, I think the statement stands true that Season One is one of their strongest season, if not their actual strongest (Season Four has been climbing up there for me in fav seasons).

Watching it all together, the drama seemed evenly paced, and everyone seemed to get the same amount of screen time, including characters we barely see anymore like Kevin and Reggie. There are some interesting shots, and I found myself jammin to some of the songs they had the characters sing as well as the background music.

It was clear that they had a plan, and they knew where they were going. Hints of relationships happened WAY before they became official, and it seemed like everyone was on the same page, which is difficult to say for later seasons (which I will also be making reviews on shortly).

For only having 13 episodes, Riverdale did an excellent job in it’s first season hooking everyone in to the drama and the mystery, including me. I believe it was after the second or third episode when this blog was created, and I’ve been here ever since. This season is responsible for why a lot of fans stuck around, and for why a lot of fans left.

Overall, I would say it had amazing storytelling, character development, cinematic techniques, and everything else you could think of. My final rating would be a 10/10. Even if you don’t like later seasons, you can’t deny this one was really good, and had a lot of classic Riverdale moments -insert gif of Jughead saying “I’m a weirdo” here bc I tried to find it but couldn’t-.

My personal favorite episodes: Episode 6, Episode 10, Episode 13

Rewatch Thoughts

Episode 1:

It’s so clear right from the start that Veronica likes Archie oh my god

I love Betty Cooper dance parties and I want more of them

Wow I hate Alice from the very beginning

Fred Andrews was the best parent on Riverdale from the very beginning. Period.

Maybe the show is more consistent than I thought. Archie was dumb since season one episode one for lying to his dad.

Veronica was so supportive of Betty and Archie we stan a supportive friend

Oh my god did we all collectively forget that Archie dated a freaking TEACHER?!

JOSIE AND THE PUSSYCATS MY HEART I love and miss them

Jughead was such a broody lil boy wasn’t he oh my gosh Betty really did change him for the better didn’t she

“Whatever happened with Betty, just talk to her. It’ll go a long way” We stan a king who wants open communication from the beginning yas Jughead

Episode Rating: 8/10

Episode 2:

God, the teacher is so manipulative

Oh god i’m gonna have to relive the dark Betty arc aren’t I

This rewatch is just gonna further my love for Jughead. He was the smartest one since day one

WAIT i completely forgot they changed Reggie’s actor oh my goodness

Episode Rating: 5/10

Episode 3:

there was a mention of Greendale in the VERY FIRST SEASON

The only good thing Penelope Blossom ever did was punch Alice Cooper and that’s that on that

I love the early journalism relationship between Betty and Jughead

Episode Rating: 7/10

Episode 4:

Ya’ll I miss jughead narrating at the beginning and end of every episode

THE TWILIGHT DRIVE IN. I MADE SO MANY FANFICTIONS SET THERE AWH

Jug was so upset over the drive in my HEART. Jughead had a JOB. Am I the only one who forgot that?

He called her Betts and she called him Juggy their already in a relationship let’s face it.

“It’s like my home” AWH JUG IT WAS HIS HOME MY HEART

Ya’ll remember how INSANE the reveal of Jughead’s dad was?

Episode Rating: 10/10

Episode 5:

Why would he have to run away from mommy and daddy? BECAUSE DADDY DID IT JUG YOURE SO SMART

Everyone was so SHADY in season one

THE FREAKING SNAKE IN THE BOX

This was the episode with Jughead’s stupid cute smile in his stupid cute hat and stupid cute tux my heart

Remember when Fred and Hermione had that thing? Yeah me neither I hate it

Episode Rating: 8/10

Episode 6:

Wow makes sense that Polly joined a cult, she’s so fragile from everything that’s happened to her

I love the early music in this show

Betty straight up asks Hal if he killed Jason Blossom. OMG Alice goes “You think he has the stomach or that?” UHM hate to break it to ya but your dad is,,, oof

ITS THE HEY JULIET EPISODE AWH

WAIT THAT MEANS

The little “also” and his voice cracks I’m

FIRST BUGHEAD KISS FIRST BUGHEAD KISS

“In the middle of our moment” ICONIC

Episode Rating: 10/10

Episode 7:

the episode in which we find out Jughead is living in the school

“Don’t tell Betty” they’re already so in love I swear

Jughead walking Betty home is literally the softest thing

The farm was a part of the plot from SEASON ONE oh my god

Episode Rating: 7/10

Episode 8:

I’m p sure this is just a filler episode

Oh wait it’s the reveal to Archie and Fred that FP is a serpent

WAIT ITS THE BABY SHOWER SCENE

“It’s totally on my bucket list” we don’t deserve Jughead

the LOOKS Archie got when he walked into that baby shower

Can you believe how normal it became to be a part of the serpents? And in the beginning it was such a big deal? Like Arch, hate to break it to you, you become an honorary serpent one day

Episode Rating: 7/10

Episode 9:

Riverdale season one really be hitting different. It’s so,, innocent lol, and that’s sayin something

The Blossoms are a cult all their own I’m just sayin

“That was a joke, you hobo” ICONIC

Otherwise known as the episode where Alice throws a rock at a window

The parents really do be acting like teenagers tho

ALSO known as the episode where Veronica rips of her pearls

YOOO remember when Cheryl kissed Archie? That was a moment

Episode Rating: 9/10

Episode 10:

oh my god this is the birthday episode isn’t it

OH NO

lmao Ronnie was Tik Tok dancing before it was cool huh

The movie part of the party was so pure awh

oh god the creepy birthday song

i hate it

I HATE ITTTT

Cheryl arrives to mess shit UP

We love that Bughead took this as a learning experience and Jughead has never had a birthday party since

“In CaSe YoU HaVeN’t NoTiCEd, I’m WeiRd. I’m A weiRDo. I DoN’t FiT iN aNd I DoN’t WaNnA FiT in. HAvE YoU eVeR SeeN mE WiThOuT ThiS HaT oN? THAT’S WEIRD.”

Jughead was so opposed to letting her in my heart

Just let her love you Jug

Dilton’s actor also changed and we just,, let it slide? oof my guys

THE PUNCH. he DEFENDS his WOMAN

the first sign of FP bein a good dad, telling Jughead not to run away from Betty. We stan a father who’s basically responsible for Bughead.

The reveal that Alice lived on the south side was also in this episode.

THE FIRST TIME JUG TOOK OFF HIS BEANIE

their first heart to heart ya’ll I love them

This is the softest scene point blank period

When I said I hated it before? Yeah I lied I love this episode

The episode where Archie and Ronnie also officially got togther kinda?? Wow so much happened this episode

Episode Rating: 10/10

Episode 11:

Hail our fair RIVERDALLEEEE

YOOO you remember when FP literally was an accomplice to MURDER and then they let him become sheriff? Man, what a time

Ya’ll why did they hurt Jughead so much in the first season my heart

Yo THIS is why they have such good communication in later seasons

he’s being FRAMED

Episode Rating: 7/10

Episode 12:

oh my goodness the tollbooth scene

The second time his beanie is off

he looks so SAD ouch

He just stood there and TOOK Cheryl’s punches someone save my poor boy

THE REVEAL THAT THE BLOSSOMS AND COOPERS ARE RELATED AH

They watched the videooooo

Episode Rating: 9/10

Episode 13:

The camera work around this table is really interesting. It’s literally circling them at the lunch table. SPEAKING OF LUNCH TABLES, why haven’t we seen them eating lunch at school for like two seasons lol

“I’m with Jughead now”

God Penelope Blossom is so melodramatic

Can i just say thank GOD Fred never sold Andrew’s Construction

Oh my god the locker scene. The way he cups her cheek and takes her away

Jughead going to South Side High without telling anyone I’m

Cheryl on the ice

Remember when KJ literally broke his arm bc of the dedication to this scene

BURN THE HOUSE TO THE GROUND

the I love you scene my hEART

His beanie is off and the way he says I love you I”M CRYING

Oh god this song

I made so many fanfictions about this freaking scene with the jacket I’m

We all thought it was so BAD to be a serpent and yet they all literally become one over the next two seasons I’m. the fandom had NO IDEA

“Juggy”

The looks they give each other I’m laughing

Cheryl starring into the FLAMES

OH MY GOD WAIT THIS CLIFFHANGER IS SO MUCH MORE SAD NOW NOOOOO. This didn’t age well I’m.

HE SHOOK HIS HEAD HE WAS PROTECTING ARCHIE

But also,, Black Hood Intro? Oof.

Episode Rating: 10/10

If you got this far, thank you for reading my rambles! Season Two rewatch is up next!

#Riverdale #Jughead #Jughead Jones #Cole Sprouse #Betty #Betty Cooper #Season One #Bughead

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violetsmoak · 5 years ago

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Appetence [9/?]

AO3 Link:https://archiveofourown.org/works/20251420/chapters/47997634

Blanket Disclaimer

Summary: Red Robin is investigating the disappearance of a friend and stumbles into a spot of supernatural trouble. He doesn’t expect to be saved by Jason Todd, miraculously alive five years after his death and now with the inexplicable ability to commune with the dead. Meanwhile, when Jason returned to Gotham he meant to maintain a low profile and not get involved with Bat business. That was before he found out how hot his Replacement is.

Rating: PG-13 (rating may change later)

JayTimBingo Prompts This Chapter: #cemetery #haunting

First Chapter

Author’s Note: More dialogue from Under the Red Hood, just moved around a bit and tweaked to suit the situation.

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Bruce stares at him in silence for a long while and then seems to shake himself.

“No,” he says at last. “It…can't be.”

But his tone is less certain.

“Can be and is. ‘There are more things in heaven and earth’ and all that jazz,” Jason quips. “But I know you. I can’t just talk about collecting first editions with Alfred or going to races with you or Dick teaching me to train surf. Someone could be using telepathy to lift that from your mind, right? Nah, you’ll be wantin’ proof, so here—”

“Here.” Jason crouches and takes off his gloves, picking up the discarded Batarang from earlier and whips it expertly at Bruce, who catches it without anything changing in the exposed part of his face. “My blood’s already on that. Fingerprints, too. Maybe even some skin-cells if you cut me deep enough.”

“It won’t make me believe.”

But there’s doubt in his voice, and he pockets the blade anyhow.

“Yeah, it will,” Jason replies. “You’re Mr. Logic and Science. It’ll tell you exactly who I am—or rather, it’ll confirm exactly who you know I am.”

Bruce’s jaw works furiously.

“How…how did this happen to you?” he asks softly, cautious. “Were you—was there a Lazarus Pit involved?”

“Not as far as I know. If there was, don’t you think your baby mama would have taunted you with it by now? She always liked to fuck with your head.”

Bruce tenses.

“Oh, yeah, I got the full 411 on what’s been happening since I 'ran down the curtain and joined the bleedin’ choir invisible',” Jason says irreverently. “Mazel tov, but the way. Is it too late to send an arrangement of blue balloons?”

No response.

“What’s that bring the total up to now, anyway? Three? Four? When exactly did collecting orphans become a compulsion for you, chum?”

Jason sneers that last word, and yet something about it seems to physically jar both man and Bat. The cowl is off then as if somehow, Bruce can no longer trust the lenses of the cowl and needs his own eyes.

Jason’s irritation wavers for a moment, replaced with a lump in his throat as his own gaze roves over the man’s face with a hunger of their own, tempered by disbelief.

Bruce looks older. He could still pass for at least a decade younger than his actual age, but the look in his eyes speaks of a lifetime of fighting. There are wrinkles in the corners of his eyes, grey flecks around his temples and a few more scars than Jason remembers. Skin stretches just a little bit thinner over his cheekbones and jaw.

His eyes are sharp as ever, cataloging every detail of Jason, no doubt comparing it to his last memories of the boy he was.

The boy that’s dead.

Bruce tentatively moves forward, and Jason’s instinct is to take a step backward, to avoid letting the other man into his personal space. He has no interest in Round Two or the prick of a needle leading to him waking up in a cell in the cave hours from now.

But then his eye catches on two figures watching the proceedings from several feet away, and he’s so surprised he forgets about Bruce for a minute.

Martha Wayne is polished and put-together, the only indication of anything amiss being the broken string of pearls hanging from her neck and the blossoming red stain at her breast. Thomas Wayne looks exactly like every picture Jason’s ever seen of him, Bruce’s spitting image but somehow…lighter. The wound that killed him is hidden beneath a thick overcoat, but trails of blood dripping down to stain his white gloves is telling.

For a moment they are a perfect portrait, and then in another blink, they flicker, clutching at their wounds. In another, they lie on the ground gasping and reaching for each other, trapped in their death echo. And then they’re back to standing, watching Bruce with pained expressions on their faces.

Guess the family plot’s a bit closer than I thought it was.

Any further ruminations on their semi-invisible audience vanish when arms encircle Jason, and it should be a reflex to pull away, to knock the grasp away. Self-preservation and all.

And yet, he knows these arms, knows the smell of cologne and the specific brand of Kevlar in a way that bypasses every bit of training he’s ever had, which causes him to remain perfectly still as Batman—Bruce, Dad—holds him tightly to him.

For whatever reason—an impossibly rare break from his usual paranoia, perhaps—Bruce doesn’t dose him with any kind of sedative or go for a nerve-strike.

He just…

Holds him.

Jason’s back is beginning to ache from how straight he’s trying to keep it, and at last, he can’t take it anymore and pulls back. Puts several steps between them so that he can regain his equilibrium.

Bruce takes a step back as well as if remembering himself. He lapses back into his tense but alert stance, but his eyes are suspiciously bright in the moonlight.

“When?” he asks eventually.

“By all accounts about six months after I died.” Bruce’s expression becomes calculating, even as he continues to study Jason. “Wouldn’t happen to have any idea how that could’ve happened, could you? John and I never figured it out, and you have all those fun League resources.”

Bruce recoils almost imperceptibly.

“John?” he repeats, eyes flicking over Jason again. His nose twitches and then his brows draw together. “Constantine.”

It should not surprise Jason that Bruce makes the connection so fast.

“Got it in one.”

“He would have said. He’d have contacted me—”

“No, he wouldn’t,” Jason interrupts. “Because he didn’t know. Not until weeks after he found me. And by the time I remembered everything, I didn’t want him to. Say what you want about his morals, he stays out of other people’s personal business.”

Bruce ignores the dig.

“Why?” Bruce croaks instead. “Why didn’t you come home?”

“Didn’t think there was anything for me to come back to. Figured you’d be happier with me gone. I mean, you hauled a new kid into the thick of it within like three months, so obviously I wasn’t that hard to replace.”

“It didn’t happen that way.”

“I owe you a broken jaw for that, by the way. After I died, no one else should’ve worn that cape.”

“And now?” Bruce challenges. “All this time, you’ve been alive. You’ve avoided Gotham. But you choose to return now. And do things like this.” He gestures at the graveyard. “This crime—violating others’ final resting places—human remains, for god’s sake, Jason! If you wanted to get my attention, there are easier ways!”

Jason’s jaw drops a bit, and he feels his hackles rise.

And there it is.

“Are you serious right now?” he snaps. “You think this is about you?”

Bruce raises an eyebrow as if to say it’s exactly what he thinks, and Jason bursts out laughing. There’s a bitter edge to it, and the older man flinches for some reason.

“Damn, I knew you were conceited, but this just takes the cake,” Jason snorts. “Contrary to popular belief, not everything that goes on in Gotham is about Bruce Wayne. Or Batman.”

“You’re evading the question.”

“Bullshit! This is my fucking job,” Jason snaps.

“Desecrating graves.”

“Helping people move on. Stopping people from getting hurt. Put that thinking cap of yours on, ‘detective’. Why the hell do you think Constantine took me in in the first place?”

The way his eyes narrow at the challenge, considering their surroundings and the gear Jason is wearing, the tools and the specifics of what he was doing and what he’s just said. And then understanding flashes across his face.

“You’re an occultist.

“Ding-ding-ding! Right again. Guess dying and coming back from the dead leaves a guy predisposed to certain, huh? Unless I’ve always been this way and just never knew. I doubt it, though. You’ve analyzed my blood a hundred times and you never mentioned any metahuman or magic genes. And I never saw dead people before I was, you know, dead.”

That causes a wince.

“You know I was in Arkham, for a while?” Jason asks conversationally. “For like half a year. Bet you visited the place a lot, considering the revolving door of nutcases. You were probably standing on the same floor as me a dozen times and didn’t even know it.”

Bruce tries to disguise the pain that flashes across his face at that direct hit, but Jason sees it nonetheless.

“The mentally ill are of no interest to Batman, though, right? Not unless they’re criminally insane.”

“I know…I know I failed you, Jason…I tried to save you. Whatever it is that’s happening to you now—I’ll keep trying to save you, and if I had had even an inkling that you were still alive—”

“Is that what you think I’m pissed off about?” Jason demands. “You letting me die? I don’t know what clouds your judgment worse, your guilt or your antiquated sense of morality. I forgave you for not saving me, Bruce—forgave you years before I forgave my own flesh and blood. But why…why…” His voice breaks a little here, “the hell is that pasty-faced pile of human excrement still alive?”

Bruce’s expression becomes like stone. “Joker.”

“The Joker. Yeah, B, him. If you’d just killed the fucker years ago—whether anything happened to me or not—you know what hell you would have saved the world?” Jason snaps. “But no. Punching that piece of shit’s ticket’s just one of a long list of sane acts you still refuse to commit.”

“I can’t cross that line,” Bruce says tightly.

“But I can,” Jason says. “And I will. If there’s one thing I’ve learned in the last five years, death comes to those who deserve death, B. It’s probably why I clocked out early. I wasn’t exactly the golden boy like Dickiebird, was I?”

“Jason, no—”

“But that’s fine. I’ve come to terms with it. Someone somewhere must have even decided I deserved a chance to make up for it because here I am.” Jason spreads his arms wide. “And I’m going to make up for it. Lot of dead people out there that need to be avenged. And a lot of monsters out there, standing in the way.”

“Monsters like Felipe Garzonas?” Bruce challenges.

The name hastens memories of a woman’s lifeless body hanging from a ceiling and a man’s sneering, triumphant smile.

Jason clenches his fists.

“If they get in my way, sure,” he replies. “In another life, maybe I’d even make it my mission. To take out the scum you refuse to. But these days, I’m on a different playing field, and the stakes a higher than some rapist that fell out a window.”

“If you’re saying you intend to go after the Joker—I can’t let you.”

Jason almost chokes in rage and disbelief. “Why the hell not?!”

“Because I won’t have my son become a murderer for him.”

“Didn’t you hear, old man? Your son died a long time ago. I’m a completely different person now, and you’re a few years too late. I’ve killed a lot of people and slept like a baby right after because those fuckers deserved it.” Jason clenches his fists, recalling the torn and mutilated bodies murderers that would never be caught by traditional means—legal or vigilante. Capping monsters like that was a civic duty. “Lot of people don’t get any kind of justice once they’re gone, and I’m it.”

“Jason, that’s not your call to make.”

“Says the man who dresses up as a bat and fights crime,” Jason shoots back. “All of your adult life, you’ve fought to save Gotham. Save her from herself, but you never ever understood her. You’ve never seen what I see now.” He casts his eyes around the graveyard, at the torn remnants of humanity in their various stages of self-torture. “She’s evil. Poisoned by the dead that clog her foundations—that have been piling up here since the first nutjob spilled blood in her earth. You have to fight her where she lives, B, and it’s not just the rooftops at night.”

“That might be so,” Bruce allows. “But it’s one thing to seek justice on behalf of the dead…if that’s what you intend to do. But going after a human being, even one as depraved as the Joker—"

“How can you still call him a human being?! Even ignoring what he’s done in the past—blindly, stupidly disregarding the entire graveyards he’s filled—” He points toward the various specters in the distance, who Bruce can’t see but who scream and cry and laugh hysterically through the smiling rictus that is the Joker’s signature, to the dying echoes of Thomas and Martha Wayne, “—the thousands who have suffered, the friends he’s crippled—” He remembers Tim’s expression and makes an educated guess, “—the family he’s tortured.”

Bruce’s wince is the confirmation he needs.

“I thought that him killing me, that I’d be the last person you ever let him hurt,” Jason admits in a soft voice, his rage quieting behind pain and sadness. “If it had been you he beat to a bloody mess...if it had been you that he left in agony...if he had taken you—I would have done nothing but search the planet for the pathetic pile of evil, death-worshipping garbage and sent him off to hell!"

“You don’t understand…I don’t think you’ve ever understood…”

“What? Your moral code just won’t allow for it? It’s too hard to cross that line?”

“It’d be too damned easy!” Bruce snaps.

There would be a ringing silence between them if not for the ghostly moans in the night.

“All I have ever wanted to do is kill him,” Bruce continues, eyes blazing. “For years, a day hasn’t gone by where I haven’t imagined taking him and spending an entire month putting him through the most horrendous, mind-boggling forms of torture. All of it building to an end with him broken, butchered and maimed…pleading—screaming—in the worse kind of agony as he careens into a monstrous death.” He grows quieter here. “I want him dead—maybe more than I’ve ever wanted anything. But if I do that, if I allow myself to go down into that place, I’ll never come back.”

Jason takes several seconds to parse all of that, examining the reasons and justifications that are so different than what he expected, before registering the problem with that.

“Why?”

Bruce blinks. “What?”

“You wouldn’t feel guilty killing a cockroach, or wiping out a bacterium that could destroy millions,” Jason points out. “And that’s what he is. All he exists to do is destroy. It’s not like Cobblepot or Crane or Dent or Nygma. Much as I always thought they all deserve the death penalty, there’s something in them that at least resembles having been human at some point. The Joker has never—will never—be human. You can’t judge filth like that by human standards.”

But he can already see by the obstinate set of Bruce’s jaw that he is unmoved by this argument.

“I can’t, Jason,” he says. “I’m sorry. I just can’t.”

“Then don’t. Just don’t get in the way when someone else tries to do it.”

“Someone being you? I can’t let that happen either. I won’t let you sully yourself over the likes of him—”

“He killed me!” Jason roars. “I was sullied the second he brought out the crowbar. If anyone on this planet has a right—has a duty—to be the chlorine in that maniac’s gene pool, it’s me!”

“Jason—!”

“He took me away from you!”

The words echo, not as sharp or reprimanding as Jason meant, but laced with a vulnerability he hasn’t allowed himself to show since before he died.

He needs to take a few moments to breathe, to gulp down the sob that’s threatening the back of his throat, hysterical and pained and scared the way he hasn’t been in years.

“He took everything,” Jason concludes. “He took my life. He took my future. But worst of all, he took me from the first person I ever really believed gave a shit about me. And that…that’s just me. How many other kids got to die gasping for breath, waiting for their fathers to rescue them?”

And for a split second, Bruce’s entire façade shatters and he looks—lost. Frightened. Agonized.

“Jason…” he says after a beat, more broken than Batman has any right to sound. “Just…come home. We’ll figure this out—all of it. Together.”

And Jason…he’s tempted.

But he came back to Gotham for a reason, and it wasn’t to mend relations with anyone.

“And when the Joker breaks out again?” Jason asks quietly. “When he hunts you and everyone you care about down and puts you through another round of mental and physical torture? When you have to bury another kid? Or two? Or Alfred? Will 'figure this out together' mean you’ll step aside and do what needs to be done? Or are you just going to cart him back to Arkham?”

There is nothing but silence at this, but Jason already has his answer.

He exhales, shoulders slumping a bit.

As tempting as it would be to fall back into what he lost—as tempting as it would be to be Jason Todd-Wayne again in some way—this is something he can’t compromise on.

And he learned from the best that the only way to keep from compromising is to establish clear, immovable boundaries. And if that’s impossible, then burn down whatever bridges might traverse them.

“The manor was never my home, any more than it was yours,” Jason says dully at last. “Those streets you patrol every night, the people on them—people the Joker’s going to keep killing—that’s home. And if you’re not going to defend it, I am.”

Bruce appears to hear what he isn’t saying, and that seems to take the fight out of him. As if he understands that no amount of arguing is going to change either of their stances today, if ever. Instead, he straightens his back and looms into his most imposing Batman stance and pulls the cowl back on.

“I won’t tolerate criminal conspiracy in Gotham. Occult or otherwise.”

“Tough shit,” Jason shoots back. “This is my town. Probably more than it’s yours since I actually came up on these streets.”

“If that’s how you want it to be, that’s your choice. But if you cause any disturbances of that nature—if I catch you desecrating any more graves—if you go anywhere near the Joker—I will bring you in.”

“That threat would be more effective if I couldn’t rattle off the names of every cape in town, and you know it.”

“I never said you’d be going to jail.”

And Jason knows that this will lead to another fight, one he’ll no doubt lose—

Except there’s an explosion in the distance.

They both look up reflexively, watching Gotham’s skyline illuminate with electric blue light.

“Looks like the office is calling,” Jason points out. “My money’s on Freeze. He never did like the summertime.”

Bruce’s jaw clenches, eyes flitting from Jason to the city.

“Can’t let the bad guys get away, old man. Mission before family, right? The way it’s always been?” He turns, keeping Bruce in his periphery. “I’m going home. I’d give you the address, but I’m pretty sure you’ll find it on your own anyway. Wouldn’t want to give you the impression that you’re welcome there.”

“Jason…”

“Maybe we can do this again sometime like normal human beings,” he continues. “But I swear to everything hellish and holy, if you drag me back to the cave for interrogation or lock me up, I will get out. And I will make the rest of your life a living hell. Until then, fuck off. You don’t get to talk to me unless you decide to do something about the clown.”

He turns away, casting a frown at Thomas and Martha Wayne’s shades, wondering if he should say anything to Bruce about them just now.

He decides against it.

It’s a whole other rabbit hole to get pulled down.

Instead, he tips a salute as he walks away. “Say hello to the pretty bird for me. Kid keeps his word. Didn’t think that was possible for anyone in the Family.”

⁂⁂⁂

To Be Continued

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#jaytimweek2019 #jaytimweek #jaytim #fanfic #prompt: supernatural #jaytim fic #jason todd #drama #mystery #angst #supernatural #horror #cemetery #haunting #bruce wayne #emotionally stunted family reunions

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machine-gunn-eddie · 7 years ago

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Grease is the Word - pt 2

A/N: Oh hey! I started this eons ago and I’m not caught up on all the recent WWE happenings so sorry if it’s a little off! This was originally going in a hurt/comfort direction with the greasy bffs but then SAnitY dropped the tag titles so it went more in a injured Dean Ambrose adopts SAnitY, pity parties with them, more at 11 sort of direction. Here it is in all it’s ramble-y glory!

Note: Set directly following SAnitY losing the NXT Tag Team titles, with Dean’s surgery a couple of days before, and goes through Christmas Raw.

Tagging: @tozawas who I wrote the original for! I hope you enjoy some more of the greasy kids! You rock my socks!

Read part one here: [link]

So maybe going to visit a bunch of batshit NXTers with one good arm isn't really doctor recommended, but hey, if he’s gonna go nuts from the boring ass physical therapy, he might as well have friends on the road to madness.

“Hey guys,” Dean calls out, arriving at the now disclosed undisclosed location Nikki had provided the address of. He enters through the open overhead door but decides to wait for the all clear before exploring further.

It’s...about as expected. Looks like some old warehouse, filled with old oil drums serving as fire pits and furniture that looks like it's been swiped from the local landfill. Kinda reminds Dean of the old Shield safehouses. Huh.

Nikki drops down beside him, hastily removing her round sunglasses and bandanna.

“Oh, it’s you! Hey guys! S’just Dean!” Nikki hollers over her shoulder.

The other members of SAnitY crawl out from their hiding places, shucking off their hastily thrown on jackets and sending warm greetings his way. False alarm.

“How you holding up?” Nikki asks, eyeing Dean’s heavily wrapped arm.

“Well as I can, I guess,” Dean shrugs with one shoulder, putting on a tough front. Getting injured sucks, and there’s a million negative thoughts that should be racing through his head, but Dean’s chosen to reschedule the self-loathing hour in favor of doing something more productive.

Well, Dean’s idea of productive anyway.

“How are you guys holding up?” Dean asks, returning the question.

“They dunnae let me fight.” Nikki’s face scrunches up in way that just radiates annoyance and anger. “I should have taken out Adam, but they didn't let me, they dragged me away.” She kicks at the ground, displacing dust in an irritated motion. “I should have bit ‘is ears off. Those titles were ours.” Her expression softens when she looks back over at her teammates. “Eric’s been up all night planning for revenge. Killian and Wolfe both think it's their fault. They’ve been fighting about it all morning.”

“Well that’s no good,” Dean declares, stepping further into the warehouse. “C’mon, I rented an SUV, we’re going for some team bonding time.”

“Where?” Nikki asks, putting her sunglasses back on.

“Surprise,” Dean says, waving over the boys as best he can. “Can’t say. Let's go! Chop chop!”

…

Cramming four huge guys (plus Nikki) into a five seater was difficult, but not impossible. Dean insisted on driving, even though he could only use one hand. It would have been a hazard, had Dean’s driving not already been classified as hazardous, so they let it slide.

“Dis...is a McDonald’s,” Nikki notes from the backseat, as they turn into the drive-thru line.

“You got something against Micky D’s?” Dean asks, raising an eyebrow in the rear view mirror. His sunglasses are atrocious, as always. Nikki has half a mind to ask Killian to reach across the console and smack them off Dean’s face, but unfortunately he’s piloting the vehicle she’s currently trapped in.

“I...uh, no?” Nikki responds, looking over to Eric for confirmation. He just shrugs. SAnitY is neutral when it comes to McDonald’s, then.

“Good, because breakfast food is good for the soul, and they got it all day.”

…

An hour later, sitting beach side and downing McGriddles and sweet tea with her makeshift family, Nikki has to admit a fast food day really was good for the soul.

But not the brain apparently.

“Jesus Alex, slow down,” Dean mutters, as Wolfe begins a chant of “ow” while rubbing at his forehead. “Brainfreeze is a sonofabitch, eh?” Dean chides lightheartedly, plucking the shake from Wolfe’s hand. “Here, let me help you save the few brain cells you got left,” he declares, taking a long, obnoxiously loud sip from the shake.

Alexander’s indignant cry is a source of laughter for the rest of the crew. Said laughter grows when Wolfe plucks Dean’s horrible sunglasses off his face and puts them on; Dean unable to retaliate with his good hand full of milkshake.

Good for the soul, indeed.

…

“What?!” Dean shouts, spitting beer out across the couch. Nikki gets caught in the spray, but thinks nothing of it as she tries to keep from choking on her strawberry milkshake.

They’ve spent Christmas Day thus far together; Nikki deciding it wasn't worth the money to fly back to Scotland and Dean accepting her (aggressive) invitation once she realized he’d be left alone on Christmas Day. Somehow they’d acquired some Five Guys burgers and a 12 pack of Bud Lite that Dean was now steadily working through prior to the start of Monday Night Raw.

It’s been a blast so far, watching Raw together in Nikki’s apartment. They’d been doing their own commentary to go with whatever Michael Cole and Co. were rambling on about, and cracking all sorts of jokes that probably weren't even that funny but were just side-splitting in the moment to them.

It’s been an up and down kinda Raw, but they’ve kept it entertaining, from booing the boring parts and chucking empty beer cans at the flatscreen, to Dean loudly cheering on Roman’s quest for vengeance, to Nikki singing along and imitating Asuka’s entrance as her music hit. They flipped off Samoa Joe together when he appeared, and Nikki blew a kiss to Renee for Dean, who’s one good arm was occupied holding his can of beer. Not your average Christmas, but it's been a good time thus far, Dean’s gotta admit.

God, the ending though. Not much was gonna save that.

“T’ats fuckin’ bull!” Nikki shouts, regaining use of her voice.

“Fuckin’ Jason Jordan? With the tag belt? What?!” Dean yells, eyes wide, slamming his beer can down on Nikki’s battered coffee table. “That’s fuckin’—” Dean trails off, pulling at his hair in anguish. “M’gonna kill Seth, I’m gonna wring his friggin’ neck—”

“How?” Nikki asks, halting Dean’s train of thought.

“What?”

“How are you gonna wring ‘is neck?” Nikki questions, chewing on her straw. “You got one arm.”

“This...is true,” Dean concedes. He isn't really sure how to follow that up. It's real hard to plan for vengeance when you know you’re injured and you can picture Roman Reigns making a disappointed dad face. Real hard.

“I got two arms,” Nikki states. Matter-of-factly. Mathematically. It takes two arms to choke out your idiot little brother. Dean has two but can't use one. Nikki has two arms. Can they still murder Seth freakin’ Rollins? Solve for x.

“This...is also true,” Dean smirks. He’s shit at math but that adds up. Somehow.

Nikki looks excited, wanting to defend his honor in some strange sort of (homicidal) way, and Dean’s touched, honestly. It's strange to see anyone getting that angry on his behalf besides Roman, and Nikki is...a little bit smaller than the Big Dog, to say the least. She’s no less deadly, however, and Dean is real, real glad she’s on his side. It's good to have friends. Friends who care, even better.

Maybe they’re just empty threats, (god knows Dean’s tried to bury Seth before, and no amount of steel cages and concrete would keep either of them down) but Nikki and Dean have fun plotting the ridiculous ways they could take out Seth for the rest of the night and into morning.

And maybe if he had Nikki text a couple of those threats to Seth from her phone, well...Seth could use some humbling every now and then, right?

…

“Question,” Roman inquires over the phone a couple of days later.

“Shoot,” Dean says, balancing his cell between his shoulder and his ear while he tries to tie his boot laces without throwing his arm out. My kingdom for some Velcro.

“Seth’s been jumping at shadows since Christmas. From what I could catch, he thinks some NXT kids are stalking him or something,” Roman explains. “You uh...wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?”

“Nope,” Dean replies.

Ro just sort of chuckles, knowing instinctively that Dean, as always, is full of shit.

Dean says his goodbyes to Roman, playing up the innocent act for Rome’s amusement. Roman wouldn’t condone Seth getting hurt, (he is their brother, even when he’s being an absolute asshat) but hey, a little paranoia-inducing rib never hurt anybody.

His phone chimes a minute or two after ending the call with Roman. It’s a text from an number he recognizes as Nikki’s. No message, just a slightly blurry photo of Eric Young waiting behind the concrete of some area backstage, with Seth in the far background, unaware.

Dean can imagine the terror SAnitY’s presence was forcing on an unsuspecting Seth Rollins. Sometimes the Hounds of Justice need a little justice of their own, it seems.

That’s for giving away my tag title, asshole, Dean thinks, cracking a smile at the mayhem. He’ll text Seth later and tell him it’s all good, but for now he’s gonna enjoy making the Kingslayer sweat a little. It’s his job as his brother to keep him in line anyway.

He texts Nikki back a thank you and gets a picture of Eric and her giving a thumbs up in response.

It’s good to have friends.

#greasy bffs #dean ambrose #nikki cross #SAnitY #wwe fanfic #my writing

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megazeo · 8 years ago

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As anyone who’s seen me previously speak on the subject already knows, I wasn’t really looking forward to the new Power Rangers movie. Ever since the first image of Elizabeth Banks’ Rita Repulsa was released, I “knew” the movie was doomed. Previous film adaptations that had redesigned its characters to such an extreme degree were The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Godzilla (1998), and X-Men Origins: Wolverine - Movies that were universally agreed to be horrible and insultingly unfaithful to their source material. It only got worse from there. Alpha 5 went from a cutesy robot to a terrifying little monkey-lizard. Goldar went from a main character to a silent, gold Godzilla. The Dino Zords somehow managed to look worse than the Michael Bay Dinobots.

To put it mildly, I was not looking forward to this.

But then the movie actually came out. Despite my initial concerns, I was hearing… good things about the movie? Literally everywhere I went, I heard how this was the movie Power Rangers fans had been waiting for, how it really did justice to the characters despite their redesigns, it was the best thing to come out of the franchise in years, and how it was just a good movie all around. In spite of myself, I started to get hopeful. Excited, even. After all, I didn’t want to dislike the movie. I didn’t want it to be bad. Maybe once I got past the awful redesigns, the movie actually was good. Yeah, Rita looked like some generic Syfy Channel villainess, but maybe she acted like Rita. I’d heard Elizabeth Banks was really hamming it up, and if anything describes Rita Repulsa, it’s hammy. So I put my opinions of the new designs aside. I already knew about them. They were no longer a surprise. I decided they were not going to ruin my enjoyment of the film. This wasn’t the same Power Rangers that I’d grown up with. This was new. I accepted that. I sat in the theater and soon Saban’s Power Rangers (2017) began.

I was stunned.

Out of all the complaints I could’ve had about this movie, I in no way expected it to be BORING.

CAST:

First off, let me say that the characters are well written and that the cast acts them very well. However, that being said, NONE of these characters - except for Billy and, to a slightly lesser degree, Trini - ARE LIKEABLE. Jason is an unhappy, rebellious teen… for some reason? His father wants him to do well in life, but he doesn’t seem to ever really venture into “overachieving asshole parent” territory, so I’m not entirely sure what Jason is rebelling unhappily against. Kimberly is legitimately a HORRIBLE person, spreading a classmate’s nude picture around school. Like, it’s nice that she feels bad about it later, but she’s still nevertheless a HORRIBLE person. And then she says “Serves you right!” when the girl almost gets killed by molten Goldar blood later in the movie because… Kimberly said she was sorry so I guess that makes the other girl a bitch now. Zack is literally just a loudmouth asshole, but I guess we’re supposed to like him/feel sorry for him because he has a sick mother? Billy, as I said before, is the most likeable member of the team, a kind soul who just wants the group to come together and be superheroes. I don’t know why he had to be on the spectrum, exactly. I’m not badmouthing it, or even saying I disliked it, really. It’s done really tastefully and never presented as a bad thing, which is great, it just kinda feels like “This ain’t the ‘90s anymore, yay relevance!” Like, why couldn’t he just be smart and unpopular? Is that not a thing anymore? Trini literally shows up well after everyone else has been fully established and her introduction totally reeks of afterthought, as if the screenwriters suddenly remembered “Oh, wait, there are five teenagers, aren’t there?” That said, once introduced, Trini does become a really interesting character with some actual motivation behind her “teenager with attitude"ness.

To sum up, despite some serious missteps, the Rangers are nevertheless fleshed out and acted well, turning them from the cardboard cutouts of the TV show to some well-rounded, flawed characters. So what was my problem with this story of angsty teenage drama, exactly? It never stopped. This movie was SO busy fleshing out the Rangers that it forgot to do anything Power Rangers-related until roughly the LAST TWENTY MINUTES OF THE MOVIE.

PLOT/PACING/EDITING:

The cliff-jumping scene lasts way too long. As do the “Wait, we all have powers!” scenes as they wake up the next morning after finding the Coins. There are at least three, possibly up to five, different instances of the Rangers standing in a circle, staring sadly at each other, saying “We don’t know each other very well, but we all have shitty lives, so maybe we should come together and be Power Rangers so we can finally have a family.” ALL IN COMPLETELY SEPARATE SCENES. And then we have what feels like twenty minutes of Zordon and Alpha training the Rangers, which is essentially just “Ow, being hit by rocks hurts” over and over. And then one of the Rangers finally succeeds in morphing, so Zordon gets pissed off and tells them all to GTFO…? Now don’t get me wrong, I understand why he gets angry - How can Billy have morphed without knowing how? Time is of the essence. But they should have worked up to Zordon getting to that point. Jason: “Billy just morphed!” Zordon: “What? That’s excellent! Finally, you Rangers are showing some progress! Billy, why don’t you go ahead and tell the others how you did it?” Billy: “…I don’t know how I did it.” Zordon: “…What?” Billy: “I don’t know how I morphed.” Zordon: “What do you mean, you don’t know how you morphed? How is that even possible?!” Billy: “I don’t know, it just happened!” Zordon: “That does it! We don’t have time for this!” This way, the movie shows him becoming understandably frustrated, instead of just blowing up like a temperamental asshole.

This movie drags its feet to an unbelievable level. The scene where the Rangers fight Rita on the docks? That should have happened 30 - 40 minutes into the movie, not right before the final fight of a 2+ hour film. And the fight is shrouded in darkness, reducing Rita and the Rangers to silhouettes, like this is some no-budget direct-to-video movie using darkness to hide its lack of budget. But hey, at least there’s that awesome rematch later where the Rangers fight Rita again after they get their powers, showing how strong they are as a fully powered team… What’s that? That never happens? ARE YOU SERIOUS? This is one of the most basic rules of superhero movies - the hero(es) and the villain(s) have to fight at some point! But hey, at least there’s the really awesome fight scene where the Rangers… fight the Putties. For about ninety seconds.

Let me repeat that: The Power Rangers appear for the first time with roughly twenty minutes of movie left, fight the Redshirts for about a minute and a half, and then the entire rest of the film is Zord action. If you’ve seen the trailers, you’ve pretty much seen all of the Rangers’ non-Zord screen time.

This is even worse than Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie, which featured no fight between the Rangers and Ivan Ooze, but at least had that one good, long fight against the Oozemen at the construction site. Can you imagine if they made a Batman or Avengers movie where the costumed hero appeared for that short a time and only at the very end and never fought the main villain? People would flip their shit.

Also… We get the prologue with Zordon and Rita, then Jason’s introduction with the cow… And then the title? Shouldn’t that have been prologue, title, Jason? That’s such a weird choice.

TONE:

I get it. This isn’t the same kiddie TV show as before. This ain’t your Daddy’s Power Rangers. This is a big budget blockbuster with big boy special effects and biting teen angst!

But holy shit, this whole movie is just so grim and ugly and dark and depressing. There is no beacon of hope, visually or metaphorically. The teens are all awful people aside from Billy, Zordon is an asshole, Alpha is hideous, the Zords look just as ugly as the monsters they fight, the Power Rangers themselves are all dark and overly complicated and bio organic looking (like some sort of deformed love child of Iron Man and the Xenomorphs). The lesson the Rangers need to learn in order to unlock their suits is literally “Stop being assholes, both to each other and in general.” There are no friendly faces in a situation (and franchise) that badly calls out for one. Trini’s mother is psychotic in a scene that was presented as comedic in the trailer - She apparently had a urine sample cup ready and waiting at the dinner table, though thankfully, unlike Dawn of Justice, at least this one goes unfilled. Rita Repulsa, intergalactic sorceress and former Green Ranger, starts causing havoc, but instead of creating monsters and blowing up buildings and demanding that the people of Earth bow to her whim, SHE SPENDS THE FIRST THIRD OF THE FILM MURDERING HOBOS AND POLICEMEN.

THERE IS LITERALLY A NEWS REPORT ABOUT THE “GOLDEN SERIAL KILLER” PLAGUING ANGEL GROVE.

JESUS CHRIST, IS THIS STILL A FAMILY FILM?

This is one of the film’s biggest problems. There are some nice scenes, a few funny lines, and some cool special effects, but at no point does the film really feel fun.

“POWER RANGERS” STUFF:

Oddly, every time an actual name or term from the show was spoken, it brought me out of the movie in a similar fashion as when one of the original cast members cameoed in Ghostbusters (2016). “Putties.” “Alpha 5.” “Rita Repulsa.” “Angel Grove.” “Zeo Crystal.” Oh, right, I’m watching a movie about Power Rangers. I forgot.

And why are the Putties called “Putties?” In the show they’re called Putties because they’re made out of putty. Clay. Here, they’re dirt, rocks, and occasionally concrete. And why are the Putties such a big threat? They range from human sized to fifteen feet tall with six arms and shit. If they wanted some big monster-y things for the Rangers to beat up on why not throw in Eye Guy or King Sphinx or Pumpkin Rapper or something?

I feel like Zordon and Alpha’s voices should’ve been altered a bit. Zordon is a giant computer head whose voice fills the entire ship, so to hear Bryan Cranston’s normal voice come out of him was just weird. Similarly, Bill Hader’s untouched voice didn’t quite fit a tiny “cute” character like Alpha. I’m not saying make them quite as deep/high pitched as in the show, but a slight adjustment would have been nice.

The Power Coins are never shown up close, meaning we never see the dinosaur symbols on them, and so they literally just look like rocks with colored gel bits in the middle. They’re more Power Medallions than Coins.

“I’ll be back for the Crystal! Others will come for the Crystal!” Oh, God, please don’t tell me that every villain’s motivation now is just gonna be “I want the Zeo Crystal.”

I like how they got rid of Bulk and Skull, only to give Billy a bully anyway. Apparently having two bullies would’ve been confusing.

ZORDON, RITA, AND ALPHA:

I like how they go and give Zordon and Rita this big intertwined history - He was the Red Ranger, she was the Green. She betrayed their team and everything went to shit. A big deal was made about this leading up to the film. - and then absolutely none of it matters beyond the opening scene. There’s no “Anakin vs. Obi-Wan” dynamic at all. Zordon doesn’t seem sad about going up against his former teammate, Rita doesn’t have a moment of hesitation at any point, there’s no scene of Rita breaking into the Command Center and the two of them having bitter words with one another. Rita used to be the Green Ranger and… that’s it we’re done with that now.

Speaking of Rita being the Green Ranger (as opposed to simply her history with Zordon), that never really goes anywhere, either. Yeah, she uses the Dragon Coin to charge her wand, but that could’ve just been Rita doing her usual magic spell stuff. She didn’t need to be the Green Ranger for anything she does in the film. At no point does she do anything Green Ranger-y. She doesn’t attempt to summon the Dragonzord. She doesn’t fire an energy blast from her wand that has some cool dragon head effect at the tip of it. There’s no “Only a Power Ranger can access the Zeo Crystal,” which would be bad because Rita is one. This, combined with the lack of any actual interaction between her and Zordon as mentioned above, results in there being literally no reason for her to be the Green Ranger.

I mean, why does Rita not morph? There is never anything said at any point in the movie like she’s too weak to morph, or the Dragon Coin is damaged, or she lost her Morpher in the meteor blast (does this universe even have Morphers?), or she’s evolved past the need for Zordon’s silly Ranger suits, or anything like that. So why doesn’t she actually morph into the full Green Ranger at any point to fight the Rangers? “You’re so silly!” you may be thinking. “Not everything has to be packed into this one movie alone. That’s what the sequels are for!” Except, no, it’s not. If there was a film to actually explore and properly utilize the “Rita is the Green Ranger” plot, it was this one. In future movies, villain-wise, we’re gonna be introducing and dealing with Lord Zedd or King Mondo or whoever. Sure, Rita will probably still be around and team up with Zedd or something, but by then Tommy is going to be the Green Ranger (or Tammy, if the cast has their way). The time for “Green Ranger Rita” has passed.

I feel like Zordon and Alpha desperately needed a scene of their own. Every scene they’re in, they’re either instructing or yelling at or reacting to the Rangers, but they needed a moment to just be characters by themselves. Especially after Zordon loses his shit and the Rangers have their little campfire chat. Alpha: “Zordon, they… They’re trying, y'know? This is a huge thing we’re asking of them. They’re just kids.” Zordon: *sigh* “I know they are. I shouldn’t have yelled at them. I just… I don’t want what happened to my team to happen to them.”

Also, and I will totally chalk this one up to personal preference, but it felt weird with Alpha calling Zordon “Master.” Nothing wrong with it, necessarily, it just felt off to me.

Also also, the Rangers clearly need a strong emotional bond in order to unlock their suits, which Zordon hopes they achieve by punching hologram Putties…?

ALSO also also, was Rita not imprisoned? Like, in any fashion? Wasn’t there an image released of Rita (in her modern Green not-quite-a-Ranger suit) trapped in crystal or something? Wasn’t she sealed away along with the Power Coins? I thought the Rangers were supposed to free her or something. This leads into another issue…

The Rangers and Rita have nothing to do with each other. What I mean is, the Rangers mess around in the quarry and stumble upon the Power Coins by pure chance. Meanwhile, Rita is accidentally dredged up out of the ocean by some fishermen. The problem is… These are two completely unrelated events. The Rangers aren’t called to the Coins because Rita is nearing. Rita doesn’t wake up because the Power Coins are activated. They are literally just two things that coincidentally happen at the same time. What if the fishermen were fishing in a different area that day and the teens got the Power Coins for no reason? What if the teens decided to not hack into that crystal and pull out the Power Coins, but the fishermen still pulled Rita out of the ocean? These are both legitimately things that could have happened. There’s no predestined “The Coins found you because Rita is coming” or anything. The teens stumble upon the Coins and the fishermen stumble upon Rita.

And finally, the Megazord backhands Rita into outer space (which, I will admit, was hilarious and awesome). But then the Rangers just go about their day. They don’t say anything about her. Zordon and Alpha don’t say anything about her. Do they think she just disintegrated when the Megazord slapped her? They didn’t even recover the Dragon Coin, did they? Do they know where she is? Are they just assuming she’s going to be back at some point? For all they know, she’s somewhere on Earth, alive and active, raising an army of Goldars.

GOLDAR:

I will admit, this entire bit is simply “What I would’ve done instead,” but I feel like this one is worth mentioning.

There is literally no reason for Goldar to be reduced to a voiceless kaiju. They could have told the same story while keeping him much more akin to his television counterpart: Rita creates Goldar much earlier in the film, in the jewelry shop sequence. He’s the one that kills the police officer, not a Putty. Rita: “It’s good to see you again, old friend.” Goldar: “It is an honor to serve you once more, my Empress.” Later, when the Rangers arrive for the final battle, Rita simply makes Goldar grow. He still gets his ass beaten by the Megazord, but instead of dying, he merely shrinks back to human size. When Rita gets smacked into outer space, Goldar panics and follows, flying after her. This keeps Goldar faithful to his character while literally telling the exact same story the movie wanted to tell, and also keeping Goldar (one of the franchise’s main villains) alive for future appearances. They could’ve even used the same “chocolate fountain” design.

THE ZORDS:

But you know, as much as I dislike Rita and Goldar’s redesigns, they at least serve a purpose, story-wise. Rita has the skintight green suit because she used to be the Green Ranger. Goldar is a big messy blob kaiju because Rita hastily creates him out of molten gold. But the Megazord… The Megazord is quite possibly the most ugly, unappealing, least cool/awesome/badass-looking giant robot to ever be conceived in all of cinema history, from either the U.S. or Japan… And there is absolutely no reason for it. The Zords weren’t hastily thrown together by Alpha at the last minute. They weren’t in the middle of altering their appearance into dinosaurs and then got interrupted or lost interest or something. They just look like shit.

As far as the individual Dino Zords go, the Tyrannosaurus doesn’t look too bad. The Triceratops is okay, kind of. I can make out the horns occasionally. The Sabertooth Tiger and the Mastodon are always moving around so quickly that I can never make them out successfully. I can’t even really complain about the Mastodon’s eight spider legs because the damn thing was always jumping around so fast I couldn’t see the legs, I couldn’t see the trunk, I couldn’t see the tusks. For most of the movie it looked like Zack was piloting a big black aspirin. The Pterodactyl was just this big pink… thing in the sky. Did it even have a head?

And I’m sorry, but they’re way too small. Size wise, they’re essentially tanks on legs. They should not be smaller than a noticeable majority of the buildings around them (most of which are of the single story, small town, “mom and pop store” variety) and they should most certainly not be in danger of being overwhelmed by the Putties. Zords are supposed to be gigantic, not “kinda big.”

And then, in the middle of the climactic Zord fight, basically the moment the entire movie has been leading up to, the film suddenly gets massively, inexcusably, infuriatingly lazy. As bad as the Zords look, I was at least looking forward to seeing how they all come together. After all, looking at the Dino Zords, then at the Megazord, I honestly had no idea how they all came together and formed their various Megazord parts. Well, apparently, the filmmakers couldn’t figure it out, either. The Dino Zords fall into a hole, there’s a cloud of smoke and dust, and then the Megazord walks out of the cloud, fully formed. I was absolutely stunned at the complete and utter lack of giving a shit when it came to this sequence. Debatably one of the world’s most iconic combining robots AND IT DOESN’T COMBINE ONSCREEN? Can you imagine if you watched the first Transformers movie and Optimus Prime never transformed?! There’s a single extreme close up of some gears turning or something, but that’s it, and even that is mostly obscured by smoke and fire. Even Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie gave us a Megazord combination sequence and that thing barely had a better budget than an Asylum movie!

Also, this seems to be the first time Rita has ever seen a Megazord. But… it can’t be, right? Surely this can’t be the first time the Megazord has been formed. Surely Rita and Zordon know about Megazords.

“GO GO POWER RANGERS” AND THE SOUNDTRACK:

So, they use “Go Go Power Rangers” in the movie, which is awesome. The same version from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie, even. While it was really cool in a Easter egg sort of way, there are two problems with this.

1) We don’t get anything else. There’s no new “Go Go Power Rangers 2017 Version.” They literally could not bother recording a new version of the franchise’s main theme for their big budget blockbuster feature film adaptation. They literally just used a twenty two year old track for about thirty seconds.

2) Does the movie play “Go Go Power Rangers,” the team’s triumphant, ass-kicking theme song, when the Rangers morph for the first time? When they fight the Putties? When they fight Goldar? When they form the Megazord? When they kill Goldar? When they bitchslap Rita into the stratosphere? No. We get it as the Zords run from Point A to Point B.

Thrilling.

What makes it even worse is that they play a rather awesome sounding orchestral version of the theme during the end credits, after the mid-credit sequence. This rendition would’ve been amazing to hear as the Megazord fights and slays Goldar.

In a slightly unrelated note: Power Rangers, particularly MMPR, is known for having a rockin’, kick ass soundtrack. This movie’s soundtrack is all sad, slow shit. WTF? I’m not saying it should’ve been filled with covers of “I Will Win” and “We Need A Hero,” but SOME rock songs would’ve been nice. Literally every song in the film sounded like its own sad, depressing cover version.

THINGS I DID LIKE:

The cast really does well with their roles. Jason interacting with Billy was done really well, as was Jason and Kimberly’s “Let’s just up and leave this shit hole town” scene.

I don’t know if it was intentional, but when the cow roars at Jason at the start, it’s the same sound effect the TV show used for the Tyrannosaurus Dinozord.

Alpha being Billy’s “training dummy” as he practiced fighting. It was a nice little moment that I could see happening with the original characters.

Trini and Kimberly’s little lunch training session at the diner. I ship it.

Zordon reciting the classic three rules of being Power Rangers to the teens. Honestly, it stuns me that they not only remembered them, but bothered using them.

Rita enjoying a donut as Goldar destroys the city.

The Rangers forming the Megazord for the first time… And then not knowing how to pilot it, so they fall over.

The Megazord bitchslapping Rita into outer space. That was classic stupid goofy MMPR.

THINGS I SHOULD’VE LIKED BUT DIDN’T:

The aforementioned use of “Go Go Power Rangers.” It was nice to hear, but it was way too little and most certainly not the wisest use of the theme if they could apparently only use it once.

“Make my monster grow!” Uhh… he’s already giant when she says that. He’s a permanently giant monster. The line makes no sense. “I’m at the corner of Mariner Bay and Reefside…” Again, I appreciate the Easter egg, but it was just so clunky with its reference-ness. Maybe if it had been said in a news report or something.

The cameos by Amy Jo Johnson and Jason David Frank. Not that they shouldn’t have made cameos, it just felt like it was left over from a different, more fun film. “Hey, look, it’s the original Tommy and Kimberly!” feels severely out of place when shoved into the middle of this grim and gritty teen drama. That’s actually a problem with a lot of the Power Rangers elements in this film - They feel out of place in their own movie.

The mid-credit sequence. Really? They’re planning five sequels to this shit and the best they can do is a green shirt? No hints or tease for Lord Zedd, Master Vile, the Machine Empire, Divatox, Dark Specter, the Dragonzord, the Thunder Zords, the Ninja Zords, Saba, the Alien Rangers, Ninjor, Lt. Stone, nothing? We’re not even really allowed to enjoy the Tommy tease because it’s immediately interrupted by “lol, Billy blew up his locker again.”

OTHER THINGS:

Joseph Kahn, Adi Shankar, and Jil Hardin should look into a plagiarism suit because the opening of this movie is almost verbatim the opening of POWER/RANGERS. It even has the exact same establishing shot of the Red Ranger’s helmet laying on the charred ground, with death and destruction happening in the background.

“Send the meteor to my coordinates!” Wait, what? Zordon and/or Alpha can cast Meteor? What is this meteor? What does it do? It can’t be Zordon’s ship/the Command Center, because he wouldn’t call that “the meteor,” he’d call it “my ship.” Zordon buries the Power Coins on his own, so it doesn’t help with that, either. I guess it just kinda knocks Rita into the sea? And maybe kills the dinosaurs? Good job? I freely admit that this is an oddly specific thing to focus on, but what was up with that slim, “independent film” title, shoved way off into the corner? Where was the big block letter logo with the lightning bolt in the middle, smack dab in the middle of the screen, optionally accompanied by an instrumental “Go Go Power Rangers” riff? The trailers got this right, why change it?

They actually used the idea of the Rangers’ helmets opening up and revealing their faces, a la Iron Man. This was an idea they originally had for Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie back in 1995, but scrapped it because it looked stupid, deciding that their helmets should be, y’know, helmets. I don’t understand why they brought this idea back, as it doesn’t suddenly look better just because it’s 2017. Not to mention it allows the movie to do the “Can’t keep the stars’ faces covered for too long!” thing that always ruins climactic fights in superhero movies. It was so awkward and obvious whenever they’d state the Rangers’ full names. It was like the movie was making a point for everyone in the audience to know what their last names were. This wouldn’t be a problem except the only Ranger they don’t do this with is Trini (who clearly is not a “Kwan”) and it’s really noticeable. “JASON SCOTT!” “KIMBERLY HART!” “BILLY CRANSTON!” “ZACK TAYLOR!” “…and Trini.” The fact that Krispy Kreme was literally a plot point and central location in this film is beyond stupid. It was the level of product placement in a movie you’d expect to see from someone making fun of product placement in movies. Couldn’t the location of the Zeo Crystal have been the Youth Center? The Krispy Kreme could just be a business next door, or Ernie could’ve been doing a little promotional “Come buy Kripsy Kreme fruit smoothie donuts!” It kinda made me regret getting those PR donuts a little bit, truth be told. I thought it was just a fun little promotional thing, I didn’t realize Krispy Kreme had a supporting role in the film.

BOTTOM LINE:

Takes far, far too long for anything Power Rangers-related to happen. Yes, Zordon and Alpha are in the movie a lot, but they alone can’t carry the entire film.

No real sense of fun at any point.

The Power Rangers elements feel out of place in their own film.

The biggest problem with this movie is that the filmmakers had absolutely no sense of proportion, ratio, or balance. The teens and their characterization were great, but they took over the entire movie, while the actual Power Rangers elements were shoved into the corner and all but forgotten about until there was almost no time left to do anything with them. It was 85% teen angst and 15% Power Rangers when it needed to be 60% teen angst, 40% Power Rangers. Or, Heaven forbid, maybe even 50/50. It felt like the filmmakers were all “Shit, there are five more of these things coming. Let’s get all the characterization out of the way now so the sequels can be Power Rangers kung fu fun out the wazoo!” But that’s no way to make a film. What happens if something goes askew and this series goes the way of Divergent? What if the series is suddenly cancelled at some point and they never actually get around to what the hell the entire point of the franchise was? Even the MCU, which has movies planned until roughly 2055, still tells a complete story and gives their titular heroes plenty of time to shine in each individual film. This movie felt like a really good first draft that, while promising, was still in some serious need of going over and editing/rewriting. As it is, it feels like a Power Rangers film that has absolutely no interest in being a Power Rangers film.

#me #power rangers #power rangers 2017 #elizabeth banks #bryan cranston #film reviews #film discussion #mighty morphin power rangers #mmpr #rita repulsa #zordon #alpha 5 #goldar #dino zords #megazord #dino megazord #long posts

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violetsmoak · 5 years ago

Text

Tabula Rasa [3/?]

AO3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20183281/chapters/47879533

Blanket Disclaimer:

Summary: Tim and Jason have known they are soulmates for years, though neither has said anything about it. Tim thinks Jason doesn’t know, and is just trying to live with it. Jason thinks Tim knows but doesn’t care, which is fine with him, he thinks the soulmate thing is a crock anyway. But one night, a minor mishap forces them to confront the issue head-on, leading to a series of events no one could have predicted.

Rating: PG-13 (rating may change later)

JayTimBingo Prompts This Chapter: #danger #enemies to lovers #i’ll protect you #soulmark tattoo #soulmate aversion

First Chapter

Author's Note(s): Low and behold, plot, and not just Tim whump. (Although there's definitely a big hit of that, too)

________________________________________________________________

Jason maintains that he doesn’t run. He just makes a well-timed exit.

Out of Gotham.

He meets up with Roy and Kori who are in Key West of all places and convinces them to do something on the other side of the planet. Somewhere dusty and without reliable communication technology, where he hopes they’ll end up being abducted by aliens again.

It has nothing to do with wanting to ignore the whole soulmate thing, or the nagging flickers of guilt he experiences for having been an epic douchebag to Tim, who he now knows gives a shit about being soulmates.

Which isn’t Jason’s fault.

It’s not on either of them that Tim got stuck with Jason or that Jason had to make clear where he stood on the issue. There’s nothing worse than giving someone like Tim false hope.

“Not even breaking his heart?” Kori asks, cross-legged on the couch in her trailer, hair flickering above her like a crackling fire. She ended up getting the story out of him within a day because she’s Kori and lying to her feels like slapping a kitten or something.

“First, I didn’t break his heart. Second, if I did, he’ll get over it,” Jason insists. “And it’s better it happens now than let him mope about it for the rest of his life. At least this way he can put an effort into findin’ someone who actually cares.” Kori tilts her head to one side and presses her lips together. “I mean, it’s not like I want the kid dead anymore, but I’m not lookin’ to make friends or family or whatever with him. And at the end of the day, he’s a decent person and I’m not, so there’s that, too.”

Jason ruins everything he touches—case point, the soulmate he’s already tried (and temporarily succeeded) to kill.

“It sounds as if you already care more about the mate of your soul than you wish to admit,” Kori remarks.

“He’s not my mate.”

“No, not with that attitude.”

“You think I have an attitude? Because I don’t want anything controllin’ my actions or my destiny? The idea isn’t supposed to bother me?”

“I did not say that. But you are looking at the whole thing from just the one angle.”

“You’re tellin’ me it doesn’t bother you?”

“It does not. But I am not you, and matters of the soul are a subjective issue,” she says and leans forward. “You always have a choice, Jason. There are many who have been linked by fate yet choose not to be together. You have seen me and Richard.” Jason’s eyes flick to the creeping pattern of blues and greens that wrap around Kori’s wrist. “Xhal may have decreed we be together, but we decided it was best not to. We have different values, different understandings of the world and relationship—and we both have deep commitments outside of ourselves. That is why I believe the universe ensured he also has Barbara.” She smiles, gentle but sad. “We choose to be mates of the soul from a distance. And I am content with this. It gives me…freedom, in a way. But that decision was made after a long bit of thought and much discussion. Not because we disliked the notion of fate.”

“That doesn’t mean I need to do the same,” Jason points out, a little stiffly.

“No. It does not. But whatever you feel, you and Timothy have a bond. And you are knowingly cutting it off without giving it a chance, something which no doubt does him harm.”

“Not as much as it would if I were around him.”

“You do not know that.”

“Uh, yeah, I do.”

“Very well.” Kori’s brow furrows. “I will not argue with someone that has set their mind to something. I have given you my views on the matter, or rather concerning your mate and your own self-worth. Do with them what you will.”

And she strides out of the trailer; Jason sees a burst of flame outside suggesting she’s flown off.

“And what’s your take on this?” he grumbles, glancing at where Roy’s been sitting the whole time, fiddling with what might have been a DVD player once but now more closely resembles a miniature drone.

“Not my circus, not my monkeys,” Roy grunts around a screwdriver in his mouth.

Jason rolls his eyes.

“Although,” his best friend continues, putting down his tools, “don’t you think by avoiding Gotham, you’re pretty much letting the whole soulmate thing decide how you’re living your life? How’s that different from fate or destiny or the Giant Spaghetti Monster?”

Which Jason can’t summon an argument against.

He hates it when Roy makes sense.

It’s another day of procrastinating before he throws up his hands and says, “You both suck and I’m never comin’ to you for anything ever again.”

“Just call ahead next time,” Kori hums. “Stella is teaching me to make carne asada and I will require another test subject.”

“We’ve only needed to get the fire extinguisher twice,” Roy adds, and Kori nods proudly.

“You two disgust me with your domestic bliss,” Jason informs them before he leaves, although seeing them has made him feel somewhat better.

His friends are an excellent example of a successful relationship despite not being soulmates. Kori’s embodiment of joy was the perfect balm to Roy’s garbage pile of a life. Rejected by his soulmate, his addiction, losing Lian…

Actually, now that he thinks about it, Roy’s life only really started on its downward spiral after Jade ghosted him.

There’s something worrying about that knowledge, but Jason doesn’t examine it too closely.

He heads back to Gotham, a little chastised and a little wary, but determined to keep giving fate or Xhal or whoever the finger. If anyone asks (and no one does), he’s not back to the city because of Tim, but because he still hasn’t figured out who put the contract out on Johnny Lino.

It’s nagging at him more than the death of one of his informants usually does. The trail went cold almost immediately, nothing beyond the traces of a sniper in the opposite building. He’s calling it a coincidence for now, although he’s mentally earmarked it for potential problems in the future if anything else like this happens.

Maybe Johnny just got too big for his britches and pissed off the wrong mobster. One with access to the quality hitmen he couldn’t afford.

Two nights later, when he stops into a club that’s the front to a high stakes illegal poker game, he decides it’s no longer a potential problem, but an imminent right-the-fuck-now problem.

He’s there to collect his percentage from a few of the guys around the table, but once the door closes behind him, he’s suddenly getting ambushed by a table for people with knives and no qualms about dying.

Jason has never liked killing people; it’s something that occasionally has to be done, in the same way a cop sometimes has to pull his service weapon. Certain people in particular—serial rapists and pedophiles and the Joker—are part of that ‘it needs to be done’ category. Thugs like this are just small-time losers with bad judgment, so he’s not really aiming to kill any of them.

Immobilizing shots and the like.

Which is why he’s a bit concerned when he goes to interrogate the bastards about what’s going on, and the guy he reaches for suddenly starts foaming at the mouth, eyes rolling back in his head.

“What the fuck?” Jason jerks backward, glancing at all the rest and finding that they, too, are now convulsing and twitching as the life leaves their bodies.

Cyanide, he realizes when he leans close to his guy’s mouth and detects the smell of almonds. Again, I say, ‘what the fuck’?

It’s the second time a visit to an underling has resulted in death.

Something’s going on in his house, and he doesn’t like it. Maybe the trip to Florida wasn’t a good idea just now; he needs information, and he needs it now.

Except, when he canvasses the streets between Park Row and Byron, he discovers quickly that his people aren’t talking. The girls that are usually so chatty cross quickly to the other side of the streets, the hustlers on the corners are suddenly all on breaks, and the bodega clerks simply beg him to leave their shops, they have kids, you know?

The only one that will talk to him is Rhonda, one of the prostitutes that has been there longer than the rest. She’s a raw-boned woman with leathery skin and bleached, teased blond curls; once, a john tried to act out a rape-murder fantasy on her and she tasered him in the nuts until they burned off.

He’s not sure how much of that’s true, but if anyone could pull that off, it’s Rhonda.

“Someone put a price on your head, baby,” she informs him when he tracks her down, taking a long drag of a menthol cigarette. “Someone scarier than you.”

“Not possible,” he replies, trying to inject some of his usual cockiness into the words.

“There’s always someone scarier,” she informs him gravely. “Lotsa girls and runners gone to the new player. They says he’s gonna protect us better than Red Hood ever did, offer us a bigger take. More of our money in our pockets. Even gonna keep the kids safe better than you could.”

“Which you don’t believe, or you’d be jumping that bandwagon.”

“I believe what I sees, and I ain’t seen this guy,” she replies. “But he did send those Pike bastards outta here, runnin’ with their tails between their legs. Last I heard, they got picked up by one of the Bats before they set much on fire.”

“Which Bat?”

“Red Robin, I think.”

I guess I owe him for taking care of that particular headache.

“He’s pretty decent for a mask,” she adds. “Always comes down here when you ain’t been seen for a few days. He a bit softer—never leaves anyone crippled—but the alley stays safe when he comes by.”

Jason scowls inside his helmet. He didn’t come here to talk about his replacement.

“What do you know about this new guy, then?” he asks, redirecting the conversation back to his current problem. “The one trying to move in on my turf, not the wannabe Bat.”

“Oh, no, honey, that’s all I’m givin’ you. Anyone hears I told you even that and I’m in trouble. But I hear you ain’t the only one having troubles with him. Penguin’s stepped up his muscle a lot lately.”

“I guess that means I’m going clubbin’,” Jason says, and hands over a few hundreds. It’s more than the information she gave him is worth, but she’s got a kid to feed. “Take a night or two off, Rhonda. Could be a hard few days.”

“Don’t need to tell me twice,” she replies and pockets the money, slinking into the shadows.

The next stop on his list that night is the Iceberg Lounge. As usual, Penguin doesn’t intend to be helpful in the beginning.

“I assure you I have heard nothing of this newest player,” he croaks after Jason goes through the obligatory routine of threats and a show of violence. “But then, a good portion of my clientele has absconded to the Hungry Ghost these past weeks.”

“The what?”

“A new club—little more than the front for a brothel. But rife with rumors and scandal.” He smiles his oily little smile, the one that Jason’s broken more than once since he was thirteen and has to fight down the urge to do again now.

“It’s not like you to be so calm about this. You’re usually more of a control freak over the information game.”

“The wheel never stops turning, Hood. There’s a reason I’ve been around longer than anyone else in this business. It’s knowing the proper time to stand and fight…and the proper time to move out of the line of fire. I will still be here when the dust settles.” The man grins wide, showing yellowed teeth. “But from what I hear, you might not be.”

“That a threat?” Jason growls, hand moving to his holster.

“An observation. And don’t look like that, do you really think I’d dirty my hands on someone like you?” Penguin sniffs. “I am remaining Switzerland on this issue.”

“Switzerland, huh? So armed neutrality?”

“Indeed.”

His cold eyes following Jason as he takes his leave—and knocks out a few bodyguards that try to make a move on him as he goes.

“What the fuck?” he asks for the third time in as many days, absently rubbing the back of his left wrist. “How does Penguin not even know what’s going on?”

“Since he’s trying to stay alive,” a voice replies, and Jason almost—almost—jumps when he notices the shadow leaning over a nearby fire-escape. Red Robin materializes fully into the light but remains a conspicuous distance away from Jason. “I didn’t know you were back in town.”

Tim’s tone is careful.

“I didn’t exactly put it on MySpace.”

“MySpace hasn’t been around since 2009.”

“Yeah, well, I was dead that year, so sue me for not knowin’ that.”

He expects a reprimand or a bit of tooth-grinding like he always gets when he makes oblique jokes about his death. But Tim just shrugs. Which seems…off, somehow.

“A week ago, all the major players were sent packages,” Tim informs him, going back to the subject at hand. “Heads, hands, and hearts of their top lieutenants, and a warning to wait for orders from the new boss in Gotham.”

“So basically, someone took my schtick and went the extra mile,” Jason suggests.

And is trying to edge me out of my own business.

“B is monitoring the situation. It hasn’t spilled into the civilian sphere yet, so he hasn’t deemed it an immediate threat.”

“Of fuckin’ course not, it’s not his head the new guy wants on a pike!” Jason growls, somewhat irritated by this, but also a bit surprised. Bruce wouldn’t be leaving the matter alone if he thought Jason was in any actual danger; maybe, for once, he understands Jason can handle it.

Doesn’t explain why the kid’s here tonight, though.

“So what are you doing here?”

There’s a slight squeak of leather as Tim shrugs. “Protection detail. We’ve all been assigned to keep an eye out if whoever this is makes a move on one of the bigger names. I’m on Penguin tonight.”

“Capes guardin’ criminals,” Jason snorts. “The irony of that never gets old.

Tim doesn’t answer. No witty rejoinder, no impassioned defense of Batman’s credo.

“Still, at least you’re doing something,” Jason allows, somewhat grudging. “And you’ve been busy with the Pikes, from what I hear. I was savin’ them for a rainy day, but I guess it’s a headache I don’t have to worry about now.”

He expects Tim to display some kind of reaction to that, even if it is dark sarcasm.

“It’s my job,” he says instead, in a way that makes Jason frown. But not as much as he does when Tim shoots a grapple line and takes off without another word.

Well, that was weird. But…okay? I guess?

Tim didn’t mention anything about their soulmarks; didn’t even bother bringing it up. Clearly, he took Jason’s message to heart and is trying to be professional. Which is also good. Not a lot of people can handle rejection with any sense of maturity.

A little cold, but it’s Tim. He’s not as emotive as Dick is, anyway.

Jason puts it out of his mind, ignores that tiny flash of wrong that crops of when he thinks about the younger man’s behavior. Which doesn’t happen all that often, since he’s too busy running down his list of contacts trying to find out who exactly the new player is in Gotham.

In theory, he could go to the other Bats for information—could go to Oracle, if he butters her up a bit. She still has a thing for cinnamon buns from that place on 4th, it wouldn’t even be out of his way…

But he’s not really keen on talking to any of them right now, and not to put too fine a point on it, this is his business. It’s bad enough they’re even on the periphery of the case already.

⁂

Two days later, tracking a snitch that’s been avoiding him causes him to stumble upon a weapons deal going down in Tricorner. No local colors, but from the gear Jason calls mercenaries.

Red Robin’s in the middle of it, outnumbered by a lot and outgunned by more, and Jason throws himself into the fight without thinking too much about it. It’s what anyone in the Family does, after all, no need to ascribe any meaning to it.

Red grunts an acknowledgment—that he sees Jason and won’t accidentally break his jaw with his bō—and they settle into their usual fight pattern. Jason’s always found this all too easy—there’s something about fighting back to back with another Bat that’s just instinctive, whether it’s Dick or Damian or even Bruce.

But with Tim, it’s always been more than that. They work together like gears in a clock.

He always shied away from attributing that to their soul bond, because that would mean having to acknowledge it. Better to think it was because Tim obsessively stalked Jason when he was Robin and that Jason learned everything he could about his replacement’s style when he and Talia were planning his big return to Gotham.

But it’s out there now, isn’t it? They both know, it’s not a secret.

Just like Jason knows after several minutes that there’s something still off about Red.

Half his attention on his own fight with his own portion of the goons, Jason can still observe the other vigilante’s movements. Red is telegraphing his moves more. Nothing these brainless thugs would notice, but someone with Bat and League training could spot from a mile away. There’s a languidness in his movements like he’s not entirely present in the moment, and a lack of care in his attacks.

Jason watches as Tim takes a running jump, kneeing one thug in the chest and knocking him to the floor, then using him as a steppingstone—steps down harder than usual, dislocates the shoulder—twists and grabs the next nearest thug by the arm. Holding him, he hobbles him in the knee, then follows up with a kick to the head.

As the bullets fly, Tim tucks and rolls between two more assailants, sweeping the feet out from beneath the third, who stumbles, allowing Tim to weave beneath his outstretched arm and the gun he has pointed at him. Bowing his back into him, Tim tries to go for an elbow to the solar plexus, but the guy is shooting now even as he struggles with Tim.

Usually, he’d be attempting to ensure those shots remain nonlethal, but this time he doesn’t seem concerned with it. It’s by sheer chance that several of the slugs only hit the fourth guy in the shoulders, at points that Jason dimly recognizes as close to fatal.

Tim’s assailant is still shooting, they’re still struggling, and even as Tim twists and tries to get it out of his hands, bullets nearly hit Jason as he’s in the process of clotheslining his own opponent.

“The hell, Replacement?” he snaps as he ducks the wild spray of gunfire.

Tim ignores him but has apparently lost patience. He digs a birdarang out of his bandolier, slamming it into the meaty part of his opponent’s leg. There’s a shriek of pain and the guy crumples around the wound, then Tim whirls around and brings him down hard on the floor. As the fifth man comes at him, Tim breaks his nose and shoves him toward the sixth man, who he kicks in the chest, then backhands the last guy, using him as leverage to snap a kick at his buddy.

The guy goes flying backward, and Tim throws the final thug down on the floor, smacking him face-first against the hard pavement with enough force that blood pools around his head.

It’s quick, efficient, and merciless, and if it were anyone else the sheer beauty of the takedown would impress Jason.

Except, this is not the way Red Robin fights. Tim is always efficient, yes, but there’s a certain amount of force he always holds back. No matter how quick and brutal the fight, he takes the extra effort to avoid critical injuries.

That wasn’t there tonight; hell, he almost got Jason shot.

“What’s with you?” Jason demands when they are surrounded by feebly twitching bodies and Tim is calling in the GCPD to deal with the remaining contraband.

“Nothing you need to care about,” is the mild reply.

“I fuckin’ care if it gets me killed!”

“Then maybe you’re not as good as you think you are.”

Wrong, wrong, wrong.

The tone isn’t the dry, snarky confidence Red Robin usually uses to deliver a line like that. It’s robotic and toneless and weary. Jason only remembers him sounding like that after Batman’s supposed death, when no one believed him about Bruce still being alive.

Wait. Did something happen while I was away?

“Christ, kid, who died while I was gone?” he demands.

“If we’re done here, I have a report to write,” Tim replies without answering the question, and is already walking away.

“Yeah, fine! You do that!” Jason shouts after him. It’s not like he actually cares for the answer.

And yet…

The whole thing bothers him.

Kid’s going to get himself killed, and it’s not even something I can blame Bruce for.

Mostly because he’s almost certain he has something to do with Tim’s mood. He might have overestimated Tim’s ability to handle rejection by his soulmate.

Which is disappointing, because of all the teenaged clichés he expected the younger man to fall prey to, giving up on himself the first time he faces rejection?

Typical rich boy. Got everything handed to him, so when someone tells him ‘no’, he has an existential crisis. Well, whatever. Screw him. It’s none of my business.

Though that assertion is easier said than stood by.

⁂

The next morning, Jason is still feeling uneasy about the whole thing. He didn’t sleep well, just tossed and turned for four hours before he gave up and went a few rounds with his punching bag. He decides to calm himself down another way and heads for the café he sometimes frequents that does tea almost as well as Alfred’s.

The place looks like a bar, but instead of alcoholic beverages, there are exotic teas and fancy cold drinks on display. It’s early enough in the day there aren’t more than two or three other patrons. Usually he comes in later when it’s packed and bustling and easy to disappear into the crowd; today, he appreciates the silence.

In the back corner, a television is on, broadcasting the morning news. The screen switches to a conference and, of course, it’s Tim fucking Drake front and center. Talking up something to do with his Neon Knights thing.

And it looks like Vicki’s up to her shit again.

The intrepid thorn in the collective side of the Family is needling Tim about his personal life. He’s deflects everything with his usual smile until Vale brings up Tam Fox.

Tim’s face is always so composed when speaking to the press, his smile rivaling Brucie or maybe the Mona Lisa for secretiveness. But as Vale’s questions veer toward the subject of soulmates—and Tim’s apparent lack thereof—it’s as if a thundercloud has taken residence on the teen’s face.

When Vale ignores Tim’s third polite side-step of her questioning, he jerks as if a physical snap takes place inside him.

“The last time I checked, this conference is about increasing funding for underprivileged students, not about my personal life,” he says, tone frigid. “And in case your many years of reporting haven’t drilled it into your head, no comment means no comment. If that continues to confuse you, maybe I should replace it with ‘fuck off’.”

The TV censors bleep it out, but you don’t have to be a lipreader to know it’s what he said. As the press clamor, Tim then stalks out of frame, which—

Shit.

Jason is both impressed—because even he never managed to do that when he had to deal with the press as a kid—and disquieted. Because Tim Drake doesn’t lose control like that, not least of all where the public might see it.

What the hell.

Jason heads back to his current safe house, wondering if maybe this might be something he should tell someone about. He doesn’t have to get touchy-feely about it, but he might drop a hint or two to Dick, or to Alfie, or someone who gives a shit about Tim.

They can have, I dunno, some kind of intervention or whatever white hats like they do in situations like this.

All thoughts of that vanish, however, when he turns the corner and notices a crowd gathered outside the building where he’s been staying. Large plumes of smoke are billowing above it, and there are a firetruck and two police squad cars parked out front.

What the…?

Jason hurries over and stares up, dumbstruck, to see a chunk of the edifice missing.

The spot where his bolthole used to be.

Someone firebombed the place.

Murmurs rise up all around him.

“I heard the guy living there was cooking meth, and it blew up.”

“Nah, there was a terrorist holed up in there. Probably didn’t set the timer on his bomb properly.”

“This fucking neighborhood.”

“I know, right?”

But Jason barely synthesizes the information, so fixated on one thing.

Someone knows.

Maybe they don’t know about him—he’s never come out of here without either a mask on or a hoodie or hat—but someone must have seen Red Hood come to this place. He’s swept for bugs and cameras, so there’s no way they’ve got a visual on him, but somehow they knew that was his apartment.

It’s too precise.

Which means his other places might be compromised, too.

Jason turns and walks away from the building, thoughts racing.

He wonders furiously about who it could be, who knows about his boltholes. Roy and Kori, obviously; he told them in case anything ever happens to him or if he doesn’t contact them for a while. He’s got a list of Roy’s in Star City and the tropical hideaways Kori’s come to enjoy over the years. They all call it insurance, but it’s a way of checking up on each other.

He could see the Joker figuring it out, but the gradually escalating attacks on Red Hood are too subtle for that maniac. Jason doubts they’ve seen the end of him since he made his last disappearing act, but this isn’t him. The clown likes an audience, likes to be noticed. These attacks are being done from the shadows and required a lot of planning.

Could be Talia, since he’s sure she’s been keeping tabs on him even long after they parted ways. She’d see it as leverage, as protecting an investment even if it didn’t give her the returns she expected.

And the Bats, of course, but none of them is the type to send a message with explosives, even when they’re all at odds.

It looks like Jason will have to lie low for a bit, watch his territory from the shadows. Deep surveillance.

He heads for his apartment in Crime Alley, which should be safe enough; he never goes anywhere near it when in uniform. Jason can regroup from there, remote-access surveillance from the moment before the safe house was bombed, check on the other boltholes from afar and—

And run straight into Tim Drake.

The kid’s bundled into a winter coat, but it hangs open, revealing the clothes he was wearing during his news conference meltdown. He’s missing the suit jacket, and his tie is loose under the collar of his shirt, carrying a plastic bag from the bodega down the street. Jason can see what looks like a week’s worth of ramen and TV dinners through the flimsy plastic.

All of which only serves to magnify that expression of absolute defeat on his face. That shifts into careful blankness when he recognizes Jason heading toward him.

The sight of him is the cherry on the top of Jason’s already shitty day.

“No,” he snaps, stalking forward and shoving a finger at Tim. “Fuck you. I’ve got enough of my own shit going on, I don’t have time to deal with your…all of this.” He gestures at the remains of Tim’s billionaire playboy costume. “What the hell are you even doin’ here, anyway?”

Tim sighs, weary. “I live here. Like…a block away.”

And it’s a measure of how messed up this new player in town has Jason that he actually forgot that tidbit. It makes him angrier to have it pointed out to him.

“Of fucking’ course you do! You’re everywhere else, why not my neck of the woods now, too?”

“I’ve lived here for a year and you never said anything,” Tim points out.

“Yeah, well, I never ran into you before, did I?”

He doesn’t add that that was before their whole soulmates thing got yanked out in the open.

“Being off-planet helps with that, I always figured,” Tim says blandly, and shoulders past Jason with all the strength of a sleepwalker.

Which just rubs Jason the wrong way.

He feels like he’s being dismissed, feels guilt that he doesn’t want to be feeling, and is still raring for a fight. Jason snaps his hand out and roughly pulls the other man around to face him; he expects a fist to block him, or for Tim to shove him off. Instead, he simply sways a bit on his feet like he’s trying to find balance.

Wrong, wrong, wrong!

“What the hell is your problem, Drake? Don’t tell me you’re sulkin’ about the soulmate thing? Is this the reason for the lame-ass robot impression you’ve been doin’ lately?”

Tim’s expression doesn’t change. “I honestly haven’t had the time to think about it. There’s a lot of work to keep me busy.”

“Right, forgot, you’ve got to be the perfect clone of B to get him to notice you. Guess that tanked today, huh? Newsflash, kid, you weren’t the first to be replaced, and I’m bettin’ you won’t be the last. Go get a life.”

“That’s what I’m trying to do,” Tim replies vaguely. “It would be easier to do if you stayed away, though.”

“Yeah, well, my life would have been a lot easier if you didn’t exist!”

There’s a breath of heavy silence in the wake of that sentence.

Jason’s fury fizzles out like a candle doused in water the minute the syllables pass his lips. Right away, he wants to take it back, because of the way Tim nods, his expression slamming into a wall of resignation that gives Jason an uneasy feeling at the back of his neck and a pit in his gut.

He backtracks. “Look, that’s not what I—”

Whatever convoluted explanation he was going to dredge up is lost, because at that moment two things happen near simultaneously: a gunshot rips through the ambient noise of the night, and Tim jerks forward, suddenly in Jason’s space, shoving him to one side.

Blood sprays across Jason’s face, and there’s a searing hot pain on the side of his neck, that experience tells him is a bullet.

Just like experience tells him the kid now slumped in his arms, eyes wide and still trapped in that awful blank stare took the brunt of the shot—to his head.

⁂⁂⁂

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<3 Violet

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