#you know the the batman scene where a cop says they are going to bring him in for assaulting an officer and he says why not three.... | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

definitelynotthedarklord · 1 year ago

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My idea for a Batman Animated Series.

In the first season he's that stereotypical year one Batman, dark and gritty, a boogeyman to be whispered about by cops and crooks alike, fighting mostly his more reality grounded enemies like Falcone and Black Mask as he struggles to find balance between being batman and Bruce Wayne, and in the finale we see Batman thwart some mobsters trying to break into Ace Chemicals, led by, you guessed it, Red Hood.

Then, in season 2, things get a bit crazier when characters like Riddler, Mad Hatter, Two Face, Penguin and Catwoman make the scene, but none of them come close to the insanity that is The Joker in the finale.

Then season 3 comes around and we begin to expand on Batman's character and the universe around him, bringing in actual supervillains like Mr Freeze, Man Bat, Poison Ivy, Scarecrow and others, while also bringing in Dick Grayson, who Batman meets as Dick's looking for the man who killed his parents, Batman sees part of himself in Dick and takes him in, and offers to teach him how to be like Batman so he can bring his parent's killer to justice, but over the course of Dick's training it becomes clear Dick is not Batman, hes loud when he should be stealthy, makes jokes in serious situations and takes unnecessary risks because of his overconfidence in his abilities, but after a a fight with Mr. Freeze where he almost dies to protect his wife, Bruce starts to wonder if its better if Dick isn't like him, if he could be a better hero than Batman, and thus Robin is born. It would also be the season we start introducing other heroes, like after fighting Maxie Zeus, Batman has a brief and combative encounter with Wonder Woman, and in another episode stops his long lost friend, Oliver Queen, from killing the man who tried to kill him, and in stead brought him to justice, inspiring him to become a hero like Bruce (he'd get the idea of being green from getting green paint spilled on him and a news photographer getting a picture of "The Dark Knight and The Evergreen Archer.") And another episode where Lex Luthor approaches Bruce about buying some tech, but Bruce shoots him down, knowing all too well Lex would use the tech for evil, but the tech gets stolen so Batman travels to Metropolis and meets Superman, and despite neither trusting or even liking the other, they manage to stop Luthor's evil plot, and it would of course have a scene where Superman x rays Batman's mask and sees he's Bruce Wayne, but Bruce would hit him back by sending Clark Kent a pair of glasses with a note that says "These will help with facial recognition software." after he left.

Then season 4 starts with showing Bruce actually going to therapy, and who's his therapist? Why none other than his old friend from med school Harleen Quinzel. This is the season where we see a softer Batman, one who understand some criminals are as much victims as villains, and really steps up as Bruce Wayne, putting his money towards preventing crime rather than punching it, but not to worry there's still plenty of punching, namely against foes of Bruce and Batman alike, such as Hush, Ra's Al Ghul, and the court of owls. Also in season 4 and episode where Robin wants to hang out with other teen superheroes like Kid Flash, Speedy, Aqualad and Wonder Girl, though with Batman helicoptering to make sure they didn't get into too much trouble. This teenage outing inspires Batman to contact other heroes and form thr Justice League. We'd also introduce Batgirl in there somewhere, where after saw some goons break into a warehouse on Halloween, she put on a Batman costume to try and scare them, but the goons saw through the ruse and started shooting, and then the real Batman shows up and tell Barbara to leave it to him, but she couldn't, and using the skills she had learned from her Father, Jim Gordon, she tracked down the thieves, who had been working for Firefly, and helped the Batman take the villain down, but not before escaping a burning building. Commissioner Gordon approached the two of them, but because of the costume and soot that coated her, couldn't recognize Barbara, when asked Batman said she was part if his team. She and Dick would of course be rivals at first, but after time would become friends, and maybe something more..

Season 5, Dick leaves to become a full time Titan, though it's not because he and Bruce have a big fight, more like he feels like it's time to spread his wings and get out from Batman's shadow. Batman would also meet Jason Todd as he's stealing tires, and after taking him in would ask Dick for advise and eventually his blessing to make Jason the new Robin, Dick would agree saying he was working on a new identity anyway, because it's hard being Robin without Batman. Jason would prove more of a handful than Dick was, angrier, more rebellious.

Season 6, The Joker captures Robin and Batgirl, and after beating Robin to death with a crowbar, shoots Batgirl and leaves her to die next to Robin's body. Batman finds them and goes on a rampage, leaving criminals bloodied and more broken than he ever had in his early years, but none of it mattered in his hunt for The Joker, all the while he's questioning himself, if all the work he's done, both as Batman and Bruce, mattered if monsters like Joker existed, and when Batman finally finds The Joker, he beats him to an inch of his life, and almost finishes the job, but Gordon talks him down. And there's a beautiful funeral scene with other heroes there, but after, we see minions of Talia Al Ghul digging up the grave, and it's revealed that the whole thing was orchestrated by Ra's to try and push Bruce over the edge to get him to his way of thinking, something Ra's and Talia didn't see eye to eye on. And we also get to see Joker, in a full body cast, in Arkham, where doctors are discussing what to do with him, and they decide to call the best psychiatrist in Gotham, Harleen Quinzel.

Season 7, Bane breaks Batman's back and puts him in a coma, in Batman's absence crime goes rampant, and Nightwing comes back to Gotham to take up the mantle of Batman and with Barbara/Oracle's help, take down Bane, but they're not the only ones, Tim Drake and Stephanie Brown both try to be Robin but after a lengthy debate decide Tim can be Robin and Stephanie can be Batgirl, Kate Kane, Bruce's cousin becomes Batwoman, Luke Fox, son of Bruce Wayne's tech developer Lucius Fox, becomes Batwing, and even Azrael shows up. Dick, of course, tries to tell the others to leave Bane to him, but even dressed like Batman Dick isn't a convincing Batman, so he takes what he's learned, both from working alongside Batman and from leading the Titans, and leads newly assembled Bat Family to bring Bane down and restore order to Gotham. At which point Bruce wakes up and Dick leaves joking that "they're you're problem now." And at the end we get a little glimpse of the next Big Bad, Red Hood/Jason Todd.

Season 8, After the defeat of Bane by the Bat Family left a power vacuum in Gotham's criminal underworld, Red Hood and his gang of Outlaws take over the streets, leaving death in their wake, but the Bat Family is having trouble dealing with them because somehow the Outlaws know exactly what the Bat Family is going to do, and then it's revealed that Red Hood was Jason Todd and he's mad at Bruce, and it's very emotional, but when Jason puts a gun to Bruce's head, Bruce says he's sorry and accepts his fate, but when Jason can't pull the trigger Talia Al Ghul steps out from the shadows and reveals how she was the mastermind behind the whole thing, how she brought Jason back to life and brainwashed him into being the Red Hood, then uses a sleeper agent code phrase on Jason to make him kill Bruce, but Bruce manages to beat Jason. Talia escapes and Bruce takes Jason back to the cave to try and un brainwash him. Meanwhile Talia crawls back to her father and agrees to his plan, whatever it may be.

Season 9 Joker's back and has Harley Quinn with him, and in a moment alone woth Batman, Harley reveals how she knows Bruce is Batman, but she won't tell because "Mistah J ain't interested in the man under the bat," but it ends with Harley betraying the Joker because she realizes he doesn't love her. Afterwards we get to see Harley being put in a cell in Arkham next to Poison Ivy.

Season 10/Final Season. Ra's Al Ghul declares war on Gotham and exposes Bruce as Batman, but with the help of his family, including Jason who's no longer brainwashed and in his spare time built The Batmobile, and the help of various villains, including Catwoman who says if they survive this they should run away together, they manage to stop Ra's' plan to destroy Gotham, but not before Bruce gets stabbed in the side by a young boy who escapes with Talia as Ra's lays dying. And as the sun begins to rise, all of the Bat Family gathered wonder what happens next, now that they're secret identities have been revealed, but a voice from behind tells them not to worry, as the previously invisible figure presses a button on his wrist a wave of energy pulses over Gotham. The figure says he used some of the Mad Hatter's tech to erase the memories of the Bat Family's secret identities from everyone's mind who didn't know before. Then the figure briefly mentions he's Batman from the future and that they shouldn't worry about Damien, "after all, it's hard being evil when you're the son of Batman." which surprises everyone, "you did know he was your son, right? Uh...gotta go!" Then he disappears. Then we see them all returning to Wayne manor, Alfred sweeping up glass from a broken window, and says "Ah, I see we've survived another night, shall I get the celebratory champagne?" Jason nonchalantly replies "We met a Batman from the Future and Bruce has a son." Alfred processes the information and says "The good whiskey, then." Then as Bruce is getting his stab wound stitched he says he thinks it's time he retired as Batman, the others protest, but Bruce continues to say its just for now, how after everything that's happened he trusts his team, his family, to keep Gotham safe in his absence. Then we see later, at night as Commissioner Gordon stands next to the batsignal on the roof of the gcpd, about to light his pipe Dick, dressed as Batman says "those thing's'll kill ya, ya know." Then the two of them talk about how Batman had retired, for now, and left Gotham in Dick's hand, and Gordon contemplates retirement, and wonders what would happen to the city without him, what would happen to Barbara, to which Dick replies "I wouldn't worry about Barbara, she's made of some pretty tough stuff." Gordon agrees, but when he turns around to ask how Nightwing knows his daughter, Dick's gone and Gordon says to himself "I guess some things never change."

#batman #batfamily #nightwing #batgirl #red hood #idea for a tv show

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radwolf76 · 1 year ago

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So the whole opening credits sequence to this is a master class in visual storytelling/worldbuilding and I'm going to excerpt part of a decade old article to expand on just how much these few seconds say.

It's very, very important that we're getting their reaction shot first. We've just seen that the law is completely powerless to bring these guys down, but now, in the very next shot, there's something that terrifies them. Look at those dudes! They're recoiling and wide-eyed, the jutting jaw and confidence of their first appearance is gone. If they're not afraid of the cops, then what could inspire that kind of fear?

FACT #5: Whatever we're about to see, criminals are terrified of it.

It's almost as though criminals, despite seeming to have all the power in this city, are actually a superstitious, cowardly lot. So what are they so afraid of?

Ladies and gentlemen, 35 seconds into this opening sequence, we meet Batman. We don't know his name yet, but the way we meet him is brilliant. He drops out of the sky, so we have another visual metaphor added to what we've already seen: if the criminals are above the law, then Batman is above them. If cops are five, then crooks are six. If crooks are six, Batman is seven.

The way he drops out of the sky is genius, too: It's done so that he looks like a bat, with his cape flapping around him in this beautiful fluid motion as he lands. And if you didn't know anything about Batman, you'd assume that he was flying above them and dropped down -- if you didn't already know that he drove there in a car, which we know is his because it has the same lines and blue-black color scheme as his cape. See how it all comes together?

It's the close-up that gives us our next crucial piece, though. For one thing, we see that he's a person in a mask and not some demonic creature, so I feel justified in calling this guy "Batman" even though we're never going to learn his name in this sequence. But more importantly is that awesome moment where he narrows his eyes. He's not just there to stop these guys...

FACT #6: Batman hates criminals.

It's not just a matter of wanting to uphold the law -- there's an emotion at the core of what we're about to see, and it's not a happy one. So we have Batman, who does not like these guys, and the criminals who fear him.

Now, there's a lot in this scene that happens very quickly, and it's all very, very significant. First, the criminals pull out guns, so we know that for all the fantasy of police blimps and art deco hot rods, there is something that we can immediately recognize as a deadly weapon. More importantly, this action means that Batman has to react, and right now, we have no idea what he's going to do. Is he going to draw his own pistol and have a rooftop gunfight? By conventional logic, he'd certainly be justified; the bad guys are the ones who escalated the situation by drawing their pistols first.

But instead, Batman pulls out...

Well, I don't know what that is yet. Looks kind of like a boomerang but with weird spikes all over it. What I do know is that it's not a gun.

Quick sidenote before we move on: How awesome is that right hand? It's huge! It would ruin your day to get punched in the face with that thing.

Anyway, so this thing Batman just threw at these dudes is definitely not a gun. But maybe it's some other kind of weapon, like a throwing star. Maybe this Batman guy is like a ninja, who uses his own deadly weapons to take out criminals with extreme prejudice. Let's see!

Okay, so instead of taking out the men, Batman targets the guns, taking them away from the criminals. Huh. That's interesting, he must really not care for firearms. Otherwise he just would've used that crazy bat-boomerang thing (bat... arang?) to knock out the criminals. Maybe there's something specific about guns that's significant to this character.

Take all that together, what do we now know?

FACT #7: Guns exist and they are used by criminals.

FACT #8: Batman does not use guns. He doesn't seem to like them much either.

FACT #9: In lieu of a gun, Batman uses other weapons to fight crime.

The thing with the guns leads to something else that's really interesting, but it's not fully formed yet, so let's move on to what happens next:

And what happens next is that Batman cold wrecks one of those dudes. I love the reaction from the other thug, and the fact that this look of pure shock and terror is the most we ever see of him as a person. He has made some mistakes, and he realizes this now.

But the focus is on the other guy, the one who gets taken out. Batman puts him on the ground in one move while flipping through the air, and the crook does not get up again. So now we know something else:

FACT #10: Batman is awesome.

Seriously: The fluid movement, the quickness, the agility. If crime in Gotham is a step beyond crime as we understand it, then Batman is a step beyond people as we understand them. But not so far beyond that the other thug doesn't at least try to take a swing at him:

Again, even with just a silhouette and the shape of Batman's eyes, they're able to convey a contempt for the thug's punch in this brief moment. Just the posture as he watches the fist sail by -- it all reinforces the idea that Batman's a superior fighter, which continues into the next shot, where the thug tries three more times to hit Batman before Batman finally takes him out with exactly one punch.

But the fact remains that the thug tried to punch him, just like they tried to shoot him. Why? I mean, this guy just dropped out of the sky, disarmed two thugs and wrecked a dude in the span of ten seconds -- why doesn't the remaining criminal just start running? Because he has a chance. He at least thinks he does -- he fights instead of running because if he can land that punch, if he can get off a gunshot, it'll do something. We don't see bullets bouncing off Batman's chest and we don't see him take a punch to the face without reacting, we see him removing the guns from the equation and dodging fists. So now we know...

FACT #11: Batman is not invulnerable. He can be hurt.

BATMAN: The Animated Series (1992)

#OK this excerpt was most of the article #but go read the whole thing #because this gif didn't give me a chance to quote the bit about the dope–ass car

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imagine--if · 3 years ago

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DUDE ABOUT THE SUPER READER ONE U SHOULD TOTALLY MAKE IT INTO A FULL FIC LIKE IM SO INLOVE WITH THE IDEAYDUDUXYXUCJ

A/N: I just saw this in my inbox and YESSS, I've started the To My Hope series and this is finally the funeral scene!!! This was the scene I've been waiting to get to - Riddler meeting Hope 😍 enjoy! This is pretty long but I really wanted to include everything 😂💚

To My Hope; You Came

Words: 2336

"I was Hoping that you'd come last night," Bruce says as you drive to the funeral, smirking slightly at his name joke, to which you roll your eyes with a light scoff. "But I understand. It's a lot to take in."

"I just couldn't face it," you tell him with a shrug. "The person who's supposedly obsessed with me... you saw the news, about Pete."

You couldn't bring yourself to go with The Batman and Gordon last night, to look at the scene of Pete Savage's death, left by the Riddler. You were too distracted with the letter, the Riddler himself when he appeared on your TV screen... absolutely everything. But you're Hope. You'll manage, like you always do.

"Well, Pete's not a good cop," Bruce states, and you frown, listening. "Looks like he got greedy. I think he was in on the drops business. The Riddler's targeting the corrupt, especially people to do with that case. There are more photos," he continues, passing them to you and glancing at the car windows, their reflective film blocking out any random, prying eyes from outside. You shuffle through the photos with a sigh.

"I managed to get someone in the lounge," he adds, "to the club below it. Colson, the DA, he was there. Talking about an informant on the Maroni case. A rat."

"A rat," you repeat slowly, and Bruce nods. "Okay, that kind of makes sense, what with the Riddler putting rats in that cage yesterday..."

"I got a card," he responds, and you can see the dull annoyance in his gaze immediately after he mentions it. "Another riddle. 'Follow the maze until you find the rat. Bring him into the light, and you'll find where I'm at."

"Bring him into the light?"

"We'll work on it," Bruce assures you. "I, um, I met a girl from the Iceberg Lounge," he adds. "Selina. You'll get on well with her. She's friends with the blonde girl from the pictures with the late mayor. She talked to Colson."

You smile with a nod, giving the photos back, the frowning as you notice his hesitation to mention something else.

"Okay... What is it?"

He pulls out an envelope from his pocket, handing it to you. You bite your lip as you stare at the familiar handwriting from Mitchell's house, the angel card.

To My Hope

You quickly pull the card out of the envelope, and stay frozen in your seat as your eyes trace the words on its cover. It's another old fashioned love cartoon, with two silhouetted figures holding hands, standing under a large green heart with curly white words written inside.

'I HAVE ALWAYS LOVED YOU,

'I ALWAYS WILL,

'LOVED YOU YESTERDAY,

'LOVE YOU STILL.'

You open the card up properly to see the same riddle The Batman got, but the obvious difference between his and yours is the faint, messy hearts drawn in the background of the writing in pencil. Bruce looks away, annoyed.

"I don't like the idea of him thinking of you like that. Stay close, okay? I know you can handle yourself, but this is different."

You smile at Bruce fondly, tucking the card away in your jacket pocket. "Alright, worryguts."

Chanting and clamouring can be heard clearly from outside, as Bruce Wayne's car drives to the entrance of the church. As you peer out the window, you can see a group of people chanting "No more lies!" and holding up boards with the Riddler's question mark symbol sprayed on it, signs held up saying 'OUR DAY OF JUDGEMENT'. Bruce stares too, retreating into silence as he steps out, going over to your side to give you a hand, and choosing to keep it in his.

Reporters are quick to clamour around you, cameras flashing.

"Is that Bruce Wayne?"

"Who's the girl with him?"

"Mr Wayne, is that your girlfriend?!"

You bite back a smile, looking up at him. "Told you."

He shakes his head at you, but he's not seriously annoyed. The amusement fades as you look over at a car, where Falcone himself steps out, a young woman beside him. Bruce follows them, pulling you with him, and you frown, trying to tug him back before one of his men notice.

"Hey, hey! Give us a wide berth here, would you, slick?" a bodyguard jumps in, and Falcone turns, the girl looking back at you both.

Falcone calms them down in a second, reassuring them of who Bruce Wayne is, about knowing his father. You avoid eye contact with the man, instead, your eyes wander to the group of protesters with Riddler gear at the entry's barricaded area.

"Come on," Bruce's voice draws your attention back, and you go on inside. Bella Rel greets Bruce and you almost as soon as you get in, and you let her pull him away, smiling at the look he gives you as you scan the large number of people there to pay their respects.

"What good's a safety net that doesn't catch anybody?" A man behind the barricades indoors mutters to himself, and you look over at him with a small frown. "Didn't help my daughter when she needed it, I can tell you that. The guy was just another rich scum-sucker. He got what he deserved."

His eyes meet yours suddenly, and then it's his turn to frown. "Hey, don't I know you? I've seen you somewhere-"

A hand on your shoulder makes you flinch, and you're met with Bruce, who glances at the man before leading you away.

The faint music of Ave Maria in the background somehow made you uneasy, and you glanced around at the mayor's son and the people... before your attention was immediately caught.

Panicked, muffled screams sound from outside, along with the roaring of an engine and crashing sounds. Bruce grips your hand tightly, stepping in front of you protectively as the noise grows louder, drawing out the conversation and singing from within the church. You follow Bruce's stare as he looks up at a balcony, where the silhouette of a man stands calmly, peering down at the scene. Your breath catches in your throat as your fingers trace the card from your pocket, and the loud smash of the breaking of the paned doors makes you jump.

People scatter screaming to get away from the big black car, as it speeds down the aisle. Bruce shoves you to the side, making you lose your balance but miss the car's route as he sprints towards the boy, pushing him out the way and rolling over as they stumble. The car crashes into the thick, poled walls, and when you look up again, the man's figure is gone.

The GCPD flock around the car, bashed up and spray painted in white with lettering. Gordon yells at the driver to get out of the car... and when he does, you close your eyes in disbelief.

It's Colson, duct tape around his mouth muffling his cries, and attaching a phone to the palm of his hand. He's still there when you open them, dried blood trickled down his forehead as his words are muffled under the tape. A large, clunky collar is around his neck, and when someone points it out, everyone screams. The phone rings, and another chorus of screams sounds, the ID simply stating that it's an unknown number.

Colson holds up the phone, showing the envelope taped onto his shirt.

To My Hope & The Batman

The guests clear out instantly, and you look over your shoulder at Bruce, who looks straight back at you, nodding.

You've never gotten changed into Hope so quickly.

You've never wanted to stay hidden away in your apartment so much.

Night falls over Gotham as Batman insists you two go out to answer later in the day, the police now surrounding the building, sending a robot in to scan the bomb and survey the scene. The Batman stays close to you as you walk side by side back into the church, and Colson looks up at you with wide, tired eyes. Batman takes the tape off his mouth, and Colson gasps, shaking his head and apologising over and over.

"Please, he made me do it," Colson insists tearfully. "He told me if I didn't do exactly what he said he'd kill me, I'm so sorry!"

"Looks like a combination lock," Batman observes the collar, and you nod.

"Can't we just cut it off?"

"Not if you want to keep your head."

Colson sighs shakily, and you take the envelope off his shirt, pulling out the card with a 60s style blonde woman holding an oversized telephone.

"In these troubling times, never forget," you read quietly, opening it up, "I'm only a phone call away. Answer."

Colson raises his hand as he offers you the phone, and you glance at Batman in confirmation. He nods, and you reach out to answer it, tapping the green icon on the screen.

The same room from last night's news is in the video call's background, heavy breathing close to the camera, as the masked man leans into the frame.

"You came."

"Who are you?" Batman questions calmly.

"Me? I'm nobody," the Riddler breathes, "I'm just an instrument, here to unmask the truth about this cesspool we call a city."

"Unmask?"

"Yes," the Riddler agrees, his eyes gliding from the Batman to you. You swear you can see them soften as he stares at the screen from his side, his breathing picking up again.

"Oh, Hope..." he whispers, "you look so beautiful up close... did you like the cards I sent you?"

Batman tenses beside you, and you open your mouth before closing it, your mind completely blank of any way to answer.

"Let's do this together, okay?" The Riddler continues. "I've been trying to reach you. You're both a part of this too, lovely."

"How are we a part of this?" Batman asks.

"You'll see," Riddler responds darkly, adjusting his camera as he sits down. "Say hello to my followers. We're live. They've heard a lot about Hope, here... and they're here to watch our little trial. At the moment, the man across from you, Mr Colson... is dead! But-"

"Jesus, can we get somebody out here, this psycho's gonna kill me!" Colson interrupts in pure terror, and you hear the Riddler sigh.

"Wait a minute- SHUT UP! You deserve to be dead after what you did- you hear me? YOU HEAR ME?!"

"Okay, okay," Colson whimpers, and you watch the screen in shock as the Riddler's groan turns into a hyper laugh, his face close to the camera.

"I'm giving you a chance," the Riddler tells him, before jerking away from the camera dramatically. "No one ever gave me a chance. Now. Ever since I was a child, I've always loved little puzzles. For me, they are a retreat, from the horrors of our world. Maybe... they can bring some comfort to you too, Mr Colson."

"You want me to do puzzles?" Colson questions, and the RIddler agrees excitedly.

"Three riddles in two minutes. You give me the answers, and I'll give you the code for the lock - do you understand?"

Colson agrees nervously, and the shrill beep of the bomb makes huim jump and whimper in fright.

"Riddle number one! It can be cruel, poetic, or blind, but when it's denied, it's violence you may find."

"W-wait, could you repeat that? Cruel... poetic...?"

"Justice," you pipe up, and Colson turns to you desperately.

"Huh?"

"The answer, it's justice!"

Colson repeats it, and the Riddler confirms the word happily.

"Yes! Justice! Isn't she clever?" He coos adoringly at you, and you watch in uncertainty. "And you," he turns his attention back to Colson, "were supposed to be an arm of justice in this city, along with the late mayor and police commissioner, were you not, Mr Colson?"

"Yes, yes, of course, of course," Colson agrees quickly.

"Riddle number two," the Riddler carries on gleefully. "If you are justice, please do not lie. What is the price for your blind eye?"

"Price?" Colson repeats cluelessly.

"Bribes," Batman repeats, and Colson tries to repeat it.

"No, he wants to know how much it cost for you to turn your back," you clarify.

Colson hesitates in despair.

"Fifty-eight seconds!" The Riddler yells impatiently.

"Look, how much was it?!" you demand worriedly.

"Nothing!"

"How much!" The Batman raises his voice.

"Ten grand," Colson caves in, "Ten Gs a month, I get a monthly payment just not to prosecute certain cases!"

"What cases?"

"He didn't ask me that, come on! Ten grand!"

The Riddler laughs in amusement. "Okay, okay - don't lose your head, Mr Colson. Just one more to go before your time runs out. Last riddle! Since your justice is so select, please, tell us which vermin you're paid to protect?"

"The rat," Batman tells him instantly. "The informant you all protect from the Salvatore Maroni case."

Colson's face goes pale. "How do you know about that?!"

"What's his name?" You ask, and Colson shakes his head, as the Riddler announces the twenty seconds left.

"No."

"He's going to kill you, Colson!" You point out with round eyes.

"I'm a dead man either way," Colson replies, and repeats the statement as Batman grabs hold of him. "If I go out this way, it's just me, but if I give over that name, I have family, people I love... he'll kill them too,"

"Who will?"

"People are watching-"

"What people?!"

"It's so much bigger than you can imagine," Colson says miserably, "it's the whole system."

"Five seconds! I'll see you soon, my Hope - I love you! Goodbye!"

The deafening book of the bomb exploding cuts off Colson's pleas for mercy, and the Batman jumps in front of you as it goes off, shielding you from the damage as you're both blown back. Your breaths are shaky and uneven as you hear echoed, fading voices, and the voice of the Riddler, before darkness consumes your mind.

Taglist:

@phantomofthecathedral @sugahbabieexo @bokksieu @skateb0red @wilburrrsworld @philiasoul @darthcringe @felicityofbakerstreet @bloodypantomime @deadlights-darling @tianotfound @kpopgirlbtssvt @mortem-muse @ireadandream @tinyryder @truecobblepot @jessicainhell

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sunfortune · 3 years ago

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anyway now that i got my jokes out my actual thots on the batman (2022). wanna preface this by saying i love that bitch. even when they do stupid shit with him im like 😔....ok but thats still the bestie tho... i am not immune to stupid depressed goth man. that being said: he is a stupid depressed goth man and we need to keep that in mind

bruces first appearance walking through the line of cops and they are just quietly letting him pass.....immediately had me like...not this </3...i JUST sat down. it reminded me of the tfatws finale (hate crime) when the cops let bucky through and call him sergeant or whatever the hell. was sitting there 5 mins in like [deflated balloon]

BUT then they show how the other higher up cop man was not cool with him at all. and this was not something that was in the norm so i was like mmmh. okay not so bad... [will get back to this]

i LOVED loved the first look at gotham. the pan from "manhattan" to "newark" to the wayne building in the center establishing gotham. litchrally <333333. im biased but SO big brained to me that this rendition of gotham was new york AND new jersey. they said THE worst of both worlds. love wins <3

i really loved bruce and jim. i feel like Sooo few people have actually talked about them which is ??? bc they were So funny. (also probably the most grounded relationship he had). they were litchrally like that not to worry i have a permit ron swanson meme but it was bruce saying "not to worry i have a permit" and then jim stepping out from behind him and saying "he can do what he wants" lfmdgjnjhdf

back to the cop point. unfortunately my earlier "oh this is just a one time thing. its alright <3." desperate cling to hope was dashed as the movie went on bc it was not a one time thing

i wish it was more hush hush with just him and jim. and not him and jim with 20 other cops casually also there

like the reason jims character is so important in just the batman universe in general is bc hes the ONLY one remotely trustworthy in a completely corrupt system. and when you have scenes like the "not all cops" as a hopeful anecdote with like 150 cops. and then THE BATMAN bringing the bad guy or whatever out to Them. its like come on....

i had some minor qualms about some of the detective stuff being too tell instead of show. where bruce is just super smart so he knows the answer immediately and then he just states it and thats that. but that honestly didnt really diminish my overall experience with the movie.

i WISH they gave selina more

feel like selinas backstory was not only interesting but also a crucial part of the plot on paper but i feel like they just didnt really give her character the care it couldve had in execution...?

one thing especially was some of the dialogue they gave her felt like a first draft that they were gonna come back and brush up. but then they DONT. and just send her out there like that

there first meeting as the bat and the cat when he catches her in that house and they fight was SOO Good tho

also maybeeee gonna give them the benefit of the doubt there bc it is the First movie. if batman is in his cringe and fail era. selina can be in her early days too. but like i really REALLY hope they do give her more in the future. bc the potential is sooo untapped

also i complain about this always but. society when directors put some effort into their romantic subplots...come on </3 😔 stop letting sexy people go to waste

saw an interview clip of rob pattinson and zoe kravitz earlier and theyre actually so fun and had so much chemistry but so little of that was utilized in the actual movie </3 even tho matt reeves had Every Thing at his disposal to make it really hit </3333 why would you do that to meeee

next. i kind of Loved the reveal that thomas wayne got caught up in some bullshit. i just think the "bruces parents were perfect" narrative was kind of boring. and i like how they maintained that they were good people but. gotham is gotham. stuff happens

what i did NOT like about the thomas wayne reveal was the implication that the waynes murders were a result of him getting caught up in that mess?? i think the "they were mugged by a random guy. wrong place wrong time" is integral to the entirety of the mess that is BATMAN so that implication was just personally not my cup of tea. even if it was just speculation

there is some ways the conclusion kind of needed more for me. ill probably make another post for that. but i think like there shouldve been some realization that bruce wayne can also help gotham with his money. not just the batman with his fists. there were too many points heavily implying it throughout (the mayor, the riddlers bit about his dads promise, selina talking about the rich) and then it never happened (but also maybe next movie bc they prolly wanted to focus more on /the batman/ in this one)

i did Love the concluding point that violence will not heal gotham

i loved the juxtaposition between when he helped that man in the train station in the beginning and he said “don’t hurt me!” even tho he was trying to /help him/ bc of how he worked and presented himself with the ending when he used the flare to guide everyone to safety and then that women on the stretcher not wanting to let his hand go bc she trusted he Would keep her safe and he also held on to her as long as he could🥺

next. i LOVED bruces characterization. despite all my points its what made me Still love the movie so much.

reiterating. i am not immune to stupid depressed goth man.

the scene where the bat mobile lit up in the dark alley. was litchrally sitting there like 😭💖💘💕💓💕❣️❤️ my best friend for real

him being so standoffish and uncomfortable as bruce wayne while everyone is like omg its gothams prince. hiiiiii <3

the scene where he goes in for the kiss with selina but then gets awkward and cant go through with it. obsessed. lmfao

less suave playboy more awkward loser.

i think his characterization is the biggest brained aspect of this interpretation of batman

it makes the entire movie for me

in conclusion i had so much fun with it even if it wasnt like perfect. though i think i do get people who didn't like it. i dont know how i wouldve felt about if i didnt already love batman. and thats like a valid criticism. especially in the franchise saturated market rn where you already need to have an investment to really enjoy something that is seemingly new. but i mean thats DCs problem. i had fun and thats whats really important <3

#dont rebl0g #long post #anyway whos up lmfdkgnjs #batman spoilers #the batman spoilers

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littledead-ridinghood · 3 years ago

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wait when did tom taylor make jason a cop?

So this is such a basic simple question which is why the response is going to be a nice 1.5k word long post like a normal reasonable person would do!

So Tom Taylor wrote the 2021 Nightwing Annual with Dick and Jason being all brother-y. Overall, it's pretty cute and I could totally nitpick* if I so desired but also bby robin jay and Discowing Dick as well as Adult Dick and Jason getting along, absolutely precious. Anyway, Tom Taylor didn't make Jason a cop but he still has Jason endorsing the Justice system.

He wrote Jason saying to Dick: "You were right. Sometimes seeing them get justice, Seeing their power and freedom get taken away, is better than dealing out violence." This is in relation to Jason sending one of his mom's main drug dealers to be tried.

In the context of looping, the statement isn’t 100% bad. It's supposed to loop back to Jason as a child, in the flashback scene of the annual, saying "you want to hit a kid? Hit me." in relation to a kidnapper and how dick says Jason went too far when dealing with the man.

The problem isn't Jason saying "[violence isn't always the answer]" but it's him trusting the system. Jason's foundations, even when his backstory was him as a blond circus boy, has him questioning the police and their actual motives. Jason staunchly believes that the system doesn't work. So him saying it's better seeing justice in a situation where he doesn't actually know if justice will be served properly is OOC. Jason knows that the rich can get off much easier due to money and the connections they may have. (circa lost days: that child sex trafficker that Jason murked because he found out bringing him to the authorities wouldn't do any good as the man had connections within the police that would keep him free). Jason is the kind of person who knows that vigilantes (in comics) only exist because the system does not work. One of his most major driving motivations is the fact that he understands intimately that most people do not care for victims. He gets deeply invested in cases because he knows what's it's like to be on the bottom and for the powerful above him to get of easier just because they have more power.

Jason calling Arkham a revolving door highlights his belief that no one is actually doing anything to help stop the violence in Gotham, but instead perpetuating a cycle. Fuck, in BftC, Jason criticizes Bruce for always teaming up with Jim Gordan and the police in B's search for "validation".

Jason has been heavily implied to be a victim of police brutality as a child. He has seen them do fuck things which readers can infer by Jason's first street rat appearance and how he doesn't trust cops. Furthermore, he believes the police and vigilantes should not mix because they are directly in opposition to each other. If the cops were "good" they would be trying to stop the bats because the bats are literal criminals taking action into their own hands, violently. So, even if we all understand that, for example, Gordan being on the side of the bats is morally good as he understands the system is broken and that the bats do good work, he is going against the legal system he is supposed to uphold to keep the collective safe. The legal system should not be your compass for morality as the legal system was created and always changing to, most usually, keep the powerful in power and the marginalized, marginalized. Alas, Jim still needs to uphold the law so he doesn't jeopardize having other officers following their personal morals over the law leading to what would probably lead to higher rates of police brutality. If the police partner with Batman and see Bruce being so violent towards perpetrators, and he's on their side, endorsing what they, as cops, do, that opens up the doorway to make it okay for cops to be as equally violent as the Bat towards people they take into custody. Jason is one of the vigilantes who understand this exemplified in his staunch avoidance of Cops

Future State on the other hand (which, for transparency, I never finished bc A. I'm terrible at finishing runs, whether they're ongoing (which is even harder for me then) or not, and B. It just wasn't really my cup of tea), DC had Jason undercover in the magistrate (i.e.the authoritarian police state enforcers) for Bruce....? (i heard some people say it wasn't actually Bruce but Clayface? idk. he was undercover for who he thought was Bruce) which was pretty obv he was undercover, yet, in the end, I'm pretty sure, Jason stays willingly in the magistrate to bring it down further? I'm not sure. I'm not sure, but that's where they made Jason a cop and, even if he was undercover, I couldn't bare to read it.

Literally one of my least favorite tropes: where the kid from the messy background who distrusted the system for good reason grows up and ends up joining the system. The only time I could except cop!Jason is that one fanfic where after B slits his throat so Jason joins the force and makes the bats obsolete by being the cop Park Rowians trusted while also still backgrounding as RH therefore he can be untouchable when he finally kills the Joker. I'll link it:

Best Served Cold 3k oneshot by Balrog_Roike

*This is where I'm going to nitpick for my own sense of peace. All in all, the annual isn't bad, personally, I liked it. It’s only if you think about it too much and dwell over it all. But the subtleties are where the biases are able to sneak in so this is like way to much for like 6 panels total....

Jason being mad at the kidnapper isn't bad nor do I think Jason getting so violent with someone for hitting children is OOC(actually Jason getting in between beatings for others is a very common theme of Jason's. Not just defusing, but legit just taking the beatings so someone else doesn't have to). It actually falls in line with OG Jason slamming that pimp for hitting a woman in broad daylight and him saying "How do you like being on the receiving end, for a change?!" compared to "Hit me. Go on. Hit me!" Both situations are Jason pissed the hell off that people think they can just push around others weaker than them. I just really want a modern story with a happy Jason. Like, we get it. In situations like this, Jason gets super emotionally invested, but I think DC has ingrained in the audience enough that Jason is angry over the concept of injustice. I see enough "Jason was the angry robin" takes. I just want my baby to be sweet for me!!! If every story we get of Robin Jason is him being angry, whether he's in the "right" or "not", it's just further pushing the idea that he was angry over everything all the time if that's all we see, and he wasn't.

As with most every story with Jason and the other bats, there's always that underlying theme of Jason "giving up" for the other bats and him being rewarded with being allowed to be family with the rest of them because he finally fell into Bruce and their's wishes. It's super subtle but with the "Bruce and I are proud of you for putting down the guns" and the "you were right..." Idk. it's just can be read as a ‘you're doing stuff how we want you to rather than how you want to’ superiority complex thing. It's 'i understand everything I did and thought was actually wrong, but now I see the light.' But the 'i'm proud you're doing what I want" pothole is kinda inescapable when writing Jason with the other bats

The crowbar joke goes without saying. Again, Jason never gets to properly address his murder but everyone gets to poke fun at him for it. I just wish one bat cared enough to ask Jason if he's okay rather than also beating him down about it. It comes across tackless.

When other bats call adult Jason “robin”, it rubs me wrong. Like in WFA, Jason's tracker symbol is apparently his robin symbol. It just seems like a lack of acceptance that Jason is alive again and now is the red hood. In the annual, if it’s supposed to be Dick having a minor flashback to when Jason was robin, I think that’s fair (for example: if Bruce saw Jason hurt and called him “robin” bc he was reminded of dead!Jay I wouldn’t fault him either, PTSD and memories and all that). On the flip side, if Dick is trying to get Jason to stop, the effect comes across as disrespectful to Jason's actual existence now by constantly relaying him back to what he used to be. Living in the past and all that with no ounce of respect present Jason. Some people think it's cute, all the power to them, it just rubs me wrong. I just mention this cause to me it seems like just Dick trying to get Jason to stop, but it’s unclear by Jason’s body language if he’s shocked out of the moment(it doesn’t look like he was).

Again: Those four things are pretty nitpicky in, overall, a story I liked. Especially compared to my main issue, the justice system thing. T.Taylor’s has a habit of being super performative in his social commentary(think how people think that can write a character as a man or white person and then just switch the pronouns or descriptions like that doesn't completely change the character’s outlook on life). 99% of the time he has super shallow takes that are incredibly harmful and tries to use characters as mouthpieces rather than following through on already established beliefs(i.e. Jason not trusting nor liking cops).

The annual's art is so goddamn pretty. I can't stress enough how much I love the composition and inking. We get pretty Dick and pretty Jason, we get flippy Jason, we get shirtless Jason. We get both bby and discowing as well as adult Dick and Jason getting along, have fun, smiling and laughing and cracking jokes. We get Dick trusting Jason. Their relationship doesn’t come across as fan-servicing which T.T also has a problem with so I’ve heard in the current run of Nightwing.

Ya, anyway...Big brother Dick grayson and Baby brother Jason Todd soothed my soul at least

#comictary #jason todd #jason todd meta

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outoftheframework · 4 years ago

Text

my proposal for tropes we as a fandom should adopt in all fanworks going forward: Duke Thomas edition

So every fandom has tropes and characterization quirks that have been generally accepted into fanon and, like, maybe? they were originally based on some obscure comic panel from the 80s or something but it doesn’t really matter because we’re all just,,, cool with it? Like for example- in the dc comics fandom, an art piece could show 3 of the bats that look virtually identical except one of them is holding a box of cereal so that one is obviously Dick Grayson. . . Y’know?

Anyway, these things usually come up naturally I guess but I’ve been here a while and it’s finally time to put my foot down. It’s high time for Duke Thomas to be more in fanon than “the sane one.” Because he might be the relatively new guy but he is certainly fears no gods or laws of the land just as much as the other bats, lemme tell ya.

TL;DR here are character quirks (”canon-based” or otherwise) that we should all really latch onto seriously I’m begging y’all to make at least one of these happen-

Duke “Habitually Jumping Out of Moving Vehicles” Thomas

This one’s actually based in canon y’all; Duke did indeed yeet himself out of the back of a cop car and off of a bridge (in We Are... Robin). Normalize Duke’s wearing knee and elbow pads as Signal because jumping out of a car turns out relatively fine once and then suddenly Batman’s rooftop disappearing act seems mellow compared to the amount of times Gordon has whipped his head around to see a now Signal-less backseat.

Like, he’s going 60 mph?? And he didn’t even hear the door open?? and tHE DOORS ARE STILL LOCKED??

Imagine this leaking into civilian life and Bruce waking up to a blurry photo of Duke mid-escape from a limousine on the front page of the Gotham Gazette.

(more under cut)

Duke “Puzzles are my Passion” Thomas

Duke is ~canonically~ very skilled at both solving and concocting riddles (as a child during that time where The Riddler just,,, controlled Gotham, he worked non-stop on riddles, trying to make the perfect one). Please y’all- let Duke solve puzzles. Have the other bats ask him for help after 36 hours straight of brooding over some brainteaser that Duke works out within the half-hour. He texts a picture of the solution scribbled out on loose leaf in the margins of his pre-calc homework because this boy shows his work.

My guy is a word-cross FIEND. A mind-sweeper speed-runner. That guy who mails into the Gazette to correct a solution in the “fun & games” section and also ps that photo is not of me I am simply a polite young man who is much too busy writing into the paper in the year 2021 to jump out of limos-

I also would love to see this integrated into the type of cases he investigates / runs into on his daytime patrol. Like, obviously the criminal activity is going to dramatically differ before and after sundown, but that doesn’t make Duke’s work any easier or less important. It’s a different skillset; he has to work differently. Instead of jumping into fights, halting mob meetings, saving civilians in dark allies, etc. Duke has to sort through all of the moving pieces before they all converge into something catastrophic.

It’s a known fact that criminal organizations in Gotham make and execute a lot of behind-the-scenes plans during the day specifically not to run into the bats. And Duke knows and monitors this shit all by himself; his work is crucial to logistics and information gathering for the bats as a whole. Now criminals have like, a 2 hour gap between bat-shifts to try and get stuff done. But Duke would 100% set traps on timers or lead them on this pre-set convoluted goose chase to distract them until the night bats come out and to let himself enjoy the whole thing playing out on the news while he finishes homework that’s due at midnight.

Duke “I Know a Guy” Thomas

So in going off of the basic concept for the “We Are. . . Robin” run in combination to his general likability, Duke has a lot of friends all around Gotham. Okay, sure, he doesn’t have a Super best friend or a Speedster on speed dial, but he does know this guy who details cars up on West 35th and will tell them all about the new mods on Black Mask’s transport vans if they come through the third floor window and bring takeout.

Bruce and Tim will be waiting for the facial recognition software to identify at least a partial match off of security cam footage when Duke pulls into the cave, takes one look at the screen, and says “Oh, that’s <insert name, address, abridged life story, and known associates here>.” This also brings in the opportunity for Duke to have some sort of perfect recall for faces, voices, names, etc. which I think could be a really cool element for his position as the batfamily member who has a lot more personal interaction with the people of Gotham.

I’m also into the idea of a lot of people knowing/telling stories about Duke. Not to reference the Chuck Norris meme but almost like the Chuck Norris meme lmao. Think about Jason mentioning his brother to someone and she replies, “Duke Thomas? Like that Duke Thomas? The one who swam across the harbor because he said it’d be faster than the subway and it actually was?” These stories have varying levels of truth to them but Duke will never confirm nor deny when he gets random calls from family members yelling “you dID WHAT”

So those are my top three, and the following is a little speed-round of headcanons :)

Duke has a super expressive face. Like when he’s relaxed around family, you can tell exactly what he’s thinking and how he’s feeling by his visual reactions to things

Duke rotates through picking up new and revisiting old hobbies at a pretty rapid pace. Some hobbies include: bullet journaling, origami, viola, cello, synth, conversational basics in multiple languages, up-cycling and embroidering clothes

Duke has a really fucking adorable smile. He can’t help it. He’ll try to grin sarcastically or smug to be annoying but his smile just cannot be anything other than endearing. He also has a very specific booming laugh that’s an absolute treasure to hear, because it’s the most genuinely happy thing ever.

Duke unironically enjoys Signal by Twice even though the first time he heard it was after Steph had set it as his morning alarm.

So.

Come and get your food, I guess.

Feel free to add on if you’d like! I’d love to see anything you guys write/draw/etc. based on anything from here if you feel compelled to do so!

Stay safe and be well :)

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ezilyamuzed · 3 years ago

Text

There’s no place like home- part 18

Summary: The reader has had a unique gift all her life. While considering it a curse, she discovers the identity of her real father after her mothers passing. Journeying towards her new life, she finds herself thrown within the Winchester’s world. Is it her destiny?

Setting: End of season 13. This takes place after episode 13.19. Flashbacks are italicized.

Warnings: Language. Angst. Fluff. That’s it really...

A/N: I finally decided to dust this one off. This story is wrapping up. Two more chapters left. WE ARE NEARING THE END OF MY VERY FIRST FANFIC STORY!! Bittersweet since this was my baby, but there are always others in the works! Enjoy more twists, turns, and reveals.

Any grammatical mistakes are all my own, because I am human. Remember all comments and feedback are welcomed! If you want a tag in future posts regarding this series or other writings please send an ask! As always thank you for reading! Enjoy!

Series Maesterlist

Tomorrow was the first day at your new job. Monster University as some would say, well those who knew the truth about it. You decided it was best to get as much shut-eye as you could while waiting and doing everything imaginable to help pass the time. That didn’t work. You laid in bed staring at the walls, waiting for something, anything to happen. God this was boring.

You reached over to your phone and dialed out to a friendly voice. It was just a little after 10 at night, where you knew he was probably up, being a night wolf and all.

“Hey Garth, you up?”

“I was just about to head off to bed for the night,” you could hear the chirpiness in his voice. “What can I help you with?”

“Just checking in on how you and the others are doing,” you lied. “It’s been pretty quiet.”

“We like quiet,” he laughed. “Everything’s been good here.”

“Okay,” you sighed out. “Let me know if anything changes.”

“You don’t sound too good though,” he remarked. “You alright there Y/N?”

“I’m alright,” you lied again. “It’s just been a really weird month.”

“Well I’m a good listener,” you could hear the smile in his voice. “Tell me all about it.”

You hesitated at first with what your response would be. He was out of the life as much as he could be. No need to really bring him in, but for once you felt like being the other person on the couch for once, instead of the one listening. He was a doctor after all, although not quite the same. Next thing you knew over an hour had flown by as you explained your mom’s passing, the meeting of the Winchester’s, everything in between, and after. He was a really great listener after all.

“Dean and Sam are great guys Y/N,” he replied. “And Bobby? Well now I know why I liked you from the moment I met you. He was like a mentor for me.”

“Wish I had gotten to know him,” you sighed through the phone, thinking about how many opportunities you had missed.

“Well you did get to talk to him,” Garth spoke up.

“What?”

“Don’t you remember?” Garth sounded surprised.

“No.”

“Tallahassee,” he reminded you. “Remember? Our first case.”

You sat there silent, trying to remember what had happened besides it being the first time you met Garth, which of course had its rocky start.

When you had gotten down to Tallahassee, you had no idea what you were getting into. There was a case, you were sure of it, but what type? You had no idea. Some sort of creature was literally freezing people in the 90+ heat and killing them. An oddity for Florida, although for Florida nothing really surprised you. They kept gators as pets for god sakes. This case however sounded like something more of a Batman villain. Mr. Freeze quest for vengeance.

“Agent Morrison, Homeland security,” you flashed your fake badge to the local cop upon arriving outside the scene of the latest victim.

“Nothing better to do in Homeland security,” he raised his brow.

“That’s classified,” you gave him a hard stare.

“Well go ahead, we already have someone from wildlife protection in there. Hell, send in the National Guard. Ain’t nothing normal about that in there.”

You gave him a furrowed look before you went towards the back of the sheek apartment where you could hear talking. The AC was off, making it feel like a million degrees on this hot summer day. The sweat already running down your back and clinging your blouse onto you. God you wanted shorts and a tank so bad at this moment. You stopped in your tracks the moment you saw it. A woman frozen in a giant cocoon of ice that was not melting.

“Whoa,” you mouth opened agape.

“Yeah, boys,” you saw a skinny guy hitting the statue of ice like he was an authority. “This ain’t melting.”

You cleared your throat as you walked in, heels clicking along the wooden floor boards. You wanted to present with authority, if anything to get the locals out so you could do the real work.

“I’ll take it over from here boys,” you flashed your badge real quick.

Three of the guys in the room moved out, but the skinny one stood still. He stood there with his arms crossed and a cheeky grin, challenging your authority.

“Did you not hear me? I said I got it,” you stated again.

“Kinkos? Or Office Max?” He smiled cockily.

“Excuse me?” You shot him a hard look.

“Hunter?” He nonchalantly asked to which you didn’t reply. He took it as a queue to continue talking. “So vic is Tami Yaguisi. Thirty six years old, single, and no forced entry. Her sister was the last victim last week.”

“Great, now get out,” you nodded your head to the door, not even bothering to look at him.

“Why? It’s a case?” He sounded shocked.

“I don’t work with others. I do this alone.”

“I think there’s plenty of room for two hunters in the house,” he smiled. “Plus I found something the locals missed.”

He held out a box to you. You grabbed it with a roll of your eyes. There was something engraved in the top, but nothing in it. Just a simple wooden box. Probably used for trinkets or weed by the way it smelled.

“It’s in Japanese.”

“I don’t read Japanese,” you sassed as you handed it back to him.

“But I know a guy who does,” he pulled out his phone, took a picture, typed for a second, and then dialed. “Hey boss man, it’s Garth. Yeah, it’s definitely a case. Hold on, I got another hunter here.”

You rolled your eyes as you crouched down to examine the frozen body. Great, now there’s two of them. Her mouth was open like she was screaming in her last few minutes alive. Poor woman. To the side of the ice cocoon, there was a long strand of black hair. It was cold to the touch, like it was made of ice. It looked like a woman’s. Couldn’t have been Tami’s since her’s was dyed blonde. Must have belonged to the monster? But what type has long icy black hair?

“So I just sent you a picture,” Garth stated. “Hold on, I'll put you on speaker phone.”

You rolled your eyes again, trying to investigate any more clues. There wasn’t really much to see, unless you could get the ice to melt. The key word being ‘could.’ It wasn’t even melting a little in this heat. The case was going from probably to definitely quickly.

“It translates to ‘Winter’s Tale and Icy Snow. Forever sealed to save your soul,” the voice on the other end stated. “Sounds like your victim let it out of that box.”

Your mind went towards any Japanese mythological creatures you could think of from your moms books. She’d be the person to call, but she thought you were on vacation enjoying the sunshine. She’d kill you if she knew what you were doing. Maybe it was a Yōkai? But with the ice, it didn’t seem like any ordinary spirit. None you’ve ever come across at least.

“A Yuki-oona?” You said out loud.

“What is that?” Garth looked puzzled.

“Who’s that?” The man’s voice on the phone asked.

“Another hunter,” you simply replied, not wanting to really introduce yourself. No, you worked alone. No attachments. Not since Ash because, well you didn’t care to mourn another fallen friend and not since Charlie, but that was only because you were intrigued at the sight of another female hunter.

“Well you might be up to something there,” the voice stated again. “It’s a Snow Woman. An old Japanese fairy tale. I’ve never heard of one here in the states before.”

“Freezes people and sucks their essence out to live,” you said as you moved through the room. “Any idea how you kill it?”

“Fiery sword to the heart,” the voice replied promptly. At least he seemed to know his shit. “You know your stuff there kid.”

“I read,” you chuckled a little.

“Yeah well finding her and killing her won’t be easy,” the voice continued. “You two better team up. The damn idjit thought it was the abominable snowman.”

The word idjit caught you off guard, but you just smiled at it. It reminded you of your mom. God she was going to kill you if she ever found out you were hunting a Japanese ice princess. They were notorious for being cruel and vicious. You really hated possibly teaming up with anyone, especially in such a dangerous case. Someone was bound to get hurt, and you had your money on the scrawny guy. But the voice on the phone, he seemed like a good person, someone you could possibly trust. Hell, if he could handle this dork in front of you, surely you could. And that was the start of it. Your friendship with Garth all because of the man who said ‘idjit’.

“Thanks Garth,” you smiled into the phone, although he couldn’t see it.

“Thanks for what?”

“For reminding me. I honestly had forgotten about that. I wish I would have known then what I know now. Maybe I could have talked to him more.”

“Well you don’t exactly warm up to people quickly there Y/N,” you could hear the chuckle in his voice. There was a pregnant pause before he spoke again. “He did ask about you ya know.”

“What?”

“After that hunt. He asked about the girl who saved my ass,” he explained. “He knew who you were. I told him everything.”

You sat there for a minute with a smirk on your face. He knew who you were. You had interested him. He of course didn’t exactly know who you were, but nonetheless. He knew you existed as a person. The girl who managed to save Garth’s ass when he was about to live in his own icy prison because he had been too talkative to pay attention to the monster behind him. That was the best news you had heard in a long time.

“I have some of his old books and stuff that I can send you.”

“I’d love that,” you stated before rambling off your address. “Thanks again Garth.”

“Have a good night Y/N,” he replied. “And don’t forget to call more often. We miss you around here.”

——-

“How much longer,” Gabriel groaned from his spot in the backseat. “A guys gotta eat.”

“Angels don’t eat,” Sam shot back with a puzzled look.

“Well excuse me for enjoying the finer things in life,” Gabriel let out in sarcasm. “But seriously though, food? A little stop at the old watering hole? Anything?!?! Maybe a strip club? I might know a couple girls within the area who are really great at doing this thing with a ping pong ball and-”

“Stop it,” Dean growled from behind the wheel. “We will be there in an hour or so. You can wait to eat. And no strippers.”

“Cas and Rowena are ready,” Sam said as the light from his phone illuminated his face.

“And Y/N?” Dean raised his eyebrow to his brother.

As soon as Gabriel heard Y/N’s name his ears perked up. He knew exactly where she was. Far away where she belonged with everything going on. That’s where she had to stay. With the wonder twins asinine plan, there was no way that he was going to allow her to cross over with them. It’d be too dangerous if his doppelgänger brother was as much of a threat as they had described.

“She had to go home Cas said. She has some work thing tomorrow,” Sam responded with reluctance.

“She didn’t say anything,” Dean glared at his brother.

“Oh, trouble in paradise Dean-o?” Gabriel wagged his eyebrows. “Your new little misses won’t be home?”

“Cut the crap Gabriel. We know you know her,” Dean firmly stated while glancing in the rearview mirror.

“True,” he stated nonchalantly. “But how well do you know her?”

“What are you talking about?” Sam looked at him annoyed.

“I’ve known her all her life, you’ve known her for like 5 minutes? She’s not exactly a first choice team player for team stupid. Although she does pack a mean punch.”

Gabriel smirked a little at the fact that he did have a bit of an upper hand. He knew Y/N way more than they ever would. They didn’t know the truth about her and all the mess that came with it. Why it was idiotic to involve her at all more then she already was. They had to know. If anything, Dean wouldn’t allow her stubbornness to win when she would for sure argue with them. He wasn’t one to typically back down when he made up his mind, but neither was she. She’d have to stay behind; it was for her own good to spill the beans on what made Y/N so special.

“Some would say that about you too,” Dean shot back.

“True. But then again I wasn’t created to help destroy the world, now was I?” Gabriel spoke firmly. “Trust me boys. You want to open that rift, she’s the last person you want anywhere near it. Especially if I have a doppelgänger dickwad of a brother over there. He’d get a hold of her and it’s game over folks. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Sam groaned. “She wasn’t-“

“Abandon. Fate. All a part of the grandmaster scheme. Remember that apocalypse you two stopped thanks to yours truly?” He waggled his eyebrows again. “Yeah, well you had both sides playing that game. Imagine if dear old Luci or Mikey would have had her by their side. Someone as strong as her? Unable to be easily hurt? Stubborn as hell? It would have been world ending.”

“Is that,” Sam started as he looked to his brother. “Is that why we’re connected? Her mother and ours.”

“Aw Sam, you’re not just a cute face,” Gabriel smirked. “Like I said, both sides were playing the game. They were just waiting to see who would win in claiming their little pet project. But none of it went to either one's plan. Her aunt? Spitting image of her, but stronger. Her mother? Nothing unique, rather a normal child. So when old Ralphael got angry that he wasn’t in the fight, he sent angels to wipe them out. Michael wasn’t pleased but was none the wiser as to how genetics work. Of course course, Fate played with the birds and the bees, giving us Y/N. Bringing her as the new player one to pick a side. It looks like team ‘good son’ would have won by the way it seems, that is, if they had even known she existed back then. I may have helped with that one a bit. Guess she doesn’t have a thing for tall drinks of water, like Sammy boy here.”

Gabriel caught Dean glaring over to his brother, who was shifting himself from the uncomfortableness that Y/N could have ended up with him. Would have made an awkward thanksgiving.

Gabriel smirked over to Dean, who then glared at him hard through the mirror. It was working. Dean would keep her away. Dean’s mind was obviously racing with the facts. No way he would let her go over there and risk life as they knew it. No way he would risk losing her. He felt a little guilty laying out all her secrets, but it was best they knew before they did something they’d regret.

“So, food?” Gabriel sat up and pushed his head between them in the front seat.

“Shut up,” Dean shoved him back. “We will be there soon enough.”

_______

“Good morning everyone,” Dr. Frankel stated as he walked in carrying his briefcase.

It was Monday morning, the first official day at your new job. It wasn’t so bad, that is, if you didn’t mind sitting silently as you watched a werewolf and a witch trade pictures of their kids school pictures. God, this was your life now.

You had sat there 15 minutes before anyone had arrived, looking around for your exits. Your hunter instincts kicking in- just in case. Cas was wary of them, so you’d be a fool to just walk in like nothing was going on. He might have been annoying, but you couldn’t say he was wrong to be worried. Hell, everything in you was yelling at you that this was insane.

There was you and one other human in the room as they all sat down in their respective seats, awaiting the Dean, Dr. Frankel. Their leader.

“Excited?” Dr. Edwards smiled at you. He was at least human and probably naive to everything happening.

You gave him a polite nod as you glanced at your phone. Nothing from Dean. What were they doing? You made the choice that as soon as you were done here, you were going back to the bunker. You had to.

As Dr. Frankel walked in, everyone went silent. It was eerie like a weird cult. This was when you started regretting throwing your knife away to Rowena to use. A weapon would have been nice to have, you know, just in case.

“We have our new faculty starting today,” he looked at you. “Dr. Y/N Y/L/N. She will be heading up our parapsychology department and our liaison for the Nephilim matter. I trust that most of you have met her already.”

Well right to it. That was a surprise. Guess there’s no secrets at Monster University. You looked around to everyone, nothing about them flinched in surprise. Nothing about them said hungry or rage either, so that was at least a blessing for now.

“And what a good job she will do,” the demon who had cornered you in the bathroom weeks ago stated as saltured in before taking her seat. She glanced over to you and winked before Dr. Frankel continued.

“Would you like to say a few words Y/N?”

You flashed everyone a polite smile. Time to act. You stood up from your seat, feeling all eyes on you. Lights shifting around you. God you wish you had your knife.

“I would just like to say, thank you for having me. I look forward to getting to know you all more as time goes on,” you seated yourself back down after you finished.

“And the nephilim?” The werewolf spoke up.

“No new developments on that,” you smiled while glancing over to your boss. “But if anything does occur, I’ll make sure our deal stays intact.”

“How can we be so sure that that will happen? I mean, you're working with the Winchester’s and their pet angel. They’d rather chop off our heads than work with us. They are hunters after all.”

“You do know I am a hunter too there don’t you?” You shot back with warning, only realizing too late that you basically just threatened a coworker on the first day. Great start Y/N. “I’d like to believe that given the circumstances, we can move past that stereotype that we can’t work together. As long as everyone plays nice?”

The werewolf silenced himself, glaring over to the Dean who was smirking at the head of the table.

“And that is why you are here Y/N,” he spoke up. “If we want to keep up what we’ve built, we have to work together. No one gets out of line. Or else. We have not only our families to protect, but all of our students to think of. Hunter and monster quarles are a thing of the past. It’s a new day ladies and gentleman. With Dr. Y/L/N’s leadership.”

Leadership? What the hell? That’s not what you signed up for. But the way everyone looked to you, there was no way you could say no now. You sat there trying not to let your polite smile scream awkwardness. This was going to be interesting.

“Now, to other business,” Dr. Frankel spoke up. “How are we with the syllabi’s for the summer?”

The rest of the meeting went on with no more mentions of monsters or impending doom. It actually switched to be rather normal. You carefully watched everyone as they interacted. They were genuine educators, wanting to do right by their students. You wondered if it was possible that all this could work. That everyone could really get along?

“Alright everyone,” Dr. Frankel broke you out of your thoughts. “We go live in a week. Make sure you have loaded your syllabi’s before Friday.”

You waited until everyone else started to get up before you moved, checking your phone once again. Nothing.

“Dr. Y/L/N,” Dr. Frankel spoke up. “Natalie here will see you to your office to help you set up.”

You glared over to the demon that was smirking at you. Great. A bitchy demon as your tour guide. You followed her silently down the hall as her heels clicked along the tiled floor.

“This one is you,” she opened the door along the corridor with a key. She handed it to you, and pushed herself aside for you to walk in.

You reached around the corner and clicked on the light. Simple enough, nothing extravagant. A desk, bookshelves, and a little window that looked out to the courtyard.

“Meet your standards?”

“Yup,” you popped off your lips.

“So your login is your first initial and last name. Email is the same,” she informed you. “Password is Bitch123, with a capital B.”

“Let me guess, you set that up?” You snarked back, sitting yourself behind the desk.

“Thought you’d like that,” she smirked.

“Whatever,” you slide yourself in behind the desk and logged in to the computer, rolling your eyes to the password as you typed it in. It worked.

“So Frankel wanted me to show you how to set everything up,” she moved over towards you, invading your space.

“So what, you’re the IT demon now?”

“I sold my soul when Macintosh was growing,” she replied nonchalantly.

“Well okay then,” you pushed yourself back from the desk. “Click away.”

This was a new one for you. A demon showing you how to use a computer program. But it was easy enough in the long run. During the hour of her explaining everything, you kept glancing at your phone. Hoping to hear something from Dean.

“You have a hot date there, or am I boring you that much?”

“Just waiting on a call,” you slid your phone back into your purse. “So was that it?”

“That’s all until you screw something up,” she rolled her eyes while moving away from you. “You’re on your own now.”

“Great,” you got up quickly from the desk, collecting all your things.

“Where’s the fire?”

You gave her an annoyed look as you continued to get your stuff in order. She didn’t have to know what was happening. None of her business anyways even if you knew what was happening.

“So what’s the Winchester’s plan for Lucifer?”

Her question stopped you abruptly. Lucifer? Crap. You had been so busy in everything else that you never stopped to think about the fact that he was free roaming. What was their plan? You gave her a shrug, doing your best to just ignore the question.

“When he learns his baby boy is back, he’s going to want him,” she continued. “Surely daddy Castiel will not be pleased with that.”

“Why do you care?” You shot back in annoyance.

“I’m not buying this whole deal thing you have going on. There’s too many holes. Too much room for Winchester stupidity.”

“It’s being handled,” you went to move past her, but she moved herself in your way.

“I’m just letting you know that I will not be Lucifer’s pet again. You think I’m a monster? You have no idea what he is capable of. Especially if the rumors are true about you.”

“They’re not,” you growled. “Lucifer will be handled. I will make sure of it. Now move.”

She moved out of your way with a cockiness to her. God was she a bitch. But she was right. Lucifer has to be stopped. Just another thing to add to your summer to do list.

______

“Fucking hell,” Dean groaned as he walked away from the failed, sloppy rift into the kitchen.

Sam stood in disbelief. It didn’t work? Why did it not work? Dammit. Gabriel was not strong enough. He had lost all his juice. Who knows when he would get it back. All hope was lost.

As everyone quipped back and forth, Sam felt uneasy. Like a premonition that someone was going to drop a bomb on them. Cas firmly stared him down as he stated what was next. Teaming up with Lucifer was insane. There was no way he’d ever agree to it. Castiel left the room, giving his brother and him a second to think about it. He was sure his brother had already made up his mind though. Sam would have to face Lucifer once again.

Sam slowly followed his brother into the kitchen, Gabriel trailing behind. What next?

“Sorry boys,” Gabriel gave a sheepish look. “Guess I need a little more time to power up.”

Dean popped the top off to a beer and chugged it down as they walked in. Standing in silence. No clue at what to do next besides wait.

“Hey guys,” Sam turned his head to see Y/N walking in, dropping off a huge bag on the floor as she strolled towards them. “No one bothered to call?”

“Dean said he did,” Sam looked at her perplexed.

“Oh really?” She gave Dean a hard glare.

“Uh oh,” Gabriel smirked.

“Shut up Gabriel,” Dean snapped at him. He took in a deep breath and sighed, looking to everyone’s brow raised to him. Waiting for answers.

“Dean?” Y/N said softly. “What’s going on?”

“Yeah Dean,” Gabriel continued to smirk. “What’s going on?”

“Seriously Gabriel shut up. Go see if Rowena needs anything.”

“Fine,” he said with a huff, moving past Sam slowly. “My money’s on Y/N though.”

“Dean?” She repeated again.

Sam glanced over at his brother who was doing his best to avoid her gaze. What the hell was he doing? Why did he lie when he had asked about calling her?

“Are we back to this again?” She scowled, crossing her arms at him.

“You were busy,” Dean shrugged like it was nothing. “I didn’t want to worry you.”

“Worry me?” Really?” She sassed back. “Nice one. Try again. The truth this time.”

Dean looked to Sam with pleading eyes, like he wanted a bail out. Sam shook his head, still lost at why his brother would keep it a secret. She was busy anyways with her work thing. Is that why Dean has been in such a rush to get the rift open? So she couldn’t be here? Why? She could help. Suddenly Sam realized why his brother had lied. Gabriel’s warning from last night. Surely he didn’t believe all that hype about her being created to destroy the world? She was Y/N, a good person. He wasn’t that stupid to believe that she could have any part in that chaos between the archangels. Did he?

“It’s safer for you here,” Dean reluctantly replied. “Gabriel told us.”

“Told you what exactly?”

“He told us why you are the way you are. What you were supposed to be.”

“Key word ‘supposed’ to,” she shot back. “Not who I am.”

“Yeah well, forgive me but I’d rather not see a dickbag archangel from another world using you as a pet,” Dean snarked back.

“Is that what you’re afraid of?” Sam could see the hurt in her eyes. “That I’d ever agree to something so stupid?”

“You would if you didn’t have a choice,” Dean replied, looking nervous. He was scared. Scared of what?

“We all have choices Dean,” she sighed out. “Nothing is for certain.”

“Well I’d rather not tempt Fate,” Dean looked up to her.

She took in a deep breath and looked over to Sam who was shaking his head. He didn’t like what his brother was saying, but Dean’s intuition was almost always right. He’d have to trust him on this one.

“Fine,” she replied slowly. “I won’t go over, but that doesn’t mean you get to keep me out of this Mr. Winchester. Because apparently your little plan didn’t work or we wouldn’t be having this conversation right now. I’d be waiting to have a whole other conversation with you with a few choice words.”

“Sorry,” Dean replied. “Just thought it’d be easier.”

“Secrets always come out Dean,” she replied, but stopped suddenly as though she had just realized something about what she said. “So I guess the cat is out of the bag about me then.”

“How long did you know?” Sam found himself asking. They had been working endlessly to find the truth, her knowing didn’t make sense.

“A little while Sam,” she replied. “Gabriel finally spilled the beans. Guess he’s not such a dick after all.”

“So it’s true then? You were supposed to be some sort of tool for Lucifer or Michael?” Sam spoke up again.

“Guess so,” she shrugged back, glancing over to Dean. “Between Abaddon and the men of letters starting this, well I guess it was all a part of some cosmic Fate. Both sides trying to win. What they didn’t expect was the rouge player: Gabriel. He’s the one who hid me, convincing my mother to leave from everything she knew. He’s the one who kept me away. They all thought their big plan ended long ago.”

“Why?” Dean finally spoke up. “I still don’t get exactly why, especially with everything about your mother. Bobby, our family, us. We’d all protect you.”

“That’s the problem Dean,” she glanced at him with a soft smile. “You and I know damn well that even now if one of us were in trouble the other would do something stupid to save the other. Can you imagine if we had known each other our whole lives when the shit storm came? Selfishness is not one of our virtues. That’s why I’m not fighting you on this. I know the risk. I can’t say that I like it, but hey, someone needs to stick around to welcome you back to normal.”

“So it’s settled then?” Sam glanced back and forth between the two of them. “Are you two done with the secrets? Because honestly my head is hurting from it all and we have to focus on what the hell to do next.”

“No more secrets,” Y/N smiled.

“Agreed. So now to the next crappy plan?” Dean looked over to his brother.

“Well with Gabriel tapped out right now, I guess that we wait,” Sam sighed, not wanting to bring up what Cas had said just moments ago. “Not like we have any other options.

“Or you have one that none of you will like,” Y/N spoke up, making both of their heads turn to her. “Lucifer.”

“No way,” Sam tried to argue but he saw his brother nodding in agreement out of the corner of his eye.

“Any other ideas?” She shot back. “He’s roaming around, making the demons nervous. They know as soon as he feels Jack again when he returns he’s going to be looking for him.”

“Is that what they told you?” Sam furrowed his eyes to her.

“More or less,” she replied. “They have zero faith in the two of you to take care of it. That’s why they brought me in. Apparently now I’m their leader with this whole mess, which makes them all the more crazy.”

“Their leader?” Dean let out a chuckle. “Well I guess they know to at least pick out the pretty ones.”

“Smartass,” she laughed. “But seriously, you think that me possibly teaming up with an archangel might be bad? From what it sounds like, with Jack, things could be a lot worse. He’s part archangel. And not just any annoying archangel, he’s Lucifer's son. Who knows what his father will try to convince him to do?”

“Y/N’s right,” Sam turned to see Castiel walking in, looking solemn. “Lucifer is more unpredictable than before. He’s weak right now, but he’s been draining angels of their grace. He can’t be anywhere near Jack. Who knows what he would do.”

“So what do we do?” Sam glanced between everyone in the room.

“Whatever we do, we have to come up with a plan for how to deal with him,” Y/N spoke up. “I’ll get working on tracking him through my networks. Surely someone is keeping an eye on him.”

“Very well,” Castiel nodded.

“This is insane!” Sam yelled out.

“I’ll leave you to this discussion,” Y/N spoke up, breaking the silence after his cry. “Listen to them Sam. This might be the only way.”

Sam watched as she walked out, looking over to Dean and Cas, nodding in approval. She agreed with them. Y/N, who was probably the most sane person in the room was agreeing that Lucifer was their only option. He could feel the cold shiver that ran down to his bones at just the thought of him. His laughter echoed through his years of all that time stuck with him inside his head. He looked up to his brother, begging him for something else. But he knew that was a lost battle, they’d have to use Lucifer. They’d have to bring the real monster home.

________

“Team stupid come up with a game plan?” Gabriel smirked as he stood alongside the pillar in the room. You looked back towards the kitchen, where there was still arguing happening, but you knew who’d win. It was the only way.

“Inviting my brother over won’t be that easy,” he warned. “Especially when he sees you.”

“So he won’t see me,” you replied. “I’ll stick back. That’s simple enough.”

“Well here’s the issue with that,” Gabriel lifted himself off of the pillar and began to circle you. “Moi, being the only other archangel in the room that is at least trustworthy, has to go over with them. Just in case things go side-ways. They have Castiel, but he of course would never leave Dean’s side. So what we have left is a witch and you.”

“Rowena can take care of it.”

“But do you trust her?” He looked into your eyes, searching for your response.

“Why wouldn’t I?” You glared skeptically. You didn’t trust her, but he didn’t need to know that. Question was, why didn’t he?

“Wasn’t too long ago she had some fantasy about becoming his queen, wanting to raise him from the pit,” he began. “He dumped her like a bad prom date of course because, well that’s Luci for you. Then of course he killed her and her son later on. But I’m sure she wouldn’t want some sort of revenge on him now would she?”

“Get to the point Gabe,” you rolled your eyes.

“You have to stay and babysit,” he looked at you with seriousness in his eyes. “I really tried to keep you out of this, spilling the beans and everything to your boy, but I need you to be ready. He’ll be weak, but he will try to get into that mind if yours. And you’ll have to watch out for that witch so she doesn’t try anything stupid.”

“Babysitting the two evils of the room, got it,” you simply replied. “Any tips?”

“Just use everything I’ve taught you and then some. Also, keep that rift open and make sure it doesn’t shut until you see my happy ass come through,” he smirked.

“Got it,” you smiled back. “Hey Gabe?”

“Yeah?”

“So where is that brother of yours?”

“Now how would I know?” He smirked again.

“Oh nothing, just years of being able to hide from him while knowing his every move,” you smirked back.

“This old trickster might have one or two tricks up his sleeve,” he winked. “By this time tomorrow, we’ll be venturing into the great unknown.”

“Be careful alright?” You said with sincerity. “I just got you back. I don’t want to lose your charming personality again.”

“I’ll be alright,” he smiled. “And I’ll make sure our boys get back safe and sound. With your future mother in law too.”

“Gabe,” you rolled your eyes with a laugh. “Just do good. I’m sorry for everything that I said before.”

“You had every right to say it kid. I shouldn’t have ever kept it from you,” he gave you a heartfelt smile. “You’re stronger than I want to admit. And while I hate having you involved, I’m glad you’re on the good side watching my back.”

“Not everything that looks like a monster is one,” you began to say.

“And not everything that looks like a regular Joe Shmoo should be trusted,” he finished with a smile. “Remember, it’s what you choose to do with your free will that determines what you are.”

____

Dean trudged back to his room after they all finally agreed on the plan. They were going to trap Lucifer with Rowena and Gabriel’s help. Y/N would stand by on this side while they went over to make sure everything went fine on their side. Y/N. The very thought of leaving her behind and going towards a world full of monsters left a pit in his stomach. He’d make it through though. He had to.

When he got to his room he saw the most beautiful sight on the planet. Y/N was laying across his bed fiddling with her computer, oblivious to him entering.

“Hey stranger,” he stated, laying a kiss on the top of her head as he sat down on the edge. “What are you working on?”

“Uploading my lecture for next Monday,” she replied as she stroked the keys some more before making one final hit of the buttons. “And done.”

“Well aren’t you the overachiever?” Dean smirked.

“I already have twenty students signed up,” she replied. “I figured that by having it up now, then I can focus on bigger things.”

“I feel touched,” Dean cooed, circling little traces along her back as he sat in silence. “Let’s go for a ride.”

“To where?” She looked up to him with confusion.

“I don’t care,” he shrugged. “Anywhere. As long as we’re alone.”

“Alright,” she sweetly smiled, not giving him any objections.

Dean moved out of her way for her to swing her legs around, putting on her worn sneakers carefully. She threw on a simple black hoodie. Stating that she knew she would get cold. Dean smirked at that. Thinking of Y/N within his arms under the stars, holding her close for warmth. Sounded like a dream.

He allowed her to lead the way to the garage, knowing by now that she knew her way around the bunker. The sight of her little sway as she walked was nice to watch too. Man, how did he get so lucky?

Walking into the garage Dean slowly pulled out the keys to Baby. He moved them around in his hand as he thought about this maybe being his last drive. Something he didn’t want to face.

“Hey Doc,” he yelled out, making her head turn. He tossed the keys to her which she caught right away. “You’re driving.”

“Seriously?” She looked amazed as she held onto the keys.

“I figured that if you can handle that purple dinosaur you call a car, then you can handle my baby,” he smirked and winked as he opened up the passenger door.

“Cheap shot there Winchester,” she smirked back as she got into the driver's seat.

Dean reached over to check what was in the tape player, but Y/N swiftly slapped his hand away.

“Driver picks the music there Winchester,” she grinned.

He sat back with a smirk as she played with the tuner until she found a song she liked. She smiled at the one as it started to play, immediately turning up the dial and singing along.

“Did you see the sky?

I think it means that we've been lost

Maybe one last time is all we need

I can't really help it

If my tongue's all tied in knots

Jumping off a bridge is just the farthest

That I've ever been”

“Good song,” Dean nodded along to the beat. “I haven’t heard this in ages.

“Yeah ‘96 was a great year for music,” she smiled at him. “No Robert Plant though.”

“Yeah,” Dean furrowed his eyes to her. Why did that sound familiar? Like a distant memory he had forgotten? Dean shook it off as being nothing and just sat back and enjoyed her singing as the road led the way. For tomorrow, a new world awaited.

“Anywhere you go, I'll follow you down

Anyplace but those I know by heart

Anywhere you go, I'll follow you down

I'll follow you down, but not that far”

Keep reading

~~~~

@snffbeebee @waywardnerd67 @waywardbaby @dean-winchesters-bacon @jaylarkson @ladywinchester1967 @wildefire @i-hear-crazy-calling-my-name @hobby27 @iamabeautifulperson18 @19agbrown @sonotalice @drakelover78 @aloneanddesperate-blog @pisces-cutie @biawol @jamielea81 @fallininjapan @justkending

#dean winchester #supernatural #sam winchester #spn fanfic #ezilyamuzed #dean x reader #theresnoplacelikehome #gabriel #castiel #bobby singer #garth

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lady-literature · 4 years ago

Text

I rewrite Sky High

okay so, disclaimer: sky high was actually pretty damn good for it’s time and a lot of the plot twists/tropes used in it were still just starting out and not as commonplace as they are today. so 10/10 really good movie.

Also as i was writing this, it turned into half analysis of what’s already in the movie and half things I would change about the movie so,,, yeah. enjoy!

***

So the point about Sky High is that and the way the school and hero society as a whole works, is that you, as the audience, are supposed to look at it and know that it’s a flawed system. We’re supposed to see it as an injustice that kids are sorted into hero or sidekick- Sorry, I mean ‘Hero Support,’ on your first day of school based on something you can’t even control.

(This movie was my hero academia-ing it up before it was cool.)

Anyway, the movie calls a lot of attention to it in the beginning, but then doesn't actually give it the resolution it deserves in the end. Which, not cool guys.

The Hero/Sidekick debacle is, on the whole, a very thinly veiled metaphor for the problems minorities face. Specifically, those of the alphabet mafia, or LGBTQ, as we’re more commonly known.

There are a lot of examples for this so I’ll speed through the big ones real quick:

Will’s nerves regarding not having attraction to girls superpowers?

The way he tries to fake having an attraction to girls superpowers to get approval from his dad?

Being literally outed in front of his whole class (by someone named Boomer no less) and then immediately trying to hide it from his parents as long as possible?

The constant references to being a ‘late bloomer’. Doesn’t it remind you of the common phrases: ‘it’s just a phase’ or ‘don’t worry. You’ll start liking [opposite gender] eventually.’ ?

The scene in the kitchen, right after Will introduces the Sidekick Squad (and yes, that is what I’ll be referring to them as for the rest of this essay tumblr post). Will is so obviously trying to gauge how his dad is going to take his friends being sidekicks and also him being a sidekick. I just, this is so blatantly a coming out scene? How does anybody not see it as that?

(also the dad talking so offhandedly about bigotry and the hatred his own father had for sidekicks??? Who else has been there?)

Will telling his dad that he doesn’t care, that he’s proud of being gay to be a sidekick is just,,, *chef’s kiss*

With all of this backing behind Will and him growing into not being ashamed of his lack of powers, My first change would be that Will does not, in fact receive his father’s super strength. It’s just such a cop out! The movie had all this amazing build up, and this brilliant metaphor it could have used and, instead, they threw it all away.

The sudden acquisition of powers and immediate acceptance by his peers, feels too close to someone being ‘fixed’. That Will wasn’t good enough the way he was and had to be better, had to be his father in order to be good enough.

So, no. Will remains powerless.

Instead of the revelation of ‘he’s strong’, we get to let the Sidekick Squad shine.

Lash and Speed still cause a fight between Warren and Will, but when Will is under the table, the sidekicks actually do something.

Will knocks the table over (not, like, lifting Warren up but something closer to pushing him off. I mean, even I could push upwards from underneath a table fast enough that if someone is standing on it, they’d lose their balance and fall to the ground) and that starts things.

The Sidekick Squad all grab forgotten lunch trays or cartons of milk or something and throw it at Warren. It isn’t long then that the whole scene devolves into a food fight (Zach, at least, does not have good aim and probably hits a bystander accidentally, drawing more people in, until the whole cafeteria is involved.) The fight turns into something more playful, but still with that bit of an undertone of trying to actually hurt each other.

Ethan melts at one point and (accidentally) causes Warren to slip and land on his back, Magenta probably punches someone (not Warren) and Zach is just mouthing off to anybody who gets close enough. Near the end, right before Principal Powers shows up, Layla finally gets the right idea and just fire extinguishes the shit out of Warren.

(Side note here: I am very much also nixing the Layla crushes on Will plotline. I love best friends to lovers just as much as the next person but… no. Let kids see boy/girl friendships!

Instead, I will be inserting a Layla/Warren love story and you can consider this the first scene on the road for that.)

Anyway, the whole Sidekick Squad plus Warren ends up in the detention room and all of them are covered in food. Right after Principal Powers leaves, the Sidekick Squad is immediately talking excitedly to each other about how cool they just were and what they did. Basically it’s very wholesome and they’re all hyping each other up and then one of them, Layla or Will, excitedly turns to Warren and goes, ‘and that thing you did with the fireballs? God! I don’t think Lash is going to have any eyebrows for a month’ and the tension between them all but drops.

Warren, of course, tries to push them away and not get involved with their ridiculousness, but the Sidekick Squad is stubborn and by the end of detention, everyone but Warren is in agreement that he’s a part of the Squad now. They will not leave him alone. They also start hanging out at the Paper Lantern all the time just to annoy/make fun of him in that loving way friends do.

(I just want Warren to be a part of the Squad guys. Will calls him his best friend at the end but what did the movie actually do to show they were friends? Nothing, that’s what. I want that fixed.)

So the cafeteria fight boosts the whole Squad’s reputation, right? People think those sidekicks are pretty cool, and they get their fifteen minutes of fame. Only… Will gets a little hooked on the feeling of being popular. He doesn’t want to be a capital-h Hero or anything! But, well… he’d be lying if he didn’t like people thinking he was cool.

The others don’t really care all that much about being cool, but Will does. He hates that he does but what is he supposed to do? He can’t change how he feels. So he starts trying to make himself more popular and sometimes tries dragging his friends into stupid schemes.

And then enter stage right, one Gwen Grayson.

I prefer Gwen being Royal Pain’s daughter, actually. A girl who would’ve had no stock in this fight but her mother, who is sickly and weak and survives mostly because her daughter takes care of her, practically brainwashes Gwen to do her bidding.

Gwen is a minion here, and also, perhaps, a victim.

At first, she follows her mom’s orders and charms Will into dating her. She also feeds into his desire to gain popularity but can’t, in this world, break him from his friends. Actually, Will brings Gwen along to the Sidekick Squad hangouts and, slowly, she becomes a part of the group too.

She starts to doubt her mother. Starts to care for Will and the Squad.

She throws the party, and the Squad is all invited (trying to break them up isn’t conducive to the Plan her mother has anyway and wouldn’t work besides) but she lures Will away to make out and… other things, and he brings her to the Sanctum for privacy just like before. She still steals the pacifier (or whatever death ray equivalent you want idk) but she and Will don’t break up at the end of the night.

It’s not actually until two days later, right before the dance is going to start, does Gwen decide she can’t stand back and let this happen anymore. She spills the whole plot and her betrayal to Will when he comes to pick her up for the dance. She’s crying and apologizing and basically expecting to be hated forever by the only people she thinks ever actually liked her.

And, well. Will is furious at her for lying but there’s more important things to deal with at the moment. They’ll talk more about this and he’ll be angry, but that’s all going to be later. Right now they have a school to save so he grabs her hand and starts running to warn the rest of their friends.

Things happen mostly as canon from that point with minor changes.

It’s Warren who pulls Layla into a kiss before they all split off into groups, telling her to kick ass and stay safe before sprinting off after Speed. There have been scenes throughout the movie where the two are very obviously getting closer and are into each other. And then, before the dance, while Gwen and Will we’re technically going as a couple, the whole Squad was going as a group.

When Warren and Layla saw each other all dolled up, it’s very cliché. Warren says she looks nice and Layla visibly gulps at his outfit of a button down and suit pants, sleeves rolled up to his elbows (because homeboy does not wear a full tux you can fight me on this).

And also, Will doesn’t fight Royal Pain by himself. Instead, Gwen is there with him and they don’t fight with super strength. Gwen’s been helping Will build an arsenal of gadgets a la Batman and the two face off against her mom together, Gwen with her powers, and Will acting as half support and half as a watered-down Batman who still needs some more training before he’s totally polished.

The school falls from the sky, but Gwen buys them time by keeping the anti gravs working through sheer force of will, while Will holds off her mom from attacking her while she’s vulnerable and concentrating. Magenta eventually kills the EMP or whatever it was, and the day is saved.

Gwen passes out, cause ~drama~ but she ends up okay so don’t worry. She’s just exhausted.

The sidekicks get their recognition and then immediately bounce because dances suck and they all agree that they should go to the Paper Lantern instead to celebrate cause they’re tired, alright? Saving the day is hard.

So it’s all of them, a little battered and bruised and exhausted, crowded into this corner booth and laughing and being kids. The camera does it’s fade to comic book page thing, and the narration is something more along the lines of:

“Royal Pain and her cronies got locked away. Gwen and I talked things out, and she’s getting help for all the stuff her mom did to her. We’re taking things slow in the meantime.

The school is undergoing a lot of changes to the curriculum and getting rid of the whole ‘hero/sidekick’ divisions. (Mostly at the urging of my parents… and Layla). Next year is going to look a lot different, I think.

But it’ll be a good different, just like we are. None of us were what we were expected to be, and, I think, we’re going to keep defying expectations. There’s a whole world out there that needs changing.

And I can’t think of a better group of friends to do it with.”

THE END

(just give me found family saves the day by being themselves rather than somebody else, give me them saving the day because they care about each other, give me them fighting for what’s right and fixing things. please i am b e g g i n g.)

***

Additional nitpicks that are small but Very Important to Me

Coach Boomer is still called coach Boomer because there is no way I am missing out on the ‘okay, boomer’ jokes

Layla stays like Layla, but i’d like for the movie to stop trying to make her seem annoying for her beliefs or like she’s wrong to be so vocal about them. Her caring about things that are wrong ends up as the butt of too many jokes and i… do not like that.

Why so many dad/son scenes? Why this janky imbalance parenting dynamic between the Strongholds. Knock that shit off. I want happy functional family thank you very much

Mr Boy and the mad scientist are very obviously in a relationship

Wait, actually: mr boy, mad scientist and Boomer are al in a poly relationship and are ridiculous about it

I’d like to see more of the sidekick classes going over like, ‘the boring’ parts of the job, and teaching the kids how to deal with the aftermath of the heroes heroics, just to hammer in the fact that the system is fucked up and that it’s messed up that the heroes get all the recognition while the sidekicks are left to clean up the mess

Use actual 14 year old actors? These kids look like seniors.

Or, if you want more ‘mature’ characters make it so sky high is like,,, a finishing school or smth. Something kids 16 and over go to.

(What the fuck kind of parent thinks that their freshman child dating a senior is a good idea?? An almost adult coming onto a fourteen year old??? Are you trying to make Will’s parents (particularly the dad) seem like irresponsible assholes??)

Gwen is, at most, a year above Will in this rewrite, kay?

#my typewriter #sky high #disney #warren peace #superheroes #lgbt

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htmlerror · 3 years ago

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☕ + wfa

i do not like wfa with ham, i do not like it, sam i am.

I have a lot of problems with Wayne Family Adventures. The idea for it is solid enough, but the execution is. bad. I've put my thoughts below the cut because this got long, so I hope you don't mind me going in depth on my feelings.

Duke Thomas as a POV character - I'm plagerizing heavily from my convo with @phamtai about this. Def check them out for more info and better insights than mine into the character. Duke is extremely well established in canon despite only having been around for a decade or so. Remarkably, it's taken until WFA to butcher his character. Duke in this series is too polite. He's too clueless. He's been presented as the Relatable Kid archetype that he doesn't fit. In canon, Duke has never not been self-assured. He's a relatable character, yes, but not because he doesn't know what's going on. He has experience as a hero long before the batfam became involved. And since then, he's bonded with them. WFA doesn't show his connection with Cass, his dynamic with Bruce or Jason, and completely ignores his conflicts with the family. In a supposedly family-focused product, those are damn near cardinal sins. He may as well be a totally new character. Duke has been watered down so much for the sake of this series. WFA could be a vessel to explore so many things about him that we don't see a lot of on the regular page. We could see a dive into the parallels between him and Bruce, the full psychological impact of losing his parents, epecially in contrast to Jason, how his world view and morals differ from Batman's, the daily consequences of his powers, or the fallout of his mourning independently for the friends he's lost. But those would be interesting angles WFA doesn't seem eager to explore. If you can't imagine a version Duke punching a cop just because they're a fucking cop, you're doing it wrong. Another issue is, unfortunately, Duke's role as the only Black batman member. I shouldn't need to explain why it's problematic to be showing his as constantly less knowledgeable and presumably skilled as the other bats. (No, it doesn't matter that Dick and Damian are drawn with dark skin. Dick has been written as a white man for nearly his entire existence. The person who retconned that is notoriously racist and has spent years defending her inclusion of sexual assault in her writing. I have no issue with Dick being Romani, but just changing the color of his skin is not the way to do it.) DC has recently had a push towards inclusion, on the page an behind the scenes. This is good, of course. Though if they really are committed to representation and inclusion, it needs to be an effort seen across the board. Faux pas like this paint a pretty obvious picture.

The Webtoon format is shit - Webtoon is a great platform for indie writers and artists. It's not my style of content, but I get the appeal. IMO, it's ridiculous to accept a professional comic publisher shitting out 12 page fluff pieces. Yes, the weekly comic format has been phased out for a reason. Yes, halving the workload is a possible way around that restriction. But there just isn't a good enough reason to do it. It's a pretty obvious ploy to seem "hip" and "get in with kids these days." It's lazy and frankly kind of embarrassing. For anyone who doesn't know, a standard comic book is usually 24-28 pages. This isn't an arbitrary number, it's part of the format for the art form. That length allows for necessary plot developments in a serial story line while also giving the characters, themes, and artwork time to breathe. Furthermore, it's what most comic readers have come to expect over the decades. Halving that wouldn't necessarily be a problem, there are plenty of examples of well made shorts out there, but coupling that WFA's love affair with single panels and splash pages is a major issue. Say you make a 12 page comic with 4-6 panels per page. You have 48-72 panels to work with. You can sit a compelling story into that, with or without heavy dialogue. But bring that down to 12-24 panels, and you have one of two options: either 1) ultra-compress your narrative or 2) reduce the plot to compensate. Ignoring the formatting choices, WFA is a convenient reason for DC to keep the worst of the status quo in the bat titles. There's no need to acknowledge criticism of Bruce's treatment of his family when they can simply point and say "Jason's throat hasn't been sliced open here! And look, Damian hasn't been left with the crushing guilt of his grandfather's death! We even let Tim exist as his own character!" WFA doesn't change anything, it shows that DC is aware of its problems but would rather outsource them than put in the work to fix it. There's a special kind of rejected feeling that comes with being told "I hear you, I just don't care.

Fandom isn't bad, but - Everyone is familiar with the incorrect quotes format by now. Sometimes they're funny, most of the time they tend to over-saturate. WFA is like if a incorrect batfam quotes blog was a comic. It's a steady supply of one-liners and references, sure, but it lacks any real substance. If that's what you like, I can't fault you for it, but it's not going to be everyone's cup of tea. The way the batfandom has piled onto the "this is the best thing ever" bandwagon is concerning to me. There has been good batfam content in canon, you just need to know where to look for it. The lack of critical analysis of the project and dismissal of critiques is always an alarming pattern, but the way WFA has come to be the odd face of the fandom is just bizarre. It's everywhere, as you know if you've ever tried avoiding it. Thinking about WFA being the default interpretation of these characters makes me nervous. They lack the depth their canon counterparts. I don't care if you enjoy WFA, I do understand the appeal of it, but for the love of the gods, take it down from it's pedestal.

WFA is... fine. It's yet to commit any sins too egregious, but, like all DC properties, it's a ticking timebomb. I won't be surprised when it goes off, and I can't say I'll be sad to see it go. Ao3 has better content, anyway

#asks #anon #wfa #wayne family adventures #batman #batfam #duke thomas #long post

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why-this-kolaveri-machi · 3 years ago

Text

it wasn’t power i coveted; it was acceptance.

Titans 3.06

y’know, i was just thinking the other day that 1.06/1.07 and 2.06/2.07 were the best episodes of their respective seasons, so i have great hopes going in to this one. fingers crossed!

as always, typing this up as i see the episode.

SPOILERS AHEAD

1. oh! um... that was a Cold Open, all right. *nudges* get it? cold? because it’s snowing? and two people got murdered in cold blood? eh?

... oh, i’ve just started.

1.5. i wonder if “i want to be sipping pina coladas on a beach with you” is the new “i’m just one day away from retiring.” i was so on edge after that--i kept expecting that car to explode. even so, the way they died wasn’t an anticlimax: brutal, and quick.

1.75. so i’m assuming that’s the titular lady vic! this show better bring up why this doll was important or why these two cops needed to be killed, and not leave it to the ether like jericho’s little mindscape jaunt in 2.08 (i’m still dying to know what that was about???)

i love how deliberately unappealing wayne manor is.

(sorry for the pic quality. i don’t have hbo max! ssshhh.)

2.3. i love the many references to “home” and “our house” when they’ve been here for less than a week and saw one of their friends get blown into pieces. i mean, i unironically love it: home is where family is, after all!

2.5. i’d like to say that kom is playing some sort of long game here, especially given the build-up we had last season and some of the more niggling details this season: why did kom choose now to use her bond to lure kory when she’s been on earth for months? why did justin call kory now, just around the time that she started getting kom’s visions? and what about kom’s ability to exactly imitate other people? hmmm.

2.75. the reason i wrote i’d like to say is that i’ve made the mistake of assuming plot complexity where there is none; i was so invested in the jason todd orchestrated his own death theory for instance, when it turns out that oops! ra’s al ghul just happened to leave a little lazarus puddle in gotham, and oh yeah! scarecrow just happens to have a network of henchmen working for him on the outside and a fully functional laboratory and a weapons cache fit for a new supervillain in the basement of the high security psychiatric unit/prison that he’s in!

(no i’m not bitter, why do you ask)

2.8. iiiii don’t know what to say about the implications of sex slavery being a thing on tamaran, so i’m not going to say anything at all. for now.

3. gotham, six years ago... wasn’t it five years before s2 that jericho died and the titans disbanded? and when was the flashback from 1.06 where dick let zucco die? i think it was after the events of 2.08: jericho? i can’t seem to find any transcripts or reliable information online, so i’m going to have to rewatch 1.06 at some point.

(i love the old-fashioned batman music in this heist scene)

3.5. “security is a joke... it’s my way of keeping my dad on his toes”. what you’re an ethical thief now, like an ethical hacker? i don’t think that excuse is going to sell, barbara, on the day you do encounter a decent security system and your father is forced to arrest you.

(then again, gotham’s security is piss-poor. did you know that you could just walk into arkham asylum without any official clearance, ply one of its most dangerous inhabitants with contraband, and said inmate could get away with having an entire laboratory and weapons cache--NO I’M NOT GOING TO LET THIS GO)

3.8 so that flashback between dick and barbara was really cute! and also illuminating:

a) dick sounds so light, so... um. look. i have some apologies to tender to mr thwaites, because while i’ve always thought he does a fine job as dick grayson, i’ve never been terribly fond of his cadence as he delivers dialogue. it’s often monotonous, i thought, but then again, he’s usually delivering exposition or dealing with one soul-crushing crisis or the other. so i was pleasantly surprised to hear dick sound so carefree and alive in his conversation with barbara, laughing frequently, his emotions so bare and bubbling to the surface. it’s really a fantastic contrast to the traumatised and world-weary dick grayson that we see now, even more so than the costume department just bunging a backwards-baseball cap on mr thwaites’ head and hoping that will convince us of his relative youth.

b) and god, when he wakes up from that memory, all alone in his bed, bleeding from bullet holes in his shoulder (bullet holes that are--in a somewhat convoluted way--barbara’s fault)? yikes. it’s great. you have my apologies, mr thwaites!

c) can you imagine dick just... crawling back to wayne manor, trying not to be seen by anybody, shedding his suit and just... collapsing onto his bed without even tending to his wound? the sheer emotional and physical exhaustion of it?

d) it’s so interesting to see how barbara and dick approach the idea of legacy--a big theme on the show!--in this flashback. barbara is the one bucking the idea that she should follow in her father’s footsteps, while dick seems pretty content with the batman-and-robin setup, and even tries to get barbara to join their team (robin-girl. pfffft). obviously after this several traumatic things happen wherein dick ends up questioning and then resenting his role as robin, his relationship with batman or even returning as a vigilante at all. and barbara... ends up replacing her father as commissioner. it’s tragic, really.

e) the dynamic between dick and barbara in the flashback reminds me of how it was between dick and donna in 1.08 and even between kory and dick in early s1. it’s like having an older, strong-willed woman by his side means he gives over the steering wheel for a while and lets himself... unspool, a little bit. it’s kinda endearing.

also:

*pinches his cheeks*

3. you know, we talk about dick and Eldest Daughter Syndrome, and that’s definitely valid, but here gar seems to me the embodiment of it, with all the emotional gardening and firefighting that he’s expected to do. he’s kind of the guy expected to keep his shit together and take care of everyone else while they are falling completely to pieces, unable to carve out time to process his own trauma. he’s also picked up dick’s and kory’s tendencies to bottle up their struggles and shun appearing vulnerable, and he’s struggling in the shadow of both dick and kory undergoing acute crises, his best friend (and frequent confidante) on the other side of the world, and seeing hank die, utterly helpless to stop it.

i’m glad that he got a chance to tell dick even a smidgeon of what he really feels, and i hope this is at least a semblance of a wake up call for dick to actually sit down and work with the people he repeatedly calls family.

3.5. it’s heartening to see that dick immediately makes it his priority to go talk to gar. but don’t blow off kory in the process, man!

4. i’m really loving this dynamic between kom and conner--i get the idea that both of them consider each other as Unknowns, alien two times over. but conner’s only ever known the titans, who embrace being different, and kom’s only ever known... well.

anyway, kory is Really Stressed, and honestly? #relatable.

when you’re forced to bring an estranged family member to hang out with your friends...

4.5. i love that the titans are spending so much time in the kitchen. a real family!

5. jonathan crane is a creep and i absolutely cannot stand him.

5.25. how did he get a whole lab setup (in the basement of a hospital...?) with a bunch of whitecoats to work for him? how did he just waltz into the viewing room of an operation theatre when he’s one of the most wanted men in gotham right now? why is jason wandering around maskless when--presumably--as the adopted son of the most famous person in gotham he’d be a tad more recognisable than your average joe?

why do i expect this show to answer anything anymore?

5.5. that’s not necessarily a criticism, mind; i’ve said since season 1 that titans is very comics-like in this aspect, all about the Aesthetic and the splash-page splendour rather than the niggling unimportant details of how or when the characters got to said location. like. the camera gliding over the operation being set-up, lady vic bursting in and doing her murder dance (imagine the luck of the poor intern who chose this day and this surgery to assist) and jason, shocked and slack-jawed, framed by blood.

5.75. it’s a sobering reminder for jason that, though he chose this path in order to gain control over a world that seemed like it was rapidly spinning out of his grip, he’s only succeeded in handing over even more control to a man with an agenda that is very clearly not aligned with his own. he’s in too far to stop now, though.

5.9. i have a lot more thoughts about jason! saving it up for the end of this recap, though.

6. more kitchen time! i better see dick do some cooking soon...

(”our kitchen”! it still delights me! kitchens are So Important)

6.25. so much of dick’s issues have revolved around his relationship with bruce, so it’s completely understandable that in the wake of a huge crisis where bruce literally asks dick to replace him and be a “better” him, dick would default to all the worst things he learned from the man. and i’m glad kory’s having none of it, but come on, guys. the woman’s literally fetched her fratricidal sister out of a hole in the ground with no idea what said sister is going to do next and experiencing a burgeoning sense of guilt far, far beyond her history with the titans, and dick’s too far into his autocolonoscopy that he can’t see that she needs help.

6.5. “he services your urges”--well, as far as we know, kory is the last person he had sex with...

7. “i hope [gar] isn’t angry with me...” SIR! i thought you’d already spoken to him! smh, as the kids say. kory wouldn’t be needing to reassure you if you just took the effort to build two way emotional relationships with the rest of the team. @superohclair was taking about dick’s relatively low emotional intelligence? i agree.

7.5. “i got my own problems [...] you and barbara? fix it.” YOU TELL HIM, KORY

8. man i really like this weird, sad tension between dick and barbara--this sense that both of them are approaching the other based on how they remember them and are ultimately disappointed by the truth. barbara thought she could trust dick to... well, be a better batman, but dick has not only failed at that in her eyes, but repeatedly undermined her while exploiting the authority that she gave him. in dick’s eyes, this is nothing like the barbara that he knew, rebellious and ready to do whatever it takes to find something.

like. this show sometimes really hits me in the chest about the ways it shows kids grow into adults and into caretakers, and the way it’s stop-start, the ways nothing can happen at all for a long time and then it’s Crisis Central all at once and there’s no space to breathe. the weird sort of sadness that comes with nostalgia.

8.5. oracle name drop! i agree with barbara, any system that can just randomly tap into gotham phonelines is a monster.

8.7. (i don’t know if it’s my imagination, but is dick holding himself... differently in this episode? like that wound is definitely bothering him, and he’s running on fumes)

9. man, that was a really sweet scene between kom and conner. “feeling alien in your own world”... “not quite here nor there”

honestly this team runs on conner and gar’s faith in their value as a family, and it’s a sign of conner’s generous heart that he extends that opportunity to blackfire. this arc of maturation for him, where he’s now able to consciously choose which parts of himself he can use to do the thing he wants to so--save people--has been so fulfilling to recognise. this baby’s grown with the titans! and what he’s learnt is that people can get fucked up, but the titans is a place where they can be fucked up, and grow.

MY MAN CONNER

10. oh man i’m drinking in the gar-dick interaction in this episode like i’m three days into the desert and it’s the only source of water for miles around!

a) gar is absolutely not dealing with dick’s bullshit this episode and I LOVE IT. it’s such a far cry from the man who was idolising dick/robin back in s1 and expecting him to solve all their problems. dick is fallible, dick is fucked up, but he Tries His Best and that’s ok.

b) dick, huffing and puffing through that vent, unable to put any pressure on his left shoulder, trying to have a heart to heart with gar... fuck i love this asshole.

c) bruce took in a kid who was suffering... “and made him into a weapon”. well. i absolutely agree with dick that it was bruce who put these kids into these horrible situations with him and they came away with a bucketload of trauma to add to the one that they already had. but we know that bruce was really trying with jason, and at the end of s2, dick was coming to acknowledge that bruce had offered him something that wasn’t just darkness. jason’s death and bruce’s reaction to that shattered that fragile progress.

d) “gotham got to me too.” i feel more sympathetic towards dick running off on his own than most, and it’s not just because i’m an unapologetic stan. we’ve seen before that dick... devolves when overwhelmed, and he lashes out and makes ill thought out decisions and just Does Not Deal. it happened after hearing the news that deathstroke had returned in s2, and it didn’t help that everyone around him was reeling at the news, either. this time, however, he has his salvation in his family, and despite some stupid decisions like running off and kidnapping supervillains without telling his team, he’s been really on the ball this season. thinking clearly and logically, holding it together and working on a plan, thinking two steps ahead of the villains... yes.

e) gar needing to believe that jason isn’t beyond redemption... there’s a lot of blood on his hands, too, from when he was manipulated by cadmus last season. it makes sense why he’d relate to jason’s predicament, and i hope dick picked up on that.

f) my head just added a plaintive ow after dick jumped feet first into the storage room

i need, crave gifs of this scene!

11. *sits on hands* i’m going to talk more about red hood, i promise!

12. more gar and dick! is it my birthday??!!

(actually, according to the tamil calendar, it is my birthday! my “star” birthday)

12.5. excellent. dick using some implausible training that bruce taught him to solve a mystery? passing some of that knowledge onto gar? that proud smile when he sees gar perfectly execute moves that he taught him? MY HEART IS EXPLODING

13. aw, i love flashback!dick and barbara, they’re so cute <3

13.25. why does it not surprise me that the way he proposes a relationship to barbara is by saying “we make sense”? this guy can deduce exactly who was present where and what weapon they were holding from a garbled audio recording but other times he’s utterly clueless, and that’s a consistent character beat right from s1

13.5. so.... that’s why lady vic has it out for... barbara....? i don’t get it. it’s flimsy. but hey! the fun thing about titans is that i don’t have to get it. the payoff has nothing to do with the plot.

14. i can’t believe that barbara fell for that, but at least that wheelchair fight looked awesome, so.

15. oh yeah, i forgot that red hood bullied the mob into helping him and scarecrow... at least that explains the whitecoats and the elaborate set-up.

15.5. honestly i love how this dynamic between kory and kom is developing, though i wish more of the team would pay attention to it. time to call justin, i think!

16. i wonder what happened after that second flashback where barbara got hurt during that heist. did she give up on doing any more (maybe jim caught her)? was it because dick was called away by bruce and then the titans and got caught up in his own issues? maybe barbara froze him out because she wasn’t looking for the relationship that he was looking for? maybe the idea of doing that with someone turning into batman-lite was just... unappealing? scary?

whatever it is, it doesn’t look like dick ever processed the end of that relationship. it’s very intriguing to see where their dynamic goes next.

17. so.... what, did vic deliver some fear toxin to barbara? i... what?

17.5. and i TOLD YOU that they would never explain that doll or why vic attacked those two cops at the beginning! oh, titans. never change.

18. did jason just randomly have tim’s restaurant burgled? god, i’m feeling a bit nauseous... are they going to kill tim’s father?

18.25. i feel like the rest of the season is going to wrestle with jason’s culpability in the horrible stuff he’s doing and i’m already seeing that prospect divide fans. on one hand, his story is taking a lot of oxygen away from other equally interesting story arcs, and he’s done some truly awful things, like indiscriminate murder, threatening to kill children, blowing up hank, and potentially killing tim’s parents.

there’s something to be said for the kind of hold that crane has over him, and the so-called ‘anti-fear’ drug that he keeps plying jason with--he’s alone, drugged almost constantly (to the level of dependence), fresh from the trauma of being bludgeoned to death. he hasn’t conquered fear; he’s ruled by it. on the other hand, given that he’s the one character on the show given an obvious and identifiable ‘mental illness’ arc (maaaaybe dick too), one can argue that it’s irresponsible to show this progress into such violence: jason was vulnerable because he was struggling, and that left him vulnerable, but it took only a push before he became a fucking serial killer.

but that could mean we underestimate the degree of that vulnerability, and the mechanics of this universe where he fell into the clutches of the one supervillain perfectly designed to exploit that vulnerability. that helpless spiral into further and further self-destruction is all too real. it’s valuable to know that someone who has sunk that low can still seek help--actual help--and get it.

18.5. i don’t know. it’s not a question i’m going to resolve at the end of an overlong recap at 1 in the morning. i don’t believe it’s even a question that titans can resolve. but i am interested in where they’re going next with jason.

19. this episode was genuinely great! i’m pumped for the rest of the season!

#titans #titans spoilers #meta #dick grayson #koriand'r #barbara gordon #garfield logan #conner kent #komand'r #jason todd #jonathan crane #a byronic cupcake #badass strawberry truffle #manic pixie pop tart #a tragic jalebi #this is a 3k+ MONSTER yikes

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ellana-ravenwood · 5 years ago

Text

“I wish I knew how to help you” - Batsis x Batfamily

Synopsis : Everyone has tough times at some point in their lives. Bruce Wayne most definitely knows that. But when his own daughter is going through a really rough patch, he finds himself not really knowing how to fix things...

This particular subject has been requested so many times (the earliest request dating from August 2018....mmmm..), so watch me butcher it with bad writing. I thought, given how I feel lately, it was the perfect time to finally write it. I hope you will like it (runs away to hide) :

TW : Anxiety, depression, mention of suicide.

My Masterlist : @ella-ravenwood-archives.

__________________________________________________

There hasn’t been a lot of time in his life where Bruce Wayne felt so completely lost. Of course, he would be lying if he was saying he never got confused, or if sometimes, he wasn’t quite sure what to do, what to say...

But if there was one thing he was great at, it was problem solving.

Even in desperate situations, he could always trust his analytical and collected mind to help him out.

In fact, Bruce Wayne could count on the fingers of one hand the amount of times he felt utterly lost, defenseless, and couldn't figure out a solution to his troubles. Not even a questionable one, like bottling up all of his feelings and pretending he doesn’t care while he’s screaming and dying inside.

He recollected exactly five times of such an event occurring in his life :

The day his parents died.

The day he realized he couldn’t save everyone.

The day Dick came to live at the Manor, and Bruce realized he had no idea how to raise a child.

The day Jason died.

The day he saw Damian kill.

And now, spilling onto another hand :

...The day he realized he had no idea how to help his daughter, you, with her mental health struggles.

Each time he had been completely lost, there was someone to help him.

For his parents’ death, it was Alfred.

For the day he realized even as Batman he would never be able to save everyone ? It was Commissioner Gordon, and his years of being a cop in a city like Gotham.

Dick himself, and Alfred of course, quickly helped Bruce to understand what it meant to be a father.

Tim’s arrival helped him grieve Jason.

And all his children, from Dick to Cass, and the experience he acquired trying to raise them helped him manage Damian’s problems. It was a plus for sure, that the boy wanted to be helped.

But with you...Any attempt of his trying to breach the subject would result in you brushing his concerns off, getting frustrated, or sighing “I’m fine” and leaving to isolate yourself in your room.

Sometimes, it felt like you really wanted to talk to him. Like you wanted to vent, and tell him what was wrong. But you always seemed to decide against it, maybe in fear of bothering him ?

Most of the time, it felt like you were living with your anxiety in peace. Like you greeted it like a good friend. Bruce had always known you were a rather stressed individual, but you always held yourself up so well ?

Most of the time, it felt like you were perfectly fine. How could he have known ? How could he have known you weren’t ? Ah...but maybe the signs were all there all along...

And Bruce just didn’t know how to help, when even you, didn’t seem to want the help...But maybe that was the trick ? To keep trying no matter what ?

At first, it didn’t seem to him like this would be an issue that could render him absolutely lost like this. And he hated the fact that he thought that.

Because it stemmed from one pervasive thought that made him despise himself : “Her fight with her own mind aren’t as bad as Damian’s, Cass’s, or Jason’s trauma. Aren’t like what Dick went through. It will be easier to fix.” And maybe you felt that, maybe that’s why you wouldn’t let him help ?

Why would it be easier anyway ?

Because you had a calmer childhood. Of course, being Batman’s daughter meant you definitely went through things most children will never experience. But compared to your siblings, you had a somewhat normal childhood.

The biggest trauma of it being the fact your mother, Selina Kyle (author’s note : I’m not particularly talking biological child here by the way, just to make sure y’all can all identify to this. Thought I’d mention it), decided to leave you in your dad’s care and had a very little part in your upbringing up until you turned 12 or so, which is the time she came back. You never seemed to even be mad about this. It always felt like you knew your mom had her own battles to win, that she wasn’t quite ready to have a child, and you forgave her as soon as she came back into your life.

But maybe that was the problem ? The fact Bruce always thought you were strong enough to handle things ? You always seemed to hold your own. You’d always been fiercely independent. Like you never needed help.

When Dick had fits of anger, you’d just stay quiet and withhold it.

When Jason was sometimes overzealous, you’d just stay calm and collected.

When Tim had massive freak outs at times because he felt he wasn’t enough, you’d just reassure him and stay grounded.

When Cass would have nightmare at night and be so scared she couldn’t find her voice again, you’d stay up with her and make sure to soothe her back to sleep, even if it meant not sleeping yourself.

When Damian would realize how much he missed out in life, in his childhood, and how little he knew about the real world...You’d be there, holding his hand while explaining in details why he felt the way he felt.

Even Duke, who arguably was the “sanest” of them all, had times where things were too much for him, and you’d magically appear by his side to help him through it.

You always seemed to be the one everyone relied on.

The one that has it all figured out, that has it together. The one most like Bruce, able to control her emotions. But the one even better than him, because you could also help others understand how they felt.

And that was why Bruce never really noticed your every day struggles.

Come to think of it, the fact you were always so on point and great in your explanations as to why someone felt the way they did, probably meant you felt like them before...

Oh god. God, Bruce hated this. Hated himself, even.

Hated the fact that he thought your fights with your own mind weren’t as bad as what Damian or Dick went through, as bad as Cass or Jason’s traumas. As bad as Duke witnessing what happened to his parents, because you...Well you still had both of them. And they were on good terms, now.

He hated the fact that it took you almost dying for him to realize you had a real problem too. For him to realize your apparent “I can handle my own” attitude was all a fragile facade that could break any time.

He hated the fact that he had to witness you almost letting yourself die, to realize this...The scene kept replaying in his mind.

A night out as vigilantes. Part of a building collapsing. You pushing a woman out of its way, but then just staring up at the crumbling wall that would crush you, not moving. And the state of daze you were in, when you found yourself in your father’s arms as he saved you in extremis from a certain death that you were clearly letting happen.

You later said it was a mistake. It was a simple mistake.

But Bruce, from that point and on, knew better. There had been a time, not long after his parents’ death, where he wondered what even was the point in living anymore. Where he found himself in a similar situation too, where he could save himself and yet stayed in front of the death threat. Alfred saved him at the time, gave him a good scolding which Bruce didn’t even register.

He recognize that look in your eyes.

Because he had the same one, many years ago, before he had a chance at having a family again. Before you, Dick, Jason, Cass, Tim, Damian...It was a look that meant : “What if I just let it happen, what if I end the pain by ending it all ?”.

And Bruce hated the fact that it took him witnessing this look in your eyes for him to finally realize you needed help. It tore his heart apart.

He hated the fact it took him so long to finally act upon it, to finally do something for you. No matter how lost he was as to where to even begin.

And so here he was, on a calm night in Gotham, sitting on a roof and researching on the internet what can be done to help people riddled with anxiety and such. He knew you enough to know you’d never accept to go see a therapist. But maybe...maybe he could help just as good ?

He knew how he got rid of his own anxiety.

The same way he got rid of many other things...He submitted himself to a strict training allowing him to control all of his emotions, shutting some away when needed.

But he couldn’t even imagine making you go through the things he made himself do. Not his daughter. Not any of his children.

There was a reason, the training he gave all of you wasn’t even 10% of what he used to do. Because he had nothing to live for except becoming strong enough to bring back justice to Gotham. Because he had nothing to look forward to except the fact that he was going to make sure no kid in that god forsaken city would go through what he went through ever again...

He gave himself the ability to turn into a machine. To shun all feelings away. Because he had a mission.

He would never, ever want any of his children to feel like this. Even if he managed to, in appearance, make himself feel nothing...It would always cause him tremendous pain. He knew how this felt, to force yourself to control everything.

No. His method was most definitely not fit for his daughter. He did not want her to become like him. And so, scrolling through forums, websites and blogs, he tried to find the best way he could to help his kiddo. It seems like there was almost like a “list” of things every person suffering from anxiety went through every day...

Wondering if your loved ones are upset with you.

“Are you mad at me ?”

Is the text you send to your oldest brother, Dick, immediately regretting it.

Because now, you were sure he’d find you annoying, pushy or anything of the like. Of course, Dick would never. But your mind was telling you he would.

He hadn’t responded to your text in a day, while he would usually be very reactive, and you didn’t need more to think he hated you, now.

Knowing there is no reason for you to feel that way.

Knowing for Dick to be “mad” at his little siblings, it would take a lot (you weren’t even sure you’ve ever seem him mad at any of you, except maybe the times you put yourselves in danger while he’s your team leader, but then it’s more a problem of being mad at himself than really at you.

Yet you cannot control it. You cannot. You are sure now, that he hates you.

Your father doesn’t understand why you’re so morose that day, and why you snap at everyone. He doesn’t understand, and you don’t tell him. And Bruce just ends up thinking you’re in a bad mood and leave you alone, while you desperately want to talk.

You want to tell him that you think Dick hates you. You want to hear him reassure you, even if technically, there is no need for reassurance. Of course your brother doesn’t hate you, he’s probably just busy, he just started his new job in Bludhaven, and moved in a new apartment and...Yes.

Rationally, of course you knew your brother, who has always been there and never shied away from saying he cared about you and love you, doesn’t hate you.

Yet you cannot help but think you did something wrong. You cannot help but think maybe he does. And you want to tell your dad, and have him reassure you, even if you don’t need to.

But instead, you snap at him. Instead, you push him away. Because you couldn’t handle your dad too thinking your annoying. Of course, he would think you’re annoying, a nuisance, if you told him you think Dick hates you...because obviously he doesn’t.

It was a vicious circle. So instead of possibly-but-probably-not-but-still-maybe be hurt, you pushed the one person you wanted close away, snapping at him and isolating yourself in your room.

TING ! Your phone, it’s ringing ! Oh please god, please be Dick !

It is your brother. He answered !

“Of course not ! Why would you think that ?”

You analyze every single word, and how he didn’t use an emoji, while he always does ! And the way he said “why would you think that ?”...he’s for sure mad at you now, and he thinks you’re the most obnoxious little sister that ever walked this Earth.

But you answer :

“Oh no reason lol. Hey wanna binge watch Gilmore Girls with me this week end ? Only you understand how a true masterpiece this show is.”

He doesn’t reply that day, and you think about it the entire night. He doesn’t come at the patrol of course, as again, he just settled in Bludhaven. And it starts. The spiraling of overwhelming feelings, the impossibility to let go of something.

You cannot think of anything else but sending another text to ask if he’s really not mad at you. You decide against it, because you don’t want him to think you’re annoying. Because you understand he has his own life now. Now that he moved from the Manor.

You understand he must be busy. That he has to settle in. That he doesn’t have to be available whenever you want, and that the fact he had always been up until now proved he was the best big brother anyone could ask for.

But you can’t help it. You think it must be you. That he’s not answering because it’s you.

And all of a sudden, you question every relationship you have. What if none of your siblings love you, and are just polite ? What if they’re lying because you’re really the only sibling out of all of you they don’t like and they’re just too nice to...Oh god. Your dad must hate you too.

Because you keep needing him to reassure you about stuffs. Ah yes, today you shunned him away, but sometimes, you guilt trip him so he says he cares about you. Or so he tells you nice things.

And suddenly, one of your biggest fear, the one where you ask for too much out of the people you love is back. And you cry. You cry all night. Because you have too many mood swings. You isolate yourself too much. But you don’t know, you don’t know how to make them see your fear of not being cared for...

And so you cry. Wondering over and over again “why am I like this ????” as you think all of your loved one are upset with you, and will never want to talk to you again.

Later in the day, Dick answers that he would love to watch GG with you, and there’s an emoji this time. Ah. So maybe he doesn’t hate you...

So many people wouldn’t even think this was a big deal, but for you...for you, it was...

Every small decision feels like it has life or death consequences.

You want to tell them. You want to tell them that’s why you couldn't choose what you wanted at the drive through fast enough. Why you stumbled on your words, and ended up blurting out : “Whatever Jason took !” because your taste in food was the closest to his.

You want to tell them, that even such a small issue, in your head, took a huge place. That you rehearsed what you were going to say when it would be your turn to speak to the waiter. That you got all tangled up, and didn’t ask what you actually wanted.

You want to tell them that sometimes, even the smallest “yes or no” question haunts you for days. That “what ifs” won’t let you alone.

You want to tell them, but instead you take the meal you didn’t really want, and eat it in silence, listening to everyone talking and enjoying this family moment. You stay quiet, your mind focus on how clumsy, dumb and useless you are.

Just because you couldn’t order something at the drive through.

You stay quiet, but your mind is racing about how much you suck. How you should get out of everyone’s way. Because you can’t even order food properly.

You feel guilty, because this is one rare family moment when you’re all together, and your siblings all have fun teasing each others, laughing and talking, while you just nod sometimes, smile, and die inside.

Just because you couldn’t order something at the drive through.

You think you’re absolutely insane. That you should be checked in in Arkham. You-

Bruce notices you’re quieter than usual. He notices you didn’t take your favorite burger. He wonders why, because he knows you really REALLY like that burger. Sometimes, he goes out of his way to go get you guys’ favorite food, and he knows that this burger is one of yours...

But he doesn’t dwell on it. Maybe you just wanted to change for once (which wasn’t much like you but oh well). And the fact you’re quiet ? Maybe you’re just lost in your own thoughts and day dreaming. After all, you do like to have some quiet and alone time, and this family dinner is happening on this time.

So Bruce doesn’t say anything, even if his guts tell him something is wrong.

Overthinking. Fearing something could go wrong.

You are in constant fear of what's going to happen if and when something happens to your dad ! Or your siblings ! What if you become homeless for some reasons ? What if you have no friends or family to return to ? What if what if what if what if what if what if what if what if what if what if what if...

Intrusive thoughts, they call them. And they don’t want to leave for sure. They’re persistant. They stay up until you overthink them to the point nothing makes sense anymore. To the dissociation.

And it makes your every day life a living nightmare.

Bruce, as he reads this part of an article on the internet, about how people suffering from anxiety are in a constant state of worry, feels his heart tighten at the mere idea you are going through this.

He knows you are. And he hates the fact it took him so long to realize because...

Not being able to control what's happening now or in the future.

Bruce could recollect so many times where, even as a child, you’d ask him questions like : “What happens after you die ?”, “What will happen to me when I get old ?” etc etc.

At the time, of course, he dismissed it as questions every kid asks. Wondering about the world around them. He never saw how much those questions would haunt you, how much sometimes, you couldn’t let go of things you perfectly knew you had no control over...

The signs were all there though.

You weren’t lost in day dreams, you were lost in nightmarish scenarios about what could possibly happen in the near future.

You were, every minute of every day, worrying about something that was currently happening, something that happened recently, or something that might happen in the next few moment, later the same day or in the future.

It was something you had to live with, and it never been just a child curiosity. As you grow up you stopped asking those questions out loud, didn’t mean they weren’t haunting you...

Making a mistake that will result in someone judging you.

You always had to be irreproachable.

You were a perfectionist.

A lot of time, people passed it as : “like father, like daughter.”

And Bruce should’ve known better...Why was he like this ? This part of him certainly didn’t stem from anything good. Yet he ignored the fact you acted exactly like him. The fact you were turning into him, on that front...

My brain is a TV and someone else has the remote.

... ... ... ...

************

Bruce had enough. He knew. He knew how you felt, and why you acted the way you did sometimes. And it was time. It was time to finally take action.

But he couldn’t do it alone. And he wouldn’t. In fact, they’d all be so mad, if he executed this plan on his own...

Because you. You were their precious sister.

They loved you, so much. And it would kill them, if they knew you really meant it, when you asked if they were mad at you. If they hated you. If they...

They always think you’re joking, or that you’re tired or something. That you have “mood swings”.

You don’t.

For you, all those issues are very real. But they don’t understand, because you’re always there to catch them, and they never expected you needed to be caught.

So when their father expose to them what he thinks is going on with them, and when they realize he’s right...

They feel crushed.

How ? How could they not notice their beloved sister was suffering so much ?

And so that day, they all swear that they are going to do everything in their power to help you. No matter what.

They will never give up on you.

No matter what..

************

“Why am I like this ? Why am I like this ? Why am I like this ?” You repeat to yourself, over and over again, as you feel your heart beat like crazy while it has no reason to.

While your chest hurt, and you feel the weight of anxiety on your shoulder, without even knowing why.

You keep telling yourself you suck, you keep being too harsh on yourself, and oh, oh if you only knew that your entire family right now, was plotting to help you feel better.

Unfortunately...

************

Dick’s antics soothe you for a bit, but as soon as he’s gone your heart goes wild again, refusing to stop, and your mind repeats bad thoughts to you.

The next day, Dick planned the PERFECT sister/brother day. Planning things to spend time with you, just like when you were little and it was just you and him.

It’s a perfect day indeed. Everything makes you forget your anxiety. You smile, for the first time in months since this weird extreme anxious state started.

Dick always knew how to make you laugh, and how to tease you just enough so that you wanted to show him what you were made of !

But once you’re home...

And Dick can try, try and try again, but no matter his effort, he can only relieve your pain when he’s around, and unfortunately, he isn’t always around.

************

Jason is patient, with you.

He listens, he empathizes and does not patronizes.

He’s there when you need him. He celebrates every small victory from you (like finally being able to order the burger you want). He encourages you, gives you all the hope he can. And it means a lot, coming from him.

Because Jason suffered a lot. He went through a lot. His death, and his traumatic return...

He tries to keep you hopeful. He is patient. Available. But he does things too well. You’re afraid he spends too much time with you, and forgets his own mental health. You know he loves to meditate, but haven’t seen him do it in ages.

Because he’s also keeping an eye on you. Your father probably told him the crumbling building debacle...And now he makes sure you’re ok.

But to the detriment of his own mental well being ?

You feel like you’re weighting him down. And slowly, he notices you’re avoiding him. And he doesn’t know what to do. He doesn’t want to push you, or force you to do anything...

************

It has always been easy, to talk to Tim.

Your brother is the only one in the family that did not become a Robin for personal reasons. Sure, he was struck with tragedy later in life (or he would never be your brother now...), but at the core of it...He was just a kid who wanted to help.

He was a fan of Batman, who really REALLY wanted to make himself useful. He became Robin, not because of any personal motivation but because he was just that selfless.

And so, it has always been easy to talk to Tim.

Which is why he’s surprised, when he realizes you’ve never told him about your anxiety. About your depressed thoughts. You vent a lot to him, but about small things. About things you can both laugh about.

It has always been easy to talk to Tim, and the fact you cannot address your anxiety problems tells him all the extent of it.

Tells him you’re truly suffering, and that he needs to get better.

To become an even better listener, for you. And as you witness him, just like Jason, sort of forgetting about his own well being, you cannot help but feel even worst...

They mean well. They mean so well. But you cannot stand them putting their own health on the line just for you. After all, you’re just a loser who doesn’t deserve any of those wonderful brothers and sister...

************

Duke tries to help you “temper your thoughts”.

His mom used to do that to him, as a child. He was always rather active, suffering from ADHD and such. In a lot of ways, his trouble resembled the ones you had with anxiety.

And he thought that maybe, helping you tempering your thoughts would be the best.

What does that even mean ? Well. Whenever he felt like you were anxious about something, scared or stressed, he would ask you if you were alright up until you’d finally tell him what was making you anxious.

And then he’d ask you the series of question his mom asked : “What’s the worst that can happen ? What’s the best that can happen ? What’s most realistic, or likely ?”...At first you didn’t really understand the point.

But soon enough, you got it. This was helping you turning your intrusive thoughts against themselves. Helping you see the good sides of things.

Unfortunately, just like with Dick’s technique of making you laugh and such, when Duke wasn’t around to remind you to consider the best, worst and most likely option...you forgot that trick.

************

"Let’s go to a quieter place, or go for a walk.”

Cassandra tells you, whenever she sees you get overwhelmed by something. And it works. It does.

You two just walk in silence, hand in hand.

Your sister’s presence reassuring, and warm. Her care for you sipping out of her very being, from her hand to yours.

“Let’s go to a quieter place, or for a walk.”

You go outside, and you don’t speak. She’s just here for you.

But she can’t always be around, can she ? She can’t always just magically appear next to you in moments of need, and say :

“Let’s go to a quieter place, or for a walk.”

But when she can. She does.

She knows when you get overwhelmed by sounds, by smells, by anything. And she brings you to places that makes you feel at peace.

Cassandra was never one to speak a lot, but she always understood.

************

Damian can’t help but feel sad that he, and the rest of the family, aren’t enough for you to feel better. That they can’t win against your depression and anxiety, no matter how hard they try.

And Damian. Oh Damian tries.

He makes sure you have everything you need. He makes sure to be there when it feels like you’re not feeling well, he follows you like a shadow and...

You both get more and more frustrated.

Damian puts a lot of effort into making you feel better, and you keep snapping at him, or pushing him away.

It’s because YOU’RE the big sister. YOU’RE the one who’s supposed to take care of him. But it seems like lately, Damian is obsessed with your well being, and he doesn’t even let you tuck him in anymore...He’s the one that comes tuck you in.

And deep down, you feel like it’s exactly what you need. You want to let your baby brother take care of you. And his worries are so sweet, and makes you feel all warm inside by how adorable this kid can be. How far he came back from.

Deep down.

But you’re not ready to admit you need help. Especially not from your 11 years old brother. No. He’s the one that needs the cuddles and the reassuring words. He’s the one that had it way tougher than you. And him taking care of you, although it feels nice, doesn’t feel right.

And it hurts, to see your little brother get sad because he can’t help you like he wants to. Because he thinks he’s not enough for you, and that’s why you’re feeling the way you are...

************

Nothing goes how they think it was going to go.

You do not get better right away. It doesn’t even feel like you’re getting better at all. On the contrary.

It feels like you push them away even more, that you become even more irritable, that...that...that you go further and further away from them.

And they don’t understand.

Even you, don’t understand.

Why do you feel so bad ? So Sad ? So anxious all the time ?

You don’t know. You don’t know. You don’t know.

“Why am I like this ? Why am I like this ? Why am I like this ?!”

You repeat this to yourself every day, without being able to find an answer.

And Bruce...Oh, your father came to the conclusion that the last and only option is that you need to go to therapy, you need professional help.

************

“What ? Why ? I’m fine dad !”

You say, anger pointing in your voice, as he tells you that.

“No you’re not, (Y/N). We can all see it. And there’s so much we can do we...I...”

There’s a silence. A heavy one. And it breaks Bruce’s heart, to see tears welling up at the corner of your eyes :

“It’s fine. I get it. I’m too much, aren’t I ? That’s why right ? I ruin you guys’ life ? You know, I noticed a shift not long ago. I know you’re trying to make me feel better, and I know you all get frustrated because you can’t. I swear I try dad. I swear I try to not get those bad thoughts. To not think you don’t love me, for whatever reason. To not think like I’m a burden. I swear I try to not be anxious. I try to not worry, about every little thing. I try so hard ok ?! But it doesn’t work ! And I know it’s wearing all of you down. I know it. But...I’m...It’ll be fine ! IT’LL BE FINE !!”

You scream those last few words, and a silence installs itself between you and your father.

Bruce just looks at you, and you cannot stand the pained look in his eyes. You never wanted your burden to transfer on your family like that...why ? Why did you get worst and made them notice you weren’t ok ? Why ?

Maybe it would’ve been better, if your dad didn’t see you about to get crush by this building, and hadn’t saved you. They’d have a-

“I won’t stop trying.”

Your father’s voice cuts your terrible thought, and you look up at him. He walked slowly to you, carefully, as if afraid to scare you. As if afraid you’re gonna “tt” him, and run to lock yourself in your room.

But for some reason, you don’t move. And you let him come close.

He brushes a few fingers on your cheek, as he used to when you were a child and unable to sleep. Him softly humming to you and brushing your cheeks slowly always made you fall right asleep...

“Until you feel better. And I will tell you over and over again that I love you and that I am here for you, if it’s what you need. I am your dad. I am here for you.”

And he understands your pain oh too well. It’s not because he managed to be able to shut his own mental health problems out, that he never feels them.

You are your father’s daughter. Unfortunately in that case.

Oh. Oh he wishes he could take on your pain. He could take on his shoulders your entire burden. He wishes it was only him, that felt that way. That you would never, ever feel anxiety, or depression again.

He knows it is not that easy. He understands.

“I’m not going anywhere.”

Something breaks inside you. Something that was on the verge of shattering for years, but snapped only now.

“I just...I just wish I could help you. I just wish I knew how. I am trying too, (Y/N). And I won’t give up on you. No matter what you think. I will never give up on you.”

Those words. Those were so simple. Yet what you needed to hear for so long.

Because no matter your siblings’ effort, or Alfred’s, or your dad’s. Your friends at the Young Justice. Anyone you ever cared for...You always were afraid that one day, you’d be too much for them.

That one day, all your mood swings, pushing them away, venting and complaining often...would be too much. And that they’d leave you.

Alone forever.

“I’m not giving up on you.”

Coming from your dad. You knew he said the truth. You knew.

There’s a short silence. You look at your father, and even Queen Anxiety couldn’t make you think he wasn’t being genuine.

“You...That’s...I...”

Getting chocked up, you weren’t able to say anything, but he understood.

And he was there to catch you. You went right into his arms, and he held you tight, trying to convey to you all the unconditional love he has and will always have for you, no matter what.

No matter how much you push him away, how broken you get, how much you hate yourself and think you don’t deserve any kind of love...he’d always, ALWAYS love you. And would never give up.

“I’m here. I’m here. I will always be here.”

His voice was soothing. It has always been soothing. And he was there.

He was there.

“Thank you...”

You manage to whimper out, as he holds you against his heart.

And, finding it hard to reign his own emotions in (his children have always been the only ones who could cross all his walls and find the vulnerable Bruce who feels everything), Bruce repeated as much as you needed to hear that he was here.

He would always be here for you.

Always..

And the path to your recovery was now open.

__________________________________________________

Here we are. I am sorry if this is sort of...bluargh. Or not what you wanted. But I do hope you liked it. Haha I feel like this story is so ridiculous...I guess this feeling is in the theme eh..........Maybe it’s also because as usual, I wrote very late into the night, and sleep deprivation always make me feel like I do stupid things. Write terrible stuffs.

Reblogs and feedbacks are always welcomed ?

Haha. Convincing.

See you soon with another story, much lighter than this one for sure haha...

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pink-bird-30 · 3 years ago

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Titans 3x06

Spoilers ahead!!!! Read at your own risk!!!!!!!!!

Okay, y'all. Lets dive in cuz we got ourselves an informative episode with almost full team interaction and some serious Dick Grayson reprimanding.

Things I liked:

-First off, Kori going off of Dick for going off on his own. HOW MANY FICS HAVE I READ THIS PAST WEEK BEFORE WATCHING THE NEW EPSIODE DID THEY GET IT RIGHT. The writers must be taking notes from us cuz honestly, top tier stuff here. Kori patching up Dick, towering over him and scolding him for his idiocy. Ugh, I live for this!!!

-I loved Gar's anger in this scene too. I think it really showed Dick that there are people who care for him and don't agree with how he goes about going after Scarecrow and Redhood.

-Kom, she is a queen during the kitchen scene. She picks up the tension between Dick and Kori right away.

"Oh, the green one isn't your manservant. It's him who gives you pleasure." (or whatever the line was)

My jaw was on the floor. I loved it.

-Kom choosing Connor as her manservant, girl same. And Connor not understanding, poor bb.

-The conversation between Dick and Gar was much needed and the bonding experience in the Batcave.

-Dick and Kori during the hospital scene, gave me the same vibes from season 1 when they were in the hospital after Bruce lost it in their dreamworld. Kori was still telling Dick how it is and to deal with his shit.

-YOOOOOOOO Jason having hand in Tim's parent's death? Will his dad survive? Who else was shot? I need answers!!!!!!

Things I did not like:

-I honestly don't like Barbara from 6 years ago. I think she was pretty OOC and kiddish. I hated that they made her seem insecure and not the smart intelligent character that she is. I like the colder, closed off, kick ass from a wheelchair, Barbara Gordon. She is bomb.

-The bar scene between Dick and Babs, I cringed watching them flirt. If I'm correct, and I can be wrong, Barbara was always older than Dick, right? I'm pretty sure when she was introduced in the comics she was 6 years older than him? That has never sat right with me. (Also, Dick in the hat just was a no for me).

-Dick's attitude 6 years ago? Idk what that was all about but I think him helping Barbara steal and send the cops on a wild goose chase is OOC for him.

-I honestly skipped the intimate scene between Dick and Barbara, I just couldn't do it.

-Dick dismissing Kori. That was a "dick" move. He completely shuts her out but then acts all surprised when Kom is sitting in Alfred's kitchen. bro, make up your mind. Do you want to know what's going on with Kori or not. oh, and the judgment. "Isn't that the sister that killed your bf and your parents?" Yes, Dick. It is, and guess what, if you were around instead of going off on your own playing Batman, you would know! Just saying.

-Hold up, since when does Dick even know about Feddi and Kom killing Kori's parents? This was never discussed. I needed Dick's full reaction to this. I swear, if they make it seem that Dick already knows Kori is a princess, and did not show us, I'm gonna loose it. I've been waiting for that Dramatic Dick Grayson moment of YoUr A pRiNcEsS?!?!". DON'T TAKE THAT FROM US!

-I hated how after Kori and Connor saved the doctor's life, instead of showing a conversation between the Doctor and the Titans, you just have Kori and Connor discussing what she said to them. Why was there no scene there? It would have been important and crucial to Jason and Scarecrow's next moves.

After thoughts:

This was a solid episode. I missed these kinds of episodes where you get a little bit of everything. We got information on Dick and Bab's past, we have an understanding of the plans Scarecrow and Jason have. We know that Jason is expandable and Barbara is now being targeted. We got team interaction, we got Kori and Kom drama. It was just well done. I hate episodes that are just 1 theme and don't give information on other plots going on. Like, we were even able to bring Tim Drake into this even at the very end, but it fit in to the plot. And it was great!

I don't think we can trust Kom. The scene when Connor is searching on he Batcomputer and Kom was behind Kori, Kori had a vision right? or was that her patience running thin with Kom? or was it Kom controlling Kori?! I feel like Kom is using her mental abilities to control Kori.

I also believe that Kom is trying to get everyone to trust her, to feel bad for her and sympathize with her. She already has Connor in her hands. I don't believe that her powers are gone. I think she is pretending to be weaker than she is.

Overall, I'm a happy camper this week. Until 3x07 !

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thr-333 · 4 years ago

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Mismatch- Part 8

Bio Dad Bruce Wayne Month 2020

Meeting your Dad! Again!

First< Previous> Next

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“She’s ok,” Marinette informs Marion, rechecking her bruised forehead.

“Already called the cops and ambulance,” Marion bounces a crying baby in his arms, humming a random tune.

Marinette nods, she doesn't try to move the lady. She leaves her to check that the goon who attacked the mother was still securely tied up, even if they were unconscious. The baby's cries calm, replaced by giggling as Marion makes faces. Marinette smiles at the scene. Hearing the quiet touch down of feet behind her she pivots coming face to face with the Batman.

“Who are you,” He demands in his usual growling voice.

“We-”

“Shush!” Marion hisses as the baby starts to wail again.

Marinette rolls her eyes, trying not to feel nervous that Marion told the Batman off.

“We’re just passing through the city, and decided to help out a bit,” Marinette explains, as Marion walks up to stand next to her.

Marinette checks the entrance to the alley. More out of habit than actual concern. Someone she assumes to be Robin by the costume was blocking the way out. As If Marion was going to make a break for it holding a baby.

“This city-”

“Uh! No, no, no, I need that to stay on thank you,” Marion interrupts him, trying to gently stop the baby from pulling down his mask while holding both up.

Marinette can practically feel the irritation rolling off Robin. Batman surprisingly seemed to be perfectly fine with being interrupted, likely because the baby was very cute. Marion manages to keep his mask up, holding the baby down and away from his face now.

“Um… sorry…. Please continue,” Marinette turns back to Batman. Marion bouncing the upset baby, trying to make up for his lost toy.

“This city is dangerous, it already has plenty of protectors, you aren’t needed here,” Batman looms over them, as if just his presence would make them instantly agree and send them packing.

“Really? Then where were these ‘protectors’ five minutes ago?” Marion snaps, the tension in the air sets Marinette on edge all to aware of negative emotions, “If it wasn't for us these two would be dead,”

“We had our eyes on the situation,” Robin speaks up for the first time.

“While we were doing something about it,” She had lean't not to let anyone discredit you in her early time as Ladybug. Marinette meets Batman's glare, channeling her inner Ladybug to do so. “Even if you could have saved them, it doesn't change the fact we did , also-”

“No, no- wait these are dirty, ah!” Marion exclaims, all eyes turning to him. Marinette watches in disbelief as he completely ruins the moment trying to wrestle his gloved hand away from the baby’s open mouth.

“Could you maybe not?” Marinette hisses to him. He breaks free pulling his hands away from the reaching baby, who starts to sniffle.

“These gloves have touched the buildings, alley floor and punched that guy, which by the looks of it is the dirties of all, I am not about to let this little one get anywhere near those germs,” Marion finishes, pulling off his gloves with his teeth. Giving the baby his fingers to happily chew on.

“You are such a mother!” Marinette hisses, snatching the glove he couldn’t put down with his hands full.

“Thank you,” Marion says once he is free to. Marinette isn’t sure if he meant the insult or taking the glove, probably both. He turns to Batman, as serious as a person being eaten by a six month old can be. “Look, the point is we helped people tonight and isn’t that what matters?”

“Not if-” The sound of sirens in the distance interrupts Batman again, “Let’s discuss this on the roof,”

With that both Batman and Robin deploy their grappling hooks and are gone in a matter of seconds.

“I guess we follow them?” Marinette turns to Marion, “They’re rather confident we won’t just leave, aren’t they?”

“They could catch us easily,” Marion shrugs, “You follow, I’ll drop this little trouble maker off,”

“If you insist,” Marinette leaves him before the vehicles park outside the alley, scaling the building.

“Your friends not joining us?” Batman asks as soon as she flips onto the roof.

“What was he meant to do?” Marinette tries not to seem out of breath, this was easier with a yo-yo, and magic powers, “Leave the baby on the floor?”

Batman doesn't say anything. They peer over the edge of the building, watching as the cops and medics show up. The cops seem cautious of Marion, but don’t do anything as he holds the baby. Marion ignores them talking to the medics instead as the check over the mother. Marion follows them out of the alley. He tries to hand off the baby to one of the medics but it starts crying loudly enough that they can hear it from the roof. Marion takes back the baby, calming it down in a matter of seconds.

“I think this could take awhile,” Marinette informs the company, still keeping an eye on the people below.

“Then I’ll ask you again,” Batman turns to her, “Who are you?”

“Like names?” Marinette asks, getting a curt nod, “Don’t have any, can’t decide,”

“You don’t have codenames?” Robin scoffed, Marinette wasn’t sure she liked his tone.

“We get by just fine without any,” Marinette watches as Marion starts talking with an officer, as the other pushes the goon into the car.

“You are completely unprofessional,” Robin spits out, thats it.

“Oh excuse me, I wasn’t aware there was a hiring facility for vigilantes, whats their motto, ‘vigilantes: we took the law into our own hands and beat people up in dark alleyways, but if you aren't named after a flying animal you are being unprofessional!” Marinette may be a little overtired and jet lagged at this point. Especially since she thinks she heard a laugh somewhere.

“I have formal training,” Robin seethes, “And at least I’m wearing armour,”

“Good for you, you know, I have both those things, just try and shoot me, see what happens, cause I guarantee I- both of us are covered on both accounts,” Marinette challenges, glancing down at the street to see Marion still talking with the officers. She throws in for good measure “You’d think with all your ‘training’ you’d be able to tell,”

With the way Robins glaring, Marinette is sure he’s going to take up her challenge. Good. If that's the only way to get through to them so be it.

“That’s enough,” Batman breaks through the tension, “We will discuss this further when the other one is here,”

Marinette looks down at ‘the other one’ just as the mother starts to wake up. She looks around panicked. Marion rushes to her side still holding the baby. She cries in relief taking the baby from him. Marinette watches as Marion rubs his neck, a gesture she knew as him being embarrassed over praise. With a wave over his shoulder he leaves, scaling up the building like Marinette did.

“I gave the police my statement, since the woman may be concussed, she seems ok but- wow it's chilly up here,” Marion cuts himself off coming to stand next to Marinette

“Your armour isn’t insulated?” Robin sneers, with a pointed look at Marinette.

“Not what I meant, but thanks for clearing that up,” Marion takes in the way Marinette bristles at the comment.

She hands back his glove, still glowering.

“As I was saying earlier,” Batman tries to redirect the conversation, as Marion wipes dribble off his fingers before slipping his glove back on. “Gotham is dangerous, there is no need to put yourselves at risk,”

“I wouldn’t say that,” Marion smiles down at the Mother still holding her baby tightly, “We want to help while we're here, what's wrong with that?”

“You wont be helping anyone if you get yourselves killed,” Robin warns.

“We can handle back alley thugs,” Marinette addresses Robin with a scowl.

“And what happens when it's not, when you run into an actual villain?” Batman asks, the sounds of the car and ambulance leaving in the background.

“We can handle them too,” Marinette says a touch proud, with the confidence that Ladybug always carries.

“You have no idea what you’re dealing with,” The severity to Batman's tone makes his words feel heavy despite being so cliche.

“That's pretty standard at this point,” Marion shrugs, “We’ve learnt on the job,”

“Even so, I won't allow you to risk your lives,” Batman decides, the twins exchange a glance of disbelief.

“You won't allow us?” Marinette asks, “What makes you think we care?”

He seems taken aback, Marinette continues before he can answer.

“The fact of the matter is, we are vigilantes, just like you, if you agree or not we are going to help people,” Marinette preaches, not letting him protest, “Your approval doesn't matter to us,”

Marinette walks past them, followed by Marion. They are about to reach the opposite side of the building when a man dressed in blue and black emerges from the shadows. Nightwing, Marinette recognises the costume, the only costume he's had ever had as far as she's concerned. Nope, she definitely had never found any other horrendous costumes when researching for her designs, nope.

“How long have you been there?” Marion startles, getting a friendly smile, the first friendly smile of the night(baby not withstanding).

“I’ve been listening for a while,” He tells them, “I know you want to help, but we are able to protect just fine Gotham, there's no reason for you to take unnecessary risks, even if you are capable,”

“Even so I-we cannot stand by and do nothing,” Marinette calmly declares, he being the first one to not act like they were clueless idiots, “Not when we are able to help people, and bring a smile to them,"

Nightwing doesn't respond but its clear he has no intention of letting them pass. He doesnt stop them as they walk away to the left side of the building, only to be stopped by Red Robin.

“Oh no, by all means don’t come out all at once or anything, please,” Marion snaps, turning on his heels not even waiting for his speech. Marinette shrugs and follows.

“You should listen!” Red Robin calls, Marinette has to stop Marion from flipping him the bird.

They strike an interesting balance. It was times like this she wondered if the miraculous affected their behaviour, or if it was because of their behaviour that they received their miraculous. They walked to the right side of the building and were predictably stopped once again, this time by Red Hood.

“How many of you are there!?” Marion shouts, Red Hood chuckles. Marion’s anger is only slightly offset by the sound.

“Here? Just me left,” His mirth turns serious “This job ain't all fun and games,”

“For fuck sake! Don’t you think I know that!?” Marion swears, letting Marinette know his patience had finally snapped, “I’ve watched people die, a lot of people, all because I wasn’t good enough! Well now I am and I’ll be damned if I waste that and let more people die when I can do something about it!”

Marinette cringes. She knew Marion still carried the guilt from his earlier days as Chat Noir. The ladybugs always brought people back, but that doesn't change what happened. Marion goes around Red Hood, no one stopping them this time. They jump over to the next roof, getting far away as quickly as possible.

“You ok?” Marinette asks, after they had gone a decent distance.

“Yeah, you?” Marion doesn't quite meet her eye, “I’m sorry for leaving you alone,”

“Don’t worry about it,” Marinette tells him, “Any of it,”

Marion nods, but they both know he will. They continue on with their patrol, less light hearted than usual, memories flashing through their heads.

“We’re being followed,” Marion glances at the direction of their pursuer.

“Ignore them, it’s probably just Robin or something,” Marinette decides, walking in the opposite direction.

They continue on their patrol, going later than they would like because of their follower. It was worth it when they came across another situation in a diffrent alley. ‘What's with this city and alleys?’ Marinette wonders dropping down. They both quickly defuse the situation. Marinette can feel a gaze from above and gives in. When they climb back up from the alley she snaps.

“Are you planning to let us go home tonight, or just keep stalking us?” Marinette asks the empty space.

“Wasn’t planning to, just wanted to see what you could do,” Red Hood walks out from the shadows, Marinette makes sure Marion isn't melting. He is.

“And?”

“You’re completely unprepared,” He shrugs, face hidden by his helmet.

“Great, more lectures,” Marinette turns to walk away.

“No it's not,” Red Hood insists, making her pause, “I can tell you have skill, but you don’t have the tech you need or the support, what are you planning on just walking around the city every night waiting for crime to wall in your lap?”

“This is Gotham,” Marinette accepts the responsibility of leading the conversation. Marion being able to do little more than stutter, probably realising he shouted at his crush about how he weak he is.

“Even so, if you want to help people there are better, more effective, ways to do it,”

“I know, but we don’t exactly have many other options,” Besides transforming, but that was off the table.

“That’s why we’re offering help,” He told them, “Do you want to work with us?”

“What? Why?” Marinette runs the conversation through her head. Wondering when that became an option.

“Why do I want you to? Because you yelled at Batman, and that's hilarious,” Red Hood was probably smiling under his hood, “The others probably just don’t want you to get hurt or something, although Bat's is always looking for new kids to adopt”

“Hm,” Marinette hums, she had to carefully consider their options.

They couldn’t risk revealing any of their identities. However it was also probably a good idea not to piss them all off more. They could use some new gear but they didn’t necessarily need it. The main purpose was to be able to protect their class and friends, now that the Gotham vigilantes knew they were around suddenly showing up wouldn’t be suspicious. They really could get by without the help, it would put too much at risk. Any way you sliced it the answer was-

“Yes!” Marion blurts out, before Marinette can say the opposite.

“What?” Marinette hisses, of course that's when he recovered his ability to speak.

“Great, meet at this location tomorrow night, all the details are on here,” he hands Marion a piece of paper and Marinette swears he internally combusts as their(gloved) fingers brush.

With that Red Hood disappears leaving behind the shell shocked twins, both for very different reasons.

“Why! Why did you say yes!” Marinette practically screeches, turning Marion to face her and shaking him out of his stupor.

“It’s Red Hood! Red! Hood! He asked us personally! We have to do it!” Marion shakes her right back.

“No we don’t!” Marinette yells, breaking away from his grip, shaking her head at the lovestruck look, “Did you actually consider what you were agreeing to? How much did your crush affect this decision?!”

“100%!”

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oscopelabs · 4 years ago

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Christopher Nolan: The Man Who Wasn’t There by Daniel Carlson

So, we’ll start with the fact that all movies are make-believe. It’s a bunch of actors on a set, wearing costumes and standing with props picked out by hordes of people you’ll never see, under the guidance of a director, saying things that have been written down for them while doing their best to say these things so that it sounds like they’re just now thinking of them. We all know this—saying it feels incredibly stupid, like pointing out that water is wet—but it’s still worth noting. There is, for example, no such person as Luke Skywalker. Never has been, never will be. He was invented by a baby boomer from Modesto. He is not real.

And we know this, and that’s part of the fun. We know that Luke Skywalker isn’t real but is being portrayed by an actor (another boomer from the Bay Area, come to think of it), and that none of the things we’re seeing are real. But we give ourselves over to the collective fiction for the greater experience of becoming involved in a story. This is one of the most amazing things that we do as humans. We know—deep down, in our bones, without-a-doubt know—that the thing we’re watching is fiction, but we enter a state of suspended reality where we imagine the story to be real, and we allow ourselves to be moved by it. We’ve been doing this since we developed language. The people telling these stories know this and bring the same level of commitment and imagination and assurance that we do as viewers, too. The storyteller knows that the story isn’t real, but for lack of a better way to get a handle on it, it feels real. So, to continue with the example, we’re excited when Luke Skywalker blows up the Death Star because he helped the good guys win. For us viewers, in this state of mutually reinforced agreement, that “happened.” It’s not real, but it’s “real”—that is, it’s real within the established boundaries of the invented world that we’ve all agreed to sit and look at for a couple of hours. Every viewer knows this, and every filmmaker acts on it, too. Except:

Christopher Nolan does not do this.

There’s no one single owner or maker of any movie, and anyone who tells you different has their hand in your pocket. But there’s an argument to be made that when somebody both writes and directs the movie, it’s a bit easier to locate a sense of personhood in the final product. (This is all really rough math, too, and should not be used in court.) Christopher Nolan has directed 11 films to date, and while his style can be found in all of them, his self is more present in the ones where he had a hand in the shaping of the story—and crucially, not just that, but in the construction of the fictional world. Take away the superhero trilogy, the remake of a Norwegian thriller, the adaptation of a novel, and the historical drama, and Nolan’s directed five films that can reasonably be attributed to his own creative universe: Following (1998), Memento (2000), Inception (2010), Interstellar (2014), and Tenet (2020). These movies all involve themes that Nolan seems to enjoy working with no matter the source material, including identity, memory, and how easily reality can be called into question when two people refuse to concede that they had very different experiences of the same event. Basically, he makes movies about how perception shapes existence. How he does this, though, is unlike pretty much everybody else.

Take Inception. After a decade spent going from hotshot new talent to household name (thanks to directing the two highest-grossing Batman movies ever made, as well as the first superhero movie to earn an Oscar for acting), he had the credit line to make something big and flashy that was also weird and personal. So we got an action movie that, when first announced in the Hollywood trades, was described as being set within “the architecture of the mind.” Although this at first seemed to be a phrase that only a publicist could love, it turned out to be the best way to describe the film. This is a film, after all, about a group of elite agents who use special technology to enter someone’s subconscious dream-state and then manipulate that person’s memories and emotions. The second half of the film sees team leader Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) and the rest of the squad actually descend through multiple nested subconsciouses to achieve their goal, even as they’re chased every step of the way by representations of Mal (Marion Cotillard), Dom’s late wife, who committed suicide after spending too much time in another’s subconscious and lost the ability to discern whether she was really alive or still in the dream-world.

I say “representations” because that’s what they are: Mal is long dead, but Dom still feels enormous guilt over his complicity in her actions, and that guilt shows up looking like Mal, whose villainous actions (the representation’s actions, that is) are just more signs of Dom not being able to come to grips with his own past. It’s his own brain making these things up and attacking itself, and it chases his entire crew down three successive layers of dream worlds. You get caught up in the movie’s world as a viewer, and you go along because Nolan is pretty good at making exciting movies that feel like theme-park rides. You accept that Dom and everybody else refer to Mal as Mal and not, say, Dom. Dom even addresses her (“her”) when her projection shows up, speaking to her as if she’s a separate being with her own will and desires and not a puppet that he’s pretending not to know he’s controlling. It’s only later that you realize that the movie is in some ways just a big-budget rendition of what it would look like to really, really want to avoid therapy.

Which is what makes Nolan different from other filmmakers:

None of this is actually happening.

Again, yes, it’s happening in the sense that we see things on screen—explosions, chases, a fight scene in a rotating hallway that’s still some of the best practical-effects work in modern action movies—but within the universe of the film, none of what’s going on is taking place in the real world. It’s all unfolding in the subconsciouses of Dom’s teammates. In the movie’s real world, they’re all asleep on a luxury jet. They’re “doing” things that have an outcome on the plot, but Nolan sets more than half the movie inside dreams. It’s a movie about reality where we spend less time in reality than in fantasy. Half the movie is pretend.

For Nolan, filmmaking is about using a dazzling array of techniques to create a visual spectacle that distracts the viewer from the fact that the real and true story is happening somewhere else: in the fringes we can’t quite see, in the things we forget to remember, or even in the realm of pure speculation.

Memento arrived like (and with) a gunshot. It seemed to come out of nowhere and leave people struggling to describe it, and they usually wound up saying something like “it goes backward, but also forward at the same time, except some parts are actually really backward, like in reverse, so it’s maybe a circle?” Written by Christopher Nolan from an idea originally shared with him by his brother, Jonathan (who eventually turned it into a very different short story titled “Memento Mori”), the film follows a man named Leonard (Guy Pearce) who has anterograde amnesia and can’t form new memories, so every few minutes he sort of just resets and has to figure out where he is, what he’s doing there, and so on. He’s on the hunt for the man who attacked him and his wife, leaving his wife dead and Leonard in his present condition, which you can imagine does not make the gathering and synthesis of clues easy.

What’s more, Nolan puts the viewer in Leonard’s shoes by breaking the film’s linear timeline into two halves—call them A and B—and then alternating between them, with the added disorientation coming from the fact that one of those timeline halves plays out backward, with each successive scene showing what happened before the one you previously saw. So, if you numbered all the scenes in each timeline in chronological order, they’d look something like this when arranged in the final film: Scene A1, Scene B22, Scene A2, Scene B21, Scene A3, Scene B20, etc. You get why it messed with people’s heads.

As a result, we spend most of the movie pretty confused, just like Leonard, whose suppositions about what might or might not take place next begin to substitute for our own understanding of the film. It’s not until the end that we find out the shoe already dropped, and that Leonard killed the original attacker some time ago and has since been led on a series of goose chases by his cop friend, Teddy (Joe Pantoliano), who’s planting fake clues to get Leonard to take out other criminals. In other words, we realize that the story we thought was happening was pretend, and the real story was happening all around us, in the margins, memories, and imaginations of the characters. The most honest moment in the movie is the scene where Leonard hires a sex worker to wait several minutes in the bathroom while he gets in bed, then make a noise with the door to wake him, at which point his amnesia has kicked in again and he briefly thinks that the noise is being made by his wife. He’s wrong, of course, but this is the only time in the movie that we actually know he’s wrong. It’s the only time we truly know what’s real and what isn’t.

Yet you can’t talk about Memento without talking about Following, Nolan’s first feature. Although the film’s production was so extremely low-budget you’d think they were lying—the cast and crew all had day jobs and could only film on the weekends, so the thing took a year to make—Nolan’s willingness to dwell completely in a make-believe world that the viewer never knows about is already evident. It’s about a bored young writer who starts following strangers through the city for kicks, only for one of those strangers to catch him in the act and confront him. The stranger introduces himself as Cobb—I kindly submit here that it is not a coincidence that this is also Leonardo DiCaprio’s character’s name in Inception, but you already knew that—and reveals himself to be a burglar, spooked by the tail but willing to take on an apprentice. Cobb trains the writer to be a burglar, only for the situation to ultimately wind up implicating the writer himself in a complex blackmail plot. You see, the writer didn’t latch onto Cobb in a crowd; Cobb lured him in. The whole movie has been Cobb’s story all along, with the writer as a patsy who doesn’t understand the truth until the final frame. None of what we saw mattered, and everything that actually happened happened off-screen just before or just after we came in on a given scene. It’s like realizing the movie you’re watching turned out to be just deleted scenes from something else. You can’t say Nolan didn’t show his hand from the start.

That same general concept—that the movie we’re watching is actually the knock-on effect of a movie we’ll only glimpse, or maybe never even see—underpins Nolan’s latest movies, Interstellar and Tenet, too. Interstellar has some concepts that are iffy even for Nolan (it makes total sense for someone to do something for another out of love, but somewhat less sense that that love somehow reshapes the physical universe), but it’s still a big, bold approach to exploring how time and perception shape our actions. As the film follows its core group of astronauts while they search for potentially habitable new worlds, they encounter strange visions and experiences that turn out to be their handiwork from the future reflected back at them. Sure, it raises the paradoxical question of whether they had a first mission before this that failed, so now their future selves are intervening to make the second one (which feels like the first one to the astronauts the whole time) successful, and all sorts of other stuff that your sophomore-year roommate would like to talk with you about in great detail. But so much of what we see isn’t the stuff that happens, or that winds up being important. There’s the great scene where the astronauts land on a planet near a black hole, which is wreaking havoc on how time passes on the planet. A minor disaster delays their departure for the main ship still in orbit, but when the landing team returns, they find that more than 20 years have “passed” since they left, with the one remaining team member on the ship having spent more than two decades waiting for them to return. It’s a moment of genuine horror, and it underscores the fact that what we thought was the one true reality was just the perspective of a handful of characters we happened to follow for a few minutes. There were whole things happening that changed the plot and story and direction of everything that would follow, and we never saw them; we didn’t even know we’d missed them.

Tenet is, of course, the latest and most recursive exploration yet of Nolan’s obsession with showing us a story that turns out to be mostly fake. It is almost perversely hard to even begin to explain the film (Google “Tenet timeline infographic” and have fun). One way to think about it is to imagine if the two timeline halves from Memento somehow existed at the same time, with people moving both forward and backward through time while inhabiting the same location. Basically, some scientists figured out how to “invert” the basic entropy of objects, so that they exist backward: you hold out your hand and the ball on the ground leaps up into it, because you’ve dropped it in the future, so now you can pick it up, etc. … Look, it doesn’t get easier to understand.

The upshot is, though, that we spend the film following the Protagonist (that’s his name), a CIA agent played by John David Washington, as he’s tasked with tracking down the source of the inverted stuff to figure out what’s unfolding in the future and why it’s suddenly started to make itself known in the present. He gets marginally closer to understanding the truth by the end of the film, but because this is a Nolan film that is maybe more expressly about the nature of reality than anything he’s ever done, his journey doesn’t so much take him forward as it does in a large circle. Because, and stop me if you’ve heard this, the true story of Tenet is taking place outside the Protagonist’s actions and knowledge, alongside him but invisible, often steered by people who themselves are moving “backward” through time and thus have already met the Protagonist in the future and are old friends with him by the time he meets them in his youth. Even more brain-liquefying, some of these people have been working under the orders of the Protagonist himself—the future version, that is—because his past self has already achieved the victories that allowed him to send the future people backward through time to meet his younger self so they’d achieve the victories that allow him to etc., etc., etc.

With Tenet, Nolan didn’t just make a movie that challenged perception, like Memento, or that dwelt in fiction, like Inception. He made a movie that can only be understood (to whatever degree true understanding is possible) by rewatching the movie itself, over and over, as the multiple timelines and harrowingly complex bits of cause and effect come into some kind of focus. The whole movie itself isn’t happening, in a sense, but is just the ramifications of something else, the echoes of a shout whose origin we’re straining to pinpoint. It both is and isn’t.

Christopher Nolan is a talented director of action-driven suspense thrillers. He’s canny at controlling the audience’s emotions, and he knows how to put on a dazzling show. Plus he’s fantastic at picking when to deploy non-computer-generated effects for maximum impact. But you could say that about a lot of other directors, too. What sets Nolan apart from the rest, and what makes him a director to keep watching and returning to, is the teasing way his movies wind up being just deceptive enough to fool you into thinking that you know what’s going on, then just harsh enough to disabuse you of that notion. Looking at what seems to drive him, I don’t think Tenet is his best movie-movie, but it’s his most-Nolan movie. It’s almost a culmination of his continuing efforts to tell stories where what you see and what actually happens are two different things. It’s not that he makes puzzles to solve. There is no solving these movies. Rather, it’s that he sculpts these delicate artifacts that only let you see two dimensions at a time, never all three, no matter how you twist your head. Craning back and forth, you can almost see the whole thing, but not quite. Some part of it will always have to exist in your memory. And that’s where Christopher Nolan likes to be.

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