#gotham vs metropolis

[sing-a-songofsix-pence]

so I made some Gothamite memes

(i.e. from the pov of people in the dc universe)

enjoy :)

#dc #batman #gotham #gotham memes #gothamites #gothamite memes #batgirl #cass cain #cassandra cain #barbara gordon #steph brown #stephanie brown #dick grayson #nightwing #robin #the robins #metropolis #gotham vs metropolis #central city #bruce wayne #the butts match #the signal #duke thomas #sixpence speaks

[tesalicious2]

Because of the rivalry between Gotham and Metropolis, there arose a saying in Gotham, ‘don’t be like a Metropolis citizen’. It basically translates to ‘don’t be a little bitch’.

Superman was not happy to hear about this. Especially from Red Hood trying to talk to a guy causing problems.

#gotham vs metropolis #gotham #metropolis #Gotham is better #headcanon #gothamites

[bruciemilf]

Lol, I just read the 'cigarette mom! Thomas' and now I suggest to you....

.

.

.

.

....

Rebellious daughter! Bruce as a consequence of Thomas and Martha's odd ways of parenting...Bruce may have un(he very much did)intentionally made a harem for himself(every single person you see him with)

PLS!! It’s such a shame Thomas died before he could meet Clark :(( Because that boy would’ve melted from one look lmao. Even better if Pa Kent used to be Thomas’ number one enemy at Metropolis vs Gotham games :)))

let’s imagine for a second that Thomas and Martha didn’t die and Bruce still became Batman. He definitely brings all the boys to their yard and it’s TIRING.

“…Wait a goddam second…That accent ain’t no Metropolis. Boy, where you from?”

“Oh, I’m from Kansas, sir :D”

“…Who’s your daddy?”

“Joseph Philip Kent The Second, sir ^^ I believe he mentioned you a couple of times! Boy, you sound like a fun loving guy—“

“GET THE HELL OUT OF MY HOUSE!”

#asks #Gotham always loses to metropolis at hockey sorry #clark kent #superbat #bruce wayne #thomas wayne #gimme Thomas vs Pa Kent rivalry or give me nothing #text

[viking-raider]

Afterlife *One-Shot*

Summary: Clark becomes aware of his own death, in the aftermath of his battle with Doomsday, while you grieve for him.

Pairing: Clark Kent (Superman)/Reader

Word Count: 6.6k

Warning: G - Angst, Trauma, Mention of Death and the Great Beyond, Greiving, Depression, Fighting, Alien Technology, Light Amnesia, HEA

Inspiration: I had this headcanon after watching Batman v Superman.

Author’s Note: I hope you enjoy it! Line divider by @FIREFLY-GRAPHICS!

If you would like to get notifications for my writing! Just follow my Tag List blog, @VIKING-RAIDER-TAGLIST and turn on the notifications for it! It’s that easy!’

The first thing Clark remembered, after Doomsday stabbed him through the heart, was emptiness. It was quiet, dark and empty. He couldn't pinpoint where he was in the universe or if he even was in the universe anymore.

His next thought was for you, you had been in downtown Metropolis, while he, Bruce and Diana fought Doomsday. He had to save you, when you went for the Kryptonite spear. He recalled telling you that you were his world, that he loved you, before taking the spear himself and flying off towards the monster, impaling Doomsday through the chest with it.

Had I killed it, before it killed me? Is she safe now?

It became abundantly apparent to Clark that he was dead. There was no other way around it.

If it were anything else, he likely would have recovered by now, however long by now it was. He was inhabiting some state of being, aware and conscious of himself, and could only answer it by him being a Kryptonian. He wondered if this was a natural Kryptonian occurrence, once their body died, that their consciousness lived on for some sort of duration or perhaps his body was still intact enough and his body's refusal to decay allowed him to be mentally aware, while still dead, somehow.

It truly baffled him.

Is Zod in a similar state? Are my biological parents? Is there a way for me to reach out to them?

He let himself go quiet and listened for anything that might potentially be moving or making a sound around him, he remained that way for a long time, hoping for any semblance of contact in the space beyond, but heard and felt nothing, other than himself.

Finding no reason in returning to the surface of his consciousness, Clark receded further inside of it, the quiet outside was only a tortured reminder of the loneliness and his death, of being without you and the pain he knew he left you in. The life the two of you would now never have the pleasure of living.

At least, she gets to live, then my death was well worth it. He thought, before finally falling silent.

“It's been a month.”

Martha pointed out, as she found you sitting on the pouch, staring off in the direction of the graveyard. “You haven't been to his grave since we buried him.” She said, holding a steaming cup of tea out to you, before taking up the spot on the porch swing beside you.

You opened your mouth, but the words jumbled into your throat, like a traffic jam. Shaking your head, you took a sip of the tea and washed the tangled words down, before finally managing to speak. “I don't have the courage or the bravery.” You whispered, biting your bottom lip against a fresh onslaught of tears that threatened you. “I could walk into a war zone, into a pack of rabid protesters and stare down the most decorated and brazen, four star Generals, to get a story.”

“But I have to use the back road to drive onto a farm I'm more familiar with than my laptop, just so I can avoid seeing that graveyard, or I'll end up losing myself.”

Martha pressed her lips together and rested her hand between your shoulder blades. “It took me a week to walk halfway down there, after Jonathan died, and then three days to finish the other half.” She confessed to you, sighing softly. “I thought I was going to cry, like a newborn baby, when I finally made it to his headstone.”

“But, I didn't.”

“What did you do?” You asked, looking at her.

“I was finally able to tell him all the things I wanted to tell him, but couldn't at his wake, since it was all still too raw and new.” She admitted, gently rubbing your back. “If it takes you a month to walk down there, or longer, we both know there are still things you need to tell Clark, so you can heal.” She told you, leaning in to kiss your hair, then stood and went back inside.

You let out an unsteady breath and stared down at your cooling cup, you missed Clark, like you were missing one of your body parts. You had become a shadow of yourself, you had only returned Metropolis for a few days in the month after he died, to grab some of your belongings from the apartment you shared with him. But staying there was too hard, seeing his things around the apartment and sleeping in the bed you had shared with him, and seeing the construction being done to rebuild the parts of the city destroyed by Doomsday, was just too much of a reminder, things were still going on, even when your life had stopped.

So, you took Martha's offer to stay at the farm with her.

It wasn't as hard being in the place where Clark was raised, and buried. You didn't see him as Superman, where in the Metropolis, all you saw were the flying black and silver symbols of Hope and people mourning their superhero and god. On that small Kansas farm, you saw his life, you saw Clark Joseph Kent; the son, reporter and fiance that just happened to be an extraordinary and more unique being than most people on Earth. The Kent Farm was the solid foundation you needed in the wake of his death and you weren't sure you'd be able to set foot off of it again, without your life falling apart. Even though you knew Clark would be upset with you, understanding, but upset that you were allowing your life to spin to a halt.

But Clark had been your world too.

You took a deep, fortifying sip of your tea and stood up, setting the cup on the porch rail and walked down the front steps, the gravel leading up the driveway to the house crunched under your feet. “Oh god, it took your mother a week to make it halfway there, might take me two weeks just to get farther than the porch steps.” You huffed, smirking and shaking your head. “Look at me, talking to you again, like you're here.” You scolded yourself, even though Martha and the therapist Perry made you talk to on the phone told you it was perfectly normal and part of a healing process.

“Hey, Dusty.” You sighed, leaning over to pat the fluffy Border Collie on the head. “Got any encouraging advice for me?” You asked, cocking an eyebrow at him. “Maybe, if we lined up a bunch of juicy journalist leads along the way, I could just write one article at a time to his grave, hm? Might take a year, but I'll get there!” You laughed, straightening up and sighed again. “I bet if it was me in that grave, Clark would have built a house next to it, so he'd see me every day, and here I am, a month in.”

Squaring your shoulders and putting on your best expression, the one you usually used when one of your leads was being a hard-ass, you put your foot in front of you and did the same with the other and kept focusing on that, one foot in front of the other, in the direction of Clark. While trying to convince your panicking brain, you were just going out there to grab him from visiting his dad's grave, for lunch. You had done it several times before, you could do it again, minus the catch attached to it.

Before you knew it, you were standing at the edge of the graveyard, Dusty was trailing behind you a little ways. Your hands were trembling and sweating at your sides as you looked out over the sea of varying headstones. Even though you hadn't been here since Clark was buried, before they had even closed his grave, you knew exactly where to look. He had been laid to rest beside Jonathan, who you had visited several times. It put a small smile on your face, remembering the first time you had come to the farm with Clark, he had introduced you to his mother, then afterwards, he walked you down here to introduce you to his dad, saying even if he was gone, it didn't feel right not at least having the two of you meet in some capacity.

You had found it sweet, a tad cheesy, but all Clark, with what you would later coin as his Southern Kryptonian charm.

“It only took a day for me to make it this far, Clark.” You said, biting your lip and rubbing your hands on the thigh of your jeans, standing at the edge of gravel and lush, emerald green grass, his grave just in view with the brown granite headstone, just like his father's, you noticed the grass had grown in over him, seamlessly.

Your hands balled up and you moved a few steps closer, before stopping again, breathing hard and shaking a little bit. “Clark.” You mewled, chin quivering as you finally made the last couple of steps. “Clark, I miss you so much. I don't know how I'm supposed to go on without you here.” You sniffled, lowering yourself down, to sit cross legged in the grass, between his and his father's graves.

“Everything is so much duller, now that you're gone. I just don't--” You sighed and looked at the blue sky above you, picturing him hovering in it.

Clark became aware of a murmur that did belong with a sequence of memories he had been inhabiting and swam away from them.

He'd become innately skilled with his conscious surfing, flitting from one memory to another, mostly memories of you, a couple memories from before his dad died. He had been learning how to manipulate them to a degree, so they'd last a little longer. He was currently engrossing himself in reliving the night he proposed to you. He had flown the two of you to the farm, his mom had left the house to the two of you, staying with a friend for the night, to give you space. He had taken you on a walk through the corn field, just before sunset and as you both came out on the other side with a perfect view of the sun melting into the horizon, Clark got down on one knee and revealed the simple diamond and platinum band.

The murmur became more clear, the closer to the surface he got. It was the sound of your voice, calling out to him from somewhere outside his consciousness, that he could somehow still hear you from.

Clark, I miss you so much. Your voice was crystal clear, as if you were standing right next to him.

I'm right here! Clark tried yelling back.

I don't know how I'm supposed to go on without you here. You cried, your voice weakening. Everything is so much duller, now that you're gone. I just don't see the world like I used to. I can't find the point or the center of a story anymore. I keep waiting for Perry to call me, to tell me the Bosses have fired me, since I haven't been into work in the month you've been gone.

A month.

If Clark's nervous system worked, he would have jerked with surprise.

I've been dead for a month! Oh sweetheart, I'm so sorry. You can't even hear me.

I'm sorry, it took me so long to come see you, after the funeral. A whole month. But I do talk to you, I feel absolutely insane and like I should hand myself in to the Metropolis Asylum or something. But your mom says, she still talks to your dad, to this day. So, that's comforting. She's the most sane and wonderful woman I've ever met. She's the only real rock I've had, since—you know. You sighed, twisting blades of grass between your fingers. Other than Dusty. You added with a weak chuckle.

At least, you still have Ma, and Dusty. Clark took some consolation in that. I hope she's holding up well. But if you're visiting her regularly, then I'm sure the two of you are being strong for each other. I wish there was a way for me to come back to you both. To go back and try something different. But, at least you and Ma are safe.

I promise to visit you more. I'll come back before bedtime and say good-night to you. You promised, softly. Now, I know I'm actually strong enough to make it down here, without turning into a pathetic mess of a human being. You chuckled, smirking. There's a joke for you, Kryptonian.

Very funny. Clark quipped, before growing somber. Wish you knew I could hear you. That you could hear me too.

I love you, Clark. You cooed, finding a little more strength to place a gentle kiss to the cold stone of his grave marker.

I love you too, babe. I love you too.

You starting to regularly visit Clark's grave began to give him a general sense of time. You always visited him after breakfast in the mornings, telling him about how you slept, describing the dream you had, which usually always involved him in some way.

He learned quickly, you had a recurring nightmare about the day he died, but you had only spoken at length about it once, as if his grave and consciousness were the only things you could unburden yourself of it too. Which wasn't wrong. You hadn't told anyone about the night terror. You were sure Martha had an idea about it, mother's intuition and the several times you'd woken her up screaming Clark's name, but she never pressed you for it.

After that though, you just referred to it as that dream, before moving on again.

After an hour or two, you'd leave his graveside for several hours, to try and get some journalism done with the stories Perry had sent your way via emails and such, he was being extremely understanding and accommodating. But you knew that was going to run out soon enough. You'd either go back down to Clark again around lunch time or for a break. Going on and on about the piece you were trying to write for the Planet. Clark, even in the grave, would out of habit throw in his suggestions on ideas you could use, possible ways you could look for leads or just his loving encouragement, before catching himself.

But you always came down before you went to bed to say good night to him.

“All right, Super-Boy.” You sighed, stopping beside Clark's grave, your feet bare and wearing a pair of Jack Skellington pajama bottoms and Clark's old Smallville High School t-shirt. “It's bedtime. So, I've come to say good-night and don't let earthworms bite.” You chuckled, even with the smallest twinge in your stomach.

Even dead, you still make fun of me. Clark remarked, entertained. If I ever get out of this box, I'll tickle you mercilessly.

“I love you, Clark. I'll see you in the morning. Sleep well.” You said, keeping to your ritual of kissing his headstone and walked back to the house.

With you gone, Clark began filling the time with memories, until he sensed something, that wasn't you. He couldn't put a name on what it was, he knew what you felt like. Even dead, Clark understood your approach and presence, it called out through his consciousness and it had pulled him to you through the world and cosmos, when he was alive. This felt as Alien like he was, strange and strong, and right on top of him.

Beyond that feeling, this presence, he heard nothing else.

The next morning, you were coming down the stairs and heading towards the kitchen, when you stopped dead in your tracks, hearing a familiar voice coming from that direction; one you hadn't heard in three months, since Doomsday and Clark's death. Panic bubbled into your chest as you slowly approached the kitchen door and saw, none other than, Bruce Wayne sitting at the kitchen island with Martha, enjoying a cup of coffee with her.

“Oh, you're awake!” Martha started, spotting you. “This young man,” She smiled, touching Bruce's shoulder. “was a friend of Clark's and wanted to come see how you were doing.” She explained, but saw the look on your face and quickly slipped off her stool and rushed over to you. “Honey, what's the matter? You look like you've seen a ghost.”

“You can say that.” You rasped, wide eyes still on Bruce with shock.

“That's my fault.” Bruce said, setting his mug down. “I should have called you first to see if it was all right I came by.”

“You think?” You huffed, eye twitching a little bit, before you looked at Martha. “Do you mind if I speak to him, for a moment?” You asked, keeping the edge out of your voice.

Martha got the hint and nodded, made a polite gesture to Bruce, then went upstairs, to give you both privacy.

“What the hell are you doing here, Bruce!” You barked, starting towards him, anger flaring in your eyes.

“Well, I came to check on you and Martha.” Bruce replied, a tad surprised at your reaction, but didn't move off his seat. “I know you haven't been back to the Daily Planet, or even the Metropolis in the three months Clark's been--”

“Don't you dare.” You hissed him, snapping your fingers and sticking your index finger in his face. “Part of why my fiance is dead is because of you, Bruce Wayne. You were hell bent on making him some monster that wanted to burn the world to the ground. When all Clark wanted to do was be a reporter, plan our wedding and bring Hope to people, when they needed it!” You growled at him, tears beginning to stream down your face. “But instead, you both let Lex Luther manipulate you into fighting. Maybe that's why the word starts with man. I don't know. But you had a hand in taking him away from me.” You seethed, before slapping him across the face, though it hurt you more than it hurt him, it felt good.

“I'll never forgive you for that!” You huffed, finally turning on your heels and storming out of the kitchen.

“Even if I could bring him back!” Bruce called back out to you.

You froze on the steps going upstairs, part of you said to keep going back to Clark's old room, the one you had taken over, that Bruce was just baiting you back into the kitchen to talk. But the part of you that knew Bruce, knew he didn't mince words or promises.

“Shit.” You mumbled under your breath, turning around and heading into the kitchen again. “If you're lying to me, I'll expose your ass as Batman before you can get off this property.” You told him, coldly.

“I'm not.” Bruce said, ambiguously, picking up the coffee pot Martha had set on a pot holder in the middle of the island and poured some into the cup she had clearly set out for when you came down to join them. “Coffee? I know how cranky you are, before your first sip in the mornings.” He smirked, holding it out to you.

“Don't act chummy with me, Wayne. Just talk.” You told him, taking the cup from him and walking out onto the front porch, spotting Bruce's ultra expensive car in the driveway with your car and Martha's truck.

Bruce followed you onto the porch. “We, my team and I, found a way to bring Clark back.” He said, standing beside you.

“Oh, more Kryptonian technology?” You asked, sipping your coffee, trying to scold your hopes from coming up.

“No, it's some form of Alien technology, we're not exactly sure what kind, but...” He paused, looking down at his feet for a second, considering how much he should tell you. “Take a walk with me.” He said, stepping off the porch, before looking back at you.

“It's nothing chummy.” He reassured you, before moving forward.

Sighing, you caught up to him and waited for him to continue.

“One of my team members was in a horrible car crash, nearly died—should have died, his body was maimed, almost beyond recognition.” Bruce began to explain to you, slowly walking towards the graveyard. “His father was a top scientist for the Department of Defense, he used this Alien Technology, a Box, to put his son back together again. I have a theory that with the Kryptonian Ship, where Lex made Doomsday, in the regeneration chamber, and this box, we would be able to revive Clark.” He finished, just as the two of you reached the graveyard.

“Dear God!” You gasped, your cup slipping out of your hand and broke on the gravel at your feet. “What have you done!?” You demanded, seeing the gaping hole where Clark should have been buried. “Bruce!” You yelled, punching him in the arm. “Where—Did you just take Clark's body without asking his mother and I?”

“I did.” He nodded, unapologetic. “We need him—alive.”

You glared up at him, and finally saw it. “No.” You shook your head at him. “You don't need Clark alive. You need Superman alive. You don't give a fuck about Clark, you never have!” You growled, burning with anger.

“You're wrong!” Bruce snapped, jerking slightly towards you, spooking you. “You're wrong.” He said softer, pulling himself together again, not meaning to scare you. “I know going after him was wrong and I regret that decision every single day. I blame myself for his death. I don't need you or anyone else blaming or reminding me of it, I do it already. But, as much as my team and the world needs Superman, they need Clark Kent more. You are right, he gave this world Hope, but he also gave this world more than just Hope.”

“There's something coming, and without him alive, we won't survive it.”

“Then, why are you here and not wherever you need to be, to bring him back?” You asked, sighing heavily.

“Because, we have all the components.” He answered, looking down at you with a soft smirk. “But, we don't have Clark Kent's key.”

“Key? You mean, the Command Key?” You frowned up at him, shaking your head. “We lost that, when we fought Zod.”

“No.” Bruce laughed, resting his hand on your shoulder. “You are Clark's key. I need you to come back to Metropolis with me. We don't know what's going to happen, when we use the Box to revive Clark, but something told me you were the key. So, I need you to be my secret weapon, should anything happen. Besides, if I know anything about Clark Kent, you'll be the first person he'll want to see, when he comes back to the world of the living, and I can't deny the Kryptonian that.”

“When do we leave?” You asked, with no hesitation.

“As soon as you're dressed.” Bruce laughed, looking you over, still in your pajamas. “I'll get you some breakfast on the way there.” He added, heading back to the house with you. “But, don't mention the Clark thing to Martha.” He whispered as you walked up the porch steps.

You shot him a look, that asked, who do you think I am?

“Martha!” You called out, heading upstairs to change.

“Is everything all right?” She called back, coming out of her room.

“Everything's fine.” You reassured her, resting your hand on her arm. “But I need to return to Metropolis with Bruce.” You told her, feeling a small part of you needed to tell her of the possibility, however small or big, about bringing Clark back, she was his mother, she deserved to know, but you also didn't want to get her hopes up either. “I won't be gone long, he has a lead on one of the articles I'm trying to write.”

“The privileges of a Billionaire PlayBoy.” You said, chuckling and rolling your eyes.

Martha studied you for a long moment, before smiling and nodding her head. “All right, you both be safe then!” She said, hugging you tight.

“I promise.” You replied, hugging her back, but had that reporter's tingle that she knew something more was going on, but wasn't saying anything about it. “I'll see you, hopefully tomorrow or the next day.” You promised, letting go of her and heading off to get changed, then met Bruce at his car and sped off to where his jet was parked.

“I really hope this works, Bruce.” You whispered, settling in your seat on the plane. “I miss him. I miss him so much.”

“I do too.” Bruce replied, sitting across from you.

“Just stay here with Alfred, when we're ready for you, he'll bring you to us.” Bruce explained as he sat beside you in the back seat of one of his luxury cars, Alfred at the wheel.

“All right.” You nodded, nervous and impatient.

The flight from Kansas to Metropolis had been shorter than it would have been on a commercial airplane, but it mentally felt longer, thanks to you tossing the idea of Clark potentially coming back to life or not. You had no idea what you would do if it failed. You supposed it wouldn't actually change anything, he'd still be dead, you would just have to somehow explain the fresh dirt on his grave to Martha and anyone that visited it. You also had no idea what you would do if, and when, Clark came back to life. There would be explaining his reappearance to people.

You had thrown this scenario at Bruce during the flight and he had replied simply, witness protection.

You had considered that avenue, Clark had done some digging into the Batman and drew the eye of Lex Luther. So, using the Doomsday attack as the perfect timing to fake Clark's death to cool the heat from those two, even though Bruce was Batman, would make a damn good cover story.

“Would you like to listen to anything on the radio, madam?” Alfred asked, pulling you out of your thoughts.

“No, thank you, Alfred.” You replied, smiling kindly at him.

He nodded his head back at you, before turning to face forward again and went back to his newspaper. You pulled your phone out and scrolled through your photos, smiling at the pictures of you and Clark, not realizing you had chuckled out loud at a photo of the two of you covered in cake frosting, until noticing Alfred smirking at you through the rear-view mirror.

“Sorry, I was just looking at a photo of Clark and I at my last birthday.” You told him, turning your phone around to show him. “We ended up eating my cake plain, because we got into a frosting fight.”

Alfred chuckled, seeing the photo. “I truly hope Bruce can bring Master Kent back.” He said, softly.

“So, do I.” You sighed, looking back at the photo and running the tip of your finger over the image of Clark's chocolate covered, grinning face. “I'm so terribly lost without him.” You admitted, quietly.

The look on Alfred's face was soft, understanding and sympathetic, but you hadn't noticed, your attention had been drawn outside. You bent your head low to your chest with your eyes out the heavily tinted windshield, almost rolled into the back of your head just to look up at the object hovering in the sky.

“Oh, dear god.” You gasped, jaw hitting your chest. “Clark.” You mewled, voice creaking. “He did it. Bruce actually fucking did it.” You sighed, a smirk pulling across your lips, watching Clark move across the sky, away from the building Bruce had vanished into sometime before, and towards Hero's Park, where Superman's monument once was and now his shrine stood.

“I have to--” You started, grabbing the handle to your door, only to have the lock click shut on you. “Alfred!” You barked, head snapping to him.

“Mr. Wayne said he would call, when it was time for you to join him and Mr. Kent.” Alfred replied, calmly, his index finger still holding down the master lock button on the driver's door. “It's safer this way.”

“Safer? You think Clark would hurt me?” You asked, snorting at him and the notion of it.

“No, I don't, Miss.” He answered, tipping his head forward slightly, offering his silent apology for the apparent slight. “But, we don't know how Master Kent would react to being brought back to life, and until we do know, it's safer for all parties concerned, that he and the team assess the situation first.”

You bit your bottom lip and clenched your jaw, before straightening up in your seat with a sigh. “Fine. Clark would tell me the exact same thing.” You said, impatiently turning your phone in your hands. “In fact he has, many times.”

It wasn't ten minutes later that the sound of sirens filled the city air outside of the car, you weren't entirely surprised by the sound, it was the middle of Metropolis, if there wasn't at least one police siren going off every five minutes, then there was something truly wrong. But as time progressed, there were more and more sirens, and not just sirens, soon there were cop cars speeding by you and Alfred, lights blaring. You became uneasy, seeing them make it to the intersection up ahead and turn left, towards the park.

Soon, Military Humvees joined the cop cars and your unease and anxiety only increased. You couldn't see the Park from where you and Alfred sat in the car, but regardless, you knew things weren't going as planned. Gripping your phone in your left hand, you slowly crept your right hand up the side of your door, carefully eyeing Alfred as he watched all the cop cars, military personnel and civilians crowding into the streets to see what all the commotion was, until your fingers found the lock. Your heart stopped in your chest as you strained to unlock your door, freezing in place as it popped, but Alfred didn't react, his attention firmly focused on what was outside the car and not what was inside it, probably believing both of you were safe and sound.

With the door unlocked, you gripped the door handle and took a quiet, but deep breath, waiting for the perfect moment to pull it open and bolt out. It came a minute later, with the sound of a new police car ripping down the street. You yanked the door open and tore out of it, before Alfred could fully react, yelling out your name through the left open back door. You ignored him as you sprinted down the cracked and weed strewn sidewalk, your sneakers beating the pavement and shocking your legs with the impact, but you kept going, willing yourself faster.

You needed to get to Clark, to find out what was going on and why Bruce was taking so long to call in his secret weapon. You hardly looked both ways, before cutting across the street and around the corner towards Hero's Park. Just turning the corner onto the street the park was on, was a whole other world, there were cars and people everywhere, being pushed behind establishing lines, but you weren't about to let that deter you, you never had before for a story and you sure as hell wouldn't, if it meant getting to Clark. You stopped for a second and looked around, before spotting a small spot in the chain-link fence they put around the fence after the Doomsday fight and went for it, squeezing your body through it.

Getting through the fence, you found a small-scale battlefield. The three pillars that once stood behind Superman's statue had been smashed to bits, even more rubble and debris filled the space, with smashed Metropolis Police cars and a burning Humvee. You saw Diana laying on the ground by one of the shimmering pools, a kid in a red suit splayed out on the steps beside a larger, heavily tattooed man. You finally spotted Clark just past Diana, barefoot and shirtless, only wearing the shredded suit pants he had been buried in. His body was tense, the muscles of his back defined and his hands almost completely curled into fists as he strode intently towards someone just beyond him.

“Bruce.” You mumbled, spotting the Billionaire in his full Bat suit. “Oh, Christ.” You gasped, watching Clark rise up from the ground, just before he reached Bruce, a cold chill of fear rushed down your back, prickling your skin, you took off towards him.

“Stop, don't!” A half metal, half man yelled out, as you dashed by him, but you kept going, your eyes locked on Clark.

“He doesn't know who he is!” Diana tried to warn you.

“Clark!” You screamed out, coming to a halt as he blasted Bruce backwards into a parked police car behind him with his laser vision. “Clark, don't!” You cried, begging him, your heart giving way with relief, when you saw Bruce had managed to block the scorching light with his gauntlet, and was mostly unhurt.

Clark slowly turned towards you in the air, his ordinarily cerulean blue eyes lit up like molten steel made the breath in your throat freeze solid, but he didn't unleash his vision on you, not yet at least. He only cocked his head at you, clearly scanning and studying you.

You gulped thickly, not wanting to show him fear. “Clark, please.” You rasped, biting the inside of your cheek. “This isn't you.” You told him, daring to take a small step closer to him.

“Don't-” Bruce started to call out, but stopped, when Clark jerked a look at him over his shoulder.

“Just shut up, Bruce.” You growled between clenched teeth. “You wanted your secret weapon.” You hissed at him, then focused back on your fiance. “This is not who you are.” You said, steadying your voice and taking another step forward. “You are a good person, and he-” You pointed to Bruce, and took a deep breath. “Is your friend. He's an idiot, but he's still your friend.”

Bruce shot you a look, but didn't say anything.

“So, please, don't kill him or any of them.”

The bright, fiery-orange in Clark's eyes faded, revealing the eyes you had missed and loved so much, bringing a grin to your face and even more tears to your eyes, before he slowly lowered himself back to the ground. You reached out to him, your fingertips touching the warm, but cool skin of his shoulder and sighed softly, it was all real and not some insane dream.

“I know you.” Clark's deep voice rumbled.

You chuckled, sniffling. “I know you too.” You replied, looking up at him. “You are Clark Joseph Kent, the love of my life.” You whispered, feeling the world around you brighten again.

Clark cupped your face in his big hands, tenderly rubbing his thumbs underneath your eyes to wipe away your overflowing tears, before pulling you in tight against his body, wrapping his strong and solid arms around you, then took off into the skies, with a thunderous boom.

“What the hell was that?” Asked the tattooed male, as he helped Bruce up.

“My secret weapon.” Bruce replied, flexing his sore body.

Clark landed the both of you on the edge of the corn field he had proposed to you in.

“Home.” He whispered, looking out over the waist high stalks to the Kent Farm.

“You remember this?” You asked, looking up at him with your hand resting on the small of his back.

“I do.” He nodded, looking down at you and smiling. “It's starting to come back to me. I was really jumbled up back there, but seeing you kick started me again.” He confessed, cupping the side of your neck in his hand and leaning in to kiss you deeply.

You melted against him, wrapping your arms around his waist and returned his kiss, before pressing your forehead to the center of his chest and took a deep breath, inhaling his scent. “I missed you very much, Clark.” You mumbled, relaxing.

“I know you did.” He replied, nosing your hair and kissing the top of your head. “I heard you.”

“You what?” You squeaked, tipping your head back to look up at him, confused and caught off guard.

Clark smirked at you, brushing his fingers through your hair, reveling in being able to feel your tresses and skin again. “When you would visit my grave-” He licked his upper lip and cast his eyes in the direction of the cemetery. “I don't know how to explain it or how it worked, but I could hear you. I could still sense you too, when you were close enough to me. Everything you said, while I was—away—I heard it all. I know about your nightmare about my death and Doomsday, that you haven't been back to our apartment since it happened.”

“Clark-” Your mouth worked, but you didn't know what to say.

“It's crazy, I know.” He laughed, shaking his head. “At first, I was alone with myself and the memories I had of my life. It probably has something to do with my being Superman and Kryptonian. But, I want you to know, I heard all of it. You weren't really alone. I would answer you, even if you couldn't hear me. Which reminds me.” He said, dropping his hands to your sides and gave them a tickle, making you laugh and squirm.

“What was that for?!” You giggled, slapping at his hands.

“Making fun of the dead!” Clark chuckled back at you. “Don't let the earthworms bite! Really, babe?”

“We both know, I've always had a good deadpan humor.” You replied, winking at him, before scurrying away, so he couldn't tickle you again. “But I do find that oddly comforting, you being able to hear me.” You said, returning to him, but paused for a moment. “What was it like, being dead?”

Clark took a deep breath and let it out with a soft sigh. “It was--” He shook his head, then leveled his eyes at you. “It doesn't matter, I'm here with you again.” He said, pulling you against him for another kiss. “And, I'm not going back there again, for a very, very long time. I promise.”

“You better keep that promise, Kent, or so help me God!” You proclaimed, lifting a brow at him. “Now that I know you can hear me from the grave, I'll hound you day and night with the most god awful things I can think of and buy!” You threatened, jabbing a finger in his chest.

“If that's the case, I'll make sure to live to at least a hundred.” Clark smirked, closing his hand around yours and brought your fingers to his lips, kissing your knuckles.

“That's what I want to hear.” You smiled, pushed up on your toes and rubbed noses with him.

#Henry Cavill #Superman #Clark Kent #kal el #Viking-Raider Fics #AfterLife *fic* #AfterLife #MoS #Man of Steel #batman vs superman #Dawn of Justice #Justice League #Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice #zack snyder's justice league #Daily Planet #Krypton #Gotham City #metropolis #DC #DCEU #DCEU Fic #DCEU RP #clark kent x you #Clark Kent x Reader #Clark Kent RP #Superman X You #Superman x Reader #Superman RP #Superman Fic #Clark Kent Fic

[nfcomics]

JUSTICE LEAGUE VS GODZILLA VS KONG no.2 (of 7) • cover art • David Nakayama [Nov 2023]

Legendary's Monsterverse has been unleashed on the DC Universe, and cities are threatened across the globe! From Metropolis to Gotham City to Themyscira, the Justice League scrambles to protect the citizens from these raging titans!

What role has the Legion of Doom played in all this monster madness, and how will the tide of battle change…when a hero falls?!

(W) Brian Buccellato (A) Christian Duce (CA) David Nakayama

#JUSTICE LEAGUE VS GODZILLA VS KONG no.2 (of 7) #David Nakayama #Christian Duce #Brian Buccellato #Justice League VS Godzilla VS Kong #Justice League #Godzilla #Kong #Batman #Gotham City #Legion of Doom #Themyscira #Metropolis

[forevercloudnine]

Further evidence that Damian is not being homophobic and this is just a cultural difference between Gotham Pride and Metropolis Pride: Alysia Yeoh bringing a trans-themed weapon she uses to fight supervillains to Gotham’s Trans Wellness Conference.

#damian wayne #jon kent #alysia yeoh #dc pride 2022 #she arrived PREPARED for potential battle #i think the difference is that in metropolis the villains are worried about seeming homophobic if they do crimes at pride #whereas none of the gotham villains have to worry about looking homophobic. because they're all gay #also jon going 'pride's not a riot it's a party :)' vs. alysia being on a baseball team named the Stonewall Rioters #gotham pride is just actually literally riotous. case closed

[insertcoolusernamehereee]

You've all seen the "Metropolis vs Gotham" stereotype ALOT right? And yeah, its funny, but i propose to you...

Metropolis and Gotham constantly odds, but its because Metropolis wants Batman, and Gotham wants Superman. Like, the people go OFF.

"Fuck Batman, he stopped a crime that i helped him with and he didn't even say HI. @Batman bet Superman would even invite me for coffee."

<Commissioner Gordon and 167 others have liked this post>

"Istg Superman needs to gets a new outfit. Like okay, blue and red is so yesterday. @Superman havent you heard black is in? #BatmanInMetropolis"

<Batman and 200 others have liked this post>

"Metropolis is so ungrateful, like if your kid goes 'Mom! i want to be like Superman' then obv, we all go 'Thats great billy!' but today my nine year old daughter told me she wants to be Batman and I- does anyone know any good therapist?"

<Damian Wayne and 654 others have liked this post>

"I was late to hanging out with my friends because Superman kept TALKING TO ME. BET I WOULD BE ABLE TO GO ON THE ROLLER-COASTER I WANTED TO GO TO IF BATMAN WAS THE ONE WHO SAVED THE DAY."

<Tim Drake and 321 others have liked this post>

I'm sorry, this idea was stuck in my head and I had to get it out loll

#bruce wayne #clark kent #batman #superman #dc comics #tim drake #damian wayne #metropolis #gotham #dcu #The idea was stuckkk

[satoshy12]

Medic Danny + DC

Danny doesn't to Phantom , as it would stand out that while Fenton is gone Phantom is at same place. And he doesn't want to fight.

While on a vacation in the States, Danny utilized his ghost ice to freeze his parents' portal, ensuring the safety of Amity Park during his absence. Just to make sure Amity Park is okay while he is gone.

With the help of Wulf's teachings, he traveled around the world using a portal, eliminating the need for a plane or expensive travel costs.

However, his travels were interrupted by the constant need to provide first aid to injured individuals in cities such as Gotham, Metropolis, Star City, Coast City, and Detroit.

Danny had to perform first aid on many people while visiting the cities.

He could say he had helped more than 200 people already. He stopped to count after helping so many people that it kind of happen so many times while the summer vacation. But was happy to be able to help them all.

Upon returning to the border of Amity Park using his portal, Danny discovered that the entire town was at peace, as the ghosts had stopped causing trouble.

As he returned home, he noticed the whole town was doing a Ba Sing Se.

Although his parents were irritated with their frozen portal, Amity Park was happier. And while his parents were angry and didn't give up trying to melt the ice. Amity Park was happier, and Danny could use his own portal to visit the zone. So he left the portal and lab on ghost ice.

However, when Danny suddenly vanished, people began to search for the small but skilled first-aid provider.

+++

After Danny was suddenly out of the radar, people noticed and started to search for the tiny, thin boy.

The people who had met Danny were really distressed by the amount of first-aid skill he possessed. It spoke of experience that someone so young shouldn't have.

Amanda Waller was pretty interested in him. After all, the boy had helped her and her daughter when they almost became casualties of a Superman vs. Brainiac fight. So she called her agents to search for the boy.

JL meeting

Green Arrow called DIBS on him, and he would sponsor him for the future when he wants to study.

Bruce himself said the same as he noticed they all talked about the same boy. Superman wanted to thank Danny because he saved many lives while Kal was busy fighting against Brainiac.

Flash only met him once, and because of how fast Barry was, he just brought the wounded to the hospital because it was much faster.

The few heroes who didn't meet him listened to them argue.

Having no idea that few villains who Danny helped too, as civilians were having a similar moment.

#danny fenton #danny phantom #dp #dcau #dc #dc comics #batman #dc x dp #dp x dc #dp + dc #Superman #Brainiac #lex luthor #justice league #bruce wayne #green arrow #amanda waller #Wulf #Amity park goes ba sing se #Medical Danny #Gotham #Metropolis #Detroit #Star city #Coast city #Flash #villains #Ghost ice #Portal #Happy amity park

[nerdpoe]

Itty Bitty Timmy becoming Superman obsessed instead of Batman obsessed

And he somehow still manages to tail Superman for photos without Superman knowing.

Like, his parents move to Metropolis instead of Gotham. He gets saved by Superman at three instead of watching the Graysons die.

He fixates.

He pinpoints where Superman appears to start from during emergency vs where he starts from via regular patrol based on the level of crime stopped and manages to find not only the Daily Planet, but also Clarks goddamn apartment building.

He manages to get a list and pictures of all reporters at the Daily Planet.

He figures out who Superman is.

Superman only realizes he has a child following him around when said child almost gets too close the the action.

And then he does it again.

And again.

In the middle of an argument, the same one that would have driven Jason away, Superman flies into the cave holding a windswept Tim.

"Please teach him how not to die." Was probably not the best opener, but Clarks suffered multiple small heart attacks thanks to the kid, and he needs help from the only completely human hero he knows who can go toe to toe with gods.

The other option was Green Arrow, but Tim's need to solve mysteries fits more with Bruce than Ollie.

#dcu au #batman au #superman au #tim drake #clark kent #batman #superman #robin #jason todd #bruce wayne #tiny terror gremlin child tim #itty bitty ten year old tailing after and stalking a super #and the super not clocking it #“that's a cool camera you got there kiddo what do u take pictures of” #“crime scenes” #“That's....not....are you sure it's okay to be seeing that kinda...” #“I got a picture of those serial killer victims. The ones that got nailed to the wall. It's got a pretty good composition.” #“quick question no reason are you actually from gotham?” #story prompt

[ivebeenghosting]

ok this post about the dad saying increasingly gay stuff about the Lakers but it's clark asking bruce if he wants to watch the gotham knights vs the metropolis meteors game

bruce: I would love to but im not allowed

clark: what do you mean "not allowed" you're a grown man

bruce: alfred says I'm not allowed :( you have to ask alfred

clark: ok??? alfred can bruce and I please watch the gotham knights game??

alfred: only if he promises to behave.

clark: ??? behave??

bruce: I will 🥺!!!

bruce not even ten minutes into the game: I will literally suck the whole team dry if Campbell makes this shot

clark: 😦

#bruce wayne #clark kent #hey did you know if u google gotham knights sports team that in the history of dc they just keep using the name over and over again #for different sports so literally there is a gotham knights team in every sport #hc that it is the same team members moving sport to sport #superbat

[shinylittlefan]

Okay, so I don't know about anyone else, but...

City spirits.

We've seen Lady Gotham, but I haven't really seen any other City spirits?

Did I just not find any yet, is it a fandom thing to only have her or...

Anyway! So maybe only she's mentioned because she's THAT powerful or she's the only city spirit in a certain radius, but I've got an idea.

So I'm not really caught up on DC because of personal reasons, but I've seen the whole 'Gotham vs Metropolis' rivalry thing.

So the citizens have a big rivalry going on. No one really can tell you why, they just do. Who's to say it didn't start out as an instinctive 'test the new sibling' thing I assume step-/non step- siblings do.

Yes I'm asking if Ms. Metropolis and Lady Gotham are dating. Just imagine it. The preppy and sunny City Spirit and the dark and gloomy City spirit are having lunch and just:

"Have the kids settled their feud yet? It's been a few decades since this started."

"I don't know about yours, but my Gothamites are still a bit on edge. They have gotten a bit more protective, though. Star's children were very much not prepared for the consequences of verbally poking at your children."

*laughs demurely or something* "Ah, siblings."

Also:

They find Danny and just go

Ours!!

#dp x dc #lady gotham #metropolis #gotham #danny is confused #he's also at the table and staring down at the cookie like #what now? #where's he going to live? #he still needs to live on earth a bit #what are these nice ghost ladies talking about? #does he realise they adooted him? probably not. #also #Danny x Kon x Tim #cuz i said so #please #danny phantom

[ewingstan]

Worm and other media that won't just let you shoot the Joker, part 1:

Worm comments on the structure of stories, especially superhero stories, in some interesting ways. There's a lot of stuff that happen in superhero comics for no real reason than that it needs to happen for the story to be interesting; a huge amount of Worm's worldbuilding is devoted to taking these things and making the fact that they have to happen an explicit in-setting constraint. For instance, superhero stories tend to have more powerful heroes face off against much more powerful villains than their less-powerful allies, to the point where it seems like super-powerful threats are coming to earth every few weeks just because it wouldn't be interesting to read that comic otherwise. It gets weirder when you compare what villains end up visiting the cities of uber-powerful heroes vs the cities of less powerful heroes: Gotham mostly just has to deal with serial killers while Metropolis is a magnet for evil gods. Worm plays with this by having the Endbringers exist only because the big hero needed something to fight in-text: it changes "powerful heroes need powerful villains or else it wouldn't be interesting" from a Doylist justification to a Watsonian one. Then there's the fact that so much of the horrible conflict in Earth Bet is explicitly caused by Gods making sure the powers they grant people lead to increased conflict, the fact that one of the most powerful characters does what she does because the plot path to victory says she needs to, etc.

But the big one is Jack Slash, and how he's only able to get away with his bullshit because he has plot armor as a secondary power. As WB says here, "Jack's a reconstruction of the Joker type character in the sense that you can't have such a character take such a high profile position in the setting, without having there be a cheat." The Joker and similar characters are only able to keep being relevant threats in their stories because the narrative bends to let them win and stops them from being killed. Jack Slash is only able to keep being a relevant threat because his power makes the universe bend to let him win in the same way. Not only does this make for an interesting obstacle (its almost like they're fighting an authorial mandate!), but it skewers the use of similar character's plot armor and how unrealistic and unsatisfying it makes their stories.

But wait, what does it mean for a story to be "unrealistic" in the context of superpowers? Is being unrealistic in those contexts actually a problem? For that matter, what does it mean for a narrative to bend to let someone win? Its not like there's an objective way fighting the Joker would go, which the author is deviating from by letting him survive.

[Stuff under readbelow contains spoilers fo, the movie Funny Games and the book Anybody Home?]

Maybe we could say that if characters like the Joker were real, and put in the situations they are in their stories, they would end up being killed really quickly. But is that a reasonable way to judge stories? A narrative where such a character is killed unceremoniously to satisfy a need for realism isn't any less an expression of the author's deliberate choices than a story where the character keeps showing back up to satisfy a desire for fan-favorite characters. And while Jack Slash's arcs help show why deviating from "realistic consequences" in the service of keeping a character alive can make a story exhausting and screw with an audiences' appreciation of stakes, it doesn't make a strong case against the concept of villains having plot armor in general. A story isn't necessarily worse just for being constructed to keep the villains alive—all stories are constructed, and sometimes being constructed that way makes for the best story.

That becomes more clear when you take the premise of Jack Slash as "killer who wins because the mechanics of the universe says so" and make clear just how much "the mechanics of the universe" really just means "the story". Which is how you get Peter and Paul from Funny Games.

I'd highly recommend watching Funny Games (though for the love of god check content warnings), as well as Patricia Taxxon's review of it that I'm cribbing a lot from here. But to summarize, Funny Games is a movie written and directed by Michael Haneke about a family's lakeside vacation being interrupted by the appearance of two murderous young men, who capture them in their own house and slowly torture and kill them off. At least, that's what it seems to be about initially. It marketed itself as a somewhat standard entry in the genres of torture porn and home invasion thrillers, and played itself straight as one for the majority of its runtime. But then one of the two villains of the pair, "Paul," starts talking to the audience.

It starts small: after crippling the family's father and revealing that he killed their dog, Paul has the wife look for its corpse outside. While giving her hints, he slowly turns back towards the camera and smirks, before turning back. In isolation, maybe it could be interpreted as Paul smirking at Peter, seeming to look out at the audience only because of clumsy blocking. But then it happens again. Paul tells the family, who are completely at their mercy at this point, that they're gonna bet that they'll all be dead within twelve hours. When the family refuses to take the bet, asking how they could hope to win it when he can clearly off them all whenever they wish, Paul turns towards the audience and asks "what do you think? Do you think they stand a chance? Well you're on their side aren't you. Who you betting on, eh?" The audience is being acknowledged; their role as someone invested in the story is being examined by the ones introducing the stakes.

But the biggest moment comes near the end, when the mother grabs the shotgun she's being threatened with and blasts Peter. Paul startles, grins, and then hurredly grabs a tv remote and presses rewind. The movie itself suddenly rewinds to right before the mother grabs the gun, and plays again with Paul grabbing the shotgun right before the mother reaches for it.

Its a truly incredible moment, in that its the perfect way to forcibly take away the audience's suspension of disbelief. It forces the audience to acknowledge that they're viewing a story, not something happening to a real family. After their moment of catharsis against the villains, Paul makes the confront the fact that the movie will end however the creators want it to, and if they want the villains to win they'll will regardless of how little sense it makes. Fuck you, we can go from being set in the normal world with normal rules to the villains traveling back in time with a tv remote, because a story does whatever its creators want. Haneke just decided to make that obvious in the most jarring way imaginable.

But maybe the best way to illustrate Funny Games effectiveness at this type of artful unveiling is comparing it to its less-effective imitators. I've recently finished Anybody Home?, a recently-published book by Michael J. Seidlinger. It has the conceit of being narrated by an unnamed mass-murderer, guiding a new killer in their first home invasion. I started reading it before I watched Funny Games, and even afterwards took a while to realize the unnamed narrator wasn’t just a pastiche of a Paul-like character but was actually supposed to be read as Paul himself. Seidlinger was having his book be a sort of unofficial sequel to Funny Games, narrated by its star. Once I realized, a lot of the books details suddenly clicked. The big one was the constant references to “the camera" and the idea of murder being a performance for an audience, one that needed to be fresh and original to make “the cults” enjoy it. Take these passages from page 77:

If it happened, it would perturb. It would create suspicion. It wouldn’t end up ruining the performance, and yet, it could have derailed our casing. The camera can have all it wants; either way, it’ll make it look better than it really was. It’ll strip away the cues and other planned orchestrations and it’ll show the action—the actuality of each scene, each suggestion…

This is a spectacle, above all. The craft pertains to keeping and maintaining a captive audience; behind the camera, you’ll never know how it happened—the trickery that made the impossible possible, the insanity so close to home. It is spectacle.

Through online activity, the son made it clear that something is happening at home, yet we cannot be certain if he has noticed the camera.

These all point to the idea that the murders are being viewed by an audience rather than just by intruders, that this is a performance for said audience's benefit more than anything else. But notably, it also reinforces the idea of these characters having an existence outside of the camera: the camera shows the action and "strips away" the cues behind it, the victims have a life outside the camera such that they could plausibly sense that the camera is now here. The victims are sometimes described as playing into their role, but always metaphorically; always as if normal people start acting like characters when put in certain circumstances. Whereas Funny Games posits that characters will behave however the author wants them to, denying the claim that stories are realistic simulations of hypothetical scenarios.

The whole thing is predicated on the idea that there needs to be a guide, that the villain of a home invader movie is really in danger of something going wrong. Paul/The narrator keeps giving directions on what needs to be double checked, what needs to X, and its completely against the spirit of the role Paul served in Funny Games. If something goes wrong for the villain they should just be able to rewind and do it over, because the story was written for them to succeed. Anybody Home? throws out Funny Games theme of the story being on rails, of the winner being whoever the author wants it to be and the events following whatever the author wanted rather than what would "really" happen. It throws out the whole idea that it’s all just a story, by supporting the idea that the characters have lives not captured by the camera—or more relevantly, not captured on-page.

Because Seidlinger using the language of film in a book leads to different things going on with the fourth wall. The way Funny Games and Anybody Home? make the camera explicit are just different, and the former does it much more interestingly than the latter. Seildinger’s characters aren’t looking back at the reader, the fourth wall is never actually breached. Funny Games has Paul look into the camera to address the audience, making clear how it’s a story being set up for the audience's benefit. Anybody Home? invokes the idea of a camera tracking everything home invaders do in general, having it be a third-party force that’s itself an unseen character contained within the story, observing the intruder's crime rather than the reader. Why is it still a camera, if we're in a book rather than a movie? A character in a book talking about a camera watching them does not convey any of the same meaning as a character in a movie suddenly looking into a camera and smirking at the audience!

By the end, you realize that this is caused in part by the book's bizarro take on how horror movies exist in this world. It reveals that in its setting, all horror movies are adaptations of real home invasions, which get recorded by unseen mysterious forces. Killers enter a home and enact violence, are filmed by some supernatural camera, the footage gets leaked to the public, and then the killers sell the rights to the work to studios. The events of SAW really happened, but the movie was just an adaptation. Funny Games really happened, but the Paul in the movies was just an actor playing the Paul narrating this book. The killer's victims eventually realize that they're "victims," but not in the sense that they realize their characters in a story, only in a sense that they realize they got sucked into their world's magical realism bullshit.

Ultimately, while the book does the same trick of being all about how horror stories are “for” us, it gets rid of all the tricks that made it work for Funny Games. It even strips it's in-universe version of what made it special; Funny Games is just another adaptation of a real home invasion. All the meta stuff that makes it interesting in its genre are just gestured at as aesthetics.

So what makes Jack Slash in Worm succeed where the killers in Anybody Home? fail? Both are constructed to be entertaining for a 3rd party who stand-in for but aren't actually the audience; the entities in Worm, the cults in Anybody Home?. But Jack Slash doesn't mix his metaphors. Worm may turn various real-life factors affecting a work into in-story mechanisms of the world in the same way Anybody Home? does. But it doesn't also base itself off a text that takes in-story mechanisms and breaks them to force the audience to see the various real-life factors affecting the work. In effect, WB pulls off a trick Seidlinger tries and fails because WB wasn't taking another metatexual story and stripping it of what made it interesting.

Though that introduces the question: can such meta-moves be mixed? Can you have a text where story conceits become explicit plot mechanics the characters are aware of, while also having characters really look at the camera and tell the audience that its all just a story? Can you actually sell it and make it something interesting?

There is one story that tries this. I don't know if it pulls it off, but it certainly makes a lot of interesting moves that create a fascinating whole. It even comments on the Joker in the same way Worm does, having a character who seemingly cant die because the roll they play in the story is too impor—

Ah fuck.

Continued in part 2.

#wormblr #wildbow #jack slash #parahumans #metafiction #funny games #michael haneke #anybody home? #michael j seidlinger #mals says #mals reads worm #Youtube

[bestanimatedmovie]

Tumblr's favorite animated movie, Round 1!

Classification round | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4

Round 1:

Results overview

A Monster in Paris vs Sailor Moon R: The Movie

A Silent Voice vs Shaun the Sheep Movie

A Troll in Central Park vs Rugrats in Paris: The Movie

Asterix: The Mansions of the Gods vs Lu Over the Wall

Astro Boy vs Ferdinand

Azur and Asmar: The Princes' Quest vs Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie Part III: Rebellion

Barbie & the Diamond Castle vs The Great Mouse Detective

Barbie and the Magic of Pegasus vs My Little Pony: Equestria Girls

Barbie as the Princess and the Pauper vs Revolutionary Girl Utena: The Adolescence of Utena

Barbie Princess Charm School vs Turning Red

Batman and Mr. Freeze: SubZero vs Robots

Batman Ninja vs Barbie Fairy Secret

Belle vs 101 Dalmatians

Birdboy: The Forgotten Children vs The Princess and the Goblin

Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie vs All Dogs go to Heaven

Chicken Run vs Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

Cinderella III: A Twist in Time vs Green Snake

Despicable me vs Wreck-it-Ralph

Fantastic Mr Fox vs Wendell & Wild

Fantastic Planet vs Anomalisa

Gnomeo & Juliet vs Ernest & Celestine

Home on the Range vs A Goofy Movie

Hoodwinked! vs Lupin the Third: The Castle of Cagliostro

Ice Age vs WALL-E

In This Corner of the World vs We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story

Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem vs The Tale of John and Marie

Isle of Dogs vs Weathering with You

James and the Giant Peach vs Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind

Klaus vs Summer Wars

Kubo and the Two Strings vs Bambi

Liz and the Blue Bird vs Tekkonkinkreet

Madagascar vs Encanto 

Mary and Max vs The Sea Beast

Monsters vs Aliens vs Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit

My Little Pony: Equestria Girls – Rainbow Rocks vs Night Is Short, Walk on Girl

Night on the Galactic Railroad vs Metropolis

One Piece: Baron Omatsuri and the Secret Island vs Star☆Twinkle Precure the Movie: Wish Upon a Song of Stars

Paprika vs The Secret of Kells

ParaNorman vs Suzume

Penguins of Madagascar vs The Sword in the Stone

Persepolis vs The Garden of Words

Phineas and Ferb: The Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension vs Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus

Planet Hulk vs Zombillenium

Pocahontas vs The Tale of the Princess Kaguya

Pokémon Heroes vs Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva

Porco Rosso vs Meet the Robinsons

Quest for Camelot vs Digimon Adventure: Our War Game

Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas vs The Nightmare Before Christmas

Spookley the Square Pumpkin vs Kirikou and the Sorceress

Tales of the Night vs Stormy Night

Tehran Taboo vs Emesis Blue

The Adventures of Tintin vs Bee Movie

The Book of Life vs The Aristocats

The Boy and the Beast vs Waltz with Bashir

The Brave Little Toaster vs Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker

The Breadwinner vs Millennium Actress

The Congress vs The Legend of Hei

The Fabulous Baron Munchausen vs Ringing Bell

The Jungle Book vs Wolf Children

The LEGO Batman Movie vs Kung Fu Panda 2

The Lego Ninjago Movie vs Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses

The Lion King II: Simba's Pride vs Watership Down

The Little Prince vs Loving Vincent

The Pagemaster vs Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade

The Phantom Tollbooth vs The Sorcerer's Apprentice

The Secret World of Arrietty vs 9

The Thief and the Cobbler vs Felidae

The Wind Rises vs Brother Bear

Tokyo Godfathers vs 5 Centimeters per Second

Trolls World Tour vs Promare

Unicorn Wars vs Batman: Gotham by Gaslight

Whisper of the Heart vs Batman: Under the Red Hood

#round 1 #long post #best animated movie #animated #animation #not a poll #tournament poll #tumblr's favorite

[bruciemilf]

thoughts on superbat enemies to lovers? and if you like it then… hcs? hehehehehe love ur stuff!!!!!!<33333

Ty for the ask!! Not the biggest fan of serious enemies to lovers, so hmm...

I think it'd be kinda fun if Batman and Superman had no conflict, but Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent do.

I really like the whole city rivalry between Gotham and Metropolis. I think it'd be even funnier if these two started it.

Metropolis' little guy vs Gotham's little meow meow

Imaginative lore here, but; What if the respective cities had a Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan situation.

"We ALL know who broke the first bone!"

" Oh please, -- you knew VERY well that the SECOND our Knights stepped on ice, you would've been more fucked than a boys' locker room. And you knew no one would suspect that smiley golden retriever."

' Mr. Wayne, how does it feel to know common sense isn't purchasable?"

" I don't know. Probably as bad as paying taxes. And writing articles prasing a violent, mentally unstable, caped vigilante that should get SHOT,"

From then on, without fail, it's a law universally recognized, that a Gothamite and Metropolitanian need to fist fight everytime they see eachother.

It bleeds into the justice league and everyone's picking sides. Which goes as chaotically as you'd expect

#bruce wayne #clark kent #dc #dc comics #superbat #bruce x clark #text #text post #jason and kon carry it on. except kon totally knows their guy did it

[stealingyourbones]

DPxDC Prompt Masterlist #451-500

451. John Constantine's Eldritch Friend :) 452. Wes and Dan as Roommates 453. JL Captures Aargon 454. Dan vs. Speedsters 455. Damian's New Dog 456. Werewolf Jazz's 2 Forms (Fav Prompts) 457. Hanahaki Disease + Blood Blossoms (Fav Prompts) 458. Undercover Agent GIW Danny 459. Amanda Waller's Deal 460. Believe In The Power of the Mothman 461. Ghost/Bat Speak 462. Valerie: JL Informant 463. BCPD Valerie Gray 464. Valerie & Babs 465. Red Huntress BoP 466. Danny: Ghostly Medium for Hire 467. Summoning at 3am 468. Danny Chemistry Teacher AU (Fav Prompts) 469. Freak Show in Crime Alley 470. Freak Show and Joker Jr. 471. I Speak for the Grotesques (Fav Prompts) 472. Take A Dip in the Upside Down 473. YJ meets LBM 474. Identical to a Clone 475. Dani: Jr. Writer for the Daily Planet 476. Timeline Shenanigans w/ Cap. Marvel 477. Evil Clone Making Billionaires Unite 478. Lance Thunder: Metropolis Weather (Fav Prompts) 479. Paulina: Reporter for the Daily Planet 480. Super Town School Gossip 481. Jazz's Defense Training 482. Boneless Ghost 483. Danny: Haley Circus Crewman 484. $100 Ectoplasm vs. 1¢ Lazarus Water 485. Water Core Connor Kent (Fav Prompts) 486. Wally and his No Good Very Bad Week 487. Power Ring Ghost Core (Fav Prompts) 488. Demon Knight: Damian Wayne 489. Dash and Jonny in Gotham 490. Tim and Danny: Unsolved 491. Police Code 23152 492. Aged Up!Danny 493. Gorilla City's Endangered Species List 494. Danny Meets Brainiac 5 495. Dr. Fate and Lord of Time 496. Danny and Fate 497. Firestorm's Friend (Fav Prompts) 498. Firestorm's Primordial Ooze (Fav Prompts) 499. General Zod. Meet Phantom 500. Daniel Fenton: Gotham's Latest Mortician

#danny phantom #bones masterlist #dpxdc #got a fuck ton of submitted prompts queued up so I can do these today :)

[evaningotham]

instead of the cops unmasking and holding vigilantes responsible for their crimes when they get caught

the instead get thrown into the vigilante olympics

*announcer voice*: and here today doing the pole vault we have Gothams own Red Hood vs Metropolis’ Superboy!

#jason todd #dc comics #red hood dc #red hood #superboy #conner kent #kon el #gotham #metropolis #olympics