#harvey dent deserves to be a good man and want to change gotham for the better and be pals w the waynes and understand batmans mission | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

okchijt · 2 months

Note

Just noticed you've updated your masterlist and I just knew I had to make this request

Can I please ask for some basic headcanons of Harvey Dent from Telltale Batman???

Author's Note: Thank you so much Anon for the request! I love this man, I love him so much in this game. If there was a Harvey route then you might as well say I went for it all the way lmao. I have such brainrot for this man so again, thank you so much for wanting me to write for him! Also, all of these HCs take place before Harvey gets drugged cause he didn't deserve to go through all of that and not get an antidote😔 And lastly, go ahead and check out my masterlist if you like what you just read and if you want to request anything yourself, thank you, and enjoy!🩷

Harvey Dent Romantic Headcanons

🪙 Harvey would be the type of boyfriend to worship the ground you walk on. Well, maybe not that extreme but it's close! If his ''relationship'' with Selina is anything to go by then you just know this man is devoted and head over heels in love with you! He's super soft and romantic with you, wanting nothing more than to make you the center of his universe. He's basically the dream boyfriend type of guy.

🪙 As much as Harvey adores the idea of Gotham City knowing you two are together, he'd begrudgingly make sure to not show you off in front of cameras, paparazzi, and reporters. It's all for the sake of your safety, with all the stuff that came out about the Wayne's he doesn't want the same thing to happen to the two of you if by any chance anything ever came out against him. He doesn't want you to be caught in the crossfire, no matter if you'd be involved or not in anything he does when it comes to making political choices. He just doesn't want you to go down with him because he loves you too much to allow yourself to get hurt like that by anyone, he won't allow it. Ever.

🪙 Because of how tall Harvey is in this adaptation compared to his other versions I just have to say he would totally use his height as an advantage in the relationship. He doesn't care how short you are or by any chance actually close to his height, Harvey will still view himself as the protector in the relationship because of his height. As cliche as it is he'll sometimes put things on higher shelves and wait till you call for him to get the said object because no matter how hard you try you can't reach it. Harvey knows he's above average height and will use that against anyone who tries to harm you or makes you uncomfortable. Usually, his height does the trick because despite being fit he won't punch for shit. So he relies on his height to scare someone off as he stands in between the person that upsets you and you and either gives them a silent glare to back off or tries to defuse the situation with his words. He loves it when you depend on him, or specifically his height, it makes him feel useful to you. Also, it's adorable to see you either pout at him for using his height against you or smile up at him gratefully for his help. It always makes him feel so smug and lightheaded afterward to see you like this.

🪙 Doens't matter if you're into politics or not Harvey will, from time to time ask for your opinion before he makes a decision. He never asks you anything complicated or talks about subjects that could put you in danger or you have no idea about. He'd only ever want to know your opinion about the good stuff, like: What should he name the new child hospital or how would you improve some of the run-down parks to make them better suited for the public again. It just makes him feel all warm inside knowing you've also helped to make Gotham better, no matter how small the contribution was, Harvey is immensely proud of you for your support and the care you put out when helping him no matter how big or important the issue is.

🪙 Ever since meeting you, Harvey's goals have changed somewhat. He still wants to fix Gotham's endless corruption and crime, but now that he has you, he wants to change Gotham for you. Obviously, his other motivations still stand, but you're the main one now. Someone as amazing as you deserve only the best, so Harvey will make sure to make the city fit those expectations. He'll change the city to fit the mold, that mold being you. He'll make the new and improved Gotham not only for the people but for you, it's the least he can do after you've stepped into his life and made it something he could only ever dream about. He can't wait to make Gotham a safe enough place to finally feel free to worship you openly for everyone to see.

🪙 Harvey's love language includes quality time and physical touch! Honestly, I see Harvey as having all of the love languages so it was hard to decide his main two, but looking back at the game I say these two fit him the most! There have been two instances in the game where Harvey wanted to spend some time with Selina because he wanted to, they didn't arrange any meet-ups together, it was all him so I say quality time fits him well. If Harvey could he would spend his whole day by your side, he wouldn't let you go out alone at night and would always insist on driving you home himself. He'd often visit you unannounced at random hours of the day just to spend time with you cause he missed you, offering to go out to lunch together or to stay in and cuddle and watch a movie. If there's no work to be done and there are even five minutes of free time he can have to himself, he will either use that time to quickly drive to your place for lunch together or just call you on the phone to hear your voice if he can't afford the time to be physical there with you.

🪙 I picture Harvey as being extremely touchy with the person he loves, and that person just so happens to be you! He just can't get enough of you! You drive him crazy! Of course, he needs to have you in his arms 24/7! Not so much in public though, as much as he would love to show you off to the world he knows the dangers that come with it and he'll never forgive himself if you got hurt. That's why as soon as you're out of sight and in private, personal space will be thrown out the window. The stress of his campaign can only ever go away once he gets to have you all to himself. He'd cuddle you during the night, never once letting you go till the morning finally sets in and it's time to get up, it'll take a lot of convincing and kisses for Harvey to let you go and get up himself so you two won't be late to your respective jobs. When you're in the kitchen, making dinner Harvey has his arms wrapped around your waist as he buries his face into your hair. Or on the rare chance that Harvey gets to work from home, he'll have you seated on his lap as he does paperwork, making the normally stressful and boring job of signing and reading papers all the more enjoyable because he has you. Sometimes he can't help but get distracted though when he has you like this because he'll stop working every few minutes just to shower you with praise and kisses.

🪙 PDA is out of the table. As much as it pains Harvey to not have his hands all over you when out in public, he just can't afford the media going after you. Running for office already brings him a lot of attention, if people saw him with the person of his dreams out and about holding hands and kissing, there's no way you wouldn't be getting harassed by the media for it. That's why it's rare for you two to hang out in public, the only exceptions are dates when Harvey makes sure there will be no paparazzi or reporters to disturb you during your time together. Outside of that you two are total strangers/acquaintances in the public eye if Harvey can help it, though he dreams of announcing to everyone who his beloved is one day as he proudly shows you off. But he knows that day will never come, so he sticks to showering you with his love in private to make up for his neglect in public.

🪙 Since your relationship is a secret, at least to the public, Harvey will grab any chance to kiss you if he knows no one is watching. He's not that stupid to act out on his desires in a place full of people, so he'd be sure to think of an excuse to get you two alone with no people or cameras around so he can show you just how much he yearns for you. Harvey's kisses are always desperate, sensual, and passionate, he wants you to feel all of his love for you with a single kiss that will leave you both satisfied till you have to depart again. Though in private expect a lot more heated and longer kisses because it's just you and him and no one else to catch you. Outside of your lips though, Harvey's other favorite place to kiss you is your forehead, mainly because there's less bending over involved to get to your lips so forehead kisses are just easier. But putting that aside he loves it because it's just so soft and innocent, his arms wrapped around your waist as he leans down and kisses your head before nuzzling into your hair as he whines about how much he has missed you is just the sweetest thing.

🪙 Cuddles with Harvey are a mandatory daily activity, you cannot escape once this man has his arms around you. I imagine Harvey being the big spoon that does not mind being a little spoon occasionally. And by that I mean that it's almost impossible for this man to be a little spoon, not because he doesn't want to, he does, it's just his height that's the problem. Harvey cannot imagine himself being cuddled by you without crushing you. So his version of the little spoon is just you clinging onto his arm or sides like a koala and hugging him as hard you can. The action never fails to make him smile, making all of his worries disappear instantly, replaced by his love for you. As a big spoon though, Harvey would either be lying at his side or on his back as he hugs you tightly against his chest, burying his face into your hair as he breaths in the scent of your shampoo as well as kiss the top of your head from time to time as he whispers his love for you. During those times Harvey truly feels safe. You're his rock, the only thing that can ease the stress of it all, it all just feels so nice he could fall asleep like this with you forever. Always cuddle with a blanket around if it's a colder season though, this man's body temperature is built for the summer not winter, so just keep that in mind before you cuddle. Summer is great though, you've basically got a cooler that won't let you go unless he absolutely has to! Now that's what I call heaven!

🪙 Harvey is a super clingy guy, so it's no surprise that he gets jealous or threatened from time to time when it comes to you, and can you blame him? Only your most trusted friends know that you're together so it's not like he can fault some rando's trying to get a chance with you, but it's not like he'll allow it either! Harvey is sensible enough to realize when a person is flirting with you though, so if it's just a friend or they're not pulling any moves on you, he doesn't mind. Heck, he would even join in on the conversation and gradually direct it toward his campaign to promote himself some more or he'll just watch you with a smile from afar as he lets you have your fun. All of that goes out the window once Harvey realizes that the person is actually flirting with you, he knows he has to be careful though with the way he handles the situation to keep your relationship a secret and not raise any suspicion. Harvey's mood gradually sours and his eye twitches with irritation as he surpasses the urge to glare at the person, knowing he can't just yell at them to back off. He'd try to come up with an excuse to get you away from them instead. He'd walk up to the two of you, mustering up his best smile as he says: "I'm so sorry for interrupting, but (Y/N) is needed in the meeting room right now, please excuse us''. To which he'd immediately gesture for you to follow him as he holds out his arm to you like a true gentleman before he escorts you to the said ''meeting''. As soon as you're inside the room, Harvey locks the door and is immediately all over you, arms wrapped around you as he kisses you all over, growling to himself how you're his and he won't anyone take you away from him. Either that or he'll wait till you two get home to do the exact same thing if he can't do it immediately because of the lack of privacy. The point is, that Harvey will make sure to remind both you and himself that he's the only man for you during those times. Feel free to interpret that however you want.

🪙 Harvey takes dates extremely seriously. He always puts his all into them, making sure they always feel special and different from the last one. The dates are always arranged in a way where you won't get caught because Bruce is such a good friend he'll rent out entire restaurants for the two of you to spend time together without a worry. Both Harvey and Bruce agree you only deserve the best so it's always the best restaurants the city has to offer where you'll be enjoying your dates. Either that or your favorite place to eat, no matter how fancy or non-fancy it is, as long as you're having fun Harvey has nothing to complain about. Though casual dates are also his favorite, whether it's just you two staying at home and having dinner as you watch a movie, or going to coffee shops together for breakfast or to relax from your jobs for a bit. Coffee shops only work because you can always excuse it as an out with a friend or it's work-related, it helps Harvey feel more relaxed because of the believable excuse.

🪙 You are the pinnacle of Harvey's happiness and existence. Your well-being and happiness are the most important things to him and he'll make sure you get the most love and devotion he can give you. Every day is just a new day of Harvey reminding you how much you mean to him, it makes him perfect for anyone who just wants to have a safe, secure, and loving relationship. He does get paranoid from time to time, but with you by his side, he knows he can accomplish anything. Whether that is changing Gotham or himself, he'll do it all just for you, his only reason and motivation to live.

#telltale batman #telltale harvey dent #headcanons #x reader #gender neutral reader #x gender neutral reader #telltale batman x reader #telltale batman x gender neutral reader #telltale harvey dent x reader #telltale harvey dent x neutral reader #harvey dent #harvey dent x reader #harvey dent x gender neutral reader #two face #two face x reader #two face x gender neutral reader #telltale batman two face #telltale batman two face x reader #telltale batman two face x gender neutral reader

30 notes · View notes

dragon-familiar · 1 year

Text

The Tragedy of Batman and Two-Face

aka how the story of Bruce and Harvey can be interpreted as one of the most tragic romantic tales in comics

Finally taking the time to write my feelings about these two characters and how much I love them and their potential, etc. Read more about it under the cut.

I really want to establish the story behind Bruce Wayne and Harvey Dent, the tale of two men wanting to change their city and both having different means to do just that.

Bruce Wayne is the Batman. The Dark Knight. He's a vigilante who helps the citizens behind the shadows, acting where the police cannot. He does whatever he can to save others at the expense of himself. A man who keeps his morals and secrets as close as he can.

Harvey Dent is Gotham's district attorney. The Apollo. A man who uses his position for the greater good. Who makes sure he uses all the power in the justice system to put away criminals. A man who faces all this pressure from both sides.

Behind all of this, Bruce and Harvey are best friends. Being in their place, a best friend isn't easy to find. And these two men enjoy each other's company so much, they find it so easy to talk to one another. In a way, they are each other's safe haven. But most importantly, they both share a common goal: they both want to make Gotham a safer place.

And so, they both work to make that dream happen, together. As Bruce, he helps back up Harvey's campaign for mayor with funding and as Batman, he works alongside Harvey with Gordon to put away dangerous criminals in a partnership. They confide in each other for so much.

Bruce carries so much faith, trust, and love in Harvey that he's nearly on the verge of telling Harvey the truth about himself, about him being Batman. Harvey is a good man, one of the few good men he knows, he deserves to know everything. But like a slap to the face, that all changes when Harvey is attacked and is left scarred. Harvey begins to change, he begins doing bad things, going against the things he once believed in. That they once believed in. He's not acting like the person Bruce has come to love.

Imagine watching the person you love fall apart and you're helpless to stop it all. You begin to question yourself. Bruce starts to wonder, if he had just had more faith in Harvey, trusted him more. If he told Harvey sooner, maybe things would be different. Maybe he wouldn't have become Two-Face. Maybe he wouldn't have to force himself to fight Harvey. Maybe. Just maybe.

But...who is to say it would have changed anything? What if Bruce had just made things worse by telling Harvey that he was Batman?

And that's the thing: Bruce doesn't know what would've happened. And now he will never know.

It doesn't stop him, though. Bruce knows (or at least hopes) that the Harvey he loves is still in there. He can still save Harvey from himself, get him the help he deserves. He's constantly reaching out for him, begging the man he loves to come back to him.

I think Bruce deep down hopes that things can go back to the way they once were...but I think he already knows those days are gone. Harvey has hurt too many people, Bruce has changed too much himself. They could never go back to who they once were. In a way, Bruce is in denial about leaving old love behind. He still wants to help Harvey but he still craves the old days where they could joke and have dinner and just be with one another. Just the two of them against the world.

He can't stop chasing after Harvey, he won't stop. Because there is still hope for him, even if others keep telling him it's a lost cause.

Harvey, meanwhile, already mourns for the love they had. He has so many regrets and so many things he wants to change. And the thing is...Harvey figures out on his own that his greatest love and his greatest ally/adversary is the same person. But he never lets Two-Face find out because he still cares about Bruce. He still loves him and wants to protect him from himself.

They both want to go back to each other. They both still carry that love. But ultimately, it's one that's always cursed to tragedy.

Their story is one of two people who love one another, linked by their history, and torn apart by their passions. They're both trying to save each other...not knowing how to accept the fact that they carry so much regret for the things that they never said or never did. Forever wondering if saving each other is even possible or if they're doomed to fail.

#if anybody would like to add on to this feel free #idk if i was able to write out my thoughts on them coherently but #i just love their story so much #you can see it as romantic or platonic and it's still a great tragedy #i just love it and i wish live action portrayals got them right #fingers crossed that matt reeves can gimme what i want #dc #bruce wayne #batman #harvey dent #two face #bruharvey #twobats #long post #dc comics

70 notes · View notes

clwnprncss · 10 hours

Text

HARLEEN QUINZEL was one of the most promising post - doctoral researchers that had graduated from GOTHAM UNIVERSITY. With a B. Sc., an M. D. and a PhD under her belt, no one would’ve suspected the upbringing she came from. A father who disappeared from the picture at fifteen for some lowly conning and a dingy Bensonhurst apartment with little to no love to spare didn’t exactly come to mind when talking about a 3.87 GPA and a GYMNASTICS SCHOLARSHIP. And it’s not like people were too apt to believe that those things were WELL DESERVED when they belonged to bleached blonde hair, wide blue eyes, and lips that smiled too often.

Their biases were only STRENGTHENED when she was caught with one of the psychology department professors in what she believed was an act of GENUINE AFFECTION. To say that her graduation was a RELIEF was an understatement. Her peers still mocked her until, to her surprise, the funding for her research at ARKHAM ASYLUM had been granted. She was the one laughing.

THE JOKER.

A man with no rhyme or reason that anyone could decipher. UNTIL NOW. She was convinced that her predecessors had all come in with the wrong approach. They’d regarded him as nothing more than a criminal, out for personal gain. She begged to differ. To her, he was just like anyone else. “ WHY’D YOU DO IT ?? ” would not be her question. No, she was more concerned with “ HOW CAN I HELP ?? ”. So their first session was booked and her life was changed forever.

Quickly, seeds planted themselves deep in her mind, sprouting furiously. She was never a good sleeper, but now she COULDN’T SLEEP. Not without seeing HIM, and every time she did, she stayed awake for the rest of the night. If it wasn’t for her NEW - FOUND FRIEND ( the cheapest whisky on the shelf ) and their PARTNER ( more caffeine than most humans could handle ), she most certainly would’ve died of exhaustion. But she carried on, knowing that she was GETTING SOMEWHERE her colleagues hadn’t.

Meanwhile, she ignored the ALARMS sounding in her head, warning her to BE CAREFUL. She was convinced she could handle her LITTLE CRUSH. Convinced that it was just EMPATHY crawling up from within her for a patient with which she was working closely. And then, when she could no longer CONVINCE herself, she IGNORED. Ignored the ETHICAL VIOLATIONS. Ignored the RISK TO HER CAREER. Ignored the MESS THAT SHE WAS GETTING HERSELF INTO. Because, in all honesty, the things he said MADE SENSE. And so she spiralled into this self - made pit until she found HIM at the bottom, waiting with OPEN ARMS and a SHARPENED SMILE.

Everything sank into her bones the minute THE BAT had his hands on her patient. WHO WAS HE TO ENFORCE THE ALLEGED MORALITY OF THE CITY ?? The rage festered, manifesting in her attempts to further REHABILITATE her patient. She needed to show him that she UNDERSTOOD. That she was ON HIS SIDE. That’s how she’d win him over, RIGHT ?? But before she could sneak him the weapons he’d requested, another force had seeped its way into ARKHAM.

Before anyone could react, GOTHAM’S MOST WANTED had been granted an early pardon, havoc spilling from every cell into BLOODIED HALLWAYS before taking to the streets. She stumbled upon it halfway through the ordeal, dashing inside despite the horror. SHE HAD TO MAKE SURE HE WAS OKAY. Before her mind was at peace, she’d been cornered, a gun brandished, HARVEY DENT HIMSELF determining her fate with the toss of a coin. She’d been lucky that her patient didn’t believe in such determinism. He believed in BRICKS.The weapon clattered to the ground, metal against tile, her head SPINNING as she tried to make sense of what was going on, her place in this MAD REALITY, who was really the bad guy, how they were going to ESCAPE FROM IT ALL. Flashlight beams rounded the corner and suddenly none of those questions mattered anymore. Another gun had her heart racing, but this time it was aimed at BLEACHED SKIN. Before she could comprehend it, a BULLET WAS DEPLOYED, a shot RINGING through hallowed halls, a body crumpled to the ground. THE JOKER STILL STOOD. She didn’t know what to do. The recoil had her fingers shaking as blue eyes feasted on the scene. AN INNOCENT MAN HAD DIED BY HER HAND.

A laugh slipped from surprised lips.

And then another.

IT WAS HILARIOUS, WASN’T IT ??

Nothing she did, good or bad, accidentally or intentionally, MATTERED. He really was right, and for the first time, she saw it for herself, FIRST - HAND. The blood, the guts, the CHAOS. NONE OF IT MATTERED.

She dove into the acid of her own accord, melting away what was left of HARLEEN. She donned the red and black with a SMILE ON HER FACE, one that mirrored his own, CAREFREE and WILD. Whenever they inevitably fell apart, she'd put the pieces of herself back together into their newly discovered configuration. She had finally found her true self. From then on, she wore her rightful title:

HARLEY QUINN, THE CLOWN PRINCESS OF CRIME.

#harley quinn #dc rp #dc rp blog #harley quinn rp #indie rp #dc comics rp #tw: blood #tw: guns #tw: alcohol

2 notes · View notes

prettyyoungandbored · 4 years

Text

Becoming Mrs. Wayne [The Dark Knight] Two

Pairing: Christian Bale!Bruce Wayne x OC

Summary: Demetria Gallagher knew her cozy life would change the second she became engaged to Bruce Wayne. But what she doesn’t know is she’s getting more than what she agreed to. (I am trash at summaries.)

Taglist: @dragonballluver

Warning: Semi-smut, dirty talking, etc.

Previous chapter

Demetria removed her coat, throwing it over her arm as Bruce spoke to the host. She could feel the eyes of other patrons glancing over at her as they leaned over to whisper to one another. She flashed a small smile, hoping they’d get the hint that either a.) she was well aware of their staring and felt deeply uncomfortable by it or b.) she was just waiting for her fiancé to finish up talking so they could sit and eat.

She then felt Bruce take her hand, her eyes shifting to him.

“Shouldn’t we wait for the host?” she asked.

“They know where we’ll be.”

He led her through the restaurant, eyes of other patrons following their every move. Demetria pulled back her lips as she quickened her pace a bit to walk by her fiancé’s side.

“Rachel, fancy that.”

Demetria looked over to find Rachel and Harvey sitting at a table. Her eyes lit up at the sight of Harvey.

“Yeah Bruce,” Rachel responded ever so cooly. “Fancy that.” She stood up and hugged Demetria. “Good to see you as always.”

“You too and I love this dress,” Demetria said, taking a step back to admire it. She then turned to Harvey. “I see you changed your shirt after your soy sauce debacle.” She turned to Rachel. “I tell him several times not to open the damn packet with his teeth--.”

“He doesn’t listen,” Rachel finished, nodding her head. She turned to Bruce. “Bruce, this is Harvey Dent.”

Harvey got up and shook Bruce’s hand. “Pleasure to meet you.”

“You as well. I’ve heard a lot about you from Rachel and Demetria.”

“Demetria’s told me a lot about you.”

“Well I certainly hope not everything,”Bruce laughed. “What do you say we push some tables together?”

“I don’t know if they’ll let us,” Harvey responded.

“Oh they should,” Bruce assured, motioning to the waiter. “I own the place.”

Demetria whipped her head. “You own what now?”

Bruce smirked at her. “I told you it was a surprise.”

After the waiters moved the tables together, Bruce took the seat next to Rachel while Demetria took the seat beside Harvey.

“So Demetria, Harvey introduced me to your mom over the phone,” Rachel spoke up. “She sounds like she’s over the moon about the engagement.”

Demetria nodded. “She’s flooding my emails with ideas for the wedding decor when we haven’t even set a date.”

“Bruce, have you met Olivia?” Harvey brought up, taking a sip of water.

“I did,” Bruce nodded. “When she came up to the city for the weekend a few months back.”

“How’d you guys manage that?” Harvey asked Demetria.

“We had dinner at my place,” Demetria answered.

“Oh, you mean you ordered take out?”

Demetria shot Harvey a glare. “It was from a nice restaurant.”

He smirked. “I’m sure she had a lot to say about it.”

“She actually loved it.”

“What did she think of Gotham City?” Rachel asked.

“She has her reservations, but really she’s just nervous because of all the crimes and whatnot. She keeps asking me if this is a place I wanna raise kids in.”

“Well I was raised here and I turned out ok,” Bruce remarked.

Demetria smiled at him, patting his leg with her hand.

“Is Wayne Manor in the city limits?” Harvey questioned.

Bruce let out a wry laugh. “The Palisades? Sure. You know, as our new DA, you might want to figure out where your jurisdiction ends.”

Harvey sat back in his chair as Demetria, uncomfortable at the scene that was playing out in front of her, changed the subject. “If anything, she’s just weirded out by Batman and how, as she puts it, Gotham City looks up to a guy in a mask.”

“Gotham City is proud of an ordinary citizen standing up for what’s right,” Harvey defended.

“But who appointed the Batman,” Bruce joked.

“We did,” Harvey answered. “All of us who stood by and let scum take control of our city. When their enemies were at the gates, the Romans would suspend democracy and appoint one man to protect the city and it wasn’t considered an honor, it was considered a public service.”

Rachel leaned toward him. “Harvey, the last man that they appointed to protect the republic was named Caesar and he never gave up his power.”

“Ok fine. You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.”

“I actually find him fascinating,” Demetria spoke up.

“What do you mean?” Harvey questioned.

“Think about it, most people who do heroic things do it because deep down, they secretly want to feel good about themselves, right? Everyone wants to achieve some sort of glory, even if they don’t want to admit. Here comes this guy who’s actually going out and making some sort of a difference, and he's doing it without giving out who he really is.”

“Well he’s giving some sort of an identity,” Bruce corrected. “He just works under a different name.”

“But still, it’s someone who is actually going out there and is taking care of the problem without abusing their power like most police officers do,” Demetria went on. “He doesn’t even give any kind of hint to who he is. He could be anybody. I mean, even Harvey, you could...” She paused, before waving her hand. “Actually, you couldn’t be the Batman. You got your ass beat in intramural football in college too many times.”

Rachel nearly choked on her drink, excusing herself as she tried to fight back laughter. Bruce smirked, eyes down on the ground.

Harvey tilted his head. “Hey, while we’re on the topic of embarrassing college memories, remember the time I walked in on you and that guy from Student Government at that party senior year?”

Demetria’s eyes widened while Bruce lifted his head up, intrigued. “I’d like to hear more about that.”

“It was a one time thing,” she said, clenching her teeth.

“Look, whoever the Batman is he doesn’t want to do this for the rest of his life,” Harvey continued. “How could he? Batman is looking for someone to take up his mantle.”

“And you think that person could be you?” Demetria asked.

He shrugged. “If I’m up to it.”

She folded her arms across her chest. “Do you honestly think Batman is gonna come up to you and say, ‘Hey, I don’t wanna do this anymore so can you handle this?’”

“Not like that no.”

“Then how the hell do you know what he wants?”

“At the end of the day, no one wants the sole responsibility of carrying the safety of the entire city on their shoulder.”

“Except you, and to be fair, that’s what makes you a great District Attorney.”

Harvey and Demetria exchanged smiles. “That’s the nicest thing you’ve said to me all night, Dem.”

She shrugged her shoulders. “I have my moments.”

“Well I’m sold, Dent,” Bruce chimed in. “I’m gonna throw you a fundraiser.”

Demetria whipped her head to Bruce. “You’re what?”

“That’s nice of you, Bruce,” Harvey chuckled. “But I’m not up for reelection for three years.”

Bruce shook his head. “No, you don’t understand. One fundraiser with my pals, you’ll never need another cent.”

“It’s a kind gesture-.”

“You can also think of it as a thank you for bringing my future wife to Gotham,” Bruce cut him off, looking to Demetria. “Without your persistence, I wouldn’t have found her.”

She smiled as he took her hand in hers.

“I guess I can’t say no then,” Harvey remarked.

_________________________________________________________________

Back at the penthouse, Bruce undid his tie as Demetria sat on the edge of the bed kicking off her heels.

“So, you’re really gonna throw a fundraiser for Harvey?” she asked.

He looked over his shoulder at her. “Yeah. Why?”

“Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s great you support him and the offer is so generous but...I mean, you just met the guy.”

“I think he deserves one,” he shrugged.

“But why now? Like he said, he’s not up for re-election for another three years.”

He put his tie in the drawer. “I think he’s what the city needs so why not garner future votes to keep him in office?” He turned to her. “Besides, it gives me an excuse to show off my gorgeous fiancé.”

Demetria blushed as she tried reaching for the zipper on the back of her dress, struggling to latch on to the zipper. “Well, I’m sure your support will really...” She grunted. “Can you please help me?”

Bruce went over to her and slowly zipped down the back. Demetria inhaled sharply, the cool breeze slowly hitting her bare back.

She glanced over her shoulder, a small smile on her lips. “Thank you.”

When she went to step away, Bruce quickly grabbed her and tossed her on the bed, before climbing on top of her.

“Jesus, you could warn me next time,” Demetria giggled. “Not all of us spend our nights training like you do.”

“But it’s so much more fun to surprise you.”

His lips hovered over hers as she cupped his cheek with the palm of her hand.

“Tell me, did the guy from Student Government turn you on like I do?” Bruce whispered.”

“Oh my god,” she groaned, her cheeks flushing. She threw her hands over her face. “I’m gonna kill Harvey for telling you that.”

Bruce moved his lips to her neck. “You didn’t answer my question.”

Demetria lifted her head up, removing her hands from her face. “I don’t remember! It was years ago!”

“I bet he didn’t make you cum like I do.”

She made a face, pretending to think about it. “Well now that you bring it up, I think he did.”

Bruce pulled back, fighting the playful smile on his lips “Wow.”

She pointed a finger at him. “You started it!”

“So that’s how we’re gonna do this..”

“Are you going to fuck me or not because I don’t remember him taking this long to-.”

Bruce shut her up by crashing his lip onto hers. He made damn sure she was gonna scream his name loud enough for the kid from Student Government to hear wherever he was.

_____________________________________________________________

She woke up to find herself alone in bed, curled up on her side as the sating sheets wrapped tightly around her nude body. She sighed and laid on her back, knowing Bruce was probably training at the gym.

As much as she loved him and was proud of him for being so dedicated, she wished some nights she could wake up and find him still there, still holding her. She wanted to see the way the moonlight reflected off his body as they went off in one of their deep talks.

But he was dedicated to what he did and she respected that.

She grabbed her glass of water from the nightstand to find it empty. Tossing, the sheets off her, she made her way to the set of drawers Bruce bought for her and grabbed a pair of black yoga shorts and her old Gotham University hoodie.

She then walked into the kitchen area and quietly filled her cup with water from the kitchen sink. Turning off the water after filling up, she took a quick sip before looking over her shoulder at the twinkling lights from other building lights.

She wandered outside, gently closing the door behind her. Setting her glass on the ledge, she leaned over the railing and gazed as the city in front of her.

While she never cared about Bruce luxurious lifestyle, she did love how his balcony had the best view of the city. She could get used to spending some quiet nights out here.

It was a fact that Gotham was its most dangerous during the nighttime, which Demetria found to be waste because in the right light, like the one she was currently looking at, the city could be absolutely breath taking at night.

“You should be inside.”

She jumped, her arm flinging and knocking over the glass of water on the ground.

“Fuck me,” she whispered. She then turned to her side to find Batman standing there. Her mouth hung open a jar, as she took in the sight before her. “Wow...”

“What?” His voice was rough, calloused, and almost hushed.

“You’re just...bigger than I thought.” She folded her arms across her chest. “You’re also a lot more intimidating in person.”

“I scare you?”

She chuckled nervously. “Well, considering you show up and beat the shit out of people, I mean yeah. You are.”

Silence fell as she waited for him to respond. “So are you gonna beat me up or...?” she joked, half-heartedly.

Once again, no response. Her smile fell as she nodded her head awkwardly. “You’re not much for conversations, are you?”

He didn’t respond, again. She pulled back her lips. “Well then, I’m going to get a broom and clean up the glass.”

She went to turn around when she heard, “You’re the billionaire’s wife.”

She turned to face him. “He has a name and so do I.” She paused. “Also, I’m his fiancé.”

“But you’re going to be his wife.”

“If you don’t kill me tonight, then yeah.”

He made one step toward, causing her heart to drop to her stomach. She took a couple steps back.

“I won’t hurt you,” he told her.

“Then can you tell me why you’re here so I can go about my life and you can go take out some member of the mafia?”

“Your life is valuable. Stay inside.”

He then grabbed the railing and jumped off, Demetria leaning over to watch him soar off into the night.

Running her hand through her hair, she let out a long sigh. “Jesus fucking christ.”

She went inside and quietly went back inside to grab a broom and the garbage can.

She cleaned up the glass, throwing the pieces in the garbage can. Putting the broom back in the kitchen closet and the garbage can away, she went back into the bedroom and closed the door. She turned on her bedside lamp and grabbed the remote, turning on the TV, settling on an old episode of “I Love Lucy.”

_________________________________________________________

Bruce entered the apartment quietly, as though not to wake anyone. He quickly glanced over to find Demetria was no longer out on the balcony, a small wave of relief crashing over him.

He’d made a promise to himself to keep Demetria away from Batman as best as he could; however, between the constant coverage the press was giving her and the copycats and the mob and their affiliates running around at night, he had to do what he could to protect her.

He entered their bedroom to find the TV on and Demetria lying awake in bed.

“What’re you doing up?” he asked, laying his gym bag on the floor.

She pulled her knees to her chest. “If I told you, you’d think I was crazy.”

He got into the bed and wrapped an arm around her. “Try me.”

She sighed. “I met Batman.”

He furrowed his eyebrows. “Really?”

“I was out on the balcony and he just showed up and, I don’t know, he just...he was strange.”

“He didn’t hurt you, did he?”

“No, no, no. He just told me I should stay inside because I’m apparently valuable.” She leaned her head against Bruce’s chest and sighed. “God, this city’s so fucking weird.”

He chuckled. “It’s not all that bad.”

Her fingers gingerly ran through his hair lazily. “How was your workout? Any more injuries?”

“It was fine and no, not a scratch on me.”

“And last night’s scratches? They’re ok?”

“Perfectly so.” His smile softened. “Thank you.”

“For what?” “For being you. For taking care of me.”

She smiled. “Happy to help.”

“What would I do without you?”

She lifted her head up. “Fuck half the Moscow ballet?”

Bruce shook his head, laughter escaping his lips. “I love you, Demetria.”

“I love you too, Bruce.”

He kissed her forehead before turning his eyes to the TV. “ ‘I Love Lucy’?”

“I couldn’t go back to sleep.”

She reached over for the remote on the bed when Bruce grabbed it first. He turned up the volume a bit, pulling Demetria closer to him. She threw one arm over him as they watched the show together.

Bruce knew his days as Batman would eventually end and when they did, he couldn’t wait to spend a normal night curled up with his wife watching a mindless show.

Those days were coming soon, at he least hoped they would.

#bruce wayne x oc #bruce wayne imagine #batman fanfic #batman #bruce wayne x reader #christian bale #christian bale x reader #bruce waye #the dark knight fanfiction #the dark knight #the joker #tdk trilogy #tdk #bruce wayne fluff #bruce wayne smut #batman x reader

277 notes · View notes

kneamet · 3 years

Text

Angel of cards (5/16)

Trigger Warning: no

Summary: Joker, Mr. J, anarchist psychopath, Tom Hiddleston. He had many nicknames. Joker was Gotham’s most dangerous and insightful man, with sharp makeup and horribly memorable scars on his face in the form of a smile. He was absolutely crazy and deadly. No one knows his real identity and everyone is afraid of his cruel jokes. But what happens when he becomes obsessed with an ordinary girl?

She belongs to him. No one can take her away from him. Even The Batman.

Chapter five: Breaking news

"Do you think I look all right, Alfred?" asked Bruce, raising an eyebrow and smiling at Alfred. He nodded slowly.

Bruce Wayne was the famously wealthy billionaire and philanthropist who ran the Wayne Corporation. He was quite handsome, with gelled brown hair and hazel-green eyes. He was also wearing a blue suit that he wanted to wear to an important meeting.

Bruce smiled and suddenly a voice came from the TV that was on, announcing a very unpleasant thing. Wayne moved closer to the gray nightstand that blended well with the rest of the room.

The room was decorated in gray tones. It was spacious, but very poorly left. Just a large bed in the corner of the room, blocked by a small partition; a couple of nightstands with a TV and books; and a small closet in which Bruce kept only formal suits.

He frowned, leaning over the black TV remote and making the sound louder, which was usually quiet as it played in the background.

The news, the sound of which he added, was led by a presenter he knew, who spoke in a very stately and seriously loud voice. Her red hair was tied up in a bun, and she was dressed in a pantsuit, holding a script sheet in her hands.

"-and as you already know, the bank on York Street was robbed, " Bruce frowned again.

Why hadn't he been told that before? He shifted his gaze to Alfred, who just shrugged, nodding positively. Wayne looked at the TV.

"You can see on the cameras," odd and gray camera footage flashed through the air. It's time to change them long ago. "That one person killed them. In fact, it is possible as he takes the girl away. The identity was established, " Bruce swallowed.

The screen showed a picture of the girl. She was beautiful. Brown hair, thin build, brown eyes. An ordinary girl. However, something was wrong. She looked suspiciously like someone else.

"Her name is Blake Dent," Wayne's eyes widened. Alfred stood straight, his mouth slightly open.

Dent? Harvey Dent's niece? Not that they knew each other very well, but they did communicate occasionally. They even had common interests, like a favorite movie. Sometimes, especially when they were on the phone, he had the idea that she knew he was Batman. Well, or suggests.

"She is 26 years old and if you know more about her or have any information, call us at the number that will appear on the screen. At the moment, the motives for her abduction have not been established. Her captor turned out to be the Joker, that-" suddenly she stopped talking. The screen that showed the news some time ago went out and a black screen appeared instead for a while.

Suddenly, in front of Alfred and Bruce, a strange place appeared on the TV, recorded with clearly trembling hands. The camera shot is good, but as long as the one who was holding her turned her to himself.

Bruce's mouth opened slightly. The joker. A terrible man with terrible makeup and a smile carved into his face. She was heavily made up, as was the rest of her face, which was covered in white paint. He had green hair. It seems that Batman should deal with this. Bruce will definitely do it tonight.

"Hello, dear residents of Gotham and those who just turned on the air," he said very smoothly, but in a very unpleasant and drawling voice. His camera was very shaky and could not focus its attention on him. "I just watched your broadcast and I want to say that I have never heard anything more funny in my life. My angel doesn't want to escape. She loves me. And I love her, " he grinned even wider, starting to laugh a loud laugh that terrified Bruce. He'd seen a lot in his life, but this lunatic definitely deserved to be mistreated and put in Arkham. Wayne looked at Pennyworth, who was standing there with his eyes wide and his mouth open. A shiver ran down Bruce's spine.

***

"Harvey!" shouted a pretty-looking woman. Her eyes were fixed on the television. She was sitting on the couch, clutching the remote control of a small television. She was quite pretty: brown hair that was tied in a small ponytail, blue eyes that stared intently at the news. She was simply dressed. Beautiful evening light dress.

Suddenly, footsteps were heard from her side, and a man entered a small but beautifully furnished room. He was beautiful. Blond, unkempt hair, dark blue eyes, and a perfect smile that smiled at the girl sitting on the couch. However, his smile faded when he saw that she wasn't smiling and turned his eyes and ears to the woman on the news.

"What is it, Rachel?" Harvey asked uncomprehendingly, moving closer to the woman and sitting down next to her, not taking his eyes off the screen.

"Just listen," Rachel whispered, grabbing the man's arm.

"I can see on the cameras," the woman said, and as Harvey realized, another attack on the bank had taken place. "That one person killed them. In fact, it is possible as he takes the girl away. The identity was established, " photos of the girl began to appear on the screen and Dent's eyes suddenly widened.

Blake? W-what? Why her? What his harmless but lively niece had done, that she had been kidnapped by a criminal. Harvey's skin crawled. He felt the room grow hotter. He gripped Rachel's hand tightly, making a fist with his free hand.

"-at the moment, the motives for her abduction have not been established. Her captor turned out to be the Joker, which- " the woman didn't know how to finish as the screen went blank. Harvey looked at Rachel, who was also in shock. She was very fond of Harvey's niece and they often spent time in cafes. In fact, that's how she introduced Blake to Bruce.

Suddenly, an unknown and very intimidating face appeared in front of them. It was a man with green hair and makeup on his face. His lc o was also decorated with large scars, which he apparently covered up with red paint.

"Hello, dear residents of Gotham and those who just turned on the air," he said, slightly jerking the camera, which made it twice as uncomfortable to watch. He was smiling an eerie smile that inspired fear. "I just watched your broadcast and I want to say that I have never heard anything more funny in my life. My angel doesn't want to escape. She loves me. And I love her, " he began to laugh. The camera began to shake even more.

Rachel quickly got her bearings and turned off the TV, slowly lowering the remote. She turned her head and looked at Harvey, that I could not hold back and cried openly. Dawes could only pat him on the back and whisper soft, hopeful words in his ear.

34 notes · View notes

dumbkiri · 4 years

Text

Fate Changes Final

Parts: [1, 2, 3, 4 ,5, Here ]

Summary: Not every star-crossed couple has to have a tragedy end like Romeo and Juliet. The end of [Name]’s note proves that.

Pairing: Jason Todd x Female! Reader

Genre: Fluff? Slight angst?

Word Count: 2.1 k, 6 pages (pretty short)

Warning(s): NONE..for once lol

A few days later…

“I get why you’re doing it,” Dick walked up from behind [Name], staring up at her Batsuit in a glass enclosure, “although, I will miss you on the field. Nobody really fights like you do.

”[Name] scoffed with a smirk on her face, “Do you ever get bored of complimenting people? Is that a skill others can acquire? I’m very interested.” She turns around with her arms crossed over her chest. Her [e.color] eyes had lost their color. Dick would describe it as a thin film of sadness covering her bright [e.color] hues.

“If you are interested, I can give you lessons on how to ‘woo’ people.” Dick placed his hands on his hips and smiled down at [Name].

“Now that you mentioned it, I’m not a simp,” [Name] laughed at Dick’s funny reaction. Her childish laughter echoed in the cold Batcave.

“I’ll ignore that for now,” Dick’s smile faded away when he redirected his gaze to the enclosure. He never imagined that she would retire from being Batgirl. She didn’t stop fighting crime when Jason died. His death only fueled her. Even after death, Jason was still her motivation. “So what’re you going to do now?”

[Name] sighed and uncrossed her arms and followed Dick’s own pose. She leaned on one leg and rubbed the back of her neck tiredly, “Actually, that’s what I was going to discuss with you guys.”

Dick awaited her response in anticipation.

“I, uh, got a job as a kindergarten teacher, it’s something I always dreamed of-- well at least, w--when...whatever I don’t have to explain. This is embarrassing enough for me.” [Name] stopped sputtering and ignored the incredulous look she was receiving from her best friend.

“I can’t believe it!” Dick exclaimed and hunched over from laughter. He held his sides and his body shook with happiness. He straightened up and noticed the deathly glare from the female. He wiped the tears from the corner of his eyes and breathed out, “Wow! The Brave Cardinal is now a kindergarten teacher? I just can’t believe you go from fighting thugs to caring for younglings.”

[Name] turned her back on Dick and huffed, “Laugh it up, but I want to live a normal life.”

She faced him with a determined look and pointed at herself with a newfound confidence, “I am going to live a normal life and have a normal job. I’ll start a normal family and have normal problems. If I want that then I need to retire being Batgirl.”[Name]’s eyes connected with Dick’s, “And I hope you guys, are fine with that?”

Dick smiled at [Name] with kindness and with hope, “Of course, all that we ask of you is give us a visit from time to time. Alfred would love some normalcy in his life.”

“I can manage that,” [Name] giggled and raised her arm up, her hand in a fist. Dick formed his hand into a fist as well and they both bumped their closed hands together,

“See you soon, Dick Grayson.”

“See you soon, [Name] [L.Name].”

Three Years Later…

Bruce held the bundle of joy carefully in his arms. He stared at the baby girl with wide eyes as his arms adjusted to a comfortable position. Then he looked up at the mother of the child.

“Why are you staring at me like that? It’s embarrassing…” [Name] looked away from Bruce with a blush. Her hands fumbling with each other.

Dick jumped up in excitement while Tim choked on his coffee when they saw The Bruce Wayne holding a child no older than two years old. Dick ran over to Bruce with the biggest smile on his face. He reached out to the baby girl, but Bruce pulled away.

“Dick, I just got the chance to hold her,” Bruce muttered.

Dick’s shoulders slumped and he backed away to give [Name] a bone crushing hug. He lifted her off the floor and spun her around. The two of them laughed at the happy situation. Dick finally set [Name] down and asked his questions. “This was the surprise?! How come you didn’t tell us sooner? Where is Henry, I thought he was going to be here too?”

[Name] chuckled, “Henry had some business with his employees and told me to introduce you all to the new family member.” Her [e.color] eyes looked over to her baby girl. Alfred was helping Tim hold the baby, but Tim was stiff as a statue.

[Name] looked back at Dick and announced loud enough for everyone to hear, “Her name is [D.Name] Martha Davis. We had trouble with her middle name, but then we thought of Bruce."

The older woman looked at her mentor with a kind smile, "Henry and I wouldn't have met if you didn't introduce us together. We are so grateful that you did because you guys granted my wish."

"And what was that?" Tim asked, holding on [D.Name] carefully. He was lolling her to sleep without even noticing it.

[D.Name]'s [e.color] eyes watched her mother with a certain shine in them. Her [h.color] hair was fluffy and short. People said she was the spitting image of [Name] and the mother couldn't deny.

[Name] placed her hands on her hips and walked closer to her family, "A normal life."

……

There's so many things I want to say to you. So many apologies. So many acceptances. I know that moving out of Gotham was something unexpected for you and I knew the news devastated you. I was also feeling the same way.

We never really got the chance to love each other right. I think we missed those chances. But I'll never forget the fleeting moments between us. They were nice while they lasted, right?

I missed that Christmas night when Bruce held an event at the manor. You had to attend because you were his ward and you invited me as your date. Everyone was dancing and I remember when you walked up to me with that goofy smile on your face. You asked me if I wanted to dance with you. I declined and your smile just disappeared.

So later that night before I left the manor, I went into your room to surprise you. I hope you remember this night as much as I do. You opened your door and oh god, you were so surprised. I still remember that funny look on your face. Makes me laugh every time I think about it.

I asked you if you wanted to dance with me and you happily agreed. You didn't hesitate at all. So you started up the music on your favorite station and what would be our song, Fly Me to The Moon, played. You held me so close that I could smell the faint cologne you had put on earlier. You smelled like chocolate and mint.

I know you did because all you ate at the party was chocolate and the mint? I still have no idea why mint. We danced almost all night and I ended up staying the night. You let me sleep in your bed even though there were plenty of other guests rooms. You just wouldn't let me go and I wasn't complaining.

That's when I found out you were Robin and Bruce was Batman. Then for some reason, there was a push. Like someone was telling me to join you two. Fight the bad guys. Bring justice. Enforce fear. You two were the dynamic duo in my eyes. You had this incredible chemistry that I longed for with somebody. That I wanted in a family.

So I ended up being Batgirl. Those were the days. Fighting crime with Batman and Robin. I thought I was dreaming for some time. But once I got a punch to my face, I knew the pain was real. That I wasn't dreaming.

You protected me on those patrols. You fought for me. You took bullets for me. Knife wounds. Bruises. You did everything in your power to make sure I was safe. That I would come back.

I wished I did the same for you. I wasn't there for you in your time of need. I didn't read your letters for weeks because my life in Metropolis was so consuming. I didn't do what you did for me. My guilt consumed me so much that I forgot how to be me.

I returned to Gotham, but like you said I was too late. I came into the manor with my belongings and Alfred told me Bruce was searching for you. That you ran away to go kill Joker. I waited all night in the living quarters for you to come back home. Bruce returned with nothing. He couldn't find you.

Then we got a video. I never felt so disgusted with myself. I never felt so hurt watching you be near that maniac. Joker, he was all fun and games. He brainwashed you till the point where you were going to tell him who Batman was.

I jumped at the sound of the gunshot. I cried at the sound of your body dropping. I fell to my knees at the sound of Joker laughing.

My heart broke so much that it was beyond repair. I did what I did best after your death. I took out all my anger and frustration on the vermin in Gotham. I took out all my shame and guilt on me. I was keeping watch on Harvey Dent one night and I got a call from Alfred. He was speaking so fast that I couldn't understand him.

All I got in that sentence was Joker, your name, kill and Batman. Our mentor was going to kill Joker. I sat on the roof for a minute thinking, 'Finally, finally Batman is getting rid of the stupid clown.' He deserved to die. The Joker was nothing, but the darkness in Gotham City. But then I came back to my senses.

I know, you hate him. You have a damn good reason to. I hate him as well, but we can't dictate who dies and when. We don't have the authority to plan or think how a person should die. So I ran.

I ran. I jumped. I rolled. I stopped.

Batman had Joker in his hands. A tight grip on his neck and if Bruce squeezed any harder, he would have killed the deranged clown. I watched on scared. The man who taught us the one important rule was going to break it. He was going to break the rule.

"We are no better than them!"

That's what I shouted. That's what got Bruce to release Joker. I was relieved that I stopped him from crossing that line. Because once you do, you can't ever go back.

I'm sure you heard that Joker died. It wasn't a gruesome death, no. It was a sickness that got him. And I think it's ironic. Joker was a plague in Gotham City. And he died from an illness. He died.

I lived on for months always dreaming of you. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw you. You were my everything. You were my protector. You were my Romeo. And I was your Juliet.

Our paths have never touched. Yes, we held hands. We kissed. We hugged. But we never were on the same page. And that is what breaks my heart. We were star-crossed lovers.

Joker was the one to separate us. He was our outside force. Another reason why I hate him so much. He took you away from me.

But our love doesn't have to end. Our story doesn't have to end like Romeo and Juliet. I'm not saying we can be lovers. I already said we missed those chances. But what I am saying is that we can still be in each other's lives.

And I want you to meet somebody. It's been a long time since we last talked. It's been three years? I heard from Dick that you're coming around lately which is great. I often come back to the manor as well.

I live in Gotham now, close by Wayne Manor for various reasons. The main reason was because of my daughter. She's two years old and if you saw her, is basically, she's the spitting image of me. I want you to meet her.

It sounds selfish. I know. But you're still a part of my family. You will always be a part of my family.

I want you to know I love you, Jason Todd. I'll always love you no matter what. And in an alternate universe, I hope that our fate changes.

Your Juliet, [Name] Davis

------

“Hey can you slow down a bit? It’s difficult to run in a dress!”

“I told you that we were going outside! It’s not my fault you don’t listen!”

A teenage girl huffed after the male in front of her. His midnight black hair soaking in the sun. His red shirt and black pants showing off his built body. She watched as he stepped over a creek with ease and he turned around just in time to help her hop over it.

He held her hand gently and smiled at her, “The dress does look good on you though.”

[Name] blushed and lost her footing. Her body ended up bumping into the boy and they fell onto the flower bed. “Oh, Jason! I’m so sorry about that! These shoes aren’t good with grip and-”

“My god, [Name], do you talk this much when you’re this flustered?” Jason chuckled and reached a tentative hand toward her face. She leaned into his palm and sighed in content while he stared at her.

“Jason, what are you thinking about?” [Name] questioned staring at the male with worried [e.color] eyes. She adjusted her body on top of him where she sat on his lap still facing him.

The teenage boy sat up with his hand remaining on her delicate face. His blue eyes reflected the bright blue sky. “I just, I’m glad we’re together. I was afraid that you’d reject me and that your parents would refuse my courting toward you.”

[Name] grabbed his hand and traced circles on his palm. “Yeah, I’m glad too. I don’t know what I would do if we didn’t have each other.”

Jason smiled and whispered, “I love you, [Name].”

She heard his words and stared at him with wide eyes. Then she made the first move. She moved forward and pressed her lips against his own soft ones. [Name] pulled away and noticed the pink tint on his cheeks.

“Can we do that again?” Jason asked and before he could get another kiss, [Name] stood up and brushed her dress. Then she started running toward the castle where Jason was crowned prince.

“Only if you can catch me, your majesty!” [Name] laughed running ahead.

Jason had this familiar goofy smile on his face and he jumped to his feet. He proclaimed, “Oh I will and when I do, you won’t regret it!”

And in an alternate universe, I hope that our fate changes.

......

TAGGED Fated Changers: @anotherfan07 @httpfandxms @greyxdaze @zalladane @iwriteaboutstuff @cutiepoo16 @kaylinfayezink @thescottpack @izzieg3987 @loxbbg @seymoourr @terralupa @backstagepaige @downtownbabyyeah @http-used-eraser @laggyphone @osejn @realityshifter111 @ishanequa @ryryryleigh @fvckthebatboys

#Jason Todd #jason todd x reader #jason todd imagine #alternate universe #dc #dc universe #dceu #arkham knight #x reader #red hood #red hood x reader #red hood imagine #batfam imagine #fate changes #ending

122 notes · View notes

aion-rsa · 3 years

Text

Batman ’89: What Happened Next in the Burtonverse After Batman Returns

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

This Batman article contains spoilers.

Tim Burton’s original vision for Gotham City and the Dark Knight are returning to the forefront of the DC Universe in more ways than one this year. Not only is Michael Keaton back in the cape and cowl for The Flash movie, which is currently filming in the UK for a late 2022 release, but DC is also releasing a sequel comic to Batman ’89 this week. No, this isn’t Batman Returns but a brand new continuation of the Burtonverse from Batman ’89‘s original screenwriter Sam Hamm and artist Joe Quinones that “pulls on a number of threads left dangling” by Burton, all while recreating the singular look and feel of the movies, down to Keaton’s iconic Batsuit and Batmobile as well as all of the cool gadgets and Gothic architecture.

This six-issue miniseries is a big deal — not just for fans of the Burtonverse and Keaton but for the creators themselves. You may already know the story of how “Batman II” eventually became the divisive Batman Returns: after delivering a box office smash, Burton and Hamm were quickly tapped to make a sequel, but the filmmakers disagreed on the direction the next movie should take, leading to the director replacing Hamm with Daniel Waters (Heathers), who churned out something much darker and sans Robin, the Boy Wonder. With the Batman ’89 comic, Hamm gets to finally deliver his own take on what happened next.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

As for Quinones, this comic wouldn’t exist without his designs for the book, which he originally pitched to DC in 2015 with writer Kate Leth. Revealed on his blog in 2016 were designs for Harvey Dent’s transformation into Two-Face, the debut of Batgirl and Marlon Wayans’ Robin (finally!), and even the return of Catwoman — all of which will finally come to pass in the new miniseries, according to DC Comics.

But how are all of these big moments set up in the comic? Batman ’89 #1, out this week, begins to set the stage for an interesting new future for the Burtonverse. Spoilers ahead…

Batman ’89 picks up after both Burton movies, effectively the director’s “Batman III” if such a wonderful thing existed. After the Joker’s death and Penguin’s demise, things in Gotham City are worse than ever, as the Dark Knight’s crusade seems only to lead to more crime. We’re treated to chaos on the streets from the opening panels of the book, which are set on Halloween night, as the remnants of the Joker Gang and Penguin’s Red Triangle Gang loot stores, mug citizens, and attempt to hijack two armored cars full of cash with a cargo helicopter. In fact, it’s after the Caped Crusader thwarts the Joker Gang’s helicopter, sending it crashing into a building, and leaving several citizens dead or critically injured and millions of dollars in damages, that Gotham DA Harvey Dent decides he’s had enough.

Meant to evoke the endless charm and swagger of Billy Dee Williams, who played the character in the first movie but didn’t return for the sequel, Dent is finally given the spotlight he deserved decades ago. In Batman ’89, he’s a man on his own crusade.

After Dent watching the destruction and chaos of the opening panels from the streets after a romantic dinner with GCPD Sergeant Barbara Gordon, whom he’s just proposed to (!), he decides it’s actually the Batman’s reign of terror that needs to be stopped. Dent thinks it’s a vigilante operating outside of the law that has bred even more crime and death in his city. Although Batman swore to protect Gotham in his letter to Dent at the end of the first movie, the violence that’s erupted in his wake has left the city under siege, forcing the National Guard to come in to patrol the streets. A curfew has been put in place, while the soldiers hunt down the Batman.

The first issue raises some big questions about Keaton’s Batman that would have made for captivating big-screen drama. Early on, the comic asks whether the Dark Knight is ultimately doing more harm than good in Gotham, where citizens now dress up as Batman or the Joker and fight each other in the streets. But a grumpy Bruce Wayne (he’s also graying) stubbornly stands by his convictions during a meeting with Dent, who visits Wayne Manor to ask for Bruce’s help in taking down the Batman. Like in the movies, the duality of the character of Bruce Wayne is front and center in the comic, with the billionaire befriending people in power during the day while working against them as Batman at night.

The book also plays up Wayne’s friendship with Dent because it will likely be a key factor in Dent’s transformation into Two-Face. While the beloved district attorney is still one of the good guys by the end of the first issue, the ingredients for Dent’s fall from grace are already in place. There’s the trick coin he uses to make his own luck (given its own origin story that beckons back to Harvey’s childhood in the streets of Burnside), his marriage to Barbara Gordon that will likely never come to pass, his anger at Batman and Bruce (who is hesitant to help Harvey), and the way he threatens two Joker thugs with a gun — although he’s only trying to scare them, we see that the district attorney is willing to get his hands dirty, not unlike Christopher Nolan’s own version of the character.

How does Dent’s war on Batman begin? By deposing the Caped Crusader’s greatest ally in Gotham City, Commissioner Jim Gordon (resembling Pat Hingle). Gordon faces a vote of no confidence after the violence on Halloween, while Dent and Detective Bullock try to lure Batman into a trap with the Bat Signal, which has to be repaired every couple of weeks because beat cops keeps smashing it. No, Batman doesn’t have many friends left without Gordon. We do see their friendship flourish after two movies-worth of crime-fighting, though. The comic even addresses Gordon’s connection to Bruce’s origin story, which feels like a nod to what Keaton hoped would be the subject of Batman III if it had happened.

By the end of the issue, Batman is once again a wanted man in his own city, and when he runs afoul of another major character, he finds himself directly in the National Guard’s crosshairs. Yes, the issue sets the stage for the debut of the Burtonverse’s Robin, who ambushes the Dark Knight while protecting another kid who stole diapers and baby food for his little sister.

Here is the most direct connection to Hamm’s script for Batman II and what would have been Marlon Wayans’ portrayal of Robin, as well as the book’s most intriguing reinvention. In Hamm’s screenplay, Dick Grayson is introduced as a young Black orphan surviving in the streets with the help of his martial arts skills. In the comic, Grayson has donned his own disguise — a hooded black cape and a yellow face mask — to help the poorest of Gotham, and there are some interesting elements at play here that I would have liked to see on screen, especially the depiction of Robin as a hero trying to save those that the Batman seems to forget while fighting flamboyant villains and stopping heists in Gotham’s more affluent neighborhoods.

Some readers have long criticized the character as not only an example of “copaganda,” despite all the crooked police officers working in the GCPD, but also of a very wealthy guy beating up and maiming poor people. Robin’s debut as someone fighting for those Batman’s war on crime neglects seems like a way to talk about (or at least acknowledge) some of the deeper systemic issues in Gotham that the Caped Crusader can’t fight with his fists. This examination, coupled with Dent’s own crusade, even as worries that he needs to “hide his real face” to fit in with the elite and affect change for places like Burnside, would have been revolutionary back then and feels more relevant than ever now.

It remains to be seen whether the six-issue miniseries will really lean into this type of commentary, but issue one is a promising start for a modern reinvention of the Burtonverse, even as it packs in the nostalgia and imagines what could have been had Keaton’s Batman been given a trilogy.

The post Batman ’89: What Happened Next in the Burtonverse After Batman Returns appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3lQe9l4

#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

1 note · View note

qquinntessential · 3 years

Text

ON THE CREATION OF HARLEY QUINN

First thing’s first, there are SO MANY different tellings of Harley’s origin story, it feels like no one at DC can agree on any one, so I’ll be taking bits and pieces from some of them, but for the most part, Stjepan Šejić’s version of events in ‘ HARLEEN ’ reigns supreme. I also want to make it very clear that I don’t believe that Harley is completely blameless in her turn to villainy. Was she manipulated? YES. Was it still her decision to take the action she did? ALSO YES. Just because Joker’s a conniving little shit doesn’t mean that Harley is completely absolved of any wrongdoing / responsibility. So, without further ado, LET’S GET INTO IT.

HARLEEN QUINZEL was one of the most promising post - doctoral students that had graduated from GOTHAM UNIVERSITY. With a B. Sc., an M. D. and a PhD under her belt, no one would’ve suspected the upbringing she came from. A father who disappeared from the picture at fifteen for some lowly conning and a dingy Bensonhurst apartment with little to no love to spare didn’t exactly come to mind when talking about a 3.87 GPA and a GYMNASTICS SCHOLARSHIP. And it’s not like people were too apt to believe that those things were WELL DESERVED when they belonged to bleached blonde hair, wide blue eyes, and lips that smiled too often. In fact, their biases were only STRENGTHENED when she was caught with one of the psychology department professors in what she believed was an act of GENUINE AFFECTION. To say that her graduation was a RELIEF was an understatement. Her peers still mocked her until, to her surprise, the funding for her research at ARKHAM ASYLUM had been granted. She was the one laughing now.

This was where the trouble began. She could feel in her bones that something EXTRAORDINARY was about to go down, but she had no idea just how extraordinary it would truly be. Flipping through patient files, she recognized some faces, her television screen having broadcasted them through the darkness of her small apartment, just as worn as the one she’d grown up in, but with more warmth of her own. POISON IVY. THE RIDDLER. KILLER CROC. One in particular, however, piqued her interest. THE JOKER. A man with no rhyme or reason that anyone could decipher. UNTIL NOW. She was convinced that her predecessors had all come in with the wrong approach. They’d regarded him as nothing more than a criminal, out for personal gain. They were WRONG, in her eyes. To her, he was just like anyone else. “ WHY’D YOU DO IT ?? ” would not be her question. No, she was more concerned with “ HOW CAN I HELP ?? ”. So their first session was booked and her life was changed forever.

Quickly, seeds dug deep, sprouting furiously. She was never a good sleeper, but now she COULDN’T SLEEP. Not without seeing HIM and every time she did, she stayed awake for the rest of the night. If it wasn’t for her NEW - FOUND FRIEND ( the cheapest whisky on the shelf ) and their PARTNER ( more caffeine than most humans could handle ), she most certainly would’ve died of exhaustion. But she carried on, knowing that she was GETTING SOMEWHERE her colleagues hadn’t with him. Meanwhile, she ignored the ALARMS sounding in her head, warning her to BE CAREFUL. She was convinced she could handle her LITTLE CRUSH. Convinced that it was just EMPATHY rooting deep within her for a patient with which she was working closely. And then, when she could no longer CONVINCE herself, she IGNORED. Ignored the ETHICAL VIOLATIONS. Ignored the RISK TO HER CAREER. Ignored the MESS THAT SHE WAS GETTING HERSELF INTO. Because, in all honesty, the things he said MADE SENSE. And so she spiralled into this self - made pit until she found HIM at the bottom, waiting with OPEN ARMS and HUNGRY LIPS.

Everything sank into her bones the minute THE BAT had his hands on her patient. WHO WAS HE TO ENFORCE THE MORALITY OF THE CITY WHEN MORALITY ITSELF WAS SUBJECTIVE ?? The rage festered, manifesting in her attempts to further REHABILITATE her patient. She needed to show him that she UNDERSTOOD. That she was ON HIS SIDE. That’s how she’d win him over, RIGHT ?? But before she could sneak him the weapons he’d requested, another force had seeped its way into ARKHAM.

Before anyone could react, GOTHAM’S MOST WANTED had been granted an early pardon, havoc spilling from every cell into BLOODIED HALLWAYS before taking to the streets. She stumbled upon it halfway through the ordeal, dashing inside despite the horror. SHE HAD TO MAKE SURE HE WAS OKAY. Before her mind was at peace, she’d been cornered, a gun brandished, HARVEY DENT HIMSELF determining her fate with the toss of a coin. She’d been lucky that her patient didn’t believe in such determinism. He believed in BRICKS. The weapon clattered to the ground, metal against tile, her head SPINNING as she tried to make sense of what was going on, her place in this MAD REALITY, who was really the bad guy, how they were going to ESCAPE FROM IT ALL. Flashlight rounded the corner and suddenly none of those questions mattered anymore. Another gun had her heart racing, but this time it’s aimed at BLEACHED SKIN.

Before she can comprehend it, a BULLET IS DEPLOYED, a shot RINGING through hallowed halls, a body crumples to the ground. THE JOKER STILL STANDS. She didn’t know what to do. The recoil had her hand shaking as blue eyes feasted on the scene. AN INNOCENT MAN HAD DIED BY HER HAND. A laugh slipped from surprised lips. And then another. IT WAS HILARIOUS, WASN’T IT ?? Nothing she did, good or bad intentioned, MATTERED. He really was right, and for the first time, she saw it for herself, FIRST - HAND. The blood, the guts, the CHAOS.

NONE OF IT MATTERED.

She donned the red and black with a SMILE ON HER FACE, one that mirrored his own; CAREFREE and WILD. She had finally found her true self in HARLEY QUINN, THE CLOWN PRINCESS OF CRIME, and NOTHING ELSE MATTERED.

#[ ❥ ] | ➤ glory and gore go hand in hand. — ‹headcanon.›#tw: guns #tw: blood #tw: alcoholism #idk if there are any other plz lemme know #but anywho this is a story all about how her life got flipped turned upside down

8 notes · View notes

phantombmoll · 4 years

Text

So I just watched Nothing’s Shocking and I have thoughts;

After making my Harvey post the other day it was pointed out to me that, even though season five is as much of a clusterfuck as every other season bar one and half of 2. that it has a pretty Harvey heavy episode in it.

So I decided today to check it out - haven’t bothered with the rest of season five, maybe I will at some point but for now I’m happy perusing Harvey’s best bits from earlier seasons, which means most episode run at most ten minutes haha!

ANYWAY

I decided to check it out and now I have thoughts;

TLDR: HARVEY DESERVES MORE. HARVEY DESERVES COMFORT AND CUDDLES AND A WARM MEAL AFTER THAT EPISODE. HE DESERVES TO LIE ON A COUCH AND HAVE SOMEONE STROKE HIS HAIR WHILST HIS HEAD IS IN THEIR LAP. HARVEY DESERVES SO MUCH MORE and he also deserves to have someone fucking recognise that he actually has a goddamn heart of gold underneath it all.

Nothing’s Shocking really is an apt title because nothing about the episode was shocking - especially not if you were already a Harvey fan and already kind of meta’d and lingered on Spirit of the Goat the way I have.

They should have called it how to break my heart with Harvey Bullock instead.

A bunch of stuff broke my heart in this;

For one Harvey’s guilt about not checking in on Dix earlier. In Spirit of the Goat we actually find out that Harvey is the one paying for Dix’s care at the retirement place, he’s the one getting him magazines and booze and all that kind of stuff too. Harvey blames himself so much for Dix’s fall that he was paying for his care - which must have been a hefty wedge of his wage - given Harvey’s apartment that we see in season 2 he must have been earning a fairly decent wage as Detective.

This throws up questions for me then;

Was Harvey still paying for Dix’s care up until he left the GCPD and fell on hard times? (Because Harvey did fall on hard times, he says as much and he had to move apartment, not just move but downsize)

What happened when Harvey stopped paying? How did he explain that to Dix? Did Dix help Harvey out with money? If he knew Harvey was that hard-up I mean?

Harvey admits that he hasn’t checked on Dix as much as he should have after the bridges got blown. Does that mean he was before? Why wasn’t this referenced before? Why are the writers failing Harvey so badly by not mentioning his life outside of the GCPD - because clearly (and here is that thing I was so broken up about the other day rearing it’s head again) he does have a life outside the GCPD.

Does Harvey harbour any kind of resentment towards Dix, for how he turned out? Because Dix was a pretty big factor in Harvey following the path of ‘going along to get along’ in Gotham rather than trying to be the White Knight he wanted to be.

Something else that broke my heart was Dix’s playful - not punch- but fist bump - to Harvey’s chin after he jokes about not getting his meds because he thinks it’ll make Harvey feel bad.

Dix can still see Harvey’s heart beneath all that bluster and age and everything else. Dix can still see that good kid trying to be a white knight. I get that Dix knew Harvey before Jim, I get that. I do.

AND

I get that Dix was instrumental in Harvey going down the path he did.

BUT

The fact that Jim Asshole Gordon is supposed to be his friend and doesn’t see it really freaking bugs me.

(I had to put this under a cut because it got SO freaking long)

Speaking of which, that conversation in the office just served to highlight how goddamn selfish Jim Gordon actually is.

Harvey just wanted to talk, he just wanted to lay his cards out on the table and say you know what I’m not perfect, I can’t change my past but I’m trying for a better future and I’m trying to do the right thing. I’m trying to be the man I always wanted to be, the man that got taken from me by Gotham - because that man was taken from Harvey and Jim has no idea.

if Jim was any kind of ACTUAL friend to Harvey that conversation would have gone so differently. He would have been supportive “I know Harvey, you fucked up and you’re right you can’t change the past but you can move forward.” BUT NO

Instead Jim just goes “well I can’t give you forgiveness” like the asshole he is. Because here’s the thing.

Every mistake Harvey makes Jim beats him over the head with as though Harvey’s guilt isn’t already swallowing him whole. When Harvey gets his throat cut and is lay in the hospital having almost just died, Jim doesn’t offer him any kind of comfort he just starts on at him about taking Penguin’s money after being pressured too. Jim is such a dick to Harvey and all the while he’s in Sofia Falcone’s backpocket and taking a hand out from her.

I’m sorry but NO. Fuck you.

Anyway back to Nothing’s Shocking -

What makes that ending even worse, what makes the gulf in Harvey and Jim’s friendship even bigger is that Harvey has just found one of his oldest friends was murdered, what’s worse is that Dix died and it was the image of Harvey who murdered him and if you think that isn’t going to play on Harvey’s mind then your wrong. On top of that Harvey has just had to shoot the poor girl this whole case is about. The girl he never wanted to pressure into giving a testimony, the girl he felt guilt over for years. All this shit Harvey’s just been through and Jim can’t even offer a tiny bit of comfort to him.

Yet when Jim got sent to Blackgate in season 2 it was Harvey who worked tirelessly to get him out, to help him, to clear his name. It was Harvey who put him up at his apartment. again back to Nothing’s Shocking

Can we talk about Harvey’s tremor after he shot Jane too, can we talk about his face when she took that mask off. Because baby.

Harvey’s hands are shaking so hard after he’s shot her and you can see the guilt there. More guilt. As if Gotham hasn’t dumped enough guilt on him about everything from his actions to his drinking. As if he doesn’t have enough weighing on him. It was her or him she was going to shoot him but you know full well that Harvey has gone back to that locker room at the GCPD and all he’s thought about is maybe she wasn’t going to shoot. He reacted with fear, on an instant and maybe she wouldn’t have shot him. You know that’s eating away at him.

And I think Harvey needs to cut himself some slack, because even though he was a part of it, it can be argued, he was a kid pressured into doing shit. IN FACT he says as much, he says he tried to say something and he got told to keep his trap shut.

and people can argue he should have fought harder like Jim did but here’s the thing. When Jim first came to Gotham he didn’t really think he was going to be at the GCPD forever and he also had a supportive Barbara who encouraged his heroic antics and he had Bruce and Alfred and Harvey Dent all there saying YEAH JIM SORT THE GCPD! STAND UP FOR IT! Hell even Essen ended up supporting him.

Harvey wouldn’t have had any of that. He’d have been surrounded by cops on the take from Falcone, there wasn’t anyone to pat him on the back and say well done for doing good Harv, well done for catching bad guys and also well done for standing up to all those detectives telling you to look the other way.

No all Harvey had was Dix telling him not to be a hero and probably the threat of, in the least a beating, at most being murdered hanging over his head.

So Harvey needs to cut himself some slack because even though he was part of it, part of creating Jane Doe, he wasn’t alone or soley responsible and he did try to speak up.

#harvey bullock #jesus I went on #I don't even care #I love him so much #also what happened to his eyelashes #anyway meta #is that what we call this #Gotham #is this meta? I don't know #it's rambling is what it is #and now I'm going to fly off and write another post about his apartment #then maybe I'll write something about young Bullock

13 notes · View notes

everybodysacritic · 4 years

Text

Film Review: The Dark Knight

My rating: 8/10

The Dark Knight (2008) is the second film in Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy. It is a film following DC superhero Batman, and his struggle with stopping a notorious criminal called the Joker.

The film starts with a heist. An action-filled burglary with some masked men takes place at a bank in Gotham city. The Joker is revealed to be one of these men just before killing the rest of them, taking all of the money for himself in a getaway car. When the Joker’s car reaches a parking lot ‘Batman’ appears, getting hit by the criminals. Several men posing as Batman are easily defeated by them before the real Batman arrives in his famous Bat-mobile. The hero tells them off in a low (slightly ridiculous) voice, then disappears.

Bruce Wayne, Batman’s true identity, is a character shrouded in wealth. The only people who know about his double life are his butler Alfred, his Business manager Lucius Fox, and his ex-girlfriend Rachel. Politician Harvey Dent praises Batman and the work he does for Gotham city, and although he is dating Rachel he does not know of Batman’s true identity.

“If you’re good at something never do it for free.” - Joker (Heath Ledger)

A group of criminals led by a man named Mr. Lao make fun of the Joker while in a meeting. The Joker makes an entrance by walking in on there meeting while laughing maniacally. The Joker wants them to hire him to kill Batman, knowing that they are all too afraid to try. The criminals are skeptical of Joker’s ability to kill Batman, so he tells them to think about it and leaves.

“Why so serious?” - Joker (Heath Ledger)

The next time he is seen, the Joker is sneaking in to where the group of criminals have camped out. The Joker tells the criminals about how his face was scarred by his abusive father when he was a kid, carving a smile into his face with a knife because he was being too serious. Being much more aggressive than last time, he kills a couple of them and threatens the rest.

Batman plans to stop the Joker from continuing his crimes. He starts by getting the tools that he needs from his business manager, Lucius Fox. Bruce is then able to find crime lord Mr. Lao, and stop him. Batman flies in, takes Mr. Lao, and drops him off at the police station to be arrested.

“You want order in Gotham? Batman must take off his mask and turn himself in. Oh, and every day he doesn't, people will die. Starting tonight. I'm a man of my word.” - Joker (Heath Ledger)

Soon after, the Joker kills a batman impersonator and hangs him from a building. The Joker broadcasts a video across Gotham saying that for every night that Batman does not unmask himself and turn himself in, he will kill an innocent person.

"Some men just want to watch the world burn" - Alfred (Michael Caine)

Bruce does not give in, but soon faces the consequences when the Joker kills the mayor of Gotham. Batman struggles with what he should do. The Joker doesn’t seem to be motivated by anything but wanting to cause chaos, and he never seems to be able to find him until the Joker has already killed a person.

"The night is darkest before the dawn. The dawn is coming." - Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart)

Bruce contemplates turning himself in, but Alfred and Rachel implore him not to. Despite going against their wishes, Bruce decides to turn himself in, but not before telling Harvey. Due to Harvey’s unwavering faith in the Batman, he tries to turn himself in as Batman so that Batman can continue doing good for the city.

"To them you're just a freak like me. They need you now, but when they don't they'll cast you out." - Joker (Heath Ledger)

The Joker’s people kidnap Harvey and Rachel. Meanwhile, the Joker is caught in the process of fighting Batman as his plan unfolds. The Joker is taken into an interrogation room where Batman tries to get information from him about where Rachel and Harvey have been taken. Even using violence does not get the Joker to tell them, only using the opportunity to taunt Batman.

"In their last moments people show you who they really are." - Joker (Heath Ledger)

They end up figuring out that Rachel and Harvey have been taken to separate building with bombs about to go off. They try to get there as fast as they can, but Rachel killed, and half of Harvey’s face is burned off.

"Introduce a little anarchy. Upset the established order, and everything becomes chaos. I'm an agent of chaos. Oh, and you know the thing about chaos? It's fair! " - Joker (Heath Ledger)

The Joker’s next move is to blow up a hospital. Harvey makes a deal with the Joker when he’s in the hospital to get out before he does it. The Joker persuades Harvey into changing his view on morality, and to direct his anger at the police instead of him. The whole incident changes Harvey into a very different person. The Joker blows up the hospital, and Harvey escapes.

Another creepy video is released telling the citizens of Gotham to leave if they do not want to be part of his game. Many of the citizens try to leave Gotham city on boat. Meanwhile, Batman decides to bug everyone's phone to try to find the Joker.

For what he calls a ‘social experiment’, the Joker then hijacks two of the large boats leaving Gotham. He gives each boat a detonator. On one boat there are prisoners, while the other has regular citizens. Both detonators will blow up at midnight if they do not do anything.

"I took Gotham's white knight and I brought him down to our level. It wasn't hard. You see, madness, as you know, is like gravity. All it takes is a little push!” - Joker (Heath Ledger)

Batman finds the Joker as he is waiting to see what will happen with his ‘social experiment’. They end up fighting as the people on the boats argue about what to do. Eventually midnight strikes, and both boats have not detonated the other, revealing that they were never going to blow up at midnight in the first place. The Joker then reveals to Batman the plan that he has set in motion: to crush the spirits of Gotham by causing Harvey to join his side. Batman leaves as the Joker is taken into custody.

“You thought we could be decent men in an indecent time, but you were wrong! The world is cruel. And the only morality in a cruel world is chance. Unbiased, unprejudiced, fair.” - Joker (Heath Ledger)

Harvey, who has renamed himself ‘Two-Face’, now blames the police for what happened to him and Rachel. After killing several other officers, he kidnaps officer Gordon's family and lures him to an abandoned parking lot. He flips a coin to determine whether each of them live or die, and it does not end well for the son. Harvey is about to shoot Gordon’s kid in order to get his revenge, but is interrupted by the arrival of Batman.

"You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become a villain." - Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart)

Batman tries to reason with Gordon, telling him that the Joker was just using him to prove that a man as good as him could fall. Gordon will not listen to him, and so Batman kills him.

"He's the hero Gotham deserves, but not the one it needs right now. So we’ll hunt him because he can take it. Because he’s not our hero, he’s a silent guardian, a watchful protector. He’s a dark knight." - Gordon (Gary Oldman)

Finally, Batman decides that him and Gordon have to lie and say that Batman is the one who killed the people that Harvey did. It is the only way that the citizens of Gotham do not lose hope. Gordon agrees, and the film ends.

The Dark Night is an impressive movie with a depressing message about corruption and morality. Heath Ledger's acting is amazing in his role as the Joker, as he is able to play a terrifying villain while also being comedic. The movie is shot mostly in dark lighting, further pushing the overall mood. The makeup and costumes add to the acting (eg. the Jokers messy makeup and bright red smile make him look terrifying). All of the sound effects and special effects are very well done. Overall, the Dark Knight is an impressive film.

#the dark knight #batman #heath ledger #film review

4 notes · View notes

haleyreads4you · 4 years

Text

No Laughing Matter

Why Gotham’s Crown Prince of Crime Doesn’t Deserve a Backstory

If you haven’t heard, DC is releasing a new live action movie entitled The Joker, scheduled to be released on October 4th later this year. The movie is supposed to take us on a journey to see the beginning of this notorious villain, and hopefully give a better understanding on why he is the way he is. Usually this is fantastic! Villains, bad guys, antagonist, whatever you call them, are always so much more interesting when you get to see the reasoning behind their actions, and after all the Joker has done, who wouldn’t want to know. The short answer, is me.

The longer answer, (which I’m about to give you,) is that honestly, no real DC or Batman fan should want to see a Joker backstory. Believe it or not, he actually has one already, and I promise you it’s not going to be the one you see in the movie. It simply isn’t that complex. If you can’t tell, I am a huge DC, (especially the Batfam,) fan, and if you’re not that’s okay! I’m honestly shocked if you read this far without being a DC fan. Nonetheless, I’m going to be giving as much background as I possibly can to flush out my points throughout this, so you don’t have to possess prior knowledge. Now, I will not claim to be an expert on DC, or Batman, and especially not on the Joker himself, but I do like to think I know quite a bit. That being said, if I miss something, or get the facts wrong, feel free to refute me! A huge point of all these dumb essays I’m writing is to get the conversation going! Now with all the logistics and introductions out of the way, here’s why I think the Joker doesn’t deserve his own movie (or back story.)

The Joker is arguably the most famous of Batman’s rogues. With countless reiterations, and big name stars playing him in adaptation after adaptation, it’s no wonder that he’s built up a name for himself. Not only that, but the Joker is one villain whose actions we simply can’t explain. We know Two-Face, AKA Harvey Dent, was seriously disfigured after a man he prosecuted threw acid on his face, destroying his lucky coin in the process. The incident made him crazy, and he wrecks havoc on the city with his destroyed coin asking people “heads or tails?” We know Mr. Freeze, AKA Victor Fries, became a criminal after a failed attempt to save his terminally ill wife left him with sub-zero body temperatures, forcing him to wear the cryo suit forever. His involvement with crime is him still attempting to raise funds to find a cure for her. We know one of my personal favorites, Scarecrow, AKA Dr. Jonathan Crane, an ex psychology professor at Gotham University remains obsessed with the idea of fear and phobias. He now uses the citizens of Gotham as his lab rats to test his ever evolving fear toxin. I could keep going on, (Batman has an impressive rogue gallery,) but the point is we know why all the villains do the things that they do. We don’t know that for the Joker, and out of all of Batman’s rogues, he’s the one that continues to commit the most heinous crimes of all. It leaves us all asking why? Why does he do the things he does? It even leaves Batman stumped. Heck, it leaves other villians stumped!! Ra’s Al Ghul, head of the League of Shadows, has said he doesn’t like working with the Joker, because he’s wild and unpredictable. According to this logic, the Joker should be first in line to get his own back story.

To find the reason why he shouldn’t we have to look pretty far back in this character’s history. When the Joker first appeared in the Batman comics, he never appeared simply as “the Joker.” Multiple iterations of this simplistic “backstory” have been done, and can also be seen as far back as Batman: Year One, (even though the “Joker” himself is not actually featured,) but each time the Joker always appears, it is always first as an unassuming lowlife calling himself “the Red Hood.” This is so freaking important to how the Joker impacts the characters around him, and I’ll tell you why soon, but I can almost guarantee you it is not going to be in the new Joker film. Not only is this Red Hood portion of the Joker’s career important for reasons to be later explained, but it’s also important that in multiple, though not all, iterations of the Joker’s introduction it’s Batman’s fault. Not inherently of course. Batman always catches the Red Hood in some kind of factory, (a popular location is a playing card factory,) and in an attempt to catch him, the Red Hood always ends up falling into a vat of acid. This is the vat of acid that of course warps his appearance, (the white skin, green hair, and red lips,) and what ultimately drives him mad. In how he actually gets in the vat, well sometimes he jumps on purpose, because he’s been cornered by the Bat, sometimes he just slips, and Bruce is too late to catch him, but either way it’s always something that weighs on Bruce. It’s another reason on top of Batman’s no kill policy that he can’t bring himself to end the Joker. Despite paralyzing Barbra Gordon as Batgirl and murdering his son, Bruce can’t end the Joker, because he partly feels like the Joker is his fault. It’s his mess that he made, and a mess that he has to fix.

This introduction of the Joker as the Red Hood and tying his creation to a young emerging Batman is so important to the characters’ relationships to each other throughout their still changing course of comic history, that to negate it with this upcoming movie is almost like recreating a brand new villain. It is also important to note that because the Joker started out as a masked criminal, he remains a John Doe to this very day in comic history. This is crucial to not understanding the Joker, (an important aspect of his character,) because any time a new rogue pops up, Bruce tries his damndest to learn their real identity. Identifying the person beneath the horror helps him better know what angle to work at when going up against them, as well as what to look for, and realizing that violence usually isn’t the best answer for dealing with them. By keeping the Joker a John Doe, it keeps not only us, the audience, in the dark about trying to understand this psychotic character, but the characters in universe in the dark as well. By not knowing the Joker’s past or intentions, it actually makes him scarier, because it leaves him unpredictable, and, in a sense, strips him of his humanity. By giving this character an actual identity, you destroy the mysterious unknown behind the character, make him human enough than an audience can relate to him, and almost, in a sense, strip him of what makes him a good villain in the first place.

Now my last, and what I personally view as one of the most important reasons, on why the Joker really shouldn’t have his own movie, is because it would destroy his tragically beautiful connection to Jason Todd. If you missed it earlier, I briefly mentioned that the Joker killed Bruce’s son, and that was because I planned to go more in depth now.

I need to stop referencing material that hasn’t been written yet. If you don’t know, Jason Todd is the second character to take on the mantle of Robin. Yes, there was more than one Robin. As of current day material, there are four officially recognized holders of the mantle, (sorry Stephanie,) in the order of Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Timothy Drake, and the current only blood son of Burce, Damian Wayne. Jason was taken in by Bruce off of Crime Alley, after he was found trying to steal the cars off of the Batmobile. Officially adopting him as his own and taking him under his wing, Bruce soon hands the mantle of Robin to Jason as Dick had recently left, and the two take to the streets fighting crime and punching bad guys. Unfortunately, this doesn’t last very long, and Jason ends up beaten nearly to death by the Joker with a crowbar in an abandoned warehouse before the Joker blows it up, seconds before Bruce arrives. Oh no. (There’s a very iconic picture of Bruce holding Jason’s dead body, if you google “batman a death in the family.) This was an absolutely pivotal part to Bruce’s character. How Bruce acts after the death of Jason had been unseen before. He became violent and angry, and almost crossed the line he swore to himself he’d never cross. Jason’s death is a staple in DC comic lore.

That isn’t the important part here though. The important part is what comes after. See, 95% of the time, if a character dies in the DC Universe, it’s not for very long, because comics. A couple of years later, Jason is brought back to life via the Lazarus Pit with the help of the League of Assassins. As I’m writing this, it is one in the morning, and I am too tired to explain why the Shadows were involved. If you’re really interested, there’s a crap ton of information on it on wikis and stuff, so it won’t be hard to find. Anyways, Jason comes back to life really messed up and in a murderous rage. He heads back to Gotham to hunt down Bruce but this time not as Jason Todd, not as Robin, but as the Red Hood. It’s perfect cinematic poetry! Yes, cinematic!! Under the Red Hood is one of the most famous comic books about Jason Todd’s return, as well as arguably one of the best DC animated films of all time! But that’s not the point. The point is, that Jason Todd comes back from the dead, and the alias he takes up is the same alias that his killer once owned. Jason does eventually kind of come back to the “good side” as a sort of anti hero, but the parallels between him and the Joker are gorgeous. Both driven mad after being thrown into a vat of mysterious liquid, except for where it was the Joker’s before, it’s Jason’s after. The idea of a young boy being beaten to death, only to come back and take the name of his killer should shake you to your core. Not only that, but imagine Bruce’s horror when he realizes there’s another terror ripping through his city bearing the same name his arch nemesis first wore. And that’s before he even realizes it’s his resurrected son! You can’t dismiss writing like that, especially when it comes to comic books! DC especially, openly admitted that its story lines take place in the multiverse, which basically means anything goes. That’s where you get stories like The Flashpoint Paradox and Crisis on Two Earths. The fact that this idea of the Red Hood being passed down from the Joker to Jason seems to be a universal constant cannot be overlooked. By giving the Joker a more in depth backstory that strays from the one that currently exists, you rip that hard work out of the author’s hands, as well as destroy an impactful connection between some of the Batman Universe’s best and most complex characters.

This whole thing ended up being a lot longer than I anticipated, so thank you if you made it to the end. All of this being said, I stand by my opinion that out of all that characters in the DC universe, the Joker should be at the end of the line to get his own movie. Will I still end up seeing it in theatres? The jury’s out right now. I’m a broke college kid living in New York; there are more things I want to see than a movie I don’t think should exist. I might watch it one day, as the assumption that all of these points won’t be made in the movie is made purely off of the trailers and not the content of the film itself. If I ever do watch it, y’all will be the first to know, but until then this is where I stand. Don’t let this ruin the film for you if you planned on going to go watch it. Like stated in the beginning, these are all my own opinions, and I prefer the comics to the movies. The movies can also be seen as existing in their own realm, and in that case none of my points stand at all. It’s up to you to make your own judgement.

But ask yourself this, as you sit down in the theatre with a large tub of popcorn. What do you think people will benefit from trying to see into the mind of the one of the world’s most famous psychopath?

#personal opinions

3 notes · View notes

shaneo2610 · 4 years

Text

The Dark Knight Critical Analysis

The Dark Knight is one of the most influential superhero movies of its time. The success of this blockbuster is an example of how good the movie is. Although, I believe the impact this movie had on America and superhero movies going forward is a greater testament than the money they made. Speaking of money, the box office made $431.2 million in the U.S and $574 million internationally making that $1.005 Billion total. Batman begins only made $375.2 million altogether. Considering they only made $375.2 million there needed to be more done in order to sell this film. The marketing of this film was a huge reason why they did so well in the box office. They made people want to see this film. And boy did they ever…

Brief Summary

The movie starts with a bank robbery scene of 5 guys wearing clown masks. All of them ordered to do a specific task and then kill one of the guys. The Joker gets a gun pointed at him because one of the bank robbers picked up on this and assumes that he will eventually get killed off. Although the bus driver came smashing in and killed that man on the way. The Joker then takes his masks off and shows his face to the manager of the bank and says “what doesn’t kill you makes you… stranger.” Then he puts a grenade in his mouth and jumps into the bus and drives off. That is the first time we see the Joker. We then see batman where at first we do not which one is him because there are imposters pretending to be him. He comes in on the batmobile breaks up a drug deal and tells the imposters to stop pretending to be him. “What’s the difference between you and us an imposter asks “I don’t have hockey pants on” Batman answers.

Bruce Wayne has dinner with Harvey and Rachel. At this point, Batman doesn’t know if he can trust Harvey and also seems a little bit jealous of him for being with Rachel.

The joker stole $68 million from that bank robbery which ultimately belongs to the mob. The Joker claims that they have not done enough since batman arrived. He then offers to kill the batman for half of the money. The deal is agreed upon.

But in order to kill the Batman, you need to know who he is. So, Joker and his “goons” crash the fundraiser held by Bruce Wayne. It is a really intense scene that you can see here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwETqnTgxI4

As you can see the scene ends with Batman saving Rachel from falling.

Fast forward Harvey Dent then says he is the Batman first taking the blame of the murders. He is arrested.

The Joker then kidnaps both Dent and Rachel and tells the batman that he only has time to save one of them. Batman knew that the joker would think he would go save Rachel so he actually goes and saves Dent and had other guys save Rachel.

Dent and Rachel are tied up and a building catches on fire there is oil on the ground which burns half of the Dent's face off.

Dent is forced to go to the hospital and the Joker knows this. He tells the news that they have 60 minutes to kill his lawyer or he is going to blow up a hospital.

You can see what he decided to with this scene:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElOEwtx7wjA

To wrap it up Batman takes the blame for the murders that Harvey Dent completed. He does this because he believes that the people of Gotham deserve to feel that Dent is a good person. If Dent takes the blame, then Gotham looks corrupt and the Joker wins. Since Batman takes the blame he is getting chased out of the city by the police.

Marketing

The marketing tactic of the film was the most unique way of marketing ever used. They used an Alternate Reality Gaming system in which 10 million “players” participated all over the world. Started at comic con and then spread throughout the nation these players were given phones that directed orders from either Harvey Dent or the Joker. It sent many people into the streets in full makeup creating a Gotham city! There were fake newspapers, online propaganda, and clues all over the country. People were protesting and marching for Harvey Dent. It looked like a real presidential campaign.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpuC7HhCPWA

This movement was all over the news. And on the premier night, hundreds of people fled to NYC to see the movie. This marketing campaign is the reason people fell in love with the joker. And is the reason why this movie had the biggest opening day of all time. And it’s a good thing too because Warner Bros put 100 million into this genius marketing plan.

Critics Reviews

Time Richard Corliss IMDb

Beyond dark. It's as black -- and teeming and toxic -- as the mind of the Joker. "Batman Begins," the 2005 film that launched Nolan's series, was a mere five-finger exercise. This is the full symphony.

“Hey Gothamites! This is your last chance to hoot, whistle, clap, scream... and do everything possible to cheer for your iconic superhero who makes a final appearance in this epic conclusive part of Hollywood's greatest trilogy of the 21st Century. So what if that hero is turning all grey! So what if we see him falling and failing each time he tries to rise! So what if the movie really makes you wait in order to get a glimpse of Christian Bale to do what he does best. For when he puts on that mask, you get your penny's worth. The end result: You end up wanting more!”

NY Post

Overall there was a very positive critic review. Most of the top critics from Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb loved this film due to its creativity and darkness. The movie is an amazing ending to the batman trilogy. Considering this movie was the most anticipated movie based on it being the last one and because of the marketing, the movie had very high expectations. Sometimes when there are really high expectations it makes it hard to deliver. The only hard part I thought was trying to find a bad review. The critic that did not like the movie thought it compared to Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” too much. An interesting take but not sure why that would take away from the movie, I would argue that it would enhance it.

Competition During Release

The Dark Knight had some, I’d say, light competition the year it released. Kung Fu Panda, Wall-E, and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull were its competitors. But in terms of the Blockbuster, they did not do nearly as well as the Dark Knight.

Why this movie was influential

This movie was influential. I think one of the ways that this can be proven is the success that the Joker had at the box office this year. 10 years later we finally get to see the Joker get played again after Heath Ledger's unbelievable performance. The trailer for the Joker did not give anything away and compared to the Dark Knight there was not nearly the same amount of marketing. People fell in love with Heath Ledger's joker which is very hard to do especially considering he’s a villain. I believe the reason for the success of the Joker is because of Heath Ledger's performance in the Dark Knight. Films Ranked sums this take up perfectly, “The Dark Knight changed the expectations for comic book films forever. Few movie villains have ever become instant icons to the extent that Heath Ledger's Joker did before the film was even released.”

1 note · View note

youngwriter2003 · 3 years

Text

Dark Knight (2008)

RATING: 8/10

Chaos is only such without order. Yet we see the Knight of Gotham attempting to do so, creating more chaos. We see how much power an unhinged man has when all he wants to see the Bat dead. We see how the White Knight burns from doing the right thing every day; to having 50/50 shots at doing so on his worst day.

The Dark Knight of 2008 was the sequel to Christopher Nolan’s Batman’s live-action adaptation trilogy, bringing back Christian Bale as the Knight. In addition, Harvey Dent brings to the story as Aaron Eckhart and Heath Ledger as his Joker. The three are the movie’s main focus. Showing the three pillars of both Gotham and the film.

We know the first, Batman the Knight of the night, represented extreme stability, sacrifice, and the capacity of good inside of everyone. Our new pillars, the Clown Prince of Crime, represented humanity's extreme inner madness and opposition to change. And the White Knight represents the individual and society being pulled between the two extremes, showing how nobody is purely good or evil as an individual.

The order between these pillars is Jim Gordon, played by Gary Oldman, working with Batman. Those two had the same goal: to save Gotham and Rachel Dawes, played by Maggie Gyllenhaal, from crime. The two feel as if they failed when Joker succeeded at one of the “twistings of the hand” experiments, where the Bat accidentally saved Dent instead of Rachel. Joker gave these two a little push. For the Bat, Joker wanted to push him off the line he stood on, the line of heroism and vigilantism. And the flip of the coin for Dent of right and wrong. Showing what the “good” pillars of Gotham do when they have their worst day.

Many people believe that this is a movie of chaos and order, which is correct, but people believe that for all the wrong reasons. Are you going to judge a man at his worst? Gordon and Batman didn't think so. They said what Dent did in those 48 hours of his worse day was Batman, because yes, sadly, people will turn against you when they see you at your worst. But that doesn't mean that Dent was a bad guy. You have a friend for your entire life, and the day that the person they love dies, they go off the edge. Are you honestly going to believe that they are gone forever? That it doesn't mean that they can't change back just as quickly? What Joker did show was how good, reacts to a bad day. Batman was supposed to kill Joker, and Dent was supposed to replace him. But he didn't kill Joker, and Dent’s reputation didn't become tainted. Joker brought chaos into a stable situation and wanted to see who would crack; he hoped both would. But it backfired. Dent died, and Batman replaced Joker. Showing the chaos within society. The White Knight became evil. The Bat that was good within everyone became hated by all. And the Joker showed that everyone needed to hate the Bat just as he did.

We have to credit Ledger’s immense acting. Ledger took it to the next level; he added a whole other aspect of joker that hasn’t been seen on the big screen. He was the clever psycho that had high intelligence with a sick sense of humor; that brought so much chaos to Gotham that he took Batman’s chance to be the good guy and made the Bat the villain. This wouldn't have worked as well as it did without Ledger’s lisp, growls, and licked lips. He brought nearly the entire mood and tone of chaos. His physical actions of having his Joker slightly hunched, head tilt with messed up white face paint and blacked-out eyes. The makeup choice of Joker having physical scars instead of a broad smile helped made the jump from crazy clown to scary maniac. Ledger was probably the best original Joker ever put on the big screen. Yes, you have to give credits to the originals, but Ledger broke the clown out of his straight jacket.

Bale and Ledger were the first to bring a darker twist to the duel’s fight. The bat and Joker always juxtaposed the two; Batman was the Dark Knight, that's true, but the joker was always a light-hearted jokester, he was a villain, but he always put a smile on everyone’s face without having to get a knife involved. Bale probably brought up the Knight to a brighter place for always standing for stability and sacrifice, yet Ledger gave the Clown Prince of Crime intelligence and purpose instead of uncalled-for jokes. Thus, proving that the Joker could stand on his own, which means the Joker movie of 2019. As well as establishing lost causes like Zack Snyder’s universes could be saved by a Clown and a Bat talking.

I honestly think the movie is overrated. It deserves the praise, but as I said, it's getting it for all the wrong reasons. There were many times that the movie took that extra mile that didn't make that much sense. Like making Harvey Dent the White Knight. I think that Two-Face should only have been a good guy in a flashback. It doesn't make much sense that a character like Two-Face was ever seen as Gotham’s hero. It made his fall from grace not as believable as it could have been.

The deeper meaning of this movie was the world needs a necessary evil; even if they aren't the real bad guy, everyone needs someone to hate. So first, it was Joker, then it was supposed to be Dent, but it ended up being the Dark Knight, which always ends with chaos.

Films with vigilantes:

Dardevil (2003) - Matt (Dardevil)

Taken (2008) - Bryan

Kick Ass (2013) - Hit-Girl/Kick Ass

Gotham is to be a city run by crime, and yet, it is run by games like chess, cards, and heads or tails. The games that we play as children are games that give these shining pillars their power. Let’s hope not all childhood games can lead to such chaotic actions.

0 notes

hysterialevi · 7 years

Text

In the Smoke pt. 16 (Cobblebats)

From Bruce’s POV

THE NEXT MORNING

Waking up to the sound of birds chirping, I found myself bundled up in a tangle of blankets as I rubbed my eyes, blearily gazing around the dim room. It was only eight in the morning, and judging by the empty, cold spot next to me, Oz had taken his leave while I was asleep. I wasn’t surprised, exactly, but I had to admit that I was still a little disappointed.

And to be honest, Oz seemed a lot more...different...last night. I didn’t know if just dreamt the whole thing, or if it actually happened, but something about him was significantly more caring than usual. Like he was truly concerned for my safety. It wasn’t very often that I got to see his more human side, and the fact that he so openly showed it to me made me think something bad occurred. Well, whatever it was, I just hoped that Oz was all right.

Dragging myself out of bed, I trudged over to the wardrobe and pulled out the first shirt I grabbed before sluggishly making my way downstairs, the sound of the TV quietly breaking the silence. It was a cold and crisp morning, and after getting some well-needed rest, I felt much better compared to yesterday, even though some minor symptoms of the drug lingered.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, I saw no sign of my father or Alfred--and actually--it looked rather empty in the manor at the moment. There was no light in the slim gap underneath the door to my father’s office, and I didn’t hear any other voices besides the ones coming from the TV. I guessed no one was home.

Well, maybe not no one.

Entering the living room, I found a man relaxing in the plush couch as he watched the TV, holding an all-too-familiar silver pistol in his hand.

“...Oz?” I called out. His head snapped towards me.

“Ah,” Oz stood up from his seat, placing the pistol on the coffee table, “g’morning, sleeping beauty.”

“You stayed.” I happily said, earning a somewhat bashful smile from him.

“Not for the whole night,” he quickly replied, almost like he didn’t want to admit that he was being kind for once. “I left for a second to see Lady Arkham after you fell asleep, but, uh...yeah. I came back. Didn’t want you to wake up alone, and all that.”

I looked around the manor. “What about my dad? And Alfred? They didn’t see you?”

He shrugged. “No one was here to see me when I returned. Though, I did overhear your dad talkin’ on the phone with someone before he left. Somethin’ to do with Falcone. Maybe they went to see him.”

I crossed my arms, scowling slightly. “He would, wouldn’t he? Even after telling me he wants to help this city.”

Oz solemnly brought his eyes to the family portrait. “And even after what happened with your mum, too.” He let out a sigh. “Some men never change, Bruce. No matter what. They just live out the rest of their lives as the same person, doing the same things, around the same people. Those men are dangerous.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice. My father’s living proof of that. So are his ‘colleagues.”

Oz walked closer to me, holding my hand. “Well, they won’t be living proof for long. Lady Arkham’s told me that she has a new job for you. Something a lot bigger than what you did at the debate.”

I scoffed playfully. “You mean bigger than murdering Gotham’s mayor?”

Oz leaned in, grinning mischievously. “Better, too. You’re gonna help me take down Falcone. For good. I’ll give you the details later, back at HQ. Lady Arkham wants to discuss the plan personally with us. For now, let’s just enjoy the peace and quiet while we still can--”

As if on queue, the doorbell suddenly rang, causing Oz’s expression to flatten. I chuckled.

“You were saying?”

He gestured to a nearby hallway, starting to wander off. “I’ll be hiding there. You go on and greet your guest.”

Once Oz was completely out of sight, I hurried over to the front door, taking a second to straighten my shirt and wake up a bit before opening it, only to find the last person I wanted to see at the moment.

Harvey.

Shit. I mentally groaned. Why now? Out of all times to visit, why now?

“Harvey?” I said out of surprise, putting on my best fake smile.

The mayor was out of his typical, formal attire today, and wore a casual sweater instead, holding a small, paper bag in his hand along with a cup of coffee in the other.

“Hey,” Harvey replied shyly, blushing. “I--I brought breakfast. Can I come in?”

I worriedly glanced over my shoulder at Oz’s hiding spot.

“I, ah...don’t know if that’s such a good idea.”

“Just for a minute,” he gently persisted. “I really need to talk to you. If you still want me to go, I’ll go. But I just have to get this out.”

I mindlessly bit my lip nervously, hesitantly letting Harvey inside. “...s-sure. Erm, thanks for the breakfast.”

“No problem,” Harvey placed the bag on the dining table. “It’s the least I could do for you.”

Purposely standing in front of the hallway Oz was hiding in, I tried to keep Harvey distracted.

“So um, what did you want to talk about?”

He exhaled tiredly. “Nothing too particular, actually. I’ve just been a bit...stressed out recently. Needed to see a friendly face, you know?” Harvey frowned a little. “I’ve also been a tad paranoid about...you.”

I quirked a brow. “Me?”

“Yeah. It’s kind of stupid, to be honest, but I guess I’m just worried that this,” Harvey gestured to his face, “might scare you off.”

I titled my head slightly, giving him an empathetic look. “I’m not gonna leave you because of one, little burn, Harv.”

He laughed softly. “It’s not really ‘little,’ but I still appreciate the thought--”

The man abruptly paused mid-sentence, his eyes gradually widening with every second as he stared behind me, frozen.

“Uh, Harvey?” I checked, dumbfounded. “You...you okay?”

He held out a shaky hand, pointing at the coffee table as I followed his line of sight. He was looking at Oz’s pistol.

“T-that gun,” Harvey breathed out. “I...I recognize it. I saw it at the debate. It belongs to Penguin!” He flicked his eyes back to me, bewildered. “Why do you have Penguin’s gun, Bruce? What is it doing here? Is he around!?”

Harvey’s more paranoid side jumped out again, just like when I spoke with him at City Hall, and he began pacing around the living room in fear, holding his head in his hands.

“No no no, no,” he rambled frantically, “not again, not again. Oh god, not again.”

I cautiously approached him, carefully laying a comforting hand on his shoulder.

“Harvey, it’s all right,” I reassured. “You’re safe--”

“--Safe!?” He suddenly roared at me, his voice much lower and raspier than before. “I’m not an idiot, Wayne. Not like Harvey. I know Penguin’s here! And no one’s safe when he’s around! Where is that masked lunatic!? Tell me! I’ll rip him to shreds!”

“Harvey,” I repeated, “you need to calm--”

He violently snatched me by the collar, yanking me towards him until our faces were mere inches apart.

“TELL ME!”

“Hey!” Oz aggressively called out from the hallway, emerging from his hiding spot as he joined the scene. “Get your hands off him.”

Practically throwing me to the floor, Harvey averted all his attention to Oz as if I weren’t even there, smiling maniacally.

“Ah, and there he is,” Harvey began to prowl towards him. “Oswald. Cobblepot. The notorious Penguin. I should’ve known it was you. It all makes sense now. You’re going to suffer for everything you’ve done.”

Oz stood his ground. “You’d better get outta here, Dent,” he warned. “And fast.”

“Or what?” Harvey fired back. “Harvey won’t be pushed around anymore. No, he’s gonna make them pay! Everyone who thought they could hurt him and get away with it! Starting. With. You.”

I quickly got back on my feet, grabbing the bigger man by the arm in an attempt to restrain him.

“Harvey, don’t!”

Out of reflex, he carelessly swatted me away, slamming his fist directly into my face as blood trickled down my nose. That seemed to snap him out of it for a second.

“Bruce!” He apologetically exclaimed, digging his fingers into his hair. “I’m...I-I’m sorry.”

“What the hell is wrong with you?” I snapped.

“Up until now, Harvey’s been weak,” he growled, falling back into insanity. “He’s been afraid.” Removing the prosthetic, he revealed the horrific burn behind it as Oz let out a gasp.

“Holy shit.” He whispered.

“This...this is the monster they all know that you are,” Harvey continued scolding himself as he circled around the room, stopping at the family portrait. “Embrace it!” He threw a punch at the painting, shattering the frame’s glass.

“No, no!” Harvey hissed, tearing himself away from the damage he’d just dealt as he turned to me and Oz. “Oh, god. This is what you wanted to see, isn’t it, huh? The freak!”

“Harvey...” I said sorrowfully, unsure of what else to do.

Before Oz or I could react however, Harvey had torn the portrait off the wall with an enraged shout and hurled it towards Oz, fortunately missing him but harming the frame even further.

“Jesus, Harvey!” I yelped, frightened at the vicious change in his personality. All traces of his original self had all but disappeared, and right now, it seemed like there was no breaking him out of this psychotic episode. He slipped out a coin from his pocket.

“Of course, gotta be fair about this,” Harvey snarled, twirling it between his fingers. “Can’t play favorites. They both deserve it. One way or another. How about we flip for it?”

I shook my head. “This isn’t funny!”

“No...” he ignored, “no...it really isn’t.” Tossing the coin into the air, a wicked smile came to his wretched face once he saw the result.

“Bruce,” Harvey announced. “Looks like you’re first!”

Like an angry bull, he suddenly charged towards me with a ferocity I’d never seen, letting out a madman’s yell as I stayed paralyzed in place like a deer in headlights, unable to move.

Before Harvey could even touch me though, Oz had already thrown himself in front of the mayor and tackled him onto a nearby table, restraining him with a surprising amount of ease.

“Always getting in the middle of things...!” Harvey taunted, forcefully shoving Oz off as he returned his attention to me and prepared to attack.

Hastily grabbing the closest object, I held it defensively at him, backing away slowly.

“Stay the hell away from me!” I shouted. He closed the distance between us, his shadow towering over mine.

“The call’s already been made!”

Once again, Oz intervened and pulled Harvey backwards, only to receive a fist to the face. As a result, the mayor wagged his head as if he were trying to shake the voices out, coming back to reality for a moment.

“No...! I...I don’t want to hurt you...this isn’t...!” He wandered into the kitchen, resting his hands on a counter for a second as he eyeballed a steak knife, eventually picking it up.

“Harvey, put the knife down!” I exclaimed, but to no avail. He turned around, raising the weapon with a devilish grin. Oz protectively bolted in front of me.

“Bruce!”

Switching back to his other side, a pang of realization hit Harvey as he buried his face in his hands, staring at the knife with uncertainty until he flung it into a wall, almost tearing his own hair out.

“He’s gonna hurt someone!” Oz said to me. “You know we can take him out.” He glared at the mayor. “Have you lost your bloody mind!?”

Even though I knew it was a risky decision, I voted against fighting Harvey and attempted to take a more gentle approach, my heart thumping in my chest as I tried to bring his temper down.

“Harvey,” I looked him directly in the eye. “You need. To calm down!”

“What are you doing?” Oz blurted out.

Unfortunately, my attempt failed, and Harvey simply continued his rampage, staring at me with dagger eyes and clenching his fists. “No going back now.”

He threw a number of punches at me, his knuckles just barely missing my face as I stepped away from him, trying to avoid the attacks.

“C’mon, Harvey! That’s enough!”

Completely disregarding me, the mayor heavily lurched at me again, causing both me and Oz to leap out of the way as he collapsed onto the table, awkwardly splitting it in half under his weight. He didn’t get back up.

For a while, Oz and I just stood there in shock, gaping at the wreckage around us and at the man who caused it all, both of us at a loss for words while Harvey remained on the floor.

“Oh...god...” the mayor finally said, sniffling. He gazed up at me in desperation, tears flooding his eyes. “...please,” he begged. “I don’t wanna be alone, Bruce.” Harvey fell to my feet, sobbing uncontrollably. “Please, not with him...! I can’t...oh, god, I can’t listen to him!”

Exchanging looks with Oz, I tentatively knelt beside Harvey, putting a hand on his shoulder.

“You’re not alone. I’m right here. Okay?”

“I am. I am...I am...” He got up from the floor, heading for the front door in defeat. “My fault. All my fault.”

“Harvey, don’t.” I tried to block him, only to be pushed away.

“Bruce,” Oz said as the mayor skulked off, “I--I don’t think we can help him. Not on our own. He needs a professional.”

“He’s my friend, Oz. I won’t abandon him.”

Harvey opened the door, glancing back at me. “It’s okay, Bruce...I’ll go...I don’t deserve your help. Or your love.”

His voice returned to a growl. “...Go off with your tail between your legs.” His eyes widened at the abrupt change. “I’m sorry...”, Harvey cried, “I’m so sorry.”

“Harvey!” I called after him, but he was already gone.

Standing in the middle of the broken living room, my eyes fell to the floor in despondency as Oz caressed the side of my arm, wiping the blood from my face.

“You all right, Bruce?”

I gulped, afraid that if I uttered even one word, I would burst into tears.

“I don’t wanna turn into that, Oz.” I whimpered, staring at my blue veins. “I don’t wanna become like that. But it’s gonna happen anyways, isn’t it? I’m gonna go crazy. I’m gonna lose my mind.”

Without saying a word, Oz pulled me into a tight embrace, never letting go.

“You’re a good man, Bruce. Good just like your mum was. And no matter how much the drug damages you, I won’t forget that. Your descent into madness may be inevitable, but we still have time to make things right before that happens.”

Looking up at Oz, my sorrow slowly grew into a hungry desire for vengeance, wanting to destroy everything my father had built over the years and everything he created, including that goddamned drug. It had harmed enough people already, including Esther, Harvey, and even myself. It was high time he got a taste of his own medicine, and I was more than happy to be the one to deliver it.

“Then let’s get to work,” I said. “Falcone won’t live to see the end of this week. Whether he’s ready or not.”

#cobblebats #batman telltale #bruce wayne #oswald cobblepot #harvey dent #fanfic #story

4 notes · View notes

madameezeroni · 7 years

Text

Levity: Part One

Summary: A Joker love story, based after “The Dark Knight”.

Characters, OC (Eleanor) Jack Napier/The Joker, Bruce Wayne, Alfred Pennyworth

Warning: Hints of abusive relationship

Word Count: 1800ish

A/N: This is pretty intense at points. Flashbacks will be in italics. The story will be a fairly even mash of past and present

Rachel Dawes had died a year ago. Harvey Dent had perished those two days later, taking Batman with him.

Taking Batman but leaving a crumbled Bruce, shattering his soul and body. Sometimes I feared even his mind.

I shook that familiar thought away, pushing my hair out of my face and smiling at the security guard, thanking him as he held open the door for me. “Have a nice day Miss.” I plastered on a small smile, “Thanks, you too.” I knew the pleasantry didn’t reach my eyes but once the slick doors closed I didn’t care and my lips fell back into their now usual frown.

It went far deeper but I stopped my jaw from jutting, fiddling with the hem of my skirt again in some weak attempt at distraction and pressed the button to the penthouse, the vibrations of the moving metal ricocheting through me. It was still early, and the fluorescent light was a little uncomfortable on my eyes, but I would have taken anything over the news I was travelling to deliver.

Not that my feelings about it all mattered.

They shouldn't matter.

The lift stopped with a click and the doors swiftly opened. I heard the soft padding of feet before I saw the older man but my face had stopped him half way through his question.

“Your're early, is everything al-?”

“Is he here?” Alfred nodded slowly, tightening his dressing gown and stiffly moving to his employers grand room at the other end of the floor. I didn’t follow, only Alfred could ruse him enough to leave the confines of his bed, and other than the occasional stressed word over the phone I hadn’t seen him in weeks. It was a couple of minutes before they returned, Alfred rubbing his hand through his hair, Bruce through his beard.

“What is it Eleanor?” He limped over a little too close, so his breath danced over me, reeking of stale alcohol.

“Put the news on.”

Alfred did as I said wordlessly and as the sun broke over the maze of skyscrapers outside the sound flooded the large lounge area. “Master Wayne...” Bruce stopped his closest companion with a flick of the wrist, limping heavily to the pristine couch and lowering himself, letting me follow slowly after, although my stomach was twisting too much to sit.

“When?”

“Last night.” I swallowed hard, finding my mouth suddenly dry, “One of the doctors must have helped them escape, and they were all at Blackgate...even though....”

They had said one of the three was deep in the confines of the closed down Asylum, the only patient Arkham would ever have again.

That had been a lie, all of it had been lies.

Bruce carefully studied the news anchor for a few moments, rubbing a lined hand over his equally tired face. “You need to go into protective custody, out of Gotham...”

“No...” I stuttered over the word, “No I can’t. He’s not doing it for me. You know exactly who his target will be Bruce, who all of them will target...” Why was my voice lifting so high? I cleared my throat in a weak attempt to sound a little calmer.

“Maybe they’ll have sense enough to leave Gotham.” Alfred interjected, although he didn’t even seem to be convincing himself of it, “They’ll go elsewhere, lay low.” His hand rested over his mouth. We all knew he was wrong and there were a few moments of silence after I next spoke.

“All of them will target Batman.”

Bruce’s fingers curled, resting on his damaged knee. The rays of light were breaking through the wide panels of windows and I watched them illuminate the carved lines close to his eyes.

“There is no Batman anymore.”

“Bruce...”

“No.” He shoved himself up, shaking away Alfred once again. “There is no Batman to target. I will not hurt anybody else...”

“That won’t stop them doing the same.” The butler was curt.

“The authorities can handle it.”

“The authorities are based on a lie. The police still believe you killed Harvey, all those other people...” He brushed aside the argument that sprang from me.

“Jim Gordon doesn’t and he is the commissioner.”

I rolled my eyes, eyelashes still spiked together from yesterdays mascara, “And how long until they kill him? You need to stop it now.” His mouth opened, “I know they’ll try and stop you, but you can get them before they do too much damage Bruce. He’ll...The Joker especially will want to tempt you back out, and he’ll do anything to get that reaction.” His eyes fluttered towards the picture of Rachel on the coffee table.

“How much more can they do?”

I couldn’t stop the side of my mouth lifting, “You have no idea." I swallowed hard again, "Crane has proved he has no limits, no morals, what if he still has connections with this League of Shadows...”

“There is no League of Shadows, they’re gone.” He finally turned to meet me properly with a scoff, although any tiny hint of humour vanished, “Crane needs a team, discipline, a plan.” I could see the cogs behind his eyes turning, “He needs control. The Joker...” I was glad he stopped himself, and his mouth tightened into a near invisible line, “You’ll stay here. Protected.”

The shake of my head was instinct, and my fingers were claws in my hair, “He’s broken in here before!”

“And whose fault was that?!” I stopped myself from quivering at the lift of his voice, the hoarseness flooding the words. Alfred wouldn’t meet my eyes.

“That wasn’t me.” I said lowly, although I could easy add to my list of lies. “And... I’m fine, don't worry about me. I... I just thought you should know. You’ve spent far too much time locked up in here hiding from everything! You’re Batman!” He watched me walk away, my feet stomping hard against the expensive wood flooring.

“I was Batman.”

And now the Joker was free, I was as good as dead.

Jack would see to that.

I hid the rest of the day, slinking back to my apartment and burying myself in my bed cover. I didn’t sleep, I couldn’t, not knowing they were free. The Riddler meant nothing to me. Edward Nigma was an intelligent man who strived for a sort of psychopathic power he couldn’t manage or hold.

But I couldn’t pretend one of them didn’t terrify them. I couldn’t pretend that the very moment that changed everything was down to him. Down to me.

If Bruce refused to come back, if Batman remained hidden, at least the police would have a chance. Gordon was smart, intuitive. But he would never understand the Joker, at points in my life I thought I had but I had been wrong, so wrong.

If I left it too long the Joker would find me here. He’d storm in, with either a group of thugs and imbeciles he’d had waiting, warped minds he’d have no trouble controlling, or he’d sneak in alone and I’d find his knife deep in my roommates throat.

Luckily Liam was out. He had left for the very reason I had originally clung to him. Liam was a cop, a good man. He'd been in danger plenty of time, throughout everything that had happened with Crane's fear serum, through the Jokers' reign of terror those long months ago. If I waited here the Joker would find me and kill one of the only people I really cared about.

Maybe I deserved that, but Liam didn't. I couldn't allow it to happen.

Irony bit at me. The only reason I had ever come to be close to Liam was as a way to benefit myself. I used him for protection, and any night I spent fucking him was one I didn't have to spend in the Narrows. It was one I didn't have to spend with Jack. Some nights that was a blessing, others a curse. He knew a little, about the man my life revolved around, but not as much as Bruce. That was purposeful, I'd managed to keep him away from Jack before, made up poor excuses for bruises.

The best way to keep Liam safe was to never see him again. To pray he didn't try and look for me.

I forced myself out of bed and into the shower, turning the water up as hot as it went. I had been living in Liam's apartment for just over a year. The most settled I had ever been. It had been foolish to believe that once the Joker had been locked away that I was free. Once the mob had become involved I had taken my escape, still amazed that it had worked, that the Joker seemed to have set me somewhat free. As ever I had been wrong, but throughout his reign of terror I had only seen Jack a few times, never at the apartment but never by my choice.

He knew where I lived, I had no doubt about that. So why was I stalling? After my shower I spent too long slathering on make-up and perfecting my hair. Was it worth packing and making a run for it? Leaving Gotham? I had nowhere to go, I had no-one else.

My only option was to find him before he found me. To beg for my friends life and accept whatever repercussions came my way.

If I met him, made the move, showed him that I wasn’t hiding, I wasn’t scared. He could have me, and nobody else. If he killed me, that may be enough, he’d finally have that bit of revenge he’d longed for for years. A part of me wanted him too. To end the twisted game that had dictated the last thirteen years of my life, the absolute best and worst moments of my memory.

The worst parts belonged to everyone who had witnessed them. But the good parts were mine. In some twisted way he would always be mine. Even if that beauty was just a distant memory marred by everything since. Marred by decisions I had made, things that had come into play and broken us both.

If he was mine. Then I was entirely his.

That could never be in question.

I was as sick in the head as any of his little goons.

#batman #the joker #the dark knight #the dark knight rises #wade wilson #love #relationships #fiction #dc #comics #jack napier #bruce wayne #gotham #drama #drug use #fan fiction

3 notes · View notes