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factual-fantasy · 5 months

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I have 25 Asksskssks :0000

No one in the group can pacify, no. <:/

But this just made me imagine Seam pulling up with a Ralsei and he's just like "Ok do it now-" Ralsei pacifies Jevil and he falls flat on his face. Totally asleep, just- dead to the world.

"Thank you, I can never get him to sleep. What a stubborn jester he is." Seam picks Jevil up and just walks away with him XDD

@dragonlover123456

Whenever I feel like drawing it. Heck, I might not draw another series at all 🤷‍♂️

Yeah! I figured it would be restricting if the clothes on the animatronics were real <XD

Also THANK YOU! :DDD I'm usually not so sure about that part of my comics, so I'm glad to hear that you like it! :}}}

Oh! No no, Sunny and Moony are the same person. The daycare attendant is 1 animatronic, with 1 personality. He is 1 person.

In the true swap, DA swaps with DJMM.

In the partial swap, DA doesn't swap with anyone. Him and DJ's theme both just get changed up a bit.

@scrimbly-mc-scrombly-iii

AAAA THANK YOU SO MUCH!! :DDDD 💖💖💖

@kaiserdarken

I don't think the animatronics would understand the significance of Christmas like we do..

To them, Christmas is just that time of year where the Pizzaplex gets decorated with trees and shiny things. Their cued songs change and they get temporary redesigns for about a month or so. Then suddenly all the decorations get torn down and everything goes back to normal. :/

I can see Freddy liking just a simple Pepperoni. :) Same with Bonnie!

Chica probably likes all pizzas, but maybe her favorite is a pizza with absolutely all the toppings. Spinach, Black olives, Sausage, extra cheese, Mushrooms, onions- just put everything on there! XD

I'd like to think that Foxy is surprisingly a bit picky with his pizza and prefers a plain cheese. :00

Monty probably likes most pizza's but maybe he openly prefers Hawaiian pizza?

Roxy probably also likes Hawaiian pizza but is afraid of being judged so never eats it :(

@thelocalbadartistta

I DO love slime rancher! :DD I "beat" the first game and I forgot to play the second one- :x

Also thank you! :DD

Thank you!! :DD I'm glad you like what you see! :}}

@insanityislife101

I have seen that episode but I don't remember much of it... what headcannon are you referring to..?

Jevil would probably see all these people who are trapped and losing their minds and offer to take them all with him. Out into the multiverse to find freedom and a new home..

Although I wonder if he could even do that. Their digital nature might prevent them from traversing into the multiverse <XD

@badlyblurry

Those penguins look like they live an a tropical environment.. Which Peso's family does not... :((

Also my Peso isn't an Emperor, he's a Royal! :)

AWWWW I LOVE THAT IDEA!! I think I've seen the comic you're talking about! :DD

@trainer-sean

@itsgemystic

In the edn..

In the... eden...

In.. the...... e d e n

Google seems to say that male calico cats are possible. They're just extremely rare (1 in 3,000 up to 1 in 10,000) and they have an XXY chromosome which can cause Klinefelter's Syndrome.

After all the googling I did I decided to add this fact to my Calico Jack lore XDD

SO my new canon is, on Kwazii's mom's side of the family there are generation after generation of Calico daughters. Having a male calico is extremely rare so most of his moms family are all female calicos. BUT, his great, great, great, etc- Grandfather was a rare male calico. His name was Jackson something Calico. He was pirate legend and all that stuff.

Jackson had some daughters and then generations later the second male would be born to the calico line. Kwazii's grandfather! They named him Jackson too after the first male Calico in their bloodline. Jack is aware of his rarity and is very proud to bear the name Jackson.

Now Kwazii's dad was an orange tabby. So he was born male and has most all the fur patterns his dad did. Say for there being a little more white than is usually seen in tabby's coat. Maybe he got a bit of that from his Calico mom.?

@yeetmysoulintothevoid

SKLSKASJN WAAAA THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! THAT MEANS THE WORLD TO MEEEEE!!! 😭😭😭💖💖😭✨✨

Also I actually haven't heard of that game.. it sounds interesting though! 👀

Bash would probably take all the clay, make it into a ball, and then add spikes to it. Wait till it hardens, and then through it at people XDD

@dovelylittlebird

WAAA THANK YOU VERY MUCHH!! THAT'S SO KIND OF YOU TO SAYYY WAAAA💖💖💖

I don't recall making a post like that.. anyhow, my algorithm now is "I post whatever I want, whenever I want" <XDD

I don't have a schedule or an algorithm I'm trying to follow. I just draw whatever I want and post them whenever I want to.

The ask posts though, those are dependent on my followers. Usually when I get to 30-40 askes stored up I compile as many as I can and answer them in one go. :0

I don't take any requests, no. But if someone asks about my AU's and wants more insight on something, that usually interests me enough to want to draw something for it. Like just now I have two asks stored away because I'd like to draw something for them..👀

But that doesn't mean that every ask like that will get a drawing. A lot of the time those asks just make me think and I type out a response instead. I'm always open for those asks though and would read all of your suggestions! Just don't ask them expecting me to draw them because 9 times out of 10 they wont get a drawing-

@skellacant

My advice would be to base your OC on an already existing animatronic. That way it looks related to the other animatronics and fits in a little better :0

So in my opinion your options are animatronics like Ballora, Circus Baby, Puppet, Ennard, Balloon boy.. you know, the "human" characters. You could use one of them as a reference and make something similar but with a skeleton theme.

For example, the Puppet. You could make your own puppet with maybe different proportions, and a skull mask instead of a clown(?) one. Maybe instead of stripes on the arms it could be a cartoony bone pattern. Instead of buttons on the chest it could be 2-3 ribs on each side. Stuff like that! :}

Oh no no- The partial and true swap follow the formula of the classic AU.

So in the partial swap, Foxy was sane and helped guide Gregory through the pizzaplex. Gregory escapes with Foxy's help, but later returns. Foxy takes him to the basement where Gregory snoops around and finds Chica. Later on Chica and Gregory snoop around and find Freddy. Monty, Roxy and Bonnie don't remember Gregory and they're not aware that he's in the basement.

Now in the true swap, Bonnie was sane and helped guide little Vanessa through the pizzaplex. She escapes with Bonnie's help, but later returns. Bonnie takes her to the basement where she snoops around and finds Chica. Later on Chica and Vanessa snoop around and find Freddy. Monty, Roxy and Foxy don't remember Vanessa and they're not aware that she's in the basement.

Seam is currently collapsed in the snow somewhere having big old man sleepy time✨

@beryl-shade

Actually, in the most recent FNAF comic that I made, that's exactly what Gregory was doing! :00 He was trying to take the arm off to hopefully tape it onto Bonnie and give him a new arm <XD

Who's to say it would have worked-

#my response #fnaf security breach #octonauts #deltarune #undertale #transformer ocs

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cobblepotindustries · 9 months

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(( As it's his birthday, I get to introduce you all to my favorite bit of unsubstantiated but teasingly possible Penguin information. Bob Kane and Bill Finger co-created the character, and both have their own stories as to what inspired the design. Bill Finger, long uncredited for his role in early Batman comics, said he was "inspired by emperor penguins, who reminded him of stuffy English gentlemen in tuxedos. The resulting caricature of an aristocratic type included a top hat, a monocle, a cigarette holder, and a umbrella." Kane, though? He said there was a specific inspiration, more than just a send up of the stuffy rich. He said it was "the little penguin who appeared in print to advertise Kool menthol cigarettes and also hawked them on the radio with his insistent falsetto slogan, “Smoke Kooools!"

His name is Willie, and while his design changed significantly over the decades he was in use, I'm most curious about the incarnation that dominated from approximately 1935 to 1940.

...That's rather similar isn't it.

We'll never be sure, though I personally think it was a bit of both, but it's one of my favorite facts. Happy birthday to the worlds best cigarette mascot/pastiche of the ruling class. ))

#(( coop.clatter / ooc ))#The Penguin #oswald cobblepot #(( might post a few more photos of willie because I adore him ))

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aingeal98 · 9 months

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hiii. while you're thinking about Al Ghouls do you have any comic book recommendations for them? I want to know more about Ra's and Talia without the post 9/11 narrative. Or more about the LoA in general.Tha k you!

Absolutely! I know there's a few reading guides out there for Talia that can probably give a better overview with a more filtered and streamlined guide. Such as this one here, which features Talia at her best:

Other than Son of the Demon, when I refer to LexCorp era Talia and her old character, these are usually what I'm referring to. This is who she was right before she got tortured into being evil. For a deeper dive into Talia's history, this reading list is really well put together:

If you're looking for something even longer, with the full history and context of Batman and the al Ghuls, here's pretty much everything I've read for the al Ghuls starting from the beginning. I'm not an expert by any means so I may have missed some relevant story or mixed up the order of a few different single issues, but there's enough here to offer a coherent timeline. If you can't afford to buy the comics, all of these should be available to read for free by typing them into a search engine and adding "read online" at the end.

Also please note that you don't have to read all of these. Some of these particularly in the 70s/80s contain repetitive story beats. Ra's has a scheme to make Batman his son in law, Talia helps him out. Batman opposes it, Talia helps Batman but doesn't fully abandon her father. That's the pattern writers fell into after the initial establishing of Ra's and Talia as characters. Some stories are better than others, and some break the mold entirely or put a fresh spin on it.

This is going to be LONG and I apologize in advance. I like to ramble about things. Tis a key part of this blog.

The 70s, aka the beginning of it all

Note: In all of these the al Ghuls feature in the main storyline, not the side stories such as Robin or Batgirl unless noted otherwise.

-Detective Comics 411: Into the Den of Death Dealers

Bruce and Talia's first meeting. Written by Denny O'Neil, Talia and Ra's creator. Batman fights a bull. It's very charming in the way only this era of Batman can be.

-Batman 232: Daughter of the Demon

Ra's and Bruce's first encounter, featuring Dick getting kidnapped, Bruce fighting a leopard, and Ra's attempting a ridiculously elaborate overprotective dad scheme.

-Batman 235: Swamp Sinister

-Batman 240: Vengeance for a Dead Man

The one where Batman and Ra's dynamic takes a turn for the worse, where Batman realizes that Ra's has a very different set of morals to him and can be ruthlessly evil.

-Batman 242-244

Introduction of the Lazarus Pits. Some racially insensitive moments that are on par for the 70s.

-Batman 257: Hail Emperor Penguin

-Detective Comics 444-445 and 447-448

Ra's framed Bruce for murder long before David Cain stole his idea. I think Cain did it better but this is still fun.

-Black Lightning 2: Merlyn Means Murder

A non Batman related Talia appearance.

-Batman: Where Were You on the Night Batman Was Killed?

4 part story where Batman's rogues thinks he's dead and come together to figure out who did it. Not massively important for the al Ghuls but Ra's being the judge in this trial is so funny to me.

-DC Special Series 15: I Now Pronounce You Batman and Wife!

The one where Ra's gets fed up of Batman refusing his son in law offerings so he just knocks him out and drags Batman to the wedding ceremony. Not my favourite by a long shot but the "marriage" is important for Damian's conception, since in Son of the Demon Batman hilariously enough doesn't want to sleep with Talia out of wedlock until she reminds him that they're technically married if you stretch the law by a whole lot. After that he's all for it.

-Detective Comics 485: The Vengeance Vow + Detective Comics 490: Requiem for a Martyr

Not a huge fan of this issue considering it fridges Kathy Kane and uses a brainwashed Bronze Tiger to do so. It's included a lot in reprints of the al Ghul storylines and does give us a look at the inner workings of the League of Assassins, but I could do without it. Also DC having two master martial art old men called Sensei who look very similar with one being good and the mentor of characters like Richard Dragon and Shiva, while the other is Ra's al Ghuls father and evil, is very confusing. You could tell how much they REALLY loved Kung-Fu based characters in this era of comics.

-The Brave and the Bold 159: The Crystal Armageddon

The 80s, aka seeds of Character Development and Plot!

-Batman 330-335

The start of Dick and Talia's dislike of each other. Also featuring the most terribly racist Fox family plotline I've read. It makes me glad Jace Fox gets to be Batman in the future even if I didn't like that comic either. He deserves to be Robin and Nightwing too as compensation for this storyline.

-Batman Annual Volume 1 Issue 8: The Messiah of the Crimson Sun

I enjoy this story because rather than have Talia working with Ra's and switching sides halfway, she's firmly opposed to her father from the start here. We start to see the beginning of character development compared to the regular pattern of the old comics.

-Detective Comics 526: All My Enemies Against Me!

We get Pre Crisis aka Earth One Jason Todd's origin while also getting Talia and Catwoman helping Bruce, Babs and Dick fight all the other rogues. I really, really love this issue and I can't fully explain why. It just ticks all the boxes for me.

-Batman 400: Resurrection Night!

Another comic I really enjoy, with Talia teaming up with Robin!Jason to help Batman and Catwoman foil Ra's latest scheme.

-Batman: Son of the Demon

Damian's origin. A must read. The tragedy of what could have been and how loved he was by both parents kills me every time.

The 90s aka we're getting darker and edgier now. Also featuring character regression and Bane for some reason.

-Batman: Bride of the Demon

Classic shenanigans but featuring Tim as Robin this time.

-Batman: Birth of the Demon

Ra's al Ghul origin story time! Trigger warning for sexual assault. Definitely not the tone a 70s era Ra's comic would have but not bad in my opinion.

-The Batman Adventures 13 + 17

Set in the Batman The Animated Series universe, it shows this universe's version of Talia and Ra's and is a pretty faithful adaption! Shocking I know.

-Azrael Issues 5-9 + 29-30

Azrael meets the al Ghuls and Ra's considers making Azrael his heir instead. Basically a classic Ra's Talia and Batman story with Azrael there instead of Batman. Not my favourite, it feels like it belongs in the 70s instead of being 90s al Ghuls.

-Batman: Brotherhood of the Bat + League of Batmen

A future elseworld story starting Tallant Wayne, son of Talia and Bruce. Clearly inspired by the baby in Son of the Demon, who would grow up to be Damian in main continuity.

-Batman: Legacy Volume 1 + 2

A sequel to Batman: Contagion, where a deadly virus spread through Gotham and even infected Tim. This time Ra's is in charge of the spread of the second round of the virus, Talia is back under his thumb and seems miserable about it. And also Ra's is considering making Bane his heir and Talia's husband, which probably contributes a fair bit to her misery. Character regression for Talia compared to how much she went against Ra's in the 80s, but one I personally find realistic. Main drawback is that a lot is written by Chuck Dixon and Talia is weirdly sexual at times. An understandable deal breaker for many, but it's the biggest 90s al Ghul story so I felt it important to mention.

-The Batman and Robin Adventures #10

Set in the comic version of the Batman The Animated Series universe, so if you're a fan of that cartoon you'll probably enjoy this.

-Batman Chronicles Volume 1 #8

Talia centred story that sums up her internal conflict between her father and Batman. Gets to the heart of why Ra's, despite his love for her, is not a good parent at all. Would recommend.

-Batman & Spider-Man: New Age Dawning

Crossover goodness for any Spiderman fans out there.

-Batman No Man's Land #0

The Talia cameo here is good imo. It shows layers to her and Bruce's dynamic that we haven't fully seen before. Plus we get to see Helena becoming the Bat of No man's land.

-Batman: The Chalice

One shot that doesn't fit in NML continuity despite being published at the time. I'm adding it anyway because I enjoy how it portrays Ra's and Talia. A nice break from their most toxic era so far (relationship wise).

The early 2000s aka The Brief and Glorious Talia Independence Era

-JLA: Tower of Babel

The tipping point. Ra's goes too far in messing with Batman, and Talia leaves him. It should have been her permanent break from Ra's and his cult, but if you ignore everything from Death and the Maidens onwards and live in denial like me, it still is!

(This comic also had the unfortunate consequence of giving the most insufferable "Batman solos fiction" fans more fodder. But tis a small price to pay for Talia finally freeing herself from Ra's suffocating grip on her life.)

-Batman Chronicles 22

You get good short stories for Shiva, Steph AND Talia in this issue, exploring more of their character without any of the usual entourage around to hog the spotlight

-Detective Comics 750

Talia is so delightfully done with both Ra's and Bruce. She's sick and tired of their shit and doesn't want to be dragged into it any more. If Tower of Babel was her gaining independence from Ra's, this is her gaining it from Bruce.

-Action Comics 772-773

The start of Talia's LexCorp era.

-JLA Secret Files and Origins 3

Flashback story giving more insight into Talia's POV during Tower of Babel.

-President Luthor Secret Files and Origins #1

-Batman Legends of the Dark Knight 142-145

Like the Birds of Prey storyline of this time, these issues make no attempt to stay in continuity with the rest of this era. It's more a generic 90s story than one that fits where the characters are timeline wise at the date it was published. Only reason I'm adding it to the list is because you get Talia shooting the Joker and leaving him for dead. Batman has to dip him in the Lazarus Pit to stop him from bleeding out.

-Superman Volume 2 Issue 170 (cameo)

-Batman: Our World's at War Issue 1

-Superboy Volume 4 #89

-Suicide Squad 2001 #2 (side role)

-Superman: The Man of Steel 120

Talia is trying to take down LexCorp from the inside meanwhile Superman is like "I stopped the evil stuff you were doing!" and she's like "Congrats you destroyed the evidence of LexCorp doing evil stuff in the process." He still doesn't realise she's on his side, which to be fair is part of her whole antihero deal at the minute.

-Adventures of Superman 600

-Superman: The Man of Steel 122-125

Plot starts in 122. Talia appears in 123 onwards.

-Superman Volume 2 Issue 190 + 194 + 198

Batman: Hush Issue 4. (brief appearance) and Issue 9.

Decent Talia characterisation to me, not so decent Lady Shiva appearance. Torn between amusement and disappointment that Talia manages to beat her by hitting her with a chair. (Yes, really.)

-Superman/Batman #6

Batman informs Lex that Talia has bankrupted him and sold the LexCorp building to Bruce Wayne. Sucks to suck, Lex.

After this, there was so much potential. You had a solid basis for Talia as an independent anti-hero, using her connections to team up with villains only to double cross them when the time is right and take them down from the inside. A master at espionage in the making. Instead Death and the Maidens happens. You might as well skip to Robin: Son of Batman and fill in the blanks however your imagination deems fit. It's probably better than what DC came up with.

#DC #Talia al Ghul #Ra's al Ghul #Batman #Bruce Wayne #batfam #dc rambles #brutalia #asks

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ikkaku-of-heart · 2 years

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Mmmmmmmmm so not even the Heart Pirates tag is safe from this current chapter’s bullshit (I shouldn’t be surprised really, yet somehow I am) but while I’m not going to get into the spoilers or anything, I am going to address something I’ve seen a few people imply or even straight-up say, as it’s an argument I’ve had to endure for far too fucking long.

“Oh, the Heart Pirates are surely weak because we haven’t actually seen them fight!”

Hey, you know what other crew we haven’t really seen fight, but no one questions their strength or power? The fucking Red-Hair Pirates. We saw Lucky Roo shoot a guy and Benn beat the crap out of some mountain bandits in Romance Dawn. That’s it. Hell, Whitebeard even mocks Rockstar because he’d never heard of him! But no one can (or should) try to claim that Shanks is the only powerful one on that crew. They are the crew of an Emperor of the Sea and that automatically gives clout, even to a newbie like Rockstar.

Now, I’m not saying the Hearts are as strong as the Red-Hair Pirates; what I’m saying is that screen time does not equal strength. But we do have evidence that they’re not weak. Bepo, Shachi, and Penguin remained standing and conscious when Rayleigh unleashed his Conqueror’s Haki back in Sabaody. This was before the fucking timeskip, remember? And then there’s the fact that the crew helped keep Jack and the Beast Pirates at bay during Zou. Or how about how they were willing to rush Big Mom with the Kid Pirates to protect their captain? And don’t try to use the time Shachi, Penguin, and Bepo got captured as an indicator of weakness - we’ve seen powerful characters get captured before, and Hawkins’ powers were pretty much designed for taking hostages.

Yes, the Hearts can be comical, and besides Law we don’t have any confirmed Devil Fruit users, but I’m just so fucking tired of people going “Law’s the only powerful one on the crew!” or “The Hearts are useless!” We don’t see 90% of the other Worst Generation’s crews in action but they don’t get nearly the same crap.

So just shut the fuck up already about them being weak. Regardless of how strong the captain is, weak crews don’t survive that far into the New World. They are the crew of the Surgeon of Death. Law absolutely loves his nakama, and they love him back, and you had better believe they would have been training as hard as the Straw Hats to help him achieve his dream.

#Time for Maintenance (OOC)#Join the Hearts: We Have Uniforms #Heart Pirates #trafalgar D. Water Law #one piece ikkaku #bepo #penguin one piece #shachi one piece #op chapter 1063 #one piece spoilers #(well not really spoilers but this anger has come to a head because of them so we're tagging anyway)#(trust me I have so much fucking anger about that whole chapter but this argument in particular grinds my gears tonight)#(I am just so tired)

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woosh-floosh · 7 months

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Today Adobe pushed an update that add generative fill AI into Photoshop, and I'm one of the poor schmucks that pays for Photoshop so I'll review it.

(okay fine I get my parents to pay for it)

TBH I'm not really sure how I feel about AI art! I'd rather see art made by a person because I know how much work and personal touch goes into drawing and making art! But maybe AI could be used as a good tool??? Lets find out..... together!

Let's put my most latest drawing into it!

The generative expand option gives me three options to choose from before i have to generate again.

First output is...

VOMIT!

The next two do there best to replicate the noise in the original.

TBH the noise replication is not bad. I made the noise myself in the original by using a mix of noise brushes by True Grit to make it look as natural as possible. It's loads better than Photoshop's content aware fill, that's for sure!

See how repetitive and unnatural that looks? ( just ignore the title repetition...)

However... there is one issue with the generative expand...

It's blurry and that's very noticeable when zooming in!

But in general the noise replication is... fine! I could see myself using this actually!

Next is comics! I felt a little bit of pride when AI art started to kick off knowing that there is NO WAY AI could POSSIBLY replicate comics! And....

I was right.

I guess Adobe Firefly still has trouble with text because it seems to have generated text in Alternian. Also the second image is so fucking noisy tumblr wouldn't upload the image. That image is provided in part by the snipping tool!

The little tutorial it made me watched when I opened photoshop was demonstrating the tool using open ended images, so lets try that next!

Pizza fishing came out...

Bad.

The generative fill tool seems to have a lot of trouble with pixel art. Look at poor Brick's eyes.

They turned him HD......

The AI for this one is not that bad. The clouds and sky look nice! But the sunflowers have seen better days and oough... poor dustbunny's ears :(

Theres another feature to photoshop's AI that is not just expanding images, you can also add AI images into a picture. Lets try adding a beautiful butterfly!

I feel like the first two are trying to insult my artistic ability... I would never draw a butterfly that shittily that big! Only if it was small and you couldn't see it very well! And the last one is just a transparent png, c'mon man.

Seems like it's having trouble creating penguins, very sad! Hey, actually the generative fill tool has a prompt function as well! Let's try using that to create some penguins!

WRONG TYPE OF PENGUIN!! I'll specify Adélie penguin because I have to I guess

OKAY, but the other two images were still of emperor penguins...

CONCLUSION

What do I think this AI GOOD at?

generating noise

making surreal abstract messes

What do I think this AI BAD at?

generating text

generating any kind of sharpness at all

expanding my beautiful cartoon images

identifying species of penguins

Do I think I will use this tool again?

probably not

ok thanks bye

#photoshop #ai art #unreality

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johnconstantinejld · 8 months

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Gotham Tales-Penguin

Tritsch-Tratsch Polka, Strauss. I felt tonight needed something comical. One of my personal favourites. Would you stay for the Radzetsky March? That insipid harlequin and her cloth-brained clown were out on the town but last week. His death from having his kidneys eaten out by the acid he fell in came tonight. He was found with a mouthful of blood. She slipped out of town to Doctor Isley’s garden. But, my dear flying rodent, remember that he trained her to be able to turn off her sane exterior when it suits her. She may be calm as a Cygnus olor mated for life, but she could be her successor. I would make sure you keep a seat at your little league for her.

Oh, don’t look at me like I didn’t know. I DO know. Allow me to remind you of the following. One of my favourite chefs was heard to laugh in my direction. The building his restaurant was in suddenly had a new owner who fired all the tenants. Then his girlfriend was deported. Then his best friend was arrested on charges of child pornography, despite claiming he was framed. Then a new tenant moved in next door to him and practiced electric guitar all hours of the day and night. His landlord refused to take his calls.

Then his church, of which he was an active member, suddenly developed an infestation of killer bees. Then, a park he relaxed in was rezoned and redeveloped. It was concrete last time I checked. And then the chef, who was a recovering alcoholic, saw a 24 hour liquor store had opened up across the street from his apartment. Within two months of losing his restaurant, he was found hanging in a public lavatory.

All. Because. He. Laughed.

Was it directed at me? Who can tell?

Consider that a very big deal, good sir. I don’t snitch on fellow rogues easily. But my territory is clearly defined. An emperor penguin will guard his egg, and even if he cannot find an egg, he will stand over a rock, just so he can fake to other penguins that he is doing work. Likewise, penguins are known to push other penguins into water to check if orcas or leopard seals are present.

You might say that’s me. I’ll push you, I’ll rob you of your egg, but you can be assured that you’ll be treated by the best.

What else is on? This Scarface is thankfully dead. I understand the little ventriloquist is actually cured of his obsession and is working for Mr Wayne. How about that? Now, that Mr Wayne could afford Batman’s equipment, and he has a motive if I remember well, but from the idle, vapid and slightly bumbling manner of his public persona, I don’t believe he could be the rodent.

Two Face is still inside. I lent him some books. See he returns them. Don’t want him kidnapped from his cell, do we?

Ah yes, that fascinating feline Catwoman is out and about, ensnaring men and tangling with the female rodent, the Batgirl, myotis lucifugus. Wrapping her little whip around the body. Of course, I have a problem with her. Cat and bird, you know. She stole a little jade statuette of a harpy eagle from my office. Its history was nothing of not, and it had carried no trap, but as I said, ‘One doesn’t steal from another rogue. It’s simply not on’. She’s probably going to pawn it for far less than it’s worth and get pittance. Make sure you get it back.

Remember, I don’t kill. It’s below me. But I can ruin lives.

Oh, and kindly let Commissioner Gordon know that his daughter can visit the Iceberg Lounge as she pleases. Any client who refers to her as freeloader will soon be met by my security detail.

Bon soir, chauve-soiris

Until we meet again.

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beneaththetangles · 3 years

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Sasaki and Miyano, Vol. 1

Miyano is a Boys Love (BL) manga fan and Sasaki is an older boy who seems to constantly get into trouble. When they meet, Sasaki realizes pretty quickly that he has a crush on Miyano. What follows is an leisurely-paced first volume featuring the flirty Sasaki and an oblivious Miyano, who sometimes brushes off the advances as a joke. The chapters vary from longer form story-telling to quick, 4-koma bursts of bite-sized moments between the characters. It’s a slow burn story about a blossoming friendship as they share an appreciation for BL manga, with romantic overtones strewn throughout. It’s cute and innocent so far, and I may give the next volume a go when it drops. ~ MDMRN

Sasaki and Miyano is published by Yen Press.*

Saving 80,000 Gold in Another World for My Retirement, Vol. 2

It took a while, but we finally got volume two of this series. It’s a FUNA story. In case you’ve never read the author’s other works—Didn’t I Say to Make My Abilities Average in the Next Life?! or I Shall Survive Using Potions!—then you should know that a FUNA story means absurd, comical isekai adventures with a nerdy, wisecracking heroine who wishes she had a larger bust (no, seriously, why is this a thing with every FUNA protag? I don’t get it?). The unique aspect of 80k Gold is that protagonist Mitsuha can freely, effortlessly jump between our world and the fantasy world. She exploits this for all its worth—literally. While pursuing profit, she also has a chuuni moment where she calls herself the “Lightning Archpriestess,” helps a family restaurant, brings in otherworldly backup to defeat dragons, starts a blog, promotes rural economic development, and trolls Russian spies in absolutely magnificent fashion. Like FUNA’s other stories, 80k Gold is a generally lighthearted, silly tale; don’t expect especially deep characters, world-building, or plot. I had a blast reading this volume, and happily recommend it (but start with vol. 1, obviously). ~ JeskaiAngel

Saving 80,000 Gold in Another World for My Retirement is published by Sol Press.*

Penguin Gentlemen

Do you like penguins? Would you like to read an educational manga that teaches you more about different species of penguins with window dressing of pretty manga boys running a restaurant? But mostly, do you really, really want to learn about penguins? Then Penguin Gentlemen is the manga for you. This single volume is mixes in gags while educating readers about the different kinds of penguins in the world, all the while beefy gentlemen serve as anthropomorphized versions of the individual penguins. That’s about it. There’s not really a plot to speak of—the manga is almost entirely interesting facts about penguins. But I do mean interesting! The writers provides information about mating practices, different head shapes, the differences between an Emperor and King penguin, and more. I never knew there were so many different kinds of penguins in the world! Definitely recommend even if you are only remotely interested in penguins. While it’s a Teen-rated manga, there really wasn’t any content that was problematic enough that I wouldn’t let my 9- or 11-year-olds read it if they were interested. ~ MDMRN

Penguin Gentlemen is published by Yen Press.*

Ride Your Wave

This adaptation of the lovely Masaaki Yuasa film is extremely faithful to its source material—even more so than most anime-to-book adaptations. Despite essentially being my third experience with Ride Your Wave, however, I found Mika Toyoda’s novel to an engaging read as he capably rearranges and moves the movie to narrative form, thereby creating a story that stands on its own—quite a feat considering that Yuasa’s film is visually sumptuous. Explaining the tale of the love that develops between admirable firefighter Minato and bumbling surfer Hinako, Toyoda’s writing is most effective in its gentle, funny, and sometimes weepy material centered on the relationship between the two, and particularly in how each moves the other (and others around them) to grow. The fantasy components that make up the latter half of the book never quite feel right—they’re less whimsical and moving and more disquieting and awkward—though the earnestness of the story, those elements included, pushes it forward toward a satisfying conclusion to this lovely romantic tale, which perhaps is the perfect, quick read as summer approaches. ~ Twwk

Ride Your Wave is published by Seven Seas.*

Turning Point: 1997-2008

Between 1997 and 2008, Hayao Miyazaki directed perhaps his four biggest hits: Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle, and Ponyo. Focusing on this period of unmatched success, during which Miyazaki challenged himself thematically and creatively while receiving international acclaim, Turning Point: 1997-2008 is at once a rich collection of essays, poems, interviews, and other documents by and involving the master that animation historians can bury their heads into, and a work that provides sharp insight into some of the most beloved of Studio Ghibli’s works and the director himself for those desiring a less academic read. For instance, it was fascinating to read how historic ironworks and the Emishi people fed into Princess Mononoke, but just as intriguing is Miyazaki’s philosophizing on a variety of other related subjects, from how parents and the education system do a poor job with Japanese youth to his thoughts on (and sometimes criticisms of) those he admires, like Osamu Tezuka, Akira Kurosawa, Roald Dahl, and Gary Cooper. As a collection of pieces divided by film, Turning Point sometimes lack the flow of a secondary work, but like his films, Miyazaki’s words—yes, sometimes accompanied by a grumpy, old man vibe—are imbued with an immense heart for children, the environment, and Japan, making for a work that equal parts enlightening and inspiring—much like the films of the master himself. ~ Twwk

Turning Point is published by Viz.*

The Ancient Magus Bride, Vol. 1

Purchased at a disreputable auction and spirited into the home of an imposing, demon-like entity, Chise is surprised to discover that her purchaser’s plans for her aren’t nefarious at all. In fact, she is to become the mage’s apprentice, and her natural talents and ability to see magical creatures will be honed and developed under his awkward but warm tutelage. Volume one of The Ancient Magus Bride sets the stage for a magical tale with beautiful illustrations of faeries, dragons, and Elias, the ancient mage, himself, whose character design is one of manga’s most memorable. The rest of the volume isn’t quite as outstanding as the art and design, particularly with the mangaka struggling to convey the dialogue of Britain and the language of the isle’s mythical beings, but there’s enough here, particularly with a beautiful interlude involving dragons and a conflict that ends volume one, for me to anticipate future volumes—even without personal experience from watching the anime informing me that this series is headed toward somewhere magical. ~ Twwk

The Ancient Magus Bride is published by Seven Seas.*

=====

Reader’s Corner is our way of embracing the wonderful world of manga, light novels, and visual novels, creative works intimately related to anime but with a magic all their own. Each week, our writers provide their thoughts on the works their reading—both those recently released as we keep you informed of newly published works and older titles that you might find as magical (or in some cases, reprehensible) as we do.

*Thank you to Yen Press, Seven Seas, Viz Media, and Sol Press for providing review copies.

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the-i-in-lie · 3 years

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Vietnamese Moana: A Raya And The Last Dragon Review (Spoilers)*

I get what they were going for. I really do.

Here's the thing, on concept alone, this movie's really good. As I implied in the title, it feels like Moana with a Vietnamese (I think) coat of paint, but:

Moana wasn't the most original thing in the world either, it was just really good at executing relatively tired tropes.

Raya And The Last Dragon has a much more vibrant, alive world than Moana, although I could be misremembering.

Speaking of that world, it might be my favorite part of the movie. From the lively markets of Talon, to Fang subverting the evil empire cliche by being expansionist out of need, to even the elaborate prayer Raya makes towards the beginning, it truly feels like this isn't a world just made for a ninety minute movie.**

The animation's really cool too. I mean, 3D has come a long way since the original Toy Story. The textures, like hair, skin, cloth, metal and fur, are downright beautiful. I also love the paper-like 2D animation at the beginning. The human designs are really nice as well, although about as expected for modern Disney.

Note that I said "human", because the dragons honestly look more like colorful ferrets than reptiles (them being mustelids explains the odor comment...). Anyways, this is a good transition to my first major problem with the movie: the dragons. Well, the one specific dragon we see throughout the movie (too tired to look up how to spell her name).

Anyways, I'm very sick and tired of the hyped up magical creature is a comic relief thing. Her jokes are anachronistic (school projects??? really??? as that asshole who never contributes to group projects i am offended), they come fast and don't stop, and her raspy as hell voice doesn't help matters. When she's being serious, she's fine, but in her first scene I was convinced I was gonna hate this movie based on her alone.

And that's just one example of a pretty serious tone problem. Hunchback of Notre Dame bad? No, but in terms of how much it ruins the goddamn movie, not that far behind. The con baby from Talon is another great example. I get what the joke is, the city's so crime ridden even the babies are scammers. It's all so...Penguins of Madagascar-y. Ugh.

Speaking of Talon and crime, Raya's assumptions about that nation are never truly proven wrong, and to me that was a missed opportunity. They did it for Fang, why not have Talon's representative (btw I really like how Raya picks up companions from each nation, clever) be an honest, down on their luck market stall owner? They go to buy something, Raya's convinced she's ripping her off, and she somehow proves her honesty.

Why this tangent? Well, the movie's actual theme (trust, apparently) is very, very poorly implemented. The scene where the antagonist (antagonist is strictly the character opposed to the protagonist, which is why there are villain protagonists but never villain heroes) is trusted with the gem pieces is really nice, but trust is the wrong word for the concept.

Raya trusting her is what made this happen in the first place! Maybe it could've been about forgiveness, or belief (and actually been able to communicate that without icky implications). Maybe, like I described in the alternate Talon, it could've been about how prejudice breeds mistrust.

After Mulan 2020 though, I don't think Disney wants to take a stand against racism, lest it upset Winnie the Pooh.

Some other points I'd go in depth on if I wasn't heccin tired

Raya and the antagonist girl (again, idk her name) had a really strong rivalry that was enjoyable to watch.

Despite an annoying introduction, the shrimp kid was great

I want whatever that dog/armadillo hybrid is

The mom says to her daughter towards the end (don't remember exactly when) that what happens is "out of her control" and I thought she was legit gonna try and murder Raya and crew but she just turns to stone???

I saw this trailer before the movie of a 3D remake/sequel/midquel to Spirit: Stallion if the Cimarron and fuck you Dreamworks for doing that

Shout out to Raya's dad for actually being a good dad in animation. Low bar, but still, dads deserve better.

The short film before the movie was cute

Also I want a straw hat now

tl;dr: You know how Emperor's New Groove was originally gonna be this epic called Kingdome of the Sun? I feel like some executive saw the draft for Raya and the Last Dragon, decided "hey, it worked for Emperor's New Groove, let's do it here because kids don't like epic fantasy!". Kuzco still reigns supreme.

Rating: wasted potential/10

(I know I already posted a mini review, however I got home from the theater and talked to my dad about it on the way there, so I have more detailed thoughts now)

**and the inevitable TV series/sequel/short film

#raya and the last dragon #movie review #long ass post #disney #fuck you disney

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hedgebelle · 4 years

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Cultural References in “They Are Out There Saying”

It took me forever to compile it, but here it is! A brief explanation on all the references to Japanese culture I made in my JayDick Summer Exchange fic “They Are Out There Saying”.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/25707886/chapters/62420596

When I got the prompt from @paperempires calling for the Batman Ninja verse, I was like, you want 16th century Japan? I SHALL DELIVER.

Ok, so first, let’s talk about geography.

Right now, Japan is divided into prefectures, but in the past there were provinces. Check out the map below.

Green: Hida Province

Aka the province where this fanfic actually takes place. Nowadays the Hida-Takayama region in Gifu Prefecture.

Located there is the hidden village of the Bat Clan, the calligrapher's house, as well as real places briefly mentioned: Takayama city with its castle (ruins) and Tenshōji Temple (associated with True Pure Land school of Buddhism), and Shirakawa Village (diamond shape on the map).

Btw, Shirakawa Village is a UNESCO world heritage site and overall a lovely place. If you have a chance to visit it, please do. Here, check it out 😊.

Also, Hida is one of the two places in all of Japan where gneiss, a type of metamorphic rock, can be found. A piece of trivia I learned from my best friend (who might or might have not dared me to fit gneiss somewhere in the fanfic) 😉. The second place where gneiss can be found - again, true fact - are Oki Islands, the archipelago north of the Grand Izumo Shrine.

Dark red: Owari Province

Nowadays part of Aichi Prefecture.

According to the Batman Ninja (the version with Japanese voice over) Joker made himself a feudal lord of this province. Which is kinda interesting, seeing as Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582), one of the key players during the warring states period who started the unification of Japan, was a lord of that domain.

Located in Owari is also Alfred's teahouse 😊.

Yellow: Kai Province

Nowadays, it's Yamanashi Prefecture.

Penguin made himself a feudal lord of this domain. In Batman Ninja he really commanded penguins wearing samurai armour 😂.

Violet line: Tōkaidō Road

A tract that linked Kyoto, a seat of the emperor, and Edo (present day Tokyo), the seat of shogun.

So, traveling the Tōkaidō Road didn't become a thing until the 17th century ^^". But I figured, if castles can be weaponized in this verse, then I can send Jason down this road 😊.

On the side note, travelling the Tōkaidō Road became quite a subject in the culture of the Edo Period (1600-1868). For example, check out these famous ukiyo-e.

Star: the Grand Shrine of Izumo

Very much a real place. One of the three most important Shintō shrines in all of Japan. Worshipped there is Okuninushi no Okami, god of marriage. When praying in the Grand Shrine, a pilgrim is supposed to clap their hands four times, not just two like everywhere else. That's because in that Shrine one is not praying just for themselves, but for their destined partner too.

The Grand Shrine is located in the Izumo Province - nowadays a part of Shimane Prefecture.

*Even today Izumo is called a place where fates are being brought together 😉.

Circle: Mt Hiei

Again, a real place, located very close to Kyoto. The Enryakuji temple located on that mountain historically had big influence also due to the fact, it commanded its own army of warrior monks. Some further reading on them, if your interested, is here.

(Btw, the Enryakuji Temple is also a UNESCO world heritage site.)

It was emperor Shirakawa (1053-1129) who one said that the only things he does not have control over are the roll of dice, the waters in Kamo River and the warrior monks of the Enryakuji Temple.

*Kamo River flows through Kyoto.

Square: Inabayama Castle

Nowadays called Gifu Castle, located in Gifu City, Gifu Prefecture 😊. One of few castles built on top of a mountain.

Triangle: Mt Osore

A real place, considered one of the most sacred in all of Japan. A site of Bodaiji Temple. Due to the volcanic activity in the area, there's sulfur both in the air and in the lake right by the temple - hence its striking colour. Otherwise, the landscape is barren.

It is said that Mt Osore matches the description of Buddhist hell, and holds the entrance to the afterlife. For some further, light reading check here.

If you think to yourself wooow that's a lot of references then fear not - there's more 😂.

Other references

Fuke Sect of Buddhism

Monks of this sect, as a part of their practise, wore basket hats, played flute, and were on constant pilgrimage.

Travel, however, used to be heavily restricted, so in exchange for a special travel permit, monks were asked to spy for the shogun. Also, ninja (and other people involved in espionage) were known to donn on the attire of a Fuke Sect monk. For that reason, monks were sometimes asked to play on their flutes to prove their identity.

In Batman Ninja Jason is operating undercover as one of those monks.

Check this, for some further reading.

Direction of the Demon’s Gate

It’s north-west. It was believed that demons and evil spirits enter through that direction, hence it was considered unlucky.

Rokuyō (lucky/unlucky days)

A circle of six days, three of which are thought to various degrees lucky, another three - to various degrees unlucky. The most unlucky one is called butsumetsu and apparently is meant to symbolise the day Budda died.

Old unit of measurement. 1 ri ≈ 3.9 km ≈ 2.4 mi

Sexagenary cycle

A cycle of 60 years. It was traditionally used in China for time reckoning, and was known in other South-East Asian countries too.

For some further reading click here.

Golden leaf

Kaga Province (north-east of Hida; now part of Ishikawa Prefecture) is known as the biggest producer of golden leaf in all of Japan.

Zen Circle

On the photo below:

It’s an important symbol in Zen Buddhism that stands for enlightenment, absolute, the void. In Japanese calligraphy and sumi-e (ink painting), drawing the circle is seen as an expression of absolute freedom of the mind that lets the body create. If it’s closed, it symbolises perfection. If not, it becomes an expression of wabi-sabi - a concept in Japanese aesthetics that translates to beauty of imperfection.

Kappa

One of the fantastic creatures that appears in many Japanese folktales. Kappa is a water demon that (unsurprisingly) dwells in lakes and rivers. It is rather mean and known to cause mischief, but surprisingly enough - very fond of cucumbers.

Ogre (oni)

One of the fantastic creatures featured in Japanese folklore. Usually portrayed with red skin, horns, and a tall, hulking figure; as a concept somewhat similar to demons or devils, as they represent everything evil and harmful (and also, oni reside in the eight great hells). It was believed a human wicked beyond any redemption might turn into an ogre.

Haikai-no renga

A genre of linked verse poetry. It is made of 18 or 36 verses that alternatively have 17 (5-7-5) or 14 (7-7) syllables. It is less formal than an earlier genre, renga, and as such is supposed to be lighter, witty, comical even. There aren't as many rules dictating which verse is supposed to have a direct allusion to which, how many times and in which verses certain motives (like flowers, moon, seasons) can be mentioned.

Still, the first verse is supposed to contain kigo, so a word or phrase that indicates the season - in the fanfic it’s May (rice planting season) which is classified as early summer in the old lunar calendar - or in some other clever way gives an allusion to the environment the poetry meeting took place in. The first verse is also supposed to be written by the guest of honour which is why Jason was asked to compose it 😊. Important is also the third verse, as that’s where the theme of the whole haikai-no renga is officially established.

From the first verse of haikai-no renga evolved possibly the most recognisable form of Japanese poetry - haiku.

Lovers’ suicide

A suicide committed together at the same time by the lovers whose shared affection defied the rules of society and/or obligations to their families. Before commiting the act, they would usually pray to be reborn together on the same lotus flower in the Pure Land.

Lovers’ suicide is a theme featured in plays for pupper theater bunraku, most prominently The Love Suicides at Sonezaki written by Chikamatsu Monzaemon.

Pure Land

In a nutshell: According to some schools of Buddhism in Japan, Pure Land where people can be reborn and practice pure version of Buddhism, thus are able to finally gain enlightenment (which is impossible when alive, because the practice in the land of the living is warped, impure).

Please, take my way too short explanation with a grain of salt. It might not seem that way, but I’m not all that knowledgeable about Buddhism ^^”.

Nenbutsu prayer

Practised in True Pure Land Buddhism. It’s basically a recitation of a short phrase that translates to “I take refuge in Buddha Amida”.

Kannon

The bodhisattva associated with compassion.

Vengeful ghost

It was believed that a person who harboured a deep grudge or hatred in their last living moments towards those who had wronged them could become a vengeful spirit.

*Hoichi the Earless - one of the traditional horror stories. In this story, vengeful ghosts (of the fallen Taira clan) want to take with them a blind monk because he beautifully plays on biwa (traditional instrument). Once his brethren realise the danger Hoichi is in, they paint his whole body in Buddhist sutra, safe for his ears. Because of that, when the ghosts appear again, Hoichi - safe for his ears - is invisible to them. Spoiler alert, the ghosts take Hoichi’s ears, thus the earless in the title. Check out here for some further reading.

Ten Virtues of Tea

Text attributed to a Buddhist monk Myōe (1173-1232. It lists all the properties of green tea beneficial to the human body and soul.

Translation can be found here.

Portuguese firearms

Historically, the first Europeans Japanese people came in contact with were Potuguese traders. They introduced many European goods including firearms.

On the unrelated note, the Potuguese in that time period were referred to as Nanbanjin (南蛮人) which translates to southern barbarians.

Eight great hells

...are the concept of hell in the traditional culture in a nutshell. The concept itself was heavily influenced by Buddhism.

Further reading is available here.

Shinto wedding ceremony

While it incorporates many rites, the most core one (as far as I know) features the groom and the bride taking turns drinking sake (rice wine) from three cup, each slightly bigger than the other. When drinking, they are supposed to sip three times.

In feudal times, wedding ceremonies started with an elaborate bridal procession to the groom’s house. There, the dowry would be presented, blessings would be given, and then the bride and groom would take turns drinking sake as described above.

...Okay, I believe that’s it. Thank you for reading!

#jaydick summer exchange #fanfic notes #jaydick #japanese culture #references explained #i am such a nerd

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ram-reads · 3 years

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Penguin Gentlemen has been an interesting read. I picked it up because the cover was amazing and the premise of anthropomorphic penguins is too good to pass up. While it wasn’t exactly what I was expecting it was still a unique and enjoyable read. What I expected: A manga about penguins who work as humans at a restaurant trying to be the best gentlemen they could be. Shenanigans ensue. What I got: An overabundance of penguin facts usually told in two page comics. Shenanigans ensue. What this manga ended up being wasn’t a let down by any means. I enjoyed learning about penguins. Like all informative books the information got to be a bit too much for me at points so I would have to take a break from reading. To help with that I wish we had gotten a few more slice-of-life comics in between all the information just to change up the pace a bit. I did like the two-page comic format. It worked perfectly with this story so that the mangaka could concentrate on one part of a penguin and condense the information enough so someone less knowledgeable understands everything. The information is given in such an entertaining way it makes most of it easy to remember. This format means that there is no overarching plot, but that is fine given that the main purpose is to educate people about penguins in a fun way. While I do understand why there is no plot I do wish we would’ve at least gotten some sort of explanation on how they became humans. It’s the main premise of the manga and the first thing I was curious about so an opportunity was definitely missed there. There were six penguins the manga focused on: the Emperor, the King, the Adélie, the Chinstrap, the Gentoo, and the African. While each of these anthropomorphic characters personified their penguin counterparts perfectly they also managed to fill in typical manga character stereotypes. Emperor was the gentle giant, King was the narcissistic rich man, Chinstrap was the easily angered gangster, Gentoo was the kind but easily flustered one, Adélie was the lazy one, and African was the young and energetic kouhai. I found all of them to be lovable and have a hard time picking out my favorite. Maybe the Emperor penguin, but that might just be because we got to see him more than the others. The author had an obvious preference for the Emperor and King. We see very little of African which disappoints me. If this top tier cover didn’t make it obvious enough, the artwork is amazing. The manga begins with about 30 beautifully colored pages before going back into the traditional black and white. All the character designs were wonderfully done. I know there are plenty of people out there who like muscular men so you won’t be disappointed where this manga is concerned. The mangaka managed to create buff attractive men who are still identifiable by their specific physical penguin characteristics. It was always clear to me which character represented what penguin. The mangaka would also draw them in their penguin forms, so if you just love penguins there are plenty of them on each page. This manga, while not what I was expecting, was still a treat. The art was amazing and the mangaka clearly knew their stuff (sounds like they had a editorial supervisor they really looked up to so I’m happy for them)! The only drawback for me was that it was too informative at times. I wanted there to be more fun moments between the penguins that wasn’t connected to some penguin fact to give me a break from all the info I was taking in. It’s still impressive how much penguin facts they were able to jam in here though, so if you like manga and penguins and hot men I don’t think you could find a better manga for you.

#book review #book reviews #manga review #manga reviews #penguin gentlemen #yen press #2021 reads #4 stars #my reviews

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thenightling · 4 years

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If my friends were birds

Over on discord some friends and I had a very silly conversation about what sort of birds we’d be and here’s what we came up with. I have added to this list for those who were not on Discord but may want to know what birds I’d pick for them. :-P

@everthewildeone got Magpie because she loves shiny objects. It was Loki’s chosen bird form in Marvel comics. And they are part of the crow / raven family. They’re also very “talketive” when they see friends. That “i’m a crow” meme is actually more suited to magpies, specifically.

She also gets domesticated turkey. Loves to eat but a surprisingly picky eater.

And seagull since you love the beach.

____________________________________________

Our friend Jen AKA Art (though she isn’t on Tumblr) gets the Dracula Parrot AKA Pesquet’s Parrot.

She likes to play villains. Her hair is red. She loves the color red. Her characters can be intimidating. And it’s a rare bird with some beautiful coloring (art).

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Me: North American Raven. There’s a Gothic mystique to ravens from Edgar Allan Poe’s poem to Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman, Ravens have a fixed place in Gothic horror and literature. There’s even one in Disney’s Haunted Mansion rides and is Maleficent’s familiar. And in nature ravens often make friends with the wolves.

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@endlessemptynight She gets a barn owl. She loves Labyrinth. She’s wise. And she’s nocturnal. And I think they’re very pretty birds.

_______________________________

@treebrooke79 gets a swan. Beautiful and elegant yet can be surprisingly aggressive. Also often found near Boston, which is where she is. They also can hiss like a vampire in a cheesy movie. :-P

Or even a Rooster since you protect a flock (your role players) and you’re far too alert at weird hours.

_____________________________________________

@lamb90 gets crow. Likes to hang out in large groups, does not like to be alone. Likes shiny objects and string. (She makes beaded bracelets).

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@sorry-for-the-chocolate gets pigeon. She loves to eat. Is secretly part of the dove family (mellow for the most part and more likable than people expect). And she’ll shit on your car if you piss her off.

And also a goose for the Unnamed Goose game.

Because I know you would do that if you were a goose.

______________________

@americanparamedic You get The Great horned owl. You also get an owl because I mostly see you at night. You seem calm and wise and you like to ask questions “Who” And you keep me me company through the night. There’s something reassuring about your questions.

_____________________________________

Our friend Sarah (who doesn’t have a Tumblr account) gets a Starling because she can be accidentally self-destructive. :-P (She’s accident prone.) And I also know she loves stars and the name means “One from the stars.”

__________________________

Our friend Teddy gets the American bald Eagle because his favorite comic book character is Captain America and that’s the national bird of America.

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@iknowwheremytowelis In honor of Douglas Adams I give you Sirocco, the rare, endangered Kakapo, who just REALLY wants to mate with humans. Is that so wrong? :-P

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@winterbirdybuddy Based on your screen name and since I usually see you on at night, and you seem wise, you also get an owl. You get a snowy owl.

@artwinsdraws Turtle doves. Two turtle doves, since you’re a pair and you’re always together. Also I think they’re kind of cute.

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@darya-droid I give you three birds.

First a peacock for your David Bowie content.

Perhaps an orange flamingo.

Third (and fourth) the famous mated gay swan couple from Boston.

_____________________________ @missghostlymoonshadow I give you the Eastern Blue bird. Small, sweet, would probably end up one of the characters in Over the Garden Wall. :-P

___________________________

@vagaryhexxx, you get a hawk because you’re always watching and observing.

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@deathlyendless You get a black swan. Elegant, beautiful, and an unexpected omen of Death, like the friendly Death of The Endless.

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@wyvernseeker You get a ren. I’m not sure why. You just are.

__________________

Our friend Say (who doesn’t have a Tumblr account) gets a Blue Tit. 1. Because the baby version is fluffy and she loves fluffy things. And 2. It’s just fun to say.

She also gets the humming bird for being very active, small, and loves sweet things.

_____________________________________ @good-times-bad-food You get an orange parrot partly for David Bowie and partly for the Firies (fire gang) form Labyrinth where your URL song lyric comes from.

________________________

@bazpik You get a Blue jay since I already gave the Eastern Bluebird to another.

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@watertribe-enya You are of the “water tribe” so I had to pick a bird for you that swims. You get the Emperor penguin.

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@thesaramonster You get the Dodo because you always make me laugh.

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This is all in good fun. If anyone wants me to add them to this list, just let me know.

#Birds #Weirdness

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gale-gentlepenguin · 5 years

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ML dream: (Because my mind finally wants to be nice)

Previous parts (in episodic format) (Here) (Here)

I finally got to watch the dream episode I got spoilers of in my last dream AND a new episode. (My mind proving more consistent then airing schedule)

___________________________________________________________________

-Okay so In my dream, Apparently Arséne is a reoccurring character. (But with ML’s inconsistent episode schedule its hard to say where in the time line he is.) (He appears like Mayura does, frequent, but not too frequent)

-His intro episode was called “Emperor” and basically the events of the first part.

-The second episode he is in is actually the one with the slime Sentimonster. (ItWas called something about the Akuma). The akuma was called like Super science or something like that. It was a science themed akuma which was cool. she had all sorts of chemical reactions. Ryuuko got an appearance.

-Kagami meets Arséne in the episode. She and Adrien fence him. It was actually kind of cool. Some Adrigami for everyone.

-The second episode has Arséne notice Ladybug leaving the fight to get back up. But she manages to get to Fu’s place without him knowing the specific place. But, he sent Tuxx to go try and find the place once Ladybug led him in the general area.

-Wayzz popping out of a spot in Fu’s place revealed the location. Tuxx fed wayzz this lie about how abusive and cruel his master is and needs a ‘Guardian’s help’ Wayzz falls for it.

-Tuxx gets the info and escapes from Fu, who realizes that this was not good.

-This results in the last few minutes of that episode showing Emperor appear at Fu’s window.

-”So Guardian, do you mind if we talk?”

- Apparently has Fu and Emperor cut a deal. Fu agrees to translate the tomes that the penguin miraculous wielder has, if he can find out Hawkmoth’s identity. (Fu does not tell Ladybug about this arrangement, which gets the fandom very salty. I think I remember reading a rant post about it, (the blog kept changing in my dream so I can't remember) but it was really funny to me.)

_____________

-The third episode is called ‘The Historian’ and it starts off with Arséne having dinner with Gabriel and Adrien.

-”So Gabriel, what are your thoughts on these Heroes of Paris?”

-This caught Gabriel by surprise.

-Arséne mentions he found some interesting history about the heroes, mentioning their influence in other cultures.

-Adrien is invested in this. (We get some cool Hero history lore)

-Gabriel asks why he is telling him this.

-”Just figured you would want to know, since your jewelry line seems influenced by them. Thought it was an interesting coincidence.”

-Chat noir mentions what he learned to Ladybug, even mentioning that he might think that he knows who Hawkmoth is.

-Chat noir says its Arséne. Explaining his rational. Ladybug insists that he keep an eye on the suspect.

-Adrien asks Arséne if he wants to join him at a photo shoot at the Louvre. There is an interesting exhibit about Ladybug and Chat noir that he might find interesting.

-Arséne agrees because he enjoys the company of the young Agreste.

-Marinette, Alya and Nathanael were at the lourve because Alix invited them for a sneak peak at a new exhibit called the hall of heroes. (It was closed because private photo shoot but Alix got to sneak them in). Marc was sick so he couldn't come. Alix teases Nathanael about it (MarcNath/ Nathmarc fans rejoice)

-Marinette seeing Adrien at the Lourve. Shenanigans ensues.

-Arséne ships it and Totally recommended Marinette join the photoshoot.

-The photographer LOVED the idea. Using the hero exhibit poses as references.

-Alix’s Dad gets Akumatized because one of the artifacts that was being deliver was stolen and he freaked out over it. (It was Arséne). he becomes ‘The Historian’ and he can summon things from the past! He summoned all sorts of different soldiers and weapons. He also changed costume, depending on the Era from history he was taking from. (I really liked his Napoleon inspired costume.) But his akuma form was pretty bland in normal state. He looked like himself but in a hero costume with a picture of a history book on his chest.

-It is pretty crazy. Adrien’s suspicions about Arséne fell flat. He was relieved Arséne wasn't Hawkmoth.

-Arséne fled the scene once Chat noir got him to safety.

-Tuxx flies to him.

-”You were right, the Akuma did come from the Agreste Manor.”

-”So Gabriel is Hawkmoth, how interesting and completely not surprising. All that man does is sit in his mansion all day. I am shocked no one figured it out sooner.”

-”So what do we do? Do we tell Fu?”

-”Oh Tuxx, we see who can give the better offer.” Arséne says with a smirk.

-Tuxx smiles at this.

-”These two sides both need to learn to chill. Shall we join the fray?”

-Present Alix gets the Bunny miraculous for the first time. It was pretty cool.

- Arséne casually goes into the fight. And actually screws up their fight with the Akuma. Bunnix goes back in time and punches Emperor, catching him completely off guard. Which allows for Ladybug and Chat noir to pull the win.

-Hawkmoth notices Arséne’s assistance and wonders if he is friend or foe.

-Nathanael totally drew Bunnix and Alix wants to have input on the comic. (Nathanael knows Alix is Bunnix but Swears he won't tell anyone, cause friendship)

-Later that night. Gabriel was in his lair, and Emperor shows up.

-”Nice to finally meet you Hawkmoth. I must say, this is a pretty bare bones secret layer. I recommend getting a couch. Maybe having a table or at least a podium. Seriously. The butterflies must really get bored.”

(Then the episode ends.)

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tealin · 4 years

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Terra Nova in a Nutshell

I have dived into telling you about my own Antarctic trip, but I haven’t yet told you the historical story which got me sufficiently interested in the place to get there myself. When I am taking friends through the Polar Museum I usually take about 90 minutes (plus oxygen break) to go through the whole story, but I will try, here, to keep it as concise as possible with liberal illustrations, and will expand later if you like.

The British Antarctic Expedition 1910 was under the command of Capt. Robert Falcon Scott, who had commanded a previous expedition to Antarctica in the Discovery in 1901-4. Officially the second-in-command was Lt. ‘Teddy’ Evans, but in all other respects it was Scott’s comrade from Discovery days, the doctor, naturalist, and artist Edward ‘Bill’ Wilson. His assistant on this second expedition was an idealistic young man named Apsley Cherry-Garrard, soon nicknamed ‘Cherry.’

Scott’s ship the Terra Nova left Cardiff on June 15th, 1910, had a very exciting and fun-filled journey to New Zealand and thence to Antarctica. She made landfall there in January of 1911, at a little outcrop of land on Ross Island which was christened Cape Evans.

While the hut was being constructed, Scott and a selection of men – including Wilson, Cherry, quartermaster ‘Birdie’ Bowers and seemingly indestructible sailor Tom Crean – set off to cache stores along the route to the South Pole, so that on the following year’s attempt to reach this geographical point they wouldn’t need to haul everything they needed from base. This string of depots culminated in one called One Ton Depot. On their way back to base, Cherry, Bowers, and Crean were crossing sea ice back to Ross Island when it broke up, and only by sheer pluck managed to get to safety instead of drifting out to sea. (I have made a 12-page comic about this episode, called The Sea Ice Incident, which you can download free if you want to know more.)

Shortly after this, Scott learned that Roald Amundsen, who was making a surprise attempt on the Pole himself, had also set up his base on the Ross Sea coast, in direct competition with Scott. As nothing could be done about this, Scott decided to proceed according to plan and not make a race of it. (He wasn’t happy about it, though.)

The first winter was a happy one, but for Cherry, Wilson, and Bowers, the conviviality of the hut was interrupted by a gruelling midwinter journey to the other side of Ross Island in search of Emperor penguin eggs, as part of Wilson’s investigation into the birds’ evolution, a trip they just barely survived.

Three months later they set off again in the party of twelve who were to make the attempt at reaching the South Pole. It was arranged that two parties of four would successively turn back after helping the final four as far as they could. Cherry was selected to be in the first returning party, Lt. Evans headed up the second returning party, and Wilson and Bowers accompanied Scott in the final Pole Party. Cherry was disappointed to have turned back so soon, but got on with life back at the hut, happy to have played his part in the great endeavour.

All was well until news came that the leader of the second returning party, Teddy Evans, was deathly ill with scurvy. The expedition doctor, Atkinson, was supposed to go meet the final party with the dog teams as they returned, but was instead sidelined into caring for Evans. Atkinson delegated the rendezvous to Cherry, who duly took the dogs out to One Ton Depot to meet his friends, but they never turned up; he waited as long as he could, but as winter was closing in and he was running out of food for the dogs, he turned back to base.

When the Pole Party failed to arrive in the next few weeks, it became apparent that they never would, and the remaining men faced another winter knowing that their friends had perished. The following summer, another southern journey was made, in search of any trace of the Pole Party. They were expected to have fallen down a crevasse somewhere en route, but were found snowed up in their tent about twelve miles south of One Ton Depot, a point they had reached nine days after Cherry had turned back from there. From their letters and journals, the survivors learned that the Pole Party had reached the South Pole, but had discovered there that Amundsen had beat them to it by a month.

On the return journey, two of the five men Scott had taken to the Pole suffered crippling mishaps, but instead of abandoning them, the healthy men slowed their pace. The injured men both eventually died, but by then the season had started to turn, and the remaining three – Scott, Wilson, and Bowers – were trapped in their tent by a blizzard which kept them from reaching the necessary food and fuel until they, too, expired.

The search party retrieved all the records and personal effects they could, then collapsed the tent over the Pole Party where they lay and built a great memorial cairn over them. They brought their story back to a world which, having been expecting great news, instead plunged into mourning.

Cherry had his own personal torment beyond that, though, in the idea that, had he pressed on with the dog teams from One Ton, he might have been able to save his friends’ lives. After returning to civilisation (and a small interruption we know as the First World War) he wrote The Worst Journey in the World, his memoir of the expedition, largely as a tribute to them and the friendship they’d shared.

A good portion of this book – the part relating to the Southern Journey – was adapted into a radio play in 2008, which is what got me hooked on the story (and especially the characters!) and precipitated the chain of events which got me out of animation and onto this crazy journey of my own, making the book – ALL of it – into a series of graphic novels. The BBC occasionally reruns the radio play, but you can more reliably listen to it here: https://archive.org/details/WorstJourneyInTheWorld01

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megaguardain · 4 years

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Achievement Hunter Crew: The Bat-Heist, Prologue and Chapter One

UPDATED

After the whole thing with James Ryan ‘the asshole guy’ Haywood, I’ve written him completely out of the story. He doesn’t exist in this universe anymore. Also, I’ve moved the timeline so character’s have changed superhero identities.

Introduction

In a world where superheroes have been around since the early 1900s, no one just robs banks anymore. Everyone’s gotta be taking over the world or enslaving the human race or whatever. But this crew, they’re just wanna rob and steal, not for the money. Just for bragging rights.

Earth-96 is a world where DC characters premiere when they first appear in the comics and age in real time. Batman has been patrolling Gotham since 1939 and the mantle has passed from Bruce Wayne to others since his passing.

Prologue

Earth-96, 2019. Tyler, Texas.

“The Batman was ‘instrumental’ in the arrest of the Joker earlier tonight, a spokesman from the GCPD told us,” the newswoman on the TV said. Shots of a battered Joker, giggling to himself, being loaded into an armored police van while Batman spoke to the police. He was actually shorter than the officers he spoke to.

Batman pressed something on his gauntlet and there was a sound of a roaring engine as something giant barreled toward him. As it got close, the Batman leapt into the air and grabbed onto the giant vehicle.

“Was that a new car?” a newsman asked as the cameraman caught the rear of the Batmobile turning down an alley, “Or did the Flash just pick him up?”

“It probably was a new car. How many has he got now?”

“Probably as many Robins he’s had,” the newswoman commented as she shuffled the papers in front of her, “Up next, who is this new Green Lantern?” the picture shifted to an amateur shot of a Latino woman in a Green Lantern uniform, “And can we trust her?”

The TV turned off. The man watching it put down the remote and sat up, stroking his lower jaw while in deep thought. He wore a black two-piece suit over a white dress shirt. His sleeves were rolled up, exposing the million tattoos on his arms. After reaching some kind of conclusion in his head, the man smiled and pulled out his phone. He scrolled through his contacts and selected one labelled “Michael”.

The phone rang as he put it to his ear.

“‘Sup Geoff,” Michael answered.

“‘Sup Michael, listen,” Geoff said, “I got an idea for something,”

“What kinda something?”

“A big something,”

“We heisting?” Michael asked.

“Oh yeah. It’s a big one, we’re going to need everyone on this,”

“What’re we stealing? Cash? Gold?”

“A car,”

There was a moment of awkward silence before Micahel asked, “Just a car?”

“‘Just a car?’,” Geoff sarcastically asked back, “Just get everyone and meet me at the safehouse,”

“Ya gotta give me something more than that Geoff,” Michael insisted, “Alfredo probably won’t show up over ‘just a car’,”

“We’re heisting the Batman’s car,” Geoff dropped the bomb.

“Shit,” Michael chuckled after another moment of silence, “Yep. Alfredo’s going to love that. That really isn’t just a car,”

“Told ya,” Geoff smiled, amused with himself, “We’ll go over the details at the safehouse,”

“A’ight. See ya soon,” Michael said.

“See ya soon,” Geoff said, ending the call. Geoff poured himself a glass of whiskey as he looked out the window, “This’ll be one for the books,”

Chapter 1:Unpredictable in a Predictable Way

Earth-96. Gotham City, New Jersey.

The new Batmobile had great soundproofing. Batman could hardly hear the sound of the engine from inside the car. The car sped through the streets of Gotham, everything inside was tinted red from the interior lights. He piloted the car over the Robert Kane Memorial Bridge, leaving the city lights glaring through the smog behind him.

“Dim exterior lights,” Batman commanded, his voice distorter still active. The external lights on the Batmobile dimmed, providing almost as much visibility as if they were turned completely off, “Engine, silent run,” Batman commanded. The engine of the Batmobile fell silent, even from outside the car it barely made a sound.

Batman’s muscle memory expertly piloted the car down a hidden path off the side of the road, towards Wayne Manor. It rolled down and around, along a cliff face on the coast to a cave entrance that was hidden by a waterfall. Inside the cave was dimly lit by lights on either side of a paved track. The Batmobile followed the track into the cave.

After minute or two of following the dimly lit track, the cave opened up into a large cavern. There were multiple platforms bolted to the walls of the cavern, connected by catwalks, wires and elevators. The track the Batmobile led to one of the lowest platforms, it looked like a shelving unit with multiple cubbies that held various bat themed vehicles. From older Batmobiles to the Batplane, Batcyles, a lot of bat themed vehicles. Batman parked the Batmobile he was driving in the empty spot on the Vehicle Platform and got out of the car.

“How’s the new car?” a voice above called down. Batman looked up to see a man with black hair leaning on the railing of the platform above looking down at him. The man wore a red hoodie with a dark t-shirt with Batman’s logo on it.

“It pulls to the left,” Batman said as he approached the nearby elevator, “And the seat is too big,” he added as he stepped into the elevator. The elevator had no music as it took him up to the higher platform.

“Well, you’ll break her in. And maybe grow into the seat too,” the man teased. He was a whole six inches taller than Batman’s five and a half feet stature.

“I have never understood why you refer to the cars as ‘her’ Tim,” Batman said, ignoring the joke about his height and walking toward the fifteen foot, multi-screen computer on the platform, “Joker’s back in Arkham,” Batman said as he sat down in the large chair in front of the computer. He looked tiny in the chair.

“And his gang is already rioting. Wanting to strike down the government hierarchy,” Tim explained.

“What about Sionis or Ogilvy?” Batman asked as the computer displayed the profiles of Black Mask and Emperor Penguin.

“The False Face Society has been growing. With Joker’s latest stunt, they probably won’t stop,” Tim reported, “Ogilvy seems content with running business from the Iceberg Lounge. No one’s going to try anything big for a while,”

“What about Jason and his gang?” Batman asked, taking his cowl off. Showing that Batman wasn’t actually a man, but an Asian woman with short black hair.

“Cass, I know Jason isn’t your favorite person, but he’s on our side,” Tim sighed.

“He is a criminal, he kills people,” Cass scowled. The computer displayed information about the Red Hood Gang, run by the formerly dead, formerly Robin, Jason Todd.

“So did Bruce originally!” Tim countered.

“Not the same,”

“How?”

“Bruce was wrong and he realized that when he adopted Dick,” Cass explained.

“Well, just think of him as a neccessary evil,” Tim sighed, walking away.

Cass just stared at the computer screens as they continued to scroll through the different gangs of Gotham City and their territories around Gotham. The screens shifted to reports of the Joker Gang protesting outside Arkham Asylum, calling to free Joker.

The next night,

“Everybody on the ground!” a man wearing a potato-brown mask with a hand drawn smile shouted as he fired his rifle into the ceiling of the bank. He wore a brown leather jacket over a kevlar vest and t-shirt.

“Let’s go! Give us the money!” a man wearing a hockey mask that had a pattern with stickers from different tourist traps from around America shouted, tossing a duffle bag to the teller behind the counter. He wore a black two-piece suit under a kevlar vest and held a shotgun to a teller.

A third man wearing a BMX helmet, a Hawaiian shirt under a kevlar vest and white shorts, kept a shotgun trained on a security guard, “Don’t,” he growled when the guard moved.

“I knew it was a bad idea to extend hours into the evening,” the guard grumbled.

“Just load up the cash, we’re not interested in being murderers,” the one in the hockey mask said. The teller loaded bundles of money into the duffle bag.

“Give me the dye packs,” the one in the potato mask ordered another teller.

“Wh-what?” the teller asked.

The man in the potato mask punched the bulletproof glass that separated him and the teller, it shattered into pieces and possibly made several bystanders wet themselves as they screamed, “Dye packs,” the man ordered again, aiming his rifle at the teller, “Now,”

The teller quickly gathered and placed the dye packs on the counter in front of the potato masked man. The robber put the dye packs in his jacket pockets.

“How we doin’ Alpha?” he asked.

“I got the money!” the tourist hockey masked man shouted, taking the filled duffle bag from the teller, “Let’s go!”

The three bank robbers made their way to the front door, they each took cover on either side of the door frame. A sign behind them said ‘Welcome to Gotham City Trust, your money is safe with us!’.

“GCPD should be here any second now,” the BMX helmet man said.

“Good,” the potato masked man said, tossing the dye packs to his partners. The crew had to wait for less than a minute before they heard the sirens. The sirens stopped as they came close to the bank.

“GCPD!” they could hear shouted at them over a loudspeaker, “Put your weapons down and come out with your hands up!”

“They asked us so nicely Bravo, whaddya think?” the potato maked man asked.

“We should give them a gift for being so nice, Charlie,” the man wearing the BMX helmet suggested.

Alpha, Bravo and Charlie opened the doors of the bank and, without emerging too much from cover, threw the dye packs at the police cars parked outside. They landed with audible thuds that the robbers could hear from the bank entrance.

“Grenades!” one of the officers shouted.

“Go! Go! Go!” Alpha commanded. The robbers ran out the door and to the right, travelling along the side of the bank and away from the cops.

“Wait, it’s not a gre-” the dye packs exploded, covering the squad cars and nearby officers in hot red paint and creating a red smoke that flew into the sky.

“See ya losers!” Charlie shouted back at the police as he continued to flee.

The crew crossed the street, avoiding the oncoming traffic that sounded their horns at them, they came into a small alleyway that had an armored four-door car waiting for them. But before they could get close to the car, a shuriken in the shape of a pair of bird wings embedded itself in the car’s hood.

“You guys new ‘round here?” a young voice asked. The crew looked and saw an African-American man on the nearby fire escape, holding two yellow escrima sticks connected by yellow wire. He had yellow helmet with a black visor in the shape of a bat. He wore a yellow and black suit with a black reflective bat symbol on his chest, “Ya’ll should just give-”

The robbers just started firing at him. The young man pressed himself back against the building while the robbers slowly made their way close to the car. Bravo entered first in the driver’s seat and started the car, Alpha sat in the passenger’s seat while Charlie got into the back. Bravo sped out of the alleyway before the young man could stop them.

“We got the Signal’s attention, won’t be long ‘til he shows up,” Charlie said.

“You know what to do if that happens,” Alpha said.

Bravo drove the car away from the bank, several police cars with lights and sirens blaring chased after them. As they weaved through the slower traffic, Charlie rolled down the window next to him and started blind firing back at the cops.

“So, how’s it feel to be back in your home state Charlie?” Bravo asked casually.

“Heh. It’s alright. Never been to Gotham,” Charlie said just as casually, “Always wanted to see the Bat with my own eyes,”

“Well, if this goes right, you’re going to,” Alpha said. Bravo slipped through a hole in a police blockade on the Madison Bridge that led into Old Gotham. As the crew came off the bridge, a shadow passed over them.

“Was that-?” Charlie asked, just before Batman landed on their hood, “Yep! Yes it was!”

“Pull over!” the vigilante ordered.

“You want me to pull over? Okay!” Bravo said, jerking the wheel to one side, causing the car to spin out as Charlie pulled his upper half out of the window. Charlie fired his rifle at Batman, the dark knight flipped onto the roof and kicked the gun out of his hand.

“Shit!” Charlie cried.

Batman pulled Charlie out of the car, but he punched Batman in the gut. They both flew off the car as it sped away, a few police cars shot past them to chase after the other robbers while others stopped to barricade the street. Charlie stood up and pulled off his ruined potato mask, his face was hardly scratched despite having kissed the street at almost seventy miles per hour.

“You’re shorter than I expected,” he commented when Batman stood up.

“Give up,” Batman ordered.

“No, fuck you,” Charlie smirked, putting his fists up in a fighting stance. Charlie ran at Batman, throwing a right hook but Batman was already dodging, he grabbed Charlie’s arm and restrained it behind his back.

“Your friends left you behind,”

“Yeah well,” Charlie groaned, “Still gotta job to do,” he twisted around and tried to punch Batman with his free hand, but Batman caught it and restrained it too.

Charlie shrugged off Batman’s grip, surprising the vigilante, before spinning around to slug the dark knight, but only grazed his bat-ears. Batman struck a space under Charlie’s arm and robber’s arm fell limp. Charlie looked at his unusable arm and gave a one armed shrug, he charge at Batman again. Just as he got close enough to punch Batman, he realized he was flat on his back with Batman standing above him. The last thing he remembers before blacking out was Batman’s fist.

“Cass,” The Signal’s voice came over the radio in Batman’s ear.

“Go ahead Signal,” Batman said as he watched the police take custody of the bank robber.

“Sorry, they got away,” The Signal said, “I lost track of them and they switched cars before I found them again,”

“Understood, we’ll find them,” Batman assured.

Alpha and Bravo drove a beat up hippie van to a warehouse on one of Gotham’s many docks. They had removed their masks already, Bravo sporting a full beard of reddish-brown hair and glasses. Alpha having a handlebar mustache and stubble.

“You sure Michael’s the one that should’ve been caught, Geoff?” Bravo asked as they pulled into the warehouse. It was pretty sparse inside, not much in terms of equipment or lighting. Two people sat at a crate, one was on her Nintendo Switch playing some game, the other was cleaning a sniper rifle.

“I’m sure Jack. He can buy the time Gavin and Trevor need, and get out without much trouble,” Geoff explained as he put the looted money on a crate they were using as a table, “Everything is going according to plan,”

#dc comics #earth-96 #achievement hunter #geoff ramsey #michael jones #batman #tim drake #cassandra cain #joker #robin #duke thomas #jack patillo #if you don't like who i made batman #then that's a personal problem #fuck ryan haywood

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