#so he just confirmed John is an anti hero | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

bieberfeverradioshow-blog · 1 year

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You know what save it. It’s just like my brother

Swifties what do you think of my Easter egg theory

and Sam and everybody telling me I’m crazy. And I was right about everything. You don’t have to acknowledge it I’m just telling you. Your not the only one who does it it’s common practice in the church when they anoint things. Guierilmo de Teri or whatever makes Pinocchio which is a rip off of Johnson in the bible. So hogs makes me to replace Jesus with then we get away but in a twist I get blown up by a land one. That’s what mahogany is about in midnights. Because you made a rare tweet about joes the hero.. it that was out of character and you mention the end. You know the hero dies so why keep score.. so I’m the anti hero and.. and in lavender haze Ashley is wearing a sun on its elbow..Rey sunshine Lana del Rey or is ghosts gag in be anti hero..or is it Marylyn Manson..or Trent reznor..reptiles is about you Taylor.I think Manson because Rita was in bejeweled..and Trent to Manson on his first big tour..I went to it in St. Louis..royal arch..red lodge..and I’m linked to Trent..Trent just did a song with ghosts..bones calls himself the weatherman..they made Francis pope changed out benidict because I had a papel line to Peter..no Dylan will have a closer one..Lana del Rey Dana Lynn Hudson..Dana names her first born Mitchell a folk singers last names...Joni Mitchell bob dylan Taylor swift..fuck they were plotting against me at 8 years old my family was... Eliot’s I’d sings in bury you alive..we got a runner a roadrunner..Forrest tump I ran..the bar i go to is roadrunners..they substitute krylon for nylon..i could go on get into west side connection..1 pussy and 13 dicks..we got probate faces fighting federal cases:.or ghost idiot and mercury and feet but I’m done guess what I don’t have any books by the night standitokd you that’s why I does it..when I come out everything is clear..better with a girl but you know..that’she can see into a mother time thru a computer and he gets framed..the change out his eyes..John Anderson neo is mr anderson..neo 1 trinity 3 terminator 3 John Conner goes off the grid..but comes back and he can’t stop fate.like when I disapeeeard until prison..ghosts she is tattling kill the machines on people e faces at lolapaloza a theima concert..the techno world lace i went to was called hore e Horus Hudson son of an Horne wise the o and the u are opposite on Hudson and Horus e denotes and attachment to something else son of a hor us..

Come on that’s pretty impressive..just think if we were together..I’m not tripping out about it I’m just teaching a master class..

Maybe I’ll give Phil smith a call it’s in Florida..I have a feeling I have something to do with it..warren buffets management firm..and vanguard.,I own cable television and all theme infrastructure that’s why they are trying to get rid of me..

I am so sorry to have you suffer so badly from your...whatever I can lay it out from delaymar to me..I can trace the my confirmation to Benedict.. his coat of arms has a Moore.. the popes did do that..st Louis has the arch royal arch.. John Paul came there when I was there as a marker. Regali was the bishop Burke and Dolan were there. Regali moves to Knoxville I find transfiguration because of him. He’s the archbishop of Philadelphia.. to the angel of the church of Philadelphia rev 3:7 37 the zip code in Tennessee starts 37 the zip code in Vegas starts 89. Oh yea and everywhere I go music comes out of the sky. The angels sing sorry to ruin your plans. Ai is artificial intelligence IAM is God. iA is Adam the opposite of AI Satan. I’m Adam ISIS is Adams sister ISIS.. OSIRIS IS OR SISI meaning the other halF ISIS SPELLING SISI I SIS OR SISI MY LITTLE SISTERS NICKNAME IS CCWE CALL HER SIS..some of its fate it’s not planned.. Osiris gets killed and is wrapped in a nun tree when Isis saves him. He raises from the dead. Joshua in the Bible who fights AI IS NAMES IS Joshua Son of Nun Hudson Horus Son son of Hor ..In judges a left handed EHud is leader of the Benjamin . EHud JOSHUA REPLACE THE VOWEL WITH THE ONE THAT ISNT THERE AN E JOSHE JOESH GHOSTE MANE HORSE JO DELI JOSH OSIRIS ITS DELICATE IAM IA IM ADAM ITS IM TAYLOR SWIFT DELICATE DELI CAT LANA DEL RAY DANA EL RA GET RID OF FIRST AND THE LAST LETTER am a 10th level @sw black mage yet..lmfao @swiftie-stephanie. @swiftsecretsquestions @swiftclass @swiftgallery @lanadelrey @eminem @espnpr @catholicliving @catholic-inspiration @wordonfirecatholic @archdiocese @archbishop

@archbishop-bisharp @archdioceseofawesome @notredame-dedouleur @thebleacher @fallontonight @madonnaciccone @popefrancis

@royalfamilyprincess @idfonline-blog @unitednationssystemcop21-blog @potissa-ths-nuxtas @potus @reprovador @billie-eilish-is-an-idol @joealwyndaily @tayswifttrade

#swaggg #swifties #roger taylor #taylor swift #bieber #electronic #justin bieber #music #easter bunny #catholic

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drunk-poets-society · 3 years

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ok so

this young fella is No. 85 Squadron’s Hurricane pilot Richard Lee. he was awarded the DFC and DSO for his service, just a couple months before he was shot down over the English Channel on 18/8/1940, at age 23, sadly never to be seen again.

details under the cut -

Richard Hugh Anthony Lee was born in London in 1917 (the exact date or month is unknown). Growing up, he went to Charterhouse School.

On September 1935 he joined RAF Cranwell as a Flight Cadet, and graduated in July 1937. He was posted to Debden on June 1, 1938 to join no.85 Squadron at its reformation. He flew Gloster Gladiator biplanes to begin with, before no.85 was re-equipped with Hawker Hurricane Mk1s.

No.85 sqn. Was posted in France to protect cross-channel convoys. On November 21, 1939, while on patrol over Boulogne, Flight Lieutenant ‘Dickie’ Lee scored the squadron’s first victory when he successfully attacked a Heinkel 111 which crashed into the channel and burst into flames. This also scored the Squadron’s first accolade as he was awarded a DFC on March 8, 1940 “for outstanding brilliance and efficiency”

Not much happened over the winter. That was to change, however, when on May 10, 1940, the sound of Anti Aircraft guns and Luftwaffe planes filled the air. No. 85 squadron immediately jumped into action, and within a few minutes, one section of “A” flight, and one section of “B” flight were up in the air. Lee was leading B flight with Flying Officer Derek Allen and Pilot Officer Patrick Woods-Scawen flying as his numbers 2 and 3 respectively. the section attacked a Henschel 126, and managed to severely damage the aircraft, leaving two of its crew wounded.

Later that morning, Lee was flying Hurricane L1779 into combat, leading his section again. They engaged a Junkers-88 at about 15,000 feet. His combat report reads: “after being sighted E/A dived to a very low height. i could only overhaul from astern very slowly. From 500 yards to 700 yards the enemy rear gunner fired continuously. I fired short bursts and finished ammunition closing to 200 yards. No apparent results except black smoke from one engine. My own aircraft shot badly.”

Later that evening Lee shared in the destruction of a Ju-86 with his section. Lee was the first to open fire and set the enemy’s starboard engine on fire. When they landed, ground crew found that he had fired 50 rounds from each of his eight Browning machine guns during the engagement.

on 11/5/1940, the squadron was back in the thick of it. however, this time after a busy morning patrol, Allen and Woods-Scawen returned without their section leader. Richard Lee was missing. He’d been flying Hurricane N2388, code marked ‘VY-R’ over Maastricht when he engaged a Dornier 17P at approximately 1300 hours. His aircraft had been hit by Anti Aircraft fire and he bailed out of his aircraft slightly wounded. Parachuting down, he landed in a field, where he spotted a local man passing by. He asked the man which direction he should travel to get to the Belgian tanks that were nearby. He took off in the direction, only to find out that they were, in fact, German. Lucky for him, his uniform was concealed underneath a smock or overcoat he had acquired. He was believed to be a peasant and was locked into a barn with some other refugees. Thinking quick, he climbed up to a window and noticed a ladder perched beneath it, and promptly climbed out, walked several miles, and hitched a ride with some Belgians before returning to his unit the very next day. The squadron’s diarist reported that “11/5/40. Eight E/A were shot down today. Flight Lieutenant R.H.A Lee failed to return from the offensive patrol covering the advance of the BEF over the Tongres-Maastricht Section – he was reported last seen on a Dornier’s tail at about 2,000 ft.”

On May 22, No. 85 squadron started to return to Debden to re-equip and reform, and Lee was transferred to No. 56 Squadron. The next day the squadron engaged enemy aircraft over St. Omer while patrolling Manston to Dunkirk. he expended all his ammunition in the dogfight that ensued between the Hurricanes and the 109s, before his starboard wing was badly hit. He broke off and returned to Manston unharmed, and aircraft deemed repairable.

On May 27, he flew another offensive patrol from Manston with the Squadron, flying Hurricane P3311. On this occasion he was shot down by Messerschmitt 109s during an attack on Henschel 111s. he ditched his aircraft in the sea and was fished out of the water and taken ashore an hour later.

On May 31, Lee was awarded the DSO. The London Gazette published the following: “Flight Lieutenant Richard Hugh Anthony Lee, D.F.C. (33208) this officer has displayed great ability as a leader and intense desire to engage the enemy. On one occasion he continued to attack an enemy aircraft after his companion had been shot down, and his own machine hit in many places. His section shot down a Dornier 215 in flames one evening in May, and another in the course of engagement the next day. In his last engagement, he was seen at 200 feet at the tail of a Junkers 89, being subjected to intense fire from the enemy occupied territory. This officer escaped from behind the German lines after being arrested and upheld the highest traditions of the Service.”

In June, he returned to No. 85 squadron, under Squadron Leader Peter Townsend. His experience was called upon to help bring the new recruits upto scratch before the squadron was again ready for operational flying.

On June 26, Richard Lee and his close friend Gerald Lewis flew to an investiture where Lee received his DSO and DFC for his service.

Lee’s reputation as a daring and aggressive fighter pilot was quickly spreading around the air force. Peter Townsend’s good friend Flight Lieutenant John Simpson wrote a letter to his intelligence officer, after hearing about the exploits of Richard Lee.

Simpson, who also coincidentally often flew with Patrick Woods-Scawen’s younger brother Tony, wrote “I hear that Dickie Lee has done wonders. You see how these boys, who were always looked upon as being the naughty ones, are doing so well. They needed a war to convince the old gentlemen at Whitehall. Do you remember that Dickie was almost given his bowler hat for low flying? The same low flying has apparently stood him in good stead.” (apparently he had flown through an open barn, but i have no way of confirming or denying that)

In Hector Bolitho’s book Combat Report published in 1943, he wrote of an afternoon spent with Lee, Townsend and Simpson. “Peter Townsend and Dickie Lee had been posted to an aerodrome a few miles from the house… in the early summer, John and I went out to find them… we found Peter and Dickie and took them back to the house. Dickie followed the car on a hellish motor bicycle.

It was a pleasant enough afternoon and we lay on the lawn, the four of us, with a bowl of ice, a bottle of gin, some tonic water and four glasses, and talked the world away. All three, looked older. Both Dickie and Peter had been shot down and a certain solemnity seemed to have touched them. Dickie had changed more than others.

We used to call him Dopey in the old days because he always fell asleep if the conversation took a serious turn. He was already a hero and in most newspapers there had been photographs of him receiving his decorations from the King. The long hell in France had left creases at the corners of his sleepy eyes. But he would have none of our attempts at war talk. He said that he had a date with a blonde in Saffron Walden and that he could not stay very long.

Dickie’s taste in blondes was not always reassuring to his friends, but he was obviously more concerned with his date than with our efforts to make him talk about how he has won the DFC and DSO on his tunic. I remember when he stood to go I noticed a hole in the leg of his trousers where a bullet had gone through without touching his skin.

I suppose that Peter and John and I were a bit pensive, being the older ones, so Dickie yawned and said ‘Well, I must get cracking’ he made one gesture to sentiment before he went. On the day that was declared he left his favourite pictures with me… before his squadron flew off to France.

They were photographs of friends, of aircraft, and one of a spaniel. He asked me for them, so I brought them down from the attic and he flew off to his blonde with them, piled before him on the screeching, violent motor bicycle.”

August 18, 1940 “the Hardest Day” of course, was when Dickie was lost. Flying as Blue 1 in Hurricane P2923 ‘VY-R’ during this patrol, he was last seen by Squadron Leader Townsend and Flying Officer Arthur Gowers ten miles north-east of Foulness Point chasing Bf 109s out across the Channel.

In Townsend’s book Duel of Eagles he wrote the following of Lee’s last action: “Come back, Dicky,’ I called but he was drawing away. Again and again I called, but he kept on. It was useless to chase Huns out to sea; they would be back again the next day. Something had gotten into Dicky and there was no stopping him. We were both low on fuel and I was out of ammunition. There was only one thing to do: turn back”

Like several others, he was gone too soon. Neither his aircraft nor his body were ever recovered. and aside from these mentions, and a few documents, and acknowledgement on the Runnymede Memorial, Panel 6, there isn’t much about him out there. there’s really not much one can do about that either, other than remember, and keep them alive in our thoughts; those who never returned, whose names faded into obscurity.

Source

#my last post was glitching out so i had to make a new one #sigh. i miss him. that 'age 23' really hits hard man #history #ww2 #wwii #battle of britain #raf #1940s #1940 #need i repeat it again ? war bad.#i wish he had a happy ending like charlie and gertie in that other post but alas #also this is all the information i could find about him on the internet #that blogspot article is the only comprehensive source #there's just tiny bits and pieces of him scattered in databases and they're not much use at all to be quite honest #there is only one thing i know right now and that is that i miss him dearly for some reason #even though i dont even know anything about him except all of.... this #and the pictures in this post are all the pictures of him that are out there #i mean there's more but they're just colourisations of these #especially of the one with his pal lewis #and the one in which he's standing with the medals on his uniform #sweet boy i miss him. precious lad.#i say knowing absolutely nothing about him #like he was literally just some guy. he wasn't famous or anything. there aren't even any letters by him out there #so that i can even start to build an accurate profile. i guess all that i have is the photos and mentions #and where are those photos that he took with him ? did they go with him ? or are they in someone's basement #forgotten and neglected. or did they get destroyed ? where are they !#my best hope is that they're somewhere out there in a basement or something along with a pile of letters #his body or plane were never recovered and that makes me want to cry and sob and weep #i pretty much am over my other crush but this man has been on my mind for over a year now #its like sir please

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infinitecrime · 3 years

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Spoiler free TFATWS Episode 5 review:

Another very solid episode. A huge amount of pay off for many of the various subplots at play and a great progression of the overall story. Some conversations that really needed to be had were finally had and it was immensely satisfying. Other than a strong opening action sequence, this episode was mainly character and dialogue focussed, which I think is going to upset some of the fanboys, but for me it might have been the strongest episode yet.

Spoiler heavy review:

Writing/Plot:

The opening fight was fantastically choreographed and heart breaking in a lot of ways. The acting was noteworthy which is rare for a fight scene where people normally phone it in or we don’t really see much of their expressions because they’re stunt doubles. I’m glad this was the only real action this week - it felt nice to get a break and return to character and plot driven scenes.

Overall this episode was just really satisfying in terms of plot progression and pay off. We resolved Bucky’s beef with Wakanda, Zemo’s fate, Bucky and Sam not seeing eye to eye, Isaiah’s story, Sam’s issues with the shield, and closure for Lemar’s family. We’ve progressed Sam and Sarah’s money/boat issues and whatever the fuck Sharon and Batroc have going on. Next week we’re setting up to give Yori some closure and put an end to John and the Flagsmashers.

Even the Flagsmashers, who we barely saw, got more development than it seems they have for a while - we now know they are all in on criminal behaviour, are willing to kill, have a distinct target (the GRC), and a distinct goal (stop the Patch), and have a mini army to do it with.

The vibe of this episode was just... soft, which is surprising for a hyper masculine superhero bro show. The whole community coming together to help the Wilson’s and Bucky being inducted into the family was just so wholesome. Even the Isaiah scenes, heart wrenching as they were, would have been intercut with violent and graphic torture flashbacks under some other director, but Kari knew that the story was powerful and upsetting enough on it’s own.

Sam:

Sam and Sarah are just amazing. Really really hope we see her in future Marvel properties. It's so nice to see the perspective of someone so grounded in a world of wizards and shit. I love that he seems to tell her everything and values her advice just as much if not more than that of soldiers and superheroes.

Watching him grapple with Steve and Bucky’s expectations of him vs Isaiah’s expectations of him vs Sarah’s expectations of him vs his own wants and needs was very impactful, and in the end, he’s going to honour them all and pick up the shield, but on his own terms, as his own man, because he wants to, not because some old men told him to/not to.

Sam finally got some of those deeply emotional beats that I have been hoping for this whole time, which gives Anthony a chance to really flex his acting muscles. He’s great at subtlety but he really shines in this episode now the writing has allowed him to. Everything with Isaiah and the scene of him wiping blood off the shield was so raw.

Isaiah, who gets his own section this week:

God, his entire section was so powerful and well done. I’m so glad he came back and we got to learn more about his story and his situation. I’m so glad it was explicitly addressed what was done to him, why it was done, how it affects Sam and his perception of the shield, how it affected his family, and how he still carries all that trauma to this day. I’m so glad it was a one on one between them.

Carl Lumbly was absolutely fantastic and Anthony played off of him wonderfully. The injustice and pain is so stark in this scene. I would love to see more of him in the future but I also want him to be able to finally rest.

Isaiah did exactly what Steve did. Went against express orders to do the right thing and saved a group of POW's that the top brass had written off as expendable. In return, Steve got his fake Captain title made real, a fancy new shield, and was lauded as a hero. Isaiah was imprisoned, tortured, experimented on, and treated as a criminal. For the same. damn. thing.

I was perplexed in previous weeks about people condemning Bucky for not telling anyone about Isaiah, when doing so would have disturbed his well earned peace and put him in extreme danger. In this episode we get the confirmation that Bucky’s choice was right: Isaiah is legally dead and in hiding and the government don't know he's alive. He wants to be left alone ("Leave me dead, my name is buried") and that’s more important than what Sam wants or what you think Bucky should have done. It’s up to Isaiah; and Bucky (and later Sam) respected his wishes.

Bucky:

Ayo calling Bucky White Wolf, telling him to steer clear of Wakanda “for the moment” but not forever, and making Sam a vibranium Cap suit shows he’s fully forgiven. To be honest, they likely don’t have an extradition treaty with Germany so they actually never would have gotten their hands on Zemo if Bucky hadn’t broken him out, so they’re probably happier with him than they let on right now.

The Zemo-Bucky relationship and the grudging respect and understanding they have for each other is so interesting. I honestly don’t believe this is the last we’ll see of Zemo. He’s straddling the anti-hero/villain divide and he’s just so fascinating. Bucky getting his closure with Zemo and showing him that he isn’t the weapon Zemo treated him as was powerful, although I don’t think Zemo actually thought he would kill him. He knows that Bucky wasn’t corrupted by the serum, and even admitted as much.

Fighting John with the shield must have given him flashbacks to the helicarrier fight with Steve which can’t have been pleasant. The pure rage on his face at seeing the shield misused was clear here.

Seeing him helping the Wilson’s and being integrated into the community and the family in a way he hasn’t had since the Howling Commandos (and even then, they were at war) was just so, so sweet and wholesome. And his boat fixing skills corroborated my science nerd/mechanic Bucky headcanons.

Bucky and Sarah lightly flirting is very cute and I would like to see that relationship be developed more.

It was nice to see him explicitly apologise and recognise why Sam didn’t want the shield, as well as explaining why he reacted the way he did. I don’t understand the people saying it wasn’t good enough at all - it was a clear and sincere apology and completely proportional to the actual offence, which was not quite understanding a perspective that he wasn’t really equipped to immediately understand. He doesn’t need to beg or plead - just acknowledge his ignorance, say sorry, and improve, which he did. Sam was perfectly happy with it and accepted the apology, his gift, and his help on the boat. Drama over nothing as per usual amongst the Bucky antis.

I still wish they would be more explicit about Steve’s fate and how they both feel about it, but I liked the scene we got.

Other characters:

“You built me.” - Wyatt is extremely good at mining sympathy out of an otherwise unsympathetic character. As much as I hate him, I did feel for him in the courthouse scene and with Lemar’s parents. He's an example of the veterans that are exploited until they crack then left in the dust as damaged goods when they do. I’ve been so, so impressed with Wyatt and the nuance and complexity and sympathy he’s managed to inject into the character. In anyone else’s hands he would be a two dimensional power crazed villain, but in Wyatt’s he’s a lot more than that.

Val is intriguing. Skrull? HYDRA? Power Broker? Something new entirely?

I wish John’s wife got a name. This is the second love interest minor female character (after the bartender) without an onscreen name, unless I missed it.

I am still somewhat perplexed by Sharon. Is she a double agent? A triple agent? Is she the Power Broker? Is she against the Flagsmashers, or with them, or only out for herself and against everyone? I’m not sure how this can all be resolved in only one episode but I guess we’ll find out. I wonder if she’s being set up for a future project. Is she a Skrull?

I knew Batroc would be back when we didn’t explicitly see him die - is he being used by Sharon without his knowledge for some other purpose, or does she genuinely not give a fuck if he kills Sam?

Nice to see Torres and to see that he has an obvious crush on both Sam AND Bucky. He’s for sure swooping into the final battle next episode having fixed Sam’s wings.

Is the inclusion of Eli Bradley setting him up for a future Young Avengers series, or is he just a nice comic cameo and nothing more?

Lemar's parents had me tearing up. Fuck Walker for lying to them but at least he gave them some closure I guess? Poor Lemar. He deserved so much more and we deserved more of him.

Fuck John Walker and his fake shield.

#tfatws #the falcon and the winter soldier #tfatws spoilers #tfatws meta #a day late because yesterday was a mess #but lots of thoughts on this one

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ectonurites · 3 years

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Okay, so I kinda wanna know your thoughts about how weird the fandom portrays the bat characters. Canon is ... not my favorite, but it actually offers a lot of nuance to the characters that I think makes them all interesting. Unlikable, but interesting. I noticed fanon tends to boil the batkids all into these superflat caricatures. Like, cereal obsessed manchild Dick Grayson or bad boy who's literal crimes are only because of the lazarus pit Jason Todd. Its not really a major problem, just weird

Oh I have a LOT of thoughts about this. I try so hard not to shit on how other people interact with content because like, it’s comic books! We’re all just here trying to make the best out of a mess of stuff and have fun, but admittedly a lot of fanon stuff drives me fuckin’ nuts as someone who reads a ton of comics.

Like, I like memes, obviously, I draw tons of memes with the batfam (+ yj) characters and make lighthearted jokes etc etc, and honestly if it’s just for jokes then I don’t mind people having whack interpretations of the characters quite as much. The thing that drives me up a wall though is like... when serious works and analysis and discussion are very clearly based on just the fanon interpretations without any bearing on canon aside from what you could skim from a wiki page, and it’s spoken like it’s fact! There’s ‘having fun with jokes that aren’t taking things that seriously’ and then there’s ‘blatantly mischaracterizing based on misinformation’. Way too often I see things fall into that second category.

Now, a lot of people in the batfam fandom don’t... actually read comics (or at least not frequently) and that’s not even a bad thing necessarily, like you’re 100% allowed to enjoy content however you want to! (I don’t wanna be gatekeepey, especially since comics are confusing to get into)

But the problem is that when a lot of people aren’t reading the comics, then the people who do’s opinions have a lot more influence if they’re loud enough. All it takes is one person who read something and interpreted it a specific way that might not even be correct, and then it can echo chamber and suddenly half the fandom thinks it’s 100% canon that way because ‘oh so and so said that and they actually read it’.

I also think that’s a problem with the popularity of out of context panels/blogs, while they are super funny sometimes, when people make assumptions about characters based on just a few things without context... it can lead to problems. If enough people say something enough times people just... start to think it’s true, even if it exists entirely devoid of context which changes the meaning.

Like, for example, according to canon there’s no actual confirmation Tim stalked Batman on foot for an extended period of time! We know from Lonely Place of Dying that he followed him once to get a picture to convince DIck that he still needed a Robin. Otherwise his ‘stalking’ & how he figured out Batman’s identity was more through media appearances (like newspapers and tv). This is wildly different from the common fanon idea that little Timmy was sneaking out regularly to follow Batman & Robin around with his camera.

I primarily blame Geoff Johns for this misconception because of these panels in in tt 2003 (from issue 29)

But like, think about it for a second, literally how would Jason know that? This is one of the first times he’s ever interacting with Tim, and he was dead/catatonic when that would have been happening! He is either making a wild assumption or perhaps Talia told him this when she told him about Tim, whichever of those it was it’s secondhand information not something he witnessed. Taking his word as fact here makes no sense, he was just trying to get under Tim’s skin while fighting him. But seeing those panels out of context if you haven’t actually read Lonely Place of Dying/only read a vague summary of it, and don’t necessarily know the details of the Jason situation, it could absolutely lead you to believe otherwise!

Dick as a cereal manchild is a weird one because like... okay yeah sure he likes cereal, I can think of like two panels I’m too lazy to find right now off the top of my head of him having it, but... that’s not something we see all the time! Its not like Ollie & his chili (which IS a running joke- seriously I have not read that many Green Arrow comics but the amount of times I’ve seen that man bring up chili in just in the few things I have read is wild. there’s even an official recipe. his chili has it’s own dc wiki page). Then, because Dick isn’t quite as emotionally closed off in the same way the rest of the batfam tends to be, people project literally all the pent up feelings onto him, making him this hug-crazy crybaby manchild... again it’s just very clear people who perpetuate those ideas (outside of like, maybe as jokes) haven’t actually fully read that many comics with him. I’d also even blame the Young Justice cartoon version of Dick for some other traits fanon Dick has, bc that version of him is def a bit of a Hot Mess™️ once he’s Nightwing

Jason I understand misconceptions about probably the most because of how wildly inconsistent his writing was before the new 52 and how consistently Not Great it was once Lobdell took over. Jason’s one of the few characters I have read like, 90% of appearances for so I’m speakin’ from experience here. But still... acting like Jason as Red Hood is just a ‘bad boy rebel’ that could have a relatively happy connection with the whole Batfam is fun but unrealistic. You can not blame everything on the lazarus pit... he still has killed people! Lots of people! Willingly! Yes he has reasons and when he’s being written well it’s clear that he’s not just ‘random murder happy’ but rather ‘I kill when I feel they deserve it and that it’s necessary’ which is what keeps him an anti-hero rather than a full fledged villain most of the time, but that still keeps him so at odds with the rest of the Batfamily! Writers in more current continuity have had him compromise by only using rubber bullets in Gotham so they can have him interact with the family, but he’s still killed and will do it when he deems it necessary.

Also like... at the time of Under The Red Hood in the comics... theoretically... he hadn’t even been in the lazarus pit for well over a year. Go read Lost Days (it’s short! And except for the thing with him & Talia towards the end of the last issue it’s pretty good!), he spends a lot of time traveling the world and learning things/training before the events of UtRH. Yes you could interpret there still being some Lazarus influence going on there but I think the movie version of UtRH especially leads people to believe there’s a lot less time between his dunk in the pit and his first actions as Red Hood.

Fanon also has a lot of ideas about pit madness that vary wildly from what we have seen in canon, like yeah it’s been said to be a thing to some extent, but there’s not really the Danny Phantom Glowing Green Eyes™️ or anything like that... it’s fun to explore cool new ideas for sure but I just think it’s important to recognize the distinction between things that are actually canon and things that are popular fanon. (Also there are things that fall somewhere in between, there’s definitely stuff that isn’t 100% confirmed canon but could still be plausible/has been hinted at by some writers/is only canon in some settings)

Other things that drive me nuts are ‘quiet does-no-wrong angel Cass’ and ‘the Normal One™️ Duke’ because those just make literally no sense if you’ve read any comics with either of them... but fan content either does those versions or just completely ignores their existence a lot of the time! So! That’s a whole bigger problem!

In general though, this is fandom it’s not like this... matters that much on the grand scheme of things in life, we’re just people on social media talkin’ about comics. And this kind of misconception/flattening of characters does happen in literally every fandom ever. But it still does suck to see characters that have a lot of nuance and interesting history to play around with get reduced to a few traits that aren’t even actually that relevant to who they are.

#batfam #pls dont kill me for sayin al this again im not telling anyone how to enjoy stuff JUST my thoughts

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viciousgracearc · 3 years

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sh.adow & b.one thoughts ( contains spoilers! ) tw: racism ( this is just a thought dump and to explain why i’m not adapting the show’s racist elements in my portrayals )

disclaimer: just because i will not adapt the racist element as it appears in the show doesn’t mean i won’t acknowledge the book canon, in-universe prejudice and discrimination against the poc characters in grishaverse.

so. the racism in shadow and bone. having watched all of the show, i now have some mixed thoughts about it. in the books, alina is assumed to be white for the most part. it is only at the end when we ( or at least i ) suspected that she is not entirely ravkan, and then the casting confirmed it. the kind of racism alina ( and mal ) faced in the show was never a factor in the books, despite rampant anti-shu and anti-fjerdan sentiment. the suli are painted as people who are displaced and mostly neglected by the ravkan government, and definitely treated with prejudice, but as far as i recall there is no specific slur directed at them either in book canon.

however, whereas alina’s ethnicity is vague in the books, it is crystal clear in the show that she is a biracial woman. i know that for biracial folk, experiences vary across the board, especially if you’re a biracial person and an immigrant or a refugee. alina is a war orphan. her mother’s country of origin is at war with her current country of residence. to an extent, i understand the level of animosity ravkans have against people who look like the threat / the enemy. people of color face racism and prejudice day in and day out, sometimes from white people, sometimes from fellow people of color. this is a grim reality with a long and studied history of racism and racial superiority creating divides between minorities and pitting them against each other.

was the racism necessary to the plot? it definitely adds layers to it. you have an orphaned girl of color in a mostly white people country. they discriminate against her and her best friend for most of her life, using slurs such as “rice-eater” and “half-breed”. but this country has a huge problem, and it turns out only this orphaned girl of color can save them from it, despite them alienating her consistently. now they need her help, now they call her a saint. this girl, who based on show-canon, feels so different and abnormal from the rest of her peers because her ethnicity is always pointed out and considered a bad thing. now she has to be a hero for a country that despises her... and not only that, now she has to do it under the tutelage of a white man. white man looks older than her; there is an obvious imbalance in their power dynamic, but he looks at her like his hope come at last and places her on a pedestal she doesn’t ask for. this same white man puts a collar around her neck and then effectively subjugates her by taking control of her power.

it... it kinda sounds bad, doesn’t it? it does. “but wait,” the volcra screeches. “via, are you fucking stupid?” it asks. “that’s not how the story ends! she overcomes!”

well, yes. but does it really make the rest of it any less insidious? alina is denied food, consistently picked on, and mocked, for being half-shu. it is prevalent in her show storyline and difficult to ignore. and thus it will be woven into everything that happens to her, and every decision that she makes will in turn, make us, the viewers, look back on it even if she herself doesn’t do so explicitly. i know the intent of including this racism element into her ( and mal’s ) story is to portray an accurate depiction of the POC experience as they maneuver white or mostly white spaces, or just spaces not catered to their specific ethnicity. but does it work? is it necessary? the irregulars, which is also a netflix show, did a great job at casting a young chinese woman in a lead role and a black man as dr. john watson without ever having to define their characters or their capabilities to move in the world by their race alone. as a half-chinese woman myself, it was empowering to watch a chinese girl able to take the lead and make bold statements and brave decisions without ever being bogged down by the limitations of her race.

at the end of the day, it is a fantasy world. do you think if the racism isn’t there, the story’s going to be worse off than it is? personally, if they left it out, i think the story will be just fine. there are a lot of things that tie these characters together outside of their racial struggles, like... i don’t know, personality? circumstances? the need to save their country from a powerful tyrant? the struggle for survival in a constantly at-war nation? there is also the fact that this racism element they’ve introduced is inconsistent. so much directed against alina and mal because they want the viewers to sympathize with these two characters. some of it directed towards inej, another protagonist, whose story has a lot to do with how she was exploited because she is suli. but where’s the racism directed at zoya? at botkin? if there’s racism against the shu and if they call them rice-eaters, where’s the anti-fjerdan racism and what do they call fjerdans? ice-shavers? cold-dwellers? aren’t fjerdans ravka’s enemies too? but oh wait... fjerdans are white. nevermind.

speaking of zoya: in the books, especially in RoW, it was implied that she is white-passing, which is why she was never treated differently for being suli. however, show!zoya is NOT white-passing at all. she is very obviously a woman of color, and while i acknowledge that yes, poc can be racist against poc, i don’t really see zoya -- bully, mean girl, attention-starved, ambitious, ruthless zoya -- resulting to such a low blow. sujaya dasgupta herself admitted that in show canon, zoya experiences racism ( though it was never explicitly shown to us ), and consciously turns it against alina in the hopes of hurting another woman of color. don’t get me wrong, zoya is definitely a terrible person at the start of the series. she was classist and mean and she had a superiority complex, and that superiority complex comes from being a powerful grisha, something she worked hard for. she thinks alina doesn’t belong in the little palace, not because alina is shu, but because alina appears out of nowhere, is untrained but is already considered powerful / the solution to everyone’s problem, and has nabbed her old place as the darkling’s favored. the “you stink of keramzin” jab is more than enough to drive her point home and i don’t think “half-breed” is necessary at all. besides, from what it looked like, alina isn’t the only mixed-race grisha. grisha comes from all over, taking refuge in ravka because they’re the only nation that treats their grisha under acceptable conditions. so one would expect some diversity there, which zoya, having been at the little palace since age 9, would have been used to by now. i don’t really think there’s a lot of incentive for her in using a racial slur, and she’s lethal enough with words that she doesn’t need them to injure somebody.

“via, stop barking and tell us what you’re going to adapt in your portrayal!”

okay, well. personally, i’m not interested in including the show’s racist element in any of my characters’ storyline ( alina, zoya, mal, ehri ). i acknowledge the anti-shu, anti-fjerdan, and anti-suli sentiments as they appear in book canon, but i will not use alina’s ethnicity as the basis of her “otherness” because i like the book canon explanation for that better. nor will i acknowledge that zoya called alina a half-breed, because my zoya is not white-passing zoya, and she knows infinitely better ways to inflict verbal harm than racism. zoya will also be grappling with being half-suli because she was exposed to anti-suli sentiments by her own mother as a young child.

all my characters are of asian-adjacent ethnicities, and as an asian person myself, do you really think i am interested in reliving my traumatic racism experiences through the characters that i write in a fantasy world? with alina especially, it’s like she couldn’t breathe without someone pointing out that she’s half-shu. i think as much as it is important to show authentic poc experiences in art and media, it is also equally important to show poc solidarity, and to stop defining people by their race alone and to just let them exist as people.

it doesn’t help that the show’s way of depicting racism is gratuitous, insulting, and feels like it’s catered more towards the white gaze than... you know, actual POC viewers? i understand people will disagree with me on this and that’s fine. this is just how i feel. given that shu-han as a nation didn’t even feature much in the books and we don’t know ANYTHING about them in a cultural context aside from the fact that their appearance is coded as east asian, the discrimination towards them really just hinges on shallow factors like how they look, what they eat ( ???? ), and how they are viewed as ravka’s enemy. it boils down to an east vs. west type of scenario ( and considering the barrage of anti-asian sentiment in our current political climate it’s... questionable at the very least ), and the racism element is not a profound expression of the poc experience but more like... a caricature version of it, once again, in my opinion.

“via, i can’t believe you used that many words trying to tell us you won’t include the racism in your portrayal.”

hey, i know. but a girl be having thoughts, a girl’s two brain cells be rubbing together, you know? this is me deep cleansing my brain by yoting my thoughts into the void. but yes, this is my take! i understand if you don’t feel the same way, but i just... i can’t feature the racist elements of the show in my blog, sorry (not really).

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

#* ic. / headcanons #headcanon: alina starkov #headcanon: zoya nazyalensky #headcanon: malyen oretsev #headcanon: ehri kir taban #racism tw #sab spoilers #asian ppl who disagree are valid #& pls remember not to tell POC what they can be iffy abt #also this seems like a lot of thoughts i just had to put them somewhere #shadow and bone spoilers

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captainpikeachu · 3 years

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I’m begging y’all, pls stop with the “Walker is literally a Hydra agent now” thing bc it’s driving me nuts how y’all are acting like this is a fact.

It’s not. There is no official confirmation of him knowingly or unknowingly joining Hydra. There is no official confirmation that Valentina is Hydra. Stop letting online speculations and articles and fake rumors and personal biases push you into saying just outright lies.

All we know is that John Walker is now US Agent, we don’t know who he is working for or what his future will entail. It could be anything and anyone. We simply don’t know until there is official confirmation of story details which we do not have.

Yes of course it’s fun to speculate, I’m all for speculation, but please stop acting like speculation is the same as facts. You can speculate maybe he’s working for Hydra now, but that is not a fact, you don’t know what Marvel is planning so please stop acting like it is a fact.

Also Valentina’s Madame Hydra plot in the comics was literally her undercover in Hydra so she can betray Hydra, she’s not even a real Hydra agent anyways. Not to mention Walker’s comics counterpart is also very much anti-Hydra and fought against Hydra alongside the heroes on numerous occasions. If Walker is joining anything, it’s more likely it’s the MCU version of the Thunderbolts, not Hydra. And even this is just speculation since again we don’t know.

Anyways, my point is stop using assumptions and speculations as facts just because you want to make him stand for the things you hate so you can continue to have some moral right to hate him. Treat the character fairly as what he canonically is, not what you want him to be.

#this has been annoying me to no end #john walker #tfatws spoilers #contessa valentina allegra de fontaine

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am-i-right-marines · 3 years

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Prompt: A Random Idea I had

Rain.

Mud.

Lightning.

Darkness.

The epitome of trench warfare.

John-117 wasn’t a stranger to these natural elements, but admittedly he didn’t typically experience them in this context all together.

The Spartan walked along the five foot wide trench with his MA5B Individual Combat Weapon System at the ready. To his right was a concrete steel-reinforced firing-step about four and a half feet off the ground, as to allow Marines to fire over the parapet of the ten foot deep concrete trench. To his left, a concrete wall occasionally broken up by the entrance to a dugout containing a few dozen bunks or ammo crates. He watched a pair of marines climb up onto the firing step and take position by a mounted machine gun. The Master Chief recognized them from last week.

“Will you shut up?”

“‘Who’s Bob?’ The hell kinda question was that? Haven’t you heard of a first name?”

“Your first name is Private, you’re gonna be Private all your life.”

Private Schmegeggy and Private Rosen.

The pair had charged a trio of Elites that had pinned down a Corpsman in a shell crater as he tried to help the artillery officer that had been caught in the blaster. With a few close calls, the pair of Privates had rescued both men and returned to friendly lines.

John could respect that bravery. As such, when Rosen glanced over at him as he walked by, he nodded at the young Marine, who’s face broke into a smile and nodded back.

John understood that he was considered a hero to the ranks. A very long successful mission record, plenty of eyewitness accounts of “heroism”, and the Office of Naval Intelligence’s Section Two hyping up his achievements with propaganda had led to him being one of, if not the most revered human alive.

Just because he understood it didn’t mean it didn’t confuse him. A soldier didn’t deserve the title ‘hero’ just for doing his job. But, he did what was needed of him. Sometimes people needed a hero, be they real, fictional, willing, or unwilling.

The Spartan walked down a set of stairs to pass under a pillbox that spanned over the top of the trench and was partially buried to hide it from Covenant air strikes. Inside the pillbox was an M68 Gauss Cannon along with two M247H Heavy Machine Guns, capable of being manned by just four marines; Two for the M247s, and two for the M68. There were several dozen just like it in the outer defense ring of Firebase Romeo.

Firebase Romeo may have been called a Firebase, but it was more like a fortress. Three rings of trenches with a dozen pillboxes each, artillery batteries between those trenches in concealment holes, several dozen M79 Multiple Launch Rocket Systems mounted on the base walls, countless heavy machine guns, ten M808C Scorpion Main Battle Tanks, a dozen M12 LRVs, the list went on.

Making a turn down another trench, John made for the main section of the Firebase, only to stop. His instincts started screaming at him.

Something’s wrong

Somethi—

“Incoming!”

The trenches sprang to life, Marines diving for cover, looking out for incoming fire, dragging comrades to safety.

John’s eyes immediately found the barrage of incoming plasma bombs, and subsequently deduced where they had come from.

A nearby ridge line with heavy foliage concealed the dozen or so Wraith tanks that had fired the barrage, and he could already see readying a second barrage. He blinked into his HUD and connected to the comm channel the artillery crews used to communicate.

“Romeo Battery Command, Sierra-117. Eyes on hostile armor. Request One Round, followed by Battery Fire For Effect at following coordinates.” The Spartan blinked again and transmitted said coordinates to the Battery Commander.

“Confirmed Sierra, standby.”

A pause. Then a single boom.

“Shot! Over.”

A few seconds.

“Splash! Over.”

The Wraith rounds finally landed as he saw the single artillery shell land in exactly the right place. Crouching down against the trench wall just to be safe as dirt and residual plasma washed over him, he spoke again. “Splash confirmed. Fire For Effect.”

“Understood, Firing For Effect!” And a second later, deafening booms started echoing over the trenches as Romeo Battery opened up with everything it had. John saw fire erupt over the Wraith line followed by a second plasma barrage before several explosions in the tree line as the line of Wraiths went up in purple flames.

Blinking into the open-comm frequency, John caught the next major problem.

“Pillbox 17, hostile infantry in sight, north-by-northwest. Contact. Contact.” Followed by the sound of both heavy machine guns in the pillbox opening up.

From closer to him, John heard Private Rosen scream. “Here they come!”

As he quickly made his way back to the outer trench, John reconnected to the Artilerry Frequency and examined the open field the UNSC Corps of Engineers had created when constructing Firebase Romeo that the Covenant were now crossing. Open, muddy ground with little to no cover. Hundreds upon hundreds of Covenant infantry and vehicles charging across No Man’s Land.

“Battery Command, Sierra. Recommend adjust firing position by twelve degrees East.”

“Understood Sierra, adjusting. Keep your heads down.”

Shells started flying overhead leaving trails of fire in the sky, slamming into the Covenant lines.

John shouldered his MA5B and added his own fire to the roaring staccato.

No shots missed. Two Grunts. An Elite. Even a Brute.

He heard the anti-air cannons on the base walls open up, followed by the sound of Banshee engines screaming. “Strafing run!”

John dozen to the ground as his shields started draining from high-power plasma strikes. As he stood up, he watched a pillbox detonate in a ball of green fire as a Fuel Rod blast detonated the M68’s power cell.

The Master Chief spotted Private Rosen staring in fear at the fireball approaching and then turning to run.

He’s not gonna make it.

The Spartan launched himself down the trench and grabbed Rosen’s wrist, flinging him into one of the dugouts and covering the entrance with his own body to protect the other marines inside.

His shields shattered. Heat washed over him. He heard a grunt of pain escaped his lips as small bouts of flame slipped past, but nothing more. When the flames passed, he moved away without another word and returned to the firing step.

“Master Chief, we just received an E-BAND transmission from a Ranger unit on a nearby hill-“

And then leaped out of the trench as he spotted a Brute Chopper zipping towards him. He sprinted towards the vehicle, sidestepped the spikes it shot at him, then grabbed the Brute in the driver’s seat as it drove by. He tore it from its seat and took its place.

“-assist if you can.”

“Mayday! Kilo 279, I’m hit!”

“-Delta Two Bravo, Mine Strike!”

John spotted the flaming Pelican descending through the clouds, and knew he had a decision to make.

Kilo 279...

or the Rangers.

Not enough time.

John revved his engine as Kilo 279 slammed cockpit-first into the dirt, running over Covenant troops in the process. He depressed the triggers on the handles and mowed down more. Then he spotted the Locust.

Pulling a grenade from his belt, he primed the detonator and shoved it into the wheel-well before leaking into the air and pulling backflip as the Chopper slammed into one of the Locust’s legs and detonated, destroying the siege-platform.

John landed at a kneel with one fist on the ground and tilted his visor upwards.

“The Demon-!”

Spartan Time kicked in.

His MA5B practically teleported into his hands.

Body after body dropped to the dirt.

The Spartan shot forward and grabbed a Jackal by the throat, throwing it at a pair of Sangheili that were charging him in slow motion. As the Jackal took flight, John whirled and emptied and entire magazine into a Brute, then tossed his rifle onto his mag-clamps on his back.

No time to reload.

Magnum in his hand without even realizing, he downed three Jackals and a pair of Sangheili with one mag.

As time sped up again, he became aware of a shout from behind him.

“Cover the Chief!”

He didn’t have to look behind him to hear the dozens of marines and the crew of Kilo-279 rallying behind him.

Then engines screaming. Shouts of joy.

“Hell yeah! Air support!”

John looked up as a flight of B-65 Shortswords swooped low over the valley and dropped napalm on the Covenant advance. A second flight focused on the Covenant armor, dropping Mark 208 High-Yield Gravity Buster bombs.

And then nearly all of them exploded.

Covenant point defense weapons had shot them down. A Covenant frigate lowered through the clouds, and John tensed. Not even he could deal with that. Not from the ground.

“Sierra-117, Vindication-Actual. Standby for MAC strike.”

—————

So, this is a thing. I don’t know what it is but I like it.

See if you can spot the movie references I dropped in here!

Also, @ladywolvesbayne , I think you might like this one because of how badass John is.

And you asked to be provided with this, @cloakedinfall !

#Halo Military Appreciation #UNSC Marine Corps #UNSC Navy #UNSC Air Force #UNSC Army #ODSTs #John-117

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highandlowculture · 4 years

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MEET THE NEW WEST, SAME AS THE OLD WEST

In the second act of Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood, washed-up actor Rick Dalton is on the set of a TV western as his stuntman and best buddy, Cliff Booth is revisiting Spahn Ranch, a former set for movie westerns. The ranch has been taken over by a bunch of hippies who follow some guy name “Charlie”. The heavy of the hippies is a fella by the name of Tex Watson. When conflict arises between Cliff and the hippies, one of the girls runs off to fetch Tex, who’s busy showing a tourist couple around the ranch. Hearing that there’s trouble brewing, Tex snaps to it, galloping across the western landscape on horseback and wearing a black hat. It’s a sweeping shot straight out of a John Ford film. That’s when it clicked for me…

Tarantino has made his third western.

Although there were always spaghetti western elements in his films (especially in Kill Bill vol. 2), QT hadn’t made a full-fledged western until 2012’s Django Unchained. Though entertaining and with an African-American lead, the film is his most straight-forward movie. We know who the heroes are, we know who the villains are. Wrongs are righted with a six-shooter and a hero’s grin. Its followup was another western, 2015‘s The Hateful Eight, a much darker and far less heroic film. All of the characters are flawed if not outrightly fucked-up. If Django Unchained was the sumptuously shot crowd pleaser, The Hateful Eight was the claustrophobic, nihilistic reversal. The western myth of heroes and villains is subverted by an unsavory group of characters who drag each other through snow, blood and racial slurs. Maybe the Old West was a pretty rough place to live in after all!

And now, in 2019, QT transports us to another Old West: 1969 Hollywood.

Fifty years ago. Half a century. Pretty old, right?

Already contentious with reviewers, one of the main debates surrounding Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood is its handling of Sharon Tate and the Manson Family. In the summer of ’69, when Tate, her unborn baby and her houseguests were brutally murdered by three members of the Manson Family, it sent shockwaves throughout Hollywood and America. The utopian dream of the 1960s was over. That’s the sanitized, less complicated history anyway. At the time many people were blaming satanism and Tate’s husband Roman Polanski for his hedonistic ways. Plus anyone deep in the trenches of late 60s hipdom knew that some of the peace-and-love spouting Flower Children might be psychopaths that could turn on a dime. Such darkness was foreshadowed in the music of The Doors and Velvet Underground. As Joan Didion recalled in her seminal work The White Album:

“Black masses were imagined, and bad trips blamed. I remembered all of the day’s misinformation very clearly, and I also remember this, and wish I did not: I remember that no one was surprised.”

Knowing this I find it disappointing just how many reviewers fail to see how sympathetic QT is to Sharon and her friends. They’re shown as cool people with a good vibe (only Roman is shown to be prickish when he speaks rudely to a dog). Sharon and Jay Sebring like to listen to records and enjoy life. No satanism. No orgies. And Sharon’s a generous person. She picks up hippie hitchhikers and buys her husband a Thomas Hardy novel. She relishes the communal experience of watching herself in the Dean Martin film The Wrecking Crew. It’s not just about her. She’s enjoying the connection she’s making with the theater’s audience. On the infamous August night, the film’s narrator talks about how Sharon, in the late stage of her pregnancy, was feeling hot and anxious. In short, Sharon is humanized. She’s a thoughtful, spirited and benevolent presence throughout the film. I think reviewers who view her just as “a Barbie doll” are revealing more of their own lack of empathy than QT’s. And people getting hung-up on how many lines her character speaks have some skewed priorities. As if the only way a person has worth is if they talk a lot. Talking. Talking. Talking. There are so many empty vessels running at the mouth these days. Social media voices bombard us constantly. There’s something to be said for some quiet dignity every once in awhile. Regardless, Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood isn’t Sharon’s film and it’s not a biopic. It’s Rick and Cliff’s film and it’s a western.

If comedy is “tragedy plus time”, then the same can be said for any work of art. The mythology of the Old West often mixed historical and fictional characters. Whether they were Billy The Kid, Wyatt Earp or Butch Cassidy, we’ve seen countless retellings of their exploits, never exactly the same, never entirely accurate. That’s what makes it a myth. A good portion is made-up. Going back to Homeric and Arthurian legends, the foundation of storytelling has always been a collision of fact and fiction, chronicle and embellishment. People make too much of QT altering historic events. Are the Nazis of Inglourious Basterds and the Manson Family of Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood any different than any other mythical villains of earlier works of art? If a filmmaker can’t riff on a fifty-year-old historical event, then what are we really doing here? Do we just want the cinema of Marvel Comics and discreet biopics? QT doesn’t treat history any different than the filmmakers of the 1960s treated the events of the 1860s. Tex Watson, galloping away in his black hat, is a signpost for this. It’s QT’s way of saying: “Every time has its myths, every time has its black hats and white hats”. And the Manson Family, filled with bloodlust and megalomania from the top down, fulfill the role of black-hatted villains quite perfectly.

Does this make Rick and Cliff, two middle-aged white guys who love booze and hate hippies, our white-hatted heroes? Hell, no. With the exception of Django Unchained, that was never QT’s bag. He’s all about the anti heroes of spaghetti westerns and Sam Peckinpah films. Men who have done plenty of bad, sometimes unspeakable, things. They’re only the hero because they wrestle with their past and because there’s always a meaner, badder fella waiting to shoot it out with ‘em. Clint Eastwood’s character in the The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is only “Good” because Lee Van Cleef is so clearly “Bad” (and Eli Wallach “Ugly”). In 1992’s The Unforgiven, Eastwood’s character talks of killing “women and children” in his past. Yet he’s still clearly our hero. The Old West is a morally complex time in which one’s heroism is often defined by a greater and competing villainy.

So when it’s revealed that Cliff possibly murdered his wife and got away with it, he’s stepping into the role of anti hero with a dark past. Is Cliff haunted by his past? Not seemingly. He’s more inclined to shrug it off with a smirk and swig of beer. Shit happens y’know. This makes him exactly the type of guy murderous hippies shouldn’t fuck with. They justify their bloodlust with a self-serving philosophical bent: Entertainers taught them to kill via TV and movies, so it’s okay to kill the people who are involved in making TV and movies. QT makes the bold and provocative choice to not confirm whether Cliff did or didn’t kill his wife, but if he did, he probably wouldn’t dress it up as anything other than a burst of brutish violence that he was lucky to get away with. He loves his dog though, and he’s a good friend. In real life that might not justify liking the guy, but in a western that’s usually enough. Ultimately these character choices made by QT are to set up a mythic showdown between Cliff and the Manson Family. He’s good because they’re bad. It’s the same reason Cliff was shown going head-to-head with Bruce Lee. Masked racism by QT, a known lover of Asian and martial arts films, or a way of building up Cliff’s status to mythical proportions? There was once this ex war hero, who became a stuntman and maybe killed his wife, and he once threw Bruce Lee into a car door on the set of The Green Hornet! Cliff is Paul Bunyan. He’s Bill Brasky. A folk hero for stuntmen and for his time.

And did you hear that one tale about Cliff and the Manson Family…?

Rick’s bread and butter is now guest-starring on various TV shows in which he plays the heavy and gets his ass kicked by the show’s star at the end of the episode. Rick is a boozy, bloated hot mess of a man who’s prone to crying. A lot. His first burst of tears in the film is at the Musso & Frank parking lot, after an agent gives Rick a harsh dose of reality regarding the state of his career. Cliff, always keeping his cool, gives Rick his sunglasses and says, “Don’t cry in front of the Mexicans.” Remember — this is a western. Anyway, if Cliff fills the role of macho, gives no fucks, murderous outlaw, Rick is the contrasting “modern man” or, to use a western term, “tenderfoot”. The film begins with a behind the scenes segment for Rick’s old show Bounty Law. In it an interviewer talks to Rick and Cliff about what a stuntman does. During the interview there’s a quip about Cliff carrying Rick’s load. So right out of the gate, QT brings our attention to the idea that Cliff is the real deal and Rick’s the actor playing a role. This notion is repeated throughout the film (even one of the Manson Girls, “Pussy”, makes reference to Cliff being more authentic because he’s a stuntman rather than an actor). Regardless of whether Cliff murdered his wife or not, he’s an ex military man and war hero, so obviously he’s killed people before. So in addition to taking falls and performing dangerous stunts for Rick, he’s more of a bona fide western anti hero than Rick ever could be. Fittingly, while Cliff and the Manson Family black hats are sizing each other up at Spahn Ranch, Rick is busy acting in a TV western. And Rick keeps crying. A lot. He even cries in front of a little girl who simultaneously coddles and reprimands him. No doubt, Cliff would view this as potentially worse than crying in front of Mexicans. But Rick can’t help himself. He’s both a man of his time and out of time. He can’t roll with the hippies and spaghetti westerns but he’d never last a day in Cliff’s shoes let alone the wild frontier. Even at the end, in which Rick finally gets the chance to become an avenging hero (involving possibly the greatest payoff in cinematic history) if one steps back and thinks of the climactic set-piece, Rick is merely stepping in at the end to grab all the glory after Cliff and his wonderful dog Brandy did most of the heavy lifting. Thus Cliff is yet again carrying Rick’s load.

But this doesn’t mean Rick doesn’t have a victory. He does. It just comes at the midpoint, and it’s the closest thing to a real-life victory in the film. When Rick shows up to play the heavy in the TV western, he’s reached his low-point. Like a different part of the anatomy going into ice-water in Raging Bull, Rick is submerging his face into ice-water in his trailer, struggling with a hangover and hopelessness. Making matters worse, the artsy director shows up and tells Rick he wants him to play a hippie-style outlaw with a fringe jacket, mustache and long hair. The only thing Rick does more than drink and cry is insult hippies. He’s living his worst nightmare as an actor. QT makes another one of his most interesting choices by showing the subsequent scenes from the TV show in the same film stock and style as the main narrative. Thus when juxtaposed to Cliff at Spahn Ranch, Rick’s battle with his growing irrelevance as an actor is given the same cinematic weight. This isn’t just a TV show within the movie — it is the movie! This battle or showdown is just as important as Cliff’s eventual showdown with the Manson Family. Rick struggles. He fucks up his lines. He comes totally unglued in his trailer. This looks like the end of the road for him as an actor. He eventually gets his shit together, embraces the role and goes for broke. It’s a credit to both QT as a filmmaker and Leo DiCaprio as an actor that the villain Rick plays in the TV show ends up being more intense and visceral than the one he played in the main narrative of Django Unchained. Rick’s chops as an actor are restored and he decides to go to Italy and star in spaghetti westerns. He learns to maximize his talent in order to roll with the times.

A protagonist who is at odds with changing times might seem regressive or even reactionary to some people today, but it’s also a hallmark of westerns, especially the westerns of the late 1960s and early 1970s. From Once Upon a Time in the West to Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, an impending future of railroads and industrialization is always treated with uneasiness by the heroes. These changing times aren’t going to include them. Their wild and free ways will soon come to an end. Nowhere is this theme most prominent than in the work of Sam Peckinpah. In many of his westerns, The Wild Bunch, The Ballad of Cable Hogue, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, the heroes are viewed as endangered creatures who are all too aware of their fate. The character of Cable Hogue even meets his end when a motor car rolls over him. He’s killed by the modern age! Another Peckinpah film from this era, Junior Bonner, is set in 1972 Arizona but can also be considered a western (creating a template for QT’s western that’s not set in the canonical “Old West”). The protagonist and title character is an aging rodeo star (brilliantly played by Steve McQueen, who perhaps not so coincidentally also appears in QT’s film). In Peckinpah’s film, Junior has lost his edge and returns home to take a breather and maybe get his chops back. His struggle is not unlike Rick Dalton’s. They’re both aging entertainers and they both fear they’re washed-up. And as with all of Peckinpah’s westerns, encroaching progress is a threat to Junior’s simple cowboy ways. All of these above mentioned westerns are filled with a bittersweet quality; a nostalgic snapshot that’s destined to become yellow and brittle. The power of myths is they suggest immortality for our heroes.They might be long gone but they live through these tales. Whether’s it’s the Old West of outlaws in dusty little towns or the Old West of ’69 Hollywood, people once lived in these places and they lived vibrant, foolhardy and sometimes dangerous lives. Maybe they didn’t live or die exactly as the tale accounts, but they did indeed live and they did indeed die.

In his film QT references another “man out of time” western: The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean. Written by John Milius, directed by John Huston and starring Paul Newman, the film is a highly-fictionalized account of the life of Judge Roy Bean. At the climax an elderly Roy Bean reemerges from a self-imposed exile to have a showdown with businessmen who have surrounded his beloved town with oil rigs. When his enemies ask who he is, Roy Bean shouts “Justice, you sons of bitches!” This is immediately followed by a shootout in which Roy defeats his foes, blows up the surrounding oil rigs and goes out in a blaze of glory. In real life Roy Bean died in his bed after a heavy bout of drinking. What’s most interesting is how QT referenced The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean. After the climax of Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood there’s a triumphant but wistful epilogue in which one of our heroes is faced with a future that we all know is a fantasy. Over this scene is an evocative piece of music that sounds like it’s from a fairytale and it plays over the end credits. The piece of music is entitled “Miss Lillie Langtry” and it’s the main theme from The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean. Lillie Langtry was a British-American socialite Roy Bean was enamored with and he even went so far to name the saloon in his town after her. “Miss Lille Langtry” plays over the end credits of Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood and the opening credits of The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean. But before the credits in Roy Bean we see written in storybook fashion:

“Near the turn of the last century the Pecos River marked the boundaries of civilization in western Texas. West of the Pecos there was no law, no order, and only bad men and rattlesnakes lived there.

…Maybe this isn’t the way it was… it’s the way it should be.”

With Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood, Quentin Tarantino pays homage to a socialite/actress who was tragically murdered before her time and two endangered heroes—one an outlaw stuntman, the other an entertainer—neither of who existed but men like them did. For two hours and forty-five minutes, the onward march of tragedy and time is defeated through a spirited, Old West mix of bravado and audacity. Maybe it’s not the way it was…

But it’s the way it should be.

#Quentin Tarantino #Once Upon A Time In Hollywood #western #hollywood

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therealeagal · 3 years

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JoaPhoJo Part 2

JoaPhoJo. Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker.

Picture of a man: White. Heterosexual. Middle-aged. Probably votes Republican.

Eternally oppressed by a society full of yuppie douchebags and ignored by stupid females who can’t recognize that he’s an alpha male in a world of beta cucks.

The film chronicles his downward slide into insanity as only Hollywood can: By portraying him as a tragic hero who’s fully justified in all his actions.

I finally sold out and rented Joker starring Joaquin Phoenix and I can say without fear of contradiction from anyone whose opinion isn’t wrong that Jared Leto was a better Joker.

And cue the angry flood of comments denouncing me as the worst person who has ever lived. Not just for suggestion that Joaquin Phoenix isn’t the literal definition of sex, but also for suggesting that Jared Leto isn’t the worst thing that has ever existed because literally the Nazis were better than Leto.

I’m not here to say that Jared Leto has the last word on Joker of all the character’s actors in times past, present and future. I liked him, but was he the best? Not even a little. Gun to my head I’d pick...whatshisface. The guy from Under The Red Hood. I had his name just a second ago...was it John DiMaggio? Anyway, he’s my favorite Joker at this present moment in time. Either him or whoever did Joker in Arkham Origins. It varies.

Being 100% honest, I like Phoenix’s costume better than Leto’s. But a character’s...well, character will always trump a character’s costume, however faithful it may - or may not in the case of Leto - be to the source material.

But I will say that at least Jared Leto understood something about Joker that Joaquin Phoenix clearly doesn’t:

The Joker is a bad person, and neither Suicide Squad nor Zack Snyder ever makes any attempt to portray him as anything other than a monster (notwithstanding Harley’s rose-tinted fascination with him, which regardless ended in Birds of Prey).

Well, ok, I’m just guessing for the Snyder cut, since I haven’t watched it. If someone can confirm that Snyderker...Snoker? Snyder’s Joker has become a paragon of society that donates his time to combination orphanage/puppy stores in the Justice League Snyder cut feel free to correct me.

Point is, the Joker is not a victim lashing out in righteous vengeance against his bullies. He does not live in a society.

And don’t @ me with The Killing Joke because the difference between TKJ and JoaPhoJo is that The Killing Joke didn’t portray Joker as correct in his arguments.

I’ve heard it before and it wasn’t funny the first time.

Alan Moore is a douchebag of titanic proportions, and DC Comics really needs to stop fellating him, but the man’s got more talent in his pinky finger than everyone who made JoaPhoJo put together, and he knows the difference between a villain and a roguish anti-hero, and he knows which one the Joker is. And spoiler alert, it ain’t the second one.

Contrast JoaPhoJo, which is a story about how disaffected white men are perpetual victims constantly bullied and downtrodden by “society” and how we should feel sorry for them because they’re the true victims and why can’t you Liberal shills recognize that they are the pinnacle of humanity?

There aren’t enough eyes to roll in the universe.

I simply cannot conceive of how this movie ever won any award not given out by the Klan. Screen it at a Trump convention if you want to win points with those it was meant to lionize.

In closing, if you don’t agree - if you, in fact, consider JoaPhoJo to be the greatest movie ever made and you fall asleep masturbating to it every night - you are of course entitled to your opinion, but I don’t want to hear it, so find someone else to whinge at and also find a bridge to jump off of. Preferably a low bridge, so you don’t get seriously injured when you reach the bottom.

Please and thank you.

P.S. I was almost unable to use that masturbation joke. I know it’s a repeat, but I thought it merited seconds. I just couldn’t find a good place to put it but I was able to find a good spot in the end (that’s what she said! Hey-o!)

Only the most logical and mature of discourse here on The Real Eagal’s blog. At least I’m polite. You’re welcome.

#joker #joaphojo #the joker #Joaquin Phoenix #jared leto #snyder cut #zack snyder's justice league #Suicide Squad #the killing joke #alan moore

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talatomaz · 4 years

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way back home pt.i | arrowverse x lance!reader

a/n: this takes place during crisis part 3. i wasn’t sure if I should put all of crisis in one fic but it ended up being too long and i was missing details so i decided to split it into parts

warnings: mentions of death/self harm

word count: 3k

masterlist | request list | request rules

pt.i | pt.ii

reader is a lance!sister, aka baby lance, (it’s a thing, fight me) with the powers of telekinesis, and after e1 laurel’s death, cisco helped her escape to earth 666. she was living a better life with her girlfriend, maze, until her sister showed up on her doorstep spouting her “end of the world” spiel. apparently, you were one of eight paragons and without you, the multiverse would be destroyed...

i do not give you permission to repost or translate my fics on any platform - likes/reblogs are okay and are much appreciated

“Okay, so he was killed by his wife?” You asked, sitting on the edge of the Detective’s desk.

“Mmhmm, and his mistress.” Chloe added.

“God, it’s a classic Diabolique situation.”

You both turned to face the forensic scientist who seemed lost in her own thoughts.

“What?” Ella shrugged her shoulders in confusion causing you and Chloe to laugh.

You momentarily detached from the laughter, now lost in your own thoughts.

It was only natural that you had taken a job in law enforcement after Cisco had dropped you off on this Earth. I mean, your father was a police captain after all and your sister, god rest her soul, was a lawyer.

You supposed it allowed you to feel closer to them even when you were on a different Earth. Maybe that’s why you felt closer to them. You didn’t have to deal with all the pain and sorrow of their deaths that you had back home, but instead, could remember them for who they were and what they, more specifically, Laurel, always wanted.

To save the world.

Focusing back on the conversation, you and your friends’ heads swivelled to the sound of heels clacking against the marble floor. Maze, you assumed. Your girlfriend was quite the bounty hunter, you thought proudly to yourself.

“Ladies, nice to see you. Ah, Maze and...oh, hello, who is this?”

The three of you stood up when Lucifer, the Devil himself, joined you as Maze neared Chloe’s desk, a person with long hair shielding their face, locked in her grasp.

Searching her face, you realised fury filled her eyes, mixed with...a fierce protectiveness?

“Maze, baby, what’s wrong?” You asked, worried at her behaviour. Maze was almost always angry but never with this intensity.

“This human was searching for you.”

All of your gazes fell to look at the individual whose head was gripped in the arms of the infamous demon.

You squinted your eyes, trying to place the person and then your eyes widened with recognition. You only knew one person with hair that long.

“Cisco?” You questioned, bending down so you were face level with the person.

Your assumption was confirmed when the former lifted his head up and his hair fell to his shoulders, revealing his face.

“Hey, Baby Lance!” He said cheerfully despite being stuck in a vice-like grip. Yep, definitely Cisco.

“Oh My-Maze, let him go.”

Stopping yourself before name-dropping the deity, you pried your girlfriend’s arms from your friend’s body and pulled him into your arms.

“What the fuck are you doing here, Ramon?”

You laughed in shock as you hugged him tightly, having not seen him for almost 3 years.

“We were looking for you, Baby Lance.”

“We?” You and your group of friends replied simultaneously.

As if on cue, another familiar figure appeared behind Maze, calling out the meta-human’s name.

“Cisco, I told you not to run off. Especially when we’re on a diff-Oh, hi.”

She stopped abruptly when she noticed the former, you and your friends gathered at the desk.

You raised your eyebrows in question at the female, having only known her for a few months after you came back to your Earth to be with your family as you grieved on the year anniversary of Laurel’s death.

“Dinah?”

Removing yourself from Cisco’s arms, you walked up to the vigilante and stared at her and then looked back at Cisco. There was only one reason why the two of them were here together, and it wasn’t for a cute reunion.

“You both need to tell me what you’re doing here right now.”

Cisco had a pained look on his face which Dinah seemed to reciprocate. Your head flew back and forth between the two as your frustration grew.

“Guys!” You shouted, causing everyone to jump.

“We need your help, Baby Lance.” Cisco replied.

“Yeah, it’s, um, bad, y/n.” Dinah continued.

Your heart fell into your stomach as your mind ran through the worst possible scenarios. Your father and sister were already dead. Your mother was gone. That left...

“Oh, God. Is it Sara?”

You ignored the curse that fell from Lucifer’s lips after Chloe hit him when he was about to interrupt for you mentioning his father.

The meta-human duo remained silent causing you to repeat your question, eyes filling with tears.

“No, I’m okay, kid.”

At this, you looked over your shoulder. nearly collapsing with relief at what you saw. Standing in the centre of the police station was your sister, seemingly unharmed.

You ran up to her and practically launched into her arms, “Oh, I’m so glad you’re okay. I couldn’t deal with losing you too.”

“Hey, I’m okay, sweetie.” Your sister reassured you, speaking with the soothing tone she often used when you were a child.

Recomposing yourself, the two of you approached the ever-expanding group and Sara glanced at your friends before returning her attention to you, Dinah and Cisco.

“Cisco, I told you to not run off. Dinah, I told you to watch him. Y/N, we need your help.”

“I’m sorry, but who are you?” Chloe interrupted for the first time.

“Uh, I think we should take this somewhere private.” You responded.

***

At the insistence of Lucifer, you all, with the exception of Ella, went to Lux as it would be empty due to it being mid afternoon.

Upon arriving, the seven of you gathered by the bar with Maze pouring you all a drink.

“Per your request, we’re somewhere private but why are they here?” Dinah asked, nodding in the direction of Lucifer, Chloe and Maze.

“Let’s just say they are very understanding. Okay, so what is it?”

“We have a crisis.” Sara began.

“Yeah, on infinite Earths.” Cisco added.

“Wait, did you say infinite Earths?” Chloe interrupted.

Sighing deeply, you looked at your sister, “Okay, before you explain the reason for your presence here, I’m just gonna give them the rundown.”

You faced your Earth 666 friends and continued to talk,

“Long story short, we live in a multiverse with several Earths. I’m from Earth 1, this is my sister, and my friends. We’re, what we call, meta-humans. Meaning we all have powers. I can move things with my mind/hands.”

“Cisco can create portals to anywhere, including here. Dinah has a canary cry which is essentially a high-frequency scream that kills. Sara doesn’t have powers but she’s an assassin, technically died twice but was resurrected and now travels through time with another group of heroes called Legends.”

You inhaled a breath and watched as everyone’s faces dropped. Sara, Cisco and Dinah’s due to you revealing sensitive information. Maze, Chloe and Lucifer’s due to your wild explanation.

“Y/N!”

“What?” You shrugged at your sister chastising you.

“Why would they understand? They’re normal people.”

At this, the Earth 666 trio burst out laughing so you explained to your family their situation,

“These guys understand. Lucifer is the Devil. Literally. God is his father. Maze is Mazikeen aka a child of Lilith. And Chloe is, well, basically an angel.”

“So I think we’re good now. Sara, if you can now get to the point.” You said, diminishing all attempts at questioning from everyone in the room.

“Anyways, as Cisco said, there’s a Crisis on Infinite Earths. A anti-matter wave is destroying all Earths. It’s destroyed so many already, including Earth 2 and Earth 38, Supergirl’s Earth.”

You then listened as she explained all about the Monitor, Lyla and everyone’s hunt for the eight paragons, who were essentially the world’s greatest heroes. Dinah then notified you of the identities of all the paragons before stopping at the Paragon of Strength.

“Y/N. It’s you. You’re the Paragon of Strength.”

“What? No, Sara. You’ve got it wrong. I’m not a hero.”

You stumbled over your words, desperately failing at hiding your shock, eyes then widening at the slim box that the former pulled out of her jacket.

“Is that-”

“Yes.” Sara simply replied.

“No, I-I can’t. You know I can’t, Sara. I can’t be here right now.”

You downed what little alcohol you had left in your glass, welcoming the burn, and jumped off the bar stool you were currently sitting on.

You pushed past your sister, walking away before stopping at the call of your name.

“Ollie’s dead.” She said, her soft tone returning.

You looked back at her and knew her words to be true as tears filled the trio’s eyes.

“What?” Your voice broke with that one word.

“He’s gone. And we need your help to stop anyone else from dying.”

Making your way back to the group, you took the box from your sister’s hands and opened it to reveal the contents. Inside was a small, sleek black mask. The one that your sister donned when she took over Sara’s mantle as the Black Canary.

“Y/N, you have to come with us. You know Laurel wanted her legacy to continue.”

“It is! With Dinah, not with me! I’m not worthy of this. I’m not the Black Canary. I’m no one.”

BANG

Everyone’s heads turned to face the back entrance of the club where the sound originated from. Sara wielded one of her knives as did Maze. Whilst you and Cisco raised your hands in defense and Chloe aimed her gun.

The doors busted open to reveal three familiar faces. One of whom was recognised by Lucifer.

“John?” You, Sara and Lucifer shouted in confusion.

“Well, if it isn’t Constantine.” Lucifer said, purposely mispronouncing the demonologist’s name resulting in the former correcting him.

“John, what are you doing here? With Diggle and Mia, no less.” Sara asked, and you remembered that John was now a member of the Legends.

“I reassured you, Sara, that I would do whatever it takes to get Oliver’s soul back. Oh, Baby Lance, I haven’t seen you for a very long time. How you been, gorgeous?”

Maze practically growled in jealousy, pushing you behind her.

“Wait...”

Your eyes flickered between Sara, Lucifer and John and then frowned at the latter’s words. When you realised what they had done and were planning to do, you felt fury rise through your body.

“Sara, tell me you didn’t.” You asked hardly but quietly, not trusting your voice to remain calm if you spoke any louder.

Everyone suddenly felt the tension in the air and remained silent, scared that any interruption would cause you to snap.

“Sara, tell me you didn’t.” You enunciated each word, hands curling into fists at your side.

“Y/N-“

“No!”

Sara’s mouth immediately closed and whatever words she was about to say fell short.

“You’re telling me that you can use the Lazarus pit to save Thea. To save you. And now, to save Ollie. But, you cannot use it to save Laurel. Your own sister.” You said calmly, too calm.

You were trying your damnedest not to shout but the thin thread you had on your control broke when the former tried to defend herself.

“Are you fucking kidding me, Sara?!”

You extended your hand, stopping your sister from closing any further distance between the two of you. She struggled against you as you used your powers to restrict her movements.

“Y/N, stop it!”

Relenting on your intensity, you allowed her to stumble forward.

“Look, I’m sorry about that. But I’m not here for Oliver. I’m here for you.”

“Why? Because you need me?” You sneered.

“Yes, you’re one of eight people who can save the multiverse.”

“What? A paragon? Sara, I’m not the paragon of anything. Least of all, strength.”

When the former assassin tried to argue, you continued to speak, “Sara, you know I almost killed myself after you died?”

“Yeah, and Laurel saved you.” Sara answered, tears forming in her eyes at the painful memory.

“Right. But what you don’t know, is that I did the same thing after Laurel was murdered by Darhk.”

“Y/N.” Sara’s voice broke as she murmured your name, Maze doing the same.

“Yeah, and this time, Felicity saved me. I mean, I begged her not to. But she did. And here I am. So don’t you come here and tell me that I’m a Paragon of Strength when I am weak.”

You looked up at Mia, John and Diggle who were watching you in shock and returned your gaze to your sister.

“Laurel was my vice, the one person I had through everything. After she was gone, I didn’t want to live.”

You paused for a moment before adding, “Laurel may have brought you back, but as far as I’m concerned, you were dead the day the Gambit went down.”

Your words cut threw Sara like a hot knife through butter which ultimately left her reeling from the hurt she had caused. You then walked away, ignoring everyone’s shouts, using your powers to prevent them from chasing after you.

***

Slamming the door closed, you dropped your keys on the table and stormed into your living room. Tears streaming down your face, you grabbed one of your throw pillows and screamed into it.

Why? Why did this have to happen?

You were perfectly happy living your new life here but now you knew that you would never get that back. Even if you helped end the Crisis, the fact would remain that you had revealed your true nature to your family here.

Around 3 months into your relationship with Maze, she had sat you down and told you who she really was. Of course, you had doubts that she was telling the truth but you ended up believing her because what else could you do? Your life on Earth 1 was unique, why did you expect Earth 666 to be any different?

You had never told your Earth 666 family about your powers though. The perfect opportunity would have been when Maze told you who she was but you chickened out. You were weak. You knew you wouldn’t be able to deal with the rejection. Because you would have been alone again. And being alone sucked.

You wiped the tears that had fallen down your face and let your mind roam. You knew in your heart that Sara was right except you didn’t want that burden. But you didn’t want to be a martyr either. You knew you’d suck it up and be the Paragon that the world needed you to be.

But that didn’t mean you agreed with Sara’s choices.

How could you?

She was willing to save an ex-boyfriend but not her sister. If Laurel were here, you knew she’d probably agree with Sara. She was always putting everyone else first. And by doing so, she got herself killed. All because she put on that stupid mask.

And now, Sara was telling you that you had to wear your dead sister’s mask, the one she was murdered in, no less, in order to save the world? That was insanity.

Your train of thought broke when you heard the door click open. You looked up at the doorframe and saw your girlfriend standing there, staring at you. Behind her, your sister emerged, her face wet with tears.

Maze raised her scarred brow in question, silently asking if you were okay. You nodded lightly so your girlfriend gave you a gentle smile before leaving you alone with your sister.

When she left, Sara walked into the room and gestured to the empty space beside you and when you nodded again, she sat down.

“I’m sorry for what I said.” You said, breaking the uncomfortable silence.

“You were right.” You looked up at your sister in shock and saw fresh tears forming in her eyes.

“I agree with the decision I made because it was the responsible one but it doesn’t mean I didn’t want to save Laurel. Hell, I chased Darhk through time just to kill him but I ultimately realised I couldn’t. Anyways, that’s beside the point. At the end of the day, Laurel was-is-our big sister and she always will be. I’m sorry that she’s gone.”

“I miss her.” You said softly, your voice breaking.

Tears started to spill again and Sara gathered you into her arms. Not having the energy to push her away, instead, you clung to her, sobbing. Sara rocked you gently, her own tears falling. You had never actually grieved together after Laurel died; she had been off with the Legends at the time.

When both of your tears stopped, turning into light sniffles, you pulled away to stare at your sister.

‘I’ll help you, Sara, but I’m not a hero. I’m the furthest thing from it.”

Sara heard her own words ringing in her head from her conversation with Laurel long ago. She had been in your position. She had felt what you felt now. Hell, she still feels like that somedays. But she knew that what she did was for the greater good. And she knew exactly what you needed to hear.

Sara cupped your cheek and rubbed her thumb against your skin and spoke, “I’m not asking you to be a hero. I’m just asking you to help me. To save others in the name of those we couldn’t.”

You leaned into the embrace and allowed her words to take effect. To save others. That was exactly what Laurel would have wanted. It’s what she died wanting to do.

You nodded, “For Laurel.”

“For Laurel.”

Next Part ->

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mail-me-a-snail · 4 years

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House Keys

chase…oh chase i love you so but you’re in for it now. chase brody, the former bro average superstar, comes home for the first time in a year.

part 1 part 2 part 3 Even if Chase Brody had moved out the year prior, he still has the keys to his brothers’ house. He stands now on the crisp, green lawn and swings the key-chain around. He cards a hand through his hair and rubs his eyes—he doesn’t get much sleep these days. Three years before he moved into his brothers’ house, he was sleeping in the back of his car. He’s been conditioned to fall asleep on the hard leather of the car seat, not in his own bed. He didn’t have a bed those weeks. Stacy and him still don’t talk.

He shoots Marvin a text.

hey bro im outside. will come in with the keys. jackie okay? are you all okay? There’s no response. Chase shrugs and tucks his phone into the pocket of his jeans. He’s a little hurt, but it’s fine. It’s Chase’s first visit since he’s moved out. It’s exactly as he remembers it. The lawn is in immaculate condition, with the hedges trimmed neatly and flowers springing up all over the place—Jameson was always in charge of that. He has an eye for lawn care. He takes after Jack. The door and porch are dark mahogany, though it’s washed in orange now as the sun is starting to set. The house itself is painted an egg white. The tiles of the roof are black. Potted plants litter the porch, some new, some old, but all beautiful and trimmed to perfection. No doubt it’s Marvin’s work. The sidewalk he stands on is decorated with faded chalk drawings. Robbie. Of course. Chase is standing on his own face drawn in chalk. It’s a wonderful likeness and Chase can’t help but smile. Robbie even got the faded green in his hair. He steps off. He doesn’t want to ruin a masterpiece. The light in the wide upper story window—Henrik’s room—is off. The doctor’s probably getting his much needed and deserved forty winks. The only light on is in the living room. He takes a deep breath, the kind that pulls his shoulders up like he’s shrugging, and walks towards the door. Anxiety wriggles in his belly. He clutches the keys tightly in his hand—they bite into the skin and leave an impression with their teeth. He remembers the call with Marvin the night before. He had been in his apartment putting together some videos when his phone had rung. Marvin had explained everything to him; finding Jackie bleeding out in the city, teleporting him home, the surgeries…all of it. Jackie was okay, Marvin had assured him, and that he would heal. But the fact that it was…was you-know-who’s work… It hadn’t stop his hands from shaking as soon as he said goodbye and dropped the call nor did it let him breathe. His panic attacks were always bad, but he managed the one he had that night fine. And the one in the bathroom this morning. On the drive here, too. He doesn’t have everything under control yet. Being here again reminds him of all the times you-know-who had been there. He had been there, for Jack and Henrik. It went the same way; a phone call. A panic attack. The fear. Now it’s happening all over again. Why can’t he ever escape the demon? Why can’t any of them? Even a year after…he still looks over his shoulder and tosses and turns at night. When will he stop being afraid? The keys bite into his palm like his old dog had lovingly done. He misses him. Stacy had to take that away from him, too. The sting and the thought of Bulls-eye grounds Chase and he lets go, letting it hang by the key-chain instead. Deep breaths. He slides the key into the lock and turns. The door opens. Chase looks around as he steps into the hall. It’s just the same. The walls are orange. The umbrella stand to the right of the door filled with Marvin’s props, the coat hanger opposite, and the stairs upwards at the very front. To his immediate left is the closed door to Henrik’s makeshift clinic. To his right is the doorway to the living room. There’s a movie on, though Chase can’t identify it as the volume is set way down low. He doesn’t know where to go first as he stands awkwardly in the middle space. “Hello?” He says to the seemingly empty house. “Is anyone home? Marv? Schneep?” “Chase,” His heart skips a beat when he hears the raspy call from the living room, but he brightens when he recognizes the voice. “In here.” Chase has to stop himself from running into the living room. Brown couch, flat screen TV (playing Die Hard, of course), wide windows, and white curtains that blow softly. The coffee table has coffee mug rings on it and abandoned medical supplies like gauze, cotton balls, and antibiotics. Henrik’s neatly folded coat, too. Jackie sits on the couch in a black t-shirt with the brightly coloured graphic of a cartoon dog on a bicycle. He wears the flamingo shorts to accompany it. It’s the first time Chase has seen the hero out of his supersuit; it almost feels wrong. His hair is the neon green Chase remembers it to be. He’s wearing his mask. The only sign he’s been hurt at all are the bandages around his neck and forehead. He’s hardly watching the movie. He has a big smile on his face, the toothy kind of sunshine Chase missed so much. “Jackie,” he breathes. Chase wants to cry with relief. He settles with hugging Jackie as tightly as he can. “I missed you, Jackie,” he says, muffled as he buries his head into the hero’s chest. “I was so worried about you!” “O-ow, ow,” the other hacks out a laugh and winces, patting Chase’s back. “I missed you, too, bud, but…stab wound.” “Shit, right, sorry.” Chase lets go, albeit reluctantly. “Dude, how are you? It’s, I mean—I’ve never been stabbed before.” “I don’t recommend it,” Jackie grimaces. There’s humour in his voice but he also sounds exhausted. “You get here okay?” “Parked out front,” he says, “Came in with the keys. Still have ‘em.” He holds them up to confirm that. He drops them in his lap. “How’re you holding up?” “This thing—” Jackie pats his stomach, presumably where the wound is. “—is a bitch and a half of pain. The neck thing I can handle. It just hurts to talk.” He coughs. It sounds like shaking a dead bush. “Really hurts.” “Oh, I can do the talking, if you want.” “No, it’s okay, Chase. Marvin did something to me, I think, when I was out. Makes my mouth and throat taste like mint. Pretty soothing, actually. Besides, I haven’t seen you in forever! I want to talk.” How can he be so chipper even after he almost died? Chase doesn’t understand it. He really is a comic book superhero. Always getting back up again. “Aw, it hasn’t been that long,” Chase ducks his head, sheepish, but straightens right away. “Can I ask, though? What…what happened?” The silence is thick with tension. Chase bounces his leg, the sole of his sneaker squeaking against the hardwood floor, and pulls at the rubber bracelet around his right wrist under his hoodie sleeve. He picks at the multicoloured bandages on his fingers and arms. Jackie turns the TV off just as John McClain launches himself through a window. He turns to Chase. Their knees touch. “This is what I remember,” Jackie says, and begins. He had met Anti during one of his day patrols, but it wasn’t the song and dance number they usually did; it was in the back-alleys where no one could see them. Maybe that’s what Anti wanted. Maybe it wasn’t. “Anti had…had said something to me,” he mumbles, “that I’m not the hero I think I am. That all of what we do, this hero versus villain thing, is just a show. I-I don’t know why he’s been pretending this long, or…or what he hopes to gain, but…” Chase watches him closely. Jackie stops, shakes his head, and moves on. That’s how the hero has always been. Hit a wall? Just go around. Forget about the wall and keep going. He remembers the fight—and the pinning stab through the gut. The words Anti whispered into his ear. Chase is trembling with raw anger as he sees the large dark bruise marks wrapped around Jackie’s neck where Anti’s hands had been. “But after that,” he growls in frustration, “I can’t remember anything else. By my wound here, I can guess what finished me off.” He taps his neck. “Everything else is beyond me.” “Fuck him” Chase breathes, voice quivering with fury, “You’re a hero to me, to everyone. To Jack.” Jackie flinches when he hears those words. “I don’t have any powers,” Jackie mutters. “What? Yeah, you do! That—that super strength of yours!” “Anti can manipulate objects,” Jackie shoots back, “Time and space, just like Marvin can. How do I know he hasn’t been doing it for me this whole time?” “I…I don’t know.” The anger evaporates as quickly as it came. “I-I don’t want to talk about this.” Jackie throws his hands up. “Please, Chase, let’s…let’s talk about you, okay? I want to hear about where you’ve been—what you’ve done.” Chase bites his lip, trying to find a way to stop the subject from changing. The one frustrating thing about superheroes? They build walls around them, shutting the people they love out hoping to save them from whatever inner turmoil they’re wrangling with. …Chase isn’t stupid or in denial. Even he can admit the similarities between them. But that’s just it. Chase knows he does it—Jackie doesn’t. He’d rather not push further and get into an argument, spoiling the whole visit, so Chase drops it. It’ll sit in the back of his mind, though. He tells Jackie about the new apartment; it’s spacious and less of a dump than the last one. Modest kitchen, shower instead of a tub. “I miss the tub here,” he says forlornly, gesturing to the stairs. “And my little rubber ducky. Shower’s okay, though.” He earns Jackie’s laugh. The apartment is far into the city, maybe ten blocks away from the alley Marvin had found Jackie in, and just across a coffee shop. Having cleaner, more colorful walls than ugly white granite that popcorned helps a lot to take his mind off more…painful things. He hung up posters, bought a flatscreen, had a whole new gaming rig up for himself—he’s doing okay for himself, he thinks. The therapy, the talking, has brought him out of the hole he was in three years before. He tells him about new friends. Baristas at the coffee shop who’ve recognized him as a regular. YouTube is more fun than anything for him right now. The Bro Average brand was dissolved, but he couldn’t care less. It had been time for a fresh start. His channel is up and running and he’s been invited to panels, talks, and conventions. Some people from AA said they had watched his videos. He tells Jackie about how good it is to just. Work. To produce content for others to consume, to make people happy, but not at the cost of his own happiness. He notices he’s rambling when Jackie says nothing and keeps beaming at him. He falters and lets his words trail off into silence. “What?” Chase says. “I’m so proud of you,” Jackie replies, and the pride is trembling in his voice. “Chase, you’ve gotten so far without us. You’ve got a job, a new house—you’re practically shining!” “You’re…you’re proud of me? You mean it?” Chase feels himself smile, too. “Yes. I’m proud.” Jackie puts a hand on his shoulder. “You’re my bro. You’re the bravest damn person I know and you’ve come out of this so strong, so…it’s…Jack would be proud too.” Chase understands why he starts crying. That’s all he ever wanted. To hear those words come out of Jackie’s mouth. It means he’s done it. He’s gotten better. Maybe not recovered fully, not just yet, but better. Even in his joy, he hates himself for crying because whenever he cries he bawls like a big baby. He buries his face into Jackie’s chest, shoulders shaking. He’s staring at the cartoon dog through blurry, teary eyes. The dog says, in a neon bubble, “RADICAL!” The other rubs his back in soothing circles. “That’s it, buddy,” Jackie whispers, “I’ve got you, bro.” Chase swallows thickly, sniffles, and wipes his face with the back of his hand. Jackie hands him a tissue and he blows. His eyes are stuffy. He looks up into Jackie’s eyes, milky white, hidden behind the film in the mask, but he can tell they’re full of soft, unspoken love. The hero holds his cheek. “Chase Brody Mcloughlin,” Jackie declares, “I, your loving bro, will never stop being proud of you. Don’t forget that.” “Thanks, Jackie,” he sniffs, wiping his eyes. “Thank you. It’s…i-it’s nice to hear that what I’m doing is finally right.” “We’re all proud of you.” Jackie’s hand drops but gives Chase’s shoulder one last firm pat. “S-speaking of,” Chase clears his throat. “Speaking of…where is everyone?” Jackie blanks. “Uh,” he says, unsure. “Good question, actually! No idea. I woke up, like, ten minutes before you came in. I kind of assumed Henrik went to work, and who knows where Marvin is at any given time? JJ and Robbie are out on vacation or something. It’s just Henrik, Marvin, and I.” “Huh,” Chase frowns and stands. “You wait here, Jackie. Henrik can’t have gone to work; he’d never leave you here alone.” “Marvin would be watching over me!” He argues. “This is Marvin we’re talking about!” He shoots back as he leaves the room. He considers going upstairs but stops before he can do it. He notices, to his surprise, that across the hall the clinic’s lights are on. How did he not notice that coming in? The harsh white fluorescents bounce off the tiles and under the door. Chase knocks. “Doc? Marv?” He says, “Yoo-hoo. Anyone in there?” Of course, unsettling silence follows. Great. Chase has played enough horror games to know that whatever’s on the other side is bad. He flinches as glass shatters behind the door. A shadow moves under the door. “Henrik?” “Schiesse!” comes a muffled curse to answer. Angry German swearing? Yeah. That’s Henrik. “What the hell was that?!” Jackie says from the couch, halfway to standing. Chase notices he’s wobbling like a newborn deer. “Jackie, get back on the couch,” Chase scolds the hero, “You’re in no condition to walk!” He turns back to the door. “Doc, I’m coming in.” He takes a deep breath, grips the doorknob, and turns. What he finds on the other side isn’t horrible, so he releases the breath he didn’t know he was holding. Henrik, hair messy and eye bags seemingly darker, clutching his head, is kneeling among shattered glass. From the way the metal table beside the hospital bed is on its side, Chase surmises that Henrik knocked it and the beakers that were on it to the ground when he tried to stand. “Doc!” He exclaims, rushing over to Henrik. He takes the doctor by the arm, helping him up, and looping the arm around his shoulders. “Danke,” Henrik grumbles, eyes still squeezed shut. “Chase, is that you?” “A-are you blind, Henrik?” Panic momentarily flares up in him. “Oh, jeez, I can get something for your eyes. Maybe ice—” “No,” Henrik sighs, but in the most affectionate way possible. He opens his eyes halfway, tired grey-blues looking up at him. “Chase, relax. I’m not blind. It’s these damn fluorescents—they could make me go blind. I don’t know why I thought they were a good idea. This nausea…it’s like someone took a hammer to my skull. Might as well have… I see enough of those lights in the hospital. Is it any wonder I wear glasses…” Henrik reaches into his pocket for something. He swears again as he brings out the bent and cracked frames of his glasses. “Oh, that is just great,” he hisses under his breath, “They must’ve gotten smashed in the fight.” “T…the what?” This is plenty strange already, but of course, he just has to notice only now that Marvin is crumpled in a desk chair, long, flowy hair messy and tangled, falling behind him as his head leans back, showing his neck. “Oh my God—Marvin!” “He’s okay,” Henrik straightens, though he’s still too weak to stand. Chase helps him into another chair. The doctor sits down with a sigh of relief, pinching the bridge of his nose and squeezing his eyes shut. “What the hell happened here?” Chase gestures vaguely to the entire room. “To Marvin? Actually, to you? Was it…was it you-know-who?” “Anti,” the doctor spits. Chase winces at the name. “It’s not right to fear his name. He and I had an…encounter last night. I thought I was going to die.” He briefly touches his neck. Chase sees all the scars crisscrossed there; it’s why the doctor wears turtlenecks to work. He’s always been insecure about them. “I thought it was all over but…but I woke up here. My head hurts like a bitch but I’ve got no other wounds. My neck, my concussion—they’re healed, like they were never there. "So, I have reason to believe,” he continues, “Marvin used the full extent of his magic to save me. It’s probably why he’s passed out.” “He’s always been shit at restoration magic,” Chase jokes, but turns serious right away. “Jesus, doc. Are you really okay? Why the fuck did you-know-wh—I mean,—A…Anti go after you?” “Teach me a lesson? Finish me off?” Henrik raises his shoulder in a shrug. “Your guess is as good as mine. God, I’m sorry, Chase, that this is the scene you’ve returned to. You’ve had enough of this…this Anti business, and now we’re dragging you back into it. Forgive me.” “No, doc, don’t say that,” Chase waves him off, “it’s not your fault. Besides, the guy’s messing with my brothers. That’s not gonna fly with me.” His voice shakes. He knows how unconvincing his moxie is. He swallows the stone in his throat and turns away before Henrik can call him out on it. The man crosses the room and takes a trauma blanket from the cabinet—he practically knows the clinic as well as Henrik does—and drapes it over Marvin. The magician barely stirs. He’s completely out. “CHASE? IS EVERYONE OKAY?” Jackie shouts from the living room. Chase startles and nearly knocks some important doodad over. Henrik’s blue eyes crackle to life at the sound of the hero’s voice. “He’s okay,” he says more to himself than Chase, “Oh, God, he’s okay.” To Chase, he says, “Chase, help me up—I must see Jackie.” “But what about Marv?” “He’ll need rest. Neither of us are strong enough to move him upstairs. Please, Chase, let’s go.” Henrik is almost begging. The tone unnerves and stirs Chase into action. He helps the doctor, slowly and surely, into the living room. “Henrik?” Jackie breaths, “What happened to you? Why are you limping? Is Marvin o—” Henrik launches himself from Chase’s arms and onto Jackie, nearly tackling the hero into the sofa. Jackie grunts in pain. “You idiot,” Henrik growls, though with utmost love. “You had me so worried! You could’ve died.” He hugs Jackie tight, despite his weak state. “Don’t ever do that again.” “What, get stabbed?” When Henrik glares up at him, he sobers. “Okay, okay. I won’t. I promise. Chase, where’s Marvin?” “Getting some rest,” Chase explains, “He used a whole bunch of his magic to heal Henrik. A-Anti attacked the doc last night.” “He…what?” Jackie’s tone is dangerously quiet. His shoulders are tense—he looks like an apex predator. It takes everything in Chase not to back away. “Calm yourself,” Henrik cautions, “I’m okay now. Marvin made sure of it. It is true; I had a fight with Anti and…I did not emerge the victor. But it’s alright. I’m alright.” Jackie deflates and hugs Henrik back. “I’m glad you’re okay, doc.” “You too, Jackie.” Chase bites his lip and leaves the room. He knows what he said about Anti, that he’d be ready to fight the demon again, given the chance. It’s one big lie, because he is fucking terrified of Anti, terrified of the fact that this is all very real, and that it had gotten all too real very fast. He wants to run away in that stupid little way of his, where he drives and drives until he can’t or locks himself up in his room, anywhere where Anti can’t reach him. He’s managed not to see the demon for a full year. He can’t do this. He can’t. Not again. Not again. – Chase goes up to his room and finds the hatch to the roof still unlocked. He goes out and sits there, on the uncomfortable tiles, and stares up at the stars. It’s somewhere around 11:30, maybe midnight. He doesn’t check his phone. Henrik’s gone to sleep. Jackie had helped Chase move Marvin to the couch. The both of them weren’t nearly strong enough to bring him up to his bedroom. Some part of Chase is telling him to relapse. To drink. He snaps the rubber bracelet against his wrist over and over instead. It makes an angry red mark. It’s a distraction. It makes him all the more ashamed of how fast he crumbles in the face of all this. He’s hasn’t gotten better. Even in the darkness, he knows what the bracelet says. He’s seen it, worn it ever since the last time Anti had tormented him. Alcoholics Anonymous, in white letters against a garish neon green. His mouth tastes of smoke. His eyes are heavy. He is tired and deflated. His brothers nearly dead—what a sight to come home to. At least now, he’s here for them. He is so tired, he doesn’t turn around when the hatch opens and Jackie sits beside him. He’s changed out of that cartoon dog shirt—he sports one of Henrik’s striped shirts. “Hey,” Jackie greets him softly. Chase can see the hero watching the bracelet snap repeatedly against his wrist, which he doesn’t stop. “Hey.” Silence. Cicadas. Snap. Snap. Snap. “How long have you been sober?” Chase knows how much Jackie wants to say more, but he doesn’t. It’s a simple question. “A year.” An exact year from the last time Anti hurt him. He and Jackie match in scars now. Not on the neck, though. “Dude, that’s awesome. I’m proud of you.” The words are hollow. He doesn’t deserve them. Snap. Snap. Snap. “Chase?” Snap. Snap. Snap. “Welcome home.” Chase breaths shakily. His wrist stings. He cries, the fourth time that day, and bites back the urge to scream. “He’s g-going to f-find me again,” he says through quick breaths, “I’m n-next.” “Chase…” The man shakes his head furiously. “I-I’m not leaving. If he think he can fucking s-scare me,” Chase hiccups, “he’s w-wrong. I’m tired of r-running away. I’m going to fight.” Nothing, for a moment. Then, Jackie says, “It’s what Jack would’ve wanted.” Chase cries harder at that. He wants to toss his house keys off this damn roof and never see them again, because they remind him too much of the doors he’s just opened up. He’s not afraid. Shaking and sobbing, he is not afraid. He is furious.

#jacksepticeye #antisepticeye #chase brody #marvin the magnificent #jackieboy man #fanfiction #fic #nearly 4k words if you'll believe #jse #mine #my writing #alcoholism tw #alcohol ment #writersofjack

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aion-rsa · 3 years

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What Did Batman Do Between The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises?

https://ift.tt/3cfgO0Z

The Dark Knight not so much glided back onto cinema screens in 2012 as he hobbled across them. With a scraggly, unkempt beard and a bathrobe acting as his cape, Bruce Wayne appeared more like how one imagines Christian Bale exists between gigs than Batman at the start of The Dark Knight Rises. He appeared like an invalid whose great adventures were behind him.

In retrospect, this is probably not the version of the Caped Crusader fans expected to find after The Dark Knight’s thrilling finale. At the close of what many still consider to be the high water mark for superhero movies, Batman has agreed to take on the burden of Harvey Dent’s sins, framing himself as a murderer and saving Gotham City from cynicism through a veil of lies. Yet it’s not really a sad ending. Gary Oldman’s Jim Gordon even pens a triumphant eulogy for the superhero’s fallen image. The Batman’s become “a Dark Knight.”

After the film concluded, many fans began speculating just what a third chapter of the Christopher Nolan directed and co-written Batman films would look like: the police at war with Batman? The rise of a criminal underworld of masked freaks like Joker and Batman, embracing the chaos unleashed by their fight? Maybe we’d get to see Batman tackle the Riddler, a foe almost as mentally taxing as the clown.

None of these came to pass, however, as made exceedingly clear in the first seconds of Bale’s introduction in The Dark Knight Rises. Eight years have passed in the film’s narrative since last we saw our hero, and Bruce is now disheveled and broken, haunted by ghosts while living like one in the shadows of Wayne Manor. Prior to directing Batman Begins, Nolan dreamed of making a film about Howard Hughes’ final years: the period when the millionaire aviator, film producer, and mad man succumbed to his neuroses and obsessions. Rises not so subtly revisits that iconography, with Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway) even expressing disappointment over Citizen Wayne not having Hughes’ long fingernails.

To many moviegoers, particularly fans, this is apparently all Batman’s been doing for the last eight years: living like a recluse and leaving the burden of saving Gotham to the GCPD. However, given all the context clues in The Dark Knight Rises, this is hardly accurate.

Bruce Wayne’s Greatest Crusade

While Nolan’s third Batman movie begins with Bruce Wayne fully entrenched in his traumas—the loss of his parents, his murdered childhood love, Rachel Dawes, and an overwhelming sense of despair about the state of the world—he didn’t immediately hang up the cape at the end of The Dark Knight and start growing the beard. In fact, more than just obsessing over “saving Gotham,” Bruce moved on to trying to save everyone.

The timeline is never fully explained, but various scenes between Bruce Wayne, the woman who calls herself Miranda Tate (Marion Cotillard), and other members of the Wayne Enterprises board reveal Bruce Wayne only gave fully into his demons about three years before the events of The Dark Knight Rises.

“You have a practiced apathy, Mr. Wayne,” Miranda says when she sees Bruce has stepped out of his cave, literally and figuratively, and is now at a charity event. “But a man who doesn’t care about the world doesn’t spend half his fortune trying to save it, and isn’t so wounded when it fails that he goes into hiding.” In another scene, she clarifies the timeline further when she tells Bruce (and thereby the audience), “Three years ago, a scientist published a paper on weaponized fusion reactions. One week later, your reactor started developing problems.”

When these details are fully considered, they paint a tragic portrait of Wayne’s isolation. In Nolan’s The Dark Knight Trilogy, Bruce Wayne never imagined Batman to be an indefatigable superhero who valiantly fights an endless war on crime. With the filmmakers’ quest to ground their Batman in verisimilitude—which is to say make him feel real even as his exploits are far from realistic—they opted to depict the character as neither crazy or misanthropic. He did not only put on the cape to soothe his fractured psyche, and he doesn’t get his jollies from beating up the desperate poor every night… a grim implication for a “grounded” interpretation of a billionaire patrolling “dangerous neighborhoods” looking for a fight.

As Bruce tells loyal butler Alfred (Michael Caine) in Batman Begins, “[I’m coming back] as long as it takes. I’m going to show the people of Gotham their city doesn’t belong to the criminals and corrupt.” In his way, Bruce viewed the Batman as akin to a political campaign. Batman’s a symbol to galvanize the better angels of Gotham around an idea of anti-corruption and anti-organized crime reform. And like a political operator, Bruce built a network of allies and true believers to implement incremental change through the system. But as the saying goes, the road to Hell is paved in good intentions.

After several years of Batman-ing, Bruce has inspired copycat vigilantes who got themselves killed and a nihilistic anarchist who called himself Joker, a glorified terrorist who did irreparable harm to Gotham’s institutions, its morality, and the public trust. Still, Bruce Wayne had a desire to use his wealth to improve the world, and not just his own mood. Hence instead of spending “half his wealth” solely on an ego-stroking war on crime, he invested in building a clean energy fusion reactor.

While it seemed like an almost incidental plot point in 2012, the increasingly dire effects of climate change with each passing year makes the fantasy of powerful nuclear fusion ever more appealing. A nuclear fusion reactor that actually produced comparable amounts of energy to modern nuclear power plants (which run via nuclear fission) would mean a much cheaper power source, as well as one that did not have the drawbacks of nuclear fission, including dangerous radioactive material that must be disposed of for millennia, and power plants that run the risk of melting down.

In Nolan’s fantasy action movies, Wayne Enterprises spent hundreds of billions of dollars on “some save the world vanity project,” as one of Bruce’s rivals puts it. A clean, cheap, and massive nuclear fusion reactor could be a silver bullet for curbing carbon emissions around the world, and a chance to stop something far scarier than supervillains.

Yet after five years of investment, it resulted in more chaos. A scientist’s paper in a professional journal reveals Wayne’s dream machine was also a weapon in the making. Indeed, that’s exactly how Tom Hardy’s Bane uses it during the second half of The Dark Knight Rises. Like the abstract idea of Batman before it, the good intentions baked into Wayne’s nuclear fusion miracle result in more death, more destabilization, and more chaos.

The man with an obvious hero complex failed again. Only then does Bruce give up on the world and indulge his myriad traumas.

Batman Returns Off-Screen?

That is how Bruce Wayne spent five of the eight years between The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises. However, that doesn’t mean there was not also room for Batman. While the canonical text of the film states no one has seen Batman in eight years, there is reason to believe Bruce Wayne did not hang up the cowl on the night Harvey Dent died.

In another scene in Rises, rookie cop John Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) recalls the myth that grew around the night Harvey Dent died. Blake says it was “the last confirmed sighting of the Batman [before] he then vanishes.” But confirmed is the operative word here since there are little things that don’t line up between the two movies that fit this narrative. For starters, there is the swanky Batcave sitting beneath Wayne Manor. When we first see it in the third film, finally renovated after primarily being a long lost historical site from the 1800s in Batman Begins, Bruce is perched at a bank of computers, trying to figure out the identity of Selina Kyle.

“You haven’t been down here in a long time,” Alfred says to his surrogate son. The implication is that in some earlier time, Bruce would spend days in the Batcave. Why would he if his war on organized crime was over? Why build an entire second Batsuit in the cave to complement the one he keeps hidden in his off-site location if he’s done? The answer is that he wasn’t. At least not for some months or years after the events of The Dark Knight.

The Actors Who Have Played Batman

By James Aquilone and 1 other

Movies

The Batman: Can a Superhero Movie Be Too Dark?

By David Crow

Throughout the movie, memories about the violent days after Two-Face’s death and the passage of the Dent Act abound, with all the characters describing it as a “war.” It seems plausible someone as obsessive and exacting as Bruce Wayne would want to participate. In fact, it’d be odd if he did not. Embracing hidden and more surreptitious tactics after becoming a public enemy might also explain how Batman injured his knee so badly between The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises that he needs a brace to hide the limp.

It also might explain why no one bats an eye at Selina Kyle’s cat-themed costume. While no character calls the femme fatale with a heart of gold “Catwoman” in the film, she isn’t afraid of embracing the theatricality of her catlike ears either. She even hisses, “Cat got your tongue?” to a mark. The impracticality of this entire aesthetic seems inspired, at least in part, by the Batman. While there is never a line of dialogue confirming this, Hathaway and an uncharacteristically restrained Nolan rely on inference to get the point across.

Like Jim Gordon, Catwoman is given a moment to pause in what she’s doing to marvel at the television when news of Batman’s return breaks. And when she hitches a ride in the Batman’s sci-fi aircraft, she steals a glance at her surroundings when he’s not looking, smiling to herself about being in the same space as an apparent childhood hero. Indeed, Selina would’ve been a teenager during the events of Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, and like perhaps so many other members of the next generation of criminals and adventurers, her imagination took flight with news reports of a man dressed as a Bat jumping off rooftops.

It returns to the theme of “escalation” from The Dark Knight, with the Joker saying to Batman, “You’ve changed things forever.” At the beginning of that film, the Bat was still fighting mobsters; by the end he was facing clowns in war paint. The transition was painful for Gotham, but no one seems to think it odd anymore for a famed cat burglar to turn her goggles into cat ears. It makes you wonder if there were any more elements of a rogue’s gallery in the interceding years before the Dent Act brought vaguely unconstitutional order?

This is admittedly speculation. And the kind which reminds us that there were stories that could’ve been told between The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises that we’ll never see. It’s probably this knowledge that disappoints some fans. Before details of Rises’ plot leaked, the nascent comic book Twitter theories of the era imagined Bale’s Batman opening the movie still running from the Gotham City Police, and fighting the next war.

Instead Rises begins with the war over, and Bruce all the bitterer for it. It was a large pill to swallow for fans who dream of Batman as a crusader always ready for the next robbery, mugging, or burning building. They wanted to see Batman fighting serial killers who leave riddles, not as the Phantom of Wayne Manor, and then as a retiree who’s conquered his pain well enough to enjoy a glass of wine in Italy.

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For those disappointed, Matt Reeves’ The Batman looks poised to offer the follow-up they wanted a decade ago. But Nolan’s choice to depict a Batman who had the vision to see the big picture, and to then walk away from it, remains satisfyingly singular and whole.

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