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hood-ex · 4 years

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I feel like I can trust you with Dick's characterization, unlike every dc writer; how do you think he'd react to what the fam did to Damian? And how'd he react to what Damian did? (it's the most terrible character assassination, but it still happened unfortunately)

The interesting thing about Dick’s situation is that he was there when Damian blamed himself for Alfred’s death (for people who don’t know, Dick had amnesia at this point). He knows how Bruce did nothing to actively comfort Damian or to offer him reassurance. Babs was the only one who stood up for Damian and told Bruce to go after Damian. Bruce, of course, didn’t.

This is such a huge contrast to how Dick reacted when Damian blamed himself for the whole Selina and Talia situation. (Yes, I’m aware that the two situations are wildly different from one another.) But instead of allowing Damian to stew in guilt, Dick comforted Damian and asked how he could help him. Then, instead of letting Damian go off to Khadym by himself, Dick went with him. Something that Damian was extremely grateful for.

Because of this (as well as other times where Dick is the one who’s there for Damian), I think that if Dick had been his usual self during all this, he definitely would have done something similar to Babs and given Bruce a verbal lashing for not going after Damian. I also think it would have been in character for Dick to go after Damian to talk to him about his feelings (or to say something comforting to keep Damian from leaving in the first place).

We’ve seen before that Dick and Bruce’s methods of dealing with Damian are different. When Damian disobeyed Bruce, Bruce easily gave up on the idea of working with Damian, and he told Damian to keep working with Dick instead.

On the flip side, when Damian disobeyed Dick, Dick quickly realized that Bruce’s method of “demanding” Damian to do as he was told wasn’t going to cut it. He tried a new approach instead. He pointed out what Damian failed to do, but he also praised Damian for what he did right.

Dick turned a negative into a positive. He also reinforced the idea that he would be there for Damian because they were partners. This was something Damian realized when Dick saved his life while dealing with Professor Pyg.

It was basically Dick’s silent way of saying, “Hey, you’re not getting rid of me, and I’m not getting rid of you. We’re in this together. I’m here for you.”

Bruce’s message to Damian was the exact opposite. It wasn’t, “Hey, I’m still going to be here for you even when you mess up.” Bruce’s message was to essentially say, “You’re too difficult to work with. I don’t want to try and make it work.”

Dick, knowing exactly how infuriating Damian could be, and knowing how hard it was to work with Damian, ended up defending Damian in that moment.

Dick knew Damian’s struggles. He knew Damian was insecure about the idea of Bruce taking Robin away from him. Damian had told him about it, and while Dick had tried to brush it off as a joke at first, he quickly became serious and tried to understand what was bothering Damian when he realized how upset Damian was.

That was such a key difference between Dick and Bruce’s interactions with Damian. Dick was not only Damian’s mentor, he was also his confidant. Dick was there to reassure Damian in ways that Bruce wasn’t. He was there to say, “I can tell you’re upset. What’s wrong? I want to help you with it.”

Generally, Bruce’s approach at comfort is not to really ask what’s wrong. It’s not talking about feelings. He’s more of an “actions speak louder than words” kind of person. That’s why he wasn’t able to resolve his issue with Damian earlier. He couldn’t make himself open up in the same way Dick could.

With a change in morals, the absence of Bruce, the loss of Dick, and the death of Alfred, too much had changed by the time Bruce finally tried to talk about things with Damian. Damian felt abandoned by Bruce at that point. He felt like Bruce didn’t care about him as either a partner or son. He no longer had Alfred to care about him, and he had a brother who didn’t even remember he existed. Bane and KGBeast took away the love and support in Damian’s life, and Bruce’s late attempt to try and fill those holes was rejected.

That being said, I think Dick would be upset to know how Bruce had been absent in Damian’s life for months on end. He’d sympathize with Damian because he knows what it’s like to be shut out by Bruce. I think he would also feel guilty about this as well. Guilty for the path Damian went down, guilty for not being there, guilty for letting Damian go back to live with Bruce in the first place.

It reminds me of how he felt guilty over Jason’s death. He felt responsible in some way because he gave Jason his Robin costume. I think he would feel similar in regard to the situation with Damian. Not so much guilty because of the fact that he gave Damian the Robin costume, but more so because Damian was on the right track when he was Dick’s responsibility. Dick was always there to lead Damian by example and was there to praise him for doing good.

He was even part of Damian’s subconscious and acted like the morally good “angel” on Damian’s shoulder, which showed that Damian kept Dick’s teachings in mind. So, y’know, Dick’s influence went deep.

Now would Dick be upset by the path Damian has taken? Yeah. Damian had his own prison, wiped villains minds, killed Brother Blood, and he intended to kill KGBeast for shooting Dick in the head.

Back when Dick and Damian were partners, I think Dick wouldn’t have been totally surprised if Damian had ended up killing someone. He once expressed his fear of needing to get to Damian ASAP because he was worried Damian would kill the Joker. I think he also expressed a bit of surprise that Damian restrained himself from killing people at times. That might factor into how he would react in the present knowing what Damian has done.

In the past, Dick had to deal with a lot of inner turmoil when he was dating Kory because he was worried she was “reverting” to murdering people like she used to before she lived on Earth. He made it extremely clear that he wasn’t okay with that. (For the record, Dick was being mind controlled at that time, so his reaction to that situation may not be an accurate indicator of his character.)

Dick also had to decide what he was going to do with Jason when Jason was killing people. Dick offered to help him reform on two separate occasions.

He tried to put aside the terrible things Jason had done because he not only believed that Jason was worth saving, but that he was also capable of change.

I think this is the same approach Dick would take with Damian. He would want to help Damian reform. He would want Damian to choose to be good. He did it before, and yeah, it was hard. But he helped show Damian that he didn’t have to be the killer the League of Assassins raised him to be. That he could choose to be better than the villains and murderers he was surrounded by.

Whether we’ll get to see Damian feel remorse for what he’s done or, at least, stop what he’s doing so he can be accepted by his family... I have no idea. Before DC shot his character development straight to hell, he wanted to be a good person. We’ll just have to see if Dick, Bruce, or some outside force has any impact on his future morals.

#Dick Grayson #Damian Wayne #Bruce Wayne #meta #anon

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idkwhoiamanymorebutwtf · 4 years

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Below imma put my reasoning for each of these if you were confused about why I put certain characters where I did.

(note that this is about the show Harley Quinn 2019 so most things outside of this show won’t be taken into account when discussing the character’s alignments)

James Gordon as Lawful Good: He’s group and order oriented, and will cooperate with authority in all cases. You’ll never see Gordon team up with anyone who isn’t strictly on the ‘good’ side of things. He’s convinced that order and laws are absolutely necessary to assure that goodness prevails and continued to uphold the law even when Batman was gone. A lawful good being kills whenever necessary to promote the greater good, or to protect himself, his companions, or anyone whom he's vowed to defend. In times of war, he strikes down the enemies. Gordon was very much willing to kill Two Face and basically went into an all out war against Harley. He admitted himself that he got into the police force to shoot bad guys. So long as it’s within the letter of the law and the people in question deserve it, he’s very much willing to maim and kill. Gordon responds to authority and when there is no authority figure around he does his best to uphold the law on his own.

Bruce Wayne as Neutral Good: He, like most neutral good characters, values life and freedom above all else, and despises those who would deprive others of them. Neutral good characters, including him, sometimes find themselves forced to work beyond the law, yet for the law, and the greater good of the people. Multiple times throughout the series he teams up with people the law dictates he ought to be fighting, like when he helped Harley in season one and even sacrificed himself to save Harley and Ivy, or when he helped Harley and The Joker get the Justice League back in season two. He’s a super hero, he tries to stay within the law, but he’s willing to work with those who aren’t strictly on the side of ‘good’ if it’s for the sake of goodness.

Barbara Gordon as Chaotic Good: A chaotic good character acts as his conscience directs him with little regard for what others expect of him. He makes his own way, but he's kind and benevolent. He believes in goodness and right but has little use for laws and regulations. Babs, within the context of the show, does work with law enforcement, but she isn’t exactly bound by codes and laws. She worked with Harley and Ivy to take down the Riddler in Season 2 (and lets be real lawful characters...probably wouldn’t work with criminals) and she actually tries to befriend and hang out with the two. Working with them wasn’t just because she had to and there was no other option, she actually wanted to be friends with two criminals which again shows that she isn’t exactly bound to the law. In fact, she actively goes against it when she warns Harley about Gordon coming to take her down and tries to dissuade her father from going through with it, actively sabotaging the police to do what she believes is the right thing.

Pamela Isley as Lawful Neutral: A lawful neutral character acts as law, tradition, or a personal code directs her. Order and organization are paramount to her. She may believe in personal order and live by a code or standard, or she may believe in order for all and favor a strong, organized government. Traditionally, when people think ‘lawful neutral’ they think the latter of those possible motivations, someone who believes in the law and government, however in Ivy’s case she’s much more dictated by a personal standard. A lawful character trusts someone or something better than he trusts themselves, but they still pick which thing that is, it doesn’t have to be the laws of the land, it can be anything so long as it’s a solid principal or code or set of ideals rather than “whatever I feel like at the time”. Ivy’s moral code focuses mainly on saving the earth and she doesn’t every stray from that. She has a strong ideal that she’s completely dedicated to and doesn’t ever really change. She’s an eco-terrorist, and terrorism is usually enacted over incredibly strong beliefs. She isn’t exactly ‘good’ because although her goal is respectable she does things that most people consider immoral to get there, showing she isn’t too concerned about doing what’s good towards people. However she also doesn’t exactly go out of her way to harm or do evil (i mean she hurts people who try and hurt harley or the environment but this is moreso a form of vigilante justice than doing something ivy sees as immoral because she inherently believes that most of humanity is below the environment and below harley too “she’s my only friend but that’s by design, because she’s the only human I think is worth a shit”.)

Harleen Quinzel as True Neutral: True Neutral character’s fully think of good as better than evil. After all, they would rather have good neighbors and rulers than evil ones. They’re just not personally committed to upholding good in any abstract or universal way. True neutral characters are known to behave in a good, moral way towards friends and allies. They support the people who support them, often out of genuine love. True neutral characters also typically only go out of their ways to hurt people who they think deserve it. Basically people who tried to hurt them or their loved ones first. Beyond that they don’t care. They don’t go out of their way to hurt people who don’t deserve it but if these people haven’t done anything to earn this character’s affection then these people don’t really matter. True neutrals often believe in lex talionis forms of justice. True neutral individuals do not lack interest, ambition, or passion--they value their own well-being and that of friends and loved ones. They may struggle passionately on behalf of themselves or others, as well as feel compassion for those they barely know. But overall they aren’t bound with any loyalty to doing what’s good. They aren’t bound to the law. They don’t feel an obligation to go against morality or law just for the sake of it either, though. I honestly think this is the most fitting for Harley. She doesn’t see any reason to follow the laws so she doesn’t. When someone fucks with her she’ll fuck right back, but generally she isn’t known to go out of her way to hurt people. It really feels like she’s mostly out to protect herself and her own. She’ll fight for things her friends care about and to help the people she loves. She has no qualms about lying and killing when the people in question hurt her or someone she cares about, though. She said herself that she can’t really even be considered a bad guy. Harley turned down the chance to take over the world because she isn’t evil and doesn’t want to inflict unwarranted suffering on random people, but at the same time she’s taken down multiple people who mess with her with little remorse for doing so. The broader conflicts between ‘good’ and ‘evil’ and ‘law’ and ‘chaos’ don’t seem to mean much to her, she’s just out to protect her and her own.

Selina Kyle as Chaotic Neutral: She, like all chaotic neutral characters, strives to protect her freedom first and foremost. Chaotic neutral characters follow their whims without any regard for good or evil or law. They often don’t have much actual concern for personal relationships. Chaotic neutral characters do not necessarily want others to suffer as a result of their actions, but do not care if others do suffer. They tend to behave in a good manner towards friends and allies, unless their friends and allies do not agree with them. Within the show, Selina has betrayed her allies multiple times, first abandoning her to steal a blood diamond and leaving Ivy to pay for her hotel bills, then stealing the the diamond Kiteman wanted to use to propose. She generally isn’t concerned with the wellbeing of Ivy, Harley, or any other allies, and prioritizes her own interests over all else with very little loyalty to...well...anything.

Darkseid as Lawful Evil: A lawful evil villain methodically takes what he wants within the limits of his code of conduct without regard for whom it hurts. He cares about tradition, loyalty, and order but not about freedom, dignity, or life. He plays by the rules but without mercy or compassion. Darkseid is difficult to please and demands grand gestures of obedience and power in order for people to prove themselves, as was the case of Harley and Doctor Psycho offering to conquer planet Earth for him. Any acts of betrayal or disloyalty towards him is met with anger on his part and an oaf of vengeance. Despite this, he is not without a sense of restraint, as was the case of him returning to Apokolips after Harley refused for a second time to rule over Earth. He keeps his promises (when he offered harley the ability to rule earth after she showed her strength, for example), but doesn’t take kindly to disobedience or disloyalty and is undoubtedly evil, going out of his way to maim, kill, and conquer.

Edgar Cizko as Neutral Evil: Neutral evil characters are primarily concerned with themselves and their own advancement. They have no particular objection to working with others or, for that matter, going it on their own. Their only interest is in getting ahead. If there is a quick and easy way to gain a profit, whether it be legal, questionable, or obviously illegal, they take advantage of it. Although neutral evil characters do not have the every-man-for-himself attitude of chaotic characters, they have no qualms about betraying their friends and companions for personal gain. These characters willingly cooperate with anyone who will further their own ends. They often seek the easy road to fame and fortune, with little concern for the people they trample along the way. They value strength and ability alone. If the neutral evil can use laws to weaken those who stand in the way of his success, he will use them. He may betray a family member, comrade, or friend if it is convenient to do so and it advances his agenda. Dr. Psycho was fully willing to completely betray Harley over an offer of power, something that everyone else on the team viewed as reprehensible (this is why he’s the only one who i’d consider ‘evil’, btw, because king, clayface, harley, and ivy all value their friends/allies over power and control and view each other as friends wheras Dr. Psycho was willing to betray all of them even after everything they’d all gone through together). He does whatever it takes to elevate himself and goes out of his way to hurt people (like trying to take over the world or broadcasting revenge porn of harley and ivy into the sky).

The Joker as Chaotic Evil: As Harley said, he’s a sociopathic narcissist. As with all Chaotic Evil characters, he is hot-tempered, vicious, arbitrarily violent, and unpredictable. Thankfully, these character’s plans are haphazard, and any groups they join or form are poorly organized.The Joker may be a ‘genius’ but he often fails to really think things through or execute plans successfully (I knowwww I said we were just analyzing this show and not the character’s other appearances but there’s such a good example from another show to what i mean when i say the joker isn’t as effective as he could be. remember when harley literally came closer to killing batman than joker did and improved his original plans? and the only reason batman survived was because joker threw her out a fucking window and screwed everything up? yeah.) He’s smart and powerful and rutheless and all that but he doesn’t think things through or organize his thoughts well enough. The major precepts of this alignment are freedom, randomness, and woe. Laws and order, kindness, and good deeds are disdained. Life has no value. By promoting chaos and evil, those of this alignment hope to bring themselves to positions of power, glory, and prestige in a system ruled by individual caprice and their own whim. The chaotic evil creature holds that individual freedom and choice is important, and that other individuals and their freedoms are unimportant if they cannot be held by the individuals through their own strength and merit. Thus, law and order rends to promote not individuals but groups, and groups suppress individual volition and success. The Joker abused his girlfriend ruthlessly, goes out of his way to hurt innocents, tries to kill people on a regular basis weather they deserve it or not, and generally goes out of his way to exert his power over other’s simply for the sake of proving he’s dominant to them.

#harley quinn 2019 #harley quinn #harleen quinzel #selina kyle #catwoman #poison ivy #pamela isley #darkseid #dr psycho #the joker #joker #james gordon #barbara gordon #batgirl #batman #bruce wayne

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fishfingersandjellybabies · 5 years

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Fates Be Damned - fic

Characters: Dick Grayson, Bruce Wayne, Damian Wayne, Jason Todd, Tim Drake, Cassandra Cain, Selina Kyle Summary: Batman Incorporated was waging war against Leviathan. But Dick would be damned if he let Damian become a casualty to this fight. A/N: A fix it for Batman Inc. 4 from like five years ago!!! Because I’m clearly up with the times. Bruce’s starting dialogue is from that issue. I don’t want to call this a hurt/comfort fic, because it’s not a happy ending for everyone, and I’d be interested in anyone thoughts on the ending I chose because it’s not a ‘everything tied up neatly’ kind of ending like I tend to do. Anyways, this all happens over a year as hinted at. Alfred was away in the last part, and he is still in constant contact with Dick and Damian. Dick and Damian keep up their training, though really do enjoy not being vigilantes. No, Damian does not take Dick’s last name. Batcow and Goliath, of course, come with them to live in the ‘burbs, and the family visits often. Bruce does too, eventually.

It felt like someone shocked him. Or maybe slapped him, or just said the sky is falling.

Because this…this wasn’t happening, right?

He looked to his brothers, to Tim and Jason, and saw his own near-revulsion mirrored on their own faces.

So it wasn’t a dream. Or a miscommunication.

Here they were, in the middle of a goddamn war, all hands on deck. And Bruce just told one of their ranks, just told Damian – little, mostly innocent, eleven-year-old Damian – that he had to leave the life he chose, the life he loved, and go back to his mother, the one who hurt him more than anyone in the world.

And Damian’s face is wrecked. Dick had never seen this child cry, but here, there were tears in his eyes, and terror in his voice, as he tried to reason with Bruce, explain how much he gave up, how much he did. Just to belong, just to be loved by his old man.

How much he didn’t want to go.

But Bruce… Jesus Christ, Bruce just shook his head.

“If you don’t, Gotham, the world, will be plunged into chaos. And you, Damian…” Bruce sighed, like he was disappointed. “You’re going to be responsible…”

It was out of his mouth before he thought about it.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Dick snapped. Damian jumped in surprise, and Bruce turned so quick he may have given himself some sort of whiplash.

But any surprise Batman had immediately disappeared. “Excuse me?”

“He’s eleven, Bruce.” Dick hissed, balling his hands into fists. Damian had looked away now, stepped forward and grabbed Bruce’s cape to regain his attention, plead his case. “He’s eleven years old, your fucking son, and not only are you blaming him for this mess, you’re going to force him to go back to Talia?”

Bruce’s shoulders slumped. “Dick, you don’t understand…”

“The woman who put him through hell for most of his life?” Dick’s fury rose with every word, and he could feel his muscles start to shake with adrenaline. “The woman who put a fucking hit out on him, and you’re going to send him back to her?!”

“Dick…”

“No. No.” Dick started shaking his head. In his periphery he could see Tim and Jason glancing at each other, Damian still trying to take back Bruce’s attention. “You know what? No, I’m done. Because I let you take him back, I let you break up our partnership and regain guardianship even though I knew, deep down, it was a terrible idea, for both him and you. I let you uproot him and isolate him. I even let you abandon him for your rendezvous with Selina, or any time you felt the need to play Brucie Wayne halfway across the world.”

He stepped forward now, his breathing heavy as he got into Bruce’s face.

“But you must think I’m a goddamn idiot if you think I’m going to let you sacrifice him just because you and Talia can’t get along, and got the whole world involved in your stupid spat.” He poked Bruce in the chest now. Over and over, to emphasize his words. “Damian is innocent in this, and for you to have the audacity to blame him…” Dick bit his lip, and shook his head. “The needs of the many don’t outweigh the needs of the few. Not here. Not with your own fucking son, Bruce.”

“Dick, if there was another way you know I’d-”

“I’m done listening. I’m done being your soldier in this. I’m done letting you hurt him, for nothing.” Dick growled. Without waiting for a reply, he shoved past him to where Damian was standing, and scooped the boy up into his arms. “I’m taking him, and we’re going into hiding until this garbage is finished. I’ll help run computers with Oracle, and ping the communicators when I’m online.”

“Dick…!”

“I’m disappointed, Bruce.” Dick glanced back, just once, holding the back of Damian’s head. “You’ve made better plans in worse situations. And the one you settled on here, to save the day, was to sell your son back to the demon?” He narrowed his eyes. “Shame on you.”

Damian didn’t argue as Dick moved towards the door. Just wrapped his arms and legs as tightly around Dick as he dared. His breaths were shallow and hiccupped, and Dick could feel the tears splashing away from his cheeks.

“G-G-Grayson.” He murmured.

“I know.” He whispered, kissing Damian’s head. He couldn’t tell him it was okay. Because it was a lie, and Dick couldn’t do that to him. Not right now. “But I’ve got you.”

Damian dug his traumatized, trembling fingers into Dick’s neck.

“I’ve got you now, kiddo.”

Dick had been right, in the end. Bruce did come up with a better solution.

The world was saved. Talia and her army were dealt with. Blah, blah, blah.

That’d been about a month and a half ago, and it was still Dick’s kitchen table in a tiny rented house away from any city that Damian sat at every morning to eat his breakfast.

Bruce had called a week after the battle ended. Told Dick about the final fight between him and his once-lover, the injuries sustained. How everyone, from family to communities, were coping with the aftermath.

Dick listened politely, waiting for the real reason for the call.

“So…yeah. Everything has been settled. Talia won’t be bothering us again for a long time.” Bruce huffed, trying to be nonchalant. “You can…bring Damian home whenever it’s convenient for you.”

Bruce couldn’t see it, but Dick smiled. A sneering, cold, angry smile. “Who said I was bringing him home at all?”

And then he hung up.

Damian had been in the room during the call, drawing in the corner and taking pictures on his phone of his dozing pets. He’d heard everything Bruce said, just as he heard everything Dick said.

So when Dick tossed his phone on the table and looked up, it was no surprise that Damian was staring at him.

“What?”

“You…” Damian tilted his head thoughtfully. “You’re not making me go back to Father?”

Dick blinked as he leaned back in his chair. “Do you want to?”

Damian’s eyes lowered, his lips twisted in thought.

“…No.” He decided, looking back to his art. “I…after what happened, I…don’t think I’m ready to see Father yet.”

“Okay.” Dick smiled. “Sounds good to me.”

Dick turned on the TV. Damian went back to drawing.

It was no surprise when the Batman showed up at his door in the middle of the night.

“Took you long enough.” Dick muttered dryly when he answered the door with crossed arms. Stephanie, Batgirl, stood sheepishly behind him, clearly not wanting to be there as his partner.

“I need to see him.” Bruce growled.

“Well, he’s sleeping.” Dick smirked. “So how about you call again in the morning and make an appointment.”

“He’s my son, Dick.”

“Yeah, well.” Dick shrugged. “Maybe not anymore.”

And Dick knew Bruce well enough to see the hit that was coming, and block it.

“Oh, going to break into my house and beat me up?” Dick laughed, even as Stephanie tried to get between them. “Where was all this concern during you and Talia’s little tiff, hm?”

Before the fight could continue, there was a harsh whisper from further into the house. “Oh, will you two knock it off?”

Bruce hesitated, and glanced over Dick’s shoulder to find Tim standing at the mouth of another hallway. “If you two wake him up, I’m kicking you both out. He has a test in the morning and needs his rest.”

Bruce blinked, allowing Stephanie to push him away from Dick. “Test?” He looked at his eldest. “He’s in school?”

“Well he’s not getting private lessons from Alfred anymore, so I enrolled him here.” Dick pretended to dust dirt from his shoulders. “He’s still struggling with being a child genius and making friends, so Tim comes by and helps tutor him sometimes, since he knows what that’s like.”

“…This wasn’t a permanent move, Dick. For either of you.” Bruce scolded.

“Yeah, well. Maybe I decided it should be.” Dick spat. “He doesn’t need to be Robin, he doesn’t need to be out there on the streets like that anymore. And…maybe I don’t either. Haven’t thought about Nightwing once since we moved to the suburbs, if I’m honest.”

“Domesticated? You?” Steph snorted. “I’ll believe it when I see it.”

“It’s wild, Steph.” Tim called from behind him.

Dick shot her a warm grin, but Bruce cut their own small moment off. “I want to speak to my son.”

“Well, A, I’m also your son and you’re speaking to me, so. You already have.” Dick mocked. “And B, you’ll talk to him when I say you can. Which is not right now.”

Bruce tried one of his tactics, pushed into Dick’s space and glared down at him. “He’s not your son, Dick.”

Dick shrugged, keeping his sneer. “Maybe he actually is.”

Dick smoothly backed away. “You’re welcome to a drink, snack or nap while you’re here. And if you don’t want any of those, then you can just get the fuck out, I guess.”

“Dick…” Tim sighed as Dick stood next to him.

Dick smiled. “You play host, Timmy. I’m beat. Mind if I hit the hay?”

He didn’t wait for an answer, just disappeared down the hall behind Tim.

Later, after he’d entertained Bruce and Stephanie, and gave them a little more insight into Dick and Damian’s new life – Dick’s job at a youth center, teaching each other how to cook, Damian’s friends – Tim checked on Dick before heading to the guest bedroom himself.

Dick wasn’t in his own room, and that didn’t surprise Tim at all. He sighed, turned to Damian’s room, and found Dick in there, all but octopus-wrapped around Damian.

Tim frowned at the escrima stick his sleeping older brother still held at the ready, though.

It was never stated out loud, or made official.

Damian lived with Dick now. Permanently.

It was one of those things that everyone knew, but no one talked about, at least, not in front of those involved.

Dick’s friends quietly texted each other about it. The Justice League murmured amongst themselves when Bruce wasn’t on the satellite. The rest of the Batfamily did what they could to just bridge the gap.

Bruce was more closed off than normal, and he talked about his eldest and youngest less and less. Even their codenames of Nightwing and Robin were like forbidden words.

There were cases with their uniforms in the cave now. And Batman’s other partners found him staring at them often.

Dick and Damian didn’t patrol anymore, and Robin and Nightwing hadn’t been seen since the War of Gotham, and the fight against Leviathan.

Most people thought they were dead. No one corrected them.

But Dick and Damian seemed to have traded their gauntlets for gardens. They walked the dog around the neighborhood every night. They meal-prepped, had movie nights, attended the local neighborhood block party.

To their neighbors, it was a single young father and his son. Just some normal folks with their not-quite-normal pets, trying to get away from the city life, and the darkness of Gotham. The father was charismatic and handsome. His son a bit aloof, but polite when approached.

They didn’t talk about their past. Didn’t talk about things like the boy’s mother, or any other family. They came from Gotham, that’s all anyone in town knew.

And they were happy, that’s all anyone in town knew, too.

Jason watched him for a few moments, slowly taking a gulp of his beer. Then, he slowly lowered his bottle and smacked his lips thoughtfully.

“You’re too giddy about this.”

Dick looked up from Damian, who was sleeping against his side. The child had fallen asleep after the three had had dinner, and continued to curl into Dick’s side in his slumber as the sun lowered behind the horizon.

“Too giddy about what?”

Jason motioned to Damian. “Being his dad.”

Dick blinked, and then fell into a huffed laugh. “I’m not his dad.”

“I bet he’d beg to differ.” Jason murmured. Paused to look at Damian himself. His chubby cheeks and long lashes. How small he was. “…If you didn’t want to give him back to Bruce in the first place, why did you?”

“I thought it was best for him. He’d always wanted to be with Bruce. It wasn’t my place to keep him from that.” Dick hummed, glancing back down to Damian himself, brushing his hair away from his eyes.

“Could have just asked him.”

“I also didn’t think I was ready to be a dad. It was a lot, that time Bruce was gone. Being Batman, raising him…” Dick shrugged. “I wasn’t doing that great of a job, despite what you all apparently think. And he deserved better.”

“And now after everything that’s happened, do you regret what you did?” Jason asked. “If you could go back, would you have kept him with you instead?”

“…I don’t know.” Dick sighed. “Maybe. If I knew Bruce was going to be this much of a prick, then yes. I would have kept him as far away from Bruce as humanly possible.”

“Well, better late than never on that last bit, right?” Jason snorted. He let the laugh die off as he took another drink of his beer. “You ever going to speak to him again?”

“I speak to him now, Jay, you know that. Just not…you know, frequently.” Dick defended. “But I know you mean in regards to Damian, and…no. I want to talk to Damian about it first, but I don’t think he’s ready.”

“Dick, it’s been months.”

“Yeah, and Bruce was trying to give him away forever.” Dick nearly spat. A sore spot still, Jason assumed. Though he wondered if it was a worse sore spot for Dick or Damian. “It’s…a lot to deal with. You were there, you saw how Damian reacted.”

“Yeah, he cried. Never seen that before.” Jason admitted. “Has he talked about Bruce at all?”

“In passing, and…coldly. Very detached.” Dick’s brows furrowed. “Doesn’t call him Father anymore. Just Bruce. Sometimes even Mr. Wayne.”

“Harsh. Does Bruce know that?” Jason asked.

“Tim knows, and I’m betting he’s mentioned it to him.” Dick explained. “But, I digress. It’s not something I want to push him on. I just…want to be here for him instead. In the interim, whenever he’s ready. Stuff like that.”

“AKA…like a dad.” Jason smirked.

“Shut it.” Dick laughed. “…What’s your thoughts on all this?”

Jason took another drink from his bottle, picked up his phone and read a quick text message. “I think Bruce was a piece of shit, deciding that was the only option for ending that stupid battle.” He placed his phone back down. “And I think you did the right thing by getting Damian out and as far away as possible.”

“Think I should have kept him?”

Jason thought a moment more. “…Yes.” A quick sniff. “And I think you should have gotten him out of the life. You getting out too was just a bonus, I think.”

Dick smiled warmly. “Thanks, Jay.” He inhaled. “I thought I’d miss it more, being Nightwing and all that, but.” He looked down at Damian, ran his hand up and down Damian’s arm. Damian just burrowed deeper into his side. “I don’t.”

“They say having kids changes you.” Jason reminded. “And this time around, you aren’t trying to juggle seven hundred different things. And you’re not grieving.”

“True.” Dick mumbled, staring down at the boy in his arms. “…I hate Bruce for what he tried to do.”

“We all do, I think.” Jason offered. “Damian’s a shitball, but…he didn’t deserve that.”

“Do you think Bruce understands that yet?” Dick asked.

“…I don’t know.” Jason admitted. “It’s hard to tell with him.”

Dick nodded, then slowly leaned his head against Damian’s, looking at Jason with a soft smile.

“Thanks for stopping by, Jay.” Dick hummed. “I really love when you do.” Then a laugh. “And Damian will never admit it, but he does too.”

“Yeah, yeah. It’s what’s family is for, and all that shit.”

Dick laughed and closed his eyes. Jason just took another drink.

“…Do you blame me?” Bruce, not Batman, asked, though his cape waved softly behind him. Cassandra and Tim glanced at each other, then to Bruce’s back, as he did not face them. Selina tilted her head. “Do you hate me?”

“Hate, no.” Selina hummed. “But blame? Well, Bat. What you almost did was terrible. Would you blame us if we did?”

“It was…” Bruce looked down at the streets below them. “I didn’t think I had another choice.”

“But in the end, you did.” Selina reminded. She looked at the younger two heroes, gave them an encouraging smile. They didn’t return it. “You found another solution that didn’t threaten your child’s life.”

“It was…” Cassandra offered. “A…poor choice.”

“And the only reason we don’t hate you is because Dick stepped in and stopped it from happening.” Tim added. “He saved Damian…and if he hadn’t gotten in your way, this conversation would be going very differently.”

Bruce closed his eyes, swayed slightly in the wind. “Would it make a difference if I said I was sorry?”

“We’re not the ones you should be apologizing to.” Selina sighed. “You know that, Bat.”

Bruce didn’t open his eyes. “…Do you think he’s happy?”

“I know he is.” Tim almost hissed. It was harsh and angry, but controlled, contained. Businesslike, and so very Tim. “He’s probably happier than he’s ever been, which is funny to say since you broke his heart and he’s still trying to put those pieces back together.”

“And better,” Cassandra cut in. “He is…safe.”

“And alive.” Selina continued.

No one spoke after that, for just a moment. Let those words – happy, safe, alive – linger between them, and float through the air into the Gotham night.

“…I miss him. I miss him and Dick both.” Bruce whispered. “Am I allowed to?”

Selina walked up behind him and put a hand on his shoulder. “You’re allowed to have emotions, Bruce.” A smirk, just for him. “In fact, we’re all pretty sure a lack of emotions is what got you here in the first place.”

Bruce tried to smile back to her. It didn’t feel right.

“…But to answer your question.” Tim exhaled, like he was exhausted. “No, we don’t hate you. We’re mad-”

“Pissed.” Cassandra interjected.

“-but would we be standing here if we hated you?”

It’d been ten months.

Ten months of Damian living with him, away from Bruce – and they hadn’t talked about it. Not once. Not even a mention, or a second.

It made him anxious, worrying about what might be clouding Damian’s brain, but it also made him happy. Because Damian seemed freer here, outside of Gotham, away from the costumes.

Away from his father.

He smiled so much out now. Laughed out loud, let himself feel.

And as much as he knew they needed to talk about it, Dick just didn’t want to wreck that.

But still – the tension of the topic was palpable. And Dick didn’t want that to get worse.

So it wasn’t his plan to talk about it right now, as they lay in the backyard, resting against Batcow, gazing at the stars above them.

But as he watched Damian pointing constellations out to his dog between them, the words just slipped out.

“I’m sorry.”

Damian looked up at him, confused. “For?”

Dick just kept staring at his charge, his voice quiet. Mournful. “For what Bruce did to you.”

Damian’s creased brows smoothed. He glanced down, reaching out to pet Titus’ head, and shrugged.

“I wish it didn’t. I wish I could have stopped him before he ever said anything.” Dick whispered. “I wish I didn’t have to take you away.”

“But I’m glad you did.” Damian interjected immediately, eyes fierce when he met Dick’s eyes once more. “Who knows where I would be right now if you hadn’t.”

Dick tried to give a little smile at that.

“…How are you feeling, though? Are you doing okay?” Dick asked. “Are you…happy?”

Damian leaned back, stared thoughtfully up at the stars.

Then smiled.

“Happier than I’ve been in a long time.” Damian decided. “A very long time.”

Dick allowed himself his own grin then, then shifted to pull Damian into his side and kiss his head.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Dick murmured into his hair. Damian merely shrugged again. “…Well, if you ever do, I’m here, okay?”

Damian looked up at him. His face was open and his smile was bright.

“I know you are.”

The manor was quiet, that was the first thing Damian noticed as he stepped in the front door. Quiet and dusty.

He didn’t take off his shoes, didn’t plan to be here long, just looked around as he made his way towards his father’s study.

The house was so empty, he could hear the scratch of a pen from down the hall. When he reached the door, the noise was almost deafening.

He stood there, though, for just a moment. Collected himself, inhaled. Then pushed the door open.

Bruce was at his desk, proofreading some sort of document for Wayne Enterprises. There was the shadow of a beard around his face, and his hair was messy. He looked tired, but not Batman tired.

Old man tired.

He looked up at the movement of the door, and his eyes widened as he registered who it was. He learned back in his chair, braced the armrests like he was about to stand, but Damian held up his hand to wave him off.

“I’m not staying.” He said quickly. “Just…wanted to stop by.”

“…What are you doing here?” Bruce asked quietly. “In Gotham, I mean.”

“Grayson is having lunch with Gordon.” Damian hummed. “I asked to tag along, said I wanted to see a friend too.”

“…He doesn’t know you’re here.” Bruce concluded.

“No. But I will tell him later, when we’re finished.” Damian nodded. He hesitated for a moment, looked around the room, at the art and style. He didn’t feel any sense of nostalgia, though. Didn’t miss this place at all.

He sighed, and looked back at Bruce.

“…Father.” The word sounded strange, he hadn’t said it in so long. “I know we haven’t talked or seen each other since…since that day.” Damian started. He could see the pain in Bruce’s eyes immediately. The guilt. The regret. “Both through my own choices and Grayson’s interventions.”

Bruce waited, looked like he was holding his breath.

“But I just want you to know that I forgive you.” Damian said plainly. “I forgive you for what happened.”

Bruce watched for a moment, then slumped. “You don’t have to.” He whispered. “I know I don’t deserve it.”

“Debatable.” Damian shrugged. “But that doesn’t change anything, not from my perspective. I forgive you.”

Bruce looked down.

“So don’t…feel guilty. It’s okay.” Damian offered. “I...want you to be happy.”

“I’ll be happy when you come home.” Bruce admitted, not looking up. “…I miss you.”

Damian didn’t seem to expect that response. Blinked in surprise, then looked guilty himself.

“I feel that I am home.” Damian murmured. “With Grayson.”

Bruce closed his eyes.

“And I apologize for that, I know it’s not something you wanted to hear.” Damian sighed. “But…I’m happy to extend an invitation to you. To visit whenever you like.”

Bruce didn’t open his eyes. “Dick won’t like that.”

“I’ll get him to come around.” Damian paused then. “He won’t say it, but he forgives you too, or at least is in the process of it. He was only upset because your decision was not what he felt was best for me, and that’s all he wants.”

Bruce did look up at that.

“He just wants what’s best for me. And I’ve found that the life we’ve adopted since we left is that.”

“That’s…good.” Bruce forced himself to admit. “I’m glad. For you and Dick both.”

“Thank you.” Another hesitation. “And thank you for everything you’ve given me thus far. I appreciate it more than I can ever say, even with our last meeting what it was.”

Bruce flashed a grim smile. Thank you for introducing me to Dick, is what Damian wouldn’t say.

“…But I better get going. Like I said, I can’t stay. And I actually do have a friend I’d like to visit.” Damian ended. “…It’s good to see you…Father.”

“You as well, Damian.” Bruce stood. “Thank Dick for me. For protecting you when I should have.”

“I will.” Damian promised. Stopped again, like he didn’t know what to do next, then merely gave a quick wave. “Goodbye, Father.”

“Goodbye, Damian.”

Damian nodded, and disappeared back into the hall. Bruce didn’t follow.

Just sat back down, and hid his face in his hands as he heard the front door close.

#Damian Wayne #bruce wayne #dick grayson

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bigskydreaming · 4 years

Note

How would you go about a good Spyral Dick Grayson storyline? I like the idea but not the execution (if it was stated he was acting like an idiot I'd like it better). Also in the same vein how would you do DickTiger/how do you think it'd work?

I’m side-eyeing you a little anon, lol, because I’m not sure what you mean by it’d be better if it was stated he was acting like an idiot. Because see, as far as I’m concerned, nothing about Dick’s actions was out of character....so long as you center Bruce’s actions as the real driving force behind Dick ending up stuck undercover at Spyral. Dick’s actions make perfect sense....as the fractured attempts at recuperating from a massive trauma without any semblance of a support system or any time or space to actually dedicate to acknowledging and accepting what he’d just been through before leaping right back into danger.

It remains extremely troubling to me that even WITHOUT taking into account Bruce’s victim blaming him for his own death, emotional manipulation and physical beating...all of that only stacks on top of what should already have been the takeaway, IMO:

And that is that its absolutely ridiculous to think that Dick could have remotely been emotionally and mentally composed enough to make an informed, non-coerced decision about undertaking the Spyral mission AND keeping it from the rest of the family.....mere days after being extensively tortured and then briefly died.

He wasn’t in a sound state of mind to make that decision with full awareness of all the implications and repercussions like he would have at other times. Nobody would have been.

And the rest of his family might not have known about him dying, but they did know about him being tortured for days and then unmasked, since they literally saw that on TV....and they know, post Dick’s return, that Dick had been in place undercover before his funeral was even held...the same week he was thought to have died. It should have been obvious to a family of geniuses that all choices made in a matter of days after being tortured and unmasked and who knows what else might have happened offscreen that they could only know about by ASKING him about his ordeal instead of jumping straight to punching him for the choices he made while in the immediate aftermath of massive trauma....like, point is, even without knowing he died, there was always more than enough info they were privy to that there’s no real excuse for their response to his return being judgment instead of concern for how the hell has he been coping with all of that, out there all on his own without anyone he could fully trust, let alone unburden himself to.

None of them spared a single thought for what any of that had been like for him, because they were too focused on their own hurt, and I’m always going to be pissed about that, lmao.

Anyway, apologies if none of that was anything you intended with your word choice, but to be perfectly honest I need very little excuse to go off on a rant about how even the rest of his family’s response to that storyline was like, fundamentally flawed.

NOW. On to your actual question! Because I do have an answer as I’ve thought about this particular thing a LOT, and my ire at both the Spyral storyline and the amnesia storyline coalesced into conjoined seething frustration because of how EASILY they could have avoided making all of the Batfam seem shitty, EVEN BRUCE, and like, also avoided them driving Dick further away rather than bringing him back closer to the family.

All you gotta do....is smash those two stories together and do them both at the same time.

LOL, a few months ago I actually literally wrote out a whole post outlining it in detail here:

https://bigskydreaming.tumblr.com/post/187334221591/if-dc-had-just-combined-their-spyral-and-amnesia

And I’ve copied and pasted the content of that post below the cut here too, just to keep it all in one place for convenience.

As for Dick/Tiger - that’s a whole other post I don’t have time to get into at the moment, but in a nutshell, I’m hugely a fan of their pairing but in specific ways...I mostly see them as each other’s angsty kinda ‘the one that got away, that they could never shake how they got under their skin, but can’t find a way to actually be with, longterm.’ Because the thing is, so much of their dynamic and interactions with each other were clouded by the layers of deception they both wore at all times, and how many different lies they had to tell in service of their whole reason for being there, and how much of themselves they had to hide.

Like, I tend to picture them as kinda both wistfully thinking if they’d met in another life, in another way, without all the cloak and dagger and lies from the very start...they could absolutely be happy together. But as it is, there’s no getting around that they both feel in any kind of relationship, there’d always be some part of them, even if just deep down, that was always keeping an eye open for a crack in the other’s mask, a sign that once again, they were not what they professed to be.

So I see them as being very much that spy vs spy trope, even after Dick goes back to vigilantism and civilian life and even when he and Tiger are theoretically on the same side.....like, I could see them having very emotionally charged, physical, almost desperate kinda encounters in secret whenever they’re in the same city or whatever....because they’re past denying that there’s definitely something between them, always has been, probably always will be...but without even talking about it, just with mutual understanding and implicit agreement, they always know these encounters are just for the night....and then its back to reality. With them thus becoming a kind of escape and fantasy for each other, all rolled up in one and thus inevitably romanticized even further within their own minds...

But they’re also both very pragmatic people, and used to taking what they can get and making the most of it. Its nice to picture the could-have-beens in a world where they met under more honest circumstances, but they live in this world, and here, this is what they can make of what they have, this is what they can make work. So its not all terrible, because if they both ultimately decide this is one of the better outcomes resulting from where they began, which neither of them can change...then it becomes more possible to appreciate what they have for what it is. Even if its not ideal. Or conventional. Or even forever....because I think they both are prepared for it to end if either one of them meets someone who can give them those kinds of nights and still be able to be there in the morning...

But none of that means that what they do have isn’t real, isn’t significant, isn’t as powerful and worthy in its own way as any more conventional relationship.

After all, neither of them are conventional people. They wouldn’t even have met if they were, making a lot of those might-have-beens a moot point. Probably wouldn’t even be as drawn to each other if they were other than what they are, because so much of their dynamic is tangled up in their respect for each other’s skills and convictions and more along those lines.

To be honest, I imagine both of them value and prize each other’s acting ability, their skills with deception and subterfuge....even as those are the very things at the root of why they’ll never be that conventional, longterm couple.

Because it keeps things even between them, and thus even when lying to each other’s faces, there was still an honesty to their dynamic, a balance. Neither is burdened by excessive guilt for deceiving the other, because they both were doing it and they understand why. Thus even when outright deceiving each other, there’s a weird kind of balance there that wouldn’t exist in relationships they had with others who couldn’t match what the other brought to the masquerade, so to speak.

Idk. I have a lot of thoughts on them obviously, lol, and totally meant that all to be another post but got carried away as usual, but I’ll leave it on that note for now, lmao.

How To Make The Spyral Storyline Work (If You Ask Me, which someone literally did so I can get away with saying this).

Ahem.

So. If DC had just combined their Spyral and amnesia stories into one, instead of like the mess we got, we could’ve actually had a good story.

Like, literally all you gotta do is back during Forever Evil, find some way to separate Bruce and Selina from Dick’s body BEFORE Luthor revives him….so Bruce too is of the belief that Dick’s dead, and Luthor being heralded as the one who saved the day from the Crime Syndicate protects him from Bruce or the Batfam’s reprisals.

Then all you gotta do is…instead of Dick getting amnesia like a year later from being shot in the head by KGBeast….Dick gets amnesia from complications in how long it took Luthor to revive him. And of course Luthor capitalizes the HELL out of this.

And then, you can pretty much do everything the same….without it being ANYONE in the Batfamily’s fault, or anyone taking anyone for granted?

You can still have Dick go undercover in Spyral, be Agent 37….only now its on Luthor’s orders, because Dick woke up with no memories and all he knows about himself or like, anything, is whatever Luthor tells him.

And he knows SOMETHING’S not right about everything, like, something’s off about the person he feels like he is and the person Luthor claims that he is, but Luthor’s savvy enough that he’s not forcing Dick to do anything that might trigger some buried memories or built in moral resistance to an order, he’s invested in keeping Dick as fully cooperative for as long as possible, because he knows Dick will be way more effective if he’s on board with stuff than actively fighting things. So Luthor has Dick sold on the idea that he’s infiltrating Spyral on behalf of the good guys, like Dick thinks he’s fine with doing morally gray stuff but isn’t full on trigger happy so Luthor doesn’t force him to kill people on his behalf and thus Dick’s time in Spyral and his character conflicts with Helena, Tiger, etc, remain largely the same.

And meanwhile, Dick’s in the dark about his real identity and past because not having any clue he’s alive, the Batfamily reluctantly has been doing their best to bury details of the late Dick Grayson, no matter how much they hate it, because they have to worry about the living members of their family and try and distance themselves from Dick post being-unmasked, so nobody connects the dots to all of them.

And then of course, eventually one of them runs into someone who reminds them suspiciously of Dick on a case, like his face is still all swirly because of the Hypnos implants but he says or does something that’s so quintessentially Dick Grayson that they can’t NOT wonder. Because here, Dick doesn’t KNOW to tamp down on his natural quips and banter or mannerisms around the Batfamily, and so they give him away even as he remains faceless, and there’s not really any way Luthor could have seen that coming or prevented it, without like….scripting everything Dick says or does in every possible encounter he has, which of course is impossible.

And so THEN ultimately, you can have one or two Batfam members pursuing possibilities that Dick’s alive on their own, and then eventually comparing notes and realizing Dick really IS alive, what Luthor must have done, and that Dick didn’t come home because Dick literally doesn’t remember where or what home is…..

And then whammo ka-blammo, its Fully United Batfamily To The Rescue as they basically just invade Spyral and blow it to Kingdom Come whilst convincing Dick that he’s their brother/son/friend and belongs with them and Lex Luthor is a lying liar who lies, SEARCH YOUR HEART, FEEL YOUR FEELINGS, YOU KNOW WE SPEAK THE TRUTH and blah blah blah et cetera et cetera et yada yada.

And nobody ever has to read Tom King and Scott Lobdell’s like…..*gestures disgustedly in the general direction of their utter tripe*….That.

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heroicadventurists · 5 years

Text

Batman and The Outsiders # 1 **SPOILERS**

Lesser Gods part 1

Recap and Review

This issue begins in Los Angeles. A Father (Gabriel) and Daughter (Sofia) are driving along a highway. Sofia is listening to her headphones to the annoyance of her Dad. He tells her to play music in the car but she tells him she prefers the headphones. He promptly reminds her that he is her Father and asks her to take the headphones off. She complies.

-“You’re thinking about your Mother. I know what day it is. I won’t tell you how to grieve, but Ana would want you to be happy, she always said—" Gabriel

The car suddenly hits a man standing in the middle of the road, but instead of killing the man, he crushes the car.

The man stands on top of the car and pulls Gabriel thru the windshield. He grabs his neck and you see a light escaping his eyes and mouth before he dies. Before Sofia can run, the man grabs Sofia by her neck.

-“Nothing from my touch. Strange. So scared. You don’t know what you are. Let me show you.”-Strange killer

The man proceeds to throw Sofia over the bypass and she slams into a gas tanker. The tanker explodes from impact and the scene ends with Sofia’s screaming face.

The issue switches to Gotham City. Signal and Orphan appear to be at the docks, taking cover from a mad man (Saint John) wielding a machine gun. Signal tells Orphan that he can rush Saint John but Orphan tells him to wait for Black Lightning. Duke does not respond well to this.

Suddenly Black Lightning appears, firing lightning at Saint John’s helmet, while Katana slices his gun with her sword. Black Lightning tells Katana to cover her eyes and he lights Saint John up.

With Saint John down, Black Lightning reprimands Signal for not waiting for him & Katana. Signal tells Black Lightning that he is not his Father and he’s not Batman.

-“Neither are you, Signal. That’s why I had to save your life. We have to work together. We’re a team.” – Black Lightning

Shamed, Signal walks away and tells everyone he will call GCPD. Katana asks Orphan if he is normally like this. She responds that he has been different since he was injured by Karma.

The scene switches once again to Kubrick Towers. Bruce is meeting Jefferson for a report.

-“Duke’s not right. Cassandra thinks this is recess. Katana will kill someone before this is over.” -Jefferson

Bruce tells Jefferson they are his team and to make them what he wants them to be. Jefferson questions if this is truly his team. At this point Jefferson and Bruce have a real conversation about Bruce’s real intentions with forming the Outsiders.

-“I need to solve some things. For myself. And they…need more from me than I can give.” – Bruce

On his way out, Bruce tells Jefferson he put the penthouse in his name.

We switch to what appears to be the Batcave. Batman is surveying the wreck from earlier in the issue. It’s confirmed that Gabriel is dead and Sofia is missing.

We move to an abandoned building that Tatsu is living in. She is trying to communicate with her husband’s soul inside her sword.

Tatsu tells Jefferson he is not as quiet as he thinks, and he comes out of the shadows. He tells her that he needs her wisdom. Tatsu tells him to pick up a sword. They spar while Jefferson asks Tatsu for her help.

-“Duke is punishing himself. Cassandra is a mystery I can’t solve. Help me with them.” – Jefferson

Jefferson tells Tatsu that he needs a partner. He wants her to challenge him. After he leaves, her husband’s soul speaks to her “Taaatttsssuuuuu”. She cries as she holds the sword.

Next, we see Cass and Duke riding her motorcycle. During the ride, Duke is only thinking about Karma and he cries out for Cass to stop. She asks Duke if he’s ok and he tells her he still sees Karma.

“It’s okay. When I sleep…I see my Dad.”-Cass

Cass tells him it’s okay to be afraid, and he yells that he is not afraid. Cass begins to apologize but their batwatches go off.

The Outsiders meet up with Batman on top of a building. He briefs them on The Ark Program. A consortium of billionaires wanted to create their own metahumans. Batman burned it down. The architects tried to kill all the test subject, and only the Ramos family survived. Bruce Wayne and Lucius Fox set them up in a house in Los Angeles and Batman promised them they would stay safe. Batman informs the team that the Mother eventually died due to the experiments and Gabriel was just killed. Their task is to find Sofia and bring her to Gotham. At this, Batman grapples away.

Right away, Black Lightning is distrustful of Batman and wants to decline the mission. In the end, Katana informs the team that they are taking the mission.

-“I don’t trust Batman. But that doesn’t matter. What does matter----is us trusting each other. Because I have a feeling we are own our own.”-Black Lightning

We go back to Sofia, and she is at the train station trying to keep a low profile and get out of Los Angeles. As she’s walking a man in the shadows grabs her from behind. He tells her that she will pull humanity from the ashes; and thru her a new age is born.

Review

I really enjoyed this comic. First off, the art work is AMAZING. Dexter Soy really took this comic book to the next level. The only thing that threw me off was Bruce looking like an older version of Jason. I had to do a double take for a moment. Speaaking of Jason, Gabriel's license plate was TODD JASON. Dexter did a great job.

I really enjoyed the development we’re getting with Duke. Duke had a very traumatic experience with Karma in Detective Comics, and it’s nice to see them addressing those issues.

I am also intrigued by Jefferson’s relationship with Duke and Tatsu. A part of me feels like Duke is pushing Jefferson away because he reminds him of his Father; or he feels that Jefferson is trying to take his Father’s place. He really has no other reason to be this combative. Jefferson is eventually going to break down Duke’s walls; and when he does, I think they will have an unbreakable bond.

Jefferson and Tatsu have a lot of chemistry and I would probably ship Jefferson with Tatsu if I knew the status of Anissa and Jennifer. If he hasn’t had them yet, then I wouldn’t ship them, but if he’s divorced from Lynn already, then it would be an interesting relationship to explore.

When Jefferson visited Tatsu, she told him that Cassandra was afraid of her future. I hope this is tied to Detective Comics 980 where Cass learned she was both Batgirl and adopted. Stephanie seems to have taken the news from Tec 980 well. She's not bitter that she was never Robin or Batgirl in this timeline. She is actually referring to herself as a Robin in Young Justice. Stephanie doesn't care what time line it happened in, a win is a win. Cass's situation is entirely different. While she can take the same approach with the Batgirl mantle, she can't do that with the adoption. That has to be something formally initiated by Bruce. I think there are a couple of things Cass could be afraid of: (1) Deep inside she is bad and they will get rid of her like they did Basil (2) She never reaches her full potential and does not become an official bat (she never wears the symbol) (3) She's never adopted again (if Bruce doesn't adopt her, what does that mean for their current relationship?). It could be something else entirely or a combination of 1-3. Hill has a lot of compelling directions he can go with Cass. A follow up from Tec 980 would be great.

Last, but certainly not least….Bruce Wayne. Honestly, Bruce came across as someone who really doesn’t care what the team is doing as long as they stay out of his hair and they’re alive. When Bruce met with Jefferson at Kubrick Towers, he confirmed my suspicions that he formed BatO and put Jefferson in charge so he could be Duke and Cassandra’s primary mentor. While it may seem messed up that he is not making time for them, I respect the honesty of the situation. Bruce’s life is crap right now. He’s trying to rebuild his relationship with Damian, he has no clue what to do with Jason and this Iceberg situation, Dick is Ric and at some point, he should realize that Tim is missing on Gemworld. Not to mention his Dad from another Universe is teaming up with his enemy and he’s still heartbroken over Selina. He’s stretched thin and has realized he doesn’t have the physical time or emotional availability to look after/mentor Duke and Cass. He’s giving them a better option in Jefferson. He even gave Jefferson a pent house for his troubles. I think Jefferson knew from the beginning why Bruce formed the team, which explains why he doesn’t trust him. They are laying the seeds of Batman eventually leaving the Outsiders and if that happens, I feel like this comic will be a great vehicle for Black Lightning to shine. I wouldn’t be surprised if they phased Batman out of the title once they have some consistent sales. It wouldn’t be anytime soon, but I wouldn’t mind BatO becoming The Outsiders.

This was a great issue with some great art. If you’re a fan of these characters I highly recommend you pick up this issue.

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lalaurelia · 5 years

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Quick Gotham 5x09 thoughts

No Gobblepot again, Jim and Lee are the worst possible couple ever, Harvey should have more friends and BatCat are amazing. I had better hopes for this ep. Let’s get to the sad and bitter rant and get this over with.

The shooting happens right at the start, and Oswald says the “mi casa - su casa” line and it’s the only Gobblepot interaction we’re apparently going to get. How, why? Okay, no time for tears just yet...

Jim is hauled off dramatically and is critical and the only doctor left is, apparently, Lee, who hasn’t done surgery since forever. Just what makes this woman “the best” doctor in Gotham again? Ah. It’s the fact that she’s the only one. We’re just gonna ignore the med ward staff who cared for Selina and Lucius who fixed Ed’s head, for the sake of this stupid detail.

I had such great hopes for Jim’s trial, for his trip through his guilty conscience and I feel absolutely robbed that the only witness we got for him was Lee. Seriously? He never even mentioned her for the several eps in the beginning, he ignored her existence for the whole previous ep, and now suddenly she’s the only person he’s hurt? Let’s not get into the amount of Jim’s wrongdoings to Oswald, I can keep my shipping goggles off here - what about Barbara? He got her in danger with Falcone back in the beginning and she was terrified of Zsasz because of him. Ogre targeted her and tortured her because of her connection to Jim. Then Jim ignored her when she was vulnerable and wanted to feel human again, but apparently she was good enough to use for help and intel throughout several seasons, apparently she was good enough for some comfort sex, she will be the mother of his child. And she doesn’t even get a mention in his thoughts. That’s just low.

And since I started ranting, it’s also quite low how Lee only has criticism for Jim and his wish to help Gotham, to save the city. Sure, it masks his suicidal tendencies. Sure, Jim is a complete mess, no matter how you take it. Will constant nagging and guilt-tripping fix it? Will it make him change? I don’t think so.

What nags and squicks me is the fact that Lee is so sure she gets to raise the baby that Barbara’s pregnant with. She is sure of it to the point she thinks she’s going to do it if Jim kicks the bucket. “What am I supposed to do, raise it with Barbara Kean?” No, Lee, you don’t have any claim to the kid, even your supposed moral claim due to your relationship with Jim is tenuous at best. And if anything happened to Jim I’m positive Babs wouldn’t want the toxic Lee Thompkins anywhere close.

God. It’s an unholy mess of a triangle and it’s terribly handled and I will praise Gotham to high heaven on public social media like Twitter, but really... it’s bad. I want to believe it could be better handled with slower pacing. With more episodes to develop the relationships and deal with the emotional baggage left behind by previous storylines. But it’s astonishingly bad as it is now.

The trial lacks input from other characters. It would’ve made Jim’s journey and guilt be brought into focus more, it would’ve been an interesting study of his perception of himself. Of what he thinks of other characters. But we only got the most boring option of Lee. Not even Harvey got a say. Ugh.

On the outside, Bruce and Selina have the cutest date. They’re just good. It was a pleasure to see them grow closer and closer consistently. Seriously, such a contrast.

The Ivy plot feels somewhat repetitive. We’ve been through this. We’ve seen this already. But I do love that it also brings BatCat closer. And Ivy is compelling and beautiful and it’s sad we don’t get more of her.

Ugh I don’t know. I wanted to enjoy this episode so much. But Jim and Lee get on my nerves too much with how unnecessary their relationship is. And how badly it affects Barbara, who already gets treated like a surrogate mother bearing a child for Jim and Lee and I can’t stress enough how terrible this plot is and how much dread it fills me with. I don’t want Babs to die for Lee to get her murderous mean hands on the kid. I don’t want Lee anywhere close to Gotham, actually. How is she not treated as a criminal? She poisoned the whole damn city with the Tetch virus. She went on the criminal spree with Ed. How is she suddenly elevated to the white-clad desirable bride is seriously annoying on so many levels. A woman character shouldn’t be treated like this, shouldn’t be deprived of her own agenda and stuffed into the cliche love interest role that doesn’t even get any more depth than that.

And uuugh Lee and the kid. What prevents her from getting her own? Apparently Jim is fertile enough - shouldn’t they just, I dunno, try? Instead of basically plotting to take the child away from the real mother. It is so terrible, FFS.

It also feels awful how Barbara tries to do the right thing, keep Gotham under control, all of it for Jim, - and get to see him marrying another woman and her not even getting some respect and gratitude she really is due.

It also feels weird to see her perform the Oswald role and him reduced to standing on the sidelines. Because really. Intel gathering and keeping Gotham in check has always been Oswald’s prerogative, his MO, his role. Even the motivation is more or less the same for him and Barbara - to get Jim appreciate them and consider their feelings. So this is all kinds of weird and wrong too. It would’ve felt so much more interesting and poignant if it was Oswald still.

Also this was the last ep to be filmed. Will this terrible wedding be ignored in the later ones? What was the point to it then?

The only thing it was good for was getting that sweet BatCat kiss. Now that made me go “awww”. And only that.

#gotham #gobblepot #jimwald #oswald cobblepot #jim gordon #otp #dc #barbara kean

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inappropriatefangirlneeds · 5 years

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Gotham s5ep2 “Trespassers” Personal Review

“Maybe there's still good people left in Gotham.” “Some say the darker angels of our nature are unlocked and set free.” Warning spoilers below

JIM GORDON Mainland wants the GCPD to do nothing in the case of the children. “Your dedication to your job is admirable, Captain, but you lack perspective.” Jim Gordon says he needs supplies not opinions but Mainland says, nope. They won´t risk pilots (theirs or Wayne Enterprise´s). “So you can save a few lives for thousands, but I can't?” Touché. Jim got a point there. HARVEY BULLOCK * Shows some (un)healthy pessimism. “IF we get back.” / “Check out the basement in a creepy hotel by myself? Sure. What could go wrong, right?” * Still has the best lines: “Why would anyone be a cop in a world like this?” “Well, the Halloween shop was all out of gas masks, so it was either this or sexy nurse.” * “Oh, my God. Oh. Not good. Oh, God. This This is not good.” And after having swiped through the teeth he still picks up the severed finger that is obviously a severed finger. Honey, what are you doing? The LOGERQUIST HOTEL Scene was awesome. Some reminiscence to earlier season, a side quest that gives you break from the greater mess. More please. > It´s just awesome that they just pulled the leaver and let them slide into a campy/classy horror. You just have to scream at the screen. Don´t leave the kids alone! Don´t split up! Don´t trust the other kid! How about you go for the lamps and try to destroy them instead of banging the door! (Harvey Bullock smashing the windows was a clever moment though, gotta give him that) Just the whole atmosphere of that set alone. Love! > This showed actual detective work and brought the plot and chara points of the macrocosm into this microcosm !!!!!!! It´s not only Harvey Bullock being weary of being sent into the basement (what could go wrong) that ties back to him not being keen to be shot standing next to Jim because Jim got the bounty on his head. It´s going right for the lingering pessimism that Harvey has been expressing (If we get back..) and him lecturing Jim that Jim´s methods (not killing Penguin) aren´t the right way for the mess they are in. They have Harvey Bullock being so perceptive to point out the lit candle right away. “Jim, we're not alone. Someone lit that candle. “ To which JIM GORDON reacts with HOPE! “In the old west, settlers used to leave a candle burning to lead others to safety. Maybe there's still good people left in Gotham.” He´s not only playing the same record that he played the whole last episode (and I´m not shading him there, his attitude is great in that situation, otherwise what would there be left but despair for him and everyone else) but he´s also referencing HISTORY .. and I vaguely remember that this is not the first time he did that [[DOES AYONE have a better memory than I do? PLS tell me]] which brings back memories of early Jim Gordon that solves cases and Ed´s riddles. They at the same time concede hope a victory, they get to save the two kids and Gabriel but Jim Gordon has to leave the other boy behind: “Not everyone wants your help, Jim Gordon.” IVY PEPPER “The plants came to my protection. “ Ivy, how about you asked them to stop. “But this park ever since we were cut off from the rest of the world, it's been behaving differently. There are things growing here I have never seen before.” Okay fucks sake, I so hope that this is not true. First we get Ivy magically aged then we get Ivy stealing some potion aka none of her love for plants and research and experiments that I wanted to see and now she should be afraid of them even? How about no?! Okay, I´m glad they didn´t go there. “You know, I wasn't lying when I said this park is changing.I'm feeding the earth with these wretched creatures. It consumes them, and then it flourishes.” >> Okay I can´t say that I like the “Ivy is a maniacal, cold-blooded killer.” but the mere suggestion of Ivy being intimidated and patronized by her plants scared me enough to be happyish about it. I´d still like to see her be just with her plants. Bring back her mushroom farm! Scratch all that murder business she had going on with Gotham and its people. Give her some space and place to care about her plants and learn more about them and okay if someone disturbs them or tries to harm them, and then bring out the murder. Maybe it might go into a direction like that now..... ? Ivy more and more retreating into the branches of that tree, while talking to Bruce got me intrigued. “Where I'm going is none of your business. Best hurry. That root will die if left out in the open for too long.” Her being so mysterious, and ambiguous about if she can be trusted suits her. Much, much more than a snarly direct threat of murder. She is her own entity, that does as she pleases and everything else if left to wonder what that might be! That would be a good attitude. QUESTION: “One thing is for sure though the seed will alter her forever.” “How?” “Some say the darker angels of our nature are unlocked and set free.” So this “some say” does not sound like a general statement about the nature of humanity it does sound like some people talk about the effects of this particular plant on humans. Which begs the question: Who says this? The plants? Do they whisper to her? Is it meant indirectly as in the research she did told her that? Or are there actually other people with knowledge over matters like this? Are there records, writings, research with footnotes? Did Ivy read them? Did she do her own experiments. Who or what is this referring to. I need answers!!

Also: Ivy is so ridiculously overpowered in this show, how the hell did those guys manage to lock her up? Also2: Is the guys story about them coming for their magic and getting killed true? Ivy at first helping people? After all the nurse knew about her and thought she would help? Was she kind and people got greedy, demanded too much, wanted to take advantage of her? Then again she was not known as the helpful fairy but as witch, so there might have been something that got her that reputation .. but there also had to be something that got her a reputation as healer instead of solely being a murderous killer witch? EDWARD NYGMA * How could he believe locking himself up would work if he just had the key in his pocket? This should have been some timed release system that didn´t give him access to the key until after a couple of hours. * Uhm, can TANK from the Street Demonz gang please stick around. I like him. I like those two together. That´s fun. “Did I, uh hit you, et cetera? Any idea why?” * Okay so sleepwalking or for him rather wakewalking Ed has orchestrated the demise of the Street Demonz in order to get some more chaos and war and likely Oswald´s head? Great. * “How did I seem? Was I confident, flamboyant, charisma for days? Or a little more conservative, kind of repressed, a little nerdy?” “You seemed stiff, man of few words. In a daze, actually.” “Interesting.” * “Well, whoever did just started one hell of a war.” Tank can you please stick around, I need a rough biker that gets to the heart of things like that on Eds side. PREDICTION? Oswald put a bounty on Jim Gordan´s head. The criminals want to kill him. “Edward” likely put an indirect bounty on Oswald Cobblepot´s head, ciminals will want to kill them. However it seems Barbara Kean makes this situation less equal with protecting Jim Gordon from criminals and tightening the thumb screws on him in order to get Jim to kill Oswald. It just seems everyone´s best bet is to go get rid of Oswald right now. And I´m gonna be disappointed if Oswald doesn´t change back to his clever self and manipulate the situation in a way that ties his and Jim´s life back together … SET DESIGN Yes this is a character on its own and it´s marvelous. * The Wallpaper in Edward Nygma´s bathroom is pretty. * Is that a can of beer on the window still next to Tank in the bathtub?? * Damn every place Ivy stays at is just eerie, beautiful and just stunning. * The halls of Logerquist Hotel are awesome and the perfect atmosphere. FunFact: John Logerquist founded Gotham in 1635

* Someone had a field trip with the LIGHTNING [Edit: Link] in this. First the bright lights in the conversation with Barbara Kean and Jim Gordon in the Sirens club, then the Lightning used as weapon at the hotel. This all should be super obnoxious, like glaring out a charas whole face during a dialogue .. what .. but it all just works, and works really well. Damn. Honorary mention: The light bulb and welding sparks 11:40 * Those safe houses that Lucius Fox set up looked like a dream again. Just like Lee with that train, or Jim visiting the retired Carmine. I just wait for someone to wake up, shatter the bubble, destroy the niceness. It slightly creeps me out every time they do that. * “What do I do, just swallow it?” Okay Bruce Wayne should have told SELINA KYLE everything that Ivy said about that thing. This is not an informed medical decision: Me not moving vs. probably not me but moving is a relevant thing to know. Not that I think it would change anything for Selina, but they should have laid open all the information and it bugs me. It might kill you is just half of the story. It might change who you are even if it works is a significant thing to know about. * GABRIEL I literarily can´t believe he is still alive. That´s the kind of character that usually has the shortest shelf life. * Also how beautifully phrased was Bruce Wayne´s initial distrust towards Ivy is. “You'll forgive me if I find it hard to do so.” * “God, what have I done” Acting on point, acting over all point, acting is said point .. * “I'll tell you what! I'll take his head, and you can have the rest of him!” I giggled. (Context: He doesn´t need more than Jim´s head to collect the bounty from Penguin)

#gotham #gotham meta #gotham s5ep2 Trespassers #ivy pepper #Logerquist Hotel #mine Gotham full episode reviews

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optimisticcritique · 6 years

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Gotham 4x22 - Review

Better late than never? I had a fever when watching this so...we’ll see how this goes.

Intense scene. “Promise?” I doubt she will die but this breaks my heart. Poor Selina :(

I have a hunch Bruce won’t be able to keep that promise.

All the cops giving Jeremiah the death stare.

“We couldn’t talk with his girlfriend bleeding all over him” Hmm...well, maybe you shouldn’t have shot her then?

“I am a very good engineer” So modest. I’m curious how well he would get along with Ed :P

Jeremiah’s obsession with Bruce never seizes to amaze me. Such a contrast to Jerome. Jerome wanted Bruce to suffer and die, Jeremiah wants Bruce to suffer and then become dark as he joins him.

Hugo Strange! They skipped finding him and threatening him and went straight to this!

I’m surprised Hugo automatically knows how to cure him. Has this happened before? Is there another Grundy running around?

This is not going to work out well for them. No couple gets a happy ending in Gotham.

“What? No, she’s in surgery. I’m going to go kill Jeremiah!” Haha well, that figures. You go, Tabby! I do love how much she cares for Selina. She has such a heart for her.

I am suspicious of what Oswald will do when Tabitha leaves. He’s being too nice. I sense betrayal.

Well, hello Ra’s. That’s not creepy at all. I wouldn’t be surprised if that is how he meets his best friends.

And another mayor bites the dust. At what point will people refuse to become mayor and they’ll have to draw names out of a hat to make someone take the role?

The way violence seems to un-faze Jeremiah. It’s like a punch to the face or a push to the wall means nothing.

Arrest Jim? Well, that’s a little extreme for disagreeing.

“It’s polite to let people finish” Yeah Jim, he has barely gotten to give riddles this season. Don’t ruin it!

“RISE AND SHINE! Good morning sweetheart” First off, the sweetheart ;) Second, I will not be surprised if people start setting this as their ringtones.

“Remember when you punched me in the face?” *slaps him dramatically* Wow, even his slaps are extra.

“We are a little pressed for time” *laughs at his own joke* ...wow, this is probably the most relatable Ed has ever been.

Ed with his long and extreme ways of killing someone.

I hate the motive but I do love seeing Ed go full on like this :)

So...does Ra’s really turn out the lights for dramatic effect? Is there someone working for him that turns it off? Ra’s: ready? go! Man: *turns off light* Ra’s: *fights people* Man: *turns it back on* Me: Bet he’s fun at parties.

Some of his power is off? Hmm...I still don’t understand the whole point of this Babs and the painting of the look alike.

This all just points to Ra’s totally trying to use her for the power.

What? This guy doesn’t even care anything about Jim at all? I mean, I know he isn’t exactly priority but still...

“Closer Please. Closer” I just expect him to keep saying this until they are face to face.

Destined as best friends? Well, you’re destined as something alright...

The wink XD With his bad eye, no less

I sincerely doubt that was the only bomb that was planted.

The way Jeremiah talks about Selina. Savage!

Wow, Lee is acting so calm about this.

“I am going to decide who I am going to be. Not you, not Jim Gordon.” Yes! Love it.

Lee is totally manipulating Ed by pretending not to care if Ed kills him so that she saves Jim’s life. It’s too obvious.

“She chose me” Umm not exactly Ed.

“One question: who do I get to kill?” Oh, Oswald, strutting in and ready to fight. He just couldn’t stay away.

Alfred, Babs, Tabby, and Oswald all working together? I love it!

Better hope Ed isn’t secretly listening to all this.

Honestly, at this point, I want Lee to be done with these romances. I just want her to be happy and independent for awhile.

Basically, Ra’s and his plan is “meh” to Jeremiah. He’s just all in it for Bruce.

“The brother I never had” “...together” aww how twistedly sweet of you.

Oh, so now he cares what happened when Jim was taken?

Just listen to Jim!

I love seeing the GCPD being so loyal. They have come a long way.

The demon’s head not working I guess is the convenient way to explain how they all get the drop on him.

Ha! I love how Oswald is the only one screaming as he shoots the gun, while everyone else just runs in. Honestly, it wouldn’t be an episode of Gotham if he didn’t.

Wait, Oswald shot Jeremiah and saved Tabby? I’m just...that seems so weirdly nice. This is the same person that murdered his mother and yet he’s doing this. Not like they would let Tabby die though. Is that the surprising thing for RLT? Him saving her? My memory of the interview is so vague all of sudden. No...it has to be a bad thing. This can’t be it.

Are you kidding me? They stab and kill him again? I mean, I never LOVED Ra’s but he was barely even alive!

That grin on Jeremiah. I oddly love how devilish it looks.

*Lee stabs Ed* What?! Oh, I did not see this coming. *Ed stabs Lee* Double stabbing! That one I was expecting.

Seriously? A kiss now?

So, in 4x14, Ed almost killed himself so that he wouldn’t try to kill Lee...now here we have Lee and Ed trying to kill each other. How poetic.

Whoa! Butch is back! ...Is he about to die?

I’m kind of sad by how kind of shallow it is that Tabby doesn’t say “I love you” until he is back to being Butch. Also a bit sad by how confusing the relationship status is with Babs/Tabby too.

*Oswald shoots him* Wow, he actually did it!

“Did you think I forgot that you murdered my mother?” Oh my god... YES. I mean, it’s sad that Butch is dead and I love Drew but like...I was just thinking about how Tabby killed Gertrude ...And I love callbacks way too much.

Wow. So, he waited and planned to get her back for two seasons. This is some crazy stuff. Impressively ingenious.

Hey, when did Oswald get the new henchmen?

*pans on Butch’s dead body* :( So sad...is that a tear rolling down his cheek? Was Butch crying? (UPDATE: It is very possible that was Drew crying from it being his last scene and now if that is a tear, this scene is even sadder.)

So, Selina won’t be able to walk? Surely this won’t last...at least I wouldn’t think. Unless they are going for something different.

Yes! You go, Bruce! It’s sad that you are leaving Selina but I love this. Be the dark knight! I hope this means Bruce will be the one to fight Penguin, Riddler, Jeremiah, Mr. Freeze, Scarecrow, and other new rogues next season.

Oh yes!!! Love the new digs for Penguin.

All these rogues carving up their territory. The montage, the costumes, the music. I love this so much. Why must season 5 be so short and be in 2019?

Savage Jon! Scarecrow got a new hat! I like :)

“Penguin says fix ‘em” Wait...Ed and Lee? Did they die? First, the thought of Penguin going straight to Ed after all this mess and refusing to accept Ed’s death makes me very happy. Second, oh my god! What is that smirk, Strange? What are you going to do?

Is she about to blame Penguin for everything? Ah, men...I mean, she has had a rough go with men so I guess I can see where her understanding goes.

Yay! Harvey and Foxy are staying :)

I didn’t even realize Jeremiah got away. Sneaky!

The future bat signal! I love it.

“I stayed to fight for the city” ...Wow. I was half expecting Jim to disapprove. Guess he knows it’ll be pointless and Bruce would just do whatever he wants anyway.

Manbat! Sweet. Hello mother, how are you? Wow, brutal.

Part of me is excited, the other part is hoping all of this won’t be too much in the final season.

Season 1 callback to their first meeting. “There is light” Love it :’)

Overall: Wow! What an episode! I loved it. Crazy to think that this is the last one for about a year but it definitely left an exciting impression.

Jeremiah was fun and had some great interactions with Bruce. Really building up that relationship in the past few episodes, which was nice. Overall, he’s great. However, I do still wish they could have introduced him sooner. We didn’t get to see enough. My hope is that we see plenty more of him next season.

Not a lot of Selina in this episode. Nice homage though. I’m curious where this story will take her, now that she is currently paralyzed.

The Oswald/Butch thing was sad. I mean, I’m sad for Butch and I love Drew so it sucks. Drew is an amazing actor and I will miss his presence very much. Also, no Grundy :/ That being said, it was a surprise reveal and callback that I did not see coming. I’m so used to so many shows always forgetting plot points or being so serial. So, any time that a show does a callback, I love it. It reminds me that the writer's actually remembered their work and that the characters think about their past. And, for someone that murdered a man for insulting Gertrude’s singing in S1, it would be odd for Oswald to just forget about Tabby murdering Gertrude. The writers found a way to keep Oswald in character while also keeping Tabitha alive, only they had to sacrifice Butch and push the Butch/Tabby relationship a bit in order to do it. That kind of leaves me conflicted :/

The whole Lee/Ed thing is...well, I think it is over and they will now focus on their own separate stories, which I prefer at this point. I’m curious what Strange will do to them next season. Doubt it will be anything major physically though.

Looks like rogues are taking territory, which is awesome! I expect every rogue to go embrace their personas like never before and now fully go up against Bruce. There’s also a few other rogues they are going to slip in, which will be fun.

All around, there is a lot to look forward to. Wanted to make this review a bit extra long, since it was the final one of the season. I wanted to cover some of the main things that I enjoyed. There were a few things that left me conflicted, like Ed/Lee stuff, Butch dying, and Ra’s dying AGAIN, but I still really loved the episode. Can’t wait to see what is next!

Previous Review: 4x21

#gotham #gotham 4x22 #oswald cobblepot #jeremiah valeska #optimisticcritique gotham review

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ncfan-1 · 6 years

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Gotham 04X16, ‘One of My Three Soups’

So, this is Ben McKenzie's second episode as a director. He didn't write this episode as well, so I don't anticipate it being as good as the episode he did write, but I'm interested to see what kind of visual style he has. This is Gotham.

And the dashboard is doing that thing where it doesn’t know what apostrophes are. What the hell.

- Okay, I am going to make three predictions for this episode. Here they are.

1) Jim Gordon is not going to express any meaningful remorse. By that, I mean he isn’t going to express any sort of remorse that I believe could actually lead somewhere.

2) Having been recast, Jonathan Crane will have a completely different personality and set of motivations, and there will be no continuity between Tahan!Jonathan and Thompson!Jonathan’s characters.

3) Selina will join Jerome because ‘Long Halloween’ reasons.

4) There will be horrible depictions of ableism in Arkham Asylum.

Now, I am going into this hoping that all of these predictions will be proven wrong. To be fair, #1 is low-hanging fruit and I’m not likely to be proven wrong there, but I always hope this show will be better than it has been, even though I know that’s unlikely.

- We open with one of the guards in Arkham reading a wrestling magazine.

- And I think we’ve found out what the protocol for going to deal with Jervis is. Listen to loud music so he can’t hypnotize you, and keep the man in solitary so he has less access to victims. And… I’m right. I know Jervis is a horrible person, but the effects of solitary confinement on inmates, especially when they aren’t allowed human contact, are well-documented.

- So it turns out Jervis and Jonathan are buddies. I know he’s been recast, but I’ll remind you that Jonathan is a teenage boy, no matter who’s playing him. Jervis… is the last person I want to be alone with a child.

- Seems Jerome and Jonathan don’t particularly get along.

- And, as with List!Ivy, in Thompson!Jonathan’s characterization it appears that the writers seem to believe that creepiness is a suitable substitute for character. It’s not. He sounds like a caricature of himself, but Thompson does seem like he’s trying his damnedest.

I will note one more thing. Since Jonathan is, at the oldest, eighteen years old, and he never finished high school, I don’t think he’s a good candidate to be making lock-melting acid in his cell’s toilet. Also, why do they let him wear that burlap sack over his head? The first time he rolls onto his stomach while he sleeps he’s in danger of suffocating. Though, it could be the staff is hoping for that to happen. They treated him like absolute shit, it sounds like, but if none of them acknowledge their own culpability in what Jonathan’s become, it’s likely none of them like him too much after the first time he raised hell in there.

- And apparently this is Jim’s first night out of the hospital.

- Oh, Jervis, I’ve missed you. You’re a horrible person and I’ve missed you. Benedict Samuel is a gift from God.

- We seem to have some interpersonal tension between Jim and Bullock.

- The two of them pull up to where Jervis is waiting. We have a hypnotized couple in wedding garb… standing beneath a wrecking ball. I know most of my readers have seen the promo. You know where this is going.

- Seriously, why doesn’t Jervis have a massive scar on his neck?

- And the mind of Jervis Tetch is as miserable and disturbing a place as ever, his memory as self-serving as ever.

- I don’t remember Jervis rhyming this much in Season 3.

- And when Jervis lifts his hold over the thugs, they start crowing like roosters.

- Bruce and Selina head to the GCPD so they can read Jerome’s file.

- Barbara, sweetheart, alcohol isn’t going to do anything for your migraine.

- Poor Barbara. She’s in a horrible position right now.

- “It hurts too much.” Barbara…

- Of course, Tabitha… I think she means well this time (I think). But Tabitha is not one of my favorites at the best of times, and she’s not endearing herself to me right now.

- Flashback time!

- I hate that this makes me ship Ra’s/Barbara a little more. But even if it’s only to manipulate her, he sounds like he’s the only person who’s ever bothered to really listen to her.

- Yeah, I’m pretty sure this is just manipulation. But I like ships with messed-up dynamics sometimes.

- So we’ve got Jerome, Jervis, Jonathan, Ivy, and the League of Shadows set to all be raising hell in Gotham at once. This show is about to get a bit narratively crowded.

- And we have rows upon rows of hypnotized people standing on rooftops, waiting to jump at the stroke of midnight. No, Jim, a net is not going to work. What you need is a lot of nets. And soon.

- Jerome’s uncle lives in Gotham. What? I suppose that’s where the twin might come into things. And apparently Bruce feels responsible for what Jerome does.

- As ever, I like Bruce and Selina’s interactions. It’s one of the emotional touchstones of the show, so it’s good that their dynamic is so… good.

- Jerome is, as ever, a bit boring. Here’s another character where the writers think creepiness is a suitable substitute for character.

- His uncle’s vile.

- A ton of extras snuck into the Sirens’ club.

- Harvey’s found the radio station Jervis was broadcasting from. And Jervis had a special signal for him.

- So, we’ve seen Jervis and Jerome. Where’s Jonathan, anyways? He doesn’t exactly come across as an equal partner in this little coalition the three of them have formed. I wonder if Jervis isn’t keeping him close at hand.

- Jim’s at the radio station.

- And we come back to Jerome, Jerome’s vile uncle, the strong man, and the “soup.” The literally boiling soup. Bruce walks in and is suitably horrified.

- Jerome came to his uncle for a reason. I wonder what it is he wants to know.

- And apparently no woman has ever led the League of Shadows. The sexist man who wanted to depose her promptly gets stabbed. And it turns out the rest of them want the top spot, too.

- Jervis needs to learn to lock doors so people can’t put guns to his head.

- Jim basically tells Jervis that he’ll torture him ‘till he does what he wants. And then he follows through. Our hero, everybody.

- What is it with this show and hand trauma?! It really is somebody’s fetish, isn’t it!

- Jim, why didn’t you get the nets? You could have avoided this, you asshole.

- Selina intervenes at the diner. She tries to kill Jerome, only for Bruce to stop her. What Selina wants, basically, is for Bruce to actually live his life and not be burdened with guilt.

- Barbara steps up as a brand-new evil overlord. This… is a good look for her. I hope you have a good story arc, Barbara!

- And Jim has a moment where he eats humble pie. Not sure he learned anything for the long-term, but he looks appropriately tired.

- So Jim and Harvey are calling it a day. Jim doesn’t think he belongs here; he thinks he belongs in jail. Harvey agrees, but he tries to give him some feel-good thing about saving the people on the ledge. It rings hollow.

- Jim… actually apologizes to Harvey for judging him. I’m shocked. In a good way, but I’m still shocked.

- Bruce calls up Jim to tell him he’s going to the school Jerome was looking for.

- We end with Jervis in a fucking muzzle (I have no words—it is equal parts amusing and appalling), when Jerome and Jonathan come to rescue him. Jervis looks genuinely happy to see them. I’m almost touched. They all seem to be genuinely fond of each other—well, Jerome and Jonathan don’t, but apparently they cooperated long enough to rescue Jervis without getting into a brawl, so that’s something.

Okay, so predictions.

1) Jim Gordon is not going to express any meaningful remorse. By that, I mean he isn’t going to express any sort of remorse that I believe could actually lead somewhere.

Not sure with this one. Yes, he did express some guilt, but I’m not sure that it’s going to go anywhere. Every time Jim says something about feeling guilty, Harvey says something to him trying to convince him not to follow through on his guilt and come clean about… everything, really.

2) Having been recast, Jonathan Crane will have a completely different personality and set of motivations, and there will be no continuity between Tahan!Jonathan and Thompson!Jonathan’s characters.

Looks like this one was true. I’ll save the rant about internal consistency for another episode, because honestly, it was hard to get a good read on him. Jonathan felt a lot less like a character this episode than he did a plot device. He was basically in it just to produce a lock-melting acid that it seems frankly implausible he would have known how to produce or had the materials to produce it with, given his education stopped at ninth grade, and that’s it. Much like Tahan!Jonathan, it felt like he only existed when the show needed him to exist, and when it didn’t, he got shoved back in the box of non-existence and everyone forgot he existed. Watsonianly, it adds to that sense I got, that Jonathan is not an equal partner with Jerome and Jervis. I’ll be interested to see if that actually goes somewhere.

As an aside, the idea that Jervis and Jonathan have interacted enough to know each other and be friendly is just… It makes my skin crawl, okay. Because I love Jervis, but he really does give off “I have candy in my van” vibes, and aside from Jim Gordon, every adult we’ve ever seen Jonathan Crane interact with has abused and exploited him in some way. And it’s not like Jervis isn’t an abuser. I’m looking to see where their apparent relationship goes, with much less eagerness.

And my personal suspicion about the “personality face lift” for Jonathan Crane here is that Tahan was perhaps just a bit too good at making him vulnerable and sympathetic for the higher-up’s liking. Like I said earlier, Thompson is clearly trying his damnedest—I rarely come across an actor in this show who seems to be sleepwalking through the part—but “sympathetic” and “vulnerable” is clearly not what the writing’s going for here. “Cartoonish, two-dimensional supervillain” is more like what the writing’s going for here. (Prove me wrong, Gotham. Prove me wrong, please.)

3) Selina will join Jerome because ‘Long Halloween’ reasons.

Didn’t happen. THANK GOD. This was the one I was the most afraid about. I suppose there’s still time for it to happen, but it makes even less sense now than before.

4) There will be horrible depictions of ableism in Arkham Asylum.

Happened. Ugh. I’m not mad, I’m just disappointed. Oh, wait, I am mad.

Well, at least the dynamic between the villain triple-act was interesting.

#ncfan watches Gotham

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gokinjeespot · 3 years

Text

off the rack #1315

Monday, March 1, 2021

Hi folks. Long time no write.

I have been mostly isolating at home during the pandemic trying to keep myself and my family safe from Covid-19. I do go out and walk around our neighbourhood to get fresh air and exercise. I don't wear a mask outdoors like I do when I absolutely have to go into somewhere other people will be, like the drug store or my dentist's office. I get anxious when people come too close to me masked or not, but I also get angry when there is plenty of space to keep a safe distance and people don't move away. I have verbally admonished someone for being too close but have decided that I will keep my big mouth shut from now on and just get away from them myself. I don't know if I can keep my trap shut if I was confronted by the guy my brother did at work. This young guy came into the liquor store wearing a mask with a swastika on it. That would make me very angry. Angry enough to confront him? I don't know. I would like to be brave enough to ask him "are you for real with that mask?". Or "are you a Nazi?"…"you know the Nazis lost, right?". My brother would not serve him. It could have been worse though. That racist could have gone through his check-out without that ugly symbol on his mask and he wouldn't have known he was serving a bigot. I think it's better when you see them coming.

My thanks to Doug for lending me his comic books to read.

Daredevil #26 - Chip Zdarsky (writer) Marco Checchetto (art) with Mike Hawthorne (pencils) Adriano Di Benedetto (inks) Marcio Menyz (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). This book may have been put into Doug's sub my mistake but it gave me a chance to catch up with what's happening with the Man Without Fear. This is part 1 of "The Black Kitchen" which ties into Marvel's "King in Black" mega event. Knull is now on Earth and is wreaking havoc. Kinda reminds me of the "Maximum Carnage" event back when I was reading on the regular. Here we have Venom symbiotes running amok in Hell's Kitchen. What I found interesting was the current situations of the main characters. Matt is in prison after being convicted of murder. He can still wear his mask to conceal his secret identity inside. Not true to life but hey, it's comic books. Elektra is now protecting Matt's turf as Daredevil and she's got super scary horns. Wilson Fisk is still mayor with Typhoid Mary as his head of security now. The big shocking ending is that symbiotes get into the prison and one bonds with Matt. Another symbiote bonds with Mary and she attacks Elektra. This sets up overwhelming odds for the good guys as any good comic book will do. Stay tuned.

Action Comics #1028 - Brian Michael Bendis (writer) John Romita Jr. (pencils) Klaus Janson (inks) Brad Anderson (colours) Dave Sharpe (letters). Bendis closes out his run on this title with so much schmaltz you're going to need a shovel to get through it. Jimmy Olsen is the new owner of the Daily Planet. What the nique? Conner Kent goes to the farm team. Jonathan Kent goes back to the future and the Legion of Super-Heroes. I don't know if a new art team is going to come on board but I sure hope so.

Detective Comics #1033 - Peter J. Tomasi (writer) Brad Walker (pencils) Andrew Hennessy (inks) Dave McCaig (colours) Rob Leigh (letters). The art on the first page with Batman and Robin tumbling in the foreground with flashback panels behind gave me goosebumps. It's why I will always love reading comic books. Batman beats Hush by giving him a good old fashioned beat down. The rest of the Bat Family is saved and Bruce can take a breather. Now that the Wayne fortune is lost to him I'm curious to see where Bruce ends up after he moves out of the mansion.

Batman/Catwoman #2 - Tom King (writer) Clay Mann (art) Tomeu Morey (colours) Clayton Cowles (letters). The jumping back and forth in time is a little confusing for me but I really like this Black Label story. The relationship between these lovers is more than complicated especially where the Joker is involved.

DC kicks off 2021 with a plethora of comic books taking their characters 10 years into the future with their "Future State" event. Doug decided to check out the following.

Future State: Superman vs. Imperious Lex #1 - Mark Russell (writer) Steve Pugh (art) Romulo Fajardo Jr. (colours) Carlos M. Mangual (letters). The story opens with a meeting of the United Planets inner circle. They are debating the inclusion of the planet Lexor which is lorded over by Lex Luthor, the supreme anal pore that we all know and loathe. Lois Lane is Earth's representative and she votes to reject Lexor's membership until Superman lobbies to allow his arch foe's planet to join so that the poor inhabitants don't suffer from Lex's villainous ways. It's a morality tale of Unity, Progress and Compassion.

Future State: Robin Eternal #1 - Meghan Fitzmartin (writer) Eddy Barrows (pencils) Eber Ferreira (inks) Adriano Lucas (colours) Pat Brosseau (letters). In this future Gotham City the Bat Family has been decimated. Bruce is dead, Dick is in Arkham and Jason now works for the law enforcement agency that killed Batman. No mention of where Damian is. I have a feeling that the son of Bruce will show up later as a big surprise. Tim's the last man standing and he's vowed to continue the tradition of keeping Gotham safe. Too bad he doesn't live long fighting against the super cybers. The last panel reveals why this book is called Robin Eternal. Hint: the Lazarus Pits are involved.

Superman: Worlds of War #1 - This $7.99 US anthology of four stories starts off on Earth and ends up on Warworld.

"The Many Lives of Clark Kent" by Phillip Kennedy Johnson (writer) Mikel Janin (art) Jordie Bellaire (colours) & Dave Sharpe (letters) is my favourite one simply because I loved the art so much. This is where we find out why Superman is missing from Earth.

"Time and Effect" by Brandon Easton (writer) Valentine De Landro (art) Marissa Louise (colours) & Dave Sharpe (letters) features the new Mister Miracle poking around Warworld. Why? We don't know. Guess we'll find out if we keep reading.

"Midnighter: Future State" by Becky Cloonan & Michael W. Conrad (writers) Gleb Melnikov (art) Jordie Bellaire (colours) Travis Lanham (letters) has Midnighter running around creating a bloody mess everywhere. It could have just as easily been Lobo or Wolverine in this piece.

Finally "Do Not Go Gently" by Jeremy Adams (writer) Siyam Oum (art) Hi-Fi (colours) Gabriela Downie (letters) features the new Black Racer trying to free the slave labour on Warworld. Unless you're a Jack Kirby Forever People fan you wouldn't care.

As a fan of Mikel Janin's art I would have felt ripped off having to pay for the three fillers in this comic book just to have his work in my collection.

Future State: Catwoman #1 - Ram V (writer) Otto Schmidt (art) Tom Napolitano (letters). Selina is still Catwoman ten years down the line as she attempts to rescue Gotham City citizens being transported to a reformatory by train. Similarities to Nazi behaviour is an easy way to make the bad guys evil. All the previous Batman related Future State books say that Batman is dead but this one has a surprise at the end. Hey, it's Bruce in shackles.

Future State: Dark Detective #1 - Mariko Tamaki (writer) Dan Mora (art) Jordie Bellaire (colours) Aditya Bidikar (letters). This title blows the whole Bruce/Batman is dead plot device clear out of the water. I can see why the bad guys controlling Gotham City wants the populace to think that, but how are they going to keep up the charade when Batman is clearly running around fighting crime? I like that Batman has lost the cape in this one. This $5.99 US book has a back-up story by Matthew Rosenberg (writer) Carmine Di Giandomenico (art) Antonio Fabela (colours) & AndWorld Design (letters) that I liked even more than the feature. It follows Cole Cash AKA Grifter as he tries to dodge the law. He gets arrested and meets up with Luke Fox AKA Batwing and a whole lot of fun ensues. The Huntress showing up at the end makes this more appealing.

Future State: Dark Detective #2 - Mariko Tamaki (writer) Dan Mora (art) Jordie Bellaire (colours) Aditya Bidikar (letters). This issue explains how Bruce Wayne/Batman "dies" and how Bruce continues to fight crime. I was disappointed that the back-up story didn't follow up on Grifter and Huntress but was a different story about Jason Todd/the Red Hood now working for the bad guys as a bounty hunter capturing masked vigilantes. It starts with him bringing in the Vigilante and ends with him teaming up with a ruthless Ravager to stop an old school Red Hood gang leader stealing from the rich to give to the poor. Rose has no qualms about killing their bounties but Jason brings them in alive, that's why their nickname is "dead or alive". Har. I like Jason's Akira bike.

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blackbatpurplecat · 7 years

Text

My Thoughts on “The Enigma”

Because I have a wonderful friend who gave this to me on my birthday and because I finally have a PC that’s good enough, I played the first episode of Batman: The Telltale Series - The Enemy Within yesterday, it’s titled “The Enigma”. And it was awesome!

Warning: SPOILERS ahead!

So what’s the plot?

After the events of season 1, Bruce had picked Wayne Enterprises back up and Batman’s been working with the GCPD to keep Gotham’s streets clean. One night, the Riddler, after a long time of absence, reappears in the city and crashes a casino. He takes revenge on an arms dealer, who’s gambling there, over a deal they had. Batman saves the man but Riddler can escape - not without leaving a riddle box behind though. Amanda Waller and her agents from The Agency show up at the crime scene and demand to form some sort of cooperation between Batsy, the GCPD, and them. Gordon’s not amused.

Batsy takes the box with him and finds out that it can turn into a disc that gives off a weird sound. The next day at WE, he has Lucius take a look at it. Tragically, a missile hits Lucius’ office and he dies. The noise the disc had given off turns out to have been a homing signal for the missile.

At the funeral, Joker shows up and asks Bruce to meet some special friends of his. They think Bruce would make an excellent addition to their group. Later, Batman and Gordon check out the place Riddler’s hiding at.

At the hideout, they find one of Waller’s agents who had been killed by Riddler’s death trap there. They find out that Riddler has a hit list of Waller’s agents and plans to turn their phones into homing beacons to kill them all. Riddler appears on a wall of TVs and expresses his hatred towards The Agency, blaming them for turning him insane. He also mentions Lucius which makes Gordon suspicious. He questions Batsy about it later and Batman admits that Lucius was an ally of his. Gordon, again, is not amused but decides to keep the info to himself.

At this point, we can decide if either Batman should interrogate Riddler’s right hand or if Bruce should talk to the arms dealer about the deal they had. I chose the Batman approach and scared the living SHIT out of that dude! He reveals Riddler’s and the missiles’ location: a cargo ship in Gotham Bay.

Batsy goes there and finds three more agents as Riddler’s hostages. He can free one of them but gets trapped in an extra cage with her. After enduring Riddler’s trademark questions and some audio torture, Batsy is able to redirect the missiles Eddie’s sending towards Gotham into the bay, save the agents (although the female agent is now deaf), and take down Riddler.

However, while Riddler rambles on about how his friends have betrayed him, a poisoned dart hits his neck and kills him. All Batman can make out is a shadowy man on the bridge. Later, the GCPD and Waller investigate the scene. Due to my choices, Gordon’s trust in Batman is shattered and he breaks off his alliance with him while Waller praises Batsy. She says that they will work closer together in the future and, to Batman’s shock, she calls him Bruce Wayne.

What an amazing start to a sequel!

The first thing I have to get out of my system is that Bruce’s clipped ear constantly distracts me! Moving on.

I really appreciated the episode’s length! I remember that the pilot back then was maybe 1h / 1h and a half but this one was ca. 2h and a half! So much was going on!

The contrast to last season’s theme is extremely intriguing: the first season was about Bruce’s past, his family and legacy, if everything that made him who he is was a lie. This time, however, it’s about the present, about how he does things, who he works with and who he can trust. And I assume they’ll also introduce the question if Batman rather attracts Rogues instead of getting rid of them.

We are introduced to new characters: I loved Lucius’ daughter, she was so cool and her hair has an amazing design. I have the feeling that she’ll become our new Lucius or Oracle or whatever. By the way, losing Lucius was quite a dramatic scene and I was shocked that they’d do that! Waller was impressive and untrustworthy as always. The “reveal” at the end wasn’t a big one to me. I mean we all know she knows Bruce is Batman, it was only a matter of time till the game revealed it. And Riddler was great! I admit I was missing Wally Wingert because he’s become THE Riddler to me ever since the Arkham series hit the world. He’s to Riddler what Kevin Conroy is to Batman. Also the design was strange. The mask and hood made him look like an adult version of the rape result shit stain.

I was a bit disappointed that they killed him off this early on, I had hoped he’d have a much bigger role, like Penguin or Harvey in season 1 while Joker would turn into the main villain. But at the same time... I don’t really believe that he’s dead... I can’t believe it when I think of the prison’s name we saw in some footage earlier. And the green stuff in the poisoned dart...

Which brings me to my predictions. We see three shadowy figures in the next episode’s title card (btw I think they shouldn’t have made the title cards so spoiler-y). The characters look like Hugo Strange (or Mr. Freeze?), Bane (hinted at by the prison’s name and that makes me think they shot Riddler with a Venom dart), and Harley Quinn (she has a mallet and Waller also shows us a photo of Dr. Quinzel).

I think Joker’s role will increase more and more, he’ll probably be the man behind everything in the end, he’s the leader of those special friends he and Eddie mentioned, and the last episode’s title card shows us Batman fighting him.

Batsy will also have to deal with repairing his relationship with Gordon, Lucius’ daughter, take care of a traumatized Alfred, and get Waller off his back. AND Selina will come back in episode 3, something I AM SO LOOKING FORWARD TO! I actually replayed episode 5 of the first season to repair my relationship with her. I don’t want her to return and still be pissed at me!

Speaking of decisions in the game... Oh boy, at the end of the episode, I felt so awful. I felt like I did everything wrong. People I cared for hated me, people I hate think I’m one of them. Almost every time I picked one thing I immediately regretted not picking the other. It made me an emotional mess.

I hope things will get better over the curse of the season because if not... I’ll cry. A lot.

Highly recommend season 2!

One last thing though: the female agent had nice green eyes which made me even madder at the fact that they couldn’t give Selina green eyes. What the fuck is SO FUCKING HARD ABOUT THAT??? Just give her green eyes! Cat-like eyes, she’s Catwoman, make her eyes fucking green!!! UGH!

#Personal note #review #telltale games

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lothirielswan · 5 years

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The History of Author & Deadpool

Hia Awesome Adventurers! So now that Deadpool is back to his schemes in my WoW novels, I decided to post some of our old confrontations in one of my old...disgraceful Marvel Fanfics. Where the Avengers adopted a turtle called Bromine and Iron Man’s and Black Widow’s (not romantically involved) adopted daughter, Catwoman, goes off with Deadpool and Quicksilver into space. Needless to say, the best thing from this novel were the Author’s Notes. Please enjoy the weirdness.

Deadpool: Look at that majestic red man on the cover of that book c,: just takes your breath away

~*~

A/N: We're almost to space!! Yay–it's been a amazing journey, and I'm sorry for all of the bumps, but it's awesome that we came this far!

Deadpool: Yeah, can we hurry this up? I'm not even in the book yet. I have other fanfics to be in, Author :/

Pietro: You mean the Spiderman fanfics you write?

Deadpool: RUN TO CANADA YOU SWINE!!!

Deadpool: Btw, you read my fanfics? :)) Thoughts?

Pietro: Disgusting. Wanda does, and if I'm being honest, it's not your best work. The Iron Man/Captain America ones are better.

Wanda: I told you, Pietro, that was from an AD.

Pietro: Yes, sister: Adolescent Dummy.

Wanda: YOU FIEND!

Pietro: I HOPE SOKOVIA FALLS ON YOUR FACE!!

Wanda: I DISOWN YOU, FORMER WOMB NEIGHBOR.

Shuri: I came to this disgraceful, medieval part of the world to complain. My brother is evil incarnate.

Wanda: ....

Wanda: I like you.

Shuri: I found the powerful witch of these medieval lands, perhaps everything outside of Wakanda isn't so bad.

Pietro: BURN THE WITCH!

Wanda: Would you like to get coffee? I have tons of black magic c;

Shuri: Of course! ;3

T'Challa: ...This cannot be good.

Deadpool: HELLO. DOES ANYBODY CARE ABOUT MY FICSSSS????

Pietro: We need to stop this!!

T'Challa: Agreed! For the good of Wakanda, and the poor villagers that live outside of it.

Deadpool: I'm becoming the fifth wheel here. What am I, Leo Valdez?

Author: Keep being awesome, people!!

Deadpool: I'M MOVING TO A DIFFERENT FANFIC.

Author: I HAVE YOU UNDER CONTRACT!!

Deadpool: Darn. It's so hard to find work as a Marvel Comic character.

~*~

Deadpool's Note: Lols, I killed the Author :3 I'm in charge of the book now. PEETIE, FRONT AND CENTER! And time for this very special spoiler production–

Professor X: Mr. Wilson!

Wade the Awesome: Wait, are you McAvoy or Stewart? I can't tell because you're only words.

Professor X: You are messing with time streams, Mr. Wilson. I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave.

Wade is Better Than Wolverine: Be happy I am, pal. I've seen what's in store for you. Believe me, I'm saving you emotional trauma. In two books you'll be–

Bruce Banner: Hold on...what if Bromine's near-death experience wasn't Scott's fault...IT WAS YOURS :O YOU MONSTER!

Professor X: The Avengers have a pet? Fascinating. I usually consider Beast as ours, but perhaps we should go more basic.

Wade is da Best: Yep, you're Stewart, Mr. Spock. And I do not need another animal shitting on my lawn.

Bruce Banner: ...

Professor X: ...

Wade is Peetie's Besty: What?

Bruce Banner: The word...

Wade the King of Fan-Fiction: What? Oh. You mean the new absence of these: #$%^. Yeah. Those are gone now. If you'll excuse me, I have to write my grand entrance. It's gonna be fucking amazeballs. Go be amazing, readers, and spread the revolution!

Peter Parker: ...

Peter Parker: We're doomed.

~*~

DP/N: Mhm, that's right, ladies. I'm here to fix this fanfic CAT-astrophe.

Pietro: Really? The fate of my life is in your hands now??? I should have stayed dead.

Selina: WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL YOUR SISTER SHE'S BEEN MOURNING YOU FOREVER SHE'S BEEN EATING ALL OF THE NUTELLAAA

Pietro: Because I like you more :3

Wanda: I DISOWN YOU, WOMB NEIGHBOR!!

Pietro: BURN THE WITCH!!

Deadpool: This is such a healthy relationship. It makes me cry :,) and if we're gonna talk crap about womb neighbors, how about Selina's–

Magneto: WADE!

Deadpool: Gandalf! Is that you? Have you come to take Peter, my hobbit, away? You're still words, this is so confuzzling.

Mag-neat-o: Charles rattled my cage, so I'm rattling yours! Leave the fabric of the Universe alone!

Pietro: ...Who are you

Wanda: Yeah, who is this weirdo?

T-erik-fic: :( that's not nice.

Deadpool the Awesome: And all of you readers should go see my movie, DP2! Really. Do it. Now. I'm watching you. And put a vote on this baby, my fingers are burnin. Keep being your amazing selves!

~*~

DP/N: Hello amazing people. Sorry for the wait, I'm prepping myself for Ant-Man and the Wasp–I've been stocking up on raid cans and swatters for the occasion. Keep being amazing!

Rocket the Raccoon: *sniffs the air* I smell something...the smell of another humie traveling across space listening to crappy music.

Peter Quill: Huh? Who is it–

Deadpool: OH MY JESUS ANOTHER PETER!!

Deadpool: Keep it cool, DP, keep it cool. How's it hanging, Prattzel?

Rocket: Ew, this is a weird human. Not as weird as Quill, but weird.

Deadpool: Watch it, Garbage-Eater. I can erase you! But I need you for the next chapter. Shit. I have to figure this out...

~*~

Shockingly Alive Author: WADE WILSON!

Deadpool: Oh sh*t.

Deadpool: OH SH*T NOW YOU'RE BLOCKING OUT CUSS WORDS WHYYYYYYY I THOUGHT YOU WERE FUN!

Author: YOU THOUGHT I WAS DEAD!!

Bruce Banner: He hurt my Bromine!!

Author: :o Wade, how could you

Deadpool: It wasn't intentional!! Personally, I prefer cats as pets. They have no sense of boundaries and are cuddly and cute. Like a Tribble.

Selina: ....For some reason, that feels offensive.

Author: Wade, no more taking over the story!!

Professor X: Author, if I may....he mentioned something about my untimely demise...

Author: Oh.

Author: Um.

Author: ....BRUCE LIKES STAR TREK!!

Tony: HOW COULD YOU BRUCIE YOU TREKKIE TRAITOR!!!!!!!!!

Author: Keep being awesome, awesome people c:

Peter Parker: ...

Peter Parker: Is it safe to come out yet?

Deadpool: I'm everywhere ;)

~*~

A/N: Yay! The Black Order is here!

Bruce Banner: Since when do 'Black Order' and 'yay' go together in the same line?

Tony: You don't get to speak, traitor.

Bruce: What? Because I'm all about that Bass? #NoTribbles

Tony: That hit me harder than Jar Jar Binks.

Deadpool: Author, did you just make me miss the first action scene because I took over your book?

Author: I'm not talking to you.

Deadpool: There's still things I don't understand. I am positive I killed the Author–I still have your guts in Al's fridge.

Author: No more questions.

Deadpool: Hmm.

*Deadpool drags Peter Parker into conversation*

Deadpool: Watson, we have a new case to solve! Onward!

Peter Parker: #NoTribblesNoService

Deadpool: I thought it was #NoStrippersNoService

Bruce Banner: What is wrong with you?

Deadpool: I was a bottle baby.

Deadpool: Beer bottle.

Author: Go be awesome!

Deadpool: Hmm...I feel a storm brewing....#CueX-FilesThemeSong

Peter Parker: #SomeoneHelpMe

~*~

A/N: I'm sorry, readers, but I have to interrupt your regularly scheduled program for the following message:

Peter Parker: ...

Peter Parker: Can everyone sign my petition to make Wade stop calling me 'Watson', please?

Deadpool: I ship Johnlock ;3

Peter Parker: Huh?

Deadpool: Such a pure blogger...so innocent...

Tony Stark: WADE WILSON. AS THE ONLY PARENTAL FIGURE IN PARKER'S LIFE I FORBID YOU FROM HANGING OUT WITH MY SON.

Tony Stark: *MY KID.

Tony Stark: **MY...SOMETHING.

Steve Rogers: Tony. You're wrong.

Bruce Banner & Wanda Maximoff: GASP.

Steve Rogers: I'M A PARENTAL FIGURE TOO. I WILL RAIN HELLFIRE ON YOU

Tony Stark: AND HERE I AM, WITHOUT AN UMBRELLA.

Steve Rogers: I FEEL A STORM BREWING.

Wanda Maximoff: How come we're always in the middle of these things?

Bruce Banner: Usually I just watch from a distance...it's more fun that way.

Peter Parker: PLEASE SIGN THIS. HE'S BEEN STALKING ME AND LEAVING ME MESSAGES ON ROOFTOPS.

Author: Is that the end of the message?

Peter Parker: I guess...now I have to get a court order for my superdads. They're fighting over me like Democrats and Republicans over the United States.

Tony Stark: I'M GONNA KICK YOUR BUTT SO HARD YOUR LIFE ALERT WON'T COVER IT.

Steve Rogers: MY ARMY BROS WILL DEFEAT YOUR SCIENCE BROS!!

Author: ...I think they're done. Keep being awesome!!

~*~

A/N: Hey awesome people! Thanks for reading, and credit to the amazing outfit designs above to LotusLumino! She's fantastic and has a bunch of amazing ideas, so when you get a spare moment, google her for more awesome art!

Wade: IMPOSTER!

Author: Huh?

Wade: You. Are. Not. The. Author.

Author: Why, whatever do you mean...

Peter Parker: He's right! I've seen the evidence–gross evidence, but still evidence! You're not her!

Author: Oh Peter, you couldn't just stay quiet. It would've been so much easier...for you...if you stayed that way.

Peter Parker: What–

Author: Enjoy yourselves, readers. I have some matters to attend to.

Wade: Somebody get out the shockblankets!!!

~*~

Deadpool: What have you done with the real Author???

Author: Do not question me, Wade Wilson.

Deadpool: I know you're not the real Author! She wouldn't bother typing out my full name, she's too lazy!

Peter Parker: WHO are you???

*Author ripples, and true form is revealed*

Deadpool: :O

Peter Parker: :O

Bromine the Turtle: :O

Skrull: WE WILL REIGN OVER THIS DOMAIN!!!!

Pietro: :o I did not see that coming.

Deadpool: Wait, what's a skrull? Some nerd educate me here.

Dr. Strange: A Skrull is an alien race that can morph their appearance–usually they bother the Fantastic Four. We prefer to leave it that way.

Deadpool: Thanks, magic-nerd. WE'RE TAKING YOU DOWN!!! OH, YOU WORE THE PURPLE PANTS! YOU'RE GONNA PAY FOR THAT!!!!

Clint & Selina: ???

Deadpool: Be almighty and awesome readers as I save this story and slay the evil green man!!

Bruce Banner: Seriously there are so many green people can everybody stop stealing my color? There's gold and silver and purple and brown and pink–orange too!

Deadpool: I SAID BE AWESOME BRUCIE DON'T RUIN MY LAST WORDS!

~*~

Deadpool: MAXIMUM EFFORT!!!

*Deadpool kills the Skrull. It collapses onto the ground like mushed-up guacamole*

Deadpool: WE ARE FREE OF EVIL! EXCEPT FOR THE FACT THAT THOR WEARS A CAPE TO COVER THAT GODLY A*S.

Thor: Should I be delighted or disgusted by this human?

Bruce Banner: Disgusted. Definitely disgusted.

Peter Parker: Okay, the Skrull's gone. What now?

Deadpool: Well, Tortilla chips of course. Free guacamole is a once-in-a-lifetime deal, my fellow grasshopper.

Peter Parker: I mean about the Author! She's still gone! I miss how she says be awesome :c it brightens up my day after Flash floods my locker with Coke.

Bruce Banner: Wait, if the Author's dead, then who's writing what is up above...?

Everyone: ...

Deadpool: Time to use my sixth sense....

Author: Hello everyone!

Everyone: GASP!

Author: I'm back ;) stay tuned for more, awesome readers, and keep being awesome!!!

Author: Peter you are an awesome, precious cinnamon roll.

Peter Parker: c: I'm just your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, Milady!

*Whole Universe and Deadpool swoon*

#the dark origins story of my author's notes #featuring fetus lothirielswan #and Majestic Deadpool #deadpool #marvel #avengers

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fishfingersandjellybabies · 5 years

Text

When You’re The One Who’s Loved - fic

For @northoftheroad! Thank you a million times over for donating. <3 Their reward request was anything with Dick and Damian.

Characters: Dick Grayson, Damian Wayne, Tim Drake Summary: Damian doesn’t understand why Dick is so upset. Tim does, though. A/N: If it’s not obvious, Tim and Damian are on pretty good terms here. The box got there so quickly because Dick called Wally, and yeah it probably came from Selina on loan (because Bruce won’t allow it to be permanent of cOURSE probably). When Damian falls asleep, Dick asks Tim wtf Damian was talking about and Tim just said “we talked shit about you while you were gone.” Damian, of course, recovers eventually.

There was a sharp inhale in the doorway, cutting of his and Tim’s conversation as they both looked over.

“…Oh, great.” Damian droned at the sight of his eldest brother. Dick didn’t react, face already solemn and gray.

And it was probably rude – he of course was thrilled to see Dick. They hadn’t seen each other in months, and contact had been minimal in the in-between.

But he didn’t want Dick to see him like this. Confined to a bed due to injury from a recent case. Covered in bandages that kept obnoxiously bleeding through.

Weak and a failure.

Father had promised to keep it a secret. Drake only knew because he was present, was basically the one who saved him. Got him out of the situation and was Alfred’s assistant during the subsequent surgery. Was only here now doing the surgery follow-up, and it just so happened to turn into a personal visit.

Tim stood from his chair. “When’d you get in?”

“Few minutes ago.” Dick murmured, refusing to take his eyes off Damian.

Damian crossed his arms, and couldn’t find it in him to hold the stare. “Who told you?”

“Cass.” Dick returned, just as monotonously, just as blankly. Like he was on complete autopilot. “Said Bruce has emotionally shut down about it, and has buried himself in his work. Said Alfred was worried the operation wouldn’t fix it, and an infection would take hold. Wanted me to come, in case…”

Tim and Damian waited. Tim’s shoulders slumped as Damian demanded, “In case what?”

Dick opened his mouth, but whatever the word was, he seemed almost unable to say it, and just began shaking his head instead as he walked forward.

Damian wanted to be annoyed. Wanted to pout and turn his brother away. But…he missed him. Missed his affection. And as much as he didn’t want to admit it – he hurt. His body hurt, and even a quick embrace from his former partner felt like it would just fix everything.

Tim stepped out of his way, watching silently as Dick sat on the edge of the bed and wrapped an arm around Damian’s shoulder, basically dragging him protectively into his side.

“How you feeling, kiddo?” Dick whispered into Damian’s hair.

Damian just shrugged, because it all hurt worse than the thing before, and he couldn’t think quick enough to give a lie.

“…So far so good, Dick.” Tim promised. “I know we were…we are all worried, but Damian’s a fighter, and all the things Alfie and I were worried about from the surgery haven’t manifested. Grant it, he’s still under observation for another forty-eight hours, but…I’m feeling good about it.”

Dick nodded silently, just gently rubbing his fingers up and down Damian’s arm. Damian just stared softly up at him.

“Really.” Dick whispered with a careful smile. “How are you feeling, Damian?”

Damian shrugged again. “I hurt. But I guess that happens when they puncture your lung a few times and slash through your aorta.”

Dick’s fingers twitched against his arm almost violently.

“…Anything I can do to help?” Dick hummed as he swallowed the lump in his throat. “Make you feel better?”

“Bring me a basket of kittens.” Damian drawled. He laughed at his own joke, but immediately flinched and clutched his chest.

“Who’d have thought I’d have to tell sour puss Damian Wayne to stop laughing.” Tim snorted himself. “But relax, you’ll tear the stitches.”

“Yeah, yeah…” Damian waved off, trying to look tough. Difficult, when Dick shifted to stand back up, and his face betrayed him by morphing into one of disappointment against his will. “Grayson?”

“I’ll be right back.” Dick sounded distracted as he stepped away. But then he paused, glanced back, gave a tight smile and grabbed Damian’s hand for a moment. “I will be right back.”

Damian and Tim watched as Dick all but ran from the room, pulling a phone from his pocket. Tim sighed and shook his head as he sat back in his chair.

“…What’s his problem?” Damian scoffed nonchalantly, trying to break the mood Dick had left in his wake.

But then Tim looked up at him with curiousness that made him uncomfortable. Nervous.

But then Tim smiled, and leaned back in his chair. “You’re cute.”

Damian scowled. “Excuse me?”

“You’re young and I keep forgetting that, and it’s just so cute how…naïve you are.” Tim laughed. But when the laugh died down, his older brother looked sad. “…Dick loves you.”

“I’m…aware.” Damian hummed. “But that’s got nothing to do with what I asked.”

“It has everything to do with what you asked, actually.” Tim sighed. Crossed his arms. “Dick loves you…more than a lot of things. And seeing you in any way less than okay…messes with him.”

Damian tilted his head.

“And that even counts emotionally, but we’re just as screwed up as you in that department so I guess that’s easier for him to bear.” Tim rambled. “But physically…with these injuries and stuff…well.”

He paused. Damian waited.

“It used to be bad enough because you were a child, and his partner and his responsibility and yada yada.” Tim explained. “But…then you died.”

Another stop, to let that sink in, for the both of them.

“And you didn’t even die like…a simple way. You died in the most painful, heartbreaking way imaginable, so that made it even worse.” Tim winced, remembering the day himself. Remembering the bottom line, that Damian died protecting Dick, and how well Dick knew that, and hated himself for it. “So…he worries. Every cut, every bruise. He worries about people hurting you, because he loves you. But now on top of that, he worries about losing you all over again. And that’s honestly something I don’t think he could handle. He’d…collapse.”

“…He loves and worries for all of us the same.” Damian offered, embarrassed by Tim’s truths. “I’m not special.”

“No, not special. Just different.” Tim agreed. “I’m his brother. Jason’s his brother. You…are different. You are his brother…but you’re also so much more than that, to him.” Tim shifted in his chair. “Because I mean, he didn’t raise me. He was never my guardian, legal or otherwise. He’s always been just my brother. But you…blurred a few lines.”

Damian didn’t admit that Dick blurred a few lines for him too, but he had a feeling he didn’t need to.

“And then I think it was just one of those ‘you don’t know what you have until it’s gone’ thing.” Tim sniffed. “And with how much death we’ve all dealt with, you think we’d learn by now but…we don’t. Because we’re all dumb. And so I don’t think he realized or knew just how much he loved you, how special you are to him, until after you were murdered and supposedly gone forever.”

Damian lowered his eyes as Tim spoke, glanced out the window.

“So, to answer your question.” Tim inhaled. “Dick’s problem is that he loves you, and he’s petrified of losing you again. His problem is that, right now, he just got a call from his sister saying you’ve been attacked and left for dead, and might be so before the week is out. He’s crumbling under the idea of that.”

“He shouldn’t.” Damian argued. “I am not worth…destroying himself over.”

“He’d disagree.” Then Tim smiled. “And honestly? I think I would too.”

Damian watched him, then after a moment, huffed, crossing his arms. “Thanks for saving me. I guess.”

Tim snorted back, reaching up to ruffle Damian’s hair. “I’ll say you’re welcome when we know you’re in the clear.”

Damian smiled, leaned back in his pillows, watched as Tim picked up his chart again, probably about to do a follow-up to his follow-up, because that was so him.

“Please.” He hummed. “It’ll take a lot more than a slashed aorta to keep me do-”

Without warning, there was a sound in the hall. High-pitched and loud. Then repeated. Then again and again, and then suddenly – multiples of the sound, each one going at its own rhythm, overlapping.

Meows.

And not just any meows. This wasn’t the meow of Alfred, deep and sophisticated and lazy. No, these were…

Dick was suddenly in the doorframe again, looking no less ragged than when he’d left ten minutes ago. There was a large cardboard box in his hands, and Damian realized that the sounds he and Tim heard were coming from that box.

Meows.

…Kitten meows.

Dick came across the room silently and without preamble, carefully tipped the box over the bed, dumping the contents onto Damian’s knees.

Five fat little kittens came rolling out, yelling for all the world to hear. Orange, black, tuxedo, tortie and gray, tumbling around in surprise at their new location.

Damian immediately smiled, reaching out to pet the closest babies. They all immediately spotted him and wanted his attention, climbing up his body on tiny, underused legs, wobbling this way and that.

“One basketful of kittens.” Dick murmured breathlessly. “Just as ordered.”

Damian chuckled lightly as the kittens swarmed him. He kept his smile, even as Dick sat next to him, and threw his arm around his shoulders once more. “…Grayson, I was kidding.”

“…Feel better?” Dick whispered against his temple anyway as he curled his legs up into the bed, tucking Damian back against his side like it was Damian’s home. But then his already quiet voice trembled, and Damian glanced up at Tim as he spoke. “…Please just tell me you to feel better, kiddo.”

Tim just gave Damian a sad smile that said, See?

Damian glanced down at the kittens, their weights not enough to put any pressure on his chest. But he kept his smile as he pet them, as he leaned his head against Dick’s neck and reached up to hold the hand on his shoulder.

“Much better, now that you’ve returned.” Damian promised. A kitten popped up in front of face, and bounced their noses together. Damian laughed, glancing up at Dick. His eyes were tired, with dark circles, and desperate. But he smiled back at Damian in reflex. “And the kittens don’t hurt either.”

Dick laughed and held him a little tighter, kissing a kitten when it reached a paw up to touch his chin.

Damian didn’t mention the shaking of Dick’s fingers. Just as Tim didn’t mention the tear tracks on Dick’s face.

But Damian did glance up at Dick, and watched him for a moment. He squeezed Dick’s hand, while gently petting the smallest feline on his chest. “I’m not going anywhere, Grayson.”

Dick’s eyes darted down to him. “Hm?”

“I won’t leave you.” Damian reiterated. “I promise.”

Dick blinked in surprised, and looked over to Tim for explanation. Tim feigned innocence, shrugging.

“So don’t worry about me.” Damian demanded. “Don’t destroy yourself over me either.”

Dick looked back down with a confused smile. But Damian didn’t elaborate, just clung to Dick’s hand, while petting the cats with the other, and using Dick as his own personal pillow.

After a moment, he shook his head and laughed, pecking Damian’s temple and lingering there for just a bit longer than usual.

He was silent, watching Damian play with their guests, smiling and laughing and even downright cooing. Tim eventually joined them on the bed to see the kittens, and Dick purposefully tickled at his stomach with his toes.

But it was when Damian was slowing down, when the kittens were starting to doze off all along his lap, that Dick kissed Damian’s head again, rubbed at his arm, and whispered a quiet, watery and grateful:

“Thank you.”

#dick grayson #Damian Wayne #Tim Drake

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