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#I do not know how to release Gordon
I mix my warm scrambled egg for breakfast and sit down on my dark bench
Me, murmuring: you used to call me on my cellphone
My eggs, still warm: *begin to wiggle and steam”
Gordon Ramsay, who I have mistakenly caught in my various traps and guises: That’s not good, they’re not supposed to do that
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thatcheeseycandle · 5 months
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//tw for bright light, white background, explosion, and water bursting
"Evelyn, Evelyn
Why do we bother to stay?
Why are you running away?
Don’t you feel like severing?
Everything’s just come together at last
It’s broken, I don’t want to play."
Evelyn Evelyn - Evelyn Evelyn.
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Did I rewatch the Great Race instead of continuing the video I've been working on for the past few weeks? Yes. Yes I did.
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graysoncritic · 21 days
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A (Negative) Analysis of Tom Taylor's Nightwing Run - Introduction
Introduction Who is Dick Grayson? What Went Wrong? Dick's Characterization What Went Wrong? Barbara Gordon What Went Wrong? Bludhaven (Part 1, Part 2) What Went Wrong? Melinda Lin Grayson What Went Wrong? Bea Bennett What Went Wrong? Villains Conclusion Bibliography
I want to start this essay by admitting I’m actually embarrassed by its length. Why did I spend so much time on something I dislike? The truth is, I did not begin this with the intention of creating such an extensive, formal study of the Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo’s Nightwing run and how it reflects the wider problems with DC’s handling of one of their most iconic characters. I was just trying to organize the thoughts that came up during discussions with other Dick Grayson fans. Before I knew it, I had enough material, enough desire to challenge myself, and enough frustrations to vent to properly create this monstrosity.
I did not begin this Nightwing run determined to hate it. In fact, I was ready to love it. As Taylor promoted the run before the first issue was officially released, I was so excited for it. As I read short interviews where he discussed Heartless, I could not wait to have a new, incredible villain. Foolishly, I believed Taylor when he said he loved Dick Grayson. 
Needless to say, I was disappointed. Then frustrated. Then angry. The beginning of any story is a period where writer and reader form an indirect bond, and as the story progresses, so do the highs and the lows of said relationship. As such, a reader’s tolerance for negative factors will either increase or decrease depending on their experience up until that point.
In other words, if the writer fails to earn the reader’s trust and instead takes their attention for granted, even seemingly insignificant details become irritating in a way they would not be if presented in a better story. In such scenarios, the reader can no longer overlook those minor moments because there’s little good to balance them out with. It is a death by a thousand cuts. 
In the case of Taylor and Redondo’s run, along with those thousand cuts are also broken bones, internal bleeding, head trauma, and severed limbs. A weak plot, simplistic morality that undermines the story’s stated themes, and, most importantly, a careless disregard for Dick Grayson and everything he stands for utterly destroyed my enjoyment of this series. 
It is still too early to tell what sort of impact Taylor’s (as of time of writing, still unfinished) run will have on Dick Grayson’s future portrayals. But just because we cannot predict its long term significance, it does not mean we cannot critique it. Currently, we simply lack the benefit of hindsight. 
If this essay were to have a thesis, then it is this: Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo’s Nightwing not only fails to tell a compelling Nightwing story, but it also exemplifies a cynical, self-serving, and shallow approach to storytelling that prioritizes creating hollow viral moments to boost the creators’ own online popularity over crafting a good story, honoring the character in their care, and respecting his fans – fans who have, historically, often been women, queer folk, and other individuals who felt othered by a cisheteronormative patriarchal society. Taylor and Redondo’s thoughtless and superficial narrative not only undermine the socially progressive ideals they supposedly care for by propagating a cisheteronormative patriarchal worldview, but they also demonstrate a lack of love and understanding for the character in their care. At best, Taylor and Redondo have no interest in getting to know Dick Grayson, nor any respect for their predecessor and their contributions to this character. At worst, they despise Dick so much that they wish to reinvent him into something completely different, tossing away everything that was special to his fans in order to appeal to a readership that never cared about Dick Grayson. 
I structured this essay so that, hopefully, each part will build on the ones that came prior. Naturally, because all aspects of a story are interlaced, there will be overlaps between each of the sections. As it may have become obvious from this introduction, I’ll be focusing primarily on the writing of this run. That is not to say that I will not address the art, but writing is the field I know most about, and so it feels only fair to focus my critique on that. 
I hope that by the end of this essay, I will have successfully proved that this run’s mishandling of different narrative elements betray a cynical appropriation of progressive ideology and a disregard and disinterest in what makes Dick Grayson so special to so many people. This is an attitude that is present within DC Comics’ current ethos as a whole.
Now, who is this essay for? Honestly, it’s probably not for Tom Taylor fans. I do not believe I’ll be persuading anyone with my writing, and, to be quite honest, neither would I say I wish to do so. Taylor and Redondo’s run has won numerous awards and has many dedicated fans who adore it for what it is. If that is you, then I’m glad. I wish I could be among your numbers. I wish more than anything that I could love this story. But I do not, and I know many others agree with me, and it is to them, I think, that I’m speaking to. As Taylor’s run is praised to heaven and back, I needed a safe space to voice my thoughts. This essay became this safe space. And to others who also feel unseen by the constant praise this run is getting, I think this could speak to you, as well. To be cliche and cringe, this will hopefully let you know that you are not alone. 
Finally, I want to acknowledge some people whose thoughts greatly contributed to the creation of this essay. For around three years now I’ve been having wonderful interactions with other Dick Grayson’s fans, and those discussions were not only incredibly fun and cathartic, but also provided great insight into what needed to be included in this essay. My best friend especially gave me a space to vent when I got frustrated, and my original outline borrowed a lot from the messages I sent her, as well as notes I took for our discussions.  
I’ll also be directly quoting four different Dick Grayson fans (identified as Dick Grayson Fans A, B, and C in order to allow them to keep their anonymity). Their analyses were so critical to the formation of my thesis and for a lot of what will be addressed in this essay that I actually feel like they deserve co-credit in this essay. Dick Grayson Fan B especially deserves a shoutout in helping me track down a couple of pages used as supporting evidence, as I knew what pages I was looking for but was having a hard time remembering in which issue they were located. I’m quoting them with permission, and crediting their ideas and contributions whenever relevant. 
Now, without any further ado, let’s get started. 
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Studio TV Solutions presents Half Life VR but the AI are Self-Aware (2020) [not a real movie]. A movie with a totally improv’d script starring a moltey crew who are sure to give you a rip-roarin’ good time!
anyway hi new au just dropped. i’m calling it HLVRAIM. it’s HLVRAI but it’s a blockbuster movie and the science team are played by actors. i have many thought on backstories n stuff that i will stick under a “read more” here otherwise this post will be hella long on people’s dashes. 👇👍 pls care about this i thought so hard and much
Half Life VR but the AI are Self-Aware was put out by Studio TV Solutions in 2020 and destroyed the box office with how fun it was and how well the cast played off one another. The cast was given a general outline for the script with the goal for it to be mostly improv.
Gordon Freeman: Mannie Flores (Dominican American, age 28, he/him) - Popular Youtuber/Twitch streamer (“Radi0Mann”). Got offered the role in HLVRAI thanks to the creative things he’s done in his Youtube/Twitch career. This is his first “official” acting gig. He was pretty starstruck at first, but then as he got to know everyone, he realized they’re all a bunch of dorks (affectionate). - Started off as a gaming channel, but then started branching off into various creative endeavors as he got more popular. He still plays games too though. - One of the things Mannie did in his internet career that hit the mainstream was when he wrote, directed, starred in, and filmed his own movie in just 2 weeks because he failed a bet with his audience. Except the movie was actually really good and funny and heartfelt (i want to say it was about “a man who got left behind on earth after everyone else was raptured because god literally forgot about him”, but i think the concept might’ve been done already). - Met Benji through HLVRAI. They hit it off and now they’re dating. They tried to keep it secret for a while but Mannie had a slip-up during a stream that sort of blew it out of the water.
Benrey: Benji Song (Japanese/Chinese, age 30, he/they) - Started off as a film sound designer in the industry, then through a series of silly willy little events—possibly even shenanigans—got roped into a role in a passion indie film that became wildly acclaimed and flung him into the spotlight. Been an actor ever since, but isn’t the most proactive in taking jobs much to their agent’s annoyance. People never know where he’ll pop up next. Sometimes Benji will sneak in sound designer work behind their agent’s back. - Honestly likes background work more because everyone’s got these expectations of them as an actor that they feel pressured to meet. But he’s also afraid of disappointing people. He’s working on it. - Met their partner Mannie through HLVRAI. Totally was a fan of his streams/videos beforehand though. When they mention that, Mannie gets flustered. - Does music as a hobby. Electronic stuff mostly—enjoys mashing together all sorts of sounds and trying to make them work. After HLVRAI, Mannie’s streams gets cool new music that’s made by somebody going by “johnwicklover1994.” wink
Harold Coomer: Hau’oli “Hau” Kaleo-Kirchhoff (Hawaiian/Samoan, age 66, he/him) - Old musician who’s supposed to be retired but once in a while will release a song or even do a concert (but nothing crazy). - Hau’oli is pronounced [hh-ow-oh-lee], but he also goes by “Hau” for the haoles’ sake. :) Kaleo is [kah-leh-oh]. also Hau’oli sounds a little bit like the name Holly so that’s a fun coincidence i didn’t realize until later. - Most of his music is chill island tunes but he has been known to dabble in rock and jazz. - Married to Mose (been together for 30 years and counting).
Bubby: Mose Kaleo-Kirchhoff (German, age 69 [nice], xe/him) - Veteran actor—been in the acting industry for a long time. One of his more well-known roles was in a popular sci-fi series. - Married to Hau’oli (they got married the moment it was legal). - i went with a name that started with “M” cuz when Gordon first asks Bubby for his name, xe’s like, “mmm Bubby.” and i headcanon it’s because Mose was about to say xir own name and had to swerve last minute and the thing his brain resorted to was Bubby lol.
Tommy Coolatta: Luis Tanglao (Filipino, age 37, he/they) - Child star who dropped out of the industry when he hit his teens and then came back years later as a comedian. He has material about how fucked up being a child star was. Will only take acting roles if it interests them. - They don’t care about how the public/media sees him. He’ll speak his mind and call out BS when he sees it. Interviewing them can be a war zone. - Hosts a popular podcast with some buds they discuss things like video games, their lives, news, etc. Just shooting the shit. - Sunkist is their actual dog and she modeled for the png photo that was used. Her name is actually Biko. She is a very good girl. <3
Darnold Pepper: Sage Haven (African American, age 40, he/her/they) - Famous cooking show host who gets offered roles in movies. Got popular by how unconventional her meals and cooking methods are and how funny he is. - Has had multiple food/cooking/baking shows over the years. Every competition-based one they’ve had focused more on good vibes, fun, and encouraging one another rather than drama. One show involved people competing to see who could make the best full course meal with the catch being they could only cook everything in a microwave. Many microwaves perished. - Changed their name to Sage Haven during their transition. They chose it because it reflects his passion and also is a play on the phrase “safe haven”, which is what she wants to be to others. - He has an adoptive daughter named Kit. She helped them think up bits and jokes. She also had to help explain what Half-Life was.
haven’t gotten to gman and forzen’s actors yet unfortunately. thinking gman’s actor could be a talk show host? because that would be funny. anyway thanks for humoring me on my shenanigans. bye
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luxesiren · 10 months
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⸻ 𝐖𝐀𝐃𝐄 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐍𝐒
cw :: nsfw content (MDNI)
a/n :: i love this man so much. i don't think yall understand this big ass man? i love him so much and i want him.
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{✰} sfw ::
{✰} wade is a mercenary but he keeps his work life away from you so you don't get hurt because he doesn't want to lose you.
{✰} wade is always joking around with you, his one goal is to make you laugh every day, even when he's not with you. he always sends you messages and voice memos which make you laugh.
{✰} wade loves cooking and he would get all dramatic and make you a full-course meal as if he's on chopped or something. he wants you to pretend to be gordon ramsay
{✰} wade loves spending money on you, he doesn't use the money for anything besides food and rent for his apartment, so he loves spending it on you. whatever you want, he gets it for you. any time you go out to dinner wade will threaten to drop your wallet off a cliff because "why're you trying to pay? don't do that again or i will throw your wallet off a cliff and into some water."
{✰} wade would get matching nails with you, whatever set you get, he's ready to get a matching set.
{✰} wade doesn't like to have his mask off in public because of his scars and at first, he didn't even show you his face half the time but now that you guys have been together for so long, he takes it off around you because he knows it doesn't phase you.
{✰} wade loves physical touch so naturally, he would be all over you. wade likes to think of himself as a murderous teddy bear that only really cares about you.
{✰} wade doesn't like arguing with you unless it's playfully and not about anything serious but if it's a serious argument then he will start to get anxious and unconsciously start to self-sabotage.
{✰} wade gets emotional over chick flicks and when you ask if he's crying he'll say, "of course not...it's just a little dusty in here."
{✰} wade likes bringing you souvenirs from the countries he's visited for work and he brings you random trinkets that you will never use but he lights up when he brings them to you so you put them on display around your shared apartment.
{✰} nsfw ::
{✰} wade loves kissing, he likes the feel of your lips on his. he likes to suck on your bottom lip making you whine into his mouth.
{✰} wade is possessive and jealous, he will mark your neck just so everyone could see that you're taken and no one else could have your attention. he wouldn't blame you for being ogled but he would take it out on you, fucking into you so roughly and so deeply while you cry into the sheets, "fuck, you're mine. this pussy is mine. say it, say it's mine." you couldn't do anything but moan loudly and say exactly that, "fuck, daddy! it's yours, i'm yours!
{✰} wade is into thigh riding. he will watch you chase your release on his thigh before fucking the way you want him to, he ultimately wants to see you beg him to fuck you.
{✰} wade is 100% into praise and degradation, he wants to make you're okay with it before he says something that triggers you in bed.
{✰} on occasion, wade likes to be restrained. he likes when you have some type of power over him, makes him cum harder and he likes when you tease him. he keeps handcuffs by the bed just for this specific moment, you're in his lap and taking your time riding him - slowly grinding your hips just to make him beg you, "please, baby.. let me fuck you, please."
{✰} wade is into choking, he loves to see his hand wrapped around your throat while he has you in a mating press, pushing all his weight onto you and fucking you deep enough to make you cum over and over.
{✰} sometimes when wade is feeling very needy, he just needs you. times like this, he'll take his time with you, fingering for a long time to make sure you can take him, eating your pussy like he's starving before he fucks you nice and slow saying how much he loves you. "i love you so much, baby. so good for me, taking all of me so well."
{✰} speaking of... wade is a munch. he will happily lap at your slick, sit you on his face, and grip your thighs while you ride his face, using him for your own pleasure. he would also take the opportunity to overstimulate you, your thighs wrapped around his head trying to push him away having already cum twice but he wants more from you.
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© 𝐥𝐮𝐱𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐧 | all rights reserved to me. please do not steal, copy, or repost to other websites.
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torchtour · 2 months
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can we please be informed of your convoluted hlvrai plot ideas
here's the most basic rundown: benrey is an actual extraterrestrial from the very real alien dimension of xen who was orphaned as a baby and taken in by the black mesa research facility where he was then raised under scientific scrutiny to the best of the researchers’ abilities
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(i dont think he got kidnapped by black mesa per se. it’s more like he got hellboy'd, if you’ve seen that lol. basically adoption out of obligation because they accidentally pulled a baby out of a hell portal).
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because he lacked proper socialization with both his own species (no benny’s on earth) and humans (they didnt want him imprinting), the hlvrai simulation was attempting to teach him the merits of teamwork/friendship/being a good guy without putting any real humans in danger (ie. why coomer, bubby, and tommy are ais). the researchers facilitating his “social integration” thought simulations would be a good way to introduce him to earthly affairs and gauge his progress, so he was raised by games instead of people (arguably worse than him imprinting but go off). hlvrai was the first game/simulation with ai + an actual person participating.
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gordon is the long-suffering black mesa employee accessing the simulation through vr and is meant to 1) add to the authenticity of the simulation and 2) be a moral guide for benrey (kinda like how jiminy cricket is pinnochio's conscience. second out of pocket media reference sorry i cant help it). needless to say, benrey does not become a "real boy" like pinocchio does at the end of the hlvrai run we see and will likely be needing many, many more runs before he's allowed to be "released into the wild". it’s hardly unexpected though, since his development was entirely consumed by gaming. he played hlvrai like a true gamer.
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srry i know that was a lot haha i might do something about the bio of benrey's species though
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devilat-thedoor · 6 months
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i know it’s late, but enjoy this fun lil nsfw thanksgiving Jake blurb based on a conversation between @stardustvanfleet and i🤍🦃
Danny made one comment about Jake being “the best cook” and it went straight to his head….
He had an opinion on everything. Stuffing? “Add more sage, love.” The mashed potatoes? “They’re gonna turn out lumpy if you don’t add more milk…”
The comments and critiques started off mild and you let them roll off your back….until Jake decided that he was in charge and it was his way or no way. The arguments came one after the other; “No, babe. The marshmallows don’t go in the sweet potatoes yet!”
You were sick of it. You’d tried your hardest not to fight in front the family but he was becoming insufferable. “Jake, you’re not fucking Gordon Ramsey and this isn’t a Michelin Star establishment! It’s thanksgiving, for fuck’s sakes!” You threw the bag of mini marshmallows on the counter with a growl of frustration.
He stopped stirring the gravy to turn around and face you. “You’re getting mad for no reason. I’m just trying to help with dinner.” His voice was hushed, clearly trying to keep the conversation between the two of you, but you were well past the boiling point.
“Mad for no reason? Are you kidding me?” You were almost yelling, your tone growing louder with each word. “You’re not trying to help, Jake, you’ve completely taken over! Why does everything have to be exactly how you want it?”
Jake turned back to his pot, picking up the spoon to stir again. “Lower your voice. Our guests don’t need to hear us arguing.” His words were meant to be final. He expected you to fall into submission and just let him be the boss.
You released a laugh of disbelief and watched his jaw clench at the sound. “There wouldn’t be anything to argue about if you didn’t fucking criticize every little thing I did!” Now you were shouting out of spite, trying to get under his skin as you began to mock his words, “Ohhh… hey, babe, that’s too much onion. No, wait, you’re gonna dry out the turkey… blah blah fucking blah! I’m so sick of it, Jake! You’re being an ass!”
He cut the burner off and whipped around to glare at you, “We’re not doing this in front of everyone.” He came at you, grabbing your arm and pulling you out of the kitchen, “Let’s go fucking settle this now.” Before you knew it, he was yanking you into the bathroom and locking the door behind you. “What’s your problem? Why are you throwing a temper tantrum?”
“I’m throwing a tantrum? Why does everything have to be your way? You don’t need to have complete fucking control of everything!” You spat the words with venom, looking him straight in the eye. Your composure faltered when you watched his expression darken and you knew he saw the slight shift in your body language.
Jake took a step towards you, his mouth threatening to lift with a smirk. “Keep running that pretty little mouth and we’ll see who’s in control.” He was close enough that you could feel the heat pouring from him and you just couldn’t help yourself…
Dropping your voice low, you leaned forward until your faces were just millimeters apart. “Fuck you, Jake.” You flashed an evil grin and spun around to open the door, but his hand was wrapping around you and pulling you flush against his body.
“That’s what you want, huh? Want me to fuck you? Show you who has control?” His free hand weaved into your hair and pulled, tilting your head back onto his shoulder so he had access to drag his tongue up your neck. “I’ll do it, baby. I’ll fuck you so good…but after I make you cum, I don’t wanna hear another argument for the rest of the day. Understand?”
“And if I make you cum first…” You reached back, palming his cock through the denim of his jeans. “You don’t step foot in the kitchen again until after dinner.” You gave him a firm squeeze, smiling to yourself as he let out a hungry growl.
Seemingly at the speed of light, Jake had you bent over the sink with your chest pressed into the cold marble and your pants around your ankles. “Already, love? This is gonna be easy.” He chuckled condescendingly as he slid his fingers through your soaked folds.
You looked over your shoulder at him and swatted at his hand. “No fucking cheating, Jacob.”
The sound of his zipper echoed through the room before you felt him at your entrance. “If you want my cock that bad, just say the word, baby.” He was pushing into you before you could respond, drawing a moan out of you instead. “That’s all it takes to shut you up, huh? Needy fucking thing.” His fingers dug into your hips as he gave deep, calculated thrusts. Jake kept talking, whispering the dirtiest things to you, because he knew that would drive you to the edge.
“Shut up and just fuck me….please…..” The same way his words worked on you, your begging would work on him, and you used that to your advantage. “God, baby…. deeper….please don’t stop….”
His hand came down hard on your ass, leaving a stinging pain in its wake. “You think I don’t know when you’re faking?” He replaced his grip on your hips and began pulling you back to meet his hips with every thrust. You could hear the smile in his voice when your true moans came back louder, “There she is. That’s my pretty baby… It feels good, doesn’t it? I can fucking feel you getting tighter, love.”
You were never one to concede, but he was meticulously hitting the perfect spot and successfully shoving you closer to your climax and you welcomed it. “F-fuck, Jake… Right there, baby, you’re s-so fucking deep.”
“I wanna be deeper.” He growled the words before pulling out and spinning you around to lift you onto the sink top. Jake hooked your legs around his waist to bury himself back into you with a sigh. “You’re close, love. I know you are. Just let me have it…” He pulled you to the very edge of the counter, fucking you as deep as he could.
Leaning back on your hands, you watched his face while his gaze stayed trained on where your bodies joined. “I am close, baby, so…..fucking close.” It was true…but he was right behind you and you took the opportunity to squeeze around him, making his movements stutter.
His eyes shot up to see your wicked smile and he returned it with a knowing look; almost like he had a secret that you weren’t keen to. “Can you really feel how deep I am, baby?” A patronizing laugh escaped him when you met him with a questioning stare. “Can you feel me…..here?” He pressed a palm against your lower belly, the pressure immediately sending you into a plummet.
Your head dropped back as a cry started to rise in your throat. Jake clamped his palm over your mouth to stifle the sound and you could feel his hand shake as he met his own release, nuzzling his face into the crook of your neck as he spilled into you. The both of you took a few moments to regain composure before he finally pulled out and grabbed the hand towel from the rack. He ran half of the towel under warm water and took his time to wipe you down, the smirk never leaving his face. “Yeah, you fucking won, Jake. I won’t argue anymore.” You held your hands up in surrender as you hopped down from the sink to pull your panties and leggings back on. “We’ll do everything your way, baby.”
He pulled you against him, kissing you softly. “Just the words I wanted to hear. Let’s go finish dinner.” He led you to the bathroom door and pulled it open, revealing Sam on the other side with his fist raised as he was getting ready to knock.
Sammy dropped his hand to his side and bit back his laughter, “We were wondering when you two would be done. Food’s getting cold and we’re all hungry.” He turned away and began walking towards the dining room.
Jake followed him, tugging you along. “What do you mean, I haven’t finished cook-.” His mouth hung open as he took in the buffet of food set across the large table.
Josh came out of the kitchen, then, carrying a handful of serving spoons. “We finished up while you settled whatever tension was going on between you two.” He shrugged as he placed a spoon in each dish.
You looked at Jake’s scowling face, unable to contain your giggles as you slid into the seat that his twin had pulled out for you. “Looks great, guys. I’m starving…”
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horsechestnut · 2 months
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Batfamily Chronological Reading List
Here it is, a massive list of Batfamily comics all sorted by issue release date so you can read them in the order they were originally intended to be read in, or easily reference back to what happened when. Do you want to know what Dick was up to during A Death in the Family? Need to know if Cass was around yet when Steph had her baby for your fan fic? Just a completion-ist with too much time on your hands like me? Then this is the list for you!
About six months ago I was trying to read my way through some old comics and getting insanely frustrated trying to figure out the order they went in. There are lots of reading lists online, but none of them gave me what I truly wanted: the order of individual issues rather than comic runs or collections. I also couldn't find any that featured all of the Batkids. So I took all of the reading lists I was using, found the On-Sale-Date for each of the issues mentioned, found a few other lists to fill in some gaps, and complied them into chronological order.
This list features what I consider to be the main 8 Batfamily members: Dick Grayson, Barbara Gordon, Jason Todd, Tim Drake, Stephanie Brown, Cassandra Cain, Damian Wayne, and Duke Thomas. It is by no means every appearance of these characters, but it is hopefully all of the important ones and then some. By no means do I suggest reading all of these (unless you're slightly insane like me), it's more of a reference guide than a read list.
Some Disclaimers:
This is still a work in progress. You'll notice that the first third of the list is much more detailed than the more recent entries. That's because I haven't read them yet. As of now I've only reached Batgirl 2000 #15, but will continue updating as I go through (I'm hoping to finish sometime within the next 12 months).
This is not a Batman list. I have included some issues about Bruce that I feel are important to the overall story, but if I were to include all of his important issues it would make the list unusable. You should still be able to follow his character arcs through his role in the comics listed here.
I needed to cut off somewhere, so anything released after December 31, 2023 was not included. I may go back and change this later, but not any time soon.
I do not want to discredit any of the Batfamily members not included here (ie Kate, Helena, Jean Paul). They are all important to Bruce and Gotham in their own way, but again I needed to cut it off somewhere or I never would have found an end.
For any edits you wish to suggest, please do so through this form. Any suggestions given not through this form will not be considered, and as it says in the form, I also will not consider any that don't have an explanation.
Finally I need to say thank you and give credit to the people who's reading lists I used to create this:
cazzam - New and Improved Cassandra Cain Reading Guide
Comic Book Herald - I used both their Complete Robin and Complete Batgirl Read Order Lists.
The Comic Book Treasury - I used both their Robin Reading Order and their Duke Thomas Reading Order
Comic Book Wire - The Signal Reading Order
Daily Jason Todd - Jason Todd's Reading List
Stephanie Brown Wiki Chronology Page
The Unoffical Guide to the DC Universe was also an incredible help with sorting out timelines, and all of my On-Sale-Date information comes from Grand Comics Database (GCD).
I hope you guys enjoy and find this useful! I'm happy to answer any questions, and if something isn't clear feel free to let me know!
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your-nanas-house · 8 months
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"Scarecrow, Scarecrow"
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◇ Pairing: Jonathan Crane X fem!Reader
◇ Warnings: smut, edging, riding, handjob, Jonathan Crane, straight jacket, kind of dubcon at first
◇ Summary: Jim Gordon and his colleague go to interrogate Jonathan Crane.
◇ Note: Sorry for the mistakes and the English.
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You and your colleague Jim Gordon had been in that interrogation room for more than an hour, nothing had succeeded in making Doctor Crane speak, not even the time since he was still sitting in front of you tied in a straitjacket that kept his entire body immobile and it was getting kind of uncomfortable— you could tell.
Your eyes remained on the black haired man the entire time as you let Jim do the attempted interrogation— attempt because it wasn't working at all and it was starting to stress him out, you could see it and Crane could see it too.
That was the main reason because you leaned closer to him to whisper something in his ear, covering your mouth with your hand slightly so not to make anyone but Jim hear.
You could see out of the corner of your eye you had slightly caught the maniac's attention, making his icy gaze focus back on you even when Officer Gordon got up, leaving the room after whispering something back to you.
It was just you and Jonathan, no one else, the cameras weren't working and you knew it, you were in a room in Arkham Asylum so there were no walls for the people outside to see through— a decidedly sick decision to make.
Jonathan opened his mouth, licking slightly his pink lips
"I'm afraid I've never had the pleasure of meeting you before, Officer...." he said, his eyes trailing on your body and back to your face as he waited to know your name.
You got up from your chair and looked around the room, studying your surroundings while moving closer to him
"Jonathan Crane, huh? I attended a few of your lectures— I must say that they were quite interesting but it was hard to focus" you explained with a blank voice while thinking.
His eyes kept following you, his mouth opened to say something but quickly shut when you sat on his lap
"Let's make a deal, shall we?" You started, licking your lips
"I bet you are quite touch depraved since they locked you in this place so— I can give you what you need if you tell me what I want to know. How does it sound?" You asked softly, not letting him reply immediately just by placing your hand directly on his covered crotch, massaging it slowly while feeling his cock get hard and stiff under your hand.
His breaths came out more labored as you continued the movement of your hand, applying a little more pressure and then quickly moving from that position to lean on the table to admire him before speaking again
"What do you say, Dr. Crane?" you asked seeing his adam's apple bounce slightly as he gulped
"F-Fuck fine but don't stop" he begged quickly, making you hide a smirk.
You moved back on his lap and started to grinds slowly against him, asking him a few questions which received no response.
"This wasn't the deal, honey" you pushed him down on the table, freeing his hard leaking cock before grabbing it with your hand
"Mommy isn't in the mood to play so answer the questions like a good boy to receive your reward, yes?" you whispered against his ear, making him whine like a slut for you.
It took him a few seconds to be able to answer at your comment, too focused on your still warm hand on his rock-hard cock
"Yes— m-mommy, god, please. I will answer anything" he quickly assured you, moaning happily as your hand started to pleasure him, stroking his whole length— moving his foreskin to be able to touch the tip and make him squirm under you.
Jonathan was answering your questions, moving his hips as best he could to fuck your hand making you more aroused as the time passed.
You honestly weren't planning to go all the way with him but the situation was making your pussy ache for release and a big cock like his to fill you completely.
You could see that Johnathan was getting closer and closer to his peak, hearing just his loud moans followed by soft whimper and prays that got replaced by a loud whine when you removed your hand from him.
His piercing blue eyes that were closed quickly opened, staring at you in a desperate way as he tried to understand why you stopped just to groan even louder when your wet pussy made contact with his leaking, thrombing cock.
You started to move your hips slowly, grinding your clit against his V-line before positioning his dick at your entrance not bothering to put a condom on it— too lost in your wish of pleasure.
Your pussy swallowed him up, taking all his inches easily because of how wet it was; your head dropped back as your mouth let out a pornographic moan that made Jonathan whimper and his cock twitch inside of you.
It took just a few bounce and the view of your tits to make Dr. Crane reach his peak, his back arched in a delicious way as his mouth dropped, letting out loud moans just for you.
His icy blue eyes rolled back under his pretty eyelids and his messy hair got more stuck against his forehead because of his sweat.
Sadly for him as soon as you reached your climax, you got up not helping him reach his own— you had the informations you wanted but he had been a brat at the beginning of your interrogation so you decided that he didn't deserved his reward.
Jonathan wasn't happy about it, you could see it in his eyes and the way he was clenching his teeth making his jawline stand out even more.
You were probably doing a mistake that you would regret if he would ever escape from Arkham but you didn't care so you left, leaving Jonathan Crane, aka The Scarecrow, with blue balls— still tied with a straight jacket and his cock out.
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Taglist:
@gabile18 , @mrsfullbuster500 , @rex-ray , @elizamalfoyy, @eovjjj , @wife-of-magic-monkeys , @jeremiah-va1eska , @gothamchic16, @rabbiteggz , @dieg0brandos-wife , @rottenecstasy , @lazyexcuse , @teh-vampire-bunny , @lobotomy-lover , @slasher-smasher , @sleepycreativewriter
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lopez-richter-fangirl · 4 months
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The Tin Can Bros have launched a kickstarter to celebrate their 10 year anniversary with SEVEN new projects, and they need our help!
Read on to find out how:
This is Brian Rosenthal, Corey Lubowich and Joey Richter
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You may know them from Team Starkid, or you may know them from their own group the Tin Can Brothers (creators of projects such as Spies Are Forever and the Solve it Squad), formed in 2014. To celebrate 10 years, they’re raising a goal of $200k in order to stage seven projects
They’re currently a week into their campaign and have raised almost $50k with 675 backers. But they still have a way to go! And to help, we need to spread the word
TINLIGHTENMENT PROMO SCHEDULE:
Saturday 10th - The Great Debate
What is it?
A live comedy game show featuring Joey, Brian, Corey and special guests pitted against each other to win a debate. It gets silly!
How will I be able to see it?
Live shows in LA (and potentially other places!) throughout the year, digital tickets, and eventually some ‘episodes’ on youtube!
What can I share?
If you’ve been lucky enough to see past great debates on Patreon, talk about favourite topics and moments!
If you haven’t, share moments and clips from the first public great debate livestream happening on Thursday! (I think - if plans are changed then they’re doing a terrible job letting me help them)
Talk about guests! They talked about a Dropout crossover which I know people have been asking for with Starkid. I don’t know what that is but tell the people that do!
Tuesday 13th - Gross Prophets
What is it?
A brand new comedy musical featuring Joey, Brian and Lauren with music by Ali Gordon and Angela Parrish (shitty broadway! https://youtu.be/AZ-bOPiDqo8?si=F6guq3Pk_lOkCB5B)
How will I be able to see it?
Live shows (some workshop-y) in LA leading up to a run at the Adelaide Fringe, with digital tickets and eventual youtube release
What can I share?
We don’t know a whole lot about this project yet, but we do know it’s got a great cast and creative team - talk about those people!
That it’s going to Adelaide!! Australia is frequently in the top backing countries on kickstarters, and those people finally get a chance to see a TCB show live!
Theories on what the show might involve!
Saturday 17th - SIS at the Fringe
What is it?
An Edinburgh Fringe run of the fucked up Scooby Doo parody, with the original cast!
How will I be able to see it?
Live shows throughout the entire Edinburgh Fringe run in August, or a digital ticket!
What can I share?
This is an existing TCB property, so talk about what you love from the original! Share art, gifs, edits, anything!
That it’s going to Edinburgh! As above, UK fans have been desperate for this for ages, now’s our chance! Make sure people know about it!
Tuesday 20th - Spy Another Day LA and London
What is it?
A live concert screening (Hollywood Bowl meets Rocky Horror!) of Spies with most of the original cast for LA and TCB plus Lauren for London!
How will I be able to see it?
A live show in LA in Spring (likely April) with a digital ticket option, and a live show in London in early September following their SIS fringe run
What can I share?
Like with SIS, anything and everything you love about the original show! Angsty fics, art, memes, it’s all good
Joe Walker. To me personally he’s just A Guy, but some people are still shocked to be learning he’s doing a show again! Get those OG fans to support this!
That it’s going to London. I need Joey doing a passable to decent depending on how much he’s practiced English accent in London! And again, an opportunity for one of the highest backing cities to see them LIVE
Saturday 24th - TCBoB at 54 Below
What is it?
The songs from their musical This Could Be on Broadway in concert at 54 Below in New York City, with Joey, Brian, Lauren, Esther, Bryce and Clark, plus more performers to be announced!
How will I be able to see it?
Live in NYC in November, with a digital ticket option
What can I share?
The first workshop only got a digital ticket release but if you caught that, share favourite parts! And the soundtrack is available, so talk about how fucking good the songs are
The fact that it’s an opportunity for people to hear these songs live!
Tuesday 27th - Intelligent Life
What is it?
A reading of TCB’s queer sci-fi comedy TV pilot
How will I be able to see it?
Live in LA in early Summer, or by digital ticket
What can I share?
Like with Gross Prophets, this is a brand new (to us) project so we don’t know a lot! But we do know it’s gays in space! We love space gays
Remember, these are just ideas. Share anything you personally are excited for and think other people might be interested in! The aim is to make sure people are aware of these projects, what they entail and why they need to happen! Any other way you have of getting the word out about the projects and the campaign in general is valuable!!
Join our discord for more ways to help or to ask questions! https://discord.gg/4VNEBzpA
And if you’re hearing about all this for the first time, check out the campaign! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/tincanbros/tinlightenment-world-tour
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bluejaysandblackbats · 4 months
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Catch and Release
Fandom: DC Comics, Batfam
Summary: AU where Jason doesn't die in the explosion and he and Tim end up attending the same high school months later.
Chapters: 8/?
Characters: Jason Todd, Bruce Wayne, Alfred Pennyworth, Tim Drake, Dick Grayson, Barbara Gordon, Sebastian Ives, Jack Drake, Janet Drake
Relationships: TBA
Additional Tag: Jason Todd Lives, Jason Todd-centric, POV Jason Todd, POV First Person, Tim Drake Has Issues, Tim Drake Has Issues, Tim Drake is Not Robin, Jason Todd is Not Robin (Anymore), Bruce Wayne Needs a Hug, Alfred Pennyworth is the Best, Alfred Pennyworth Knows, Stalker Tim Drake, Jason Todd Has Chronic Pain, Jason Todd Has PTSD, Angst with a Happy Ending, Unlikely Friends, Injury Recovery, Emotional Baggage, Rage, Bruce Wayne is Bad at Communicating
Chapter Eight: Pain in the Head
I hung out with Tim's friends and worked on character sheets. I spent three hours there before I told Tim I had to go. I had a great time. Don't get me wrong. But I was nauseous and didn't want to be sick at his house. Ives planned on sleeping over at Tim's place, so I didn't have to feel bad about leaving him home alone. I got a ride to the manor, and Bruce sat on the porch waiting for me as soon as I arrived. "Where have you been?" Bruce asked.
"I could ask you the same thing, Bruce... Can I go inside now?" I asked.
"You're pale," Bruce replied.
I wanted to lie down and nap, but I could tell Bruce didn't plan on letting things go. I didn't have the time or energy to explain myself, so I did what any reasonable teenager would do. I made myself throw up and burst into tears. "Jason," Bruce sighed before helping me to the family room. He couldn't accuse me of anything while I was sick. That and throwing up stopped the onset of a migraine.
"I'm so sorry, Bruce-."
"It's fine... When is the last time you took-. I swore I wouldn't ask you that," Bruce replied.
"I didn't think I needed them anymore... I thought I'd been feeling better lately," I replied. Bruce felt my forehead.
"I've been home for two days, and you-. Jason, I'm sorry for walking out on you. I wasn't trying to hurt you... I'm-. Our bond is different from the bond I have with anyone else. I'm holding on for dear life with you... And I know I'm losing you. I feel like you're slipping away when I look at you.
"I can't take the thought of knowing you suffered because I chose to leave you alone that day. Jason, you're so precious to me... And I'm terrified that if I let you talk about what happened, you'll say what I've been most afraid to hear," Bruce confessed. I wasn't in the mood for a serious conversation, but he was finally willing to speak about what happened to me.
"I don't hate you... And I don't blame you for what happened. I've been trying to tell you all this time," I paused, "I'm sure Dick told you I wanna die sometimes... But you don't realize what I have to experience every day."
Bruce exhaled through his nose. "Go ahead..."
"I wake up under debris almost every day... And then I lie about my nerve pain, which I know everyone can see. By the time I get to the mirror, I'm already so disheartened by the countless efforts I've made to appear normal that I barely notice my scars anymore. When I shower, my skin still hurts like the burns are fresh, and I want to cry, but if I do, I'd never get anything done. Then, I come down for breakfast... And sometimes the medications I'm on make me so sick I don't want to eat, but I know I'd be worse off if I didn't.
"Then I go to school, and you wouldn't believe what they say about me," I swallowed hard.
"Jason-."
"But I endure it because I know I have to... What I can't stomach is the isolation. Don't ice me out, Bruce," I begged. Bruce sighed.
"I don't know how-. I can't pretend that almost losing you didn't change the entire way I had to look at our life. You can't be Robin anymore, Jason, and I feel awful for having to take that away from you," Bruce whispered.
"You're saying our, but you mean mine. How can you expect me to step down from being Robin when you can't even walk away from being Batman?" I asked.
"Jason, it's been over a year, and you're still healing. I can't risk putting you out in the field again. Gotham needs Batman-."
"Bullshit," I snapped.
"Language-." "Oh! Go to hell! I told you about all my issues, thinking you would finally see me, and I realized you're no better than the rest of them!" I yelled. I couldn't help but get mad. I should've seen it coming. He'd never had the guts to say it, but I knew this was his way of shutting me out for good. It pissed me off. I threw my crutches and hobbled upstairs.
"Jason! Jason, you can't-!"
"Screw you!" I yelled as I went to my room. I slammed the door and packed my bag. I almost forgot I felt sick. He saw me as weak. That was the worst thing he could've ever opened his mouth to admit. He was no better than everyone that gaped and gawked at me. I was his walking tragedy, and I'd be damned if I let him treat me like a ghost.
I started packing with tears in my eyes. I wanted to get out of there before I said something vile. "Jason, don't be like this! Please come out and talk to me-."
"Bruce, I need to get the hell away from you before I say something I regret!" I hollered. "And I guarantee that if you follow me, I will never come home! Leave my crutches and get away from me!" I sat down and texted Tim. He was the only person I could trust at that moment. I asked him to come to get me, and he texted me immediately. I waited in my room until Tim texted me, and I left my bedroom. Bruce left my crutches in front of the door and retreated like always. I slung my duffel across my body like a messenger bag, hoping it wouldn't throw me off balance.
I swung the door open and left it like that. Tim took my bag and opened his mouth to ask if I was okay, but he kept quiet. It was for the best because I was in a particularly heinous mood. I fell asleep in the car and woke up in Tim's guest room. He was on the floor with Ives, eating pizza. My head throbbed, and I felt sicker than I did earlier. Ives glanced at me and got up to turn the lights down. "Sorry, were we too loud?" Ives questioned.
"No, I-. How long have I been out?" I asked.
"Thirty minutes... Maybe an hour," Tim answered, "Do you need an aspirin?"
I pressed my palms against my eyelids. "No thanks... Tim, do you-? Who carried me in?" I asked.
"We both did. Tim got you out of the car but wasn't strong enough to get you up the stairs. It was a team effort," Ives answered, "You're heavier than you look." I let out a soft chuckle despite the pounding in my head.
"Know how I asked you to move in with me?" I questioned. "Could it still work if it were the other way around?"
"You wanna live here?" Tim asked. I nodded. "Alright." I was shocked. I thought he'd say no, but he looked thrilled.
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love-imagineitall · 5 months
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Let Her Go
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Pairing: Victor Zsasz x Assassin!Female!Reader
This is set in the first season only a little bit after Zsasz is at the GCPD for Gordon. Also I don't think I mention it in the story, but the reason that the reader was in prison for two years without getting broken out or anything was to go in and make more contacts in the female criminal world. Falcone had asked her to and after she thought she was done, he pulled his strings to get her released immediately.
TW: usual Gotham violence and allusions to smut, heavy make out sesh.
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"Are you kidding me Gordon!?!?"
"What the hell are you talking about Harvey?"
"Please don't tell me that is who I think it is that you have in that interrogation room?"
"Again I ask what are you talking about? I brought her in for killing a man right in front of me."
"Oh god," Harvey groaned shaking his head, "let her go right now" he said with a tone of urgency that Jim hadn't heard from his partner before.
"No, I've told you many times I'm not going to turn the other way just because these criminals have money or power," he says to Harvey seeming to be frustrated with his partner and the entire city of Gotham, as he steps back into the interrogation room.
"So, (Y/N) (L/N)? You want to tell me why you killed an innocent man? What did you want with him?"
"You must be the new hot shot," the woman in front of him smiled mischievously with her feet up on the desk. The way she smiled an kept her calm like that did concern Jim a little, but he pushed on.
"Gordon. Detective Jim Gordon nice to meet you. Now tell me why did you do it?"
"Jim... hmm, Jimbo can I call you Jimbo? I'm gonna call you Jimbo."
Harvey then entered the room and Jim noticed that he looked different, frightened even.
"Harvey! Long time no see"
"Hello (Y/N), I am so sorry about my partner. We will get you out of here as soon as we can there is no need to let any one know that you are here."
"No, Harvey, no we won't. She murdered a man right in front of me, she has to go to prison, but first I am going to find out why?"
"I love the place by the way it's been a while. Have you guys redecorated?"
"(Y/N)! I am done playing games with you now you are going to tell me what I want to know or I'm going to have to send you away for a long long time!" Jim yells, the frustration pouring out of him.
"Ooh, feisty" the woman says with a smile on her face. She turns to Harvey, "I like him"
"(Y/N)-," Jim starts.
"Look boys I'm only here because I wanted to take a look around, but now I've met the new guy and seen enough. I'd like to leave now"
"Are you kidding? That isn't how this works princess I saw you with my own eyes murder a man in cold blood, this is the police so yeah the only place that you are going is to prison."
The woman turns to Harvey, completely ignoring Jim, "Harvey, I'd say you got about a minute to let me go... we don't want a repeat of the last time now do we?"
"No ma'am" he says quietly shaking his head while pulling Jim to the side.
"You need to let her go like now," he says while constantly checking his watch.
"Who the hell is she Harvey?"
"You remember Victor Zsasz?"
"How could I forget?"
"Well look as scary and creepy as that dude is, she's a hundred times worse, she's even more deadly of an assassin than he is if you can believe that, but as of right now we haven't pissed her off. The thing I'm worried about is that those two aren't just colleagues, they've got this weird thing... and, and, and-"
"And what Harvey?"
"And he's not gonna be too happy that we've got his girl in lockup after he hasn't seen her for 2 years"
Just then the two detectives hear a gun shot, Harvey looks wide eyed at Jim, and pulls him back into the interrogation room.
"Uncuff her Jim! Uncuff her!"
"Right on time," (Y/N) says with a smile on her face.
The two detectives hurriedly rush to uncuff the woman sitting in front of them. As soon as they have her free and very pissed off Zsasz enters the room with guns a blazing.
"Hello darling," he says with a smile to (Y/N), immediately turning his attention and guns towards the detectives. The smile previously on the assassin's face now completely wiped away and replaced with an anger never seen before.
"Come on honey, we were just leaving" she grabs Zsasz by the arm, "oh and Jimbo, I'll see you around," the pair walking off with her sending Jim a wink. Zsasz walks with his girl out of the GCPD quietly leaving everyone there in awe and fear.
After the pair of assassins return to Falcone's house, (Y/N) immediately drags Victor up to the bedroom. After all the pair hadn't been this close in two years what with the woman being locked up in Blackgate prison.
"Ugh-" Victor groans as he pulls her in for a very hungry kiss
The two of them wasting no time and immediately going to the bed. She jumps on top of him, taking control and kissing him with even more passion.
She rips open his vest and going to pull down his pants when he flips her over and regains control, immediately kissing her again and pulling her shirt off. As the two are going at it and undressing each other, one of Falcone's men walks through the door to tell them to come down stairs, but as soon as he opens the door and begins to speak both assassins pull out their guns and shoots the man without breaking the kiss.
The pull back for a moment to catch their breath, and as they are breathing heavily, Victor tucks a piece of hair behind (Y/N)'s ear, flashes a toothy grin, and says "you are never leaving for that long again you hear me?"
Chuckling and grinning back at him, she replies, "wouldn't dream of it sweetness"
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king-of-the-birds · 14 hours
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Something about the pattern of Paul's lyrics being vulnerable when he doesn't have to sing them himself and he can hide behind the voices of others.
(Or he just doesn't release them at all)
They said that love was a lie Told me that I Should never try to find Somebody who'd be kind Kind to only me So, I just tell them they're right Who wants a fight? Tell them I quite agree Nobody'd love me
It’s for you (1964) sung by Cilla Black
How can I understand, When someone says to me, "I don't want to see you again."? Why do I cry at night? Something wrong could be right.
I Don’t Want to See You Again (1964) sung by Peter and Gordon
Lock me away And don't allow the day Here inside where I hide With my loneliness
World without love (1964) sung by Peter and Gordon
I know you never like to let them down But would you rather be alive or dead?…
Simple as that (1968) -> Unreleased
Sunset's painting up the sky There's something in my eye Why am I crying? It's the fourth of July Friends come up to me and say "It's gonna be your day" Why are they lying?
4th of July (1974) sung by John Christie
He told me to tell you That he hardly ever cries But he cried for you last night
Cage (1978) -> Unreleased
Constantly drifting,  Endlessly lifting  More weight than one man can bear.  Into the future,  Ghosts of the past everywhere. 
Liverpool Oratorio (1991?) sung by a choir
If I tell you how I feel Would you be afraid and run away I would say my love is real
If I take you home tonight (2011) sung by Diana Krall
Now you sit and cry At the shadows on the ceiling Songbird in a cage Wings that never flutter
Songbird in a cage (2016) sung by Charlotte Gainsbourg
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warcorrespondence · 1 month
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You've probably seen that post that goes around, you know the one: It's all fun and games in hbowar until you want to see two women have a conversation.
Well, @mercurygray/mercurygray set out to fix that. The Darkening Sky is full of women having conversations about real things.
fandom: band of brothers
pairing: Dick Winters/OC
mature, 220612 words
This epic asks the question: what would it be like if women went to war with Easy Company? No, but really though?
There are a lot of OCs, and a personal challenge I have with reading OCs is that I already love the canon characters. So for me, OCs have more work to do in fanfic than they do in novels, because they have to shoulder aside my blorbos. (This is me - there are a lot of OC writers and readers in this fandom and bravo to you all! I’m simply explaining a barrier I have). 
But fairly quickly, they established themselves, and over not too long a time, I grew to love them.
The main relationship is between Joan Warren, niece of General Pershing and society gal of Nixon’s ilk, and Dick Winters - she’s flirtier than he is, and more outspoken, but just as driven and in essence just as private. It takes them A WHILE to get going, because it would - these are two serious people with serious things to do, and they take love seriously too.
And all right, I’m just going to put it out there - was it a challenge, as a card-carrying winnix girlie, to hop on board that train? 
…not really? 
It helps that Nix ships it (which, like everything here, is shown and not told, and with delightful subtlety). It helps that Joan is awesome, a fully-fleshed out character with flaws and frustrations, narrative drive as well as personal drive. It helps that this is just another world where the Nix-Dick friendship didn’t develop that way, from Toccoa onward. There is no "We'll go to Chicago, I’ll take you there." It’s not what happens. 
(This fic also doesn't straightwash - there's not a ton of focus on m/m or f/f relationships, but they're there).
But Joan and Dick, much as I love to read about them, are not the only focus of the story. POV shifts all the time, sometimes to Shifty, sometimes to minor characters like Aldbourne residents or land girls, and we get an idea of what the war is like for them, as well as their perspective on Easy Company in all its camaraderie and complexity. 
It probably goes without saying that in a fandom full of heavily researched fics, Merc’s stands out as being the most meticulous. She knows her shit, and I knew that going in. But there’s a difference between throwing in facts and details for the sake of it, and doing it to further the experience of the reader. I felt like I learned things, but never like I was being taken to school - when I learned something it was because I was gaining context about a beloved character or understanding more about how the world would work for women in these circumstances. And they don't all have the same experience! Life for Lieutenant Joan Warren, reluctant media darling, is very different than it is for Sergeants Billie Mitchell or Marj Gordon (just to name a couple of my favorites).
These women never stop being women, and being treated that way, for better or worse (often worse). And there's something heartbreakingly frustrating but also beautiful about that.
Marj’s new haircut looked good on her - Doris wasn’t proud of a whole lot, these days, but any time she caught sight of Marj with her helmet off she had to smile. I did that. And she looks damn good. Marj’s honey-colored pageboy was starting to get a little long at the edges, but only enough to make Doris regret not bringing her scissors so she could do everyone else’s. Her fellow sergeant looked…free, without the hair, released from some burden of responsibility to look like she belonged somewhere else and might well be there soon. Why didn’t we do that earlier? Doris wondered to herself. It’s a war, not a beauty pageant. We’re not winning awards.  Because we’re still women, and we still want beauty. Because it’s hard to change something like that.  Because we all want to go right back to the way it was when this is over - even if we know we can’t. The way it was. The phrase made Doris want to laugh. They weren’t those women and men any more, the kids who’d arrived at Toccoa, and it was foolish to think they might be. Look at any of them, bruised and scarred - look at Marj! And even if they hadn’t changed, the people at home would have. (Look at Marj, again - and fuck Allen, while they were looking.)
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adrian-sheppy · 5 months
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ur timeline post is insane and fantastic do the others have a grasp on or figure out, or even believe, that the prime timeline is just that—the original? or is that just the naming system? how would they react to that sort of explanation? who wants to return to their timeline first/is that the goal overall for any of them? :’0
to preface, i tend to use timeline/universe interchangeably.. ok . long post time. be warned.
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1. do the others understand they're in the prime timeline?
as of right now, this system uses "interuniversal" passports planted on everybody by gee-man as they enter the prime timeline. this was to get around the problem of people having the same name. I love freemanverse but i could not understand how they came to the conclusions of accepting our third-party naming conventions. why would freemind call himself freemind when his name is gordon freeman? martini (who can go by his middle name) doesn't get the "feetman" name joke until way later, so calling him that off the bat would be weird (his passport changes  from gordon "martini" freeman to gordon "martini" feetman when the feet pic bit occurs). No one's name is ACTUALLY barmey, mindrian, freerun, freemercy, etc... but it is on the passport! and they use these names when referring to each other.
okay, so. the naming thing was the main function of the passport, but it has other standard information on it
Dates of birth - explanatory
date issued - release date of their IN REAL LIFE series (I.e Gordon is Nov 19 1998)
date expired - res cas day according to the prime timeline
(These three dates are often conflicting and confusing, which is as intended. They all exist in different years BUT the events of their universes are taking place at the same time. Timelines are synced up.)
AND THEN! place of origin. Every timeline gets assigned a number based on when they were chronologically conceived (for the most part. it's not a strict rule. it can be bent for convenience or funny/cool purposes).
ips: 000
og gordon: 001
freemind: 002
gorgeous: 003
so on and so forth. i like to pair these letters with numbers (HL-001, M-002 (M, not FM, because it's "Mindverse."*) G-003, etc)  seeing as HL-001 is One, they can come to the conclusion themselves that it's the "prime" timeline. whether they ACTUALLY call it that is debatable. i just do it because star trek does, but this requires a more "robust" naming system since it's more than just "prime," "alternative," and "mirror."
*Mindverse technically has alternative timelines too, but we're going with the one where gordon enters the test chamber (not stark) and gordon would've been taken by g-man (not felix)
2. How would they react to that sort of explanation?
Everything is very overwhelming and nonsensical. Since the collisions take place (for the most part) over the course of the rescas, most of them are too stressed to try to fully grasp the situation. They have their interuniversal passports, which just materialized on their person/with their belongings when they get sucked into the prime timeline, so they know SOMETHING IS UP. Some care more than others, like Freemind and Martini (not a game au) both freak out. Freemind probably thinks he's high for a bit even though he doesn't FEEL high. Martini thinks he's going crazy or hit his head, which doesn't help when the science team acts like this is a perfectly normal thing (while it's not a game, they all have their "npc" quirks). The science team is also the narrative vessel which can help explain the phenomenon. emphasis on can. Coomer understands the framework, while Tommy has a more intimate knowledge. But neither explain anything too quickly. Coomer wants playcoins and Tommy would acknowledge the "glitching" and correctly identify it as dangerous and warn the others about it.
The timeline information is accepted. There's not much they can do. They're in an alternate universe? Ok. Well, first things first, don't die from rescas. It's not until later that the information is DIGESTED. This would be during any downtime they have while going through Black Mesa (think how the HLVRAI crew took the occasional nap) and then when they enter the domestic arc. For the most part, everyone thinks that they've somehow JUMPED universes, not that their universe and another have collided together. I guess this could be considered a "plot twist" and if I was writing a comic (comic ver 2.5!) there would be a somber moment where everyone who cares realizes that THIS is there home now. it's familiar and unfamiliar. they know it but they don't. No one is devastated, but it's a very aimless feeling. Characters like Freerun, Gorgeous, Freecat, and Freemercy are "emotionally detached"   from their timelines, so their reactions range from not caring to easily adjusting.
3. who wants to go home and is that an overall goal?
I think Martini, Freemind, and Cicero would all want to go home, Martini more urgently since he has Joshie. No one really understands the depth that Cicero wants to go home due to language barrier, but it is assumed. Freemind wants to go home moreso out of paranoia that being in a different universe was harmful to him on a molecular/quantum level (it's not) and that having multiple of him around is WEIRD and he wanted to go back to being the one-and-only while reveling in the fact he was cosmically significant enough to have parallel universes based on him.
Everyone makes the assumption that there is a home to return to. Their first goal is to survive the rescas. Once they get through that, they awkwardly all move in together (where else are they supposed to go?). This living situation is considered temporary... but.. it's not.
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(malmo by mook is one of THE freemanverse songs no i do not take criticism)
Their expectations are curbed quickly. At this point one of the gmen (likely mr.coolatta or gee-man) or tommy would just come out and say yeah there is no other (relevant) universe. it's just this one now. (the merging process is... difficult to explain so I'm not going  to try right now. maybe later..). Cicero wanted to go home because people understood them there and thats where all his friends were. but Molly and others (sugar man , corp) are here now, and his new friends are making the effort to break the language gap. Martini wanted his son and he got his son. Freemind has an actual group of people who care about and support him, something he's not used to having (and barmey is there too. giggles. grins.). No one is particularly upset at learning the prime timeline was now also THEIR timeline since their . liek. hierarchy of needs gets filled. it's like if your house burned down but it didnt ACTUALLY burn down, it just FEELS like it did, and then there was an exact copy in its place with miniscule (but noticeable) differences. like something changed and there's a feeling of loss but you actually haven't lost anything. it's sobering and might be upsetting for a little bit, but it's also familiar and comforting. its ok. they all have gained something now. f... family. found family . grins. smiles even.
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celaenaeiln · 7 months
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The bimbofication of Dick Grayson is sad but I also feel like a lot of it has to do with his place in the batfamily and fitting a certain role which is different from his role as part of the Titans fam. Like there is a reason he gets killed off in a lot of Batfam stories and or he takes up the role as Batman despite wanting to make a name for himself as Nightwing. I’m not a huge Dick Grayson fan but that’s because my introduction to him was through the Batfamily and he was always portrayed rather silly or kind of the butt of the joke to Barbara Gordon’s know-it-all-ness (I love her but that’s how it feels) , but then I would read his interactions with the Titans and I actually became more invested in his character even if the writing is a bit outdated.
This goes for his relationships too, he used to be portrayed as a one woman man but then Dixon got a hold of him and suddenly the tiring trope of guy is a bit of a playboy except for that one girl who is the love of his life took hold and it hasn’t left since. I miss the Dick who meet this out of this world (literally) woman and who grew to love each other and watching him grow into a man who learned to love in a passionate way and who learned that people were different from him.
Even a lot of his newer relationships have a lot of depth (like with Bea Bennet or Shawn) but then they get axed. Taylor isn’t really writing anything that hasn’t been written before, like Rebirth Dick wasn’t that great and Rebirth DickBabs was childish and Dixon had some takes on Dick but Taylor has really has highlighted a lot of that bad writing and It’s crazy that it’s becoming the most popular iteration of Dick Grayson and even Barbara Gordon.
og post in reference
Absolutely!
There was the comic thing DC released during an event with all the heroes talking to the reader like they were in the Office, and Dick's was, "I'm the nice, funny one."
Now that's funny because Roy literally refers to him as uptight. The statement is true but it's a lie by omission. It doesn't take into account his craziness, his leadership, his dedication, his intelligence, his prowess, his good-standing - nothing! "Nice, funny one." I think Ra's would've run a sword through the writer's heart at that, given that he was easily defeated by the "nice, funny one."
Aside from that I can't really speak to the dumbification of Dick in Batfamily comics because I think most of them have done a good job but I used to see it a lot in fandom. It's much less now but five years ago, there was so much fandom content about incompetent himbo Grayson and some writers genuinely meant it too. Which I don't understand because nowhere in the Nightwing comics is Dick ever written as being dumb. The Batman comics (1940) and (2016) also do a fantastic job of writing him. His fighting ability, his emotional intelligence, his IQ, all of it is there and off the charts!
I guess the main thing with Dick's role in the batfamily is he's seen as an authority figure. He's Batman's second in command and seen that way by both Bruce and the rest of the family. So if some major disaster were to occur, he would need to be killed off because he's both of exceedingly high emotional value to Bruce or because he's going to be the next person in charge and god forbid that happens because the apocalypse would end then.
I mean, the villains made the mistake of leaving him alive in Convergence and he literally reset the universe back to how it's supposed to be.
So there's no way they can leave him alive because of that. Also his death fuels Batman to end whatever crisis the world is facing so that's an important plot event.
But the Barbara Gordon arm candy.
I am certain. That the idea of Dick being stupid comes from him being with Barbara Gordon. No where in the Nightwing comics, Batman comics (both!), Red Robin comics, Robin comics, Titans comics, Justice League comics, and other DC comics is Dick ever written to be stupid EXCEPT when he's written with Barbara.
Take this nightwing panel for instance
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Nightwing (2011) Issue #27
or this
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Nightwing (1996) Issue #42
and then take this
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Convergence: Nightwing/Oracle Issue #1
AKA: I'm smart. You're dumb. Now shut up and leave because you're too stupid to understand.
The arrogance. This is the same shit Bruce would pull except when Dick asks, Bruce actually tells him.
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Justice Leagues: Justice League of Atlantis
Barbara in the Nightwing comics isn't the best but at least it tracks with her own personality in her own comics and the Batman and Bird of Prey ones. The best Barbara Gordon depictions I've seen are through Cass and Stephanie's Batgirl comics funnily, but the Barbara Gordon Batgirl comics have the worst treatment I've seen of Dick in all of DC.
This is where I think the idea Dick is dumb orginates because it's definitely not coming from Tim or the Titans or Batman. It also makes sense if that's the case since Dickbabs is such a huge thing in this fandom.
I miss when Dick would just be with Kori through everything. They were so in love! I genuinely believe they could have worked out their problems or at least gotten back together but DC will never let that happen for logical reasons. If Dick marries Kori, he's going to end up spending all his time with the Titans which would be bad for the rest of the family because they need him when they have problems or just to hang out. It's a lot more convenient for them to have Tim hang out with Dick and Barbara if they were dating than him hanging out with Dick and Kori. Which is the biggest reason why Batfamily writers want to keep the romance within the family.
I will never accept the cheating thing because it was so out of character but I've kinda gotten used to him finding new relationships because I grown to fall in love with those characters. As long as he has meaningful relationships like with Bea and Shawn where it develops and grows, I end up loving it. My only requirements for his relationship is letting Dick be himself and letting him be happy. I was furious that whoever writer ended Bea's relationship and for what? "I'm sorry, I can't love you anymore, I got memories back." What kinda a reason is that?! It's not even remotely believable! I have so much to say but it's going to turn into a rant about how dumb the reasoning is.
Tom Taylor took all of Dick's fake worst traits and amplified them by a billion. Actually you know what? I get what's he's trying to do. He picked one trait of Dick's - caring - and trashed his entire life story at the expense of his intelligence, athleticism, humor (c'mon Dick was genuinely funny before this run, his humor did not suck), and wit to support this one little thing.
He wouldn't understand subtlety if it hit him in the face.
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