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habibialkaysani · 3 years

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The Old Guard (Laurel/Nyssa; M) - part i

Ships: Laurel/Nyssa

Summary: Laurel Lance and Nyssa Raatko are happily married - and have been for centuries. Along with Helena Bertinelli, this immortal army follows their equally immortal leader, Dina Drake, in the fights that they think are right.

But after one of their comrades makes a fatal lapse in judgement, Laurel and Nyssa find themselves trapped in their very worst nightmare - captured, as nothing more than lab rats. Luckily, the team has also just found its newest member, Sarah Diggle, so maybe all isn't lost.

A/N: Okay! So this one is something I've been working on a while. It was only meant to be 5k, but is now on 11k and still not done. So I will probably post in two or three parts.

You don't need to have watched The Old Guard for this to make sense - it follows the movie in terms of plot, but I'm hoping at least that the characters are still recognisable from Arrow.

Read at AO3

Laurel heard the knock on the door first, jumping to her feet. She had been curled around Nyssa on the couch, who was immersed in a novel she’d bought at the airport, but Nyssa quickly followed Laurel’s suit, putting the book down on the coffee table.

When Laurel opened the door, her face immediately split into a smile at the sight of Dina. “Hey, stranger.”

“Hey yourself,” Dina replied, going in for a hug, and then laughing as Laurel lifted her off her feet. Helena came in after Dina, closing the door behind them both.

“You look great, boss,” Laurel told her. “Love the hair.”

“Thanks! You, on the other hand, look okay,” Dina said with a grin.

“Gee, I love you too.”

Dina moved to Nyssa, who was waiting patiently for her hug, which was returned with gusto. Laurel smiled as Dina patted Nyssa’s cheek in greeting.

“You want some tea?”

“Make it Irish and I’m in,” Dina said, and Laurel shook her head fondly as Helena reached into her purse for her flask.

“On it.”

“While you both ruin your livers,” Laurel said, going to the mini-fridge, “I have something for you, boss.” She unearthed a small container from beside the fridge.

“Oh yeah? Please tell me it’s halwa.”

“Five hundred, Helena,” Laurel said, and Helena grinned.

“All in, I see.”

"Excellent," said Dina. "I'm starving."

“No, come on -” Nyssa said but it was half-hearted and she couldn’t suppress her smile even if she wanted to.

“Let’s settle this,” Laurel said firmly, handing Dina the container. Dina shook her head fondly as she sprawled on the armchair and uncovered a large square of Dina’s favourite sweet.

“All right.” Dina took a bite. “Mmmm. So good. Okay. Sesame seeds and tahini. Walnuts, not pistachios...” Helena let out a low whistle. Laurel refused to look defeated yet, though, and continued to pace. “Honey... okay, my guess? That Turkish place we went to in Rabat in - when was it? 2004?”

“Holy Mary, mother of God,” Laurel muttered under her breath, as Helena grabbed the money in front of her and waved them around Laurel’s face with glee.

“On the money, every time,” Helena said, and Laurel was still smiling, somehow, as she glanced at Nyssa, who hastily tried to cover her laugh with a cough.

“Next time, habibti,” Nyssa said, as Dina shook her head with faint exasperation.

“You say that every time,” Laurel complained.

Dina nudged Laurel playfully. “Don’t be such a baby, Laurel.”

“Admit it, boss,” Nyssa said, “you missed us.”

Dina didn’t hesitate. “I did.”

Silence fell as their fun and games came to an end, and as if to punctuate the point, Helena dropped a file on the coffee table. “It’s a job.”

“We don’t do repeats, Helena -”

“But we could do some good, Dina,” Nyssa interrupted, rather uncharacteristically. “Lord knows the world needs saving.”

“Why by us, though? Why should we feel like we owe this shithole of a planet anything?”

“Maybe,” Laurel said gently, “maybe we at least owe it to ourselves to hear Waller out.”

“Amanda Waller?” Dina asked, sitting up a little straighter, and Laurel was encouraged by that.

“Yeah. She’s ex-ARGUS now. Works freelance.”

“I don’t know,” Dina insisted. “I just - have a bad feeling about this. About what this could do to us.”

“I get that,” Laurel said, ever the conciliatory voice, “and that’s why Nyssa and I will have eyes and ears on you when you and Helena meet with her.”

It was clear from Dina’s sigh that she was relenting. “Fine.” Nyssa caught Laurel’s eye and they smiled, though stopping short of punching the air with victory - they weren’t quite there yet. “But only to hear her out. If anything goes sideways -”

“We’ll be there to back you up,” Laurel promised. “We got you, boss.”

“Always,” Nyssa added.

They set up the sniper rifle in the hotel room, Laurel watching from afar as Dina and Helena scoped out the market surrounding the cafe they would be meeting Waller at.

Behind her was Nyssa, listening carefully to the chatter of the market below.

"You have to admit," Nyssa said through the comms, "it's good to get back into the game."

"Not so fast, Nyssa," came Dina's voice, and Laurel adjusted her scope to better catch Dina's face. "We're hearing her out. That's what was agreed. Don't count your eggs and all that."

Helena laughed. "Chickens, boss. It's chickens."

"Chickens? I take it that means you would like to order the chicken shawarma?" Amanda Waller came into view, and it was strange for Laurel to see her in anything other than a sharp suit - Waller was dressed in a leather jacket and jeans, rendering her virtually unrecognisable.

"Just a coffee is fine, thanks," Dina said, extending her hand to Waller for a shake. "Dina."

"Amanda," Waller replied.

"I almost didn't recognise you there without your power suit, Amanda," Helena said, shaking her hand too and then taking her seat at the table.

"Got to blend in, I suppose," Waller said, speaking in a British accent.

"I thought you had to be American to join ARGUS," Dina said, and Waller laughed.

"Indeed. I was born in Star City. Then I went to live with my mother in Cornwall. Went back to Star City many years later and the rest, as they say, is history."

"Why'd you leave ARGUS?"

Wallet grimaced. "I needed some time off after my husband died."

Dina shifted uncomfortably in her chair. "I'm sorry for your loss."

"Thank you," Waller said with a perfunctory nod, Laurel could see, but also with the air of not wanting to talk about it. Laurel didn't blame her.

"So how can we help you?"

Waller spoke at length about the mission she wished to send the immortals on - a school being held hostage in Azerbaijan, in dire need of rescue. Laurel watched Dina's expression and knew from her face that they would take the job. Once actual people were involved, especially kids, it was hard for their leader to turn it down.

"Given the… delicate political situation in Azerbaijan at present, our priority is getting the students out alive," Waller continued. "Money is no issue - Miss Bertinelli and I briefly discussed your going rates -"

Dina got up, rather abruptly. "We'll invoice you when it's done," she said.

"Good," said Waller, also getting to her feet when Helena followed suit. "Thank you for doing business with me."

Nodding briefly, Dina downed her cup of coffee in one, then gestured for Helena to follow her. Laurel watched through her scope, focusing again on Waller, who unexpectedly raised her hand to wave and smile, as if looking directly at Laurel.

Laurel huffed a laugh, shaking her head, then nudged Nyssa beside her to take a look. They shared a smile of mild exasperation but the warm kind.

"What do you think, habibti?" Laurel asked softly.

"I think we would be blaspheming if we did not use the blessing God gave us to do as much good as possible," Nyssa replied after a moment. Laurel felt the familiar tug of love in her heart at the woman at her side, so much so that she couldn't help but kiss her.

"Your heart," Laurel murmured, placing her palm against her wife's chest, "is so full of kindness. Overflowing, in fact. This world is unworthy of it."

"Get a room, you two," Dina said over the comms, at the same time as Helena saying, "You two make me want to vomit", and Nyssa and Laurel dissolved into laughter.

It was terrifying when everything went wrong.

To be surrounded by soldiers armed to the teeth, who not only shot them repeatedly but used the four immortal women before them as target practice - it was fitting, in a way, for Laurel to be on the ground, dead, when shit indeed went sideways.

They'd practiced this. They had had centuries to perfect playing dead, using the deadliest weapon of all in their immortality - pinpointing the precise moment their enemies’ grip on their weapons were relaxed.

Of course, there was no way to practise being reborn, no textbook that could predict the brutality of this death or the next, and so something always threw Laurel, no matter how ready she was for those bullets - especially when it came to Nyssa. As Laurel's eyes opened, the bullet lodged in her forehead being ejected from her skin as it knitted up, Laurel immediately sought out her wife, careful to suppress her sigh of relief when she saw Nyssa's eyes open too.

Slowly, the four of them took the time to get their bearings and get back on their feet, and the soldiers had no warning when swords and arrows were unleashed on them mercilessly. Dina unearthed her axe for good measure, grunting as she finished off the last of them. They all panted, Laurel with her sword still aloft, Nyssa's bow tensed, Helena's arm quivering as she pointed her crossbow at the feebly stirring soldier at her feet.

"Everyone still with me?" Dina said, looking around. Helena made a noise of assent.

"Na'am," Nyssa said after a moment.

"Laurel?"

"Yeah," Laurel said, dislodging a bullet from her jaw with her tongue. "Pissed as hell."

"I don't understand," Nyssa said. "Where are the students?"

"We've been set up, Nyssa," Dina said grimly. “There are no students.”

"Jesus," Laurel muttered under her breath. "You were right, boss."

They got a freighter train towards Armenia - there was a safe house they had there, though Dina wondered aloud if they were perhaps chasing their tails. She told her team to get some sleep, and Laurel, grateful they'd all been able to change their clothes but still unable to shake the stench of blood in her nostrils, fell into a fitful, troubled slumber as she wound her arm around her wife's waist.

She saw it in flashes - the girl, in army fatigues, the military weapon, and then the dagger, appearing from nowhere, slicing the girl's throat… her hands going up to try and stem the blood -

"Ya allah," Nyssa breathed, jolted awake at the same time as Laurel - and when Laurel looked around she found Dina and Helena in similar states of shock.

"Another one?" Laurel said.

"It can't be, not that quickly," Dina said, but Nyssa was already reaching for her notebook, sketching rapidly.

"She was a black woman," Helena said. "Military…"

"The dagger was definitely Pashtun and there was a woman near her in a chador," Nyssa added, continuing to sketch.

"Gotta be Afghanistan, right?" Laurel said. "And the dog tags - Dig? Digger? Or something?"

"Could you make out the company?"

"Echo 2-1," Dina said in a hollow voice. "Gods. Why is there another one? Why now?"

"I don't know, boss," Laurel said. "What do you think?"

"I think we should find Waller," Helena said. "We're wide out in the open here. One problem at a time."

Nyssa shook her head. "No," she said, "we need to find this girl. Whoever she is - if she's like us… she needs us." Nyssa appealed to Laurel, gazing at her. "You remember what it was like at the beginning, hayati. How scared we both were. Imagine what she's going through."

Helena shook her head. "We can't split our focus -"

"We don't have to," Dina said, appearing to make up her mind and getting to her feet. "I'll go and retrieve her. You all get to Armenia. Go to the Charlie safe house there. Work on tracking Waller."

"Are you sure, boss?" Helena asked.

"If we're dreaming of her, she's dreaming of us. And once they figure out what she is, she'll lead them to us, so that doesn't leave us a lot of time."

Dina held her hand out to Nyssa, and after adding the finishing touches, Nyssa tore out the page with the sketch and handed it to Dina.

"Christ, look at her. She's just a baby." Dina looked up at Helena. "Find Waller and keep on her ass, okay? I'll be in touch."

With that she stepped out of the train, landed only somewhat unceremoniously and then began to walk away.

Hours later, Laurel woke from another bout of fitful sleep, having been unable to get any rest on the train, to the smell of Nyssa’s cooking.

Sleepily, Laurel got to her feet, rubbing her eyes. Their safe house in Armenia was small, indescript, with just enough space for three single beds squeezed into the bedroom, and a couch and dining table in the living room, which doubled as a kitchen.

Helena was at work on her laptop, typing away furiously. Nyssa was rummaging in the bag of groceries Laurel had bought earlier, finding a jar of sauce to add to the pasta. She tried a couple times to open it, but some things were beyond her, and Laurel knew that as she smiled.

"You need me to open that for you, habibti?" Laurel asked quietly.

"You have impeccable timing, my love," Nyssa replied, holding out the jar for her, and she couldn't hold back her amusement when Laurel opened it within two seconds.

"It's all in the wrist," Laurel said.

"So you say." Nyssa turned back to the pan on the stove, pouring in the sauce. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Just hope Dina finds this new one already. I hate the nightmares."

Nyssa started to stir, slowly, and Laurel could tell she was contemplating something.

"I know you feel these things more than any of us."

"I wish I knew why," Laurel said with a sigh. "But she's scared, Nyssa. And I feel it too." After a moment Laurel leaned forward, putting her arms around Nyssa's waist. She felt safer there, in the warm presence of her wife.

"It will be okay, Laurel," Nyssa said, leaning her forehead against Laurel's. "We will find the girl. And we will walk out of this shitstorm together like always."

"Thank you," Laurel whispered, dropping a kiss on Nyssa's cheek. "Do you need me to help with anything?"

"You could start on the washing up, if that's all right."

Laurel was already rolling up her sleeves, while Helena's phone began to ring. "Hello?" said Helena. She met Laurel's eyes and gave her a thumbs up. "Boss, I'm gonna put you on speaker, okay?"

"Hey, I got the new one," Dina said.

"What's she like?" Nyssa asked as she stirred.

There was a pause as if Dina was stifling a laugh. "Well, she stabbed me, so I say she has potential."

Helena chuckled. "Atta girl. I like her already."

"We're about to get on the plane. Should be with you in a few hours. Helena, any progress tracking down Waller?"

"No, sorry, boss. She's good. She has to be, as a security expert - knows how to cover her tracks."

"Everyone's got a weakness, Helena. I need you to find hers."

"Copy that."

"I'll see you all soon."

Sarah Diggle, as it happened, proved likable from the jump. She and Dina had arrived looking a little worse for wear, as if they'd had a tussle or two on the plane, and Laurel could tell from how jumpy she herself had been the past couple hours that she was feeling Sarah's adrenaline.

(She was so glad the whole empathy thing at least ended upon meeting.)

"Why are you all in my dreams?" Sarah asked once they sat down at the dinner table. Laurel was on her feet, heaping pasta onto plates and handing them out, starting with Sarah. "Thanks."

"We dream of each other - our deaths, the first ones, and what happens after - until we meet," Nyssa explained. "Then the dreams stop."

"Why?"

Nyssa smiled. "The why, Miss Diggle, is a question that will never be satisfactorily answered. It is one I ask most days - why us? Why immortality? Why did we dream of each other? Why are the rules the way they are?"

Sarah simply looked more perplexed by Nyssa’s words. "I think the best way to look at it," Laurel said as she handed a plate to Dina and then sat down, "is that it’s like - destiny."

"Some people are meant to find each other," Nyssa said, and Laurel smiled when she caught Nyssa's eye.

"So let me get this straight -"

The dinner table erupted with laughter and Sarah Diggle looked even more confused than she already was. "Kid," Dina said, taking a sip of her wine, "let me stop you right there. There's nothing straight going on here with any of us."

Laurel murmured in assent and then couldn't help but wink at Nyssa.

"Ameen to that," Nyssa agreed.

"Yeah, you'll just get a lot of nervous gay laughter if you ask any of us for a straight answer," Helena said.

Laurel watched as Nyssa turned to Sarah. "What she said. But our collective queerness aside, Ms Diggle, please do say what was on your mind."

Sarah smiled - it was tentative, accompanied with the nervous brushing away of her braids from her face, but it was there, Laurel could see that much. Their newest addition had had a frown creasing on her forehead the moment she had arrived, even in her young age, but with the laughter around her, some of that tension was relieved.

"Do we really never die?"

The smiles on the team's faces faded a bit.

"Nothing lives forever," Laurel said. "Even if it feels like we've been alive for eternity.”

Nyssa gestured at herself and then Laurel. “Laurel and I met in 1020."

It took a moment for that to sink in. "So you're saying you're both -"

Laurel grinned. "- over a thousand years old? Yes, but don't tell anyone."

"What about you?" Sarah asked Helena.

"Youngest recruit, from 1912."

"We call her the baby because she's only a century old," Nyssa said affectionately.

"You're the oldest," Sarah said, looking at Dina.

Dina grimaced. "Yep."

"How old are you?"

"Old," Dina replied.

" How old?"

"Too old," Laurel said, intervening after catching Dina's eye. "Let's just say there's a reason Dina's in charge around here."

Sarah nodded, seeming to accept this as an answer.

"So how do you know we do die?"

"Because one of us did," Dina said heavily. "His name was Thomas. I found him first. And one day we were in battle, fighting. And he got injured. Never got up. We don't know how or why, just that one day we stop healing and it's the end of the line. Our time to go."

There was silence for a moment. "It's a lot to take in," Nyssa said eventually.

"And I did tell you that you wouldn't like all the answers you got, kid," Dina said.

"You said we're immortal." The words came out of Sarah's mouth sounding almost accusatory. "You told me that. Just after shooting me in the head -"

"Sorry about that," Dina said, but the tension in the air was palpable. "But I knew I wouldn't hurt you. In the long run I mean."

"How? You just said that we all have an expiry date -"

"You're too new," Helena interrupted.

"Listen, Sarah," Laurel said. "Just because we're immortal doesn't mean we're invincible, or unstoppable. We're definitely not completely unkillable. Tommy is proof of that. And that's why -" Laurel paused for a moment, then reached out for Nyssa's hand to squeeze. "- that's why none of us take our lives for granted. Eventually our time will come, and that's an inevitability every human has to wrestle with."

"We just have to wait for longer is all," Nyssa added.

"So you are the good guys." At Laurel's raised eyebrows, Sarah explained, "I wasn't sure when I met Dina. If I was on the right side of things."

"I did shoot you, so I can't say I blame you there," Dina conceded.

"Goodness is subjective," Laurel said slowly. "It depends, I suppose, on the century, but - we fight for what we think is right."

"Even when the righteous battles land us in deep shit," Dina muttered, swigging from the bottle of wine now. Her words were quiet, but there was no doubting that everyone heard.

Nyssa got to her feet. "Sarah, you must be tired. Want me to show you where we all sleep?"

Sarah nodded, getting up and following Nyssa to the sleeping quarters.

"Listen, boss, I know you're pissed -" Laurel started to say, but Dina waved her away.

"I said what I had to say on this, Laurel. But the person I'm blaming is Waller, and whoever the fuck she's working with who set us up." Dina looked up, met Laurel's eyes. "I can't really blame Nyssa for having more of a heart than me."

Laurel smiled. "Like I said. Overflowing with kindness."

"Laurel, I love you, but enough with the sappy shit, please."

Still grinning, though, Laurel then glanced at Helena, who had been nursing the same drink for half an hour. "You okay, Helena?"

Helena nodded absently and picked at her food again with her fork, before she gave up trying to eat anymore and pushed her plate towards Laurel.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, not hungry. Eat it so Nyssa doesn't take it personally."

Laurel laughed a little more easily at that, digging in and finishing what was on the plate in front of her in a matter of seconds - after all, she loved her wife's cooking.

Later, Laurel was curling up around Nyssa, her arm wrapping around her wife's middle on the bed they shared. Laurel had her nose buried in the small of Nyssa's back, breathing in the familiar sweet smell of her beloved, listening to the sounds of her breathing which slowly lulled Laurel to sleep.

She wasn't sure how long that lasted, though, when the sound of a loud gasp woke Laurel up with a start.

"What is it?" Nyssa asked, the knife under her pillow already in her hand.

"You okay, kid?" Helena said sleepily, and from over Nyssa's shoulder Laurel could just make out Dina's silhouette in the doorway.

Sarah, who was now sitting bolt upright in her bed, clutched the comforter around her and seemed even smaller than before. "It's nothing. I'm sorry, guys. It was just a bad dream."

Nyssa put her knife down under her pillow, then propped herself up on her elbow. "It's okay. You can tell us."

At first Sarah was hesitant. "I dreamed of a woman in a coffin," she said slowly, and there was no mistaking Laurel and Dina's simultaneous sharp intakes of breath at her words. "She was screaming, trapped in this coffin underwater… and she would keep screaming until her lungs bled, pounding against the coffin until her knuckles wore away. And she would drown and then come back. Go through that whole thing over and over again… I saw flashes of it before I got here, but this was the clearest I've seen it so far." Sarah turned to Laurel. "She looked like you, a bit. But with shorter hair."

"Her name was Serena," Laurel said quietly. "She was my twin. And one of us."

"Your twin ?"

"We never knew each other as kids. Before me and Nyssa found each other, it was Dina and Serena. Dina had been lost after Tommy died. She'd given up hope until she met Serena."

"They fought thousands of battles alongside each other," Nyssa continued. "Fighting the good fight all over the world."

There was an audible sniff, and Laurel looked up to see Dina had gone to stand in front of the window near their beds, her head in her hands.

"What happened?" Sarah asked Dina.

"They were captured," Nyssa answered, when Dina didn't. "Captured freeing the so-called heretics being accused of witchcraft. They were hanged over and over for their crimes, but -"

"They kept coming back to life," Sarah guessed. Nyssa nodded. "Probably just proved their case that they were witches."

"That's exactly what happened," Laurel said. "And then… to separate them - they locked Serena in a coffin. The Iron Maiden. And they threw her into the ocean."

Sarah looked across the room at Dina. "Shit."

"We spent decades looking for her," Dina said at last. "Never found her."

"I feel her pain," Sarah told her. "Her rage. She feels insane."

"She's been trapped in a box for five hundred years," Helena said unexpectedly. "Just living for that long would drive you mad. Let alone dying over and over like that at the bottom of the ocean."

"That's why we work so hard to evade capture," Laurel explained. "A fate like my sister's… in many ways, it’s worse than death. I would not wish it on my worst and most bitter enemy. Nor would I wish the guilt that I feel to this day over what happened - because I should have been there to rescue her. And I wasn't."

"It's not your fault, Laurel," Dina said softly. "It's mine. You weren't there. I was."

"You blame yourself?" Sarah asked. "Why?"

"It would be bad enough if I just lost a soldier," Dina said quietly. "But she was my - my… partner, in every way imaginable. And I couldn't save her. I failed the love of my life and I think about that all the time. That is a nightmare I have to live through every day of my long life, and there is… nothing I can do to change that. Or end it."

Dina's eyes filled with tears, and the choking sound coming from the bed next to Laurel told her Sarah was crying too.

"So that's it? We're doomed to an eternity of this?"

"Sarah -" Laurel said, but Sarah was already getting to her feet.

"I need some air," she said shakily, grabbing her jacket.

"I'll talk to her," Laurel muttered immediately, but Dina held out her hand.

"No, it's okay, I will. You guys get some rest."

Before Laurel could object, Dina followed Sarah out the front door without another word.

"She'll come round," Nyssa said after a moment.

"Will she?" Helena said doubtfully. "I mean. She's not wrong. Being doomed to an eternity of life and death -"

"Who says you're doomed?" Laurel interrupted.

"If you're alone," Helena said quietly, "you're fucked. You'll outlive anyone you love and then who've you got?"

"You've got us, of course," Nyssa said without skipping a beat, and once again Laurel felt a surge of love for her. "You're never going to be alone if you have your family around you."

Helena looked suitably chastened. "Yeah, I know I do. But the kid is grieving her old life right now. You've both had a millennium to adjust - she's barely had five minutes."

Laurel opened her mouth as if she was about to say something, but then at that moment a can fell into the open window of their bedroom. There was a hissing sound, as gas clouded the air and filled their lungs, and then all at once everything went black.

#laurel x nyssa #lauryssa #laurel lance #nyssa al ghul #femslashrevolution #lgbtsource #the old guard au #arrow #otp: in every universe #mine #my fic

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geekmedium · 3 years

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Favorite Doctor/Companion Teams

Because I want to spread some Doctor Who good cheer for Christmas. Also, I’m not doing the 9th or 13th doctor because they’ve really only had one team. Anyway...

1. The Original Team

The ones who started it all. They would win by iconography, but even with that, they’re just a lot of fun to watch. This is the doctor at his most curmudgeon; he’s rude, fairly detached, and very much not the hero we’re use to. So they gave him a granddaughter who he cares for, and two teachers who act as the parents and honestly more noble, likable people.

It’s a family dynamic, one which we don’t see often. I appreciate that they were a team who grew to care for each other, but still had radically different approaches to whatever situation they found themselves in. And it is through this team up that the Doctor could mellow out and be a more straight up heroic figure. He learned from them just as much as the reverse.

2nd, Jamie, and Zoe

Where the first team had a family dynamic to it, the second doctor had a more “bro” relationship with his team. He and Jamie are famously close, and if I’m not mistaken, Jamie is still one of the longest lasting companions. They joked around, had each others backs, and were just great pals. While Doctor Who was meant to be a teaching show, I believe these two turned the tone from edutainment into one full of Wonder.

As for Zoe, well I just like her. She was probably the first companion who could be considered of super intelligence. I like the Doctor and Jamie as two bros hanging out, but Zoe can be in there to keep everyone from getting along too well. Her intelligence could lead her to be smug, but she was truly loyal to the Tardis team. And I loved her interactions with Jamie as brother and sister.

3rd and Jo Grant

I kind of like the Doctor with a ditzy companion. Despite not being remembered very well, I think Jo was able to occasionally pull her weight and she worked well with the Doctor. Plus their last scene together, when he says goodbye? Man, you could tell how sad that made not only them, but their actors as well.

4th and Sarah Jane

There were so many choices, but ultimately I can’t help thinking of this one as the best. Not only is Sarah Jane still considered one of the best companions, her dynamic with the Doctor was one of equal love and exasperation. She would often debate with him, grow frustrated with him, but still be with him through some of the most terrifying threats any companion had to deal with. And when it was time to go, she took it with good grace; she would always remember her time with the Doctor fondly, and only asked that he do the same. Magical.

5th, Adric, Tegan, and Nyssa

Here we have the family dynamic back again. I just really like the Doctor acting like a mentor to Adric, with Tegan and Nyssa as best friends who act like the big sisters of the group. I feel that while the first Doctor’s family was a generational thing, with each passing something to the next, the fifth Doctor’s family was a group of siblings. They were kind of equals with each other, and they got into plenty of small arguments, constantly annoying each other, but with a kind of affection that made them want to be together even when they were mad.

I know it’s hard to write Doctor Who with more than 1 or 2 constant companions, but I personally like family dynamics the best. With the 2nd through 4th, there isn’t a ton to say because they got on very well. There were disagreements sure, but for the most part, they were great friends and always happy with each other. A family dynamic, like with the fifth ensured a lot more dynamic back in forth bickering, with everyone's different backgrounds playing off each other in a way unique to Doctor Who, that could bring people from different timelines and planets together.

6th and Evelyn

I’m going to cheat a bit by going off the grid into the audio dramas. No offense to Peri fans, but Evelyn is everything a companion should be. Tough, strongly opinionated, and incredibly empathetic, she provided a good foil to possibly the most selfish Doctor.

But what I loved most about her was that she was elderly. It provided a different dynamic to the Doctor, who occasionally acted the part of student to her mentor, instead of the usual status quo which is the reverse. Even more than that was her role in the story; she wasn’t there to be a young companion who realizes her potential under the Doctor. She was there to show that even if your bones don’t work like they use to. Even if you’re not most people’s ideal of good looking. Even if you’ve lived a life full of joys and sorrows, you’re never too old to start over. To gain new experiences, new joys, new pains, and new love.

I think that’s really beautiful.

7th and Ace

I struggled with if I wanted to add Bernice Summerfield to this team, because she’s great. But then I realized so much of what I like about the 7th Doctor and Ace works when they are a two person team.

The 7th Doctor is believed to be the most manipulative, actively using his own loved ones for the greater good. He can be cold and calculating in a way few other Doctors ever approached. And so that made his relationship with Ace all the more heartwarming. Here was this little delinquent of a girl, who thought she was worthless, and yet she was the only person in the universe who could bend the 7th Doctor to her whim; he loved her like a daughter, and the scenes where they interact is all the more special when you contrast them with the cold Doctor.

Having another companion kind of intrudes on this very intimate bond. I think Ace should be special to this Doctor. The one person who he would sacrifice himself before he sacrificed her. A companion who can be horrified with his more manipulative acts, but nevertheless stuck with him out of a loyalty to the first person who ever took a chance on her. Hurt Ace at your peril; the 7th Doctor will come for you.

8th and Izzy (plus Fey)

Ignore that Izzy’s a fish, she isn’t usually.

This one is pure nostalgia. The 8th Doctor’s comic strip adventures were my first real introduction to the WHO-niverse. So while I’m sure Izzy is probably last on most people’s list (if they know her at all), she’ll always be my companion. She was probably the first pop-culture savvy companion who could offer a quip that stumped even the Doctor with how contemporary it was. She was finding herself on her journey with the Doctor, and had a character arc that I think inspired RTD when it was his time to reboot the series. Plus, from what I’ve read of other 8th Doctor material, he tends to be romantically linked with most of his other companions. Some people might like that, but I think you can tell from this list, I like my Doctor as a more celibate fellow.

Fey is someone who I think of as an intermittent companion. She helps out the Doctor a great deal, and her position within the universe is very unique and imaginative, but I wouldn’t want her in for more than a story arc or two at a time before moving on to another spatial-temporal James Bond style adventure.

10th and Donna

Like the fourth Doctor before him, I had plenty of options. I was even gonna pull a fast one and pick another comic strip companion, the self-centered businesswoman Majenta Pryce. But the 10th Doctor and Donna are special.

Not only is she one of the only companions the Doctor has called his best friend, when you get down to it, she was who he needed at the time. After the last two companions had ended in a sort of tragic romance, the Doctor was walling himself off again. Donna, however, came into his life as purely a friend. Someone to pal around with and banter with. For the Doctor, this must have been a godsend. No drama, no hassle, just true companionship in every since of the word. And she still has possibly the saddest exit for any companion to date.

Goodbye Donna Noble. You definitely lived up to the name.

11th, Amy, and Rory (plus River Song)

The last family companionship on this list, and quite honestly, my favorite Tardis dynamic in the whole series. Why? Because it’s such a glorious mess that should collapse in flames but becomes something that’s just so interesting to think about.

The Doctor was Amy’s childhood crush she never quite got over. She eventually grew to love Rory, but both she and the Doctor were kind of dismissive of him. But does Rory angst and get into a love rivalry with the Doctor? Not really. He grows into himself, faces numerous dangers for them both, and by the end both Amy and the Doctor love the guy to pieces. And then you have River Song, who should turn the whole thing into a kind of Jerry Springer prize winner. I won’t go into spoilers, but what could have seemed creepy is actually a very interesting relationship with the Doctor. Though like Fey above, I think she works best as an intermittent companion who often goes off on her own adventures.

Still, they are the best family and if that’s controversial, it is the hill I will die on.

12th and Clara

The final companions are another friendship. In a lot of ways, this is pretty fun, because the 12th Doctor is an old curmudgeon like the first. But with all that he’s been through, it is interesting to see how they contrasts, especially in their companions. Because while the 1st Doctor was happy to play the cranky grandfather type, 12th had a genuine friendship with Clara.

They didn’t always get each other. They frequently disagreed, and could even be resentful. But when the chips were down, they would follow each other into hell together. The Doctor always tried to be a little more considerate for her than most others around him, and Clara tried to defend him against his critics. And while the end to their companionship could have been handled better, it was still an impactful parting between two friends.

So do you agree or disagree? Who are your favorite teams? I would love to know.

#Doctor Who #friendships

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modernwizard · 4 years

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Why I love Dhawan Master #26: His Delgadesco flourishes!

In no particular order, here is an illustrated list of reasons I love Sacha Dhawan’s Master, most of which boil down to the way that Sacha Dhawan so expertly embodies the Master to such a degree that we can look into this character’s mind as we never have before.

H/t to @ventingbouto and the Little Things That the Master Does That I Just Love series, which inspired this.

#26: His Delgadesco flourishes!

The first Master was played by Roger Delgado, and no one has been able to do as amazing a job as him since. For one thing, the guy was a super talented actor. Classical or comedy, he could do it all, with gravity, pride, and pathos.

For another thing, the role was kind of written for him. Thus he was able to own it in a way that no other Masters can. They’re just borrowing it from Roger Delgado...

For another thing, he brought so much extra to the character. Jon Pertwee, who played Three, and Roger Delgado were very close friends, and that just shines through on the screen. Take a look at any episode with Three and Delgado, and you’ll see how much fun they’re having, how comfortable they are in each other’s presence, and how much they just plain like each other. That genuine emotional attachment gave the supposedly villainous Master a warmth and likeability that really grounded Delgado’s portrayal. Why yes, Delgado Master is an over-the-top embodiment of ham, cheese, and probably bananas, but Delgado’s ability to infuse the character with real-life emotions makes the Master that much more believable.

Wait a minute. This is not a paean to Roger Delgado. This is supposed to be a paean to Sacha Dhawan! Ahem. Sorry.

Anyway, Delgado Master is the bestest, and you just can’t argue with facts. Since I love Delgado Master, I enjoy any other Master’s references to him. Therefore, Dhawan Master, who revives some of the spirit and the aesthetic of the Delgadesco years, pleases me immensely.

I’ve listed some of these traits out in separate entries, but let’s gather together some of my favorite Delgadesco flourishes:

1. The tissue compression eliminator or TCE. It’s the classic Master’s preferred weapon. It first showed up with Delgado Master, looking like a cigar.

Ainley Master also wielded the TCE frequently, although his looked more like...well...a vibrator:

In a call back to “a classic,” as he calls it, Dhawan Master uses the same weapon, but with a different form. As I’ve previously discussed, it’s now a nifty little steampunk gizmo.

Sometimes reinventions of the old favorites lose the charm of the original, but the latest TCE retains all of its old flair. The flair, of course, consists in its ability to kill people by tuning them into dolls. The charm of the original was not the fact that it looked like a penis. Clearly Dhawan Master has improved the Incredible Shrinking Device!

2. The dapper self-presentation. As you can see from the picture above, Delgado Master is always immaculately and expensively attired, with fastidious attention to details [such as matching tie and pocket square]. Dhawan Master too enjoys bespoke ensembles with strong matching elements. However, his double-double-knotted shoelaces, cockeyed pants cuffs, and dusty shoes signal that this version of the Master is less preoccupied with details and a little messier than Delgado.

3. The use of assault. As I noted when I was talking about Dhawan Master’s weaponized intimacy, hand-to-hand combat is a rarity among Masters. Delgado, however, regularly karate chops, jumps on, and otherwise physically subdues the chumps who try to resist his psychic powers. By the same token, Dhawan Master chokes Thirteen. Neither of them, for all their dapperness, are afraid of getting their hands dirty and doing the brutal deed themselves.

4. He’s cool with the companions. Delgado Master and Jo, Three’s companion, had an interesting sort of relationship that approached respect sometimes. When he wasn’t trying to kill her, Delgado Master tended to treat Jo with courtesy [calling her “Miss Grant”], seeming concerned when she was hurt [”I’m sorry about your coccyx, Miss Grant”], and regarding her more with avuncular amusement than hatred or wrath. I theorize that, since she was the only companion who ever figured out how to resist his mental coercion [by reciting nursery rhymes], he grudgingly admitted that she was perhaps a worthy opponent. ^_^

As for Dhawan Master, I’m probably going to regret saying this when he murders the fam and fingerpaints with their blood, but I like how he seems pretty cool with the companions. Ainley Master was a sadistic asshole who stole Nyssa’s dad’s body and then lurked around, snickering, just to torment her. Simm was a flamboyantly misogynist, racist, and homophobe who tortured Martha, Jack, and Martha’s family and killed Bill. Missy played cat-and-mouse with Clara and psychologically abused Bill. By contrast, Dhawan Master has [so far] behaved in a rather, uh, pleasant manner toward Yaz, Ryan, and Graham. He saves his wrath and pain for their true target -- Thirteen -- and [so far] doesn’t bother fucking with the companions.

In fact, he even has some kind of relationship with two of them, at least in the person of O. He picks up on Graham’s curiosity about the Doctor’s past and teases him with his shelf full of information about Thirteen.

He’s also totally flirting with Yaz, for example, at Daniel Barton’s gambling party.

Master: Well, you know what they say. “Unlucky at dice, lucky at love.”

Yaz: Do they really say that?

Master: No. :(

And, during his dramatic in-flight revelation, he appeals directly to Yaz: “Stick with me, Yaz, because I control...everything.”

I have no idea if the Master’s teasing of Graham carries over from the O persona because he doesn’t address Graham after coming out as himself. The Master’s interest in Yaz, however, does carry over. Does he like her? Does he want to get in her pants? Is this foreshadowing for future manipulation in the form of some massively stupid plot where he tries to destroy the Doctor by seducing a member of the Doctor’s fam to evil? Please, God, let it not be the last one. Anyway, it’s nice to see a Master who’s not hellbent on humiliating, torturing, and killing the companions [yet]. Dear BBC -- for once can we have a Master who doesn’t kill the companions?

#dhawan master #the master #delgado master #HELP I WUVS HIM #dw meta #doctor who #tissue compression eliminator #tce #worthy opponent #why I love Dhawan Master

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raywritesthings · 4 years

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All’s Fair

My Writing Fandom: Arrow Characters: Laurel Lance, Nyssa al Ghul Pairing: Laurel Lance/Nyssa al Ghul Summary: Laurel helps Nyssa celebrate her first New Year’s and complete her first Resolution. Notes: No “Eleven-Fifty-Nine” and no Crisis *Can be read on my AO3 or FFN, links in my bio*

“What are these ridiculous glasses?”

Laurel turned back around in the aisle, her basket hanging from an arm, to find Nyssa by the New Year’s display. She was holding a pair of floppy, glossy paper frames shaped into the numbers 2020.

“It’s for New Year’s.”

“New Year’s?”

Laurel stopped, then walked over to her friend. “Nyssa, you’re not telling me you don’t know—”

“I realize we are leaving one year behind for another,” Nyssa quickly stated. Laurel bit her lip to hide a smile. The way her friend tended to get embarrassed over not knowing things about everyday life outside of the League was endlessly cute. But Laurel didn’t know what Nyssa might say if she realized Laurel found her cute.

“Okay, well, it’s tradition to sort of celebrate. Ring in the new.”

“With silly glasses?”

Laurel nodded. “And hats and noise-makers and watching a big disco ball drop in the middle of Times Square. I haven’t done any of that in years.” It was strange to think about how many years she had let just pass by for one reason or another.

As she watched Nyssa eyeing the display with curiosity, she made a snap decision. Laurel scooped up two hats, noisemakers and another pair of the glasses, dropping them into her basket.

“Let’s do it, okay? Let’s celebrate New Year’s.”

Nyssa’s lips quirked in a bemused sort of way, and she dropped the glasses she was holding into the basket as well.

She grabbed some more things while they were out at the store, then returned home to work on putting it all together. Nyssa offered to help, but she told her to sit back and relax since this was her first ever New Year’s party. Though it wouldn’t be much of a party since their friends would all be out that night on patrol. Laurel sent Thea a text to let her know she and Nyssa would be taking the night off for themselves.

She was mixing a punch together when Thea’s reply came back. Have fun! Get a New Year’s kiss for me ;)

Laurel licked her lips and tucked the phone away. That was one aspect of the tradition she wasn’t planning to bring up with Nyssa any time soon.

It was just so unfair. Nyssa had been staying with her for a few months now, ever since she, Thea and Roy had returned from destroying the Lazarus Pits around the world. She had Thea’s old room, since Thea and Roy had gotten their own place. And rooming with Nyssa had been nice… yet endlessly frustrating.

Nyssa had certain habits, like lounging about in a towel while she let her hair air dry. Her very long, full head of hair. Her rosemary perfume tended to cling to things like the couch cushions, and she hand-washed and hang-dried everything. Including her underwear. Needless to say, Laurel’s imagination had taken her on many a trip to fantasy-land featuring rosemary and the swell of Nyssa’s breasts barely hidden under deep purple lingerie that Laurel knew for a fact her friend owned.

And it just wasn’t fair because Nyssa was off-limits. Not only was Nyssa her friend, but she was Sara’s ex — which Nyssa had only recently come to terms with after the last time Sara visited and told Laurel all about her new girlfriend, Ava. So, despite what Sara had done regarding Laurel’s boyfriend what felt a lifetime ago, Laurel knew that making any kind of move would be awkward at best and judged harshly at worst.

Never mind the fact she still hadn’t gotten around to telling anyone she might like girls.

It just never felt like the right time. She could hear the voices of her friends in her head even now: Laurel, you really have to stop trying to be your sister. It wasn’t like she’d made a conscious decision to like girls. It was mostly just little stuff, like that Mari was so strong and skilled or that Felicity was kind of adorable a lot of the time or that Nyssa was stunning and sweet and brilliant but refreshingly naive about so many things and she was everything.

God, she really was pathetic about this. But when she fell, she always fell deep.

Laurel ordered some Chinese, which was always a careful affair as Nyssa had very lofty standards where American Chinese cuisine was concerned. But Laurel hadn’t wanted to put her out by asking her to cook when Nyssa was supposed to be enjoying her first New Year’s. They turned the TV on to the channel playing the Times Square party, but kept the volume down in order to be able to hear the delivery man’s arrival.

“An interesting selection of songs so far,” Nyssa remarked. Interesting was her word for something she wasn’t quite sure she liked.

Laurel shrugged. “It’s a mix of new stuff with some classics. And some Christmas, because we didn’t get enough of it the rest of the month, apparently.” She passed her friend a glass of punch, grinning at the sight of the bright and glittery hat perched on Nyssa’s perfect hair.

“Thank you, my dearest.” Nyssa had taken to saying that a lot recently. The first time, it had been said as ‘my dearest friend’, but it had since become shortened for convenience's sake. “Mm, I like this.” Nyssa smacked her lips and licked them, which so didn’t help Laurel from openly staring at them. “How else do people celebrate the end of the year?”

“Well,” Laurel said, pausing to take a breath to collect herself. “A lot of people will make resolutions that they plan to uphold in the New Year. Like losing weight or quitting smoking or doing one random act of kindness a day. Stuff like that.”

“And do they uphold them?”

“Not usually,” Laurel admitted.

“Should we make them anyway?”

“If you want to.”

Nyssa nodded. “I do.”

“Okay, then.” Laurel heard the knock at the door and went to get their food. She returned with takeout containers she set on the coffee table, then went into her kitchen for the paper plates and utensils.

They spent the next several minutes eating silently as the night wore on. Laurel searched her brain for some kind of resolution she could say she was making. She liked where she was with her training and physical fitness right now, so that was out. Her sobriety was still intact. And she figured her vigilantism counted as random acts of good for the people of their city in a way. So that was most of the big categories.

Laurel knew that some people made romance a part of their resolution. But Laurel’s wheels were pretty much stuck in the mud when it came to relationships. She was going nowhere fast.

“Oh, it’s close to midnight,” Laurel realized, setting the remains of her Kung Pao Chicken aside and washing it down with the last of her punch.

“Very good. I have made my resolution,” Nyssa announced.

“Great.” Laurel bent down to fish the noisemakers out of her bag. “Did you want to tell me what it was?”

“Yes, as it rather involves you.”

Laurel lifted her head. “It does?”

“Yes, my dearest.” Nyssa set her own glass aside and slid closer on the couch they were sharing. “My resolution is to stop, as you Americans say it, beating around the bush.”

“Beating around the bush about what?”

“Us, of course. You hardly believe I would parade myself around as a feast for the eyes for just anyone, would you? Or allow you to glimpse my unmentionables? Not even my short-lived husband has ever seen them, and he would not be alive if he had,” Nyssa added with a wicked smirk.

Laurel was too busy gaping at her friend to really process the veiled threat towards Oliver. “I- you were doing all that on purpose? But I didn’t think—”

“Laurel, ever since I met your family, my life was changed. But you, dearest, have changed me. Perhaps more than you will ever know. How could I not hold you in my heart when at last I made room for it?”

Like most of Nyssa’s declarations, this one was nearly overwhelming in its intensity. Oddly enough, Laurel felt herself comforted by the wet sheen she could see in Nyssa’s eyes. Knowing she was just as affected as Laurel stoked something warm in her chest. “I thought I was wrong or taking advantage of you staying here. I didn’t think you could ever see me as someone to be with.”

Nyssa’s actions hadn’t been unintentional at all. She had been trying to let Laurel know that it was okay, that she was interested. That they could have this.

“To be with you as a friend and in this home has already been my greatest privilege. To be with you in every sense is now my greatest desire.”

Laurel couldn’t help a shiver. It had been so long since someone had even looked at her with something like want. To hear it laid so bare like that was doing things to her, reawakening feelings and sensations she’d thought she couldn’t have anymore.

Nyssa slid even closer, so that their knees brushed and she laid one hand on Laurel’s thigh. The touch seemed to burn through the thin cotton of the pajama bottoms she had on. “I have done some reading on this holiday while you were preparing our celebration. I understand that revelers exchange a kiss at midnight.”

Laurel nodded, not really trusting her voice.

“I would very much like to participate in that tradition.”

This required perhaps more than a nod, so Laurel just barely managed an, “Okay.”

Her friend smiled, a genuine one that was rare and thus all the more beautiful, before she leaned in. Laurel’s hand rose to cup Nyssa’s jaw, then stroke her cheek as their lips met in a tentative exploration.

Nyssa’s lips were softer than she could have expected, and warm against her own. Laurel couldn’t resist capturing the bottom one between her teeth for a moment, earning a surprised but happy hum.

They parted to breathe, foreheads leaned together, and Laurel smiled as a thought came to her. “Nyssa?”

“Yes, dearest?”

Laurel reached down and snagged one of the noise makers, blowing into it for a short, shrill burst.

Nyssa sat back, blinking in shock. “What on Earth—”

“Happy New Year.”

Nyssa let out a breath and shook her head. “Your country is ridiculous.”

Laurel laughed as Nyssa snagged the noisemaker and tossed it aside, then happily resumed their previous activity. The television flashed with fireworks as the crowds in New York City cheered. Laurel closed her eyes to all of that, too happy to surrender her lips and her mouth and her body to Nyssa’s touch. Her friend, her trainer and now so much more.

Maybe life was fair, sometimes.

#lauryssa #laurel lance #nyssa al ghul #arrow #black canary #my writing

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memaha19 · 5 years

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Gotham 05x11 “They Did What?”

The penultimate episode of Gotham! And it has a weird title! I’m gonna miss this show, guys.

Also, side note, this is the second time I’m writing this post because I just finished typing all my thoughts and my freakin’ internet freaked out and closed my browser window and deleted everything I wrote. 🙃

SECOND SIDE NOTE: I wrote this last week but was at a work training all week and forgot to post. So I haven't seen the final episode yet either. 🙃

Anyway...spoilers below!

It feels like it’s been 84 years *cue that Titanic GIF* since the last episode

Just a note before we begin: this episode, like the last, feels like it has some weird pacing problems and makes me wonder, again, how this season would’ve panned out if they had been given the normal number of episodes. There were a lot of things that felt like they just happened so quickly/easily/conveniently, for no other reason than the time constraint. Jim and Barbara took Nyssa down pretty easily, Bruce and Selina defeated Bane pretty quickly, Bane and his groupies gave up pretty easily at the end, etc. I just wonder how some of the plot would’ve been handled if the show had gotten the chance to sloooooow down this season.

I thought for sure at the end of that last episode that Alfred was going to die (even though I also knew he would be fine?) so I’m glad he’s okay, just a little worse for wear.

It looks like someone taught David how to say “Ra’s” correctly in between last episode and this one because he finally said it right!

There’s just something about Nyssa/her actress that I don’t enjoy and that makes me glad that she’s only in a few episodes. Is it her voice? Her line delivery? Her (lack of) acting skills? Her giant lips? I’m not sure.

Barbara looks great for being just a few hours postpartum. Like you know that if this wasn’t Gotham, she’d still be lying down in a hospital bed but instead she’s looking fierce in her coat and stilettos like she didn’t just push a baby out of her lady parts.

Also the baby is suffering from the syndrome that many TV/movie babies suffer from, where they’re played by a baby that is several months old and we’re supposed to pretend that this GIANT baby was just born.

Everyone in the GCPD and the army must be terrible shots...? They’re fighting in such a small, uncovered space and literally no one is getting hit by anything.

Except Oswald. But he’s gotta get that monocle somehow!

One of my favorite funny moments was Oswald asking Ed how his eye looked and Ed trying to tell him it wasn’t that bad and choking in the middle of his sentence.

Barbara snapping that guy’s neck with her leg is making me question my sexuality.

This is the Jim Gordon that I like. The one who is kind and who makes good decisions and who isn’t like “imma take the baby and raise it with Lee and Barbara is going to jail” and who doesn’t drop Barbara like a hot potato the second Lee shows up.

The Jim/Babs scenes in this episode are so soft and lovely and friendly. I love seeing them team up. It almost makes me able to forget and forgive the travesty that was “The Trial of Jim Gordon” that was so all over the place that it seemed like it was written by someone who had never seen the show. But OH WAIT it was written by the lead actor.

Also this episode has made me change my mind and I’m back to my initial opinion that Jim, Barbara, and baby make a cute little family and Lee needs to gtfo.

Speaking of Lee, I’ve liked her more in these last few episodes than I’ve ever liked her before, but I still don’t like her. I just feel like...what is she here for? She’s this weird cardboard character that is always in the scenes, but what does she really add? All the sudden she’s concerned about the Narrows? Even though she’s abandoned them this whole season. And then she heads to the GCPD to “help” but all we see is her bossing other people around. LEE, YOU ARE THE DOCTOR, DO IT YOURSELF. And then she abandons the Narrows people and leaves Barbara to take care of them and goes outside to die with Jim? It’s like they don’t know that to do with her and haven’t known for a long time but she’s banging Ben McKenzie so they can’t make her go away.

Barbara was able to just find a baby sling somewhere in the GCPD for her giant newborn.

That Barbara/Lee hug...eh...

Okay, so. While I am thrilled that it seems like Barbara is going to get to be a mom and isn’t going to have the baby taken away from her, the strange throuple of Jim/Lee/Barbara is one of the parts of this season that I feel is being wrapped up a little too neatly. It wasn’t that long ago that we had to sit through that lovely episode where everyone was like “oh yes, Lee, YOUR baby” and Barbara was going to run away and Oswald was telling her that Jim would never see her as anything other than a dangerous criminal trying to keep his child away from him. And now, a mere TWO episodes later, Lee and Barbara are hugging. And Barbara seems to have changed her mind about not wanting Jim to have anything to do with the baby. And Lee and Jim seem to have changed their “Barbara is a dangerous psychopath” opinion. Don’t get me wrong, I’m so happy to see a story in which Barbara gets to keep her baby and I loved the scenes between Jim and Barbara, but this is definitely one of the parts of this season that I feel could’ve benefited from more episodes at a slower pace. I’ve been saying for awhile that the writers seem unable to write Barbara consistently and her story line and her relationship with Jim once she found out she was pregnant has been up and down like a roller coaster. I’ll be re-watching Gotham from the beginning once this last season gets put on Netflix so I’ll be interested to watch all the episodes at once and see if the inconsistency is as bad as I remember.

I think part of the problem is that the way that everyone was treating Barbara and talking about the baby in “The Trial of Jim Gordon” is throwing off my general picture of the season. That episode seemed so off base and out of wack. I think I can believe that the current Jim/Lee/Babs relationship is a little more possible if I ignore that episode.

I’ll be interested to see the throuple in the last episode, since the preview made it look like they’re all still chillin’ together. I’d like some scenes of them all awkwardly co-parenting little baby Babs.

The bats! The spooky moon! The music! Batman is here!

That must’ve been one moving (and quick!) speech that Barbara gave the Narrows people to have them all come outside and stand with the GCPD. And also it seemed a little too easy, like, NOW the army is having second thoughts about killing civilians? NOW they realize they can overtake Bane & Company? This is one of those plot points that I feel was wrapped up way too easily after all the build up.

That line where Jim asks Lee if her disobeying him is going to be a regular thing is very CRINGE. Ew. Like I don’t even like Lee but I was still like “ew Jim you don’t own her”

The weird little cuddle Selina tries to give Bruce while they’re sitting on the stairs at the GCPD was strange.

So Ed wasn’t able to pilot the submarine by himself but are we supposed to believe that Nyssa could and escaped with Edward the Dog?

Barbara Lee Gordon! Maybe not a big fan of that middle name, but...also I like how Barbara told Jim that she named the baby “Barbara” and Jim’s first reaction was “...oh” before she told him the rest of the name. 😂

Also I’m really glad that Gotham went the “Barbara is just That Bitch that names her baby after herself” route instead of the “Barbara dies in some dumb way and Lee and Jim name the baby after her to honor her after her death” route; I was afraid for pretty much this entire season that all of Barbara’s crazy story lines would just end in her dying in some martyr-like ending that I breathed a deep sigh of relief to see that she’ll make it to the end.

Commissioner Gordon! That seems like that happened fast!

I normally really like Ed but something about that last scene where he’s talking in a Batman-wannabe growl and staring at himself in a mirror was weird.

Also, Gotham, come on, not again with that BROTHERS stuff.

Gotham just did BatCat real dirty. Like, Bruce just leaves Selina a note?! He knew he was gonna leave and they just have him leave her a note?! He can’t even say goodbye in person?!

“I never tried to replace your parents. But I want you to know, Master Bruce, that you are the only son that I’ll ever have, and I could not be more proud.” I was in tears during this scene. And the Batman-esque music was perfect.

(LOL remember when my first Gotham post for this season was only like 10 bullet points long. They just keep getting longer. 😂)

Anyway, overall, I thought this episode was really good, and it’s because we finally had the return of nice!Jim Gordon and some nice moments between him and Barbara. There were some weird pacing problems and some things that felt like they resolved a little too conveniently, but I enjoyed it overall.

The finale is soon! It’s gonna be a little weird to not have some of the younger actors in the flash forward, but I’m excited to see how they’re gonna wrap everything up and what our favorite Gotham residents are up to 10 years later

Also I’m living for ginger!Barbara.

One more to go. ❤

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austencello · 5 years

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Inheritance - Arrow Music Notes 7x17

Emiko’s loyalty is questioned and revealed to Oliver and the team after pursing Dante and learning about the Ninth Circle. Felicity starts Smoak Tech with Archer and Dinah questions Laurel’s tactics and motives.

Emiko

This episode is fascinating musically because most of Emiko’s music had already been established in 7x10. As the new Green Arrow and a Queen, her music has quite a few similarities to Oliver’s: very clear rhythmic string patterns, specific electric beats and glides, the use of hammered dulcimer, even the use of toms to represent their training. The music is distinct from Oliver’s but very much in the same timbre (color/instrument) wheelhouse. When Oliver was introduced, he was a dark vigilante, murdering for justice and to atone for Robert’s sins. His music matched the streets of Star City, a dark justice, becoming lighter often as the series progresses. Yet, the heroic music will never be the same happier tone as the Flash or Supergirl or even Legends because there is a greater grit, darkness, and sacrifice in Arrow. In the same way, the new Green Arrow was introduced and later revealed as another Queen looking for justice in the city. Of course her music would reflect her brother. But in this episode, it was also revealed that while looking for her mother’s killer, she also has completely rejected the Queens and joined sides with an evil, organization. Her music that reflected her brother’s now works as a mirror image; the darkness that took over instead of going into the light.

Emiko’s string patterns (with rests between the notes) played both at the beginning training fight with Oliver and then once again as they fought in the bunker after her allegiance became clear. It was not just for Emiko, the vigilante looking for her mother’s killer, or even Emiko, the new Green Arrow but Emiko, working (and running) the Ninth Circle. This is her fighting music, mixed with toms (which reminds me a bit of fights involving Nanda Parbat, Talia, or Nyssa such as “Talia breaks up fight” 5x16), drums representing training in a far off land. The hammered dulcimer was added for the second fight for both siblings. An important addition as Oliver is betrayed by a family member.

In contrast, the flashback scenes featured mostly piano and harp. Both of these instruments are often used for intimate and more emotional scenes reflecting emotions of the character and in the case of Emiko, also the mixture of grief and hope for her Father one day returning to her. In her last scene with Robert, the hammered dulcimer played as Robert revealed that he was leaving on the gambit, rejecting her once again. It was this moment that began Oliver’s journey and Emiko’s down their paths to darkness and heroism.

The piano is in an important aspect as it is used often for Oliver’s emotional moments especially in regards to his family. Tying Emiko to her desire for family through the use of this becomes clear as the flashbacks begin to use it for the Ninth Circle instead, taking the theme of the Ninth Circle and playing it on the piano as Dante asks her about choosing the father who abandoned her over the family that took her in. Mixing the two together, subtly combining two worlds. This happened again in the present day when she told the Team she would help them track down Dante. Both the piano and the instrument for the Ninth Circle played the theme together (only time that happened) reflecting her apparent desire to be set free but in fact it was just a ruse.

The Ninth Circle motif is made up of a few slow notes, minor with a dissonant note near the end. Seemingly exotic, beautiful, mysterious and ancient in the same way that the bells were used in Season 3. This sound reminded me of crotales (bowed cymbals) but is in fact an electric/synthetic sound with added effects for the similar reverb sound (thanks to Nathaniel Blume who gave me that information on Twitter!) Both the exotic quality and the fact that it is synthetic matches the hidden but dark nature of this organization. Because this was the first time the Ninth Circle was fully revealed, the theme was all over this episode from the moment Emiko was working with Dante, to her first flashback with Dante, telling Oliver about him and how dangerous he was (also hints of the Prometheus metal tick-tock...for Dante or Emiko?), telling the Team and planning to take Dante down, the last fight as she told Oliver that she owed Dante everything, and then the instrument was used alternating half-steps (but not the motif) as it was revealed at the end that she was in charge.

Extra Notes

- The music for Felicity and Alena and starting Smoak Tech mixes fun strings (similar but not exactly the same to 6x03 when trying to find a name for her new company) and mixing a background rotating electronic that fits with Felicity’s hacking/Overwatch music. Mixing a little old and new fits for the beginning of Smoak Tech.

- A completely new theme played Oliver and Laurel’s scene when she tells him about Emiko and his reluctance to believe her. One of the things that makes this unique is the instrument, high and almost music-box in quality. It is similar to Black Siren’s bell (”Laurel, not Laurel” 4x10) which hasn’t been heard in quite awhile. There are layers of music that almost doesn’t match: strings and violins playing a melodic line, dissonant electronics, this high theme/ostinato on top and then string patterns near the end as Laurel wishes she had stayed out of it. It matches the tension of the two characters, Oliver’s reluctance to distrust his sister, hints of Black Siren peaking out - following and not trusting anyone. Musically, it is really fascinating how the layers don’t match and yet are put on top of each other to add to the tension.

- A string pattern from 7x02 returns in this episode. It originally played during a Felicity and Diggle moment as he tells her that her old life is gone and to accept it. Here, it plays in a scene between Dinah and Laurel as Dinah tells Laurel she has to work as a DA within the law. In both cases, Felicity and Laurel are told that they cannot do things the way they used to, that their old life is gone. It leads up to the question throughout this episode whether Laurel’s old ways are indeed gone or whether she will return to them.

- There were several good moments between Diggle and Oliver, bonding over evil betraying siblings. Near the end, Oliver wanted to still save and redeem her, in turn hopefully redeeming his family. As he does so, the strings play the main Arrow theme. Hope and heroism still present in Oliver for his family despite everything.

- I think the whole fandom was a bit blindsided by hearing about Emily leaving after this season. I know I certainly was. I love Felicity and Olicity. Some of my first Arrow Music Notes were about her music in Seasons 1-3 and I have written pages on the Olicity themes as well as written and played arrangements for these characters that I love. My plan is still to continue to the end as I started with the pilot and Oliver and I want to see how it ends. But it does break my heart to realize I will not be seeing her next fall because Felicity and the Queen family is irreplaceable. Still processing lots of emotions and thoughts as I am sure you are as well! Lots of love to all of you.

@academyofshipping @ah-maa-zing @smoakmonster @herskirtsarentthatshort @almondblossomme @dmichellewrites @jorahandal @green-arrows-of-karamel @scu11y22

#Arrow 7x17 #arrow music notes #emiko queen #oliver queen #felicity smoak #blake neely #nathaniel blume #arrow spoilers

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nellie-elizabeth · 5 years

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Arrow: Star City 2040 (7x16)

This episode is going to be hard to give a number at the end, because I think it had tons of problems, but it also contained so many things I've been waiting for, and really escalated the story.

Cons:

I remember when William first found Roy on the island, I was so, so excited to see him. He's been one of my favorite characters from day one. And I still love Roy, but he's ridiculously underutilized in this story. He's just kinda... there. Nobody's talking about Thea, which is weird, and also he doesn't seem to add any additional skills or insight that wasn't already being provided by Dinah or any of the other characters. I'm so happy to see him, I just wish he had more to do!

Did I miss something about Connor that I'm supposed to know? He's John and Lyla's son, right? Why does he keep talking about being "adopted" by his parents? This isn't really a complaint, I suppose... maybe someone can fill in the missing gaps for me.

I don't want to be overly critical of the visual effects on this show, because... well, come on. But I do have to mention that the "twenty years later" thing is kind of hilarious, when you've got Dinah, Rene, and Roy looking significantly older, and then Felicity has a haircut and very slight crow's feet that you can only see on close-up shots. And William should be in his mid-thirties, but he's playing the character like he's in his twenties, and doesn't seem all that older than Mia. I'm just saying, they could have worked a little harder to be consistent about these things.

Pros:

But finally, things are heating up! The whole team is together, Rene has come to his senses, they've found Felicity, and they're taking on Galaxy One, fighting bad guys, saving the city, and looking cool while doing it. After weeks and weeks of little flash-forward snippets with several reveals all building up to... something, it's great to finally start in on the something.

This episode did a lot for Mia's character. I'm glad that this episode chose to slow down at certain points and really focus on her development. She grew up isolated, raised by Felicity, alone and without Oliver, training to defend herself but not allowed to really explore the outside world. (Side note: it was AMAZING to see Nyssa again, if only for a second. I hope we see more of her very, very soon). Felicity is doing the age-old thing where she hides information from her child "for her own good," and ends up causing a rift in their relationship as a result. There are a couple of reasons why this somewhat cliche plot element doesn't annoy me, though. For one, how often do we see mother/daughter relationships get this much focus in a genre show? I'm so happy that we're exploring the intricacies of Felicity and Mia's dynamics. Secondly, Felicity's paranoia feels earned. We all know what she's gone through over the years, and we also know that obviously something big happened that either killed Oliver, or at least separated them semi-permanently. It makes sense that Felicity would go too far to protect her daughter, just like Oliver has done so many times to protect the people he loves.

There was also a great sort of thesis statement in this episode, about what it means to be a hero. Mia scapegoats vigilantes, buying in to the propaganda and blaming vigilantes for her isolated upbringing and her broken family. And when it comes down to it, Felicity chooses to remain in danger to save Star City, instead of escaping with Mia. Mia is justified in being a little bit pissed off by this, but ultimately, with Connor's help, she's able to realize that her mother is a hero, despite some less-than-ideal parenting decisions.

Another relationship that got a good deal of development here was Mia and William's. I like seeing their sibling bond begin. William is clearly so happy to have a sister, and Mia can't lie to herself either: she cares about William. It was smart to show that Mia, while always a bad-ass, wasn't always so cold and intense. That's a consequence of her rift with her mother, and being around William is slowly starting to defrost her. I really liked that. I think my favorite "sibling" moment was when William flirted with the evil Galaxy One business guy, and Mia made fun of him for it. That was just hilarious. I was really hoping William would need to seduce the guy to save the day, but alas they went for the action-oriented climax instead of comedy.

I honestly think it was quite smart that Oliver was barely in this episode. The entire thing takes place in the flash-forwards, except for book-ended scenes. One shows Felicity giving birth to Mia, and then Oliver and Felicity leaning over their new baby. And then at the end, we see Felicity create "Archer," the supercomputer security system that she's been toying with all season. I hope that this episode was the catalyst that will speed up the pace for the remainder of the season, because I'm really excited about a lot of these plot points, and I don't want it to all get lost in the shuffle!

8/10

#review #arrow #arrow review

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lenalvthor · 5 years

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I am itching to post a comment for the recent update, but I’m also in the middle of finals and would not be happy if I didn’t give this week’s update the comment it deserves. To think it took all day to send this out alone! So instead, I’m hitting both of you up with a couple questions and headcanons requests. (Apologies in advance cause there’s quite a few of them 😅)

1. I’ve been wondering for a while now since we’ve seen them interact with other Arrowverse characters in their social media, but do the Legends still maintain contact with Snart? He’s the only one that’s literally a city away and contacting someone you’re used to seeing face to face constantly isn’t always easy.. How’s he doing over in Central City?

2. Do y’all have any headcanons for the OG Legends? How did they become the Legends? Or tell us about one of their OG misadventures (that may or may not have resulted in detention). 😉

3. Since y’all also mentioned that Ali is now running with the Soph Squad™, I was wondering if you have any headcanons about them? I just want to hear some cute stuff for them (especially cause Lil’ Sharpe is a fucking fav. Did they adopt her like how Sara merged the friend groups? Did they playfully tease Ali after learning her middle name like finding any and every way to play “Jenny from the Block” every hour on the hour (totally haven’t done that >.>).

(Imma stop there cause I don’t want to push it, but I hope that both of you have a good week ahead. Best of luck during finals, hope work isn’t to busy, and I do hope you’re feeling better from your being sick!)

do you know how much getting massive messages like this asking for this many details about our story literally makes our Entire day? like, screw entire days, our entire Weeks. it’s just so hard to comprehend that people care this much about our dumb little world that we’ve created, so firstly, literally thank u so much for taking the time to send this, and thank u for the time you’ve spent reading this fic and being this invested 💖

and RIGHT HEADCANONS AND STUFF.

1. snart. mick definitely keeps in touch with him, and he’s pretty good friends w barry so wally hears abt stuff through barry. sara tags him in memes every once in a while and texts him abt stuff, occasionally they tag each other in #tbt posts, but they don’t maintain That much contact really, but they catch up if they ever get a chance

2. i feel like you wanted something nice and fluffy for this but we ended up just going on angst spirals about freshman year sara instead lmao. in our minds, the legends group isn’t Quite the legends group until late in their freshman year. sara grew up being best friends with laurel, tommy, oliver and thea and they were pretty tight knit for most of her life. it wasn’t until middle school (or rather, sara’s eighth grade) that suddenly the older three were at a different school and both thea and sara kinda looked to expand their friend group (and it’s around this time that sara met and started dating nyssa). in freshman year, sara’s going through a bit of a hard time finding herself. she’s in this super low spot of trying to be both like laurel and not like laurel at the same time, and it hits her super hard how much her mother just Doesn’t care and her outlet ends up being acting out a lot.

she becomes pretty tight with mick and snart and they get into a lot of trouble together for a while during the year. ray, amaya and jax are the three who manage to worm their way into sara’s life and become friends with her and slowly ease her away from that self destructive behaviour, esp ray and amaya - ray with getting through to her understanding what it’s like to have that constant comparison to a sibling, and amaya by being one of the first female friends that sara has had in a while and who she refreshingly needs to find her own since of femininity and style and stuff that isn’t in some way trying to emulate or be opposite to laurel at all

sara drags mick and snart with her away from that whole troublemaking thing and at the same time, ray starts dating kendra (who sara knew through nyssa) and amaya becomes quite close with nate, so them + jax are the original legends.

it’s very early sophomore year that snart moves away (he comes back to visit a few times and he and sara hook up one time after nyssa leaves). kendra starts to drift a bit after nyssa leaves as well, and has her own group of friends even though she and ray are still dating. zari moves to star city right after christmas break and ray and jax are assigned her ‘buddies’ to show her around and she sits with the legends those first few days at lunch. she and amaya click almost immediately, and she likes nate even though he’s a bit annoying and ray is sweet if not a little overwhelming and jax and mick seem pretty chill. but she and sara butt heads so quickly, and a lot of that is bc sara isn’t in a good place at all after nyssa leaving and zari reminds her so much of herself that she’s starting to think all these things about the legends replacing her somehow, and it’s not until ray picks up on that and quietly takes her aside and promises that it’s nothing like that, that zari just needs friends the way they all did last year, sara eases up a bit. (zari tries out for the soccer team soon after though, and it’s there that she and sara realise how well they work together and how good friends they could be if they just tried)

ray and kendra break up early junior year, but they’d been distant for a while anyway. kendra still remains pretty good friends w the legends tho. nate and amaya also break up junior year but it’s an amicable break up and obvs they both stay in the legends.

as for how they became legends - i don’t think neither me or rachel are particularly inventive when it comes to pranks and creative adventures and misdemeanours, so if you (or anyone else) has any ideas for various mischievous things the legends got up to to earn their name, pls send them our way!!

3. they are the fucking cutest okay. thea and ali have been friendly and all since middle school and they’re on the same lacrosse team and ali always thought their group seemed cool, but it’s not until she’s trying to find a new table to sit at (pointedly avoiding looking at her old friends) that thea waves as though they’re Best Friends and points at a free seat beside roy. we have thea, roy, curtis, rené, sin and probs a few other OC’s as their friend group. it’s a big group but everyone has kinda smaller mini groups within it and that group ^ w those names is the group that ali gets adopted into. it’s kinda weird for ali bc she hasn’t had a lot of guy friends before, but she immediately loves it. curtis teaches her how to play video games and she schools rené big time in basketball and when she realises sin is gay, she explains why she left her old group after their homophobic comments abt ava and sin immediately grins and goes “i like you.” roy and thea become ali’s best friends out of the group though, always inviting her to stuff and making points to get to know her and funnily enough, ali never quite feels like a third wheel (i mean, she does sometimes), but it just feels natural. she joins the school archery club bc thea encourages her to, she goes round to the queen house all the time to study and it’s cool bc the queens are friendly with the sharpes bc they’re in the same social circle and thea gets having parents who are Like That and ali realises that she’s never felt more comfortable with a group of friends in her life

(there are so many more headcanons abt the third thing but the post is so long & so we’re gonna save those for another time heh)

#lot hs au #you make me smile

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rorykillmore · 5 years

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aaand obligatory in case someone else doesn't get to it: what kinds of things do you want to do with villanelle? or maybe more specific... what kind of dynamics would you like to explore with her, is there anyone you really want to throw her at?

all i really want to focus on is my “villanelle becomes a vine star” plot.

no but okay i’ve already talked about some of her stuff re: GRACE in a different ask, so i won’t get into that too much here, but definitely wanna do some stuff with that!! and kinda see what she gets involved with because of it

in the meantime though i’d like to do some more freelance contract stuff with her too? like, the thing she had going with will was pretty fun... it’s hard to predict what kind of opportunities might crop up for that in the future (depends on who wants who killed,) but yeah! or if i don’t get a lot of that kind of stuff, honestly it’d be fun to have villanelle like, accidentally get involved with or hired for something that’s a little more unconventional for her, like having to tail or protect someone. or some stupid small thing that would put her in a completely different context than normal, like teaching someone a language or something like that. maybe she’ll have the opportunity for that since paris is a big denny location and not a lot of people on denny actually speak french,

i think i’ve talked a little bit about this before but it would also be fun to do some kind of... longer term plot?? where she has to maintain an alias or at least some kind of pretense to get close to someone for ~a job~. how that would end depends on who it is and what we plan but like, i’ve always wanted to do a plot like that in general tbh

or for a smaller, more casual dynamic idea: giving her like, some kind of semi-friendly rivalry with a neighbor (someone needs to fill that old lady’s shoes) or even like... a roommate if the circumstances were right. that would be complicated because villanelle’s living situation is complicated. it would either have to be like... someone who moves into her metropolis apartment for some reason and she has to Deal with that while not really actually living there OR someone living with her in paris, but that would have to be like. someone she legitimately trusted and who already knew her deal and stuff

on and off i’ve been thinking about like, some kind of temporary ship idea for her or something like that... at the very least, she seems like she’d be a terrible (and therefore wonderful,) candidate for the paris blind date hotel,

or this is just a one-off idea for a more casual rp but i like the idea of doing an rp where just, two characters meet up on the london train, and villanelle seems like she’d be fun for that kind of thing. maybe if i really wanted to add a twist to it she could have like, killed a target on the train, and then has to play it off afterwards. murder on the orient express,

i’m trying to think if there are any like... Specific dynamic types i’m interested in for her that i haven’t really touched on yet. idk. villanelle is really fun for a lot of like, rivalries or playfully antagonistic friendships, that kind of thing. and of course it would also be fun to get her mixed up with The Law in some capacity or another, or maybe to have someone get really intense about going after her although idk how many actual denny characters she’ll ever actually KILL so there might not be that many opportunities for like, revenge plots

it would definitely be really interesting to give her a few like... Important Relationships because i always find the way she deals with those to be really fascinating, but it’s always kinda unpredictable who villanelle gets close to, is the thing

also, i really like throwing her at Annoying Kids because she’s usually not like, outright dangerous around them, but their energy tends to really grate up against her and it’s GREAT to play her as more frazzled and annoyed sometimes,

and then for specific people i want to throw her at or throw her at more... obviously it goes without saying that i already love her dynamic with fox! and i’m especially interested to do more with them after fox’s encounter with oksana, because he was so gruffly... kind to her that it’s gonna be hard for villanelle to kind of wrap her head around. i’m interested to see how that affects their plot stuff going forward

i definitely wanna do some followup with the other people who met oksana too -- we’ve already talked about doing more with her and margot, and of the people oksana met margot is the only one she even mentioned anna to at all, so that’s a reason for her to be a little more careful. and there’s the whole hannibal thing to contend with too and margot’s whole feelings regarding THAT. i dunno, we still have to plot some stuff with them to see how their dynamic goes but they’ve already been interesting enough to get into a BIZARRE amount of trouble! and then there’s james, who fits the “annoying kid” type character i love to throw villanelle at to a t, and whose interactions with her have been really great so far. she’s honestly going to be like... half annoyed and half impressed when she ultimately realizes he LIED to her (/her younger self) just to keep her in the hotel with him. maybe they’ll develop some kind of weird, chaotic friendship -- villanelle’s also a candidate for potential plot stuff surrounding james’ hotel itself...

i also wanna throw her at felix some more. they’ve only met once but they like... weirdly got along really well (well, not “weirdly”, as jay has pointed out they definitely have some parallels) and i think that’s an interesting element to run alongside the obvious fact that... felix works for the mld and would obviously be at odds with an assassin, maybe even trying to catch her if the mld picks up on things

and then fate pointed out that her, shadow, and moonwatcher need to hang out more JUST for the fact that they all have really fancy names, but honestly i’d wanna throw villanelle at both of them more anyway just because shadow and villanelle have like, total opposite energies, which has so far made their banter REALLY fun. and moonwatcher is certainly not an annoying kid, but she’s so like... sweet and down to earth that it’s hard for villanelle to find reasons to be abrasive towards her, which is interesting and not much of something she’s had with anyone else

and then people i haven’t thrown her at yet... i need to throw villanelle at some ASSHOLES. actually, i can only envision her being kind of hilarious with foxfire. i also feel like she pretty much has to meet handsome jack and tomy at some point, because they’re denny’s Primary Other Criminals. actually it makes total sense for her to seek tomy out at some point; naturally she’d be interested in a weapons dealer. or like... laurel since laurel is technically a criminal too, just not an Actively Villainous one, or... oh my god definitely nyssa at some point just because of their mutual weird assassin experiences. i don’t really know what villanelle would make of nyssa. or maybe someone like phoenix because, again, he’s involved with the law, maybe she could get in trouble for something more minor at some point and he’d have to represent her... idk! basically this is getting very long so i’ll just settle to say there are a ton of characters i could throw villanelle at that could be fun tbh

#thanks spear!!#oh and also im probably... gonna re-app her at some point but #i wont start plotting for that for a couple months yet #cuts dennys lvad wire #larkspear

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jupitermelichios · 6 years

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Daughter of the Demon: on writing the Al Ghuls

I can’t make any promises about when the next chapter of Gotham Ghoul will go up, but I can make the promise that when it does, it will include the first appearance of Talia Al Ghul into the narrative proper.

She’s been there in the meta-narrative since the beginning, as she always is in stories featuring a younger Damian, but it’s been in hints and allusions. This will be her first chance to speak for herself.

And that got me thinking, about Talia as a character, about her history, and about the way I write her, and I thought I would share those thoughts with you here.

Talia, probably more than any other major DC character (certainly more than any other Major Bat-roster character), is defined by her relationships. Specifically her relationships with men. She is Raas’s daughter, Bruce’s 'one that got away’, Damian’s mother, Jason’s ‘it’s complicated’. She isn’t her own anything.

In her earliest appearances, she’s as close to a strong female character as you were going to get, given the time it was written and her race (more on that below). But’s she’s still a stereotype. She’s a non-white woman, physically strong but emotionally vulnerable, who falls in love with a white man who can’t return her feelings (nominally because of her morality, meta-narratively because she’s not white) and betrays her culture for him, only to be abandoned later on. It’s not a new story - it’s one Hollywood loves. Most often it gets assigned to women from East Asia, but Arab and Indian women got it a lot as well. Talia is certainly one of the better examples of this, she has a lot more freedom than most women trapped in this trope, but ultimately she is still a trope.

After that, she was mostly just... gone. She popped up from time to time, but she’d already played out her assigned role in the hero’s life, so even though Raas stuck around, she was very much shunted into the background.

Then Grant Morrison came along and turned her into a villain by creating Damian. We find out she had a child with Bruce a decade ago and chose not to tell him. She raised Damian to be an assassin, taught him how to kill, and then basically dumps him on Bruce’s doorstep with a note around his neck saying “please look after this child”. And there are a hundred possible reasons for this, but they’re never given. She is made a villain by silence.

She managed to remain morally grey for a few years, but it didn’t take long for the demonisation of Talia to begin in earnest. (Probably didn’t help that this was the mid-2000s - not a good time to be Arab in American media). The recent introduction of Damian into DC’s animated movie universe included the reveal that Talia just straight up didn’t love her only son. Seriously, that’s the big end of movie plot twist - Talia is evil and doesn’t love her son. In more recent comics, Talia actually clones Damian because Damian isn’t the obedient killing machine she had wanted. This clone goes on to kill the original Damian. (It’s okay, he got better).

In between tragic love-interest and evil step-mother stereotypes, she has one other notable appearance. As the mother-figure and lover of a teenage Jason Todd. When Jason is brought back from the dead, it’s Talia who finds him, takes him back to a League of Assasins base and uses a Lazarus pit to heal him. She defies her father to protect him, cares for and comforts him, spends what is probably a fortune in money and favours getting him the training he wants, buys out a major corporation for him, makes no attempt to stop him from killing Batman, and begins a sexual relationship with him. He’s 15 when he dies, and 19 or 20 when he leaves. It’s not clear how old he is when the sexual relationship begins, but given his mental and emotional state, and the age difference between them and her position of power, the answer is too damn young.

When you add all that together, the picture it paints is not a positive one, and there’s a risk of her more recent appearances colouring her earlier storylines. It’s happened a lot, writers both professional and fan, assuming that Talia’s interest in Bruce is mercenary, that she never loved him, that he would never have had unprotected sex with a villain so she must have tricked him in some way in order to get pregnant. (That last one is at least supported by the confused timeline in which it is both 10 years and approximately 12 years between contraception and Damian’s first appearance, leading some to suggest later artificial insemination using Bruce’s sperm collected the night they slept together).

That’s one way to reconcile the various tropes that makeup Talia, but it’s one I hate. I hate that she went from eccentric but loving mother to emotionless monster in only a couple of years. I hate that her story is always one of tragedy or villainy.

For me, the key to writing a Talia who is sympathetic without being unrecognisable is her age. It’s never been established (as far as I’m aware) just how old Talia is. We know Raas is ancient. We know Damian is ten. Given that she appeared to be an adult in her first appearances, that puts her age at 30+. Beyond that, we have no idea, except that a lot of her behaviours make more sense when looked at from the perspective of great age. She kept Damian from his father for ten years, but ten years is an eyeblink if you have access to Lazarus Pits. She began a relationship with someone who was a child by the standards of his own culture, but to her, all mortals are little more than children, and he was a warrior who had seen battle - to her that it probably a far better measure of age than mere years.

Talia, as I write her, is a loving mother with very little idea of what motherhood entails beyond her memories of her own upbringing. She is at least 200 and considers all humans younger than their mid-40s to be little more than children. She kept Damian away partly because to her, ten years is nothing, and partly because she had no real guide for how Bruce as a mortal American human would treat a young child beyond the way he had treated Dick, Jason and Tim, and so waited until Damian was a skilled warrior before allowing them to meet. She is largely amoral, unlike her father, and her primary motivator is, above all else, love. Her life is defined by her relationships to other people by choice, because relationships provide anchor points in time. Technology might change, but from her point of view humanity has remained more or less the same. The reference points, the moments that mark out the years as different from one another, are her relationships. With Bruce, with Jason, with the lovers who came before both men and women (because my Talia is bi), and with her son. Her only son. The only biological child she has allowed herself to have in her long life. Keeping these people safe and well is her only moral code, but she isn’t a monster. She has no reason to be a monster. It offers no advantages (except occasionally when it is useful for protecting her loved-ones).

Her feelings for Bruce were genuine, she would have married him given the chance, but she was also willing to let him walk away, to leave her, because mortal lovers are always fleeting, it is something she has accepted about life before even Alfred was born.

Also she and Scandal Savage have hooked up in the past.

So yeah, this was a bit rambly, and my Talia may not be your Talia, but I wanted to have there here as I begin introducing her into Gotham Ghoul. This is Talia al Ghul as I see her.

Sidenote: I said earlier I was going to talk a little bit about Talia’s race. So. The way Raas collected bits of other cultures he likes and claims them for his own, his utter conviction that he knows what’s best for people better than they do themselves, the fact that we have no idea what his name is, the fact that most of his furthest flashbacks are set in Japan and China have lead me to headcanon Raas as not being Arab. Actually, I headcanon him as being white, and no one has the guts to call him out on it, although in at least one continuity his father is from China. Either way, I don’t think Raas is Arab. He chooses the Arabian peninsula as one of his bases for the same reason traders did - it’s a gateway between Asia, Africa and Europe. His disciples are primarily locals, and it’s them that give him the Arab title, which he likes enough to adopt. (In favour of this is the fact that none of his children have Arab names - Nyssa has an Arabic meaning, but it seems unlikely he’d call his daughter ‘Woman’. Talia is Greek, Nyssa may well be as well, and Dusan is Slavic). Talia’s mother is a local - Melisande is a French name, but it was also the name of a queen of Jerusalem in the 10th century, and I think it’s likely that that is what the writers were referring to when they named her. Alternatively, it may be an assumed name. Either way, Talia is ethnically half Arab, but the Arabian peninsula is her home in a way it isn’t ever really shown to be for Raas. The Cradle (located in the UAE) is her primary base of operations, and I write her with the assumption that Arabic is her mother-tongue. Damian is therefore ethnically a quarter Arab, although culturally it’s much more significant since he spent most of his childhood in the UAE talking to and working with Arabs, and it was the language his mother spoke to him most. He was raised to be totally multi-lingual, but Arabic will always be the language he has the greatest attachment too.

#meta #gotham ghoul #talia al ghul #talia meta #ra's meta

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wazafam · 3 years

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Season 2 of Batwoman saw the debut of a brand new hero beneath the cowl. Ryan Wilder is relatively new to the DC Universe, but she's already making an impact in both the comics and on the small screen. The character is continuing to evolve very quickly and fans are already talking about potential team-ups.

RELATED: Batwoman Season 2: 10 Villains We Need To See

A hero in the DC Universe can often be defined or developed further through their relationships with other vigilantes. Fans saw more out of Barry Allen thanks to his friendship with Supergirl and his student relationship with Green Arrow. The Arrowverse's Clark Kent wasn't wholly fulfilled until he came face to face with a Superman from another reality. There's a number of great interactions for Ryan Wilder to have that would be both fun and continue to push the character further.

10 The League Of Heroes

The last time audiences saw Thea Queen or Nyssa al Ghul, they took the League of Assassins and turned them into the League of Heroes. This plot point was never developed further, with the fate of the new League unknown.

Ryan Wilder's team-up with this new League could be very compelling. The Bat Family of course has a long history with the Ghuls, which would cause a lot of conflict in itself. Linked to the legacy of another vigilante in Speedy, and Ryan Wilder could certainly learn a lot about protecting the streets and creating a name in the hero community.

9 Batman

There's a lot of talk as to whether Robert Pattison's take on the Batman will be a part of the DCEU or not. Regardless, the character will certainly reside in the larger Multiverse and fans have already seen that anything can happen.

Admittedly it would be unlikely to see Pattison guest star in the Arrowverse, but then again Ezra Miller has already made an appearance as the Flash.

8 Supergirl

The previous Batwoman, Kate Kane, had built up a powerful friendship with Supergirl. The Arrowverse's version of the World's Finest, it would be a shame to lose that dynamic. In fact, Kara could teach Ryan a lot about her predecessor.

RELATED: Batwoman Season 2: 5 Things It Should Avoid From Its First Season (& 5 Things That Actually Worked)

With Supergirl coming to an end, the crossover fans hope for might not happen in the way they expect. But down the line, there's always a chance of Supergirl returning to the CW once again to guest star in Batwoman.

7 The Titans

The Titans have found a home on a completely different Earth, but they have already been shown to be a part of the much larger DC Multiverse. There's always a possibility that these two Gotham-based shows could crossover.

With the Titans heading back to the city of the Dark Knight in the next season and potentially playing off of old Batman stories, there's a lot of common ground to explore. What's more, characters like Dick Grayson and Jason Todd could show Wilder the result of living in the shadow of a member of the Bat Family. Bruce Wayne for them and Kate Kane for Ryan.

6 Constantine

John Constantine might be a user of dark magic and a master of the mystic arts, but he's also a deeply flawed hero who has managed to find a home with the Legends. Outside of this though, he has acted as a magical guide for many other heroes in the Arrowverse (and probably in Keanu Reeves' universe as well).

Oliver Queen has enlisted his services many times and no doubt the Caped Crusader did the same when he was around. When Ryan Wilder finally comes across her own supernatural threats, John Constantine might be the rugged dark detective that could open up a brand new world to Batwoman.

5 Sister Night

Sister Night stands for a lot of things. Racial justice, moral decency, and the pursuit of knowledge no matter how dangerous that may be. The character has served on the police force, become a vigilante, and opened up a lethal investigation to get to the truth.

RELATED: Batwoman: 10 Plotlines That Will Never Be Resolved Now That Ruby Rose Has Exited The Show

Now potentially wielding the powers of Doctor Manhattan, it may be possible for Angela Abar to travel between Earths. As one of the best original characters from HBO's Watchmen, there are some intriguing parallels here when it comes to creating a character on screen who has little to no comic book origin or history. The ideologies of these two powerful women could certainly be contrasted in a compelling way.

4 Batgirl

There have been a lot of really fun cameos of heroes from DC's past across the Arrowverse, from the original 1960s Robin, to the Birds of Prey who once had their own TV show! Batgirl would certainly make for an unforgettable appearance.

Debuting in Batman and Robin, the movie has been absolutely trashed by fans and critics alike. Bringing back Barbara Wilson for Batwoman would spark an interesting set of comparisons, as this experienced Batgirl perhaps teaches Batwoman not to make the same mistakes that she did.

3 The Legends

The Legends are a complete group of misfits. This dysfunctional family has certainly grown together, despite being thrown in the deep end amongst a group of people they barely knew. Ryan Wilder is in much a similar situation now.

Almost picking up Kate Kane's life, she's in a completely different world but is already starting to form a dysfunctional family of her own. The Legends can teach Wilder a lot about self-confidence in her role and perhaps prepare her for some of the wackier problems she'll come across in her career.

2 Green Arrow

Mia Smoak offered fans some tremendous moments throughout her time on Arrow. It was a passing of the torch within the Arrowverse for Oliver Queen to give the seal of approval to new heroes.

With Queen now dead there's a new Green Arrow on the scene; one who's also just finding her footing in her own vigilante career. With her potential spin-off show canceled, Smoak is looking for a new role in the Arrowverse. She may just serve as a perfect long-term partner to Wilder.

1 Harley Quinn

Harley Quinn is an agent of chaos. Ryan Wilder might need someone like that in her life to completely test her. With no sign of Harley Quinn on Batwoman's Earth and the Joker supposedly gone, this would be an exciting relationship to explore.

Margot Robbie's appearance in the Arrowverse is perhaps even less likely than that of Robert Pattinson's. The dynamic between Harley and Wilder would be absolutely fascinating though, as Wilder struggles with the lines that she will and will not cross for justice.

NEXT: Batwoman: 10 Details You Missed In Season One

Batwoman: 10 Characters In The Arrowverse Ryan Wilder Should Team Up With from https://ift.tt/2LWsNra

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comic-movieheroesranked · 7 years

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Cinematic Comic Characters Ranked! (Year 2002) Final Part

2002 was the Attack of the Sequels with three franchises coming back: Blade II, Men in Black II, and Star Wars: Episode II-Attack of the Clones. This is year was also the debut for Spider-Man and the lesser known (but just as good) Road to Perdition. This is also the first list that had some many candidates that it had to be divided into three separate parts. The final part on my list reveals the TOP 20 comic characters of 2002!

*SPOILERS FOR ALL THE HIGHLIGHTED MOVIES ABOVE*

20. Mace Windu (Star Wars: Episode II-Attack of the Clones)

"This party's over."

The dude's got a purple lightsaber!!! Like that's just so cool to me when all these other Jedi have a bunch of green and blue ones. He's usually seen hanging out with Yoda as the little green dude spills some knowledge tea on everyone else but has his shining moment when he leads a group of Jedi to save Anakin, Padme, and Obi-Wan. Unfortunately there's too many of Count Dooku's forces to take on, but that doesn't alter Mace's decision to give up. When the battle returns to their favor, he's seen leading units of clone soldiers to victory like the Jedi master he is.

19. John Rooney (Road to Perdition)

"There are only murderers in this room!"

I really liked this man! He's the ideal crime boss that just happened to be in a tough situation when his bitch of a son killed his favorite assassin's family. I do not blame John for protecting his son, even if he despises him because at the end of the day, that's his son. If the tables were turned Mike would definitely not give up Michael or Peter if he was in a similar situation. It was sad to see him go but I can tell that he didn't blame Mike at all even though he was the one who pulled the trigger. It's the name of the game and he just happened to be a major player.

18. Ben Parker (Spider-Man)

"With great power comes great responsibility."

Uncle Ben, possibly the greatest uncles in cinematic universe. I feel like he also starts the Marvel movie trend of a loved one dying at the beginning of the movie. He's such an understanding guy and it sucks that Peter's last conversation with him is an argument. Him dying from his gun shot wound is one of the saddest scenes in comic book history but his words are carried on through Peter as he grows into the hero we all know and love.

17. Nyssa Damaskinos (Blade II)

"The great day-walker. I have to say I'm a little disappointed."

Nyssa is the princess of a very royal vampire family and leader of the team of vampires trained to kill Blade. She and her team are forced to work with him, though, when Nomak appears and starts killing other vampires. She ends up proving to be a good ally of Blade's and might be one of the few he actually trusts in the movie. They earn each other's respect to the point that Blade lets her feed on him when she almost dies in the sewers. When she finds out she's been lied to by her father, she seals his fate along with hers and lets Nomak feed on them but Blade interrupts. Instead of turning into one of the creatures that killed everyone she knew, she asks Blade to take her to the sunlight and dies in his arms.

16. Obi-Wan Kenobi (Star Wars: Episode II-Attack of the Clones)

"Why do I get the feeling you're going to be the death of me?"

Ok I get that Obi-Wan had to constantly keep Anakin in check because him and Yoda could sense that his ego could potentially be his downfall, but damn he was really condescending sometimes. Like I'd probably joing the dark side too if I had to learn from him. Honestly my problem with him is he would criticize Anakin for being reckless and then literally jump out of a window that was several hundred feet in the air! Besides that I can tell he takes being a Jedi very seriously, if only he lasted just a bit longer when he went against Count Dooku.

15. Harlon Maguire (Road to Perdition)

"I'm something of a rarity."

This dude was so creepy. I mean it can't get any creepier than an assassin who's hobby/profession is to take photos of the dead/dying. I just knew it deep in my heart of hearts he was going to kill Mike at the end. The last time we saw him he survived a bullet to the eye so I knew he was going to come back and since everything got resolved before he did, I knew he was going to be the twist. He ends up dying shortly after by Mike himself, but it sucks that he robbed little Michael a life with his father.

14. Mary Jane Watson (Spider-Man)

"I think I have a superhero stalker."

The girl next door who dreams of becoming an actress. Mary Jane comes from an abusive home which probably explains her choice in men at first. Still I just could not understand what took her so long to realize she's in love with Peter, but maybe it's because the movie is through his point of view. She's very much interested in his alter ego though and even initiates one of the most iconic kiss scenes in cinematic history!

13. Scud (Blade II)

"No. I'm a lover, not a fighter."

I was so bummed when Scud was revealed to be working against Blade the entire time. What's not to like about him? He makes great gadgets, eats Krispy Kremes, and also watches the Powerpuff Girls. He's not too much of a pushover when he's surrounded by vampires but that's probably because he's their familiar the whole time. When he gets ballsy and starts beating on Whistler, who was just starting to like him, Blade triggers the explosive in Scud's hand and Scud blows up into a million pieces.

12. May Parker (Spider-Man)

"You do to much-you're not Superman you know!"

Aunt May is one of those people you'd go to war for. Seriously, every scene where she was upset or crying I was ready to gear up and take down everyone responsible. She's Peter's last parental figure who just wants him to be happy. Even when she's in the hospital from Green Goblin's attack she's focused on spying on Peter's conversation with Mary Jane. She's also loyal and set in her ways. She wasn't going to let Norman get away with calling Peter a slob and she definitely wasn't going to let him dip his fingers in the food before saying grace.

11. Agent Jay (Men in Black II)

"I'm about to lay the smackdown on your candy-ass!"

Agent Jay is all grown up. No longer a rookie Jay has saved the world countless times after going solo (his temporary partners don't count seeing as none of them last). He joins forces with Kay to help save a girl we're supposed to believe he's fallen for from Serleena, someone we're supposed to believe is a threat. Most of the action and hilarity is brought on by Jay which honestly saved this movie (if you can really consider it saved).

10. Anakin Skywalker (Star Wars: Episode II-Attack of the Clones)

"Someday I will be the most powerful Jedi ever."

Yo it was damn near overwhelming with how emotional Anakin was throughout this movie. Like he was one some Romeo and Juliet shit and it was just a lot to handle sometimes to be honest. Granted he does go through a lot. He loses his mother and then goes on a rampage killing everyone in sight, he ends up being in a giant romantic quarrel with Padme before they eventually get married, and he's constantly at odds with his master. He's the epitome of angsty teenager and it'll be interesting to see what exactly tips him over to the Dark Side to become Darth Vader.

9. Jared Nomak (Blade II)

"Is the enemy of my enemy my friend? Or my enemy?"

An experiment gone wrong, Jared Nomak was the son of royal vampire, Eli Damaskinos. He ends mutating horribly and finds that he can infect every vampire he feeds on. And so begins his quest to end all vampires. Since he's basically impossible to kill he ends up being an unstoppable force of nature as he takes down Blade's men one by one. After killing his father and infecting Nyssa, Nomak has one final brawl with a newly charged Blade. After they both deal some heavy blows, Blade comes out of the fight the winner, killing Nomak once and for all.

8. Padme (Star Wars: Episode II-Attack of the Clones)

"I truly, deeply, love you and before we die I want you to know."

Padme is going through a huge dilemma. She's a senator who's in love with a Jedi whom she meet when he was only ten years old and she was a young queen seven years his senor. Now the boy's all grown up and confessing his undying love to her and she can't help but feel the same. She thinks it's wrong though and tries to fight it but when she thinks they're about to die she ends up returning his affections. She doesn't give up though and helps fight against Count Dooku with the rest of the Jedi and clone soldiers. When the battles over, Padme and Anakin run off and get married.

7. Whistler (Blade II)

"I love it when you talk dirty."

The only father figure in Blade's life, Whistler is also his only weakness. Blade rescues him and he turns into a vampire and held hostage by a vampire gang for years. He grumpily disapproves of all the new changes, mainly Scud and his gadgets, but he still down to help Blade in any way he can. He's the one to figure out where the mutated vampires are hiding and also talks to Nomak to find out that Blade's been played since the very beginning. He rescues Blade and even makes sure the other man has his signature glasses after Blade recovers in the pool of blood. Him and Blade are the only two to survive at the end of the movie.

6. Michael Sullivan Jr. (Road to Perdition)

"And that was the last time I ever held a gun."

Little Michael's entire world is turned upside down in just a matter of a few weeks. One night he finds out his father is a hitman after he watches him kill a man and the next he finds the bodies of his mother and his little brother before running off with his father. He has a lot of insecurities with his father but they slowly dissolve the more time he spends with him. My favorite part of the movie is easily Mike teaching him how to drive and Michael being absolutely horrible at it. After his father dies, Michael decides to leave the world of crime forever, taking his new dog and going off to live with an old couple with a farm.

5. Yoda (Star Wars: Episode II-Attack of the Clones)

"Truly wonderful, the mind of a child is."

Even though he seems like the nicest creature in the world and probably the young Jedi's #1 teacher, it was taking me so long to get used to Yoda's speaking patterns. Little dude spends his time giving confusing advice until he literally saves everyone at the end of the movie when he arrives with the clone soldiers. If that weren't epic enough, the dude can fight! He's ends up taking on Count Dooku and is flipping circles around the guy until he eventually pulls a cheap trick and gets away. Yoda ain't even phased by it though, he just saves Anakin and Obi-Wan's life and then heads back to base camp to plan for the future, like a true master Jedi.

4. Norman Osborn/Green Goblin (Spider-Man)

"The only thing they love more than a hero is to see a hero fail."

Norman Osborn is a wealthy scientist who becomes Green Goblin in a last ditch effort to prove his project works. At first he only becomes his psycho personality for personal reasons like killing the people on his board committee after they fire him, but decides to go after Spider-Man after the hero tries to stop him. The Green Goblin is a great villain. With a few gadgets and a hovercraft, he's able to cause some serious terror to Spider-Man, terrorizing Aunt May and kidnapping Mary Jane. He brings up some good points about how some people just want Spider-Man to lose but in the end him and his conniving ways are what bring his demise.

3. Michael Sullivan (Road to Perdition)

"This has nothing to do with business."

Mike is a man who started with nothing yet had a wife and two kids to support. He ends up working for John Rooney and becomes his best hitman, even earning John's love over his son, Connor. However, said son is a bitch and decides to ruin everything when he kills Mike's wife and youngest son, Peter, leaving Mike with no choice but to go on the run with his older son, Michael. Throughout the movie, as Mike plots his revenge against the Rooney's, we learn that his biggest fear is that Michael will end up just like him. Just before he dies, however, he's able to see that his son is not like him and he dies knowing he never will be.

2. Blade (Blade II)

"You obviously don't know who you are fucking with!"

Blade is the ultimate badass. Like everything he does is just so freaking cool! He kicks ass, taunts his enemies, even when he's hurting he manages to make it look cool. He's one step ahead of all his enemies and on the slight chance they manage to get the jump on him, he's able to recover fast-with the help of Whistler-and take them all down. His return to film was much needed as he was easily the greatest thing about the movie.

1. Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Spider-Man)

"Just your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man!"

Spider-Man was just another game changer when it came to superhero films. My dad took my brother and I out of school early to watch the movie when it first came out and we were so grateful! It's just so easy to like Peter Parker, the nerdy kid who gains amazing abilities after getting bit by a radioactive spider. From him hilariously learning how to shoot out his webs to him getting smoother and smoother talking to Mary Jane, we see him go from this puny kid to this lovable hero. He's everything we could have asked for. He made us laugh, cry, and cheered as he saved the day again and again.

And that’s the list for 2002! Spider-Man came out on top but I’m a little bummed there wasn’t that many fleshed out female characters, especially when they practically dominated 2001. Well let me know who y’all would’ve had on the top of the list. Here’s to 2003!

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ilikeyourharrystyles · 7 years

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Summary

Twelve-year-old Charlie Watkins could have inherited his dad’s massive intellect. He got his massive feet instead.

Perhaps if Charlie had that intellect he might have been able to figure out why so many men in suits were suddenly following him or where his dad hid the Cubit – a mythical object that men have sworn to protect and even more have died trying to possess – before his so-called accident.

If starting yet another new school wasn’t bad enough, Charlie meets Mr Leopold, a disfigured, mind-reading lunatic and discovers that he alone must find the Cubit if he is to save his dad. The Brotherhood, however, have other ideas. Led by the ruthless Draganovic, they will stop at nothing to get their hands on it. With the help of Mr Leopold and fellow new boy Elvis, Charlie sets out on The Cubit Quest.

Hunting for the Cubit, playing football, lessons with the dreaded Funeral Face and unsuccessfully avoiding school bully Grimshaw by day, Charlie finds his nights no less complicated. Stalked in his dreams, he’s soon immersed in a world of power struggles, battling dragons and duels to the death. With the Brotherhood hot on his heels and as the bullets begin to fly, there are no guarantees that Charlie, or anyone else, will make it to the end in one piece.

Author Spotlight

Well, they say that everyone needs a hobby, but whilst sat in a tent listening to fighter jets scream overhead in a foreign land, I realised that I needed something else: a distraction. Writing was the perfect solution; even if writing about military life wasn’t. I was much more interested in writing about action-packed adventures that was bristling with the likes of bullying, crunching tackles and great goals on the football pitch, the afterlife, mythical creatures, fate, destiny and the obligatory arch-villain hellbent on world domination. Hence my foray into the world of young adult writing began. You could say that I was always going to be less Andy McNab and more J.K. Rowling.

They also say that you should write about the things you know, and even if I was writing about twelve-year-old boy Charlie Watkins, who suddenly found that he had more enemies than hot dinners, or super-powerful and deadly adversaries, or hobgoblins, I wanted people to believe it. Therefore, I needed a real place to set my semi-fantasy world. The town of North Shields, in the northern corner of England with a view of the River Tyne, the place where I grew up, provided the perfect backdrop for my first novel The Cubit Quest. After all, the place really does have it all – great buildings, great parks, great coastline, and even greater people. I hoped to do the place justice – I didn’t.

The reason for this was relatively simple: I wasn’t very good at it. Four years down the line and The Cubit Quest was still more a figment of my imagination than a reality. The ‘Ian Rankin style’ of writing, namely you have a rough idea of where you’re going and let’s see how it pans out, was hugely successful – for Ian Rankin that is! For me, the process was an unmitigated disaster – four years and no end product proving testament to that fact. But that didn’t matter. Other than my lovely wife, nobody knew I was writing and nobody was going to read it anyway – right?

The process also highlighted something that I, and anyone who meets me will figure out soon enough: I have the world’s worst memory. The places in The Cubit Quest were all real, Ralph Gardner High, Charlie’s house, Elvis’s house, Sonia’s house, all of it – ‘were’ being the operative word. The story is therefore a mismatch of eras, some present day, some straight from my very poor memory. The result is less Dan Brown, whereby every detail is correct at the time of writing and more John Grisham – never let the facts get in the way of a good story.

Having a second crack at it – it was my secret hobby after all – I knuckled down to some serious planning and eleven months later I had a first draft, a completed novel at last! Of course, perhaps I should have mentioned that it wasn’t The Cubit Quest, it was the follow up, which takes up immediately where The Cubit Quest leaves off. It was an odd situation, even I’ll admit that, to have the second part of what I envisaged to be a four-part series and no first part in existence.

All that remained, was to complete that first novel – and complete it I did! It was a behemoth by the time I’d finished, large enough to give a sci-fi epic a run for its money. Having visited the fabulous Warner Bros Studios to spend a very enjoyable day living and breathing the equally fabulous world of Harry Potter there is an opening address by J.K. Rowling in which she says that the Philosopher’s Stone was a product of good editing. I didn’t appreciate this fully – but I did by the time I’d whittled the book down to a more palatable word length – eight edits, ouch!

I was recently asked what short response I’d say to someone who had a passing interest in The Cubit Quest. My response: buy a ticket, strap in and enjoy the rollercoaster ride of an adventure!

Review

This book was a weird read, but something a bit different. It was advertised to me as YA but I’d say it’s that middle ground between Middle Grade and YA.

There was a lot of little references in this book, which I absolutely adored, like Charlie went to the Library to pick up a copy of a Garth Nix book, there was characters with names that were references to things. It made my read more fun when I picked up on them.

At times it did border on a bit silly, but I think that’s mainly because Leck seemed to want to keep the reader in the dark about what was going on in the same way that Charlie was. It was generally a bit awkward at times because it would go from the fantastical elements to kids playing football in the space of a few sentences.

The formatting wasn’t really great either, there wasn’t enough line breaks to tell you when you’d moved into a different POV or a different time. Like it felt like it needed more paragraphs or general transitions.

This was set in South Shields (I think) which was quite nice to read for me as my Gran lives in the Tyneside area and the place she lives was actually mentioned at one point.

I occasionally found some of the fantastical elements of the plot a bit confusing, I eventually got my head around it but I felt there maybe could have been a bit more of an explanation to what was going on.

I liked that this was still set in a school. What I mean by that is that too often in books of this nature kids find out that they have powers and have to go on an adventure leaving their school and family life behind. Whereas this book was still set at home and the MC still had all his childhood problems.

Royal Air Force Odiham – WO Leck C4i Studio Portrait. Taken on 14th December 2016 by SAC James Goff Image: SAC James Goff RAF. For further information contact: Flt Lt Nyssa Cole, RAF Odiham Media Communications Officer (MCO), Royal Air Force Odiham, Hook. Hampshire. RG29 1QT. Mil Tel: 95235 7606. Civ Tel: 01256 367494. Email:

Living in Telford, Shropshire, Trevor Leck has been dabbling in writing for over fifteen years. Always a fan of gripping adventure stories he has taken inspiration from his favourite authors, including John Grisham and J K Rowling, and the towns and cities he grew up, especially North Shields, to create his Young Adult series.

Amazon | Goodreads

The Cubit Quest by Trevor Leck Blog Tour | Author Spotlight and Review Summary Twelve-year-old Charlie Watkins could have inherited his dad’s massive intellect. He got his massive feet instead.

#Blog Tour #book review #magic realism?#mg #middle grade #middle grade paranormal #middle grade urban fantasy #trevor leck #urban fantasy #YA #young adult #young adult paranormal #young adult urban fantasy

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