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#damian is also standing

puppetmaster13u · 4 months

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Prompt 170

Once again on my Ras & Danny being training rivals thanks to time travel bullshit.

Look, Danny knows about the league of Assassins, but he almost dies of laughter when he realizes it’s the modern name of the league of Shadows. He’s an adult now, has been for a while, he’s allowed to find the situation he’s found himself in amusing. Hell, his sparring buddy who is somehow still alive is laughing too.

And no one else knows what’s going on, okay? This random man walked into their secret base, completely ignored the many assassins trying to stop him, and called their illustrious leader a “Little Bitch Man” and they are now fighting?

The fighting is familiar, but why the fuck is Ras cackling and saying things like “Ayreh Feek” back. Practically saying “Fuck you,” while laughing and oh Pit, they’re Bantering this is terrifying, why has Ras not won yet, why has this man not died yet and- bodies aren’t supposed to bend like that what the fuck-

Ras on the other hand, has One friend, who is immortal like him, actually remembers the shit he complains about, is also down for saving endangered animals, and actually knows how to spar! It’s not a proper spar unless someone loses at least a hand that has to be reattached! And honestly, people nowadays should know that the proper greeting to an old friend is to instantly try to kill the other.

#dcxdp #dpxdc #prompts #Jason & Talia & the Assassins are just standing there in utter confusion #Dusan also standing there: Oh thank fuck his sparring buddy is back we kept losing operatives whenever Father decided to be affectionate #Most of the League is at least Ecto contaminated but the Al Ghuls are Liminal AF #Danny as a teen: Ur a lil bitch lmao #Ras as a teen: Well fuck you too I hope the earth swallows you where you stand #Danny as an adult when he sees his friend: Hey Bitch #Ras to everyone’s horror: Hey Fucker you’re a decade late #Danny: Had a king to kill you know how it is #Talia: Alright Jason time for you to go to Gotham I think there might be hallucinogens in the Base #Jason: No I want to see more of this this is comedy gold #Tiny Damian doing mental gymnastics: Is this Grandmother?????#No one knows how the fuck to describe their relationship- are they friends?? Rivals?? Lovers?? Just too dudes who apparently have known #each other for a Very long time????

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starry-bi-sky · 4 months

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fast food is the best course of action after causing a scene. ᴘᴀʀᴛ ᴏғ ᴛʜᴇ ᴅᴀɴʏᴀʟ ᴀʟ ɢʜᴜʟ ᴀᴜ

(First Post Here and Second Post Here

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Danny finds Sam easily.

She's right where she said she was over the phone: standing outside on a balcony, in Gotham, at Father's many charity functions.

("Would you still be willing to fly over to Gotham, Danny?" She asks, her voice ringing clear through the speakers. Danny is already climbing out his window before she even finishes her sentence. He was just about to settle down for the night, his ghosts would know better by now than to disturb him at this time. The Box Ghost not included.)

("Of course." He says, sounding more confident than he feels. Sam was one of his best— closest friends, he would do anything she or Tucker asked. Even if it means stepping foot into his Father's city. He drops down silently, and walks through the house's ghost shield. "Would you like me to bring you anything?")

(Sam sighs through the phone, relief leaking through. "One of the veggie burgers from Nasty Burgers would be great, with their new ecto-fries. Extra salt. I'm sick of all this rich people food.")

(A small smile pulls across Danny's face, tilting at the corner as his living form falls away to his ghost self. "Alright," he says, and kicks himself off the ground, "I'll be there in a few minutes.")

("Thanks, Danny.")

He had the bag of food with him, stored in a container he had to run back to the house to get that would prevent the food from cooling during his flight over. Clutching it in hand, he floats down behind Sam and sheds his invisibility.

Being visible and being invisible always felt different, but in a way Danny can never describe, no matter how many times he tries to think about it. It's like a gut-feeling, a sixth sense, he always knows when he's visible and when he is not.

His ghost form burns away like steel wool being lit, and Danny drops the last foot to the ground silently. In his other hand lies his thermos, but filled with plain ectoplasm — lazarus water. "I have your food."

(He brought the thermos for himself — his side was still healing from his last fight with Technus. The ghost impaled him with a broken pipe, and Danny returned the favor by wedging his sword into his chest. Technus had been quite offended by him ruining his favorite coat.)

Sam jumps a foot into the air, and her hand slams across her mouth to muffle the shriek she lets out as she whirls around. "Danny!" She hisses, her voice rising in pitch, and her eyes narrow at him into a glare. "Freaking-- Tucker's right, we seriously need to put a bell on you."

"You have been saying that for years," Danny grins, sharp-toothed and jack-knifed, and passes the container over to her. "And yet I've yet to see any kind of bell." He was going to start getting disappointed at this rate.

As Sam takes the container, Danny hops up onto the railing and looks around. He hadn't seen any of Father's other children lurking around the building before he revealed himself, but that doesn't mean they aren't there. He wasn't going to fool himself into thinking that their stealth skills were poor.

He wasn't that arrogant.

...Anymore.

"Oh you will." Sam threatens, unzipping the container and grabbing the takeout bag. "I'll get you a collar and everything, we can start calling you Catwoman." When she pulls out her fries, Danny snaps forward and steals one from the box, ignoring her indignant yell as he pops it into his mouth.

"I spent my own money on these fries, Sam." He sniffs, leaning away from her with a stifled huff of laughter as she swats at him. "So they are technically my fries. And also, Catwoman would be a poor thief if she wore a bell."

Sam grumbles at him, and takes a bite out of a handful of fries. "I'll venmo you money." She says past a mouthful of food, Danny would have been disgusted in the past, when he was still new. But he's gotten used to this... normality. So he makes no reaction to it. "How does three hundred bucks sound?"

Danny immediately frowns.

"Did you have a fight with your parents?" He asks, eyes glancing to the doors. Doors that are covered heavily by curtains and blurred heavily, decadent music passing through in muffled sounds. He shifts himself away from the light. "You only spend that much money when they've pissed you off."

Sam's chewing stops, and her annoyed expression falters into one Danny knows well -- hurt, furrowed brows, a small frown, disappointment -- and she turns her head away from him. She swallows. "Yeah." she says, quiet.

Oh.

Danny knows that tone too.

Guilt settles like a rock in his chest. He leans forward, "Was it about me again?" He wasn't blind to the disdain Sam's parents had for him, far from it. This wasn't the first time Sam had gotten into a fight with them over her friendship with him and Tucker. But especially him. He unsettled people, even after years of observing his age-mates and trying to mimic their behavior, and anyone who knew him in middle school knew it was an act.

Sam's silence gives him all the confirmation he needs, and the guilt heavies itself with the weight of the sky. Danny's never much cared about others' opinions of him -- he is (was?) an Al Ghul, they never heed to mind what the weight of a simpleton's thoughts.

But.. he cares a little a lot when it hurts his friends like this. He presses his lips together into a thin line, and forces the words out through his teeth. It sounds robotic. Al Ghul's do not apologize. "I... am sorry." But this one does. It doesn’t come easy.

Sam sighs through her nose, and turns to roll her eyes at him. "Don't apologize on their behalf when you won't even apologize for your own; their assholes." She says, and goes reaching for more fries.

It's a sign, a signal. A silent word for the conversation to move on, to change. A distraction. Danny grasps it with both hands, and makes an offended noise in the back of his throat. And like he has learned, puts a hand to his chest like a scandalized American southern lady. "I apologize! I apologize plenty."

She snorts. "Only when you think it matters." And pokes him in the ribs sharply with her fry. He withholds a wince and snatches it out of her hands. "You're about as unapologetic as they come, Danny J. Fenton. I've seen you look more sincere when you're trying to drive your sword between Vlad's ribs."

"Stabbing Masters is a very important task for me, Sam." Danny says in only partially faux-seriousness. Masters has yet to realize that Danny had no interest in becoming his son, but he had to (reluctantly) admire his persistence. "Of course I will apply myself to it as best as I can."

He grins triumphantly when Sam laughs, and she reaches over to shove him square in the chest. He barks out a laugh of his own as he grips onto the balcony railing and catches himself at an angle.

"Quit with your method actor talk," Sam retorts, grinning sharply while Danny twists himself back up elegantly. "I know you can talk like a normal person, I've literally seen you do it."

Danny sniffs, and snatches more fries from the carton as revenge. "I'm not entirely sure what you mean, Miss Sam." He says, grin-twisting when Sam rolls her eyes. "My speech has always been this way. This 'normal' you speak of, I do not know it."

She waves her hand dismissively at him. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. But if you keep talking like that, I'm pushing you off the balcony."

"Such violence, Sam."

He gets a laugh again, full of disbelief without any of the annoyance. "I'm gonna be the one that stabs you, oh my god. Pot meet kettle." She looks at him again, smiling.

Danny smiles back, and with a flick of his wrist pulls out a kunai from his sleeve. It was one of the few weapons Mother was able to pass on to him whenever she made her scarce visits. He cherishes it well, along with anything else she was capable of giving him.

He holds the handle out to her, and watches her face shift from disbelief to shock, then back to disbelief. "Then you're gonna need a weapon to do that."

"Of course you have a pointy object on you." She mutters, and takes the kunai and puts it in her purse. Danny makes a pleased hum, it resonates low in his core, and drops his hand. "When do you not have a pointy object on you?"

As if to make her point, Danny's hands twist near his side, and he holds his palms up to her, revealing the shobo he had also hidden on him. He gives her a shit-eating grin. "Never." He lowers his hand, and pockets the small weapon once again.

Sam huffs, "Of course," she repeats, "thanks. I was gonna bring a knife but..."

Danny finishes the sentence for her, kicking his feet idly and knowingly. "The security at the door?" He'd seen them on his flight over the building. It wouldn't do much in the face of the Rogues, but at least they were good at keeping appearances and keeping out the smaller threats.

He rolls his eyes and turns his head away, looking up to the ugly, smog-covered skies. There was no bat signal in the air, and while that was a good thing, Danny almost wished there was. He wanted to see it. "I saw, and I would’ve called Father foolish if he hadn’t hired help. He attracts trouble almost as badly as I do."

"Maybe it's hereditary," Sam jokes, laughing under her breath. With her fries finished, she started on her veggie burger. "At least your dad isn't a vigilante like you are."

Danny smiles wryly. It felt nice to be able to talk more freely about this. That he didn't have to hide the fact that his father was Bruce Wayne, now that Sam knew it from her own accord. Maybe he could have conversations like these more often. Even if it was limited to Bruce Wayne only.

(Even if it felt a little terrifying to know that his father was so close by, close enough that Danny could reach out and touch him. To speak to him. But how would he explain that? And with an audience?)

(He’s wanted to see him since he was a kid, and he still does. It clings onto him like a cough that doesn’t go away after the cold already has, and while it has faded over the years, it clings. His mother’s words still ring in his ears however; it’s not safe. It’s not safe.)

(And isn’t that why he faked his death in the first place? So that his little brother would be safe? Why he gave up the heirship, his home, his Mother, Damian, and his chance to meet his Father? Going to see Father, even now, would be throwing that all away. He has to stay away.)

(Why is Damian with Father if staying with Father was unsafe?)

He just needed to tell Tucker. Danny wouldn’t keep him out of the loop, he was just as much as his friend as Sam was. His eyes draw towards the door, where the golden glow of lights was still pouring through, where music was playing loudly. "Yeah, fortunately."

They fall into a comfortable silence after that, and Danny finally cracks open his thermos. The pipe Technus impaled him with was covered in a goo that Danny didn’t recognize, but whatever it was, his injury was taking its time healing. The ectoplasm was speeding it up.

He isn’t sure what the difference between the ectoplasm that Drs. Fenton collected and Grandfather’s Lazarus pools is, but there’s a difference. He swirls the thermos slowly, watching as the ectoplasm inside twists into a small whirlpool sluggishly.

When left alone, it thickens into a consistency similar to egg whites, or perhaps a thick smoothie, but reverts back into a water-like substance when moved and swirled. It was strange; unexplainable. He can understand, to an extent, why the Drs. Fenton are so obsessed with studying it and the dimension it comes from.

Sam watches him idly as he brings the thermos to his lips and drinks from it. The effect is instantaneous, a sense of relief washing over Danny as if someone had put a soothing balm onto an injury. It buzzes down to his fingertips, and when he lowers the thermos, he licks his lips and watches the tips of his fingers burn green like frostbite.

“Your hair turned white again.” Sam comments, her hand reaching out and touching the hair on the nape of his neck. While it’s not the first time Sam’s touched his hair, it still makes him tense up with her hand so close to his throat. Instinct. dan

He ignores the urge to bat her hand away, humming thoughtfully. “I’ve noticed it does that.” He says, pulling down his bangs to see if they’ve also turned white. No, still black. He lets go. “Let me guess; my eyes are green too?” He lifts the thermos again and peers into the chrome casing.

Sam nods, “Yep, but it’s only the, uh.” She makes a circle around her eyes with her finger. “The iris part. Everything else is fine.”

Danny can see that. The faint reflection on the chrome casts back an intense green. He takes another sip. It chills the back of his teeth, and he can feel his canines warp and sharpen. He runs his tongue over them, and swallows.

Sam is still watching him, her fingers drumming against the balcony railing. “What’s it taste like?”

“Carbonated.” He says dryly, before taking a large swig. He couldn’t name a specific flavor if he tried, it changed every time he took a sip. The only thing that stayed consistent was that it tasted carbonated. And slightly sweet. When he pulls the thermos away, Danny twists his body towards her and offers it out, wiping his mouth on his sleeve. “Want to try?”

Her reaction is immediate. Sam’s nose scrunches up and her mouth twists into a smile, and she makes a huffing-laugh sound. “No, thank you.” She pushes it away lightly with her fingers, “I don’t know how to explain to my parents why my hair is white.”

Right. Danny pulls the thermos away and puts it down beside him, straining his eyes to see if the rest of his hair has changed colors. Even just his first sip would take half an hour to fade back to its normal black, and he was a halfa. He had no idea how long it’d take to fade on Sam, who was human.

There’s movement from the corner of his eye, and Danny snaps his head towards the source. There’s a figure, small, a boy, trying to hide behind one of the curtains at the door. His form just barely peeking out from the angle Danny was sitting at. He wouldn’t have seen him if the boy hadn’t moved.

His fingers curl tightly into the railing, and he breathes in sharp. Sam’s smile crumbles away and she turns to see what he’s looking at. “I should go.” He says, and reaches for his thermos. “There’s someone spying on us. Don’t say anything, just look at me.”

Sam’s expression warps, twists. Her eyes widen, her jaw starts to drop before fixing itself into place, and her shoulders curl up and tense. She forces it all to smooth over, and she leans casually against the railing. There’s a tick in her jaw. “I see.” Her voice comes through teeth. “Do you think they saw you?”

“I am not sure.” Danny says. He keeps an eye on the figure as he twists himself over and grabs the Nasty Burger bag and the container. He tries not to look like he’s rushing. He is. How long has that boy been there? How much did he see? Did he hear anything?

“Father, fortunately, has privacy films on the glass. Nobody should have seen me unless they’re specifically trying to peep through the door.” He says. The boy seems to realize that Danny was starting to leave. And, his heart beginning to sink, instead of leaving, moves to grab the door handle instead.

No. No, no, no, no, no.

Danny’s breath catches in his throat, he’s hoping that isn’t who he think it is. But how else would he have not noticed an eavesdropper on their conversation unless it was someone who was capable of bypassing those skills? He told himself that he wouldn’t fool himself into thinking that his siblings’ had poor stealth. He got distracted.

Five years, five years. He refuses to let that go down the drain. He zips up the container and throws his legs over the other side of the railing, his back facing the door. He hears the doorknob click, and without a word to Sam, slips off down the side and down to the ground below.

Just in time. The once muffled music now sounds blaring as the door presumably is thrown open and the pull of invisibility washes over him like a second skin. He doesn't stay to see who it is.

#dpxdc #danny fenton is not the ghost king #dp x dc #dp x dc crossover #dpdc #dpxdc crossover #danyal al ghul au #older brother danny #first danny pov of the au! whoo!#danny's hair turns white if he drinks ectoplasm brrrrr and his eyes turn green. good for him #this sat in my drafts for the last few days until i finally finished it during class #it was a math class and i already knew the material so tis fiiiine. now i just need to finish my CFAU post rewrite :)#ectoplasm tastes like that time i went to go get pepsi from the soda machine and it was all out of the pepsi flavoring so instead i got a #cup full of carbonated liquid. it was disgusting. ectoplasm kinda tastes like that. sometimes.#danny smiles in this more than i thought he would but yk it fits. he IS more smiley around his friends and family.#ectoplasm is a weird non-newtonion fluid and danny is fascinated. its got the consistency of egg whites one minute and then water the next #its a water slime and then suddenly its as brittle as annealed glass. it heats up and rots like milk or it heats up and boils like water #it congeals. it thickens. it boils. it solidifies. it does whatever it wants. it gels and melts into a tar-like substance #how long has damian been standing there? good question. :) i almost had him open the door and make eye contact with damian before falling #backwards. i also almost had it be *bruce* and damian opening the door bc bruce found out that damian pulled a knife on sam and was gonna #have him come apologize. that would be a fun scene. prolonged eye contact prolonged eye contact prolonged eye contact #imagery brrrr. had fun playing with how danny's ghost form works. if anyone has seen a video of steel wool burning thats how i imagine #danny's ghost transformation to be like.#also ayyy balancing danny's dialogue be like “how fancy should he sound and how Normal Teenager Should He Sound”#when sam gets home she catches tucker up to speed about everything including the convos with the waynes she had and they both form the #'“Fuck Them Waynes” squad. Sam has jumped to the entirely wrong conclusion about danny's separation from his family but in her defense.#it is a pretty sound conclusion to jump to considering the lack of context she has from danny's prior home life. which is almost none at al #so to her it looks like danny got abandoned by bruce wayne

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mistergreatbones · 7 days

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damian: jon and i are not going to hang out, we are simply allowing titus and krypto the oppertunity to have a playdate

bruce who said the same thing but with clark and ace: tell krypto i say hi

#clark and bruce also use jon and damian's playdates as an excuse to hang out #doing that thing where you stand in the doorway for like a half hour chit chatting #i know damian was like 13 when they met but jon was 10 and 10 year olds usually call them playdates #leo says shit #bruce wayne #clark kent #it could be #superbat #if you want it to be

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glassdecanters · 11 months

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humanising the batfam with problems a lot of people struggle with

because they are just normal people at the end of the day. tw for mention of disordered eating.

jason todd has frequent ptsd flashbacks in which he can only calm down with music. headphones, all the time, somewhere on him, that boy.

tim stims a lot. some of them are a little violent towards himself, it's something he does and struggles with but it happens. he hits himself, aggressively taps his chest and holds his breath.

jason tops up the white dye in his hair because in his eyes, it's an "irregular amount" of his hair is white

dick and tim both struggle with their body image, and subsequently their eating issues. tim, partially, is because he just straight up forgets to eat, and it becomes this cycle and habit.

cass gets immensely frustrated when she cannot communicate her ideas because she cannot verbalise them. often, she'll just walk off when no one is fully understanding her because he gets so agitated.

dick has messy handwriting. in the time he did spend in school, teachers were always on his case about it. it's almost illegible.

damian gets extremely overwhelmed in social situations; especially galas. he ends up leaving (jason tells people 'yeah it's his bedtime') and going to sit with titus, or another one of his animals in his room to calm down. he usually calms down by reading, or watching the sky.

barbara straight up just can't go some places. being in a wheelchair means anywhere that doesn't have good enough accessibility? she can't get in. she misses out on so much because there isn't a ramp, or elevator access, or even just fucking lowered door handles. and it pisses her off. obviously.

they're just people. people with a lot going on in their lives but they're still just people. always just people.

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leoleolovesdc · 9 hours

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“Blah blah blah Tim Drake is sleep deprived” we’ve all heard it, but this man is a highschool dropout who’s job is to sit at WE and look pretty (no he isn’t a CEO, idk where any of you took that from), makinh his only responsibility the Being A Vigilante bit. However, I present to you Duke Thomas and Damian Wayne are sleep deprived, bc hear me outl they are the only ones who have stuff to do both at day AND night time.

Bruce is rich, he doesn’t have a real job, same goes for Tim, Jason doesn’t have any job at all, Cass doesn’t even have a birth certificate, Steph seemingly dropped out of uni, etc.

None of them do anything besides vigilantism, but Damian has school during the day and Robin at night, Duke has school at night and Signal during the day, those mfs do NOT have time to sleep.

#babs also does not sleep but thats a given #tim used to be sleep deprived when he was a student but he has nepo baby syndrome and never finished school #it was actually prtty cute how he used to sleep-stand on patrol #but honestly none of the batfam rlly have the sleep deprivation problem except the kids. none of them do anything in current timeline. they #all js live off of bruces money #and sleep during the day #dc comics #dc #tim drake #damian wayne #duke thomas #batfam #batfamily #red robin #signal #robin

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greenfrogartist · 14 days

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Been a while since I’ve drawn anything but guess what

A fanart! For the fic “Missing”by @zoiaeras !

Honestly it’s more of how I imagine Peter’s design to be rather than a fanart, cause usually when I do a fanart I either draw a scene or as I’ve lately been doing draw what I imagine the cover would look like (to be fair I kinda drew the breakfast scene? )

So this is more like a very small character sheets?? And the design is wrong a bit (his hair is supposed to be a bit longer but I only ingrained the choppy hair part)

Tried to keep the blue and red of his spidey suit in, but darker and paler to show the effects Gotham had on him

Honestly the fic is amazing! and the pacing is a chef kiss, and the comedy is on point for me and what I love the most about this is that it’s doing other stuff rather than just sticking to the norm of peter - Gotham crossover

Other characters are present, there is a plot being made and the characterization makes sense for the life the characters lived, and we’re even out of Gotham and introducing other superheroes to the plot like Superman and the flash and also villains like lex Luther

And what’s fun about this fic is that currently, the strongest thing Peter have is his brain, but he is still stupid outside of building stuff (I love this adorable bean)

My most favorite thing about it is probably the plot point and that things are actually happening with consequences to them that change the status que of the fic

The fic feels like a never stopping train wreck about to happen and I’m so excited to see just how big the crash will be and how sharp the debris left of it are

Honestly I can go on and on about this fic forever but that’s mean more spoiler which is a big no no

Just know that if you want a dc x peter crossover, with more justice league characters in it, this is the fic for you

#also he has freckles cause what’s better excuse to give him freckles than him being in a slightly different body?#by the way he doesn’t have a camera in the fic I know #but I wanted to have him hold something #and not just stand like a stick #also fun fact #his shoes not only is made of 30% duct tape #it’s also a signal merchandise #I would like to think he likes signal #cause he is the only day time hero in Gotham #and Spider-Man used to be a day time hero too #also nighttime occasionally but whatever #I wonder who’s his favorite bat #Damian is out already lol #but I love the beef peter have with Damian #they already act like siblings now all they need is for Bruce to get the adoption paper out of his pockets already #also did I say how much I loved the falling gun scene in the library?#absolutely hilarious #ok ok no more spoilers #guys you gotta read this #fanart #art #digital art #another fanart #ao3 fanfic #ao3 #spider man #peter parker in dc

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radiosummons · 1 year

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I'm having an EXTREME brain fart right now. Can someone please explain the Tim vs Damian rivalry to me again?

I know these two have INSANE levels of beef but for the life of me I cannot remember why and wikipedia is not helping me.

I'm like .... 98% certain it's Damain who started it. I just can't remember why or if/how Tim ever retaliated.

#batman #batman comics #dc comics #batfam #tim drake #red robin #damian wayne #damian al ghul #i know they can't stand each other in canon #and i think that's hilarious #but also #what started it again?#idk i'm thinking damian just picked a fight #he thought he was gonna win #and then threw a deadly af tantrum when he didn't #and tim's been lording it over his head ever since

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remosdeerica · 2 years

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*in the event Jay Nakamura is outed as a secret villian*

Jon: *heartbroken*

Damian [an asshole]: Thank fuck.

Jon [crying]: What?

Damian: Oh, come on. You and Drake both got civilian boyfriends within a couple of months of each other. By our track record, statistically one of them was going to be a villain.

Damian: I'm just glad it wasn't Dowd. He actually makes being around Drake tolerable.

#damian to himself: this also means jon is single and emotionally vulnerable #damian: 😏#i love my boi but he's a dick #its only a mater of time before DC reveals jay or bernard as a villian #two queer characters coming out one after the other with perfect boyfriends?#wven just ingoring the homophobia there is no way they're letting that shit stand #jonjay #damijon #timber #damian wayne #jon kent #jay nakamura #bernard dowd

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nothingunrealistic · 6 months

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“That’s like a billion dollars in Indiana.” That quip from Bobby Axelrod is one of the memorable lines in the series finale of “Billions,” the Showtime drama series that wrapped its seven-season run Oct. 27 with the crowd-pleasing episode “Admirals Fund.” Axelrod, played by Damian Lewis, delivers that line as he takes a victory lap after demolishing his latest foil, rival hedge fund manager Mike Prince (Corey Stoll). It’s a reference to that fact that Prince, after an elaborate sting pulled off by Axelrod and the core “Billions” ensemble, is left wiped out but for $100 million he invested with Black-owned banks a few years ago. Axe’s comment and Prince’s broad smile suggest that the latter is headed to the Midwest to nurse his wounds and rise anew. The line about Indiana had been on a white board in the “Billions” writers room for more than two seasons, just waiting for the right moment to land a punch, according to co-showrunner and executive producer Beth Schacter. Schacter and series creators Brian Koppelman and David Levien offered insights into the crafting of the finale and the fate of key characters during a Q&A held Oct. 23 at 92Y in New York that included a sneak peek screening of the finale. “We knew that was where we were driving to and it never came off the board — and that never happens,” Schacter told moderator Cynthia Littleton, co-editor in chief of Variety. “And so I think it’s just fun to see that all coalescing” in the final episode.

Season 7 was designed to provide payoffs and fist-pumping moments for the die-hard fans of the series that revolved around the antics of hedge fund managers and the regulators who try to rein in their excesses. That sector of the financial universe has only grown its influence on the macro economy as well as in pop culture since “Billions” bowed in January 2016. “We made a decision early on that we were going to make this season of the show for true ‘Billions’ fans – for the people who watch each episode more than once, who catch our references, who notice every song,” Koppelman said. “We wanted to make the final season that we wanted to see as ‘Billions’ obsessives. Seeing you all get the little lines and jokes and the moments and feeling the emotional resonances is incredibly satisfying.”

Getting the show to the finish line was complicated by the writers strike that extended nearly five months. The script for the final episode was completed before scribes went pencils down on May 2. But none of the three showrunners on stage were able to be on set while the final episodes were lensed. “It was horrible because, you know, we did seven seasons over the course of eight years. We had to take an entire year off during the pandemic. And then to have to stop short and not get to be there for the final lap was really tough,” Levien said. The trio found great comfort in the fact that the finale, penned by Koppelman and Levien, was directed by Neil Burger, who helmed the pilot and one other episode, from Season 2. “Neil knew exactly the right tone of the show, so it worked out great,” Levien said. Koppelman observed, “Sometimes a worthy fight calls for a great sacrifice and ours was a small one compared to the ones that crews and so many other people had to make.” The ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike has added to the challenge of promoting the finale given that stars Lews, Paul Giamatti (Chuck Rhoades), Maggie Siff (Wendy Rhoades), David Costabile (Mike “Wags” Wagner), Asia Kate Dillon (Taylor Mason) and more were unable to talk up their work.

The showrunners noted that they always made an effort to tap into any unexpected skills that each actor brought to the show. Lewis, for one, is a strong tennis player, so of course they worked that into an episode where he plays against Maria Sharapova. Toby Leonard Moore, the Australian actor who played the disgraced (but ultimately redeemed) former federal prosecutor Brian Connerty, once worked as an teppanyaki chef – a role that figured prominently into the finale episode. “When you make a long-running show, you learn a lot of stuff about people and their personal lives, like Dola Rashad is fluent in Italian, so she had to speak Italian at some point,” Levien said. “Toby Leonard Moore made the mistake of telling us that he worked his way through school once as a teppanyaki chef. And we did not forget that — we carried that around for years.” Added Koppelman, “You have never seen a human being care more about the way a shrimp was cut than [Moore] did. He obsessed over the rehearsals with the hibachi.”

The specific storyline for the final season – how Axe was brought back to the U.S. from exile in London and the climactic sting against Prince – came together mostly during Season 6, Levien said. Lewis left the series after the close of Season 5 as his wife, actor Helen McCrory, suffered through a long illness before her death in April 2021. When Lewis let them know he was ready to return for Season 7, that set the plot in motion. “Damian told us before anyone else knew what was going on [with McCrory]. And we knew we were able to say to him, of course and we will bring stuff forward and we will make it all work for season five,” Koppelman said. “But then the three of us and teams of writers sat around and figured out OK, these two seasons — six and seven — what’s the ideal way that it can go? And the fact that we ended up getting to do it in the ideal way that Showtime supported shooting in England, each piece of that was able to work.”

One of the long-running subplots on “Billions” was the will-they-or-won’t-they question of the relationship between Axe and Wendy Rhoades, the brilliant psychologist who was the in-house coach for the alpha traders at Axe Capital (and later Michael Prince Capital). The characters have an incredibly deep relationship – one that confounds their own spouses – but they are not in a sexual relationship. Schacter argued that the two are deeply in love. “It’s not platonic. It’s incredibly romantic. They just don’t kiss,” Schacter said. “The secret sauce of the two of them is that they are truly connected in their souls. It’s just not sexual. They do have a certain type of love affair.” She noted that even some writers on the show mistakenly thought that Axe and Wendy had been in a physical relationship at some point. “Writers pitched it to us all the time. But we felt from the beginning that we had decided it wasn’t going to happen, because then how do you keep the show going,” Koppelman said. “It also felt like they each understood what it was about. They understood that it made them better. They didn’t want to give in to that, it’s part of Wendy’s strength.”

Other highlights from the hourlong conversation: Dan Soder, who played trader Dudley Mafee, was one of three finalists for the Connerty role that went to Moore. Soder at the time was still working restaurant jobs. Koppelman and Levien vowed to write a role for him that would debut after the pilot – assuming the show was picked up. “We wrote two lines for Mafee in the second episode and Dan came in and destroyed them and then he was off and running,” Koppelman said. The only other role that was specifically written for an actor was the supporting character of Rian, the mouthy Axe Capital trader played by Eva Victor. Victor was also one of very few actors allowed to improvise on the show. No series has ever showcased as many New York eateries – posh and popular – as “Billions.” It was a decision that came early on in the series as so much of business happens over drinks and food. “The restaurant placement in the show was organic because we recognized that what restaurants you could get into and what table you could get was a sign of your power and your access in New York,” Levien said. “And then if you go one step further into the billionaire realm, you could buy out a restaurant.” Schacter added that the actors usually enjoyed the dining scenes, particularly Costabile. “There is no greater on-screen eater than Mr. David Costabile,” she said. Other than the core stars Lewis, Giamatti and Siff, the only other actor to have a line in all 84 episodes of the series was Daniel K. Isaac, who played trader Ben Kim. “Billions” was also known for its deft use of music to help propel the storylines. Led Zeppelin proved to be one of the hardest bands to license, but they made it happen with “In the Evening” for a Season 4 episode. Koppelman noted that every season has included one Bob Dylan song, including “Blind Willie McTell” from Episode 8 of Season 7. The showrunners gave a final nod to the former Showtime executives who greenlighted and supported “Billions”: David Nevins and Amy Israel (who have reunited at Peter Chernin’s North Road Co.) and Gary Levine. The pioneering pay TV outlet has undergone quite a bit of change during the course of “Billions” (it’s now been merged with streamer Paramount+) but the showrunners never felt abandoned. “Showtime has been incredibly supportive the entire time of this show,” Koppelman said.

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