Spinning In The Void

Welcome to the Void.

[versias]

I do think Danny being Bruce’s younger brother is a slept-on opportunity for DPxDC fandom.

So, general idea.

In the tumult of the night his parents died, Bruce hadn’t thought twice about handing his baby brother off to a kind police officer. He was shaking so hard he thought he’d drop Daniel. While the officer walked away to calm the screaming, swaddled infant, Bruce gave statement after statement to officer Gordon and others. When Alfred arrived at the station to retrieve the Wayne boys, he was met with a terrible shock.

Somehow, through incompetence or malevolence, Daniel was nowhere to be found. The officer who took the child initially said they handed him off to a secretary when he’d calmed down, and the secretary said she’d called the local CPP office to check on what requirements needed to be met for an infant in their custody. They said they’d send over an agent to handle the process. The child was passed to the person with the correct badge. They were now unreachable. And Daniel was too.

The CPP office denied having received this call. The secretary produced the recording, which all police lines in Gotham have by default. The police line says the call went to CPP; CPP’s system says otherwise.

And Daniel is somewhere out there with a crooked agent, or a fake agent, and they have no idea who they are or what they want.

Of course this made national news. The image of the stolen Wayne baby was on every television and newspaper. It was broadcast nationwide. Information about the disappearance had a hefty reward. Bruce begged the media for help finding his little brother. Not since the Lindbergh baby had there been such a national outcry.

And still there were no answers. Bruce grew disillusioned with a justice system that couldn’t find his parents’ killer nor his brother’s kidnapper. Daniel Wayne’s disappearance became the first case for Batman. It led him into the darkness of Gotham, plunging headlong into rampant trafficking, corrupt child services, and even brought the fabled Court of Owls to his attention.

—————

Meanwhile, in a different genre, young scientist couple Jack and Madeline Fenton are of their yearly vacation to haunted locales around the country. With a two-year-old in tow, they’re not quite up for spelunking through caverns or wandering the woods at night, but there are plenty of urban legends to investigate!

Through their unique combination of genius and incomprehensibility, the Fenton tangle with the Court of Owls, managing to destroy one of their secret society hideouts and save a cute baby on the way out! Sure, they’re convinced the Court was made up of ghosts and the child was spirited away to be ritually sacrificed. But the baby is safe in Maddie’s arms, and Jack notices how much he looks like himself, so they decide to take him home.

They try to report what happened to the police of course, but the cops told them to get lost with their ‘crazy ghost stories’. Along with the other complaints received about their insane outfits, gear, and vehicle, the police were quite ready to have the Fentons get the hell out of the city.

You’d think a town as haunted as Gotham would have more credulous citizenry, but what could you do? Oh well, back to Amity Park!

“What should we call him, Jack?”

“How about Daniel? I keep seeing that name everywhere for some reason!”

“Oh, that’s perfect! Welcome to the family, Danny!”

[voshaduan]

Why would you hide this in the tags??? It's hilarious

[voshaduan]

School's Out... Forever.

An abandoned grade school building seen while traveling through Nauvoo, Illinois.

There were even chalkboards with the remains of writing visible, seemingly a lesson on kinetic energy back in May of 2001, which is possibly also when the school was closed.

[voshaduan]

Child of the desert goes to the wet and humid lands and immediately wants to go home.

[voshaduan]

Me, checking how many plans I have on the back burner because I put them there and forgot: "..."

The stove, piled high with forgotten plans, some boiled over, some with mold:

Me, taking the one (1) plan I remembered that got me to actually look at the back burner: "Wow, I started this one three years ago! Well, time to continue! Maybe I'll even finish it this time."

[voshaduan]

Me, whenever I have to do some important productive thing outside my normal routine: *takes 1d12 psychic damage*

When it also has a deadline: *+10 additional psychic damage*

When it also involves social interaction outside my usual environment: *this action will use all available spell slots, and can only be used once per day after completing a long rest*

[voshaduan]

Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, the Musical.

For some reason, I am currently enamored of the idea of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, but as a musical.

No change in wording, period costumes for all, the only change to the classic Shakespearean play style should be that they are singing rather than speaking at any given time, whenever possible.

Certain scenes ought to be rap, such as the "Do you bite your thumb at me?" bit in Act 1, which should come across as a rap battle between the characters exchanging these crossed words.

The rest of it may be rap or not (I would prefer some variety), but any exchange of insults or arguments being rap battles would just be hilarious, okay.

There ought to be some pretty ballads, too, though, like the scene with Romeo declaring that, "It [the window] is the east, and Juliet is the sun". That part being a pretty little love song soliloquy would be so lovely.

Mercutio and Romeo's argument about dreams may be all or partly rap, but the part about Queen Mab ought to be an epic, quick paced, rap style takedown that gets faster and more intense by the second until Mercutio is interrupted.

The rest I leave for now to the imagination of those who better understand the art of theater, and hope to see what they make of it, whether here in words, or on stage and screen.

[voshaduan]

Just overheard my brother in the other room tell our younger brother that he was made in China.

Little Bro: "Oh yeah? Where's your proof?"

Big Bro, presumably grabbing Little Bro's shirt to check the tag: "Hang on, just lemme pull up your DNA... Oh, yep, it's right there, 'Made in China'. You're Chinese now."

Little Bro, sarcastic: "Yeah, right."

Big Bro: "Nope, it's true, says so right there."

And then they started wrestling. Or rather, Big Bro put Little Bro in a headlock and laughed while he tried to get out.

I love these doofuses, but sometimes I'm not sure if they are best friends or worst enemies. I'm not sure if they know which they are either.

[voshaduan]

Ever see a post or comment with a spelling or grammar mistake, and you can *tell* it's not just preference or aesthetic, and you really want to correct it, but you don't want to be That Person?

[voshaduan]

Just read something where someone described a situation as an ‘eldritch horror’ when in the context it really should have been ‘cosmic horror’, as they are not interchangeable despite being so similar and often connected or applying (in different ways) to the same thing.

I legitimately felt physical pain and had to rant to the nearest family member about the difference and the sheer agony of having a hyperfixation on the philosophical and psychological aspects and impacts of cosmic horror only to see someone call it ‘eldritch’ when it doesn’t even tangentially apply to the situation or context.

[voshaduan]

Reblog by @voshaduan

💬 95  🔁 32336  ❤️ 56918 · Just want to clarify on Cosmic vs Eldritch horror: Cosmic horror is generally more like when your understanding o

[annabelle--cane]

gothic horror is when there's a location. cosmic horror is when there's an unauthorized fucking Thing. folk horror is when you're outside.

[voshaduan]

Just want to clarify on Cosmic vs Eldritch horror:

Cosmic horror is generally when your/the character's understanding of reality is challenged by the existence (or nonexistence) of the 'unauthorized Thing'. Reality is not what you thought it was, and the truth is larger and/or stranger than you can understand/comprehend.

Think of the Cthulhu mythos, some aspects of Inception, and even Horton Hears a Who and the Lego Movie, which both have entities beyond understanding/comprehension controlling the survival/lives of the whos and minifigs.

Alternatively, the 'unauthorized Thing' can instead and/or also be Eldritch horror, the which being unspeakably/incomprehensibly old and strange without necessarily challenging the nature of reality itself.

This includes many tales of the Fae/Fair Folk, Old Gods, and similar. The Cthulhu mythos also fits under this category, as it contains both cosmic and eldritch horror.

[voshaduan]

Hiccups are a plague upon the earth and were 100% contained within Pandora’s Box before she opened it.

[fantastic-nonsense]

do The People™ know that Dick implicitly considers Robin to have an age limit and that absolutely informs how he approached the Tim-Damian Robin transition during the Reborn era?

"In my mind, I was still that Robin. Still swinging alongside the Batman, still his kid partner. But that was the problem. I'm not the same kid. I've changed. But as long as I wear this same costume that I've worn since I was eight...I keep playing a role I'd long ago outgrown." -New Teen Titans (1980) #39

"I don't believe this. That man raised me. I've gone through hell with him and because of him. Don't lecture me about him until you've cared for him and loved him as long as I have. And the first thing he taught me was how to be a man..."[Dick throws his old Robin costume onto the table] "...not how to become a kid all over again." -Batman: A Lonely Place of Dying, Part 4 (New Titans #61)

"Probably a great marriage the Castles have...but then, I messed up with Kory myself. Blew it with the Titans...lost my way as Nightwing. I'm too old to be Robin...and being the Batman on a grim tour like this certainly isn't me. But what is? What am I?" -Batman Prodigal, Part 9 (Batman #514)

"But I've outgrown the green shorts. I can't be a kid partner any longer. Not just yours. Anyone's. It's time for the Boy Wonder to become a man." -Robin 80th Anniversary Special, "A Little Nudge" (2020)

There's this utterly fascinating tension between Dick refusing to be seen as anything other than Batman's equal partner while he's Robin and acknowledging later on in his career that Robin will always be subordinate to Batman at the end of the day and that's why he can't stay in or return to the role (and partially why he would never ask Tim, a person he genuinely sees as his equal, to remain in the role).

Because Dick was not joking or being patronizing when he called Tim his "equal" here:

"He's my responsibility, now. You're not my protege, Tim...you're my equal. My closest ally. You'll be okay." -Red Robin (2009) #1

He genuinely believed what he was saying and I think that's vitally important for understanding where his head was at when he made the decision to make Damian his Robin during the Reborn era.

It actually drives me a little insane because it's just an absolute and utter mismatch in vision and priorities. Dick deeply believes in Tim's independence and his potential to spread his wings and become something greater than Batman's non-independent "junior" crimefighting partner, just like he himself did when he became Nightwing...and meanwhile Tim just wanted to be Robin, never really desired to be anything else other than Robin, and was clinging to the mantle by his fingertips in order to stay sane at the time.

And this dynamic is still present now that Tim's gone back to being Robin again! Tim had seemingly moved on from Robin but pretty quickly donned the mantle again when he thought it was needed because Robin is a specific type of job to him, not a role he eventually would grow out of. And Dick is once again pushing Tim to grow beyond it because he wants more for his little brother than what he sees as Tim sacrificing his own future and growth for the purpose he laid out for himself at thirteen (to take care of Bruce, because Batman needs a Robin):

"I love Bruce. He's my family. But I couldn't bring him out of the past. And after awhile, I realized the longer I spent trying to get him out of the past and into the present...I was sacrificing my own future. I don't want that for you. I know you've gotten comfortable going back to being Robin while Damian is out of town. But he's earned that name now. And you...you deserve your own future. Trust me, Tim. At some point...you have to set yourself free." -Batman: Urban Legends (2021) #10

Tim, of course, is going from identity crisis to identity crisis and once again clinging to Robin, because it's an identity he can wear where he absolutely knows where he stands. It's a role and job he knows he can do and do expertly. And Bruce isn't like Dick; Bruce loves having Tim around as Robin and isn't going to push him on leaving the role. Meanwhile, Tim and Damian are at a cosmic comfort level with operating as Robin simultaneously, so he's not being threatened to leave the role by the other mantle wearer either.

So there's a narrative tension where Bruce won't push Tim on a new identity but Dick will, because Dick (the eldest child, the original Robin, the person who defined what it meant to be Robin to both Bruce and Tim) sees and understands Robin in a specific way: as an invaluable role and learning experience, but one that is eventually meant to be moved on from once you're old enough to fly on your own.

[voshaduan]

Dick sees a fledgling who’s grown their flight feathers, ready to fly from the nest, maybe needing a gentle (or even not so gentle) push.

but Tim sees the nest as safety, the only thing he knows, and fears the dizzying drop far below.

The things they don’t say… the things that maybe they should.

“You’re old enough to make it on your own, to further grow and develop yourself outside this childhood dream.”

“But what if this identity is the only thing I have left?”

(‘Don’t wake me, I’m not dreaming…’)

[voshaduan]

Just read something where someone described a situation as an ‘eldritch horror’ when in the context it really should have been ‘cosmic horror’, as they are not interchangeable despite being so similar and often connected or applying (in different ways) to the same thing.

I legitimately felt physical pain and had to rant to the nearest family member about the difference and the sheer agony of having a hyperfixation on the philosophical and psychological aspects and impacts of cosmic horror only to see someone call it ‘eldritch’ when it doesn’t even tangentially apply to the situation or context.

[voshaduan]

Me, procrastinating everything: “What do you mean hiding from my problems doesn’t make them go away?”

[voshaduan]

Me, trying to find where I put all my Halloween craft supplies last year: “There’s only so many places a caldron full of eyeballs can hide…”

[voshaduan]

Me when I notice I’ve been daydreaming about the witch costume I could put together for Halloween instead of actually folding my clothes: “Not right now, I need to hocus-focus.”

[voshaduan]

Last night, I had a dream I was in this really cool used bookshop and purchased a couple books that looked really interesting. I was so excited to read them, but then I woke up to my alarm.

For a sleepy moment I was like, 'Okay, I'll read them after work then,' but then I realized: They don't actually exist.

RIP dream books, I never had the chance to read you.