#i was linking this to the arkham knight game at first

[goatsghost]

i love how, in every universe, no matter how much jason hates bruce or wants to distance himself from the family, he still loves alfred just as much as he always has

#under the red hood #ch 11 #jason todd #alfred pennyworth #bruce wayne #ggw liveblog #EDIT: check the notes; this is not the sweet notion it seems to be lol #i was linking this to the arkham knight game at first #where he asks barbara how alfred’s doing; despite all his anger at bruce #this is not the same lol 😂 this is basically a ransom note

[visionsofmagic]

- ', kinktober 2023 masterlist ↷

• includes: anime & manga ― marvel & dc ― video games •

◜ my first kinktober, so, I hope I will do fine. also, praying that this time I will be able to publish them on time and in order. ^^ have fun while commiting pretty sins with me in this kinktober of 2023! *kisses* [links will be added the moment they are published.] • m. masterlist ◞

◇ day 1-7: anime

I. gojo satoru › filming ⭑ before going on a mission, gojo decides to record you while being fucked by him to watch it later.

II. ryomen sukuna › breeding kink ⭑ sukuna just wants a womb to put his babies in but it changes when he fucks you.

III. fushiguro toji › size difference ⭑ you bet you can have toji raw & dry with only one go.

IV. uchiha obito › mutual masturbation ⭑ you can’t deny the desire you have for obito and you want to show it.

V. hatake kakashi › semi public ⭑ he seems to enjoy how you clench around him with the fear of being caught in the act.

VI. roronoa zoro › cock warming ⭑ you ask to zoro whether he needs any help or not, and in return, he makes you sit on his cock so that it can get warm while he’s sleeping.

VII. monkey d. luffy › eating out ⭑ why not using his devil fruit ability while eating you out?

◆ day 10-17: marvel & dc

X. bruce wayne › car sex ⭑ bats fucks you in his batmobile to teach you a lesson after you disobey his order.

XI. jason todd › hate sex ⭑ being the arkham knight’s sworn enemy has its perks; being fucked by him every night.

XIII. clark kent › aftercare ⭑ after having a rough session with clark, you let him take care of your exhausted body.

XIV. bucky barnes › dilf ⭑ you’re his sugar baby, so, he want you to show your gratitude to him in the way he pleases the most.

XV. steve rogers › face sitting ⭑ after caps shaves his beard a question pops into your mind – how it would feel to sit on his now clean face?

XVI. bruce wayne › power play ⭑ the game you play takes a different route in which you try to dominate him, but, he doesn’t allow you.

XVII. jason todd › thigh riding ⭑ while begging jason to start fuck you, you discover how you can get the pleasure you seek from riding his thigh.

◇ day 20-29: games

XXI. leon s. kennedy › praising ⭑ leon likes to being praised by you so much that it’s overwhelming.

XXII. simon ghost riley › sex pollen ⭑ after the mission is done, waiting for trucks, you realize something is wrong with your body but ghost there to help.

XXIII. heimdall › dom/sub ⭑ heimdall likes to be on his knees for you.

XXIV. chris redfield › riding ⭑ you try to take him raw.

XXVII. sub zero › humiliation ⭑ your grandmaster gives you a lesson for the disrespect you have showed in front of others.

XXVIII. cal kestis › first time ⭑

XXIX. simon ghost riley › toy/vibrator ⭑

◆ 30: bonus [soon!]

XXX.

enjoy! ♡

#🍒 kinktober #kinktober 2023 #kinktober 2023 masterlist #jujutsu kaisen #jjk x reader #naruto #naruto x reader #opla #opla x reader #dc #dc x reader #marvel #mcu #marvel x reader #resident evil #resident evil x reader #cod #cod x reader #mk1 #star wars #sw x reader #gojo satoru x reader #simon ghost riley x reader #bruce wayne x reader #heimdall x reader #zoro x reader #written by me #vom #rose #HAVE FUN!

[addicted-to-dc]

AK!Jason Todd x Catwoman’s protégé! Reader - Just for tonight, Kitty - Pt 2

I really had to squeeze my brain to get this out, but I cannot wait for maybe part 3 👀? I have some ideas revolving around a fic or two for Gotham Knights! Jason. We shall see.

Link to part 1

Content: mind control, violence (obv), toxic af relationship, lovers to enemies to lovers (again)?

----------

It feels like you’re being puppeteered, every movement meticulously controlled by strings and sticks. It almost feels like last Tuesday. You had infiltrated Star Labs to steal some new tech designs, especially when Batman was distracted by Catwoman.

Security is nothing compared to your skill, even if you’re not completely yourself. It takes a bit longer than you’d prefer, but you finally make it to Stagg’s office.

Adjusting your goggles, you scan the area for anything that could spoil your fun. One by one, you check off your mental list until you clear the room. Most rich CEOs usually hide their deepest darkest secrets, not wanting an inkling of them to be discovered. Not Stagg, though, you know his type.

Walking around the room, your eyes scan over the décor. A man like Stagg likes to be reminded of his accomplishments. The publicity photos, front page Gotham Gazette articles, the whole nostalgic works. Everything seems to stroke his ego one way or another, but then you finally see what you’re looking for. At first, it seems like a piece of trash thrown onto a table. No, it’s the focal point, the center of it all.

You scan over the structure before carefully opening it. A flash drive appears, absolutely begging to be taken away from this place. Readying yourself, you snag the drive and place the top back on.  Just as you’re about to head to the door, you hear footsteps approaching. You immediately head for the window, quickly dismantling the alarm as you pry a panel open.

Closing it just in time, you push yourself up against the exterior of the building. Letting out a breath, you move further away from the window and jump. Falling with the rain, you crack your whip and swing off a flagpole. The momentum sends you buildings away from Stagg Enterprises, finally completing what Jason… what the Arkham Knight ordered you to do.

“It’s done.”

Despite the job being done and over with, you still have no control over yourself. Your body keeps moving, heading deeper and deeper into parts of the city you’ve never even seen. Landing softly in an alleyway, your body heads straight towards the end of it. Even your sensors fail to pick anything out of the ordinary. Why has he brought you here?

You hear him land behind you after a few moments. Turning around, you move to hand him the flash drive. The Knight acknowledges it with a head tilt before taking it from you. It disappears in one of his pockets. As soon as his hands are free, he presses a button on his wrist.

You tear your helmet off as soon as your body catches up with your mind. Rage builds into your chest as you lash out at him. He can’t prevent your claws from screeching along his armor until you finally find skin.

“You just come back from the dead and USE ME?!” you scream, grunting as he grabs your arm and twists it behind your back.

You try to lash out with your free arm, but he quickly dodges the attack. Before you know it, your back is against the cold brick wall of the alleyway. One hand holds yours above your head, the other trails across your cheek to wipe away rogue tears.

“They wanted me to kill you, this was the only option,” Jason reveals, using his spare hand to open the front of his mask. “I-I couldn’t do it.”

“Why are you doing this, Jay?” you beg, sick of the mind games that he’s putting you through.

“Batman.” A wave of cold washes over you at his tone, riddled with a hatred you’ve never seen before. “He left me to die, (Y/N), he deserves to die for what he’s done.”

“Jay, he searched for you. We all did, but when we saw him shoot you, we thought you were dead,” you whisper, flinching as he leans closer to your face.

“You did find me, though, in Venezuela,” he growls, leaning closer until his helm digs into your skin. “Do you know how hard it was to let you leave? I couldn’t believe my girl finally found me.”

“What are you going to do now that you have me?” you ask, staring into his cold blue eyes. “Lock me away as you take over Gotham with your buddies?”

His eyes darkened at the suggestion. “I don’t want to lose you again.”

You shake your head, more tears escaping from your eyes, “I lost you, Jay, really lost you. I just got you back and you’re just going to do it all over again.”

He remains silent, unsure how to respond. Jay slowly leans in, his lips ghosting over yours before lightly kissing you. Your resolve shatters quickly, leaning into the kiss and giving in to your desires. You can’t lose him again.

He releases your hands, abandoning them to grasp your waist and yank you closer. The softness of the kiss disappears, desperation forcing the kiss to become feral. Both of you break away to breathe, taking each other in as you recover.

“Can we pretend, just for tonight, Kitty?” Jason asks, his eyes desperately pleading you to agree. “I can’t stop what’s in motion, but I’ll explain everything.”

Fuck it.

“Just for tonight, Birdy.”

#jason todd x reader #red hood x reader #arkham knight x reader

[stupid-sloot-headcanons]

So if Arkham Knight Jason kidnapped Darling not just out of a desire to be with them again but to also protect them from the war zone Gotham will be, how do you think he’d respond if darling was like, “Alright you kidnapped me to save me from the impending danger but what about my friends? My family? 🤨 You gonna save them too or is it just me?”

I like to imagine that a pre-Arkham Knight Jason wouldn’t have been really cordial with darling’s friends. He wouldn’t be outright rude or hostile to them, but if it’s a yandere Jason we’re talking about he might resent them for monopolizing darling’s time/would be suspicious that some of them like darling more than a friend. As for darling’s family, if they are on good terms with their family then Jason will be as well. After all, those are his future-in-laws…

But Arkham Knight Jason might be hesitant on giving his darling’s friends and family the same protection and care he gave darling. Maybe he’ll give them a tip to leave Gotham before all hell breaks loose, but having a bunch of civilians running around his base (darling is always an exception) isn’t very safe.

Tbf in Arkham Knight, the city is entirely evacuated except for the rogues, the GCPD, and the Batfam. Scarecrow orchestrates the fear gas attack at Pauli's Diner and warns that on Halloween he's turning loose the same thing on all of Gotham. So I think Jason's schedule is: kidnap Darling, release the gas at Pauli's Diner at least a week later, make final prep while everyone evacuates, start the plan, kidnap Barbara when shit goes south, and the rest of the night is him basically doing it live lmao.

He only keeps Darling with him because he's selfish and has been so deprived from them that on the night he finally reveals himself to Bruce, he wants them to be the first one he shows his face to. Having them with him technically puts them in MORE danger than evacuating, but he's so desperate to be with them again that he takes them and tries to minimize the risk to them as much as possible. Hence, the bunker and them being locked in there.

Now he'd be kidnapping them at least a week before the Pauli's Diner incident because he needs a minimum amount of time to spend with them before Halloween night. He knows he's going to be busy dealing with Batman and the other rogues, but he wants time to just be with Darling before all that. And during Halloween night, he's constantly checking in and making sure his trusted team are keeping them locked down and safe. The instant someone even THINKS they're compromised or that Batman (or another rogue trying to use Darling as a bargaining chip) shows up, he needs to know.

Like gameplay wise, I would have Darling's disappearance being investigated as a side mission during the game. Batman doesn't necessarily have to take Darling from Jason, and by the end of the game Jason and Darling have both disappeared together. But one of the hints the Knight is Jason can be that Darling's disappearance is linked to the Arkham Knight, and Batman wonders why since they're only tangentially related to him. Kidnapping Barbara/Oracle makes sense tactically. But why Darling?

Bonus points: when Bruce does find them and try to get them to safety, they don't want to leave Jason. They already lost him once, and even if his plan for revenge is too much and is getting people killed...They can't abandon him, can they? He hasn't hurt them--well, not on purpose, he just had the armor on and he grabbed them. And they did tell him to stop when he first took them and started taking off their clothes, but that was because he hadn't explained ANYTHING about how he was alive yet! And they tried to escape, but when Jason had dragged them back...he looked so scared that he'd almost lost them again. It's not the right way to keep them with him, but if they DO leave it'll break him more than he's already broken. He needs them there!

And Bruce just gets angrier and angrier the more he hears. His protege, his de facto son, has fallen so far and he feels responsible for everything Jason has done since Joker kidnapped him. Jason's Darling has a few bruises matching what they'd described, plus a tracking ring AND collar (if it detects Darling leaving the compound, Jason has to either input a shutdown code or it immediately injects them with a relaxant to render them unconscious and alerts the nearest militia members to their location).

And once Jason discovers Bruce is with Darling and also trying to get them out, he flips his shit. Like yelling for Scarecrow to get away from Barbara and insisting that anyone who touches her is a dead man was NOTHING. Even if it isn't Bruce/Bruce has Dick or Tim with him, Jason isn't holding back and will throw everything he has to get them to back off and leave Darling with him. He doesn't want to kill Dick if he doesn't have to, but losing Darling is a line that can't be crossed. As for Tim, this already adds to a VERY negative relationship with Jason lmao. Like you replace me as Robin AND you try to steal my loved ones? Fuck you dude.

Jason can also confront and taunt Bruce by pointing out that if he had looked into Darling's disappearance sooner, he might've figured out who the Knight was before the plan even started.

"You know, when I took them, they told me that you'd said you'd keep an eye on them. You remember that? At my funeral. You refused to let them see the footage of Joker shooting me because 'It would be too traumatizing.' Just trying to look out for them, even if it was just out of pity for your old sidekick's girlfriend. What a protector.

And yet when I took them, you didn't even bother to look. Let me guess--you had other important things to do first? Were you too busy trying to find a cure for your blood, or maybe you were too focused on the aftermath of Joker dying. Funny how he always takes priority even after he died. Maybe you could have outsourced her disappearance to Dick, Barb, or even my replacement. Or maybe you never did care about them. Wouldn't be the first time, right? And now that you abandoned them, like you did me, I'll be here to do what you couldn't and watch over them."

#.dc #.arkhamverse #.jason todd #.arkham knight #yandere dc #yandere arkhamverse #yandere jason todd #yandere arkham knight #thots #.myshit #tw: dubcon

[yanderes-galore]

hi, i absolutely love ur writing-! May I request 26 and 30 from thw bloody valentines prompts by another-yandere-writer for arkham knight or arkham city riddler? Whichever game you're more familiar with

I've written for the Arkham Knight version in the past so I'll use that one ^^ Here's another late one for the V-Day prompts. (Links may be broken)

I spent forever coming back to this as I have no idea how to write the Riddler :( He's such a cool character but I struggle so much with his character I guess.

I'm happy you love my writing, sorry you had to wait months for this!

Prompts Found Here

Original Arkham Knight Riddler Concept Here

Yandere! Arkham Knight! Riddler V-Day Prompts 26 and 30

"You will be mine."

"I will chase you forever until I finally get you to myself."

Pairing: Romantic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Kidnapping, Unhealthy mental state, Stalking, Manipulation, Deception, Threats, Forced relationship.

The Riddler has always been a cryptic man. He's been known for his riddles around Gotham. Everything is a riddle with him...

Including his romantic intentions.

He's an insecure and confusing man to understand. There's times he wants to force you, his obsession, to worship him and the ground he walks on. Then there's other times where he wants to worship you... acting like you're the best thing that's ever happened to him.

There's times he wants you to call his name... then there's times he hates to hear it. The Riddler both wants to be held yet left alone.

His toughest riddle is how to show him affection.

The Riddler has been hooked on you for a long time. Way before he managed to keep you in a cage of his design... you caught his eye.

You were an ally of Batman... a smart one, too.

Your intelligence rivaled that of the detective himself. The Riddler at first felt threatened. Batman humiliated him all the time, now you were going to join him?

Yet... you didn't. You solved his riddles but he never got too upset about it. The Riddler found your presence pleasant compared to the Batman.

Each riddle he made you complete felt like a game. He wasn't sure why he felt so different towards you, he doubted you even thought of him the same. Perhaps you just weren't as judging?

Maybe you being different was simply an illusion crafted from his mind to excuse his abnormal adoration towards you.

He'd never say this out loud until he had you to himself but The Riddler had fallen for you. At first he simply had you participate in riddles with Batman. Then he removed Batman all together.

It became your form of bonding... each time he saw you, it drove him insane.

Even his conversations towards you became awkward flirting you'd always refuse.

"Have I mentioned how great you look tonight, dear? I made this one all for you...."

"How DARE you think you're too good for me!" You recall him saying. "I will chase you forever until I finally get you to myself!"

He'd flirt before every little puzzle of his, only to get frustrated when you turn him down. It's a quick switch in mood and you tried to only set him off at the end of his riddles.

You quickly noticed his motive with his riddles. Each riddle after that was strangely related to you or him. He was also getting desperate with his flirting until he snapped one day.

"Why do you want to know?"

"Do you have a thing with the Bat!?" He yelled at you once, you could hear the growl in his voice. "... you know we can't have that, dear."

"It's simple..." You remember The Riddler saying before starting the final riddle he prepared for you. "You will be mine."

The riddle planned for you was a trap. Pass or fail, your fate would've been the same. Tossed into a cage with irritating green paint... right in front of The Riddler himself.

That was when The Riddler finally had you to himself. It required some cheating, sure, but he's won this game of romance. That's all it was in his mind,

A game of courtship that he was leading you through... testing you to see if you were right for him.

Now... you truly are his. All locked in a cage... collar around your neck... looking like his little pet more than some sidekick. He liked the confidence you gave him.

Meanwhile you're trying to hold out until Batman comes around. For now... you have to follow his little games. Each day is a new riddle... something else to solve so you can keep Riddler entertained.

He liked to work your mind. He loved to watch you solve something. What he adored even more was how affectionate you got when he threatened you.

You may have never said it... but he knows Batman is coming. You may be affectionate now... yet he knew you'd turn right around once Batman came in the picture. The thought angered him...

But Riddler is prepared.

He'll make his deadliest riddle yet... once the bat is gone, then he'll finally have you all to himself.

#yandere dc comics #yandere the riddler #yandere riddler #yandere arkhamverse riddler #yandere edward nygma #yandere dc villains #yandere arkhamverse #yandere arkham knight riddler

[hashtagdrivebywrites]

Hello, yes, howdy, welcome to...

✨Hashtag's Fic Masterlist✨

A little about me:

She/her pronouns

I write and sometimes make art

Here is my Ao3!

Asks are open! or you can drop me a message if you want to

I like ask games, but I might be late or accidentally lose track of them before I can respond to them (whoops!)

I'm into a lot of stuff so this blog/page/black hole will be a mixed bag of fandoms

[Updated April 12, 2024] - Fic links below:

Published, In Progress:

Imprint (DPxDC) (Baby G.K. Danny, Halfa Dad Jason, Fright Franklin Pickle Girl Knight, oddball co-parents, attempted qpr relationship) 4/12: Back in the saddle and *hyped* for this arc, y'all have no idea.

Meandros (AC: 3 x AC: Odyssey) (Time travel/Reincarnation, Kid Desmond, OC's, Deimos!Kassandra, dumb mercenaries with a big bro/dad complex, Desmond "I'm Done" Miles) 4/12: Picked up working on the draft again! Fingers crossed I can do a double update with Imprint!

Published, Complete:

As Long as Stars are Above You (TMNT (mostly Bayverse and Next Mutation)) (Family Fluff, Surprise Baby Acquisition, Good Big Bros, Momma April) 15 Chapters; 39k words; Sequel in progress

Our Mother Breathed Fire (GOT) (Dragon POV, kind of a character study? I don't know) 1 Shot; 2k words

Your Blood That I Bleed (AC 1, 2 & 3) (Family of Choice, Immortality, Cat Dad Desmond, Assassin Dads) 10 Chapters; 74k Words

"In The Drawer" - On Hiatus until I can give it the attention it needs:

A Place For Us (Batman (mostly Arkham Knight)) (Families of Choice, Kids, Adoption, Bat Fam coming back together) 4/12: My first fic on Ao3 and it's been set aside for a complete overhaul because there's no structure/direction and there's a lot of issues with how I was writing/presenting the characters.

Unpublished, In Progress:

And Longer Still If I Can - sequel to As Long As Stars Are Above You (TMNT) (Family and Found Family, Kid Fic, Adventure Fic, Larval Form Mutanimals) 4/12: About a third of the way through the whole story. I'm taking my time with this one because I've lost the drafts for it twice and have had to write it three times now, but I'm hoping I can finish it soon.

Red Devil Rowdy (title may change; DPxDCxSDxSPN) (Paranormal Mystery/Detective Fic, Family Reveal, Identity Reveal) 4/12: Plotting! Familiarizing myself with the genre and trying to get a better grasp on the characters. The first chapter draft has started but it's rough.

And Still You Stand, Sturdy and Smelling of Smoke (DC x Spider-man) (Peter Parker Fist Fights the League, Catatonic Jason, Hyper Independent Tim) 4/12: On pause for a second. Gotta figure out where I want this to go.

Shield and Hearth (title will change; DSxTMNT) (Time Travel, Older Turtles (21), Mom Friend April, Gratuitous Use of "Bro", "Dude" and "Yo") 4/12: Hoping to add this one to the next update on Ao3 with Imprint and Meandros! (Still trying to think of a better title)

Holy War is On The Phone (DPxMHA/BNHA) (Ghost Prince Danny, Undercover Investigation, Fake Family, Pissed Off Danny) 4/12: On pause!

Redline (DCxMHA/BNHA) (Robin!Jason, Jason has the Metagene, Accidental Dimension Travel, Pro-Heroes/Older Class 1-A)

4/12: On pause to work out the final arc outline.

#Hashtag's fics #ao3 #Holy shit I finally made one of these #Will add a tag guide later when I go back and adjust tags in everything relevant #Hope I did this right

[daedalusdavinci]

My Riddlebat Recs

ive read most of the stuff in the riddlebat tag. most of it. i dont really read any batman 22 stuff, but ive read just about everything else. that said, heres a list of some of my favorites ive read!

first of all, jovialJuggernaut and fromjannah write my absolute favorite riddlebat fics of all time, so theyre gonna be on this list a LOT. i dont think i put all of their fics on here, tho, so im just telling you right now that you should 100% check out everything both of those authors have. i will link some of my favorites below tho along w some of my other recs

baby lose the costume

by @fromjannah

"Hey," Eddie says, impossibly soft. The lights are so bright. "C'mon, Crusader. You're here. Listen to my voice." Bruce can only oblige. Easy as breathing.

Bruce, Eddie, and a late night visit to Arkham that goes a little sideways.

read all of fromjannahs unburied fics. do it. immediately. rn. they are all devastatingly good and frankly some of the best riddlebat fics out there. this one in particular is so melancholy and aching and it wrecks me every time yes i reread it all the time i reread ALL of their unburied fics

once more to see you

by @fromjannah

The Riddler has been missing for over a year -- that is, until tonight. Bruce Wayne has very normal feelings about this.

shortened version of the summary bc im just reccing everything from fromjannah and you need to just start accepting that theyre all good. the way they write eddie is so perfect

ghar aaja pardesi

by saheeli (@sa-heelies on tumblr i think?)

Bruce gets the news on a Tuesday. The letters start coming on Wednesday. Or; Eddie escapes from Arkham again. He leaves a trail of clues behind him so that Bruce and Barbara can follow.

ohh this one is so good. i think its the longest of the unburied ones and i think it was the first one i read?? the set up and eventual payoff is so good and sweet and barbara and eddies relationship OFC is iconic. this was the fic that made me realize i desperately needed to listen to unburied

a dreaded sunny day

by @lesbiantriphosphate

“Who do you think I am, Bruce Wayne?” He smirks. “Or should I be asking: do you know who you are?” Bruce takes his time to decide whether to continue the banter or answer truthfully. He can’t tell whether Eddie wants to continue their comfortable Riddler-versus-Batman game of talking around in circles, or if he’s just searching for an entrance into a more geniune conversation. “I think…” he starts and stops again. “Far too much, in my humble opinion,” Eddie quips as he makes his way over and sets two steaming mugs on the table.

more unburied bc the unburied dynamic is the best dynamic. this one is really fucking sweet ;;;;;;; i love it so much its very short but its such a good read

Unasked

by penguistificial

Edward had thought the only flaw in his perfectly planned crime was that nobody would ever be able to appreciate it - apart from himself. And yet, Batman had deftly deciphered all his clues, seen the solution Edward hadn't thought anyone would ever find. Doesn’t a correct answer deserve a reward? But, what to offer? What would be both acceptable and accepted?

this ones good! its a different take on their dynamic than the fics i usually read but its a very good take

Kings, Knights, Pawns

by jovialJuggernaut (@jovialjuggernaut-draws on tumblr)

riddle man gets to smooch the batman but its a slowburn so thatll be checks watch in a while updated summary when i can think of a good one update: it took 12 chapters but we made it, they smooched

the summary doesnt do it justice, honestly. as far as comics riddlebat goes this is THE riddlebat fic of all time as far as im concerned. this is the blueprint. this is It(TM). liam has such a way of writing eddie hes so irritating and whiny and fidgety as hell you just HAVE to love him. this fic is peak adhd4autism and the way they write bruces autism in this honestly totally influences the way i write bruce all the time. gamechanger of a fic, youve GOT to read it

Hurricane

by jovialJuggernaut

A hurricane hits Gotham and something (someone) washes up in the Batcave.

eddie w eds!!!! yes!!!!! one of my favorites of liams fics. that said, you should read ALL of liams riddlebat fics. they all go hard as fuck and honestly if i looked any further into my bookmarks itd all just be liam all the way down

#riddlebat #my recs

[wtfgaylittlezooid]

srry if this is a weird question but what batman stuff would you recommend to someone with no real prior knowledge of it? followed you bc of kirby knowing nothing about batman but it looks like a lot of fun and ive considered getting into it. im not sure where to start with it though. do you have any favorite stuff thats like. "oh if you're new to the franchise you GOTTA check x out first"?

The best thing about Batman is it has absolutely no consistency. Really the characters tend to change depending on the writers and artists. So go apeshit! I got into it by getting sick and binging every Scarecrow comic i could find online in my brief periods of consciousness LMAO

Also keep in mind I am still very much bullshitting my way through Batman and DC in general EFGUIEWWEF

But the ones I would recommend aka the ones i started with:

The Long Halloween

13 Issues. One of the most iconic Batman stories, and one of my personal favorites. Specifically it centers around Harvey Dent, Carmine Falcone, and Batman all trying to identify stop a killer called "Holiday" from offing another member after member of Gotham's biggest crime family.

The art is absolutely gorgeous and captures tone perfectly. It also showcased a handle of the Batman rogues on the side and is REALLY fun trying to guess who the killer is alongside the characters. It also has a sequel: Dark Victory!

Here's the link to read it

Batman: The Audio Adventures

This is my personal favorite Batman media. It's an official podcast focused on the 60s Batman! Which means its a lot goofier than a most of current Batman.

It's a dark comedy podcast, but don't let that fool you. It knows when to take itself seriously, and features a small handful of the Batman Rogues! Also my favorite detail is that it takes the guise of a radio show- complete with fake ads that hold foreshadowing and funny gags! It does a great job of capturing the chaos of Gotham with the constantly interchanging multiple storylines, but keeping it understandable.

Also this podcast is entirely free. You can find the entirety of it on Youtube, HBO Max, and Spotify.

Arkham Series

If you prefer video games or playthroughs instead of comics, I highly recommend the Arkham games! There's Arkham Origins, Arkham Asylum, Arkham City, and Arkham Knight. They all have VERY interesting and well done versions of the characters and are a blast to play.

I recommend starting with Arkham Asylum, since its the first released of the games and is much easier to jump into than the others, imo. You basically play as Batman dropping off Joker to the asylum as usual, but everything goes wrong and ends with all the inmates taking control of the Asylum, leaving Batman to uncover Joker's newest plan and fighting through the Asylum hes been trapped in.

Arkham Asylum is normally $20 on Steam, but it has a free demo you can play. Also the games tend to go on sale pretty often and you can usually get the whole series for less than $10

Batman: The Animated Series

I have to recommend this one. It is the most iconic Batman media and has done so much for the characters and series. It's a fun series with lovely animation and surprisingly heartfelt episodes.

It has some of my favorite interpretations of the villains and one of my personal favorites of Batman! It doesn't pretend Bruce Wayne is heartless and beats the shit out of criminals for the hell of it. It's a great watch!

You can watch it on HBOMax with a subscription, but since streaming services are a parasite, you can also find it on PrimeWire.

#batman #dc comics

[blondiesdomain]

3, 8, 19, 28, 36 and 40!

I know it’s a lot I’m sorry I just have a lot of curiosity 🫣

Lol I could go off all day

3. Favorite boss?

I love a lot of the villains, for a final fight Gruntilda, at the end of Banjo-Kazooie was a right cunt but surely memorable

8. Most anticipated upcoming game?

I mean there’s a handful I’m waiting out for someday (TES 6/Prime 4) but Im interested in the new Princess Peach game to come out and the next Wario Ware

19. A game you wish you could play for the first time again?

Oh so many; BotW would be amazing to play again; Metroid Prime, Pokémon Diamond, any Arkham game

28. Do you still but physical games?

ABSOLUTELY, I collect the games and systems. I’ve got over 250 games and a dozen systems

36. Hottest video game character?

Link has always had my heart, but also Ezio Auditore is fine af from the second Assassins Creed. Bruce and Dick are also hot in the Arkham games

40. Best game cover art.

A cover does so much for a game, idk the best because they’re all so unique but a few I love are the og Luigi’s Mansion, Alice Madness Returns and Batman Arkham Knight

#ask #gaming #thank you friend!

[ac-liveblogs]

Gotham Knights is... well, it’s a janky game that naturally draws comparison to the much sleeker Arkham series, and it was always going to. The writing though. It’s not like. Bad. It’s just boring. I get the sense the game is always taking the easiest and least controversial way out. I think I’m about halfway through and I don’t expect that to change.

The plot is... boring. It has elements of Battle for the Cowl and Batman Reborn mashed in with the Court of Owls, which sounds like a winning combination, but all the messiness of the reset status quo in Batman Reborn has been traded in for... I don’t know, wholesome familial bonding?

And sure, if you’re into that, whatever, but personally the idea of Dick, Jason, Tim & Babs taking it in turns to play therapist to another member of the party for 1 minute at a time while all interpersonal conflict is shallow and resolves in about half that time is boring as sin. Bruce died, where’s the drama? You really want me to like that Jason had his whole character arc off-screen? The same character arc the damn comics also put off-panel until Urban Legends fucked it up??? 

The same character arc that flies in the face of what makes him an interesting character in the first place??

I liked the new status quo in Batman Reborn, Jason’s......................... um, writing choices aside. And it would’ve been cool to revisit here! Gotham as a battleground for Dick & Jason’s warring ideo- and methodologies, their unresolved issues with Bruce taken out on each other by proxy, and the two needing to resolve their differences in the face of a new, more dangerous villain - one Bruce couldn’t even discover, let alone defeat - sounds fucking cool. Assuming one cuts Jason loose from. Again. Morrison’s questionable writing choices. If he’s going to be here, and he has to be part of the main cast, you... might as well leverage the characterisation that makes him unique? 

Babs as Batgirl is a downgrade and Tim is unfortunately once again suffering from off-screen boyfriend syndrome. And. You know. It’s so great to see him coping with loss so well, he’s historically been so great at that. I don’t love the way the game frames Batman as a mentor figure that still has wisdom to impart to Nightwing, Batgirl & Red Hood when at this point in their careers they have well outgrown him - especially a Dick in Bludhaven, or a Barbara post-Oracle. That said, this game is expecting to net the Arkham crowd, so what do you expect.

Having the character routes essentially be the same events in a slightly different font depending on which character you pick is not to this game’s benefit. No-one feels like they bring any unique skills, connections or opinions to the table, so I think I probably would’ve preferred a Nightwing-centric story that got to delve into his psyche a little more.

The Court of Owls is not handled as well as in the comics - I’ve never felt intimidated by them in-game the way the comics could, and it doesn’t help that the League of Assassins shows up to make them look like chumps well before the first speaking, intelligent and mildly challenging Talon shows up. I feel they weren’t leveraged to their full potential, to say nothing of the entire can of worms that comes with making Jacob Kane, a Jewish man, the leader of the secret cabal of elites running Gotham from the shadows.

I understand the pragmatic need to streamline the Court’s membership - William Cobb and Lincoln March are also absent - to keep things simpler, things got a bit.... lol in the comics but given Batwoman isn’t even in this game it’s an extremely bad call. I wonder if they’d wanted to link the Court to the existing cast if Tim’s parents trying to get in the Court’s good graces wouldn’t have been a good entry point for him?

I like Talia so far. I assume Bruce is alive or soon will be given the emphasis on Lazarus Pits so far, especially via Jason, and Ra’s will certainly return. I like the email chains. There’s some funny stuff in there. 

I can live with the janky gameplay, though stealth doesn’t feel as viable an option as it did in Arkham (enemies are considerably less dangerous as a trade-off) and platforming can be a problem. I don’t appreciate bosses that required strategy in Arkham, like Mr Freeze, turning into slogs just to whittle down HP - that’s not fun. My main point of ire is that I’m forced into Tim’s route because he’s the only character I have no control issues with. Jason is damn near unplayable (setting aside why they made him a goddamn tank? What about any of his fights made anyone think he was a slow and mostly landlocked? I get wanting to make the bats unique, but... come on, he had a blueprint in Arkham Knight), Nightwing has ups and downs and Babs is... okay? Tim is the only one that feels slightly polished. 

The game looks fine and the basics are there, it just... feels like it was released too early. Tale as old as videogames. So I’m not marking it down toooo much. I can be lenient! Sometimes. 

So far this game is a solid. Like. 5/10. We’ll see if that improves. 

#ac plays gotham knights

[thingsareswinging]

I'm only a couple of hours into Gotham Knights but already it's winning me over with it’s incredibly specific tone. Jason Todd is a character whose last (first? only?) big video game appearance was Arkham Knight, where he was the main villain and completely edgy, and GK is a seperate continuity but I there's enough linking the games together that I was expecting Jason to resemble that version of the character, but no, so far what we've got is a Jason that has gone to therapy (the game casually brings up the fact that Jason has gone to therapy a number of times) and entirely gone through a redemption arc and come out the other side. I imagine is must be kind of weird if you're not already familiar with Red Hood, but it's funny as hell to me that he's just hanging out living his life and being a respected member of the community.

[pinkiepiebones]

Y'know it's dawned upon me that my only real exposure to Victor Zsasz is through Batman Begins and more recently Birds of Prey, and since comic book films naturally have to leave out a lot of details I'm not nearly as familiar w/ him as I am with other Batman villains.

Which pieces of Batman media do you think portray Zsasz the best, or which ones are best for introducing someone to his character proper?

Thank you so much for asking ;-; seriously I just love this dreadful character so much

Basically there's very few Zsasz-related things that, like, show you how he's supposed to be. what got me going "oh holy shit this is my blorbo" was the Arkham games (Asylum and City, respectively; it's been a near a decade since Danny Jacobs said he recorded material for Arkham Knight and they never released the Zsasz mission DLC yes I'm still mad). In Asylum, Zsasz is used as the training dummy in the "how to glide kick" and "how to remote control the Batarang" sequences, which sucks, but then you find his patient interview tapes. I adore Danny Jacobs' voice work in those. There's a real nuance there, none of this "rrr I'm the Knife Man I fell into a vat of knife acid at the knife factory and now I'm part knife," all killer no brains kinda performance. His voice is at times soft and sweet and you listen to him describe his doctor's apartment (meaning he had been stalking her before he got locked up) and he tells her, ever so gently, that he knows how she's just wishing something would happen. "I can be that something, Sarah," he says to a horrified doctor. "I am your salvation."

So that was cool as shit to younger me. And then Arkham City happened and Zsasz told his backstory (in an unnecessarily breathy, somewhat flirty?) to Batman over the course of a payphone-based minigame. And, like,... Again, Danny Jacobs everyone. Man's out here giving LIFE to a depraved monster in the Batverse. I think it was shortly after this game I started RPing him, so you know I am in for the longest haul.

*ETA I forgot some Arkham Knight audio, like, leaked?

As for, like, comics? Luckily nothing's hard to track down because he's a fairly "new" character- introduced to the world the same year as Harley Quinn, in fact! (part of the reason I wrote my incredible fic DICHOTOMY) His first appearance was in the four-part "Shadow of the Bat" miniseries and it establishes him as a top-tier villain straight away- for 'therapy' he's locked inside a metal tube inside a cage and the doctor sits like eight feet back, he has to be led around by armed guards via poles attached to a collar, they won't let him use soap because it's a potential weapon in his hands, an armed guard has to FEED HIM BECAUSE HE PARALYSED AN ORDERLY WITH A PLASTIC FORK AND WHEN DOC ARKHAM REMINDS HIM OF THIS HE SAYS "you should have let me finish my work!", he only gets one little blanket in his Magneto cell because again everything is a weapon, the GCPD can only positively link him to twenty or so murders and then you see just how many scars (one for each kill) he has... and that's just the first two issues!! IIRC Zsasz's creators, Alan Grant and Norm Breyfogle, wanted Zsasz to be Gotham City's 'answer' to Hannibal Lecter- a monster in a human skin, a constantly calculating, brilliant, pure evil. In fact, at the end of "Shadow of the Bat"s fourth issue, Zsasz is drawn with black sclera and white pupils to represent his utter lack of humanity.

Then in, I wanna say, 1996, there was a short Zsasz story called "The First Cut is the Deepest," in which Zsasz tells a random Arkham doctor his backstory, then tricks her into getting too close to his metal tube and chokes her to death with one hand. I find it fascinating that his backstory- rich kid, parents died when he was all grown up but it still psychologically shattered him, he lost his own business empire and his inheiritance and everything gambling, went to commit suicide by HANGING FROM A NOOSE ON THE BRIDGE when a guy attempted to mug him, in that moment he saw the futility and hopelessness of humanity and committed his first murder- has only been told twice, both times by him. I think a lot about this because, like, how reliable a narrator is he? Did the events unfold as he tells them? Did the city just assume a rich orphaned adult could cope just like they assumed a rich orphaned child could cope? DID THE ZSASZES AND THE WAYNES KNOW EACH OTHER WERE BRUCE AND VICTOR F R I E N D S DOES BATMAN FEEL IMMENSE SADNESS WHEN HE SEES ZSASZ'S CRIMES i am normal please hire me DC

What else... there's a subplot of another story shortly after SotB where Zsasz is holding a girl's dorm hostage but fml I can't remember the title of that one

Don't read "Streets of Gotham" it is largely garbage the ONLY good things to come from it are Dustin Nguyen's watercolour covers and the three panels of "Zsasz Vision" (how he sees- or has convinced himself to see- the world; everyone is a rotting corpse except for him and the scenery is awash in gore and grime). Everything else in the story is stupid and bad and I will rip it up with my teeth

The Gotham series Zsasz is not Zsasz they literally should have just created a new character Zsasz CANONICALLY HATES GUNS AND ONLY USES THEM AS A LAST RESORT IF HE'S GOT NOTHING ELSE HANDY

It's hard to find one without commentary but the Batman Begins game has extended Zsasz dialogue voiced by Tim Booth the guy who played him in Batman Begins and I really enjoyed his voice work (Tim's a swell guy too, has some albums and a band and a hundred years ago when I complimented his voice work on Twitter "good job acting like you were a psychotic killer" he responded "oh that's not acting ;)" ) (Fun fact! Booth trained for a fairly complicated fight sequence that was supposed to occur in the final act of Batman Begins, Zsasz vs Bat, but it was scrapped at the last minute 😭)

Even if you don't know Zsasz too well I did write a long fic that is basically a what if scenario wherein Harley is his asylum doctor and you should read that maybe orz

In conclusion thank you for letting me tell you about this truly heinous beast that I love and that makes SUCH A BETTER FOIL FOR BATMAN THAN THE FUCKING JONKEL LIKE DAMN I WILL LEARN HOW TO WRITE COMICS JUST TO PROVE IT

*edited to add audio links*

#zsasz #victor zsasz #mister zsasz #mr. zsasz #this is a gotham hate blog #tw suicide mention #tw murder mention

[thegeneralreturns]

In my dissatisfaction with the output of DC Comics, I took it upon myself to tell my own ideal Batman story.  The one that I’d tell, given carte blanche by DC themselves to do whatever the hell I wanted.

It took two years.  Three full-length novels, six one-shots, and a novelette coming out to about 714k words.  A grand epic about family, a far-reaching parable about a line of succession.  Romance and explosions, martial arts and awkwardness and, of course, free balloons for the kids.  The Gotham City Society of Fireproof Women.

What will you find in these stories?

-Diversity.  In both its characters and the genres of stories told.  One of the one-shots is a horror story.  Another is a western.  Hell, another one features no small amount of sports writing.  Yeah, I wrote about the history of a baseball team in a city that doesn’t exist.  So if you’re wondering whether I thought this through, well, yes I have.

-One-hundred-seventeen characters in the tags alone.  Even new characters like Crush, Jinny Hex, and the Arkham Knight.  Even characters that didn’t pop up in the comics, but popped up elsewhere, like Cassandra Spellcraft from the old Adam West show, and Iman Avesta from the Telltale game.  If you have a favorite DC character, they’re more than likely to be in there somewhere.  

-The Joker dies.  That’s not even a spoiler.  It happens in the first chapter of the first story.

-Wonder Woman gets a girlfriend.

-Jason Todd gets a boyfriend.

-Tim Drake loses his virginity in the hopelessly nerdy way that only Tim Drake can.

-CASSANDRA CAIN BEATS THE LIVING SHIT OUT OF THREE FULL FLOORS OF HENCHMEN AS SHE DELIGHTS IN THEIR AGONIZED SCREAMING.

-Those of you upset that Harper Row isn’t in the comics anymore will be pleased to know that she’s in six of these stories.

-And those of you upset that Kate Kane isn’t on her own show anymore will be pleased to know that she’s in eight of them.

-Clark Kent does nothing but provide comfort and grant absolution.  700k words, and he never even so much as throws a punch.

-The wedding that Tom King and DC Comics felt they were too good to give their readers gets about 18k words to itself.

-What magnum fic opus would be complete without the boys of Young Justice having a discussion about theology and video games?

-Solomon Grundy uses his own severed arm to club Bane right square in the nuts, so... maturity.

The Gotham City Society of Fireproof Women.  Ten stories of Batman in a just universe, just a link away.  If you like what you read, drop a comment and tell your friends.

And as always, thank you for reading.

#batman #batman fanfiction #bruce wayne #selina kyle #cassandra cain #stephanie brown #barbara gordon #dick grayson #tim drake #wonder woman #kate kane #harper row #bruceandselina #batcat #stephcass

[rynne311]

Masterlist

Updated 1/2/2020

As always, if any of the links aren’t working, please let me know and I’ll go in and fix it.

Bruce:

It’s Too Damn Hot

Just A Glance

For Better or Worse

Enough

A Brand New Birthday

Dear Mr. Pennyworth

Hard Work Pays Off

Two and a Half Years

Toxic Dreams

Bridging the Gap

Died With Them

Thousands of Years

Hay Fever

Hush Little Baby

Make It Home

So You Call Those Pajamas?

Act Your Age

Life Can Be Funny

Not Another Secret

For Your Art

Under the Radar

Travel Buddies

Last One In, First One Out

Thawed Out

Home Shopping

Fit Right In

The Grave Misunderstanding

That Kind of Meta

That Apple

Super Secret

Sympathy Moodiness

Changes

BatNurse

Rain, Rain Go Away

A Prior Engagement

Damian:

No More Livestock

Protector to the Heir

Protected by the Heir

Blood Strangers

Ridiculous

Break the Hold

Happy Never Lasts

Toys

Bickering

What Makes You Mine

Just Pretend

Interrupted

The Day Our World Changed, Again

Put in the Effort

Oopsie!

Selfish or Not

A Fate of Your Own

The Family Business

Peaceful Lullaby

Super Switch

Love Isn’t Earned

It's Okay

A Sympathetic Ear

To Ask Forgiveness

Dick:

Crazy Cat Lady

Mr. Goodbutt

This Means War

Circus Kids

A New Act

Everything to Him

Best Team Around

Not Wrong

Time of the Month

Chaos

Call it a Hunch

The Move

Migraines

Blue Hair

The Fitted Sheet

A Father’s Fear

She’s Still Here

On the Road Again

Short Stack

History Repeats

Let Me Teach You

The Only Constant Is Change

Growing Pains

Not Always Exciting

Jason:

Candle Hog

Get Your Days Straight

Stakeout

We Had A Plan

Even When Things Change, They Really Don’t

As Long As I’m Still Your Idiot

Date Night to Remember

Goodnight Sweetheart

The Wood Anniversary

Rough Day

Not A Trophy

Ingenuity

You Sleep Like a Dead Person

Tinderella

My Kind of Day

Her Scout

My Perfect Recipe

Ass Face

Bad Guys and You

If We Do

Can’t Lose You Too

Pretty Damn Special

A Damn Special Day

A Damn Special Life

Stubborn Sniffles

Extra Work

Catcalled

A Guardian Angel

A Little Bit Safer

Arkham Knight and the Princess

Homecoming Intimidation

Two of a Kind

Roll with the Punches

Woman, Amen

And You Are?

Not the Only One

Not Alone

Get a Rise

See the Best

Secret Life

Never Leave Again

Secrets Shared

Relapse

Thawed Heart

23 & Me

To Be Loved

23 & Us

Okay to Not Be Okay

Old Time Rock & Roll

Masks

Meet Cute?

Let Go

Need a Finger

General Batfamily:

I Told You So

I Told You So, Too

The Ones Who Have Your Back

Just Like Us

The Life You Got Back

A Different Kind of Attack

Flesh and Bone

300 Follower Sentence Starters

Christmas Spirit

#TeamJustFriends

All the Bat’s Men

Swim Lessons

You Have a Whole Manor!!

Where the Tide Takes You

Nook

Like Father, Like Daughter

Quake

Daycare

Wayne Kid Game Night

Grocery Dates

General DC:

The Judgement of Friends

More than Blood

One Thing In Common

Meet the Team

#masterlist #fic masterlist #updated masterlist #bruce wayne x reader #batman x reader #dick grayson x reader #nightwing x reader #jason todd x reader #red hood x reader #damian wayne x reader #robin x reader #dc x reader #batfamily x reader #x reader

[fordarkisthesuede]

The Tolls of Justice: the Tarot, Name Meanings, and More!

Gentlepeople…

BEHOLD!

All the tarot-aligned hints! All the future foretellings! All the silly references! :) Everything you might have overlooked is here for you easy-to-read pleasure!

Naturally, there be spoilers a-plenty ahead for Batman the TellTale Series: The Tolls of Justice, so if you haven't read it (or maybe you're thinking about reading it, or this is your first time hearing about it), I'd advise waiting until you're done with each chapter to read through the sections. You can either click the link and be redirected to Ao3, or look through my tumblr tag #ttoj!

*One forwarding note: the tarot references build slowly in this story, and I only use the traditional Major & Minor Arcana. You'll see a lot of jokes and name-type references before we get to the tarot. I also simplified the numerics, but they're often displayed as roman numerals on cards, hint hint.

Prologue

gang member "Four Ears" - a very very off-the-collar reference to the line "Listen up, four-ears!" from J-Men Forever; in context, it was an off-shoot of the insult "four-eyes" but for music taste, also implying the person's taste was "square".

gang member "Muddy Nye" - his name can be boiled down to "muddy river". It works as an allusion to the messy, unclear case ahead of Bruce and the Batfam, but also as a hint to Clayface, who acted as Muddy in his first sighting of the story.

"Sunset" - a reference to everyone's favorite vampire series to pick on, the Twilight series; back when it was at the height of it's popularity, some drug dealers sold heroin marketed towards the crowd based off it's terrible and unfortunately iconic(?) line from Edward Cullen, "You're my own personal brand of heroin"…hence why the drug of choice BM is shipping here is heroin. Essentially, this plot setup is one big joke.

"FIGS" - a reference to POP! vinyls, hence the capitalized name and spiky word balloon on the packages.

"Gray Ghost [memorabilia]" - one of my (and everyone else's) favorite BtAS episodes, which proves definitively that Bruce Wayne | Batman is not only a Huge Nerd™, but also a massive collector of normal fandom things. (Do you think he troughs through blogs and fanwikis…? What am I saying, of course he does. He edits them.)

gang members "Jack Whendleham and Kirby Noltz" - nod to Jack Kirby, comic artist extraordinaire!

Ch.1: A Different Ceiling

[chapter title] - John does not wake up in Arkham at the start of the story, hence waking up to a different ceiling. He also hits different limitations on what he can do, so it's also a different kind of "ceiling". (Like the term "the glass ceiling", the invisible barrier a demographic hits in a hierarchy.)

St. Dymphna New Life Home - named after Saint Dymphna, the patron saint of mental illness. There's no "'s" at the end because I saw other clinics named after Saints didn't use the possessive form when referencing them.

The Lucky Hotel - an oxymoron, really; the unluckiest place to get stuck at with it's seedy history, but also the place where John "gets lucky"…in a couple of different ways!

Stitched Up Alterations - a heavy nod to the wonderful batjokesy line from S2, "We're two threads in the same stitch". It's pretty deeply ingrained in fanon (and technically canon, if you go with The Dark Knight) that Joker makes his own clothes, hence Batman rarely finding him through his tailor. Since John's thrifty and clearly made his original Joker outfit(s), I piggybacked off it as a legit skill to give him. I mean, come on, the guy is always so stylish! And you're really going to look at me and say he didn't alter his thrifted shirts and vests to fit his sleek frame? Puh-leeease.

13th Street - 13 is a traditionally unlucky number in western culture; hence the "Lucky Hotel" there having a bloody history, along with a failed, closed casino nearby.

Corazón gang - okay, I admit…I'm still a weeb at heart. It's a One Piece reference. Corazon was one of the few post-timeskip new characters I really liked; his name is Spanish for "heart", and he sported a heart motif. Like the gang in this story, he also died before the start of the main storyline.

Ch. 2: Face Values

[chapter title] - A reference to the phrase "not taking things at face value", which is very evident in this story. Also doubles as a rather loose reference to the upcoming Tarot cards.

Sebastian Overfield - The name Sebastian means "from Sebaste", as is derived from the Greek word sebastos ("venerable", someone who has a lot of respect). Overfield of course is "over" and "field", implying the family is on a high hill overlooking/overseeing/maintaining a certain field. As Seb is a reverend, this name is well-fit for him.

orange rose [gift from John] - means "passion" in the language of flowers, and can allude to fascination; this can be taken platonically or romantically…but it's definitely romantic when it's coming from John.

blue iris [gift from John] - means "faith and hope" in the language of flowers, and sometimes are associated with royalty; an allusion to Batman/Bruce's overall symbolism in the eyes of Gotham…and John.

Chandis [ship, circa Prologue] - A reference to Chandi | Chandika, the Hindu deity; the short version of their story is that they are a demon slayer, known to be angry and passionate, wield multiple weapons, and ride a lion. And who was on the ship? Hmm…

Ch. 3: Ink Trails

[chapter title] - A reference to the Alterations' claim slip John finds, which ends up leading back to the Court of Owls. It doubles as a reference to the mask tattoo/clue on Ian 'Nito'.

Faith Ackart - "Ackart" is a variant of "ackhart", derived from "ekkehard", which we can say roughly means "brave/hardy". The name "faith" and "hardy" together is another very subtle clue for the audience towards the villains' motives. (Well, I say that, but it was really more of a joke-clue for me to giggle at. And it makes a good reporter name!)

Lou Monger - the guy's a fish monger…with the last name Monger. It's-a joke! ;D

Ian 'Nito' Coggs - first mentioned without his real last name, but "Ian Coggs, Nito", is a pun on the word "incognito"…which is what Clayface is here.

FriendBook/Chirp/bloggr/uBox - takes on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and YouTube respectively. (This started back in my 'Season 3' story, At the Brink of Midnight, though I've since learned that bloggr was a real thing. :T) The 'uBox' is meant to be a play on 'jumping box'/'the box' as other terms for TV, like 'the tube'.

"whole tomato of pins" - the supposed history of tomato-shaped pincushions is that tomatoes placed on mantels repelled evil spirits and guaranteed prosperity, but I really wanted to just allude to the common pin-cushion shape. (My mom once had a whole little basket of strawberry shaped pin-cushions. I remember "borrowing" them a lot as a kid to play with. And then "losing" them.)

"sock and buskin masks" - these are a reference to the "comedic sock" and "tragic buskin (i.e. boot)" of the Greek comedy-tragedy theatre masks. I figured something like them would be a good logo for the "false faces", as BM is obsessed with masks. It also doubles as a natural callback to the "your relationship with x has changed" feature of TT games.

Ch. 4: Suite of Cups

[chapter title] - the first chapter to be a reference to the Tarot, in specific the Minor Arcana of Cups; rather than specifying the card at play outright, this title is a pun on the aforementioned arcana "suite", as the main location of events this chapter are in a casino's hotel suite. One can interpret many Cups cards at play here, but...

○ Specifically, in the Casino's suite/crime scene, there are 8 visible seats, but 7 cups on the table. The 7 of Cups refers to choices, fantasy, and illusion, an indicates there are multiple opportunities or many paths you can take, but they should be chosen carefully; when reversed, it can mean confusion, diversion, and temptation, and indicate a lack of choice or failure to choose.

○ The upright version is definitely in play, with the overall root of TellTale games being choices, and some "the player" makes this chapter will move your relationships with Tiffany and John in different ways, which can strengthen your relationships with them. If "the player" has chosen to be a more violent Batman, the way the Talon - and later, the Court - treats Batman is different.

○ The Reversed reading can be interpreted for the Court's complete disregard for the mere notion of choice.

Bauta - a Venetian carnival mask, meant to represent 'anonymous decisions' via it's original design of protecting identities. It's quite common in carnivals.

Melpomene-Thalia - the Venetian masks for comedy and tragedy, a la 'sock and buskin', the masks used as a general symbol for theatre. You can practically taste the irony, given who's shown wearing it...

Volto - a Venetian mask, meant to represent 'anonymity, quiet exit' for it's blank face. It's also known as the "Citizen Mask" because of it's worn by the common folk (in comparison to the more elaborate masks).

The Lot [casino] - named for "drawing lots", like drawing straws or matches to pick a person to do a task (usually with the shortest straw having to do the task, but it varies). This is both a pun on the fact that it's a casino - where you try your luck at gambling - and corresponds with the theme of foretelling the future that's woven throughout much of the story.

The Wednesday Nighters gang - this doesn't mean anything in particular. I'm a big fan of Midsomer Murders, and there's an episode ("Death in a Chocolate Box") where it references a few dirty cops who frequently took the Friday night shift at a station for episode-plot-reasons, who called themselves The Friday Nighters. It's an off-shoot reference to it, hence the corrupt cops on the gang in this story. :)

[John's voicemail] - Another BtAS episode I love is "the terrible secret of Bruce Wayne". In particular, I loved Joker's voicemail when Dr. Strange calls in ("Boy, do YOU have the wrong number!") and I wanted to do something like that. But, y'know, way less murdery.

"F85H4ND" - l33t-written "Fate's Hand", for…well, the hand of fate, supposedly guiding you through life/events. Another correspondent to the foretelling the future theme.

Michael Hodgson - not all of the names I pick for characters mean anything. Sometimes their names are just loose references to things I like. This is a silly mish-mashup of the original hosts of Mystery Science Theater 3000, Michael [Nelson] and [Joel] Hodgeson. (Joel was the first host + show creator, and Mike was the second host who closed out the original series run.)

"40F5WRD5" [Batcomputer archive] - l33t for the 4 of Swords, a card in the Minor Arcana for rest and restoration; since the archives and file names are randomly generated when not prompted otherwise with manual input, an otherworldly force seems to be saying 'get some damn sleep Bruce'.

[John's ringtone] - I know, TT always has everyone's phone on silent. I don't care. Bruce's ringtone for John is "Mack the Knife", a song about a violent mobster, played on a carnival organ. Chosen because 1) John probably loves that song, 2) I thought it was funny that it has the line "the shark bites - with his teeth, dear - when he shows them pearly whites" and how well that goes with John's A+ dental care... 3) TeamFourStar made jokes in their BtTTS S2 playthrough about having "a special ringtone whenever John calls [them]"…why would I not carry that through? They did get me to where we are now, you know. ;)

Ryde - the in-game stand-in for Lyft, the not-a-taxi service.

Ch. 5: The Wheel Still Spins on the Upturned Chariot

[chapter title] - a reference to 2 tarot cards in the Major Arcana. 1) "The Wheel"/"The Wheel of Fortune", which is a sign for continuous cycles, inevitable fate, and usually indicates good fortune and pre-destiny when the card is presented upright. When reversed, it can signify bad luck and an unfavorable fate. 2) "The Chariot", symbolizing a path forward to success, confidence, and overcoming obstacles; when reversed, it's stands for recklessness and lack of direction/control. 3) As the Chariot is upside down, John's original plans have been upended and everything goes out of his control in a chaotic situation. He’s essentially "not at the driver’s seat" for a little while. "The player" decides which direction to take the wheel in - either letting him lash out violently and send him on more solitary and dangerous path, or satisfy his need for stability by embracing his new relationships. The Chariot is always upturned here, but whether the wheel spins forward or backward is up to "the player's" decisions.

511 N. Blade Street - this one's a bit messy. 511 = V I I, or VII in roman numerals, which =7. The tarot cards are traditionally numbered in roman numerals. North, for pointing upright, and "blade" is synonymous with "sword". So it’s the "7 of Swords", in the upright position – referring to deception and trickery, which is of course what's going on in regards to who Ian 'Nito' Coggs really is…

Apt 1005 - even muddier, but this is referring to the 10 of Swords, which is for betrayal and backstabbing, hinting at the true motives of "Ian" | Clayface. 10-0-5, so 10 and the l33t for "OS" = 10-o-S.

900 Wanda Way - Both a pun on the phrase “wander away” and the 9 of Wands in the Minor Arcana, which alludes to pushing forward to achieve victory. A good allusion for a clinic, me-thought.

400 Wanda Way - The 4 of Wands in the Minor Arcana stands for community, another good allusion for a clinic.

Karen McCarthy - named after the most stereotypically uptight narcissistic asshole the masses have agreed to call 'Karen', and both McCarthyism and another famous lady with the surname McCarthy. Because I wanted you to know the second you see her name that she is *horrible*. (Funny, though, there's 2 senators named McCarthy that are pieces of shit and one infamous quasi-celeb who's the face of the anti-vax scene. Is it just a cursed family name?)

Ch. 6: The Tips of Our Swords

[chapter title] - Refers to the 4 of Swords card in the Minor Arcana, as the "swords" are alluding to the four active members in the Batfam - Bruce, John, Tiffany, and Iman - who work together on the case[s]; you can infer this title to a presentation not unlike the Musketeers joining swords to affirm themselves as a team, as they all gather together. The reversed reading of the card is for restlessness/stress in Bruce's case, and the clear signal of the universe to tell him to relax, and the reading when presented right-side up is for the break it gives to "the player", with the homey atmosphere of the Batfam spending time together. Either reading is completely valid here.

○ BUT, as Alfred is a non-active member of the Batfam, we could also say that 5 of Swords is also at play, right-side-up for the fighting and resentment with Alfred, and John's hinted budding conflict with him; and 5 reversed for Bruce's attempts at making up with Tiffany. If one illustrated the gathering of our four heroes joining swords like the musketeers over a breakfast table, then Alfred would be sitting drinking tea, standing as a symbol of the Ace of Cups, signifying new emotions or stirrings of feelings.

○ If we stretch the metaphor eeeven further, the title can also be a loose reference to the Sword of Damocles; threats always hang above the heads of powerful people, and in this case the looming threat of Black Mask and the mysterious assassin, ever-present in Batman's world…

Dr. Brandi September - literally "Sword" and "Seventh Month", alluding to the 7 of Swords, hinting to deception and manipulation at play.

"I was tired of the soup du jour" - a shameless Devo reference; a tiring of the routine/everyday. "I'm tired of the soup du jour - I want to end this prophylactic tour - ain't nobody around me - understands my potato - I'm only a spud boy - lookin' for a real tomato" - DEVO, "Mr DNA/Smart Patrol".

Motel 11, Augury Road - "augury" is another word for crows; as a gathering of crows can be a method of fortune-telling, this a reference to a gathering of 11 crows, which when seen is supposed to be indicative of disguising or revealing secrets.

Ch. 7: Drawing the Strings

[chapter title] - meant to allude to John aligning the strings connecting the people and crimes together, like an old-fashioned way of mapping clues; can be interpreted as these crime-strings on the proverbial board being drawn closer together, marking the center of the "web" as the Court of Owls

Frieda Baast - Frieda, an allusion to the Norse goddess Freya, who rode on a chariot driven by cats, and Baast, the Egyptian goddess who had the form of a cat. It makes it really obvious who was staying at the Motel 11, huh?

room 14 [Selina Kyle's motel room] - a reference to the 14th tarot card, "Temperance", which when upright is meant for choosing the middle path between choices. This is meant to reference Selina herself, currently at a secret, personal crossroads and being in "the middle"; John can influence her hidden choice by either making her think about what her potential job's employers are really aligning themselves with, or taunting her into how she can't leave her old life behind. (Whether John is violent or not doesn't completely impact her choice, but it does impact how they interact later if Selina winds up in the hands of our villains.)

Oracle, Spoiler, Batgirl, Spectrum - Batman's had a lot of non-Robin sidekicks in comics, including Batgirl (originally Barbara Gordon), Oracle (Barbara Gordon, post-Batgirl-forced-retirement and computer hacker extraordinaire), and Spoiler (Stephanie Brown, who "spoiled" crimes). As a fan of Ao3/tumblr's @fractualized 's own Telltale Bat-verse fics (the "Release John Doe" series), I added in the reference to "Spectrum", which Tiffany became in lieu of "Robin". A wink from one fan-writer to another! ;)

"I'm steppin' out, my dear - to breathe an atmosphere […] - that simply reeks […] with class" - John's singing a classic Fred Astaire hit, "Top Hat, White Tie, and Tails".

Eric, Jerome, Jeremiah, Jack [John's "Normal name" ideas] - As this story allows "the player" to pick a name for John to use in place of his own, you can pick between some classic and modern references to Joker's alternate personas over the years. Eric White Border (edit: goddang it that's what i get for looking at White Knight while writing this up and never double-checking), Joker's regular persona in the New 52 Batman comic line; Jerome or Jeremiah of the Gotham TV series, both of which are different aspects of Joker's personality through media, with a more modern gritty version in Jerome (think Heath Ledger's Joker) and a more modern take on Joker's sociopathy in Jeremiah; and last but not least Jack Napier, the first official name of Joker circa Tim Burton's Batman (1989), and the one most popularly used (BtAS and other comics throughout the years since use this name). "The player"'s choice doesn't impact the story or the way John acts, but it does give a surprise feature later. ;)

Matt Chaney - Aka, "Clayface", Matt has both new and old elements in his name alone. Matt, for Matt Hagen, the most well-known/used of the Clayface personas, and Chaney, for classic film actor Lon Chaney, AKA the man of a thousand faces. This Clayface is an aspiring actor who is psychologically dependent on Moddy to keep him handsome after a terrible car accident left his face marred. He uses his excellent makeup skills and acting to infiltrate the False Face Society, and double-plays them and the Court of Owls.

Root / MuSec - stand-ins for Vine and TikTok, respectively. "MuSec" is both a play on the word "musac" (the word for 'elevator music' and generic produced music you hear in fake stores and the like) and the mish-mash of the words "music" and "second", referencing the short length of the videos. "Root" was used in a prior story (At the Brink of Midnight), and acts as another "natural network" type name akin to Vine; though I do recognize "Vine" might have come along as part of the phrase "I heard it through the grape-vine". I have a feeling some Aussie fans might find the fake-Vine name funny...or just awkward.

Ch. 8: It Had to Be You

[chapter title] - A reference to the classic crooner song, "It Had to Be You"; specifically, the one that flows through the first scene is a cover done by Frank Sinatra, meant to align with other Bat-media's use of Sinatra where Joker and Batman are concerned. The Arkham games got his famous "Under My Skin", and another crooner's "Only You". Batjokes fans/content creators have also used "Strangers in the Night" for their relationship. I wanted to present one that would feel at-home in the TellTale universe regardless of what route you end up with, and what's more perfect than a song about finally discovering the love of your life? The song fits them to a tee, in my humble opinion…

Estella Art Gallery - Selina's art gallery, mentioned previously to have been the site of a Talon attack. "Estella" translates to "star", for the tarot card "The Star". When presented upright, it means hope and rebirth; this card can be presented after a disaster, such as an event like "The Tower". Normally, it can be interpreted as a card to show a phase where you have trust and faith in yourself and the universe. Selina was turning over a new leaf and enjoying her new life until the Owls found out who she was.

Mrs. Bollard - "bald-headed person"…this poor woman got her wig snatched as John stole Bruce from her on the dance floor. xD

"I knew today's horoscope was bullshit" - a nod to earlier, where Roman mentioned his horoscope when visiting Bruce; "a friend will help you out of a tight bind." Not that it was mentioned like that... still! I wonder what today's was? "You will be fortunate in your business endeavors"? Ha ha ha! But really, the horoscope is another nod to the theme of foretelling the future, as it's a popular method to try and see how your day, month, season, or year will be. Not that I know what sign Roman is… *thinking face*

[Achievement Unlocked: Batman Who Laughs] - John showing up in the Batman cowl was not only funny, but a direct nod to the Batman Who Laughs. The TT games had Batman comic titles often used as Achievements, so I figured I'd put in some…

[Achievement Unlocked: Batwoman Rises] - Iman helping the team out in the spare Batman suit is naturally a nod to Batwoman, and something I wanted to do for a while. ;D

Brighella - a Venetian mask taken from a play now used to depict a cunning and mischievous servant. Originally the mask was used to depict a greedy villain character.

The Two Gilded Cups - A restaurant in-story that references "The Two of Cups" tarot card, a card representing unity, partnership, and two becoming one. When upright, it's a card that can reference lovers or a new relationship; when reversed, it can represent broken communication, imbalance, or tension. As such, the couple who were seen at the restaurant - Sonja Townsend and her husband - are established lovers who work together for the Court of Owls, but those who were really there are Jackie Lant and Matt Chaney, who are in an imbalanced relationship. "Gilded" implies that "The Cups" are covered unnecessarily with gold - this is both in reference to Jackie and Matt's disguise of the Townsends and the truth about their relationship. Matt's lies are covering for his narcissism and selfishness, and ultimately is the only thing holding him and Jackie's relationship together.

Moddy - A fictional body modification clay-mud-putty that's a product of Janus Industries, this makeup is the favorite of Matt Chaney and the reason we can call him "Clayface". Like the traditional Clayface, Matt is in dire need to have his fix of the makeup, despite what it does to him - as John notes, it leaves a weird burn-like sensation, and since Matt has deep scar tissue he covers every minute of every day, it's made the skin damage worse.

"You’re really committed to drowning in that river" - A riff on the old joke "denial ("de Nile") isn't just a river in Egypt".

"Your words are honey in my ears, but my brain always turns it into bitter wax" - In Futurama, Fry has a silly line of “Sweet words! Sweet words that turn into bitter wax in my ears!”. It always had the potential to be a great metaphor if the words were twisted around! :) Plus, I mean, come on, this is a totally On Brand™ thing for John to say!

Ch. 9: Strength in Numbers

[chapter title] - Referencing the Strength card, for bravery, compassion, and inner strength; the title also doubles as a play on “different kinds of strengths”. Strength is the will the expose your truths. Strength is finding compassion to help others. Strength is staying true to your convictions in the face of opposition. We see all different kinds of strength on display here.

○ It can also a reference to the different partnerships going on, with Jackie joining the team (unofficially), Bruce and Tiffany going off to tackle the other half of our case, and John and Iman’s team-up. :)

"[John] could barely hear it over the tinny electronic whistling tune emitting from his own phone, telling him the person on the other end was a mystery" - this is referencing an old tumblr joke! Yes, John has the “It is a mystery” tone on his phone for unknown calls…complete with the little (:o) ghost icon.

CUP5K1NG [license plate] - Referring to the King of Cups card, a card portraying emotional balance and compassion. As it's not written as "K1NGCUP5", it implies it's a reversed card, signifying there's manipulation and instability at work. Even though Matt doesn't own the car this license plate belongs to, it's definitely tied to him since it's his getaway ride, and thus hints at what's to be revealed in his and Jackie's hotel room.

Aylin Street - the name "Alyin" translates into “moon halo; one that belongs to the moon”, thereby being a reference to the Moon card, representing mysteries and illusions. An investigation is afoot!

“Looks like I’ve got the red light, kiddo.” - In stage acts, the red light is to indicate to the performer their time on stage is up. Generally, it’s reserved for comedians who either overrun their time or are losing the audience. John's joking that he's been given the red light to exit stage left (but not persued by bear).

"What’s the ‘G’ for?” - Iman's 'Gotham Construction' jumpsuit has a G different from John's - it's shaped more like a gear. This is another Mystery Science Theater reference, in particular the logo for Gizmonic Institute, the company/labs that "employed" original host Joel and the mad scientist Dr. Forrester (and his assistant, TV's Frank), who started the experiments of forcing a guy and his robot friends to watch reeeally bad movies. The result was 12 (soon to be 13!) seasons of some guys making hilarious and very memorable jokes at said bad movies' expense. Does this reference mean that Bruce is just as huge a dork as I am, or does it mean that MST3K is real in this universe?! You make the call! ;D

○ …if you read 'What's the 'G' for?' in Invader Zim's voice, that's also valid. Especially if you followed it with “I dON’t know!” in GIR's. (There is no cringing here! We openly embrace our childhood silliness!)

MasterOfClayFace / #IdW3arThat [Matt Chaney's social media login] - naturally Matt is so far up on his high horse that he considers himself a master of clay work…and of course his nickname is ClayFace! His password is a joke in and out of canon, being a riff on Lemon Demon song: “A mask of my own face – I’d wear that” ~ Lemon Demon, “Mask of My Own Face” [Nature Tapes].

3055 [Jackie Lant's InstaPic followers] - According to research, the average Instagram following is about 1000, so Jackie is above average popularity. Anything above 10k is usually(?) celeb status. The number 3055 is meant to be broken up and turned partially into l33t, to make 3-O-S-S, or 3 of Sword[s]. The 3 of Swords card in the tarot signifies heartbreak and grief, stemming from betrayal, loneliness, and rejection. Jackie experienced all three of these heart-piercing swords during her return to Gotham, with Matt basically forcing her into isolation, betraying her trust, and rejecting her input and values in favor of his own; but she didn't really know it until the truth was exposed.

8055 [Matt Chaney's InstaPic followers] - similarly, Matt's follower count is meant to be 8-O-S-S, or the 8 of Swords card. It signifies self-victimization and imprisonment. In particular, the card shows a person restrained and trapped, but their helplessness is a show…they could choose to get out, if they got over themselves. Matt is incredibly selfish, so it comes as no surprise that he will play the victim card.

#OnlyInGotham - Another tumblr reference! I love the @hashtagonlyingotham blog! ( ^3^)

The Herold Rite's Theatre - A play on the word "Hierophant": Herold, like “herald (ruler/champion)” and Rites, like “sacred rites”. In the tarot, the Hierophant card represents following tradition and values, which for the Owls is their very core. This is basically a big ol' hint that Iman and John are heading into Owl territory, but also foreshadows the religious undercut of The Court and Reverend Sebastian Overfield's role.

"a familiar red-pyramid-and-floating-eyeball" [graffiti] - A reference to my icon! ;D You think I can't self-promo?

trading cards [found in theatre storage] - In the Theatre, John finds "old promotional trading cards for an old sci-fi film with big-brained aliens". This is a shameless and loving reference to Tim Burton's 1996 film Mars Attacks!, of which my AO3/tumblr icon and username is lifted - the movie was based on a series of Topps trading cards from the 1960's, and had it's own set of cards with movie scenes and behind-the-scenes pictures (and summaries of events) printed for the movie! They also used them as promotional tools, and if you get very lucky purchasing a copy of the old single-issue comic books from the 1995 Mars Attacks run from Image Comics, you can get a promo card.

https://bit.gt.gd/S3272019F?=RO - Originally "gd" stood for a derivative of Google Drive, but I can’t look at it and not see “get good”. The "S3272019F?" is meant to stand for "Started: March 27, 2019 Finished: ?". I can't believe I started uploading the story in March of 2019! Man, 2020 really messed with my sense of time…

Ch. 10: Tantara Bounces Off of Moonlit Walls

[chapter title] - "Tantara" is defined as "the blare of a trumpet or horn", as seen in the Judgement card, which stands for self-reflection as well as reckoning, and can indicate rebirth. There's of course another reference to the Moon card, for intuitions and the unconscious being. Then what are the "[Moonlit] Walls"? Well, they're the part of the only Major Arcana tarot card to represent a building - they are the walls of the Tower, symbolizing destruction and disaster. When all the cards' meanings are put all together, this alludes to a time of discovery among absolute disaster.

○ Expanded, the whole title is a reference to both forms of Judgement occurring – self-reflection and change are happening with Bruce and John as their mysteries and anxieties are finally put to rest: John is undergoing his final "rebirth", seeing his reality clearly in Arkham’s padded cell; Bruce seems to finally come to terms with working with Tiffany, as his fear of not being able to protect her comes through with her showing she's able take care of herself and prove she's a true asset to the team; and the Court of Owls finally comes to light, with Matt Chaney, the Talon Adam, and the Talon Sonja Townsend finally showing their real motivations.

○ We can also interpret the title as a reckoning coming for the Owls, who have long been obscuring the truth of their deeds and whose true motives have been murky. They've built their own tower of disaster with bricks of delusion, and judgement's horn is blaring a warning through their hallways…

"X-Sharp Manufacturing" - a reference to the 10 of Swords (hence the "sharp"), the tarot card for betrayal, backstabbing, and defeat. For Bruce, there is disaster here beyond his control that ends in a [temporary] defeat. For Roman Sionis, owner of the small factory as part of Janus Inc., he's unwittingly walked into his own betrayal.

"Merlin's Flower Arrangements" - Merlin, a famous wizard, is a reference to The Magician card, who defines “as above, so below”… And as John is taken to a secondary location, so is Bruce. :)

"La Luna Painting" - La Luna, aka The Moon; remember, shadows can play tricks on your eye, so something’s afoot here… Aka "HEY GUYS THIS TOTALLY ISN’T SUSPICIOUS OR ANYTHING NO SIR"

Yelsnia Theater - Yelsnia is…actually a name. But searching for it shows my true hint, as it's "Ainsley" backwards. "Ainsley" derives from Scottish words meaning “alone, solitary” or “hermitage”. This is a reference to the Hermit card – in this case, it's blatantly upside down, referring to loneliness, isolation, and a general disconnection with mankind. AKA, the path Matt is on.

"the looming pillar tower" [Arkham] - A blatant representation of The Tower. It stands for impending disaster and "an upheaval of a foundation of reality". Of course, this can be taken in two ways. 1) That John has overcome/avoided the disaster of another mental breakdown. 2) That John’s foundation of his delusions - that he’ll wake up in or get sent back to Arkham for his sickness - was wrong in a realistic sense, as he’s made serious progress in managing his emotional issues, and right in an unrealistic one, where the only way he could be sent back was through an outside force, i.e. the Owls.

10210475 [inmate number] - When separated for the numeric cipher, we get 10-21-4-7-5, or J-U-D-G-E

13051420 [inmate number] - When separated for the numeric cipher, we get 13-5-14-20, or M-E-N-T

○ When put together, the inmate numbers read "Judgement", the tarot card is shown here for John's choices and character arc on display throughout this chapter. When the card is reversed, it implies a lack of self-awareness, which we can also attribute to "the player's" choices for John if they make Bad Decisions. If you simply take the word "judgement" at face-value (without involving the tarot) it also works wonderfully, applying to John's entire situation as being a trial/judgement set by a higher force.

"The prince returned to the tower" dialogue [the prophetic cell mate] - Whether the person speaking is physical or not, John notes he can hear the scratching of pencil on paper within the cell, implying a person is writing their words down like a story… “The prince,” (John Doe, alias Joker, traditionally the ‘Clown Prince’ of Gotham) “having returned to the tower” (Arkham Asylum, the foundations of John's issues) “to reclaim his crown,” (assurance in himself and his reality; the completion of John's "self" with his final choices and becoming Vigilante!Joker for good) “trails after the fiend” (confronts the Talon Adam, alias Owl-man) “who's flying on wings of retribution” (core beliefs, perceived sense of justice). “The fiend’s wings are big, but the bones are brittle” (the Owl-man is imposing and persistent, but his physical "wings" are his weakness).

○ If you couple the Court of Owl's belief that G*d has written down the destinies of everyone in the world [as they are each born] with the knowledge that someone was writing down a short version of John's events at Arkham…hmmm.....

Room 11 [Iman's cell room] - The 11th card in the Major Arcana is "Justice". This can reference either 1) The just-desserts coming for Talon Adam/"The Owlman", or 2) The outcome of the player’s choice to take Iman with them or not.

11 minutes + 16 seconds [remaining time on bomb timer] - 11:16. 11/16, aka my birthday! :) I only wish I had finished Chapter 10 in time for the chapter's publishing year (2020), lol~

"Our Faith brings Perseverance, and Our Perseverance guides Justice, for Mercy to God." - The Court of Owls' beliefs circle around 3 principles bringing people closer to G*d: Faith, Perseverance, and Justice. Their belief hardens their persistence in their actions (as they are written and not guided by "Evil"), and their goals are ultimately to deliver justice where the human system failed and "Evil" prevailed in "escaping", hence the guiding of one principle to another. "Mercy to God" is what is granted by righting the injustices of the world; as G*d wrote your future down exactly, Evil can corrupt it, and once corrupted this does G*d a harmful injustice. The Court considers themselves close to G*d by "mercifully" stopping further corruption via eliminating "Evil" in all it's worldly forms…

Speaking of the 3 principles, our main Owls are meant to be "embodiments" of these in the story.

○ Talon Sonja Townsend represents Faith, driving home her belief in G*d's absolute destiny. She is corrupted by her own selfish goal of eliminating her son-in-law, but is also so by-the-book she does not think to look at the obvious double-standards of the Court, and doesn't think her underlying actions are guided by "Evil".

○ Talon Adam represents Perseverance, having fought Joker to unconsciousness, and was willing to blow up Arkham with himself still inside just to eliminate it; he is the most brainwashed, but the least corrupt in motivations, only striving to get what he feels is "justice". On the flip side of Adam is Talon Evan, who despite serious injury still appeared in Court and jumped at the chance to kill Joker and Batman, despite the Court's general appreciation of Batman; he is corrupt in personal selfishness, as he possesses no "real" faith in the Court's belief system and doesn't like others getting credit by stealing his targets.

§ ...it's also worth mentioning that the names for Adam and Evan are meant to be derivative of "Adam and Eve". In this way, it can also be seen as a parallel to The Lovers card, which one can attribute to Bruce and John. While Bruce + John are oddly harmonious and undeniably have a strong bond regardless of story paths, Adam + Evan are discontent rivals, with Adam "stealing" Evan's target and good graces with the Court, and Evan very pointedly beating up and kidnapping Batman (who Adam admires) to set up Batman's eventual Judgement.

○ Reverend Sebastian Overfield is the main representation of Justice, though he embodies all 3 principles. The Court’s belief is that their pursuit of justice – stopping Evil/chaos via deaths of criminals – overrides their own traditional sins. Because they are being helpful to G*d, granting Them mercy by righting the injustices of Evil and putting G*d’s Word back on the right path, they are in G*d’s favor. Therefore, as the leader of the Court and the one who organized everything by handing down "God's word", he is the carrier of Justice; without him, the Court would be nowhere and G*d would be shedding more tears over their ruined work…at least, in his mind. Naturally, he is the exact opposite of what justice should be. He is biased and unwavering in strict faith, as much a carrier of chaos as he doesn't want to be…

○ Of course, this is all also up to interpretation. One can interpret Adam as "justice", Evan as "perseverance", and Sebastian as the stand-in for "God", as he is the Court's ruler and is the sole person to hand down "the word of God".

"[…]if two people you normally count on for one reason or another" - Alfred made a subtle dig at John being Bruce's boy-toy. Ouch, Al'…

"[…]given it's your pet project, and all" - Even though Selina is talking about Arkham, she's making a dig at former-Arkham-resident John being Bruce's "pet", who in her eyes was Bruce's main reason for getting Arkham revitalized. :\ Man, everybody's picking on their relationship…

petrichor - The smell proceeding rain. Because it's not a climactic fight scene in Gotham city without rain.

Ch. 11: The Tolls of Justice

[chapter title] - Naturally referring to the Justice card of the tarot, this title is the same as the story title. Funnily enough, this is the 11th chapter, and the 11th card in the tarot deck. (I guarantee you I did not plan this bit… Funny how these things play out, ain't it?) The Justice card naturally stands for cause and effect, clarity, or truth; ultimately, it's a representation of karmic retribution, and what the Owls are in dire need of facing. The title overall is referring to both the [para]phrase "do not ask for whom the bell tolls, for it tolls for thee" (in the original context: a grievance over death for all out of love for community/mankind, not just one person) and the "toll" - as in cost or damage - of enacting justice. What Bruce has put himself through to become and keep being Batman, the enactor of vengeance for all those wronged in the city of Gotham, and what ultimately the Court of Owls has sacrificed - either wittingly or unwittingly - in the name of justice. It also extends to John, who for the sake of "justice" is routinely stuck in Arkham, in one way or another, and has never had a conceivably just or fair life at all - thus paying the unwilling toll opposing Bruce and the Owls. We can also extend it to Tiffany, who is making good on her work with Bruce to "pay her toll" for her own crime, with her toll being seen in a positive light as Robin, compared to what life sentence she might have been paying otherwise.

[the sword in the pulpit] - a symbolic reference to The Justice card, as the Justice card in the major arcana often depicts a sword, either alone or in someone's hand. This can also be interpreted as a reference to the Ace of Swords in the minor arcana, which is normally pointing upwards, referring to victory, truth, or ideas; when flipped, as it would be when looking at the initial depiction of the sword as a "cross", it stands for lies and confusion. The sword in the story itself is a symbol of justice, and uses snakes as the stand-in for the forces of Evil, which are destroyed by the owl making up the handle and supposedly wielding the blade.

"the skull peeking out of the knight’s helmet" [card in the box on Reverend's desk] - A very clear reference to the Death card, famous in the tarot deck. It signifies change, inevitable cycles, and new beginnings/directions. Depending on the reading, it can be interpreted as an actual death, but more often than not it’s merely showing of a life change. As this is the Reverend’s deck, it seems the last card he drew was Death… The viewer can interpret this as a reading from the Reverend into the Arkham plot, where Death is representing John’s own changes, the end of Talon Adam’s latest “cycle”, or the actual deaths that had occurred (no matter how many there are in the end). The viewer can also read this as the Reverend trying to find his own fate, the fate of Roman Sionis for his trial, or Batman’s fate. All of them are quite valid, but I feel the most accurate interpretation is that the Rev' was trying to read the future of the Court of Owls.

○ …as mentioned above, the Death card is the most overt reference to the Tarot. This way, if someone didn't piece together the weird chapter titles, the specified numbers and number-letter strings, and/or the odd names of people and places, they'd be able to double-back and see them as clues. They are put there purely as a storytelling clue for the audience. As you can tell, the tarot references increased with each chapter…almost like someone is trying to get your attention…

[the framed painting] - a reference to The High Priestess, aka card II of the tarot. This card is indicative of intuition and looking within, and can signal to mysteries at hand or a higher power at work. The pillars on the card are (hilariously enough) marked with a B and J, and are in black and white, respectively. They stand for Boaz (Strength) and Jachin (Establishment), and are meant to represent the duality of nature, good/evil, masculine/femine, etc. Naturally, both pillars are equal. In this depiction, it is both relating to “the player’s” own duality, with the ability to be flexible as Bruce and John and have both good and bad decisions play through the story, and as a strong hint to a higher power being present.

8-9-6-3 [candle puzzle] - It takes a bit to work out by sorting through the alphabetic values to each number, but it doesn’t make a complete word. On ye olde phone keypad, 1 is always null in value, so it’s always unlit in the candle sequence, and since there are 4 other numbers present we know it doesn’t count as part of the string. (If there were only 3, you could guess a year from your notes.) My idea for the “game” specs of this part would be that the key-code would be somewhat randomized, either using a specific year (if Tiffany and/or Iman are not present, this is *always* the case, as you have to utilize your background notes and the candles by yourself), a few translated letter combinations just for fun, or an occasional number-card type combo, as presented here. (In some lucky scenarios, “the player” doesn’t have to solve the candle puzzle, since Tiffany can figure out the year by herself and just call you over when she opens the door. You still have the option of looking around, though!) In this case, the values are another tarot-themed hint, using the card number first: 8-w-n-d, for the 8 of Wands, which alludes to quick actions. AKA “Get ready for quick-time events!!!”

"looking more like the king on the throne than a judge" - Meant to allude to The Emperor card, the ultimate royal symbol in the major arcana and always depicted with a king. Traditionally this symbolizes power, authority, control, etc., but when reversed it alludes to overbearingness, arrogance, and chaos. For the Owls, they would likely see themselves as the upright depictions, even when presented upside down before the person doing their reading… And here is no better example, with the Reverend Overfield taking place as the ultimate authority over the Court.

"like [Sonja] had a say in commanding the room" - Alluding to The Empress, in conjunction with Rev’s position, this card alludes to femininity, motherhood, nurturing, creativity, and/or abundance. When reversed, it stands for neglect, creative blocks, overbearing, and/or uncaring. Sonja is a good example of an overbearing mother, trying to make decisions for her child because she thinks she knows best - thus fits the reversed reading well.

[Courtroom layout] - How curious is it that I haven't referenced The Devil when we have so many opportunities? That's because I strove to show this card rather than reference it overtly. The Devil card depicts El Diablo in the upper middle, lording over the card, with two souls chained to him at the bottom. The classic depiction shows a female demon-like human on one side and a male demon-like human on the other. As such, Rev. Sebastian sits on the high bench as the judge, overlooking the courtroom, and Sonja and Evan sit beneath him, one embedded on each side of the lower bench, sitting before him rather than beside him. Naturally, The Devil card represents temptation, manipulation, and materialism (though not necessarily of physical things). There is nothing more suited to The Devil card than the Reverend Sebastian Overfield and the Talons.

Circe | Cindy Peterson - Circe was the original Black Mask's downfall, or at least serious decent into who would be Black Mask. In her origin, she was a model who seduced Roman and ended up being blamed for his poor business choices, as he completely revolved Janus Inc.'s new direction around her image, somewhat at her insistence. Roman seemed to love her, but grew vengeful when she dumped him. She was named Circe, after the witch who lured men to their doom. In this story, she plays a much less active role but ultimately still serves as Roman's downfall, though in a very different way. : she does seem to care about Roman, going so far as to hide him on her yacht, not rat him out for his overt gang activities, and even leave Gotham with him for good to run from Batman despite not being in a relationship with him for long. But Bruce is able to spin this to his advantage, openly lying that she was working for him undercover and twisting Roman's affection for her into paranoid doubt, which he eventually lashed out with and ended up being caught because of. Circe never got a ~proper~ name in the original canon, so I dubbed her Cindy. The name "Cindy" can be boiled down to “person from Kynthos” and since Circe is Greek… Well, it fits well enough!

"[…]waltzing into the danger-zone without his wingman" - It’s Top Gun's “You can be my wingman anytime”, but with ALL the homoerotic implications!

"the Degnah Club" - The Degnah Club can be inferred to be one of Roman Sionis’ clubs, or just one his False-Face Society visited on occasion, but the event that happened there is implied to have taken place before the start of the story. “Degnah” when written backwards is “hanged”, referencing the Hanged Man card. When upright, this card means sacrifice and selfless acts. When reversed, as very much implied here, it’s an unnecessary sacrifice. This is both a play on what Roman’s implying – which is likely a very violent event – being an “unnecessary sacrifice” as part of Matt Chaney’s greater scheme for the Court of Owls, and as an allusion to Matt’s fate, where his morals/good choices/old law-abiding life were thrown away for an inevitably failed pursuit.

"[Tiffany | Robin's] personal count of 13" - The 13th card in the tarot is Death, bringer of change and ender of cycles. It’s also a traditionally unlucky number. This number is the “body-count” of Tiffany’s run through the Court so far. Does it reference the end of the Court's latest cycle, or something else…?

Accompanying the Tarot, as mentioned earlier I also tied in other fortune-telling methods, with the counting of crows and reference to the zodiacal horoscope. I also threw in allusions to luck, with The Lucky Hotel and The Lot (in both name and the fact that it's a casino). This is all tied entirely around the concept of fate and being able to change it with the choices you have made or currently make as "the player". Luck itself has nothing to do with your choices and the fates you guide Bruce and John to, and it's not something "the player" can control - it's an illusion, with things seemingly lucky for our heroes having already been written in on purpose to lead to the next event. It's essentially a long, drawn-out joke.

Talons/Reverend's Owl Masks - I wanted the Talons to be set apart from the rest of the Court and have special owl faces. The Court's owl masks are as follows:

○ Talon Adam - Great Horned Owl; chosen for the owl's large size and hunting ability, as well as the protruding "horn" feathers mimicking Batman's cowl. This is the most common owl used in media. The "horns" are meant to clue the reader into the culprit early on. Adam's a Batman-fan, so he mimicked Bats' style.

○ Talon Sonja - Snowy Owl; chosen for the owl's fairly elegant feather pattern and Sonja's ~colder~ personality. Sonja had a masquerade one to show her "humane" side to prospective Owls, but always wears a full-faced mask for the rest of the Court.

○ Talon Evan - Barn Owl; chosen for it's ghost-like face and screeching call, and it's hunting skills. They sometimes are seen as bad omens. While Adam was a mysterious stalker, Evan is overtly dangerous upon appearance, in no due part to his temper.

○ Reverend Sebastian Overfield - Eastern Screech Owl; this owl is smaller than the other, but has similar "horn" feathers to the Great Horned, and a gray face. The "horns" are meant to be another a mirror to Batman, but can be considered another allusion to The Devil. It isn't the largest or flashiest owl of the bunch, but Sebastian has the most power of all the Court members.

[The "Justice" bell-toll] - traditionally, a church bell tolls to signify someone passing into death. In the Court/Church of Mercy's case, they use a bell rung at midnight to signify a complete "trial" and a carry-out of their own brand of "justice"…which also culminates in death. The "trial" shown in this chapter is a rarity, as the offenders are actually present to get a talking-to before their sentencing - generally, the Church will hold a mock-trial to decide the fates of the perpetrators…after some previous counseling with Talons and select older members. (Think of the Trial like a ceremonial conference for the majority of the time.)

Chapter 12: Ten Cheers to the World!

[title] - The act of cheering, aka toasting, is to raise a cup and drink towards someone or something in celebration or tribute. Here, it's referring to the tarot's Ten (X) of Cups, which is pretty much the best card you could pull in a reading - when upright, as it is here, it means celebration, fulfillment, and happiness! The World card is the final card in the Major Arcana, encapsulating completion, accomplishment, and harmony, all from inner and outer sources. It might seem redundant at first, but the Cups suite in the Minor Arcana is all in regards to emotions, relationships, and love; in comparison, the Major Arcana represents a journey from innocence and ignorance to wisdom and completion. So you have an emotional celebration with fulfilling relationships, and the story's path marked as complete in both a literal and figurative sense.

"An accident at Ace Chemicals" [Iman & John's convo] - Referencing the majority of Joker origins, wherein pre-Joker fell into the vat of chemicals at Ace Chemicals and survived, leading to a psychotic breakdown due to his changed appearance and/or the circumstances around to what led him to Ace Chemicals in the first place.

"the string of deaths in the Velestra mafia" [Iman & John's convo] - a ref to the former mafia/main antagonists in Batman: Mask of the Phantom that kept getting killed off one by one by the Phantom. Whether The Phantom exists in this world…we'll have to wait and see, I guess!

"an unrecoverable ‘data loss’ at the Agency" [Iman & John's convo] - not a reference to canon, but my own theory on a potential background for John being a former Agent…(see further below)

"Et tu, Peeps?" - a riff on "Et tu, Brute?", Julius Ceasar's last words as he was betrayed and stabbed to death.

"Maybe I was someone in the wrong place at the wrong time" / "someone at the right place at the wrong time" [John monologue] - Another reference to the most popular background choice, the Ace Chemical origin story, and it’s variations. Though probably lacking Batsy’s involvement, considering the timeframe…

"Maybe I was some experiment gone wrong" [John monologue] - A reference to a different author's Season 3 replacement fanfic, where John ended up being a genetically modified human/test tube baby. Unfortunately the work got deleted from Ao3??? And my bookmark is gone, so I can't name the fic… But I still remember you, Unknown Author!!! It was a fun story and I've never forgotten that twist!!!! \( >o< )/

"Maybe I was even an Agent, like you" [John monologue] - My own little theory as to why the Agency was so keen on getting him for the Suicide Squad – and why he was considered a dangerous part of the gang despite not doing too much of interest in Season 1 (even if you consider the theory that he was helping Lady Arkham get her chemicals/drugs) – was that he was part of the Agency somehow. Either an agent who screwed up on the job, a rogue agent that escaped death via Agency trap…or maybe a guy who knew too much! But it's a fun, fresh idea to bring to Joker's multi-choice past, right? (( ;w;)) <(please say yes)

hippocampus - The region(s) of the brain that primarily deals with memory.

[the photo] - I wanted to leave it up to the reader/"player" to decide what kind of pre-Arkham past the TellTale!Joker has… So whether you think the picture Iman has is a "real" photo of him or not is entirely up to you.

"[…]'you're the moon to my sun'" [John, 'paraphrasing' Bruce] - In Tarot terms, this is a reference to the Sun card, representing joy, success, and masculinity, as well as another reference to the Moon card. One can also interpret the Sun card as "success in overcoming your obstacles or fears". As the Moon card can represent inner fears and femininity, it's a fitting opposite for interpreting this romantic line. While Bruce doesn't exactly embody the "positivity" and "joy" that this card represents, he brings that feeling into John's life, and Bruce is more traditionally masculine in contrast to John. This is also an overt use of the phrase "[they're] the moon to their sun" - a romantic notion that one person, though the opposite to the other, is completely complementary, like a One True Love. TeamFourStar's playthrough of TellTale Batman: The Enemy Within had not one, but TWO mentions of the "moon to [their] sun" line, the second of which was referring to John and Bruce. This one's for you, fellas!!! ( ^3^)

○ Funnily enough, The Moon is a very broadly interpreted card. Sometimes it's not a good card to have because deception, manipulation, illusion, and mystery/confusion are all potentially at work in your life. Sometimes it's an excellent card, because it tells you examine your feelings to resolve a problem, or tells you that you aren't seeing the whole picture. The reversed of the card is often attributed to avoidance of one's problems and further confusion, but also clarity, truth, and the full view of what's going on. If John is the embodiment of The Moon in the upright position, then I say Bruce is that of the Reversed Moon…

"[…] two lovers against the world" - Another classic romantic phrase that can be turned into a Tarot reference. The original phrase is meaning two romantic partners are pitted against "the world"/external forces that threaten to tear them apart, but they are committed to each other regardless. You can't really pit cards against each other in a reading, but you can read Past-Present-Future. In which case, in story terms, The Fool is always the Past, The Lovers is the Present here, and The World is the Future. As mentioned earlier, The World represents harmony and completion - if reversed, it would mean incompletion and chaos. The Lovers card is representing a strong union being forged between two people, very often romantic in terms of the Tarot. The meaning is usually attributed to decisions in a relationship being made (whether to start a new one, or to deepen the one you have), but it can also represent people outright, as well as an indication that a new partnership/relationship is on the way. When reversed, Lovers represents disharmony, imbalance, or a loss of relationship. In our story, of course, our two lovers are representing the upright reading of the card in the Present, showing as a strong couple. As it's "against", it implies that The World is something that will be a challenge, so it's likely Reversed. Which is a pretty good representation of Gotham in general, isn't it? lol~

○ The Lovers can also be seen symbolically in chapters 8 and 9, when Bruce and John are laying opposite each other and linking pinkies/holding hands at the hotel. :)

○ John uses the romantic line regardless of whether he's a vigilante or not! If you didn't get the Best Ending, aka our Sleepover Ending, Bruce would wind up back in the parlor with John as usual, and once the rest of the fam are gone (if they were there at all), he uses it to describe themselves. In the villain route, Bruce and John converse in the Batmobile on the way back to Arkham, and John uses the line there, too. ;3c

○ Naturally, you don't really get this complete scene if "your" Bruce is with Selina in the vigilante route.

Ending Type - …it's not a tarot reference or anything specific. I just wanted to let you know that you can ONLY get the Sleepover Ending if you have Tiffany and John in Bruce's party on good terms with each other AND with Bruce.

○ You can drive Tiffy away from Bruce by saying she shouldn't be with them at the Court Battle, but also by generally not believing in her/being mean and giving a neutral reaction to her staying during Battle; she won't go back to the cave with Bruce, so you don't get a chance to speak to her directly afterwards as either character. (John can still have his conversation with her via text, and they can still end on the same terms.)

○ If you don't have vigilante!John, there's no one else to help lift the things, so Tiffy's idea is never brought up.

○ John is always simping desperate for Bruce's attention, so even if you don't treat him as well in a platonic relationship, he'll still be there for this Ending type. ;_;

○ If you have a Romanced!Selina in your party, Selina will join you in both Court Battle and the Ending as seen in this story. It'll either cause her to take Iman's place (if she is not present) or to have extra spot suddenly appear above the rest of the group. Like Tiffy, she overheats and needs more space too cool off.

§ You can also talk to her as John, and sort of makeup/say your part of the team now. (But John will still be somewhat jealous of the attention she gets.)

§ John doesn't get the emotional hug with Bruce if Selina is around - especially since she doesn't temporarily leave with Tiffany and Iman - but the conversation is almost the same.

§ Naturally you can talk to her as Bruce, too. I don't think on her options too much, but they'll likely talk about change and what it means to have this "job" and internalizing too much of their emotions/themselves.

§ If you and Selina are only friends, Selina can join you in the Court Battle, but will text you instead of sticking around.

1:06 A.M & [Clock time on Belltower in Chapter 11] - Bruce's sense of time is off, which is why he's surprised it's after 1AM and not closer to 2AM. (Can't blame him, he was unconscious for a while and a whole bunch of stuff happened.) I figured if Bruce broke out of his kidnapping ropes at 10PM sharp, and drove all the way to the GCPD, that's about 20-30 minutes in his supercharged car, if not a little less, plus with 5 minutes to escape proper. If we think GCPD is sort of a halfway point to Old Gotham/The Coventry district, it's another 15 minutes to there. So he'd arrive at the Church of Mercy before 11PM, and wait John for around another 10-15 minutes, including with all the investigating inside. The "trial" scene probably took another 10 minutes until Batman crashed it, and fight scenes seem long because of all the action going on, but by the time Bruce and co' leave, it's not 12AM yet. The bell-tower in the Church of Mercy is actually off by about 20 minutes… And what do you know, card XX (20) of the tarot's Major Arcana is Judgement, alluding to karma at work! It can also be attributed to a life change. ;D

"11:43:20PM" - this wasn't deliberately meant to allude to anything. It took the batfam about 2 minutes from the last toll to leave the church. Bells' tolling speed is varying between clocks and towers, but you can estimate about 30-45 seconds for a full twelve. If it rang at 11:40 exactly, then…ugh, this is sounding like math homework.

Epilogue:

[Still a WIP, so will be updated after it's uploaded! Shouldn't have much, though! Saay, isn't there a Major Arcana card missing? (9v9) I wonder what that iiiiis~]

So that was [just about] all of them! I had a lot of fun weaving them throughout the story this time, especially with the story's themes! AtBoM didn't have as nearly as many, so they weren't really worth mentioning before.

I hope this was helpful to those of you who were interested in diving beneath the surface of BtTTS: TToJ~!

#ttoj #ttoj reference guide #telltale batman #batman the telltale series #tarot cards #I made it a goal to use all the Major Arcana! #fortune-telling #it took me a month to compile this whole guide #I had notes scattered between my Word doc and google doc #hopefully this wasn't too hard to read #even if no one got any of these i'm satisfied! #they were really fun to write!! #edit: corrected Eric's last name (my bad)

[sub2jayplayzyeet]

Research: character designs

These are some ides for my game characters. the first image shows the traits and emotions of what my character is about. My plan is that the main character is a half robot and half sausage military solider that adventures into a chaotic and destroyed planet where all food as turned evil and corrupt, there will be more detail in the future. the characters in the first image shows the characters traits and emotions such as he will be strong, powerful, has military skills, half robot, funny, soft personality, adventurous, tactical, mysterious and is the best character in the game. 

All the characters such as DOOM guy, Rambo and Terminator are all strong, indepenant, powerful and well known characters from different games. the character will look similar to the military style as he will have weaponry and military grade weapons and his companion at all times. Doom guy is strong, kills demons that came from hell and has taken over earth, has a great arsenal of weapons and collects action figures of himself and his enemies.

Rambo is another military based character that uses his bow, guns and iconic moves from the series and is very strong and a independent character. The Terminator, a strong robot sent from the future, to kill the future leader of the resistance, comes from the world of the future where a artificial intelligence has wiped out nearly all of the worlds population. again strong, independent and smart as he is apart of that same artificial intelligence and uses time travel to hunt down his targets within different times. Now Terry, Terry is a strong, soft, lovable and funny character with a great personality that everyone would love to meet, but when he gets angry he gets really violent and may smash your phone. Link, from The Legend Of Zelda Breath Of The Wild, link is adventurous, powerful and smart but doesn't like talking, only grunting. he uses swords, bows and arrows with different elements. Ellie from the last of us part 1 and 2 is a strong, lovable character and also tactical aswell. she is trapped in a world where a virus has spread throughout the world and later throughout the 1st game, Ellie is found out that she is immune to the virus. Now the Arkham Knight, he is a mysterious and strong foe that hates the Batman, but people didn't know that he would soon to become Jason Todd, that died in the last Arkham batman game, that had been turned against him by the joker. Finally my favorite character ever in my video game history, cloud strife, and he doesn't need any explaining, he is the definition of BADASS. Cloud wealds the buster sword that DESTROYS anything that the blade touches. 

The second image shows the different fortnite food related skins that I would like to base my main character and other characters on. all the different characters are based on separate foods such as the Marshmello skins that is based on the DJ Marshmello and his marshmello look and the same with all the different characters as well. they all have different colour schemes and unique looks towards their chosen food. the Fortnite characters are either taken inspiration from the foods colour schemes and masks and outfits when some of the characters are not human at all, but they are the food for example Peely. Peely is a banana and has became the banana with human like legs and arms, with the same colour scheme and the banana peels.