Heroes of the Squared Circle 18: Anger, Frustration, and Pain

[mithen]

Title: Anger, Frustration, and Pain
Relationship: Clark/Bruce
Characters: Clark Kent, Bruce Wayne, Harvey Dent, Big Barda, Scott Free, Jack Napier, Oliver Queen, Lex Luthor, Dick Grayson, Selina Kyle, Waylon Jones
Continuity: Heroes of the Squared Circle, a DC/pro wrestling fusion ( click for notes and all chapters).
Warnings/Spoilers: None
Rating

Comments

[queen0fcups]

Ahh, Vince's irrational hatred of skilled little guys coming into play as Lex's attitude towards Dick, I like that. And I love that Bruce sees what bullshit it is.

Also, I sense that, despite the 'only to you' dialogue, maybe Selina has known Bruce long or well enough to see through him as well.

Poor Red Hood Jack :( I like the idea of it as a monster heel gimmick that anyone can play. A perfect homage to the roots of the character. I don't know how long this story is going to go, but since we had a look at baby Jason, I am loving the image of him taking that gimmick one day and making it his own.

[mithen]

Ahh, Vince's irrational hatred of skilled little guys coming into play as Lex's attitude towards Dick, I like that.

Muahaha, it's one of the things I find most annoying about Vince, so it was rather fun to make it Lex's Achilles heel... :)

It's interesting, I don't know much of Bruce's pre-Clark backstory (I know a fair amount about his childhood, but not his early wrestling days!) But you're right, Selina seems to have a pretty good understanding of him as well...

I don't know how long this story is going to go, but since we had a look at baby Jason, I am loving the image of him taking that gimmick one day and making it his own.

Yessss, I admit when I realized it's a gimmick that can get handed around, I totally imagined Jason getting assigned it later and just managing to make it his own somehow (preferably without guns, lol!) I'm really hoping to expand things that far into the future--time is pretty fluid and odd in this AU, but that's probably only about six or seven years in the future...

[bradygirl_12]

Always a treat to see a new chapter on my flist! :)

I love how Bruce greatly admires Dick's abilities but is always pushing to make him better. Dick's a little too much like Clark so will need tutoring to bring out that aggressiveness that Bruce says he needs.

I knew Selina was the one who made the LJ cut quote. ;)

Bruce and Lex will knock heads in the very near future. They're too much alike in many ways. :)

Jack nearly losing it after being relegated to Red Hood had Joker connotations. I wonder if Bruce will see his potential and persuade Lex to give him a chance with a new gimmick, and possibly regret it? You did write that he felt wary of Jack in an earlier chapter.

It'll be fun to see Dick prove Lex wrong. Or maybe he'll get his chance in that new promotion of Wayne Enterprises in the future, eh? ;)

[mithen]

Always a treat to finally get another chapter up! *grin*

I love how Bruce greatly admires Dick's abilities but is always pushing to make him better. Dick's a little too much like Clark so will need tutoring to bring out that aggressiveness that Bruce says he needs.

The Graysons are wonderful, but Bruce is kind of itching to mentor Dick and really bring out the greatness he can see in him! And Dick's character arc has turned out to be really important to the DCW, which has delighted me--it'll be a slow build, but there's a LOT to come for Dick... *dances eagerly*

[bradygirl_12]

Dick's always in the thick of things, isn't he? ;)

Ooh, starsandsea made a very good point! That guard pointing a gun at Clark (stun gun or not) must have brought back very bad memories. *pets Bruce*

It's going to be one of the fun reveals of this series when Clark finds out how much money that Bruce really has. :)

[starsandsea]

"Sex in the ring." Barda grinned at Scott, who turned red to the roots of his hair. "Sounds fun."

Hee! Barda/Scott OTP!

"Luthor's making me the Red Hood!" Napier wailed, jittering around the room.

Oh! That's...Meeep!

It was pitch-black, but they didn't need to see each other anymore to bump fists lightly.

*flails quietly*

Clark put his shoulder down and clipped him lightly as he came forward; the guard made a growling noise and pulled out a prop stungun. Clark shook his head: You think a little shock's going to stop me? and started to push past him again.

"Hold it!" The guard's wrist was suddenly caught in Bruce's grip, and the stungun clattered to the ground. "Get to the ring," Bruce said to Clark; he let go of the guard as Clark hurried past and followed.

Meep! Oh! Oh, for Bruce that must have been... *pets him*

At the count of seven, Bruce shot Clark a look that Clark knew well by now: I'm about to go off-script and you need to respond.

Oh boy, thought Clark, and realized that the thought was not exasperated but gleeful.

[mithen]

Hee! Barda/Scott OTP!

I really need to make sure they get more screen time, they are so adorable!

Meep! Oh! Oh, for Bruce that must have been... *pets him*

It's true! Clark just shrugs it off, of course, but for Bruce it must have been such a horrible moment...

I had to quote all of that, because...! *flails quietly again*

It seems like so many of my long stories basically become "the mystery of Bruce Wayne and how Clark unravels it," doesn't it? He's just...such an interesting mystery... :)

I'm so glad Jack Napier is working for you! *grins* He's fun to write--Joker without the, you know, actual murder...

[zolac_no_miko]

All of the little complexities of this universe are so fascinating to me. There are a million little storyline threads and I'm just dying to know where all of them go. You've done a brilliant job with this so far, especially considering that professional wrestling was a topic I knew very little about and had very little interest in prior to this story.

Also this long, slow, stretch of UST is KILLING ME. In the best way possible, of course! :D

[mithen]

I gotta tell you, keeping everything straight and going forward at the same time and at the right pace is kind of killing me as well! This is by far the most complex thing I've ever written, because there are so many other sub-plots going on, most of which we only glimpse here and there as they develop...I feel kind of like that centipede who could keep going until someone asked "how do you know which foot goes next?" and then he was just a twitching heap, lol...

Also, UST! SO MUCH UST THAT CLARK REFUSES TO EVEN NOTICE, DAMN YOU CLARK.

Hee, I am so glad this works for you despite wrestling being Bizarroland for you! (God, it is the weirdest form of entertainment in the world...)

[rdfox]

Oh man. I'm so starting to imagine Napier eventually being put into the comedy heel gimmick again, but with a twist, in that he's, in kayfabe, *trying* to be funny, and when he fails and people don't get the joke, he snaps and goes all psycho on them...

Somehow, I just get the image of Jason eventually having the Red Hood gimmick absolutely catch fire, resulting in his being moved into a speaking role from it, as a "new wrestler" (maybe Dick's replacement as Robin?), only to have the fans just completely crap on the new gimmick (maybe backlash for trying to just replace Dick as Robin without any interruption, and everyone can tell it's not the same guy?) and the far worse guy under the hood, forcing them to return Jason to the Red Hood character, but in a more evolved form where he does occasionally do some talking and such...

[mithen]

I'm so starting to imagine Napier eventually being put into the comedy heel gimmick again, but with a twist, in that he's, in kayfabe, *trying* to be funny, and when he fails and people don't get the joke, he snaps and goes all psycho on them...

Oh good, his on-edge qualities are coming through (I mean, of course they are, he's the JOKER and everyone knows it, lol).

And yes, I hadn't started off thinking about Jason in the future, but there's so much possibility there, isn't there? Especially since it's possible that the Joker kayfabe-kills him and he comes back Undertaker-style (I don't know quite how much of that kind of thing the DCW can take, although we are going to see some classic brainwashing/mind control elements in there eventually...) But Jason taking on Napier's old gimmick--that'll drive the smarks crazy, won't it?