ghost-bxrd - Tumblr blog

ghost-bxrd · 22 minutes

Note

hey sorry this might be a stupid question, but who is Calvin rose? cause I know a bit about him from scrolling through ur blog but not much and was wondering if u could tell me more

Hi!

Calvin Rose is the main character from the DC comic series called Talon.

He had… a very rough childhood. His earliest memories are of his dad locking him in an old dog kennel and throwing away the key. Calvin managed to escape after three days outside without food or water and ran away. He was maybe six years old at that point. Maybe even younger.

Eventually he ended up at Haly’s circus where an old escape artist offered to teach Calvin his trade. He accepted.

Calvin spent the next few years learning everything he could from the man, performing along with the other circus inhabitants (like the Flying Graysons) and demonstrating his skills at getting out of seemingly inescapable bonds.

This is what ultimately attracted the attention of the Court of Owls, and after a private performance they offered to train him as someone who would help “root out the rats” in Gotham City. Calvin, baited by promises of ‘heroism’ and ‘the greater good’ was starstruck and agreed to come with them.

The Court trained him into the perfect Talon then, and at one point the “right of passage” that all Talons had to go through was upon him. The Court locked him in their labyrinth with the goal to kill the current Talon. Calvin succeeded… and was driven nearly mad with guilt over his actions.

The Court intended to let him stew in this moral dilemma for an indefinite amount of time, “breaking him in” (ie brainwashing him). Calvin, desperate to escape the tomb like silence and madness of the labyrinth, was the first one to escape that place within a day of being there. The Court found him the next day chilling in their meeting room, asleep. Instead of angry, they were impressed.

Then they sent him on his first real mission: to end the Washington bloodline.

Calvin didn’t think much of it… until he saw his target and realized the Court wanted him to kill a young mother and her two year old daughter.

He noped the hell out, took both girls, and ran fast and far away. Making sure the Court wouldn’t be able to harm them.

So yeah, character introduction ksksksks

There’s a bunch more stuff happening after this of course, but I think this is a good summary of how he started out.

He dies at one point, gets revived as an undead Talon, has a not so fun time, gets dunked in the Lazarus Pit… but yeah. A very cool character!

#Calvin rose #talon #comics #meta #court of owls #ghost talks

5 notes · View notes

ghost-bxrd · 6 hours

Note

Going for a bit more angst in the Calvin and Dick were friends angle....

What if Calvin resents Dick?

Dick was supposed to be the one taken, Calvin might have been spared all the hell he went through - he was taken instead of Dick.

Dick escaped. He got adopted by a billionaire. He has a family, has a happy life (wonder whether Calvin will be more or less resentful if he knows about the Batfam stuff...)

And Calvin had to take his place as the Court's pawn...

In the comics it’s actually a whole thing that Calvin went willingly with the Court. (But he was like— eight, so they baited him with promises of grandeur and “helping” Gotham.) And for the longest time he didn’t hate the Court or what they did, even believed in their ideals. (Until they wanted him to go and kill a young mother and her two year old daughter at which point he noped the hell out.)

It’s a huge part of Calvin’s character that he’s got a very strong moral compass and, on multiple occasions, decides to throw himself directly into the line of fire to save even his enemies if he feels like they’ve been manipulated/hurt/lied to.

So for him to hate Dick, something would have had to happen beforehand. Maybe some kind of argument that ended with Dick saying something really hurtful— that he never got to apologize for before Calvin went with the Court.

But essentially with his character as it is, I don’t think he’d ever wish what happened to him on anybody. Least of all someone he cares/cared about. For all he knows, Dick lucked out and never had to see the truly dark side of humanity. And his mere presence in Dick’s life may end up destroying that.

#Calvin’s got issues it’s a whole thing #poor guy is an escape artist and perpetually afraid he’ll be the death of everyone he loves #and he’s too sweet for his own good #bro empathized with another talon enough to turn him in their side #while that talon was actively jamming a knife into his shoulder btw #bro’s survival instincts just don’t got the new update yet #he’s running solely on ‘protect friends and family’ software #Calvin rose #dick grayson #talon #court of owls

27 notes · View notes

ghost-bxrd · 12 hours

Text

Calvin Rose brainrot. Thank you. 🦉🥀

#definitely gonna do a prompt with Calvin and Jason soon #my two fave bois #they’re so tragic #Calvin rose #jason todd #ghost talks

14 notes · View notes

ghost-bxrd · 12 hours

Text

I was quickly reading up on the Talon comic, in particular Issue #5 where we got a prologue/recap of the past few with Bruce and Dick and I came across ….this

Does….Dick actually know who Calvin Rose Is????

Cause if that’s what this implies….. I FREAKING KNEW IT XD

I KNEW THEY MIGHT’VE KNOWN ABOUT EACH OTHER AT THE LEAST DURING THEIR DAYS AT HALY’S

Where the Hell is that Crossover Between these Two, DC? I Wants It

#THEY WERE FRIENDS YOUR HONOR #let me live happily in my delusion #calvin rose #dick grayson #nightwing #talon

92 notes · View notes

ghost-bxrd · 12 hours

Note

WAIT! HOLD UP!! I JUST LOOKED IT UP AND DICK LITERALLY SAYS THAT CALVIN LOOKS FAMILIAR TO HIM!!!! THEY SO KNEW EACH OTHER OMG

IM SORRY CALVIN KNEW DICK FROM THE CIRCUS?! I'm crying, I need fics of these two reuniting. Because of course Dick wouldn't let his circus friend leave and still be in danger like that. And okay, maybe they weren't best friends they just lived in the same circus BUT IM ABSOLUTELY GONNA SIT HERE AND THINK OF FRIENDS SEPARATED BY TRAGEDY AND THEN REUNITING UNDER UNFORTUNATE CIRCUMSTANCES NOW

It’s canon that Dick at least knew about Calvin! There’s a line in the Talon comic where Batman tells Dick about the Talon spotted in Gotham City and that he found out his identity is Calvin Rose. And Dick actually steps up beside Bruce then (despite his vehement refusal to want anything to do with this case beforehand) and says something along the lines of “Wait… that name sounds familiar…”

And since it’s also canon that they lived at the circus at roughly the same time and age i totally also headcanon they were friends! Two gremlin children with extraordinary talents ✨

YOU GET IT THO THIS IS WHAT’S BEEN STUCK IN MY HEAD FOR AN ENTIRE DAY NOW AND I JUST NEED MORE FICS OF THEM 😭😭😭💚💚💚

#calvin rose #talon #dick grayson

30 notes · View notes

ghost-bxrd · 12 hours

Note

IM SORRY CALVIN KNEW DICK FROM THE CIRCUS?! I'm crying, I need fics of these two reuniting. Because of course Dick wouldn't let his circus friend leave and still be in danger like that. And okay, maybe they weren't best friends they just lived in the same circus BUT IM ABSOLUTELY GONNA SIT HERE AND THINK OF FRIENDS SEPARATED BY TRAGEDY AND THEN REUNITING UNDER UNFORTUNATE CIRCUMSTANCES NOW

It’s canon that Dick at least knew about Calvin! There’s a line in the Talon comic where Batman tells Dick about the Talon spotted in Gotham City and that he found out his identity is Calvin Rose. And Dick actually steps up beside Bruce then (despite his vehement refusal to want anything to do with this case beforehand) and says something along the lines of “Wait… that name sounds familiar…”

And since it’s also canon that they lived at the circus at roughly the same time and age i totally also headcanon they were friends! Two gremlin children with extraordinary talents ✨

YOU GET IT THO THIS IS WHAT’S BEEN STUCK IN MY HEAD FOR AN ENTIRE DAY NOW AND I JUST NEED MORE FICS OF THEM 😭😭😭💚💚💚

#Calvin rose #Talon #Dick Grayson #Robin #Nightwing #ghost talks #james tynion iv #circus friends #childhood best friends!!!!!!#the court totally told the circus Calvin died or something #and Dick was DEVASTATED #meanwhile Calvin thought Dick would forget about him quick enough because he has an actual family to care for him #joke’s on you Cal #Prompts

30 notes · View notes

ghost-bxrd · 12 hours

Text

Prompt:

The first mission the Court send their newly minted Talon on is an assassination attempt on the ward of one Bruce Wayne… Dick Grayson.

Calvin— can’t kill Dick. He can’t.

He didn’t know it would be the boy he grew up in the circus with they want him to murder in cold blood. He didn’t know— didn’t recognize him until the knife was already at his throat.

But he remembers now. And he won’t do it. Never. Never.

He’ll run. Disappear. Dick doesn’t know who he is, it’s better that way, and if he’s lucky the Court will be too busy hunting him to care about the failed assassination.

Unfortunately for Calvin, Dick does remember; Recognizes the Talon.

And he’s not inclined to let his childhood best friend slip through his fingers again after years of believing him dead.

#IT’S CANON THEY KNEW EACH OTHER #if only because they were in the same circus at the same time #but still it COUNTS! 😭😭😭#there’s only a handful of fics tangentially featuring Calvin and so help me I will RECTIFY THAT #Calvin Rose #my sweet summer child #expect more prompts featuring him guys #and fics #also Dick totally throws the Talon at Bruce and Bruce’s adoption instincts kick in point blank #like sorry but that’s a traumatized teen and apparently his earliest childhood memory is being kept locked up in a cage like a dog #sorry Bruce you have another kid now #but at least he’s totally on board with your no kill rule! so there’s that #calvin not knowing his friend and new guardian are vigilantes is stressing him tf out #he’s sure he’s their last line of defense against the court #when in reality—- they’re very much keeping HIM safe #they’re hell bent on allowing him a normal life #prompts #dick grayson #batdad #bruce wayne #Batman #robin #Nightwing #talon #court of owls #batfam #I know this is a niche prompt but more people need to hear about Calvin rose #he’s such a sweetheart for real #presumed dead

71 notes · View notes

ghost-bxrd · 14 hours

Note

I just thought of this: So you know how when Jason is resurrected he can only say Bruce? Well in Owl Song the name he says instead is Dick.

And the award for gut wrenching angst goes tooooooooooooo *drumroll* @wolfd3mon99 !!!!! 😭😭😭😭

Ngl I didn’t think of this fact before but you are so right. Jason would be so, so desperate for the safety of a Talon protecting him. For the warm nests and hugs and —

Yeah I’m not okay. Omg. 😭😭😭

#owl song #jason todd #talon dick grayson

34 notes · View notes

ghost-bxrd · 14 hours

Note

How do you picture interactions between Talon Dick and Kory aka Starfire?

I’ve never actually read any comics where Kory and Dick interact! And I’ve only read a little of the RHatO comics, where her art style was beautiful but she was a little too over sexualized in those for my tastes. Still kickass tho, that woman is an icon.

Anyway yeah, so canon flies straight out the window for this ask. Just felt I should mention it 💚

Talon Dick wouldn’t really know how to handle her at first beyond some friendly banter and (depending on where in the timeline we are) some playful flirting.

Kory may or may not fall in love with Dick in this universe, but she wouldnt be able to understand how close (and codependent) Dick and Jason are and try to pull Dick away from him a little. Not out of any malicious intent of course, she just genuinely wants to spend some more time alone with him (or even together with the rest of the titans. Robin is younger than most of them, after all. And Dick should get to do normal teenager stuff without watching Jason all the time. All valid things if the situation was a little different, alas…)

Dick doesn’t take kindly to these attempts and pulls away, setting clear boundaries in this regard, and while Kory doesn’t understand, she accepts it without fuss.

After this initial hiccup they learn how to get along and deal with each other much better. Kory and Dick become very good friends and a true force of nature whenever they’re working together.

Kory is the one they always keep on standby when there’s a chance of temperature/cold related missions/accidents because she’s trained with Dick a lot to counteract his cold induced hibernation in the most efficient and fast manner possible.

Her and Dick don’t understand a lot of things about human culture, so they definitely bond over that. Dick because he was basically raised in a murder cult with no healthy human contact, and Kory because she’s an alien. So… yeah, throwing looks at each other when regular people do something totally normal that seems entirely outlandish to them is a bonding experience. (They totally sit down and quiz each other on civilian people things, like how “screaming bloody murder” is just a phrase for a really loud or crazed scream and no actual blood or murder is involved. And no, casually walking off being run over by a truck isn’t something normal people can do.)

So yeah, fun times! They’re friends 💚

#kory anders #koryand'r #koriand'r #talon dick grayson #owl song

23 notes · View notes

ghost-bxrd · 16 hours

Text

Why do my faves all got the Lazarus Pit treatment? Do I have a type?! 😭😭😭😭

#ghost talks #Jason todd #Calvin rose #Batman #talon #court of owls #red hood

40 notes · View notes

ghost-bxrd · 18 hours

Text

Love how Batman in the Talon comics is an asshole again tho… like, bro. What happened to “everyone deserves a second chance”? That’s a traumatized man doing everything he can to bring down an evil organization and you’re telling him yeah sure I’ll work with you for now. But afterwards I’ll stick you in blackgate and into a cryo tube anyway, like— Bruce honey. Please go touch some grass. Take a sabbatical. Please. I’m begging here.

I’m getting so attached to Calvin Rose right now. Like— that boy deserves the world. 😭✨💚

#leave Calvin alone you dumbass #he just wants to have a life you big foot #Talon comics #Talon #james tynion iv #calvin rose #batman #Bruce Wayne #court of owls

38 notes · View notes

ghost-bxrd · 18 hours

Text

I’m getting so attached to Calvin Rose right now. Like— that boy deserves the world. 😭✨💚

#Calvin rose #Talon #Court of Owls #strix #Nathaniel O’Malley #my poor talon children #ghost talks

38 notes · View notes

ghost-bxrd · 23 hours

Text

More concept sketching ✍️

#digital art #jason todd #jaybin #Robin #a death in the family #a house haunting a ghost #batfamily #Angst #Sketch #doodle #fanart #wip #work in progress #concept sketch #Illustration #ghosts

111 notes · View notes

ghost-bxrd · 1 day

Note

Hi

Did the fic with Jason's death in the Fae Dick verse

Poor Dickie is a mess... Though not as much as Talon was... Probably.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/55932787

!

#fae dick grayson #fic rec #character death #feral dick grayson

10 notes · View notes

ghost-bxrd · 1 day

Note

Hi

What's your take on script fics?

Like, not just simply

Name: 'dialogue'

But actually written like scripts? Like a comic being converted to accessible format?

They aren’t for me, personally.

I need the raw imagery of emotions and metaphors and the characters internal, visceral reactions to the above to really immerse myself in a story, and screenplays just don’t do that for me. :)

#ghost talks

11 notes · View notes

ghost-bxrd · 1 day

Note

Thinking of Talon Dick working with the Titans and overprotective Jason...

Like, in a Titans mission Dick gets hurt, nothing fatal, but he'll need to be in the med bay for a bit, or is unconscious, and one of the Titans call Batman to let him know.

Cue furious Robin appearing at the Tower, out for the blood of whoever let his brother get hurt...

This would strike especially true if this is shortly after the Titans formed/Dick joined them! At that stage Jason wouldn’t know whether they can be trusted, and Dick would have refused for Robin to meet the Titans until he’s absolutely sure they’re safe for his owlet.

So… while the Titans have heard of the famous Robin, they’d never actually met him before.

So yeah, Jason showing up all of a sudden to scream bloody murder at them would leave… quite impression lol

#owl song #talon dick grayson #Jason Todd #titans

56 notes · View notes

ghost-bxrd · 1 day

Note

Been reading the new World's Finest series. That definitely goes back to Silver Age characterization for Bruce's relationships.

BFFs with Superman, revealing his own identity to Clark as soon as he deduces Clark's as a sign of trust, carefully helping a traumatized metahuman kid through a meltdown...

Dick's age isn't explicitly stated, but he dates Kara who was fifteen when she arrived on earth and is now settled in well. So he's likely seventeen, or at least sixteen. Definitely after the age his relationship with Bruce soured and he got kicked out in canon.

Here he still has a good relationship with Bruce, enough to vent to him about an embarassing date. While Bruce isn't that happy about the Titans team, it's just normal concern about a group of unsupervised teen heroes, and he respects Dick's boundaries.

He's also unlikely to have issues with Jason being taken in. At one point the possibility of Bruce adopting a new kid comes up and Dick's response is to assign himself as the cool big bro and take off to introduce the kid to the Titans.

Wondering what would happen if Dick gets swapped with mainstream counterpart...

It'd be fun to have Dicks meet each other's Jasons, but the angstiest point to get switched would be when mainstream Dick is kicked out... Right when he is still convalescent from getting shot.

World's finest Bruce panicking because his recently injured son he's still mother henning seems to think he's about to get yelled at or worse for being in the Manor...

World's finest Dick being completely confused why Bruce is being so mean to him and convinced Bruce got possessed...

The World’s Finest comics are still on my “to read list” but good dad Bruce has me so excited already.

But yeah, that particular scenario is gonna end with Bruce either keeping other Dick (after getting his own Dick back, too), or finding a way to punch other Bruce in the face. Protective batdad for the win

#other bruce better clean up his mess or he’s gonna be Robin-less and child-less #while WF Bruce is gonna have two sons he adores to no end #sorry I don’t make the rules COUGH

34 notes · View notes