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munninTitle: Exodus – Last Train to Anywhere film clip.
Author: Munnin
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Dick, Tim, Jay, Steph.
Verse: Band!AU
Disclaimer: No ownership, no profit and no offence meant. Everyone is of the age of consent in their country and period of history.
Author’s notes: 100% organic. May contain minor flaws and imperfections that beta-treated slash wouldn’t.
Bingo card: AU. Castaways Masterlist here.
Summary: The Robin’s music video for their song Exodus – Last Train to Anywhere gives an autobiographical account of their escape from Gotham...not a perfectly accurate one (missing all the bat-stuff) but it tells the story.
Author’s notes: a while ago Alexiel and I tossed around the idea of storyboarding a film clip for one of the Robin’s songs. I hope someday we will get a chance to play around with it but here’s my attempt at describing the film clip playing in my head.
It’s all short descriptions and present tense. I have NO gift for music so I don’t know what the song sounds like but here goes...
The screen starts dark with a slow building drum beat and baseline, like a ticking or a heartbeat. It builds to a crashing crescendo.
The screen brightens suddenly with a flash, blinding out the dark. The scene cools slowly to a long shot of four figures running down a road. The street is filled with ruined buildings, smoke, dust and hazy fills the air.
A building shifts and bricks tumble on to the road. The four runners dodge, jumping through the ruins. The smoke lifts long enough to see them clearly. It’s the elder Robins – Dick, Jay, Tim and Steph. They have bags slung over their shoulders and their clothes are dishevelled. Steph’s hair is flying everywhere and she whips it out of her face as she runs.
They slow as reach the edge of a crowd and the camera pans out. The harbour is a crush of people and panic. The National Guard is directing traffic, guiding people onto the ferries and across the water. Boat after boat comes and goes, conveying of people out of the city.
The music slows to a crawling pace, steady but frustrating like it’s on the point of breaking into something faster but doesn’t.
The crowd shuffles forward, funnelling them onto a ferry. The space is tight and claustrophobic. The door bangs closed with a shudder, making the crowd jump.
Tim rocks on his heels, glancing over his shoulder, unsteady and anxious, looking like he’s ready to bolt. Dick touches his shoulder lightly but Tim finches and glances away again. Dick dropped at hand to Tim’s cheek and draws him up to look him in the eye. Their eyes lock and Tim drags a shuddering breath and stills...
The music speeds up again, chaotic and discordant.
The crowd surges as the ferry shudders to stop. Steph stumbles and Dick reach to catch her before the rush of humanity drags her away. Their fingertips brush and slip and she vanishes from view. Jay shouts something at Dick and tossed his bag to his older brother before diving after her.
The camera follows Dick and Tim as the flow of the crowd pushes them towards the train station.
The station is a seething mass of panic and tears, people everywhere. Dick holds tight to Tim’s hand, dragging him towards concrete pylon and pushes him up onto it before climbing up himself. Castaways in a sea of seething humanity, Dick searches the crowd for any sign on Jay and Steph. He leans out, slipping slightly but Tim catches him, gripping his waist tight.
The camera’s focus shifts to group of children not far from the pylon, none of them older than ten. Each one of them has a label pinned to their shirt and is holding into a bag, most of which were larger than the child. A woman who looks on the verge of tears fights to keep them together against the flow of the crowd but one little boy is pushed aside by the stampede. His label tears and falls to the ground, trampled by a parade of feet. The woman clutches at the remaining children and screams the boy’s name.
The boy is knocked down and lost beneath the feet of the crowd. Tim watches in horror, his chest heaving. Dick shouts something and reached down to pull Steph up to them but Tim grabs Jay’s shoulder and points to where the boy fell. Jay nods and vanishes again. Tim watches, his eyes sharp as Dick hugs Steph who is pale and shaken, her bag is gone.
There is a scuffle and people are shoved aside. Suddenly the boy reappears, hoisted high on Jay’s shoulders. A man with a briefcase gestures angrily at Jay who growls, pushing his way towards the frantic carer to dump the child into her grateful arms.
Jay fights his way back to the pylon and helps them all down. His face is grave and there’s a smear of blood on his cheek. He reached up, his hands on Tim’s waist to lift him down and for a moment Tim pauses, whispering a thank you and brushing a hand concernedly over Jay’s cheek. Jay shakes it off but holds tight to Tim’s hand and they push for the train.
The train is crammed with people and luggage, The Robins squeeze into two free seats; Dick and Tim with Steph half in their laps, Jay stands, leaning over them protectively. Their knees jammed together and their bags squashed between them.
Tim stares out into the empty night, his eyes distant and empty. Steph fiddles with her phone, shaking her head frustratedly as the screen lights up with *network busy* over and over. Jay hovers tensely, uncomfortable having so many people so close. Dick’s attention flits between them; a quick squeeze of Jay’s shoulder, his arm around Steph’s waist to steady her as she shifts, his hand on Tim’s knee.
The night wears on and Steph and Tim fall asleep, Steph’s head resting on Tim’s shoulder. Jay sways on his feet and Dick reaches up to steady him, shifting to offer his brother the seat. Jay shakes his head but Dick insists, gesturing towards dining car.
As Dick stuffs several bottles of water and bags of crisps into the pockets of jacket, he glances down the photo in his wallet. It’s a candid shot of Bruce, Tim and Damian working on one of the bikes out on the driveway. Out of line of sight of his siblings, Dick slums against a wall, swaying with the rhythm on the train. Grief and pain was etched across his face as he runs his thumb over the image, tracing the curve of Bruce’s rare smile. The train pitches into a sharp bend and Dick slips, losing his footing. A hand flattens to the wall at his side, catching him as he falls. He looks up as Jay presses him against the wall, holding him up.
The elder Robin tries to hide his tears but Jay reaches to catch Dick’s face and brushes them away. He raises a questioning eyebrow but Dick nods, pulling himself back together. Jay sighs and leans in, pressing their foreheads together.
The scene cuts to the four of them climbing off the train and wandering through the lonely streets of an unknown and empty city, their bags over their shoulders.
Tim chases rock up the pavement with his sneaker and strays away from the others. Dick follows him, wrapping a guarding and guiding arm around Tim’s shoulder to bring him back.
In the foyer of a sleazy looking hotel, they empty the contents of their wallets, barely scrapping together the price of a room for the night.
The scene cuts to the room; Tim, Jay and Steph collapsed on the solitary double bed, still dressed with the stained blankets sprawled messily around them. Dick perches on the window sill, staring out into the night.
Behind Dick, a muted TV plays footage of the ruins of Gotham, a repeat of the top news story scrolls across the bottom of the screen - *Millionaire Playboy Bruce Wayne found dead in his collapsed mansion*. Silvery trails of tears down Dick’s cheek catch in the moonlight as he watches his siblings sleep.
Author: Munnin
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Dick, Tim, Jay, Steph.
Verse: Band!AU
Disclaimer: No ownership, no profit and no offence meant. Everyone is of the age of consent in their country and period of history.
Author’s notes: 100% organic. May contain minor flaws and imperfections that beta-treated slash wouldn’t.
Bingo card: AU. Castaways Masterlist here.
Summary: The Robin’s music video for their song Exodus – Last Train to Anywhere gives an autobiographical account of their escape from Gotham...not a perfectly accurate one (missing all the bat-stuff) but it tells the story.
Author’s notes: a while ago Alexiel and I tossed around the idea of storyboarding a film clip for one of the Robin’s songs. I hope someday we will get a chance to play around with it but here’s my attempt at describing the film clip playing in my head.
It’s all short descriptions and present tense. I have NO gift for music so I don’t know what the song sounds like but here goes...
The screen starts dark with a slow building drum beat and baseline, like a ticking or a heartbeat. It builds to a crashing crescendo.
The screen brightens suddenly with a flash, blinding out the dark. The scene cools slowly to a long shot of four figures running down a road. The street is filled with ruined buildings, smoke, dust and hazy fills the air.
A building shifts and bricks tumble on to the road. The four runners dodge, jumping through the ruins. The smoke lifts long enough to see them clearly. It’s the elder Robins – Dick, Jay, Tim and Steph. They have bags slung over their shoulders and their clothes are dishevelled. Steph’s hair is flying everywhere and she whips it out of her face as she runs.
They slow as reach the edge of a crowd and the camera pans out. The harbour is a crush of people and panic. The National Guard is directing traffic, guiding people onto the ferries and across the water. Boat after boat comes and goes, conveying of people out of the city.
The music slows to a crawling pace, steady but frustrating like it’s on the point of breaking into something faster but doesn’t.
The crowd shuffles forward, funnelling them onto a ferry. The space is tight and claustrophobic. The door bangs closed with a shudder, making the crowd jump.
Tim rocks on his heels, glancing over his shoulder, unsteady and anxious, looking like he’s ready to bolt. Dick touches his shoulder lightly but Tim finches and glances away again. Dick dropped at hand to Tim’s cheek and draws him up to look him in the eye. Their eyes lock and Tim drags a shuddering breath and stills...
The music speeds up again, chaotic and discordant.
The crowd surges as the ferry shudders to stop. Steph stumbles and Dick reach to catch her before the rush of humanity drags her away. Their fingertips brush and slip and she vanishes from view. Jay shouts something at Dick and tossed his bag to his older brother before diving after her.
The camera follows Dick and Tim as the flow of the crowd pushes them towards the train station.
The station is a seething mass of panic and tears, people everywhere. Dick holds tight to Tim’s hand, dragging him towards concrete pylon and pushes him up onto it before climbing up himself. Castaways in a sea of seething humanity, Dick searches the crowd for any sign on Jay and Steph. He leans out, slipping slightly but Tim catches him, gripping his waist tight.
The camera’s focus shifts to group of children not far from the pylon, none of them older than ten. Each one of them has a label pinned to their shirt and is holding into a bag, most of which were larger than the child. A woman who looks on the verge of tears fights to keep them together against the flow of the crowd but one little boy is pushed aside by the stampede. His label tears and falls to the ground, trampled by a parade of feet. The woman clutches at the remaining children and screams the boy’s name.
The boy is knocked down and lost beneath the feet of the crowd. Tim watches in horror, his chest heaving. Dick shouts something and reached down to pull Steph up to them but Tim grabs Jay’s shoulder and points to where the boy fell. Jay nods and vanishes again. Tim watches, his eyes sharp as Dick hugs Steph who is pale and shaken, her bag is gone.
There is a scuffle and people are shoved aside. Suddenly the boy reappears, hoisted high on Jay’s shoulders. A man with a briefcase gestures angrily at Jay who growls, pushing his way towards the frantic carer to dump the child into her grateful arms.
Jay fights his way back to the pylon and helps them all down. His face is grave and there’s a smear of blood on his cheek. He reached up, his hands on Tim’s waist to lift him down and for a moment Tim pauses, whispering a thank you and brushing a hand concernedly over Jay’s cheek. Jay shakes it off but holds tight to Tim’s hand and they push for the train.
The train is crammed with people and luggage, The Robins squeeze into two free seats; Dick and Tim with Steph half in their laps, Jay stands, leaning over them protectively. Their knees jammed together and their bags squashed between them.
Tim stares out into the empty night, his eyes distant and empty. Steph fiddles with her phone, shaking her head frustratedly as the screen lights up with *network busy* over and over. Jay hovers tensely, uncomfortable having so many people so close. Dick’s attention flits between them; a quick squeeze of Jay’s shoulder, his arm around Steph’s waist to steady her as she shifts, his hand on Tim’s knee.
The night wears on and Steph and Tim fall asleep, Steph’s head resting on Tim’s shoulder. Jay sways on his feet and Dick reaches up to steady him, shifting to offer his brother the seat. Jay shakes his head but Dick insists, gesturing towards dining car.
As Dick stuffs several bottles of water and bags of crisps into the pockets of jacket, he glances down the photo in his wallet. It’s a candid shot of Bruce, Tim and Damian working on one of the bikes out on the driveway. Out of line of sight of his siblings, Dick slums against a wall, swaying with the rhythm on the train. Grief and pain was etched across his face as he runs his thumb over the image, tracing the curve of Bruce’s rare smile. The train pitches into a sharp bend and Dick slips, losing his footing. A hand flattens to the wall at his side, catching him as he falls. He looks up as Jay presses him against the wall, holding him up.
The elder Robin tries to hide his tears but Jay reaches to catch Dick’s face and brushes them away. He raises a questioning eyebrow but Dick nods, pulling himself back together. Jay sighs and leans in, pressing their foreheads together.
The scene cuts to the four of them climbing off the train and wandering through the lonely streets of an unknown and empty city, their bags over their shoulders.
Tim chases rock up the pavement with his sneaker and strays away from the others. Dick follows him, wrapping a guarding and guiding arm around Tim’s shoulder to bring him back.
In the foyer of a sleazy looking hotel, they empty the contents of their wallets, barely scrapping together the price of a room for the night.
The scene cuts to the room; Tim, Jay and Steph collapsed on the solitary double bed, still dressed with the stained blankets sprawled messily around them. Dick perches on the window sill, staring out into the night.
Behind Dick, a muted TV plays footage of the ruins of Gotham, a repeat of the top news story scrolls across the bottom of the screen - *Millionaire Playboy Bruce Wayne found dead in his collapsed mansion*. Silvery trails of tears down Dick’s cheek catch in the moonlight as he watches his siblings sleep.