#but he's still trying. he wants to be enough and he doesn't want to endanger himself even tho he'd be HEALTHIER if he did.

[spoiler-alert-andabunchofnumbers]

Anyone else losing sleep over how Hua Cheng treats Eming poorly? Eming was made from his own eye, so you'd think they'd be in sync - and they are, when it combat, because Eming was born in a desperate need for a weapon and to overcome enemies.

But Eming was also born from a low point in Hua Cheng's existence and must represent the person he was back when it was created - utterly devoted to Xie Lian, but also too weak to have been of any use to him. He saw himself as a loathsome lost puppy lapping at the heels of a god he couldn't hope to be worthy of serving, crying over everything.

It was also during his time desperately overcoming the trials to become a Supreme, aka what Hua Cheng also considers a shameful part of himself. The moment Xie Lian learns about the divine statues and murals, Hua Cheng jumps to suggest they be destroyed, and had tried as hard as he could to make sure they weren't discovered at all.

He changed himself into a suave, calm, collected, overpowered loyal servant to Xie Lian after 800 years, thinking that his prior exploits as a human and as a Wrath were too erratic and disrespectful and not at all how he wanted to be. He would indeed still do everything that Xie Lian wants of him, but now he's actually confident he could do it - so confident that he would even follow Xie Lian's heart when it doesn't seem like the right thing to do or even endangers him. No more hiding behind a mask as Wuming or lying about being his follower. He looks down upon who he used to be: all the same devotion, but not enough power, experience, or confidence to actually do anything RIGHT.

It's no wonder that Hua Cheng not only says no when Eming first wants a pet, but also repeatedly whacks Eming when the blade gets too needy. He thinks Eming's needy behavior (a reminder of his own personality back in the day) is as shameful as the past he worked desperately to leave behind. When he would have broken out into tears just trying to be noticed, when he was desperate for love and clung to Xie Lian when he first showed him kindness.

Eming is willing to show emotion and cry and become erratic even when Hua Cheng himself is keeping a surface-level calmness or focus. Is it any wonder why Hua Cheng doesn't want Xie Lian to see that he still feels emotions and weakness when he dedicated himself to being strong enough to protect Xie Lian, eliminate all his threats, get him whatever he wanted, so that he never had to suffer again?

Eming's sentience is limited, so the blade never evolves or changes or gets over its emotions by processing them over time. Hua Cheng himself was able to change into the person he wanted to be - or who he thought Xie Lian would need and like better - but Eming could never take the same steps. It remains as utterly devoted to Xie Lian and simple-minded as the moment it was born.

It just also happens to be a super deadly saber on the side nbd

#e ming #eming #tian guan ci fu #tgcf #tgcf spoilers #hua cheng #hualian #xie lian #heaven official's blessing

[camelotsheart]

are you ever a prince's second-in-command and you've watched him be a self-sacrificing prick your whole life and you're on the way to literally go face death when the prince's servant/bestie yeets himself infront of a smoke skeleton to save the prince which puts him into a semi-coma, and then rather than coming to the logical conclusion of making a knight take the bestie back to the castle, the prince literally announces that the whole team is abandoning the mission and going back, and when you try to explain to him that the lives of a whole fucking kingdom hinges on the mission he basically retorts "but his life is important to me". and then, and then, hours later the prince says to you that he should've saved his servant and be the one in a semi-coma instead which, ok, could be attributed to general survivor's guilt but then a few days later you find out that the original plan was for the prince to willingly sacrifice himself to save the kingdom and so he basically admitted to you that he would have rather died for his best friend than for the kingdom. (or, well, seeing as how the prince knew he was going to die anyway, maybe he wanted to be the one in a semi-coma so he could be given as a possible half-dead human sacrifice if he managed to stay alive for the trip, which was a dangerous risk so the point still stands). this is the point where you realise that your prince is not only a self-sacrificing prick but also a prick who doesn't realise he has codependency issues which may or may not endanger the kingdom; the level between "may" and "may not" entirely dependent on how close his best friend was to death at any given point. it is also at this point you realise that your job as the official royal bodyguard actually includes not only the prince but also his manservant, and that you should ask for a raise because you're not paid nearly enough to deal with this shit

#rip leon #bbc merlin #merthur

[prismuffin]

Miles morales x super genius male reader, maybe him trying to hide his secret identity from reader but reader figures it out 🧃

A/n: hi 🧃!! Miles Morales is currently my fixation so I’m writing this first despite it coming last! Can be read as Spiderverse or PS4 Miles!

Observant

Miles Morales x genius!male!reader

( summary: it doesn’t take a genius to see that your boyfriend, Miles, is hiding something. Luckily you are one so you piece things together a little easier )

Warnings?: *pre-established relationship~ light swearing, talks of bruising

!-!more under the cut!-!

You were currently sat in calculus, two seats behind the newer Spider-Man, or Miles Morales, as you know him. He was unmasked and was blending in as a normal student, and though he could fool everyone else you knew better than to fall for his façade. It started around 2 months ago, you'd notice the small bruises that would liter his body while you both were changing in the locker room after gym. You were worried, so you watched him a little closer to make sure he and his home life were alright. However, by looking a little closer you'd notice how he'd disappear right before the newer Spiderman would show up. You noticed how Ganke always covered for him, he always had some sort of excuse for Miles' sudden absence. He was rarely home or in his dorm on the weekends and whenever you'd call him he'd sound super out of breath as if he'd been running all day...or swinging as you deduced. It all just made sense, of course it was him and you were fine with it but you were kind of hurt as well. It's obvious that Ganke knows and that they both think that you don't know and there's no signs that they're ever going to tell you.

As the teacher drowned on and on your stare on Miles only got harder and sharper. Lately he'd been pulling away from you and you have a feeling it's because of this new Spiderman gig. Recently there had been a big fight with a villain group known as The Silencers that ended with a large bridge being destroyed and where did all the blame go? Right onto your boyfriends shoulders. He was blamed for the damage of course, podcasts, news stations, and papers were all talking about the event and you were guessing that it'd made him slightly afraid of the future. He was going to break up with you because of it, you could feel it. He "doesn't want to endanger you" or "get you hurt." You could almost hear him saying it. You wonder if the only reason he hasn't yet is because he can't think of an excuse.

The bell rang and you sighed. You should probably confront him before he tries to end things, you love Miles but you know he can get stuck in his head sometimes. Packing up your things, you rushed to his side so you both could walk to lunch together.

“Ganke caught a cold so I guess it’ll just be us today.” Miles spoke as you both exited the classroom. You nodded, deciding that confronting him alone was probably better for you anyway. After grabbing your respective lunches you suggested eating somewhere other than the lunchroom because it’s usually very loud and crowded, and telling your boyfriend that you know he’s Spider-Man in there could lead to someone overhearing. So now you both were walking and talking while Miles attempted on snacking little by little as you made your way to the Music room. It’s usually empty at lunch, though there could be a few stragglers. Still, it’s the only place private enough without being a broom closet or something. Opening the door to the classroom you let out a breath of relief as you realized it was empty, this was great. So now you just have to ask him.

Miles started talking as you both sat down across from each other, a smile was on his face as he could now properly dig into his food. Scanning over him you noticed his knuckles were a bit bruised and you squinted, your eyes flickering back to his. You just couldn’t keep the small attitude you had at bay. It was almost insulting that he thought you wouldn’t figure it out. Either way you loved him, and him being Spider-Man doesn’t change that and now you have to let him know. Placing your hand over his, he stopped his chewing momentarily before smiling and switching to grab your hand properly. “Miles,” you stares into his eyes as he nodded with a hum to signal you to continue. “I’ve been meaning to talk to you about something- well, it’s more like tell you something I guess.” You shrugged and he swallowed, glancing to the side in what you guessed was nervousness. “Is everything alright?” He asked and you nodded, “yeah nothings wrong with me but-“ you sighed, this was weirdly a lot harder to say than you thought. “You know you can talk to me about anything right?” Your eye twitched at the irony of the situation and you sighed.

“Funny you say that actually, ‘cause you seem to have not been so honest with me.” you started, furrowing your eyebrows a bit, Miles' nervous smile returned to his face. "I- what?" "You're Spider-Man." You stated, deciding to just get straight to the point. Miles' mouth was left agape at your bluntness. His eyes left yours but only for a second before his mouth slowly closed, an audible gulp projecting into the room. "I...whatttt,," he shifted back, giving a few chuckles as his eyes flickered away from you. "That's- that's crazy Y/n, I think you've been pulling too many all-nighters lately." His smile faltered as you rolled your eyes. "You're a terrible liar," He let out a deep exhale, flopping forward completely resting himself on the desk in front of him. "How did you know? Did Ganke tell you?" He asked, lifting his head just enough to look at you. "No," you spoke with a laugh, "I'm just not an idiot," You crossed your arms and smirked. "It's really not the hard to connect the dots Miles, honestly I'm a little insulted that you'd think I wouldn't notice that something was going on with you." Picking himself up, he sighed, a small frown resting on his face as he thought over his next words. "Look I'm sorry I never told you, it's not that I don't trust you but I just-" "Don't want me to get hurt?" He slowly nodded, "Miles-" "It's dangerous Y/n," "I know that, but it'll be ok." You grabbed his face in your hands, massaging his jawline to calm him down, smiling at the feeling of him leaning into your touch. "Because if I'm ever in danger...I know you'll be there to protect me." You leaned in to place a small kiss under his eye, "I don't want this to be something that pulls us apart.." you mumble and Miles sighs, placing his hand on top of yours. "I don't either..." Leaning in quickly, he placed a kiss to your lips before giving you a wide smile. "And it won't, I promise." "Good."

----!----

( I hate the way I wrote this I'm sorry )

Thanks for reading! Have a great day/night!!

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Masterlist

#Istg I never know how to end these #miles morales #miles morales x male reader #miles morales x reader #x reader #x male reader #male reader #fanfiction #marvel x reader #spiderman miles morales #marvel x male reader #miles morales fanfiction #miles morales x you #ps5 miles morales #spiderman across the spiderverse #spiderverse x male reader #spiderverse x reader #miles morales spiderman #prismuffin #marvel fanfiction #ps4 miles morales

[sirzeldrizz]

♡a small collective of acts of love of a wide variety. It comes in many forms and isn't always truly apparent. Depending on personality, preferences, and mannerisms. Tried to make sure they're gender neutral & well balanced for the different tropes ♡

Helping them put on jewelery, a muted rosey hue tinting their cheeks as their fingertips graze the others skin.

Taking the others perspective into consideration when making big decisions. They don't want to upset or cross any lines the one they admire may have.

Respects any and all boundaries of their partner, even if they can't quite understand them. Is every patient with them, and will try to understand the best they can.

Gives specific gifts that will invoke the best reactions. They get so giddy when their partner or friends are happy.

will sing around them, even if not the greatest at it.

remembers the finest of detail about their partner. will even write it down if they fear they will forget it.

uplifts them whenever they are feeling low, encourages their dreams within reason so not to provide any false hopes.

will hold the other accountable for their own good and will also help solve any problems that arise because of said accountability.

packs things they know the other will likely forget when going on trips.

includes them in their favorite activities, showing them their own tips and tricks for it.

let's the other passionately ramble on about whatever has caught their attention, without judgment, and will engage regularly with questions or shared curiosity.

will record their favorite TV shows so when they visit they can still watch it if they want to.

shares their favorite books/songs/things together

platonic kisses and hugs

tidying shared spaces so the other doesn't have to worry about it

cooking together (bonus if they're learning a new recipe together)

very appreciative of the others' efforts (even if they fail. almost especially if they fail because at least they attempted for the good of their behalf)

will cover the other if they find them sleeping, and sometimes, will relocate them to a more comfortable location/position.

protective of the others' hopes/dreams/beliefs

stands up to anyone who threatens the other, even if unmatched. How dare someone think they have the right to insult someone so close to them without consequences?

avoids topics in conversation that make the other uncomfortable or irritable when possible.

buys them things that they've noticed has piqued their other's attention or that they might need.

is the "HE SAID NO PICKLES" type of friend/significant other.

takes the time to look into and learn about things that interests the other, even if they don't quite enjoy it to the same degree. Likes to be able to engage with them about anything possible.

lighthearted teasing to make the other smile.

holding the others' sleeves when drowsy, or needy.

makes secret wishes on stars for the others' hopes to come true.

subconsciously straightens the others' attire or accessories. somehow, it became second nature to them.

making the other their "only exception" for just about anything.

letters of appreciation

writes a song/scripture/book inspired by the other

dedicated their achievements to their partnership and expressed their gratitude for their role in their life

might get angry when the other endangers themselves but apologises when they realize it isn't helping. They don't mean to snap. They just scared their soul for a second. Don't do that. They can't bear to see/let it happen.

invited the other to family events, even expects them to show up so makes sure to have enough for them too.

randomly brings the other food to ensure they are properly eating

casually "accidentally" orders things and "happens" to think the other would like them.

crafts the other trinkets or art

patiently hears the other out no matter what. Even if it's hard to hear because they want to fully understand.

Disbelieves rumors that damage the others' reputation and will set the record straight if possible. Will always let the other know if something is brewing and offer a solution (How they go about it is dependent on the character)

sends the other messages whenever they're thinking of them or remembers something they know the other will reminisce with them over.

takes care of the other to the best of their ability (pampering/caretaker/gaurdian)

learns a new language so that they can better communicate with the other if they're not fluent in their tongue.

quick to give the benefit of the doubt to the other, even if they know it might not turn out how they hope. They want to only see the good if they can.

#acts of love #writing prompt #character traits #gender neutral prompts #otp prompts #best friend prompts

[dinogoofy]

Guys I'm having too many good ideas...!

So, Bi-han arranged marriage! Let's say that he and his wife don't get along well. She is stubborn, but very kind and loyal to her family, while Bi-han is a bit of an asshole and doesn't like her because she has her own beliefs and won't budge from them. She hates how the Lin kuei have been treating businesses and how scummy some of their practices are, and He hates that she's "so righteous" and above the work that they do.

They really don't get along, and then one day she gets kidnapped by someone who is enemies with the Lin Kuei.

She is hurt and tortured, but again, she's stubborn as hell. She doesn't break. The Lin kuei are made aware that the grandmaster's wife has been kidnapped, but Bi-han doesn't have much of a reaction besides sending someone to go find her. Besides, it's not like they'd get much use from her. She stays out of their dirty affairs so she'll be fine.

She goes through some shit, because even though she doesn't know anything, she knows that won't stop them from trying to get any information out of her. She stays dead silent the entire time she is kidnapped, furious the whole time. Part of her wants to hold out hope that her husband will come get her, but the majority of her believes that he'd let her rot.

Finally, someone finds her. But it's not her husband. (Smoke or kuai maybe?) She's severely hurt, but still stubborn enough to be furious that he couldn't be bother to come save his own Wife. They make it back to the Lin Kuei, and she spends her time avoiding Bi-han the first few days. Then, some of the clan elders start to get into Bi-hans head. She certainly broke. She leaked their location or joined the enemy. Look at her, she's weak and she doesn't support what our clan does. She must have broken.

So, Bi-han, enraged by the idea that she betrayed him, storms off to go find her.

When he does find her, she's getting ready to change. She's not letting her pain or soreness show through in front of a man she hates, and he scoffs, thinking that she was fine. That they probably went easy on her as she was so pitiful.

Bi-han is aggressive while asking if she broke. She rolls her eyes.

"It's been three weeks, and the first think you care about is if I broke." She huffs. Bi-han narrows his eyes. She shakes her head. "-and no. For your information. I didn't. You of all people should know I'm stubborn. As much as I don't like how you run this clan, I don't endanger my family."

Part of him doesn't want to believe her, but she starts to change, not caring if he's in the room, and something ugly inside him formes when he sees her deep bruises and cuts. Wounds on every part of her body.

At first he was angry at her, and now he's engulfed in rage at what they had done to HIS wife. A small, quiet part if his conscious is angry that he left her there, and he wasn't the one to find her and slaughter every man that laid a hand on her. He knew he could've found her much sooner than whoever he sent, but he didn't care. And this is what happened.

But he had learned to ignore his consciousness long ago.

Before the incident, She would have tried to speak to him when he could. Simply trying to be cordial and polite. She would ask him what he wanted to eat that night, or ask him if he was okay after a particularly rough mission. Just because she didn't really like him or what he does, doesn't mean she wasn't willing to try.

After she was kidnapped however, that stopped.

She stoped speaking to him. She avoided him whenever she could. She couldn't care less when he left or when he came back. He abandoned her with torchurers. Why would she?

This starts to irk Bi-han. One day, he comes home and she's still avoiding him. He gets fed up with it and confronts her. She basically rolls her eyes and tries to avoid him, but he grabs her by the arms, careful not to press into her bruises, and gets into her space. She's taken aback by the closeness, but her expression hardens.

"Why should I care about you, when you left me to die." She snarls. Bi-han is enraged.

"You think that your kidnapping didn't effect me?! You don't even know how the sight of your bruises enrage me! I have slaughtered every man who laid a hand on you. Do you understand that?!" Bi-han is acting like a wild animal. He's breathing hard, his eyes narrowed and filled with rage. All she can do is stare. Her face has softened. She doesn't knownwhat to say. Bi-han's face morphs when he realises how close he is to her, and he lets her go and steps back aggressively. He stalks off without another word, leaving her confused, unable to cone to terms with the fact that the ever-cold Bi-han would ever be this emotional over someone he doesn't even like.

Right...?

#mortal kombat #mortal kombat x reader #mortal kombat 1 #mk1 #mk #mortal kombat imagines #mk x reader #mk bi han #bi han x reader #mk bi han x reader #sub zero x reader #sub zero

[starry-bi-sky]

I am of the DPxDC belief/headcanon that any variation of Danny who grew up poor in Gotham during his formative years before moving to Amity Park would not be friends with Sam without friction at first. It makes things more interesting and imo allows for more exploration of different themes plus character growth for Sam that she doesn't really go through in canon.

(this doesn't only apply to a DPDC au where Danny grew up in Gotham poor, but it was the first thing that I thought of where this might happen considering my Childhood Friends au.)

Now Sam's a compassionate girl, it's one of her defining character traits, but so is her hypocrisy and judgy-ness. She's the Not Like Other Girls' girl. This is in part of the show's narrative framing that makes her out like this, unfortunately though its still showing how she is as a character since its consistent enough to be part of her character description. There are also times where the show's depiction of her activism makes it look like she's performative about it. All of this makes her dynamic with a Danny who grew up poor in Gotham very interesting.

Anyways, Sam is aware of her privilege to an extent, but still has her blindspots - glaring ones, in some cases. Her self-righteous attitude would not go over well with a crime alley kid Danny. He'd like her, at first, but then she'd do something to make him mad - personally I think her judging people for not being vegan would annoy him the most, or at least would be the breaking point for him, because it was only recently that his family started actually being able to consistently put food on the table at all, good food nonetheless. And being vegan is expensive.

Any other behavior he noticed from her he'd slowly stop tolerating - her judging conventionally attractive girls and automatically assuming they're vapid and shallow for being feminine. Her anti-capitalist beliefs start coming off as superficial at worst, and Danny would eventually figure out that Sam either came from a family that was well off, or that she wasn't aware if her family was experiencing financial struggle.

He would still be friends with Tucker, but since Tucker imo is still friends with Sam, they'd still run into each other often enough to butt heads. Sam's got a nasty habit of refusing to take responsibility when she's wrong, but when Danny is arguing with her, and counterpointing her with stuff she can't retort back at without compromising her own beliefs, then forces her to start reflecting on herself. Especially when Tucker eventually starts siding with Danny and agreeing with him.

Does sam genuinely care about her beliefs and philosophies? Survey says yes. However that doesn't mean she's not ignorant, and she definitely is at times throughout the show (like when she released the purpleback gorilla thinking it 'wanted out of its enclosure' despite the fact that it was endangered and in an urban area) and I think it'd be a real fascinating dynamic between Danny and Sam to explore.

This isn't Sam hate btw, nor am I trying to make her out like "the worst person ever" bc she's not, i wanna make that explicitly clear. Sam Manson has a lot of positive traits about her but she also has an equal amount of negative traits that I think should be explored, she is not immune to the character development.

#dpdc #dpxdc crossover #dpxdc #dpdc headcanon #dpxdc headcanon #dpxdc danny fenton #dpxdc sam manson #on a funnier note to me Danny asks Sam how much a loaf of bread costs and she can't tell him bc she doesn't know #she's an activist but also look me in the eyes and tell me she knows how much stuff at the grocery store costs #rich girl advocate sam vs crime alley kid danny FIGHT #does sam genuinely care about her beliefs and philosophies? survey says yes. however that doesn't mean she's not ignorant #cfau danny calls her privileged once and sam turns a new shade of red #this isn't sam hate btw i wanna make that explicitly clear #she's great i love her hOWEVER i am not blind to her flaws and i think it gets ignored by fanon AND canon in favor of girlbossing her #this also brings up the idea that Sam (based on her releasing the gorilla) would either respect damian wayne or HATE him bc she's judgy #and one of her flaws is her moral superiority over others. how very christian of you Sam - and i know she's jewish. thats part of the irony #he'd open an animal rehabilitation center and she'd assume the absolute worst. its hilarious. Damian would eat her alive #im taking a bat to a hornet's nest i think

[celaenaeiln]

Do you think (I hope this doesn't sound as if I hate the batkids but im just genuinely curious), if the bat kids (Jason, Tim, Damian, Steph, etc) came earlier, like Robin Dick and Batman when they have still a rather good(?) relationship and before Dick leaving and before canon time of Bruce meeting Jason) met Bruce, will he take them in and/or adopt them?

Tbf, Dami is biological son so Bruce might take him in either way, but what do you think?

No it doesn't sound like that at all! :)

Honestly I don't think it would've mattered if any of the robins had met Dick and Bruce when they had a good relationship. First of all, Bruce only took in Jason because he missed Dick and wanted a Robin. So if Dick was still with Bruce, Bruce would feel no desire or thought to take in anyone. Furthermore, Jason isn't the first troubled talented kid that Bruce has met over the years. Bruce and Dick have been solving cases and helping such kids for years so Bruce taking in Jason during Dick's absence was more of a "right place at the right time" sort of thing.

For similar reasons, that's also why he wouldn't have taken in Tim. Bruce took in Tim under Alfred and Dick's encouraging and also because Tim made a good point about Batman needing a Robin. B was literally killing himself through self-destructive techniques because Jason died and grief does that to people. He lost a robin. If Dick had been the one that died during his Robin years, then Tim might have ended up Robin but it's debatable because he would've been younger than 13 at the time. But if he waited until he was old enough, then Bruce would've killed himself in grief by then. However since Dick is still alive, healthy, and on great terms, Tim wouldn't have entered the picture. Although, if he worked up the nerve to reach out to Dick sooner, Dick would've had a new baby brother a lot earlier.

Stephanie only became Robin because Bruce was trying to manipulate Tim to come back. He knew that Tim would hate him if he endangered his loved ones so by making Stephanie robin, Tim would have to return because he knows the dangers of being Robin. So no Tim, no Stephanie.

Damian. Damian would become Robin and that's canon! THERE'S ACTUALLY A SAME AGE DICK AND DAMIAN STORY!!!!

In this story, Talia suddenly drops off Damian with Bruce and he finds out that his father has another kid-Dick. It's a heart warming story of them getting to know each other with Raven, Gar, and Maxine.

Teen Titans: Robin Issue #1

Teen Titans: Robin Issue #1

When the tracker doesn't work he gets really worried so he calls Bruce about it. And Bruce is just like, "Whatever, it'll be fine, Dick. He was raised by assassins, he can take care of himself. I need to go."

But Dick is in full Big Brother Mode. So what does he do? He spies on Damian through CCTV cameras and then gets even more worried that Damian might be kidnapped or involved in something dangerous because oh my god there's random people whose identification don't come up with Damian.

So Dick then rushes out of the manor and goes on a road trip, tracking him down. Damian's friends are surprised and creeped out to see a guy and when Damian looks, he is not happy. Damian does not like Dick. But Dick in any universe will always be a responsible older brother.

Teen Titans: Robin Issue #1

At this point Dick is fed up.

Is that what Damian wants? Fine.

Teen Titans: Robin Issue #1

So they have a bunch of mini-competitions from archery to hacking to parkour to fighting to etc and Damian's getting more and more frustrated that he keeps tying while Dick is in it for a good time. I think Dick's genuinely happy about this because he's viewing it as a bonding experience but everything comes to head when Damian reaches his limit

Teen Titans: Robin Issue #2

Things don't get better but the event progresses because Slade's wife Adeline (to whom he's still married to) is working with an evil organisation that collects metas and non-humans is searching for Gar so they need to do something fast. There are also flashbacks from Damian's side of him being jealous that Bruce trusts Dick so much and how perfect he is which don't help. It makes Damian really furious that Dick doesn't even realize how Bruce trusts him and instead acts like he's best friends with Damian which just serves to tick him off more.

Dick and Damian end up working together, find out about Kori, escape Slade, and all's great in the end. They become the brothers they were always meant to be.

Teen Titans: Robin Issue #2

Teen Titans: Robin Issue #2

And then it becomes the real formation of the teen titans. Dick and Damian - brothers for life.

I wish there was an entire series on this! I want to see the continuation.

Putting aside the logistics of whether they would meet or not, if Dick had met any of the robins at any age, he would've adored the heck out of them. I think they all would've ended up in Damian's position but they would definitely warm up to him by the end because it's impossible not to love Dick, especially if he loves you.

There's also a canon comic moment where Robin! Tim meets Robin! Dick, and they get along far better than Damian and Dick here but still the same emotions run in the scenes.

Robin (1993) Issue #10

While Dick and Tim solve a case, Tim is just amazed by Dick.

Robin (1993) Issue #10

Robin (1993) Issue #10

He's a little salty too. "Dick's going to beat me to the punch. I'm older than him. At this point I've got more experience than him. And he's got me playing catch-up. The little gloryhound..."

Robin (1993) Issue #10

"Like I need him to remind me."

Robin (1993) Issue #10

The way Tim and Damian feel the same way - it's two different comics, but they both feel stressed by Dick for the same reasons.

Teen Titans: Robin Issue #2

They feel like the need to live up to Dick but Dick doesn't feel that they have anything to prove because he just genuinely likes them for who they are. This feeling is a source of friction on the Robins' side, but it's also important they have this because you can't really know someone if you don't overcome your differences. The fact that they have to learn about each other brings out both of their greatest strengths.

Like in the Robin comic, Tim suspects something is off and Dick goes along with it. Tim's right and in the end they catch the bad guy and figure out the escape plan.

Robin (1993) Issue #10

To which Dick says, "Oh yeah! I can see how you got your job. Robin."

Robin (1993) Issue #10

Tim's happy face <3333

Overall, I'd say that Bruce wouldn't take any of the Robin in during Dick's younger days. But if he did, Dick and the Robins would become the best of brothers.

Oh but you know what'd be exciting? Dick and Stephanie's same age Robin au! Tim, Damian, and Jason's would all be sort of the same. They would struggle with Dick's standing but love him possessively in the end. But I have no idea how Stephanie and Dick would go. Of course they would love each other but same age brother and sister?! I WANT THAT SO BAD!!! Their dynamic would be crazy!! The amount of grey hairs Bruce would have? The ultimate chaos duo, they'd feed into each others' energies! Gotham would be a goner.

#dick grayson #robin dick grayson #damian wayne #robin damian #jason todd #tim drake #robin tim drake #stephanie brown #robin stephanie brown #bruce wayne #batman #cl anon asks #thanks for the ask!

[daenerysies]

It absolutely gets me that the whole thing about Rhaneyra putting her siblings to the sword was made up by Otto, Rhaenyra did nothing to indicate that she would; Alicent just fixated on it like- how do they forget that they literally pulled that crock of shit out of thin air? 😭

it gets me too, especially show-wise. the only time rhaenyra shows any bit of fire against her siblings is during the driftmark incident, where it is blatantly obvious to anyone with a brain that she was bluffing when asking for aemond to be sharply questioned. granted, should she have done it? no. is she also a mother trying her best to protect her kids? and not being a super uber-perfect person in the process? yes to both. this is yet another change from the book i don't like, considering alicent demands luke's eye in retribution first, and rhaenyra retaliates against that rather than starting it.

i'm also adding some significant points that make no sense in the greater context if alicent truly thought her children's lives were endangered; which is how she actively antagonizes rhaenyra. in both medias. she raises her children to hate rhaenyra, to view their nephews as inferior and subhuman to them due to their blood, she instills fear for their lives as a part of their everyday activities, she tells her children that aegon will be king no matter what (which is treason, so she doesn't seem to care that badly about her children being found out as participants of those efforts). she does not act like someone who believes her children are going to be murdered once rhaenyra ascends the throne. it's why i can't take her stans seriously. none of her actions make sense in the grand scheme of things. she purposefully makes an enemy that is (TO HER) capable of cold-blooded murder. what terrified mother would do that?

there's also this fetish for infantilizing and victimizing alicent and co. otto manipulated her when she was a teen, which is a fair take. otto was also ostracized from court for TEN years. ten years with minimal to no contact with alicent. she is no longer a child during that time, she is a grown woman with four children to raise and a perfectly good brain to use. we're not shown or told once that rhaenyra *ever* showed an ounce of violence towards her siblings, and at most, she was indifferent to them. it is stated, however, that during that time skip alicent bullied and harassed rhaenyra, to the point where she abandoned the capital to have peace of mind and safety for her own children. still not the actions of a terrified mother (she also wasn't manipulated into doing any of that; it was all of her own accord because she hated that rhaenyra was afforded more freedom and leeway than she was).

what's more, there is minimal, if any, precedent that rhaenyra would be forced to kill her siblings to secure the throne. viserys was only the fifth targaryen king, not exactly enough time to really establish any killing family as a basis. maegor is the only one to have done so, and he's reviled for it even up to the current timeline. it is even thought that his death was the consequence of kinslaying. it's not normal. there has technically been some sort of succession crisis for almost all the rulers up to this time: aegon the uncrowned and maegor, rhaena and jaehaerys, baelon and rhaenys, viserys and rhaenys/laenor. there are, once again, many ways for aegon, aemond, and daeron to renounce their claim to the throne (night's watch, kingsguard, maester); but that would take away the power alicent and otto wanted to have, so not an option.

i wouldn't even consider daemon that much of a threat if rhaenyra had ascended peacefully. they've changed his character significantly in the show, but daemon explicitly states in fire and blood that they need to find a peaceful way to end this dispute, and not resort to fighting dragons versus dragons (a line they gave to rhaenys in the show) because it would only end in disaster. he doesn't resort to any brutality until after the first blood is drawn by the green's.

basically, it's just another ploy, a 'red herring' if you will, to distract from the true reason why rhaenyra was usurped (and hook, line, sinker; it's working fantastically for some in the fandom).

#hotd #hotd critical #f&b #rhaenyra targaryen #pro rhaenyra #team black #anti team green #anti team green stans #anti alicent hightower #anti alicent stans #faye answers #anonymous

[thecarnivorousmuffinmeta]

what if after edward broke up with bella in the woods, she ended up hitting her head in there or something, had amnesia and forgot about everything that happened since the beginning of twilight?

Charlie still blames Edward and Bella can't quite reconcile herself with past Bella. Without pictures or any evidence of having a boyfriend, she goes "huh weird" and wonders why she got so boy crazy (since she doesn't know how stupid hot and amazing Edward was).

The story of her running away to Phoenix again is mortifying to her (since she doesn't have any of the background) and she has no idea why she would say the most hurtful thing she possibly could to Charlie when doing so.

She thinks Past!Bella went completely insane and wants to pretend the whole thing never happened.

However, because of this, no Hallucination!Edward and Bella's senior year is instead spent with her trying to get along with her human friends, pretend dating Edward never happened, and catching up on school work while being generally embarrassed over her head injury. She doesn't seek out Jacob, thinks he's way too young to hang out with as she did canonically in Twilight when he showed interest in her, and is mildly troubled about the news about man eating bears in the woods (as the Victoria subplot is happily continuing without Bella).

As Bella never endangers herself, she doesn't end up at the cliff plan, and thus never sets off Alice thinking she's died. Now, granted, it is Bella so she could trip and die, or get eaten by a vampire if the wolves are overrun by a newborn army without the Cullens intervening with the wolves, or so on.

However, if Bella does make it and Victoria is dealt with offscreen by the wolves, then probably eventually Edward comes back to lurk from the shadows and is deeply tormented but relieved that Bella actually doesn't remember him. It is in fact like he never existed.

Except he can't live with that and he discovered he's not strong enough to walk away.

I imagine in this scenario, Edward would enroll in whatever college she's going to in order to start over (and definitely keep her human).

#twilight #twilight meta #twilight headcanon #twilight renaissance #edward cullen #bella swan #meta #headcanon #opinion

[1000sunnygo]

Saw someone trying to claim that cora secretly resented his birth dad (too lazy to correctly spell the man’s name) and like nah dude. That’s the main reason he ran away. He still loved his dad and never blamed him. Because I think despite everything he saw his dad as good hearted and correct, just painfully naiive. I sometimes wonder if doflamingo ever truly hated their dad. Resents the hell out of him, hated his actions, blames him for his childhood miseries and stone cold in his murder. But their dad was never presented in a hatable way, at least from my reading.

Agreed, Homing wasn't presented in a hateable way. Oda designed him as an elegant-looking fellow in spite of being a regular Tenryubito and that says enough. The Donquixote couple were the only Celestial Dragons who couldn't be brainwashed into becoming egocentric psychopaths even though they were born and raised at Mariejeoise, they owe some respect.

The criticisms of Homing's personality comes from our own judgement of his character and not from canon narration, shoutout to @eroguron0nsense for this meta summarizing his flaws. Frankly speaking, I think Homing was doomed to die. Being killed by his own son just adds a layer of irony, it wasn't a dignifying way to go.

As for Rosi, he clearly held a high opinion of his father:

"How was such a monster born in the family of such kind hearted mother and father? I don't get it. He's not a human."

.

In fact, I doubt Rosi ever pondered about his father's naivety at all. There's no point in digging the faults of a humble father who died long ago, considering that a greater evil (still) existed in their bloodline who inflicted much bigger pain in his childhood. Rosi's most severe loss in his childhood was his parent's deaths, not the lavish life at Mariejeoise.

Point to note is that a six year old's cognitive development is still underway, a ten y/o on old on the other hand, has evolved a lot. Rosi wasn't be able to judge his parent's character the same way his brother could. I've wondered, if Rosi were around Doffy's age, would he be influenced by Doffy's ideas a lot more, like most younger siblings? Probably not, since Rosi's thought process is fundamentally different from Doffy's. He's hotheaded and impulsive, but he's not vengeful. Rosi enlisted as a marine to save civilians in spite of being poorly treated as a child, and knowing that they'd hate him if they knew about his bloodline. I can't imagine Law or Doffy doing the same. Rosi is a humanitarian who held a deep sense of justice (passed from Sengoku and kindhearted parents) - that neither of those two had.

Having a bit of thought experiment, if Law as a child were in Doffy's position, I can see him resenting his father - not for losing the family status but for endangering his family's life (and the death of his mother). But I don't think he would've been manipulated by bad adults into killing his father. I see Rosi's driving force his morality (returned to his brother to stop him to save the civilians), Doffy's is self importance (would throw away anyone for his own cause), and Law's is love (extreme protectiveness of those he loves). No matter what, Law wouldn't be risking the safety (and sanity) of his younger sister.

Back on track... does Doffy truly hate his father?

Yes, he does.. in a complex way. Doffy still considers Homing's actions to be the source of his miseries. But I believe "family" means something profound to Doffy. Regardless of what happened or how much he hates him, Homing is HIS father, and that by default means he's a human of a higher value.

Doffy made this particular way of execution, to shoot with his flintlock, somewhat ritualistic and specific for those he deems as his family. As he said in chapter 769, he sees it as a form of redemption.

"But, I shall forgive you! The same way I forgave my real father and brother: with death!!"

He doesn't want to hate them, so he 'punishes' them and forgives them, which in his self centered mind is a form of entitlement.

The answer got a lot bigger than I expected shdhd thanks for reading my rambling though o7

#asks #sorry for procrastinating so hard i wanted to give it some time #one piece meta #donquixote rosinante #donquixote corazon #donquixote doflamingo #trafalgar law #one piece #one piece dressrosa #mine

[nanomooselet]

My Brother's Keeper (II)

As in every version of the story, Vash only plays the fool. He is not one. Oblivious, hapless and harmless are always masks he wears. From beneath them, he susses out what Wolfwood is pretty much immediately.

Not that it was hard. The man's barely trying. And really, three days into the trip to July and a guy carrying a cross from Nai's freaky book suddenly shows up, walks off the trailer slamming into him, tries to separate Vash from the reporters, lectures him about killing to survive, makes just-kidding-or-am-I remarks about being an assassin, then finally reveals he's actually carrying an absurdly overpowered laser-cross-gun before inviting himself along for their quote-unquote "protection". Nevertheless he sticks almost exclusively by Vash, who is by a very, very, very wide margin the least in need of protection among them.

Just in this scene his lighter has the Eye of Michael sigil on it and judging by the heap of butts, after picking tunnels for everyone to search (including one for him) he stayed right where he was and chain-smoked until Vash returned. Not too long afterwards Roberto abruptly and mysteriously vanishes, and Wolfwood tries to convince Vash the reporters must be dead. …Yeah, I guess that counts as subtle for someone who named himself Millions Knives, but c'mon. Knives thinks his stupid brother won't come to his party unless he's dragged there. Vash has a chaperone now whether he wants one or not.

If I were in Vash's situation I'd be quite annoyed. For fuck's sake, he's an adult. He's been one for over a century. He doesn't need a damn babysitter. And what kind of idiot sends an assassin to do that job?

Except... Knives somehow made the perfect choice in Nick.

Wolfwood's cynical rhetoric has no effect whatsoever on Vash's ideals and he's hardly any more effective at keeping Vash safe. Simply because Wolfwood's there, Zazie and Legato between them find excuses to endanger Vash, which is par for the course when Knives tries to "protect" him. No, what makes Wolfwood the best man for the job is something that may well have happened in spite of Knives, and it's this.

Regardless of his real age, at heart Nick is a kind but wounded boy who's only trying to protect his beloved family, especially his crybaby brother. He kills because he doesn't think there's any choice - he's ultimately a victim of indifferent circumstance. In a way, an innocent.

In Wolfwood Knives gave Vash everything Vash wants to believe is true of Knives himself. With all his heart, Vash wants his brother's cruelty and manipulation to be just... just some wildly misguided but sincere attempt to save the Plants, because he doesn't believe there can be any other way - but he'd be open to an alternative. Nai really does love Vash, just like Vash truly does love Nai, and Rem loved them both. His brother can't be a monster.

If he's smart and kind and strong and brave enough, if he can just overcome his fear, Vash is sure that he can help. He'd convince Nai that humanity doesn't have to die, it's just ignorance and crashing on this barren planet that made everyone's hearts so barren while they struggled to survive. They, the twins, can take responsibility for what they did and help Plants and humans to help each other. If they could do it together...

He could love his brother without it being so fucking painful. They could love each other without every encounter they have leaving more helpless people dead, more scars on Vash. From all that he's lost, he could salvage this one thing. He'd be so content with that. He's survived on much less. He ran before, but he'd stay this time, and for good. Neither of them would be alone. They'd have time.

On top of that, Vash needs to help people - it's what keeps him alive, and it makes him happy. Wolfwood needs someone who'll treat him like he's a person rather than a weapon, to remember that he doesn't have to be the Punisher. That's what keeps him alive. There's still a place for him in the world, even for what he's become.

If Vash can convince Wolfwood, his brother's agent, to accept that place... if he can help him... maybe he could do the same for his brother. Just as Luida did for Vash himself.

And Wolfwood does a damn good job playing the part without even knowing that's what he's doing. Well, he knows he's protecting Vash, but all it's in how he does it.

JPN: You only get one life. You have to fight for it, no matter who you hurt in the process. There's no other way to survive.

ENG: You only get one life, y'know? Self-sacrifice might satisfy the ego, but don't throw your life away. Survival's everything.

This is advice you'd get from a brother. If one must die so another can live, I'd rather you live - so make sure of it. Dumbass. (It's also the final request Rem made of the twins: I want you two to survive./Try your very best to survive for me.) Maybe phrased bluntly and a bit abrasive, but not… insane. No weird sermons about crusades and fire from the sky, no verbal abuse or put-downs, no blame, no hurt. What's more, while Wolfwood does try to convince Vash to leave the reporters for dead, when Vash goes back for them Wolfwood bitches all the way but goes with him. He slices open the Grand Worm for them (though I think also to annoy Zazie). And after that, he clinches it by, of all things, trying to get Meryl to eat bugs.

You're not going so survive like that. Come on!/Are any of you freaks interested in survival? Come on! Open wide!

(This is totally irrelevant, but their stupid bickering in the background in the English dub is hilarious. Nick straight up says "I'm helping!" and adds something about how short Meryl is. Meryl starts protesting that she's a "perfectly average-sized woman." I bet they were unbearable in the truck.)

Nai was always dismissive of, if not outright nasty about, Vash enjoying food he doesn't need. Nick gets it. Consuming food gives physical nourishment, and Plants don't need that to survive. But it's also togetherness, shared joy. Those are things both Plants and humans need, so it's not a 'waste'. We're more than merely serving a material purpose or function, even one that's self-declared. Even as Plants.

No matter how heavy a cross you carry, you still deserve to eat. You still deserve to laugh./Heh, no matter how heavy the cross is you carry, you deserve food. And to laugh.

Vash needed to hear that, or something like it. It's the kind of thing Rem used to say, the kind of thing Luida told him. (It's about everyone getting a share.) Meryl, though she cares for him, doesn't yet know how to break through Vash's rumination.

Nick's being a jackass older brother by happenstance, because he's letting down his guard. It's who he really is: kind of a silly kid who cares deeply about people and shows it by goofing off and pushing their buttons until they want to fucking kill him. But Vash would so relieved to have a brother who's just annoying about how much he cares. Who still cares enough to listen to his opinions, and to compromise when they disagree; who doesn't loathe the person Vash is because it's not what he thinks Vash should be. So Vash eats what Wolfwood offers, despite Roberto's warnings, extending his trust. Wolfwoof takes that in the spirit it was intended, a little shocked. Despite himself (and despite Zazie), he and Vash are genuine friends from this moment onward.

Also Nick is having a ball bugging the shit out of Meryl. She's like three feet tall and so easy to piss off! Maybe if he tries hard enough he can make her head explode. Irritating the little sister mode: activate.

That doesn't mean everything's love and peace, though.

Wolfwood's work isn't over yet. I think he's relieved Vash extended his trust both because, despite himself, Nick likes this dude (and that must have been an interesting realisation to come to about his sadistic boss's fluffy wuffy cotton ball of a twin brother) and because it makes his job easier. But now he's emotionally invested. He shouldn't be. He can't be. Zazie reminded him why, can see it in [his] eyes. The last person who cared like this was Livio.

Again, Vash isn't stupid. He does care about Nick as a person, not a surrogate Nai, just as he cares about everyone; it's why he's so easy to love and so, so many people have come to love him. (Precious darling boy.) Nevertheless, there are gaps between what Vash needs from Nick and what Nick is capable of giving. And there's one huge glaring difference between Wolfwood and Knives.

That difference meant the hope Vash came to have about confronting Knives in July was misplaced. He just couldn't have known until it was too late.

Part I

Part III

Part IV

Part V

Part VI

Part VII

#trigun stampede #tristampparty #trigun meta #nicholas d. wolfwood #millions knives #vash the stampede #wolfwood's refusal to employ any skill at clandestine operations fucking cracks me up #it's like he's trying to get fired or discharged but he was abducted by a death cult #so he's just incompetent on purpose because fuck all ya'll #what are they going to do. fire him? torture him? shoot him? #bad news about all that stuff guys #meta: my brother's keeper

[nika6q]

Tech and Phee

So, I just read a bunch of arguments against this ship. And I don't really want to try to persuade anyone to feel either way. I just have some thoughts.

First off, I don't think Wanda Sykes works in this part. Personally I like to picture Sharon Duncan-Brewster. Also, I don't disagree that she comes off as a bit abrasive when we first meet her. But so did the Bad Batch, like waaaaay worse. It would be weird if she was some demure uwu girl.

There's actually a lot of parallels between them. They both make I'm seldom wrong, I'm always right comments. They have similar disregard for danger. They both have an intense (to the point of endangering themselves) love of knowledge and investigation.

They have both made communication blunders. I'm referring to the dreaded "it's called a conversation" incident. It's not fair to always expect women characters to be perfect so that the male character can work through their shit. This was still less hurtful than Tech's blunder with Omega. It's okay to make blunders. It happens to both men and women, and NT and ND people. We autistics can't expect NTs to immediately understand how to perfectly interact with us anymore that they can expect the same from us. It's not going to be perfect from the start. But they both have the patience and focus to get through that.

The build up. Ok, before the Pabu, I didn't see it. I don't think he did either. He clearly blue screened during the "head to these coordinates" shoulder touch. I think this is the "holy shit she is flirting" blue screen realization. I think after that it clicked for him, like ooooooh that's why she acts like that, okay. Suddenly, we see him smiling at her and interacting in a different way. Especially the "hold on scene". We've seen Tech carry Echo by him holding around his neck. We see Wrecker in this episode carry the old man the same way. It would have been very appropriate to carry her that way too. But no. He grabbed that lady around the waist without hesitation.

The goodbye. Again, this is just my read on the scene, but why was he hanging outside the ship? I think he wanted to say goodbye but didn't know how. Phee comes over (as he probably expected which is why he was out) and he just shutdown. This isn't a situation he's been in, it's not easy, he doesn't know how to function here. I don't think he was staring at his screen because he wanted to ignore her, it's because he fucking shutdown. I've addressed the "it's called a conversation" above, but I'll add that she didn't get pissed or shitty. She finally sees that he's not willing or able to have this conversation and she ends it with a goodbye and a kind smile. As she leaves, his look isn't a "thank God that shit's over" look. It's a longing look. Maybe he still has to work out his feelings. But there is something there.

This is as much build up as a show this short can fit in. There is literally not enough time for more. Considering the amount of storytelling they have to get to, it's actually quite a lot (IMO).

Again, these are just my thoughts. I'm not trying to invalidate if other people read it differently and don't ship it.

[niobiumao3]

Okay so, I wrote the second thing from this post.

Also available in AO3 format.

~*~

It's not that Tech doesn't want to interact with anyone, it's that he's exhausted.

Being reunited with his siblings and finding all of them more or less in one piece (physically if not emotionally) is the only thing he's needed for some time. Now in possession of that, he's ready to sleep for at least ten rotations. Possibly longer. The quality of the surface is negotiable, so long as it's stable. He should eat, though, having not been able to very often since falling from the rail car. Or, so they all convince him. Afterwards he can sleep to his heart's content (and plans to).

Throughout dinner he's quiet, keeps himself present enough to respond if he hears his name or senses the conversation has paused in expectation of a comment. This alone is a struggle, uses up the last of his reserves. Once everyone is clearing off the table and leaving to sleep or otherwise he's ready to crawl into a cramped, uncomfortable rack on the Marauder and pass out.

He does help with cleanup, though, bringing in trays, putting away food. At some point a cup of water appears next to him and he drinks it, continues the chores on a sort of autopilot until Phee settles her hip on the counter and folds her arms.

"You look like you could use some sleep. Maybe, a month or so."

"That will be the minimum I expect," Tech admits. He finishes the water, sets the cup into the sink. A second later he realizes she must have been the one to put it next to him. "Thank you. For the water."

"You're welcome," she says, smiling, warm and tired. There's a strain in her expression he doesn't remember seeing before, isn't sure how to ask about. So he turns to survey the kitchen--hers, sparse and simple since she's on the island so infrequently. There's a bowl of items on the table: a large shell, a feather, a colorful rock, a piece of...

... damaged, tinted transparisteel in a scratched, circular frame...

Tech drifts towards the table, vaguely aware Phee is watching him. She must see what he's noticed, because she says, "Yeah. I...didn't want to get rid of them."

He reaches for the goggles with caution, like they might bite. Here they are, destroyed as he'd expected them to be, left lens smashed, right lens cracked. Dust from the mountainside still coats the band. It's impossible for her to have these. Unless she'd done the unthinkable and gone to Eriadu to look for him?

"Where did you find them," he asks, turning them over in his hands. Somehow the camera housing is still intact. Had they checked it for footage?

"I didn't," she admits, then sighs. "Believe me, I wanted to go to Eriadu, but Shep and Hunter wouldn't let me. Wrecker had them."

Rightfully so, he thinks but doesn't say, because Phee not endangering herself on his behalf is slightly less important than the source of the ugly new dread coalescing in his mind. "Wrecker had these."

"Yeah. They came back with them and--"

Something in her voice has changed. Something he should address. Except there's no time, so he interrupts her. "And where did they get them?"

She blinks, taken aback. "I'm...not sure. They didn't say."

Tech grips them tightly, makes for the door. "We need to talk to them, right now. And Shep."

She follows close on his heels. "Right now?"

"Yes. Immediately."

Her demeanor shifts from uncertain worry to simple determination. "I'll go get Shep."

He registers this vaguely, mind working at a furious pace. Had they really gone back for him? They hadn't said so. But then how had they found the goggles? Chanced across them in a wrecking yard? That seemed unlikely. Bought them off a scavenger?

The Marauder's ramp is still down, the lights on. Omega sits in the entrance, toying with a tablet while their brothers mill around the external storage compartment. This suggests they're trying to sort out sleeping arrangements by putting whatever they can into the compartments. Shep had offered one of the little houses now that lower Pabu was repaired, but Hunter had demured. It's just as well; Tech suspects Crosshair and Omega won't be able to sleep anywhere but on the ship for some time, can't blame them either. It's fortunate either way, as it means they're all still awake.

Omega sees Tech on first, greets him with a tired smile and a wave. Noticing her movement, Wrecker turns, guffaws at Tech. "What, not gonna stay with Phee?"

Tech stops in front of them. It's on the tip of his tongue to ask, "Why would I do that?" but he doesn't have time. None of them do. Just like like when he was dangling from the rail car.

He holds up his broken goggles, which saps the general mood of relaxation from all of them in a moment: Crosshair stares, expression souring; Omega swallows, looks away; Hunter, Echo, and Wrecker all become somber. He'd be sorry if the circumstances were anything but what they are.

"How did you get these?" he asks, searching their faces.

Wrecker grimaces. "Hemlock. He was trying to use them to mess with us." He rubs the back of his neck, murmurs, "Worked pretty well."

The dread hovering in Tech's crystallizes, takes shape. He starts tearing apart the recording device.

Omega slowly stands, walks down the ramp. Hunter watches Tech yank off piece after piece of the device with growing concern. "Tech, what are you--"

"Hemlock," Tech says, interrupting him. He glances up, looks from Wrecker to Hunter for confirmation. "He gave you these."

Echo says, "Yeah." A second later he closes his eyes. "...shit."

"What," Crosshair says, voice gone hard. Omega moves to him, takes one of his hands. Tech hears people approaching; Phee and Shep, he suspects.

He finds it a second later, precisely where he'd expected it to be. It's smaller than the older models he's familiar with, though that's hardly a surprise. Hemlock would have access to the latest equipment.

Tech yanks out the tracking chip, holds it up, throws it to the ground and smashes it under the heel of his boot.

"Fuck," Crosshair says on a sigh.

Phee comes to stand next to Tech, eyes on the fragmented remains. "Tell me that's not what I think it is."

He wishes he could. "It is."

Hesitantly, Shep asks, "What is it?"

"A tracking device," Hunter says. Resignation and defeat darken his features, reminding Tech of leaving Kamino without Crosshair. (That's not happening. Not this time. Not ever again.)

No reactions from the rest of them, not even Shep, just stunned silence. Tech can't stand how no one is moving or speaking, so starts to. "We must evacuate everyone. Immediately."

Phee runs a hand over her face. "Brown Eyes how are we evacuating several hundred people on a moment's notice?" There's a note in her voice he's not heard before: fear, brittle and sharp. It makes him want to...

He's not sure. Do something to fix it, at a minimum. "We'll find a way. We always do."

Echo heads for the ramp. "Well for starters I'll contact Rex. He'll at least have a couple of ships we can load people onto."

"You're sure," Shep says. Tech turns: the despondency in Shep's features is painful to see.

"Yes. That was a low power tracker, but the chances they've not picked up the signal by now are minimal. We must assume they're on their way."

Phee exhales sharply. Just like that, her fear becomes resolve. "Alright. Let's get everyone ready to go. No packing, we just leave." She turns to Shep. "If it doesn't fit in their pockets it has to stay."

Shep sighs, nods. He and Phee take separate exits from the courtyard to round up the various leaders of the refugees for help in spreading the word.

Hunter stares down at the remains of the chip, unmoving. The others watch him with growing worry.

Omega's voice is quiet in the darkening courtyard. "Hunter?"

"What have we done," is all he says.

A sound from within the Marauder catches Tech's attention. One he'd know asleep or half dead, drilled into him via hours of simulator time and countless battles: enemy ships on approach.

Echo leans out of the ship. "They're here."

#star wars #the bad batch #spoilers #tbb tech #phee genoa #tbb hunter #tbb wrecker #tbb Omega #tbb echo #i mean but really spoilers but anyways #trailer speculation fic

[zvezdacito]

Me and my friends were talking about some Glorious Masquerade Plot + Rollo character writing tweaks the other day and I decided to share what we came up with her 💃 So yeah💥

• Instead of wanting to exterminate all magic, Rollo instead wants to control what types of magic exists and that only who he perceives worthy to have it. This is because he sees himself as the only one righteous enough to deem what and how magic should be.

• He targets the NRC students, seeing them as wicked and unfit to wield magic because of all the times they've overblotted, and thinks Malleus especially should be stripped of his magic before he inevitably goes next to OB due to the pattern of events or does something like Halloween 2 again (Masquerade has no reason to be set on Halloween tbh it could be like summer in the timeline and virutally nothing would change. So Halloween 1 and 2 still happens here because it doesn't happen in Halloween anymore.)

Maybe just NRC specifically is who he targets to depower in this rewrite, but the other invited schools got dragged into it by being there when the flowers sprung, like how Frollo was only after esmeralda and the romani at first but his obsessive wrath ended up dragging all of Paris into it

• This is because he harbors an anger that he was the only one trying to warn his brother to not misuse his magic, and how he was inspired by the misuse of magic by other mages to die in his Overblot accident.

• He partially realizes this was his fault as his controlling 'holier-than-thou' behavior and manipulation (motivated by wanting to make him "see" the right way like Frollo to Jehan in the musical) is what fueled the negative overblot feelings of his brother, but he can't deal with the guilt and the fact that he might've been wrong, so he remains in denial.

• His controlling and manipulative behavior motivated by the belief his way is superior to others continues in the current time, as here he also manipulates Yuu to make them believe what he believes.

• He appeals to them by pointing out how the NRC students have done nothing but endanger them with reckless magic so far, and how they're all too selfish and probably aren't even using it to find them a way home. (More things to fuck up Malle+Yuu and challenge their friendship as well as make them both more paranoid and desperate in time for their drama in Book 7)

Yuu either purposefully helps him betray the others because of this or they were simply tricked into leading them to a trap. Either way it really looks like to the others that Yuu has turned on them because they lacked faith in them, which would sting more because of how excited they were to have Yuu being on this trip with them at the start of the event.

• This would also make Idia's confrontation and parallels with him make more sense, because like Idia he in a way was indirectly responsible for the death of his younger brother, instead of Rollo's brother just happening to perish in front of him.

• Maybe instead of letting him go completely scot free (they said the real punishment was having to live with his guilt but let's be real he felt no remorse by the end of it, he even said he'd try again☠️) Rollo's punishment when he reveals himself is like some kind of house arrest, confining him to not be able to move around without supervision or leave the grounds of NBC to do sneaky stuff again. Kinda ironic, since supervising and policing actions is literally what we wanted to do to the NRC mages and the entire world, but all it resulted in was it being enforced on him.

This penalty could be like a parallel to Esmeralda being confined to sanctuary in Notre Dame and Quasimodo also not being allowed to leave because he is a "monster" (in this case Rollo is a moral monster)

• Also, I think this would really kind of done a better job being a prelude arc taunting the audience and the characters for what's gonna happen to them in Book 7, and challenging how strong their newly formed bonds really are, as well as their resolve to not make these foreshadowed mistakes are. (We know they WILL make these mistakes, so oof lmao. It will make us and them confront whether Rollo was right or not that everything eould be better off if they had been defeated there and then)

Overall, I think this would make Rollo's whole character feel more connected and not just different random aspects the writer thought of at the last minute. His canon plan and reasoning is, for a lack of a better term, so corny and over the top, not in a "this character is meant to be crazy" kind of way but in a "the authors thought this would be more epic than it actually was" kind of way.

-> What was Rollo going to do if he was the only mage left, how was the City fo Flowers meant to deal with the diplomatic implications of harm befalling Malleus, how are in-universe essentials that run on magic supposed to go on if there is no more magic left.

-> The story never tried to point out the practical disastrous consequences of Rollo's plan on the structure of the world if it succeeded, so now it looks like it wasn't meant to be dumb on purpose and the writers themselves just never thought of it.

From what I remember the most they do is give Malleus a line worrying about what would happen to the Briar Valley if this comes to pass, and how Rollo is a misguided hypocrite for his plan. But that's kinda it😭

-> And why did him seeing his brother die from OB lead him to dislike magic in general and give him a superiority complex that he's the only one deserving of it? The reason they give in canon is because he feels weak for failing to save his brother. And through becoming the only mage ever, he will feel powerful enough to compensate for his failure I guess😭

This motive of wanting to be better than everyone can still co-exist with the rewrite motive but it's kind of weak and lame on its own, especially for a character who's meant to be based off one of the greatest Disney villains of all time😭

Plus no matter what the narrative tries to frame it with I feel like getting "I need to become better than everyone" from the experience of your brother dying kinda came out of nowhere, and isn't as connected to each other as it could be😭

So that's why I think giving him:

a) an issue of being manipulative in forcing rigid standards he believes to be "superior" on the people he wanted to "save"

b) wanting to blame the use of magic that these standards of his did not approve of for his brother's death, because he couldn't stomach the fact that the way he enforced these standards was also to blame

c) and his motive being more specific than eradication all magic

makes what they were trying to do more fleshed out and connect to each other better, as well as making more out of having Claude Frollo as his character's inspiration.

I get he's an event-only character so they probably didn't think too hard about it, but if you're gonna go out of your way to include a character based off Claude Frollo in the story at least go crazy and make the most out of it💃

Other than tweaks to Rollo's motivations and the scope of his plans, if I could edit something else about the event it would be the worldbuilding😭 I just put a screenshot from my Instagram story back when the event was ongoing because it pretty much sums up everything I would like to change about it

I still liked the event overall. I was so happy that Malleus finally got an event ssr and more story spotlight, but yeah I think they could've done more with the ideas it proposes

Maybe this post would be more relevant if I made it right after the event ended and not many months later when there's already a new event grabbing everyone's attention, but I'm cursed to never be on time to trends and etc so everyone is only getting this now💔

Ty for reading🫡

#twst #malleus draconia #twisted wonderland #rollo flamme #twst yuu #azul ashengrotto #idia shroud #twst glorious masquerade #twst writing #twst wordbuilding

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

I've recently come across a couple of season 4 fanfics that dealt with the Chat Noir feeling left out and quitting thing and every time I read one I can't help but think "man did they chose the wrong side of the masks AND the wrong characters for this conflict. Chat Noir comes across terribly here". It's weird to see people try and justify his behavior and act like Ladybug was in the wrong.

Was Ladybug being the best friend ever? No, but friendship is secondary when they're wearing the masks. Paris comes first. Chat Noir quitting because he doesn't feel special enough is literally him endangering everyone he loves because his crush isn't paying enough attention to him and I truly can't tell if the show wanted us to feel like he was in the right or the wrong here. In Kuro Neko, Catwalker actually does acknowledge the lesson he needed to learn

There's nothing wrong with you. Maybe the boy who was Cat Noir was more sensitive than it seemed. But his feelings for you shouldn't force you to pay more attention to him than to others. You take care of everybody equally, Ladybug. 

And Chat Noir apologizes at the end of the episode for causing Ladybug trouble, but the whole thing is incredibly lackluster. They don't actually have a meaningful conversation about why he was feeling that way and the rest of the season seems to present Ladybug as being in the wrong, especially the final! Trusting Alya leads to nothing meaningful and not trusting Chat Noir loses her the miraculous. Basically, I still have no idea what season 4 was trying to do with this conflict and it's been dropped forever now that Adrien is fully reduced to nothing more than arm candy.

HOWEVER, this basic setup could have been a fantastic b plot if the "Adrien doesn't feel needed" conflict wasn't a Ladynoir conflict, but was instead a conflict between Adrien and Nino. Move Rocketear up to earlier in the season and have the fallout from that be that Adrien's relationship with Nino is strained. He can still feel leftout because Ladybug has a bigger team now, but instead of him pouting about it and skipping fights, focus on how that need for connection has transferred to his civilian life, but he doesn't have Kagami or Nino now and he's lost. Then you can either have an Adrien and Nino b plot because that relationship needs more screen time OR you use this to make Adrien and Marinette start to grow closer because Rocketear's fallout is also Alya paying more attention to Nino. Then, when season 5 does the whole crush switch, it actually feels earned.

#ml writing salt #ml writing critical #adrien deserves better #marinette deserves better #ml season 4 salt #Can you tell that I'm a little tired of fics that try to blame Ladybug for Chat Noir feeling left out? #It's reasonable for him to have those feelings but boy did they have him express them in a way that was totally unbecoming for a hero #She's a little too busy saving the world and trying to stay sane to worry about his emotions #Especially when he never actually tells her that something's wrong #Though I will absolutely grant you that he needed to know about the Alya situation and keeping him in the dark was BS #I love Alya but that plot was so stupid for so many reasons #It felt like it was just added for cheap drama and not because it was a good addition to the show

[rayshippouuchiha]

I'm eternally full of wrath over the fact no one in Konoha knew about the chakra imprints of Naruto's parents in the seal.

Naruto would've died to Pein without ever knowing who his parents were because no one manned up and let him know what he had a right to know.

If not for his parents loving him enough to want to leave behind failsafes in case his seal was ever damaged so he'd at least get to be protected by them personally one more time he never fucking would've known. Maybe not until the fourth war arc with Minato as an edo tensei summoned by Sasuke and do you think Naruto would've EASILY worked with 4th Hokage who sealed the Kyubi into him right away? No. Konoha's inability to own up to its fuck ups and to be honest with the victims of those fuck ups would've endangered the entire world. And for what? "I just didn't feel up to talking about it" or maybe "We'll tell him when he's older/stronger/better/more mature/at least a chunin/can keep secrets" when they shouldn't be goalposting this anyway and also fucking you don't feel up to it? Naruto didn't feel up to being an orphan hated and despised by literally every adult around him

I'm sorry to continue to rant but

AND ANOTHER THING

Naruto goes literally YEARS without knowing the rasengan was his FATHER'S jutsu. YEARS.

Using this jutsu, his dad invented, without knowing it, all the time in every fight. And Naruto thinks he's just using a badass technique the perv sage showed him which belonged to the yondaime, he has no idea what it should mean to him and he is kept in the dark, for years.

Kakashi was 26-27 at the start of the show and 30 when Naruto comes back from the time skip, trauma or no that is a grown-ass man an adult the entire time we know him, who just.. observes this hard-working teen in his care who's clearly all about his bonds (See the Gaara rescue and the find Sasuke missions) because he never had anyone in his corner before team 7 and he just.. goes "hmm" and never fucking tells him anything about his parents who Kakashi knew? EITHER OF HIS PARENTS??? Anything about them!?? What they were like? Their habits? Their techniques? How happy they were he was going to be born? How he wasn't born an orphan? How he was loved? DOESN'T EVEN TRY TO PASS DOWN FUINJUTSU TO THE UZUMAKI HEIR BECAUSE WHAT?! NARUTO'S 'TOO DUMB' or 'Too much of a bother to explain all the backstory why he should know/why I'm teaching it/too much of a bother to teach such a complicated thing' or 'the village doesn't want its jinchuriki to know how its own seal works we'd rather keep that power in our hands' like what. What would even be a good reason he is literally his sensei, and Jiraiya had three years to train him and focused on 'unlocking the seal to make use of more seals' while again not teaching Naruto how the seal worked at all and then once he got a scar from naruto abandoning the plan. Yes, Naruto got proper taijutsu training and training with the toad summons but still. What a waste. I'm still fuming.

~~~

Naruto got failed all the way around by a lot of people and only a few attempted to really and truly make up for it.

#RayRambles #Naruto