Obsessed with this bit in the preface to the 10th Anniversary edition of Ancillary Justice:
Specifics aside, "I thought this would be fun and relaxing. It was not." is a great summation of what happens with like 80% of creative endeavors.
2K notes
·
View notes
Refuge
Danny was not retired, technically he came when people needed him, he helped or protected them as the case may be. It just turned out that over the years they stopped needing him.
And that was fine, it meant humanity could take care of itself, it meant they were safe. That was what had to matter, no matter that deep down, the halfa was hurt by the information.
It was harder to accept change when you weren't part of it. Danny was immortal, eternal, and powerful, things that no longer fit the world. Not with all the heroes and wizards running around, not with Amity Park fading away, becoming nothing more than a part of his memories.
He fit in perfectly in the Realms, sure, but he knew that if he stayed there too long he'd stop feeling human, and that was dangerous.
So, no, Danny wasn't retired. But he lived in a simple house in Metropolis, though sometimes he got tired of Superman being able to hear literally everything and moved to his house in Fawcett. He used to switch between the two houses frequently, not that it was difficult since he had figured out how to make portals.
He had a few friends, like the orphan boy who lived at the train station and Conner, a teenager who sometimes just needed a house to stay in when he couldn't stand his father.
Neither Conner nor Billy minded his age, which was comforting, although they both got curious when he visited the other house. Danny didn't know how to explain that Eternity Rock and Superman made him nervous if he stayed too long (he didn't like feeling watched), so he just shrugged and told them he had two houses.
Neither of the kids understood but they accepted it. They both had a habit of calling him "Uncle", Danny thought it was odd, given that his appearance wasn't exactly...adult, but it seemed they were comfortable with that, and he left them alone.
Apparently his house (occupied or not) had become a haven for them. Danny always greeted them with a sandwich, or cookies, even though he felt like a grandmother doing so. He smiled for the first time in years, feeling happy to fit into someone's life.
That's why it was quite disconcerting to find the Justice League outside his door asking him to join them. Danny chuckled internally, because the current heroes actually believed they could force him into something, but he accompanied them anyway.
Superboy and Captain Marvel scowled at the League as soon as they entered the Watchtower, when they were told they were bringing in a "dangerous individual" they didn't expect to see their unofficial uncle.
2K notes
·
View notes
heyyyyy sooooo i just watched nimona and of course being me i have to get aro about it and i am Still Thinking about the moment where ballister says “she’s my friend” and ambrosius replies “aren’t i more than that” and the thing that’s great about it is that he’s in the wrong. yes the two do get back together romantically at the end but this line, its reception in context, and the subsequent emotional core of the movie reject a hierarchy with romance at the top. like. this is a line in a scene where ambrosius is explicitly antagonising our main character, being manipulated by the main villain, and himself using the relationship between himself and ballister in an emotionally manipulative way, whether deliberate or not. in this context, the romance is not the highest or purest form of love, it is not above criticism, and it is certainly not ranked above the friendship. the relationship at the centre of the film is that of ballister and nimona, the one that bal prioritises — both in this moment and throughout the film — is nimona. they are Friends and Family (and of course evil coworkers) and that is the most important thing in the whole entire world. i love to see it <3
967 notes
·
View notes
i deeply hope the western world will look back in a few decades and shake our head in horror about the current state of things. the normalisation of consuming hardcore porn. the legalisation and trivialisation of prostitution. the transitioning of mentally ill people. the grooming of young women into onlyfans. surrogacy. the continuing devaluation of female labour, of labour in the health, education and social sector. the normalisation of beauty surgery, the distortion of female faces and bodies with extreme conturing and fillers. the attack on womens rights by claiming there is no such thing as a woman. letting people drown in the ocean, pushing people back to countries where they will be tortured and imprisoned. the commodification of everything including sexuality. technological progress that serves corporate interest instead of the common good. the systemic exploitation of people from the global south. im trying not to give up hope but its hard.
1K notes
·
View notes
alternative chuuya ship propaganda under the cut
TsujiChuu -> they had exactly TWO (2) encounters but in those 10~ minutes Tsujimura has immediately waxed poetic about how chuuya is a unique and intriguing man (as most special division agents do), and went out of her way to know more about him. and Chuuya immediately empathized her personal struggles with her ability, and gave her advice on how to both control it and accept it as part of her instead of something that was placed in her**. (hmmm stormbringer chuuya and gaiden tsujimura parallels. there's a reason they met.) Anyways Tsujimura is super high-strung and chuuya (when he's not purposely being riled up) is actually really laid back so they'd mesh well personality wise. And they could have an fbi x criminal secret romance thing happening.
ChuuRan -> they definitely fucked in the book. Lol. Also it's a match up that is spiritually similar to skk but 20x funnier because they have zero history and and wayyy more petty beef. in a more serious note, Chuuya probably does have some respect for Ranpo ---not respect for his intellect. I don't think chuuya would be impressed by anyone acting like a cocky genius, he was partnered with dazai after all-- recognizing him as the agency's "lynchpin" and all that. On Ranpo's side, i think he respects chuuya as a Threat, so that side adventure in the Poe's book was probably both to keep him away from the Cannibalism war thing and also gain an ~ally~ of sorts. IDK I JUST WANNA KNOW WHAT HAPPENED IN THE BOOK BRO
TaintedLemons -> Chaos and property destruction boyfriends ftw! They're canonically drinking buddies too! Chuuya is a messy lightweight, so what if when Hirotsu is unavailable, it's Kajii who helps him back home or let's him crash at his place 🥺? Kajii actually seems to be pretty high ranking, what with him just casually chatting up Kouyou and Mori trusting him with undercover missions. Kajii should be promoted, we have 2 exec seats after all. Kajii's silly eccentric personality and their friendship helps Chuuya put a positive connotation to mad scientists. Also they're literally always near each other in the group shots and official art, it's literally canon.
ChuuAku -> another one that isn't too rare but seriously underrated. Chuuya is that super supportive borderline embarassing boyfriend that takes 5 minutes each day to divulge words of affirmation, and he'd make dinner and use the cheesy pet names, the kinda stuff that makes Akutagawa want to explode/shrivel up and die. See as soon as Akutagawa is involved i think Chuuya should be flattened to the cookie cutter token love interest. He'd murder daz for a birthday gift. He's be Akutagawa's personal cheerleader and nothing more. This is also basically a canon ship btw..
442 notes
·
View notes