Yeah I was right and there was no way I was getting the rest of this done without making you all wait another month or two, so I just went to the next good break point. We're officially past the halfway point with Astarion though, so not too much longer before you actually get to see Rolan again!
ever seen a man so beautiful you ram your bike into his flowers?
my full piece for the retrouvailles zine! i had a lot of fun painting it. hope you enjoy looking at the lil details, plants, and the only character who has his shit together (the dog)
3-on-1 would normally be quite an unfair fight, but so far, Gaster's proven to be more than capable of taking what's been dealt... but the battle's far from over and our heroes still have plenty of fighting spirit!
The long fight continues next time, coming Jan. 11th!
"Have you forgotten sir, we were at war? A fight with an alien race for the very survival of our species. I feel I must remind you that it is an undeniable, and may I say fundamental quality of man, that when faced with extinction, every alternative is preferable."
"When you spend every day fighting a war, you to demonize your attackers. To you, they're evil, they're subhuman. Because if they weren't, what would that make you? What I'm trying to say... is I've been afraid to see you for what you really are. You're our brothers. Our sisters. And the things we've done to one another are unforgivable."
"These guys want to use us, take us away from our families, and send us all over the dad-gum galaxy just to test if their agents are ready for the big fight? Well... guess I'm interested in showin' em exactly what a big fight is all about! So I'm not ordering you to go. I ain't even asking. You do what you gotta do, Private."
came from the same series whose standard fare is lines like:
"What in the hell are you two doing?" / "We're being executed by our own men, sir." / "Cut it out."
"I only drink the blood of my enemies, and the occasional strawberry yoohoo."
"You always said I could sleep when I’m dead, Sarge, and guess what? I am dead. This purgatory is about to become purga-snore-y, yawn!"
...and both categories manage to be a poignant statement about the nature of war and what it does to the people in it.
[this is kind of a messy ramble, sorry about that]
Demon Twins AU, except Danny is loyal to the League.
The League of Assassins is a “cult” for a reason. They know what they’re doing. Ra’s has been around for a very long time; he’s seen every trick in the book and then some.
So when his daughter Talia gave him two, near-identical twin grandsons, he had already planned out their lives by the time the sun had set on their first day living. He knew the plans weren’t perfect. Nothing ever went exactly how he wanted it to. But that was the joy of being absolutely fucking ancient. Ra’s adapted better than anyone. If something went wrong, Ra’s will simply work around the issue and live to see another day.
So the boys were raised as he wished. Ruthless, with sharp blades and even sharper wit. They matched each other in every way, blow for blow. Neither won more than the other, and Ra’s encouraged the competition between the twins. Eventually, the battle for title of Heir came, and Damian won that particular match.
Danny was fine with this. Thrilled, even, for his brother to earn the title of Heir. The boys were very close, and worked well to take down targets twice their size. Ra’s approved this, and granted Danny title of Shadow. He was to be Damian’s eternal shadow, a guard. Both Talia and the boys were pleased with this.
But then came the time for the boys to learn how to live without each other. They’d gotten too used to someone guarding their back. Too complacent and too confident in their roles. Ra’s knew it would happen, and so sent Danny off at a very young age to live with some sleeper agents in America.
The Fentons.
Damian would stay here, with Talia, to learn how to be the perfect Heir. He needed to learn how to fight without the assistance of his brother.
Danny would go to Amity Park, and be fostered by the Fentons. He needed to put his skills to practical use and learn how to live without constant orders.
This was their Test.
Damian did quite well, for a while. Until Talia sent him off to his birth father, The Bat. Reports on his behavior declined in quality after that, and Ra’s couldn’t help but feel dissatisfaction with how the Heir had been corrupted.
Danny’s reports were always immaculate, however. His mask never slipped, and he’d worked himself into the hearts of the townspeople. The sleeper agents, Jack and Maddie, had a daughter who was quite enthusiastic about the properties of the mind, and accept Ra’s instructions to teach Danny with ease. It was the ideal situation.
In Ra’s eyes, Danny was thriving. Damian was not.
And then Ra’s died. The League was in shambles. Damian was at peace with his family, away from the cult he grew up in. He assumed Danny had defected years ago, since their mother stopped giving him reports about his twin.
Then Danny showed up at the Wayne’s doorstep, decked out in full League attire, angry and hostile.
“Tell me, dear brother,” he spat. “Why did you not inform me that Grandfather had died? I had to find out through his spirit when it came to visit from the afterlife!”
sorry i’m a megumi apologist because i, too, would lay on the floor crying and throwing up if i was just forced to watch my own hands tear apart my sister and the man who raised me
The way the finale went down isn’t the ending a lot of people wanted—I get that, and I sympathize. But I really do believe that’s in part because it isn’t an ending.
And, frankly, I love the way this season finale went purely for selfish reasons.
The thing is, I honestly think that from a fandom POV, that’s so much better than having everything go the way we wanted or expected. I’m already so inspired to create things—to patch holes of things I didn’t get to see or hypothesize on how things will turn out. There’s debate on what the wish really means that I KNOW is going to manifest in some creative af world building in future fics I’ll get to read.
I know some people are contemplating leaving the fandom after this, but that was going to happen regardless of how the season went down. And I hope that some of those people still find a way to enjoy what the show has given them. I hope people realize it’s never too late to play with whatever ideas they may have.
I think this “ending” is unsettling on purpose. And I think so many cool things are going to be created because of that set-up.
Jack and Maddie decided to mess around with the DNA of their child before he was born. Adding in a bit of what they thought was ghost blood or something.
They originally planned to monitor and watch what happens to Danny as he grew up. See how it effects him. He was there ultimate research experiment.
But when he was born they felt just a tad guilty. They decided he deserved to be human. So obviously they suppressed that part of him. Every year they make sure it stays suppressed pill/shot or something.
That way he would only be human.
They wouldn’t have to deal with Danny’s “ghost” side coming out. They wouldn’t have to investigate what makes him tick.
Then the accident happens. The Fenton parents catch on quick. Already thinking Danny was part ghost. The accident obviously fully killed him and that’s why the ghost side was coming out full force.
They stop the suppression. Wanting to see what will happen. That’s when the Martian dna begins to effect him.
Shapeshifting and hearing others thoughts come first. Danny assumes new ghost power.
The fenton parents get more curious about what will happen. They decide it’s time to research Danny. This leads to him on the run.
Danny’s dna starts rewriting itself again. Danielle who Danny ran to gets him to frostbite. Frostbite reveals that he isn’t fully human. Thanks to Martian DNA being in the realm from an ex Martian frostbite informs them of his other part.
Jazz, Tucker, and Sam then set out to find Martian Manhunter. That way frostbite knows what the correct (alive dna not dead) structure is and figure out how to properly stabilize Danielle with it.
I truly, TRULY, do not understand the Night Yorb hate. The fact that it was invented whole cloth from a bit is so fun! It was the cliffhanger from the last season! It burst out of Riz's chest after they said the name too many times! It's a giant sting-ray of darkness! The Hangman and Hanvan have been warning everyone about saying the name since the middle of last season!
Sorry you all hate joy and fun and are begging Brennan to get it out of the way to move on to the REAL story, but I'm here for any and all Night Yorb content, and would honestly be *thrilled* if they kept up stuff about it all season. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go join the Choir of Eternal Night and continue petitioning for a Night Yorb plush from Dropout.
"Back when you first came into my life,
I recalled a place that I knew as a child
A special place
One that I held close to my heart
Won’t you lead me in a dance down this winding road where light and shadow entwine to take hold of the thoughts of the one left far behind?
Know that, sometimes, I want to turn around and see the things that I’ve passed on the journey, but know with love on my side, with courage and pride, I’ll fight
I will carry on"
I can't explain this, but Black women looking young is somehow being added to the convenient excuses to not ship Black women with popular white leading men but ~not in a racist way~
She's strong and independent, she doesn't need him
He's a mess, she can do better
She should be gay! or with minor Black side character!
NEW: She looks so young :(
I'm obviously picking on this particular person but I've seen several people dismiss SydCarmy because "he's a much older, mentor figure! that'd be inappropriate!" And like??? HUUUUH???
Sydney and Carmy are an absolute MAX of 5 years apart in age. And while Ayo looks beautiful, 19 she does not look! Sydney went to culinary school and has worked at several fine dining establishments before launching her own business, common sense says she's at least in her late 20s. And while Carmy has more restaurant experience, he was a literal prodigy who started young.
ALSO, this is kind of an aside but where the fuck is Carmy mentoring Sydney in any real capacity?
S1 - she gets hired, 2 days later she was like "hey I redid your entire business plan because your shit is fucked, a day later he asked her to lead the brigade and then ditched her. He went to cater Cicero's party with Richie and once again Sydney was in charge DURING A POWER OUTAGE. She quit mid-service, comes back, and he's like want to start a restaurant with me?? Not as a fucking mentee, as a partner
S2 - Sydney is making the construction timeline decisions and present and participating in financial/loan conversations with the literal owners of the Beef/Bear. Sydney is part of designing the menu. Sydney is hiring. The only mentor-mentee relationship she's in is with TINA!
Does Sydney look up to Carmy because he's in many ways accomplished her culinary dreams? Absolutely. But people acting like she's some bright eyed student he's teaching to dice onions is fucking crazy.