#And then it turns out he was committing horrible war crimes the whole time

[cinturon-cadena]

You say this but you clearly haven't yet watched the absolute train wreck of a fire that is Smallville and Lex Luthor's constant redeemable qualities being paraded across the stage even as he commits his 227th war crime under the nose of those he cares for most.

i LOVE IT WHEN REDEEMABLE CHARACTERS RELAPSE INTO THEIR OLD WAYS!!! WHEN THEY GO BACK TO THE DARK SIDE!!! TO THE FEIGNED COMFORT OF WHEN THINGS FELT GOOD!! BUT THEY LEARNED SO MANY THINGS ABOUT THEMSELVES THAT THE OLD PLACE DOESN'T TRULY FEEL AT HOME EITHER, BUT IT'S THE ONLY PLACE TO RUN TO!!!! HELLLL YEAH

[thestargayzingheroine]

Why A Better World is my favourite "Evil Superman" Story

So in the last two decades or so, there's been a notable amount of dark and edgy stories around superheroes turning evil and whatnot and most of them really love to do their own expies of Superman. I've never been the biggest fans of these kinds of stories.

And then there's the actual stories of Superman and other heroes being outright villains or at least just massive assholes. In recent years, this has been largely thanks to the influence of media like the Injustice Games or the Synderverse DC movies. It's... honestly become a trope I am tired of.

Because you know the damnest thing? There is a story that does all these ideas really damn well and arguably better. It is the two-parter from the Justice League cartoon "A Better World".

Now, I am aware how most people favouring the DCAU has become a bit of toxic nostalgia at times and it's something I myself am trying to work through a bit. But in this case, I do think it's the best idea of doing an evil DC story, much better and more interesting than the Crime Syndicate, who if you ask me are not very interesting, though I do remember liking the Crisis On Two Earths movie a lot, which funny enough, was originally going to be this two parter before various things led to it being canned and then later repurposed as a direct to DVD movie.

Anyway, my main crux of why I love this story is simple... The entire Justice League turns evil... and the reasons are very much in-character for all of them. You look at the scene with Justice Lord Batman for example.

As fucking evil as the Justice Lords are... Batman can't quite fully hate his alternate self for his reason for taking part in all this being basically one-step further than his own mission, that no child should ever go through what he did. Hell, I recall reading that the reason the writers had Batman drop his batarang at the end of this scene... was because he genuinely wouldn't be able to come up with an argument to that.

Superman likewise kills Lex Luthor because yeah, Luthor literally exploited the flaws in Democracy and became president of the US, threatening to kinda basically start world war 3. It's obviously horrible... but Superman is a character whose main motivation is making the world a better place. And if people who abuse the systems of power of the world are hurting people, why shouldn't Superman put a stop to that?

And yeah, Superman should obviously never kill, he's the most paragon of paragons of the DC universe, a man committed to always being better than the villains he fights... but this is him pushed to his most logical extreme. Hell, the main Superman knows this and its why Lex used his knowledge of this alternate universe as part of his plan in the season after this, to goad our Superman into crossing the line because yeah, there's a part of him that could go this far.

But right as Superman is about to apparently finish him, the big guy says this.

"I'm not the man who killed President Luthor. I wish to heaven that I were but I'm not."

Because Superman like everyone else, obviously would have those same thoughts and same urges. He's human.

I've kinda gone off Injustice a bit because to be honest... the injustice games were kinda just this but a bit too edgelordy. Hell, in A Better World, Lois Lane still lives and the whole genesis of it doesn't revolve around her getting fridged.

So yeah, A Better World is probably one of my favourite mirror universe stories because of the fact that well... it really is like looking in a mirror and seeing just how easy the greatest heroes can become evil and how they wouldn't be massively out of character doing so. But also it reminds us that as much as this darkness can tempt some of our finest, the ones who don't go down this dark path are stronger in heart than anyone else. Because when the world becomes a dark and horrible place, it becomes very easy to be just as dark. But even though it can be hard to still try and be a good person even in dark times, it's ultimately worth it. Because good always triumphs over evil.

[snurtsnurtcreations]

Phillip Graves Headcanons

A character study, of sorts (all sfw btw)

Has committed war crimes and will do it again >:)

Cares deeply about his Shadows and the Shadow company as a whole

Sooome loyalty to those who employ him, but at the end of the day he is a merc working for personal gain

He won’t turn on someone just because he got a better offer, he’s got some morals, plus reputation is important

Loves seeing a plan come together (let’s fucking gooo!!)

When a mission goes ass up and he loses some good men, you know it’s serious because he’s dangerously quiet, not cursing, jaw clenched

Coffee addict. Creamer is a must tho.

Suuuch a smart ass, will try to get the last word in on everything. Also loves to playfully argue

As a child he used to have a pet raccoon

Just. Just imagine this, right. Teeny tiny Phillip, his two front baby teeth just fell out. He’s holding a raccoon up by its armpits swinging the thing all over the place as he bounds up to his ma all excited-like, asking if he can keep it, please please please

Very touchy. Hugs, pats, hip bumps, shoulder touches, etc, usually done practically subconsciously.

Especially with a S/O, his hands would be aaaall over em. Hand on their back, head on shoulders, hand holding, hell even just sitting really close together or brushing shoulders… he’s all for it

Has a particular fondness for booty grabs as well

Sometimes he has to spend some time just sitting down with a blank stare into nothingness. Error 404. Factory reset. Etc etc. It’s good for the soul, or so he says.

As a teenager he used to break into abandoned buildings

Loves watching trivia type shows like jeopardy, family feud, who wants to be a millionaire. Gets really stoked when he gets something right before the contestant

Is a decent enough cook but Hot Shit when it comes to baking. Somehow always gets the recipe wrong, or takes it out before it’s done baking… or after its already burnt. Took him way too long to realize that baking can’t be treated like cooking and that he can’t just eyeball things or measure with the heart

He’s a master with a grill though. His cookouts are the BOMB

100% has one of those “kiss the cook” aprons

Man’s is rich rich. Has a whole fancy property with a mansion for a house, complete with an outdoor pool + hot tub, fountain + waterfall, personal gym, huuuge tv, wine cellar, pool room, heated bathroom floor, etc etc

Owns a navy blue velvet armchair that wildly contrasts with all other furniture. He’s not entirely sure why he got it in the first place, it just Spoke to him. He’s definitely fallen asleep in it and got a horrible crick in his neck too many times to count

Talks to inanimate objects a liiiittle too much tbh

Will NOT tell his Shadows when his birthday is. He knows they’ll hold it against him or try to do some prank or WORSE throw a surprise party. He gets reeeaaal dodgy when they ask, and neither confirms nor denies any of their guesses

Somehow Bigfoot came up as a topic of interest in conversation once and now the Shadows have an ongoing argument on whether Graves actually believes in Bigfoot or if he’s just bluffing

He is the crazy uncle in his family. His sister is constantly amazed by what new insane junk he can teach her children, but, hey, the kids love him!

He abso-fuckin-lutely beat up his sister’s abusive ex husband

Is the type to let mail pile up on the table for a week or so before going through it

Fairly good at wood carving. It’s a fun little hobby of his

Hates fishing with a passion. One time his sister convinced him to go fishing with her children and while he was trying to remember how his father had taught him way back when (those are bad memories actually… he can figure it out on his own), his seven year old niece pulled out a crawfish and started screaming, Graves slipped in the mud and fell flat on his ass, his five year old nephew tried to get a closer look at the thing but it wiggled the wrong way so he started running and somehow got the hook caught in his shoelaces while the crawfish escaped…. Needless to say it was not a fun day for Graves. The kids laughed up a storm though and his sister constantly teases him about it

Can’t handle spice. Like not even a little. It’s kinda pathetic actually.

“Graves” is not his actual surname. He had it legally changed to that once he became a merc. (“C’mon, man, Fill up Graves? That’s hilarious and cool. It’s perfect.” His sister watches unamused as he tries to explain his decision)

100% acts like he’s dying when he catches a cold. Will cough and snivel and bemoan his life

Sooooo jealous of folks that can play guitar. He’s tried on and off again but somehow it just doesn’t click in his mind

Performs a sick air guitar. Has held an air guitar competition for his Shadows once. All agree it was a blast but refuse to provide details on who won. Newbies always hear about it as the legendary air guitar battle but don’t actually know what happened

Shadow HQ breakroom has pages with drawings stuck up on the fridge with abc magnets. It started as a joke but it’s an actual thing now. Middle of the fridge is a place of honor and respect, and the judge of it is of course Commander Graves

[ckret2]

Decided to shake up the constant Gravity Falls asks on the blog (even though I adore them). What is your favorite transformers continuity? And what's your favorite character from that continuity?

Tough call, but probably IDW1. The comics had room to get expansive in ways the show-based continuities couldn't, and I like that feeling of bigness to the universe. It introduced a lot of my favorite Transformers lore: forged vs cold constructed bots, Functionism (especially as a critique of marrying religion to conservative politics), empurata, really creative uses of holoforms, conjunx endura & amica endura (and queer bots, let's give it up for queer bots!!), the complex network of lost colonies, the idea that the gods definitely officially existed BUT they were just guys, the DJD...

All the work that went into immediate pre-war culture with the turbulent corrupt senate and the corrupt Primes was terrific. LSOTW and SOTW are just so damn good, MTMTE up through Remain In Light was brilliant, and Getaway's coup was great. I'm thrilled we got a look at Cybertron's relationships with the rest of the galaxy and it turns out they're hated, because that makes perfect sense but we never really see that. The post-war politics on Cybertron were really fun. I was skeptical IDW could pull off writing about a post-war Cybertron—I assumed within a year they'd default back to restarting the war—and then that ended up being when the whole series really started to shine.

Introduced some characters I love—Drift, Tarn, Stardrive, Windblade, and Pharma stand out off the top of my head. Amazing artwork, especially whenever Milne had the pen. ABSOLUTELY LOVED seeing Starscream get to rule Cybertron. Even though they had trouble committing to it, I appreciate that they had the balls to make Optimus morph into a well-intentioned villain. Love the tragic former senator Shockwave characterization. Love the lonely logical Prowl who can see the Autobots' flaws too clearly for his own good and in his desperation to compensate for the rest of the army morally compromised his way into becoming the villain. Love horrible amoral Tarantulas with his small shining moments of love and tenderness.

Although by the end it was getting really bloated with other Hasbro property crossovers, I did like some of the crossovers they introduced: GI Joe slid in pretty seamlessly—probably helps that TF & GI Joe crossovers have an established history—and I was surprised a how much I liked Rom. And even though the sheer quantity of crossovers got tedious, the concept of going "they've all been dragged into this story because they were all affected by Cybertron's past colonialism" is GREAT.

Love that they ended the story by swinging from "yay look at all these fun new colonies for us to play with!" to "oh my god the Autobots are colonizers." LOVE that they ended with Unicron—every longform Transformers series could end with Unicron and I probably wouldn't complain—and that they let him eat some planets, let him eat half the cast, LET HIM EAT CYBERTRON... and characterized him not as some random bogeyman but specifically as the karmic vengeance for Cybertron's past colonial crimes. Love that the only way to stop him was not by killing him, but by acknowledging that Cybertron was wrong and showing him compassion.

IDW didn't always get things right with their attempted grand messages about politics and injustice and oppression and colonization—but, hell, even when they didn't quite hit the bullseye I love that they were playing with that dartboard.

Favorite character from IDW is Prowl (albeit not without stiff competition). I'm a gleeful Prowl apologist. Yeah he did those terrible things but he was right tho. I started picking up RID & MTMTE right when Prowl got Devastatored, and that was both the thing that made me go "oh hold on the comics are doing something interesting" and the thing that made me take notice of Prowl as a character for the first time in my life lmao. BIG fan of his messy lovelife. (Personally I go "he's too good for Chromedome" and then ship him with the Constructicons and Tarantulas, who are objectively far worse than Chromedome.) He's endlessly fascinating to me, one of my favorite characters to read and one of my favorite characters to write.

Right up there is Starscream—averaged out across all continuities, Starscream's probably my #1 favorite Transformers character, and IDW Starscream is my favorite Starscream, a perfect blend of the bombastic G1 campy villain and the wary, competent, resilient TFP schemer. And Tarantulas rounds out my top 3, I loved him in Beast Wars and then SOTW 3 happened and I had to stop at nearly every panel Tarantulas was in to go "oh my god, this is canon? They got away with that??" Read like a fanfic in the best possible way. "We were each the muse to the other" still has an iron grip on my heart. "I want YOU. I want US." God. SOTW 3 is a masterpiece of literature. Here, do you want a 130k no-war AU where Prowl and Tarantulas are paranormal investigators together? You can have it. For free.

I just spent a lot of time singing the praises of IDW but shoutout to Armada and Energon/Super Link (I preferred the fansub over the dub) for getting me into Transformers, wouldn't be in this fandom today if not for Starscream's beautifully melodramatic redemption arc in Armada. I'm not saying they're good. I'm saying I love them. Totally different thing.

[dundeey-art]

Had no thoughts about prowl. the majority of the fandom thinks he's an asshole and they either hate him for it or love him for it.

So I read the entire wreckers saga for Verity initially, but you know what? Prowl really stood out to me. I wanted to see more of him, so I read the issues he was in and I truly don't understand where the whole "prowl is an asshole" came from, yes he does some bad stuff (so does everyone else) but i interpreted this as a means to an end.. i think he's always thinking about the future and the end of the war, and his actions reflect that. I'm pretty sure he even mentioned that he "has to make tough decisions for a better tomorrow" but don't quote me on that

I think trying to moralize anyone in the IDW comics is a bad idea LOL, love them as they are (￣ー￣)ｂ

I find it really interesting how prowl is like.. public enemy #1 in the fandom when there are others who are worse and get so much love. LIKE RODIMUS OH MY GOD DO NOT EVEN GET ME STARTED. He annoyed me so much while reading MTMTE. Seriously, the way everyone babygirl-ifies him and never talks about his wrongs, you'd swear rodimus is a pretty decent guy. He's infuriating, painfully immature, and egotistical, and those traits get people killed. Like at some point, he ignores advice from ultra magnus because he's petty, and it ends up a disaster... I'm not even gonna touch on his horrible friendship with drift.

I dunno how this turned into a rodimus rant (；ω；) BUT ANYWAY!! prowl is pretty incredible, and i didn't know for such a long time because of the fandom's mischaracterization of him.

— dream (*＾3＾)/～☆

holy fucking based...

YOU HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD!!!

indeed, if you just read the material, you'll see that prowl is wildly misinterpreted and exaggerated by the fandom. personally i like rodimus, but what you said is true. almost every character in IDW has committed terrible crimes, but those get excused or overlooked way more than prowl's do. prowl supposedly being the biggest war criminal in the story is a joke that gets boring really quickly.

its most likely about more than just his actions, though. i think prowl's personality puts people off. like hes a bit too unfriendly, not cute or quirky enough. but i like prowl, he's one of the few i can actually tolerate. but i guess thats just not the popular opinion. really, though, i think people that genuinely think prowl is an asshole are annoying. we probably wouldnt get along irl.

personality aside, i genuinely think prowl is an incredibly admirable character. he's like the anti-hero to me. it's clearly shown in his actions and motivations. far from the antagonist that some people claim he is.

im so glad you read it for yourself to come to your own conclusion and gained all this insight! thank you for sharing!!

[ctrl-alt-deleting-yr-face]

so a while back i rambled about this au to my friend @aristarxs and i said something about writing a whole ass breakdown scene? well i finally did! all it took was a sad indie rock song to change my brain chemistry and give me ideas so strong they made me cry!

enjoy, everything i wrote is under the cut ^^

“Romeo, wait!” Hikari cries out, dashing into the boy’s room before he could slam the door on her. Romeo didn’t bother to turn on the lights, and Hikari can only see the way he’s clutching at the sleeve of his hoodie from the light pouring in from the hallway. His body quivers, hands gripping at his arms before he whips around and shouts at the yokai.

“Why are you here?! Why are you still trying to help me after everything I put you through?! I used you, I kicked you around like a stray cat, and yet you’re here! Living with me, helping me care for my sister, serving as essentially my only friend…” Tears begin to flow from Romeo’s chestnut eyes, a scowl on his lips as he stares at the bluenette in pain, “You’re fighting for me. Me, the damn war criminal who exploited you like a Pavlov dog and committed countless crimes! And don’t you dare attempt to act innocent, you were there while I did everything! I never should’ve been brought back! I don’t deserve it! I never will deserve it, I’m a horrible person! So why?! Why are you still by my side..? I manipulated you! I hurt you…” His teeth dig into his lip, biting back the emotions that he hates for being dragged out from the depths of his mind. The silence in the space is broken only by Romeo’s broken breathing, until Hikari’s gentle exhale cuts through the dim room like a knife.

“Romeo… I know. I’m not denying any of the points you’ve made. But just… Look at yourself. You clearly aren’t the same man that you were. You’re crying and lamenting about everything, for one. That’s not like the old you at all!” A soft laugh escapes her while she pauses, “Call me crazy, but to me, you’ve changed.”

…

Romeo’s shoulders slump. His arms go slack as his jaw drops slightly, eyes blank as tears well in them again.

“Damn it, Hikari…”

He bites his lip again, choking on a sob just as he pushes up his glasses and presses his palms to his eyes. His mouth opens to mutter,

“I don’t get you. I don’t get you at all. After everything I’ve done to you, you’re still here… For the first time in so very long, I can’t comprehend why you would…”

“It’s because I love you,” Hikari interjects. This simple statement, only 5 words, is all it took to break the arrogant and cynical man who stands right in from of her.

Romeo falls to his knees with a soft sound of defeat, Hikari rushing up to him with quiet murmurs of apology and consolation leaving her. However, these quiet words fall on deaf ears as the purple haired boy breaks down into tears, screaming into the dark air of his room as he clings desperately to the hem of the shirt dangling around Hikari’s waist like a pleading merchant. The blue haired yokai’s eyebrows furrow, a gentle look in her eyes as she slowly moves to sit on the floor beside her best friend, gently holding his face and wiping his tears as they fall.

“I don’t get it… You should hate me. I hurt you. I hurt you, Hikari…”

“But I don’t, do I?” She smiles, eyes gentle as he cries. He’s still trying to act tough, even as his walls collapse around him. ‘Classic Romeo,’ is all Hikari can think, until for once… He leans into the touch of her hands.

“I’m… I’m so sorry…”

A silent response is all that’s given. A gentle tug, pulling him against her chest and stroking his back as his tears continue to fall.

“This is shameful, you know. Completely deplorable.”

“Not to me.”

…

“Then let me stay close for now. Please.”

[sylvainahyperfixation]

bro sometimes i get real confused about why so many people straight up hate minthara when they havent even TRIED her route. oh there's your answer right there. how could they like her when they have no idea what kind of person she is? also the fact that she's not fleshed out because of all the bugs, which is a damn shame.

and then there's also the reality some people live in that if you arent willing to commit war crimes for drussy (ugh, it's not like i didn't do it for this too but reducing a whole ass character to one sex scene is so disgusting) she's not "worth it". i would kill for larian to make her recruitable in a regular party because there's SO MUCH to her. i would wait years if it means there's as much content for her as there is for origin characters. and to the people who're gatekeeping her bc "if you cant handle being evil you dont deserve minthara" listen. fair. but i want more people to see her beyond The Sex Scene and The General Power Hungry Evilness. she's so much more than a one dimensional character a lot of people think she is and it's real obvious when they never take a look beyond her surface. but theyre willing to make excuses for Other Characters.

no shade on astarion lovers (and there are a lot of those) but what makes it so your traumatized horrible man is more worth exploring than my traumatized horrible woman? the level of devotion she exhibits to tav suggests that while she may disapprove of your actions she'll stand with you no matter what you choose (and honestly the bad ending proves that it's even to HER detriment, not that she knows that but there's an argument to be made for if you knew what would happen, would you still pick it? and therefore opportunities for character development). she's no less of a wonderful companion than all of the origin characters. in fact most people think wyll is bland af and yea, i agree. i romanced that guy in my first playthrough as astarion (which btw completely blinded me to what a Terrible Little Vampy Boi he actually is because i was the one making his choices) and i was like dude can this guy just be interesting. not that that's necessarily a bad thing...and wyll's probably the greenest flag companion there is because of how boring he is.

anyways my POINT is. all of our fucking companions are traumatized in some way and have a shady/sus past. why is minthara not worth "redeeming" (by this i literally mean i want to make her happy and not because i want to fundamentally break what makes her who she is, then i'd be no better than the absolute. but if you WERE to change someone it would be a slow and long process and there would have to be a lost of trust and openness, which from the way she's written i believe she's completely willing to share with tav by the end). i want to say this is because there's simply not enough content for her (and it's true) but also that just leads to the conclusion "my opinion of her is tbd because there's not enough info" and not "minthara evil therefore bad". but even with the content we're given if you think that her upbringing didnt completely fuck her over in a way that would take years and years to unlearn and heal from and That's Why She's Like That...not saying it's an excuse but it's a damn good reason. it's not that hard to recognize what makes a character good and the parts that you can poke and prod at to start making them question their worldview and also at the same time not be an apologist and be like "she did nothing wrong" (i would still say that ironically tho)

this has already been too long im just so fucking tired all the time of people who enjoy Other Terrible But Ultimately Redeemable characters and then turn around to slap a label on minthara when theyre formulaically the same because all of our companions are Problematic in one way or another. i guess some of them are just more palatable to you. i've also tried to keep this civil but i have So Many Words for astarion/shart/laezel enjoyers that dont have anything nice to say ab minthara. there's a reason those characters can make an actual party even if you slaughter the whole fucking grove

[unohanabbygirl]

So for HIPS it’s seems that in the latest chapter the greens/baratheons have been pretty successful in squashing the truth about Aemond’s assault on Luke at Storms End, but I was wondering if you could shed some light on Daeron’s character? He’s so loyal to the greens but also (at least I would imagine) faithful to the Seven as much as Alicent or Aemond is. Would the crime/sin of r*pe turn him against the greens/Aemond when it is revealed what happened even a little bit? What would happen if in the middle of the war he overheard Borros talking about Aemond’s rut and the chase? It would just be really interesting for Alicent/Daeron turn against Aemond for a major sin and for what is seen to be a crime against the Maiden.

(On a separate note, does the marriage pact still exist or did Borros end it after seeing how violent Aemond was? I can’t imagine Borros’ wife would agree to a marriage after witnessing what Aemond was like in rut. I feel like all the daughters would be septas rather than allow Aemond to touch them)

Daeron is a character I find interesting because he’s so different from his siblings. Unlike the other Targtower kids he grew up in Oldtown away from Alicent, Cole, and Otto’s destructive ways. While he’s just as much a follower of the faith as Alicent is, the key difference between the two is that he isn’t a hypocrite nor likely to make exceptions/excuses for his brothers sins.

The faith regards omegas as beings to be loved and protected since they’re the ‘ultimate givers’ of life and carved in the mothers image. Committing an act as horrible as r*pe onto an omega is seen as unforgivable no matter the context. So, when Daeron eventually finds out what Aemond did it’s all the fuel he would need to drop his loyalty to the green fraction.

In his mind it would be a slap in the face to everything he believes in to fight alongside a r*pist even if he was out of his mind with rut sickness. And while I don’t see Daeron switching to side with the blacks since Daemon is the reason his nephew is dead and Helaena is basically comatose, he would back out of the fight and announce himself Switzerland.

Alicent is a bit trickier because while she’s a devoted follower of the Seven, she can very well be a hypocrite at times. Not to mention her soft spot for Aemond. If anything she’d be disgusted with him yet her love and internalized hatred for her own sex/dynamic would lead her to believing the assault was somehow Luke’s fault as a way to rationalize things without facing the whole truth.

As for the marriage pact it’s still technically in place but nothing has actually gone forward. Mostly because Borros is a shitty man who believes in the supremacy of alpha’s and the idea of his daughter marrying a prime is like hitting the jackpot. However his wife is very against it after witnessing what happened which has put them in this state of constant arguing.

Just as you said, seeing Aemond lose himself to his rut like an animal was a terrifying experience and the girls would rather swear a vow of chastity than have a husband prone to such violence.

[sarah-dipitous]

Hellsite Nostalgia Tour 2023 Day 176

Man’s Best Friend with Benefits/The Doctor, the Widow, and the Wardrobe

“Man’s Best Friend with Benefits”

Plot Description: a police officer, who turned to witchcraft after working a case with Sam and Dean, is plagued by nightmares in which he murders innocent people

Would I Survive the First Five Minutes??: doesn’t seem like it’s simply nightmares, ya know?? Anyway, not saying that staying at home pretty much every night protects me 100% but…I do pretty much stay at home every night. These first five minutes? I’m pretty safe

You know…you never really think about the normal car ride conversations Sam and Dean have. It’s always the arguing, the mission focused ones, the ones with other people there…not the bickering about the Three Stooges

I don’t trust this dog…

Sam. Maybe MENTION that your visitor is a dog. I think Dean might be a little less weirded out……..oh. She’s no longer a dog. Um. Ohhhhhhh, she’s a familiar

It’s frankly amazing with how many crimes the boys commit and how many spells they do that they keep the attitude of “witches bad. cops good.” Come on!! Then again, this show never did understand its largest fanbase and kept trying to appeal to its intended audience

It’s gross that they cast a young, beautiful black woman to play the dog familiar to a white male cop/witch AND had her refer to him as her master. LIKE….

This is just a really bad episode. Holy fuck

“It’s not that you don’t trust me, it’s that you can only trust yourself” that hit Dean and ricocheted to hit me too. I don’t like that, Sammy…

You’re surprised you’re sneezing around Phillipe Le Chat when you’re allergic to cats??

This show is so cheap omg won’t show the transformation of the familiars. It’s actually funny

So let me get this straight, they fucked, and he let down his guard long enough to psychically show her the murders he believes he committed. Cool show

Call me and Dean prudes but it IS a little surprising to get the confirmation that they’re fucking.

Look how happy Dean is that Sam’s proud of him for not even making one beastiality joke for 15 hours since finding out James and Portia’s…arrangement

They…astral projected into the police department?? Just feels a little like cheating

So did Spencer set him up because being a witch and a cop was just…nope…it’s part jealousy part familiar fucking…

I’m so glad to hear Dean say he trusts Sam…….oh, cool. This is already taking a toll on Sam…..coughing up blood is not usually a sign that you’re good, my dude

“The Doctor, the Widow, and the Wardrobe”

Plot Description: Evacuated to a house in Dorset from war-torn London, Madge Arwell and her two children, Lily and Cyril, are greeted by a madcap caretaker whose mysterious Christmas gift leads them into a magical wintry world

(I don’t know why it keeps going back to the last few seconds of the previous episode when i definitely waited for the flip over to the next one. It’s not horribly annoying but it COULD be better)

Oh I do like the kind of awful action sequence at the beginning. Like…there IS room in my heart for bad cgi

Yeah, that’s exactly the kind of kid you could tell ALL OF THAT to and he’d not only understand all the words you just said but also comprehend and believe it

Nah because he actually does get to go home for Christmas…just…not yet

The parallel of Madge and the Doctor both breaking the doors of where the other stays. I don’t know if it MEANS anything but I do like it

One of the best things in the show is when the Doctor is amazed by what he’s done. He’s done some fun remodeling I’m this whole house and I’m in love with it

I loathe to admit it but Moffat does have some good lines. “Because every time you see them happy, you remember how sad they’re going to be, and it breaks your heart because what’s the point in them being happy now when they’re going to be sad later? The answer is, of course, because they are going to be sad later” Just. So touching. So heart wrenching.

Omgggggggggg her kids begging her to say what she always says at Christmas, that it’s going to be the best one ever. And she (and now the Doctor) is the only one who knows the truth about her husband having died in battle

He…he IS going to make sure the dad gets home safely for Christmas, right? It’s not going to JUST be part of the Narnia-esque world they’re about to go to

I never opened my presents early. I never wanted to. I never even looked for them growing up…

Something’s afoot in the forest

Sure, let’s just get the WHOLE family through the dimensional portal

Great Value Narnia doesn’t even have a Mr Tumnus…

I guess when you don’t have anyone to freak out TO, you’re gonna freak out less?? Yeah, see? Now that there are other people, she can break down about her children going missing on a far off planet in the future and how she nearly got stomped on and…had futuristic guns pointed at her and yelled at

They better explain these people made of wood soon

So, they’re some sort of protectors of this forest. I forgot this was a deforestation tale as well

Mmmm of course she’s going to be strong enough to wear the crown thingy. She’s…unenthusiastically impressed somehow

That is NOT a romantic story. He followed her til she agreed to marry him? She didn’t want to make a scene?? She’s lucky that worked out, that he was a decent guy otherwise, but why is that such a common trope?

So…I mean. Sure. The light from the ship Madge flew the forest spirits in led her husband home. I GUESS

The Ponds always setting a place at their table fit the Doctor IS making me tear up though. I was not expecting that. He finds it so unbelievable and he’s so touched by that

[cheeseanonioncrisps]

For people who don't know what's happening in the UK, a quick update:

The Prime Minister— henceforth to be referred to as That Twat— has spent the last few months insisting that he never went to any parties. (Oh no sir, no parties whatsoever sir— a bigger boy did it and ran away!) He has said this both in press releases to the general public and also in the House of Commons.

Remember that last bit, it will be important later.

That Twat put off explaining what exactly he was doing then, in that room with all the people, and the booze, and the frickin birthday cake, by saying that we just had to wait for the Sue Grey Report (remember that?). Apparently enough was drunk at these definitely-not-parties that even That Twat was unable to remember what he'd done that night.

Then, when the Sue Grey Report was just due to come out, back in January, after weeks of saying that it was none of their business— and what were we expecting them to do? Enforce the law?— the Met Police (henceforth, Those Bastards) finally got off their arses just in times to announce that Sue Grey wasn't actually allowed to publish everything she'd found, because some of that info was now part of their investigation.

Sue Grey instead released an 'update', which you can read in full here.

To give an idea of what a full report might have contained however (and the neutered version was still pretty damning, confirming as it did that the government were ignoring lockdown rules, and that members of staff were intimidated into silence) British comedian Joe Lycett posted a fake version to Twitter just before the real one came out.

You can read it here. I honestly recommend it more than the real one.

The fake report claimed that several gatherings had been held, at which everyone played games called "slow dance" and "pass the arsehole". It also mentioned a groupchat called "Down It Street" and said that the last guy to suggest that anyone take a test was now being called 'Twateral Flow' around the office.

It was very funny, and just about unbelievable, and would have faded into obscurity if That Twat and staff hadn't apparently believed it. Admittedly we only have Lycett's word for this, but after tweeting the initial parody report, he then tweeted a screenshot of a message from a "verified" source who worked in Downing Street, stating that the report was being treated as a serious leak.

After that, however, things quietened down a bit, primarily because That Twat turned out to have been gifted the most amazing belated Christmas present in the form of Russia invading Ukraine.

I mean given how fucking desperate he is to seen like Churchill (and how determined to ignore all signs to the contrary, despite one of his own MPs using the same “in the name of God, go” speech that was used to make fucking Neville Chamberlain step down— That Twat, author of several books about Churchill, claimed not to recognise it) you can tell he's really wanking off to this. Ask any Tory politician and they'll try and tell you that the UK is somehow a more important player in this war than Ukraine.

Just as Covid had been the perfect excuse for the Brexit fuckup, so Ukraine was the perfect excuse for the Covid fuckup. "We can't talk about the many crimes I have obviously committed, while thousands of my own people died at my hand, because don't you know there's a war on?!"

And— despite a decent attempt in which he genuinely tried to compare the experiences of Ukrainians defending their country from a fucking invasion to those of Brexit voters living in a country where some people disagree with them— on the whole the situation is too big and too distant for That Twat to fuck it up on his own. His advisors must have breathed a sigh of relief.

Bob Hale from Horrible Histories voice: But not for long!

Literally last week, Those Bastards finally got back to us on Boris's Rule Breaking Birthday Bonanza (and the various other parties that he absolutely attended) by stating that they had to fine him! And several of his ministers!

Not a huge punishment on its own, given that he's a Rich Upper Class Twat specifically, but a big deal because it makes him the first UK Prime Minister in history to be sanctioned for a crime while still in office. And that's in over 300 years of people holding the post. And, most importantly, it proves that he lied to the House of Commons when he said he didn't know about any of the parties were happening.

Lying directly to the House of Commons, is a huge no, no in British politics. It's called Misleading Parliament and in theory it's supposed to carry the harshest penalties.

Unfortunately the British government was and still is largely run by the Eton set, and founded around their ideals, so at the moment we're all basically limited to asking That Twat to pretty please fall on his sword for the sake of Honour, and then standing by awkwardly as he absolutely does not do that.

(There has actually been a petition to make Misleading Parliament against the law, instead of just against the MPs' code of conduct. The petition gained over 100,000 votes, which meant that Parliament were supposed to consider it for debate, but the government responded with "fuck no, lol 😜" and it's been over a year, so that's that then.)

Since he refuses to resign, which is the usual way of dealing with this situation, the other way to get him out is his having Parliament declare a vote of No Confidence in him— but the only circumstances under which such a vote could be held is if 15% of all sitting Tory MPs write in to say that they think there should be one.

And since they all know that the results of such a vote would be one of them having to pick up the poisoned chalice that is the Prime Ministership as That Twat has left it, that's unlikely to happen any time soon. (It admittedly looked like it was about to happen back when the Partygate news first broke, but then Putin remembered that he hadn't gotten Boris anything for his birthday, and decided to make up for it by providing the ultimate distraction.)

The other, highly unlikely option, is that the Queen sacks him. Technically she has the power to do this. No monarch has used it since 1838— when it didn't really stick— and in theory she's only supposed to use it if he decides to go full Hitler and take over the world (which is also why she's the one with ultimate control over the armed forces). However, given that one of the crimes he's accused of— the one he basically admitted to— was having a piss-up on the night of her husband's funeral, and that given her age it's unlikely she'll be Queen for that much longer anyway, she might decide to give it a go.

At 3:30 today, That Twat faces his MPs for the first (and last, pretty please say last) time since the fine and has to explain himself. Currently his line of defence seems to be that he didn't know he was breaking any laws, because nobody told him what they were. In fairness, they probably didn't, but then they probably expected him to already know given that he was the one making them.

His argument relies on either the rules being so Byzantine and confusing in nature that nobody could be expected to understand them— which seems a bit rough on the British public, especially all those who were fined extravagantly for breaking them— or that That Twat himself is unfortunately as thick as two short planks, and everyone should forgive him for his misdeeds and definitely not question whether someone who's incapable of understanding his own law should really be Prime Minister.

So, overall, it's a shitshow.

[snoozefiesta]

Because @hexburn asked, I decided to compile some of my favorite moments of 2020 DRX, that is actually mostly their botlane but it'll be for obvious reasons after you look through the post lmao. Enjoy !

Starting off with my absolutely favorite image of all time...

I don't know the full story of this honestly. And I wish I had taken a full screenshot of it when I first saw the picture, but this is from the promotional images for the DRX merch back in 2020 that was on their site. Deft was the one that wore these shoes lmao. I'm not sure if Keria actually wrote it or it's actually Keria's own shoes, although I would love to believe that Keria vandalized Deft's shoes just for the hell of it.

The kids saying that they looked up to Deft and practically idolized only to realize...he's just some guy, and then Deft going "I'm to fucking old for this shit" which like...fair honestly.

The kids committing war crimes towards Deft like the little shits they are, once again he's too old for this shit.

Keria deciding that visiting his hyung is more important than resting (me too Keria)

God this kid...

Whatever tf this video is, Deft forgetting to charge his mouse and it dying while the enemy pushes base and Doran + Keria yelling at him for not charging it and getting mad it him. Also remember how I said DRX idolized Deft as in past tense...well I feel like Keria still did and does because my god was/is that kid infatuated with him, my god.

Yeah Keria...why do you want him to live with you 🤨

I would like take some time to mention that everyone in 2020 DRX are literally compared to cats, besides Pyosik he's Golden Retriever coded imo. If you also dive a little bit into Chovy's fandom, they compare him to Skitty which is absolutely true ! Yes ! ! !

The Spring Split into Summer Split break, they had a uhh...3 (? ? ?) give or take, day stream which was just Deft streaming lmao. During it we had multiple gems such as; the boys + Deft comparing Pyosik to Trundle, Keria and Deft straight up embarrassing Doran by watching his videos of previous streams where he would be singing, and in turn the kids making fun of Deft by watching his old videos, them trying to play the silence game (hence the paper bag over Keria's head), and other things they did.

This absolutely devastating thread of Pyosik's stream...I just...there's nothing much I can say then thank god he has Deft this year after a horrible 2021 Season. You can genuinely see the adoration in his eyes when he looks at Deft and it's so AAAHHH.

There's a lot of pics of these five guys that I absolutely adore so have some of them.

Some extra pictures !

These three images of Keria and Deft after they won that game vs GenG for the Summer Split semis where they had a fucking 4 hr pause and they had to practically reverse sweep them, surprise surprise these are tears of happiness because they won ! I remember only getting like...3 hrs of sleep because the LPL regionals was also going on at the same time and it was iG vs LGD and lmao, I, a whole LGD fan in the year 2020 (+ 2022...), anyways absolutely had the most insane morning that day, god...

Anyways, this team genuinely cared for each other and loved each other (still do !) I firmly believe that the reason they did was because of Deft ! And listen, I don't really like to psychoanalyze random men on the internet but hear me out. I genuinely believe that Deft really cared for them because he saw himself in them. Deft was the youngest in SSB/MVP Blue which was practically his first team. Some of these kid's first team was DRX, those being Keria and Pyosik ! Now who was the closest to Deft ? Keria and Pyosik, do you see where I'm going here.

Keria and Pyosik looked up to Deft and you can genuinely see it by the way they interact with him and the way they look at them. Those two have gone through so much and Deft basically encouraged them into continuing. One of the things Pyosik said that Deft told him (as well as the rest of 2022 DRX) is that a win is a win no matter how poorly you play, no matter how you view the way you play, it's a win. And I genuinely think this is just so...

Idk, Deft seemed to have so much respect from these boys. I genuinely can see it with how Chovy stayed to play with him in HLE, how Pyosik looks at him, how Keria reminiscence his time in DRX, how Doran jokes with him.

I like to joke around and say that 2020 DRX was straight up just Deft and his kids, and it's true.

[ironwoodprotectionsquad]

One thing I think is weird about how Ironwood was treated by the show and the writers is that Miles Luna wrote the chorus trilogy in red vs blue and there he gave Locus a redemption arc.

I view Ironwood and Locus to be very similar characters, both are stoic, veteran coded characters with severe PTSD who do horrible things because their brains have been warped by their trauma and the people around them just don't care about them outside of being something to use.

The difference isn't just that Locus got a redemption arc and Ironwood didn't though, the difference is that Locus's crimes were worse. He actively aided in a planet wide genocide for years. And it was so widespread that EVERYONE was wearing armor unless they were dead and a single battle in a city would be enough to wipe the people of Chorus out completely.

Ironwood's crimes are... He killed two people, one off screen, one on screen. And he... Didn't succeed in dropping a bomb on poor people, but him wanting to was enough to make him completely irredeemable.

And I'm saying this as someone who genuinely likes Locus, he's really compelling to me. I like seeing a man who once held strong moral convictions be warped into a monster by war and military mentality but after committing one of the worst crimes imaginable, eventually sees that what he's doing is wrong and actively helps out the good guys.

But it's still problematic that Miles Luna has a history of writing PTSD survivors as being violent sociopaths who do terrible things, and Locus didn't have extensive prosthetics and worse crimes, while Ironwood's crimes were comparatively tame (Caboose, the most innocent and popular character in red vs blue has a higher on screen kill count than Ironwood to the point that it's a running joke) and he does have extensive prosthetics.

It just leaves a really bad taste in my mouth I guess. (It's also worth noting that Locus's real name is Samuel Ortez and he is Afro Latino while James Ironwood is physically coded as being half Chinese... That's two people of color doing horrible things because of their disabilities hot damn)

RWBY is the first and last RT show I've watched so I don't know much about their other shows so I can’t really speak to much into what they’ve done before. But despite the fact that this character got a redemption arc, for both characters it sounds like their terrible acts are being played off as being because of a mental illness which is extremely harmful and ableist. More and more we are seeing arcs where people suffering from PTSD either turn evil because of said PTSD or die for the “greater good” so the “whole” people can live on happily ever after and its played off as a good thing or that it was their choice and it should be respected. But...that does not make it any less ableist. 

Them being both non white makes it all the worse. So often these characters suffering from PTSD also just oh so conveniently are not white. So on top of the extreme ableism we are also dealing with extreme racism. 

But back to the point, we take these characters, these complex and unique characters and the fans grow attached to them because how could we not relate to these characters because so many of us have been through some sort of trauma or hard times so we connect with characters that have been through stuff to. We connect and relate to these characters but then have to watch them die or turn into an unrecognizable monster because of their trauma or their disability aids or both. Over and over again we see this shit play out and it looks like CRWBY does this regularly. They should know by now that using mental illness’s or disability aids as a short hand for making someone evil is wrong and I don’t understand why fans defend this shit or pretend its okay. 

[ariainstars]

“Reylo” and The Problem With the „Beauty and the Beast” Trope

It’s been bothering me lately how many Star Wars and Reylo fans are bitterly disappointed not only with the sequels as a whole, but with the fact that the saga did not end with a grand love story.

There are many stories where the guy needs a woman to show him the way, to push him to become a better person. Some are very popular. But in all honesty, I don’t like them much, and for a reason.

Because when you look at the bottom line, the problem with this trope is: the woman does not need the man. He needs her. They guy, for one reason or another, needs to mature, to be redeemed, to make amends, to change in some way. The female is by his side to help him or not; but in any case, she is coded as the “reward” expecting him if he does undergo the change.

While there’s nothing wrong with this in a romance, it’s not realistic. A relationship or marriage can’t work if there is a massive power imbalance; and the more in a story the girl is coded as Good and the guy as Bad, the more improbable they are to find balance together, because even if he changes, he will have a bad past behind him and she won’t.

In Disney’s Beauty and The Beast, the narrative works rather well because the Beast is not a criminal, a killer or anything like that.

Which is totally different when we come to Reylo. We are dealing with a guy who has committed massive crimes, not least the horrible sin of patricide. Even if he does regret and change in the end, that doesn’t wash the blood from his hands. The fact that he was trapped, influenced mentally and in a bad place from birth is tragic but it does not make anything undone.

Now we could argue that by the end of the story, Rey needs Ben to save her life. He does - but Rey is unconscious. Does she even realize that he is dying because he gave her his life energy? I don’t believe so. There is nothing that suggests she does. The novelization says that she kisses him out of “gratitude”, but she assuredly was grateful because he had come to rescue her from the Knights of Ren and to assist her against Palpatine. And when he dies, she is completely taken aback, so I would assume that she is not aware of what actually cost him his life.

Many Reylo fans have argued and discussed how “Reylo is / must be Reverse Anidala”. The trouble is that the odds were against this narrative from the start because Rey did not need Ben. And all three movies show us again and again that she doesn’t, while he is the one who pursues her. The only time she went to him on her own was to convince him to help her against the First Order in order to let the Resistance win. But Ben / Kylo made it clear that he cared about her, not about the Resistance.

I have argued repeatedly that Anakin wasn’t a bad husband, meaning that if Ben had turned out to be a good partner, that wouldn’t have atoned for Anakin’s sins.

In Anakin’s and Padmé’s case, too, the man needed her, but she did not need him. Anakin needed Padmé to stay in balance within himself, and he knew it. Padmé knew it too, but if she had not married him, or if she never had met him, she wouldn’t have been worse off. Here life merely would have taken another turn.

I agree that for the curse of the Skywalker family to be finally lifted, a healthy union between Rey and Ben could be the key. But for a balanced relationship, she would have to need him the way he needs her; or better, both ought to mature enough so that they can love one another more than they need one another. However, as we leave them in The Rise of Skywalker, both of them are very far away from equality and maturity. Ben changed considerably within the course of the sequels; Rey didn’t go through any major character trials.

So, again, I see that the happy ending never was in the cards for the sequel trilogy. Rey is the one who still needs to face herself; while he must find an aim in life that gives him purpose, because his tragedy was knowing that he was not really needed by anyone.

I don’t know what Disney has in mind with the characters, but I have thought so for years and I still do: Ben’s salvation is not romantic love. To become Anakin’s foil for good, the only road for him is fatherhood.

Bring back Ben Solo! 😊

[river-bottom-nightmare]

Nightwing #80 Review

woot woot i’ve kept it up for three issues lets gooo. i liked this issue more than the last one. there’s a lot of fanon dick characterization peppered in, but not so much that it puts me off entirely. also, i’m getting increasingly concerned about bitewing. but i did like tim in this one, very nice

look at all the blue and purple and pink. honestly at this point, i’m a broken record but come on come on come onnnnnnn. the blue and pink is very pretty though. this cover’s a bit offputting at first, and a bit spiraly, which i’m sure was the intended effect.

this is a genuine concern of mine. dick’s a vigilante, and he doesn’t have the same sprawling network and resources that bruce does. (even if he is a billionaire now, he hasn’t amassed the same collection of crime-fighting equipment that bruce has.) 

i’m not sure if he’ll be able to take care of bitewing. damian’s got plenty of pets, but alfred used to take care of them, and now bruce plus the rest of the batfam is taking care of them. as far as we know, babs only drops by occasionally, and the same goes for dick’s family and friends. will dick be able to give bitewing the love and time and affection that a traumatized puppy like her needs? i really hope so.

she does look adorable in this panel tho.

dick. richard. richie. baby. why are you shirtless.

you have scars upon scars. probably chemical burns. bullet wounds. weird fucking squiggly lines from knives that only psychos with blade fetishes use. no normal person has the body that you do. and you don’t think that showing up shirtless in front of the police is going to raise suspicion? you don’t think that the people accusing you of murder are going to look at someone who looks like they’re a fucking mob enforcer and go hmm that’s a bit suspicious?

put on a SHIRT jesus CHRIST it’s like you’re not even trying to hide your identity.

look at this pompous little princess demanding only the highest quality head pets i’d burn down latvia for her. (no offense latvians it was the first country that popped into my head.)

pretty boy pretty boy pretty boy pretty boy-

no seriously kudos to the artist here. his expression is so human i wanna cry. dick, right now, is sheepishly asking a question. he knows he’s not going to get into any real trouble, he knows that he’ll be able to talk his way out of or somehow maneuver his way off this mess. but he’ll play nice for the police, so he’s asking a friend for a favour, part self-condescendingly and part oh-well-what-can-you-do.

and his expression reflects that. rather than a stoic expressionless face most male comic characters have when asking someone for something (or all the time really), rather than the weird desperate supposedly “seductive” face that most female comic characters plus dick grayson have when asking someone for something (or all the time really), he’s making a face that i pulled like yesterday. or the day before that. it’s kind of silly, kind of casual, very much human. i like it.

thank god. proper (in character) acknowledgement for officer grayson. yea, fuck cops in general, but i like that they included this line.

obviously, he’s not talking about the actual criminals, he’s talking about the police force itself. the bpd was too corrupt, and dick realized that he wasn’t helping. not only does one clean cop not make a dent in an overall dirty force, but dick was putting his allies in danger too. not only that, but it wasn’t good for dick’s mental health either. he was spreading himself too thin, and surrounding himself with some of the worst of crime 24/7 did a number on him. dick’s got a history of self-sacrificing tendencies, and i’m just glad he’s not a cop anymore.

dick has a gotham rogues mug. they make gotham rogue mugs, and dick has one.

what kinda city looks at it’s frankly horrible crime history and long list of certifiably insane serial killers who are all still alive and actively committing war crimes and goes “oooooh yea imma put that on a coffee mug!” gotham, that’s who.

this isn’t important i just like how all of bitewing’s barks are blue

back straight, hand on his hip, cheerful smile on his face as he says he’s being accused for murder. love that for him.

they couldn’t have said “yea it’s complicated” in a better way even if they put the words “yea it’s complicated” right there on the page in bold red letters. literally all the love to the artists.

dick please. you’re KILLING ME what the actual fuck IS THAT???? WHY DO YOU HAVE A MUG OF THAT???

anyway nightwing collects novelty mugs confirmed.

this paneling is so beautiful. 

tim’s the focus, but he’s not the first thing you see. he’s placed in a way that forces the reader to drag their eyes all the way up the page in order to reach him. it us know just how high up tim is carelessly crouching, especially close to the ledge of the building too. i cannot think of a single better way to introduce a character, and this character in particular: you instantly know this is a version of tim with plenty of experience and training, is comfortable in his body and knows his limits, but still hangs onto that civilian awe of being in a high place and overlooking a brightly lit city.

absolute classic robin. i love it. 

this isn’t even that important but it made me happy. this is how you train surf.

you don’t crouch or bend over when you get to a tunnel, which is oddly enough what most people think (at least from my experience). you bend backward. that not only 100% ensures that you’ll make sure you’re low enough to make it through the tunnel (because you can see the top of the tunnel, unlike when you crouch or bend), but it also makes it easier to get up: all you have to do is push up with your arms into a bent stance, and you’ll be in a ready, moving position. from a bend or a crouch, getting up is more awkward and more slow.

on a meta level, i like that this creative team knows what they’re doing when it comes to the small, almost unimportant stuff like that, because it makes the action more real. (as real as you can get with a guy running around stealing hearts.)

on a in-universe level, it once again drives home both dick and tim’s experience and professional level skill.

regardless of who you side with in the “should tim drake be robin again?” debate, you gotta admit that tim’s rebirth robin suit is r a d as fuck. if i’m not mistaken, this is the same one he was wearing in 2019 young justice for a little bit? it’s cute and hella cool i like it.

remember what i said about human expressions? doesn’t happen as often to tim bc he’s a Child, but it’s still nice to note when someone humanizes him, too. (that’s why i love the duckboy panel so much lol.)

me, at first: that’s not a “good call” dick that’s just common sense

me, now: sprinkled throughout the entire comic we can see dick bending to tim’s instructions if only briefly, joking with him to keep the mood light while still maintaining a serious mood and retaining control over this particular outing. this implies that dick’s doing it intentionally, purposefully leaving places in his sentences blank and offering affirmations, in order to encourage tim and train him in things bruce might not necessarily touch on, such as social chameleoning and misdirection techniques and love/affirmation from a family member. dick is not only a loving and supportive big brother, but he never stops training his younger brother in better vigilante tecnhiques because he wants tim to be better than him. in this essay i will-

d o g g o

also bitewing is getting so many head pats today i’m living for it

look at him, standing on a telephone wire with ease. nice flex, dick.

also look at how he’s silhouetted. the moon’s full bright, bright enough that the sky around dick is light, too. (at least. i’m like 99% sure that’s the moon.) not like most batman comics, where it’s sometimes hard to distinguish bruce from the background, which is entirely on purpose.

gotham is a dark gritty city, and so is bruce. the two of them are one. bludhaven may be a bit of a mess, but it’s being portrayed in all these different shades of blue and purple and pink, that are all light enough that dick stands out from the background. he hasn’t been swallowed up by the city, and chances are that he won’t ever be. also, the colouring helps establish bludhaven as a city too. there’s still hope for it. the light colouring means that it’s not going to sink into a pit as deep as the one bruce wove gotham into. the whole point of this nightwing arc in particular is to turn bludhaven into a better place, and it’s (most likely) letting us know early on that dick is going to accomplish that. he’ll struggle, but he’ll do it.

so dick??? dick designed his escrima sticks with a situation like this in mind? he created his signature and most iconic weapon (other than his chatty mouth), with a built in feature that turns his escrima sticks into tim’s signature and most iconic weapon???? just so that if he and tim ever got into a situation where tim didn’t have his staff, dick could make sure tim had the thing that would give him an edge over anyone he was fighting??? he’s such a big brother oh my goddd.

also tim’s smirk in this is just *chef kiss.* a staff is something he can work with, a staff is something he wields like an extension of his arm, a staff is means that someone’s about to get their ass kicked because tim’s about to beat the shit outta them.

this is my new phone background.

they really made sure we remembered that hey, those first few months when bruce was grieving too much to be any sort of a mentor to tim and was still unwilling to properly train him to be robin out of fear that he would end up like jason, dick was the one who stepped up (once he got over himself and his own fears and hangups with bruce) and trained tim to be robin, trained him how to fight and flip and fuckin fly out there, all while changing his own style a bit to be the more experienced one in the partnership while still trusting said partner to hold their own, so dick and tim have a very unique and cohesive fighting style that makes it hell for anyone who fights them together, didn’t they?

[marvelinorder]

Fantastic Four (1961) #2 recap

"The Fantastic Four Meet the Skrulls from Outer Space!" by Stan Lee & Jack Kirby

In the opening to the second issue of Fantastic Four, we see our heroes committing unforgivable acts of crime. The Thing ruptures the support beam to an off-shore Texas Tower (which if you're like me, you discovered was a radar facility used during the Cold War while writing this post), toppling it. The Invisible Girl makes off with a $10 million gem by turning invisible and walking out of the jewelry store. The Human Torch melts a new monument (seen below), and Reed (gasp) switches off the power to the whole city using his absurdly long arm.

In Johnny's defense here, this monument looks suspiciously like one of those Confederate ones so maybe he did us all a favor.

But how could our heroes do such horrible things? Well it turns out that they are in fact being impersonated by Skrulls. (This is the first issue in which the Skrulls appear.) Watch "Reed" transform back into one below.

Naturally, the FF get some slack in the media for supposedly having committed these crimes, and they hole up in a cabin to talk things over. The Thing suggests a hands-on strategy:

Ben looks so sad here it breaks my heart. And he does have a point. Reed lucked out comparatively in the whole mutations game.

But they don't have time to work out a strategy before the army comes and throws them in federal prison. They're locked in separate cells and each work out ways to escape. Susan, predictably, turns invisible and makes her way past the guards. Johnny, seen below, is totally going to be able to sue the prison in a few years when he gets sick from the asbestos. Ben does what he does best and smashes his way out. And Reed? Well... See the panels I've picked out below.

Once they're out of the prison, the group decide to sabotage a rocket in order to lure the Skrulls out and convince them they're also Skrulls. Johnny and Ben fight about who will do it, and wow, didn't expect Ben to go so dark. New sadboi blorbo acquired?

Johnny manages to infiltrate the Skrulls' headquarters and shoots off a flare gun to call the others. They fight, and rather than be killed by the Thing the Skrulls end up telling them about their impending invasion of earth.

The FF decide to impersonate the Skrulls and talk to their leader, giving them "proof" that the FF are actually monsters by showing them monster drawings. Frightened, the Skrulls decide to leave Earth alone for their own safety. And the FF tell them they'll sacrifice themselves on Earth to remove evidence they were ever there.

Mission accomplished, they go back to Earth, but not before the cosmic rays hit them again, mutating Ben back into a human briefly. Sadly, though, it doesn't last.

The end of the issue has the FF proving to the authorities that they were being impersonated by Skrulls, and they also decide what to do with the Skrulls who were left on Earth.

I know I, for one, am amused by the cow thing.

The End!

[silkling]

Of Newfound Knowledge and Truths of a Yesteryear

Of Moments in Life AU

———————————————————————————————————

Heatwave stood on his small training platform, punching the wooden dummy and trying to ignore the rage bubbling in the back of his processor. That morning, he’d read some of the data-pads that High Tide and Optimus had left, the ones Blades had read when Dreadwing first crashed on the island. What he’d learned had made him angry, and he didn’t understand how his teammate hadn’t been angry, too.

The Decepticons…the pads had a lot of information on what the ‘Cons had done throughout the War. The information had definitely been censored and sanitized, probably intentionally so his team wouldn’t be exposed to the full horrors of the War through the data pads, but it had still been enough for Heatwave to understand.

Dreadwing had said that the Decepticons started as a social revolution. But they were certainty far from that, now. The Rescue Force, Praxus, Iacon…they’d destroyed everything that had stood in their way, not caring if those they crushed were even involved in the War or not. It made him angry, his rescue protocols screaming with rage and loss in his processor.

As the conflicting emotions peaked, he heard the sound of pedes behind him and turned to see Dreadwing. Heatwave stepped away from the training post, the platform lowering to the ground as he crossed his arms and frowned. He liked the former Deception. He hadn’t spent as much time with him as the rest of his time, but he big bot was never violent or mean. He was a little blunt, and seemed to be a bit overly aggressive in his solutions for Heatwave’s peace-orientated processor, but he wasn’t a bad bot. At least, he didn’t appear to be.

Dreadwing seemed to notice his internal distress, because the larger bot pinned him with a considering and slightly concerned look. “You seem troubled, little one.” he rumbled.

“I’m not little.” Heatwave answered on reflex, mildly indignant. He didn’t understand why the Seeker referred to him and his teammates like that. Well, he supposed he did. They were all little, compared to him. “And…I guess I am.” He looked up at Dreadwing, a hard frown twisting his features.

“So I see.” Dreadwing, for his part, now looked ever so slightly amused. “And what is it what is causing you such distress?”

Heatwave made a frustrated noise, his vocalizer clicking in a sort of nonsense babble as he tried to think of how to explain. “I just–I don’t understand. How could they have done…everything they did?”

“What are you talking about?” Dreadwing asked, confused.

“I read the data lads Optimus and High Tide left! I learned about some of the things the Decepticons did!” he snapped, frustration and anger bleeding into his tone in place of previous confusion. Just the thought of what he’d learned was enough to make his spark sing with rage.

“Ah, now I understand.” The Seeker stated, his gaze becoming solemn and understanding. “And what did you learn, Heatwave?”

“You know what!”

“I do not. Your data pads are Autobot records, youngling. While I have no doubt there is truth there, I am also quite sure that much of that information is highly biased or just pure conjecture.”

The fire truck scowled. “Oh? So the Decepticons didn’t destroy Praxus, which was supposed to be a Neutral city?”

Dreadwing paused. “They did. It was before I joined, but they did.”

“And you’ve probably done a lot too, haven’t you?” He demanded. “Killed a lot of innocent bots, destroyed a lot of lives?” he was angry and hurting and he didn’t understand how Dreadwing could have joined a cause that was so horrible unless he was, as the human say, cut from the same cloth. But he couldn’t be, everything Heatwave had seen from the Seeker since his crash on the island directly conflicted with what the youngling had learned of the Decepticons. It just made him confused and left his spark aching.

The Seeker in question was silent, observing for a moment before he dipped his head. “I have. I have done many, many terrible things. I never killed sparklings or younglings, but I have killed countless Autobot soldiers and slain more than a few Neutral civilians on Megatron’s command.” He said softly. “I have aided in the stripping and destruction of planets, and I have directly contributed to the death of our homeworld. I do not deny any of this. I am not trying to escape my past, Heatwave, or to deny the crimes and atrocities I have committed.”

“Then why did you do them? Why are you here? Why should we let you stay if you’ve done all of that?” He didn’t actually want Dreadwing to leave, and the knew the others would want him to either. But he had just admitted to having committed horrible acts. Heatwave didn’t know what to think.

If the harsh questions bothered him, Dreadwing didn’t show it. “I did what I did because, at the time, I believed I was in the right. You know how Cybertron was in the Golden Age. You know of the emurata, of Functionism, of the caste system and how it was structured. Don’t tell me you don’t.” he said. “I rose from a system that sought to oppress me, and I turned to the only option I saw at the time. The Decepticons. It was wrong, and I have come to realize that.” He paused, tilting his head slightly. “I am here because I have little elsewhere I can go, and because I find myself growing fond of this place. I am here because Primus has granted me a second chance, an opportunity to do better and to be better, and I intend to take it.” Dreadwing took an extra moment to consider the last question. “You likely should not.” he answered. “I cannot change what I have done, all I can do it try to make amends and hope to find redemption one day.” He met the youngling’s gaze evenly. “But I would like to stay, if you would allow me the chance to pursue something better here.”

Heatwave held his gaze, then sagged and looked away. “Fine. I don’t even want you to leave anyway.” he sounded tired. “I won’t make you go. I don’t think I could. The others like you, and so do I. It’d just do more harm than good to everyone involved if I made you leave now.” he glanced up. “Just…tell me why. Why did the Decepticons do all of that? I don’t understand.” he sounded frustrated and helpless.

Dreadwing softened, his wings dipping down just slightly as his frame relaxed. “The Decepticons did not rise from nothing, little one.” he rumbled.

“What do you mean? The data pads said Megatron came out of nowhere and built them up before anyone realized what was going on.” He said, his anger abating in face of his even more confusion.

Dreadwing scoffed. “I am certain that many Autobot’s believe that.” his lips curled faintly, displeased. “That is, however, as far from the truth as you can get.”

“Then why would Autobot data pads contain that information as if it were fact?” he demanded, crossing his arms.

The Seeker hummed, tilting his head. “Perhaps, if you wish to have this discussion in its entirety, it would be best to sit somewhere?”

Heatwave paused, then nodded. “Lounge.” he said gruffly, leading the way. Once there, he dragged over a beanbag chair and settled into it comfortably, leaving the couch to the former Decepticon.

“To begin, I must ask how much you know about the Autobots and Decepticons as a whole, as well as how much you know and understand the political and social climate of the Golden Age.” Dreadwing stated.

Heatwave frowned. “I know what you told us when you first arrived.” he said, tilting his head. “I also know that the Autobot’s end goal is the restoration of Cybertron and the revival of our race. I know the Decepticons want to take control and lead Cybertron by force, and that their end goal is to put ‘Cons in charge and remove lots of freedom from bots under their rule.” he said. He crossed his arms, staring at a point on the floor as he tried to think. “I know that the Senate used to rule Cybertron during the Golden Age, and that they weren’t very fair and a lot of bots suffered, and that some of their regulations and punishments were extreme.” he tilted his head. “I know the caste system made the bots in the lower castes struggle a lot.” he seemed almost ashamed at this point. “I….I never paid the most attention to that, though. I was in the upper-middle caste, and my Function was something I already wanted to do.”

“Rescue work.” Dreadwing guessed.

The firetruck nodded. “Yeah.” he admitted.

“Then you know much of the very basics, though your knowledge lacks in the complexity and finer details of the full scope of the situation.” he rumbled. “You are correct. The Autobots fight for a restored Cybertron. But your knowledge of the Decepticons is…not entirely accurate.”

Heatwave’s engine growled with displeasure as he just grew more helplessly confused. “What?”

“The Decepticons do seek control, and they do seek to rule over Cybertron. That is true. It is also true that their goal is to see to the destruction of the Autobots. But it wasn’t always so.”

“Yeah, you mentioned they started as a social revolution.” Heatwave said, starting to calm down once he realized he’d be getting his answers, and without all the vagueness that came from Optimus whenever he tried to ask the Prime about the War.

“They did. But Megatron not rise from nothing, as the Autobots are so fond of believing. He rose from foundations that were already very deeply rooted. Functionism was a plague and the caste system was a rot that had sunk deep into the very core of our world.” he said, voice soft and somber. “It was a rot that infected only the oppressed and the beaten; it affected the lower castes and the undesirables, and those who lived comfortably in the higher castes did not feel the affects of it.”

“Undesirables?” Heatwave echoed, confused.

“Bots who did not fit into the world the Senate wished to portray. They wanted a Cybertron where every bot had a singular Function and operated according to that Function and ONLY according to that Function. They wanted a world where all those who were not of the Senate were subservient to them and obeyed them without question. They wanted a world that operated under the beliefs and celebrations and social structure they approved of. Those who did not fit into that world, and who could not fit into that world, were deemed undesirable.” He cast the youngling a meaningful look. “For the Senate, that included flight-frames. It is why they were so eager to see the spread of anti-flyer sentiments, to confine flyers, whether they were Seekers or not, to a single city. Flight-frames have a different base coding to ground-frames, and the Senate were all ground-frames. In their optics, flight-frames were a danger to their rule because flyers, by the nature of our frames, do not fit seamlessly into a Functionist society.” he paused. “It certainly did not help that the social structure, belief system, and cultural behavior of flight-frames was radically different to that of ground-frames, and that it was radically different to what the Senate was trying to enforce.”

Heatwave was silent for a long moment, considering what he was told. “But…you said the caste system was a rot. What did you mean?”

Dreadwing hummed, his fingers tapping a pattern on the couch; it was a very human gesture, one he had picked up from the Burnses without even realizing it. He had to word this carefully. Not because he wanted to manipulate the younger bot, but because it was a complex situation and a rather unpleasant one. “You said we’re were of the upper-middle caste.” he said carefully. “And that fits with your frame type and your Function. But have you never thought about the types of bots that fill each level of the caste system?” he asked.

Heatwave furrowed his optical ridges, shaking his helm. “No…” he said slowly. “I know…I know artists were considered among the lowest tier of the high castes. I know scientists and medics were high caste, and that the only bots above them were politicians.” he said.

Dreadwing smiled faintly. The young bot was starting to understand on his own. “Indeed. But those bots only made up a minority of Cybertron’s population. What of the others? What of the common laborers?”

“You mean, like, cleaners and construction bots? You’re right, they were more common than scientists, medics, or artists.” he said. “Like Boulder. He was originally a construction bot.”

He nodded. “They were indeed more common. But what caste did the Senate assign to them?”

“The…the lower caste.” Understanding was starting to bloom in Heatwave’s optics. “The lowest caste, for most of the laborer frames.” he realized. “That means…Boulder was from the lower castes.”

Dreadwing hummed agreement. “He was. If you wish to know more, then you shall have to ask him yourself. It is not my place to tell you what he experienced.” He sighed heavily. “But I will tell you that the lower castes, the bots who made up the majority of our people, did not often lead pleasant lives. They received little pay for their work, could not often afford decent fuel, if they could afford any fuel, and most of their pay would have to go to maintaining their living space. It oft left them overtired, overworked, and very, very hungry. It did not help that many of them had dangerous Functions, dangerous jobs, and after paying for their living quarters and fuel, they did not have the shanix for medical care. It meant the lower castes were forced to choose between their need for fuel and their health.”

Heatwave swallowed, his optics blown wide. “Oh.” he whispered. “But…why didn’t they do anything?”

Dreadwing looked almost melancholic at his question. “Most of the lower castes simply did not have the time or energy to fight against it. They were too tired, too hungry, to injured or sick, and were forced to focus purely on their own survival.” he stated. “And those few that did try to speak up…” he trailed off. “The Senate was not kind to dissenters, little one. If they did not use empurata on those who protested their systems, they used other means of punishment and silencing.” his tone was grim.

Heatwave chose not to ask what those “other means” were. He had a feeling he didn’t want to know. “It…it was really that bad?”

The Seeker bowed his helm. “Ask Boulder or Blades. They would know the best of your teammates.” Though, he had his suspicions about the means of Chase’s creation, and if he was right then the police bot might also know how bad the Senate could be.

“Boulder, I get. But why Blades?”

“The little flyer once told me that one of his brothers was a flight-frame. He would not have experienced the cruelty directly, as he was a ground-frame on Cybertron, but he would doubtless have experienced or seen it through his brother.”

“Oh.” Heatwave was starting to get the feeling that he didn’t know as much about his team as he thought he did. He really needed to fix that. “I guess I understand why the Decepticons rose to quickly then, if things were really that bad for so long.”

“Indeed.” Dreadwing agreed. “But there is one more thing you must understand.”

“Which is?” Heatwave was feeling a little sick to his tanks. He hadn’t been aware the situation on Cybertron had been so bad, but then again, he’d lived a good life. He’d had all the fuel he needed, he never worried about his health or safety, his living situation was pretty much always assured, and he actually enjoyed working according to his Function. He wouldn’t have experienced the rot Dreadwing mentioned, so it only made sense he wasn’t entirely aware of it. That didn’t get rid of the guilt, though.

“The Decepticons are made up almost entirely of flight-frames and those of lower castes. There are certainly some of those among Autobot forces, but the grand majority of them are Decepticon.” Dreadwing pinned Heatwave under a severe look. “What does that tell you, little one?”

“It tells me that the Autobots are mostly ground-frames and bots from the middle and upper castes.” he answered, suddenly understanding the War in a whole new light. It certainly didn’t excuse what the Decepticons had done, but now this…this made it a lot easier to understand.

“Indeed.” he agreed. “The Decepticons originally rose on the backs of bots who were beaten down and had little else to lose, bots whose only crime was to want a better life.” he said. “When the Senate, and later the original Autobots before Optimus Prime, attempted to beat them back down to their “proper place”, they fought back for the freedom that should have always been theirs.” His gaze went distant, as if remembering something from long ago. “The Decepticons were originally a freedom movement, little one. It was only as time wore on and the spilled energon between the factions soured that they lost their way and forget their original mission.”

“And now?”

“Now, because so many Autobots are ground-frame or originated from the higher castes, they do not understand why their enemy continue to fight. Certainly, many Decepticons fight because they wish to destroy the Autobots, but there are many, many more who only fight because they fear that an Autobot victory means a return to the ways of the Golden Age. It is something that Prime and his bots simply do not, and perhaps never will, understand.”

“So most of the Autobots…they weren’t bots who were hurt by the Senate.”

“No.” Dreadwing agreed. “Prime’s team on Earth is a good example. Prime himself is formerly of the lower-high caste, as he was a former Archivist. His scout was upper-middle caste, and while he was too young to receive his Function at the start of the War he would very easily have made a successful racer. The femme-bot was an Enforcer, also considered upper-middle caste. And of course, the medic. Ratchet was famed, even before the War.” The Seeker smiled sardonically. “He was quite firmly in the highest castes. All of them operated according to their Function, and all of them were content with it.” He tilted his head. “The only bot on Prime’s own team who does not fit that mold is his Wrecker, who was once a construction bot. He is the only one who might truly understand.”

Heatwave nodded, looking own at his lap. “I think I get it now. This war…it’s not going to end until the Autobots understand that stuff, is it? Because they won’t understand why most of the Decepticons keep fighting, why they started fighting in the first place.” he said, looking up to meet red optics.

“Yes. You’re very intelligent, little one. You learn fast.” Dreadwing slumped slightly, releasing a heavy vent. “You are correct. So long as the Autobots do not understand, then the Decepticons, at least those who only fight out of a fear of a return to the old ways, will never stop what they are doing.”

“You really know a lot about this stuff.”

“I am a Seeker, Heatwave. I experienced much of the Senate’s cruelty directly, as did most of my frame-kin.”

The Rescue Bot nodded, subdued. Now he understood. A part of him wished he didn’t, but he was glad he did. He sighed, meeting Dreadwing’s gaze again. “I think I owe you an apology, then. I judged you based on incomplete information.”

Dreadwing bowed his helm. “Thank you, little one. As I said, I certainly committed horrible acts, and I can never undo what I have done, but now I only make to make amends as I move forward.”

Heatwave nodded, smirking and straightening up. “I think you can. And lucky for you, we’re here to help.” he said.

Dreadwing blinked, before he chuckled, his wings lifting as the mood brightened. “So you are. Thank you, youngling.”

“We’re Rescue Bots.” Heatwave grinned. “Helping others is what we do.”

“So it is.” He agreed, looking amused. “And perhaps, I can also help you?”

He blinked, taken aback. “Me? How?”

“I have noticed you practicing with your sparring post. Your form is acceptable, and I am aware that the Rescue Force trained its Teams to have combat abilities, but I can help you improve. Your current skills will help you fight if a rescue mission were to go wrong, but if you wish, then I can help expand and improve your combat capability even beyond that.”

Heatwave blinked. “You’ll teach me how to fight.” he stated.

“I would be glad to, if you wish to learn. There may come a day when you must fight a true enemy, and if that day comes then greater combat skill may be helpful.” Dreadwing pointed out.

Heatwave narrowed his optics, considering the unsaid implications of that statement. “…you think the War might come to us.”

“Perhaps.” he said grimly. “I pray that it does not, but in the event it does I think it is better that you are prepared to fight against an enemy who truly wishes to see your spark go out.”

He nodded, gaze firming. The others would need lessons too, in that case. The Rescue Force did teach them all basic combat, in the event that they needed to fight off anything that might be threatening whoever or whatever they were rescuing, but their combat training had been pretty basic. If Dreadwing was right, and there was a possibility of Sigma-17 one day facing an opponent that wanted them dead, then they’d need to shape up. He stood, hands curling into fists as his shoulders lifted and determination burned in his spark. He stared the Seeker in the optics.

“Let’s do it.”

Dreadwing stood, a faint smile curling at his lips, and clapped a hand on the youngling’s shoulder. “I look forward to it.” he said, a hint of pride in his tone. Heatwave was so very young, but already he was shaping up to be a fine mech, a fine leader.

Heatwave himself only grinned, blue optics bright. “So do I.”

He’d learned a lot today. Not all of it had been pleasant, and a distinctly unpleasant feeling still curled in his tanks, but he was glad to learn what he had. The past was dark and violent, he’d come to realize. Cybertron’s history was steeped in shadows and darkness and Heatwave was certain that he still didn’t know everything, that Dreadwing had certainly omitted many of the worst of the details. Given all that, he really couldn’t find it in himself to be surprised that the War had happened.

Now though, wasn’t the time to focus on the past. Not Cybertron’s past, and not on Dreadwing’s past either. He tilted his helm up to turn his grin on the larger bot, leaning his weight into the hand on his shoulder and enjoying the small physical contact. Yes, he decided. Dreadwing’s past didn’t matter, not here. All that mattered was what was to come, and Heatwave was determined to meet whatever the future held for them head on.

For himself, and for his newfound family — all of them, even its newest addition.

———————————————————————————————————

Here it is, folks! The next installment in “of moments in life”! This one goes a little deeper into Pre-War Cybertron’s social/political climate. Heatwave got a massive reality check. He was sorta privileged, by the standards of the Golden Age, and he’s being forced to realize what that meant and what it blinded him to. Poor youngling, his entire worldview just got rocked.

As for Dreadwing, he now has another son! The next installment will be tHe Blades and Dreadwing one. It’s gonna be sad. They’re gonna talk about their brothers. That’s all I’ll say! I have prompts fo write for before I can get to it, so it’ll be a bit, but stay tuned, it’ll come out! Anyway, hope y’all liked it! Let me know your thoughts!

Until next time, folks!