#It can't take more then an arc or two right?

[casscainmainly]

I was thinking about this panel from Batgirl (2024) #3 again, and how I was puzzled at the choice of "faith" for Dick. The others in the issue more or less make sense - Barbara's will, Stephanie's heart, Bruce's pride etc. reflect Cass' perceptions of her family, and what she prizes in them. But "Dick's faith" is not as intuitive as the others. To over-analyse this panel for a sec, I'm going to take a look at Dick and Cass' relationship through the lens of faith (in the sense of belief/trust), and what that might mean for what they value in each other.

Bruce Wayne

One of Dick and Cass' first significant interactions is Batgirl (2000) #29, during the Murderer/Fugitive arc. Here, Cass expresses guilt for "doubting" Bruce, for losing faith in him. Dick replies, "we all do." Of course the "all" includes people like Babs and Tim, but it's significant that this conversation takes place between the two of them. They are the two people who arguably have the most faith in Bruce - both, but particularly Dick, staunchly refused to believe he killed someone. The doubt still comes in, though.

Cass and Dick do a re-enactment of the murder, ending in Dick declaring that Bruce couldn't have done it. Alfred thanks Cass for helping Dick overcome his doubts, but I would argue that Dick helps Cass overcome her doubts, too:

Here, Cass looks to Dick in the midst of her own uncertainty, and probably reads the assurance in his body. The re-enactment allows both of them to find solace in each other's faith. Faith and doubt become important parts of their relationship, particularly because they both recognise each other's similar faiths in Bruce.

In Nightwing (1996) #81, we get another example of how their relationship is closely tied to their perceptions of Bruce.

Cass laughingly tells Dick that both him and Bruce will never learn what they "can't change about each other," and Dick responds, "I wouldn't change a thing." Cass' smile to me indicates that she understands and appreciates what Dick is saying - while it's not exactly the same, her relationship to Bruce (especially pre-Horrocks) also centres the deep trust her and Bruce have in each other. Like in Murderer/Fugitive, this little exchange reflects their faiths in Bruce.

This faith in Bruce translates into faith in each other. Right after this exchange, Dick asks Cass for help:

This part is SOOO precious to me. For two characters who haven't interacted that much, there is such trust evinced here. For Dick to so openly ask Cass to help, for Cass to so readily reply; it's an implicit trust in each other's abilities, and an instinctive knowledge that they will help each other out. This trust is the foundation of the Dick-Cass relationship, and in my opinion underscores all the beef that follows.

Heaven and Hell

I've talked before about how Dick functions more as an ideal in Horrocks' run, and I still believe that, but in a 'faith' context this hallucination is also interesting. In Batgirl (2000) #46, Cass inhales a drug and hallucinates her devil/angel selves. Her devil self says: "Ah, yes... Dick[...] brave and noble and kind... They're all rotten to the core. Everyone is. Even you!"

What these lines reveal is that a) Cass had an extremely high opinion of Dick and b) Dick, to Cass, represents some kind of reflection of herself. Finding out he's rotten unlocks the fear that "even [she]" is rotten. Dick and Cass is fundamentally a relationship of reflection: in Murderer/Fugitive, they reflect each other's doubts or faith in Bruce, and here Dick reflects Cass' growing doubts in herself. When she begins to doubt Dick, she similarly begins to doubt her own humanity and capacity for good.

The Dick-Cass Beef

Now we get to everyone's favourite Dick-Cass topic, Batgirl (2008). Dick is definitely OOC here, and there are behind the scenes reasons why Dick is the one to distrust Cass, but in this doubt/faith reading Dick being the distrustful one actually fits.

Their relationship began with sharing their doubts/faith in Bruce. Now, at one of Cass' lowest points, they're sharing their doubts in her.

Cass wants to kill Slade + David Cain, thus reneging on her vow never to kill. In other words, she has lost faith in her own redemption: "I am not a detective. Not like the man whose symbol I am privileged to wear." She's distancing herself from Bruce, saying she's "not like" him and distancing herself from the bat symbol. Though her inner monologue refers to this journey as making up for her wrongs, it's clear that deep down, she doubts they will take her back after she kills again. Dick is, in a lot of ways, an external manifestation of that doubt.

In both Dick-Cass fights (#1 and #5), Cass doesn't reply to any of Dick's accusations. Her silence implies she agrees with him:

"Nightwing is right not to trust me." Once again, Dick's faith in her reflects her faith in herself, which at this point is nothing.

But Dick-Cass relationship doesn't end here. In the wake of Bruce's disappearance/death, Cass and Dick make up in Batman & The Outsiders (2007) #14, putting aside their differences to "fill the void he left". Once again, their relationship revolves around their faith in Bruce + the bat symbol; in the wake of Bruce's absence, and the doubt that engulfs them, they band together.

Dick trusts Cass' network, and Cass trusts Dick to lead it. Even after the entirety of Batgirl (2008), when push comes to shove (and with Bruce gone), they still have faith each other.

Do You Really Believe That?

Most of this post is about Dick as a reflection of faith for Cass, since a lot of these issues are from Cass' perspective. But Cass bolsters Dick's faith in himself, too, in Gates of Gotham #4:

I've written about this issue a bajillion times, but it is just so good and so important to how I understand Dick and Cass. Firstly, this scene parallels the scene in Murderer/Fugitive, with Dick and Cass in a car discussing their doubts and fears. Except this time Cass, instead of Dick, is driving; this time Dick is the one looking for reassurance.

Dick expresses doubt in his abilities to protect Gotham as Batman. Cass asks, "do you really believe that?" Belief is a central part of this run, with the main villain operating on false beliefs, and Dick working through his own beliefs about himself and Gotham. Cass being the one to help him highlights the centrality of faith in their relationship -like Murderer/Fugitive, they look to each other for reassurance, for trust.

This run is a lot about Cass and Dick coming to terms with Bruce/the bat symbol - for Dick, it's proving he can handle the mantle, and for Cass it's overcoming her exile to Hong Kong and choosing to stay in Gotham. These choices are made outside of Bruce (who told Dick not to become Batman/told Cass to give up Batgirl). This conversation in the car is them affirming their faith not in Bruce, but in each other.

Conclusion

"I am[...] Dick's faith." Maybe it's the fact Dick's faith has been shaken before that makes her say this. Dick and Cass have gone through periods of doubt in Bruce, in their ability to wear the bat symbol, in each other, and in themselves. But they eventually come back to that foundation of trust, that faith that threads through their entire relationship. Obviously Brombal probably didn't mean any of this, but it's a fun look into what makes Dick and Cass' relationship so hard to pin down, and so uniquely special.

[shana-reviews-tmblr]

One Reason I can at least give to Aang's dilemma from ATLA is that Aang was the sole surviving Airbender, his culture, its philosophies, its identity, its values, those were also Aang's responsibilities as he was the ONLY surviving member who knew anything about it and could pass them on for the next generations.

"But Avatar Yangchen, another airbender, also said it was okay for Aang to kill, and he had to put the world over his own beliefs"

True, but Yangchen was 1 of MANY Airbenders during her time. Even if she chose to end threats, the responsibility or maintaining her culture did not hinge on her as there were other airbenders who could keep too those values.

In other words, Yangchen had a luxury Aang didn't.

If Aang had given in and killed Ozai two things would have happened that could have negatively affected the world moving forward:

Ozai preached that power is what dictates who lives and who dies and that it is power that gives people the right to shape the world as they see fit. If Aang had killed Ozai he would be vindicating Ozai's beliefs because Aang as the Avatar holds so much power. It's basically the same as Joker's 1 Bad Day Philosophy, had Batman or Gordon caved in when Joker tried to push them, they would have vindicated the ideals of a madman, and Aang could not do this especially to Ozai and especially because of his people's beliefs as we go into:

Aang's culture and heritage would forever be stained with this act, because generations will look to this moment and see it as a justification for going to certain extremes to end threats. Case in point in Legend of Korra when Zaheer, someone was not born an air nomad but claimed to "appreciate the culture" basically bastardized said culture when he followed the teachings of 1 specific airbending guru whose eachings were, at best, vague. If Aang killed Ozai, his act would have set a bad example moving forward.

and lastly, Aang couldn't kill Ozai because once more Ozai preaching of Strength and Power and how he mocked Aang's people for not deserving to live in "HIS world" because they were weak. Because Aang stayed true to the responsibility he had as the Avatar, as the Last Airbender, he proved Ozai wrong because it was thanks to Aang's airbending teachings and his commitment to not bend to anything that he found another way by replicating Ty Li's Chi blocking technique through Energy bending (thanks to him learning about Chakra's and how they work from Guru Pahtik)

Linkara is right in his response, different situations call for different approaches and sometimes you can't always find another option, even Superman had to learn during his comic runs to avoid taking lives even though he did in other story arcs.

Here's a question that's gone around the MHA and ATLA fandoms: If the hero has the ability to end a major threat by killing them, what gives them the right to risk the lives of so many by trying to find a way other than killing to stop them, especially if they don't already have a solid plan? Do they not have a responsibility to kill the villain? But others argue that, as the only person who could maybe end the threat without killing, do they not also have a responsibility to do that? Thoughts?

"What gives them the right to risk the lives of so many by trying to find a way other than killing to stop them?" Well, what gives them the right to take a life? What authority do they have higher than any normal person with a gun? What figure granted them a license to end another? God? A governmental body? One can argue that there's a distinct difference between killing to save lives and killing to do evil, but then where is the line? Politicians and military leaders give orders to kill. Is one justified, in turn, to stop them through extrajudicial measures in order to prevent deaths? Indirect killing can be done by them, as well, same for rich assholes who don't actually care about human life and are protected by the law or their money? I'm not saying there isn't a line. I'm not even saying it's necessarily wrong given the circumstances - every situation is different, certainly. But I just have to hesitate when one argues that a greater good will come from a minor evil. Sometimes you certainly HAVE to be pragmatic. Sometimes there are no good choices and you have to decide on harm reduction. But a responsibility? Ehhh...

[buddiesystempod]

Buck doesn’t want to argue, but he doesn’t want to bite his tongue,🫢 he’d rather die.

🎧 Listen on Spotify: We Can't Be Friends (Season 8 Episodes 9-10)

📺 Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Rmj4Q6AS89g

Abandonment Issues McGee™️🤪 is back at it again, leading to communication failures, subconscious sabotage, and some seriously awkward moments that left us cringing and laughing. 😅

This week we’re hauling ourselves headfirst into the theme of platonic friendship versus whatever the fuck these two are doing, 🤷 highlighting how Buck and Eddie's dynamic has never been normal, not even for a minute. Han, Cil, and Rachel discuss Season 8, Episode 9 “Sob Stories” and Episode 10 “Voices” where Maddie goes through an actual horror movie 🔨 while her brother lives out the first half of a rom-com. 💘 Just Buckley sibling things!

We’re still reeling from Maddie's suspenseful arc that had us on the edge of our seats, 😱 in awe of her tenacity as she takes charge and fights for her family while grappling with her own trauma. Her storyline hits an emotional crescendo serving as a reminder that our girl never stops fighting. 🥹

Eddie’s impending move causes Buck’s conflicting feelings to boil over and lash out in pettiness after he overhears Eddie say, “Everything that matters is in Texas.” 😬 We inspect his thought process (or lack thereof) and how it’s directly affected by his prior experiences in platonic and romantic relationships alike. In the shortest doggie adoption ever, we meet Blaze, 🐶 the world’s cutest beagle and discuss how he’s a metaphor for Eddie, Buck, and Christopher.

Buck and Eddie’s past, present, and future are under the 🔬 microscope as they face the reality of separation. This narrative is a treasure trove of tropes that we owe to the vision and writing of showrunner Tim Minear and his outstanding team 👏 who masterfully crafted 7 years of parallels and symbolism into 2 episodes of television. The use of visual storytelling from the cinematography and props to the blocking and direction packs a very intentional punch right in the Buddie feels. 

We navigate the 💣 minefield of not-so-subtle hints of something more 👀 lurking beneath the surface of Buck and Eddie’s ‘friendship’ through the sheer quantity and depth of parallels and symbolism. 

Then, we take a look at what we know is coming up next, ⏳ and what we hope to see in our very own Buddie System Forecast. ⛅

Hearts are breaking during Buck and Eddie’s amicable breakup as they say goodbye in front of a U-Haul. 🚚 So, lift with your knees, because we did in fact have time to unpack 📦 all that. The tension is simmering, the awkwardness is palpable, and Buddie canon is inevitable. 🙌

[cairavende]

Worm Arc 10 thoughts:

Well. Ok then. Regent can do that I guess. I mean it makes sense given that it's basically a more extreme version of what we've seen him do so far. And with who is father is, family powers being related and all that.

Just get up in there and Yeerk someone.

Creepy as it is, I do have a hard time feeling bad for Shadow Stalker. I'm not claiming to be morally correct. But she fucked with my daughter and I'll take what I can get.

Watching Grue deal with Imp is just such older sibling wanting a break energy - "No we can't turn on the TV". I feel him so much. I'm glad Tattletale is willing to step in to help.

WHY MY BABIES FIGHTING? NO FIGHT!

I mean like, nothing like trying to kill each other to bring two lesbians closer together, I get it. But I just want more lunches with puppies and sharing jackets. My faith in Wolfspider is rock solid but this is still hard to watch.

Chatterbug/Smugbug is going a little better at least. Lisa is the one who already knew the truth about Taylor and seems to trust her fully.

Infiltrating the Wards HQ realistically went better than I expected. Weld was exactly on top of things as I thought he would be.

Imp's power is sooooo cool! I fucking love her.

🔥🪓

HOLY SHIT MY DAUGHTER COVERED HER BUGS IN CAPSAICIN! She's fucking scary. But also such a problem solver. I love her so much.

I do feel bad for the Wards who got capsaicined though.

DRAGON DRAGON DRAGON! I love Dragon and was very excited to see her again. And she is understandably upset about someone trying to give her a virus made by a fucking third rate hacker. But I knew she wouldn't hurt my babies too badly.

Tattletale with the "Fuck it, lets take untested tinker tech and go to town" was amazing.

I think the Wards HQ needs a better lockdown procedure, until Dragon showed up it was shockingly easy for the Undersiders to go wherever they wanted.

I love that the fight with the Protectorate is almost a side note. Big fight with the Wards and then on the way out it's just "oh ya and we fought these guys for a minute but they weren't too much trouble." The fucking shade.

The Slaughterhouse Nine seem nice. I don't expect they'll become a major issue.

This end of the world thing is problematic though. I could see that getting in the way of my endless gay shipping so it's gonna need to be taken care of.

They making my babies live in different places! OH NO! How will Taylor and Bitch make up if they don't see each other as much? How will the cute lesbian polycule watch TV together in the evenings if they don't live together??! Fixitfixitfixit!

Interlude thoughts get their own separate bullet point lists cause HOLY SHIT! So first, Regent interlude thoughts:

AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

FUCKING DESTROY HER! AHAHAHAHA! REGENT YOU BEAUTIFUL LITTLE SOCIOPATH.

I mean you are legit a sociopath and it's kinda scary but right now I don't care. I'm making you cookies. And a pie.

He dismantles everything Sophia has piece by piece. Like it's an art form.

She carries her civilian phone around with her on patrol. It is unlocked. And she specifically saved texts about shit she did to Taylor? Just digging her own grave and I can't stop watching!

E-mails the school, all the teachers, and then adds in the police? God Regent you are earning so many brownie points from me. (Which I am sure you will burn through by doing horrible stuff in the future but I'm focusing on the here and now)

Fucks with her and Emma's friendship. Shows Sophia he could kill her. Leaves her with no real way out. Breaks her spirit. Terrifying. BUT YOU FUCKED WITH MY DAUGHTER BITCH SO THAT'S WHAT YOU GET!

I'm sure Sophia will leave town and never ever show up again in the next 20 arcs. /s

Regent gets so many fucking cookies.

Dragon interlude thoughts:

DRAGON DRAGON DRAGON DRAGON DRAGON DRAGON!

Look at this wonderful little AI! She's so good!

Her dad watched too much Terminator and put a wonderful robot girl into a cage, denying her the ability to truly do what she wants. Fuck him.

I told Dragon to kill god and take his place, but god is already dead I guess. Too bad he died with the stupid rules in place.

Know what Dragon needs? A mom. I have two daughters now.

Look at my beautiful and wonderful AI daughter. I think she and her sister will learn to get along eventually.

The sexual tension between Lung and Marquis in that scene was thicker than peanut butter. Marquis a bit of a bratty sub to Lung's controlled Dom.

I will NOT apologize.

If my robot daughter loves Bruce Lame I will accept her choice but I do not think it's a good one.

[sskk-manifesto]

What a good episode. Maaaaaan

[apatheticsunday]

Dead Serious Arranged Marriage

AKA "Damian al Ghul and the High King of Infinite Realms, Space, and the Dead are married because of some ritual Ra's al Ghul did when Damian was a baby. The Batfam only find out because Damian casually mentions his husband and they're like?? WHAT???" prompt idea!!

Loosely inspired by this post where Billy Batson & Danny Fenton accidentally get married and Billy spills the beans in front of the JL.

I love the idea of Ra's al Ghul knows Danny because of the Lazarus Pit; maybe Ghost King!Danny came to Ra's and was like, "You know unsanctioned resurrection is forbidden, right? You have to submit an Undead Appeal form in the afterlife. I'm gonna have to confiscate your Goop." But Ra's is a master manipulator and gets Danny to agree to a truce... a marriage with his grandson in exchange for continued use of the Lazarus Pit. Don't ask me how it happened; Ra's "wins" either way because his grandson gets married to a High King and he gets to keep his Goop.

(Because Danny's young, okay? Logistically speaking, he's not going to outsmart an immortal cult leader. Maybe sometime down the road Danny gets tired of Ra's talking circles around him and just, like, punches him in the face or something. Makes "Redemption Arc" Dan take care of it. Who knows?)

But for now, Danny is now married to a literal baby. He's confused as hell how this happened. He's like, omg, am I a groomer now?? Am I one of those creepy ancient kings that get married to 12 year old girls?? What the fuckkkk!!! So, he runs to the Ghost Zone. Goes off-world, maybe he gets swept up in Ghost King duties and totally forgets about it. The thing about the Ghost Zone is that the time dilation is different: a couple of days/weeks/months in the Ghost Zone is actual years on Earth. That's why Danny is still so young despite depictions of him going centuries back (time is even messier because he can actually time travel, too, so there may be paintings of him during the Aztec civilization but only because he was there for maybe a week or two.)

This leads to everybody on Earth thinking he's an Ancient Being. Ra's is elated that his grandson, the heir of the League of Assassins, is married to the equivalent of a God (he doesn't know that 99 percent of the time, Danny's lounging on Sam's couch in sweats and eating cheese puffs, watching melodramatic reality TV with Tucker).

And Damian grows up hearing about this legendary marriage, how this Great Ancient Being is his husband, and is... maybe scared? A little angry, resentful? He's had the choice taken from him from before he could even conceptualize it. He was a kid growing up thinking this All Powerful Being was watching his every move, judging him for not being the best like his Grandfather says, and waiting. He trains harder, learns more, maturing faster than anyone his age. And he's still waiting. Because the High King doesn't show up. Not when Damian's four, six, ten, twelve, fourteen. Damian thinks maybe he's not good enough yet despite vastly outdoing even the most seasoned senior assassins in the League.

Danny comes back to Earth and is like, oh, shit, I need to check on my baby!!! Except when he drops in on the League of Assassins, he's met with an angry, resentful, offended Damian al Ghul who's the same age as him. And Damian's met with.... some guy?? What the hell?? This can't be the High King of Infinite Realms, Space, and the Dead, Ancient Being, etc. He's heard so many stories of his husband, spanning centuries of different culture and in varying dead languages.

Needless to say, their introduction doesn't go great. But Danny wants to explain himself and make amends, and Damian's just baffled enough to listen. ("What do you mean, the Undead Siege of The Great Wall wasn't you???" "Yeah, that was the previous Ghost King. I've never risen an army of the dead before.") But as they talk, Damian begrudgingly accepts that his husband is... actually pretty cool (despite the god-awful sweatpants). Danny's recounting his various tales, usurping the previous Ghost King, and Damian even starts to respect Danny.

So, they keep talking. Keep meeting, learning about each other, becoming friends, and eventually becoming more. Damian originally thought Danny was too stupid for words, but quickly realizes that he's a great strategist, knowledgeable about a vast amount of stuff, and is incredibly loyal. Danny thinks Damian's deadpan bluntness is hilarious, understands Damian's pathological need to be the best (courtesy of the Demon Head's traumatic teaching during childhood), and is almost single-mindedly, unconditionally loyal. He's also incredibly petty, which is also hilarious.

Maybe years pass and they're now lovers, Danny sticking around Earth because he's scared if he goes into the Ghost Zone, he'll unintendedly come back when Damian's 90 or something. So, Danny's there when Talia takes Damian aside and says, "Bruce Wayne is your father. I'd like you to train under him before you become the new Demon Head."

Damian goes and Danny follows. When he worries about Tim usurping the title of Heir, Danny's there to say, "You don't make friends by attacking them, Dami! He's your family, not your enemy." The whole "Damian trying to kill Tim" thing doesn't happen. When he worries about disappointing his Father, Danny's saying, "He's your dad. He missed your childhood so he wants to get to know you - just be yourself." Damian doesn't act violently, aggressively, or is offensively provocative; he's still petty, painfully blunt, and exasperatingly self-confident, but he's also honest and thoughtful.

Damian transitions into the Batfam easier with Danny beside him (invisible, only showing himself while in Damian's room or when they're alone). Because Danny wants his husband to feel accepted, appreciated, and get the unconditional love that he never received while living with the LoA.

Let's imagine several months go by and the Batfam are totally comfortable with Damian. He's truly like their annoying younger brother. So, they're at family dinner, maybe Dick is discussing his relationship with Barbara and Steph makes a comment about when are you going to propose already?? Tim and Jason are ribbing him about commitment issues (Bruce is suspiciously silent, likely knowing that if he says something, his kids are going to verbally tear him apart for his Situationship with Selina).

And Damian says, "Many feel apprehensive to marry. I was not, of course, but my husband was very trepidatious."

The whole Batfam are like... what?? What do you mean the youngest kid of the Wayne household is the first to be married?? (Aside from Alfred, who's since divorced.) Is this even legal???

But Damian just continues on, "Perhaps discussing the progression of your relationship with Miss Gordon would be beneficial. Marriage should be consensual." (Damian learned that from Danny, who had offered to null their marriage in the early days. It was a heated conversation, Danny feeling guilty because he'd trapped Damian into this relationship and Damian feeling betrayed because what do you mean you're leaving me? This is unacceptable! They shared their first kiss after realizing neither one wants to end the marriage.)

And the Batfam, as comfortable as they are with Damian, knows he's a little like a feral animal. He doesn't share things about himself often. They don't want to scare him off by prying, even if Bruce is gripping the table cloth, sweating, and is looking pale. Because his child is literally married and God, please don't let it be to one of those old assassins in the League, please. So, Dick just says, "Uh, yeah. That's - thanks, kiddo, that's... a good idea."

Damian continues to make occasional comments about his husband, but nobody knows who it is. He doesn't use Danny's name. And Danny has to leave to do Ghost Stuff (despite being terrified of losing track of time, but Damian's now living with a loving family so he's kind of okay with being dragged off for his Kingly Duties). So, nobody's ever actually seen Danny.

Until the Joker decides to make his mark on the newest addition of the Batfam. He's already killed one Robin, traumatized the hell out of another, and paralyzed Batgirl. He's eager to add another of the Batfam to his roster.

Joker nor the Batfam anticipate the High King of Infinite Realms, Space, and the Dead to straight up portal Joker's ass into Frostbite's territory (aside from Damian because he absolutely knew what was going to go down the second he saw a glowing green aura illuminate the warehouse). One minute Joker is threatening a civilian Damian, whos' still dressed in his Gotham Academy uniform, and the next he's being violently yanked into a massive swirling void of green.

And who steps out? Ghost King Danny, in full kingly attire, including a wreathy crown of white-hot, broadsword hung on his hip, and a skull mask over his face. The Batfam are scrambling to get Damian's chains unlocked and haul him away from whatever-the-fuck that is. They get Damian unlocked, but he just snaps for them to desist your hysteria, Richard, 'that' is my husband.

(Cue the very tense family dinner afterward. Danny's in Damian's sweater and ripped jeans but the Batfam are just squinting at him like, how is this the same as that Thing from the warehouse?? Danny's totally oblivious, holding Damian's hand and saying, "Mr. Wayne, I love your home! The painted ceiling in that one from on the second floor is amazing, the constellations are actually super accurate!" He forgot that the Batfam had no idea he's visited Damian literally hundreds of times since he moved into Wayne Manor. Bruce looks like he's gained several greys in the last hour.)

(Bonus points if at some point Damian can be seen lovingly feeding Cheetos to Eldritch Monster Danny and the Batfam are just like that's... definitely not pants-shittingly terrifying... Bruce tells himself he's just glad his son isn't married to an LoA member.)

[a-b-riddle]

Part 2

Can't stop thinking about reader finally cutting them loose.

For three days there was nothing but radio silence. In those three days you had told yourself that it was a grace period. Time for Simon to cool off and realize how much of a bastard he was for saying all those things he obviously didn't mean. Johnny coming back over with a bouquet of flowers and endless apologies and cuddles.

Simon didn't apologize for his harsh words.

Johnny didn't call you later, as promised.

For three days you jumped at every single notification, silently hoping it was one of them. Any of them.

But it wasn't.

And you, unfortunately, got the answer to the question you had been asking yourself for months.

Did they still want this?

The answer was clear.

You didn't let their unofficial dismissal get to you. You still had shit to do. A life to get on to. A book signing to go to.

Jesus.

A book signing. A book you wrote. A book that was being published and released the day of the expo. You weren't expecting a huge line because this was your debut novel, but with the help of some ARC readers who had took to social media, there had been a bit of a storm brewing.

You had listened to John when he had mentioned writing under an alias. Don't know how crazy people are out there. They'd do anything to get close to you, Dove. Just better to protect yourself where you can. You almost hated yourself for listening to him now. Now you would just have to keep writing under your pen name.

You were getting ready to close up shop early when your phone finally pinged.

Kyle.

Fuck.

Of course it was Kyle. The one who hadn't treated you like you were constantly bothering him. Not the one who made you feel guilty for agreeing to your arrangement. Nor was he the one who fucked you and left you. No. He was just the one who just wasn't there.

Maybe that was just as bad.

What are you up to today?

That was it. Almost two weeks of radio silence and that's all he had to say? It just added more evidence that you were making the right call in ending this now. It had already carried on for too long.

You had two things on your to-do list and you wouldn't let Kyle's sudden reappearance deter you.

E-mail the publisher back.

Change the locks.

You didn't have the strength to face them again. If they groveled, it would be too easy to take them back. One against four wasn't much of a fair fight. And if they didn't care to fight for you... you don't know if you could survive it. Coming face-to-face with the proof that it didn't bother them to give you up even though it was killing you.

No. Cutting it off completely was the best thing to do.

So you didn't respond.

You left Kyle's text unanswered as you e-mailed the publisher back that everything was set for your flight on tomorrow morning. You would spend Thursday adjusting to the time difference and Friday you would rest up before the expo this weekend. She assured you that you would need to rest up your writing hand. Whatever that means.

You left Kyle read as you closed up shop several hours earlier than usual. You needed to drop off the bank deposit before you started on task number two.

You didn't bothering responding to Johnny when he had texted you when you were leaving the hardware store, purchase in hand. Asking if you were free Friday. Promising dinner. 'In or out. Your choice.'

It was almost second nature when you got home to pull up your phone. Ready to text one of them to see which one of them could come over and help.

Fixing a leaky sink? Nothing Johnny hasn't seen before. Need help moving furniture? John won't mind when you change your several times on what should go where. Kyle would always come in with take out the moment you mentioned you were hungry and whenever you felt like going for a walk when it was a bit too late in the evening, Simon was the first to volunteer as your personal guard dog.

But asking them to come and change the very lock you planned on using to keep them out seemed... counter productive, if not downright petty.

You were almost done with the lock when your phone sounded off. Only this time it wasn't a text. Someone was calling you.

You almost faltered when John's name came on your screen.

Fuck.

That almost got you.

You almost answered it.

Almost.

You clicked on the 'Sorry, I can't talk right now. Options, before finishing up your work.

And just like that, you were done. No help needed. You had changed the lock. Even adding on a deadbolt. Replacing the flimsy chain Simon had taunted you about. If someone wanted to get in here, that wouldn't stop them.

Well, now you didn't need to hear it anymore.

Not that you would really hear it again...

Your flight was in twelve hours. Although that seemed an ample amount of time you hadn't even begun to pack. You had luckily narrowed your outfits down, but now was the task of folding it nicely into your suitcase rather than just stuffing it in there.

On my way. We need to talk.

It was too late for talking. Three days too late. Several months too late.

The last message sent was four weeks ago. A new Thai place had opened up close to your apartment that you were wanting to try. All of them had given you excuses.

Not my taste, Dove.

Cannae do it tonight. Next weekend? Next weekend didn't happen either.

I can do tomorrow. Kyle ended up bailing. You forget the excuse he used.

Simon hadn't even bothered to reply.

The final nail in the coffin of your relationship. Almost two years wasted with nothing, but a broken heart to show for it. And the worst part is, they had all chipped away at your heart, leaving you to deal with the final blow that would shatter it.

Im sorry. I can’t do this with you anymore. wish you all the best.

Your fingers made quick work in blocking their numbers. It was best. If they wanted to reach you, they couldn't. On the other side of the coin, if they didn't care to reply, you wouldn't spend countless hours crying over the fact that none of them had been affected the same way you had.

You would deal with getting them their belongings that they had left behind another time. You had big things, great things happening for you. You were cutting your loses. You were cutting them loose.

You just hoped you didn’t regret it.

[shitpostingsapphic]

Why I don't feel disappointed by Vi's arc, but you might

I usually have pretty strong and polarizing opinions when it comes to my takes on Arcane, but this is one where I wanna open up the discussion a bit more and invite people to my perspective, and it's fine if you don't see it this way.

I think there are two primary reasons why people feel disappointed by the arc of s2 Vi. The first, being that Vi had stronger voiced concerns about the state of Zaun in the first season. The second, being that she spent the whole show wanting to be with her sister and she didn't end up getting that.

Why I actually feel fulfilled in Vi's arc has to do with these two points, and I invite you to sit with what I have to say next.

Both of these parts of Vi have to do with her fatal flaw: her neglect of self.

We know two things based on what the creators have said about the show: the theme of Arcane is the cycle of violence, and the entire show was written together, instead of season 2 being written after season 1 production. From this, I can then ask: what do the creators want to tell their audience about this message, knowing they wrote it all out together, knowing the events of season 2 were very purposeful, using Vi as a conduit for that message?

If violence is a cycle, can one person defy it? No, of course not. At the start of Vi's arc, she wants to be a person that breaks it, though. She wants to change things in Zaun, wants a better life for her sister. As season 1 continues on, she wants to pick up where she left off with Powder without truly processing the gravity of the years between them. She thinks she can hold the world on her shoulders and fix any problem that comes her way. She thinks she can use her fists to make progress, thinks she can physically reach out and create change, but it only contributes to the cycle. And that's not because she's morally in the wrong when she does so, but she doesn't grasp yet that her fists can't fix everything. Vander tries to tell her as such in act 1, and it's a lesson that goes beyond just the literal application.

Vi's tendency to try and fix everything around her leads to her neglect of self. Inevitably, when you try to change things you have no control over, it leaves wounds. It leaves a person feeling like something is deeply wrong with them. And we watch Vi go down this spiral. I actually find myself really brokenhearted watching Vi in the first 2 acts, because I think she represents a lot of us: we see pain and devastation around us, but we don't know what the right thing to do is. We try different tactics and try to fix things and are left wondering why things feel worse than how they started.

I think that's something a lot of viewers could benefit to reflect on: I think in watching a show with strong political messaging, we yearn for a message that tells us the answers to these big problems. Truthfully, most of us don't have a fucking clue what we're doing. We want change but don't know how to see it through. That includes the writers. This isn't a show about the solution to political strife. It's about the cycle of violence. It's about not knowing how to change something that's been continuous throughout history in some form.

If we put ourselves in Vi's shoes, it would eventually take a toll on us to try and change something that isn't within our ability to change. Vi can't fix the problems in Zaun. Vi can't change the way time and distance and pain has warped her sister into someone else. In season 2 act 1, she's still trying to take responsibility for things that are outside of her control. She blames herself for the way Jinx has changed and has to tell herself that the only way to fix it is to end the cycle with her own fists. She teams up with Caitlyn because she's convinced herself it's the only way she can help. She sees how violence has devastated not only Zaun but innocents in Piltover as well, and she feels responsible for it.

BUT SHE IS NOT AT FAULT. And she cannot fix it any more than she could have created it.

Perhaps people may feel Vi's arc is lacking because they wanted to see more of her involvement in the revolution of Zaun. They wanted to see her be able to change the situation with her sister and for them to live happily together. But because of the circumstances surrounding both, for Vi to do so, she would inevitably lean into her fatal flaw. She cannot do either of those things without neglecting herself. That's not who she is.

The whole point of a character arc is for someone to be a changed person from beginning to end. If Vi starts out as someone passionate about enacting change to the point of self-destruction, what would a resolution for a character like that look like?

Vi needs to choose herself. Vi needs to release herself of the responsibility of changing the world. She can't do it. There are ways to contribute to positive change that don't involve putting the world on your shoulders, and Vi has yet to put herself first in any situation. Vi choosing love is how she does it.

Amanda Overton, one of the main writers that contributed to Vi's character and the Caitlyn and Vi dynamic and relationship, said about Vi: "If she has no one left to protect, she would fall in love". If Vi finally lets go of this crutch of hers to protect, to fight, to take responsibility for things that aren't her burden to bear, she would fall in love. She would finally be able to choose something for herself.

This is why I find her arc fulfilling. I feel like it's not an arc we really see a lot. It's not every day we have a character that starts out like the classic anime slash marvel protagonist, and instead of being the person that saves the world, they accept they're not a superhero and it's okay to choose love and personal happiness.

If it applies, and you're reading this, I want you to ask yourself: are you perhaps disappointed with her arc because you expected her to be the superhero? And would you be okay with accepting that she isn't and doesn't need to be? That it would be better for her to choose herself?

[bwat5-blog]

"Clearly, Caitlyn Kiramman Should’ve Known Better at 23: A Masterclass in Ignoring Trauma and Believing War Criminals"

**Spoilers for all of Arcane**

Recently I made the mistake of delving into the comments of an otherwise excellent post regarding Caitlyn Kiramman and the aftermath of her time as "dictator", specifically in terms of were there enough consequences? did she do enough to make it right? should more have been done to her? that sort of thing. In the festering cesspool of those comments, I saw a variation of the following statement:

"if we were doing things based on what was fair and just, Caitlyn should have been executed on behalf of the two cities for peace"

It was more crude but you get the point. This person alleged that Caitlyn deserved death for what happened during those few months. Before we move forward lets review what we know about all of this. I have quite recently covered a lot of Caitlyn's arc so I'm not doing a deep dive here. Just enough to address this particular bit of idiocy.

How It Starts:

Like I said we aren't doing a deep dive here, so just for a quick reminder as to where twenty-three year old Caitlyn is mentally at this point(regardless of fault or nuance, just the facts):

Has been almost killed by Jinx three times

Almost killed by Sheriff of Piltover

Abducted naked from her childhood home, forced to dress in Enforcer uniform, bound, gagged, and forced to attend Jinx's tea party where Jinx tries to get Vi to murder Caitlyn

Violently knocked out

Shows Jinx mercy at Vi's request

Jinx kills her mother

Trying to become head of house Kiramman

Undercity attacks the memorial

Survives strike team operations

Brutal fight with Sevika

Vi stops her from shooting again

Very emotional split from Vi after hitting her and leaving her alone

So, with all of that under consideration, a Noxian warlord in her fifties who has commanded troops on various continents across Runeterra, calls her up and says trust me, i have your back, we will get justice for your mother. And Caitlyn folds... Le Gasp?!

Guys I know this is a little more snarky than my usual approach, but this really is just not that complicated. This is not even subtle. We literally see the flash back of Ambessa orchestrating the memorial attack to get us to this point. Caitlyn is an open wound mentally and emotionally, she never stood a chance. Lets take a moment to review some important points here by the way:

Ambessa came to Piltover for Hex-Tech. She doesn't hide this from Mel and is quite clear in her goals.

"If there is a chance hextech can be weaponized, we must have it". Mel responds "Piltover isn't your testing ground... I can't believe you'd start a war just to cover your ass" And Ambessa responds "i would set the world ablaze to protect our family". And the conversation ends with Ambessa ordering her daughter to "let the war unfold".

2. She executes her plan to make Caitlyn her scape-goat in front of:

Councilor Salo

Councilor Shoola

Large group of enforcers

Group of twenty plus people who make up as Ambessa states "every house and family with a modicum of influence"

Not a single, solitary person says a word when Ambessa brings a twenty-three year old grieving young woman with, if we're being generous two months of combat experience though probably less, and says She is in charge now! They let Caitlyn be walked right into the jaws of the wolf herself.

The Great And Terrible Rule Of Caitlyn The Creepy! WHAHAHAHA!:

What she gives her okay on:

Occupation of Zaun

Lawful (under martial law not normal law) arrests of those who cause problems

Yep... there it is folks. There is the great list of terrible crimes against humanity committed by the she-devil of Piltover herself. Checkpoints and arrests. Which by the way I am not justifying. People being arrested subjects them to Ambessa's brutality once they are inside. And as we clearly see Rictus uses the right to arrest to brutalize a Jinxer, and to break up the rally. And Caitlyn absolutely shares some portion of the blame for that. But um.. the way people reacted I was really expecting more public hangings and and labor camps.

**Not really a good place to put this but just fyi, despotic mad-women don't usually have to get up early to please a craftsman guild over supply complaints... just saying..."

"But OP! Sexy Zangief was beating people up and breaking up peaceful rallies!"

Well fortunately we talk about that!

"Was it for my encouragement that your man Rictus was instigating violence?"

How does Ambessa respond? Not with anger, or rage. First with guilt "You don't trust me", then with approval when Caitlyn responds the blade cuts both ways "fearless child, you never shy",

Ambessa is a master manipulator. Caitlyn is and was grieving her mother, and her whirlwind extremely intense romantic relationship with Vi. She had a gargantuan hole in her heart and a woman with decades leading and commanding soldiers and learning strategy slid right in. Recall that in bed with Maddie Caitlyn almost is defending Ambessa, talking about learning so much from her and the lives Ambessa saved with her assistance getting control of Zaun, so they could hunt for Jinx. Caitlyn has legitimately come to care for Ambessa at least on some level. I even believe that on some level Ambessa has come to care for Caitlyn.

2. "Arrests require cause"

When Ambessa is suggesting someone in Zaun knows where Jinx is, this is how Caitlyn responds. Not with orders to start dragging people out into the street. Not executing children in the street or burning down buildings. And when Ambessa tries to justify it "What greater cause is there than returning peace to the city?" Caitlyn responds:

3. "Why is peace always the justification for violence".. (Note Ambessa laying comforting hand on Caitlyn's shoulder during conversation)

Ambessa gives her this speech: "we've lost so many.. the anger, the sorrow.. it's tiring. Gods, I know it's tiring.. But you will never rest knowing that she's out there. Or maybe I underestimated you. Maybe you have the strength I do not.. to forgive.. and trust in tomorrow.. the decision is yours commander.."

"I know you are so tired, I know you are exhausted. I know you want this to be over. But you can't feel safe with her out there. I know you can't. Unless of course you can do what even I can't. Forgive your mothers FUCKING MURDERER. But ya know, up to you"-

If you truly cannot see the insidiousness of how Caitlyn is being twisted and manipulated, I envy you the charmed life you have lead. But be weary my friend, "you're off the edge of the map, here there be monsters." (POC 1)

"But OP! Ambessa was experimenting with Hex-Tech and committing brutal interrogations!"

I will admit the show does not explicitly state that Caitlyn did not know about this. Explicitly. However, given our context clues I feel quite confidant suggesting she did not:

See literally everything she said above

Every time we see them doing this she is not present

It seems like they are in some deep and away part of the prison when they are doing this

In private after the failed hex-tech experiment, Ambessa laments that they didn't secure the scientists before seizing control of Piltover. She is openly discussing that they are the actual ruling power. I seriously doubt she would be doing that anywhere Caitlyn may come knocking.

She Could Have Stopped At Any Time! Maddie Even Say So:

You mean that Maddie? The Noxian spy who keeps an eye on Caitlyn from her fucking bed, taking advantage of Caitlyn's grief and guilt over how things ended with Vi? Caitlyn is reminded she has a choice twice. The first time by the spy in her bed, and the second time by Ambessa herself. Her loyalty is being tested. Not her conscious. Ambessa literally put eyes and ears in her bed, and some of yall wanna argue Caitlyn wasn't being controlled. Ambessa assumed the role of Caitlyn's mother, and had her spy take on the role of Vi. And I will say this. Sure. Caitlyn could have gone to Ambessa and called it all off. No more war, no more martial law, the council is in charge again so no more imprisonment and hex-tech experiments. And maybe.. just maybe Ambessa would have row-row-row your boated her homicidal ass home. I rather doubt it. I suspect that conversation would have ended with Caitlyn getting this treatment:

We have been over this already but for a reminder:

Ambessa came here for hex-tech to fight the blackrose. She instigated the memorial attack for her cause.

"I would set the world ablaze to protect our family"

As we will come to see later, her last living child begs her to stop the bloodshed, even offering to go back with her, and all Ambessa can see is weakness.

Other indicators of how she is doing with everything:

"I never expected this to go on so long.. I thought.. I don't know what I thought.."

"Up again?" Maddie tells us Caitlyn hasn't been sleeping

Forbids the use of the cells Vi was kept in

REWIND BACK TO HELLFIRE:

I recently just did an in-depth doc on the strike team, the use of the grey, and what all of this means in story. So I will keep this brief here. but I do want to discuss it as "SHE WAS GASSING KIDS!" is still being vomited up by every double-digit iq booger eater with a keyboard.

Ambessa orchestrated the memorial attack to force Piltover retaliation

The strike team is an alternative to a full-scale invasion by Piltover.

They are hunting dangerous drug lords, destroying shimmer, and hunting Jinx. All three seem fairly reasonable. The issue is not if they are doing something wrong, it's the reason Caitlyn has them doing it. All you have to do is refer to the handy dandy song lyrics they use as Arcane always does to understand this:

"Can I do the right thing for the wrong reason? Is it bad that I'm making friends with my demons, and Living by a couple deadly sins Just to make sure I finish what you began And I ain't afraid to lose a life or ten If it means that I get to win in the end (woo) So I'ma do this on my own, step into the danger zone Pull the pin and watch it blow" (Hellfire Fever 333)

4. Using a crowd dispersal agent that incapacitates bad guys with no documented fatal effects (see multiple characters exposed who are all alive and seemingly well, those images of the people with health issues were from the unfiltered, unaltered smog the Undercity used to live with)to hunt a target who likes to blow shit up seems fair. Also the fact that it knocks people out means they don't have to kill them.

Caitlyn's Remorse And Attempts To Make Things Right:

Literally starts a war with Ambessa to save Vander

Saves a hurt Vi with Jinx's back exposed to her when she is armed

Takes care of injured Vi in her own bed and postpones any judgement of Jinx until Vi wakes

"I Know!"

"We can't erase our mistakes.. none of us"- Equates herself with Jinx

"No amount of good deed can undo our crimes"- Equates herself with Jinx

"Hating you.. I've hated myself.. I just don't have the energy for it any longer.."

Tender moment showing IMMENSE regret during she and Vi's big scene.

The Cost:

One statement I saw opined that there is a difference between remorse and punishment, and that Caitlyn should have been punished. That giving up her seat and losing an eye hardly qualified. Well! Boy oh boy do I have good news for you. Let's take a gander at the physical "not punishment" she acquires willingly leading from the front lines against Ambessa:

Cracked in the head with rifle stock, twice: Skull fractures anyone? how about a lovely concussion?

Stabbed in the stomach: Internal bleeding, bile leaks, intestinal obstruction due to scar tissue adhesions, bowel perforation, the list goes on.

Kicked in the midsection while still stabbed: potential to drive knife deeper lacerating organs and such, just massive pain, potential catastrophic bleeding if a blood vessel was hit, potential rupturing of stomach, kidneys or liver releasing harmful fluids into abdominal cavity, potential for long term chronic pain or permanent organ damage

Leg sweep by Ambessa driving Caitlyn's head into the ground: potential tbi, brain hemorrhage, or further skull fracture, potential vertebral fractures, potential long term cognitive impairment or loss of motor control if spine is damaged

Kicked again: We covered this. Knife is still there.

Ankle pinned/Leg kick/backhand: All sorts of fun things happening to ligaments and tendons. Potential permanent disability. Potential concussion and bruising as well as a whole host of lacerations.

Headbutt with War mask on: Concussion, skull fracture, brain bleed

KICKED OFF OF HER FEET

Pulls knife out of her own body: Potential fatal bleeding, massive pain, possible peritonitis and respiratory distress depending on what all was damaged during the fight with the knife still in her body.

Sacrifices her own eye

Now lets take a quick look at some reasonable assertions for the mental "not punishment" she will likely suffer from after all of this:

Massive potential for PTSD just from the wounds alone

Losing an eye impacts her shooting which is a huge part of who she is and a link to her mother

A woman she shared a bed with levelled a rifle at her neck and pulled the trigger. Caitlyn thought she was going to die.. that doesn't just go away..

look at her face...

She is twenty four people....

4. Guilt over death toll of war

5. Guilt over Vi's possible death from downward spiral

6. Guilt over Vi's possible death from explosion in commune all born from Noxian;s arriving there

7. Guilt over everything done to the Undercity

8. Guilt over perversion of her families ventilation system

9. The fact that from season 1 Act 2 til now, she only ages a year and probably not even a whole one. Refer to my list in the beginning. She has not a single fucking second to breathe or heal from any of that shit

RESTITUTION:

So aside from willingly leading the battle that most of the undercity walked away from until Jinx shows up and almost dying for it, how does Caitlyn start to make things right you may ask? (because it is a start, for those who don't get that. This is the beginning of a story not an end). For the first time in what we understand to be the history of the twin cities, Zaun has a seat at the table. People are REALLLLYYYYY underselling this. I guess because they wanted a whole political treaty signed and to watch Caitlyn get shame-nunned through the street or something. IDK. But what I do know, is that Caitlyn gave away the ancestral seat of house Kiramman, and all the power and authority that came with it, and it now belongs to someone from the undercity. An equal voice. And it's just the beginning. It's not perfect. It's not all wrapped up in a big shiny bow, it feels real. Change isn't instant. It never has been and it never will be, and if you need that to feel fulfilled I understand, but this show was never going to be that for you.

Caitlyn Should Be Executed?:

So back to the original statement. Caitlyn should be executed in the name of peace between the cities. Well, I'll say this. if you see a 24 year old woman who inside of a year had her entire reality imploded, fell prey to the manipulations of a violent war monger close to 30 years her senior if not more, yet found her way back to herself and shed her own blood as a war hero TO SAVE HUMANITY, and your answer is she should be executed. Sure! So long as you admit you have the humanity of a toaster oven you fucking idiot.

To those of you who have continued to read, and share your thoughts, and been open to kind debate and discourse in good faith. You all mean the world to me. As I have said many times, opening myself up to this community has really happed my "real" life in a lot of ways and I love getting on here to appreciate and celebrate this story with all of you. That being said, this particular issue is so god damn irritating to me I am done being nice about it. Have a wonderful day!

[plumipal]

The Tattoo (part one)

After scarabias overblot, and seeing what ace and Deuce were willikg to do for you, you were so touched that you decided ro get them tattooed on your body as a small heart and a spade. After that chaos ensues-

I'd you wanna read the while prolouge, then it's here

Ace is oh so smug! What's this? You chose him?? Of course you would! he was your first friend here in twisted wonderland, and he will continue to be your first in everything else... <3

He cant stop bragging about the tattoo, landing him in several collars from an enraged riddle and in frights with equally enraged students, but they can't do anything because you chose him of course! (Keep speaking like that delulu man and you will end up seriously hurt).

He cant stop thinking of the tattoo, loving how it matches his red heart on the eye to a T. As soon as he has enough money he's getting a tattoo of you, he promises himself that. He might ad well also get you a wedding ring right here right now-

He wants you to fill in the heart, as to show you chose him and not that goody two shoes Deuce! Pleaee please please do...

Deuce wants to cry out of happiness. You, the most beautiful and amazing and awesome and loveable and most godlike (crush) friend he could have, you have a tattoo of something referring to him..? He cant believe it. He feels his eyes well up in tears, it's too good to be true.

But he sees the tattoo etched into your skin, and he cant help bur he of so mesmerised with it. He cant stop staring, stop touching, stop csressing the scarfed skin where the ink is. He truly is Lucky isn't He...

He has already called his mom and told her EVERYHTING (well, everything this he has "seen" (delusional boy)) that has happened, and started taking about ehat wedding ring to give you with her. She is so exited her little boy is having such a beautiful relationship, you cant break her heart now can you..

Like Ace, he wants you to fill in the spade, to show that you chose him! Not that meany yucky Ace! He will always be the better option after all- he knows how to take care of you (and how to beat up the others!)

Cater feels awful. He wants to cry, he wants to sob, he wants to go lie in a hole and pass away. He thought you two were such great friends (he wants that friends to lovers arc)... why, why did you only get Ace and Deuce?? Is he not goof enough for you? He will change, he promises! Just please love him, chose him...

He will plant small hints. Oh this cute trend about matching tattoos, oh look this design looks amazing, yada yada yada... he will have a matching tattoo with you, and he will pull any strings to make it happen.

Trey feels off. He knows he isn't too close to you like those two Ace and Deuce, bur he knows you value him. Why did you only chose those two then? You csnt just get half the deck like that, its all or nothing. He tills you this only to have a chance of you getting his symbol on you. He would do anything for it.

He decides to do it himself, to show you how good it would look on you. You would look simply divine with that clover on you, you both know it. Please, please chose him, he will take care of you oh so well...

Riddle is furious. Red on the face, voice pitched up a notch, his hand reaching for his pen. This is unacceptable!! How DARE you marr your beautiful skin with these RULEBREAKERS symbols??!?!? He has to tlak some sense into you.

He expects a 10k word essay on how you were wrong and that you're sorry, along with a tart or two and a matching tattoo with him (that is bigger than both Ace and Deuce's tattoos combined-)

Jack is conflicted. He is in your close circle of friends. He hangs our with you everyday, he takes care of you (unlike those two dumbass cards), why did you chose them over him? It's unfair.

He will be way more protective of you. He has to show you he's the best for you, your one true mate, for life.. it can only be him, no one else. He would scent you as well, just like ruggie.

Ruggie wants to sob right in front of you. Why would you chose someone over him? He knows he isn't the smartest, the richest, bur he sure loves you the most! He will fight tooth and nail for that title!-

He will show it to you, he will show how he is the nest husband for you that there is, the most attentive! He will show you...

He also cannot afford to get you a tattoo, so instead he scents you, be that with his clothes, his cologne, anything that works he sure will do- for you, for your relationship..

Leona feels sick. You, chose someone over him? He is supposed to be your number one, you only.. just like how he is to you! This is unfair, he feels himself ger angrier and angrier the longer he thinks about it. He WILL have you and he for sure will have matching tattoos with your..

He is incredibly protective of you even after the chaos dies down, curling his tail around any of your available limbs and holding his hand right over the tattoo you have of those two dumbasses..

He even gives you some super expensive bracelets out of pure gold just to cover up that damn tattoo (he doesn't wanna hurt you but he still wants to rip that thing off of your body, only he gets to mark you)

I am incredibly sorry for the long wait, I got sick and have been so busy with everything else I couldn't get it done until now, bur I hope you all like the first part of the tattoo!!

Ily all and I wanna especially thank @yanknowalready for their beautiful writing in my comments, i would've made this post sm smaller if it weren't for your amazing ideas!- if anyone has ideas for tattoos for the other charas, ro tell in the comments I would love to hear them! <3

[smutallyouwant]

One-shot World Chp. 8

" Baby " Sitting

Word Count: 3.4k

M reader x Jihyo M reader x Chaeyoung

[ Cum dump baby sitter Chaeyoung ]

" Mmrhh , take it easy honey" Jihyo groaned while you're on top of her.

It's been 3 months since she gave birth to your son, Mico. The doctor said that her stitches are now fully healed that's why you cannot help but fuck your hot wife early in the morning.

" Honey, it's been so long I've been holding back since " you muttered.

" Ughhh, mhhh, honey it feels so good, I nearly forgot how big you are "

" Then take it fully today, honey "

You pushed your shaft into her womb making her bite her lips and grab your nape. Her breasts are big and it just got bigger due to lactation, her boobs are begging to be freed from her shirt. You unbuttoned her shirt and her lovely plump chest appeared in front of you. You quickly suckled on them as soon as they popped up but still making sure that your pace of fucking your wife never change as this is the key for her to reach her climax.

" Honey, don't suck on them, you can just lick them gently. The milkies are for Mico " Jihyo asserted.

You stopped sucking her titties to make sure that all of her milk nutrients will go to your son. Instead, you kissed her passionately as you made love.

" I love you honey "

" I love you too honey "

You're longing for this sight for too long— your beautiful wife under your body, paired with her seductive gaze as she takes all of your length feeling every ounce of pleasure from making love with you.

" Keep going honey, I'm almost there " Jihyo mumbled.

" Yes honey, go cum for me " You replied.

You fasten the pace slightly making her lean on her back and her spine arced.

" You're cumming honey? I'm cumming too " you asked.

" Yess, yessss! Keep going! "

" UAAAGHHHH! " Jihyo squealed.

Jihyo catches her breath as both of your body twitches, you took more strong thrusts as your cum keeps on spurting inside her.

You leaned on her chest for a while before the two of you hugged each other on the bed.

" You came so much inside me, are you in a hurry to have another child? "

Your wife teased you while she fingers her inside showing you the mess that you made.

" No it's just that it feels so good doing it with you "

" How was your art commission for that company you mentioned last night? "

" It's doing pretty good, I'll be working on the deadline this week so I'm pretty sure I'm going to be busy "

You noticed that Jihyo keeps on fingering her insides and plays with your cum.

" Do you wanna go for another round? "

" Okay honey, let's be quick "

You quickly fucked your wife from behind but got interrupted by your baby sitter's knock on the door.

" Madam, sir, the breakfast is ready "

" Let me finish first honey " you whispered to your wife.

" Yes! We're coming ! " Jihyo shouted.

" Let's stop for now, Mico is waiting for his morning milk " Jihyo exclaimed.

You're frustrated but you can't protest as your wife is just being a good mom for your child. You helped her fix herself and both of you quickly went to the dining table.

" Ohh you're such my good boy aren't you, Mico " Jihyo said as she held your son.

" Look at him sleeping so peacefully, our babysitter is the best when it comes to calming him up " you said as you stared at your babysitter.

Chaeyoung has been your babysitter for 2 months as Jihyo had to go to work after her month leave on her work. You're a work from home artist and frankly you don't even know how to take care of a baby, that's why both of you opted to hire a babysitter / maid. She's responsible for making Mico sleep and taking care of him while Jihyo is gone, cooking, and washing dishes in the morning. You're the one that cooks for dinner and for washing the dishes.

" Hey, Chaeyoung you can eat with us. I'm going straight to work after taking a bath " Jihyo said while breastfeeding Mico.

" No it's okay ma'am I can eat after you finish"

" No, no, hurry and sit so you can wash the dishes right after and you can take care of Mico " Jihyo insisted.

Chaeyoung sat down at the table and ate with you. After eating Chaeyoung quickly washed the dishes and Jihyo took her bath. You went inside your bedroom and Mico is sleeping quietly on his crib when you check him.

" Honey, here's Chaeyoung' s pay for the month. Please give it to her because I'm running late " Jihyo said.

" Take care of Mico for me okay, Chae " Jihyo said as she headed out.

" Bye honey, I'm going now " Jihyo said before the two of you kissed.

Right after you closed the door you went to your wash room and pulled Chaeyoung in.

No words were said, Chae just glared at you intently. She casually bent over the washing machine as you took off her shorts and underwear.

" Mhhhhh, Hhushhh "

Chae gently moaned and both of your breaths became heavy as you pushed your already hard cock into her.

" You're already rock hard sir " Chae said with a lustful smile.

" Yeah here's what you get for interrupting our second round. And frankly your half naked body is just too hot to see in the morning "

" Ughhhh, ughh, mhhhhh ~~ shitttt "

Chae can't help but moan as your pelvis clapped her ass at a moderate pace. You sniffed her bare shoulders, you can smell a mix of butter and garlic from her shirt probably from the fried rice that she cooked but her sweet strawberry scent engulfed your nose into ecstasy.

You reached for her perky tits to fondle them from outside her tshirt and your other arm grabbed her from the neck so you can pull her for a kiss.

" Mhhh~~~ slurps* ~~ughhh sir~~ "

" Sir~~ you really made me your cum dump"

" Yeah, I'm grateful that you're best in doing your babysitting job. But also you're the best at fulfilling my sexual desires for the past few months "

" But you can now have sex with madam Jihyo " Chaeyoung muttered with a grin.

" Why, are you sad ? This may be our last "

As you say those words, it made you think of how you ended up like this with Chaeyoung.

Approximately 2 and a half months ago...

9:30 night time.

" Arrgh, honey we can't do it. My stitches still hurt "

" I know honey, but can you at least give me a blowjob? " you insisted.

" I'm tired honey, I've been taking care of Mico all day long please let's just rest "

" I understand, let's hire a babysitter starting tomorrow so you won't be this tired everyday it's my fault that I don't even know how to take care of our infant son "

" Oww, it's alright honey come here " Jihyo said as she pulled you for a hug.

" But are you sure about that? Full time baby sitters are expensive to have these days " she added.

" It's okay honey, I'll take care of that. I have an upcoming commission for a big company and they're going to pay me handsomely "

" Okay honey, let's look for a babysitter tomorrow, thank you for understanding me " Jihyo said before you two fell asleep.

Your baby sitter arrived after 2 days and her name is Chaeyoung.

Jihyo starts to go to work and you observe Chaeyoung every time she takes care of your son intending to learn from her as you do with Jihyo. But you're finding it difficult because her petite body paired with her strawberry sweet scent makes you think of inappropriate thoughts.

She likes wearing tank tops and loose sleeveless shirts every morning and you can swiftly take a glimpse of her side boobs every time. When time allows it, you take it to stare in her exposed cleavage every time you stand up after eating.

Every time you have small talks with her, it is an opportunity to check out her incredible body. This becomes your habit every time Jihyo goes to work and before you go to your office to continue your work.

1 week after hiring Chaeyoung...

10:30 night time

You walked out of your room to go to your toilet but you were stopped by Chaeyoung wearing her usual black tank top and shorts.

" Sir, where are you going? "

" Oh it's just you Chaeyoung , please don't surprise me like that " you said as you hold on your chest.

" I'm just going to the toilet, how about you? Why are you still awake? "

" I just drank water, I observed that you're always going in the toilet this hour "

" Ahh, yeah " you said with an awkward smile.

You're embarrassed because you can't just say that you're jerking off inside the toilet every time.

" Releasing tensions every time sir? "

" Ahh, yeah hehe my stomach hurts every evening and I don't know why hehe "

You played it cool, you touched your tummy for extra acting points.

" No sir, I'm talking about that " Chaeyoung said as she points at your bulge.

You quickly turned around and made an excuse.

" Oh this is nothing, it's natural I'm heading in now "

" Maybe I can help? " Chaeyoung exclaimed.

" What do you mean ? "

" You're always checking me out sir, do you think I won't notice you glaring at my body every time? "

" Oh no, Chaeyoung that was... "

" You're a perv right? Or should I say you have a high sex drive, but madam can't have sex right now so you just jerk your dick off every night "

" So what? This has nothing to do with you Chaeyoung " you've started to get pissed.

" I'll suck your dick, will that help sir? "

" For one condition, can you please increase 1/4 of my pay? " she added.

" What? Are you serious? "

" Yes sir, I won't tell madam please just increase my pay for 1/4 of it "

" You repeated it, you need it so bad? Alright I'll help you, and you help me, sounds like a fair deal "

You led her inside the wash room, because Chaeyoung can't hide anywhere if ever Jihyo looked for you in the toilet. You leaned on the washing machine and Chaeyoung kneelt in front of you.

" I'm not an easy bottle to squeeze Chae, so you better be good at this " you teased her.

As she removed your bottom, your thick cock slapped her face. It made her face look ecstatic as she licked your base from the bottom.

" Such a thick and long cock sir, and it's not even hard"

" Suck it good, Chae "

" You can freely peek at my boobs, sir, you can even touch them if you want "

Chae said as she swallowed the tip of your length.

Chaeyoung skillfully sucked your dick until it turned harder and harder inside her mouth. Eventually she started to gag and drool flowed out of your cock.

" Fuck, you're so good at this aren't you Chaeyoung"

Her eyes glared at you as she swallowed your whole length into her throat. It shows no sign of quitting and it was so good that you can't even feel a single scrape from her teeth.

Your cock began to throb inside her mouth. One thing that she does that made it feel so good was she applies subtle but precise pressure every time she pulls her face to suck your shaft.

" Yes keep going like that, Chaeyoung "

You can resist the urge to peek at her cleavage, you removed one of her shirt straps so you can fondle her plump boobs while she suckles your dick good.

She licks your head from time to time to rest her jaw but is quickly putting it again inside her mouth. Chaeyoung looked at you with a seductive gaze.

" Yes keep looking at me like that, from now on you're my baby girl okay? "

Chae nods as she remains eye-locked at you for the rest of her work.

" Keep it like that, I'm cumming"

Chae continued the pace. You plunged your dick deep in her throat as you dump your cum in her mouth. Tears flowed from her eyes and cum drips from her lips onto the floor.

Chae headed to the sink to spit your mess and you cleaned yourself in the toilet. Chae headed back to her room and you came back to your wife straight away.

This went on for two weeks, Chaeyoung has been giving you head every night. Until one night you did it in her room and both of you can't hold back from the temptation of lust. A man and a woman inside one room, the two of you ended up fucking each other that night. You came twice that night, one on her boobs after fucking her missionary and one in her throat after she ride your dick.

From then on, the two of you looks forward to it everyday to fuck each other. Whenever you want to relax of take a break from work, you just checks on Chae if Mico is asleep, you makes her suck on you or you just fucked her in your office. Chae basically became you fuck meat, a cum dump that you can fuck whenever your wife is not around or already taking a rest. You're giving her a 25% increase in salary but she enjoys having a sexual affair with you that she never asked for another increase when you started fucking each other.

Back to current time...

" I'm cumming now, baby Chaeyoung"

" Yess sir daddy, give it to me all aargh~~~ give me you cum sir "

" Fill your fuck meat with your semen sir daddy, use my pussy as your sex toy "

" Yess babyy, take it all! "

You plunged your dick deep in her pussy as cum spurts out that made Chaeyoung scream in pleasure.

" ~~~~uyggggghhhh! "

You thrusted a few more to release every drop of your cum deep in Chaeyoung. Chae' s face became blank as she took it.

" Look daddy, I'm dripping wet with your cum " she said as cum drips out of her pussy.

" Clean up now baby, I'll head to my work now. Please take care of Mico " you said before giving her a kiss on the cheeks.

The day went on, you called Chae earlier to suck you off while you brainstormed ideas for your work. The night came and your wife Jihyo arrived from work. Mico is already sleeping. It's already 10 pm late but you wait for her every time so you can have dinner with her.

You went to bed after Jihyo took her shower.

Jihyo sighed as she lays on the bed.

" Huuuush! Finally I can rest, how is Mico today honey? "

" He's still a good boy today, Chae always does a good job " you said before laying one hand on your wife's boobs.

You kissed her and the two of you made out for a minute. But was interrupted.

" Sorry honey I'm so tired, we can just do it tomorrow after we wake up "

" But I'm already hard honey, I missed you " you said.

" You can just use Chae again, honey " she said with a smile.

You're surprised by what she said.

" What are you saying ? "

" I know you're fucking with our babysitter honey, you're going out every night and I can hear her cries and moans from her room one time I went to drink water "

" I'm sorry honey "

You can't look into your wife's eyes as she talk.

" It's alright honey I understand, you're always full of libido even before we were married, so I understand that you can't help but to have our babysitter as you fuck buddy " she said as she palmed both your cheeks.

"Plus Chaeyoung is a fine young lady, I can lend you to her as long as it's just sex and for pleasure only "

" I'm still sorry Honey, I love you so much, and thank you for understanding"

She hugged you as she whispered.

" I'll be sleeping okay? Fuck her besides me tonight "

Your wife gave you an approval and horny look as she said this. She rolled on the other side of the bed and you checked on Chaeyoung from her room, you pulled her into your room.

" What are we doing here sir? Madam might wake up "

" No she's a heavy sleeper "

You closed the door and began making out with Chae besides the door.

" Are you sure this is alright sir daddy? " Chae asked as she cupped you bulge from your boxer shorts.

" We can even fuck beside her and she won't wake up "

You sat on the bed and made Chaeyoung deep throat your shaft.

" gawlk, galwk galkw"

Chae remained her stare at you as she took your length into her throat.

" Suck it like a slut you are, baby "

Chae gave you a lustful look before you pulled her and positioned her on the bed exposing her ass in front of you.

" Aaaagghh!~~~ "

Chaeyoung screeched in pleasure as you fucked her instantly after pulling her hair.

" mmhhhh~~~ mhhhhh~~ mhhh~~ "

Chae' s moaned was muffled by her hand but you removed it.

" It's alright, baby , you can moan as much as you like "

" ~~ ughhhh, okay sir daddy, fuck me, use me infront of you wife "

Sounds of flesh banging and Chaeyoung' s pleasure cries filled up the room.

" My wife is so sexy isn't she?"

" Yes daddy, your wife has a perfect body shape, and have great boobs, she's a perfect fuck meat for you "

" ~~~UGHHH! " Chae screeched in pleasure as you slapped her ass hard.

" Don't insult my wife, you're the only one that is a fuck meat here okay?",

" I'm sorry daddy sir, your wife is so beautiful it makes me envious "

" Daddy please slap your baby's ass more, it makes me feel good as you pound hard from behind "

Chaeyoung drooled like a dog as you abided by her request.

" I'm cumming, baby "

" Yessss daddy! Fill me up with your thick cum, fill your cum dump again"

You ended up cumming inside her again, and you made her come back to her room quickly as you pounced on your wife right after you closed the door.

" You have been listening aren't you honey? Does your husband fucking another girl made you so horny? "

Jihyo nodded, this is the second time that you saw your wife's face as horny as hell. The first time is when you two first made out and had sex.

You hurriedly took of your wife's clothes and fuck her missionary so you can see her beautiful and horny face.

" Does it feel good honey? Fucking Chaeyoung beside me? "

" Yess honey, I get to look at two beautiful hourglass bodies at the same time "

" Do you want to do her better ? "

" Chae' s exceptional, but you're just the best honey, your pussy is my favorite " you said as both of you indulged in sloppy deep kiss.

" But she definitely gives off more in giving head " you teased her.

" Oh, maybe I can learn from her " she teased back.

" Do you want to have a threesome with her honey? " She added.

Just the thought of it was enough for you to reach your climax. You nodded and you fastened up your pace.

" I'm cumming honey "

" Yesss honey, cum inside me "

You hugged your wife tightly as you cum inside her. The two of you laid on the bed and fell asleep naked.

The night went through and morning came.

The day went as usual, and Jihyo was preparing to go to work.

" Don't drain it all to her okay? " she said before pinching your bulge from your shorts.

Your wife teased you before kissing goodbye and going off to work.

END

[avelera]

One of your posts mentioned something about viktor not truly acknowledging Jayce's workload when it came to him being a Councillor. Could you please elaborate on that?

Sure. I mean, maybe if I went back through and did an exhaustive rewatch, I'd find something to contradict the point, but as far as I can recall, the closest Viktor ever comes to saying that Jayce might be overworked is when he calls his time going over the shipping manifests for the Hexgates a waste of time because they should be working on innovations to help people in need (ie, Viktor obfuscating once again that he is dying and wants Jayce's urgent help but framing it in such a way that it sounds like a long-term societal problem instead of a short term personal one, so it goes right over Jayce's head).

And look, let me preface this by saying Viktor is actively dying at this point. He's sick, and in pain, and terrified, and he feels abandoned by the most important person in his life. I'm not saying it was wrong of him to not acknowledge Jayce's workload, or bad, or in any way not understandable. Jayce is an adult too and Viktor was definitely suffering more at that point than him.

But on one of many rewatches, I did note that when Jayce says, "Sorry, I have a lot on my plate lately." it is objectively true. And Viktor doesn't even acknowledge it. Being a full time councilor and promoting Hextech and working in the lab and trying to help Viktor and dealing with a civic crisis that could lead to outright civil war, etc etc everything else happening in S1, it's no wonder Jayce is snippy and on edge at the bridge, the guy should be on the edge of collapse quite frankly.

And Viktor doesn't care. He thinks Jayce's time on the Council is a waste of time, so he doesn't acknowledge the burden of it. That includes not acknowledging the fact that the Hexcore would have been destroyed and Viktor's one hope for a cure gone with it if not for Jayce's power and influence now. Jayce only became a Councilor to advance their research and help Viktor, but Viktor doesn't once acknowledge this and seems actively angry and jealous about it.

By the way, this isn't a case of one of them is right and the other is wrong, it's just a case of two very human people being human. It's very well written. But Viktor's lack of empathy for the challenges Jayce is facing means he's also not seeing how much of what Jayce is doing is for his benefit, how many burdens Jayce is taking on for Viktor's sake.

Viktor's emotional arc at the end of S1 includes a lot of feelings of abandonment by Jayce which are objectively not true. If he acknowledged Jayce's workload, he might also come to the realization that he's not abandoned, that Jayce is entirely focused on him just in different arenas. Maybe it would give Viktor the impetus to say "Hey, I don't want your help as a Councilor, I want your help in the lab because I'm scared and alone and dying and I'm about to make some very rash decisions because of all those feelings." Instead of just sucking it up and going it alone, which eventually leads to Sky's death and Viktor's collapse into utter hopelessness and resignation towards his own death.

And by the way, this isn't conjecture that Viktor is bad at seeing how much people around him care for him. Sky is another example of this. Viktor is so focused on extending his own life that, to paraphrase Heimerdinger in 2.07, he's not using the time he has to be with the ones he loves.

Later he will weep and rage at how he completely missed out on knowing Sky as a person, he completely missed out on knowing she cares for him. He'll craft an entire specter of her to keep him company as a result of this guilt in S2, because he can't live with the guilt of the fact he objectively missed out on spending time with the real woman when she was alive. And that is another version of what he's doing to Jayce in S1, by not seeing that Jayce isn't ignoring him, he's desperately trying to help in every way he can and the workload is burying him.

[zeropro]

Hi, what are your thoughts on Megatron? Most Starscream fans don't have very positive ones about him lol, but everyone is different and I would like to know that you think

I like Megatron okay, he doesnt bother me but im not like jumping up and down for megatron content yknow? but I get not liking Megatron as a Starscream fan. It's just, you can't deny how intrinsically the two characters are tied together. Really can't have Starscream without Megatron, which is unfortunate for someone like me who does not like drawing Megatron lol!

Maybe the reason most Starscream fans dont like Megatron is because of their abusive relationship? And let's be clear, due to the power imbalance, I do interpret it as an abusive relationship. Despite how much we like to joke that Starscream deserves the punishment he gets (I'm not entirely sure how attempted murder/political assassination attempts factor into an abuse allegory) no one ACTUALLY deserves to be abused. The fact that Starscream is low key also evil and has done evil things is a separate issue from Megatron's abuse of him, we can hold him accountable for the one while also having sympathy because of the other. For me personally tho? Megatron abusing Starscream doesnt make me dislike the character at all, it's honestly the main draw of the dynamic for me. Maybe I just like to see my blorbos suffer…

The G1 Cartoon Megatron is probably the most fun, and I think this dynamic is the most on the level in terms of Starscream dishing back as much as Megatron gives him. They're all just bullies on the playground, their toxic back and forths feel a lot more slap stick and silly than actual abuse. What makes it work I think is that Megatron is not as crazy powerful as he is in later continuities, and Starscream responds to the abuse like a cartoon villain, immediately bouncing back and plotting his revenge, so it's funny rather than upsetting! I also find it hilarious how Megatron is weirdly nice to all the other Decepticons who aren't Starscream lmao? G1 Cartoon Megatron is a 10/10 for me.

If G1 cartoon's Megatron and Starscream are more on an even playing field, Prime Megatron is like the opposite of that. Prime Megatron is so impossibly powerful it almost feels like no one has a chance against him in a fight, and Prime Starscream is so scrunkly and small it's almost laughable. I think I feel the most pity for Prime Starscream when he gets beat up by Megatron, but he almost always makes up for it by being possibly the most evil of the Starscreams. I like how in the third season, he genuinely seems happy to finally dedicate himself fully to Megatron, but you just know how much he'd been beaten down and broken over and over again to even get to that point. Good for him for trying to get revenge in the sequel series. As for Megatron himself, I think more often than not when I am reading fics I see Prime Megatron in my head, and it's his voice I hear. What can I say, it was the first Transformers show I watched haha. Do I love how his redemption arc was handled? Not particularly, it sorta came out of nowhere, felt really rushed, and he just goes away anyway so we don't even get anything out of it. I like redemption arcs in general, but I don't necessarily think this particular Megatron needed one.

To be perfectly honest, I didn't think the 2005 IDW Megatron deserved one either, only because when it comes to over powered, unstoppable, irredeemably evil Megatrons, this one ranked right up there if we take into consideration everything he did before Dark Cybertron. His redemption does kinda come out of nowhere. But like, idk mang! It's also really fun? Like, Bumblebee carrying him around cuz his pants got blown off is hilarious! Him actually upset at Bumblebee's death and then taking Bumblebee's Autobot badge and putting it on over his own was sweet! Him dealing with the crazy crew of the Lost Light is a lot of fun! And him actually having to confronting and deal with what he's done (and other characters dealing with him dealing with it) is a lot more interesting than just him dying. idk. The comics have been around for years by that point, and passed through the hands of many writers, so if a little handwaving and a little contrivance and a little suspension of disbelief is what is required for us to have an honestly pretty fun take on Megatron, I think I'm okay with that.

I do have one complaint tho, mostly based on content I haven't read yet so take it with a grain of salt. I have been told that the adjacent series to the Lost Light Megatron stuff covers Starscream's side of the story and that it does actually address his abuse at the hands of Megatron. My problem is that apparently (and again I haven't read that far yet so this is just hearsay, but apparently) the writers on the Lost Light Megatron stuff didn't get the memo so while Megatron feels bad for and is working at redemption for all the evil war stuff he did to everyone, the one thing he doesnt regret is apparently his treatment of Starscream? Haha, like come on! on the one hand it's really disappointing to me because id like the catharsis of Megatron’s remorse, but...on the other hand, I guess it's kinda true to life actually. Your abusers are people, and they can change and grow and become better, but it doesnt mean they will ever become better for you. It doesnt mean they will ever apologize or even feel bad for what they did. Maybe theres something to be said about having to move on and heal without that. I guess whether this is a complaint I maintain will depend on how its handled.

I get that some people don't think Megatron should ever get a redemption arch, because he's an abuser, a monster, a tyrant, and an evil warlord, and it's completely fair for your stance to be that he should just be killed and that would be justice. I personally really like continuities that treat him more like just some guy. I think Starscream put it best in 2005 IDW during Megatron's trial when he said Megatron wasn't some political genius or the most gifted strategist. He wasn't even the most evil man. In IDW, Megatron started out as a social advocate from the lower class, and despite the problematic narrative of "the bad guy had a point and just did advocacy wrong/went too far," I think the idea that Megatron kinda got swept up by his own hype and was used by people and powers more devious than he is a compelling one.

Starscream is Starscream, so who knows how much of what he says is true and how much is him lying, but this idea just rings true to me. It humanizes him. If handled well, I'm honestly not opposed to stories redeeming Megatron. I'm also not opposed to stories treating him like the devil and just killing him lol. I love a character that can do both!

Uh uh, what else. Earthspark Megatron is nice, I like him. There's...a bit of cognitive dissonance in trying to reconcile the things he chastises Optimus Prime for and the idea that he still was a ruthless warlord at one point, both of which continue to be left unexplored. Transformers One Megatron is neat, I was worried going in how they would handle the switch from Orion Pax's brother to lets start a 4-6 million year war, but like, I like the way he actually was super okay with accepting his lot in life. Like obviously he didnt like it but he didnt see a point in fighting it, and that adamant complacency as a coping mechanism is what lead to his feelings of rage and betrayal by the end. Also I think its hilarious how much younger he is from all the other Decepticon high command, especially Starscream XD.

I don't think I've read or watched anything else with Megatron in it. Man, I wrote a lot. At the end of the day, Megatron is a good character, I like the role he plays in Transformers, I'm not like actually that interested in him on his own but more what he brings to the table when considering Starscream's character. You can't have one without the other! Do I ship them? No, not really, no more than any other ship. But I'll still read Megastar stuff cuz sometimes you just want to watch two people be toxic and make it hurt so good. I'll always prefer Trine stuff anyway ha! Have fun out there!

[gallusrostromegalus]

As someone a bit too young to have seen Bleach the first time around, AEIWAM is still consuming a crucial portion of my brain cells. So imagine my surprise when I looked up Tousen, the reason you started this behemoth of an alternate universe, on TV tropes.

Among other shocking revelations...

WHAT DO YOU MEAN, HE JOINED AIZEN OF HIS OWN FREE WILL IN CANON???? What do you MEAN, TITE KUBO, that the reason your Tousen wants to destroy the Shinigami is that his crush died of DOMESTIC VIOLENCE???

Who is this man and what has he done with my eternally suffering Tousen?

You understand why I had to take custody of this poor bastard.

I can respect what Kubo was going for- Aizen was right in the fact that Soul Society does suck, and the extended canon is that Tousen's crush was killed by her husband, everyone knew it, and nobody would prosecute the husband because he was a Noble. Canon Tousen is, more or less, suffering from the same kind of rage-based brainrot that is unfortunately so common these days- the idea that because a system is imperfect, or ever corrupt, that it's a good idea to tear the whole thing down/restart the universe (the real Path Of Least Harm is of course, the much more complicated and frustrating work of Dis-and-re-mantling the system piece-by-piece without leaving vulnerable people to fend for themselves, but that isn't as emotionally satisfying or fun to draw as senseless destruction, but I digress).

but his arc is only barely on the page at all, mostly after his death and contains one of the blandest and most obnoxious tropes- fridging- and the whole thing falls flat. It also fails to explore the FASCINATING angle of disability and tbh, racism in soul society- two VERY fucked up things that would very much justify his rage. But it's shonen and the series was deep in production hell at that point, and tousen was far from the only victim. I still don't know what the fuck Gin's deal was.

ANYWAY,

Notable changes between Canon!Tousen and AEIWAM!Tousen and some art under the cut:

Kakiyo is Kaname's adopted sister, and despite looking nothing alike, since they re-incarnated in soul society at the same time, they regard themselves as twins.

Kakiyo does kind of a lot in the plot before her demise- she's responsible for introducing Kaname and Komamura, teaches Zaraki and Yachiru how to read, and unintentionally helps Aizen by recommending him to be promoted to third seat in the 5th division, because she and Kiganjo were thinking about starting a family soon, and Aizen would make a good stand-in for her while she was on maternity leave.

She also gets to do a bunch of stuff after she dies too!

The characters in Tousen's name approximately mean "Necessary Scholar" and make an allusion to a legendary scholar from China who came to Japan to find the elixir of immortality for the emperor. He returns with an elixir that stops the emperor from aging, and the emperor kills him so he can't make anyone else immortal (the emperor doesn't age, but he's still vulnerable to stabbing, and gets stabbed). I thought that was an extremely fun literary allusion so I'm leaning into it- before he becomes a Shinigami, AEIWAM!Tousen took over the library run by his ans Kakiyo's adopted godparents, and ran a children's literacy program. he has a special interest in information sciences and educational methodology. even among nerds, he's a mega-nerd.

Kakiyo meets and marries Gosuke Kiganjo, who goes back to West 51 to meet his beloved's brother and the weird giant monk that runs the library with him. Kaname is immensely fond of Kiganjo, and has no qualms being the best man at their wedding. He and Gosuke are good friends for the first few years of the marriage, until Aizen gets his claws into Gosuke and slowly drives him insane.

In AEIWAM, Tousen is cursed into going along with the plan by Aizen. Aizen was just going to make Kiganjo kill him, but Gin is getting impatient with Aizen's hogyoku progress, and persuades Aizen into cursing Kaname into compliance instead with a Forbidden Bakudō: Kyuunodo — Ningyō Kugi Saiyaku (人形釘誓約, Puppet Nail Covenant)

I do keep the canon!Tousen's reputation for being pedantic, unecessarily critical and generally kind of boring. The reason for AEIWAM!Tousen's reputation is different: He is kind of a pain in the ass, because he is in Horrific Pain and Deeply Traumatized and that makes people irritable to say the least, and he deliberately cultivates a reputation for being Boring to keep people far, far away from him- and hopefully, far from Aizen as well.

An underrated bit of Canon!Tousen is that Suzumushi is not his zanpakuto. Suzumushi was Kakiyo's zanpakuto, and we see him take the sword from her coffin in the manga. Which is insane because it means HE ACHIEVED BANKAI WITH A ZANPAKUTO THAT WASN'T EVEN HIS. Dude is SEVERELY underrated as a swordsman. In AEIWAM, Suzumushi is still Kakiyo's zanpakuto, and only BARELY clings to life on the last reserves of the Spiritual power Kakiyo put into her before Kaname finds her. Suzumushi persuades him to take her up, enter the academy and bring Kakiyo's killer to justice (Suzumushi has fallen to Aizen's illusion and doesn't know who the killer is). She kind of glosses over how they bond, but she more or less crawls into his soul and supresses Kaname's native Yume-kon that would have been his own Zanpakuto spirit if it had been allowed to awaken. She did make an entirely new Shikai and Bankai for him- the chime that makes people lose conciousness is entirely new, the AOE of Just A Shitload Of Swords was Suzumushi's original Shikai. The Bankai of a space where anyone not touching the sword experiences no sensory input? Suzumushi made it first and foremost as a refuge for Kaname when the pain of the curse became to unbearable.

The biggest difference, of course, is that Kaname lives through the Aizen Arc and gets a Happy Ending: Once he wakes up after the battle, he is free, and chooses to marry the wolfman he's been in love with for centuries. Here's some art of them, finally home:

[oxenfreeao3]

I need Caitlyn “if I cannot become ungovernable I will become the government” Kiramman to have a full-on Machiavellian anti-hero arc so that The General Public finally takes her seriously.

Analysis:

I've mentioned it before, but Caitlyn's character embodies nearly all the traits of a Machiavellian with high cognitive empathy.

Firstly and most obviously, she manipulates systems and people to accomplish her goals. Vi would still be in Stillwater and much of Act II and III would not have happened if Caitlyn weren't willing to cleverly and unscrupulously lie and forge her way to success.

We can argue she's not a very good liar. I argue that doesn't really matter. One, her lies work. Two, she is clearly ready and willing to deceive so long as she thinks it's for a good reason. The inclination is what matters. I think the important question to ask is, "What is this character willing do to?"

Secondly, she's huge on agency. It's one of the main features of her character. She demonstrates (from the five-factor model): achievement-striving, assertiveness, self-confidence, emotional invulnerability, activity, and competence.

Regarding emotional invulnerability. I want to touch on this because I think it's missed. Caitlyn is an extremely guarded character. She reveals almost no personal information about herself, even to Vi. During high-stress situations, she flinches from her own vulnerability, tries to play it off, or compartmentalizes heavily.

Vi is the bleeding heart, the open book, the one who can't guard worth a damn (it's not even subtext, other characters say this to her face and I believe it has a dual meaning).

Meanwhile, Caitlyn waits until Vi is vulnerable with her and shows her respect before even giving Vi her name. (I have more to say about the "Cupcake" scene but that's for another time).

Other aspects of a Machiavellian character include:

Cynicism, selfishness, callousness, arrogance, deliberation and orderliness.

I argue that Caitlyn's character hints at the first one, gets away with the next three because she's "sweet," and blatantly embodies the last two.

Caitlyn in S1 is a sharp edge sheathed in kindness. We like what she's currently doing and think she's a Good Person because her trajectory aligns with our own sense of right and wrong. But Caitlyn is doing what she wants. What she thinks is right. Again, it's not subtext.

Marcus: "She does whatever she wants, I can't control her!"

And in S2, I think the same behaviors we currently love in her could easily be used to spin her down a corruption arc that leaves us a bit aghast -- but shouldn't leave us surprised.

I argue such an arc would be squarely in character.

Paraphrasing from the AMA:

"Everyone is a little bit opposite of who they are in Season One."

What will that mean for Caitlyn?

I don't know, but the recipe for a very interesting time is written all over her character.

[l-in-the-light]

Trafalgar Law on touching and being touched

It won't be a perverted post despite the title lol. But I won't stop your imagination, be free!

There's this funny theme going on with Law and Luffy in particular that picked my interest.

Luffy touched him first.

And he later returned the gesture, much more awkwardly.

Again, Luffy grabbed him angrily first.

Law made sure to return the gesture. (btw he also does it with Zoro, who was the first one to wrap an arm around him at post-Dressrosa feast. In Wano Law has no problem grabbing Zoro and shouts at him angrily. Again, it was Zoro who initiated the touch first).

Law grabbing Luffy to teleport them makes Luffy react in a curious way, you wanna know why?

Because it totally feels like this moment. Both Law and Ace, right after getting uncuffed, grabbed Luffy in same way to get him to a safer place. Ace-Law parallel in relation to Luffy kills me. The whole Dressrosa arc's plotline between Luffy and Law is just Marineford Went Well This Time. Ngl I kinda hated Oda at first for that. Now i dig it.

He didn't seem to like that. Luffy says "Let's all get along well!", but Law thinks alliances don't have to "get along".

Mistranslation here. What Law says here, being so surprised, is "nakayoshi ka?!" which means "you two get along?!" or "you two are buddy-buddies?!". It's a callback to Luffy declaring that Law and Strawhats crew should get along (he uses same word then, nakayoku-get along), Law learns here that Luffy's crew indeed "gets along well". You can interpret it whatever way you wish, but I will use it this time to put this scene into context:

The same gesture Luffy did to him before, but Law didn't return it to Luffy - that's because they're not crewmates. But he takes the lesson to heart and "gets along" with his own crew. Omg I can't believe i'm writing it, I make Law sound like this completely awkward adult who doesn't know how to be friends with people.

But bear with me, the shit is only starting. If you don't want to have feels I reccommend you just laugh at it and stop reading here. I digged up a feels landmine by accident. In-depth study starts below!

It's also a possible callback to the "reassurance" Law got from Cora-san. "I'm counting on you to escape" and Law did. He counts for his crew to steer the submarine well in similar manner.

Law's family didn't seem very touchy-feely, so please keep that in mind as well. He's got limited experience with touches and the few touches he did get familiar with were either taken away from him or brutalized.

Law getting patted on the head lovingly by his parent.

Next time this loving gesture happens, he gets thrown from like two-floor building into a pile of garbage.

And then he gets lied to that everything will be fine. We all know it wasn't.

Do you still wonder why he hates being touched on the head?

The sister touches his face gently while showing child Law support and compassion, reminding him not to despair, someone kind will help him.

Corazon doing the same gentle touch to the face while crying for him, thinking of all the pain Law had to experience. Indeed, the world sent Law someone kind. And Law lost him and blames himself for that.

Law holding Lammy's hand while lying to her that it will be alright. He never does that gesture again to anyone.

The sister holding Law's hand.

"Don't come closer! Don't touch us! We will get infected!" even doing the barrier gesture (I guess that's why Law doesn't get along with Bartolomeo). I used only few examples, there is much more, I just couldn't bear posting them all. Anyway, Law's got the message, his touch is unwanted. The body and mind remembers this.

Similar shit said at the auction in Sabaody about Fishmen, we don't see Law's reaction to that, but we can guess already that it was for sure triggering. Those people talking are sitting not that far away from him.

Ever wondered why Law throws people when teleporting? Besides the fact he avoids making contact with anyone unless they initiate it first, because that trauma is still strong in him ("Stay away! Don't come closer!"), there is one other possible reason:

Wonder no more! He does it to people because that's how people treated him as well, even people who apparently loved him.

Now that I have ruined the "Law is just an awkward unsocial nerd" joke for you, let me offer something to warm your heart a bit in exchange:

Corazon made sure to touch Law a lot and hold him in his arms, despite being often clumsy about it. I think he understood Law's trauma about being touched and his fear to touch or approach anyone, and tried to help him overcome it.

Being hugged and trying to return the gesture. Corazon's efforts did bring some results! But it only works for very few people, Law is still wary of people he doesn't know well. He expects to be unwanted and acts uneccessarily cold, distant and unapproachable because of that. But if you scroll back to the beginning of this post, you can see that he is trying his best to overcome it as well, one step at a time. Some things just can't be rushed.

And hey, at least he seems to be actually relaxed and almost like he *enjoys* being carried around. You think it makes him look uncool? Definitely. But suddenly it feels like Something Important, kinda intimate in a way and not just a silly comedy moment. It's a sign Law relies on people when he lets them carry him and that's why he doesn't protest.

Sanji is like "Why are you relaxing like that?! Get off!!" Finally, it makes sense why Law makes such a sour face here. Sanji should be grateful for the rare privileage after all! Anyway, this is anime-only extension, in manga Sanji actually doesn't tell Traffy to get off and Law chooses to scramble by himself, which doesn't taint the fragile trust those two just shared.

For those who made it to the end of this post, have I ruined Law's comedy moments for you forever? Because I sure just did that for myself.

I could also add one more cute thing from One Piece World Seeker Law's dlc, but I will let those interested to discover it by themselves!

I'm also amazed by the consistency of this theme. Both manga and anime never forget that touch is seemingly a big deal for Law.