#better than the two first imo

[kaisrandomstuff]

i’m genuinely wondering if the parallel here is intentional or not.

it’s such a good detail.

[starry-bi-sky]

i need to get this out of my head before i continue clone^2 but danny being the first batkid. Like, standard procedure stuff: his parents and sister die, danny ends up with Vlad Masters. He drags him along to stereotypical galas and stuff; Danny is not having a good time.

He ends up going to one of the Wayne Galas being hosted ever since elusive Bruce Wayne has returned to Gotham. Vlad is crowing about having this opportunity as he's been wanting to sink his claws into the company for a long while now. Danny is too busy grieving to care what he wants.

And like most Galas, once Vlad is done showing him off to the other socialites and the like, he disappears. Off to a dark corner, or to one of the many balconies; doesn't matter. There he runs into said star of the show, Bruce who is still young, has been Batman for at least a year at this point, but still getting used to all these damn people and socializing. He's stepped off to hide for a few minutes before stepping back into the shark tank.

And he runs into a kid with circles under his eyes and a dull gleam in them. Familiar, like looking into a mirror.

Danny tries to excuse himself, he hasn't stopped crying since his parents died and it's been months. He rubs his eyes and stands up, and stumbles over a half-hearted apology to Mister Wayne. Some of Vlad's etiquette lessons kicking in.

Bruce is awkward, but he softens. "That's alright, lad," he says, pulling up some of that Brucie Wayne confidence, "I was just coming out here to get some fresh air."

There's a little pressing; Bruce asks who he's here with, Danny says, voice quiet and grief-stricken, that he's with his godfather Vlad Masters. Bruce asks him if he knows where he is, and Danny tells him he does. Bruce offers to leave, Danny tells him to do whatever he wants.

It ends with Bruce staying, standing off to the side with Danny in silence. Neither of them say a word, and Danny eventually leaves first in that same silence.

Bruce looks into Vlad Masters after everything is over, his interest piqued. He finds news about him taking in Danny Fenton: he looks into Danny Fenton. He finds news articles about his parents' deaths, their occupations, everything he can get his hands on.

At the next gala, he sees Danny again. And he looks the same as ever: quiet like a ghost, just as pale, and full of grief. Bruce sits in silence with him again for nearly ten minutes before he strikes a conversation.

"Do you like to do anything?"

Nothing. Just silence.

Bruce isn't quite sure what to do: comfort is not his forte, and Danny doesn't know him. He's smart enough to know that. So he starts talking about other things; anything he can think of that Brucie Wayne might say, that also wasn't inappropriate for a kid to hear.

Danny says nothing the entire time, and is again the first to leave.

Bruce watches from a distance as he intercts with Vlad Masters; how Vlad Masters interacts with him. He doesn't like what he sees: Vlad Masters keeps a hand on Danny's shoulder like one would hold onto the collar of a dog. He parades him around like a trophy he won.

And there are moments, when someone gets too close or when someone tries to shake Danny's hand, of deep possessiveness that flints over Vlad Masters' eyes. Like a dragon guarding a horde.

He plays the act of doting godfather well: but Bruce knows a liar when he sees one. Like recognizes like.

Danny is dull-eyed and blank faced the entire time; he looks miserable.

So Bruce tries to host more parties; if only so that he can talk to Danny alone. Vlad seems all too happy to attend, toting Danny along like a ribbon, and on the dot every hour, Danny slips away to somewhere to hide. Bruce appears twenty minutes later.

"I was looking into your godfather's company," he says one night, trying to think of more things to say. Some nights all they do is sit in silence. "Some of my shareholders were thinking of partnering up--"

"Don't."

He stops. Danny hardly says a word to him, he doesn't even look at him -- he's sitting on the ground, his head in his knees. Like he's trying to hide from the world. But he's looking, blue eyes piercing up at Bruce.

Bruce tilts his head, practiced puppy-like. "Pardon?"

"Don't." Danny says, strongly. "Don't make any deals with Vlad."

It's the most words Danny's spoken to him, and there's a look in his eyes like a candle finding its spark. Something hard. Bruce presses further, "And why is that?"

The spark flutters, and flushes out. Danny blinks like he's coming out of a trance, and slumps back into himself. "Just don't."

Bruce stares at him, thoughtful, before looking away. "Alright. I won't."

And they fall back into silence.

Danny, when he leaves, turns to look at Bruce, "I mean it." He says; soft like he's telling a secret, "Don't make any deals with him. Don't be alone with him. Don't work with him."

He's scampered away before Bruce can question him further.

(He never planned on working with Vlad Masters and his company; he's done his research. He's seen the misfortune. But nothing ever leads back to him. There's no evidence of anything. But Danny knows something.)

At their next meeting, Danny starts the conversation. It's new, and it's welcomed. He says, cutting through their five minute quiet, that he likes stars. And he doesn't like that he can't see them in Gotham.

Bruce hums in interest, and Danny continues talking. It's as if floodgates had been opened, and as Bruce takes a sip of his wine, it tastes like victory.

("Tucker told me once--") ("Tucker?") ("Oh-- uh, one of my best friends. He's a tech geek. We haven't talked in a while.")

(Danny shut down in his grief -- his friends are worried, but can't reach him. When he goes back to the manor with Vlad, he fishes out his phone and sends them a message.)

(They are ecstatic to hear from him.)

It all culminates until one day, when Danny is leaving to go back inside, that Bruce speaks up. "You know," He says, leaning against the railing. "The manor has many rooms; plenty of space for a guest."

The implication there, hidden between the lines. And Danny is smart, he looks at Bruce with a sharp glean in his eyes, and he nods. "Good to know."

The next time they see each other, Danny has something in his hands. "Can you hold onto something for me?" He asks.

When Bruce agrees, Danny places a pearl into his palm. or, at least, it's something that looks like a pearl. Because it's cold to the touch; sinking into Bruce's white silk gloves with ease and shimmering like an opal. It moves a little as it settles into his hand, and the moves like its full of liquid.

Bruce has never seen anything like it before, but he does know this; it's not human. "What is it?" He asks, and Danny looks uncomfortable.

"I can't tell you that." He says, shifting on his foot like he's scared of someone seeing it. "But please be careful with it. Treat it like it's extremely fragile."

When Bruce gets home, he puts it in an empty ring box and hides the box in the cave. He tries researching into what it is. he can't find anything concrete.

Everything comes to a head one day when Danny appears at the manor's doorstep one evening, soaking wet in the rain, and bleeding from the side.

[an-au-blog]

Oh, your love is sunlight

Happy (late) Valentine's Day (version without text ↓ +description in tags)

[captainswan618]

HOLY SHITTTTT IM WATCHING THE NEW EP AND THE AMBULANCE JUST SCANNED HER…I FUCKING KNEW SHE WASNT HUMAN!!!

3000 YEARS THOUGH WHAT THE FUCKKK WHO IS SHE

[britneyshakespeare]

i am at the looking-at-dolls-as-self-soothing part of the night. i definitely wanna beef up my bratz collection since unboxing my alwayz bratz yasmin was just like... oh... oh man... and... and i didn't think it'd be like that for me man i didn't think i had as much nostalgia for bratz as i actually do not just buy owning some but by touching them and playing w their clothes and their hair.

and one of my issues of course is that i'm a redhead and as a redhead my Default Lookalike Doll is meygan (not that having a doll that looks like you is the most important part of bratz, but it is so much of the fun right? the fact that there's a character out there for just about everyone?). and i like meygan as a character well enough, that's not the issue. but of the meygan dolls that have been reproduced, there's none of them that are like, hardcore needs for me except for sweetheart meygan. and i did not buy sweetheart meygan in time. i was not really collecting at that point. that was like 2022. i had a few... na na na surprise dolls at that time. which is funny bc i have four of those that i got all either on clearance or w giftcards and i do really like them even though a lot of doll collectors thought they were kinda dumb, and they were. i just liked the gimmick of the fabric bodies and there were just enough dolls i thought were really cute that i kinda caved at one point. i also knew it was a brand i wouldn't go overboard with. anyway. we were talking about meygan...

sorry meygan back to you girl. i know original 2000s bratz that have not yet been reproduced at crazy expensive on the secondhand market and it's genuinely out of control. but sweet heart meygan, both the repro and the original, are selling for triple digits on mercari, ebay, what have you. that's just ridiculous. frankly. i'm not buying her at that. i don't even like her enough to hunt for her regularly, if that's how it's gonna be. there are plenty of more readily-available bratz dolls that are either regular retail price or clearancing online andin stores. did you guys know alwayz bratz jade is going for 15 bucks on amazon right now? that's crazy. the other always bratz dolls aren't going for that low if they're even marked down yet. that release wasn't even that long ago. anyway i'm thinking of getting jade from that line bc i know some ppl thought that alwayz jade was a let-down, but i thought she was cute. yasmin was my favorite from that line and that's why i got her but jade was my second fave there easily.

i also wanna get the kumi they reproduced sometime and maybe girls nite out cloe since i see she's still available. it's funny there aren't that many core girls i've wanted from the repros but if i go for any of the cloes, new or old, it's gotta be girls nite out. cloe isn't even usually my favorite character no offense blondes she's just kinda. she's just kinda cloe to me. idk i love her but i'm not gagged over her most of the time. these are still bratz standardz we're talking about here so obviously i love her.

there's nothing going on in the world right now other than my bratz dolls. and if someone we won't mention wins the election, i'm definitely going doll crazy. i'm gonna be buying dolls after this anyway, but i'm gonna justify spending an unusual, nearly-irresponsible amount of money. you know. bc i'm an adult and i can.

hey also and of all the lines they could've reproduced why is their most recent slumber party? why? why? when the poll posted by mga had tokyo a go go WINNING? bc tokyo a go go is the correct option? i mean the slumber party line is cute and i like the base dolls and the accessories especially the stuffed animals are cute. but. everyone knows the bratz audience these days is adult collectors. which adult collectors are losing their minds over dolls in pajamas and bathrobes? again they're CUTE. but why. also why did they reproduce bratz babyz when those things were nightmare fuel

[revvethasmythh]

I do think the idea of Dorian taking Otohan's blade is interesting! Although I believe he still has the Gambler's Blade from Bertrand, so he might use that instead.

I spent so long rewatching 94 for a specific piece of info that ended up not even being in the episode, it was in the cooldown for the episode, so sorry it took so long to reply, i was in deep battle with myself (could NOT remember where robbie said this one thing).

that said, yeah! he might be using the gambler's blade! a la the cooldown, robbie said dorian is fully unequipped right now, no weapons, no nothing (which is why he was afraid of arriving at the fearne and orym fight, because he apparently had no armor or weapons on hand) but I wasn't sure if that's just because robbie hadn't equipped the items from his backpack yet for the love of RP (hasn't had a quiet moment to do so) or if he was in actual need of items. the way robbie said it made me think he needed some items, but the bells hells liveshow art shows him with a rapier, so he might still end up using the gambler's blade!

[cuz-reasons]

Rattling the bars of my cage once again with my indecisiveness

[cinnabeat]

watching hbomberguys rwby video rn and very annoyed by the idea that the whole dust intro and dust shop robbery scene is poor writing

[cak31ssuperi04]

Ask game! If it's not too many: Willa, Carlos, Mariposa, Catania pairs against each other :D

Not too many. Would never turn down an opportunity to talk about them <3

Catania/Mariposa

Stating the obvious but I hold in my heart that Fairy Princess is the Barbie spin on Romeo and Juliet. Confession when I first watched the movie I was wholeheartedly expecting them to dance together at the end(though obviously mattel wouldn't have painted it in a romantic light) as a callback to the earlier ball scene? With the whole ball setting it just felt like that was what they were building up to Imsorry. I was genuinely surprised at the time when it didn't happen but in hindsight that's probably more on me that the movie itself.

Carlos/Willa

Chewing on drywall eating gravel letting the earth consume me. They're a fun pair. They're opposites in a number of ways, they bicker and drive each other up a wall at times but they do like and care about each other and work well as a duo when it comes down to it. They complement each other. Goofs.

Catania/Willa

Okay look I know I'm the only one who ships them but someone has to. Imo I think it gets overstated sometimes exactly how shy Catania is. She's introverted, she struggles with being away from immediate safety and (re. the crystal ball dance scene which I feel like is the biggest point towards her being shy)worries about standing out too much but she's also shown to be very outwardly friendly and enjoy parties and handle social situations well. I think what I'm getting at is that Willa has more immediately in common with her personality-wise than she does with the other two but they're still different enough that it would be interesting to me. They'd be a little silly. They'd get into shenannigins

Carlos/Mariposa

Not my favorite pair for either character but they're sweet, I like them, I don't mind them being endgame. As a sidenote it annoys me when people talk about how their relationship was forced but Specifically reference the first movie when their interactions are actually very easy to interpret as platonic in that one(like as in no more romantic than other Barbie/Male-Lead pairs that are commonly seen as friends i.e. Linden/Elina or Barbie/Leo), it's Fairy Princess that actually leans into the idea of a romance. If you're going to be a hater at least get it right

Mariposa/Willa

I should clarify that I'm graphing these all as Romantic pairs. I really love their friendship! lots! I think it's sweet how Willa looks out for Mariposa and tries to be supportive of her even if she doesn't always understand. Their interactions are cute! I just don't realllyyy care that much about the idea of them as a couple? Which feels hypocritical since they hit a few similar beats as other ships I do like but you know, much love to anyone who does ship them xoxo

Carlos/Catania

Despite not once directly interacting with each other I think they'd get along well! They have a lot in common. Love the idea of them as friends more than as a couple.

[haruichi-mamiya]

I REMADE THIS POLL BC I DIDNT LIKE THE OPTIONS ONCE I SENT THEM BUT

I've been curious about something I've noticed lately and wanna see if frequency bias is at work here for me so

(Assume when I say aro or ace that also includes being on the aro spectrum or ace spectrum respectively. So if you're ace and identify as arospec, aroace would work)

[blueskittlesart]

Hi! As someone who now kinda wants to check out Trigun because of the hype, do you recommend that I can start with Stampede? Or do I really need to watch the OG anime first to better understand/enjoy it? Thank you! 🙋🏻‍♀️

you can start with stampede! i'd say knowing the context of the original enhances the experience but isn't necessary to enjoy the show. I would consider stampede more viewer-friendly, especially for those of us who are used to modern storytelling conventions (the original suffers the consequences of general writing trends in anime at the time it was produced and of the fact that it was produced long before the manga was finished, so the story is somewhat disjointed and has a lot of filler which makes it REALLY hard to get into.) if you do end up liking stampede, however, I'd suggest trying out watching at least SOME of the original because it adds a lot of cool nuance and context to the story that stampede tells!

[theinfinitedivides]

hold on babe where are you going we have to have our moral spiritual emotional and sexual awakening on this overpass you can't just leave like that

[lil-oinks]

my issue with movie peach isn't that she's not feminine because obviously she is, and anyone sensible already knows "she's too feminist" or whatever is dumb. my issue is they made her into every generic cool serious surface-level "strong female character" action girl in a group of all men whose only character trait is "capable" that they've been writing over and over and over for the past ten years. I genuinely feel like they erased any personality she had past her appearance in favor of the single superficial female character type men tend to write when they want to be feminist and "modern." I'm not saying she shouldn't be capable and she shouldn't be cool or fight things because (I love paper mario) those things already are a part of her personality. this point is difficult to make with all of the "they're erasing feminine dainty proper women" takes because that's not what I'm taking about at all. I've seen people say if they wanted a character like this daisy was right there, but I wouldn't switch her character over to this trope either. daisy's LOUD and energetic and fun and the subdued woman whose role is being picking up the men's slack doesn't really fit her either (although I agree the two of them together would balance each other out (and it'd be nice if there were two women and they could interact)). it's exactly what I'd expect from a movie like this so I don't know why I complain, but I wish they would've done her differently. the character mario is about the whimsy but so is peach

[goldentigerfestival]

i will never not find it hilarious that they completely forgot to animate patty at the very end of the final cutscene in the last three frames of the whole group

and the dub didn't even give her voiced lines when everyone was shouting they so the localization forgot about her too

[moonsandstar-s]

one of the aspects that i love most about the confession scene is that blake & yang both already know the big truth they haven’t dropped on each other. blake knows yang is thinking ‘i love you’ and yang realizes that blake is thinking it too as the clouds go gold behind her, even though she immediately questions it with the dropping of her gaze and the uncertainty on her face - for them, it’s a matter of being brave enough to speak it into existence rather than revealing previously-unknown feelings to each other. my question is, when do you guys think blake and yang first became aware of how they, themselves, were feeling? 

[zeb-z]

People complaining about the first episode of season 3 like it isn’t classic Mandalorian. All of you go rewatch the first episode of season 1 and come back to me. There’s gonna be an impossible mission, and he’s gonna fight some pirates on his way there. His kid is getting into some sort of silly trouble or eating a frog whole. Of course Bo Katan is conveniently sat lounging dramatically on a throne. Kuil was conveniently there to give Din a training montage on riding a blurg and lead him directly to his bounty. Peli conveniently had a lead on some Mandalorians after his first lead had him not finding his people, but killing a Krayt dragon. Everyone seems to forget that he kinda operates on the rule of cool.

We’ve had just over 2 years to wait and overhype it. We’ve been super spoiled by Andor recently, which has meaning behind its meanings, with more care put into it than anything I’ve seen in a while. Yes The Mandalorian is a good series, a great series, this isn’t to say there isn’t care or meaning because there is, but it’s above all else a spaghetti western in space. He’s not gonna start the first episode on Mandalore, he’s gotta fight some unbeatable odds before really fighting the impossible odds, and then he’ll have some realizations about his creed that are probably gonna be uncomfortable and a call out to modern religion institutions. It has been and still is Star Wars boiled down to its bare essentials - corny heroics and not so subtle political commentary.