#don't throw it away like that

[yanderefairyangel]

Alright, comming back to the theory part 1 and 2

Hanging near the jpn side of the fandom is always interesting, really cause someone pointed out how Elyos and XenElyos are ... twin world.

“Twins in Japanese Culture: Superstitions and Beliefs” – Asian Journal USA

This is how twins are seen in jpn culture. Now, if you remember what the devs said about the DLC

There is something that lead at least one of the twin in pair in the DLC world to die. Nel lost Nil, Rafal his twin, Veyle hers too. Only one twin in the pair of twin survive. Only one 片割れ remains.

Apply this logic to the whole Engage world and you have it.

There is 2 Elyos : only one Elyos knows a bright future, the other one is a dead land.

There is 2 version of each indidvidual : one of them die, one survive. Alear dies, Alear survive in our world. The Royals are all dead, but in our world they are safe, Veyle is dead in that world, she is alive in ours. Marni, Griss and Zephia are dead, Madeline, Gregory and Zelestia are alive. Mauvier dies in the DLC, Mauvier lives in our world and is the only surviving member of the Hounds.

A japanese player pointed out that they spotted one of the Royal solider we fight in Firene's castle for training having a double in this world as well, and we kill him meaning we kill in the Fell Xenologue all the soldiers with whom we fight (can this game get any less darker ?)

And of course the fact that Isekai Alear outright refers to Alear as their 片割れ/fragment/twins

I already said it : Isekai Alear is the only one who use the word kataware to refer to their other self, in the Xenologue, Nel and Rafal use it exclusively to mean "twin".

It should also be noted that Nel Nil and Rafal's characterization and design are meant to mirror each other : similar yet distinct. Nel had black hair, Rafal and Nil white hair. Nel wears blue, her brothers pink. Nel is at first introuduced as cold and Nil as warm until the point where we realize that Nel hides her sweet character behind her cold facade which is as true for Rafal, but he is more arrogant. And the fact that Nel and Rafal's quote very often mirror each other. In the same way all the "kataware" are mirroring each other and even those that seems very alike such as Alear, Sombron and Mauvier end up with having distinct personality : Alear being more confident in this world, Sombron having different origins therefore motivations and Mauvier not being as passive.

This means that Elyos and XenElyos are twins world, forming a whole, a fragment of each other and it ties back to how choosing Alear's gender determine on whether or not they belong to the Fell or Divine dragon tribe, but also which world. We choose the world that survives, the "twin" that survive. (this game cannot stop can it)

In the fell xenologue's world, Fell dragon and Divine dragon are "twin tribes" from a common ancestor. This might not be the case for the MG story, but it also contributes to the whole "Fell/Divine duality" and it is once again a case of race surving over the other : in the Fell Xenologue, all the Divine dragons are dead. In the MG world, one survived with Alear.

This however means that Nel and Rafal didn't existed. Keep in mind what I said, they are refering to each other as a whole, a fragement of a whole. Yet only one twins survive, that's the rule of the Xenologue for each of the Fell children : if they are born as twins, this means they already have a 片割れ in this world, therefore they can't have one in our world. The surviving twin in the pair of fell twins corresponds to the surviving counterpart in the pair of alter ego.

And when you think about it, Rafal and Nel refering to their twins as half also explains why they need to be two to form a greater whole. Rafal lost his 片割れ, hence his other half when he was young and was feeling alone, incomplete this whole time. He then meet Nil that he describes using the same words as Nel, his hanshin/other half. And Nel herself lost that other half yet Rafal and Nel both replaced that missing half.

However, Sombron and Veyle have 片割れ/twin from another world, even if we do know that this Veyle would have a twin sibling. So the only way it can come together is comming back to this one idea : that they are splitted from one and only Fell children in our world.

For one Fell child we have two 片割れ who are 片割れ to each other. The one exception being Alear of course as they are not tied to Sombron between universe. In fact it seems that our Elyos is the only universe where Alear is linked to Sombron cause one of Rafal's pact ring wake up event is him going to your room and asking "hey, I wonder if there is a world where I can summon you as my Emblem" (my brain hasn't been the same ever since). Sombron also isn't linked to his ancestors since this isn't a universe constant (same for Maddie and Marni's parent) and the fell kids to their mother (since Veyle can't be half Mage dragon in the other world) but in Alear's case the whole 片割れ logic doesn't apply to them since they have the same 片割れ as the other member of the cast. For Veyle however, as she is dead in the begining of the DLC, we can assume she had a twin.

Regardless, the same way that in the DLC one 片割れ in a pair of twins dies, one 片割れ in a pair of "twins from another world" die with XenElyos, the twin world dying.

[mari-lair]

[sadhornydemons]

[greencarnation]

[minty364]

DPXDC Prompt#148 Part 2

Danny feels himself grow bright red and the two stare into each other's eyes for what felt like an eternity. 

“I- Uh… I’m Danny” He finally managed to mutter. 

“Damian Wayne, its a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” Danny's blush grew even brighter as the next moment Damian kissed his hand, Danny couldn’t help but feel flustered. 

After a moment  Danny rubbed the back of his neck with his hand and stuttered out, “It’s nice, to meet you too” He could tell how happy Damian was to meet him and he felt a little bad for feeling nervous in the first place. Danny thought Damian was cute and he decided then that he wouldn’t mind getting to know him a little better. First they had to get through the rest of the gala, and soon as he thought about the gala something clicked. 

He realized Damian was the son of Bruce Wayne who at the moment was talking to his own parents. He couldn’t help but stare as he let the information sink in. 

“Ah yes it looks like Father is talking to some of the scientists that were invited.” Ancients, Danny knew his parents couldn’t help being themselves and unfortunately that meant things like accidentally spilling fudge right onto Mr. Wayne's suite. They watched as Mr. Wayne told his parents it wasn’t a problem and then walked out of the room. 

Danny couldn’t help but sigh, “Sorry about them, my parents are a little eccentric. Don’t even get me started on their obsession with ghosts, my dad will not shut up sometimes.” Danny rubbed the back of his neck nervously again as he realized he was rambling a little bit. 

“Don’t worry it looks like Father handled the situation well, although I am curious what kind of inventions two scientists obsessed with ghosts create. That’s what this gala is about, we want to support scientists in untapped fields of study.” Danny listened as his soulmate explained things to him. 

Danny looked over to see Vlad talking to a thin scientist in the corner of the room. He was definitely up to something, a ball like this had Vlad scheming something with a mad scientist written all over it. 

He was brought out from his thoughts as a loud crash could be heard as the wall across the room burst open and none other than the Joker walked through.

Danny tried to make his way to the other side of the gala, strangely Damian had disappeared but Danny didn’t have the time to look for him.  

However when he got to the door staying low to the ground the door burst through and more of Joker's goons looked straight at him and he found himself tied up right in front of the Joker. 

“What do we have here? A new Wayne?” Joker said as he cupped Danny's face in his hand. Danny couldn’t do anything about the situation and he was getting a little scared considering he didn’t have a proper way to go ghost or protect his soulmate at the moment. 

The Joker circled around the tied up hostages laughing, “Of course now the fun begins”

The Joker continued to circle around the hostages thinking for a moment before he grabbed Danny.

He held Danny by the back of the shirt like a small kitten. His obsession was making him wonder if his soulmate was safe living in Gotham. Joker chuckled as he continued to hold Danny.

“This kid will be an example for the rest of you, I don’t want any outbursts like that again, especially when Batman gets here. Do you think Batman will like what I’ve done with the place?” He asked as he gestured around the ruined room. All of the tables and chairs had either been broken or knocked over and all of the food from the dessert and appetizer tables. It was quite the mess. Before Joker could do much else with the teen he had dangling in his grasp something flew out and smacked Joker right in the back of the head causing him to drop Danny.

Danny took that opportunity to get away, his hands may have been tied but his feet were sure free. He stumbled away as Batman dropped down and a fight between him and the Joker commenced. 

Danny ran towards the door and as he got there Robin and Nightwing were there ushering some of the other hostages out of the room. 

“Right this way citizens!” Nightwing said brightly at them but he seemed to brighten up a bit more when he saw Danny weirdly. 

“Have either of you seen Damian Wayne?” Danny asked, he at least wanted to get his number, especially when he was headed back to Amity soon.

They seemed to share a look before looking back at him, “Damian left, he’s headed safely back to Wayne manor.” Robin said but he held out a piece of paper. On it was Damians signature and his phone number. Danny sighed a little annoyed he had left but he guessed it was common to head back home after a rogue attack in Gotham. 

“Danny!!” the booming voice of Jack Fenton was suddenly heard and Danny felt himself getting pulled into a very familiar bear hug. 

“Did you have fun at the gala? Your father and I saw you talking to Mr. Wayne's son,” His mother said after his feet were back on the ground. 

“Yeah, actually can we talk about that after we’re back in our room?” He wanted to tell his parents he found his soulmate but saying that outloud when Damian was the son of Bruce Wayne sounded like a bad idea. 

They headed back to the hotel room and all Danny could think about was how lucky he was to have met his soulmate tonight, even if he was nervous about everything.

Master Post:

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[cfffrk]

[kacievvbbbb]

Mihawk and the Red Haired Pirates

-Look I don't know what to tell you, Mihawk's epithet is literally Hawkeyes meaning he is world-renowned for his eyesight meaning that he'd probably make a good sharpshooter. And maybe Yasopp decides to test this theory with a little friendly competition. And after giving Mihawk a quick intro into how guns work, maybe Yasopp had to pull out every trick there is in the book to narrowly avoid losing to said Hawkeyes, who as it turns out is indeed very good at hitting targets and who had literally just learned how to cock a gun not even 30 minutes ago. But who's to say what actually happened, the day of November 25th at 2:35pm? Certainly not Yasopp, the record clearly shows he is undefeated.

-Once a year Ben and Mihawk go on a little trip just the two of them. They act like it's just so they can shit-talk Shanks but actually, they just go fishing somewhere in the middle of the ocean and drink horribly overpriced and fancy alcohol. Look Benn loves his crew, and would die for them but also if he doesn't get at least a week to himself once every year he'd kill them all himself. He deserves nice things and a little peace and fucking quiet and not being constantly inundated with the whims of a man child and Mihawk's the closest he's ever gonna get to a friend with taste, and he travels alone with a bunch of fancy wine. Sue the man. Mihawk who would rather nap is fine to let someone else sail his overgrown raft against the annoyingly ever-changing grandline for a week or two.

-Wouldn't it be cute if Mihawk learned a lot of his fancier cooking techniques from Roux? Like he knew how to cook to survive but watching Roux is how he learned to like properly dice vegetables and that eating fish prepared the same way three times a day is not infact a life he would like to lead. This was of course less cute to Lucky Roux who in the beginning had no clue what was happening and only felt the weight of Mihawk's otherworldly stare on the back of his neck as he handled knives. (he defiantly for at least a little bit, thought Mihawk had a knife fetish. which, he's not entirely wrong)

-To Building Snake (who I just learned is the RHP's navigator) Mihawk might as well be a modern-day miracle. In his eyes, Mihawk's sailing is proof that god exists, because only divine intervention can explain how this man ever gets anywhere never mind on time or early even. Building Snake is pretty sure he owns neither a map nor a log pose and he has never actually seen the sails of Mihawk's pretend ship unfurled or in use. Actually, he has never seen Mihawk do anything but sit menacingly on the throne in the middle of the boat, which why? If you think about it for even a second longer that 2 minutes how Mihawk "sails" anywhere breaks every law of physics and somehow even the concept of geography. Building Snake would like to dissect him and study him under a microscope but knows the boss would disapprove.

[stevieharringtonwifeguy]

ovulation being a hell of a drug that ends up getting steddie together like

eddie and queen bee stevie harrington who have a weird kind of friendship where they share like. Everything. not a single secret between them. like eddie's got stevie's cycle pretty much memorised and she knows about every inappropriately timed boner he's ever had. and they're talking one day, smoking, shooting the shit, and there's a second of silence before stevie's like. oh my god. im so horny im gonna die. and eddie's like huh what. and stevie goes like there's a stain on your wall that's kind of shaped like a sperm and that made me think about cum and now im all bricked up. my vaginas haunted. fucking sperm shaped stain.

and eddie's like. wait girls- ok you know what im saying this in my head and im realising this sounds dumb but like. i thought girls didn't like. Get Like That. like i thought random horniness at a stiff breeze was a guy thing

and stevie snorts like nope girls get it too we just get to hide it bc we don't get boners. swear to god there's like a week of every month where i get fucking possessed or some shit. robin says it's like a period thing

but you're not on your period?

and stevie's like no it's like. the opposite of a period. like your period is your uterus being like hey you fucked up you're not pregnant but Horny Week is your uterus being like okay im ready let's get a baby in there time to get pregnant you know what to do. it's called like. oval. something. oval something. im all fertile and my body's trying to trick me, the fuckn prick.

and eddie just kinda goes huh and then there's another second of silence where he tries very hard not to think about stevie being pregnant. and then stevie throws her arms up with a frustrated sigh like god DAMN it now im thinking about being pregnant and eddie's internally like well at least it's not just me

and anyway another joint later this obviously devolves into stevie shoving eddie's hand down her pants and telling him please it'll be so quick he doesn't even have to do anything and she just ruts against his hand while he stares at her bc he's so high and the girl he's basically in love with just told him how fertile she was and then started rubbing her incredibly wet pussy against his hand and he feels like he might pass out

they do this and more about once a month for like a year until stevie does actually get pregnant. her stupid uterus successfully tricked her 😔✊

[starcurtain]

Normally I am a very dedicated single-shipper and don't multi-ship too many characters, but seeing Sugilite, I was kind of like "Okay, but Sugilite and Aventurine would be a whole lot of pretty in one ship."

However, then I saw this fanart on twitter and now I'm just like... Hang on, hang on a second.

Hey Star's brain, have you considered: Bi disaster Sugilite who thinks he has an (extremely unfortunate, how did this happen, no way aghhhh!!) crush on Aventurine, so now he's stuck seething over Aventurine's newfound whatever with Dr. freaking Ratio of all people--

But he has no one else to whine about this to, so he's just constantly involving Topaz in his drama.

"Be my cover so I can spy on them--"

"This is not a thing that normal people do, you know."

Three hour phone calls complaining about Aventurine daring to breathe.

Dragging her out with him on fake dates trying to make Aventurine jealous--

Eating all the ice cream in Topaz's freezer without permission because he deserves to feel good about something in life again; Topaz, you just wouldn't understand--

Until finally Topaz is like "Sugilite, real talk here: Do you even actually like Aventurine, or are you just jealous he found someone and you're still single? Because you're the most annoying person I know, but also... I'm right here? We could just go on a real date sometime, you know?"

This is how Sugilite realizes he is actually a certifiable boyfailure™.

And also how I make Sugilite/Topaz a thing. I have a vision.

[deliriousblue]

THE HEART KILLERS (2024) episode three

[coline7373]

On fanfics and all fanworks.

[eliasorchard]

every time someone makes william unreasonably feminine and 'cute' an angel loses it's wings and fucking falls to it's death (me)

[astral-herald]

Viktor and Sevika: The Cause and the Effector

Or another installment in "What Could Have Been, if Only Riot had Kept Arcane Between Piltover and Zaun."

Before season 2 did Sevika so dirty, she was, with some certainty, my second favorite character in Arcane, and I'll always be upset about how they squandered her character in the end. And there was just so much more they could have done - including merge her politics with Viktor's (wasted) time back inside Zaun. Just imagine a conversation between them!

So let's rewind to season 1 and consider both Viktor and Sevika's goals, which are a lot less disparate than they seem...

Sevika's Cause

One of my very favorite lines in Arcane is from Silco in 1x03, to Vander: "You'll die for a cause, but you won't fight for one?"

This is a profound question throughout season 1. Vander, in the pursuit of somewhat naive pacifism, shies away from any and all conflict between Zaun and the Enforcers. At first, he seems reluctant on account of his kids (as that one background character points out: "You're just protecting your kids!") but Silco and Vander's confrontation in the Shimmer plant makes the point stronger.

At the start of season 1, we understand that Zaun is an ideal for Silco, a symbol of beating back classist oppression that has left the undercity's denizens in financial ruin, turned them against each other, and wrecked their physical health (!!!). When Vander abandons this idyllic dream, on account of the fact that achieving it requires violence, he is acquiescing to a less-than existence for Zaun, which Silco cannot abide.

Sevika comes into play when she abandons Vander after he fails to stick up for them against the Enforcers in 1x02:

"No. You look weak."

She, too, sees the ideal of Zaun crumbling within Vander, so she allies herself with Silco to make sure that dream happens. She doesn't mind his methods because she doesn't follow the individual. She follows the cause. THIS is Sevika's most profound trait - she cares not for the figurehead, but for what that figurehead represents.

This is especially interesting when we consider the emotional toil that other figureheads endure (and inflict) Arcane - Jayce crumbles under "The Man of Progress" moniker; Caitlyn struggles to uphold her legacy in a way even remotely similar to her mother; Jinx as revolutionary in season 2 is a bust. But Sevika will always be there, championing the cause, holding the line, while never taking the mantle of Revolutionary Figure because it's just not in her nature. She holds on to her loyalty for Silco, despite his operation falling apart (largely in part due to Jinx), as a last-ditch hope that things are still possible for Zaun's liberation.

And yet, still, when it seems that Jinx is branded as the symbol of Zaun against all odds, Sevika swallows her pride, holds down the fort, and fights alongside Jinx - the cause must always go on.

Viktor's Dream

Viktor's cause isn't superficially outwardly political, nor is he bound by the same revolutionary codes Sevika is. But, as an outsider in Piltover, despite Jayce's best efforts and intentions, his desire for an end to Zaunite suffering through official Piltover channels is inherently at odds with the Council's political goals, therefore making it political.

Viktor leaps on Jayce's "Hextech Theory," risking the success and accolades he's so painstakingly earned, because he sees his own cause alive within it: making the world a better place. He can alleviate the needless suffering through Jayce's revolutionary invention; he can make his ideal/dream a reality. Much like Sevika, he's found the individual who champions his cause and aligns himself accordingly.

(Of course, UNLIKE Sevika's relationships to Silco and Vander and the rest, Jayce becomes an inextricable part of Viktor's personal life, happiness, etc. They are markedly different in that way, but I still don't see Viktor as the kind to exalt the individual over the cause itself. It just so happens that Jayce and Viktor are star-crossed science partners in every universe <3)

Arcane makes a pretty distinct attack on the idea of Hextech being a product of an individual (seeing as though so much of Viktor's arc across both seasons is about him being ostracized, kept away from his legacy) via the infamous Progress Day mug eclipse:

All this is to say that Viktor's cause is to help Zaun, just as Sevika's is. Importantly, neither character follows an individual that represents their cause. They follow their goals to the end, even if it costs Viktor his closest friend, and even if it costs Sevika all that she holds dear in Zaun as she knows it.

3 more interesting comparisons stand:

Their polar opposite methods. Viktor would never tolerate Sevika's immediate resort to violence, and Sevika would think Viktor weak-willed.

Competing notions of sacrifice. Sevika endures sacrifice as a public figure; people rely on her outwardly for organization, support, muscle, etc. Meanwhile, Viktor's sacrifice takes place behind the scenes. This contrast can be attributed to their respective positions of power: Sevika is high up in Zaun, while Viktor struggles for recognition throughout season 1.

Being overshadowed. While Viktor's experience in this regard is more obvious, seeing Sevika be continuously sidelined to the number 2 when she's clearly THE most dedicated to Zaun's liberation was so heartbreaking.

Sevika shadowed by Vander's image...

...and Viktor stifled by Jayce.

What Could Have Been

I have so, so many ideas, down to specific scenes and lines of dialogue, for how to bring Sevika and Viktor together. Don't get me wrong - they would likely detest each other. Like I said, Viktor would be disgusted by how quickly she resorts to violence and she would think him weak-willed. But in the perfect season 2 world, wherein the story stayed between Piltover and Zaun, and Viktor could have returned to Zaun as a potential ally to Sevika's movement (since their causes are, at their base value, the same!), they could have made it work.

Sevika would see the cause in Viktor, and he in her. Viktor as the Herald (the Machine Herald, ideally) could rally the Undercity under his mythos. The mysterious healer, whether by the arcane, engineering, what have you, takes away the suffering Piltover's negligence and police brutality cause. He gives Zaunites hope. He fulfills his dream.

And, since nothing can be apolitical in the Piltover/Zaun conflict, Viktor would see Sevika's value and her passion. She is the executor of the cause, the figure who spreads it to the masses. He can affect change and she can give it a voice. She fulfills her dream. She can raise her people from their oppression.

Neither would exalt themselves as a savior, a leader, a fanatic, etc. They would stand apart from Silco, who became obsessive, and Piltover, whose leaders were so divorced from reality that they couldn't smell burgeoning armed conflict while it stewed right beneath their noses.

We obviously got something radically different for the both of them, however, so this is all just fun, whimsical conjecture.

I really think this was a squandered unlikely duo. it would have showed Viktor the reality of Piltover/Noxus' militarization and would have forced Sevika to let her walls down and allow other perspectives into the conversation. Neither would ever fully empathize with the other, but it would have been a riveting narrative challenge that I wish we could have seen play out.

[sillyfudgemonkeys]

Interviewer: Avatar Aang, why did you run away from home? Aang: I was told I was the Avatar at like 12, and the pressure got to me so I childishly ran away. :( Ironically that ended up being the right choice, but that's a diff story. Interviewer: Fascinating. Did you take anyone with you? Aang: Of course! My best buddy, ol' pal Appa! :D Appa: Moo Interviewer: Avatar Korra, why did you run away from home? Korra: Well the first time- I don't want to talk about the second time- it was because those jerks wouldn't let me BE THE AVATAR! So I ran away to do my duties! Interviewer: Fascinating. Did you take anyone with you? Korra: Of course! Only the best girl ever, Naga! Naga: Woof

Interviewer: Avatar Kyoshi, why did you run away from home? Kyoshi: After witnessing the death of two of my loved ones. I swore to escape my sifu's control and to get revenge by any means necessary. Interviewer: Fascinating. Did you take anyone with you? Kyoshi: Of course! I took my totally 100%, platonic bestie Rangi! Mmmhmmm just friends, totally, ONLY friends. Haha. No secret longing feelings here, no siree. Rangi: Platonic???? Not by the end of this trip, not if I have anything to say about it!

[austenpoppy]

Dick and Bette Kane - part 1

I started writing this as an answer to the people who claim they love Dick's "petty" side/him not being welcoming to specific people he supposedly has a grudge against. The problem is, those same people tend to mention Helena Bertinelli or Jean-Paul Valley as examples of that happening, when it doesn't reflect at all the relationship he had with either of them in the New Earth continuity (which is generally the one being referred to).

I will do a breakdown of Dick's relationship with those two in separate posts, but it got me thinking about a "heroic" character Dick's been consistently uncomfortable around in that same continuity, and one he openly doesn't appreciate much : Bette Kane, a.k.a Flamebird. Yet people do not seem to ever list her among the characters Dick's not very fond (for very good reasons).

Bette Kane's an interesting concept as a character, because she's not a very good super-heroin, but she's extremely competent in other areas of her life. As a teenager, she began playing tennis in competitions, and she was so good at it she quickly became "a pro", and was considered something of a celebrity.

Yet Bette dreamed of something very different. She openly admired Robin (Dick) and wanted to imitate him by becoming a super-heroin of her own. She even designed her costume as a tribute to him, and chose the code name Flamebird. That's somewhat ironic considering Flamebird was originally Nightwing's partner back when Nightwing was an identity Superman had used.

Bette as Flamebird's New Earth origins are recounted in Secret Origins, vol. 2 annual 3, which is focused on a mental attack Dick suffers at the hands of the Gargoyle. Here Gargoyle narrates one of the first acts Bette did as Flamebird, which was saving Navy men hanging to lifelines attached to an air-craft carrier that was being lifted into the air. Other super-heroes helped resolve the situation, and that teamwork is what prompted the creation of Titans West.

Secret Origins, Vol. 2 Annual 3

Interestingly, you can see that Dick wasn't really aware of how much he'd inspired Bette, and this mental fight with the Gargoyle happened several years after his first meeting with Bette as leader of the Titans, and years after his first meeting with Bette at all.

At first glance, this may seem surprising, given that Bette was obsessed with Robin and wasn't remotely subtle about it. After becoming Flamebird and rescuing the Navy men, she was part of the unofficial first meeting of Titans West along with Gar, Hank, Dove, Charley, and Lilith. And her first reaction was to be delighted at the idea of seeing "Robin" again, calling him "a cute hunk". When Lilith asked her to tone it down and be serious, she instead went further by commenting on Dick's legs.

Secret Origins, Vol. 2 Annual 3

Then when it became clear the newly formed Titans West would have to seek help and go see the official Titans in New York, all Bette cared about was that she was going to work with Robin.

Secret Origins, Vol. 2 Annual 3

When the two teams finally met, it wasn't love at first sight. Once they finally started discussing the case they were working on, Dick suggested a plan of action that involved the two teams splitting up. Bette cut him off as soon as he said it to contradict him and affirm that she was going with him, which she ended up doing.

Her behaviour was honestly creepy. She cut off Dick just because she'd decided that she was going with him. She didn't refer to him by his code name, but only by the part of his body she'd commented on before, calling him "legs". She took his face between her fingers. And the sentence "I've waited too long for this", coupled with the nickname, would've made my skin crawl. It sounds like she'd fantasized about Dick for a while, was going to have what she wanted no matter what, and had no problem announcing it out loud.

Secret Origins, Vol. 2 Annual 3

After the case was over, the two teams had a fight over what team had done more to solve it, and over the legitimacy of Titans West. Wally criticized the way they'd come into the headquarters like they belonged, Bette said they did because they were Titans too, and appealed to Dick to validate her opinion - calling him "legs" again, which implies that this was the nickname she gave him the entire time they worked together.

Dick said he wasn't sure whether it was a good idea for the others to be Titans, because he wasn't sure he would be able to lead two teams, one of them long-distance. Members of Titans West were affronted by Dick's speech, including Bette. She went with the others, talking to Dick again to tell him that "[he'd] never know what [he'd] missed", making her departure partly about a romantic/sexual golden opportunity Dick didn't take. Appreciate the fact that she called him "Robin" again now that she was irritated by him.

Secret Origins, Vol. 2 Annual 3

Titans and Titans West had a couple other team-ups before Titans West disbanded, during which Bette learned Dick's secret identity. From the way Bette acted during the one team-up recounted in details in New Titans #56, we can deduce that every time she met Dick she kept trying to seduce him, persistently, relentlessly, in obnoxious ways that sometimes border on sexual harassment.

It was well-known that Bette was obsessed with Dick - not like Bette was trying to be subtle about it, she had no problem making her intentions clear and that publicly. There's a panel I couldn't include in which Hank scoffs at the idea that Lilith "trusts" Dick and tells Charley that "she's got the hots for him. Just like Bette."

I'm sad I couldn't include it because there's this hilarious exchange after in which Hank bemoans "Man. That burns me. What's he got that I haven't ?" and Charley answers "Look in the mirror and weep" (lmao).

But as I was saying, Bette kept trying to hit on Dick. In the panel below she asked him whether he needed help (the "sure" implying it's not the first time she asked the question), only to say that it was "[his] loss" when he said no. Dick was very polite in his answer, thanking her for her offer, but was turning her down all the same.

New Titans #56

Not long after, Dick told off Hank and Charley who'd gone in an argument over leadership and about their association with the Titans, before having the conversation about Dick I mentioned above. Bette immediately cheered him on, calling him "handsome" as she got close to him. Dick ignored her.

New Titans #56

During a fight she called out to Dick to warn him about an assailant, and had to sneak in a comment about his butt (whoever said this kind of things was recent was lying). Dick was clearly uncomfortable, answering with an embarrassed "Uhh, thanks, Flamebird" - the "uhh" plus the two commas in a three-word sentence indicate he didn't know what to make of her comment. He also corrected her to make sure she knew he'd seen the assailant she was talking about. It was a way for him to reaffirm his skills as a crimefighter (she's not the first one he said those things to), but also a way for him to reject her attention.

New Titans #56

She was also very physical around Dick. I can't include all panels of her, but she seemed to be near Dick most of the time, would touch his shoulder for no reason when they came in a lab, or, like in the panel below, latch onto his arm. Dick wasn't shown shaking her off, but he wasn't seen reciprocating either.

New Titans #56

So in the end, it's not a surprise Dick had no idea Bette'd wanted to become a super-heroin because she'd been inspired by him. Not when most of their interactions revolved around her attraction for him, not when she kept making comments about his looks.

As an aside, this is one of the reasons I can't take seriously anyone who says it's Devin Grayson's fault if Dick's been sexualized. Hard to do that when you have an entire character who could've been one of the best tennis players in the world but decided to become a crimefighter because she was obsessed with Dick, and kept gushing over his legs and butt. Dick's been dealing with that kind of things since the 80's, guys.

Part 2

Part 3

[bride-and-bride]

Saw a neat Fourcheanult post about the ways in which he sucks but tragically I cannot reblog without at least SOME analysis on how the loss of Louisoix would impact his choices and views on his children's actions