#either way thank you haha

[4sh-n4]

Scenario for a Batman Identity Reveal™-

Takes place before Batman has revealed his identity. The rest of the JL know each other's identities, except Batman's. They've just received news of a threat against Bruce Wayne.

Maybe a rogue or an intergalactic enemy or someone has found out that Bruce Wayne funds a majority of the League and thinks that killing him will severely weaken it. Fair enough, I mean it's easier to kill a civilian known to be an idiot as compared to the greatest heroes, right?

So now obviously the JL feel obligated to protect him. They don't particularly want to do it, and usually they'd just set up police protection, but everyone knows how corrupt Gotham police are, and Wayne is being targeted bc of them. They'd ask Batman, but he only comes out at night and has publicly expressed disdain for Bruce. So they've got to do it themselves.

They take it in shifts, and while Wayne seems very welcoming on the outside, it's a little obvious that he doesn't want them poking around his house. In addition, the first night they were on shift, Batman gave them a very strict warning about what is and isn't allowed in his city. He tried to get them to leave, but they overruled him.

At first, Bruce spends all his time acting like an air headed idiot, flirting with everyone that tries to talk to him and refusing to cooperate bc he doesn't believe the threat. 'Coincidently', he's always in the room every time one of them try to talk to talk to any of his children.

Then as time passes, he lets his guard down. They start to see a gentle, kind, Bruce Wayne whose children are his entire world, not token trophies. He speaks in a soft voice, one made out of cotton and clouds. He cares about the underprivileged in Gotham and genuinely works to make life better for them. He's smart and actually involved in his company. He's also incredibly slippery and tries very very hard to lose their tail at all times. The only reason they can keep up with him at all is because most of them have special powers.

One day, while they're trying to look for him after he's lost them yet again, he gets kidnapped. The entire JL rushes to find him and rescue him before the person they've come to honestly respect and enjoy the company of gets murdered for trying to help them. They search for and reach the place he's being held after 2 days, only to find him tying up the criminals- who definitely all have broken bones- surrounded by the horde of younger Gotham vigilantes.

He turns to look at them and growls, "You're late. Civilian rescue time needs to be much shorter, these people weren't even experienced kidnappers. You're lucky it was me they were after otherwise you'd have found a corpse. We're running drills back at the watchtower."

They're all shocked because... that's Batman's voice?? Coming from the richest man alive, known playboy, not so known gentle father, BRUCE WAYNE??? BATMAN HASN'T EVEN BEEN OFF DUTY SINCE THEY BECAME BRUCE BODYGUARDS????

Turns out his children all ganged up on him and forced him to reveal his identity, especially since the JL had become friends with him both inside and outside the mask.

[kikker-oma]

Sketch request: Wild and Hyrule hanging out and being adventure buddies

Here you are Dear!

Sorry it took so long for the sketch! I finished the original 5 and took a break for a while from the ones that came after, but im excited to get a couple done!

I think the boys would have a ton of fun jumping off Ploymous Mountain into the water below☺️

[relaxxattack]

every time someone calls moirallegience just an alien qpr i wilt a lil like YEAH thats more or less the CLOSEST human thing but its also Literally Not That. like a qpr is fundanmentally not romantic and thats not even going into moirails whole Actual Purpose of calming ppl down. its just. aughhhhh pisses me off i see the confusion but, as aformentioned, aughhhhh

OH MY GOD THIS HAS BEEN BOTHERING ME TOO.... but i don't want to get petty at the people in my notes always saying "moirails are QPRs!" because in some ways that is the closest human thing so it's hard to be mad...

i think there's definitely some overlap in some ways. but NOT because moirallegiance and qprs are the same at all really, but INSTEAD because both relationships have unconventional boundaries defined by the people within them.

you know... like every relationship.

like the only reason the two have overlap is because they are both partnerships that emotionally care for each other but can choose to not bang (which is true for any romance anyway, even if it's considered abnormal). they're both just romances* that are unconventional to human norms, which makes people view them as the same thing when they're not.

i think the REAL issue here is that humans insist on using human words to understand things that are just, fundamentally, alien. can't we just appreciate alien romance for being... alien romance?

no, it's not platonic, it's romantic. it's just romantic in a way you aren't quite wired to understand, is all.

*in generalization, most QPRs are not romantic, because they are made up of aroaces who are life partners in a non-romantic way. however i want to disagree with you that none of them are romantic, because that is up to the partners in question.

[chaosduckies]

Friends in Small Places (Chapter 3)

So sorry for the wait haha- The stress is real. Anyways this is NOT my best chapter, but it does include something that I always love to see in g/t. But otherwise, I hope you enjoy!

Word Count: 3.4k

CW: Anxiety

3-Cas

When I woke up, it was quiet as usual. My head was throbbing, and my muscles ached every time I moved them, but I forced myself to sit up, finding that I was lying on the hard ground. Right. New medicine, made my body go haywire, Liam- Liam. My eyes darted all round, landing on a small figure that was copying some things down in his notebook from his laptop. He wasn’t as small anymore, which meant I was back to normal. Well, sort of. I felt drowsy. And hungry, but I usually I just go out to go eat something. 

I rubbed my eyes with the back of my hand, stretching out my arms as far as I could temporarily manage. Liam picked up his head, closing his notebook and laptop. What time was it? I looked through the window curtains to see that the sun was still out, but it didn’t look like it was noon at all. How long was I out for? 

“Morning.” Liam greeted, walking a little closer to me. I pressed my back up further against the wall. Did I sleep through the entire I night? Where was my phone anyways? 

“M-morning.” I whispered, simultaneously searching for my phone. I knew that I didn’t have to go into the lab today, but still, sometimes they liked to schedule surprise meetings or something. Last time I didn’t show up they punished me for it. I shuddered at the thought, but kept my attention on Liam, who looked like he was forcing himself to come closer to me. 

I raised the hand that he seemed to be walking towards close to my chest. It’s not like I didn’t want him to touch or come near me, it’s just that I was scared I’d accidentally do something that he might not like. What if I hold him wrong or-or he gets too uncomfortable, or what if I accidentally drop him? The anxiety ate away at me until I felt myself grow a few feet. I winced, calming myself down before it could get worse. Again. 

Liam took a few seconds to get out of his sudden shock, giving a shaky smile. Was that supposed to mean “I’m okay but I’m terrified of you?” I couldn’t help but look away, saddened by the thought. I wish I didn’t have to keep so in control of my emotions all the time. Anytime I want to cry I just can’t otherwise I might hurt people. More especially the regular-sized human that was currently struggling to stand on two feet. I would offer help but… I don’t think he’d be all that excited about it. Neither was I. 

“How are you f-feeling?” He tired to hide how shaky his voice was, but I could tell. Most people talk like that when they’re around me anyways. They get one glimpse at the stupid band around my wrist and they automatically think I’m a threat. I mean, yeah, I have depression, but as long as I remember to refill my anti-depressants and SSRI’s I should be okay to go out in public for a couple hours. Most of the time I try to control my emotions though. Since that’s what triggers me to grow in the first place. It’s also mostly why the SSU doesn’t let me see my family for a long time. They think that if I’m around it’ll spark too much emotions all at once. It could be true, and the last thing I want is to hurt my own family. 

“Um, a little better.” I sighed, seeing my phone thrown halfway across the room. Right. I completely freaked out when Liam said to open the door and ended up throwing it somewhere. I’ll just go grab it in a little bit, I wasn’t in a rush. If anything, I should probably get dressed to get something to eat. I didn’t know how to cook besides some microwaveable things I had in the fridge. Of course I had some groceries, just not many. 

“Hey, um, are you hungry? I can go out to get something.” I asked, keeping my voice to a whisper while also getting ready to stand up. While I didn’t have a job, the company was giving me monthly checks to help for necessities. Clothes, food, basically anything I needed to survive. With another person here I might as well make them comfortable and help out with anything they need. It’s only the right thing to do. Especially if I’m the one giving them a hard time… 

“Hm? I-I can cook something.” Liam looked towards where the kitchen was. I nervously smiled, finding it kind of funny that he didn’t realize that this entire house was accommodated for my size. Of course I can be smaller, but I wouldn’t be able to do anything but walk around on the floor. Plus, it’s hard to stay that height without the medicine. I did feel bad that Liam couldn’t do the things that he wanted to do. I didn’t know if he liked cooking or not, but maybe I could at least try to help? I’m not exactly a culinary expert. 

“I can maybe help? I-if you’re okay with it of course.” I stared at my hand, slowly lowering it to the ground what seemed a few inches away from Liam to me, but must have been a couple feet to him. He eyed it warily, and the longer he stared the more shaky my hand became. How could I trust myself to carry an entire life in my hands? I don’t even trust myself anywhere around someone smaller than me. 

Liam sucked in a deep breath, “I-I, um, I d-don’t-“ He paused for a minute, recomposing himself, “S-sure. If you want to.” He hesitantly walked closer to my hand, looking at my palm as if asking himself how to get on. I didn’t particularly care. It’s my first time actually holding someone. A living person in my hands. What if I drop him? What if I’m holding him wrong? I don’t want to hurt him! I would never forgive myself, and then they’d assign me a new therapist. I bit the bottom of my lip, trying my best to tilt my hand as much as I could to make it easier to climb on. Of course I could just grab Liam, but I don’t think he’d like that very much. 

“You can just climb on. I don’t really mind.” I gave the best fake smile I could manage as he returned one back. He took another look at my hand, starting with hurtling on of his legs on and then falling over when I tilted my hand flat to make the rest easier for him. Apparently it just made him roll over onto his stomach. I was so sure Liam could feel how shaky I was. Of course I was nervous, but I guess I’d just have to trust myself. Something I wasn’t prone to do on a daily basis. 

I stood up slowly, using both hands to cup the passenger I was currently holding to make sure they didn’t fall, and walked slower than usual to the kitchen, slightly tilting my hand to let Liam back down before I did something I was going to regret for the rest of my life. 

“I don’t know how to cook, so I guess you just tell me what to do?” I kept my hands by my sides. Liam took a while to get himself back together, but eventually he just nodded his head, “D-do you have anything in the fridge?” He fidgeted with his hands while I checked, finding it kind of sad that it looked kind of bare except for a few containers filled with some leftovers, eggs, drinks, and a couple of the microwaveable plates I buy at the store. 

“Just some eggs, a few plates I can microwave too.” I closed the fridge, noticing that Liam cringed. Did I do something wrong? 

“It’s not healthy just eating those y’know.” He muttered, probably thinking that I wouldn’t be able to hear him. I sadly nodded my head, “My mom wasn’t able to teach me before they moved me away soooo-“ I looked away for a second, grabbing two eggs and smiling nervously down at Liam, who was thinking hard about what I had just said. Did i give away too much? He’s going to have to meet my parents sometime soon anyways. They’ll tell him all the embarrassing stories of me when I was a kid and all of the other things I did. The good and the bad. Because that’s just how they were. 

“I can just make these, right?” I held them up, watching him nod and tell me what to grab and do. Liam had tried moving some objects around that I needed to use. He tired his best to use them himself, but of course he was too small, or he at least couldn’t do it by himself. I was scared that if I grabbed it at the wrong time then he’d jump and run away, so I usually just waited for him to take a break before taking the issue off of his hands. 

It was kind of awkward since I should be the one already knowing I how to cook, but I guess this was fine. Liam was honestly a really great teacher. He kept me calm when I thought the heat would just make the mixture explode in my face. Again, I don’t know the slightest thing about cooking. Not at all. Can’t blame me for not knowing… but maybe Liam could teach me? No, that’d be ridiculous. There was no way that he’d do that. Plus, what if I don’t watch what I’m doing carefully enough? I could really hurt him without even meaning to. 

“Liam?” I set down my plate for a second. 

“Yeah?” He did the same with his, all of his attention on me. Was it weird that I was a bit nervous now? I feel like it should be the opposite. But here I was, worrying about an answer to a question I pretty much already knew the answer to. 

“Would you mind teaching me how to cook? You seem pretty good at it, and I’d like you to feel more welcome here.” I tried to explain thoroughly, so he doesn’t think I’m tricking him. I wouldn’t ever dream of it, but just in case. We’ve only really been around each other for two days anyways. He has no reason to trust me. Especially when yesterday I messed it all up. I had it all planned out in my mind. I’d try to stay calm for as long as I could, let us both get comfortable with the situation (More for Liam than me) and then I wouldn’t have to be so careful around him. Turns out I couldn’t even last a day. Or maybe that was just because of the medicine. It was extremely painful. It felt like my insides were being ripped out. Do you know how hard it is to stay calm when you’re in that much pain? Hard. Very, very hard. 

“Sure! U-Um, we might need to go to the store later though. If that’s okay with you of course!” He laughed nervously, trying to rid himself of the shakiness of his voice. At least he was trying. But… I couldn’t help but shake the feeling that he though I would actually hurt him over something as trivial as taking him somewhere. If anything, I’m just happy that he wants to be near me at this point. 

“I don’t mind. You’re the cook here anyways.” I tried to lighten the mood. It seemed to work. 

———Liam———

When Cas woke up this morning I wasn’t expecting him to be in such a light-hearted mood. If anything I thought he’d be the exact opposite. He seemed tired still, but at the same time he seemed to be trying his hardest to keep calm. Actually, that’s kind of what he looks like all of the time. No offense. 

This morning was surprisingly fun. I wasn’t expecting to try and help a full on giant cook something. It’s extremely difficult to maneuver all of the utensils when they’re almost ten times your own size. I wasn’t built for moving heavy things around if you couldn’t tell. But either way, it was still a lot of fun trying to help Cas cook. It was saddening to learn that he was never taught because the company moved him away from his family. Why would they do that in the first place anyways? I don’t see a reason why they would just rip him apart from his family. I would think they’d help him out more than I could actually. 

“S-sorry to ask,” I sighed, making the mistake of peering over the edge of the counter, shuddering at the devastating height I was currently at, “But could you l-let me down? P-Please?” I took a couple steps back. Cas nodded his head, extending his hand out just like before and waited for me to let myself on. I couldn’t really tell all that much, but I think he’s just as nervous as I am when he’s holding me. I can feel him slightly trembling, and even the way he moves slower than usual. I think it’s kind of funny how he cares so much about one meaningless life. Or sweet really. 

I climbed onto his hand, being taken back to the living room where I had left my stuff. Right. I had a test to take on Monday… Luckily I still had the entire weekend to study. I think it’d be nice to spend at least one day with Cas. We haven’t really had the chance to get to know each other better. Maybe I can ask to make my lessons online? Just until they find my replacement. If they ever find one of course. It’s not actually that bad being with Cas. He’s really nice and gentle, doesn’t overdo anything. I have no idea why I thought it’d be so terrifying in the first place. Then again, it’s only been a couple of days. 

“Thank you.” I mumbled, just barely loud enough for Cas to hear. He look a little shocked before smiling. Like a genuine smile. Not one of those fake ones he puts on to hide that he’s actually sad. I must say, I’m not doing a very good job as a therapist, but then again everything seems to be fine. 

I put away most of my things inside of my backpack, heading to my little corner on the floor where my other suitcase was, filled with my clothes. I still had a lot back at my dorm, but I’m technically not living here. Just staying for a while until the SSU can make sure that the person I’m with is comfortable without me here almost all of the time. 

I grabbed a few clothes, waiting for Cas to leave and change so we could head out. It was already midday anyways. I think it’ll be fun teaching him how to cook anyways. I feel bad about the whole situation he’s in. Does he even get to see his parents? I guess I’d have to ask him that. 

After a while of waiting, Cas came out wearing a t-shirt and a regular pair of jeans. I couldn’t take my eyes off of the bright-red band on his wrist though. He’s not… that bad actually. I’ve only ever heard stories that shifters with a red band were a danger to society. Were they wrong? Did the company lie to us? That can’t be true… But so far everything that’s happened to Cas hasn’t been exactly great. The forced medicine, taking him away from his parents, what else have they done? So many questions I wanted to ask Cas, but we weren’t at the level yet. I feel like he’d completely shut me out if I asked him right now anyways. 

“So are you fine with just climbing on again?” He crouched down on the ground, his palm down for me. I struggled to climb on, but managed on my own. He was definitely more nervous than I was. 

“You good?” I chuckled lightly, getting used to it already. For someone who was so afraid of being mishandled, I was actually doing pretty good. Or maybe that was because Cas was watching everything he did so closely. Ryan was definitely right. Shifters really weren’t as bad as the stories made them out to be. Or I had made them out to be. 

“Hm? O-Oh yeah! Just nervous.” He brought up his other hand our of fear of himself dropping me I was guessing. Yeah, I would not enjoy falling from a hundred foot drop right now. I was thankful for the extra protection, but this only proves that he doesn’t trust himself all that much. Another thing I can work on with him? I think it’d be a good thing to work on his self-confidence. Maybe that’s why he’s not used to being around people smaller than him? That being said… how did he live when he was younger? If he couldn’t stay comfortable at a normal height? And yet another question to ask Cas. 

I admit it’s pretty scary when You’re a hundred feet up in the air, your life literally in someone else’s hands, and heading to a place you’ve never been to before. Really anything could happen, but I have to place all of my trust in I just met two days ago. I guess you can’t gain trust if you don’t give any in the first place. Still, I couldn’t get rid of the slight fear that was slowly crawling up through my entire body. Okay, maybe I was just jumping to conclusions about getting used to being carried around. This was the most terrifying thing ever. 

——————

The walk wasn’t that far. (Well at least for Cas-) Maybe about ten minutes before we reached the small store that was packed with people. I guess this is what it was like on this side of the city? This was just crazy. Maybe that’s why Cas doesn’t go out much? It would make sense. It would also explain why he tried his best to avoid so many people everytime he walked down an isle. Or maybe it was for my sake? I couldn’t tell. 

“What exactly do I need?” He laughed nervously, grabbing a carry basket in his free hand, the one holding me cupping even more to make sure I wouldn’t fall off. I think I’ll just stay clear of any kind of view from the ground. Yup. 

“Oh, well, um, fruit? Some meat I guess? I-I can help you with that.” Cas nodded his head, walking over to the produce section and picking out a mixed bowl and some things to make a salad. Good to know that he wasn’t just microwaving everything. It didn’t take long for me to help him pick out some chicken to make for dinner tonight and something for tomorrow too. There would probably be leftovers for a good day or so afterwards anyways. I’m just glad I could help him out with something. At least somewhat. 

When we arrived back home, I told Cas where to place everything, and that was basically it. I’d just have to teach him how to cook dinner for tonight. But otherwise, we would just be hanging out in the living room. I could go without studying for a while anyways. It was beyond tiring to memorize all of those formulas anyways. 

“Thank you so much.” Cas laughed. 

“For what? Getting groceries?” I laughed with him. Just because I’m slightly older than him doesn’t mean anything. 

“Yeah. I guess so.” His hand laid up against the couch, letting me down and onto the comfy cushion. I made myself comfortable, watching Cas sit on the other couch, grabbing his phone that he completely forgot about after last night and checked on whatever was waiting for him. He sighed, placing it on the table in the middle. 

“Wanna play a game?” He asked, looking a little wary. Well, it’s not like I can say no. 

“Sure!” 

——————

Ahhh I love when the giant doesn’t know how to cook but the tiny does. Just when the giant tries to help out as much as they can AGHH- I hope you guys enjoyed this extremely overdue chapter, again, so sorry for the long wait.

But thank you guys so much for reading! I appreciate every single one of you who read and like my work you have no idea how much it means to me that you all like it 🫶

If there is an ask in my inbox, I promise I will eventually get to it. So sorry for those of you who have been waiting (I have a little writing piece that I want to do for them)

Taglist: @da3dm

[triglycercule]

killer should know about dumb video game meta stuff ike i-frames and animation cancels and critting amd breaking out of bounds and use it to his advantage in fights. maybe he learned it from chara in something new as a silly little thing to try out because theyre already teaching him all this bullshit on killing so whos to say a video game character cant learn a player's cheats?? he's already interacted and collaborated with a player before i think its fair he knows tricks on how to cheat undertale's fighting system

everything's all fine and dandy in a fight against killer (no it isn't) until you see him glitching around and somehow phasing through your attacks. he looks ridiculous but it gets the job done

[ssreeder]

Hi ssreeder, this isn't really a question, and I have never used tumblr before, so I'm still getting used to it... but I made an account because I wanted to let you know that I've been reading the LIAB series. I'm finishing the last chapter in book 2 tonight, and I'm so excited to start the final book. I've laughed, I've cried, I've yelled at my phone when Ara and Jet made me want to rip out my hair (*sighs* good times). But, seriously, thank you for putting this series out for us to enjoy. I believe this is one the longest stories I've read ( the longest would probably be Crimson Rivers). And I'm excited to see to where you take us with your story.

Again, thank you

*pretend I'm doing the Fire Nation gesture of bowing to say 'Thank you'*

~Dr. S.L~

OHH HEY THERE!!! I have seen your comments coming through I’m sorry I haven’t been able to respond to them I’ve been slacking! But yeah usually I’m faster at answering on tumblr (at least I try!!) so I’m happy you made one!!

YOU FINISHED RIA?! WOW that’s awesome! ITF starts rough but it calms down before ramping back up again lol. I’m so glad you’re enjoying & it’s so nice of you to come to tumblr to share your kind words!! I APPRECIATE YOU!!!

I look forward to reading more comments from you (if you keep leaving them no pressure!)

warning though! My tumblr space is not spoiler free but if you block the tag ITF it’ll keep everything from the last book hidden! At least it SHOULD (tumblrs janky)

THANKS FOR THE KIND ASK!!!

[seventh-district]

not even gonna tag this properly bc i don't wanna get Involved but i do have some Thoughts i need to get out into the void so here we go

(aaa quick edit: CW for mention/discussion of Boothill leaks)

[goldentigerfestival]

seeing some of y'all talking about/have talked to some of y'all who have said to me how y'all feel like the dub forced (western especially) masculinity into Yuri, and

yeah.

I left that out of the actual posts themselves because it felt too opinionated for the actual posts (even though you know it's my blog I can do what I want, but I don't want people discrediting me over shit like that), but yeah.

it feels a lot to me like they wanted Yuri to be some cool masculine edgy dude instead of a silly, playful, dorky, emotional, caring man. as if his silliness and emotional side is something to shy away from and isn't "cool enough" for a main character.

it's sad to me because he's such a different person between versions - enough that if I'm interacting with someone who only knows dub Yuri, it genuinely just doesn't feel like we're even talking about the same character sometimes. I want to be talking about the same character, but since some people only know the dub, they only know what the dub made him out to be.

I've seen a variety of things - art, writing, memes, whatever - where there are times I'm genuinely able to be like... that's such a dub Yuri specific thing. like, the way he gets portrayed is something I'm able to look at and be like "that's literally something only dub Yuri would say/do". it's not the fault of people who don't know the original context, but that's why it frustrates me so much - because that's all some people can know contextually (listening to the audio alone gives you a pretty clear indication of how much tone isn't the same between versions, but obviously some people will still be missing context), and the dub changed the experience (and went out of its way to do so) completely for those people. again - not the fault of the people who played the game. it's the fault of the people who were in charge of context/tone and took advantage of that and changed things and made him literally behave differently (because there's... take what's in front of you and translate that, and then there's going out of your way to change what's right there so the context/behavior is no longer the same).

it especially shows to me in interactions with Flynn between the western and JP fandom. the way Yuri behaves interacting with him in fan created media is sometimes vastly different from my experience between both fandoms. again, it's not people's faults who don't know Yuri's original personality, but it is the dub's fault for portraying him that way.

for me it's heartbreaking to see how dub Yuri treats Flynn and how the dub itself narratively treats Flynn. I love the relationship they have in JP and I love them both as characters in JP. like I've said, sometimes I want to punch dub Yuri for the shit he says and the way he behaves. I've never felt that way about Yuri in his original context. I've felt worse for dub Flynn than JP Flynn because I feel like JP Flynn is better cared for by the narrative/characters, but god, poor dub Flynn??? jesus.

the thing is, this comes from a place of strong love for Yuri (and Flynn!) so I hate that they changed things. I always stand by media in its original, purest form, no matter where in the world that media came from. localization absolutely should fix things caused by language barriers and tweak oddly sounding things - sometimes there's no choice! but it's not there to create a newly existing piece of media. it's not there to create a new character plastered on the face of an existing character or to fulfill the loc team's opinion of what that character should be.

it can be difficult - usually impossible - for me to be experiencing JP exclusive content and trying to imagine dub Yuri in those situations (think like, the drama CDs or Rays' content). I know I'm not the only person who feels this way and is extremely bothered by it.

obviously I'm not the be all end all - I'm one person with feelings and opinions, but I just feel very strongly about this kind of thing and I want to share how wonderful of a character Yuri is in his original form. a lot of the clips I posted I posted because I love his silly or caring attitude. I could blab to you about him forever. so, I hope more people will give this man a chance and experience him the way I know him.

[five-of-cr]

here's the thing about matthias: he isn't the honorable, reformed hero some of the fandom seems to see him as.

yes, he was raised by a tight-knit family of comrade soldiers and decides to betray them in the end. of course that took incredible strength. i don't deny that. but we also need to recognize that the drüskelle are not just some rogue cult. they are a core part of the fjerdan government, who is trying to wipe out the grisha because they are seen as dangerous. that's literally just genocide. however indoctrinated someone is, this is something that is evil from every angle, even if the character can't or won't see it.

and look, i love a good redemption arc, but matthias is such a passive actor in his. he falls in love with nina against his will. she changes his attitudes toward grisha because she's beautiful and kind so all grisha can't be bad, right? this a classic example of the trope of separating the "good ones" from the rest, where you cherry-pick specific individuals to point to as exceptions to a group's nature, which is still implied to be evil. you have to do a lot more than fall in love to truly unearth and address the roots of bigotry.

tbh, this is my biggest critique of the books as a whole. i loathe the "love conquers all" trope that pairs together a character from the oppressed group and one from the oppressors, letting the one show the other through the power of love that being bigoted is not nice. it puts all the responsibility on the former to prove their humanity, and gives all the credit to the latter's ability to be persuaded to recognize it. and then it inevitably leads to forgiveness, because the character has "earned" it by changing their views, once again making the victim seem like the villain if they don't absolve the oppressor of their past "mistakes". also, it's incredibly unrealistic for someone to fall in love with a person who actively hates them and considers them sub-human. in real life, people have to work on their bigotry before that happens, not use the relationship as a plot device for character development.

i think the idea of writing a character like matthias is neat. i think portraying someone's struggle to throw off the suffocating, hateful dogma they've been fed all their life is a story we need more of. i think personal growth of this variety should be celebrated, because otherwise people would never change. but i don't think the people, fictional or real, get to do this without facing profound consequences. it is not enough to feel sorry. it is not enough to apologize. it is definitely not enough to fall in love. and i think writing that lets people off the hook like this grossly oversimplifies power and oppression, and ends up being a feel-good way to romanticize people who cause a lot of harm.

a last note: my opinion is 100% influenced by my being bipoc. matthias is a classic aryan supremacist, even if being aryan isn't the thing he's being supremacist about. my gut reaction to that type of character is always going to be mistrust, both because people in real life have given me reason to be mistrustful and because characters like these are often written in a way that makes you sympathize with oppressors. i don't think matthias earns that trust, and i don't see why i owe him my affection as a reader.

[unproduciblesmackdown]

among the boundless billions zaniness like laugh track as it definitely has that moment of expressing "rolling my eyes as The Left makes a kerfuffle of Acting like they have a stance as a veneer over the true belief that [xyz] is cool & chill actually" like what, approximate 0.000% chance wendy isn't, as usual, given the Objective Stance of "yeah yeah ohh we are cancelling involved parties talking about how we Don't watch this But. we all love this damn epic movie & already have it memorized so shut the fuck up, kids today" like. don't wanna really delve into how much billions thinks taylor or anyone is "really" trans / nonbinary like not too much benefit of the doubt in this material including what does provide info abt that specifically

& the general like [head in hands. what do you think any of this could possibly be about (you're the one that made your show at all about Power)] of "yes, it's bad/wrong to be someone that someone has done something to / victim of something" like that to be anti misogyny All Women Must Be Epic Winners b/c there's something to be proved: that they don't Deserve to be victims (of misogyny), not taken as a Given. while when we see some epic winner men stepping on other men (who need not all be guaranteed Winners so as to say misogyny is wrong), that's often Good, well beyond any assumption that various forms of basic disrespect / violation / patterns of emergent/entrenched power difference as Bad (for being things done to people, not for there being people they're being done to), & generally billions has to take an extra step when ppl get shitted on & tell us the Specific Cases when it was undeserved actually & someone was being mean to a specific person who didn't deserve that. & the specific cases when hey guess it wasn't that bad(tm) or when hey It's Okay that you're someone something was done to, in this case. & tell us what we were supposed to know all along like when someone who something was being done to (wrong Of Them, whether b/c they inherently deserve it no matter what, &/or b/c they failed to be someone who could make it Impossible to do anything to them, which, how do you do that besides being The Authority / Superior yourself, exactly? nonrhetorically? what if the in group vs out group / fascism / authoritarianism protected Me?) was actually being treated Too Well b/c ah well the abuse meant you were getting any attention, maybe it meant you were claimed as any superior's property, maybe it meant you weren't Already disposed of, as all Losers were in the end, You're Welcome.

obviously referring to winston where it's spelled out all the abuse towards him was deserved, & More than he deserved in the case of rian having more access & taking advantage of that, all for billions' enjoying its own sendoff there of, again, maximizing violation & violence short of [real violence is physical & leaves bruises / draws blood / Literally kills] which would be distasteful in general But doesn't it make wags look like the winner & winston the loser is that the former's completely unrelated completely impersonal ego blow gets way amplified taken out on winston, the most vulnerable recurring character when spyros as [first & ultimate Everyone Hates Him role] is more entrenched in there & billions still magnanimously pities tuk, as it does winston too, just not quite as much. again that like completely surface level realized power fantasy of forcing the mirror up to the Inferior so they're like nooo my inferiorityyyy & in doing so like, the projection in that lmao, we get it re: the valuing of & need(tm) for such Power Tripping & Reaffirming My Superiority & My Ego Restored; Everyone Claps like good god. & then for all ben & tuk are the slightly softer Two Too Nice Boys duo to the rian & winston quant duo, also like too nice i guess but not as much, ben is in charge of tuk but Any instance of rian being in charge of winston outstrips them in that "yay interpersonal abuse" dynamic, like then in the end billions may be like "yeah it's possible to be mean to them unlike how being mean to winston is actually Nice b/c he deserves everything he gets, we only vicariously enjoy it vs Feeling Bad for tuk & ben sometimes (still magnanimously & it's Not That Bad / just goofin)" like ben & tuk still Fail by not being people it's impossible to do anything to. & not Exceptions who anyone is really being Too Mean to. like if they were women, in which case, no problem surely with a "positive" kind of victim blaming where there is something Inherent that Will be victimized so hey how about to cancel that out there's this special Paternal Protection you Need always, Or Else? :) but instead they are men who are asian & is ben gay & w/tuk & winston nobody mentions glasses or fatness but billions doesn't really do much or very in depth textual mentioning of Anything, even w/nonzero mention that there may be gender & race in this world. a gay man, once. no disability. we just Know who are the inferiors who deserve it when they're treated inferiorly, or if they don't, they start deserving it when they fail to stop/avoid it, but if you start mentioning the factors behind who we all totally agree is inferior like whoa nobody was Saying any of that? being the real agent of oppression on the basis of the factors only You spelled out, much? nonbinary? i never say anything about the Gender Binary when i'm subscribing to it, sounds like You've created & enforced it. obfuscation & deflection onto [so Just Normal nobody has to label, explain, or argue it] couldn't serve a purpose & protect the existing power differences as they are. maybe You're the problem? perhaps you brought it upon yourself & now you're causing too much trouble standing up for yourself while everyone else's criticism is laser focused on you as the prior & continuing negative actions done to you are taken as a given / unquestioned / covertly protected to overtly encouraged?

anyway so wild if the Completely Normal(tm) Victim Blaming is uncritically recreated & oft embraced for "if you're watching this & don't wish you were axe / find him appealing" [billions as a sequence of vicarious power trips] purposes in this series....but a bit wild considering like this is your multiseason show that wasn't just purporting to be those power trips for [enough demographic & apparently specific personal tastes overlap w/creators] & was at all purporting to question the matters of power at play in the material, or yknow, at least to not be completely superficial material while said material is textually & thematically all about power difference being leveraged, how, the consequences, & so on. thus i will have to intermittently talk about it forever like this like lord unbelievable. & the funny little & sometimes less funny less little characters it has trapped in there so that those of us who were never meant to be in the audience can be cursed with this knowledge. like i have some feedback. "imagine not victim blaming" & "imagine adjusting your perspective can go beyond superficial layers added to politely defer to some other ppl while they're present but really like cmon do they deserve that. am i not just saying what we're allll thinking"

[gregoftom]

where do i even start

[seirindono]

Gotta say, I'm really liking your underswap Sans. It feels like there's a lot more to him than meets the eye. I'm excited to see what happens next!

Glad to hear that! And you'd be right to think that, in more ways than one (¯▿¯)

This is something I try to keep in mind when writing TMS. Skeletons retain on the surface the personality we associate with their AU, Blue the outgoing and bubbly one, Rus the venal and rude fella etc, and you can read the whole comic in that light. But there's always a...twist or two, if you're paying attention. It can be obvious or more subtle, depending on how long they've appeared, and it's starting to show with Blue, isn't it? haha.

[chaosduckies]

thoughts on sfw vore?

Ah- In general, I’m not into vore, like at all, but I’m pretty much okay with it. I just don’t ever see myself making posts or writing it, regardless if it’s specifically sfw.

Of course it’s what other people enjoy and I’m not one of those people to judge anyone for what they like! Everyone likes different aspects of g/t!

Thank you for the ask anon!

[halfdent]

First  time  meeting  the  protector  of  Metropolis  ,  while  Harvey  worked  with  his  city's  own  caped  crusader  it  was  not  something  you  get  accustom  to  fast  ,  meeting  all  these  costumed  crime-fighters  .  He  was  a  white  knight  though  content  to  stay  within  the  law  .  Harvey  Dent  didn't  sit  on  a  roof  top  over  night  ,  breaking  through  windows  ...  though  he  did  sit  on  a  rooftop  tonight  .

In  spite  of  everything  here  he  is  chuckling  at  their  greeting  .  Now  the  comical  realization  that  they  have  similar  dark  hair  that  drapes  in  a  curl  at  the  front  .

❝    𝙰𝚗𝚍  𝚢𝚘𝚞  𝚝𝚘𝚘  !  ❞   He's  used  to  Batman's  cut  and  dry  sarcasm  or  ironic  flat-toned  remarks  for  humor  .  Superman  was  far  more  affable  it  seemed  .  ❝  𝙸  𝚑𝚘𝚙𝚎  𝚗𝚘  𝚘𝚗𝚎  𝚎𝚕𝚜𝚎  𝚑𝚊𝚜  𝚖𝚊𝚍𝚎  𝚝𝚑𝚎  𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚗𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗  𝚘𝚛  𝚎𝚕𝚜𝚎  𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢  𝚖𝚊𝚢  𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚔  𝙸  𝚊𝚖  𝚝𝚑𝚎  𝚞𝚗𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚙𝚙𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚎  𝚂𝚞𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚖𝚊𝚗  𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖  𝙼𝚎𝚝𝚛𝚘𝚙𝚘𝚕𝚒𝚜 .  𝙶𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚖 𝙲𝚒𝚝𝚢  𝚑𝚊𝚜  𝚎𝚗𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑  𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚔  𝚌𝚞𝚝  𝚘𝚞𝚝  𝚏𝚘𝚛  𝚖𝚎  𝚊𝚜  𝚒𝚝  𝚒𝚜  . 𝙸 𝚍𝚘𝚗'𝚝 𝚗𝚎𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚎𝚛𝚟𝚎 𝚙𝚞𝚋𝚕𝚒𝚌 𝚘𝚏𝚏𝚒𝚌𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝚃𝚆𝙾 𝚌𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚎𝚜 𝚗𝚘𝚠 . ❞

*✘ @supurman / 𝙿𝙻𝙴𝙰𝙳𝙴𝙳 : You have such a nice curl, Dent!

[sysig]

! Can I also have Ishida and Mitsuru in halloween costumes? Party or some such?

Day 15 - You know, just to sure 💕

[hopefulhaunted]

"U-umm..."

God, Komaru thinks, why do her nerves always have to kick in at times like these? Steeling her courage, she takes a deep breath and tries to stand confidently, though it wouldn't surprise her if she just ends up looking ridiculous instead.

In her defense... the person standing before her is rather intimidating. With eyes that seem almost empty, but a gaze that's full of something incomprehensible - he stands tall above her, making her feel strangely small in a way that's hard to explain. Still, though. She can't back out now!

"Can I talk to you for a moment? I know I'm a stranger and all, but - I swear it's important!"

@91cmspoilers ( starter! )