#he never would have chosen this

[flwrkid14]

Tim Drake will never be anyone’s favorite.

And that’s fine. Really.

He’s known it for as long as he’s been Robin. From the moment he slipped on the red and yellow, ignoring Bruce’s protests, he knew he wasn’t what anyone wanted. He wasn’t Jason—the fierce, untamed fire that burned bright and was extinguished far too soon. He wasn’t Dick—the golden son who carried the mantle with effortless charm and unwavering grace. He wasn’t Damian—destined for this life, born of Bruce’s blood, molded from the very beginning to take his place in the legacy.

No, Tim was the placeholder. The patch for a wound no one wanted to acknowledge.

He saw it in Bruce’s eyes—the resentment that simmered under the surface. Bruce never said it out loud, but Tim felt it every time Bruce looked at him wearing the colors of his dead son. Tim wasn’t Jason, and he never would be, and no amount of dedication or sacrifice could make up for that.

With Dick, it was something different. Dick was kind, but it wasn’t the kind of kindness that meant he cared. Tim knew he was a second chance, a way for Dick to atone for the mistakes he made with Jason. To be better. To be a good brother this time. But Tim wasn’t Dick’s brother, not really. He was a proxy for the one Dick had lost.

Even Alfred—warm, unshakable Alfred—looked at him like a Band-Aid on a broken bone. Alfred had loved Jason, mourned him, and Tim could never fill the space Jason left behind. Tim knew Alfred cared for him, but it wasn’t the same. It wasn’t the same as the love for the boy who’d taught him how to hope for a better tomorrow.

When Jason came back, Tim felt the weight of his hatred. It wasn’t subtle, wasn’t hidden. Jason looked at him like he was a thief wearing stolen colors, like Tim had no right to call himself Robin. And Jason wasn’t wrong. Tim had known, from the moment he put on the suit, that it didn’t belong to him.

Steph and Cass were his best friends, his family in their own way, but they had each other. The two of them moved in sync, orbiting each other in a way that made it clear there wasn’t room for anyone else. Tim loved them both, but he wasn’t part of their world. Not really.

Then there was Damian. Tim knew what Damian saw when he looked at him: an interloper, someone who stole his birthright before he even had a chance to claim it. Damian hated him for it, and Tim couldn’t blame him.

Duke, newer to the family but still brighter than Tim could ever hope to be, looked at Dick and Jason with something close to awe. He gravitated toward them in ways Tim could never inspire.

Tim had always known he wasn’t anyone’s favorite. Not Bruce’s. Not Dick’s. Not Jason’s or Alfred’s or Steph’s or Cass’s or Damian’s or Duke’s.

And that was okay.

It had to be.

Because Tim didn’t become Robin to be loved. He didn’t do it for approval, or acceptance, or anything close to recognition. He became Robin because someone had to. Because someone needed to be.

Tim had never expected to be anyone’s favorite. He just wanted to matter, in whatever small way he could.

But sometimes, when he sees the way they all fit together, the way they orbit around each other, he wonders what it would feel like to be the center of someone’s world. Just once. To be someone’s first choice.

But he’s not.

And he never will be.

[illmoraineakoi]

Just noticed something I thought was very interesting:

Victim depicts the Cursor as being giant in comparison to himself

When in reality this just wasn't true.

Victim's fear and trauma has caused him to re-imagine the Cursor into a much bigger monster than it ever was, something huge and horrible and capable of crushing him like a bug. A scale and strength fitting of how terrifying Victim considers it to be.

As opposed to the little thing barely bigger than his own head.

Except, those drawings look a little familiar...

This is literally Victim's worst nightmares made real.

Something tells me things aren't going to go very well, if the Cursor does end up being summoned into Rocket Corp...

[lokijiro]

Sherlock, by nature, requires far more human contact than Mycroft does. But Sherlock has idolized his brother to such a degree that he didn't simply try to keep up with him on an intellectual level; he also tried to emulate the personal distance that Mycroft has from others.

And Mycroft encouraged that. He genuinely thought that it would protect his little brother from being hurt.

In ASIB, when he apologizes to Sherlock for driving him into Irene's path, I think what he means is that he should have known. He is sharply reminded that his brother is vulnerable to getting involved with people.

And then Irene informs them of how Moriarty calls them "the Ice Man and the Virgin", which suggests that unlike Mycroft, who truly manages to distance himself from humanity, Sherlock is simply inexperienced. And Sherlock actually looks mortified when she says that; he is usually quite indifferent to people's comments about his sexuality, but here Irene is essentially saying that Sherlock wants people right in front of Mycroft. And even though he would never admit it, Sherlock very obviously cares about his brother's opinion of him. And that's when Sherlock makes his grand "sentiment?" "love is a chemical defect found on the losing side" speech; the speech is of course meant to tear down Irene, but it's also meant for the ears of Mycroft. And Mycroft is alarmed (the shooting script mentions that he is concerned about the way Sherlock got the victory). Did schooling Sherlock about the disadvantage of caring truly do him good?

Well, in any case, despite Sherlock loudly announcing that he now got the final proof that love is a disadvantage, Mycroft knows better than to think that Irene just stopped mattering to him. That's not how his brother's heart works. As shown when he meets John in the cafe, he sees that Sherlock has chosen a profession that would get him involved with people far more personally than his own occupation does, and that says everything (although Sherlock is not conscious of this).

[eggcats]

I've been listening to the Thunder Saga, and I wonder if Zeus is also asking a question with a right and wrong answer in Thunder Bringer like I think Poseidon did in Ruthlessness. (I have a post for that, but I think Odysseus wasn't supposed to apologize, but to instead acknowledge that he should have killed Polyphemus).

Poseidon had to teach him to be ruthless.

Zeus needs to teach him to stop being so prideful.

Like, yes - Eurylochus did stage the mutiny and killed the cow. But! That was because Odysseus decided not to tell any of his men that they would need to accept 6 deaths to get home and allow them to make the choice themselves - because Odysseus couldn't handle the idea that they might refuse going past Scylla and keep him from going home.

This is even present in the song Scylla. Eurylochus is moved to confess that it was him who opened the bag of winds, but Odysseus keeps his own secrets and guilt to himself. I think none of the men even knew they were going past Scylla at all until it happened, since all Eurylochus says is "something approaches," implying he doesn't know what that something even IS.

Scylla even compares Odysseus to themselves, with his full transformation from man to monster now completed.

You hide a reason for shame You know that we are the same Leaving them feeling betrayed Breaking the bonds that you've made There is no price we won't pay We both know what it takes to survive

But if you notice, once they kill the cow, they start following Odysseus again. Hell, Eurylochus calls him captain! They follow his orders to escape! This shows that their real desire wasn't to overthrow Odysseus, but rather their anger and betrayal at not even having the option to choose to fight over sacrifice.

And honestly, this happened because Odysseus has demonstrated time and again that he will not discuss anything with his men and instead makes decisions without their input (too much pride to ever consider anyone's opinion other than his own).

In Storm, he tries to force the fleets to keep going despite Eurylochus saying that continuing would sink them all. In the same song, Odysseus also decides to go to the wind god without any discussion beforehand, and completely ignores Eurylochus's advice in Luck Runs Out about the inherent danger of going to the gods for help. In this same song, Odysseus also completely ignores the deaths of his men by Polyphemus, and instead brags about none of them dying in the war. (Once again, the pride Zeus mentions, and that Eurylochus criticizes in both Luck Runs Out and Puppeteer).

This is why Eurylochus opens the bag of winds, because Odysseus has proven he can't be trusted to tell him anything that could be important or put their lives in danger. Despite Eurylochus being his second in command, he's never treated as such. Odysseus has never once discussed something with him, taken his concerns into account, made a decision with him together, or even taken his advice. (Even cutting him off as far back as Full Speed Ahead without even considering his opinion).

Odysseus continues to ignore what Eurylochus tries to talk to him about in Puppeteer, and instead unintentionally gets all his men trapped by Circe. He then goes against Eurylochus again in the same song to confront her despite neither of them knowing if she can be defeated. All of this comes to a head when Odysseus does the same thing again in Scylla, except his decision was to intentionally let their men die for his own desires - and Eurylochus had no idea until it had already happened.

And that's why Eurylochus mutinies. He does it because he cares about his men, seemingly more than Odysseus has demonstrated he ever has.

(I'm not saying that Eurylochus has been right this whole time, and honestly I doubt Eurylochus would say the same - but Odysseus won't even listen to what he has to say, is the problem. He has too much pride).

And then Zeus arrives and proves Eurylochus right.

Zeus gives Odysseus a choice - him or his men. Forcing him to come to terms with the very same decision he made during Scylla and expose him for only caring for himself and not the men under his command.

Zeus is criticizing Odysseus and claiming that he's too full of pride to sacrifice himself to save his men. His men of which he is their captain. Of which he is their king. Zeus points this out to him explicitly, leading me to believe that he wasn't supposed to choose himself here.

I think that by taking back command after they killed the cow, Odysseus had taken responsibility for his men's actions. Except, when confronted with those same actions, he refuses to. Much like how a boss gets in trouble when their subordinates do something wrong, a captain should do the same for his crew.

Except. Odysseus doesn't. He fails the test.

And now he must have his pride taken from him again and again until he learns the lesson Zeus was teaching him. Just like he did with learning ruthlessness from Poseidon.

I think the next saga will involve him being confronted with this decision he makes here, and how it was the wrong one, and then the saga after that (perhaps with the suitors? I'm unsure how many more are planned) is when Odysseus will reprise Thunder Bringer and finally be able to return home.

[mothman-stolemyeyebrows]

The Batboys on a Gotham version of Celebrity Family Feud. Is this anything?

[blue-thief]

why is no one considering the fucked up possibilities about kaiser's relationship with ray dark

[maegalkarven]

I just thought of the most hilarious next protagonist of Baldur's Gate saga.

(Note what most of the outcomes used as background info here come from the characters' "good" endings. Proceed with caution.)

A child of Durge and Gortash, killed inside their parent's womb when Durge denied Bhaal, resurrected alongside them by Jergal.

A child any of The Dead Three can lay a claim on because they are:

A child of previous chosen of Bane

A child of Bhaalspawn, a bhaalspawn themselves, albeit striped of that when Bhaal took his essence from Durge, killing them instantly.

DIED before even being born, so clearly Myrkul's subject.

Resurrected by Jergal, so there's ties to that as well.

Can be compelled to follow any of The Dead Three paths, or try to play them and set them against each other, or follow Jergal, or forge their own path.

Essentially a child with no fate.

Can look either as Durge (and be any race Durge presented as) or as Gortash.

The last possibility bringing unique encounters and dialogues and character never knowing they can use being Lord Gortash's child to their advantage or ppl they meet were their father's enemies and they need to dash.

Having ties to different fractions depending on who Durge romanced or if Durge not romanced anyone.

Being raised in Underdark if their parent ended up with Minthara.

Same with unascended Astarion, + lots of acquainted spawns in the Underdark.

Being raised in Hell if their parent went to Avernus with Karlach.

Being raised either in Waterdeep if Gale is their stepfather or with Duke freaking Ravengard as a step- grandfather.

Having ties with Selunites if Shadowheart is a woman they call mother.

Being raised in the nature and having Druids call them their own if Durge and Halsin were involved.

Being raised amongst githianki revolution if Lae'zel was their parent's choice of heart. Having their mother leading a rebellion against a god.

Having lots of unique content regarding that.

Possible companions include:

Arabella

Mol

Yenna

That girl who was kidnapped and eaten by auntie Ethel.

Mayrina's child.

A child of lady Janneth and Oscar.

One or several of Jaheira's grandchildren.

[pink-gladioli]

I was thinking about seasons 4 and clay and wanted to see what y’all’s opinion on this is

[coquelicoq]

i want beniko and yorishima to hang out. i think they'd balance each other out well. antisocial old man and woman who resents a different old man for dying before she could socialize him. yorishima probably knew her grandfather and probably was cranky about his whole youkai friendship situation, which beniko was also cranky about. ultimately beniko has to make her peace with the fact that she avoided her grandfather because she couldn't share his world and that now that he's dead it's too late to reach out to him. yorishima isn't a substitute for her grandfather, but he is a guy who's isolating himself not just from humans who can't see, but also from humans who can see and from youkai. his perspective overlaps with hers in some ways and with hakozaki's in some ways and completely diverges from both in others. i think it would be good for both of them and i would like to see it.

[alicentflorent]

“Valeryian steel armour felt like something Aegon the conqueror would have had from his time in old Valeryia.” - Ryan Condal

Guys.. who’s gonna tell him?

[illmoraineakoi]

Guys I just had a Horrible Thought.

What if Victim used to live a pretty happy life with a farmer family that took him in after he ended up on a webpage, not the Outernet, but then Chosen and TDL targeted the site in a rampage and destroyed his home/possibly killed his family?

And THAT'S a potential reason why Victim is so viscous to Chosen in The Box; it's not just about overpowering and dominating him, but revenge.

[adahlenan]

But I'd rather not remind myself and leave it all behind And I've tried so hard to fix it all but nothing seems to help

[tommygotwrittenoff]

the fact that eddie and maddie have never interacted outside a group setting is so funny actually. you cannot tell me those two wouldnt get on like a house on fire. i fear the day we get a solo maddie and eddie scene is the day we get buddie canon

[this-is-a-name-dont-worry]

hey does someone want to know my headcanon about the Bellman?

He's the child of a warrior and an alchemist.

One day, a warrior and an alchemist both found a crack in the wall, which led them both to the bards' floor. They met in the sewer, and intrigued, they kept seeing each other, learned each other's language, and fell in love. At one point a slave found them, and accepted to help them, also starting to learn their languages. Then the warrior and the alchemist had a child, who spent the first few years of his life in these sewers, the slave taking care of him when his parents couldn't be there. Eventually, the warriors found out the truth. They took the child and fixed the crack in the wall. They didn't like that one of them was avoiding her duty to sneak out to that secret lover and child, especially when she dares going where the Chosen Ones live. Yet, a Chosen One helped her and took care of the child, which means it couldn't be that bad (a lot of the warriors felt better realizing that, as it's hard to give a harsh punishment to a friend and a child). So the warrior was put to the lowest grade as a punishment. For the child, it was a whole other deal: no one was expecting him to be strong enough to become a warrior, but they needed to do something with him, especially when he started his life among the Chosen Ones.

The bellman position has always been a strange one; it is extremely important, as the bellman tells the time, but also look for when the Chosen Ones arrive, to announce when they are coming. Unfortunately, it is also a position that goes completely against the warrior's duty; the bellman does not carry weapons, does not fight off the impure, does not protect the Chosen Ones. The bellman simply watches. It's been used as a punishment, but sometimes, it was also a place where to put the ones who simply could not fight.

The half warrior child, who spent the first few years of his life among the Chosen Ones, had no better place to be. Maybe it was why the Chosen One helped the warrior and the child; to give them someone who could ring the bell the day they arrive.

The warrior did not raise her child; the bellman at the time did. The alchemist never saw his love and his child again; when he arrived to their meeting point he couldn't find them, and the servant who helped them told him what happened. They embraced, the alchemist left, and never came back.

Anyway this started because at first I thought the bellman was kinda an astronomist, and then later I had that thought about the awkward position that bellman must be in the warriors' society

[streets-in-paradise]

Hey, @wildsaltair! I made parallel graphics for my point:

[lordkingsmith]

Kinetta "Ettie" Nettle, Brezziana stand in and Widogast, Daggeron's stand in's, biological daughter. A lot like her inspiration character, she's very persuasive and determined. Full of heart, you can't keep her down for long. She's in a lot of ways the heart of whatever group's she's in. She's there for everyone because she doesn't want anyone to feel let down . Like she felt she's been. She's got a great relationship with her mom, but she is not going to be happy to see her dad(s) again. This version of Brezziana mistakenly thought if she befriended "the chosen one" she'd be able to complete the prophesy and take care of things so she could bring her dad back to answer for a lot of what's happened.

too bad there's two chosen ones.

she used to be close friends with Clair, and up till Kinetta went evil she was secret pen pals with her. the orange herring so to speak to hide the fact Ivan's the Orange Ranger. she's going to act suspiciously like she's not brainwashed, however it's just her actively fighting the spell and getting closer at times than others.

I'm intending to add freckles to round out her cheeks