#he either wants to be the villain so bad or

[hainethehero]

Steve is held to an impossible standard and therefore the bad takes on him are almost always by people who need to find a way to make it about their “favs.”

Case in point: Tony and Bucky fans. Almost always at the scene of the crime, and continue to be. I say this as someone who is solely a Steve fan and not Bucky or Tony fan. I don’t care for either of those characters and especially their deranged fans who feel the need to make everything about Steve about them instead of Steve. But I would never go into their tags and make stuff about Steve. Because it’s their right to talk about their favs but I don’t think it’s fair that Steve needs to always be dragged into convos that have nothing to do with him.

Steve as a character hasn’t been in the MCU for about 6 years. Yet his tumblr tag contains nonsense to this minute, and it’s mostly Bucky fans making everything about him 24/7 or bitter Tony fans making civil war discourse in 2025.

Sam is getting similar treatment because he’s taken on the cap mantle but his treatment is worse with an added layer of obvious and sometimes not so obvious racism. He also cannot make a mistake or do something that is controversial because he will be held to an impossible standard. I could get into this but since this post is about Steve I won’t. But Sam deserves better and TBH, I think Sam/Steve deserves more love and I find that ship to be much less toxic because the fans seem to know these two love each other dearly and how much Steve wanted to be around Sam since Day 1. How much Sam respects Steve and simply watches his six and why Steve handed him the Shield.

But guys like Bucky and Tony can do lame and act dumb shit after dumb shit and will always be forgiven or sympathized with by their fans because their fans love to be delusional about them. Poor them always.

Bucky is getting a lot of support for potentially screwing things over for Sam but the GP and fandom is mostly on his side and it appears he’s now being compared to iron man if the thunderbolts new poster has anything to do with it.

Tony gets sympathized with because his character is arguably the MCU’s face and most important. The Russo brothers purposely having Steve withhold info from Tony (unconvincingly IMO, because where was the build up? How did allegedly no one else know but Steve and how or when did he even find out? Why is he the only person who gets blamed for this when idk, shield and everyone else involved is right there??) was always going to set people off. Ironman asskissers will support anything he does and he is the most popular character. So if anyone goes against him or something happens where it looks like he was wronged of course the masses will jump to support him and villainize the other person. In this case, it was Steve. But you know, they could have not written the script like this and did the comics version of civil war or idk avoided civil war altogether and went with serpent society and did a real cap movie like they were supposed to. But I digress.

But yes, you are correct. The bad takes towards Steve by Tony fans are very funny but Tony fans literally have it all. He is the face of the cinematic universe and that’s sort of bled into the comics side of things since the MCU mainstreamed his popularity over the last decade and a half. He snapped in endgame to save the world and now his memory lives on. What else do they need to be mad about?

Maybe because oh…idk, even after all this time, Steve’s storylines and discourse are still being discussed to this day and he’s still somehow relevant to a universe that has placed him in the rear view. The conversations around the super soldier serum continued throughout the TV shows, movies, and even Cap Civil War is still discoursed about day after day. Could it be, marvel realizing that Steve became a more compelling character than they expected and his popularity was starting to eclipse that of their Godfather so Civil War had to come in and throw a wrench into things.

After TWS, the popularity for Cap/Steve exploded and I don’t think marvel was expecting that. I also don’t think marvel was prepared for the visceral response by some of the fandom towards the ending of Steve’s arc and how much some fans still cannot let that go and the constant wondering of where he went, demanding for rewrites and fix its and bringing him back and etc etc so on.

I think it’s interesting to say the least. Such a “boring” “do good” “self righteous” lame character shouldn’t still be in everyone’s mouths and thoughts after all this time…right?

THIS. ALL OF THIS.

[cecoeur]

“I’m not here to make friends, I’m here to win.” Okay well that’s literally what the villain would say soooo like what else am I supposed to do with this?

[dollopole]

I agree, and I’d like to add something too!

Another thing people in the fandom might fail to consider (not judging) is that Morgana is a noble.

Yes, a ward under the protection of Uther’s and with no family left (that we know of, until we find out how untrue that is) but still of a class way higher than Merlin. She is Uther’s favourite child, in a very toxic, unhealthy way. When Uther comes to know that Morgana helped a sorcerer escape, he just scolds her, and not even directly, which means she can get away with many things.

Merlin needed to protect himself.

I know we see Merlin as this big, powerful guy who is just invincible (true), but he can co-exist with a guy who is very young and scared and vulnerable, and who doesn’t know the true strength of his own powers (also true).

Because just like Merlin is close to Arthur, he is even less close to Morgana, and yes, he sees her as a friend of sorts, but he is still wary of her, given that she is not only Uther’s daughter but his ward, whom he could have lost too, which only made Morgana more the puppeteer.

She could say anything and Uther would fall for it like the oblivious man he is.

Morgana does not care about repealing the ban on magic, and we see it in the show, light as day. She cares about everyone equally because she is decent, true, especially in the first season, but I also see her caring in a more, “I need to do what is right, just to go against Uther/just to spite some nobles” way (in the later seasons).

The moment she learns she can have a shot at being queen, she takes it. And no matter how much Arthur loves her, how much Gwen or even Gaius love her, she does not care and tries to kill them multiple times just to take the throne.

And once she takes the throne, she is a tyrant just like Uther. She kills and dictates just because she wants the people to listen to her.

She cares about power, and whether that power can be given to her by magic or not, that’s not important to her.

Morgana just wants to rule.

Also, Merlin and Gaius know she is an High Priestess. Only because we have a parameter with Merlin, it does not mean that Morgana is not powerful. Morgana IS powerful, or else it wouldn’t have taken Merlin so much time to kill her (it can also be because deep down, Merlin doesn’t want to do it, but Morgana defeats him multiple times).

Even in the later seasons, just to know who Emrys is and to be able to kill Arthur and finally get the throne to rule over Camelot, Morgana kills people with magic too, and not just any people.

Peaceful people that had lived under a reign with magic for years!

What I dislike about the trope is that: a good Morgana is out of character. So it doesn’t make sense to make her good, and so whatever or not Merlin told her, it doesn’t change the trope designed for her in the show.

In my opinion, in fics, we can make a good Morgana, in a sort of fix-it, re-write way, (because let’s be honest, they fucked up her character pretty bad), but she still needs to be not-perfect. She needs to make mistakes, she needs to be brutal in her love, and she needs to go against everything she knows anyway.

And who said a Good!Morgana can’t kill Uther? Exactly! We also need to understand what we mean by “good” and “bad”, because for me, someone trying to kill Uther IS AN ANGEL AND A MIRACLE ON EARTH!

She was meant to be the villain. And she was a good one. What I personally don’t like is how we go from Good!Morgana to Villain!Morgana.

It could have happened differently, that’s for sure.

*drums rolls* And here it comes, BBC Merlin inconsistency to fill in plot holes!

Morgana was a puppet under Morgause’s control, and then changed drastically, not caring one bit about either Gwen or Arthur. At first, she cared about magic, and about treating everyone as an equal, and then she just didn’t give a flying fuck.

So that might be what bothers people too, (and what bothers me, personally) and why many in the fandom try to make her “good” (again, not judging, just something to think about. Everyone writes and reads whatever they prefer most!)

So, I've been reading this Merthur fic, and it nade me think about something that I think most people on the fandom would disagree on, but I would love to see if there are people who might agree with me.

Many people on the famdom think, that had Merlin told Morgana about his nagic when she confessed to hin about thinking that the fire that was in her room was caused by her doing magic, than it would've caused Morgana to stay good, and that Merlin owed it to her, to tell her about him having magic since birth.

Two things that I find wrong here: 1. I don't think that Merlin owed Morgana anything, especially telling her his most kept secret, one that could've ended up with him sentenced to death by the pyre. Merlin might've considered telling her, and yes, he was stopped by Gaius, but, still, Merlin was taught all his life that his magic should stay concealed, should not be revealed to anyone. Beacause if the wrong person found out, it could end in his death. That is a fear that could not go away fron a person. And yes, she might've been his friend at this point, but Merlin didn't want to tell anyone about his magic, beacause of fear for his life. And you can't blame him for not telling her about his magic. Heck, Merlin only told Arthur, his soulmate, at the end of the bloody series, and he cares more about Arthur's opinions on him, and hated lying to him more than lying to Morgana.

2. Remember the fact that Morgana almost killed Uther in season 1? She was starting to be less good at this point of the series, until she became the villan that we all know. What if Merlin would've told her, and then she could've decided to betray him when it fit her? If Morgana had this knowledge on season 3, even after the end of season 2, she would've made sure that Merlin woul've been sentenced to death by Uther. And I'n sorry, but I don't think that her knowing about his naguc, would've stopped her fron turning evil.

Would love to see if other people share my opinion, please comment.

[mrmeepsmadmind]

his horns (finials) (idk)(ears)(whatever) shaking... the jumping ??? the struggling 😭 the off center twitching ..he is PISSED. AWF !!!!!!

[dykedvonte]

did you see the article wrong organ tweet abt an interview with the lead writer —>

https://t.co/5dcfeePkz3

The article really should honestly be read by people who try to make any of the characters actions black or white and ignore the other themes in the game. It specifically mentions these aspects that people try to make seem undebatable or uninterpretive and makes sure to use wording to say it can stem from multiple things and never confirm or deny anything.

I do remind people that the interviewer does not work for Wrong Organ so I am only using quotes and paraphrased statements rather than their own deductions as those should be taken with the same grain of salt of an analysis you see on twitter or tumblr and even my blog. They are still a subjective eye compared to Kasurinen’s direct statements.

Particularly pointing out that Jimmy, while deplorable, is still supposed to complex and his actions are not fueled by some comically sick amusement. And that Curly’s actions are not just rooted in one thing and not just rooted in rape culture but also include other social and systemic factors besides the shallow idea he’s just dick riding for his friends. It’s meant to be interpretative and I need to point out that the main writer says that “good intentions mean nothing when it’s gotten that bad”. A lot of people like to think Curly was only acting with intentions for himself or Jimmy when it’s was a misguided attempt at overall peace that ultimately failed and whatever processes behind that are to be nitpicked, not if he was acting out or malice or disregard.

I wish more was talked about specifically with Anya, Daisuke and Swansea but I understand why they weren’t as Curly’s actions/inactions pre-crash and Jimmy’s actions throughout all segments are the main impactful forces in the game. People should really read it for themselves but sit on this quote directly from the main writer:

[cable-salamdr]

Wwait wait wait. so. There’s people who genuinely hate Harumi but love Morro? Do people not realise they are literally the same except for the fact that Rumi manipulated Lloyd for a bit while Morro just straight up possessed him? What

[klysanderelias]

Reblogging @nongunktional's tags-

I agree and I want to talk about this because, y'know, I like talking, but also because I think that talking about player agency and engagement can be kind of obtuse sometimes and I want to drill down on that.

I think a lot of DnD campaigns have fallen into the 'fantasy epic' structure of things like Lord of the Rings - where the idea is to take the same characters through an entire far-reaching and fully connected plot, from level 1-20 or whatever, where the big bad is introduced in act 1 and you kill him at the very end.

And I think that this comes from a lot of sources, but what it means is that you start seeing DnD games that are written in such a way that the players are railroaded pretty hard. After all, to use BG3 as an example, the entire game is focused around the illithid parasite - being able to remove it would break the entire story and render the later parts of the game completely unusable. They're written like novels, which means that the players have to go HERE next, because that's where the next plot point is, and if they DON'T go there, the story stalls to a halt.

And not to be a materialist, but I can't not mention the profit incentive for this - Paizo sells their Pathfinder/Starfinder adventure paths for 20-25 bucks a book, 6 books an adventure path. DnD sells their campaign books for like 50 bucks a pop. If you split away from the story on book 1, Paizo is losing like a hundred bucks.

And the problem I have is that it strips away basically all player agency and input - you might be allowed to pick which of three places you want to go, but the story won't progress until you do [x], and no matter how much it obfuscates it, the story is linear and can't react to the player's choices.

The entire first act of Balder's Gate 3 is such an egregious example of this - you follow up on like literally six or seven different leads to get the parasite in your head removed, and literally all of them go exactly nowhere, because again the plot requires you to have the damn thing in your head. There's even a point where a powerful devil pops out of nowhere to ask if you want to sell your soul in exchange for some pest control - and even if you say yes, I will 100% right now sell my soul to you, he goes 'I'll come back when you're desperate' and disappears.

And that's been my experience with a lot of recent material - it's either leading PCs by the nose from place to place by restricting the breadcrumbs, or it's constructed in such a way that they literally don't have any other options that aren't just abandoning the conceit of the adventure entirely. You don't get meaningful choices, you get a split in the flowchart that comes right back to the next node anyway.

Which is why it's so bothersome that the whole 'how do you want to do this' thing took off - again, I think there are other criticisms to be made, but primarily my problem is that it's a carrot that kind of disguises how little the GM gives their players creative input.

And specifically I talk about 'agency' and 'creative input' because that's very different from 'choice' in my mind. Players make choices all the time, from 'do I hit this goblin or that goblin' to 'am I going to serve this unjust king'. The thing that I'm looking for is, if the players do something the GM wasn't prepared for, do they get pushed back onto the rails, or does the GM roll with it?

If the players go, 'hey, we are willing to sell our souls right now, 100%, in order to get these parasites out of our heads', does the GM go 'well the devil says no' or do they say 'okay, huh. let's talk about what that means and where we would go from here.'

Or, for a lesser example, if I as a player go 'actually I sympathize with this villain, and instead of killing them I want to try to find a way to protect them and figure out how to make peace', am I allowed to? Or does the monster entry say 'fights until killed'? Am I given the opportunity to change and affect the world around my character, or is this a cutscene where my only option is to press F to perform my finisher?

And to be fair, part of the reason why GMs push back against this sort of thing is because a) it requires WORK and b) it often requires them to throw out prep. If you kill the big bad in act 1, assuming they let you, they have to completely rewrite the adventure to account for that, and they're sure as hell not getting paid to do that. But also, it's because a lot of players want to GET that result without putting in the work themselves - they expect the GM to rewrite the entire adventure without any input from themselves.

Y'know, creative control comes with responsibility. I as a player feel like it's my job to pitch ideas and work with the GM to come up with a solution for things I want to do - if I say, hey, I want to save this villain NPC, my job is to say 'and here's my long-term plan, and here's a next step we can do as a scene, I'm going to start working on [x] in my downtime' and so on. And that's not what the culture is.

I think there's a lot of factors to blame, but regardless of where it comes from, the result is that a lot of GMs aren't willing to share creative control, because they're worried (and maybe rightfully so) about players breaking their toys and acting smug about it, and a lot of players don't push for agency, because the GM absolutely stonewalls them.

And there are a lot of solutions to this, primarily not setting the entire damn adventure in stone before the players ever touch it, but also I think there's a culture of very adversarial play, where GMs try to force the players into a predefined route and players try to break their way out of that box, and both sides are doing it with zero respect for each other.

And I think combat is the easiest thing to compromise on because the story can't proceed if everyone dies, so if the GM forces you into a fight, they probably need you to win it. But I think there are a lot of choices that the players are denied leading up to it - partially, again, because the maps are already made so you HAVE to fight these bandits here, fuck you - that would lead to much more fun and engagement if the GM and players shared their toys. Weathertop is a great scenic location for a fight, but it's also a choice that Aragorn and the hobbits make ahead of time - they go there to get a vantage point to see the Ringwraiths coming, and to hide, and it's specifically characters making bad choices that bring the fight there. Players who feel like their decisions mattered, and led naturally to the outcome, are going to be more jazzed about playing it out.

And, conversely, players are going to check out hard if they feel like nothing they do matters - always arriving just a little bit too late to save the town, or watching the bad guy teleport away AGAIN gets really draining because you can feel the rails. Of course I'm going to be passive if I feel like I'm just watching a movie anyway.

And y'know, I think that there are too many GMs who read the campaign book cover to cover and get so invested in the cool book they just read, and completely forget that the players don't know ANY of that. And I can't meaningfully agree to everything in that campaign book! Yes, I understand the premise of the adventure, but at a certain point if I want to go off-book because I'm not interested in fucking exploring the underdark for three chapters, well, that wasn't part of the pitch!

Maybe the thing I hate the most about Critical Role's influence on ttrpg culture is the 'How Do You Want To Do This' shit - I hate it so much.

And like, y'know, there's a conversation to be had about the way it centers grotesque, over the top violence, and how it often produces wildly dissonant moments where a character suddenly goes wildly outside the bounds of who they are simply for a 'cool moment' or where it dramatically changes the tone of a fight and thus how I feel about it (and that's not even mentioning the way that players will do shit like that randomly - I will never not be upset about the way that Dim/ension 20 had the whole 'goblin up the asshole' thing)

And there's also something to be said for like, it's just a fun thing matt mercer wanted to do to let his players feel cool and give them the mic for a second to cut a promo, and it's definitely not the only thing that the show is about, but like...

It's like the GBBO Handshake, y'know? It's something that's Iconic, and gets this sort of following because it feels momentous or special, and suddenly all anyone cares about is getting it. Like, it is annoying to me how people will fall over themselves to get a handshake from paul hollywood but literally no one cared about impressing Mary Berry to the same extent. She didn't have a Thing and so her feedback was always rated lower than Paul's because the Handshake Mattered.

And I don't think it's Matt Mercer's fault the way I think it's Paul Hollywood's fault, exactly, but it is one of those things that I do have to assign blame to him as the originator of a thing that I hate.

Specifically because.

It creates this culture where the biggest moment you can get, the thing everyone wants, is to get the messy kill. It creates this culture where getting to describe an over the top Doom finisher is an ideal, and where it feels like it's the one moment where every GM is willing to share the spotlight a little.

And that sucks. For a lot of reasons, but primarily because it decenters like, any other agency the player can exert.

It sucks so bad when the only time you get creative agency as a player is to say how much you kill a thing. Throw out as many ideas as you want in the rest of the game, and get ignored or shot down, but this one guy? This rando bandit? This is your moment, brother.

And again, I don't think this is necessarily how Critical Role is run, but it's definitely how it's played, and how it models behavior for players, which is why it's so upsetting. I love listening to ACTUAL actual plays, where things are discussed openly at the table, because it gives people a model for how to handle things. Critical Role, all that stuff is discussed off-stream, all the backstory stuff is worked out ahead of time and all the major story beats are pre-planned, even if just in vague terms, and I think that's fine! IF you're doing a stage show, and not an actual play. Yes, players should discuss ahead of time whether they're interested in having their characters pursue a romance, and yes, if a GM is going to introduce a major plot arc based around a PC there should be discussion about it ahead of time, but obfuscating all of that just means that people listening don't understand how to DO it.

And what it means is that the big moment where players get to hold the reins for even a second, on-screen, is the kill.

And all the other stuff? Well, y'know, you don't need to ask the players for input. Just be a good DM, like Matt. Just tell a great story and they'll all sit in raptured silence and be so excited to follow the tracks to the next plot point, and the only time you need to check to see if they want to DO anything is when they roll a crit.

And it's just like, there are basically no 'how do you want to do this' moments in the HUNDREDS of episodes of Friends at the Table, and all of the memorable moments are players taking agency and pitching ideas. Like, there are big kills in Friends at the Table that fucking HIT, and none of them are because they're Doom Finishers. Hadrian in the Hieron holiday special fucking HITS because it's a meaningful, powerful character choice. Mother Glory in the other Hieron holiday special HITS because it's such a tragic, hateful thing to have happen. Hella killing [redacted] isn't cool or exciting, it sucks, and it plays directly into her 'I would rather destroy something than try to understand it' morality, so it fucking HITS.

And like, I could go for hours, and I couldn't tell you ANY of the 'how do you want to do this' moments from the 50-60 episodes of critical role that I watched, because they all suck. They're all just spectacle, just getting keys jingled in your face for a few seconds, and it's so frustrating that it feels like that's the only thing people have taken away from Matt Mercer's GMing (I have a lot of OTHER critiques about his GMing, so I'm not saying that learning from him in other ways is better, but I'm also a hater).

But y'know, they clip well for tiktok or whatever.

It's just one more goddamn thing I hold against 5e culture, but it's also so quintessentially AMERICAN - of COURSE we're going to want to spotlight a grotesque kill, have you watched ANY of our tv shows. Of course the only time that a player's input is needed is so they can narrate their finisher - that's EASY and it's FUN because we have no concept of the humanity of the people we kill. It's fun to climb up a monster's asshole because no one has to consider whether that COUNTS against a nonperson.

And it's just like, y'know, I feel like there's this glorification of violence as long as you can feel justified, and it's easy for us to feel justified, so you end up with people making zombie movies just so that they can sell fantasies of shooting your neighbor in his face for mowing the lawn too often, or you ignore any morality because someone hurting you in the past DEFINITELY justifies waterboarding them with isopropyl.

And like, I don't want to be too high-and-mighty because I do think there's a place for over-the-top violence, and for retributive violence, in storytelling, but I just don't think it should be as a highlight reel, and it shouldn't be a candy-coated reward for rolling good.

It matters, it's noticeable, how you as the GM frame the camera. It's obvious what you care about depending on what details you ask for. And y'know, it's obvious what you're not interested in when you don't ask.

And again, it should not be the only time you ask a player to describe something.

[nanenna]

Warning for: graphic descriptions of dead bodies.

Danny isn't my only blorbo, time for a certain stoic man to have a gut punch. UwU

---

Batman was half listening to the comms as he and Zatanna made their way through the remains of the destroyed town. There was something he wanted to check, and doing so while the others kept Phantom distracted seemed like the best time. They had found their way to the outskirts, just a few buildings with patches of thickly growing trees between. The road was fenced off, a gate and toll booth barring their passage. Hardly more than a bump in the road for them.

"Deadman found him," Constantine grumbled into the comms. "Seems the basement under what's left of the Fenton house is still intact, someone get down there and give him backup."

"Are we getting close?" Zatanna asked as the comms went silent again.

"Behind these buildings." The road led up to a trio of buildings, one looked like vehicle storage, one looked administrative, and one looked like it was intended for RnD of some kind. Considering what their goal was, Bruce had a bad feeling about this.

"I'm not liking the look of these buildings," Zatanna said warily as they moved past them. "Are you sure the mass grave is on the other side?"

"That's what Oracle's map says."

Zatanna just nodded.

The comms crackled and hissed, a voice echoed eerily from it, either multiple people's comms were picking it up or the voice was echoing on its own:

"GET OUT!"

Zatanna winced, "Well he certainly is feeding into all the ghost stereotypes."

"Most stereotypes are based on reality," Batman replied.

Zatanna sighed.

They passed the lab to find the land behind it cleared out, though vegetation had been creeping in from the fence line for nearly 20 years. A portion of the ground was lumpy and uneven, looking to be more loosely packed than the rest. Just past that was an abandoned bulldozer and a huge pile of dirt right next to a pit in the ground, some of the dirt making a loose slope down into the pit. The same pit that had been in the video the teens exploring the area had taken before being frightened off. Batman approached and looked down to find a haphazard pile of long rotted and mummified corpses.

Zatanna's lips were pressed in a thin line. "I can't find the logic, what would the Ghost King need with a mass grave? If he were going to turn them into skeleton thralls he wouldn't need to bury them at all."

"He certainly wouldn't need a bulldozer."

Zatanna glanced at the rusty machine, "No, he wouldn't."

"Of course he's upset now, you trespassed on his final resting place," Marvel scolded in the comms. There were more sounds of fighting filtering through, it seemed Phantom had finally stopped running and started fighting back. Which was another odd thing for the infamous first recorded super-villain to do.

"Can you get us down there?" Batman asked. "I want to get a closer look without alerting Phantom."

Rather than answer, Zatanna spoke a spell and levitated the pair of them off the ground and down into the pit, careful that neither of them touched any of the dead. Zatanna had a frown on her face, "Are those flowers?"

Batman grunted his affirmative. Scattered on the pile were what appeared to be wildflowers, old ones from how dry most of them were. He pointed to a spot he wanted to get a better look at: someplace where more flowers were piled up.

Zatanna nodded and moved them around the pile of bodies to get a look from the other side. Half buried by more bodies was a figure wearing some kind of jumpsuit that may have once been green or blue, but was so dirty and sun bleached that it was hard to tell anymore. They had short, naturally red hair, and flowers covering their face. more flowers were laid out at the crown of the person's head and leaning against their shoulders. One arm was visible, splayed out over other corpses, in their hand was a small but relatively fresh bouquet.

"I wonder who they were," Zatanna murmured.

"Someone important to Phantom," Batman stated. "No one else has been here to give them flowers."

"And he was guarding this place," Zatanna added thoughtfully. "But this still doesn't make any sense, why would Phantom attack this town and kill half the residents just to later come back and mourn them?"

"Perhaps he didn't kill these ones, the bulldozer is already proof he didn't dig this pit."

"Inciting incident?" Zatanna asked.

"Hn." It was possible.

"So that leaves us with the question of who did this? They were clearly trying to hide it before being chased off."

"The more pressing question is why he stayed here at all, why not leave after the survivors evacuated?"

"Injured?" Zatanna theorized. "The GIW believed he'd been killed, if he was badly injured and needed to recover this place was as good as any after being abandoned."

"And then continued to stay after recovering?"

"I think you underestimate how long some supernatural injuries take to heal," Zatanna said with a little half smile.

"Shit, where'd he go?" someone on comms called. There was some confusion over the comms, Phantom having fled.

"Damnit," Zatanna murmured as she moved the pair of them up and out of the pit. They landed outside it, beyond the edge enough to be on stable ground.

Batman knew that Phantom had taken young Daniel Fenton's body, had continued to wear the boy's face even after his deception had been discovered. But still he wasn't prepared to see a lanky teenager in too loose clothes, green blood dripping from his too thin, too young face (Tim's age. Duke's age), arms wrapped around his middle as more of that bright, toxic green (like kryptonite, like the Lazarus pits) slowly dripped in thick streams from under his fingers, to hear a thin, young, tear choked voice call out, "Mo-om!"

Phantom collapsed onto the corpse surrounded by flowers, sobbing as he curled up and clutched her closer.

"Mo-om," Bruce sobbed, "Mom please, please wake up." Tears and snot were running down his face, mixing with the smudges of blood from his hands. He knew they were, he could see them leaving more stains on Mom's dress as he tried to shake her a little, just enough to wake her up. He was scared and hurt and cold, he just wanted her to tell him it would all be okay and hold him until he felt better, but she wasn't waking up. She was never waking up. Mom was cold too and only getting colder, Bruce needed to wake her up so they could take Dad inside and get warm. "Mo-om please, the bad guy left, so please wake up now."

"We need to stop," Batman said with a gasp as he tried to pull himself back together. He focused on the feel of Zatanna's hand on his shoulder to ground himself as he pulled himself more fully back into the here and now.

Zatanna gave him a sympathetic look as she reached up to activate her comms, "Everyone pull back, we need to regroup."

"What? Why?!"

"Understood," Dianna responded before anyone else could interrupt. "You heard her, pull back. Zatanna and Batman will explain what they found when we regroup."

"We will," Zatanna promised. After she silenced her comm she turned her attention back to Batman, "He could be acting, most supernatural creatures like to set traps like that."

"If that's acting I'll give him an award myself," Batman said darkly. The way Phantom was slowly fading out of sight, the way he was curled up so small, the way he was clinging to his mother's body like he could burrow into it, that grief was too raw. This was a child who knew his mother was dead but couldn't keep himself from seeking comfort from her anyway.

Too many things weren't adding up here, and they had just harassed their only witness into a mental breakdown.

Some days I feel like I'm full of beginnings but no endings (sometimes middles that I can "and then..." my way to finding a beginning for, but no endings). The ADHD urge to start something and never finish I swear on the ancients! Augh! I'm so frustrated! Why, brain, why?!

So anyway, I'm gonna ramble about another new idea under the cut.

----

Okay so you may or may not remember the very intimidating fic idea that's just Danny living out Cast Away (2000) but instead of an island he's trapped in the destroyed remains of Amity Park. That whole thing hinged on no one knowing who Danny was and having to uncover what happened while trying to help Danny basically learn how to be alive again.

But what if we borrow a little from Danny was the first villain AU? Instead of hiding the destruction of Amity, the GIW blame Phantom and use it to justify themselves despite no further ghost attacks happening. They basically celebrate themselves as having done the job of defeating the "Ghost King Phantom" (he wasn't/isn't, but the rest of the world doesn't know that) and all his minions, but look at the cost! They have to make sure this never happens again. (We could have the GIW basically become CADMUS after there were no more ghost attacks but meta humans were becoming the new concern.)

I'm thinking instead of some random kids calling because they saw a ghost floating over a field of half buried corpses, they instead were a bunch of teens sneaking into Amity because it's where the first supervillain was defeated (and then they saw said villain guarding a field of half buried corpses).

Instead of coming in all gentle to try and help this unknown spirit move on, the heroes come in hot with basically the entire JLD and half the JL ready to find and thwart the return a conqueror tyrant they believe to be on par with Trigon or Darkseid.

And Danny? Has no idea. He woke up alone in an empty, abandoned, destroyed city. I bet he still fixed up a radio at some point out of pure boredom but that's only going to have so much news and well... he's stuck. None of that's going to ever affect him. The weather forecast is nice he guesses, but everything else is just blah blah blah, he'd rather listen to music. Or maybe he does listen but it's more out of loneliness than to pay attention to what they're saying. So a whole bunch of people in weird costumes show up out of nowhere and Danny has not a single clue. No idea they can hurt him. No idea they want to.

[sunshineneedsaplacetokeephernsfw]

After starting William's route, it's clear that it was meant to be the one you start with

[mullets]

its 2024 and people still dont get sugurus character at all

[autumn-opossum]

My theory for why Dr Hemlock’s hand is always hurting is that he’s a beginner crocheter who hasn’t learned how to properly hold his tension yet. The glove is a compression glove

[saturnsorbits]

Okay, so I know we all hate him, but Mahito is a legitimately brilliant villain...

[daisybell-on-a-carousel]

Jason, especially in that one Teen Titans comic, often complains about the lack of pants he has. And I'm haunted thinking about that at all times

[huffle-dork]

Etwas Peilen (Swapboys AU)

Continuation of Welcome to the Show exploring Alt and Henny’s relationship!

Masterpost | More Swapboys

Before the new friends parted ways, the good doctor Jackson rounded them all up to get their scratches and wounds tended to. Bro and Jackie were already helped, with Bro giving a detailed report to the police and Jackie icing his aching nose.

Dr. J had Alt up on the bar stools with him, lightly dabbing antiseptic on the cuts on his cheek. Alt hissed and was trying not to glitch away as Jameson held him still.

Henrik watched anxiously, wringing his fingers back and forth. He… can’t believe Magnificent just… let them go. Guess they proved themselves? Maybe… but- Henrik was scared the puppetmaster was only biding his time. And until now… he had no one who he could confide in.

Until… Alt.

As the good doctor started to gather his supplies and finished up with Alt, popping a clean white bandage on his cheek- Henrik hesitated before slowly approaching. The normally charismatic actor felt nerves in his throat but he tapped the glitch on the shoulder.

Alt looked back and raised an eyebrow at him, “Schneep? Uh… wassup?”

Henrik tapped his legs as he tried to find his voice, “T-Today was… long day. But- we… we have found ourselves in a uh… similar position, yes? And so I… I was wanting to invite you to make the drinkings with me?”

Alt’s eyebrows furrow in slight concern, “Are you suggesting alcohol to wash our troubles away? Cuz I don’t think the doc would approve of that-“ He glanced back towards Jameson as he went to join the others.

The gentleman laughs and shakes his head, “No no! Not in that way… I- just think it would be nice to… get to know each other better? Since well… you know.” Henrik messes with the back of his head anxiously, trying to give an award winning smile to Alt.

The younger man stared at Henrik with an unreadable expression for a couple beats. Then, he sighs and stuffs his hands in his pockets, going to pull his mask up out of habit but stopping himself to look back at the actor.

“…I should warn you I’m not an open person so… I dunno how much getting to know each other they’ll be… but, sure. Tomorrow night… meet me at Insomnia.”

Henrik tilts his head slightly, “Not tonight?”

Alt laughs, though, it looks kinda pained. “Nah I… I got a gig tonight.” He laughs some more and pushes his bangs back then tugs on them, “god… I have a gig… I… I should get ready for that…”

Henrik frowns in sympathy and hesitates before putting a hand on Alt’s shoulder. “Please… do not push yourself too hard my friend… and you… you are injured…”

Alt blinks in surprise at the gesture and then glitches back to his feet, looking at the actor warily. Henrik blinks and holds up a hand and Alt attempts to give a forced smile. “I-I would cancel but… I need money for drinks now.”

Henrik steps back and wildly waves his hands, half signing out of habit. “No no! You will not pay! It will be on me!”

The glitch seems surprised by this too. But, now he smiles more genuinely. “Well… all the more motivation then, huh?”

He lightly hits Henrik on the shoulder as he starts to walk away, turning so the gentleman can still read his lips. “…see you tomorrow then, Schneep. You know how to reach me.”

He then pauses and fully turns back towards Henrik, something dawning on his face. “Wait… you Do know how to text right? U-Use a phone?”

Henrik laughs and nods, “Ja I know the telefon! I’m not as fresh from the past as you think, my friend. I have learned very much!”

“Oh… okay- good then…” Alt nods then sends a two finger salute Henrik’s way, glitching away into that night. “See ya.”

Turns out Henrik did know how to text but… not… well-

Around 7 pm the next day Alt’s phone buzzed with:

Schneep

🍺🙏☑️❓❓❓

Alt

…Yeah man- how’s 9 sound?

Schneep

😁🥰❗️❗️❗️

Alt

U kno u don’t have to use only emojis to text right?

Schneep

👍

Welp- guess that answered that. (Asking Jackie about it- apparently after Dr. J helped Henrik get his phone, the teal gentleman accidently got stuck in the emoji menu for a couple days and now is like- addicted to them. Alt wasnt sure if that was better or worse than old man texting-)

A little after 9, Alt glitched in front of the small pub downtown called Insomnia. He liked it here- good place for a drink after some of his shows.

He walks in, nodding towards the bartender that recognized his mask. Then, it was surprisingly easy to find Schneep- cuz he barreled right towards Alt with his arms open.

“Hallo, Alt!! My friend!!” He shouted.

Alt quickly stumbled back, his shoulders buzzing as he tried to keep out of Henrik’s grip. He hurried to take off his mask and hold up his hands. “Uh- hi Schneep- sorry just- not good with… contact-”

Henrik tilted his head in confusion but then got the memo and nodded, a bright smile back on his face. “Oh yes! Not to worry- I will save huggings for later!”

“Y…yeah- sure-” Alt muttered as he rubbed the back of his neck. Damn- this guy was too sweet. It was kinda intimidating…

A furry head peaked out from Henrik’s leg and Alt recognized Schneep’s dog, Sahne. He felt himself bristle a bit like an offended cat. But, she just blinked at him, her tail slightly wagging. She had her vest on- guess she was working. So, Alt tried his best to ignore her.

Henrik led them towards a quieter part of the bar where he had already set himself up with a small book. Though, once Alt got closer he recognized it as something more than just a paperback novel- it was a small moleskin sketchbook. Henrik plopped into the seat and Alt hesitated before sitting down and gesturing towards the book.

“You… draw?”

The gentleman’s eyes sparkled as he eagerly nodded. “Oh yes! I quite like making art in my spare time! Normally, I like to paint… but when I wait for friends I like to draw portraits!”

He shows Alt his sketches- quick gestures of other patrons- mostly anyone with a very striking appearance. Henrik smiles as he looks at them. “I think… learning people is helping me to understand more and more about how people work now. Sometimes- it helps it feel not too different.” He pats Sahne’s head as she sits down next to him. She licks his fingers then settles down to rest under his barstool.

Alt listens and nods to his words. He then flushes and fumbles for his backpack. They were trying to get to know each other and… well- this was something most people don’t know about him. But, artists liked showing off to other artists. It couldn’t hurt… He pulls out a thin tablet and then turns on the screen, flipping to show it to Henrik. On the screen are designs he’s done for his illusions and shows- and concepts of graffiti tags, most featuring a green eyeball with red x’s and a stitched smiley face over its iris. Alt’s face turns very red as he stammers out, “I uh… I draw too. And, um… i also like- painting but… not in the way you do.”

The German actor looks beyond pleased, sparkles practically coming off his body as he grabs Alt’s hands and holds them close. Alt yelps and pulls himself away and Henrik apologizes quickly, “Oh yes sorry! But Alt! You are good! Such fun colors!! I wondered if it was bright paint on your clothes! Someday you must show me more of your work!”

The glitch turns even more red and hides a bit in his hoodie, “Um… yeah- if I can… find one that’s uh- in a good spot… I can show you.”

Alt had been trying to find more free spaces lately but- doesn’t mean he doesn’t still tag where he’s not supposed to. Not that anyone could catch him- he had quite the streak for heaven spots around the area. Couldn’t take Henrik to see those though- well, at least up close.

Alt flagged down the bartender and ordered some Irish whiskey, watching as Henrik got what looked like his 3rd pint of beer. He smirked and sipped at the drink, taking a second to appreciate it before he sighs and looks back at Henrik.

“Alright, you had something on your mind, right? Or were you serious about getting to ‘know me’?” Alt added the air quotes to make sure his sarcasm wasn’t lost on Schneep.

Henrik blinked and then played with the pages of his sketchbook. “Oh ah… I do- want to get to know you… I think you seem- well… very rough around edges- but… sympathetic too. I think I would very much like to be friends.” He tried to smile at Alt. But, then he sighs and takes a sip of his drink before continuing.

“But- if you want to skip pleasantries then- we can talk about the elephant in the air-”

“...do you mean ‘elephant in the room’?”

Henrik flushed and then laughed, “Oh is that how that is called? But… ja- let’s talk about this elephant.”

He then gets quiet and looks down, tracing the lines in the table.

“...Magnificent-” He eventually whispers, suppressing a shudder. “I… I could not help but notice… that he treated you and me… very different from each other.”

He looks to meet Alt’s eyes now, “I do not know how it works for you… maybe it is different… but when I am ah- puppet… I see it all. I remember. Not right away but… it comes to me in my dreams…” He grips one of his hands into a fist and closes his eyes as he takes a shaky breath. Sahne seems to sense his distress and reaches up to rest her head on his leg. He continues, “I cannot control what my body does. I cannot form my own thoughts- but I still… see it. I am forced to take in what awful things I am made to do…”

Henrik hesitates again before meeting Alt’s gaze. “in the warehouse, when he gave you his power… did you mean it? That you wanted all that or… was that his ah- thinking forced in you?”

Alt frowns. Wow- that was… immediately very deep. He takes a long sip of his whiskey before he responds, but his voice is quiet. He almost forgets he needs to turn enough for Henrik to read his lips.

“I… I was definitely influenced but… I guess. I do.. kinda want that?” He grips at his head slightly, “It’s… complicated… and goes wayyy into my backstory that I’m not sure you’re at a level to unlock yet.”

Henrik looks confused.

Alt shakes his head.

“Sorry video game joke uh- im not sure we’re… close enough yet… to explain why… but-”

“Then, can I share some of me?”

The glitch blinks at the actor. “Huh?”

“If you know me better then- we would be closer. And you can explain better, ja?” Henrik smiles.

Alt looks confused by this but eventually laughs and knocks back some more of his drink. “Alright, shoot.”

Henrik hums and looks up, “Oh… where to begin…?”

“Oh!” He grins at Alt, “I know is hard to believe because of my accent but- did you know I am not full German? Actually, I am a full British citizen!”

Alt’s eyebrows shot up, “...that is hard to believe.”

The gentleman laughs lightly, “I know my accent is everywhere- but I spent many of my early years only speaking German- and sometimes French!” He gets a dreamy look on his face, “My father was a British doctor- he learned in France where he met my mother. She was full German but was trying to study with some artists there. They met… fell in love and then moved to London and had their 5 kids.”

“5 kids?!”

“Yes! I was the baby!” Henrik added with glee. “I had 4 older siblings- two brothers, Peter and Fritz… and my sisters, Gabi and Ilse.” He smiles sadly for a second and pauses to take another drink before sharing more.

“Father used to say when he grew up he hated German because he was expected to learn it. But then, he met my mother and it was suddenly the most beautiful language to him. We loved speaking it- even while in England. I wouldn’t even see Germany until I was grown.”

He then frowns and leans more on the table, absent-mindedly petting Sahne’s fur back. “... that changed with the war. The great war… Then, our accents and our language was suddenly not to be spoken. People would get angry with us for sounding too German. We made sure to hide our German sounding names… Father was on the lines, as were my brothers.

So… they were… somewhat safe when the Zeppelins came. Safer than we were…”

Alt’s heart and stomach dropped.

“No one was prepared… we were out shopping and… and-” Henrk clenched his glass tight with both hands, his fingers shaking. He squeezed his eyes shut and took a stuttering breath. Sahne whined and leaned more on his leg. Alt didn’t know what to say-

“... Mama, Ilse and Gabi didn’t have to suffer. But, I never saw them again-”

“...Schneep-” Alt tried to interrupt. But, Henrik was lost in his re-telling.

“That’s how my deafness started, I was… 11, I think? Peter found me, he was working in a hospital nearby. He took care of me. Some kind soldiers taught me sign while I recovered- then... Then father was-”

“Schneep!” Alt exclaimed and gripped onto Henrik’s shoulder. The gentleman looked up with slightly misty eyes. Alt was quick to pull away but he held up his hands. “Dude… you… you more than earned your level- I… I can answer your question now… if you want.”

Henrik blinks and then laughs, looking a bit embarrassed as he rubbed at his eyes. “O-oh ja… I forgot that was the point… we are not here to hear such sad story!” He tried to smile it off but Alt could tell it was forced.

Alt swallowed and then knocked down the rest of his drink, the alcohol burning his throat. He quickly ordered another one, shaking himself out. “Need a bit more liquid courage for this…” He muttered.

Once the new drink is gotten, Alt holds it in his hands for a second before sighing and turning enough for Henrik to understand but not enough to look in his eyes. Pixels vibrate around his head and shoulders in a way that’s hard to see in the dim light of the pub.

“… I dunno if you met anyone like me in your time. And not just.. cuz of the glitches and magic but… I was… born… wrong.” He clenched his teeth slightly and tried to ignore the feeling that was screaming at him- telling him that every eye was on him. “…And I grew up… constantly thinking about it… how I wanted to be something… better. Stronger… because I didn’t feel like I was… as I am.”

He traces the rim of his cup in thought. Henrik watched him very patiently. Alt felt like that was more than he deserved.

“I know Mag was spitting fucking bullshit- but… some part of me… wants to believe him. And I’m not sure if that’s his mind tricks or… the part of me that wants to be… something more. I.. I want to be stronger… but I don’t know how to get there… and for just a little bit… I did believe him. That he could… make me stronger. And… things would get… easier.”

He leans his head on the table, starting to feel the alcohol in his cheeks. Schneep leans closer to make sure he can still understand. Alt angles his head a bit better as he mumbles in defeat.

“I’m sorry… I know you want to find some good in me but… my life has royally sucked. And… sometimes what Mag purrs out sounds… argh!”

He suddenly grips at his head, a headache blooming alongside his conflicted mind. Purple seems to spark weakly in his eyes.

“I dunno! I’m confused! I… I can still hear his stupid smug voice in my head…! I don’t know what I want…! I just- I just… I’m so fucking tired…! Of all of this-! I’m tired of being hungry and- and- powerless and a-scared… I don’t want to feel so lost anymore…!”

He starts to cry but hides his face and he hiccups “I want all of this to stop…!”

Henrik almost misses the last part but- his eyebrows crinkle with sympathy. Alt starts to come back to himself and then shoots up, looking at Henrik with wide eyes and red ears.

“Fuck I- I didn’t… I didn’t want to-“

The gentleman hesitates, going to reach out like he wants to touch Alt’s hand, but then stops to just loop his pinky around Alt’s own. Alt almost pulls away but- that’s… that’s not so bad.

“I understand,” He says softly, “He whispers siren songs- into your head. But… he will only tell you things you want to hear. He does not care… he only wants control. His promises are… empty.”

He sighs and looks down, shrugging. “That is how he got me. He used my confusion and promised to help me… he did not. He is nothing but ein lügnerischer Bastard.”

Alt looks away but- he’s afraid to tell Henrik how little he cared. Before, he met the others. Before he even thought he could become friends with them… with anyone. He didn’t care who he hurt- if he got hurt. Because- he’d finally be somewhere better…. Someone better. ….right?

Henrik lets go of Alt’s pinky and then waves a hand, giving a nervous smile.

“This is getting too of the serious! We should… talk about other things!”

Alt looked down at the table and sighs. “ I… I think… I need to go home…”

“No!” Henrik suddenly yells, startling the glitch and Sahne, who bumped her head on his leg. The actor then pleads to Alt. “We do not need to talk anymore if that is what you want! We can just… do the hangings out! We could… draw together and drink! No more serious talk!”

This gives Alt pause. Actually… that sounded like it could be fun. The pickpocket slowly smiled, bringing back his tablet. “You know what Schneep… I’ll bite. But it’s on your wallet-“

Schneep beamed brightly.

The two spent a while just drawing together. Alt tried to copy Henrik’s idea of drawing others around him. But- he wasn’t nearly as good as Schneep. So, he went back to what he knew- he even tried making bubble tags of the others' names. Just for fun. It was nice to just- doodle for a change.

He glanced at Schneep who had paused in his drawing to stare at someone across the way. He had a somewhat lovestruck look on his face.

Alt tried to follow his gaze- and saw what looked like a man- but honestly their gender was pretty ambiguous. They had tan copper skin and wavy brown hair. They were dressed in shiny silks with celestial patterns on them- even Alt had to admit they were very pretty. Maybe they were a model.

Henrik seemed to think so too- cuz as Alt looked at Henrik’s sketchbook- the whole page was filled with studies of that one person.

The glitch smirked and then bumped Henrik enough to get his attention. “Like something you see?”

“Hm? Oh! Ja… very much-“ Henrik sighed as he looked back. “He is… so pretty- I cannot stop looking…”

Alt rolled his eyes and waved a hand in front of his face. “Careful- you don’t want to creep them out-“

Then Alt frowns, realizing something.

“Wait… Schneep- are you… gay?” Alt makes a face and thinks, “wasn’t that like- a sin back then or something?”

Henrik’s face turns bright red with embarrassment and alarm. He holds his cheeks and ducks down, whispering, “ah yes right I- I cannot think such things!”

Alt wasn’t expecting such a response- so he hurries to correct him “no no it’s okay! it’s… not like it was anymore. It’s okay now- no laws against it!” Alt hurried to look around then gestures vaguely at a cluster of gay couples on another side of the pub. “Like see there’s a couple guys over there too- you’re fine…”

The actor seems to calm slightly at this and nods. Alt hesitates before adding, “I just- didn’t expect someone from your time to even be into that…”

Henrik laughs “Well it was- against the law. Very strictly for a longtime… but it does not mean the thoughts are not there.” He looks back to study the pretty person again as he swirls his drink in his glass. “Though… I think I like just- pretty people in general. I do not care what sex they are, you know?”

“Well- if it helps, I think they’re non-binary- from what I can tell at least.” Alt shrugs.

“Ah yes… that is- neither girl nor boy… yes?”

“It gets… complicated but- yeah basically.” Alt answers. He makes a face and takes a long sip of his drink. “Gender is weird.”

He then starts to think about this too. Maybe he was having too much to drink by now but- he finds himself muttering. “I get it… the pretty people thing. I- think I’m the same…? Though… I dunno- I don’t… crush on anyone. But I think if I knew someone for long enough… maybe-” Alt sighs dramatically and falls back against the table, squishing his cheek against it. “feelings are weird too…”

Henrik smiles and shakes his head with a laugh, “They are indeed…”

“Fucking hate them-“ the glitch muttered. Henrik shakes his head with a quiet giggle.

“You know- I had many chances to visit Berlin once I started acting. And it was such a sight…! It was… more okay there- to be queer. Even here in Brighton, it was becoming better and better! It made me feel… so happy. Like I could be understood- eventually.”

He looks to Alt and smiles, “Even when I was younger… I think I heard of people like you, Alt.” Alt’s eyebrows raised in surprise.

He grips his glass and looks down at the table. “However…It all started to change… right before I- I was brought…“ He pressed his lips together and suppressed a shudder.

Alt’s face creases in sympathy. He knocks back the rest of his drink then adds quietly. “…you dodged something really awful, Schneep…”

“I know…” Henrik’s voice cracks. “…I am… grateful in some ways… that I did not have to suffer another war… but…” He bites his lip to keep from crying.

Alt can tell there’s a lot left unsaid in the silence but he can read it well enough. No need to draw out this pain for the poor guy. Alt’s been pretty sensitive to touch tonight but- he leans his shoulder against Hen and flags down the bartender for another round. “…it’s okay, Schneep. I get it… let’s talk about something else, alright?”

Henrik quietly nods.

There’s quiet for a second before Alt asks, “uh… I don’t know- a lot of sign yet… wanna try to teach me? Something simple though.”

Schneep’s face instantly lights up with excitement and nods. “Oh yes!! I have the perfect thing!!”

Turns out- in sign, you can either finger spell a name or whoever’s signing can make up a sign that’s faster for someone they know. So, Henrik made quick work of teaching Alt the signs he used for their little group.

Bro Fantastic was the letter B then the sign for hero. Jackie was J then the sign for tired. Dr. J was easy- it was two J’s then the sign for doctor, naturally. And Sahne was cream, dog. Because Sahne in German meant Cream. Not the most creative name but- Alt had to admit it suited her.

Eventually Henrik starts to sign something that starts with A- then he makes a jagged motion in the air. Alt tilts his head.

“What’s that one?”

“It’s you! A- then lightning! Alt!” Henrik adds cheerily.

Alt feels his face heat up slightly. He then grins and laughs, “heh- awesome. Got any others?”

Henrik thinks- and Alt can see his cheeks getting flushed and warm like he feels on his own. So everything was a bit harder to slug through- but it was definitely more fun.

Finally, Henrik laughs and then starts a sign that looks like he’s drawing whiskers on his face. Then he taps his hand on his forehead, holding it straight up and touching the thumb to his skin.

Alt narrows his eyes. “Mmmm what’s that mean-“

Henrik grins real wide as he shows again, this time explaining. “Cat, bitch!”

The glitch’s eyes widen and then he barks out a laughs nearly spilling his drink. “Magnificent!”

“Yes! You got it!”

They both erupt into drunken laughter and giggles, falling over on each other.

The night wears on for a bit longer before the two admit they’ve had enough to drink. Alt feels it a bit more than his German counterpart and ends up stumbling into him as he attempts to stand up, nearly running into Sahne.

“Oops… s’rry pubby-“ Alt mumbles. Sahne wags her tail vigorously in response.

Henrik laughs then asks, “Can I help you outside, or?”

Alt grumbles and waves his hand. “Yeh ye- do wh’ev’r ya want…” He then pushes his face somewhat against Henrik’s side and the taller man quietly giggles at the sight.

Henrik leads the two outside and then tries to flag down a cab. He helps hold Alt up with one arm, while Sahne guards his other side, alerting him to any sounds he needs to watch out for.

He feels Alt shift and looks down to see the tired glitch try to find his eyes.

“…hen?” Alt slurs out.

It takes a second for Henrik to process that but his eyebrows shoot up. Alt hasn’t attempted to use his first name yet- it still wasn’t it fully, but it was close enough to make Henrik’s chest feel light.

The glitch looks away at first but then looks back to mumble out, “…it was nice. To not drink… alone.”

Henrik smiles and nods, “…I thought so too! It was very funny! …Perhaps we can… do it again sometime?”

Alt can’t help but feel himself smile. “…yeah… I think I’d like that…”

[vesselmade-a]

yuji’s character development after shibuya is so important. I mean in all honesty he’s a completely different person but he does still hold that idea of saving people. His heart is shattered and his mind is broken yet he’s more motivated to do what needs to be done. He’ll do anything even if it means giving his own life to get rid of sukuna. and it isn’t the same as before in the way that he was anticipating his execution. during the culling arc he was way too ready to trade his life for Angel to unseal Gojo (he mentions it quite a bit). that fact just makes me so sad.

[yoohyeon]

My mom used the complain I told her in secret to win her argument so now my dad is mad at me for complaining to my mom… my mom was at mad at my dad for making me do something, that actually didn’t even bother me, while I’m unwell just to make my situation worst by making me panic 😐