#is this unreliable narrator? maybe?

[callmeizukunotdeku]

Jason starts working with the Bats and he feels guilty. He is guilty.

Sure, he wasn't in his right mind during the Tower incident, not entirely, but he was in his right mind when he was planning it. The Pit could only take over for so long.

So maybe, when things start to get better between him and the bats, he takes up a case with Robin.

It's an easy case, but he's still impressed by how quickly Robin solves it.

Maybe Tim smiles when he solves the case and Jason ruffles his hair and tells him he did a good job--because god, Tim's just a kid; how could he not?

And maybe Tim keeps coming back after that.

Maybe Tim keeps solving all of Red Hood's cases before Jason can. Maybe Tim keeps taking over for Jason and maybe Jason starts to feel less guilty and more pissed off because he knows that he never fully thought things through as Robin and he knows that Bruce took on Tim as Robin because he did. He knows Tim is the smart Robin, but Tim has neither the right nor reason to rub it in his face, so maybe he snaps at Tim--tells him to get the fuck out of sight, tells him that he might not be the smartest person in the room but he's not some fucking idiot, tells him that he knows what he's doing and he doesn't need some fucking kid just going around solving his cases for him. Maybe, Jason tells Tim that he's not needed.

And maybe the guilt comes back when Tim leaves with tears in his eyes.

But, Jason thinks, all the guilt in the world isn't enough to override the anger and let Tim back in, not after he called Jason an idiot with everything but his words.

And then, maybe Jason is working a case and it expands past his territory and he finds himself in the cave, working with Batman. Maybe neither of them can solve it and Tim walks in, excitedly talking to Dick about something. (Jason isn't listening too closely.)

Maybe Bruce calls Tim over and Jason flinches--he didn't remember Bruce ever being that harsh when he was Robin.

Maybe Tim solves the case and Bruce turns back to Jason and starts planning their next step without so much as a thank you.

Maybe it's odd, to Jason, how Bruce and Tim don't act like a Batman and Robin to each other, and that thought sticks with him, bugging him whenever he has a quiet moment, so maybe a week or two passes before he asks Dick about it.

Maybe Dick's smile is sad when he explains how they've always been like that. Tim, always striving for attention, Bruce never giving it. Maybe Bruce's standards rose above what was physically possible in the wake of Jason's death and maybe Dick sobs himself to sleep every once in a while because that hasn't stopped tim from trying.

Maybe Tim was okay for a bit whenever Dick was in town because he could help Dick on cases and Dick would smile and applaud every little thing he did, but Dick lived in a different city, so Tim couldn't help as much with Dick's cases as he could with Bruce's.

Maybe, Dick says something under his breath--a passing comment about how surprised he is that Tim didn't come to Jason and try to solve all his cases just for a kind word or two, hoping that maybe the Red Hood's love of kids and their happiness would extend to him.

Maybe Jason feels his stomach drop as the final piece of the puzzle clicks in place--how at first, Tim came with cases every so often, smiled and leaned in whenever Jason said a kind word to him, and how, when Jason started thinking that Tim was doing this to spite Jason was when he stopped giving that praise to Tim, which had the boy solving more and more cases for him, working harder and harder without being asked just so that maybe--maybe Jason would tell him he did a good job. Jason wondered just how far Tim would go if someone promised him a smile.

Maybe the guilt is too much for him and he pushed it down, only saying, "I don't think he'd risk it--not after the Tower."

Maybe Dick has something sad in his eyes when he says, "He's done more for less."

Maybe Jason tries again to bring Tim into his cases, but Tim refuses, promises not to intrude, promises he learned his lesson, and maybe Jason cries because Tim has never asked for an apology after Titan's Tower, but one hint that he's overstepped and Tim begs forgiveness.

Maybe Jason focuses a little too much on how to bring Tim closer--make him feel loved again and make it clear that Jason just didn't understand what Tim that Tim was trying to help--make sure Tim knew he was welcome.

But maybe Tim refused.

And maybe, Jason got so focused on Tim that he stopped focusing on patrol and got over his head. Maybe, just on pure happenstance, Tim was nearby that night and he couldn't let anything happen to his Robin.

Maybe Tim swooped in to save the day and Jason grabbed onto his wrist when he tried to leave.

Maybe Tim apologized but Jason just pulled him in and hugged him--a full hug, one arm around Tim's back, the other, tucking Tim's head into his chest, and maybe Jason said, "Thank you so much, Robin. I needed you to save me."

Maybe Tim cried when it happened. Maybe, under his mask, Jason was crying as well. Maybe, they got closer after that, Jason, needing to be trusted to care for something and Tim just needing to be cared for.

And it takes time, but maybe there comes a day when Jason looks Tim in the eye and tells him that he's important and valuable and incredibly loved regardless of whether or not he's needed. Maybe it take a few years before Tim believes him, and when he does, he hugs Jason and cries into his arms, but it's okay because Jason knew it would happen sooner or later, and it's okay, it's okay, he has tissues.

Maybe Jason apologizes for what happened at the Tower and Tim admits that he forgave him for that a while ago.

Maybe.

Maybe.

Who could say for sure?

[mxystan]

taiwan travelogue by yang shuangzi tr. lin king is indeed an award-winning banger and perhaps the first time in my life i've ever felt vindicated for dual-wielding a novel with its english translation because the act of translation itself is such a big theme in the novel. big win for metafiction-obsessed himejin everywhere!!

[pineconnie]

“the jump for the beef is so easy how could you fail this!!” have you perchance heard of worldbuilding or fictional stories

[pleaseinsertwittyurl]

There are always 2 sides.

The discourse around Louis and Lestat being a victim and abuser and nothing more drives me insane.

Something i don't think enough people remember is that the very same reason the fight began in 1×05 (lestat grabbing claudia by the throat when she tries to "take louis away") we see Louis himself do to her in 1×07 when she tries to get Louis to burn Lestat.

They BOTH would harm her rather than live in a world without the other. They are both guilty of abusing her and each other.

There is an implication that a good deal of time passed between Louis and Lestat meeting and the church. Louis expresses that he shares himself with Lestat in a way he only had with Paul. I would assume that goes both ways, to a degree. We know Louis knows at least enough about Nicki to discourage Claudia poking that wound. He also clearly knows that the threat of leaving is his most powerful weapon against Lestat.

Mental abuse is abuse. And Louis abused Lestat mentally for years. Shaming him, ridiculing him, shutting him out, manipulating him into making Claudia (a traumatic moment for him, whether Louis understands the depths of it or not) by promising to give him what he's being denying him, promising to never put him through what he fears the most.

Louis admits to purposely making Lestat suffer. He admits he was warned that Claudia would suffer and he wanted her anyway because he needed to feel redeemed. He is not innocent. He is not a trapped, weak victim. He made choices to hurt both Lestat and Claudia time and time again.

Does this justify Lestat's actions in 1×05? Obviously not. But we now know Louis was not willing to stop the fight. He taunted Lestat the same way he taunted the Alderman. He was unleashing years of frustrations just as Lestat was. His priority was not to protect Claudia, it was to hurt Lestat, consequences be damned.

I hate the drop scene as much as the next person and Lestat has admitted he will never earn forgiveness for what he did. But if you view Louis as some squeaky clean victim who was manipulated, trapped, and abused by Lestat you are missing so much of what this show is conveying.

We will always tend to paint ourselves as the hero of our own story. It is hard to accept your faults or that you hurt people you love. It is much easier to shift that blame on to someone else, to frame them as the villian. But life is not usually that black and white. Claudia had harsh words for them both in her diary, even before they got to Europe, for a reason. They both made hurtful mistakes with her, both treated her like a pawn in their relationship instead of a person, both harmed her, took away her choice, never prioritized her.

That is the great tragedy. That she never had a choice and was not allowed to be her own person. And in the end, they both are responsible for her misery and her death. That's what makes the reunion scene so important. They have been grieving her and carrying that guilt alone, all the while longing for the comfort of the other for 70+ years. Louis has found clarity in his memories, he has accepted his role in their suffering, he has seen Lestat's perspective more fully. Lestat is broken, totally consumed with that guilt and grief. Both know that although they cannot change what they've done, they can forgive the other, even if they can't forgive themselves. They can love each other despite everything they've done to one another because they cannot stop loving each other. But now they can try to rebuild that love from the rubble.

[letsplaythermalnuclearwar]

hey wouldn't it be fun to give Hunter a bunch of Grimwalker things that no one but Belos knew about and everyone assumes is just Belos being cruel until they try something different and then it turns out it was actually necessary for Hunter's wellbeing?

so like one day Hunter mentions never having ice-scream or cake or really any other type of dessert. and everyone's like "that's so sad we have to get him ice-scream right away." but then Hunter spends the next couple hours being violently ill and it turns out Grimwalkers can't handle processed sugar

or he was never allowed to go to the healers when he was injured and he always had to stitch himself up (or Belos would do it sometimes if it was bad enough). and everyone's completely horrified because that's terrible and evil and what could the point of that be except to make Hunter go through more pain? and then someday he breaks a leg or something and they take him to the healers and it just. doesn't work. nothing happens. and it turns out healing magic is completely ineffective on Grimwalkers

anyway I think it would be fun to make the line between what was care and what was abuse a little blurry every now and again

[writerorlion333]

Parallels Between Spiderverse Villians: "It's All Your Fault Miles"

Kingpin: Blames Miles for the death of his family in their final confrontation, despite the fact that A) Miles was not Spiderman yet, and B) His wife and son left because he was about to punch Spiderman (Peter P.) in the face while holding him by his neck.

The Spot: Blames Miles ruining his life despite the fact that A) He chose to work at Amex, B) He was partially responsible for the creation of the collider in the first place, and C) if Miles hadn't blown it up, they would likely all be dead.

Miguel O'Hara: Blames Miles for breaking the multiverse despite A) It was in no way Miles's choice to get bitten by a spider Amex stole by mucking with spacetime, and B) He has no concrete proof of his theory, as evidenced by how he claims that Miles saving the Inspector was disrupting Canon even though without Spot that never would have happened in the first place

[wishchip106]

“There are thousands of men on those ships. Good, honest, innocent men! They’re just following orders.”

imagine the betrayal Erik must’ve felt hearing those words come out of Charles’ mouth

coming to the conclusion that maybe Charles doesn’t understand him, maybe he is really just like the people who turn a blind eye to those who are suffering

that probably gave him the push to send those missiles out towards the ships. no more men following orders to ruin the world

and maybe that’s why Erik so desperately tried to convince Charles to join him. Maybe there’s a chance that Charles will understand and will rightfully join him by his side

but he doesn’t. Charles doesn’t love him. So Erik leaves

[yuridovewing]

tbh an avos rewrite where alderheart believes hes a forsaken, mistreated scapegoat, only to realize he’s actually the favorite child and he’s been participating in excluding and treating his sister poorly while insisting hes the victim and shes this vindictive bitch who deserves it, and realizing he needs to change, that would go hard, but you know that’s not at all what the fans or what the authors would want

[lixel-5]

the prophecy jack was forcefully given at the beginning of vol 1 is at least close to coming true

“you will watch all of your friends die.” current friends or all of jack friends? because i think all of his friends at that time ended up dying. Tony, Mawma and Pops, Tom, and Sabine. i feel like i’m forgetting someone

if the prophecy includes people like Amy, Jerry, Rosa, and Gaston who he becomes friends with later then he’s pretty close. Jerry “died” in Bedside Manner and the Gaston clone Sabine said was weird died in vol 4. he WATCHED them die, but they didn’t. the prophecy is still true.

O’Brian’s memory lost in vol 4 could be akin to death. Jack’s friend died, but she’s still around. she’s just not his friend anymore

so i think Rosa will die, look like she died, get revived, etc. we just have to wait and see

dear god i hope cooper dies for reals

[theshortjew2]

based on the people in my comments, it sounds like we’re all manifesting that the next aftg/tsc book is the size of “the priory of the orange tree” rn 🙂‍↕️

[myokk]

My writing/reading question of the day:

Do you prefer present tense or past tense? Or something entirely different like future tense? For writing AND reading🫶

The more I write (I wish I realized how fun it was before this year😭😭😭) the more I realize I like to play around with language & tense choice can have such a profound impact on how your writing comes across & even how I feel as I’m writing. With my oneshots I’ve been playing around with only present tense & my main fic is past tense (but present during the flashbacks - idk don’t ask it just felt right😆).

Or does nobody else think about tense and I’m just alone in this😆😆😆 LANGUAGE IS JUST SO COOL !!!!

[shalomniscient]

nobody ask me why i’m on an angst kick or why i’m thinking of furina of all characters but what if. furina x reader but furina knows reader is actually in love with focalors and really is only by furina’s side as her aide/retained because focalors ordered them to and yet she still plays along because holy shit she needs companionship (and maybe the horribly overtly emotional sex) or else she really might just end it all before focalors can

[loreandletters]

WarTrophy!Sokka snippet...

tysm! 12yr lore would have loved to read this lmao and yeah, Zuko def deserved that hit, what was he thinking saying all that? (also apologies if i didn't reblog this right? haven't been on tumblr that long)

Speaking of snippets, I have been finding all these little scenes littered through out my old docs. (i feel like an archaeologist rn) I didn't think about posting it until I read ur tags lol thanks for the idea!

Warning, some of the writing had a few months in between (I think this was around the time I got super sick) so there'll be difference in quality. lol I'm really enjoying all this tbh, very nostalgic for me :)

(fic in question)(this comes right off the 2nd chapter lol)

-

Sokka woke up in pain and decided that it was a good enough excuse to start brooding up a storm.

A traitor. Him? Was their defeat so inconceivable that Zuko had gotten amnesia? (totally possible by the way, Zuko was dramatic enough for it) It’s not like Sokka hadn’t spent, oh, nearly ten years trying to prove otherwise. Honestly, aside from the color of his eyes, what about him screamed Water Tribe? 

Sokka couldn’t stand the cold. He loved the smell of a fresh fire, and yeah he complained, but sometimes he was more faithful to Agni’s rites than Zuko was. When the chill came at night, he made sure to wear double layers, and when they re-entered warmer waters, he breathed a sigh of relief. He can’t remember a time when he didn’t like spicy food, he embraced their festivals (even the one that celebrated the fall of the Airbenders), and wearing anything other than red felt wrong. To put it simply: everything about Sokka was Fire Nation, down to the lingo, down to the bone. Just not the eyes.

And his family? His parents were a faded memory. Yes, he hadn’t wanted to leave (what did they expect, raids and children didn’t exactly mix well!), but obviously that wasn’t still true. He had plenty of chances to run back ‘home,’ but he never did. 

The more he thought about it the angrier he got.

He’d followed his prince in his banishment, sworn fealty to the royal family, and accepted all the burdens that came with it. If he were born with golden eyes, people would be envious of him. No one would even think to call him a dog or a savage - he would just be Sokka. Not even that! His name would be different, less strange and so obviously foreign.

Damn you, Lady Ursa. Lu Ten. Sokka thought viciously, hot tears pricking at the corners of his eyes. If only you had just let me die back then.

That had to be easier, right? His heart was burning with the anger, but underneath it bubbled a sickening kind of grief. His chest hurt, like a knife twisting round and round and round. Almost ten years of loyalty, and what did he get but Zuko screaming all of his insecurities to his face?

Azula was right. Sokka was way too stubborn for his own good. Even now, he didn’t know if he was more upset with the prince or the fact Zuko might just kick him off the crew all together. Where would he even go? Sokka didn’t want to leave - he wanted another chance. He wanted to see Zuko home like he swore. (he wanted to go home too. The Fire Nation may have taken from him, but it had given him so much more in return)

Sokka scrubbed at his face, drawing deep, steading breaths so as to try and kill the sob building in his chest. Zuko was so lucky, he was so fuckin’ lucky that Sokka loved him this much. He was lucky that his mom had saved Sokka, ripped his chest open and tricked him into caring for her kids. And that Lu Ten had instilled such a deep love for the Fire Nation, that Sokka never even thought twice about returning ‘home.’ war

If they hadn’t, then Sokka would have left Caldera the night Ursa died and never looked back.

[visenyaism]

the levels of haterism aegon iv reached are legendary if nothing else

awesome how thematically you can think to yourself: well of course the firstborn son of a 13 year-old boy hostage and his 20something wife he was forced to marry who was then summarily abandoned by his mother at a young age and raised in the shadow of his baby brother who is the archetypical Perfect Knight and forced to marry his sister who he did not like as a teenager and spent his entire life locked into one massive selfish hedonistic binge session would have significant deep spiritual wounds and some level of humanity motivating him to lash out like that. and then fire and blood is like so aegon iv was actually a hater from birth. straight up literal evil baby. clocked his first attempted fratricide at eighteen months. no one hated like this

[marinsawakening]

LOZ Fic Recs

Deciding to use my hobby of autistically crawling through AO3 tags for good. I'm prioritizing fics with less than 50 kudos. None of these are ship fics, most don't have any romance. All of these are completed one shots, most under 10k words.

Skies, Surfaces, and the Hero Chef That Can't Actually Cook by greatduwangs

Summary: Link's cooking sidequest in Skyward Sword, which goes about as well as you'd expect. Or, the missing ingredient was a home all along, or whatever.

Why I recommend it: 4.5k of Link eating things he shouldn't. Very funny and very cute!

Big Dark by phlyarologist

Summary: Character study of Mido as the events of Ocarina of Time change him, worldbuilding the Kokiri and examining what it means to grow up.

Why I recommend it: Contender for the best LOZ fic I've ever read. Brilliant worldbuilding and characterization, and a fantastic understanding of childhood and its nuances that you rarely see outside of fiction aimed at children.

loop - synonyms: coil, noose, ring, circle by MidnightBunnyy

Summary: Fi gets stuck in a timeloop and is very... well, Fi about it.

Why I recommend it: Excellent Fi characterization that leads to a very funny take on a time loop scenario while still being a serious story.

Notes: Restricted work, only available to AO3 users.

A Legacy Cast in Stone by sagittamoth

Summary: Pre-Skyward Sword Sheikah worldbuilding following an OC who works with the robots and timeshift stones in the last days before the war.

Why I recommend it: Does a great job with worldbuilding, creating a vibrant world that slots neatly into the greater Skyward Sword canon.

missing by fandomsandshit

Summary: Drabble exploring Zelda's time in the dungeon.

Why I recommend it: Does a brilliant job painting fear and an oppressive atmosphere, with stellar Zelda characterization.

Growth by herohelio

Summary: Two connected snippets of Malon in the adult timeline, meeting Link again.

Why I recommend it: Adorable Link and Malon friendship and great Malon characterization, with very effective hints at what living under Ingo had been like.

Because each time we live by grainjew

Summary: Follows Link through ALTTP, written through the lens of the reincarnation theory with a focus on connection to the wider LOZ series.

Why I recommend it: Author described it as a 'mood piece', which it absolutely is and is very good at. I like the surreal and blurry way reincarnation is portrayed in this fic, and it has a great take on the maidens.

Blind and the Bunny by justAPassingThought

Summary: A character study of Blind the Thief through his defeat in the Thieves’ Hideout Dungeon.

Why I recommend it: Excellent exploration of the Dark World and the way its transformations work, and I really like Blind's view on Link's Dark World form.

Litany of Betrayal by RawLiverAndCigarettes

Summary: A foreign warlord swears fielty to the king of Hyrule. Impa knows what the stranger truly wants. She has seen it before. She can still taste the ash.

Why I recommend it: Fantastic character study of Ganondorf and Impa in Ocarina of Time. Everyone is horrible and I'm thriving. Incorporates Hylia into the OOT canon in a way I find actually interesting. Fascinating worldbuilding in general.

Notes: Prequel to a novel-length fic I have not read (I'm terrible at reading long fics rip).

that gentle hubris by cassiopeian

Summary: Zelda bares her soul at the Spring of Wisdom, but the answers she seeks do not come from a goddess.

Why I recommend it: Mipha and Zelda friendship, a fun take on Zora mythology and I always love mortals forging their own paths in worlds where gods are objectively real.

Hunger by Anonymous

Summary: Sequel to Grace, where Zelda struggles to reckon with perceptions out of her control. Link is there to help point out what she's missed. Can be read as standalone.

Why I recommend it: Autistic Zelda, queerplatonic zelink, and a great portrayal of the hunger that comes with trauma.

Notes: Sequel to a fic that is also very good.

As Above, So Below by Mothlight_Witch

Summary: An exploration of the Depths and Hyrule's cosmology.

Why I recommend it: The other contender for 'best LOZ fic I've read'. Astounding atmosphere and worldbuilding, incredibly unique and all-around breathtaking. Lives in my head rent free.

What is your wish? by AdeptArcanist

Summary: Character study of Vaati connecting him to Link's Awakening and Majora's Mask.

Why I recommend it: Very weird and unique take on LOZ lore and I'm so incredibly here for that.

Linner (Link Dinner) by waterglider

Summary: An adaptation of one of Zelda's diary entries set after the "Blades of the Yiga" memory. After a very irritating person saves her life, Zelda has developed a theory-- one she plans to test.

Why I recommend it: Zelda is kinda mean and Link is a monarchist bootlicker. I adore this take on pre-Calamity Link, he's genuinely insufferable and I love that. If I ever end up writing pre-Calamity Link I'm so stealing this characterization.

Notes: Sequel to another stellar fic, prequel to an in progress novel-length fanfic that I have not read (again, terrible at reading longer fic).

[galaxythedragonshifter]

Idk if this has been debunked or not, but I'm pretty sure that the statistics that Dark Sun told Sun (about how many Moons kill their Suns and what not) were either lies to further his "Sun liberation" vendetta. Or incorrect statistics that he believes are real.

It's probably the former, considering he's even smarter than Eclipse, and I don't think he'd accidentally get a different statistic than the truth. Although, it's possible he did mess something up.

The reason I don't believe the statistics is one: Ruin already destroyed 5,000 dimensions that included the creator (aka the guy that causes dimensions like the SAMS, EAPS, Ruin's, ect to exist in the way it does.)

The dimensions left over that include the creator (such as eaps, the swap dimension, tsams, and some others) are only alive because the creator is already dead, had a heart attack, or are in between life and death.

And thousands of other dimensions exist as well. Considering they don't have the creator, I would assume they function differently than the ones we know from the SAMS's perspective. And since it's a multiverse, I would also assume that said multiverse includes other fan made content as well.

If that's true, Moons aren't always the abuser/bad guy in the situation.

A LOT of fanfics, especially as of recent, have been utilizing the "Sunhinged" trope for Sun. Making him incredibly passive aggressive, and sometimes possessive/yandere/abusive towards Moon (so the opposite of what happens in Creator universes it seems).

So if Dark Sun caused a 35% discrepancy in the multiverse, just how many of those dimensions were unnecessarily roped in? How many of those universes were triggered into those "Sunhinged" Suns killing Moon unnecessarily???

Because not many dimensions like SAMS, EAPS, DS's old dimension, and Ruin's dimension remain. That 35% might be dragging in universes that don't have the same dynamic as those Suns and Moons do.

Just how much damage is Dark Sun causing? Especially if that discrepancy increases.

Edit: ALSO, Atlas implied those statistics could be a lie at the end of that episode. So yeah, I truly do believe that what Dark Sun said was incorrect or a downright lie.