#or (ritual happens)

[kensatou]

silly sport full of silly people

bonus:

[charlietheepicwriter7]

"Grandfather."

Ra's knew who the boy was the moment he'd snuck into the room. He'd allowed the child--more man than child now, but everyone was a child compared to him--moments to steel himself while Ra's refrained from acknowledging his presence. The boy's breath was barely audible but unsteady, and a drop of something fell to the floor.

His grandson was injured. "Danyal," he greeted and finally gazed upon him for the first time in seven years.

Danyal had grown into his father's height, yet stayed lean in regards to his musculature. His black hair had grown out of the League-regulation haircut, held back in a messy braid. He held himself as strong as he could, but kept an arm wrapped around his stomach. His shirt--standard American teenage garb, he dismissed--was spotted with blood and he could see bandages poking out from under the cloth.

With great care, Danyal knelt before the Demon Head and recited the Oath of Loyalty.

Ra's watched.

The boy's tongue, fat with English, spoke the League's variant of Arabic with the grace of a mace to the head, yet his words were clear. He took his time speaking the oath, carefully sounding out words, working hard to avoid mispronunciation. The Oath in question was the older version, from before Deathstroke's insurrection, but Danyal spoke it with a calm certainty that it would be accepted.

And without a doubt, it would be accepted.

Talia's eldest son had been born from her body instead of through science, a mistake that nearly cost her the child and damaged him upon birth. While the best doctors in the world saved his life, Danyal Al Ghul would always be weak in a fight, always prone to illness, always struggling to excel. When it became clear that the boy couldn't become the next Demon Head, Ra's sent Talia to create a replacement while arrangements were made for her first child to be taught business and science, for the betterment of the League. Danyal, very much his father's child, thrived in his intellectual pursuits while Damian grew and developed into a budding assassin.

But Danyal was more like his father than he'd ever knew. Ra's couldn't miss the signs of one of his family turning away from the League. Not the mission--Danyal had written several university level papers defending the environment by the time the boy was 10--but Ra's methods...

Ra's had a conundrum. Danyal was a dedicated conservationist; once the boy was an adult, Ra's was certain he'd take the world by storm and bring the League to new heights. But if he forced his methods onto Danyal, he could create an enemy of him, just as his father was.

Ra's gave Danyal an offer; Danyal would be allowed to leave the League and live a normal life if and only if he faked his own death in such a way that reinforced Damian's loyalty to the League of Assassins.

Danyal had been hesitant at first, but past his test with flying colors. Instigating one of the more unstable assassins into organizing a coup, cutting the insurgents off near immediately, but "dying" protecting both his younger brother and mother. It was a masterful performance. Even Talia hadn't known about the deceit.

And yet, here he was, on his knees, pledging loyalty. Danyal knew what that meant, knew what he was returning to, which morals he would be allowed to keep.

"And what do you bring with you, child of no one?" Why should the League accept the return of this child, who left once before?

Danyal met his eyes. "I bring with me, my team, who are loyal to me and me alone. I bring with me, research surrounding the Lazarus Pits, in origins and further uses for the waters." Ra's raised an eyebrow, and Danyal smirked. "I bring with me, my knowledge, nurtured within this very home and sharpened in the world outside. I bring with me, my weapons, built with my own hands. I bring with me... my body, finally healthy and whole." He brought his head down to the floor, trembling with pain. "I bring my whole self to the Demon's Head, for Him to accept or reject."

Ra's smiled. "By the shadows that guard our order and the blood that binds us, I accept this oath. From this day forward, you are an instrument of the League, a harbinger of justice, and a weapon in the hand of Ra's Al Ghul."

Danyal returned to his feet, swaying percariously. He needed immediate medical attention. Despite this, he continued, "Long live the League of Assassins. Long live Ra's Al Ghul."

And he collapsed onto the floor.

[cranity]

head over heels

[katabay]

ALEX CASEY

—I remembered dying in this alley in a dream I had. He was just gonna keep killing me here, loop by loop."

fucking obsessed with what's going on with Casey, in both the narrative and the game play. most immediately, tho, it's just the way that he Has To Die in order for Wake and You the Player to get a gun and a flashlight. sometimes the narrative-gameplay requires a sacrifice-body! feed it your creation, Alan!! except. that's not entirely your creation. there is some 'the things we create when we're scared and want to be rescued' happening re: Alan with Casey. also. the dark presence. the way it gets a hold of Casey is less like a possession and more like a violent penetration or infection. turning these thoughts around in my head like they're on a microwave plate.

also this too

The Scapegoat, Rene Girard (trans. Yvonne Freccero)

bsky ⭐ pixiv ⭐ pillowfort ⭐ cohost

[trauma-bot]

sin eater

[houseswife]

you guys remember when house wanted to move into wilson’s spare bedroom (amber shrine) and the way he chose to communicate this was by jerking off on his couch when he knew wilson would catch him. i’m seriously asking. are they normal about anything

[layzeal]

one of my favorite headcanons with little to no canon support is that xue yang and mo xuanyu were guidao jin disciples at the same time, and mxy mentioned a few times wanting to ressurect the yiling laozu to kill his mom's evil family, so when xy saw him (or rather his body) entering yi city AS the yllz, he was like "son of a bitch he actually did it"

[zillychu]

Finding out the Danny Phantom pitch bible originally included more creatures other than ghosts really makes me want to just (DUMPS TRANSCENDENCE AU ALL OVER IT)

[copia]

sleep token rituals 14/? ☼ source — a hug for The Summoning

[plaquerat]

@littleguysdaily has such a fun template to play with

[gecskeleton]

“do you think caesar and joshua explored each other’s bodies” i think joshua slid the barrel of his gun into caesar’s mouth one night in their tent, knee rested between his thighs on the throne, and unprompted caesar wrapped his lips around it. i think caesar came without being touched and decades later he still denied any of that meant he was gay

[asurrogateblog]

paul is dead trutherism isn't taking it far enough we need to invent even weirder conspiracies. suggestions include:

paul isn't dead because he never existed in the first place he's a symptom of mass hysteria and if we all just face reality and stop believing in him he'll finally disappear

paul did die in a car crash but the other three necromanced him back to life so it's basically a wash

paul did die in a car crash but after they hired billy shears to replace him they summoned paul's ghost and got billy possessed so it's basically a wash

paul is john's childhood imaginary friend that he imagined so vividly he came to life (this could also work in the reverse direction but john's current real-life occupation is already "paul's imaginary friend")

paul, john, george, and ringo are actually all the same guy who's in a closed-loop reincarnation situation as karmic punishment

[edwinisms]

it’s actually so wild to me that this fairly quirky YA type show gave both of its main characters deaths that can, in one way or another, solidly be considered hate crimes. they were both flat out murdered as a result of being A) gay and effeminate or B) brown (south asian, specifically) and you could argue whether or not those kids thought of it that way in the moment or whatever but the bottom line is that they would not have been in the situations that killed them if they weren’t of their respective minorities. like legitimately that is a ballsy choice for this kind of netflix show, let alone for the two Main Characters, and i respect it big time

[codacheetah]

I joke abt Loop being a critter a lot but I do honestly wonder if they'd be considered like. Not a "creature" per se but part of some kind of mythological species from the Island's culture. To make a wish so severe and so powerful so as to completely destroy yourself, and be remolded in the shape of the Universe, well that just feels like the kind of thing that would get infinite fables written about it. Some parents warn their children that if they're too irresponsible with Wish Craft and ask too much of the Universe, they'll become a star as punishment (and if this is told to young children I have to imagine the next threat is "and you won't be able to eat all your favorite snacks anymore!") Some people however revere Stars as the most dedicated followers of the Universe, favored so much for their direct communication with it that they've been reshaped to match the stars that guide them. Idk

[starkspi]

these sketches are all inspired by @miribalis fanfiction "Managerial Liberties" where Adam stays at the hotel (spoiler - he is not happy and he is still stupid) [and please everyone who sees this post also has to read "Bedtime Rituals to Try out Before the Next Angelic War" so we can scream in each other's faces how INSANELY good both fanfictions are]

[homoqueerjewhobbit]

I'm allowed to make this joke, but I love that Jewish death rituals are like:

"Pfeh, for what should I spend $12,000 on a big fekakte box they see only for five minutes before they cover it with dirt?"

"Don't waste my good suit what might fit my nephew Lev if the bum should ever even try to get a real job!"

"Embalming? Don't mind me, I'll rot in the dark."