#she was seriously about to lose it at that point

[that-random-fangirl]

Part 4 - Three Bats Walk Into a Food Court (And Also a Person)

~~~~~✨~~~~~

Jason’s brother was a dick. Without a doubt, 100%, an asshole. Said brother had insisted on meeting up for Sibling Bonding Jaybird! No, this was not ‘sibling bonding’, this was the result of the asshole losing a bet with Steph, having to go shopping with her as forfeit – and dragging Jason into the nightmare under false pretences.

“Dick.” Jason spat from the backseat, meaning it in every sense.

“Yes Lil’ Wing?” The Dick-in-question responded from the driver’s seat as he pulled into a parking space at the mall.

“Richard.” 

Richard (Dick) Grayson gasped in horror. “No! You can’t full name me I’m older than you!”

Steph snorted in the passenger seat. “It’s your legal name, not your full name, dumbass.”

“Then you can’t legal-name me! I’ll tell Alfred!” 

Jason raised an eyebrow, reaching into his jacket pocket for his wallet. “Oh really? You’ll tell Alfred?” 

“Yes.” 

Steph watched the exchange eagerly, hitting record on her phone to capture whatever followed. “Oh this’ll be good.”

Jason produced a card from his wallet and presented it to Dick. “There you go.”

“I told you writing ‘I do what I want’ on a card doesn’t count as any kind of permit. I’m a cop, I’m not gonna fall for that.” He scoffed, before adding in a mutter. “Again.”

“Nothing of the sort, Dickolas – look at the card.” Jason insisted.

“What? This one? Fine.” Dick sighed, before beginning to read in a mocking tone. “Master Jason has every right and my permission to legal-name Master Rich—” He trailed off. “What the fuck? Alfred is in on this?!”

“It was his idea, actually.” Steph commented. “Something about how someone has to do it when he’s not available.”

“Why the fuck does Jason have it?!”

“I was nominated.” Jason shrugged.

“That doesn’t answer my question?!”

“Well,” Steph started, beginning to count them off on her fingers, “Damian is the baby, so you’d never take it seriously. Duke was busy with finals at the time. Cass didn’t want it. I’m apparently not ‘mature’ enough, or something. Tim can barely take care of himself and keeps forgetting to sleep so it couldn’t be him. Babs already has authority over you and Bruce wasn’t involved.”

“Plus we don’t listen to the Old Man anyway.” Jason added.

Dick stared at them, mouth hanging open. “What qualified Jason?!”

“Well he did start his own very successful business.” Steph mused.

“He became a Crime Lord!”

“His Business has many departments, and he handles all of them without resorting to over-caffeination and sleep deprivation.”

“He’s literally a vigilante.”

“We’re all vigilantes, get with the program. He was the best one for the job.” Steph replied, climbing out of the car and tapping away on her phone, probably sending the video to the Bat-siblings group chat.

“But I’m the oldest.” Dick whined, making his way around the front of the car to stand with Steph.

“Precisely why you need someone to legal-name you, can’t have you getting too cocky now, can we?” Steph teased, looking up from her phone and pinching at one of Dick’s cheeks.

“No we cannot.” Jason agreed. “I’m in the front on the way back, by the way, I can’t believe you stuffed me in the backseat.” He shut the door with perhaps a touch more force than was necessary, just to see his brother’s face scrunch up in displeasure.

“Please don’t slam the door. I like this car.”

“Oops.” Jason deadpanned.

Steph chose that moment to interrupt. “Not my fault you’re gigantic, I was there first.” She flicked her hair off her shoulder. “I didn’t choose the Passenger Princess life, it chose me.”

“Well, next time you can ‘passenger princess’ in the back, your highness.” Jason bowed mockingly. “Then you can stretch out across the backseat.”

“Solid point – I call backsies when we’re done here!”

“You cannot stretch out on the backseat while I’m driving that’s illegal.”

Jason and Steph stared at Dick for a moment, then – realising he was serious – tried and failed to stifle their laughter. 

“Wow.” Steph gasped, smacking Jason’s shoulder in her amusement. “That’s hilarious, holy crap.”

“Yeah, alright Dickhead, sure.” Jason snorted.

“I’m serious.” 

“Jeez if you’re that worried, I’ll drive.” Jason shrugged. “Can’t have the ‘passenger princess’ not playing passenger.”

Dick pressed his fingers together and into his chin. “I just said I like this car, you are not driving it.”

“You know I’m the best driver out of the clan, excluding Alfred, of course.” Jason protested.

“You drive like you have nothing to live for.” Dick pointed out, immediately regretting his words.

“Well yeah, I died.”

“Oh my God.” Dick threw his hands in the air, spinning on his heel and marching towards the entrance to the mall. “Nope, you are not driving my car. Let’s go get this done before you people drive me to the dark timeline.”

Steph and Jason trailed after him, sniggering.

Eventually, with only one instance of Jason ramming Dick into a concrete planter in the parking lot, the trio made it into the mall. Steph had stowed her phone and set off at a truly impressive – if you didn’t know she was a vigilante who leapt from rooftops after hours – pace for the other side of the complex.

“Steph! Slow down!” Dick begged, hopelessly.

“Dick! Hurry up!” Steph responded.

“Why are you going all the way to the other side of the mall? Don’t you wanna look here?” Dick blurted, confused.

“Dicky-boy, why don’t you know how to shop?” Steph halted in her march, facing them to shake her head. “The answer is so obvious!”

“No it’s not?!” Came Dick’s desperate reply.

Jason sighed, deciding to help his idiot older brother. “We’re starting further so we finish closer, dumbass.”

“Ohhh.” 

“Yes, ‘ohhh’, fuckin’ idiot.”

Steph smirked, spinning back on her heel and setting off again with a flick of her hair over her shoulder. Her minions associates following close behind.

Truthfully, this situation was Danny’s fault, He hadn’t been looking where he was going and now, he was drenched in several hot drinks and covered in three different kinds of fries. In his defence, he was running on probably 20 minutes of sleep and still injured – with all that on top of literally being half dead – it’s fair to say he was a little out of it.

“Well, that’s not ideal.” Danny muttered. 

That didn’t quite cover it, but it was better than the expletives that had filled the air following his collision with a tall, dark-haired and blue-eyed man carrying a tray of food court fare. The tray of food that was now all over Danny and the man himself.

“Oh my God I’m so sorry are you okay?!” The man exclaimed.

“Are these chilli cheese fries? I’d ask if you recommend them but I’m guessing you haven’t tried them.” Danny asked, only to be met with silence. “Okay, wrong crowd, it’s fine – don’t worry.”

“Uh, you sure, kid? You’re covered in – well – a whole lotta stuff.” A blonde woman in a purple sweatshirt pointed out.

“I’m not a kid,” Danny grunted, “and I’ve been covered in worse things.”

“When and how?” Some jock-looking dude with a white streak in his black hair – weird fashion statement but go off, I guess – asked, seeming genuinely surprised.

“Um, people like you aren’t exactly ‘besties’ with people like me?” Danny stated, gesturing to – well – all of the guy in question before doing the same to himself. “I end up in lockers and trashcans because I fit?”

“What do you mean ‘people like you?” The guy asked, somewhere between insulted and concerned.

“Uh, jocks? What did you think I meant?”

“You – hah – you think Jason is a jock?!” The guy who Danny bumped into in the first place laughed from the floor where he’d landed post-collision.

“Uh,” Danny started, “I did, though it looks like I was wrong? Sorry, man.”

“It’s fine, kid.” Jason responded, raising an eyebrow with half a smile, daring him to say anything.

“I probably deserved that.” Danny laughed. “Sorry about your lunch, I guess?”

“It’s fine.” The girl assured. “Dick ran into you.”

“I’m sure he’s not a dick!” Danny insisted.

She laughed out loud with Jason while the other guy just smiled.

“She’s not calling me names, don’t worry.” His smile grew. Apparently, he was trying not to laugh, he offered a hand to shake. “My name is Richard, but I go by Dick. The girl about to fall over is Steph, and the guy is Jason.”

“Oh, okay then.” Danny replied, attempting to avoid mentioning that high school must have sucked for this guy. 

He decided the ‘Dick’ name must be a Gotham thing, as that Duke guy from the library had a brother was also apparently called that. He shook Dick’s hand, before suddenly recalling that he hadn’t introduced himself. 

“Oh, right, I’m Danny.”

“Nice to meet you, Danny – let us help you clean yourself up.”

“Oh no it’s fine don’t worry!” Danny tried. “I can sort myself out later!”

“Nope, I just picked up a couple spare sweaters – I have a lot of siblings and they like to steal them – so you and Dick will go change while Steph and I order some more lunch and let one of the workers know about the mess.” Jason insisted, handing Dick his bag before adding; “You like fries, Danny?”

“Yeah? Wait what?”

“Great! Thanks Jay!” Dick called, accepting the bag and grabbing Danny’s hand, half-dragging and half-guiding the boy to the nearest restroom.

Outside the cubicles, Dick handed Danny a sweater.

“Here you go! Blue for you and red for me!”

“Why?”

“Well, blue matches your eyes and red is Jason’s favourite colour, so as his brother I like to wear it to remind him I’m secretly his favourite.” Dick laughed.

“I meant, why are you being so nice to me?” Danny asked, staring into the man’s eyes, “I ran into you, spilled your lunch everywhere and yet you guys are giving me a sweater and apparently buying me lunch? It doesn’t make sense.”

“Why shouldn’t I help you out? It wasn’t your fault, just bad luck.” Dick asked.

“Hah, I seem to get a lot of that.” Danny mumbled, before speaking up, “You don’t even know me.”

 “Why should that stop me from helping you out if I can?” He paused a moment, noticing the lines of distrust etched into Danny’s expression, “ Maybe you remind me of my brother.”

“Jason?”

“Yeah,” Dick nodded.

“How? He’s, and I mean this in the nicest possible way, huge – I’m average-sized at best and compared to that guy I’m a shrimp.”

“He wasn’t always linebacker-sized,” Dick snorted, “He used to be smaller than you – scrappy too.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“Well, I guess there’s a little more to it than that,” Dick pondered, “We didn’t get along all that well when we were younger, I still regret that. We missed a lot of time together that I wish I could get back.”

“That’s, um, deep?” Danny shifted foot-to-foot, “Thanks – I think?”

“No worries – happy to help!” Dick beamed.

Danny accepted the sweater awkwardly, not sure how to deal with the information that this random dude had just dropped in his lap. He shook it off, heading into the cubicle to change.

Dick watched for half a second, suddenly hit by a wave of emotion. He shook his head, clinging onto the look in Danny’s eyes as a distraction – the same look that was etched into everything Jason did as a child, and reared it’s head even now, at times. The desperation, the mistrust, and worst of all – the way he seemed to accept it as inevitable, like it wasn’t a surprise. Dick didn’t mention that he heard Danny’s comment about having a lot of bad luck. He didn’t mention that the kid looked tired, too thin – he didn’t mention how bony he felt when they collided.

If he texted Jason to get an extra serving or two of fries, that was between him and his Little Wing. If Jason had a few milkshakes along with the fries waiting for them – Dick’s favourite flavour, too – that was simply a coincidence. Steph said nothing, and Danny had no way of knowing.

By the end of lunch, Danny had weaselled Jason’s address out of him, so he could return the sweater once he’d washed it (the kid insisted, though Jason wouldn’t have minded if he never saw the sweater again). Danny wasn’t as subtle as he hoped, but it was hard to get anything by bat-trained vigilantes, and Jason shared the information easily – hopeful that the kid would come if he was ever in any trouble too.

The group bid their goodbyes, Danny heading out on his own, the others returning to their shopping. Soon enough, distracted with their lives and heroics, the vigilantes forgot about the boy with icy eyes, who watched with distrust. A week later, Jason received a package in the mailbox, inside of which was the sweater, some candy and a green post-it note:

‘Thanks for the sweater, and the fries – see you around.

– Danny’

The traces of Lazarus water on the note were only discovered when the other message appeared, weeks later.

‘When her Knights have been called, and arrive on the scene,

Release him, only together can you all win.

If the True shall be bold, you’ll learn where he’s been,

When all is as it should be, the city bells will ring.

– CW’

“Do you ever think Batman gets sad?” Young Danny asks his father as he gets tucked into bed one night.

“I don’t think so, son.” Jack responds, kissing Danny’s head.

Ten years later, as Danny is nearly bleeding to death in Batman’s arms after being found in an alley, he finally understands. Batman can get sad, but he can also be very, very angry at the same time.

[sgiandubh]

Just so stories: no trespassing

One of the more sophisticated talking points across the street goes something along these lines:

'Why don't we have any pictures with SC outside of promo events and fan service?'

At the same time, 'why would anyone keep quiet about the private lives of two [cursor can go anywhere from] D to B- list actors?'

If all those people in the back could only add two and two, the answer would be easy, I think. But logic was always in very short supply over there, wasn't it?

We don't have many (not any of those, ever, like they desperately try to explain) SC pics, precisely because they are [cursor can go anywhere from] D to B-list actors.

Just imagine. How many people really, seriously know who they are, while brushing past them on a reasonably busy street in Anywhereville, Planet Earth?

How many of the few who know who they are would only care to stop and take a pic? And if so, why would they?

Would Miss Tweedledee, a cashier, ever care to ask that tall guy, a regular client, for a selfie and an autograph on a ten-pound bill she'd eventually frame and hang in her bedroom? Of course not. Miss Tweedledee is British and, as such, values privacy. Plus she is at work. Why lose her daily bread for a perfectly ridiculous reason and three (in)famous minutes of international hysteria, on X or IG?

Would Mister Tweedledum, the neighbor, suddenly start acting strange and spy with his little eye their daily traffic (Subject H coughed convincingly at 20:23, Subject B rolled eyes and started to fix a cuppa)? Of course not. Mister Tweedledum is not a sewer stalker and has his own life. For him, Subject H and Subject B are just those very nice people next door. Plus he doesn't want any trouble with the police, which is understandable. Hurray for social media, then, for it is here and only here that this kind of sociopathic monomania flourishes. Flowcharts and timelines on top.

Relative anonymity and well behaved people's reluctance to come across as nosy and show off are key to understand why. It's not that hard, really. Trumpeting the contrary over and over again is tastelessly absurd.

Being delusional is not daring to critically question the ever thinning hogwash of a tired narrative. Being delusional is having your brain parked in a world that revolves just around Those Two.

It is a thing of wonder nobody ever seriously asked themselves if the entire farce being so dutifully served on certain social media accounts (ahem) isn't just a clever attempt to keep the masses at bay of what is probably their and only their own truth.

[greenerteacups]

Apologies if you have answered that question before but, since you mentioned Bill and Fleur in one of your last posts, I wanted to ask what you think about their relationship? They've always been one of my favorite canon ships but a recent reread hasn't been too kind to it — the age difference (which i somehow never really clocked) + Bill not really saying/doing anything to defend Fleur. Plus just leaving her stranded with his family in their cottage lmao, though that may be a side-effect of Rowling going very stereotypical with her couples once they settle down (why wouldn't Fleur be working?!). Long story short, I've been loving the two (and Fleur especially, SHE IS NO ONE'S ORNAMENT DAMN RIGHT) in Lionheart ("Apparently I'll answer to 'tall Englishman'", Bill getting his ass handed to him by a petite Frenchwoman — my beloveds) but would love to hear more of your perspective! :)

CANON BILLFLEUR i love... secret age gap coworkers to lovers to monsterfuckers arc... beautiful French academic decathlon finalist (and honorary cringefail girlboss, though that's not really her fault on account of having tried to play honestly in the Faculty Cheating Competition), descended from a race of hypnotically gorgeous man-eating sirens, falls in love with long-haired sexually ambiguous wizard indiana jones. while they're coworkers. at a bank. then Wizard Indiana Jones (who wears an earring btw) gets bit by a werewolf and becomes NOT an actual werewolf but like. the diet Y/A Teen Wolf sexyman with hunky scars. molly's sobbing over losing his good looks meanwhile fleur is sitting there desperately resisting the urge to punch the air and do a victory lap.

their love story is also hilarious. bill has about 4 lines in the entire series and somehow pulls the hottest girl in the book. king of shutting the fuck up. a parable for all of us. fleur? even better. molly straight-up calls fleur shallow to her face at her fiance's hospital bedside and she basically hits her with "chill out, he was already punching." the absolute panache. it tells us so much about their relationship even though we don't get to see it. fleur has that man HANDLED. she is not worried. we don't know what their sex life is like but babygirl WAS NOT CONCERNED about him getting "aggressive at certain times of the month." stone cold pokerface did not break a sweat. make of that what you will.

more seriously. the 17/25 age gap thing is not like, great. but also it's not terrible for me considering (a) age gaps in the wizarding world are kinda fucked anyway and (b) she's fully the hottest woman to ever exist. and bill is a smart practical dude who if he's anything like his father is ass over teakettle in love with his wife. if anything i think fleur probably ran point on that particular mission. like, from bill's perspective, you're a competent and respected guy at the office, you're known for being smart and capable, and you're just getting to the point where you're up for serious promotions. and then there's the new girl at the office, who's a freshly legal blonde frenchwoman, and she's also ridiculous looney-tunes level hot. if you so much as smile at her your office buddies are going to roast you to hell. you will never live it down. and meanwhile fleur is coming into this new office, and the only guy she even kind of knows is the older brother of harry potter's best friend, who she interacted with for 0.1 seconds a year ago. but he's also cool and competent and everybody respects him. in her mind, he is a prey animal. he is the gazelle to her cheetah on the savannah. she is stalking him like big game. once she gets over how much he pisses her the fuck off I think she engages in emotional terrorism until he caves and asks her out. as is her right as a frenchwoman <3

[ruins-of-tragedy]

Started season two of RWBY. Episodes one to three are done and... dusted. (Way too proud of that pun)

Season 02, Episode 01: Best Day Ever

- Re-opening of the shop From Dust till Dawn... Is this going to be like the cabbage guy joke of ATLA?

- This lady! One of the bad peeps. Did she steal from the shopkeeper? Her friend is called Mercury?! The names in this show. Ugh. So good.

- The bad girl has a diamond symbol. Huh. Emerald. Master thief. Who is she supposed to be inspired by? Robin Hood?

- Can't figure out Mercury's inspiration. Could it be Hermes' Roman counterpart? The only other Mercury I can think of is available in thermometers...

- Tukson. Book store man claiming to sell every book under the sun. He should open up a branch near me... Faunus and now Wolverine. Got beat. Oooof.

- Blake's notebook is filled with such wonderful art! Cute!

- It's already a new semester? Oh my Gods. Blake is revising and Yang is being a doofus... Their love was fated. Of course they catch feelings. 🤩😂

- Nora's catapulting food while Yang catches it with her mouth. I need to try this.

- For a second I was actually so confused about Ruby making a binder that big. Then I saw the cover and realised it's Weiss' doing. All is right with the world now.

- "Sisters. Friends. Weiss." 😂👏🏻

- Wait. Ruby says sisters... 🤨. They were already setting up Bumbleby huh? ✨❤️‍🔥

- Ruby had a dream. Weiss wants to know if she stole her binder. Yang is still catching food, and doing a great job at it!

- She didn't just crack a dad joke... She cracked a Yang joke. 🫶🏻. I support this!!! That apple throw was unnecessary. People cannot get true art nowadays.

- Yes, Yang! Get them. Throw an apple back!

- Weiss wanted to make a point. She stood up. And was promptly hit by a pie missile. Nora might not make it to the end of the day...

- Sun is into Blake. He be talking all about it with his blue haired bud who has nice hair. And someone called Scarlet with whom he must share everyone's secrets. Cute!

- Did they actually highlight Sun's muscles and abs with black marker this time? To make sure they were apparent? 😆

- Food fight is occurring in the cafeteria... Truly the coolest people, these folks. I agree Sun.

- Jaune just hit the window right now. Is he also considered food?

- Sun and his friend have entered the food fight arena. Everyone else from Beacon who isn't Team JNPR and Team RWBY has left the premises. Nora is queen of the castle! 🎶

- Team JNPR wants to substitute Team RWBY'S heads with watermelons... Yang has new gauntlets. Or turkeys, I guess. Jaune is their casualty. Pyrrha and Blake are having a showdown with bread. The crust is crusty. Blake and Yang get hit!

- Ruby is trayboarding now. Pyrrha is down. Weiss weilds a stream of ketchup! Ren slides on it and tastes the floor. Nora turns a rod and a watermelon into her makeshift hammer. Ruby falls. Weiss is now using that fish with a pointed something as her weapon of choice... She hits a pillar and it's crumbling! Ruby gets her out of the way. Weiss may have died for this battle. Team leader is mourning the loss. Pillar also says bye-bye.

- Yang must avenge her teammate. Turkeys are back on! Ren is relying on pieces of celery! Ren down, Nora on the go. We lose a watermelon to Yang, and Yang to the ceiling.

- Blake does backflips and swings sausages at Nora. Fizzy drinks are grenades. Pyrrha uses her 'pole' powers to send Blake flying. Ruby is turning the tide! Literally, with her speed.

- The tapestry of food looks so pretty!!! Reminds me of Spider-Man, the Miles Morales movies. I think he would like it.

- This episode was high on crack that was treated seriously. You want to know how I realised? No one ate any of the good food being flung around! Not one person.

- Sun loves these guys because he isn't drenched in food ammunition. His friend can't claim a similar fate.

- Who will pay for the repairs of the cafe?

- Madam Glynda is on the scene. Ahhh. That answers my last question. No money needed. They have magic. I forget that sometimes.

- "Do not play with your food." And Nora burps. Yang falls from the sky soon after.

- Call Professor Ozpin Elsa 'cause he be like, "Let it go."

- 'Playing' the parts of children... Is there anything more tragic.

- White Fang and the bad henchpeople. They killed Wolverine? Fuck.

- Listen. Cinder is a bombshell. (Pun intended?) I would have no problem obeying her orders. My brain isn't going to be working around her anyway.

- Torchwick is such a drama queen. Much appreciated... Is it bad that I want to be Roman just so Cinder would hold my face as well?

- LoLL! Emerald stole his lighter. Wait. Is she Aladdin?!

- Even though most of my brain was "Blah blah, proper name proper place"-ing throughout the exchange Cinder was a part of, I did notice one bit. They are moving to phase two of the plan. And just generally moving as well. Huh.

- New ending song! Oh my Gods. In the first season, when they would show Team JNPR, Pyrrha would be the one giving a physical token of support to Jaune. And now it's Jaune doing it for Pyrrha... 🥺💖

- I really like how the sketches are turning into animations in here. Nice touch.

- Sun's team looks good! We also see Velvet's team! Flashing by Penny being surrounded by men in white. And then there's Professor Ozpin and his colleagues.

- Bad folks' turn.

- OOOOOOooooooooh! Everyone's fighting. This music makes me want to join them!!!

- Holy hell. That animation at the end with members of RWBY transitioning into one another... Chef's kiss!!!!

Season 02, Episode 02: Welcome to Beacon!

- Last episode's ending is the new opening! Team RWBY is standing in order, in one frame. And their VA's are listed diagonally. Ugh. So GOOOOOOOOD!!!

- The animation has improved a lot already. The sky in this episode... Amazing!

- Ironwood is a headmaster and a general. Glynda don't care much for him. I like his style. Who is he inspired from? I have no ideas for this guy.

- Ozpin has extremely powerful friends. Diplomatic relations with them too. The Qrow of it all. When will I get to meet him?

- Ironwood. You forker. Am sure the children here will actually help. You currently aren't right now.

- "I hope they never have to." UGHHHHHHHHH. Ozpin's really hitting me in the feels. He is right though. Children shouldn't have to win wars. Or need to be trained to do so.

- Is Team RWBY playing their world's version of Monopoly? In the library?!

- The sister showdown... Yang won this time!

- Team JNPR is here as well. Nora is asleep on a book and dreaming about food. Ren is reading said book. Or trying to I guess. Jaune was looking at comics. Pyrrha gives him something more substantial while she takes them away and reads said comics. 😂

- Ruby is a sore loser. Weiss doesn't know what's happening, but then she is perhaps three moves away from taking over Remnant. She has begun monologuing. However, Yang brings her forces down. Blake is out of it all.

- Much friendly banter. Team JNPR knows of Blake's Faunus status because of Weiss.

- Sun and his blue haired friend is here. Weiss is actually confused as to why people call her Ice Queen. 😆

- Ren wants peace. But no one around him will give him that.

- Ahhh. Blue haired guy is Neptune. His allusion could be the Roman version of Poseidon. Nothing else really rings a bell for me. And he is putting the moves on Weiss... Jaune cannot believe Neptune gets to use the nickname 'Snow Angel' without repercussions. Truly unfair.

- Awww. Blake is troubled over the Faunus of it all.

- She didn't even need to train at schools to be Beacon ready. Passed the entrance exams that takes people years to train for. Fucking hell. Survival truly is the best teacher. Blake is so badass.

- "I want people to see me for who I am... Not what I am." 🥺

- Oh shikes. Professor Ozpin knows something. At least he is giving Blake the opportunity to tell him herself.

- Neptune won the board game. Yang is bitter about it. Relatable.

- Weiss knows something is up with Blake... Good Gods. She has become more dramatic. I love it!

- A callback to the events of Team RWBY'S trailers!

- Blake wants to do something about everything that's happening. Her friends are going to try and find out. Together. 🤧💖🥺

- These children really will change the world. I just hope the world doesn't change them on the way.

- "None of you said aye." Awww, Ruby. Aye!

- Mercury, Emerald and Cinder are at Beacon?! Ending on Cinder's sinister smirk... 🤩

- The music slaps so hard!!!

- Awwwwwwwww! They featured fanart! 💖

Season 02, Episode 03: A Minor Hiccup

- Silver eyes blinking as Ruby walks to Beacon... Hmmm.

- Peter Port's class. Jaune is trying to ask Weiss out? Spruce Willis?! 😂

- Weiss heard Jaune and answered all of his questions accordingly! Poor Jaune though. No date. Consolation pats from Yang. Sweet of her!

- Wardrobe change for Team RWBY! They look good!!! And they have a plan.

- Sun and Neptune are here now... What is it with Sun and Co being able to wink while in motion? I can't even do it when I am stationary most times.

- Weiss wants to go with Neptune. Ruby doesn't get that cue. 😂

- Ruby likes a tower. Atlas developed means of communication for the four kingdoms. Ruby's scroll falls on someone.

- Penny is here! And pretending not to know them. Of course Ruby wants to get to the bottom of this. Weiss has to go alone now.

- She is preparing herself by practicing smiles? Oooooof.

- Holy shikes. Weiss' family must be something else for her to not engage in conversation at all. Not even with her sister. Who is actually named Winter. Really on theme, LoLL! Weiss got what she came for at least.

- Weapons demonstration. Android warriors. Power Ranger Megazord that needs a human to drive it around. Return of fangirl Ruby!

- Penny doesn't want to be here. Two guards spot her and give chase. Ruby runs after Penny to help.

- Loads of leg workout. Ruby does the Naruto ninja run on a wall! 😂

- She helps Penny escape. Penny saves Ruby from being overrun by the From Dust till Dawn truck. And of course the driver is that same shopkeeper... I now want a fanfic from the point of view of this man.

- "I am not a real girl." Penny's definitely Pinocchio.

- This ending theme song was so beautiful yet so sad.

- Another fanart! 💖

(You spoil me, I turn into your life's scriptwriter and spoil it for you. Yes, I have a flair for the dramatic. Ciao!)

[superconductivebean]

Hmmmmmm…

I don't think so.

MC does not fit in the trio perfectly unless they fully support Sebastian — and even then it is a snake's den of transactionalistic conversations and amends. Otherwise, they are dragged into a tangled bush of drama where 1) Ominis has all the ideas about how to behave and fix everything but never shares them and is also terminally unable to act on them himself, and blames MC each time they are not following the unspoken and unshared 'code' of his trauma and past that ultimately stop him from acting on said ideas; he, sort of, relives the moment of being stuck in the situation that can only be resolved by taking an unfathomable choice, except when Ominis is older, he could be the best prevention of situations like these ever happening to him or to anyone; the game never explores his character that way, making him a repeated victim of his trauma again and again, which certainly contributes to Sebastian's tragedy, but in an RPGs preventing that kind of tragedies must be an option, 2) Sebastian refuses to listen to anyone but himself from the very beginning but gets surprised when called his uncle's nephew, 3) uncle Solomon; 4) the entire relationship is transactional: MC isn't friends with Ominis, they're acquintances at best, run-ins at worst; MC is Sebastian's partner-in-mischief/crime or worse, a bouncer, but totally not a friend — even when MC sides with him 100%.

Anne is trapped in their bull, and MC is unable to turn off the fires underneath it, mostly because there is no option to cuss at the drama or side with Ominis more tellingly; the game sort of expects you to look into Sebastian's mouth and also established that MC is inherently interested in the kind if spells Sebastian knows in a way that feels OOC to MC's character even.

MC has their own character; they dislike to be inconvinienced, so whenever people pry or have funny reasoning to look down on them, they snap — at Imelda, at professor Weasley, at Sharp, at Sacharissa, at Natty, at Poppy, at Ruth Singer, at Ranrok, at Rookwood, at Keepers, at bascially everyone who does not take them seriously or does not hide their… maybe not disrespect but suspicion or can't articulate their worry.

Sebastian and Ominis (and Solomon) expect MC to fit molds MC isn't aware of and hasn't signed up to fit in the first place. Their handling of everything is beyond appaling, so are their antics.

Yet.

MC snaps at Natty for leading them away from the castle in the middle of the night, and MC is generally supportive of Mudiwa's take on Natty's adventures.

MC tries not to sound rude when Poppy is guessing if moonstones turn people blind when MC holds an one, not to mention MC loses their shit whenever there are petting the dragon or being encircled by the centaurs.

MC is done with the Keepers' attitude at some point.

But MC is happy-go-luckily prying into Ominis' past, swallows Sebastian's sick reasoning for his not pointless but futile-by-method quest, and nearly get themselves killed multiple times after the Scriptorium without ever protesting their role in this Big Inconvinience.

With that all out of the way, Anne might feel that MC contributed to the Drama rather than had taken her place, and thus she resents MC even when MC does not side with Sebastian.

Anne would have forgiven the latter, I suspect, as it is a sad fact of life with a severe disability; she understands the illness had taken a lot from her, but not all is completely lost. Friendships can be mended and old bridges restored.

But the semblance of family she had, lost after this new person appeared and did everything wrong to help Sebastian understand or see his ways were leading him to a dark place?..

She'd resent MC for that. Maybe not as much as Sebastian, whom she slammed against a wall, but I doubt Anne would've forgiven MC for stepping in and doing the bare minimum, if doing anything at all, to make Sebastian see his efforts were futile a.k.a. Sebastian Does Not Respect Boundaries Or Wishes And Hears Himself Only.

Do you ever think Anne feels like she was replaced by the new fifth year that fit so perfectly in their little friend group?

She knows both Ominis and Sebastian can feel the hole she has left in Hogwarts, confined to the little house in Feldcroft.

She has read the letters that it's not the same without her.

Do you think parts of her wishes that void was never filled?

Do you think that seeing Sebastian laugh and smile with this new fifth year breaks her?

Because it's been so long since they had an adventure together, just her and Sebastian.

And Ominis, who was always so adamant about not bringing anyone else into the Undercroft, allows, albeit reluctantly, Sebastian to bring that new fifth year into what was THEIR hideaway?

Of course, Anne would never share her feelings to either. It was Ominis’s spot first after all and Sebastian is allowed to do whatever he wishes. She would never stop them from living their lives and making that gaping hole a little less painful.

But do you think she wishes they wouldn't?

[astrylx]

Supernatural S.5 Ep.2 - Good God, Y'all! - Liveblog

Welcome back welcome back, let's get started liveblogging. This appears to be a somewhat Castiel centered episode based off of the episode summary, and that makes me happy because his character really intrigues me!

Dean is struggling with the idea of Bobby not being okay it seems. Which I can understand. It's never easy to deal with the struggles of a parental figure, and we've seen how everything with John impacted him. I can understand why he just wants everything to be okay.

The X-Rays of the ribs are really cool. Is it bad I kind of want a scene where when can see the actual ribs, not just the X-Ray of them? Like, one of the brothers gets their chest carved open? I just really want to look at those ribs and study them...

Cas is cut off from Heaven. That's what I expected after what happened with the archangel. I do feel bad for Bobby though, because I know he was counting on Cas being able to heal him.

"I'm gonna find God." That's. Yea. Maybe some people on tumblr need to take one from you and do that too (I SAY JOKINGLY)

Seriously though, you know how a few posts ago I said moments in this show make me feel sacrilegious? That's the start of one. Not that I can't watch religion based shows, or shows that satirize and criticize elements of religion, but sometimes there are moments they make me, as a pretty religious person, feel like I'm doing something wrong.

Castiel not understanding sarcasm, I KNOW WHAT YOU ARE-

Watching Castiel lose his faith, have to kill his brothers, only for Dean to criticize his desperation, oh Castiel you are a stronger man than I am, Dean would be on the FLOOR by now.

"I did all of it for you" I know what you are I know what you are I KNOW WHAT YOU ARE

The necklace Sam gave Dean is basically a God metal detector? I love that- I knew it was going to be relevant. I'm honestly surprised he's giving it away so willingly.

ELLEN!! I missed her. Very glad to see her again. She seems mad at them. Does she know? Does she know they started the apocalypse? Oh never mind, she was holding it safe because they were outside.

Dean doesn't trust Sam... That's what this is about. Ouch.

Demon blood... I fear this won't end well. It's not that I don't trust Sam or believe in his strength but... Please don't do it, it's not worth it. Please, Sam. The scene is done really well though. I can see the distrust in Dean's eyes. I don't like seeing that look.

To Dean, Sam shoving him was basically proving his point... Ouch I don't like these episodes, I don't like what they're doing to me. I don't like seeing Sam and Dean fighting.

Wait I'm confused. Jo's eyes are black but she seems to think Ellen is possessed?

Sam is kidnapped. Why do I get a feeling they're going to uh... donate some blood, so to speak...

Wait what? I'm actually very confused right now. They seem to think that Sam and Ellen are demons, but are they not demons themselves? What is happening?

Oh I get it. Someone/something is manipulating the situation. Making them think the other is/are demons. I'm wondering about this dude.

The four horsemen- That makes sense that makes sense! I'm a little disappointed I didn't get it to begin with...

The horseman toying with Sam, calling him out on how he wants blood. Jared's eyes are so emotional in this scene, I normally hate eye contact but I'm actually struggling to look away. The slight tremble in his facial muscles, I always adore this kind of acting and Jared is doing it so well.

Okay so they cut his fingers off and got the ring, where did War go? How do they destroy it.

OH IS SAM COMING CLEAN? He is- Oh Sam...

No- No this can't be the end- They can't be separating- No- I hate this-

Fuck. I was expecting a Castiel episode and instead all I got was an emotional wreck. This fucking sucks.

I don't know if I can handle this season, this is hurting my feelers.

[beneathsilverstars]

i keep adding things to this one post and then realizing they'd make more sense as a separate post. so here's how the party explained what happened in dagger ending au to bonnie:

Siffrin was very sad and worried about everyone leaving, because he was alone before he met us and he didn't want to be alone again. But he didn't talk about it because we all had plans that seemed very important, and he didn't want to get in the way, and he didn't want to admit that he didn't have anything else to do. It sounds pretty silly when you put it like that, but the rest of us were nervous to admit how much we cared about each other, too! Sometimes it's hard to tell someone how important they are to you, if you don't know whether you're important to them.

During the quest it was okay, because Siffrin knew we would stay together until Vaugarde was saved. But getting to Dormont meant the quest was almost over, and they got so upset at the idea of everyone leaving, that they didn't really care about what they were doing. Why did it matter what happened to them, when they were going to be sad and alone tomorrow either way? So they weren't very careful while they were training, and they got hurt. Luckily Odile saw, and Mirabelle healed them right up.

Now, he's really glad that we all decided to stay together longer! But he might still feel worried for a while, because it's hard to believe that everyone isn't leaving, after he's been dreading it for so long. And sometimes when you're sad for a long time, your brain just tries to keep being sad even when there isn't any reason to be. But if we keep reminding him that we love him just as much as he loves us, it'll start to stick in his brain better! We might also need to remind him to be careful and take care of himself, because that can be hard to remember when you're sad. And while he practices that, we can help take care of him, too!

[esterigermaine]

You can all blame @animentality for this because their posts got me into durgetash (thank you!!!!!) and now I want to torture the villian couple. Probably won't make much sense because I drank enough caffeine to kill a horse today and my brain is going a million miles a second.

You know that scene where Orin shapeshifts into durge and tells them what she did to them? What if Gortash found out about it the same way and had Orin rub salt in the wound by then showing him the prayer for forgiveness?

She is cruel enough to do it and I can't think of any worse way to find out about what happened than for the attempted-murderer to shapeshift into their victim and describe what happened to them in explicit, gruesome detail. The attack itself, the tadpole, how they were abandoned to die alone like trash, how Gortash wasn't there to protect them, all of it. Only to show grieving Gortash the note

[dcggersedge]

It doesn't bother Yunaka. Seriously. Out of all the things she's dealt with in her life, getting barked at by a moody student isn't even like. Top ten. Or top twenty. You'd have to go pretty far down the list actually before you even found it.

Yunaka shrugs. "Not done, but nobody said you had to get it done all at once." She points out. He's only made two attempts now, after all. If he was pulling these stunts off from the get go...Yunaka would have to start worrying about being out of a job, in all honesty.

She...probably should have seen him making another attempt coming, to be quite honest.

"Oh! Okay!" As requested, she steps back to make space, even as worry pulls her smile down a little. Being stubborn and determined and insistent he could do it was one thing, but she's going to be kicking herself if he gets so caught up and stubborn that he actually hurts himself trying to do this.

She should probably say as much, but the children are whispering amongst themselves excitedly as they back up to watch, eager to see what's going to happen. Piping up in front of them is probably not going to do him any favors...

She especially doesn't expect him to whip out a sword in front of the kids. Yunaka freezes, but thankfully the kids just gasp in awe as Alm spears it into the ground and flips through the air like he's suddenly weightless.

He lands on his feet and there's a moment of silence. Then, an eruption.

The children lose it, cheering and yelling and swarming around him, squabbling and talking over each other as they all try to ask their question the loudest in the hopes that theirs will be the one Alm decides to answer. Yunaka's heart is still kind of settling back in her chest properly, but she manages to force out a laugh and clap for him. "Wowie, great job! I didn't expect anybody to be busting out those kindsa moves today!"

take a break

Restoration

[team--charlotte]

baffling decision for season 2, episode 18 to end with lewis making a legit effort for charlotte, making a picnic of things she likes and hugging her and seeming really happy with her

only for episode 19 to trample all over that with him blowing her off after she mentions that she misses him and hasn't seen him for a while, then apparently forgetting he even has a girlfriend altogether and softly flirting with his ex while the narrative agrees that this is correct because, unlike charlotte, cleo always smiles when she first sees lewis. you know. unlike charlotte. who goes out of her way to try and make lewis happy and smiles literally every time she sees him. there's not even an episode between these!

[coldjustness-archive]

Woke up thinking about Neve Gallus becoming more infamous than the family who left her behind.

[hadrianblackwaters]

!! DRUMINDOR SPOILERS IN TEXT AND TAGS !!

Listening to Drumnidor as a Hadrian girlie is not easy. My god they're assassinating his entire character and taking away his life purpose right in front of us! They're reducing him to a stupid comic relief character with no depth and no real influence on the people around him (to a greater degree than they ever did before) and they're taking away all his greatest achievements and attributing them to someone else to fit the plot! His main character status has been revoked and he's now apparently merely a supporting character in someone else's story. Please, everyone, a moment of silence for my blorbo 😔🙏 Rest in peace mr. Blackwater. At least they let you pull some impressive-arse sword moves, you looked really cool... but I am so sorry they did not let you be a practising hoe in this one 🥀

[faaun]

oh my god u rly are everyone you've ever loved !! for better or worse !! a part of you becomes them!

[torgawl]

everytime i think about the new chapter the more and more i like it, it really consolidated yuuta and gojo's characters. the revelation of how the higher-ups were taken down and the set-up for the scene with gojo and yuuta's conversation about what their plan was for gojo's body, in case he lost, might just be the part i find most interesting. all in all, the chapter really highlights the underlying difference between the violence of oppression and the violence of resistence and revolution.

when it comes to yuuta and the archetype of his character he is the pure embodiment of love in the series. if yuuji is able to reach sukuna because he was one with him (love as oneness), yuuta's entire exitence has sorrounded love and, specifically, love as a curse. sukuna's surprise at yuuta's antics come from a place of not understanding love and therefore being unable to conceptualise that yuuta would go so far as betray his own humanity for it. he can't conceive how love can drive a person like yuuta, who's sweet and kind-hearted, to a place as cursed as this - emphasised by the sheer horror and heinosity that is seeing the usage of gojo's dead body with yuuta's innocent expression. but we know that yuuta's journey has always been marked by this concept of love as a curse, starting all the way back in jjk 0 where yuuta's unwillingness to let go of a deceased rika caused her to linger in the world in the form of a cursed spirit. one that yuuta learns to let go of by the end of the story. a lot of what he learns in that moment is about consent and mutuality in love (hence his domain expansion name), and although rika's soul passes and gets freed she is able to manifest her will into her vessel that continues to protect yuuta until this day. yuuta asking gojo for consent to use his body not only consolidates this mutual exchange and respect that he has for those he cares for - which are his main driving force - but is also exactly what separates him from someone like kenjaku, who body hops with total disregard for who they were originally. so there's that layer of irony behind yuuta having rika consume kenjaku to copy his technique and make use of it in a equally disturbing but more compassionate way. which in itself can serve to both question if intent plays a role in absolution and introduce, once again, the idea that humans and curses are not so different, as explored between mahito and yuuji in shibuya with them mirroring each other.

in regards to gojo i think his aknowledgement of his own inertia when it came to the revolution that he was leading was the cherry on top to consolidate who gojo really was as a person. gojo's greatest character flaw was arguably that he simply wasn't radical enough, allowing his students to be targets under the influence of the higher-ups. he had reasons not to kill them, as he explained before in the series, but he still failed to weight the consequences of his own actions and how no one is rewarded by working under a broken system. and i feel like having the youth he guided watching as he killed them is also quite significant as they're followers of this new revolutionary ideology.

i think the shock or impact these violent or twisted acts by the hands of those forced to survive within the status quo (like maki slaughtering her clan, gojo killing the higher-ups, yuuta taking over gojo's body) as a reaction to the violence they're subjeted to by this same system serves some purpose. and i think this is the reason the higher-ups are these anonymous faceless figures, barely-there personalities who have such a big influence in the lives of so many people. even in the real world, and we can think of systems like capitalism and how it exploits people in such a casual way and it relies on that exploration to survive, we sort of take for granted that violence coming from those institutions, having our attention driven away from the minority that's upholding these systems to other things instead. that violence is more "acceptable" because we've been conditioned to it whereas the violence in response to those acts is always met with more scrutiny. and that kind of contextualises why shoko and nanami, for example, much like gojo, aren't really revolutionary with their ideals either - or rather, do not get that priviledge. the difference being gojo was someone these higher-ups were actively afraid of, because if he wanted to, he could have done more. and that's exactly why the instant he was sealed it was the perfect opportunity for them to do whatever they could to prevent him from coming back and place new-drawn targets on the backs of the people gojo was protecting. the gruesome nature of maki slaughtering her clan or the off-putting way people react to yuuta discarding his own humanity and going against what he believes is right to make sure gojo's legacy continues is almost forcing this question of what are people willing to stomach in the name of survival and change.

gojo remembering geto in that crucial moment ("i was falling behind" or "i have to catch up") and just having in mind how they were both so young and naive is so incredibly bittersweet. geto had radical ideals, no matter how misguided. he looked at the world and he had this unshakeable conviction that things couldn't continue to be the way they were. he reached incredibly misplaced conclusions, yes, which came from a place of great pain and alienation, but gojo finally stepping forward to follow that same path, to be more radical, also sort of confirms that things could have been so different if only gojo had the same level of consciousness back then; that they could have found a way better solution together instead of the tragedy that ensued. the parallels between them add an extra layer of wistfulness to their bond, too. their fates have and always will be so intertwined, in such a beautiful and tragic way. and i think geto's unwillingness to force gojo to take a certain path will always be one of the biggest proofs of his love towards him. at the end of the day, even knowing gojo was who he was, geto always seemed to want to protect gojo's path from being stained like his.

at the core, jjk really is a story about revolution and humanity; a story about love and curses and how love is the most twisted curse of all (which has been reinforced over and over again). the fact some are rewarded and some are punished for taking certain paths under the same system is there to convey a very specific message. i really love the incorporation of eastern philosophies within the story and the role horror plays, too. the usage of the genre to deepen the impact of these themes and the way things are introduced with the intention to provoke almost visceral reactions in the readers (much like yuuta's own reaction) also makes the message much more impactful. i think this chapter was great!!!

[pa-pa-plasma]

kind of frustrating that people took "fat does not equal unhealthy" to mean "fat is not unhealthy." sometimes being obese IS unhealthy & excess fat can cause a lot of problems. ignoring health issues isn't progressive. real "oranges kill people with depression" moment

[featherfur]

A lot of times in fandom I find myself looking at lesbian ships and I’m like

Are they really lesbians or are these two women just the only ones left not paired off and y’all are allergic to aro/ace characters and believe that bi people in m/f relationships are still basically straight?