#that's a good thing about the bastard

[ashes-onthewind]

for me i very very much want to, but a) I've never gotten to b) i have low blood pressure issues and don't know if it will fuck me up c) I'm deathly afraid of needles

[bogusfilth]

Forget everyone’s nominee for master diplomat, Henry Kissinger, who was as inept as he was ruthless—extending the Vietnam War by seven bloody years to mask his diplomatic failure, turning East Timor over to Indonesia for decades of slaughter until its inevitable independence, cratering US credibility in Latin America by backing a murderous military dictatorship in Chile, and mismanaging Moscow in ways that helped extend the Cold War by fifteen years. Kissinger’s career, as international law specialist Richard Falk observed, has been marked by “his extraordinary capacity to be repeatedly wrong about almost every major foreign policy decision made by the U.S. Government over the course of the last half-century.”

Alfred McCoy - In the Shadow of the American Century

[abyssal-ilk]

thinking about sten again. thinking about him calling the warden kadan and never explaining what it means. thinking about him offering to take the warden back with him to par vollen, but it's never actually an option the warden takes, even if you agree. thinking about how sten responds the best to a warden who stands their ground even if he doesn't agree with them. thinking about how he loves sweets and art, and how he plays with kittens. "it's training," he says. but come on. he's playing. thinking about what else he's had to justify to himself for liking.

and he calls alistair kadan! shale as well! do you think it was ever extended to the other party members? just,, agh

[lineffability]

sometimes I see people calling Aziraphale selfish in an accusatory way, as if it's a flaw that needs to be smoothed out, as if it isn't a trait that is at once defiant and emancipating, as if his selfishness isn't mostly wielded in an empowering and kind way, as if it's categorically bad to want things for yourself, to enjoy them, to have and keep them, as if selfish isn't the most revolutionary thing an angel can be

[starry-bi-sky]

Unpleasant Revelations - DPxDC Ficlet Idea for the Stillborn Au

"Have you met my youngest, Damian, Mr. Masters?"

Its only from twenty years of long, hard experience and practice that Vlad doesn't increase the room temperature from 'borderline uncomfortably cool' to 'unbearably hot' the moment Bruce Wayne pulls his youngest and "only" biological son out in front of him.

He puts only in quotations because twelve year old Damian Wayne looks scarily, uncannily like one Daniel Brown. Jack and Maddie's foster son, second victim of their foolishness, and only other halfa in existence. Second only to him.

It's nauseating how similar they look. From the scowl and terrible glare on the young boy's face, to his brown skin -- which was only a few shades lighter than Daniel's, the shape of his nose, and even the strange winged edge of his eyebrow. Something that Vlad has long since come to find endearing on the child he considered a son of his own. The only difference was that Damian had dark, sharp green eyes.

Daniel's eyes were blue. The same glacier shade as his father's, who stood behind Damian with a proud, oafish smile on his visage.

It was infuriating how similar they look. Vlad might not have rapidly swung the room temperature from one extreme to the other, but he can't stop himself from letting the fury burning within his core from slipping out and raising the temperature up a few degrees.

Because it really only meant one thing.

Damian Wayne and Daniel Brown were related.

Damian Wayne and Daniel Brown were brothers.

Standing in front of him, it was clear as day. He can already picture a phantom image of Daniel standing beside Damian, the same scowl written on his face, the same glare carved into his eyes. The only difference being the dark, exhausted circles beneath them that seemed to be permanently painted onto his skin. The only thing missing being the permanent loneliness and vigilance permeating his being like a scar.

This, if revealed, would be enough to ruin Bruce Wayne's reputation. Or, at the very least, darken it quite a bit. The great philanthropist Bruce Wayne with another secret blood child? One related to his youngest? One that had been put into foster care? Seemingly thrown away?

It would be a firestorm.

One that Vlad is not keen on starting.

It would ruin Bruce Wayne's reputation, yes. But it would hurt Daniel in the process -- the harassment he would face alone might just be enough to break that fragile child completely. That was just not something he could allow. Or, even worse, bring him into his biological father's care and custody -- something Vlad was even less willing to allow.

It's not out of kindness to Wayne that Vlad will keep mum about this.

His grip on his champagne flute tightens, just a bit. He's still aware enough of the world around him to not let it shatter in his hands. His plastered, pleasant smile tightens around the corners, and he forces his focus to slide from Damian to Wayne.

"The resemblance is uncanny, Mister Wayne." He says, slanting his smile to the side slyly. Although he's not talking about the resemblance between Wayne and his son. Rage simmers beneath his skin, burning coal and embers in the core of his chest, nestled between his lungs, as he meets the man's eyes.

Wayne swaggles his head proudly, his ditzy smile widening as he squeezes his son's shoulder affectionately. Bastard, Vlad wants to spit.

He breathes in through his nose, and exhales out through his mouth. The champagne in his hand cools, and stops its unusual bubbling.

The Damian boy scoffs under his breath, his mouth still coiled upward into a scowl. With the revelation of his blood relation to Daniel evident, Vlad's not sure if he should find it endearing or not.

He is not Daniel, so he decides that it's just simply irritating. He decides to ignore it.

"And you said he was your only biological son?" He asks, voice lilting and head tilting. He knows its a suspicious question at worst, insulting at best. But considering Wayne's past proclivities, he can hardly call it an unexpected question.

Damian puffs in great offense, face twisting angrily. It reminds him of Daniel when Vlad insisted that he was wrong about something or other, and for a moment his heart swells, fond.

But this is not his child, and so the feeling quickly crashes and burns, simmering back into rage. This was not Daniel -- this was his replacement. A replacement that Wayne was free to keep.

Wayne chuckles, idiotically, as if he'd said some funny joke. Vlad's other hand, the one gripping his cane -- something he's required ever since he was dispatched from the hospital all those lonely years ago -- tightens instead. He grinds his teeth -- him and Jack Fenton would get along like a house on fire, he hates it.

"I can understand why you'd ask that, Mister Masters," Wayne says, squeezing Damian's shoulder again, "but yes, Damian is my only biological son. Although that doesn't mean I don't love my other children any less."

Bastard.

For all his posturing and flouncing about caring for his city and his children, Vlad never would have thought the Prince of Gotham capable of abandoning one of them.

But, well.

They all have their dark secrets.

And what one man throws away, another man picks up. If Bruce Wayne didn't want the treasure child that was Daniel Brown, then Vlad Masters was more than happy to take him instead.

"I see."

[ricky-mortis]

I have a lot of thoughts about Tinky fucking Ted up- have some doodles about it

[godsworstson]

bam in a suit bam in a suit bam in a suit BAM IN A SUIT

[trappedinafantasy37]

"Weeeh! I wanna recruit Minthara on a good playthrough! Weeeh! I don't like the ultimatum and want to keep both Minthara and Halsin! Weeeh! I wanna make Minthara good! Weeeh! I don't want Minthara to break up with me!" Minthara deserves more content but none of these things are at all what she needs or deserves. No, these are all things that you want for yourself, but do absolutely nothing for her. This is one of the biggest L's in the game and it will forever enrage me because I just know it will never happen.

Minthara deserves to confront Orin like all the other companions do with their abusers. She deserves to scream and yell at Orin. She deserves to cut at her the same way Orin did, make her bleed and scream in pain. Minthara deserves to torture Orin, just as she did her in the mind flayer colony. Minthara deserves the right to roll up to the Temple of Bhaal and beat the shit out of Orin with her bare hands. Leave Orin begging for mercy in which Minthara will not even give her a drop. To slam Orin down on that altar and slice her throat, offer her up as a sacrifice to the father she is so blindly devoted to.

And yes, Minthara would be afraid. She would be TERRIFIED. Despite how strong and powerful Minthara is, she is also the only one afraid of Orin. Unlike Ketheric, or Gortash, or Sarevok, she is the only one who fully acknowledges just how dangerous Orin actually is and does not underestimate her. She will walk down into that temple, intending to duel Orin with a massive disadvantage because she is terrified.

Minthara choked when seeing Orin again in the mind flayer colony. She choked when seeing Orin as an imposter, throwing her deep into the ocean of paranoia and fear. And she is so entrenched in paranoia that it actually becomes palpable to everyone around her, even you. She describes herself as paranoid, but this is the first that you actually see how paranoid she is. And she choked again when Orin kidnapped someone in camp, making her feel inadequate, making a mockery of her for being unable to protect one of her own. And every day that passes, the more and more likely that the victim is going to die and she has doubts on their survival.

At every possible avenue in which Minthara could have done something or said something about Orin, she froze in place with fear. But she's had enough. She cannot be afraid of Orin forever and she doesn't want to be. One way or another, Orin has to die and she wants to get over that fear. She needs to know that Orin is dead, for herself.

This would also make the alurlssrin confession all the more impactful. She wants to tell you that she loves you in the best way that she can because of the very high likelihood that she will never have another chance to do so. She would beg you to come with her as you give her the courage. She has the courage to face her fears and confront her tormentor, because she knows she has you in her corner. If you have the courage to stand up to the very gods themselves, then she can stand up to Orin. Romanced or not, your presence alone is enough to give her the strength to do something she would otherwise be too terrified to do.

Minthara deserves the honor to solo duel Orin in a fight to the death. Minthara deserves the right to achieve vengeance for herself. No, I do not care that this confrontation would conflict with a Durge playthrough. In fact, it would provide a phenomenal source of some interesting, and toxic, drama between Durge and Minthara. Especially if they're in a relationship. This also does not mean that Minthara killing Orin instead of Durge would not have its consequences (because it most certainly will). Even if Minthara does not fight Orin, it would be so much better if Minthara was just given the fucking chance to yell at Orin like all the other companions in their personal quests.

[spielzeugkaiser]

hi, first off i really love your art. the h/c and warmth really hit me where i live and your illustration style is fantastic. lately i've been obsessed with the post where an unwell milek thinks geralt will leave him behind. was that an ingrained insecurity, assuming his super-witcher dad wouldn't have time for a sickly human kid?

[MASTERPOST] - Ahh, thank you for the ask! Yes, this scene.. I actually saw this a bit differently! It's not about Milek fearing Geralt will leave him behind, he actually wants him to. They need to find his Pa!! I think he often feels like a burden; Jaskier knows this, but Geralt isn't aware of this yet. Milek just wants to pull his weight, especially with Jaskier. A little sneak peak to their struggles regarding this:

Meanwhile Jaskier continues to struggle with his omega status.

[tvckerwash]

I like to think that during pfl (using his s9 characterization, not s10) wash is the guy you go to when you want to know something (ah la a line in the fall of reach novel I believe where chief says the enlisted personnel always seem to know stuff bc wash is clearly enlisted).

he's in a position where he's privy to information from the higher-ups, and he's friendly enough with the lower rungs that he knows the gossip going around. as a bonus though, wash ain't no narc, so if you want that information you need to offer him something of equivalent exchange (consequently fueling the 'guy who knows things' thing). for example, north had to tell him about using equipment in the field in order to get him to tell him what his meeting with internals was about.

wash isn't the only guy who knows things, of course, but he's the guy who has the widest base of general knowledge. ct is also someone who knows things, but she's a lot more specific, and what she lacks in scale she more than makes up for with how in-depth her knowledge is. wash is where you learn about something from, ct is where you get all the juicy details (to the point of it almost being tmi). she also has an equivalent exchange policy, but people tend to be a bit more reluctant to get information from her because of what her knowledge is (and the borderline 'insane conspiracy theorist' energy doesn't help either).

florida? well...you don't wanna know what he knows. the cost is simply too high.

[idliketobeatree]

eternally funny to me that in the book Aziraphale's moral compass is "I'm an angel. I can do no wrongs. I go along with Heaven! jk haha I would kill a child if necessary" and Crowley has a whole personal list of the 10 Demonic Commandments he won't cross

[lukreziaaa]

The three heads of the dragon

[h-didanart]

Hey, do you guys remember that agony//ghost thing the FNaF lore has? Yeah? Cool

Do you guys know any of the synonyms to agony there are? Like, suffering, torment, throes, and the like? Yeah? Cool

Are you guys familiar with my Quiet Throes au//fic thing? Yeah? Cool

Agony ghost Bloodmoon. They torment the hell out of the bastard, and hang around Solar sometimes. But mostly stick around Ruin, staring at him, messing with his things, throwing stuff at him, and generally making his life miserable (as it should be)

Tw for the images below: implied suicide attempt, referenced character death, and implied torture//sa

[empyreansentinel]

if angel was raised on pandora it means that she and jack lived as residential settlers during dahls occupation. grogmouth likely worked for the flynts who, being a high status family at the time, in turn worked for dahl. baron flynt was the warden of thor, a dahl mining rig that doubled as a prison. the companys sole interest in pandora to begin with was to extract eridium and find alien relics, so a siren would be a priceless bargaining chip for their efforts. all of this to say its very possible that the flynts were the ones who sent out the order for angel to be kidnapped.

[mamawasatesttube]

superman: up in the sky #6

NO, SIR! I WILL NOT!

[cienie-isengardu]

Tomas brought that mean talk Bi-Han gave him on himself. Bi-Han only said he's tired of waiting and Tomas went on a speech why that's disrespectful to their dad. Tomas was out of line. Bi-Han should have been even harsher.

Mortal Kombat 1 made it clear that Bi-Han was not at his best mental state. Kuai Liang himself admitted to be aware that his brother’s frustration ran deeply while at the same time apparently neither Scorpion nor Smoke figured out it was their own behavior and treatment of Bi-Han that fueled the frustration in the first place. The one thing the game consequently showed is that whatever Bi-Han will say, be it an opinion about Lin Kuei’s future or just angry complain, all his brothers have to say back to him is father this, tradition that and I think even the most patient person at some point would reach the breaking point. And Bi-Han did reach his, otherwise I doubt he would openly confront Kuai Liang about their father’s death. 

So as much as it is understandable (human) that whenever Tomas or Kuai Liang mentioned father or the tradition Sub-Zero lashed out in frustration, anger alone is a poor excuse for saying mean things - unless in that scene Bi-Han did in fact speak his mind about not considering Smoke to be a true Lin Kuei. Which I doubt is the case, as they were called for the first big job in a while, and looking how

Liu Kang did not recognize Tomas through the whole story mode

Bi-Han had a final say in who is accompanying him, as he rejected aid of Raiden (Fire Lord’s current Champion) and Kung Lao and Liu Kang did not try to impose them on him

I think if Grandmaster truly had an objection to Smoke performing Lin Kuei duty or not deserving being one, he wouldn’t take Tomas on the top priority mission ordered by a very concerned Liu Kang when there were plenty of other more experienced warriors to pick up. Frankly, even if Bi-Han had a doubt about his younger brother’s skills, it wasn’t a baseless assumption, as the infiltration of the enemy's fortress proved Tomas lacks battle experience in that regard. As was seen during his fall after Nitara’s attack - instead of using his powers that literally allowed him to fly, he screamed in panic and using a knife to stop the fall was his second option after instinctively grabbing the wall with his hands failed. Which proves Bi-Han’s point but it didn’t override the decision to include Tomas into Lin Kuei duties. 

But I digress, so let’s come back to the awaiting scene alone. 

Bi-Han: “How long are we expected to linger?" Kuai Liang: “Patience, Bi-Han. There are many demands on Liu Kang's attention." Tomas: "Were he here, Father would advise us to wait without protest."

For one, Tomas did not say anything about Bi-Han being disrespectful to their father nor even to Liu Kang, only that the man would advise them - mind you, them, not Bi-Han alone - to wait as long as needed without a protest. Considering the real possibility that up to his death, their father was the final authority whose words settled any dispute between brothers, Smoke brought an argument to support Kuai Liang’s Patience, Bi-Han. There are many demands on Liu Kang's attention. He simply said what father would do himself in their situation. Something he and Kuai Liang take comfort in, as they held father’s teaching in high regard, while Bi-Han did not recognize the man’s authority any longer - what the younger brothers may know already but still ignore due to their own grief, or Bi-Han up to this moment managed to keep down his frustration under more or less effective control.

This exchange led the discussion away from Liu Kang’s treatment of high-ranked Lin Kuei to the more dangerous subject of father’s teaching and tradition:

Tomas: "Were he here, Father would advise us to wait without protest." Bi-Han: "But now he is gone and I am Grandmaster." Kuai Liang: “His teaching did not pass with him. They should still guide us." Bi-Han: "Guide us, yes. Shackle us, no." Tomas: “We can't abandon tradition." Bi-Han: "Mind your place, Tomas. Father may have taken you in, made you one of us... but your blood will never be Lin Kuei."

For me, Bi-Han’s response was harsher than Tomas’ words deserved, especially as the “your blood will never be Lin Kuei” has nothing to do with the main course of the argument - i.e., following father’s teachings and upholding tradition. If Bi-Han wanted to point out that Tomas is not in position to decide the course of the clan's politics, as it was Grandmaster’s choice alone, he could have said so instead of bringing Tomas’ past. However, at the same time, Sub-Zero’s words could be much harsher and hurtful, for example to deny him the brotherhood or right to consider himself one of Grandmaster's sons. 

The whole bicker was avoidable or at least could be toned down much better if Tomas did not bring their father into discussion. Considering that Kuai Liang was aware his older brother’s patience is a thin ice due to deep frustration, we can assume Tomas knew that too. I feel like if they acknowledged Bi-Han’s complaint or at least allowed him to vent his anger in peace, none of the following arguments would follow. 

I mean, Liu Kang called Grandmaster for top important mission (capturing Shang Tsung and destroying soulstellers), so we can assume Bi-Han and his brothers drop whatever they were doing at that moment and came ASAP only to be forced to wait for unknown to us period of time - that could be a ten minutes or hours, so Bi-Han’s complaint is not baseless. 

At the same time, I feel it is unfair to accuse Tomas of stepping out of line, as that was no formal meeting and he did not undermine the authority of the Grandmaster and older brother before outsiders. The scene was solely about them and their relationship and if Bi-Han felt comfortable to break out of his Grandmaster’s role to vent his frustration to younger brothers when they were all alone, Tomas had the same right to feel comfortable enough to state his opinion in the following discussion. This is them being brothers not the leader and subordinates, the way they were during the war meeting with Liu Kang.

Please, note, Bi-Han  as Grandmaster is singled out and to whom Fire Lord addresses only, while Smoke and Scorpion stood in their place in silence and won’t speak until the meeting is officially over, i.e. after Sub-Zero’s final decision (“We will leave immediately”). If Tomas spoke during that meeting anything contradictoring Sub-Zero’s words, even if his words were correct, then yes, that would be stepping out of line and deserves any lecture the Grandmaster would consider fitting or even dealing with Tomas’ behavior once they returned to home. 

But during the moment between brothers alone from any outsiders? It is different situation, different power balance to begin with (and really, if they didn’t feel comfortable in each company and didn’t consider waiting together as the quiet moment between just them as brothers, outside the clan politics, I doubt Tomas and Kuai Liang would sit while Bi-Han, their leader, was standing).

Did Smoke really need to bring their father into discussion, especially if he knew the late Grandmaster was a sensitive topic around Bi-Han? It could be easier to just avoid that topic however if we can acknowledge Sub-Zero’s frustration as the reason for his harsh behavior and lashing out in anger, I feel we should also acknowledge that Tomas, the same as Kuai Liang, was a son mourning the loss of father. As Smoke and Scorpion had no idea about Bi-Han’s (passive) role in their father’s death, and we don’t have an idea how long time passed since that incident, so there is a chance it was still recent occurrence and the brothers tried - and failed - to find a common ground between Sub-Zero’s ambitions and Smoke & Kuai Liang’s mourning.

Maybe Tomas was so wrapped up in his grief, he didn’t care or didn’t notice he was provoking Bi-Han? Maybe he on purpose kept bringing the late Grandmaster (tradition) into discussion to force his brother to talk about their father, because grieving people sometimes avoid talking about the dead and he did not want repeat what happened to him not speaking about mother and sister, as intro dialogue implied he did not talk about his biological family after their death (Scorpion: You never speak of your mother and sister.)

For me personally, this scene is not about who stepped out the line and who should be lectured, but rather a needed indication from the narration point that the brothers are drifting apart after their father’s death. Both sides have said things that rubbed the other in the wrong way (hearing non stop about father and tradition adds fuel to Bi-Han’s frustration, Tomas’s hearing no matter how hard he will try, he will never be a true Lin Kuei hits into his sense of self-worth), but even the closest siblings sometimes argue and it happened here.

The argument should not even happen in the first place, and maybe would not happen in any normal circumstances  but since Bi-Han and Tomas and Kuai Liang are affected by things outside their control - frustration and mourning respectively - it is understandable the heavy emotions led them to clashed over relatively small things. 

If there is one thing to say for sure, they have some serious communication problems and that is only partially about Bi-Han not saving their father and lying about that. The story mode showed us Bi-Han trying to explain his reasoning - and as much as game keeps his arguments as vague as possible, he still openly states what he wants for Lin Kuei and himself, while his brothers cling to "tradition" and "father said so" but won't present any countrarguments why those things should matters. Which is a major problem, as both sides want different things and can't find a common ground to agree on.

So no, I don't think Tomas was at fault in this scene, at least not in the sense he wanted to hurt Bi-Han by bringing father into discussion, the same as I don't think Bi-Han should be harsher. What they should have done was to talk about the issue in peace and work out the solution, but alas they weren't given a time nor opportunity until it was too late.