#this song has such strong rob vibes | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

raepritewrites · 7 months

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If Heather were ever to write a memoir about being a superhero, she was going to include an entire chapter about what to do when you get sucked into a portal, because it was a surprisingly frequent hazard of the job and was confusing as hell if you didn't know what you were doing.

Fortunately, she’d been through this song and dance a few times, so she started with gathering the basics. Who, what, where, how, and when?

First, who? Some c-lister villain who called himself Vibe. The team had been working on a case of break-ins where banks would be robbed through some sort of portal technology. In and out, easy as pie, with almost no trace left behind. The guy was slick she could give him that.

Nightwing had theorized the guy might have a teleport ray, judging by the tachyon readings they were getting. Further investigation, however, and a quick conversation with Flash had revealed that Vibe was a meta created from the particle accelerator explosion of Central City, which had given the speedster his own powers. It hadn't been too hard to track the guy down from there.

Second, what? Well, bad guy plus warehouse equals superhero fight. It had just been Nightwing, Superboy, and herself who went to track down and capture the meta. The rest of the squads had all been busy on other assignments, and really, how hard could it be to take this guy down with three of their heavy hitters on it?

Apparently, harder than they'd thought.

Vibe, it seemed, was just as slick at evading capture as burglary. The idea had been for Nightwing and Scarlet Spider to wear the guy out and keep him distracted until Superboy could get in a final hit. It had briefly worked, and then everything went wrong.

Scarlet probably shouldn't have antagonized Vibe so much, but it was fun winding bad guys up. She and Nightwing had come up with some good lines as they danced around the teleporter. She had so much experience fighting alongside Nightcrawler that she assumed she could guess this guy's next move without any trouble. He would zig, she would zag. She'd been... a little too confident. Her spider sense had warned her of the danger as she swung towards Vibe for one more kick to the gut, but her momentum had been too strong, and there was no avoiding the inevitable.

Vibe had realized the game they'd been playing with him and grabbed Superboy as he'd tried to sneak up from behind, flinging him over his shoulder and into her. They'd crashed into Nightwing in a pile of tangled limbs and curses.

By the time Scarlet Spider looked up, Vibe had a new portal open behind him. "As fun as this has been, I'll be taking my leave now. This earth has always been a little too hero-happy for my tastes," the man smirked and saluted them, stepping backwards into the swirl of blue and white light.

If Heather had a nickle for every time she made a very stupid last-minute decision, she and Bruce Wayne would be in the same tax bracket. This was just another five cents in her fictional bank account. She sent a webline to the ceiling, propelling her up and off of her teammates and into the portal, which promptly closed behind her.

Third question, where?

On the other side of the portal, it dawned on Heather very quickly how stupid she was as she found herself free-falling. High-rises and skyscrapers rushed past her in a blur as she struggled to orient herself.

Some part of her brain that sounded a lot like her step-father screamed at her to throw a webline, and after two desperate attempts failed to land on anything, her third try caught a gargoyle. Her arm wrenched in its socket from the abrupt change in trajectory, and she gritted her teeth to stifle the howl of agony that crawled up her throat. She looked around desperately and spotted a rooftop not far away that she could reach.

Her landing was less than ideal, tumbling head over heels before rolling to a painful stop on the tarmac. She lay for a moment to let the panic subside, panting heavily from the spasms radiating from her arm and down her torso. She stared up at a smog filled night sky and the glowing neon sign of an office building as her brain rebooted.

Once she could hear more than just her own heartbeat thundering in her ears, she took stock of her situation. While she'd torn a few muscles in her arm, the damage was minimal compared to being a smear on the sidewalk. She'd twisted her ankle when she'd landed, and it throbbed in a familiar way - not broken, but definitely sprained. Everything else seemed negligible; cuts, scrapes, and general bruises. She would deal.

She sat up slowly and frowned at the office building's sign, declaring it to be one of Wayne Enterprises' headquarters. Why Vibe had thought running to Gotham was a good idea was anyone's guess.

She checked her comm, but only received static in reply, no matter what frequency she tried. Maybe it had been damaged in the fall? Her phone worked, but had no signal at all, not even wifi. That was strange; WE had public wifi available at all there buildings. She needed to reach the team somehow to let them know her status, and that despite her best (very stupid) efforts their suspect was in the wind. She wasn't sure where the closest zeta beam was from here, but maybe she could reach Nightwing a different way.

Did Heather feel bad breaking into the department store? Yes, a little, but desperate times and all that.

She'd grabbed a pair of jeans, a belt (because of course the jeans didn't fit right, but she didn't have the luxury of time on her side to find a pair that did), and an oversized sweatshirt. She dropped a pre-paid credit card on the counter with the tags of the items she was stealing, hoping the owners wouldn't be too mad at her. She then made triple sure that all the cameras she'd covered in webbing were still technically functional -just ineffective for a few hours - and grabbed a shopping bag from the register to stuff her gear into it.

Outside the store, it had begun raining, because this was Gotham and she had Parker luck. It was only natural. After trudging through the rain for a few blocks, Heather finally hailed a cab in a more populated part of the city. The clock on the dash of the taxi read a little after four am, and the driver looked like he wasn't thrilled to have found a customer.

"I need to get to Bristol," Heather told him, trying to be short but polite.

The cabby raised an eyebrow at her, blowing smoke from his cigarette out his cracked window. "That's going to cost you, lady," he told her flatly. "If you hadn't noticed, this is the Diamond District, that's a long drive."

"If you can get me there quickly, I'll pay you double the fare in tip," Heather promised.

Both eyebrows went up at that. "You're the boss," he shrugged and pulled away from the curb.

Once they reached Bristol, Heather had the cab drop her off at the Drake Estate, a few miles from Wayne Manor. She didn't think the cab driver really cared about where this woman in ill-fitting clothes was going at the crack of dawn out in the most expensive neighborhood in Gotham. But just in case someone asked him about it later, she didn't want him saying he'd dropped the weird woman off at Brucie Wayne's mansion. Never could be too careful.

True to her word, Heather had tipped extra generously, and the cab had taken off as soon as she was out of the backseat.

She glanced down the Drake's long driveway to where their modern estate could be seen peaking out between the tall trees and frowned distastefully. Shaking off her feelings towards Tim's parents, she settled into a fast walk and headed towards Wayne Mansion in the thinning rain.

By the time she reached the front gates, the rain was just mist that was slowly being burned off by the morning sun, and she was soaked to the bone. Wiping water off her face, she buzzed the intercom and hoped Alfred wouldn't be mad at her for the early morning call.

"Wayne Residence, may I help you?" His British accent came through the intercom sounding slightly tinny.

"Good morning, I need to speak to Dick Grayson or Bruce Wayne. It's Heather Reilly."

There was a long pause, too long. "Do you have an appointment?"

Heather frowned. "No, not exactly. Listen, I know it's early, but I really need to talk to Dick or Mr. Wayne."

"Master Wayne is a very busy man, young lady," Alfred began, in a clearly dismissive voice.

"Wait, please! It's..." she frowned harder, brow furrowing as an uneasy feeling filled her gut. "It's Heather, Mr. Pennysworth. You know, Heather? Dick's friend? We've... I mean, don't you know who I am?"

"I'm afraid your name is not familiar to me, and young Master Dick no longer resides here at the manor. Good day, young lady." The intercom clicked off and Heather stood blinking at it for several seconds.

"What the actual fuck?" She finally muttered.

Alfred Pennyworth did not know who she was. He had dismissed her with the same polite but frosty way she'd seen him dismiss hopeful gold diggers who hung off of Bruce at parties. As her brain processed this information, something else occurred to her as well.

Vibe. He had said something just before he disappeared. That their earth was too hero-happy. Their earth. As if there was more than one.

"Well, shit," Heather sighed sharply, rubbing at a pounding headache that was beginning to build behind her eyes.

Apparently, Vibe wasn't just a teleporter like her fiance, and perhaps their assessment of him as a c-lister villain was a bit hasty. Because apparently the sucker could warp not just around the world, but also apparently around the freaking multiverse?! And Heather, dumbass extraordinaire, had followed him to a parallel universe. Which meant that the only way she was ever going to get home was to find the bastard again, and there was no way she'd be able to do that on her own.

Fourth question, how?

Heather felt significantly more guilty sneaking onto the Wayne Manor estate than she had breaking into the department store.

She hoped that her Dick and Bruce - if she ever saw them again - would understand that she hadn't meant to memorize the defenses around the estate. Really, it was more Bruce's fault than hers.

She'd spent so much time working for the man, digging through the batcomputer's files and doing the menial grunt work to help hone her skills, that of course at some point she'd gotten bored and started studying the layout of the grounds and where all the motion detectors were hidden. She was only human... well, kind of. Sort of. Not important right now.

She didn't know for certain that this version of Bruce Wayne would use the same layout for his home's defenses. Hell, she wasn't even certain that this version had even become Batman. Maybe the man actually was a clueless socialite in this universe. But Heather had a gut feeling that she couldn't shake.

Like, sure, maybe there were universes out there where that was true. But... could there really be a universe where Bruce Wayne had never become Batman, and yet he'd still taken in Dick, who then would coincidentally also have a falling out with the man and move to Bludhaven? The whole reason her Dick had moved to that awful city was to establish himself as Nightwing.

Heather knew she was holding onto a thin string of hope here. But if she was wrong, she might never make it back home, and that possibility was too terrifying to even consider.

Her universe had found multiple ways to kick her in the teeth and drag her down, over and over again. Yet, that universe was her home, and she was still standing. She'd gotten back up each time with the help of her family and friends. She would figure this out, and she would come home to them.

There wasn't an option for failure.

By the time she was standing in front of the massive doors of the manor, her shoulder and ankle were starting to throb in time with her heartbeat. The sun had burned off the remaining rain and she estimated it was closer to six or seven am now. Despite knowing she looked like a drowned rat, Heather attempted to have some dignity as she straightened her clothes, pushed back her slick hair, and reached up to knock.

"I'll get it, Alfred," She heard a young male voice on the other side of the door, and she had just enough time to think Tim when a seventeen year old boy with dark hair opened the door.

Heather blinked. This... was not her Tim. Her Tim was still thirteen and only recently reached her shoulder in height. Yet, the haircut, the blue eyes, the sharp features, all of it definitely screamed Tim Drake.

The boy frowned at her. "Can I help you?"

"Uh," Heather floundered for a second, unsure. She hadn't anticipated speaking to anyone other than Alfred, Dick or Bruce. "Yeah, I'm sorry. It's um, it's been a rough night. My name is Heather Reilly. You're Tim, right? I'm a friend of Dick Grayson's, and I really need his help."

"You again?" Alfred was suddenly behind Tim, wearing the most severe frown she'd ever seen on the man.

It immediately made her step back a half pace and her shoulders hunch. No one, not even her own parents, could make Heather feel like a small naughty child the way Mr. Pennyworth could. There was a reason even Batman deferred to him. "I was quite firm young lady. How did you manage to get past the front gate?"

Translation: How did you avoid all of Batman's security? Heather thought, but of course they wouldn't know that she knew about any of that.

"Please, Mr. Pennyworth, if you just let me explain the situation," Heather began, trying not to wither under his stony stare.

"How do you know Dick?" Tim interrupted. He looked just as suspicious as Alfred, but there was something else in his stare, curiosity or something like it. Tim, like Bruce, was a detective and Heather could tell she'd piqued his interest.

"Dick and I are old friends," She said quickly, latching onto Tim's interest like a lifeline. "We met when we were teenagers. We, uh, had a lot in common. Listen, if Dick isn't here could I at least use your phone? I lost mine, and if I can't talk to Dick, then I need to try and call another friend."

"Are you in trouble?" Alfred asked, looking a modicum less severe than before.

"Very much so, sir,'' Heather nodded, shifting her weight only to wince as she placed too much onto her bad ankle. "Shit," she hissed, unable to keep the curse in.

"What happened?" Tim asked, opening the door wider.

"I... fell," She said lamely, scratching the back of her neck. How could she explain that it was from a height of several stories? Oh, right, she couldn't. "Twisted my ankle. It's fine, I'm a fast healer."

Tim and Alfred exchanged a long look, and only years of working with the bats helped her parse out its full meaning. They didn't trust her, clearly. They thought she might even be lying, but they weren't going to leave someone soaking wet and obviously injured outside on their doorstep.

Alfred hummed, still displeased, "You may use the phone in the library, follow me. Master Tim, would you please bring me the first aid kit?"

"Sure, Alfie," Tim sent one more scrutinizing stare her way before disappearing into what she knew was a supply closet.

She followed the butler into the library, wincing as she dripped rainwater onto the expensive rugs. He led her to an antique secretary desk with a rotary phone on it, because apparently in every universe Bruce Wayne was that kind of old money rich, and insisted she sit down on the oak desk chair. Tim reappeared shortly, carrying both a first aid kit and a towel, the latter of which Heather took gratefully as she sat her plastic bag full of gear onto the floor.

Heather carefully squeezed water out of her hair, mindful of her shoulder as Alfred looked through the kit. "If you would remove your boot, Miss Reilly, I will check your ankle."

"Oh, I mean, you don't have to-" Heather began, the towel now draped over her shoulders.

"I insist," Alfred said firmly but not unkindly.

"You might as well let him look," Tim said with a chuckle. He was leaning against one of the many floor to ceiling bookcases. "He won't take no for an answer."

"Right, I knew that," Heather muttered, shaking her head. She missed the puzzled frowns Tim and Alfred shared as she reached down and started unlacing her combat boots.

Spider-Man and her father preferred their costumes with matching boots and gloves, the web design visible from top to bottom. But she'd long ago chosen steel toed black boots and fingerless black leather gloves for herself. She liked that it made the uniform her own, along with a modified version of her father's blue hoodie - cropped, slightly darker in hue, and made of a resilient Kevlar. The Scarlet Spider silhouette was still recognizable as the one Ben Reilly once wore, but she'd made it hers, and she knew her dad would have approved.

She got the boot off and peeled off her wet sock, hissing as the fabric stuck around the swollen ankle joint before finally coming free. Of course, it was the ankle she'd broken previously, that was just her luck.

"Okay, it's a little worse than I thought," she admitted quietly as Alfred examined the injury.

"You seemed pretty confident it was just a sprain," Tim observed casually.

Bruce hasn't taught him all his tricks yet, Heather thought as she considered how to answer Tim's obviously prying question. "Not the first time," she said as she watched Alfred pull out a roll of bandages. "I'm clumsy."

Before Tim could form his next question, a voice called out, "Drake? Pennyworth?" This was followed shortly by a boy, maybe fourteen years old, coming into the library. He was also dark haired, but much tanner than Tim and his eyes were brown. There was something oddly familiar about the kid that Heather couldn't put her finger on.

"Who is this?" The boy demanded.

"Manners, Master Damian," Alfred chided him as he finished wrapping Heather's ankle. "It's best you remove your other boot as well, Miss, to give them a chance to dry out."

Heather nodded, "right, thank you, Mr. Pennyworth."

"Damian, this is Heather. She says she's a friend of Dick's," Tim explained.

"Richard has never mentioned you," Damian said, narrowing his eyes suspiciously. He spoke with the slightest accent, something Middle Eastern that Heather couldn't pin down, and the more she looked at his face the more she was sure she knew him from somewhere.

"We're, uh, very old friends," Heather explained awkwardly. "We haven't seen each other in a long time." Or ever, in this universe's case.

"Tt," Damian scoffed, sharing glances with Alfred and Tim. He wasn't even attempting to hide how suspicious he thought she was. It was sort of refreshing. "Richard isn't home. He's running errands with Father."

Now Heather was narrowing her eyes, her head tilting to the side as a memory came to her. Of a painting that hung in her universe's version of Wayne Manor featuring Thomas and Martha Wayne posing with their young son. Bruce was solemn, even as a child, and Damian had the same set to his jaw.

"Oh my god," she breathed as it clicked, suddenly standing as she pointed at the boy. "You're Bruce's kid. Like, his bio kid, aren't you?"

The others gave her various confused reactions. Alfred raised one eyebrow, Tim frowned, and Damian crossed his arms haughtily.

"Of course, I am," the younger boy snapped, like he thought Heather was an idiot. Which was fair. She kind of was most days, even she could admit that. "How do you not know who I am?"

"I -" She dropped her arm and rubbed her neck. "Right, yeah, that's an excellent question." She sighed. "Okay, truthfully? I am friends with Dick, but... not your Dick?" They frowned at her, and she couldn't blame them.

"Look, I'm going to level with you. I'm not from this universe. I work with Dick on my earth with a team of heroes. We were fighting this guy - Vibe? I did something monumentally stupid, and I ended up here. I didn't realize until I was already talking with Alfred that I was even in the wrong universe because my Alfred has known me for years. I worked with Batman for a while when I was a teenager, back when Dick was still Robin, and-"

"What are you talking about?" Tim interrupted her nervous ramblings. "Why do you think we know anything about Batman?" He added angrily. Damian looked ready to commit murder, and Alfred had disappeared at some point.

Heather groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Look, let's just cut past the song and dance, okay? I know all about Bruce, I have for years. In my universe, he gave me almost full access to the batcomputer's files. I trained with Robin in the batcave. I know about the entrance behind the grandfather clock in Bruce's study-"

Heather realized a few beats too late that was probably not the best way to break the news.

Damian was suddenly in her face with a knife at her throat pulled from seemingly nowhere. She reacted instinctively, grabbing the boy's wrist, twisting it down until he dropped the dagger. She pushed him into Tim, who'd been pulling out his collapsible bo staff. She'd turned with the intention of escaping through the library's other exit, but only made it a few strides when the sound of a shotgun being loaded stopped her dead in her tracks.

Right, that would be Alfred, she thought numbly, lifting her hands up as high as her injured shoulder would allow before dropping to her knees.

"Do not move," Alfred ordered.

"Yes, sir," she said.

"How did you disarm me so easily?" Damian demanded, stomping around to glare at her.

Heather gave him a small smile, which only made him angrier. "You remind me of my sister," she said instead of answering.

"I don't know what your game is," Tim told her, "but we're not playing. What do want with Dick?"

"First, poor word choice," Heather smirked at him over her shoulder. He glared back at her flatly, and she rolled her eyes. "My Tim has a much better sense of humor. I already told you exactly why I'm here. I'm in the wrong universe, and I need Batman and Nightwing to help me get home."

"Why do you keep insisting my father is the Batman?" Damian asked.

Heather sighed. "Look, we could keep going around and around on this all day, but I don't have that kind of time. Either call up Dick and Bruce so we can discuss this like adults, or-"

"Or what?" Alfred asked, suddenly reminding her there was a very protective butler with a gun pointed at her.

Heather pursed her lips, considering. "Why don't you take me down to the cave? You guys probably have a holding cell like my Batman does. You can keep me under lock and key until I can convince you I'm telling the truth, or until you can get someone from the League to come down who can wipe my memory if I can't."

"Or we could take you to Arkham Aslyum now," Damian suggested.

Heather took a deep breath, trying to be patient. Not like it could hold me. "It's up to you," she finally said.

Damian walked behind her so the three could share a whispered conference. Heather tried very hard not to hear them by humming under her breath, but it was a lost cause. Damian was coming up with some very creative forms of interrogation tactics, but was ultimately overruled by Tim and Alfred.

"Alright, let's go," Tim finally sighed. "Hands behind your back, and just keep in mind Alfred is a very good shot." She saw him pulling a pair of handcuffs from the corner of her eye.

"You're going to want to use something stronger than that," she told them mildly as Tim grabbed her wrists and yanked them behind her back. Tim hesitated for a moment, before Damian handed him something she couldn't see. She bit back a hiss of pain as they used what felt like metal cording from a grappel gun to bind her hands, then used the remaining cord to wrap around her arms and chest.

Better, she thought as Tim and Damian pulled her to her feet, but still not enough. Ah well, I'll let them have this one.

They blindfolded her before taking her to the batcave, maybe so they could still have plausible deniability. Heather let the boys lead her to the elevator, her spider-sense keeping her aware of Alfred's shotgun aimed at her chest. When the elevator stopped, her bare feet were treading the rock of the cave's floor as the boys prodded her along, her injured ankle really resenting the cold seeping into her bones. She couldn't surpress a small shiver, suddenly aware of her still soaking wet stolen clothes that were clinging to her.

"Relax, we're not going to hurt you," Tim murmured, misinterpreting her shudder.

"Unless you give us a reason too," Damian added, less meanly than he could have.

Huh, maybe the kid wasn't as blood thirsty as he seemed. I wonder who his mom is? I don't think it's Selina. He doesn't look anything like her. Heather pondered this little mystery until she heard a metal cage door opening and she was gently pushed inside the holding cell. Someone pulled off the blindfold before they locked her in. She blinked her eyes to help them adjust to the new lighting, taking in the somewhat familiar landscape around her.

"Good to know the giant penny and t-rex are consistent in every universe," Heather observed. "Still ridiculous, but consistent."

"Master Bruce and Master Dick are on their way," Alfred said, lowering the gun slightly but not putting it away.

Heather nodded. "I figured. So... bio kid, huh?" She added, conversationally.

Damian narrowed his eyes at her, but didn't reply.

"I totally see it now," Heather admitted, taking a seat on the cot in the cage. She brought her legs up to fold beneath her, trying to get comfortable. "I thought at first that Bruce's adoption habit was worse in this universe."

"What makes you think I'm adopted?" Tim asked, taking a seat on a stool he'd brought over.

Heather blinked in surprise. "Oh, my mistake, sorry. My Tim Drake is, so I guess I assumed."

"What happened to your Tim's parents?" Tim frowned, but there was something in his expression that Heather couldn't read.

Heather pursed her lips, considering how to explain. "They were very neglectful. At first, Bruce just had emergency custody of Tim while the state investigated why he was being left alone for long periods of time with only a maid checking on him. When they realized how shitty the Drakes were, that's when he put in the paperwork."

"So they're... still alive?" Tim asked in a much quieter voice.

Heather's heart stuttered painfully. "Oh... I'm so sorry."

Tim shook his head. "Not your fault," he said it like it was something he told people a lot, which only made Heather feel worse.

"I really am sorry. This world is so different from my own," Heather said, mostly to keep the conversation moving. She'd always hated awkward silence. "My Tim is younger, and I've never even met him before." She tilted her head towards Damian. "I mean, he might exist on my earth. Who's your mom?"

Damian tutted again, which she was beginning to suspect was a habit. "Not that its any of your business, but my mother's name is Talia Al Ghul."

Heather blinked and sat forward. "I'm sorry - the daughter of the Demon's Head is your mom? One of the most dangerous women in the world, and the next leader of the League of Assasins?"

Damian gave her a haughty nod. "I see my mother's reputation precedes her even in another universe."

"Okay, mental note," Heather muttered. "Interrogate Bruce when I get home to make sure he actually knows how condoms work."

Tim let out an involuntary snort and Damian's pride disappated back into disdain as he muttered something in Arabic that she was sure was unflattering.

"Alrighty, anyway," She sighed. "I'm assuming you have questions you want me to answer?"

"I am not sure what we could ask you that could prove your worthiness," Damian snapped. "You are a stranger to us."

Tim nodded reluctantly. "I've never heard Dick mention anyone like you." He picked up the plastic bag they must have brought from upstairs that had her gear in it, pulling out her mask and frowning at it. "What's with the spider webs?"

"On my earth, I'm called the Scarlet Spider," Heather explained, waiting for any hint of recognition on his face, but nothing came. "You know, ally of Spider-Man? Friend of the Avengers?"

"Who?" Damian asked.

"Whoa, okay, I didn't think our earths were that different," Heather shook her head. "Wait, if Spider-Man and the Avengers don't exist in this world, does the Justice League exist?"

"Of course," Tim and Damian answered almost in unison, then glared at each other in annoyance.

"That's a relief. So the team must exist too," Heather said, only to receive another frown.

"You mean the Teen Titans?" Tim clarified.

"No...? I mean the team. We work for the Justice League? But, like, covertly. We handle missions that the League doesn't want a lot of attention on, but that still needs a lot of skill." Heather explained, "There's me, Nightwing, Superboy, Miss Martian, Robin, Batgirl, Bumblebee, Beast Boy-"

"I only recognize some of those names," Tim admitted.

"Weird," Heather muttered.

"This is a waste of time," Damian exclaimed, "She's clearly lying, Drake, we should take care of her before she can reveal our identities to anyone."

"Let's pump the breaks on the murder, alright Shortstack?" Heather couldn't help but snap. "Does your Batman actually kill? Because that's seriously messed up."

"He does not," Alfred confirmed, giving Damian a reprimanding glare.

Damian rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, muttering to himself. Tim and Alfred couldn't hear it, but Heather could perfectly. "This never would happen with Mother and Grandfather."

Tim's phone suddenly chimed at the same moment Heather heard tires crunching on the gravel outside the manor. "I'm guessing Bruce is here?" She asked Tim as he checked his phone.

"How did you-?"

"Lucky guess," Heather deflected.

Alfred finally lowered his gun and left, presumably to meet his employer and pseudo son at the door. Damian seemed to take this as an invitation to take out another dagger from some pocket and begin fiddling with it. Heather guessed this was his way of intimidating her, or it could have been a nervous habit. She didn't have the heart to tell him it was more cute than anything else.

The kid looked like he'd barely hit puberty. He reminded her of her own little brother and sister, which just made her homesick. She wanted to pull her phone out, just so she could see her photos and reassure herself that they were still out there, waiting for her, but she stopped herself from snapping her restraints. She needed this world's Batman to trust her, or she'd never get home.

"I'm assuming you're a meta human?" Tim asked her after he finished sending another text. He put his phone in his pocket so he could focus his attention on her fully.

"In a sense," Heather said reluctantly. "It's complicated."

"I have a friend who's the daughter of a demon, try me," Tim challenged.

"It's not that I'm refusing to answer the question, it's just seriously complicated," She explained. "Does this world have stable cloning technology?"

"Are you somebody's clone?"

"No- well, yes and no," She shook her head when he gave her an exasperated sigh. "Complicated! Ugh, okay, so my story starts way before I was born. On my earth there's a hero called Spider-Man. He was a regular guy who was bitten by a radioactive spider, giving him super powers."

"Usually when someone has a backstory like that, they turn to a life of crime, at least in my experience," Tim commented.

"Yeah, well, he didn't. I mean, he used his powers to win money in wrestling matches at first," Heather admitted, rolling her eyes. "He was young and dumb, don't worry about it - not important. The important thing is years later, Spider-Man gets a new rogue who called himself Jackal. The guy was crazy, but brilliant."

"We are familiar with the type," Damian commented quietly.

Heather snorted. "Trust me, I know, but unfortunately he was way less Nygma and his puzzles, and more like Crane with unethical experimentation. The guy manages to clone Spider-Man, except - plot twist - Spider-Man suddenly has a case of amnesia and he and the clone can't remember which of them is the real deal."

Tim whistled, "complicated."

"Oh trust me, tip of the iceberg," Heather complained, shaking her head. "I'll skip forward, or we'll be here for hours. The clone, he went by the name Scarlet Spider, eventually comes to a truce with Spider-Man and they become allies. In the meantime, Scarlet Spider and the woman who was once Spider-Man's fiance fall in love. Eventually, they have a kid." She shrugged as much as her restraints allowed her to.

"That was you," Damian guessed.

"Yep," Heather nodded. "Again, I'm going to skip forward for brevity's sake. I developed powers as I aged, but then suddenly one day my body freaks the fuck out. My DNA wasn't completely stable, being half human and half - er, clone slash radioactive meta slash freak lab accident." She sighed. Sometimes she couldn't believe this was her life. "My body mutated."

"It didn't kill you?" Tim asks, surprised.

"It almost did," she admits quietly. "Spider-Man saved my life. I was only nineteen."

"How old are you now?" Damian asked, almost politely.

"Almost twenty-four," Heather smiled. "My fiance, Kurt, is trying to plan a surprise party for me with my Dick Grayson's help. They're not succeeding, but it's adorable to watch so I'm letting it go for now."

"You weren't lying when you said you were close with him, were you?" Tim said, almost sounding like he was talking to himself.

"Robin was always one of my biggest heroes," Heather admitted. "When we finally met, he became one of my closest friends. He's practically my brother."

"That's why you were sure he would help you," Damian concluded.

"He's my best shot," Heather admitted as Bruce finally stepped into the cave, Dick right behind, followed by an Asian woman with short dark hair, and finally an African American teen about Tim's age.

Heather tilted her head at the woman and teen in confusion. The woman only smiled mildly and waved, while the teen mirrored her frown. Well, that's definitely new. Maybe this Bruce does have more of an adoption problem than mine.

"You got my message?" Tim asked.

"Yes. We've been watching the security cameras," Bruce muttered, eying Heather like she was one of the Riddler's newest puzzles. Which, ow.

"Hello," Heather said, giving a cheery smile despite the increase in suspicious eyes on her. "I'd get up to greet you, but..."

"Oh, this one has jokes," Dick said, coming to gently take Damian's dagger away. "That's refreshing. Last time we got someone from a parallel universe, they weren't any fun. Remember Bruce? The Stephanie doppelganger?"

"Dick," Bruce reprimanded before his eldest could go off on a tangent.

"Oh yeah, no, that one was no fun," Tim agreed, ignoring Bruce’s sigh. "This one says she's known you since you were Robin."

"Hey, I have!" Heather protested. "C'mon, we were all getting along so well. I mean, aside from the stabby child over there... but I have a feeling he's like that with most people?"

"We're trying to break him of the habit," Dick commented dryly.

"Did Damian stab her?" The black teen asked.

"Not quite," Tim shrugged. "She's fast."

"Aw, thanks Tim" Heather beamed. "That's like the nicest thing you've said to me all day. When I get home, I'll be sure to tell my Tim you were nice. Even if you do need to lighten up a little."

"What makes you think you're going anywhere?" Dick asked, but Heather couldn't hear any real threat in the words. She had a feeling this Dick had just as big of a heart as her world's.

"Look, obviously me being here is upsetting for multiple reasons. You guys love your privacy, and you hate having someone around who compromises that, I get it. Not to mention, it's probably not a good idea for someone from the wrong multiverse to stay here long term. I mean, I'm a biochemist not a theoretical physicist, but I'm assuming it's probably bad," Heather shrugged as much as her bonds allowed. "So, the way I see it is, you help me get back home, and we're all happy in the end. Right?"

"How can we trust that you're telling the truth?" Tim asked again, but she could tell Bruce was thinking it over.

"I don't know what you want me to say, Timmy," Heather told him honestly. "I mean, I could sit here all day telling you things that are true of my universe? Like, I know that Dick’s first pet was Zitka, the circus elephant. I know that my Tim basically blackmailed Batman into making him Robin. I know that my Alfred never uses cloves in his cooking because Bruce is allegic, which is why he never drinks the eggnog at the Justice League's Christmas party. Is any of that true in this universe? I don't have a clue. What I do know for certain is that you all are my only shot of getting home. If you won't help me..."

Heather swallowed, staring at nothing as the despair of that possibility hit her full force. "I'll never see my family again, and Kurt will never know what happened to me. Please, I'm begging here, help me get home."

Bruce crossed his arms and looked at the Asian woman that hadn't said a word so far. The woman looked to be in her early twenties, a little younger than this world's Dick. Heather had tried not to let it bother her, but the younger woman had been watching her intently the whole time they'd been talking. Heather couldn't help feeling like she was missing something as she watched the woman turn to Bruce and smile.

"Not lying. I trust her," She finally said.

The words were stilted in a way that normally Heather would associate with learning a new language, but the woman had a distinct Gotham accent. It almost reminded Heather of how her little sister used to talk when she'd started speech therapy, like the woman wasn't sure how to put her thoughts into spoken words.

"Okay, as much as I appreciate the vote of confidence, I have to ask - who are they?" Heather asked, unable to hide her curiosity.

"You don't have a Cassandra Cain or Duke Thomas in your world?" Dick asked.

Heather shook her head, "Doesn't ring a bell, but that doesn't mean they don't exist. Like I was saying earlier, my timeline seems a little skewed from this one. My Tim is younger, and as far as I know, my Bruce doesn't have a bio kid. It's just Dick, Tim, Babs and me around."

"What about Jason Todd?" Bruce asked quietly, and if she hadn't known another version of this man so well she might not have heard his trepidation for the answer.

"That's... I mean..." Heather blew out a somber breath. "Jason was murdered by the Joker," she admitted reluctantly. Every face in the room fell, but there was an air of recognition to the grief. Clearly, the same fate had befallen their Jason as well.

Heather continued after a moment, "That was a few years ago. Recently, he, well... came back. Things are still a little delicate, so he's been staying with me and Kurt for the time being."

"Why isn't he home with us?" Dick asked.

Heather grimaced. "You have to understand, he wasn't in his right mind. He - well, he attacked our Tim and hurt him pretty badly. They're both doing better, but Jason hasn't forgiven himself and still has things to work through, and Tim needs time to recover mentally and emotionally. We're giving them both space until if and when they're ready to be in the same room."

"Wow, what a concept," Tim deadpanned, sarcasm dripping from every syllable. Bruce and Dick looked uncomfortable. Heather narrowed her eyes but decided not to ask. Not her circus, not her monkeys. She could only do so much for the Wayne family in her own universe; she couldn't possibly fix an entirely different one as well. Especially when she didn't have the complete picture.

"Ya know, I kind of wish we had a version of her," Duke spoke up. "That's like the most level headed decision I've heard from someone in this family in... no, scratch that, ever."

"Don't give me too much credit," Heather smiled, but it was self-derogatory. "I've had my fair share of screw ups, too. Sometimes, you just need an outside perspective." She sighed, wishing she could rub her eyes. "Look, I get that this is a lot to ask, but I have to track down Vibe before he disappears from this world, too. I can stay right here if it makes you all feel better, but I need help finding his tachyon signature so I can catch him and make him take us home. The batcomputer is my best chance."

"Quick question," Dick lifted a hand, frowning at her. "What do you mean by 'make us feel better'?"

Heather clicked her tongue and stood up, walking to the far wall of the cage, opposite the door. She flexed her muscles, snapping the metal grappeling cord like it was dental floss. As the cord fell into a pile on the floor, she reached forward and using two fingers on each hand, bent two of the steel bars towards each other into an 'x'. She stepped back from the cage wall and put her hands behind her back, shrugging sheepishly.

"You could escape at any time, couldn't you?" Duke guessed.

Heather nodded, chewing her cheek.

"You could have broken in here without alerting anyone, gotten what you wanted, and left without a trace," Tim added. "Just like how you got passed all of the security on the grounds."

"Well, I don't know about completely leaving without a trace," Heather hedged, rubbing the back of her neck. "I'm not Kurt, I can't teleport, and I don't have invisibility either."

"Hn, perhaps you could explain your powers to us in detail while we start searching for your missing rogue," Bruce said.

She didn't know this Bruce or what had happened in his life to alter it from the man she did know, but she could hear the world's greatest detective in his voice and it made the anxiety in her chest melt. They weren't going to abandon her, they were going to help.

The only question left, was when?

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inhibited-irregularity · 1 year

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Since the voting was truly abysmal and the real winner was robbed by the corrupt juries, might as well make a "they deserved better" list including both semis and the grand finale and considering both juries and the general public. So, in an attempt to be as objective as I can, here's my

☆♥︎THEY DESERVED BETTER♥︎☆

In no particular order:

🇩🇪 Germany, Lord of the lost - Blood and glitter: I admit that I wasn't a fan in the beginning, and even made a post about how I wish that the rock entries went harder and that LOTL should either commit to hardcore or be more silly with the song. I found the cheesy lyrics delivered in such a serious and dramatic manner cringey, BUT, after their performance last night, changed my mind completely. First of all, I ADORE the lead singer's vocals (and he seems like a cool guy), and the song itself has some seriously good moments, not to mention how freakin catchy it is. Their energy was through the roof, the performance was flawless, and in spite of my initial reaction to the song, I bought it and genuinely loved it. It felt like watching a concert by one of my favorite bands. Not my winner, but I was really disappointed with how low they scored.

🇪🇸 Spain, Blanca Paloma - Eaea: ROBBED. Over the years, the juries projected an image of people that look for all things *artistic* in a song (even though it usually translates as a pretentious kid in art college with no real taste picking the thing they think their 50yo profesor would approve of). Well, they be blind, since Blanca Paloma brought IT, and they failed to recognize. Outstanding vocals, stunning visuals, the power of the entire performance, and all the emotion and significance packed into a seemingly simple concept. It was more like a movie scene than a musical competition entry, she transported me into another dimension and unlocked something ancient and wonderful. All the people I've talked to had different favorites, but they all had strong, immensely positive reactions to Spain. I literally teared up and had a spiritual experience with Blanca Paloma's performance, and the energy she exuded was undeniably healing, freeing and over-all cathartic. While I knew that her chances of winning were slim and I didn't count on the public vote, she deserved SO MUCH MORE from both general public and the juries.

🇦🇹 Austria, Teya and Salena - Who the hell is Edgar: One of my favorites from the very beginning. A quality pop song with a bop-y rhythm and ingenious lyrics. Under the guise of random and silly, there's quite a few things implied - the obvious criticism of the music industry and the more subtle "people are readier to believe that a ghost of a famous writer possessed me than that a woman can write quality lyrics and have a sense of humor" (shout-out to generations of men claiming Kurt Cobain wrote Courtney Love's songs and lyrics, work on your reading comprehension) While that might be a personal observation, here's what absolutely stands. They're adorable, funny, had a fun choreography, a catchy song, the lyrics that are fun even if you don't analyze them, great personalities, solid performance, perfect delivery and the right amount of quality with a dash of random that matches Iceland's Dađy Freyr and that y'all claim to respect. Shame on the audience; the jury can't recognize talent anyway.

🇸🇮 Slovenia, Joker out - Carpe Diem: Not much left to say. Good song, good vibes, all the charisma in the world. They had Måneskin's synergy, they had a good time, the audience had a good time with them, and they were confident in a non-pretentious manner. Special mention for Bojan, the lead singer, who's shown such sportsmanship, was truly an example of a perfect esc. representative. The entire band seems very fun to hang out with, and while they're goofy, they seem very smart with how they manage to balance witty and respectful in interviews. Members aside, their music is refreshing and perfect for people that find mainstream pop repetitive but aren't into anything too heavy. Perfect for a summer music festival or a feel-good playlist.

🇵🇹 Portugal, Mimicat - Ai, coração: you know she's something special when her entire home country shows such support and excitement. I wasn't a fan at first when I saw the national performance, it seemed a bit out-dated and frankly a bit too weird for my taste, but she changed my mind as soon as she took the stage in the first semi. In my opinion, a Broadway-worthy performance, and such personality! Fun aunt vibes, and one of the coolest people this year. When I grow up, I wanna be her.

🇭🇷 Croatia, Let 3 - Mama, ŠČ: The juries are such cowards, honestly. I was familiar with some of the band's history and not everything they did was exactly my taste, but what else to expect from a band so unhinged. I had some misgivings, but they won me over quickly. The punkest thing Eurovison has seen in recent years. That's how you do anti-war, Switzerland. Satire on point. Weird, meaningful, fun, grotesque. How something like that didn't do better in Eurovision is beyond me. But leave it to the cowardly juries that left Italy's Ermal Meta and Fabrizio Moro with almost no points to do just that. I'm still butthurt.

🇷🇸 Serbia, Luke Black - Samo mi se spava: Listen, I was NOT a fan. All the homophobes aside, everyone in the country and their mom was gushing about how original and unique the song is, which can be annoying to someone who's as exposed to various aspects of pop culture as I am (humble,I know), and I still think his singing could be better. At first, he was a bit awkward and seemed pretentious during the national selection. However, the performance did stand out, he amped his energy and put such effort, and there's no denying the flawless staging and production and how well it suits him, and over time, he's proved to be a funny, likeable and down to earth guy (with flawless fashion sense). I'm proud of him and how he represented the country, and he definitely didn't deserve to be at the bottom of the list.

🇮🇸 Iceland, Diljá - Power: I'm OUTRAGED that it didn't qualify and can only call lesbophobia idk. I mean, Im not familiar with her sexuality, but if I've ever seen something that doesn't give a damn about the male gaze, this would be it. Still, it's beyond me how she didn't qualify. One of the best vocals this year, not to mention she sung FLAWLESSLY while running and jumping all over the stage with zero breaks. The track itself is meh to me, but should be something that Eurovision fans enjoy; that being said, the vocal and performance can make or break a song with such a track, and she ATE. Power indeed, I was blown away. Her being super-cute is just a bonus. She has my heart and my votes ♡ Too bad people didn't agree.

🇷🇴 Romania, Theodor Andrei - D.G.T: Ok, I can't shout that he deserved to qualify, I knew the chances were slim and the song had some ways to go, not to mention the hot mess of a national performance. However, he doesn't deserve ANY hate that he's getting, and in my opinion, he was the best male vocal this year. I'm in love with his voice and he doesn't lack charisma either. I loved the re-vamp with the acoustic guitar, but at the end of the day, the stage was a bit empty. I will add D. G. T. to my playlist though, and I wish him a wonderful career and a powerful return.

🇱🇻 Latvia, Sudden Lights - Aijā; Well, this one hurts. I know it wasn't a fan favorite, but I was rooting for it so much and still think it deserved to qualify over some *questionable* entries. While it was something straight out of my high-school playlist, I didn't find it derivative and it was warm, touching and comforting. And beautiful, goddammit. I get how it's not everyone's cup of tea, but come on.

🇵🇱 Poland, Jann - Gladiator: Was this a jumpscare? Lol. No need to write a huge paragraph, the entire world knows that he was robbed. I've never seen someone so charismatic and meant to be a performer, and I enjoyed both the song, the lyrics and the delivery, even though I immediately noticed a similarity with Judas by Lady Gaga. However, I feel obliged to say that he should work on his vocals and that y'all wouldn't be so mad if he didn't look the way he looks. Still, the true choice of Poland, and I have no doubt he would've done great in the final.

AND FINALLY .....

THE ONE TRUE WINNER

💚💚💚💚🇫🇮🇫🇮🇫🇮💚💚💚

Käärija (my beloved) - Cha Cha Cha:

Ok, he didn't lack the love or the appreciation. But the RIGGERY. The ROBBERY. THE AUDACITY.

First of all, the song is a banger. It mixes industrial rock, techno and eurodance perfectly, with flawless transitions, while managing to catch the ears of people that aren't into any of those genres. Great intro that pulls you in immediately, and the pacing done just right. Now onto Käärijä himself. He's a fucking star. A legend. It's impossible not to like him. Every video of him I've seen was so much fun. Performance wise, great energy, great delivery. The song manages to appeal so many people with staying unique and checking all the boxes. Want something for the angst? He got you. Want something upbeat? Cha cha cha motherfuckers. Want weird? "My name is Kääärijää", there's our green man. Want quality production? Boy from Vantaa's got it.

The only possible criticism I can see him receiving is something along the lines of "it's gimmicky", which is frankly a ridiculous thing to say about a Eurovision entry (insert the Maryl Streep from Devil Wears Prada meme) and if it were gimmicky, he wouldn't have become the only artist to ever have his name chanted by the entire audience while Sweden gets points, and I wouldn't have replayed it so many times since it came out without getting bored. Honestly, one of the rare songs that puts me in a good mood, cos it has that "starting from anger and angst and acknowledging bad feelings and THEN bringing you to upbeat and happy" thing going on. Eh. Fuck the jury.

This concludes my list. Special mentions.

Not my cup of tea, but deserved the praise - Norway, Italy, Australia, Armenia

Deserved more public votes, undeniable quality, but faded into the background compared to my other favs - France, Czechia

Not for me but I get it- Moldova, Estonia, Georgia

+ Acknowledging Malta for pulling that performance and getting everything possible out of a song that relies entirely on one catchy hook. Most improved entry since the nationals, good show, likeable group, fun staging.

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crystaltoa · 6 months

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Ok so for Onewa I only have what I imagine he'd listen to rather than any specific songs that fit his character or story.

Disturbed, Nine Inch Nails, Dope, Drowning Pool, Five Finger Death Punch, Powerman 5000, Rob Zombie, Rammstein, Static-X, System of a Down.

From more instrumental stuff, most stuff by Mick Gordon or Frank Klepacki fits imo.

No specific songs really just vibes lol. One weirdly specific song I have for Onewa/Nokama ship is "No Light, No Light" by Florence + The Machine.

I haven't really combed or updated my Bionicle playlists in a hell of a long time so dgfdfhgjfghj here u go ;a;b

Excellent! I only know the Florence one so I shall have to look the rest up. The only song I had thought of for Onewa is “Uprising” by Muse. Strong Toa Metru vibes in general on that song, but Onewa specifically has that “ stick it to the man and royally fuck his shit up” energy.

#Bionicle #onewa

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projectsekaitakes · 1 month

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I think the fandom would be a more peaceful place if we utilize the very handy "ignore and block" feature.

Someone posts annoying takes? Block

Someone is pestering you all the time? Block

Someone isnt doing anything wrong but just posting about stuff you dislike? Block

Heck, just bad vibes? Block

You are responsible for your own internet experience so use that feature as often as you like.

For a game that has such fantastic and wholesome story with a display of how strong the voca community really is (like damn, youve got all the big shot porducers to make songs for your game!), the fandom really feels so immatire in how it handles things.

Its interesting how you people hate when someone is truly interested in a few aspects of the game without them doing anything bad. If someone is just fixated on one unit/ship/character/event etc. and bases their entire profile off that cause it makes them happy.

You don't attack japanese or korean artists for doing the same, don't you now?

Unless they spread bad stuff, just let them be. If anything, you will rob them off their enjoyment of the game. So what if they draw their favourite ship getting traditionally married for the upteenth time?

They are not people to interact with for you if you dont like that stuff.

I just hope when the fanbase grows up a little, we can live within out own little areas in the fandom in peace.

Until then, shame on you Project Sekai fandom!

‎

#fandom opinion #fandom take #take #opinion

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movementsofmylife · 2 years

Text

bad buddy ep 1 (rewatch)

some thoughts and vibes. i've watched this ep an uncountable number of times, and i still love it so much.

first, to start my counter of, how many times does pran pull out his entire (extremely intense) set of markers and not use them:

ep 1: //

the kornwai vibes were so strong. they were clearly a parallel to the patpran world keeping them apart, they were keeping themselves apart. but w.e there's fanfiction fix its for that relationship.

ppl have pointed it out but we were truly robbed pran's dad's daddy vibes lol, by which i mean the tattoo on his shoulder.

the shirts, as noted by many, are exquisite. my fave of the episode is the above 'turn up the saturation' shirt of pat's. it's an obvious connection to the "I was so depressingly lonely without you" line. one of the most common descriptions of depression is life losing it's color, hence, pran comes back and so does the color. it's also in pran's red:)

this wai convincing pran to do the freshy music fest. i feel like wai got a pran who was slightly more reserved. obviously not quiet or weak, but one who was a bit slower to go out and take risks. case in point his, i don't want to be a part of that mess comment from post fight. and i think part of why they're friends is that wai can get him to come along and take part in the world again.

so some of what seems like manipulative shit that wai gets pran to do things, i think is just, that's how one gets pran to do things. and we all know how manipulative pran is, so it's not like he's unaware that wai is manipulating him. but sometimes friendship is letting your friends emotionally guilt you into not being isolated.

relatively certain that someone has posted about this before. but this scene is definitely not a competition. the soundtrack song they play on top makes it cacophonous enough that it could be read that way. but without it and with the knowledge of their past, they're clearly just jamming. their faces are not even teasing, just like figuring out how to play music together again, how to be together again.

art.

also a cute, extremely obvious shirt.

this is the first time in the entire episode that pat looks relaxed and happy. the "icy pat" of the 3 year separation starts to thaw, there's color (mint green:) in his life again.

god this show is so fucking good. excited for the entire rewatch.

#badbuddyrewatch #bad buddy ep 1 #bad buddy

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tsatsuma69 · 1 year

Text

EUROVISON SEMI FINALS PT.2:

SPAIN 5/10:

strong start ngl

bb them boots slay the house down

pandering to me (i <3 red)

fun lil dancy dance :)

5/10

ARMENIA 3/10:

straight people? at eurovison?? ew.

she works hard, smoke machine works harder

ngl bored me

3/10

DENMARK 3/10:

there so many twinks this year wtf

its giving charlie from heartstopper

mid tier pop song

3/10

ESTONIA 2/10:

hehehoho magic piano :P

first ballad of the night

u bore me

2/10

CYPRUS 2/10:

yass howl for be bb

!!MUSTACHE ALERT!!

get wet, coward 💦

mid at best tho

2/10

ROMANIA 4/10:

GUITAR PENIS YEEEEEEAAAAAAH !!!!

get ur knees out, slut

loving the smocks

bbgorl has a growl i like it

!YES!CHEST!OUT!

oil him up ;)

song was. decent

4/10

GREECE 1/10

okay twink steve irwin, sing for me

no his vibes rancid actually

the beige, straight, version of romania

greece bb step up ur game u always dissapoint me

1/10

SLOVENIA 6/10:

okay discount harry styles

ooh song is fun would have done great in 2014

DONT LICK THE CAMERA

if u cloned harry styles X5 and it got worse each time youd get this act

not bad

not winners

6/10

SAN MARINO 6/10:

bbgorl went SO hard with stripper last year what do u have for me

HELLO GLITTER DILF

does not even come close to last year but. not bad

fun song + good vocals

6/10

BELGIUM 6/10:

ngl not off to a great start bestie what is that hat ????

i take back my slander, slay

funky + dancable

could go harder

catchy tho

YES VOGUE <3

6/10

ICELAND 7/10:

oh god please dont be bad

!!!LETS GO LESBIANS!!!

did she just do a flip

empowering :)

love her vibes

damn she put her whole pussy into that

7/10

ALBANIA 8/10:

ALBANIA BROUGHT THE DRAMA

oh that outfit slays

theyre having a wonderful time :)

this song goes hard

adore the strings mixed with electric guitar

!!FIRE!!

8/10

UK 3/10:

its ….okay

chorus could have gone way harder

visuals are fun i guess

eurovison has me so unpatriotic

(not that im otherwise patriot fuck facist terf island)

mid as usual, mid as expected

did she just meow? slay.

3/10

AUSTRALIA 8/10:

interesting start

!!!!SHOULDERPADALERT!!!!

'stralia getting heavy with it <3

yes flirt with the camera

wish they would have screamed more

the guitarist is slaying it

WAIT OH MY GOD THEYVE GOT A KEYTAR

8/10 (mostly bc keytar)

UKRAINE 5/10:

phantom of the opera vibes?

okay no

wait kinda? hear me out

oh he looks so slay tho

sexy robot :)

solidly good song 💛

but not stand out for me

5/10

GEORGIA 7/10:

sprinting start babes goddamn

drums go hard

background is giving human centipede poster vibes …. why is this a running theme this year

ooh this is fuuun tho

7/10

POLAND 0/10:

nepo baby cheat

jann was fucking robbed

where is twink supreme ??? :(

"what goes around comes around"? sure fucking hope it does >:(

0/10 nul points

AUSTRIA 9/10:

i.fucking.love.this.

THIS IS SO CAMP

edgar slayllan poe✨

outfits? slay.

visuals? slay.

go austria giving us the most random shit i love it

now THIS is eurovision

they got silly with it :3

9/10

LITHUANIA 3/10:

please no dont end with a fucking ballad

mm still boring for eurovison

like its not a bad song but. mid

was that it???

3/10

best: Austria

worst: Poland

blanllad count: ugh

who made it thru:

Albania 🔥

Cyprus :/

Estonia

Belgium

Austria :3

Lithuania

Poland >:(

Australia :)

Armenia

Slovenia <3

final thoughts:

semi bc thats as hard as most of these songs went

JANN WAS ROBBED!!! ROBBEDDD!!!!!!

like fr why was this round so mid????

frothing at the mouth for the final >:)

#eurovision #eurovision 2023 #eurovision song contest #esc 2023 #eurovision review #teamjann #jann #esc semi 2

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rubyvroom · 2 years

Note

1, 2, 3, 9, 15

Song of the year?

I don't know if it's because I've been low but I don't think I have a song of year for 2022. You know what I do have is a song of the year 2020 that came out in 2022 and that's Doomscroller by Metric. It captures the exact experience of living through the COVID pandemic in its entirety, from grief and dread to outrage to numbness and back again. It's numbly reading through headlines about billionaires reaping record profits alongside thousands of infected and dying "essential workers" and it's police attacking peaceful protesters and fascist politicians encouraging all of it and it's all a click away.

Lining up all the numbers under the names Lining up all the numbers under the names Notify the next of kin of the circumstances Was it an act of God or an accident? Act of God or an accident, or a consequence of a lower profile? Salt of the earth, underpaid to serve you Salt of the earth, underpaid to serve and teach your children Salt of the earth, underpaid to serve and scrub the toilet Salt of the earth, underpaid to serve and scrub the toilet Ruling classes trickle piss from champagne glasses That's just how the evening passes

For a true doom scroller And I'm a true doom scroller I can't seem to shut it down Until the worst is over And it's never over

Arrogance of a coward hostile Scum of the earth, overpaid to rob you Scum of the earth, overpaid to rob and mock resistance Scum of the earth, overpaid to rob anonymously from a distance Scum of the earth, overpaid to rob anonymously Ruling classes trickle piss from champagne glasses History on repeat relapses For a true doomscroller

I think it circles around to an ending a little more upbeat than is warranted but aside from that, nothing really hits that "now" feeling for me like this song, even though "now" is apparently still stuck in 2020.

Album of the year?

Possibly Big Time -- I finally fell hard for Angel Olsen when she did a countryfolk album, naturally. "Ghost On," "Right Now," and "Big Time" all make me swoon. The Rosalia album is also pretty great, and so is the Bad Bunny. Enjoyed Hatchie and Let's Eat Grandma as usual. I loved the Winter album you recommended, it's exactly the Cocteau Twinsy mood I wanted.

Two recommendations: the Grace Ives album "Janky Star" is really strong. It's a grower, kind of low-key oddball pop. "Shelly" and "On the Ground" are standouts. Also "Say Laura" by Eric Chenaux for an electronic jazz kind of thing, it's a Vibes album in the best way.

Favorite musical artist / group you started listening to this year?

I went on a big grunge kick for a few months. I had been completely avoiding anything grunge-adjacent ever since I graduated high school on the downhill slide of the genre, but suddenly this year it was exactly the right mood for me and it had been just enough years distance to actually enjoy it again. I gave a few bands a closer look that I hadn't appreciated much back in Ye Olden Times like Temple of the Dog and Mad Season. And I played a whoooooole lot of Nirvana, enough for them to be my #1 artist and #1 song on Spotify, so that's probably my answer. I listened to Nirvana plenty as a teenager, but that was a lifetime or two ago so I think it counts.

Best month for you this year?

August, for my first real vacation since 2019 and taking on a new role at work when I got back that has been pretty rewarding.

What’s a bad habit you picked up this year?

I don't think I have any new bad habits, but all the existing ones got worse. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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gaykarstaagforever · 1 year

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I did that post before about YouTube Music putting together a pretty lame Autumn playlist for like one specific woman they know. They also do one called "Ultimate Halloween Hits," and I figure it HAS TO BE better, right?

Note: before I even went into this, my assumption is that this is specifically "Halloween Party Music," because these always are. And fair enough, I suppose, though that immediately means there is going to be random pop shit thrown in that is only tangentially related to spookiness.

What's weird is they never call the lists Halloween party lists. And that is sus. Like, why are you being coy about it? Or does Halloween imply 'Halloween party' to the straights?

I don't know their world, and I am okay maintaining that.

Let's see what people with two kids want to hear while they're getting drunk dressed as puns and sexy skeletons or whatever!:

We start off strong, here. The top 3 are how you start one of these. The only problem is that Screamin' Jay Hawkins "I Put a Spell on You" isn't No. 4. That man singlehandedly invented gothic shock rock. Come on, guys.

Instead we get..."Everybody" by the Backstreet Boys.

...I'm going to need to see your math on this one. The key is 'tangentially related to Halloween.' This is...not.

Jesus.

"Black Magic" by Little Mix at least has that title, even if that is literally all it has.

"Somebody's Watching Me" by Rockwell is another staple. Fine.

I'll let "Zombie" pass because, again, title. Though if you actually know what that song is really about, it will inevitably kill the vibe.

"Running Up That Hill" is legally required to be on every playlist any white person or white person-programmed algorithm creates in 2023. So while it has nothing to do with Halloween and I find that mid song highly overrated, I begrudgingly accept that it must be here.

...I guess it was in "Stranger Things" or something, so is that the excuse this time? Did a face get eaten while it played? I disliked that show before disliking that show was popular, so I don't know.

Doja Cat is pretty scary, so that's okay.

Interesting that they went with Nelly Furtado's "Maneater" over Hall & Oates's "Maneater." I mean neither should really be here, but I guess they had to pick one.

We end okay, at least.

At least Jay Hawkins squeaked in at the end of the list of your 51 Halloween songs.

Guys.

Interesting choice of cover for The Addams Family Theme. They go Baroque with it a minute in. Interesting flex.

Now for the omissions. No Beetlejuice? No Tim Burton movie music at all?? (They have "Jump In the Line" by Harry Belafonte, at least, but...) No Rob Zombie? No The Cramps? No "Love Song for a Vampire" by Annie Lennox? No "Kiss from a Rose," the most late October song ever?

No Nick Drake? No "Black-Eyed Dog"? Hell, I would've taken "Pink Moon".

No "Tubular Bells." You didn't put the iconic music from The Exorcist on you Halloween party playlist.

No Toccata and Fugue in D Minor? No Hall of the Mountain King? No Mars, Bringer of War?

No "Hedwig's Theme" from Harry Potter?

No "This is Halloween"?????

That last one is kind of unforgivable.

Is this a rights issue? Do online playlists have to pay to group songs together?

I am honestly shocked Taylor Swift's "Bad Blood" isn't here. I mean, good, I hate that song. But still. It would have made more idiot sense than that Backstreet Boys song.

iHeart Radio is kicking your ass on this, Google. And I have to listen to local car dealership commercials in between songs on that.

#rant #youtube music sucks #google #halloween

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awanderingmuse-ficrec · 1 year

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What We’re Given (Series)

Fandom: Avatar the Last Airbender

Author: Haicrescendo, @sword-and-stars

Rating: Teen

Warnings: Violence, Strong Language, Child Abuse, Major Injury, Imprisonment

Word Count: 39,995

Characters: Zuko, Iroh, Sokka, Aang, Katara, Zuko's Crew, Zhao, Song, Toph Beifong, Azula

Tags: Team Avatar, The Gaang, tiny zuko is in TERRIBLE PAIN, acting as a one man representative of the endangered species act, what’s a little rebellion between friends?, iroh just wants to protect his kid okay, there are wild sky bison and they are PRECIOUS, zuko will just straight up try to murder anybody who tries to mess with them, rebellion kickstarted by genocidal horror, rejection of papa-ganda, Ozai is a terrible father, honestly possibly the WORST father, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, things are similar but also very different, War Crimes, hand waving canon, zuko is tiny and full of SADNESS, and so much self loathing, what is self esteem?, we don’t know, uncle thought he’d have longer to work before we got to full treason but here we are, casually beautiful zuko, oops it’s definitely child abuse, zuko is Not Fucking Around, appa is consistently dirty and zuko is salty as hell about it, HOW COULD YOU LET HIM GET LIKE THIS???a rage-filled manifesto as written by zuko, real talk tho appa is like the dirty harriet of sky bison, the crew is ride or die, abide by the rules of hospitality or perish, oops the author can’t help adding fiber arts to everything, zuko is bigger and SO IS HIS PAIN, so is his voice, uncle takes looking after his kid SUPER SERIOUSLY, childhood nightmare fuel, zuko can never remember that his alias is li, and consequently never answers to it, its a beautiful day on the jasmine dragon and you are a horrible son, uncle just wants his precious child to MAKE SOME GODDAMN FRIENDS, hand waving canon because fuck it, zuko has no chill, and is fully prepared to throw hands, baby zuko is full of angst, and very loud noise, mentions of abuse by authority figures, like this fucking kid has literally had his education sabotaged, and he doesn’t realize that that shit is Not Acceptable, zuko doesn’t realize that uncle has handpicked his crew for sass and loyalty, he’ll understand one day but that day is not today, inescapable fiber arts, zuko stress felts EVERYTHING, And Worries, second thoughts on treason but no regrets, zuko’s crew has Feelings, their commander is a casually endearing little monster and they will fight you over him, zuko is everyone who’s ever had to be polite to dickheads in a service job, he doesn’t get paid enough to put up with this bullshit, zhao is a fuckhead, showing love through endless complaining, not much happens but it’s still important, local uncle surprised to find kid needs more therapy than expected, Zuko is trying his best, his best is a little special, bison lite, sorry y’all, Discussions of Past Abuse, zuko is trying really really hard to be good at existence, he’s just not sure it’s working, reasons to not do crime: zuko will definitely steal your ostrich horse, Zuko is doing his best, coincidentally min is also doing his best, they’re handling it very differently, zukoichi the traveling masseuse, even lost I’ll throw hands, this is a fuckboy psa, as written by zuko, song gives Zuko the business, not the sexy business, the ‘hey you’re being pretty judgey and should probably stop that’ business, Canon has been taken out back and shot, the ba sing shitshow, like seriously this shit is a mess, and Zuko is a mess, be gay do crimes, but only if your names are toph and zuko, we loot because we love, if you didn’t wanna be robbed you shouldn’t have been a dick, nothing like vibing instantly with a child-sized lie detector, thank agni for toph, roof crawling for dummies, field trip to the sewer!, just a little casual attempted fratricide between friends, zuko’s sudden realization that he is a massive tea snob, how the fuck did this happen?, aang and his clue-by-four, Zuko’s no good very bad field trip to the fire nation, Ozai’s A+ Parenting, we stan one (1) uncle, Zuko may not know what’s happening but he’s definitely gonna go murder his dad, hallucinations are gr8or they would be if Zuko was actually hallucinating, the entire shits, how that is the eclipse, Zuko is having a Really Bad Day, the crew of the jasmine dragon is ride or die, in which zuko hurts everyone’s feelings just by being himself, the comfort that comes after the hurt, soft death by sky bison, descriptions of trauma, zuko’s crew is ride or die, feelings? in MY fanfic?, this is soft garbage, rip to the western air temple but I’m different, tags are hard today okay?, Unintentional Self Harm

Started out as a “What would happen if Zuko happened to rediscover sky bison while searching for the Avatar?” and turned into something more than that.

This is a series of one-shots. Please subscribe to the series for updates! <3

To Take Care

Zuko finds them at the Western Air Temple, the first that they visit after his banishment. He doesn’t mean to, and he sure as hell doesn’t go looking for them, but he finds them anyway. He bolts out of the temple, past his uncle, past their camp, and runs until he reaches a forested meadow, where he drops to his knees and throws up everything he’d eaten that day.

Or, alternately:

Zuko discovers the truth about what happened to the Air Nomads, and also rediscovers an endangered species.

To Take Pride

It’s a beautiful day on the Jasmine Dragon, the sun is shining, and Zuko has a Bad Feeling about it.

Or,

Zuko’s casual treason is interrupted by the Avatar, who is a child and a Pain In The Ass.

To Take A Break

Zuko’s fire is broken: is it the treason or is it the anxiety? Uncle takes steps to rectify this.

Or,

The Knitterlude nobody asked for

To Take Heed

[“Snap your fingers at me one more time, and I’m taking them off,” Zuko snarls at him after being snapped at once too often. Zhao rubs a hand over his sideburns and eyes him.

“Your uncle hasn’t taught you manners yet?”

“Sorry,” he replies, not sorry at all, “Snap your fingers at me one more time and I’m taking them off, Admiral.” He sees Uncle’s warning stare and shuffles a pace backwards. He hates Zhao and Zhao hates him, and they both hate the stupid game they have to play of feigned politeness when really, they each want the other to drop dead where they stand.]

Or,

Zuko is tired of Zhao’s nonsense, an important talk about surrender is a long time coming, and the Siege of the North is an absolute mess.

To Take Advantage

[Zuko doesn’t tell Uncle goodbye.

He doesn’t think that he would try and stop him, but Zuko thinks that if he has to talk about it, he’ll manage to talk himself out of it. Better to go now before he can change his mind.

Zuko packs light: a change of clothes, some nonperishables, and a few knives go into a wax-lined satchel. He’s about to leave the room when he stops to eye the swords mounted on his wall, and, well.

It’s not like he can go around firebending all over the place, he reasons, and straps them to his back.]

Or,

Zuko’s super fun, solo adventure in the Earth Kingdom.

To Take Cover

[“So,” she says, “The question is: what do we need from each other?”

“I need to warn the Avatar. Someone’s coming for him and he needs to get out of this city.”

“Yeah, that’s not going to happen,” Toph replies with the frustration of somebody who’s tried really spirits-damned hard, “Not til he finds Appa.”

“Then I have to find the bison, and then get the Aang out of here. He’s not...he’s not prepared,” And Zuko can’t hold back the note of tightly controlled hysteria from his voice, “She’s going to come for him and he’s going to underestimate her, and she’s going to let him.”]

Or,

In which Zuko goes to a family reunion, commits some casual felonies, and drinks some really bad tea, not necessarily in that order.

To Take Heart

[Iroh looks awful.

He’s definitely been crying and his face looks like it’s never known how to smile, and his whole posture is slumped over like he’s suddenly aged several decades. His eyes (gold, just like Zuko’s) are sharp, though, and filled with something hard and furious.

“How could you have left him behind?” He drags out, voice rough and heavy and mad.]

Or,

What happens afterwards.

To Take Comfort

[Zuko is rocking.

That’s the first sensation he feels upon awakening. It’s a familiar feeling, as is the texture of the knit blanket he’s curled up in, as is the quiet but constant hum of machinery, deep in the belly of the Jasmine Dragon.

...wait.

Zuko bolts upright and flails, once, and falls out of bed with a hard clatter. It’s his bed that he’s been sleeping in for years, and definitely not the cell that he’s been rotting in for the last...he doesn’t know how long. He doesn’t know how he got here. He doesn’t remember.]

Or,

Zuko is not okay. But he can get better.

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alsjeblieft-zeg · 2 years

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297 of 2023

Created by brelee

Do you have a bad reputation?

Rather the opposite.

Have you ever gone through a bad breakup?

Yeah, with my first ex. Not gonna go into details, it’s pretty triggering.

Do you believe in Jesus?

I’m agnostic.

Has anyone ever used a cheesy pickup line on you?

What’s a “cheesy pickup line” anyway?

Are you hard of hearing?

Somewhat. I live with it.

Would you ever want a statue made of you?

Yeah, in my hometown lol.

What's the name of your best friend?

I have more than one, I don’t want to miss anyone here.

When did you last go for a run?

I don’t run. Not only I hate running, but also I’m physically disabled.

What is something that gives you good vibes?

The beach, the sea, cat’s purring, forests, the sound of rain, thunderstorms, long car/train trips.

How many bones have you broken in your life?

None. My bones are really strong.

What did you last search for?

A certain pair of boots from one certain shop, because my previous ones got ruined. Thankfully they’re still in offer, I’ve ordered them and it’s gonna be my 3rd pair so far.

What color are your lampshades?

We don’t have anything like that in our house. We only have LED lights in both living room and one bedroom, just lightbulbs in another bedroom and bathroom and backyard, and that long gas discharging lamp in the kitchen.

Where are you currently?

In my living room.

Has anyone ever called you dumb?

Yeah, some idiot who knows nothing about me.

Do you have any cats?

Yes, two. They’re my little daughters :D

What were you doing last time 3am came around?

Sleeping.

What's your favorite love song?

Jeez, love songs are so cheesy.

What all did you do last night?

Sleeping.

What last let you down?

My health. I ended up in the hospital.

How many lights do you have on?

Floor lamp in the living room and light in the kitchen because my husband is cooking dinner.

Have you ever had vertigo?

Man, I feel dizzy every day. That’s because of my meds.

Has your house ever been robbed?

No, it hasn’t.

Are you currently tired?

More yes than no.

When did you last get a haircut?

I cut my hair myself about a week ago.

Do you ever use the slang "sheesh"?

I’ve never heard this word before.

Have you done a breathing exercise recently?

What? I’ve never heard of it.

What food/drink did you last waste?

I spilled a soup and burnt my hand, by the way. No fun in being disabled.

Have you ever had collard greens?

I’ve never heard of it either. I don’t even know what it is.

Do you or would you ever live on a coast?

I was raised at the coast and my hometown is a coastal town. Now I live close to the coast, too.

Are you a cry baby?

No, I don’t cry at all.

If you have a partner, do you have a song?

What is this question about?

Have you ever dug a hole? What for?

Yeah, to bury one of my cats who crossed the rainbow bridge :(

Do you spend too much time in your room?

Omg no. I always escape from my house for the whole day, as much as I can.

Have you ever fainted? What from?

Yeah, from getting up too soon. Low blood pressure, you know.

What is something that is "just like heaven" to you?

Long travels, especially with my husband.

Who is someone you know who is gorgeous?

Many people. My husband, my friends, guys I had sort of feelings for, Nielsje.

Do you know a Chelsea?

Yeah, we have a coworker whose name is Chelsea. We never talk, though.

Would you rather kill or be killed?

Lol at this question.

What's a good habit you have?

Responsibility for my duties.

Would you rather have 12 fingers or 12 toes?

No, thanks.

What's the sweetest, best pie you've ever had?

Sweetest =/= best. I don’t even like sweet, and too much sweet makes me nauseous.

What did you last try to do?

Cooking a new type of soup. New for me, I mean.

Have you broken anyone's heart?

Apparently I did. Someone said so.

Do you have brown eyes?

No, I have grey eyes.

When did you last go on a joyride?

Yesterday.

Have you or would you ever hold a snake?

No and no. Snakes are one of the very few animals I truly dislike.

What song did you last replay?

I think Paralysed by Allt. Great song.

Do you ever drive too fast?

I don’t have a licence.

Is there anything that you tolerate?

Yeah, the world.

Are you currently barefoot?

No, I have socks on. The floor is too cold.

#survey #q&a survey #random survey

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hargrove-mayfields · 3 years

Text

Stranger Things Characters as Aquabats! Lyrics

Pt. 1

#stranger things #billy hargrove #steve harrington #nancy wheeler #jonathan byers #robin buckley #link is to a Spotify playlist with all the songs from this post (and the next two I’ll make) in order #with the addition of chemical bomb (because i feel like that song summarizes the show as a whole) and nerd alert! (bc it has party vibes)#for all intents and purposes this is a joke #and idc if it makes no sense to anybody else because i think i’m hilarious #p.s. a strong contender for billys was the shark fighter but i decided to put that in a fic instead #p.p.s a strong contender for robs was the cherry chapstick part of lovers of loving love bc.. y’know #but I decided there weren’t any screen caps that matched that so I picked hot summer nights instead #which would be more like Steve annoying her with wanting to date her and her shutting him down repeatedly #anyways I guess we’ll see if anybody understands this but me #nonsense from ej

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cloudycaffeinatedcryptid · 2 years

Note

Hi, huge fan of take me back and back again, this has been on my mind for ages so I have to ask, if you could pick a song or songs that capture the theme of the fic, what would they be?

I keep going back and forth between Last Hope by Paramore and Famous Last Words by MCR, but other contenders have been One More Hour by Tame Impala, Try by Pink, and Can’t Pretend by Tom Odell.

Anyway I’d just love to know if you think the fic has the theme song or if there’s like a specific playlist you listen to when writing 🥰

that's good question! also, thrilled you like the fic, tysm <3

i LOVE making playlists for any reason or idea so it's actually something i've thought about doing once or twice. if that's something other people would be interested in, i ~suppose~ i could be convinced

your picks are all great - between them all though, i'm heavily biased toward MCR due to an unfortunately strong emo phase in high school

but if i could pick a theme song... "Notion" by the Rare Occasions is what i imagine for the low-key vibe, but it's mostly due to the lyrics. otherwise it's "I'm Gonna Win" by Rob Cantor for... reasons

as for what i listen to while im writing uh. this is going to sound odd but i need NOISE. lots of it. but a specific kind. if it's not youtube, it's very loud headphones with whatever music im obsessed with to get an extra hit of dopamine

last chapter was brought to you by a week of looping "i've had enough of you", fantoccio's boss fight song from billie's bust up, over & over

hope this wasn't too incoherent & thanks again for enjoying! :)

#ask #take me back and back again #tmb&ba #the quarry #dylan lenivy #song recs #highly rec btw

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anime-grimmy-art · 3 years

Photo

Told you guys I’d ramble in due time.

I absolutely adore Bravely Default 2. It came at a really bad time cos I can’t waste 70 hours on a jrpg, but well, it’s too late to be concerned about that now. And as is tradition with me obsessing over a new game / show / whatever, you’ll basically find a fullblown review disguised as ramblings right under the cut. Be aware that I’m gonna talk about EVERYTHING, so spoilers are a given. Some maybe even for the previous Bravely Default games.

Also, if you wanna talk about this game in any capacity, hit me up, I’m DESPERATE to talk more about it.

Just for reference on how long this is gonna be, I made a voice recording while driving to remember all the points I wanna make, and that recording is almost 2 hours long. I did cut it down but still, this is gonna be a lot.

I’ll start off with the things that actually bugged me about the game, since there are only 3 things that really bothered me. First of, I really don’t like that you can name Seth. He has too much personality to be a self insert and player integration is not that big of a part in the game that this decision can be justified. It wouldn’t bother me that much if it didn’t leave a bad mark on the ending. First of all, we were robbed of Gloria desperately shouting for Seth, which makes the impact work less, and it’s just so prevalent that the name can’t be said because you have all the normal sound design going. If they’d just let the credits still play I wouldn’t have batted an eye, but because every other sound comes in it’s so obvious they’re just silently shouting in this scene, which makes it look silly. Like I said, this decision is more a detriment than an addition, and it’s a shame it casts a shadow on an otherwise heartfelt ending.

Speaking about lost potential, the other thing that really bothers me is the lost potential in certain plot points and character conclusions. I mainly mean Adam and Edna here. Both of them have been built up to be these formidable foes but they just, die. If it was just Adam I’d be fine with it, since you expect Edna to backstab him and be the actual big bad of the story, but I cannot fathom why they dropped Edna this HARD. If not Edna herself, I don’t understand why we don’t get more of a reaction from the Fairies and especially Adelle. I mean, Edna was her sole reason she left for her journey in the first place, then Edna dies and that’s it? No part where she grieves for a second? No concern from the others about Adelle? Mind you, I haven’t finished all the Sidequests, so maybe there actually is one in which this is addressed, but I think even just a Party Chat after Bad End 1 would have been sufficient to show how Adelle suddenly feels about the loss of Edna. It would have made Bad End 2 / The Secret Ending even more impactful, because, yeah, of course, you kinda know Adelle isn’t going to turn her back on fairy kind, but one of the reasons she doesn’t leave is because if Enda didn’t get a happy ending, then she shouldn’t either. It would have been amazing foreshadowing if she showed this sentiment before this scene happened. Other than that, it’s a shame that we know so little about Edna, or rather, how she became “bad”. I get she’s supposed to be corrupted by the Night’s Nexus, but how did it even come to this? It can’t have been a gradual thing, after all, Adelle says Edna was always good natured and then just disappeared one day. Really would have loved seeing more of that plot point.

Ok, last gripe I have, some choices in the soundtrack and sound design. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love the OST, and I will get to that, but damn, whatever Revo used for the lead instrument in Wiswald hurts my ears. It’s a really good track, but I always have to turn down my volume because these high pitched sounds physically hurt. And for sound design. Dude, the Night’s Nexus is the least threatening, nightmare fueled abomination that ever existed. I get that its growl is kinda supposed to be layered with Edna’s or sth, but it, it just sounds silly. If they went the route of just swinging between different voices or began distorting it from phase to phase, it would have been fine. But the choice they made really made an otherwise creepy design just absolutely silly.

Ok, enough jammering, on to the good stuff. Like I said, there’s going to be a lot, so I’ll try to be brief in each aspect.

Gameplay

I honestly like the new battle mechanics more than the old ones. This individual, turn based system feels way more dynamic and it’s easier to strategies in battles. Because nothing made me more angry than setting up for a heal and the enemy suddenly being faster than me and killing my healer. Now it’s easier to plan ahead a bit.

I also found myself experimenting more with the jobs. Not sure what it really is, but none of the party members leaning more towards certain types of jobs and the job leveling being way faster probably helped.

And I know some people get up in arms because the boss sometimes can be a real pain in the ass (looking at you pope dude), I still found it very interesting getting around counters or even using these counters as a benefit. As an example, I made Adelle my main physical fighter and gave her lots of counter abilities to help her profit from being countered by enemies themselves. Now, she can attack enemies, get countered, automatically evade that counter and earn a BP at the same time. Made a lot of boss fights way easier and fun to exploit.

Music

Ok, I will try my best to be really, really brief, because in my recording this part takes up almost 40 minutes. Anyways, Revo might have just become one of my absolute favorite composers ever. I don’t know what kind of magic he used, but I initially wasn’t that impressed with the OST, but every time I listened to it, I just fell in love harder and harder. Before getting into specifics, I wanna highlight the two things that made me love this OST overall. First of all, this soundtrack almost seems like a refinement of BD’s. While losing some of that fairytale vibe, it sounds even more fantasy now. And in contrast to the original, this almost sounds more balanced? Like, BD’s OST felt high energy throughout, BD2’s on the other hand manages to find a good balance between high and low energy pieces. Like, the character themes or battle themes are absolute hype, but the overworld themes are a lot calmer and easier to listen to while exploring. Second big point that makes this soundtrack amazing is that Revo is an absolute god at using emotional progression/storytelling and leitmotifs in his songs. And heck, do I love myself my leitmotifs. You’ve got some obvious ones, like the final battle theme in which all the character themes and other leitmotifs are integrated. Then you got some maybe more subtle once, just like how the overworld themes are just the main theme, just a lot calmer and using the lead instruments of the towns of the areas.

But my absolute favourites gotta be the character themes and the main theme. I love how fitting the themes for the characters are and in general, each of them is such a bop. At first I prefered Elvis’, because I sure am a sucker for jazzy vibes, but over time Adelle’s became my fav. It’s just something about the trumpets, and how the theme almost sounds a bit melancholic and bittersweet, that drew me in. And considering her story, mostly her bad end, that the bittersweet tone really fits.

Then there’s the main theme. Just like BD’s it shouts “triumphant anthem” and it definitely gives you a very familiar vibe, but I’d argue it has even better emotional progression. Heck, the first time I heard the music start up in the reveal trailer, I didn’t have to look at the screen to know this is gonna be a BD game. Also, the credit song version had me weeping at the true end. I’m someone who’s very easily affected by music (if me shouting about soundtracks on this blog wasn’t proof enough) and just hearing that ending song, getting the after credits scene, just for the second credits to start as a freaking duet. Dude, at that point I just started sobbing, I’m not gonna lie. Just this little part showed how much Revo knows how to put emotion in a song and also write it in such a way that he can elicit strong, emotional reactions from you too.

Story

People have been complaining how the story is too boring and kinda disappointing in comparison to the last one, but I just think the games tried to accomplish different things here. Since the BD series is a celebration of old, classic jrpgs, “cliche” storytelling is a given. Though, BD did throw a lot of meta stuff in there too. BD2 in contrast just feels like a direct execution of that initial idea. It feels familiar, it feels comfy and it feels safe. Except for the little things with the endings and then overwriting the Nexus’ “save file”, BD2 doesn’t really get that meta, which is totally fine. It doesn’t try to reinvent or innovate anything, it just wants to be a fantasy story, that might be cliche, but still fun and enjoyable in its own right.

I’d also argue that the pacing is a lot better than the old game, because with BD I sometimes found myself skipping through scenes to get on with the story. Not that this game didn’t have me rushing through stuff as well, but I found it kept my intrigue way better than the original.

Characters

Next to the music, this is the part that I absolutely love the most. While, yes, they did lose a lot of potential with some characters, mostly with the villains, the main cast is just so much fun. I love these 4 dorks so, so much.

I honestly can’t stand how much people compare them to the original cast. Yes, ofc, I’ve been doing my fair share of comparisons too, but calling these four a more boring version of BD’s party physically hurts me. Because except for some initial impressions, the Heroes of Light are completely different from our beloved Warriors of Light.

While yes, Seth and Gloria give off strong Tiz and Agnes vibes at first, they both grow into such different characters that they’re not really comparable. I think this shows with Adelle and Elvis even more. I do understand how people could compare Adelle and Edea, since they’re both the feisty girl type, but I can’t understand how people can see Ringabel and Elvis as the same character type. While those two are the “suave” party members, they act so differently from another. And that’s honestly apparent the first time you meet them.

Anyways, I love these 4 so much.

We technically don’t know a lot about Seth at all, but they manage to pull so much out of just the fact that he’s a sailor, that it makes him really endearing, really fast.

I was kinda disinterested with Gloria at first, because again, the initial impression was Agnés2.0, but she grew on me a lot. Gloria is way more hard headed and honestly sassy in comparison to Agnés and I absolutely adore it.

Elvis. Elvis, my man. I love this fantasy scottosh wizard so, so much. He’s such a ridiculous character but so endearing at the same time. You got all this dorkiness, with him setting himself on fire as a student, him doing god knows what for a good drink or just laughing danger and prejudice in the face. But then you got his super empathetic and caring side. Mind you, most of his wise moments come from quoting Lady Emma, but still, as much as he’s hopeless with certain social situations, he’s actually still really good at reading the room and playing things smart. He’s a smart and powerful idiot, which makes him a danger to everyone and himself, and I love him for it. (I also can’t believe they called him Lesley I MEAN COME ON)

And then there’s Adelle. I liked her from the start, but I didn’t think she would stick out to me. I think now she’s my favourite character. Not even talking about all the stuff that happens in chapter 3 and onward, because these story threads are awesome in their own right, but there’s just something about her personality that’s interesting and appealing to me. Like I said, I’m not surprised people compare her to Edea, I did too at first, but while Edea walks very close to the line of a Tsundere, I was really surprised that Adelle is, well, not a Tsundere at all. Yeah, of course she’s putting Elvis down a lot, but that stems more from her preventing his ego from going to his head than her being all embarrassed. No, Adelle is actually really well adjusted when it comes to communication. While it’s hilarious that she and Elvis met with her chucking her shoes at him, the two just got along well right from the start. Adelle in general has this really open and helpful personality, but also doesn’t shy away from putting her foot down, even if that sometimes comes out as an embarrassed sputter. She’s also the mother hen of the group. She looks out for the other three and gets concerned about them real fast.

I dunno, Adelle just really grew on me over the course of this game, and then her kinda being paired with Elvis too, as partners and as partners, makes me like her even more. Because as much as I like their personalities individually, I like their character dynamic even more. I honestly love the relationships between all four of them a lot. You really feel them grow closer as friends and all the little character sidequests just always made me really happy.

Conclusion

You might not believe me, but I really held back there. This could probably have been 3 times its length. As much as I love this game, it’s of course not perfect. It struggles and flails in some parts a lot and it certainly has some aspects that might turn people off. But for me, it was just a very familiar and comfy game that didn’t necessarily deliver anything new, but that told its story in such a way that it still got me excited to keep going. The soundtrack is absolutely amazing and the conclusion of the story actually got me to cry. While not groundbreaking, this game is highly enjoyable and leaves you absolutely satisfied at the end.

Also, I would like to iterate that I am desperate to get more content about this game, so if you wanna chat about it, hit me up.

Anyways, anyone else felt like having a fever dream when everybody in chapter 2 started talking fantasy scottish? Cos I sure did.

#bravely default #bravely default 2 #bd #bd2 #fanart #review #ramblings #seth #gloria #adelle #elvis #elvis lesley

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