#titanic ultimatum

[mtg-art-daily]

Titanic Ultimatum

"Retribution is best delivered by claws and rage, with both magnified." —Ajani

Artist: Steve Prescott

[freddyloyd]

Thank god someone is seeing reason in this situation, if this whole arc had been Kory just going along with her fathers whims without any pushback from anyone I think I would have lost my shit.

[jasontoddenthusiastt]

‘The point is not “is bftc good Jason characterization”’

Actually the point can be anything that the op of the post wants it to be. Oh you mean that is not your point. Um …. Cool. Nobody asked.

[celaenaeiln]

I saw in a panel one time that when Dick revealed his identity to the other Fab Five, Batman happened to catch him right in the middle of it and confronted him about it

Though of course Dick stood his ground verbally, stating his trust in them after what they’ve been through.

You think that might’ve played into the long arc of Bruce and Dick having differences between them emerge as Dick grew older and more distant from being that chipper partner Bruce could have by his side?

The Titans (1999) Issue #42

The Titans love Dick's independence but Bruce hates it.

I think you're mostly right but I think it's not so much of differences as it is freedom and self-governing.

Nightwing (1996) Issue #134

The thing about Dick's robin, Dick has always been a little too good to just be Batman's sidekick. Too good at fighting, too good at detectiving, too good at being an equal, a partner.

Batman/Scarecrow Issue #1

He can read Bruce's mind like he's eating candy. He's used to Bruce letting him do whatever he wants, but now all of a sudden, Bruce is telling him what to do and what he can't do. It's getting on Dick's nerves that one second he had all the freedom in the world and now Bruce thinks he can't do what he's so used to.

Dick think Bruce's sudden distrust in him is because he thinks Dick can't keep up or that he's doubting his skills somehow. So he starts acting out. What he doesn't understand is Bruce isn't doubting his competence, he's being protective. After a decade Bruce has finally realized that it's too dangerous for a child to be going around doing the things he has been doing, so it's not a reflection of Dick's abilities, but increased self-awareness and responsibility that Bruce has gained.

And this is what causes the friction.

The resolution of Dick's earlier conflict is this-

Nightwing (1996) Issue #135

Dick is fully capable of holding his own, of solving his own mysteries, and fighting his own cases. But Bruce believes that because he's too young to be at that level. So Dick sets an ultimatum. While Dick was looking forward to it like a kid waiting for his 18th birthday, Bruce was counting down the days like Doomsday Clock, dreading the moment. At finally when it was time, he made his move first because it's easier to fault the other person always.

It's not their differences really that caused them to fall apart. Their difference is what caused Bruce to love him. He loved that Dick was such a joyful, energetic, and eager child. It fear that turned into protectiveness that turned into control which soured their later relationships.

While Dick may have been excited and ready about becoming his own hero, Bruce ruined the moment because he didn't want to let go. That's partly why I think their later years were so tumultuous. They both knew what was coming, they just had different ideas of it.

He was mad that Dick ran away the first time, so how do you think he's going to react with the knowledge that Dick is going to officially leave him? Hence the firing.

You know in hindsight, this is probably another reason why Bruce will forever hate the Titans. He probably thinks they're the reason Dick's turned away from him and he hates that.

[the-anomalous-lambda3]

The Titan's Ultimatum Author's notes: why can't we get more artworks of Papa Titan's true form?

[circlebuttons]

Ultimatum

pairing: addict/soft!rafe x reader

summary: A year ago you gave Rafe an ultimatum and he decided to choose you, but after walking in on his argument with Sarah you discover that you’ve been put second.

a/n: i made rafe a lot softer than usual.. oops. I just see him as being completely whipped for this girl and so he’s naturally apologetic and softer towards her.

warnings: drug use & maybe some manipulation

…..

Rafe had gone missing in action and after facetime after facetime, phone call after phone call, and text after text you decided to show up at Tammyhill unannounced to get answers.

To say you were pissed was an understatement. The two of you had set these types of boundaries surrounding communication and if it had been you who ghosted he would've already lit half of the island on fire, because there's no reason good enough on this entire island to not be able to shoot a quick text that's says something as brief as "Sorry, i'll call you later."

On the drive over there you begin to convince yourself that you should give him the benefit of the doubt. If anyone on this island could go toe toe with Rafe Cameron it was you and lord knows it was too late to start a war zone in the Cameron's family room, but as soon as you parked and prepared to compose yourself your headlights reflected off of that obnoxious red bike and back at you.

The only thing you hate more then that bike is that it increases the chances of him being home. At this point everyone better hope that he's reenacting titanic somewhere on his father's boat because why else would his bike be home and he's not.

You grab your stuff and walk up to heavy front doors that stand solid, but before you can even walk past the glass doors the sound of arguing becomes audible. You stand there listening, but all you can hear is muffled cursing and as soon as you hear "Go to hell Rafe!" spat out in a certain tone you can tell it's Sarah and Rafe going at it again.

You rolled your eyes and beat on the door, hoping to knock louder than they could argue "What'd you do call Topper?" you could hear Rafe scoff as he opened the door.

"No I-" Sarah went to argue, stopping only once she saw you step through the door.

"What the hell is going on in here?" You ask them both as they focus their attention on you as you take in Sarah's appearance, she's standing on the other side of the room facing you, her hair is messy and shes breathing hard. She has a permanent scowl on her face and raises and eyebrow to Rafe to answer.

You look towards him and you can't help but notice his lack of affection, no "hey", no hug, and not even a kiss for his girlfriend of a year.

Neither one of them speak, and it immediately feels like there's a secret hanging in the air that everyone knows but you. It confirms your suspicions when Sarah throws her head back and huffs out, "Tell her Rafe." The way she points her gaze and bites on the inside of her cheek, creates goosebumps on your skin. The anticipation is killing you.

"Tell me what?" You ask, turning towards Rafe and it makes your stomach drop when he can't even look at you. He's facing you, with his head down and his eyes glued to ground. Rafe doesn't even hold his head down slightly when he walks and now he can't even look you in your eyes?

"Can you just let me talk to her alone?" He bites out at Sarah as she rolls her eyes and shakes her head.

"If I do are you going to tell her the truth?" She asks gesturing towards you. Your eyes meet hers and she holds your gaze with apologetic eyes.

"Sarah, Fuck off!" He yells, throwing his hands up and facing her. Rafes outburst startles you as you look between the two siblings. Your heart has finally settled in your ass and all you can do is watch as they go back and forth.

"Tell her right now or I will" Sarah's demeanor becomes eerily serious as a chill blows across your neck. Rafe stands unmoving in the middle of the room with both you and Sarah on each side. He looks up at you and just as quickly drops his gaze, holding his head in both of his hands.

"He's been doing coke again and this time he fucking took it out on Wheezie," Sarah's voice wavers as she speaks.

A small gasp leaves your lips. It just didn't feel real, almost an entire year of sobriety, gone. Your vision blurs and it feels like your throat's going to close as you start piecing things together. There's a reason he hasn't looked you in the eyes or even stood close to you since you walked in.

"Rafe are you high right now?" you ask him, not sure if you even want an answer.

He looks up at you with bloodshot eyes, both from crying and cocaine, but when he notices the tears in your eyes and the quiver in your lip, he closes his eyes tightly and sucks in both of his lips in a tight line. You look at him with disbelief, "God, this isn't real life" you laugh through your tears as you turn to face the opposite direction, not even being able to look at him.

"I'm so sorry" he whispers out.

"Is Wheezie okay?" you turn and ask Sarah softly.

She walks past Rafe and engulfs you in a strong hug,"She's fine, he went ballistic, screaming at her and throwing shit. She's never seen him like that" she says holding you tightly as if to say so many things all at once. "If you don't want to talk to him, I get it", she talks lowly, so that only you can hear.

"I'm fine, I got it" You tell her wiping the tears out of your eyes with your sleeves and forcing a sad smile up at her, thankful for her always being there to give you an out. When dating someone like Rafe with obsessive tendencies there's always the possibility of feeling trapped and Sarah was always there to offer you an escape or a means of well needed space.

She nods and returns the smile, hesitantly walking up the stairs, leaving Rafe and yourself to sit in silence.

"I am sorry. I truly, genuinely am so sorry " He stands shaking his head still in his hands.

Your arms cross over your chest as a way to protect yourself from him, "Say something other than sorry, this isn't something an apology can fix"

His eyes fight to stay towards the ground, "I know-"

"Look at me Rafe!" you cut him off angrily, it's so cowardly for him to act this way after destroying so much.

His eyes snap up to yours and the icy blue color is dulled and barely visible behind his dilated pupils, "Wheezie was the first to find out that I relapsed and she confronted me before I had a chance to come down. It's not an excuse, but you know i'd never try to hurt her on purpose"

You knew what he said was true, even though he was still coming down from his high. "It doesn't matter what I know, I thought I knew that you were sober." The longer you look at him sympathy is constantly being reimagined as hurt and anger. The idea of his relapse is eating up at you on the inside as you imagine all of the different scenarios and questions. "How long have you been using?" You ask him quietly.

"Less than a week I swear!" His eyes widen as he steps closer to you.

You want to reach out to him hoping that he's telling the truth and somewhat thankful that it's only been a week of lies, but then you remember that it's been a week of lies, "And I've seen you everyday this week." your face reads nothing short of hurt.

"I should've told you when it first happened" His words and his eyes tell you that he means it, but that's not good enough.

"You could've came to me even when the thought first came into your head." You tell him calmly, knowing that he won't respond well to your anger.

"I'm ashamed of how weak I am. I hate myself more than you even know." His confession breaks your heart, no one would be able to hear that the person they love the most in the world can't love themselves. "I don't know what to do now," he says with his voice breaking as he pulls you into a hug.

"Neither do I." you tell him, looking at him and offering a tight lipped smile. The reality is that you know what you have to do, you just don't want to.

He places a soft kiss on your forehead and whispers, "I love you"

The words immediately make tears well back up in your eyes, as you put a hand on his chest and create an arms length of distance, "Shut the fuck up, that's manipulative Rafe!" you cry out at him, quickly wiping your eyes after breaking the hug.

"I mean it," he matches your volume as he silently lets tear of his own fall down his face.

"Your pupils are gigantic, I don't believe shit you say" you respond coldly to him, knowing it's the only way to keep some form of an emotional guard up.

"Please don't leave" he breathes out, grabbing you by your wrist, to keep you from turning from him. He knows you're seconds from breaking.

"I gave you an ultimatum Rafe" You tell him with pleading words.

His grasp moves from your wrist to your hand, threading his fingers through yours, "And I pick you every time" he says, moving his head to hold this strong eye contact with you.

You want to argue with him about how a relapse means that this time he very obviously didn’t pick you, but the only thing you can do is fidget with his fingers and swallow back tears.

"Relapse is part of recovery, my brain chemistry is changed and i'm trying everyday to not let it eat me alive" he tells you moving to hold your hand with both of his.

"I've done all I can do, I'm not licensed to help you and I can't give you the compassion or understanding that an addict needs." It breaks you to call him an addict, but you can’t force him into sobriety the same way you can’t force him to love himself the way you do.

"I'll start going back to therapy for you" He responds strong and eagerly, but this time it’s you who breaks the eye contact.

You softly shake your head at him, "You should go for yourself."

"I will go for us" He refutes and it splits you into two. It’s not a good idea to be in a serious relationship with an addict or a person in recovery, yet all of these empty promises pull you back in.

The gesture is nice, but you fight with yourself to stutter out your final decision, "No- no more.. us"

His face instantly flashes with hurt, "What, no!" he scoffs and pulls you closer.

You create more distance between two of you again, dropping your hand from his, "The ultimatum Rafe. It's more than me or the drugs, our relationship can't thrive like this, it's unhealthy."

He begins to close the space again. You can clearly read the look on his face and tell that he’s falling apart at the seams, "I'm getting help! We can go to couples therapy too, i'll pay for-"

"I can not go back on my word because I mean it when I tell you that I can not watch you do this to yourself, I can not be the only reason you're sober, and I can fucking not bury you" You raise your voice at him through your tears and poke harshly at his chest.

His eyes soften as he reaches up to wipe the tears from your cheek as his own begin to fall again, "I'm sorry that I put you in this position"

"I am too" You whisper, turning your face into his hand.

His teary eyes lock into yours, their icy blue color resurfacing and the optimist in you swears his pupils have reduced in size slightly. He bends down to touch his forehead to yours, "I'm going to get clean, just for you, my beautiful girl. I know you want me to do it for me, but you’re my entire world, the only thing that matters.

From the way he looks at you can tell his intention is to kiss you one last time, it rips at your heartstrings. You know you shouldn’t, you should just leave, you can’t say one thing and then have your actions mean another. You fight this internal battle with yourself, until he leans down to capture your lips in a soft kiss. You can’t help but kiss him back, matching his passion as he holds you against him,“i’ll die before i stop trying for you" he whispers against your lips.

"Goodbye Rafe" you mumble quietly into his skin, suddenly aware of how loud your heartbeat is and how restricted your lungs feel.

You try to release yourself from his hug, but he tightens his grip around your waist and holds your neck so that you can’t look away from him, "I love you" His words make your eyes shut tightly as a sob racks through your body. This is the last time you’ll allow yourself to cry over Rafe Cameron.

[rmbunnie]

Red Hood Characterization

This is really long so I'm putting a cut here, I've been thinking about Jason Todd's character motivations and the question of whether or not his actions are based in a Moral Code (I don't think so, not to say he's without any morality) and I talk about that in more depth here.

I saw someone say on here that Titans: Beast World: Gotham City was some of the best Jason Todd internal writing they'd seen in a while, and I've been a Red Hood fan for 8 years or so now? pretty much since I read comics for the first time, so I went and checked out and I thought it was good! The way the person I saw talking about it as if it was rare and unusual made me wonder though, because as well-written as i thought his stances on crime were, there wasn't really anything in it that went against the way I conceptualize Jason?

This kinda plays into a larger question I've been thinking about for a while with Jason though, which is that, do people think that the killing is part of a fundamental worldview that motivates him a la batman, and that worldview is the reason he does the things he does?? Because 8 years ago i was a middle schooler engaging with fiction on the level that a middle schooler does, so I simply did not put much thought into it beyond "poor guy :(" but ever since I actually started trying to understand consistent characterization, I don't really see Jason as someone who's motivated by a moral code in his actions the way batman or superman is!

tbh my personal read is that he's a very socially-motivated guy, his actions from resurrection to his Joker-Batman ultimatum in utrh always seemed to me like every choice made leading up to his identity reveal was either a. to give him the leverage and skill necessary to pull off his identity reveal successfully, or b. to twist the knife that little bit more when he does let Bruce find out who he is. Like iirc there's a Judd Winick tweet like "yeah tldr he chose Red Hood as his identity because it's the lowest blow he could think of." And I think that's awesome, I think character motivations rooted so deeply in character's relationships and emotions are really fun to read! I also think it's where the stagnation/flatness of his character comes from in certain comics, because if his main motivation is one event in one relationship that passes, and he is not particularly attached to anything in his life or the world by the time that comes to pass, it's a little harder to come up with a direction to go with the character after that, because there isn't much of a direction that aligns with something the character would reasonably want? But I do think solving this by saying "all of the morally-off emotionally driven cruelty he did on his way to spite Batman was actually reflective of his own version of Batman's stance that's exactly the same except he thinks it's GOOD to kill people" isn't ideal. To be fully honest, it seems to me like he never particularly cared one way or the other about killing people to "clean Gotham of crime," he just did everything he could to get the power necessary to pull off his personal plans, and took out any particularly heinous people he encountered along the way (like in Lost Days.) Not to say I think the fact he killed people keeps him up at night anymore than everything else in his life events, I just never really thought he was out there wholeheartedly kneecapping some dude selling weed or random guy robbing a tv store for justice.

Looping wayyy back to my question, Is this (^) contradictory to the way he's written/the overall average perception of the character? Because like I enjoyed his writing in Beast World i have zero significant issue with anything there, I just didn't believe it would be a hot take, like yeah, that is Jason. It's been a while since I've read utrh and lost days, but I don't think my takeaway directly contradicts either of those too bad iirc. Idk all this to say I think Jason killing and being alright with killing is an obvious and objective fact, but i guess i've always seen it as more of a practical tactic than a moral belief, and I think taking the actions made during the lowest points of a character's life where he is obsessively focused on this ONEEEE thing and trying to apply it as a Motivating Stance to everything he's done after that, doesn't really follow logically for me.

[kaiju-art-for-the-heart]

An Heir to the Throne: The Distraction pt.2

Chapter 5

The clash between the large titans were thunderous, earth quaking in their power.  Kong, who had attempted to strike first, was almost instantly bound by the feet in webbing. While his large body fell to the depths of the hoard, Godzilla takes his position to hold Kumonga firm. In the middle of hissing at the king, her mandibles opened widely at an attempt to blind him with webbing. As the two fought for power, his eyes locked onto her body movements instantly. And with one swift swipe, Godzilla grabbed the beasts head and smashed it deep into the ground. 

"Listen.." the king growled, continuously grating her face into the crushed pavement. "You are far from home, and know not of the territory you've stepped into. Return with your offspring, or die by my hand." he continued, feeling her attempt to push against his immovable force.  

"Oh how pathetic!" Kumonga screeched, whipping one of her legs around and  knocking Godzilla just far enough to aid in her escape. Though her body is large, the spider like kaiju rose quickly to scurry a few feet away, scoffing at his ultimatum. "If you think you have any chance of survival, you're mistaken. I've come here to TAKE this land you giant lizard bastard! Bow before your new queen!" she clattered confidently, her stature tall as if to assert dominance over him. Her claim fell upon deaf ears as Godzilla continued to charge her, his shoulder crashing deep within her sternum and effectively knocking the wind out of her. 

"Wrong answer." Godzilla bellowed, pushing her far enough to crash into a nearby building. Within her moment of surprise, he followed up his attack with a vicious headbutt. He knew then- that this would be far more tedious than originally planned. 

While Godzilla kept the mother busy, Kong had been struggling to take care of the babies that started swarming his body the moment he made contact with the ground. He could feel them weaving between his fur and biting any and everywhere they could, a shutter running down his spine at the unpleasant sensations. With one frantic swing, Kong was able to easily swipe them away from his legs while freeing himself simultaneously. With another quick movement, Kong flipped to his feet, baby spiders flying left and right with each aggressive motion. His eyes flicked all around as they surrounded his being, collectively hissing and snapping at the titan.  Lifting his axe high in the air, Kong unleashed a determined war cry as the hoard sprung their final attack against him.

Sliding one of her legs free, Kumonga was able to successfully claw Godzilla's face, narrowly missing his eye. Letting out a pained screech he grips tightly around two of her legs, dragging her across the ground and flinging her into a nearby building. After struggling to get back onto her feet, the Mother felt incredibly weak and unbalanced. An obvious blood trail catches her attention instantly, prompting her to look down her body and assess the damage. A distressed cry emitted from her as she realized she was now missing a few limbs. Her eyes followed the blood trail back up to Godzilla, his silhouette outlined in the pink haze of his growing rage. She watches in horror as he calmly throws her limbs aside and begins to walk towards her once more. Aching and afraid, the spider wobbly scurries from her current position to hide away, attempting to calm herself for the next move. 

 "And you call me pathetic." the king sneers, flexing his claws at the thought of finally finishing this fight. Within that small moment, a familiar presence enters his mind again and stops him dead in his tracks.  "My queen.." Godzilla says simply, his eyes locked onto the edge of Kumonga's current hiding spot. 

"Now is not a good time?"  Mothra joked, a small strained laugh leaving her. "I will always make time for you, my queen. Are you ok? How are you feeling? Do you think you can wait just a bit longer?" Godzilla questioned, his voice riddled with concern for his precious mate. Mothra assured him that all was fine and she was only calling to check on him. After her concerns were also eased, she urged him to keep focus and make it home in one piece before leaving once again to let him finish his duty. Taking a deep breath, Godzilla continued his pursuit instantly. His mind that was once locked onto the fight was now filled with daydreams of what awaited him at home. The thought of Mothra's face, her voice welcoming him, and the idea of his future offspring set him into a much more relaxed state. 

Though his pleasant thoughts were interrupted with a piercing screech. The ledge he thought Kumonga was hiding behind was in fact empty, and the screech from before was instead coming from behind him. Without a moment to react, Godzilla could feel a set of legs snake around his back and dorsal plates, latching onto his skin. His eyes darted over his shoulder to watch a set of large fangs imbed deeply into his neck, a shockwave of pain flowing through his chest and arm as the kaiju injected her venom. 

Kong gripped his axe, swinging wildly as his blade crashed down into a puddle of spiders. Though his efforts felt fruitless as they continued to swarm. "Its not enough.." he breathed, swinging again and again with minimal damage. His movements became so frantic he found himself using his hands and feet as a last effort. 

The deep rumble of chopper guns caught Kong's attention, his eyes darting to the Monarch fighter jets laying waste to the mass in front of them. Their efficiency was impressive, within a few seconds they managed to clear out 1/4 of the hoard alone. A small smile met his previous scowl at the jets zipping past him, knowing he had a new leg up in the fight. With another burst of determination Kong pushed on, unleashing every bit of strength he could muster to finish what they started. 

Godzilla screeches in pain at the sudden sensation. The brief moment she was able to land her bite, was enough venom to tranquilize even the largest ape. Feeling a bit of Deja vu, he grabs onto Kumonga's thorax and flips her off his back. Immediately her fangs are released as she slams hard into the ground below him. 

The wound and the surrounding flesh burned nearly through him, the pain searing enough to kick him into over drive. Kumonga stared up to her foe, waiting for the moment he finally dropped. Though her wait was cut short as Godzilla sank his teeth straight through her exoskeleton and deep into her flesh. "Its not possible!" she squealed, squirming as Godzilla continued to rip a chunk out of her body. "You should be.. brought to your knees!  Paralyzed from the neck down!" she hissed, backing away from him. 

"You are no match for me lizard! You may have reigned power years ago but I will be victorious!" Kumonga continued to babble, her bloody legs barley able to carry her away. Godzilla calmly pursued her, looking down at her coldly as she spoke. 

"Your kind are extinct for a reason.. and you'll be next.. and when I'm done with you-" she trailed off, watching Godzilla's tail begin to glow from the tip to his mid back. "You're silly little moth will be next. Though her fate.. will have her BEGGING for death!" she hisses, springing back onto her feet in attempt to lunge at the king. An intense pink beam blasted directly towards her face, the force strong enough to push her back to the ground. As the bright light fades, Godzilla composes himself quickly, looking to see the spider writhing below him. Narrowly missing, he only managed to catch half of his target. The eyes that once held so much hatred and distain were now burst out of their sockets. Her exoskeleton melted upon impact, sizzling the tender flesh underneath until it was left crackling to the open air.

Even being severely wounded the kaiju continued to charge Godzilla, clashing with him once more. "You bastard! Your death is already immanent, you absolute scum! I'll-" she howls, her attempts to stab him with her legs being blocked instantly. 

"I'm sorry Mosura but.." Godzilla sighed, his eyes looking past Kumonga and towards Kong who had his axe at the ready.  "I'm tired of her." he growled again, his eyes and mouth glowing fiercely as his atomic breath strikes her dead on. Blasting her backwards gave Kong the chance to finish the job, his axe severing her head clean from the thorax. Even after her body fell limp, Kong watched Godzilla blast through it until an inevitable explosion. As blue blood and spider entrails splattered over the two, Godzilla's uproar seemingly brought peace to the previous chaos of the city. 

Monarch watched from the sidelines as both kaiju bid their final farewell. Their notes were over flowing with the improved teamwork between them. Though they did have their differences, Godzilla seemed to be much more tolerable of Kong now more than ever before. As the two began their marches back home, Kong grabbed the remaining leftovers of Kumonga's body before hopping back into the Hallow Earth portal. Now, the real issue was getting the city cleaned up.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Traveling through the cool ocean waters was usually soothing to Godzilla, but this time around he could feel nothing but adrenalin coursing through his body. The wound that was previously irritated and inflamed was now entirely numb, his skin feeling as if it wasn't even there. 

The moment he stepped foot onto the beach of his territory he released a deep drone, slight anxiety trailing in its echo. The few seconds after were filled with a silent terror, until a weak trill echoed back. Its tone was nothing short of warm and inviting to Godzilla.  

The king wasted no time running from the beach to their nest, his steps quaking the ground below him. 

"Mosura!" Godzilla called out, his body instinctively moving to her side. Mothra looked absolutely exhausted, her forelegs trembling as she reached for her mate. She could feel his arms wrap around her, the intense warmth of his body soothing her fears as he pulled her into a gentle embrace. 

"I'm.. ok. Just a bit tired." she breathed, burying her aching head deep into his chest.  "But I can only imagine how tired you are. You're hurt my king" she cooed, scanning over the bloody mess pouring from his neck. Godzilla shrugged his shoulders, grooming the disheveled fur of her wings and back. "I will be fine. Right now, my only concern is you. I'm here now, everything is going to be ok." he assured her, both titans melting into their tender embrace. 

Time seemingly paused in that moment. Moon light blanketed the dark crevice's of their makeshift home, its gentle glow mixing with the hot haze of their bioluminescence. Both titans sat comfortably in each others presence, their eyes studying the silk cradle that was now fully occupied. "Three.." Mothra breathed, catching Godzilla off guard. "Three what?" he spoke softly, his gaze a bit blurry with each passing minute. "Three eggs.." she whispered excitedly, motioning for him to get closer. Godzilla was hesitant, carefully maneuvering from underneath Mothra to get a closer look. At first he thought she was seeing things, but the closer he got, the more pronounced the three small bundles became. Side by side laid three eggs, the moon highlighting their soft shells and gentle colors. 

A sense of unexpected relief took place of his previous adrenaline. Almost all at once his body felt incredibly heavy, his vision fading as the soft wraps of their nest caught his limp body. A deep, tired sigh escapes him, the last thing he could hear being Mothra's panicked calls. "You're all safe.. good" he trailed off, finally losing consciousness as the venom takes over. 

[sasheneskywalker]

Weekly Batman/DC Fic Recs (2)

This week I've mostly read dark fics, focused on unhealthy and toxic romantic/sexual relationships. One was a fascinating study of Bruce's inappropriate relationships with Dick, Jason, and Tim and his guilt and excuses. There're also two fantastic Bruce/Jason fics, exploring their complicated relationship and history. Additionally, I've found an amazing post-Dark Crisis enemies to lovers Slade/Dick fic and a funny relationship reveal Slade/Jason fic. Apart from that, we also have a Damian/Dick relationship study with trans Damian and a recurring motif of blood. And the last rec is a spectacular long canon divergent one-shot centered on Cass/Rose and their relationships with their fathers. Hope you enjoy the recs <3

four graves, one gun. by projectfreelancer

They are his boys, and Bruce has made them this way.

a character study of Bruce Wayne and the Robins.

M | Underage | DCU (Comics) | Dick Grayson/Bruce Wayne, Jason Todd/Bruce Wayne, Tim Drake/Bruce Wayne

truth hurts (so Batman would rather fuck than tell) by blueyeti

Red Hood and Batman are captured together, and offered an ultimatum of sex pollen or truth serum. Batman chooses sex pollen, but Jason chooses to tell the truth.

M | Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings | DCU | Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne, Jason Todd/Bruce Wayne

Wind Beats Like Wings by submariner

Oliver was fuming by the time Bruce pulled up to the house. “You keep your fucked up family bullshit the hell out of my city,” he told Bruce quietly, as he and Mia exited the car.

Bruce didn’t say anything.

Oliver hadn’t expected him to.

in which Oliver Queen sees a lot more than he ever wanted to.

E | No Archive Warnings Apply | Batman - All Media Types, Batman (Comics), Green Arrow (Comics) | Jason Todd/Bruce Wayne

half out of shadow by wednesday

Slade, still recovering from Dark Crisis, meets Grayson during a job. It's easier to manipulate someone whose weaknesses you know so well.

T | No Archive Warnings Apply | DCU (Comics) | Dick Grayson/Slade Wilson

this isn't what it looks like (depending on what it looks like) by SafelyCapricious

Tim must make a noise — because suddenly Deathstroke is whirling. But most importantly, he’s let go of Hood. Hood doesn’t do more then slowly lower his arms though as Tim freezes.

Deathstroke, no less intimidating sans mask, stares at him menacingly for a minute before glancing over his shoulder to a still dazed Hood — shit, hopefully he doesn’t have a concussion — “I’ll find you later,” and then he’s taking off.

Tim rushes to Jason, who swats him away with a, “Fuck off, what do you want?” seeming more alert now that Deathstroke has gone.

Five times the Bats thought that Deathstroke and Red Hood were fighting and one time they found out differently.

M | No Archive Warnings Apply | DCU | Deathstroke the Terminator (Comics), Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics) | Jason Todd/Slade Wilson, Stephanie Brown & Tim Drake & Barbara Gordon & Dick Grayson & Jason Todd & Damian Wayne, Roy Harper & Jason Todd

do cherries bleed? by dikudami

Years pass—Damian's father is still dead, and Grayson and him are so in sync he sometimes can’t tell where his own thoughts start and Grayson’s end. But just like others, Grayson doesn't want Damian.

But Grayson stays. Doesn’t that count for something? It must.

Or, Damian Wayne knows better than anyone that need and want are not the same.

M | Underage | Batman - All Media Types, Batman (Comics), Batman and Robin (Comics), Batman: Son of the Demon | Dick Grayson/Damian Wayne

bleeding-heart doves by wraithwings

Now all she had were bullet-holes where people had been.

And she had Rose Wilson. Who had bullet-holes, too.

In which the story is inevitable, and Cassandra Cain was always going to fall.

(SWAN LAKE SUITE, OP. 20A, TH.219: 1. SCENE - SWAN THEME)

T | No Archive Warnings Apply | Batman - All Media Types, Batgirl (Comics), Deathstroke the Terminator (Comics), Teen Titans - All Media Types, DCU | Cassandra Cain/Rose Wilson, Batfamily Members & Cassandra Cain

[deestorytime]

The cursor blinks mockingly on your laptop screen as you struggle to find words. Your eyes flick to the clock:

3:07 AM.

The witching hour for desperate journalists with zero leads and even less hope. You groan, rubbing your temples in frustration. The blank document before you feels like a looming void, threatening to swallow your career whole. Begging the editor for an extension is NOT an option, the editor's ultimatum from this morning echoes in your mind One more chance to land a big story, or you're out. Five years of journalism school and countless late nights, all hanging by a thread.

With a sigh of defeat, you slam the laptop shut and flop back onto your bed. The ceiling of your shoebox apartment stares back, unimpressed. Your gaze wanders aimlessly around your cluttered room, until it lands on a flyer pinned to your overcrowded cork board.

ACKERMAN'S BREWS

Fine Teas & Light Fare

Open Daily, 7 AM - 6 PM

You've passed by the café a few times, always meaning to stop in but never finding the time. Now, as you stare at the flyer, something clicks, the gears in your caffeine-addled brain start turning. Levi Ackerman – humanity's strongest soldier, war hero, notorious hermit, and apparently... a tea shop owner?

[silverwhittlingknife]

did nobody ask you for red letter day? absurd! *I* wanna know about red letter day!

hello captain and friend anon!!! I KNOW I HAVEN'T UPDATED THIS IN SIX MILLION YEARS SO THANK YOU FOR THESE ASKS <333

okay SO the first thing is, you have to understand, my list of documents for this fic looks like this:

anyway i do love this fic even though it FIGHTS ME; it's supposed to have both Fights and Mysteries and both are hard to write 😅

anyway hmmm i'm going to cheat by including a Dick POV section that I am probably gonna end up cutting, because i like it but i also worry that it slows down the dialogue?

excerpt below the cut! the only context that you need is that Dick and Tim have been having the "should Tim call if there's danger in Gotham" argument again (Tim's position is "no"), partly because they both have genuine positions on this argument, but also because it enables them to sublimate an emotional conflict into a work conflict and thus avoid talking or thinking about their feelings, which is a shared pathology goal:

Dick would bet Tim never mouthed off to Bruce like this.  One of the many things that suck about being the knock-off Batman is that none of Dick’s orders really stick.  All of the responsibility without the authority to back it up.  At least when Dick was leading the Titans, they did what he freaking told them. …Mostly. …Okay, sometimes. The awful truth is—and he tries not to dwell on it because it’s pointless and doesn’t achieve anything, but—everything with Tim, sometimes it reminds him of the worst times with the Titans.  The same uneasy feeling of dread, like he’s grabbing for someone who’s slipping through his fingers.  Roy’s crossed arms.  The clock creeping toward midnight, staring at the champagne, knowing in his heart that Kory wasn’t coming.  After Tartarus: watching Roy walk out of the room, watching Donna follow him, staring at Vic’s back, Kory’s back, all of them walking out, and no one left but the newcomers.  When the personal is so fucked up that all you can do is double-down on the professional, and even that doesn’t help, and then— (Get a grip, Grayson.) And anyway, this isn’t like the Titans, is it?  Dick was out-of-line, there, in retrospect. He’s never been good at losing people gracefully.  Pushing Kory for marriage when she was already pulling away, trying to cling to her instead of letting her go.  Giving ultimatums after Tartarus, when he knew the team already resented his orders.  Making decisions behind Vic’s back, trying to force him to stay.  It’s an ugly bad habit, picked up from Bruce: things are slipping, and your people are mad at you, so you get scared, and then you get authoritative and controlling so you can hang onto them, except you can’t control them, so then they get even angrier and you lose them anyway.   It’s easy to see in Bruce, hard to see in himself, but he knows it’s there.  He barely managed to catch himself in time, with the Titans.   Is he doing the same thing to Tim?  Does he need to back off? But Gotham is risky.  Tim’s always been capable, obviously, but…it’s okay to be a bit authoritative, isn’t it?  Tim should call if there’s someone who looks unusually dangerous.  That’s just common sense.  Dick’s not asking for miracles, here.

[odditycircus-2002]

Thinking of an alternate meeting idea where Mk1 Shang meets pre mutated Mk1 Medusa reader prior to Damishi/Titan!Shang’s involvement, still down on his luck after a brutal beating, she finds him while trying to find herbs and stuff when she sees him looking like a pathetic wet cat that is really injured. She ends up treating him and helping look after him, even letting him stay in her home as he recovers. He sees her use her water magic sometime when making medicines to use at her healer job and he asks her eagerly about it since he doesn’t have any magic of his own up to that point. She basically ends up taking him as apprentice with her being his mentor/master to teach him the basics of magic and work with medience since he likes to do alchemy related stuff.

Now that's an exciting idea. 😆

I especially love the idea of Mk1 Medusa!Reader finds this beaten and down on his luck man and thinks, 'Gods, he's so pathetic... I love it.' 😂😂😂

While I'd imagine Shang Tsung would initially be reluctant to follow Y/N to her home, he acquiesces at the thought of a hot meal and the roof of his caravan collapsing.

I'd imagine Y/N's home is humble and a bachelorette pad with a strong smell of herbs in the air. However, it's comfortable, and it's better than Shang Tsung's caravan. Shang can stay until he's no longer limping, but you'll have no slackers taking up space. You make the ultimatum to the snake oil salesman that if he wishes to stay here, he'll have to honestly work for it somehow. You don't necessarily mean money, seeing that he has none.

That's how Shang initially became her errand boy and learned about different herbs and their uses from having to gather them. When he's not doing that or small chores around your humble abode, he observes how you utilize your magic. Often, he finds himself entranced at how you almost artistically move your hands to manipulate the water to do your bidding. Then, he wonders how he can use it for himself.

Since Shang Tsung has proven to be of use around your home, and because his eagerness to learn reminded you of a young Rain, you saw no reason to not teach your guest the basics. But it will be soon that he starts asking some... concerning questions. If you know the answer to it but do not wish to let you know it is forbidden, it is okay. The only reason you even learned how to control blood was to cure your village. Yet, Shang Tsung is persistent...

[favoritemtgcard]

I would like to nominate Jetmir, Nexus of Revels (maybe the cats and dogs secret lair version?) and Titanic Ultimatum.

Jetmir, Nexus of Revels (Secret Lair, art by Nicole Gustafsson)

Titanic Ultimatum

[emeraldart]

New AU: Combining the Hunter is raised in human realm and Vee is raised in human realm AUs

(Vee looks different because she’s disguised as a random scout)

[ID: It’s a comic with characters from The Owl House. First panel: Boots run over red grass. Text: Hunter: “Cmon, cmon!” Second panel: Owlbert’s wing is visible. A bag with “human treasure” written on it is in the middle. Text: Eda: “Nice haul, Owlbert. Hey! Get away from my door!���

Third panel: A hand holds the door frame. On one side, there’s rain. Text: Hunter: “This way!” Fourth panel: A marigold under the rain. Text: Vee: “Hunter, where are we?” Fifth panel: Vee’s arm is around Hunter. She has brown skin and red hair. Her ears are visible. Hunter is in his Golden Guard uniform without a mask. They both have scratches and tears in their clothing. Text: Hunter: “I think… we’re in the human realm.” Luz: “Mami! I hear something!” End ID.]

Lore dump under cut (there’s a lot)

Maybe about 4 years precanon Hunter is just hanging out and meets Vee and they become best friends (but he definitely doesn’t see her as a little sister because that’d be ridiculous and he’s not at all attached). About 2 years precanon the kiddos are just hanging out when Belos finds them and stuff gets bad. They run but Belos has to keep it low key so the people wont know he’s a bitch. Vees disguise is just based on a scout but due to limited magic she still has spots, ears, etc. They find Eda selling her human trash and Vee thinks it’s a great idea to hide behind this funky looking door with the rain behind it. And then, oh my titan, the rain doesn’t boil. Hunter figures out they’re in the human realm.

Luz (who’s maybe about 12?) finds a pointy eared boy with pink eyes and a shapeshifter so this is the best day of her life. But they’re injured! She calls her Mami who is very confused but she sees hurt kids and is like mine now. So now she’s got these magic children on the run from a mysterious realm. Neat. Through the power of plot armor (idk) they’re officially adopted. They take time to warm up to Camila but they take to Luz instantly.

Luz has 2 magic siblings so she’s even more into fantasy now. So, reality check camp. The principal is meaner because this girl is constantly sneaking her homeschooled siblings into school. So yeah, summer camp. Hunter and Vee are not happy but not really confident enough to tell Camila that. So they wait with their sister for the bus.

Then! An owl comes! Luz starts chasing it and then they start chasing her. Hunter and Vee recognize the isles and possibly Eda. They’re all freaked out but Luz is like, yay! Now we can figure out where you’re from! This is like a side mystery. They do the regular adventures but with noceda sib bickering. Occasionally there’s curiosity in finding Hunter and Vees mysterious parents they’re being vague about and not really being helpful.

In AOAW, Hunter and Vee are being really weird about skipping the field trip but okay, they’re weird all the time. Maybe there’s a mini adventure of them bringing Amity her homework or something. So in YBOS they gotta save Eda. This is a horrible idea but sure why not. Luz’s siblings are being especially mean to Lilith even though she’s trying to be better. Luz doesn’t like her either but like why are they being so mean?

In that part where they find Belos her siblings are so scared but then he grabs them. Luz tries to get them but he takes them to some other room. Oh titan. She does the whole biz but doesn’t find her siblings so she’s very scared.

Meanwhile! Vee is returned to the Conformitorium. Belos doesn’t really have anyone to refill his supplies so he kinda needs her and Hunter. He locks Hunter in his old room and gives him an ultimatum. He does his old duties as GG or else he’ll replace him and Vee. He can’t escape during missions because Vees still at the Conformitorium.

In Separate Tides, Hunter catches up Luz and King on the ship and then Eda robs it. They clarify things, figure things out, etc. So Luz has isn’t entirely reunited with her siblings but she knows where they are. She probably tells Willow, Gus, and Amity, too.

In Hunting Palismen, they free the palismen and defest Kiki so, high on power, they break Vee out. They kinda sorta come home at they same time as Eda and King do with the wood so that’s an interesting conversation. So the next few eps are the same but with siblings and more trauma. Maybe Hunter and Willow also get together in knock knock knockin or maybe not. Maybe during then Vee thinks about a pretty enby they knew in the human realm. There’s also lumity here and there because lumity. Eclipse Lake Belos never gets the key but they only use half the blood and the key is taken Post hollow mind when the EC takes the owl house. Yesterdays Lie has all 3 Nocedas talking to Camila who does know they’re missing in this one. Cue depressing reunion. ASIAS is just silly kids play sports. Maybe there’s a small run in with the EC. In E&E, Luz is extra sus of phil especially with his drawing (of her ‘mano???) but the others stay home to meet del.

Hollow Mind! Night market incident where they just… bump into the traitors. Oops. Still just Luz and Hunter now with less bickering over if Belos is evil because y’know they know. At the end Hunter still runs so Labyrinth Runners can still happen. Vee is there for the whole “you’re a titan, King” deal and comforts him because she gets it. She’s been there.

The siblings reunite in COTH and there’s some minor changes in with Vee in the Belos fight and maybe she goes back to the demon realm with them? (It also makes sense if she isn’t ready). Plot wise it’s the same after Kings Tide but Camilas closer with Hunter and Vee (calling them mijo and mija more, etc.) and sadder because all her kids were missing and there wasn’t really a doppelgänger so she knew they were gone the whole time.

I hope at least some of this made sense :)

[celaenaeiln]

Based on the posts I've been reading, the Titans rlly dislike Bruce xD

Do you have a list of stuff of the Titans clowning/making fun/hating Bruce? 👀

If there's too many (omg is it??), maybe just your faves or those that rlly impacted you

They do!!

I had the post mostly done in my drafts when I saw your ask and decided this was the perfect opportunity to finish it!

BUT I DEFINITELY HAVE MORE!

The tug-of-war between the two groups comes from the fact that Bruce canonically has codependency issues with Dick. He honestly needs his son at all times for everything.

The source of Bruce and Dick's relationship problems all sum up to this:

Nightwing (2016) Issue #7

"I wanted to give him the freedom to make his own choices. To do things his way, even if that meant making mistakes. And then...well, then I blamed him for how difficult it was for me to let him go."

He's so, so proud of Dick but he refuses to release him to be free. When Dick manages to get away Bruce hisses and shrieks in rage and fury and hurt that Dick left. Even those long stints where Dick was ignoring Bruce after being fired or after Jason's death, Bruce never ignored Dick. Sometimes going as far as stalking him like at the circus.

This one is post-Jason, pre-Tim era.

The New Titans (1988) Issue #61

Ignoring the self-realization backtrack, it's applaudable that Bruce was even able to get those words out at all. Usually it's just heavily implied.

So the reason why Bruce hates the Titans so much is because they're his biggest threat. They have the possibility of taking Dick away from him forever and he's terrified of such a future.

It wasn't originally like this though. In the beginning when Dick said, I'm gonna hang out with the Titans, Bruce'd be like "Sure, Chum, have fun!"

Teen Titans: The Silver Age Issue #1

But as Dick grew older, there was increasing animosity between the Titans and Bruce. It got so bad that Bruce gave Dick an ultimatum: Me or the Titans. Choose.

Nightwing (1996) Issue #101

"I know, I know...I'm late. Titans Business. We just shut down Brother Blood for...good.."

"Save it."

"Look, I don't know how many hundreds of people we rescued from Blood's cult, but it was a pretty important mission."

"I said save it."

Nightwing (1996) Issue #101

But here's where it gets worse. Bruce and Dick are too busy fighting that they both missed Clayface recovering, obviously in the end they defeat him but neither of them are happy for the oversight which leads to the final scene.

Nightwing (1996) Issue #101

Bruce literally fired Dick because he couldn't stand him staying with the Titans.

"Robin is my second...my lieutenant. Anything less that total devotion to this cause is simply wasting my time."

Devotion to the cause or to you, Bruce? He's freaking Batman. He's done solo runs and Dicks done solo runs as Robin just fine but for some reason whenever the Titans are involved, he loses his goddamn mind.

But hey. Bruce isn't the only one who gives Dick an ultimatum.

Titans (1999) Issue #15

Damn, Roy.

He came out swinging with a chainsaw.

Both sides want Dick for themselves. About 80% of the Titans problems with Dick lie in the fact that they want him to have nothing to do with Bruce.

Batman (2016) Issue #19

Titans (1999) Issue #15

They just want Dick's priority and loyalty to be to them, undivided. Unfortunately, Bruce expects the very same-only it's for himself.

The Titans get so angry at Dick for going back to Bruce and Bruce gets so mad at Dick for favoring the Titans. But Dick loves both of them so there's literally no winning for him. The successful periods for Dick are when both sides comprise for him.

They're willing to work together to protect him though.

Titans (2008) Issue #1

Outsiders (2003) Issue #50

The instant de-escalation at protecting the reputation of Nightwing and her girlfriend. Not to mention how it was Batman who wanted to keep the dirt off Dick.

But the issue is, like Victor said,

Titans East Special

Titans are family.

But Bruce can't bear for Dick to have a family of his own that's not him.

[mattnben-bennmatt]

Matt Damon (& Co.)'s interview w/ GQ (18 July 2016)

The Encyclopedia of Matt Damon

As Matt Damon returns to the Bourne franchise, we decided to assemble this handy guide to the habits, quirks, and inner life of an honest-to-God screen legend, as told by George Clooney, Martin Scorsese, Ben Affleck, and the other titans who know him best

By The Editors of GQ | Photography by Sebastian Kim | Illustration by Joe Mckendry

Matt Damon is, scientifically, the most liked man in Hollywood. He is serious, and he is funny. He is approachable-seeming and often jacked. He has been in six of your ten favorite movies in the past 20 years, and he's met a bunch of people along the way who like him a whole lot. But for all his familiarity, he's still elusive (which is how he likes it). So instead of asking Matt Damon dumb questions about the new Jason Bourne movie (out this month!), we got Damon and those people who like him a lot*—George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Tina Fey, Ben Affleck, Martin Scorsese, and Co.—to tell all the stories about him that you haven't heard.

-

Accent, Boston

Matt Damon: I was sitting at George Clooney's pool in Lake Como, and Brad Pitt walked in, sat down next to me, and said, “Do you want to do a Martin Scorsese movie in Boston?” [Brad] was a producer on The Departed, and he felt like he had gotten too old for those roles. It's one of the most absurd things that's ever happened in my life.

[Marty] said to me early on [in production], “I don't know Boston. This is your town.” So I would show up with stuff that I'd write and give it to Bill [Monahan, the screenwriter]. and say, "Do you like any of this?" The first time I rehearsed with Jack Nicholson, he went over to get some coffee, and he turned around [and said], “You know, I never would have made it this long if I wasn’t a great fucking writer.”

Martin Scorsese (director, ‘The Departed’): He comes from Boston; he's familiar with that world. When we were cutting The Departed, my editor, Thelma Schoonmaker, used a term to describe Matt's presence on-screen that's stayed with me: He's seated as an actor. He enters a movie grounded and at ease in his character and in the world of the story.

Bill Simmons (Bostonian; host, ‘Any Given Wednesday’): [Jimmy Kimmel] had this Super Bowl party, and Damon was there. He was like, “I'm readin' ya book! It's fahckin' ahsome.” [Matt's Good Will Hunting accent] is the greatest Boston accent that's ever been captured in a movie by an actual actor. The Departed is a catastrophe of bad Boston accents. Leo just gives up halfway through.

Sarah Silverman (co-star, “I'm Fucking Matt Damon”): We are all Boston-area people. I don't know how Matt talks so pretty.

-

Artist, The

Julia Stiles (co-star, ‘Bourne’ films): After The Bourne Ultimatum came out, there was a premiere in London. Prince actually came to it, then got tickets for the cast to come see him [perform]. We were summoned into a room to meet him [after the show]. Matt said, “So you live in Minnesota? I hear you live in Minnesota.”

Damon: Prince said, “I live inside my own heart, Matt Damon.”

-

Career Precedent

Damon: I always thought the goal was William Holden. To just be in a lot of good movies.

Harvey Weinstein (producer, ‘Good Will Hunting,’ ‘Dogma,’ ‘All the Pretty Horses,’ ‘The Talented Mr. Ripley,’ ‘Rounders,’ ‘Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back,’ ‘Project Greenlight,’ ‘The Brothers Grimm’): Matt Damon is the closest thing we have to James Stewart. Matt can be funny, Matt can be charming, but there's an idealism in Matt, like Mr. Smith Goes to Washington or It's a Wonderful Life. But Jimmy Stewart also did those very tough Westerns. He wasn't Bourne, but you get the idea he flew 40 missions over Germany as an Air Force commander. [He's] that kind of great man with tremendous integrity.

Michael Douglas (co-star, ‘Behind the Candelabra’): [Matt] reminds me of me a lot, in terms of the kind of range of parts and things that he does. He always looks to what's the best script, what's going to make the best movie, and what isn't. He has a real sense of what it takes to make a good movie. Having the best part in a bad movie doesn't help you.

-

Face, Matt's

Scarlett Johansson (co-star, ‘We Bought a Zoo’): The most amazing gift about Matt's physical appearance is that he can walk into the hair-and-makeup trailer looking like someone who slept directly on his face for seven hours and emerge a bona fide movie star. He has a great makeup artist.

George Clooney (co-star, ‘Ocean’s Eleven,’ ‘Twelve,’ and ‘Thirteen’; director, ‘Syriana,’ ‘Confessions of a Dangerous Mind,’ ‘The Monuments Men’): He looks swell in a Speedo.

-

Face, Pitt's

Damon: I don't look like Marlon Brando. I remember Ben and I having a realization early on. Like, we were watching Brad [Pitt] in a movie, and one of us turned to the other and said, “I haven't heard a thing that guy said in five minutes. I'm just looking at him.” And we realized there's a good and a bad [that comes with that]. It'll mask one of your lesser performances, but it also detracts from your best performances. Because Brad has been legitimately brilliant in some of the things he's done, and he doesn't get the credit as an actor that I think he deserves. I never had to carry that water.

-

Friend, Best

Tina Fey (creator, ‘30 Rock’): People would be like, “[Matt and Ben] are so cute!” And I'd be like, “They're J.Crew sweaters. When you see all the colors next to each other, they look cute, but when you get one home, you're like, ‘Damn, I just got an orange sweater.’ ” But now that is withdrawn. In person, Matt holds up.

Damon: Ben is the orange sweater.

Ben Affleck (co-writer, ‘Good Will Hunting’; best friend): The quality that has allowed Matt to maintain the illusion that he is Mr. Nice Guy is that he found a young TV actor who was just a pretty face and made friends with him so he would always look good by comparison. Matt is very media-savvy and manipulative in that way. He's like a mix of [O. J. Simpson defense-team members] Bob Shapiro and Alan Dershowitz.

Kevin Smith (writer and director, ‘Dogma,’ ‘Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back’; co-executive producer, ‘Good Will Hunting’): Matt made pretty thoughtful choices about what roles he wanted to play and the directors he wanted to work with after Good Will Hunting, which made Ben's more commercial choices easier to put down for some folks. The assignation was that Matt chose to be a serious actor in films, while Ben chose to star in movies. That script flipped when Matt was Bourne and Ben became a filmmaker.

-

Friend, Brother of Best

Damon: Casey moved in with us [when he was 19]. He would walk in the room, and I'm like, “Is that my shirt?” It got so bad with the Affleck brothers that I was at the point where I wanted to label all of my stuff, 'cause it would just fucking show up in Casey's drawer. And if it's there long enough, then it's like some version of squatters' rights, where suddenly he's like, “No, dude, this is mine. You saw me. I've been wearing this since December.” Like, that doesn't mean it's yours! Just because you washed it doesn't mean it's yours.

-

Good Will

Billy Bob Thornton (director, ‘All the Pretty Horses’): I did Armageddon with Ben, and I knew 'em before they made Good Will Hunting. They talked to me about it: “Hey, we got this script.” And I'm like, “Yeah, yeah, whatever.” Wish I hadn't have said that.

Steven Soderbergh (director, ‘The Informant!’; ‘Ocean's Eleven,’ ‘Twelve,’ and ‘Thirteen’; ‘Contagion’; ‘Behind the Candelabra’): I was looking for rewrite work, and one of the open assignments was for Good Will Hunting. I said, “What's it about?” And they said, “Math.” And I said, “Well, I'm terrible at math, so I'm the wrong guy.” Let's put it this way: Word was out on Reservoir Dogs at the script stage—I remember hearing, “There's this fucking great script out there written by this guy.” There wasn't that kind of thing about [Good Will Hunting].

Damon: Harvey [Weinstein] hadn't seen it—somebody lower down the ladder [at Miramax] had passed. And we were fucked. We had made a deal with Castle Rock where we had to sell it for a million dollars and whoever we sold it to had to allow us to star in it. If we didn't, it was gonna go back to Castle Rock and we were out of the movie. We asked [Kevin Smith] to direct it, and Kevin wouldn't. He goes, “I'm not a good enough director.”

Smith: I asked Ben to FedEx a copy of the script and hit it in the bathroom, intending to read a few pages while on the bowl. Two hours later, I came out of the bathroom crying [because] it was so good. [Co-executive producer] Scott Mosier said, “You were in the bathroom for two hours, and now you're crying. Should I call an ambulance?” I said, “No. We gotta call Harvey.” And we gave it to Harvey and said, “Remember when you picked up the Pulp Fiction script from TriStar in turnaround? This is like that. Especially the Oscars part.”

Weinstein: Kevin Smith gave it to Jon Gordon in my office. Jon Gordon gave it to me. I loved it.

Damon: Every Oscar weekend, the three big agencies host parties. In 1998, [the year we won an Oscar for Good Will Hunting], the CAA party was given in our name. Like, “Ben Affleck and Matt Damon invite you to the CAA party.” We called it “our party.” It was incredible. I talked to Tom Cruise. Even a movie like Cocktail, which the critics didn't particularly dig, was a hit. An agent said to me, “There's no career that's ever been like this. Everyone has ups and downs. This guy's never had a down.” He was the movie star's movie star. And I remember the way he talked about the business: He was not owed anything or could count on anything. And I was like, “Oh, my God. It's an insecure business for Tom Cruise!”

Simmons: I was dating this girl who moved to Chicago, and I was living in Boston. I was making, like, $200 a week writing a column and bartending, and it cost somewhere between $300 and $450 to fly to Chicago. So I went to see Good Will Hunting in Cambridge by myself. And at the end, he goes to see about a girl, and I was like, “You know what? I like her, but I don't know if I'd go to see about a girl.” We broke up within 12 hours. And my next girlfriend was my wife. That's why I always defend Matt Damon.

-

Grimm, Brothers

Brian Koppelman (co-writer, ‘Rounders,’ ‘Ocean's Thirteen’): The nose [in Ocean's Thirteen] originated because we had heard this rumor that Matt had wanted to wear a weird nose in Brothers Grimm. He wasn't able to, so we decided we were going to give him an even bigger, uglier nose.

Terry Gilliam (director, ‘The Brothers Grimm,’ ‘The Zero Theorem’): He's got that cute little retroussé nose and a big bony head, and I thought his head needed something stronger. So we put the bump on, and he suddenly became like Marlon Brando—he was sexy, he walked different. And then we had a huge fight with the Weinsteins and they threatened to close the movie down if I put that bump on his nose.

Weinstein: Oh, my God. Matt and Heath Ledger, may he rest in peace, just on bended knees said, “Can you finance this movie?” And my brother said, “It's Terry Gilliam—let's just do it.”

Damon: I remember the night that Terry shattered a wineglass in his hand because he was in an argument with one of the producers. He said, “I'm not gonna fucking…,” and snapped the wineglass in his hand, and then went storming out. And Heath [Ledger] and I just immediately got up to follow our fearless leader. Terry goes, “I think that went well! Where are we going for dinner?”

He was deciding whether to refuse to shoot over the nose issue. And he came into the makeup room at five in the morning and said, “They gave me the money that I need to make the movie, but we have to not do the nose. What do you think?” And Chrissie Beveridge, who still does my makeup, pulled out the nose and put it on the table. And we literally looked at it and just started laughing.

Chrissie Beveridge (makeup artist): Terry [said], “Would you talk to Bob Weinstein?” I didn't.

Damon: It was a $3 million nose.

Weinstein: Ironically, it's Terry Gilliam's highest-grossing movie he ever had in the United States. [Editors' note: Actually, ‘12 Monkeys’ is.]

Soderbergh: So on [Ocean's Thirteen], I was like, “Dude, we can do it. Like, we can give you the nose.”

Damon: And in Invictus, I ended up wearing the actual [Brothers Grimm] nose.

Beveridge: It was a slightly different nose.

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Ledger, Heath

Gilliam: Matt is mathematical at times, and that's both a strength and sometimes… I think that's what it maybe was between him and Heath. Because [Heath's] heart was on his sleeve, and that opened up a lot in Matt.

Damon: He was too bright for this world. Coming off [The Brothers Grimm, I was] telling everybody that I just worked with the best actor I've ever seen. And people were like, “What are you talking about? The guy from A Knight's Tale?” And I was like, “You just wait. And wait until you see what kind of a director he's gonna be.”

There were things that he did where I couldn't have got there in three lifetimes. And there were ways in which he was like a puppy dog. You wanted to protect him.

[His death was] just fucking pointless. I called Terry when I found out, and he was like, “I'm sitting here in Vancouver. I'm looking out the window, and it's a beautiful sunny day, and the lights are turning red, and the lights are turning green, and cars are stopping, and cars are driving. I am surrounded by mediocrity. And he's gone.”

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Maaaaaatt Daaaaamon

Damon: The most common head shot that I'm asked to sign is pictures of that fucking puppet [from Team America: World Police]. And they always say, “Will you write ‘Maaaaaatt Daaaaamon’?” I'm like, “Okay. Matt, with, like, 16 *a'*s in it.” [Trey Parker and Matt Stone] are legitimate geniuses. But when that came out, I thought, Wow, is that what people think of me? That I'm really dumb? So I remember asking friends of mine, and they all told me that it didn't really make sense that I was dumb. I was like, “Are you just saying that?” And then [my wife] Lucy heard an interview with [Matt and Trey] where they said the puppet showed up the day before they were supposed to shoot with it, and it looked like it had special needs, and they didn't have time to change it with the budget. I don't know if they made that up subsequently.

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“Matt Damon, I'm F#©%ing”

In 2008, Sarah Silverman and Damon starred in a music video called “I'm Fucking Matt Damon” to “inform” Silverman's then boyfriend, Jimmy Kimmel, that she was “sleeping with” Damon.

Jimmy Kimmel (host, ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’; nemesis): [The video “I'm Fucking Matt Damon”] was supposed to be a present for my 40th birthday. Just to make sure the punch in the stomach hit a kidney.

Silverman: [When the show premiered,] Jimmy was literally getting guests like the man with the longest arm hair. So as a joke, he would say at the end of the night, “Sorry, Matt Damon. We ran out of time,” because Matt Damon was the biggest movie star he could think of.

Damon: We had done The Bourne Ultimatum [spoof] with [Kimmel sidekick] Guillermo [as Jason Bourne]. Like, now Jimmy's kicking me out of my own movies? And we all were just like, “How do we keep this thing alive?” And the guy who directed that called with this idea that Sarah had given him.

Silverman: Matt came in, learned the song in a closet of the hotel we had, and then we had three hours with him to shoot because he had his daughter's Halloween pageant at noon.

Damon: It happened really fast, and then suddenly I was in the car. I was like, “Holy fuck, I'm going to a parent-teacher conference. I can't do shit like this anymore.”

Ben Affleck: As soon as I saw “I'm Fucking Matt Damon,” I knew I would be doing “I'm Fucking Ben Affleck.” So I called Jimmy, and they were already putting it together. Having Josh Groban yelling out, “I'm fucking Beeeeen. I'm fucking Ben Affleck!” remains a high point of my career and life.

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Mojo

Soderbergh: When [Matt] hit us on the Ocean's set, he said, “I really feel like I've kind of lost my mojo.” He'd just come off a couple movies that didn't work commercially [All the Pretty Horses and The Legend of Bagger Vance], and they were not finished with Bourne—they were gonna go back and reshoot more after we wrapped. And I remember George [Clooney] and I saying, “We can do that with this. You're going to have a blast.”

Damon: I showed up like a drowned rat and just stumbled into the room [with Steven] and George. Steven says, “This is the movie where you're gonna get your mojo back.” And they had a big party because it was the “We have arrived in Chicago” party. They rented out a bar with the whole crew. And then we shot the next day, and then they rented out a bar and had a huge “We're leaving Chicago” party. And I'm like, “Wow, maybe I am gonna get my mojo back on this shoot.”

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Parenting, Matt's

Fey: Some people are lying when they say they want to go be with their families, but I think Matt actually really does like his family—his lovely wife and his 26 daughters.

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Parenting, Matt's Mother's

Soderbergh: One of the first thoughts I had when I met Matt was, Okay. This guy was very well raised. I don't mean that in a pejorative sense. I was just like, “He's a good kid.” Like, “They raised a good kid.” Which is what you would want anybody to say about your child.

Julia Roberts (co-star, ‘Ocean's Eleven’ and ‘Twelve’): Matty's a good boy.

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Pilot, Carol the

In 2010, Damon began a four-episode guest arc on the NBC sitcom ‘30 Rock’ as Liz Lemon's boyfriend, pilot Carol Burnett.

Damon: Lucy and I started watching on the first episode and were like, “This is our favorite thing.” I literally went up to [Tina Fey] at the SAG Awards and said, “Look, your show is so great, and if you ever have anything on it, I would love to do a guest spot.”

Fey: [Matt] was like, “I wanna be on the show! I wanna be on the show!” We immediately flew back the next day and called WME, and the agent was like, “He's not doing this!” And we're like, “No, no, he told us he wanted to do it.” And you could tell his agent was like, “Faaaaaaahhhhhhck. He's too good for this!”

Damon: Yeah, that was one that Patrick was like, “What the fuck? What are you doing?”

Patrick Whitesell (Matt's agent): I wasn't opposed to Matt doing it. I thought it would be a fun thing. The only thing was I wanted it limited in the number of episodes.

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Scheduling Conflict

Douglas: [When I first heard about Behind the Candelabra,] I was recovering from a Stage IV cancer bout and was so unbelievably fortunate to look at this Richard LaGravenese script and go, “My God.” And Soderbergh's involved, and then Matt, who wanted to do the other part. And then when we were getting ready to go do it, both of them—both Steven and Matt individually—said, “You know, we've got conflicting schedules right now. So let's put this off for a year.” And my heart sunk. I thought, Oh shit, it ain't ever going to happen. The truth be told, I was so happy to be alive that I didn't recognize the fact of just how underweight I was. And I think both of them looked at me and said, “He's not ready to do Liberace.” And rather than in any way make me feel like it was a problem, they simply lied and said, “We have other projects,” and waited a year, until I got back on my feet and my strength was there.

Damon: I'll take it, but I did have a scheduling conflict. I think that Steven certainly knew that more time on the mend would not hurt at all. They replaced Michael from the neck down with a concert pianist, but Michael's arms had to be at the right place at all times or it didn't work. The amount of hours [that took], I don't even know. It was this virtuoso performance. And he said to me the last night [of shooting], “I couldn't have done this last year.”

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Sweating

Koppelman: We write [Rounders] on spec, and Harvey Weinstein buys it. Then we get a call that he wants to show us ten minutes of this film [Good Will Hunting] with this guy Matt Damon, who [they thought] should star in [our movie]. We immediately love the idea.

So we happened to be down at [the L.A. casino] Hollywood Park, and we started talking to these guys and mentioned that we'd written this poker movie. They go, “Matt Damon's our best friend.” And I said, “Oh, really? Matt Damon's your best friend?” Twenty-five minutes later, Matt and Ben come storming in. Neither guy had played casino poker. Matt was immediately like, “Tell me stuff I need to know.” So we got a table and [co-writer] David [Levien] showed Matt how to riffle chips. Within 10, 15 minutes, he's sitting at the table riffling like he's an old pro.

David Levien (co-writer, ‘Rounders,’ ‘Ocean's Thirteen’): He took poker very, very seriously then, and obviously Ben got bit by the bug. We said, “If you really want to learn about this, come to New York.”

Damon: I started getting in and sweating the games, which means sitting behind a player who agrees to show you their hole cards so you can watch how they play the hand. And these were rounders, the people who were making basically ten bucks an hour sitting there with no health benefits, just hoping that somebody new would come in so they could chop him up.

Edward Norton (co-star, ‘Rounders’): Matt and I got coaching from top poker pros, but also from some guys in the underground poker scene who were experts in working a game as partners with coded signals, because that was something our characters did in the film. We decided we'd see if we could actually pull it off in a game, and we cut it apart. Then we walked down Sixth Avenue a few blocks and chopped up our collective winnings. We agreed that our commitment to the craft of acting justifiably forced our ethical standards into the backseat. And most of the money we clipped came off Harvey and Bob Weinstein, so we agreed that was good for humanity.

Alicia Vikander (co-star, ‘Jason Bourne’): We were shooting [Jason Bourne] in Vegas, and I learned to play craps [the night we wrapped]. I asked Matt [for advice] because of course he and Ben are kind of known for that. I said that I was going to bed, and then I said that I was just going to have one drink. It happened to be quite a few.

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Sweating (More)

Damon: I've sweat some great directors for the last 20 years. When Ben was doing Gone Girl, I went over and visited the set and sat behind David [Fincher] while he was directing. There was a scene where Ben and Rosamund [Pike] walk into a bookstore and end up coming towards the camera through one of the aisles and kissing each other. So before the door opens and they come in, an extra walks by at the end of the line of books. David instantly starts monologuing: “Who fucking walks like that? Are you fucking… Am I wrong? Like, who fucking walks like that? It's ridiculous. I mean, he fucking looks like an extra in a movie. What the fuck?” Meanwhile, Ben and Rosamund are acting their hearts out, and I know they're gonna go again, no matter what they do, because this person fucking blew it. So David goes over and gives them notes, and they get ready to do it again, and Rosamund's makeup artist comes walking in to touch her up. David's looking at his monitor, and he goes, “Now, that's how you walk.”

Joshua Donen (David Fincher's manager): David denies that this ever took place, but out of respect for the talents of Mr. Damon, he has decided not to take legal action.

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Teeth

Roberts: He does have nice teeth.

Kimmel: I mean, they can't be real, right? They're so perfect. They're obviously something that some Hollywood witch doctor put into his head somewhere along the line, possibly on one of his jaunts to China where he disappears for six months and suddenly has a whole new look. One day he's Jason Bourne. The next day he's Liberace's fiancé.

Damon: True.

Larry Rosenthal, D.D.S., declined to respond to multiple requests for comment.

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Thing, Best I've Ever Been a Part Of

Damon: [The 2000 Cormac McCarthy novel adaptation All the Pretty Horses] failed the critics and failed to find the audience. I'm not over it 18 years later or whatever it is, so I'm just clearly never gonna get over it. It really fucking depresses me. I only saw Billy [Bob Thornton]'s cut once, and I just remember feeling like, “Oh, my God, this is the best thing I've ever been a part of.” It was Daniel Lanois's music that did it—it was all Daniel on this old guitar.

Thornton: The studio made us take Dan's score out.

Weinstein: It's great, but there were studio executives who fell asleep during the screening. The movie cost $48 million. You [ask], “Am I going to put a four-hour movie out?”

Damon: I was in Paris working on The Bourne Identity, and every night after work, I'd come home and I'd have a conference call with Harvey and Billy Bob. I would pace in this living room in this apartment I'd rented as I was talking to them. Billy's heart was fucking breaking. [When] he relented, he said, “Harvey, I have a chance to do four, maybe five great things before I die. And what I'm hearing you say to me is this isn't gonna be one of them.” And my knees literally buckled.

Thornton: You live with it. They did offer us the opportunity to put [my cut] out on DVD with the original music. But Dan felt like, “If my music wasn't good enough for them to put in the movie, then I don't know if I wanna put it in there on the DVD,” so I stood by him. I'm not gonna ever go side against an artist.

Weinstein: I've said to Matt, “I'll put up a million dollars any day of the week to restore it. I don't even care if I get the money back.” And I'm happy to sit down with Matt and Billy and do that. We've tried to resurrect that on a number of occasions, but the composer didn't want to let us do it, and he has strong rights. I understand. But time softens everyone. It's time to re-approach him.

Thornton: I think maybe one of these days I'm gonna just have a party over at my house to show it to 20 or 30 people.

Damon: I would love it if he did.

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Wife, Krasinski's

John Krasinski (co-writer, ‘Promised Land’): The day I met him was the scene in The Adjustment Bureau where he kisses my wife [Emily Blunt] in a very big way. And so when I went up to him, he turned to me, and the first thing he ever said to me was, “Hey, man. I was just totally tonguing your girl.” And I went, “Oh, okay. Cool.” And he saw my face and he just cratered. He said, “Oh, my God. I am so sorry. I am so sorry.”

Damon: A reason to do that movie was to meet those two. They're just the best.

Emily Blunt : I have never played a board game with the Damons. The four of us hang out constantly and drink way too much together. Red wine for the three of us, and John's allergic to red wine, so he has to take down the bottle of white by himself. Which is not an issue.

Damon: That allergy is recent. He used to not be allergic to red wine, so we were perfect dinner companions. Now everything is off.

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Worship

Chris Hemsworth (friend; Norse god): [I was going to be on the cover of GQ, and] I was like, “Shit, what do we do [for the story]?” Matt goes, “You should go bike riding! You can use mine.” So the next morning, I didn't want to bring the writer [into Matt's home because] I didn't want Matt to be uncomfortable. And Matt was like, “No, bring him in!” Matt's cooking pancakes and telling all kinds of interesting stories and quoting all sorts of interesting people. And I was sitting there going, “I just lost myself the cover. I can just see the cover turning into Matt's cover. This is the worst thing I could have done with this thing, introduce the writer to Matt.” I felt like I had a new girlfriend and I had introduced her to my cooler friend or something.

Blunt: It's almost sickening, actually. He's like the most universally loved person I've ever met.

Jessica Chastain (co-star, ‘Interstellar,’ ‘The Martian’): When I was going to go work on The Martian, everyone was going on and on about what a great person he was. You always wonder, like, “Okay, is the reputation accurate?” And with him, it was.

Jeff Schaffer (executive producer, ‘Seinfeld,’ ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’; co-creator, ‘The League’; Harvard classmate): “Great” gets thrown around a lot. Like, if you hate a movie, you go, “It was great!” In L.A., “great” means it's shit. So I have to drop down one to “good.” He's a good man.

Matthew McConaughey (co-star, ‘Interstellar’): I remember a late night in Laurel Canyon after A Time to Kill came out. Matt shared a genuine excitement for the success the film and I were having. He's always been like that, as far as I know—confident and self-assured enough to appreciate a peer's success while still paving his own path.

Krasinski: You look at him and think, Wow. You've maintained staying grounded with a career like this. For people who don't have even half the career of you, if we're not as grounded as you, we're just jackasses.

Paul Greengrass (director, ‘The Bourne Supremacy,’ ‘The Bourne Ultimatum’; director and co-writer, ‘Jason Bourne’): He is a really superb, aggressive, fast driver. Somewhere deep in that soul there must be a Jason Bourne lurking.

Simmons: If you're at a party and somebody's like, “You know who I fucking hate? Matt Damon,” people would be like, “What? Why do you hate Matt Damon? Did he fuck your girlfriend?”

Kimmel: He had sex with my girlfriend and then made a song about it. I think he's more devious than [his character in The Talented Mr. Ripley]. More diabolical. Matt Damon in real life is more of a pure evil.

Soderbergh: You could walk around town with a checkbook offering to pay people a million dollars to say something bad about Matt, feeling secure you'd never have to write a check.

Reported by Zach Baron, Lauren Larson, Anna Peele, Clay Skipper, and Caity Weaver.