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weebsinstash · 21 hours ago

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In your Cecil work, you mentioned how he’s seen reader naked with all monitors and stuff. But to be a little freaky/sinful, has he seen them also pleasuring themselves? I can only imagine the amount of murder he’d be willing to do for the unfortunates who decide to comment their enjoyment. If not if they have those Superman abilities, do you think they knew they were being spied on and took someone home to bone to mess with him.

You know how in the first season Cecil straight up tells Mark something along the lines of "the GDA knows everything about you, from your daily routine to the porn you jack off to". Well :)

Imagine in a "Nolan's child who hides their powers" scenario, or I guess just in general as a viltrumite/alien hybrid or someone who the government was always keeping tabs on for whatever reason, you suddenly develop your powers, but also, something more, and you can suddenly hear the buzzing and electrical hertz of the hidden cameras in your room. Like... what the fuck do you even do in response to that

God... god... remember in Death Note where Light predicted he was being watched by the police so he would do shit like read dirty magazines to maintain his cover of "behaving like a normal young man". Imagine you making the realization that like ... you had a daily or some real specific masturbation habit and you're like "oh fuck, I can't suddenly change what I'm doing or it might tip them off that I know something or make them suspicious"

Reader begrudgingly continuing to jack off like normal and you KNOW people are watching, for survival's sake. Reader having their first real conversation with Cecil as he's touring you through the GDA and you finally go "no bullshit" and hit him with the bluntness question possible, "so are you one of the men who watches the cameras in my bedroom or has it been someone else watching me masturbate" and it actually manages to make him stutter and stumble to answer

Cecil literally ordering everyone else out of the room whenever they're watching the footage and he knows you're about to jerk off, because, he's obsessed enough with you that not only does he see it as "protecting your modesty" but also he literally cannot stand knowing other people are seeing you in such an... intimate and vulnerable state. He's protecting you, obviously :) he's not a pervert, he promises--

Cecil having the utmost pokerface as he watches you pleasure yourself but his cheeks are still-- actually, he's technically covered in a synthetic skin so COULD HE even blush??? We're gonna pretend he does. Cecil trying to be all stonefaced but he can't stop his face from turning red and the way you manage to make him sweat

Ngl... I really like the idea of Reader who, upon unlocking their powers, basically becomes like, you took the fucking pill from Limitless and you become this, super memory unlocked brain capacity genius and you quickly pick up on how Cecil's heart rate increases whenever he talks to you and you compare it to, say, how he treats "equal threats" like Mark and Omniman and you quickly form the hypothesis he's got some weird crush on you. Maybe you test your theory out or try to trip him up by, say, hitting on another member of the Guardians or another superhero. Your superhearing picking up Cecil grinding his teeth from the other side of the room as you make some flirtatious inappropriate comment to a coworker or hero/alien you just met. I'd be out here giggling twirling a piece of hair around a finger, "so, is there a Mrs Battle Beast?" as Cecil then creates some diversion or reason to pull you away. "There's a mudslide in the Philippines and we need you to help the search and rescue efforts" "but you guys never ask me to help with shit like that?" "Just shut up and follow me"

Some... lose-lose scenario where you try to defy Cecil and the GDA and he won't let you and fabricates some justification for locking you away or putting some sort of method of control on or in you. You being completely restrained as Cecil tells you it's for your own good, for the planet's own good, until you "can calm down and see the light" and you can tell he's... suspiciously into it as he sees you completely at his mercy, even reaching out to touch your face, or even... other parts of you.

Donald just out here, "sir I brought you the documents you requested and-- sir do you have an erection watching the new recruit??? Are you peeping on their bedroom again??" "Shut up, Donald. Get your glasses fixed and do your damn job. I'm just watching them fight a giant alien monster"

You can't deny Cecil gets results, so everyone who has suspicions that he's being a lil... freaky... just has to put up with it or convince themselves they're imagining it, but... they're not :)

#yandere invincible #cecil x reader #sinprompts #yandere stuff

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whoredyceps · 3 days ago

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“If you need bail, don't call me.”

» it's friday night, and you just want to let loose and forget about the feelings you've started to develop for your neighbor. when your friends suggest you all drop by the bar that said neighbor works at, you know you're in for a bizarre night.

» pairing: modern!Din Djarin x reader

» tags: au - modern day, bouncer!Din Djarin, non-descript f!reader, bar setting, alcohol consumption, violence, bar fight, reader gets grabbed/pulled, crushing, slow burn-esque

» author's note: is anyone really surprised i wrote another din fic? this is in the same universe as this fic, but it can be read as a standalone! truth be told, i want more bouncer!din so i'm sharing my hyper-fixation with you all :) a bit longer than my usual stuff and i had SO much fun writing this

You stood on the front steps of your building, your girlfriends already on the sidewalk talking about the bar you were visiting. As you closed the door behind you, your phone buzzed in your pocket. Without a second thought, you pulled it out of your pocket

➤ Be careful tonight.

A small smile spread across your face as you read the text. You were surprised Din remembered the offhand comment you made last night. As you passed each other in the hallway, you returning from work as he was headed out to start work, the two of you struck up a conversation.

"You workin' late again?" Din asked. His tall, built stature looked good in a black, long-sleeve shirt with a white club logo spread across his chest. That, along with black cargo pants that did all the right things to his hips had you looking right at his face.

Not that you weren't equally as flustered, but it was easier to get lost in those warm, brown eyes of his.

"Unfortunately. If my boss puts anymore on my plate, I'm gonna snap," you huffed with a roll of your eyes. "If I didn't love what I do, I'd leave and never return." You watched Din as he listened intently. He had a habit of watching your expression as you told him about the project you were assigned to take charge of.

"It's all for the right reasons," Din assured you. "Tomorrow's Friday, right? Make some plans and forget about work this weekend." As if this wasn't the beginning of what would be a long weekend for him. Thursday through Saturday was like a three-day-long Monday in his field. Still, he was always one to boost your morale when you needed it.

"You're right. Maybe I'll join the girls tomorrow night. Look, be careful at work, okay? I'm making a big pot of soup for this weekend, so you'll have some waiting on your counter when you get off," you told him.

"What kind? If it's another one of those recipes from your Aunt Carolyn, I'm revoking the spare key," Din warned. You found yourself in his apartment from time to time, whether to check on his cat, Grogu or leave an extra meal on the counter.

"It's a pumpkin soup recipe I found in a cookbook," you gave him a pointed look. "Anyways, go to work. If you need bail, don't call me."

You had all but forgotten the comment, but it was in Din's nature to pick up on those things. He had a knack for remembering details that even you had forgotten. You responded to his text as you made your way down the steps.

➤ I will be. I think we're going downtown. If we get home at the same time again, pretend we didn't see each other.

As you joined your friends on the street, you easily slipped into the semi-circle they had created.

"We were thinking of hitting that new bar across town," Monty suggested as you arrived. The others chimed in that they heard great things and the mention of the special they were having on drinks.

"Let's do it," you agreed. Your phone buzzed and you glanced in your pocket, just barely able to see the response.

➤ And miss my opportunity to talk with you? Not a chance.

You tried to bite back a smile. Fuck, he really did something to your head.

Din had saved your ass a few months ago when your coworker had given you the creeps. He gave a great performance, and the smoking gun came in the form of a passionate kiss in front of the man who no longer looked your way.

You were sure you had recovered from the kiss and could be completely normal about Din Djarin.

Ha. Best laid plans of Mice and Men, right?

Now, you were trying to not feel that flutter in your chest that happened every time you so much as thought about him

"We should hit that place just around the block and pregame so we party as soon as we get to the other club," Stella offered. "We're gonna take a cab anyways, so why not do a couple of lemon drops then call the cab?"

The group all agreed in varying degrees. You muttered a small 'yeah, that sounds good' as your friends already began to move in that direction. Now you had to face Din directly after receiving that text.

You decided to just let it go, and enjoy the moment. As you all turned the corner, your chest felt tighter with each step towards the bar. It was a busy spot that had been known for one too many bar fights when things got too heated inside. While it wasn't your favorite spot to grab a drink at, you got to see Din in moments like these.

Before, tonight would have been just a friend dropping by to see another friend at work. It was one of your favorite things to do when you got the chance. It was so endearing and a pleasant surprise— you know, before you experienced the cataclysmal feeling that was Din Djarin's kiss.

The girls filtered into the bar and you held the door open for them. Each of them took out their licenses for the bouncer you almost didn't want to look at. His chuckle was enough to break your will, the way your head snapped in Din's direction. Your friend made a witty joke that had him shaking his head as he gave a lighthearted laugh.

You watched as he took each ID and examined it as he listened to the group. If you knew Din, he was also listening for any excitement in the bar. He took his job very seriously, which you had learned early on.

When the two of you first began exchanging work stories, he mentioned what it was like to do his job. Every time he came to dinner with a work story, you listened with bated breath. He spared no detail, which you appreciated.

"We don't serve your kind here," Din held his hand out for your ID. "Don't take kindly to you." You smiled and rolled your eyes as you handed it to him. His warm gaze felt searing hot, the smirk on his lips tattooed into your skull. How had one simple kiss put you into such a tailspin?

"What kind is that, Djarin?" You smirked and snatched your ID out of his hand once he gave it back to you. He chuckled again as his arms crossed over his chest.

"Deadly. Now go have fun, and don't make come find you," Din winked. All of the girls thanked him before they headed straight for the bar. You watched them glance over their shoulders, the way they noticed you lingered behind.

"You shmooze all the ladies that come in?" You kept your usual demeanor when you talked to him. At least, you tried. You looked less at his face and more at anything else you could put your eyes on.

"Part of the job," Din shrugged. "What, is it working on you?" While you rolled your eyes again, you knew that deep down, it was.

"In your dreams. We're just pregaming here, then we're taking a cab to that place on 22nd," you explained. Din never took his eyes off of you as you spoke to him. He nodded along as if he had been hooked on every word that came out.

"Sounds thrilling," Din gave a straight-laced look. You gently smacked his arm.

"It will be. Bye, Din." You adjusted your purse over your shoulder. With a smile and a wave of a hand, you began to head back to your friends. Before you got too far, you felt a warm hand on your arm that stopped you in your tracks. Without a word, you turned over your shoulder to look at Din.

"If you need bail, don't call me." The shit-eating grin on his face sent you whirling around and playfully smacking his chest. For a moment, he was just your stupid friend who happened to live across the hall. Not whatever your mind had morphed him into.

"You're a dick! Bye!" You both laughed as you finally left him to keep at his job. Your mind reeled on your way to the bar, which your friends had settled at. Silently, you slipped into the group and ordered a drink.

"Is that the guy you're head over heels for?" Monty asked once you settled next to her. You bit your lower lip and nodded.

"Yeah, that's the one. God, that kiss really did me in. Why did he have to be so chivalrous?" You leaned your arms on the bar, your fingers fiddling with a napkin.

"He's got a thing for you," Quinn chimed in next to you. "I saw the way he looked at you." You bit back a groan; you were sure your friends were trying to kill you.

"Enough of this! Can we discuss it at the place he doesn't work at? You know, in front of his coworkers." You motioned to the woman who stood behind the bar, right in earshot as she made a drink. She seemed to be focused on the cocktail, but you knew how to listen while looking oblivious.

"We're talking about this in the cab. That's the compromise." Monty's look left you little room to argue back. You sighed and muttered that you'd talk about it in the cab before you took a long swig of your drink.

The conversation finally steered to Stella's thesis work, and you were thankful. It was nice to take your mind off of the whole thing, if only for a drink or two. You were also thankful your view of Din was obscured by the patrons that seemed to pour in.

As you listened to Melrose finish her review of the new movie she watched, you noticed a shift in the corner of your eye. You turned and realized it was two men at the end of the bar whose voices began to rise over each other. They were throwing arms around and shifting as the dispute began to grow.

"Oh shit, bar fight! We get to see the boyfriend in action," Stella winked as she leaned on the bar to watch.

You began to retort that he wasn't your boyfriend when you felt a sharp yank as you were almost dragged out of your seat. You yelped in pain and stumbled to your feet. Before you could gather the words to say, you quickly realized you were grabbed by people wrapped in the fight.

"That's enough." You had only heard that voice once, and it sent a shiver down your spine. While you knew things weren't in your favor at the moment, you knew you had Din to show up when you needed him most.

Whoever had grabbed your arm, a patron who egged on whatever argument was at hand, suddenly let you go as he was dragged off the stool next to you. Din held him by the back of his shirt and slammed them forward, his chest thudded as it hit the metal rod on the edge of the bar. You jumped back right in time before the man landed at your feet. He was still conscious, but barely.

You stood frozen against the bar, your eyes on Din as he turned towards the idiots who were in a slapfight. Even the ache in your arm couldn't pull you away from the sight of him shoving them out of the bar. He moved with such intensity, his face set in a hard scowl as his hands threw them both out of the front door.

As soon as the men were sent out, Din right behind them, the patrons quickly tried to return back to their previous activities. You took a moment to reorient yourself before you moved your arm. It strung, but it wasn't anything serious.

"Are you okay? That looked so painful," Monty guided you away from the man who was laid out at your feet. You nodded, your injured arm tucked close to your body.

"I'm okay. I'm just thankful he didn't pop my arm out of the socket. That was terrifying," you muttered the last part under your breath. "What was that guy even thinking? Neither of us were involved in the fight."

"We should just leave. I think we'd be better off at the other club anyways." You felt your stomach lurch at the notion. The bar fight put a sour taste in your mouth, and you worried that if a fight broke out at the other club, you wouldn't have a 6'2 bouncer who felt like your own personal guard dog.

"Yeah, let's get out of here. Next time, no pregaming," Stella suggested before she turned to you. "You okay? You still wanna go out?" She wore a calm expression, a soft smile that made you feel better.

"I won't let some idiot ruin my night. Let's bounce." You gathered yourself and led the girls out of the bar. Din wasn't back at his usual post, and you hadn't noticed him amongst the crowd, which meant he was probably still outside.

You were right. Din stood at the edge of the sidewalk as he talked to one of the men. He had that same intense look, and you weren't sure what he was saying, but it looked harsh from where you stood. Monty went to flag down a cab while the other girls moved to steer clear of the scene.

Din glanced up when he noticed you moving with your friends. He said something and clapped the guy's shoulder as he pushed past him. You stayed in your spot, feet glued to the ground. As he got closer, your heart began to hammer in your chest.

"You okay? I'm sorry I didn't get there sooner. Got warned about barreling through bystanders," Din muttered the last bit to himself as he looked you over. You felt his gaze on you, the way his hand gingerly brushed over the bruise that had begun to form.

"I'm okay. You know, if you keep saving my ass, I'm gonna start getting used to it," you joked. You hoped a little humor would ease some of the tension between his shoulders. It didn't, but you noticed the way they shifted up and down as he huffed out a single chuckle.

"Then that means I'm doing something right. You still gonna go out?" Din let go of you before he crossed his arms over his chest. He was a wall of a human from top to bottom, wide chest and thick legs that demanded space.

You nodded and adjusted your bag on your shoulder. Even as you spoke, the ache in your arm dulled. By tomorrow, you would have a bruise and feel a bit tender. You had faced worse on a Friday night.

"I'm not gonna let some idiot ruin all the fun," you assured him. "I didn't do all of this just to go home early." You motioned to your outfit and hair. Din's chuckle rang in your ears, past the whistle of the windy night and the sound of the city nightlife around you.

"Atta girl," Din gave a slight smile. "Go have fun. Don't let some jerk-off take that away." You didn't try to hide your smile as you looked at him. Fuck, he looked just as hot here as he did when he stepped in to help you.

"Thank you. Have a good night at work. Hopefully, you'll do a lot less of that tonight." You motioned to the man he had spoken to, who was ranting to his friends who had gone out to talk to him. Din gave a slight shrug in response.

"Let's not ask for miracles," he said.

"Hey, our cab is here," Stella called to you. You assured her you were coming and looked back to the bouncer.

"Good night, Din." You hugged yourself as you slowly stepped away from him. As you took a step back, he took a step toward you. You quickly realized Din was walking you to the cab, especially when his hand lightly touched your lower back as you climbed in. He held the car door open and leaned in.

"Call me when you get back to the house, if you remember," Din told you before he looked at your friends. "Be careful. Keep an eye out, okay?" The girls all chimed in with various assurances and thanks. He glanced back down at you, his eyes lingered on you for a moment.

"I'll call you," you replied. Before he closed the door, he held the top of the cab and leaned down to kiss your cheek. It was brief, and you felt the scratch of his beard before you even registered that his lips were against your skin. By the time it clicked, the door had been closed shut and the car started down the road.

"Yeah, he definitely doesn't have feelings for you," Monty said sarcastically.

"He's so in love, it's kind of cute." Melrose grinned as she clasped her hands together. She was the hopeless romantic of the group. Most of the time, you just brushed off her musings but this one sunk into your mind, as did every other comment your friends offered.

The talk of Din and his actions was the hot topic for the rest of the night. You had given up on trying to stop them after you made it to the second bar. Instead, you had another drink and chimed in when it was appropriate.

While they stayed on it for some time, the conversation finally redirected to another subject and you swore you could have cried from relief. Your mind was trying to piece together any bits of logic you could grasp, but every piece of evidence from the girls only made it more confusing.

By whatever luck, everyone agreed that it was time to dance and actually enjoy the night out. You let your mind slip as you joined your friends on the dance floor. Between the music and cocktails, you finally felt the weight lift off your shoulders. For the rest of the night, you let go and do what you had intended to from the start. Have fun with your friends.

As much fun as it was, you had hit your wall once the buzz had finally worn off. You and Quinn were the first to leave, a plan to share a cab because the two of you were on the same street. The rest of the group decided to stay out a bit later, which you wished them the best of luck on. You hailed a cab once you and Quinn made it outside.

"For the record, I think you and Din would be nice together," Quinn said once the two of you had settled into the car. You looked up from your phone and smiled.

"You think so?" You asked. Quinn nodded, though they didn't tear their eyes away from the window as they said it.

"I do. You two have something that I don't think either of you can see." You tried to decipher what they meant, but without their expression to go off of, you were lost.

"I think I understand what you mean," you wondered aloud. "I don't see it, but I can feel it. When I'm around him, it feels like there's a live wire in my chest. Ever since that stupid kiss, it's like I get a hot flash and my legs feel fucking useless."

"Sounds like something you don't want to admit." Quinn glanced at you before they let the cab driver know their apartment was the first building on the next road coming up. Their expression said it all.

You were falling in love. You were fucked.

"I hate it when you're cryptic and correct," you grumbled.

The cab rolled to a stop once at Quinn's building. You exchanged a quick goodbye hug before they headed upstairs. Once they were inside, the cab continued to the other end of the block where you lived. You paid the driver and gathered your things before you headed inside.

As you stepped into the elevator, you called Din as promised. It was rang once before the other line picked up.

"Calling it a night so early? It's barely even 2am." You practically heard his smirk through the receiver.

"What can I say? My party animal days are behind me," you mused. "Now, the exciting part of my night is going home and getting into my pajamas." Din knew well enough that you weren't one to party all night.

"Yeah? Me too." You shared a chuckle at his comment. You tucked your phone between your shoulder and your ear as you unlocked the door to your apartment. It was a welcoming sight after the night you'd had.

"You only have a few more hours to push through," you assured him. "I wanted to thank you for getting that guy off of me. I still don't understand why he grabbed me. It's not like either of us were part of the fight." You heard some shuffling on Din's side, the music growing more distant.

"That happens, unfortunately. Idiots with nothing else to do find a way to center the fights around themselves. They're willing to take others down with them, and you were caught in the crossfire." There was a brief silence before Din spoke again.

"I wish I had gotten there sooner. The fact that you even got hurt at all is bullshit," he sighed. You were able to pick out something in his voice, but it was hard to pinpoint. Most would have taken it as regret, but you knew Din's tone. It was regret, mixed with... anger, maybe?

"It could have been a lot worse," you pointed out. "The guy could've tossed me clear across the bar and I'd have a broken skull." You hoped the absurdity was enough to get a chuckle out of Din, but the gruff noise he made told you he did not find it amusing.

"I'd rather not think about what else could have happened." You put your phone on the speaker as you shuffled around your apartment. As you talked, you went through the motions of your personal closing shift. Everything was locked up, and you headed straight for your bedroom.

"Then lets drop it," you offered. "I'm okay and in one piece. There were no other fights at the club, if it makes you feel any better." You peeled off your outfit and dug around in your drawer for a set of pajamas.

"Good. Your friends had fun? Did you have fun?" Din asked. You smiled, now donned in an oversized shirt and a set of shorts.

"We had a lot of fun. They all gushed over you, you know? You're like their knight in black cargo pants," you mused. "If you're looking to catch someone's eye, just break up a bar fight." You heard a slight chuckle on the other side of the receiver.

"Good to know. Yeah, Bo told me she overheard you and your friends." You felt a pit in your stomach. You knew better than to mention your feelings in public, let alone a foot away from one of Din's friends. How were you going to handle this?

"Yeah? What did she tell you?" You tried to remain calm and collected, but internally, you were on red alert. How long had he been sitting on this information? What information was he even sitting on? Questions swirled around in your head as you crawled under the covers.

"She mentioned something about 'head over heels' and 'chivalrous', but that was it. Why, got something to confess?" You heard his smile through the phone. He had to know more than he was letting on. If he knew you were the one lamenting about your crush on him, you'd lay in traffic.

"Oh, fuck off. Don't you have a job to do or something? Another person to save from a bar brawl?" You tried to deflect from the magnifying glass that was Din's question.

"Alright, alright. I'll conceded," Din sounded amused. "I need to get back to work. Dinner at my place tomorrow?" It felt like a game of cat and mouse, the way you barely slipped out of the grasp of his claws. If he knew, he wasn't letting on and you weren't going to stick your nose in the one place you shouldn't.

"I'll be there. Good night, and don't do anything stupid. Leave that to the patrons." You turned out the lamp on your bedside table, the only light in the room came from the glow of your phone.

"I'll try to remember that. Good night, sweetheart." Din hung up shortly after. You stared at the phone as the call ended and it quickly faded to black. He had never called you that before. Hell, outside of your name and dumbass, he didn't call you much of anything.

Sweetheart?

You collapsed onto the pillow with a sigh and a hammering heart. Yeah, you were done for.

You were in love Din Djarin.

#din djarin x reader #din djarin x you #din djarin #the mandalorian x reader #the mandalorian x you #the mandalorian #star wars #star wars fic #pedro pascal #pedro pascal fic #ppcu #ppcu fics #pedrohub #fic #reader fic #fic writing #gwen writes #modern au #whelve

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canary3d-obsessed · 6 hours ago

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Restless Rewatch: The Untamed, Episode 42 part one

(Masterpost) (Pinboard) (whole thing on AO3)

Warning! Spoilers for All 50 Episodes!

Welcome to the Storeroom

We are all so justifiably fond of this episode for its wonderful staircase scene and undershirt scene that it's easy to forget that it mostly consists of an endless scene of dudes standing around talking and making faces while a woman kills herself for the sake of the plot. So, I'm here to go over it in excruciating detail! Let's go!

We pick up where the last episode left off, with Lan Xichen demanding access to Jin Guangyao's bedroom because he wants head. A head. Nie Mingjue's head. Jin Guangyao isn't as compliant as usual, with all these extra people coming to join the party, and Su She runs up and says that Gusu Lan is rude.

Lan Wangji and Lan Xichen react to him like he's a gross bug, and Wei Wuxian roasts him for copying Lan Wangji all the time.

Jin Guangyao tells him to chill and then, having failed to charm his way out of the situation in the previous episode, says that he'll let everyone in as a favor to Lan Xichen.

Lan Xichen is still not charmed.

Everybody walks through the cool magic mirror into a giant storeroom where his wife is standing with her eyes closed, doing absolutely nothing. Lan Xichen asks what's up with that and Jin Guangyao says she likes to come into the treasure room to look at all their stuff. Which might be convincing if she wasn't obviously magically enthralled.

(More after the cut!)

Everyone casts their eyes around awkwardly because they don't want to know about whatever freaky shit JGY and Qin Su get up to in private. Except Wei Wuxian, who always wants to know about everyone's freaky shit. He goes and takes a long look at her and walks around her in a circle wondering (on voiceover) why JGY didn't kill her or move her somewhere else.

He tries to talk to her, since she seems pretty much dead, which makes her his idea of a fun hang. Su She says that he must have come in here to talk to her. Remember, WWX is pretending to be Mo Xuanyu, and the show is pretending that Mo Xuanyu was heterosexual, and JGY is pretending that MXY got kicked out for sexually harassing Qin Su.

Nobody says "hey dude, what the fuck is wrong with your wife, why is she frozen" which is weird considering that even the corpses in this show are active and chatty. Wei Wuxian goes to look for Nie Mingjue's head in the place it was before. It's not there and he doesn't think to look anywhere else, even though there is another warded curtain on the other side. Fucking ADHD.

What he finds instead is a dagger, which Jin Guangyao takes out and flourishes. He tells us the following things about this dagger:

It used to belong to Wen Ruohan, then he gave it to Wen Qing

It has killed countless people

It's resentful energy is very strong, which is why it needs a talisman curtain in front of it, although waving it around in a room full of people is fine

It's very sharp! This is always funny to me, when sword cultivators hype up the sharpness of a blade. Like, surely someone as rich as Jin Guangyao has a dude on his staff whose entire job is sharpening all the things?

5. When you look at it, you don't see your reflection, but the reflection of someone it has killed. The VFX department clearly didn't get that note, because while he says this, his own reflection is showing on the blade of the dagger.

He doesn't mention whether Wen Qing used this dagger to do surgery on Wei Wuxian, but I'd like to think it is, just for funsies.

Jin Guangyao holds it out in front of him within easy reach of his suddenly-awake wife. Qin Su grabs it and plunges it into the right side of her abdomen, and dies INSTANTLY.

So, I know we're going for stylized death here, and I wouldn't object if she had done the traditional cdrama neck-cut where you spin around in a circle with a sword at your throat and then die with a little fake blood on your neck. It's cool and just the type of ridiculous that I like to see. It also is a trope that is deeply ingrained in both western and eastern cinema: a cut to the neck will kill you instantly.

There's another equally-popular trope, however: a gut injury or gunshot will NOT kill you quickly. There is a reason Samurai committing seppuku need a second person to lop off their head; otherwise they die slowly. How slowly? I tried to look that up and google got very insistent about telling me about suicide hotlines instead of answering my question. Anyway, what I'm saying is that it's ridiculous for her to die instantly from a stomach wound, and it's extra annoying because so many women in this show die just so men can have feelings about it. Ugh.

Nobody tries to help her, other than JGY telling her to wake up and Lan Xichen checking her Qi. Nobody thinks of, like, a bandage. How are any of these idiots still alive after years of sparring with blades? Maybe they really don't sharpen anything.

Everyone stands around reacting silently for the next several minutes while Jin Guangyao frantically asks a bunch of questions he already knows the answers to. Jiang Cheng and Nie Huaisang run in and also start reacting.

This scene is like watching an acting class called "reaction faces 101."

Su She transferred in via drop/add from the Eyebrow Work seminar.

Lan Wangji is working on an advanced thesis in minimalism

The prof is getting ready to tell Jin Ling he should consider changing majors.

Jiang Cheng out here ruining the curve for the rest of the class.

Lan Xichen gives a quick recap for them of the previous 41 episodes, finishing up by saying that the sword spirit looks like Baxia. Nie Huaisang asks if the body is Da Ge, and promptly "faints" when Lan Xichen confirms it. Lan Xichen goes back to recapping while Jin Guangyao pretends not to know what's up. Everyone in this scene is speeking as slowly as humanly possible and all of the dialogue is just recapping shit we already know.

Su She talks about how it's puzzling that Lan Wangji, who is righteous and stuck-up, is spending all of his time with a notorious ho like Mo Xuanyu.

Jin Guangyao (FINALLY) draws his sword on Wei Wuxian, only to have it blocked by Lan Wangji. Su She starts to draw his sword but Lan Wangji tells him to stop, and he does.

More reaction faces. *Yawn*

Wei Wuxian tells Lan Wangji to step aside, taking the opportunity to feel his shoulder muscle. Su She promptly lunges and Wei Wuxian dodges. All those years months of fighting with a flute instead of a sword made him very good at ducking.

He spins around and grabs the nearest sword, drawing it and fighting Su She with it. Conveniently, the nearest sword is Suibian, which nobody can open except him. He already opened it once in paperman form, so Jin Guangyao probably put it in an easy-to-grab location for this same purpose.

Jin Guangyao hollers that Yiling Laozu has returned to the world. He took a movement class last semester so he switches which is his forward shoulder to emphasise his shock.

Nie Huaisang wakes up and acts like he doesn't know what's going on. Jin Ling doesn't understand why Zidian didn't work, if he's really posessing Mo Xuanyu. Jin Guangyao drops some exposition to explain how the sacrificing curse works. Now everybody is pointing swords at thim, while exposition continues….endlessly. We get it, the sword is sealed. For fuck's sake, we're 16 minutes into this episode and only two things have happened.

Jin Guangyao takes a swing at Wei Wuxian, Lan Wangji blocks it, and then WWX blasts them with an annoying-sparkles talisman, which works against 8 armed cultivators, just like it worked against Wen Chao and his gang way back in the old days when they tried to catch Lan Wangji.

Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian run out of the room together, to find a crowd of around 25 cultivators, which is probably meant to represent an army.

Lan Wangji clamps his hand onto Wei Wuxian's wrist and jumps over the cultivators with him, even though we've seen evidence that Wei Wuxian's lightness skills (the jumping-around part of kung fu stunts) are almost as good as Lan Wangji's, core or no core. Admittedly Wei Wuxian can't just fly into a scene from outer space like Lan Wangji seems to do from time to time.

Back in the storeroom Su She asks JGY if they should chase after them - WHY would you even need to ask that? - and JGY says to chase them. So Su She leaves, by himself, while everyone else just stands around doing nothing. Way to act like you didn't already know about Mo Xuanyu being Wei Wuxian, guys.

Jin Guangyao takes an opportunity to masterfully guilt trip Jin Ling about being fooled by Wei Wuxian, "no wonder you took the murderer of your parents as a friend."

The cultivators near the steps finally decide to chase Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji, who are halfway down the big staircase. Lan Wangji keeps ahold of Wei Wuxian's wrist as they run down the stairs together.

Why aren't they just jumping down the stairs? Lan Wangji is capable of hovering in the air while playing a guqin in battle; surely he can jump over a second group of cultivators? This isn't a very logical scene but that's ok, because it's setting things up for one of the best scenes in the show....which I'll cover in the next post. *shakes fist at Tumblr's 30-image limit*

#canary3d-original #the untamed #wangxian #cdrama #restless rewatch #ep42 #reaction faces

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sentientcave · 18 hours ago

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@dragonnarrative-writes tagged me in a WIP Wednesday post and I couldn't decide what to post so here's a few bits of a bunch of things

Here Comes The Sun - Ftm Reader Sugar Baby AU

John sighs. "Sunshine. You can let me handle it."

"Stop bein' stubborn."

"I haven't decided yet."

"I'm not being stubborn, I just think--"

"That it's better not to rely on anyone else?" he asks. "I'd call that stubborn."

"It's not that simple, John. I'm doing alright. I don't want to rely on someone else."

"Why not? Afraid you'll get used to it?"

Is that what you're afraid of? Putting the reigns in someone else's hands is dangerous, but you've never been afraid to strike out on your own. You'll start from scratch if you have to, it's not like you'd have to work very hard to get back to treading water. Would it be so bad to take some time off?

He puts his hand on your knee and squeezes. “It’s okay, sunshine. I want this. Let me do this.”

Love Bug - Johnny Childhood Friends to Lovers

"So," your boss said, leaning in the doorway of your office. "I bumped into your man last night."

Cold sweat breaks out on the back of your neck. "You met Johnny?"

This was bad. Your carefully maintained house of cards, about to fall. Your stomach fell away into a bottomless pit, dread holding you perfectly still, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Johnny was not your boyfriend. You'd been using him as a front for over a year now, a clever idea his mum had given you when you complained about your boss's behaviour. You had a picture of him on your desk, you used his deployments as excuse to not bring him to work socials.

"We set up a double date for this friday. Did he not tell you?"

"We haven't talked yet today. He was out with his mates last night, and we're seeing each other later." The lie slides from your tongue. You've gotten too good at it.

"Why didn't you mention he'd been shot?" Your boss pressed. "I would have given you time off, you know."

You reach out to straighten the picture of Johnny on your desk, hiding your surprise under a sad, wistful look at the smiling, blue-eyed soldier in the frame. "I didn't want to talk about it. When I'm here, I can focus on my work. Pretend everything's fine." You smile at him tightly. "But he's doing better now, thank god."

Alpha to Omega - Omegaverse forced phenotype transition ft. Ghoap

She spent a long moment holding one of the little vials of hormones. She could destroy it all, but it would only delay them by a day or two at most, a couple missed injections would hardly slow things down.

When the insidious thought crept in that maybe she liked the changes, she opened every vial and drained them into the sink, hands trembling. She had a full-on, sobbing meltdown after that, crawling into bed wearing Johnny’s t-shirt from yesterday and Simon’s sweater. She didn’t like that their scents were so comforting now.

She must have drifted off like that, because the next thing she knew, Simon and Johnny were there, stripping off their uniforms and gently pulling her out of bed to join them in the shower. No mention was made of the vials, even though they had obviously noticed, since the bin was no longer out on the counter where she had left it, and the empty vials she’d left lined up by the sink were gone.

They just lavished attention on her instead of saying anything at all. There were cameras somewhere, they must've seen her have her little meltdown, decided on their tactics before coming home. They were trying to make her feel better.

And worse, it was working. Being coddled and fucked sideways, sinking her teeth into arms and shoulders and chests until they whined and showed their throats. Unearned victories, but at least she left her marks all over their topography, and her aching breasts and sore, puffy pussy were acceptable casualties.

#It's WIP Wednesday Baybee #I think I've posted some bits of these before but I haven't been keeping track #WIP: Alpha to Omega #WIP: Love Bug #WIP: Here Comes the Sun

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notmorbid · 19 hours ago

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we could be rats.

dialogue prompts from we could be rats by emily r. austin.

that's the most insensitive thing you could have said.

i never say the right thing.

i wasn't the type of kid who wanted to be a teenager.

there were times i thought i hated you.

maybe if we'd met as adults, things would have been different.

i was the kind of kid who believed toys had hearts and souls.

nothing is ever purely good, is it? there's always a rotten piece.

i'm not depressed. i feel great.

i'm not the same person you knew.

did you feel like you knew me, the last couple of years?

i don't think i've ever been described as 'smart' before.

would it help to hear a joke?

why didn't the skeleton go to the party? because they had no body to go with.

am i getting too morbid?

i have you listed as my next of kin.

do you think i'm being insensitive and gruesome?

just bury me in a garbage bag.

i never really honed being well-mannered, did i?

i think i've accidentally made up white lies that were ruder than the truth.

creeps like us have to stay alive.

we haven't put a label on it.

i think your definition of 'creep' might be different than mine.

say i was abducted by aliens, or something.

are you mad at me? it's okay, if you are.

is my tone making you madder? i bet it is.

i don't plan to haunt you.

____ is like a comic book villain. like a caricature of a bad guy.

listen to people who have different experiences than you do.

you're being an asshole.

we're supposed to examine what's wrong, or it festers.

i used to think i could do anything.

what happened? are you hurt?

do i look normal to you?

the actual experience is never quite what's promised, is it?

it feels like i'm not the target audience for a lot of life.

tell people to fuck off more. take what you want. stir shit up.

everybody knows you.

i feel like i'm still a kid here.

i always cared about you.

everything will be fine. we'll find our way.

it didn't occur to me that not panicking was an option.

i feel sort of reborn.

it's hard to balance being both happy and considerate.

it's kinder to lie sometimes, right?

i'd rather be a pig than a cop. pigs are adorable.

being grown up feels like playing a board game with no instructions.

masks meld onto your face.

let's egg their car.

remember swinging, when you were a kid?

'to thine own self be true', or whatever.

people judge others by their own standards.

i don't remember how i got here.

i feel like i was cast as a character i'm not able to play.

i wouldn't want to live forever. would you?

i'm not sure there's a way to be alive without upsetting people.

inaction is an action.

dying is less scary than growing up.

is this actually happening? am i dreaming?

the trick to lying is to convince yourself.

i don't want you to feel sorry for me.

i feel like i don't know the things i'm supposed to. i feel like i'm pretending.

revolution is about creation, not destruction.

sometimes it's kinder to let people believe they're helping you, even when they're not.

i'd like to see where you grew up.

it sounds like a lot of people want to help you.

do you have people who want to help you?

did you egg my house?

there's no way the moon is a dude. she's got a soulful face. she's gorgeous.

we don't actually get much choice in life, do we?

i think i'm gay.

thinking about _____ sort of knocks the wind out of me.

if i hadn't met you, i'd be a totally different person.

i know i'm unbearable, but what else can i be?

i have a history of bad judgment.

what the hell did you just call me?

i'm not interested in small talk with people who offend or insult me.

i used to believe everyone was good.

i thought everyone felt that way.

did you hear it was on the news?

deep down, we're all who we were when we were kids.

being an adult is about re-finding who you were when you were eight years old.

i don't want to be someone who hurts people. i don't think i was meant to be that.

have you been outside today?

#rp memes #ask meme #sentence starters #inbox memes #ask memes #rp prompt #rp meme #lgbt #families

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winter-spark · 3 days ago

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I maybe use the demiromantic and demisexual beams too much but I have characters I see as one, the other, or both. Some I'm certain some I'm still debating as I do take different things into account.

For example, I'm pretty sure Muku is giving at least demiromantic(probably both but at least demiromantic) but that might just be me projecting because we're kinda similar and I might be demiromantic but I might specifically be hopeless romantic demiromantic and that's the vibe I'm getting from him. Like he's definitely getting friend crushes and if he feels romantic attraction it's definitely after he's grown attached to the person at hand. And like I think Muku and friendships is like so good? Like idk how else to put it. (Lowkey Masumi is also in this category for me not that we're similar but like the hopeless romantic, demiromantic thing feels like it could be him. Like idk people who fantasy about love and being in a happy relationship but like don't actually feel that initial attraction and maybe could mistake something for it. Idk if that makes sense, he's not my area of expertise. I'm not 100% but I'm leaning towards this read because these two are lowkey sides of a coin to me.)

Juza just is demiromantic demisexual to me. Uhm. (Or maybe just somewhere under the aroace spectrum but demi ) Same for Sakuya. Like with these two they're kind of giving both I don't think they have like a "oh this is a super romantic gesture and can only be done in these situations" filter. I think they just kind of vibe and don't really have those type of attractions much if at all? You know?

Then like apart of me really wants to hit Itaru with it but idk. He's not demisexual to me, like I don't think he falls under the ace umbrella. But the aro umbrella... maybe? Idk he mentioned that sometimes unrequited love is (oof what was the word he said?) better(?). And he somewhat gives that he might've had crushes but also I don't know? He might not have, he might've formulated his opinion on unrequited love through viewing the world you know? Very in the fence about Itaru like I want to say he is but like hm. I need to see more interpretations of him. Especially because he's somehow my default projection character so I can be misguided in my assessment.

Then there's Citron who maybe I should've waited to talk about Muku for this part but there's only one main similarity I'm thinking of so it's probably fine. Now Citron, to me, is demiromantic demisexual. And like this is the hardest one because I feel like I might be the only one who feels this way? Maybe not idk. But for me, Citron pretends very well??? Like sure he can flirt but like... I don't know, he said in the first arc that, he hasn’t experienced rejection because people are usually going after him not vice versa. But I want to add that I don't think he has experience rejecting either? as he didn't know how to flat out rejection his fiance, Leila. But also he does give that he has experience? Like if you were to categorize the Mankai cast as "probably has dated" & "probably has never dated" he's going in the former.

And like (unless my reading comprehension has failed me again) sometimes in fics they kind of talk about how much love he has and it sometimes feels equated with romantic love but I think actually it's the opposite, he has so much general love and like romantic love isn't very prominent(?) in him. And this headcanon is getting a little backstory headcanon-y but like. To me it feels like Citron has dated because people asked him out but like he didn't have those attractions to them so while he would do the relationship things they wanted to do he treated them kind of the same way he treated them before, the way he treats everyone and they maybe didn't feel special as his partner and broke up with him and like he felt sad/bad about it but he wasn't like rejected or romantically heartbroken.

Is this making sense? I know he's a prince with a fiance when would he have time, idk. It feels like he has. Or should have. Like this feels like so him to me? Idk maybe it's just me. But yea, demiromantic demisexual Citron makes sense to me.

(Oh the Muku comparison was the treating everyone the same type thing. But I do think that once in a relationship Muku he would have all these ideas about how they should be because media lol.)

But yea. Thought are some of my thoughts on that.

Mankai March Question 17!

I feel like a lot of the fanbase here is pretty queer, so let's project! Any queer headcanons for A3! characters?

#Meep! I'm behind but I'll catch up!...later #Mankai March 2025 #It's kind of weird lol I don't usually share these kinds of thoughts lol #tldr: Muku Citron Juza and Sakuya. Probably Masumi. Maybe Itaru but he's only demiromantic if so. The rest may be both #Also I want to add on that it just sort fits how I right Citron's pov in one of my fics #(Putting this in the tags because it's CitoIta lol)#But yea in that fic Itaru’s crush forms faster & is kind of obvious while Citron just doesn't think of that? Like he play flirts but like #He's not thinking about like the actuality of it?#(I think they have friend crushes on each other that expand as they become close friends)#But for Citron it doesn't hit him unless this one thing actually ends up happening #Which reminds me that it if not realizing you like someone is a trait of being demiromantic (like you kinda decipher it if it does happen)#Then it relates to how I wrote Itaru in a different CitoIta fic I'm working on #but that was more projection idk the legit reason that's a thing for me lol #But if is bcuz I'm demiromantic then yea more reason on demiromantic!Itaru lol #long post #Also yes I do have ships for these characters but they don't come that easily for me #Some I'm like that could be cute but don't ship. And things I do ship sometimes I don't.(w/ exceptions)#(I'd like to not ship MukuYuki but that's difficult & CitoIta is just too good to not ship)#There are other characters I'd like to hit with the beams but that's just vibes no words to explain so they're not here

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thevoidstaredback · 5 months ago

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Week Three

Bruce and Barbra were in charge of arranging the security detail, just as they were for every gala. They had a system down, one that they followed meticulously no matter how vague it actually was.

Bruce finds the men, Barbra screens them, they have James Gordon approve them, then they go through Tim and Jason. It's a system that works.

Normally, they don't start looking for security until the week of, but they have to double the amount of bodies for this particular gala, so they've given themselves extra time.

They don't technically have to double the manpower, but it's to keep face. Though, Jim's going to have questions, but they've prepared a cover story. They would just tell him, because there's no way he doesn't know who Batman and Oracle are under the mask, but the chief of police would very much like to keep plausible deniability.

Most of the people they find are the some ones every time. Some of them they cycle out, depending on which part of the city got hit the hardest during the latest attack, but they can't afford to skimp out on the security for this event. Yeah, half the people they've invited are superheroes, but they aren't going to put their identities at risk. Hell, they aren't even supposed to know who're under the masks, but here they are!

THe gala isn't set to end until just before the Bats are supposed to head out on patrol. But, because there's a gala going on, and there's no way that a quiet rumor hasn't started and reached, that means that someone is going to have to go out early. Duke will be handling the day shift, as normal, but Damian will be out will him just in case. Then, just after dinner ends, Luke, Kate, and Barbra are going to leave and start patrol. An hour after they leave, Steph, Selina, and Jason will head out to help them. Everyone else will head out after everyone's gone home.

While Barbra's screening their security personnel, officers of the law included, Bruce was looking for press.

Everyone had agreed that three people with press badges would be allowed in, but they wouldn't be allowed to take pictures. So, Bruce looked for bloggers. Tiny bloggers who didn't have more than a few hundred subscribers. He would screen them himself before having Tim and Barbra take a look at them. If they were clean, then Tim would reach out to them with the offer and the pay.

So far, he'd found five potentials. They're all clean at a surface glance. Digging deeper counted off one of them, so his list fell to four. One of them was too clean, so now he was left with three. One from Tumblr, one from Reddit, and one from the Daily Planet.

All three were pretty small blogs, and the one from the Daily Planet was forever stuck in the page four margins. This would be good for their careers. As long as Tim and Barbra cleared them, of course.

***

Week Four

Selina and Cass were put in charge of decorating, with the offered help of Dick and Duke. It was either the worst decision or the best decision.

Everything was on Bruce's dime, so the two were fully planning on going all out.

The chosen theme was 'Hero'. Most people would first think of the Justice League and any of the other hero teams, especially if they live in one of the cities where the heroes live. However, superheroes aren't the only heroes. So, the girls were going to decorate with the smaller heroes in mind; the doctors and soldiers and good law enforcers. Vigilantes, too, obviously.

They started with the room Duke and Dick had chosen to offshoot for the kids that would be coming. 'Kid' meaning anyone under the age of eighteen. This room was going to focus on the protege teams.

Cass hung streamers across the ceiling in the colours of the former Young Justice team. Across the walls, she and Selina hung the symbols of every member of the Titans Team. Naturally, the snack table they'd put in there was decked out with merch from every Robin and Batgirl. Home team loyalty and all that. The snacks were all going to be themed after the Justice League Dark, just because they could get away with it.

Inside the main ballroom, Selina took charge. Every table was themed after different heroic occupations, sans superhero. Doctors, nurses, teachers, officers, lawyers, non-profit directors, soldiers, veterinarians, et cetera.

Again, streamers were hung across the ceiling, sourced from the chandeliers, in the colours that the BatFam wore across their chests. Grey for Batman, black or Black Bat, blue for Nightwing, orange for Oracle, dark red for Red Hood, red for Red Robin, purple for Spoiler, yellow for Robin, gold for Signal, scarlet for Batwoman, and white for Batwing.

With the help of Dick and Duke, a banner in the Justice League colours - blue and white, very creative, Bruce - was hung on the wall behind the stage. It was a blue banner with the words "Charity for Justice" in white, the font was what had been chosen for the Justice League logo.

Again, a very creative choice, Bruce.

Just like the other room, the symbols of every hero affiliated with the Justice League was hung on the walls. The symbols of deceased heroes were hung on the doors, their birth and death dates written on them.

The small details are where Selina and Cass really amped up their mischief.

The entrance that the guests would be taking lead directly into the hall with the ballroom. Selina and Cass, with Steph's help, hit tiny bats and birds everywhere. The birds were blue, red, and yellow; the bats were grey, black, dark red, scarlet, white, orange, purple, and gold. And, just to mess with the Lanterns and the Supers, they hung fake kryptonite tied with yellow ribbon from the ceiling. The pictures in the hallway were replaced with pictures of the skyline of every city where a hero operated.

They hung up a picture of Atlantis, too. No, they won't be answering any questions.

With the decor done and Alfred approved, all that was left to do was wait for week four to come to an end.

Part 13 Part 15

#Batman's Biggest Hater #part 14 #bruce wayne is batman's biggest hater #batman is dramatic and i will die on this hill #dc #dcu #justice league #dc comics #pranks #they're a family of detectives #using their powers for good #mostly #we're pretending i know what i'm talking about #there are only so many shades of red guys

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rmbunnie · 8 months ago

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I am alone on this barren earth (Jason Todd liker and Mia Dearden liker who honestly thinks issues 69-72 of the 2001 Green Arrow run are fun and good and would really like to talk about them beyond "Jason Todd was ooc and irredeemable there because he was trauma-dumping on Mia but also everything he said was fake and made up and he was manipulating her to become his sidekick and he blew up her school in retaliation because she didn't so really we should ignore the whole comic as bad writing /or agree he should just be read as an sadistic sidekick killer" (None of which is true and over half of which is directly stated to be false in the comic's text) but all people ever have to say about the comic is weird wrong takes about the three pages in which the gym fight happens ripped out of the very interesting and fun surrounding context)

#i truly do wonder why we're always going the least interesting route interpretation-wise even when it directly contradicts canon #why have complex characters making complex points through off methods when we can have boring ones clearly labeled as good and evil #maybe if i wanted to talk about this i should have been alive in 2001 but like. we still talk about it today we just don't say anything fun #maybe. just maybe. there's a reason the panels go directly from jason letting go of mia and stepping back #to mia escaping and going “i escaped”#“unless ofc he let me go”#that is not jason making an attempt on her life (because this didn't happen we see him let go)#mia wasn't even his secondary goal he just took her to make a completely unrelated point and decided to have a convo while he was at it #jason having the capability to end it but letting mia go vs joker pretending to give jason an out and taking it away (locked door)#except in both jason ends up staying in the building #i know we don't like n52 rhato but the roy jason discussion in the Bruce-Ollie convo make me think they could have been done well #but that's not my point #i just feel like some of you guys are too quick to take an interesting comic and toss it out because one thing happens that you dont like #kinda throwing the baby out with the bathwater #i wish we saw more of mia dealing with the repercussions of their convo i want to know more of what she was thinking #green arrow 2001 #jason todd #this isn't mainly about mia's character so i'm not gonna block her tag up with this

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bronze-bell · 2 days ago

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Victor lets out a breath he didn't know he was holding after Aesop finishes his spiel. Compared to the alternative of Aesop rejecting him without a second thought, locked in his ideals, this is... Surprisingly okay. Good, even. He's considering.

Victor decides to trade in his anguish for about as sweet of a tone as he can muster up right now. Thankfully, his stress makes the shift less unnatural.

"I- I really apologise, Aesop... I didn't mean to blow up in front of you... I-it's just... We're both so stressed, you understand, right? I'm not angry. I could never be angry at you." He lets out a shaky exhale, holding Aesop tighter. "I s-suppose I should do... what you've d-done for me. I'll try and see through... your eyes.".

He twitches internally at the notion. Is he really sweet talking his way out of this?

Yes, he is.

"t-trading one pain for another..." He muses under his breath, thinking. He doesn't speak this next part to Aesop, rather around him, but he quietly hopes he hears regardless. "But it would... be a much d-duller pain, right..? Why is that..." He does not actually question it. He is simply hoping Aesop does.

He needs to play into Aesop's reasoning more. Be empathetic.

"She was n-never cowardly." Victor repeats Aesop's words back to him. "Why would... she d-describe herself as such? Was she... afraid of dying? Or of facing reality? But she- she had a wo-wonderful son to take care of... and protect... so that can't be the one..." He pauses, wondering how to word his next statement without making it sound like an insult. "I- I question your father's convincing, if... if she was scared, up until the end."

Victor hums.

"N-nobody liked you, not... not even yourself, it seems... Of course y-you'd get attached to your father, I understand that, I do..." Victor runs a hand along Aesop's shoulder. A comfort. Both out of genuine care, and the fact that Aesop, from what he knows, responds to it quite well. "It is strange, that... he never at least tried t-to spread your ideas...? Two or three can't have been that - that much of an issue, surely? Oh, but... I suppose he'd have to implant th-the seeds at a young age... if they were t-to grow properly, wouldn't he? And you - you were so alone back then... (...it's not like you had other friends to teach...)"

Victor pauses in his motions, suddenly. Like he'd just realised something.

"....Eliza. You... said there was blood? That can't... be right...? That - that shouldn't be right?? I mean, I be- I believe you, very much! But unless.. Father had gotten violent...? It's strange. Did- did your father always use bromine t-to kill, or was... that only in certain places?" He continues his comforting motions again. If he can pretend hard enough that he isn't incredibly angry with "Father", Aesop will be more accepting of his... Questioning.

"You are a drop in the ocean, Aesop. As much as it pains me to say it, I feel I'm the only one who would miss you... Does it matter, really, how many you've saved? It can't have been hundreds, you're merely one man. And though we have all the time in the world, you'll never be able to save another... Is it worth stressing yourself over?"

"desecrated... I apologise, again, I really lost my head there... I'm sure you gave them a lovely burial... God, what was I thinking... I'm glad the families were lied to, though, some things are better off going unheard..."

"I just... don't see why... why you were kept insside a box for your whole life, Aesop... We learn how to - to talk to others when we're young, and you're... yyounger than me, and yet - yet you never got to learn, until you were tr-trapped in a manor with people that scared you?" He almost absent-mindedly pets Aesop's hair. Almost. "You never... got to learn how to make friends, or learn what b-bad people are like, or what it was like to be loved... I feel sorry for - for you, really, I do... I just don't undersstand why your father would deprive you... of that."

"I'm h-happy here, ar-aren't I? I escaped them, at least for now. A-and a l-lot of the - the others are similar.... After rain... there is sun. Just - just because it hhurts a lot doessn't mean it will last forever.. I don't... think I could stand the - the thought of never g-getting to be w-warm and comfortable again... Could you?" Victor smiles as kindly as he can. Internally, however, he's praying that Aesop will start to see the truth in Victor's words. That the honey will trap him, that the softness will put his brain to sleep. Mr Carl could manipulate a child, but Victor can certainly manipulate an adult.

"Why would I lie to you, Aesop...? Y-you know how I am about the truth of things....! Really, I-i'm sorry for getting in such a fuss! I didn't mean it, I swear... You- you could be mine, if that... would make you feel more ssecure...? I'm Theirs m-more than myself, aren't I? And at... the same time, I'm yours to command... Th-there's no reason y-you have to be just his."

( @yellow-rose-embalmer )

If Aesop had not, perhaps, deposited that letter to nobody in the postbox so that Victor would have something to do, if Aesop had not written far too much while realizing too late he forgot to place his own name on the back after hastily crossing out Victor's own, maybe he would be a little more well-kept. But all of that has happened, all of the past is inescapable, and he cannot hide from it. Only wait for everything to crash down.

And how terrifying it is to wait.

He needed to write everything down anyway, and he would not be surprised if he burned his words once they returned to him. They just needed to be out, and what better way to move them apart from him than to write them and seal them away? He knows the dangers, yes. And if he made a grave mistake, if every bit of goodwill he has scraped together crumbles away, he can only say that it was inevitable. Anyone who found out would do the same. If convincing does not work... but that isn't enough this time, right? Not when death means nothing.

He hasn't bothered to put up his ponytail or get his mask on this morning, not after the sleepless night before. The letter has not been returned. He doesn't know what could be happening, and the terror, the possibility that he's destroyed it all, looms close behind him.

===

(The letter—or would it be better called a ramble, a confession?— is wrapped in a plain, sturdy envelope, such that he hopes it isn't anything that would stand out. Unfortunately, his handwriting is clearly recognizable as his own, rendering the whole point moot anyway. The envelope bears the first few letters of Victor's name, written several times and crossed out on all of them, but the lack of another addressee is notable. The text's shape and unsteady pace betrays the emotional tension in the writer.)

I'm sorry.

I don't even know what I'm sorry for. For going against that faith you had in me? For taking matters into my own hands and hoping you would never find out? For trying to relieve you of burdens but only trying and failing to soothe my own? You were already asleep, there was no need—

I came here to continue my duty. To free more people. But you were never truly free, you kept returning and I could only grow more ashamed, more unable to face you. If you did not have to wake up, if you were safe and never had to be afraid again... but it doesn't work like that. Not anymore. (I still would not leave you.)

Is it selfish that a part of me... doesn't want to succeed? That I want to have your warmth, your voice, all the things I can't preserve the way I can so much else? If you are comfortable, and happy, does it matter if it happens because you are finally at rest?

I know I have always been here to help. I know it is my duty to reach those meant to die, those who are in too much pain to keep going. (Even now, I wonder if I have reached those who need me the most.) But... I know that you wouldn't see it that way. Nobody does. Mr. Carl, too, knows that this mission is a solitary one. Being able to convince someone to let me guide them is ideal, yes, but... it has, in practice, been impossible. You would not be different, I'm sure. Even if I wish you were, if you ever found out that it was me bringing you to dreamless sleep all those times, I... I would understand if you wanted nothing to do with me anymore. Even as I wish to have your company, I have destroyed your trust, I am sure, and tried to bring you to the other side long before you were ready.

If you would allow me to ask this... please do not tell anyone. I do not know what would happen, and I am already... no, it's not worth thinking about. You will do what you decide is right, and who am I to decide what that is? I have hurt you, have I not? All I wanted to do was make things better for you, and yet...

Once again, I apologize. For everything.

Victor Grantz has been dying, recently. Not in matches, like normal, no. Outside of them, daring to close his tired eyes for a moment before waking up in his room, consumed by a blind panic of where am I what happened oh god— Are They back?? Nobody stole anything, right? Why did they let him revive in his room??

Safe to say, he was on extremely high alert after the first time it happened. But even if he wasn't, he's sure he'd have noticed the look on Aesop's face. The way Aesop wouldn't meet Victor's eyes at all. The way Aesop fiddled with his hands. The way Aesop was, very obviously, guilty.

Something clicks into place, then. So now the question becomes why. And, paranoid as he is, he can't trust it's actually Aesop.

Although, god, if anyone is killing him he hopes it's Aesop. As weird as that sounds. You see, there's no real reason for Victor to be dying. It'd be one thing if his bag was searched, another if his room was, but neither are true. He's made sure of it. (The keys are still in his pocket when he revives, and ordering the letters in a way only he knows leads to the order being perfect afterwards.) It's not torture either, he's certain it's not meant to be.

The only other reason for someone to kill him is... Concern. Worry about him neglecting himself, choosing to reset his body and take him straight to bed rather than argue with him about whether he's okay.

And that is why he hopes it's Aesop. Because that is absolutely something he might do, and it would make him much more at ease.

But he can't just ask Aesop if he's killing him. That likely wouldn't go down well, especially if Aesop isn't the murderer. So he experiments instead.

- - -

He'd pretended to be unconscious on the dining room table. Late enough he knew nobody would walk in on them, and close enough to both of their rooms that it'd give Aesop confidence to solve the mystery for him.

And, well... If the gloved hands and the click of the case didn't give it away, Aesop speaking, quiet and shaky through his mask, definitely did. Victor wills his pounding heart to stop beating so loud. Aesop will catch on to his ruse, surely...

Aesop does, in fact, catch on... Partially. Thank god, he didn't seem to realise what it meant. He asks about a nightmare, though seemingly remembering victor can't answer him. Victor is given reassurance that it'll be over soon, anyway.

He's given a lot of reassurance, actually.

A little scolding, though more concerned than anything else ["You really must take care of yourself better..."],

a few admissions of attachment ["if only you knew how much I care for you..."],

and many, many apologies.

Victor's heart starts to relax from it all, and he wonders if he might actually fall asleep here... before there's a sharp prick in his arm.

Cold floods through him, and it's too heavy to struggle. He falls unconscious within minutes.

He wakes up back in his bed. Nothing is out of order. Well, at least that's calmed most of his nerves...

[this goes on for weeks. Somehow, he finds himself more relaxed each time.]

= = =

The next unusual thing happens with the letter.

Victor would recognise the handwriting anywhere by now, especially when it's addressed to him. Sort of.

Even if he wasn't mildly addicted to reading and pretending people's letters were for him, he'd still itch to open that seal. There's absolutely no address, besides his own, half formed and shaky.

He can't be blamed if he doesn't know where to go, right? He's just being diligent, right? [He burns with curiosity, taking the letter into his room as subtly as he can, so he can pore over every detail.]

There is no name here, either. But what he does get is so much more... Fascinating, in a sense. It's a terrible thing, he knows, but he can't stop himself from being entranced at the pure emotion dripping off of Aesop's every word.

It's a secret. Just for him.

+ + +

If not for the subject matter he'd be feeling both sick and rather giddy at the chance. (At the moment he just feels the instinctual crawling nausea of something to hide from Them. He swats it away.)

It's funny, how mere weeks ago he thought Aesop was like Them, but it's even clearer now that he's not, and never will be. Victor doesn't see what Aesop does, but Aesop happens to have painted a very easy picture for Victor to see.

It's love, above all else. It's guilt, it's apology, it's longing, it's protection, it's caring. Victor understands Aesop better than anyone else, and this only proves it. He can connect with that emotion, hold it in his hands and press his face against it to feel the warmth.

Nobody else will understand. It's his secret to keep. But unfortunately for Victor's desire to stare at it for hours, this is still technically supposed to be delivered.

He puts the secret back in its envelope, not bothering to re-melt the wax like usual, locks up his room, and walks to Aesop's door. (If it had been back then, he would have been punished for not being punctual. But, they tended to give exceptions to unclear delivery instructions...)

× × ×

"Mr Carl?" He speaks quietly into the wood of the door. "Is this letter yours?"

It's selfish of him, but he can't wait for the reply.

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that-foul-legacy-lover · 7 months ago

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haven't had to make one of these for a while...

um okay anyways i'm not doing too hot mentally today!! so i'm gonna take a break for tonight and ask that you please send me Foul Legacy asks (or Arlecchino. honestly i'll take anything at this point) because lord knows i sort of need them

#genshin impact #childe #tartaglia #foul legacy #foul legacy childe #genshin tartagalia #genshin childe #genshin tartaglia #it actually started last night and it is better today but i'm still tired #i was lonely last night and then my brain decided to go whoopsie! here's The Dread!#if you know you know #it was sort of like being on the outside watching people have fun and not being able to join it #because you either can't relate or are uncomfortable with it #and then it made everything Kick In which makes me just sort of pretend to be fine #like someone commented this morning that i seemed more subdued than usual #and instead of saying yeah sorry it's The Dread i was like oh shit i need to act happier #now what that says about meee ahaha we're not going to think about that #honestly i think there's something i should leave #NOT THIS BLOG IT'S NOT HERE I PROMISE #but i used to be comfortable in that place and now it's just. full of people i don't really know #and full of topics i don't understand or like #and i can't say anything because that'll make me look like an ass #and everyone else has something worse than me going on so i really don't have a right to complain #uhhh anyways if you've read this far no you haven't this doesn't exist #/j i love you guys very much #anyways send asks i need comfort from my two favorites #wifi demands talk

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apoloniaspiegelgold · 1 year ago

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All my life I've been told by all kinds of people that they can never really tell what I'm feeling or what's going through my mind because apparently I'm always just hiding everything behind a smile so that I've become rather unreadable. And then he just. Takes one look at me and goes 'Yeah. I know that face, oh here we go again, she's about to unleash her thoughts. She's gonna bash that theory I just showed her so hard. Where's my popcorn?' I hadn't even said anything yet and he was already laughing.

And to be honest. It's quite nice to be known, actually.

#i only went to his office to ask if he wants to join me for lunch he didn't have time and yet i still somehow ended up staying for 1.5 hours #'thanks for the conversation' he said when i left. 'and thanks for keeping me from my work'#as if HE hadn't kept me from lunch when he kept our conversation going on and on with his 'wait i still wanted to show you this'#talking to him always feels like wellness for my brain somehow. like. we're different people but we think the same way.#i don't have to translate my thoughts to be understood he already gets my point before i've even finished my train of thought #every time work tires me out so much that it feels like i can't think straight anymore then i talk to him and suddenly my brain works again #and i like how he calls me out on my nonsense when i lose myself in a contradiction or don't say what i want to say or say what i don't mea #and he lets me go on extensive rants about statistics despite not knowing anything about it and doesn't even complain #he just always says 'i'll pretend i know what that means' and says i should learn it well so he can ask me for my help with it later #recently he came to me right after teaching saying 'you won't believe how much i just messed up. let me show you how i failed'#and then proceeded to recreate the entire situation and his thought process at that moment and i just #there is a very big word running around in my mind that i dare not speak of but maybe one day #i don't even know if he even sees me as much as a friend maybe i'm just some co-worker he likes talking to occasionally you know #what does it mean what does it all mean #ramblings

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rolandkaros · 4 months ago

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election thoughts

calling trump voters 'dumb' is ignorant. some of these people are dumb but a lot of them are just selfish.

blaming third-party voters is ignoring the issue re: over half the country was willing to vote for trump anyway. likewise, pointing out that trump won the popular vote and that third-party votes wouldn't have made a difference is ignoring the voting system. conversations about third-party voters in general are not fruitful. some people are just going to vote third-party and expecting them to suddenly not do so is naïve. there is no scenario where third-party voters should have been the 'tie-breaker' to begin with.

a lot of people (americans and non-americans) don't understand how the electoral college system works and in general i'd advise you to do some research before you share your take. americans you should know this anyway and don't use the excuse of "i wasn't taught" if you have tumblr then you have the internet so look it up and start reading. i don't expect non-americans to know a foreign country's voting system but if you want to share an opinion please take a bit of time to learn about it before you do. i'm tired of seeing the same dialogues by people who clearly just don't understand the actual structure of the voting system.

pointing fingers at different demographics you think are to blame is useless. if you're going to find a group to blame, then blame the majority, i.e. white men and white women. otherwise your blame is completely unhelpful and misplaced.

saying she only lost because she's a woman or a poc (or both) is also misguided. its not entirely wrong but once again you are misunderstanding some fundamentals of how extremist politicians find success, and likewise are ignoring some obvious issues re: the democratic party and their campaign strategies.

equating education to intelligence to voting preferences in general is ignorant. you are forgetting how many factors go into someone actually receiving formal education. you are forgetting how many factors go into someone's state of residence. i was going to explain this further but i think no one cares so i'm not going to bother because the explanation got too long. also, see point 1. there are plenty of very smart people who vote for trump anyway.

talking about abandoning the south or red states is pointless and if i hear or see anybody suggest such measure i am automatically assuming you are a foul person. equating democratic states to morally or inherently good and republican states to morally or inherently bad is such an unbelievably superficial and foolhardy judgement and goes against all principles of unity and community that we should be fostering at a time like this.

americans ignorant to the effect that us politics has on the world need to wake up.

i don't blame non-americans for their resentment against the sphere of influence of us politics but i wish they would be less dismissive of the genuine effects this election will also have within america.

acting as though anybody doesn't have the right to be scared about the implications of this result is shortsighted at best. my concern goes beyond my own afflictions – how can you say that concern is misplaced?

i have more but i think that's it for now bc its kind of exhausting to talk about. and i guess what's done is done. idk. i'm not hopeless at all. but i'm fearing more and more than the hope i insist on having is childish. but the alternative is complete self-destruction and i have no intention of going down that road again. so childish hope it is.

#idgaf if no one reads this i just needed to post it in a place where i thought it wouldn't really generate that much noise #fortunately none of my family or friends voted for trump. so i haven't had to have any hard conversations yet regarding that #but i still don't want to talk about the election in general with them because we're all pretty upset about it #anyways. probably going to log off for a while because the only thing i really talk about on here is sports #and all of my sports are going badly at the moment anyway #and i'm busy and finding it hard to focus with everything that's going on and i think tumblr is just pissing me off too much at the moment #not that people are doing things wrong but i'm just finding myself getting more and more reactive and i don't think that's a good mindset--#to be in when participating in an online community #i guess my point is when i say i'm going to log off its not some sort of dramatic move or anything #i am just trying to consolidate my mental energy #obviously the stress of the situation is just making me more reactive than normal and i don't know how long itll take for me to cool down #i also think i've found that tumblr tends to tank my mental health sometimes because i get too comfortable doomposting #which is like the opposite of what i should be doing right now #so again i think i just need to screw my head back on before i decide to dive back in and pretend things are normal #anyways. sorry. yeah. its been a long couple of days

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thevoidstaredback · 5 months ago

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Week two started off with the RSVPs coming in like a flood. Every single One Percenter that had been invited had accepted the invitation, stating that they'd be there. The heroes that had been invited had yet to respond, though they won't be marked as 'not coming' until the weeks end.

Week Two

Diana had been staring at the invitation for quite some time. She'd apparently been invited to a private Wayne Gala, a charity to raise funds to donate to the Justice League. It was an amusing premis, seeing as Batman somehow funded most of what they did when the U.S. Government fell short, but then she wondered if this was how he did it.

It made sense. He's one man, so he shouldn't have the money to fund the heroes of the world out of pocket. Then again, she didn't know anything about him. The tour of the Bat Cave - a hilarious name, by the way - only proved that point further.

The charity gala is a private event, tighter security than normal, invitations sent out only four weeks in advance, invitation check at the door, no press. But, why was she invited? By random, apparently.

She doubted the odds. 'Random' isn't a thing in Gotham.

Batman probably had something to do with this.

***

Clark was having a hard time believing what he was seeing. He and Lois, as well as Kon and Jon, had been invited to a Wayne Gala? Not even as press. They were going to be actual guests? It was so weird.

When he showed Lois, she'd spent a solid thirty minutes scrutinizing the thing, looking for any sign it was a fake. When she saw the seal, she'd laughed so hard that she fell over, then declared that it was real and that they were going.

He didn't get the joke. She didn't explain.

***

Getting invitations to galas wasn't a new thing for Oliver. He went to at least one in every major city every year. But, getting an invitation to a Wayne Gala that he'd never heard about before? That was a whole new surprise.

Dinah was also surprised by the invitation, but happy to attend. The information on the back said it was a semi-formal dress, and that the theme was Hero.

Ironic.

A charity gala for the Justice League hosted by Gotham's White Prince. Did Batman know anything about this? Probably. He seems to know everything. Honestly, Oliver wouldn't be surprised if the man knew who Green Arrow was behind the mask.

Actually, is Batman even human? He claims he is, and so does Nightwing and Robin, but then they turn around and do things that are decidedly not human-like.

But, who is he to judge?

Dinah was already picking out their outfits. She was going to theme herself after Green Arrow, so Oliver thought it fair to theme his own outfit after Black Canary.

Roy would be laughing his ass off at them. Maybe they could convince him to come with them? The invitation said to invite family... He should have him bring Lian, too. Brucie won't mind. He's a family man, after all.

Actually, that's probably exactly why the invite addresses the Queen Family, instead of just Oliver Queen and his plus one.

Also, why does Bruce want him to give a speech? Yeah, he'll do it, and yeah, he's a better public speaker than Bruce, but why? Was it a spur of the moment thing? Probably.

***

Hal stared at the paper suspiciously. Not once had he been to a fancy gala like a Wayne Gala. In fact, the fanciest party he'd been to were the parties thrown for the military vets.

Okay, so, bad example. Those parties are actually pretty fancy and fairly private, but still! A One Percent Party? Why would Hal get invited to one of those? He's perfectly middle-class, thank you very much.

He toyed with the thought of not going, the idea of Batman catching him in Gotham making him even more reluctant to go, but his curiosity was getting the better of him.

What was it like at one of these things? Would Batman really bust in and ruin the thing if he caught wind of Hal being there? What was Gotham's One Percent like? What was the Wayne Family like?

All very good questions that he wanted answers to.

He filled out the RSVP. He doesn't have anyone to bring with him, but maybe he could ask another hero? Maybe the other Green Lanterns will wanna be there. He's sure the Waynes won't mind. What'll they do, throw him out?

Well....they might, but they probably won't. That'll look bad.

He's got some calls to make before sending this back.

***

Wally had been the one to find the invitation. He'd been over to visit and stopped to bring the mail in for Iris. He knew that crest like the back of his hand because Dick's the one who introduced it to him.

That's right, he knows who Nightwing is. And he is very upset that he was left out of what's obviously a prank on the Justice League! He was gonna have to give his bestie a call. Tsk.

"We're going to this!" he declared loudly the second the door closed behind him.

"What is it?" Bart asked, meeting him in the entryway.

Wally was quick to hide the seal in his pocket. A room full of geniuses would figure it out in a second and he wanted to see this through completely. "Wayne charity gala in Gotham."

"Oh?" Iris asked from her place on the couch, putting her book down. Wally handed her the mail. "You just want to see Nightwing."

His grin was goofy. "Yeah, but don't go telling people that."

Barry plucked the invitation from his hands. "'Charity for Justice'," he read, "'for Justice League and associates'." He flipped it over. "It's addressed to the whole family, though we'll need to RSVP."

Bart set off in a fast repeat of "Please, please, please!" on 3x speed while Barry and Iris shared a silent conversation. Wally's grin grew. He knew they'd say yes.

***

Arthur didn't know how to react. Well, he did, but it was weird. He's a lighthouse keeper. Why's he getting invitations to some fancy party? He'd understand if he got the invite as Aquaman, but as Arthur? It's so weird.

He was going to accept. Mera was gonna make him accept. Probably on the grounds of 'just because'. But she's scary, so he's not gonna say no. At least they can bring Andy? Probably a bad decision. Like, a really bad decision.

Who'd watch over Atlantis while they were gone, though? Someone's gonna have to stay behind!

Mera won't stand for that.

Kaldur'ahm. They'll bring Kaldur with them. He'll be responsible enough to keep Andy in check when she inevitably slips away.

This is a bad idea.

He's going to regret this.

He sends off the RSVP anyway.

Part 11 Part 13

#Batman's Biggest Hater #part 12 #bruce wayne is batman's biggest hater #batman is dramatic and i will die on this hill #dc #dcu #justice league #dc comics #pranks #they're a family of detectives #using their powers for good #mostly #we're pretending i know what i'm talking about

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