#you guys are not going to villainize me for this

[just-sg]

Tallulah is also still a bitch who resents the pilot program, and Lemli is still capable of gentle compassion. Lemli says, hey, yeah, I drown men just for being on the sea and I'll destroy artifacts and eat familiars and participate in cannabalism of other wizards when we run out of other sources of magic, and some of those things do bother me (not enough to stop though), but YOU guys are my friends and I'd PREFER not to hurt SPECIFICALLY you (but I also can't and won't guarantee your safety if you don't run).

Another series might have time spent around the right/wrong people deeply change the characters' core personalities, and that can be realistic too, but here? Tallulah's a better and kinder person in that she's now begrudgingly tolerant instead of hateful to a point of violence, but she's still not great. And Lemli hasn't become actively malicious. She's not taking joy or even spiteful satisfaction in hurting anyone. She's desperate and scared, and that makes her far more terrifying than if she was Acting Like A Villain.

And at the same time, she has more right to be desperate and scared, doesn't she? She's not one of the human wizards losing access to their way of life. She's a mermaid. It's not a matter of being magically activated for her; she's inherently magic. If anything, it's a miracle she's made it this long on Cannibal Island.

Sometimes, people are convinced they need to go to extremes to survive. But sometimes, it might even be true. And sometimes the threat is so immediate and real that even if you're not entirely certain, it's much harder to blame someone for not being willing to risk it. And that doesn't make hurting others in the process any less horrible. It just speaks of circumstances being that much more fucked up, and makes tales that much more tragic.

Tallulah was a evil bigot in season one who almost killed 5 strangers(pilot program and the dragon) for being NAMPs(and because she lost a tournament).

Lemli was a kind and gentle person who befriended the pilot program when everyone else was too scared/stuck up to.

Guess which one would end up on the power of friendship and inclusively island, and which one would end up on burn the world to stay in power for one more second team,.

<3 Aarbria, I love your world building.

[the-modern-typewriter]

Not an ask, I just wanted to tell you I love, love, LOVE your snippets. It always makes me happy to see a new post by you on my dash, then I know I'm in for a treat. I especially love your villains, they're so much more than just "the bad guy". I always find myself wanting to know more about them, even though they send a chill down my spine and I know I'd be terrified to run into them in a dark alley at night. Thank you for sharing your genius!

"Has anyone ever told you that it's a dangerous idea to walk down dark alleyways alone at night?"

The villain was well-concealed in the crisp evening, leaned slim as a shadow against the wall.

The air stank of a mixture of oncoming snow and the garbage bags piled up and threatening to spill. It wasn't, the hero thought, the sort of place that really suited the villain. They seemed the type best made for pristine conference rooms and expensive penthouse lairs. Spacious. Glittering. Cold, corporate monstrosity.

"Yes," the hero said. "But then I wouldn't have the pleasure of running into you, would I?"

"Is that what this is?"

"You don't think so?"

"I'm always a delight, but few fully recognise that facet of my personality. Most instead, should they choose to see me in a dark alleyway, walk swiftly in the opposite direction."

"Mm." The hero shook their head. "I admit, your general habit of instilling terror in everyone can sometimes overpower other impressions."

"But not with you."

"Oh, I'm crapping myself. Speaking of. If I aim my phone at you so I can see you properly are you going to hiss at me like a feral cat, eyes glinting, and scurry away? Or am I just going to spontaneously combust for daring to look at you? The rumours vary."

"No one would ever dare call me a feral cat, dear."

"Not in as many words. But you are sort of lurking in the shadows and stalking me, so I think its apt."

The villain snapped their fingers. A ball of light appeared shining at the tips, illuminating the few metres between them. None of the usual rats or cockroaches went skittering away from the villain's immaculate shoes, everything was eerily still, so the hero figured they (like most creatures) were smart enough to keep their distance. Vanish somewhere else, if they could. Hold their breath. Hide.

The hero eyed them and resisted the urge to move closer.

The villain offered a soft, mocking, snake-like hiss.

"You wanted to see me," the hero said instead. "At least, I assume that's why you're lurking outside of my workplace and doing the aforementioned stalking routine. You could come inside, you know. I don't bite."

"I do."

"You're not beating the feral cat allegations."

"If I came inside, your colleagues would pass out or start screaming. It would be a whole thing and I'm not working right now."

"Well-" The hero had no good answer to that. 'It would make my shift go faster' was not a good answer. "Anyway. My break is only ten minutes. What do you want?"

"To see you," the villain said. "Talking with you is a debatable experience."

"Wow, rude."

"You followed me out here. I was happy looking."

"Well, I wasn't just going to leave you to it!"

"Most people wouldn't notice."

"Good for most people," the hero huffed. "Do you want an autograph and a picture so you could take it away and maybe the photo would last longer than looking at me?"

"Yes, if you're offering."

The hero stared at them. The villain stared back.

"...I'm not offering," the hero said, after a beat. "God knows what you'd do with my signature."

The villain snorted. Their head tilted as they studied the hero, twirling their fingers idly, making the light shift and cast the world in strange uneasy fragments.

"Come to dinner with me," the villain said, after a long moment. "After your shift."

"I thought talking with me was a debatable experience."

"Yes. And I'm debating."

"Does inviting people to dinner normally work for you after you insult them?"

"Yes."

"Because most people are afraid to say no."

"Yes."

"No."

The villain smiled. At least, in the light, it looked suspiciously like a smile. There and gone in an instant. The hero couldn't tell if it reached the villain's eyes, cast in the alleyway gloom as they still were. It shouldn't have made a thrill run down the hero's spine, but it did.

"Another night," the hero said. "Maybe. When I'm not working."

"You're always working, be it here or in your adorable crime-stopping ways."

"Adorable doesn't win you any points either."

"I'm not trying to win points with you."

"But you're trying to take me to dinner. Why?"

"Novelty. I make a point to invest heavily in my own amusement."

"And I'm amusing you."

"You're...intriguing me. Whether you say yes or no," the villain said. "So entirely up to you if you want the free dinner or not."

"I can afford my own dinner."

"Is that why you're so skinny?"

"Again," the hero said, because the only other option was to be rendered speechless at the villain's audacity. "Rude."

"Politeness is for people too weak to say and do what they like. Dinner on Wednesday then?"

"They say you're horrifying. No one told me you were also insufferable."

"Well, most people are attached to keeping their tongues, so that's not really surprising." The villain continued, waving a dismissive hand, before the hero could possibly respond to that nightmarish gem of a comment. "They say you're generally brave and lovely, but five minutes alone with you already makes it clear that there's something desperately wrong with you or you would never have followed me here."

The hero spluttered.

"Death wish?" The villain asked curiously. "Adrenaline junkie? I didn't think you were especially stupid, but it's hard to tell watching you from the other side of the street."

"You really are something, huh."

The villain flicked the light off their fingers in the hero's direction in response. When the light reached them it didn't hurt, only popped like a bubble against their nose. They were plunged into darkness.

When the hero raised their phone, the villain was off the wall and right there in front of them.

The hero sucked a sharp breath, eyes going wide.

"As are you," the villain said. "Most people would have flinched."

The hero swallowed.

They felt suddenly infinitely aware that the silent darkness was also beneath the villain's power, as much as the light was, swallowing up every inch of space around the two of them one way or another. Who knew what was the villain's and what was just there.

Dangerous to walk down a dark alley indeed, as if it was the dark or the alley that was the real problem.

The hero had never felt so damningly alive.

"Wednesday," the hero said. "Tell me where to meet you."

"It's a date."

The rest of their shift passed in a blur.

[seaslugfanclub]

Maleficent: I’m not just a bitch, I’m a bitch with a backstory

————————————————————————

(Y/N): Yep, sometimes I gotta beat the ladies off with a stick~

*(Y/N), using a stick to fend of Madam Mim*: BACK WOMAN, BACK I SAID

————————————————————————

Hades: It’s really cute how you’re “gonna defeat me with the power of friendship” and all, but again. I am the devil. From the Bible, so—

————————————————————————

(Y/N): Woah, he’s bisexual I didn’t know that

Literally every male villain: By the way, I’m bisexual

————————————————————————

*(Y/N) running around the park with the female villains*: LETS GO LESBIANS LETS GO—

————————————————————————

*(Y/N) passing out balloons at the park*: I have no soul, have a nice day :D!!

*Hades taking a balloon*: I don’t have one either

————————————————————————

(Y/N): I’m gay for you. And you’re… gay for me.

Little John: Robin why’re you gay for that guy?

Robin Hood: I’m NOT! they’re talking stupid!

————————————————————————

* (Y/N) holding Ratigan as they talk about something stupid *

Ratigan: I wonder if a fall from this height would kill me

————————————————————————

(Y/N): You’re the worst person I’ve met in Toon Town

Frollo: You are deaf to the sins of the world

[signanothername]

What do u think of the trope where Blue/Swap joins the bad guy???

I have complicated feelings about it?

I love the trope in of itself, I think it would be a really interesting trope to explore

The problem tho? I never once saw it executed in a way that grabbed my attention or made me actually love the story it was used in

It immediately goes to the “asshole” Dream and Ink and “kind found family” Nightmare gang trope

Which again, if you don’t know, I hate the trope of Dream being somehow an asshole or somehow treating Swap as tho he’s less than him

Ink is a whole different story where the fandom simply villainize him just cause he’s soulless

And the kind found family Nightmare gang is a trope I love, but just like the trope of Blue joining the Nightmare gang, it’s poorly executed most of the time (and I mean, how can you call it a “Blue joins the bad guys” when the “bad guys” are shown to be good guys????)

Like, I opened so many different fics only to be hit with the same execution of this trope over and over, eventually just losing interest bxhxhdhdh

The idea of Swap not being able to “keep up” with Ink and Dream or is somehow neglecting himself to take care of Dream just doesn’t really intrigue me (or even make sense to me)

Like don’t get me me wrong, I’m an absolute sucker for the “Swap is literally the only anchor Dream has left in his life otherwise he’d fucking break down” but I dare say Swap is more than capable of handling it without it weighing him down to a significant degree

This is Swap for god’s sake, he’s literally Papyrus’ personality but in a Sans body, if anything, he’s the one who has his shit together the most and is able to go on with a genuine happy and determined smile on his face, no matter the shit that happens to him, it would make a lot more sense for Dream to be the one to try and catch up with Swap than the other way around

I get that the trope tries to show the limitations of Swap as a mortal compared to Dream and Ink who are both pretty much immortal, but what people tend to do is that they completely twist Swap to be absolutely pathetic just for this trope to work

Which *shakes the fandom* I promise you don’t have to completely change a character up to make a trope work

Like I saw stories that made Blue to be somehow a weak depressed anxious guy trying so hard and is failing and whatnot and I question myself whether that’s even Swap anymore hchcchcjvj

I think the problem I usually see when people try and write different tropes for different characters, is that they try to make the trope make sense, and so they twist the character around to fit around the trope

Which, imho, is ineffective, you should understand the character, and then think of how the character would deal with a certain situation and how that leads to the trope you’re trying to write, one step at a time without having to ignore/erase important personality traits of the character

Of course, that doesn’t mean the trope you’re trying to write can’t fundamentally change the perception, personality, or behavior of a character, but you have to show how it affects the character to such a fundamental degree, show how can the character be heavily influenced and affected in a way that makes sense for said character

For example, I’ve seen people write Swap neglecting to eat cause he’s trying to “keep up” or sometimes Dream and Ink don’t give him the chance to cause they pressure him to go on another mission or push him too hard

Here are some problems I see with this:

- why is the Nightmare gang even somehow attacking every single day? Have they got nothing better to do? Especially with the fact they’re a found family now?

- why is Dream and Ink going out for “missions” every day if the Nightmares aren’t attacking, like damn what are they even doing?? What are these “important missions”?? Since when was Ink so obsessed with “missions”?

- Swap would absolutely not let that shit stand, if anything, he’d be very vocal about it and tell Dream and Ink to sit down and eat his great delicious tacos (Swap’s voice always has power behind it, and his actions are a direct reflection of his beliefs not what others push him to do)

- Ink has a home in the doodlesphere, he wouldn’t even be around enough to push Blue, while Swap has an AU and a brother, there is pretty much no way he’d be with Dream and Ink 24/7, and if he was somehow, you think Swap Paps would let it slide? And even if we go with the idea of Swap not being part of an AU anymore, you think Swap himself would neglect himself just to please others even when it doesn’t align with his own beliefs?

And those are only few of the top of my head, I’m pretty sure if I sat down and thought about this for a few hours, I’d be able to write you a whole other set of problems

Not saying you can never write Swap neglecting to eat, you absolutely can, it’s just needs to make sense for Swap as a character, what would it take for Swap to start neglecting his health? It’s not others pressuring him or pushing him I can tell you that much

So yeah, good trope, not so good execution (for me at least)

I guess I’m way too focused on the logic of it to truly enjoy it for what it is, but then again I always love to complicate things way more than I need to

Not every trope or story has to make sense completely, but I guess seeing Swap be completely made into a pathetic mess with no actual grounds to support it beyond “he’s mortal and his friends aren’t“ just ruins it for me dhdhhdhd

[shutyourfacemonsterlover]

There's also this element that i see in MANY new fandoms that i'm tired of, that it reeks of superficiality and ableism.

here are two men in this story (or two women) (sometimes there's an element of a love triangle, it depends). the two of them are presented in a one dimensional manner at first, but as the story goes we see more their good parts and flaws. the narrative forces us to see them as complex characters. they both commit mistakes, but they also do good deeds

One of them was poor, grew up abused, or was disabled in some manner, the "outcast". The other one was wealthy, rich, handsome and overall had a happy, stable upbringing (the "status quo"). The narrative wants us to play with the preconcieved ideas we have of who is the villain and who is the hero. The narrative wants us to understand the "outcast" and not see them as one dimensional villains.

When these stories originally got the attention of the public, the "outcast" character initially got praise, liked for being deep, and many (arguably female, neurodivergent, or queer) fans found this character relatable and appealing to their tastes, due to facing similar struggles.

But in the last years, thanks to tumblr and X and TVTropes, a strange "purity culture" type of fandom emerged, that was obsessed in cataloging every single piece of media whether it was 'pure' and 'acceptable' or not. Only "nice" characters are acceptable to have. Grey characters are disgusting and abusive, "problematic" and are "bad role models", so teenagers /young women shouldn't like them (it's all about policing women's tastes, too since these fandoms have a larger female fanbase than male and i don't see these people barging into men's fandoms attacking them for their tastes)

(Hence why a lot of modern media (IMO) is so utterly bland with the character writing nowadays, but that's a rant for another day and why Bojack Horseman sucks)

So what happened with these previously deep, complicated characters, that acted the way they did due to years of abuse? That the narrative clearly pointed out? That they made A LOT of mistakes, but the narrative also pointed out they could do good? That minorities found them inspiring due to them, as well, also facing oppression in their lives? They're suddenly incels, murderers, assholes, or if they're women they're "pick mes"; "Not like other girls", or "internalized misogyny" for the crime of not liking pink. *rolls eyes* Anyone who is a fan of these characters has "issues" and one day "may end up in an abusive relationship" (wow, gross much?).

And the status quo characters? That the narrative clearly points out they're privileged and sheltered and act "accordingly", and that they need to learn to be more empathetic? Oh no, they're actually the "good guys" who will "save the day" and teach those "Monsters" a lesson. Any flaws they have are ignored by these fans by portraying them as "omg they're actually adorable cinnamon rolls and actually they're super smart by playing by society's rules instead of rebelling even when oppression is happening right in front of them".

So you see where's the fucked up thing? you're calling abuse victims monsters, while giving privileged spoiled brats a pass. you're calling women who might've been abused and seek comfort in fictional characters "enablers" and "future victims", just for their overall harmless tastes in fiction. you're calling women who might have been mistreated due to not wanting to follow gender roles "pathetic". You're judging people based on their looks, when you go on and on about how COINCIDENTALLY the one "ugly" / "deformed" character MUST BE EVIL and all their fans are "brainwashed".

And you claim to be the "woke" one? Please, you still dreamin'.

Saw The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway for my nineteenth birthday. FINALLY! It’s an absolutely fantastic show. About time I saw it! So here’s some IrenHorrors Phantom art. (Phantom is a freaking Nice Guy™. I GAVE YOU MUSIC, CHRISTINE! WHY WON’T YOU LOVE ME?!)

[howtonerdoutovereverything]

“I don’t wanna be a hero,” Teen muttered, scuffing their foot on the kitchen tile, their eyes nervous but with something darker and more certain present within them.

Their mother’s face fell with disappointment.

Their father’s face lit up with hope.

“I don’t wanna be a villain, either,”

Their father’s face fell as well, with even more disappointment.

“I just wanna be…like…a normal person. I’m done with you guys trying to rope me into your work. I’m going to decide what I want for myself,”

[headfulloftrouble]

My Grievances with C!scott analyses

I don't know, if it's just how i've curated my tumblr, but i'm starting to see a lot of depictions of scott as a manipulative machiavellian villain with no redeemable traits.

Or as a goody two shoes, who's never done anything wrong ever.

When in reality, i'd say c!scott is not evil, but he is fucked up. Yet, he's the only one who gets treated as the spawn of satan. Why is that? If i had to assume, it's because this is a counterpoint towards what Scott's character had been percieved as before.

Why is Everytime something goes wrong for Pearl ONLY Scott's fault, when the miscommunication is on both sides. When Scott does anything nice, it's always looked with cynicism (it's strategic or it's all for reputation). Those facts may be true some of the time, but they don't invalidate when he's helpful or kind. That does include the self-sacrifices btw.

If i had to guess why such scrutiny is given to scott compared to everything else, it's because he's not openly hostile or destructive and constantly sees himself as the good guys.

You don't have to like his character, but if you treat every action as a methodical play for his social game then of course he's going to come of as manipulative.

I welcome any solid counterpoints, cause this isn't the best argument, but it's just irked me for a while

[raineandsky]

Hi (if you are okay with writing this)

What about a hero (who’s a trans man) captured by the villain and the villain finds his top surgery scars and is surprised of the fact but not judgy or disgusted like the hero thought they’d be

Love ❤️ your writing,thanks

i hope you enjoy - thank you for the request!

“We don’t want to ruin this lovely suit the agency put together for you,” the villain purrs as they run a hand over the seams of the hero’s shirt. “Let’s get you into something more comfortable, hm?”

“Oh, uh, no,” the hero refutes weakly, “you can ruin it.”

The villain looks entirely unimpressed. “We have to wear unflattering uniforms when you catch villains. It’s only fair you do the same.”

“No, no, [Villain],” the hero tries, which the villain is pointedly ignoring in favour of moving too close, with too much purpose, “you don’t get it, I can’t—”

The hero’s protests are in vain. The villain’s hands are already on the hem of his shirt, and with a hefty pull they yank it directly over the hero’s head.

The hero can feel their stare burning into his chest. He directs his eyes to the ground to avoid seeing whatever disgust is inevitably on the villain’s face. Then, after a moment that’s painfully long, the villain says, “what kind of fight did you get in?”

The hero accidentally glances up at them in surprise. It’s not disgust on their face—it’s confusion. Not a look that the hero is unfamiliar with; the disgust will come once he explains.

“Fought a doctor and lost,” he says with a short laugh. “They’re, uh… it’s from top surgery.”

The villain’s face is blank. “Huh.”

Here comes the disgust. The hero sucks in a deep breath, crossing his arms over his chest without thinking. “Do you have something I’m meant to be putting on?”

“Oh, yeah, ‘course.” The villain grabs a shirt and throws it at the hero, waiting patiently while he hurriedly puts it on. “So you’re, y’know…”

“Trans,” the hero finishes awkwardly. “Yeah.”

“Cool.” The villain turns to gesture to a door across the room. “Alright, through there, please. Let’s get this torturing on the road.”

The hero’s the one that’s staring blankly this time. “What?”

“What did you think you’re here for?” The villain’s scoffs. “I’ve caught you, and now I’m going to torture you about it.”

“No, I get that, I just, uh…” The hero glances around the room idly, like something will give him the confidence he direly needs for this interaction. He waves his hands vaguely at his chest. “Don’t you, like, have anything to say?”

The villain’s face contorts into a confused frown. “… I accept you?”

“I thought you’d be more…” The hero grapples for an appropriate word. “Judgy.”

“I’m a villain, [Hero], not an asshole,” the villain says with a tired sigh. “Being a guy or not doesn’t change the fact that you’re a hero and I hate you. If anyone does have a problem with it, though, send them my way. Always fancied myself a bit of an anti-hero.”

The hero can’t help the relieved smile pulling at his lips. “I’ll make sure to do that.”

“Thanks.” The villain waves impatiently at the door again. “Now, are we doing this or not?”

The hero nods plainly, some of his usual heroic confidence back. “Only If you don’t mind me breaking out in a few days.”

“Ugh, if you have to.”

But the villain smiles, the friendly kind, and the hero decides that maybe his nemesis could be his ally too.

[katerinaaqu]

Have you seen my posts? I do read the Odyssey in its original language. Yes I have read the Odyssey and no he didn't do "all that shit" in the Odyssey. For starters define "all that shit"

What the fleet destruction? That was done by the Laestrygonians. Odysseus sailed to Aeaea and yes we know the storms were generated by Poseidon. Odysseus shipwrecking to Ogygia was a natural continuation to the hubris his men did. It was the final storm that made him fall to Scheria that was done by Poseidon for not being pleased that Odysseus was released.

Do you know what else Poseidon DIDN'T do in the Odyssey? He never wished to kill Odysseus. Odysseus was cursed by Polyphemus never to see his home again or if he does to he without his companions and find misery:

Poseidon was clearly stated he never wanted to kill Odysseus. Just detain him. And do you know what else he DIDN'T do? He never wanted to punish Odysseus because he was a villain who hated him. He did it as a natural consequence of Odysseus committing hubris (very similar to the excuse used in religious texts that "God was not vindictive against children of Egypt. It was a natural consequence for the Pharaoh's cruelty") the very essence of the Odyssey was "never mess with the gods or else you are screwed" it was never about "yes the gods are there to he beaten".

Poseidon is not the representation of just the sea. He is the representation of the entirety of physical world and nature. He is also called "earth shaker" or "earth holder" literally the earthquakes that shape the earth. And also again by antiquity so far humans never beaten nature. Nature is where we live and we try to navigate ourselves in it but nature always fights back. Which is why Poseidon and Zeus and Hades are the three gods that are never overpowered by humans. Because they are heavens nature and death. The forces that common humans never overcome. And yes he is devastating and unpredictable. Not a final boss villain to win. He is devastating and unpredictable like nature is

Gods have human weaknesses and human desires. Yes they were not meant to be perfect but also they are not meant to be humans either. Which is why everyday humans don't beat gods into a pulp. Only a select few heroes usually demigods are said to have fought Olympian gods usually with the blessing or help of another Olympian and never the big three Olympians. Those three are generally taken down only by each other or creatures of equal power (see Titan Tylphoon)

Okay so only if someone is a pagan has the right to see detrimation of culture? Also me being Greek is not enough? I somehow need to identify as pagan.

Also yeah allow me to return the question of did you read the Odyssey? Odysseus in the Odyssey never did terrible things to return to his wife. We see terrible things occurring like Ismarus but apart from that in the Odyssey he was just a guy pushed around by the forces of nature because he committed hubris and him was fighting with all he had to go back home. It was never a story about a guy being monstrous and trying into a psycho to go back to his wife. Even when he slaughtered the suitors he admitted it was a sad deed and he tried to avoid it.

And again even if that is what we wanna show the way it happened it was atrocious in my opinion. Mangled the story beyond recognition missed all the important points and changed the most iconic moments to the point of creating literally anything but an Odyssey adaptation. If you wanna believe that is up to you. I do not believe that. I think epic mangled Odyssey without mercy and I dislike the plot of it. And I find it disrespectful to the original material. If you disagree of course you can.

People who criticize others for disliking the changes of Greek mythology when gods are twisted to look like some sort or final villain boss fight video game I honestly wanna see how the reactions would be if someone created a biblical musical where the Pharaoh of Egypt takes revenge against God of Israelites for killing the first born of Egypt by smiting him with his own sword or justice and claim he does it for his people while God begs for mercy.

Food for thought

[legally-allowed-to-slime]

okay i think it’s time to talk about the “are we mean?” line from gem (28:16 her pov) which no one else seems to care about and it’s driving me crazy

so. if you watch the actual clip she changes her sentence from “are we th—” to “are we mean”. she also says it with the exact same inflection that cleo used. this gives me the hunch that she had cleo’s line in double life on her head since gem is pretty aware of fandom things and that’s an iconic line. at the same time though, this is a stretch so we’re gonna go ahead with the assumption that those two lines were just coincidentally similar.

at first glance it might seem like cleo’s double life line (“are we the mean girls?”) and gem’s line (“are we mean?”) are entirely similar and about similar circumstances, but if you look a little closer the similarities fall apart

in cleo’s case, they say it after the box boys had died and they were looting their stuff. pearl shows up and confronts them but the pair just laugh and say it was pearl’s fault ren and bigb died anyway. pearl doesn’t really push it either. then they steal more stuff and leave, before cleo says The line. so with this context, it’s pretty obvious what cleo’s asking is a rhetorical question. what happened immediately before would make them, objectively, the “mean girls” (both stealing and ignoring pearl’s concerns). scott is aware, which is why he immediately responds “yes”, with a smile in his voice. because to them, they might be petty villains, but because it’s funny and they’re self-aware, then they can’t be truly villainous, like dl!pearl. it’s a shared bit between the two of them that they’re being catty high school girls, and scott’s response establishes the fact that they really don’t care. they are two partners in crime, giggling after robbing the bank. top 10 i-can’t-remember-their-ship-name moment

gem on the other hand. hers comes after a long episode of telling everyone who passes by to hate impulse and pearl (soup group divorce 💔). moments later ren kills impulse, and gem thinks that it might be because of her. then she tells joel that “we’re winning by just telling other people who to kill”. but the dynamic between scott + cleo and gem + joel are very different. while scott and cleo are equally up to no good, gem is manipulating the social dynamics of the server while joel is off being angry. the difference between joel and gem is like the difference between joel and scott. so when gem asks “are we mean?”, it’s not like cleo asking scott, knowing they can have a good laugh over it. she’s testing the limits, seeing if what she’s doing can tip over into being mean. and joel, not being scott, automatically says “no, we’re not mean. he shouldn’t have been mean to us.” (insane parallels over gem and cleo saying the same thing but joel and scott having exact opposite answers btw) joel functions in a more straightforward manner: if you’re mean to me, then i can be as mean as i like to you. however, he hasn’t been here to witness gem’s social plays. it’s not like scott and cleo where they were both there to commit the crime together. it’s gem standing there with the blood on her knife and asking joel if she’s guilty. and joel, being both loyal and headstrong, denies it.

after joel says that, gem agrees with, “that’s true, he shouldn’t have been mean to us.” she pauses, turns, and then says “you’re right”. joel, who doesn’t concern himself with such mental gymnastics, has already moved onto bigger things, like a parkour course. but in the meantime gem has used her ally’s careless, uninformed response as proof to convince herself that she can’t be being mean, and that what she’s doing to impulse (and pearl) is warranted. while scott and cleo openly acknowledge their wrongdoing (and in doing so dismiss it), gem pushes it down, trying to persuade herself that she’s the good guy. because she can’t be bad, right? the bad guys are on the other side.

and this inner turmoil is obvious. she does concede before that impulse probably doesn’t deserve her slandering, in the same way that scott concedes he can be “mean”, but brushing it off because it’s so insignificant it doesn’t reflect on their actual character. because in the same way as scott, gem is chasing some objective standard of morality, and doing everything on the good side, and if she does something on the bad side then that something is now a good thing, because she’s a good person.

isn’t it crazy how i wrote this much about one line

[httpvomitello]

Helloooo, can I request something for the 2018 turtles (ROTTMNT)? The reader arrives with the guys to show them the softshell turtle they got as a gift at a school science fair. Since they're not very sure how to take care of it, they go to the guys for help. And the turtle... it looks just like the one from The Amazing World of Gumball. I just think it would be fun to see the turtles (especially Donnie) interacting with the evil turtle haha 😭

OMG NOT THAT FREAKING TURTLE 😭😭 When I learned that Donnie is a softshell turtle, my mind immediately went to that turtle from Gumball. Like... Seriously??? That turtle is the reincarnation of evil, that's for sure. Anyways ~ i hope you like it! ♡♡♡♡

Leo is so pumped when you show up with a turtle

He’s already imagining the epic sibling turtle bonding he’ll all have, and he’s definitely scheming ways to turn your new buddy into his own personal sidekick

But as he leans in to get a better look, he catches the turtle giving him a super intense, villainous stare

"Uh, why is he looking at me like that?" Leo laughs nervously, tapping the glass of its little tank

The turtle does not break eye contact

In fact, it somehow looks like it’s plotting something

After a long, intense staring contest (which Leo loses), Leo's more hyped than ever

“Oh, we’re keeping him. This little guy’s got edge.”

He decides to call it something like "Sidekick Jr", and he tries to train it to glare on command, thinking it’ll be perfect to bring it to battle with him

Obviously you don't let that happen.

Raph’s eyebrows shoot up the second he sees the turtle

“Whoa. That turtle is… cute.”

Lying is not Raph's focus

He is all in for helping you take care of it

But as soon as he leans in, the turtle levels him with a stare so intense that Raph is slightly taken aback

“This guy looks like he could plan a heist,” he jokes, but he’s half-serious

He’s convinced the turtle has some secret agenda and will not let it out of his sight

Raph takes pride in helping you build a “fortified tank” to protect it from any “potential escape attempts.”

He even draws up “exercise drills” to help it “build character.”

He ends up calling it something like “Lil��� Warrior”

The turtle's name is Bob

And he spends a suspicious amount of time training it to recognize commands, because “A turtle like this needs discipline.”

Donnie’s reaction is extreme caution

Like... wtf? How is this turtle so ugly?

(He completely forgot that he is also a softshell turtle)

He’s thrilled you came to him about turtle care, especially because this guy is a fellow softshell

But then he notices the turtle’s… ominous glare

For the next ten minutes, Donnie just stares back, analyzing every detail

The turtle doesn’t blink

It feels like a showdown

"This isn’t just any turtle, you know," he mutters, more to himself

He immediately runs diagnostics on it, pulling out his tools to test its temperament and intelligence level, just in case

Donnie takes the turtle care seriously, sets up the perfect tank, gets the optimal UV lamp, and is constantly researching enrichment activities, but he still doesn’t entirely trust it

You catch him putting up tiny lasers around the tank "just in case."

And he insists on renaming it something like “Professor Menace” because, in his words

“Look at that face—he’s clearly up to something.”

Mikey’s reaction is pure delight. “Aw! Look at the lil’ guy!”

He immediately wants to hold it, but as soon as he picks it up, the turtle gives him a side-eye that could curdle milk

Yes, the turtle is judging Michelangelo

He tries everything

Offering lettuce, sweet-talking it, giving it little pets, but the turtle just stares, expression unreadable but somehow… sinister

“Why does he keep looking at me like that?” Mikey wonders, confused but determined to win the turtle’s affection

He’s convinced it just needs a bit of “good vibes,” so he tries playing calming music, talking to it about his day, and even painting a little flower on the tank

Despite the turtle’s apparent indifference

(And slightly ominous glare)

Mikey’s convinced they’re best friends

He starts calling it “Lil’ Grump,” swearing it’ll warm up eventually.

[autumnmobile12]

You know, when you get right down to it, I think the biggest reason fans were unsatisfied with My Hero's finale was the fact Horikoshi just completely blindsided everyone with a sad ending.

The series had its sad moments, sure, but the overall atmosphere was upbeat and hopeful. Classic 'we can do this' shonen, you know? But he didn't build up to the sad ending, mainly because, and to put it bluntly, he didn't kill off enough relevant characters.

Overall, the deaths that do occur in the series are minimal (not counting flashback deaths like Nana Shimura and the Shimura family as those are backstories to the main plot) and most of them don't leave a huge impact. Character deaths sadden me as much as the next person, but there's a reason they happen in fiction.

My Hero Academia had a conflict that ultimately evolved from a small disgruntled faction challenging hero society to an entire army challenging hero society. It was a war. Wars are messy and difficult and traumatic. You expect to lose people in a war.

So to analyze the few deaths that happen through the series...

Magne: I've said in a previous post her death was basically there to show Overhaul's abilities and willingness to kill, and sadly, I think that's the only reason Horikoshi didn't include her among the arrested villains of the Summer Camp Arc. All the other LoV members had an establishing moment when they first appeared, something that made them memorable. Magne did not get that kind of impact and sadly remains to be the least memorable character in the LoV. How many LoV related posts/fanarts have you seen that leave her out?

Snatch: Horikoshi created this guy for the sole purpose of killing him off. He had no further purpose and even Dabi forgot who he was immediately after the fact.

Sir Nighteye: A sad death because we did get a whole arc where he was adjacent enough to Deku to have development, but was Nighteye's death necessary or there for shock value? I say shock value because outside of Mirio bringing him up now and then, he's barely mentioned after his death. His Quirk wasn't regarded as a huge loss and his death didn't effect the outcome of the war all that much.

Midnight: A little closer to home since she was a teacher to the main cast, but she didn't have many interactions with the students that wasn't purely a student-teacher dynamic. She was more than the 'sex appeal comedy' character in that she's shown to be legitimately intelligent and levelheaded, but there are no scenes where she talks one on one with Deku or his classmates and provide a more meaningful dynamic. If Horikoshi was going for something that would really hurt the fanbase, he'd have killed off Aizawa in the Jaku City battle. Aizawa was the only one of the UA teachers who had the screen time and character development to be the 'surrogate parent' character supporting the main cast, so his death in the series would have been devastating, especially since his Quirk plays a key role in all the major fights. No hate to Midnight, but the little amount of screen time she had and the lack of relationships she formed with the main cast did not trigger much of an emotional response for me.

Twice: Twice is the only character death I can think of that really meant something to the series. He had impact, he was memorable, the fans got attached to him, and the reason he died was valid. Hawks kills him to prevent him from overwhelming the hero's side with a one man army. That threw a major wrench in the LoV's plans. Not a debilitating one, but it was a hit to the team and to a small degree, even Hawks regretted having to kill him. This is how you do a meaningful character death.

So compare that with other series.

Fullmetal Alchemist: Shit, a lot of characters die in FMA, major and minor. Nobody is over Nina and Alexander. Nobody is over Hughes. Nina was a little girl with her life ahead of her, and Alexander was her beloved dog. Hughes had a family. They both had things to live for.

D. Gray Man: Not as many core cast members, but the side characters that do die are memorable and it's heartbreaking. Even if they're only there for a brief time, the impact is there. All Suman wanted was to see his daughter again, even if it meant becoming a traitor. Chronically overworked Tapp's dying words are to say he would take on all the overtime in the world if he could keep living. Alma finally got to rest in peace after being non-consensually resurrected in a cruel science experiment.

Black Butler: Not very many character deaths, but the few that have happened hit hard. Not naming any names because I know there are anime-only peeps out there, but to my fellow manga-readers, you know who i'm talking about.

With My Hero Academia, Twice died for his friends. We see how much he cared about them. What did Magne die for? Her cause, sure, but she's not in the series long enough to leave that lasting impression. What did Snatch, Sir Nighteye, and Midnight have to live for? They didn't talk about their ambitions, their dreams, their families, their plans for retirement, none of that came up, and so we as the audience don't get that heartbreaking moment of, "No, they didn't get to _____!" Sure, I guess we can say Nighteye doesn't get to see Mirio become the greatest hero, but that's a pretty standard dream across all the teacher/mentor dynamics with their protégés, so it's not unique. Fuck, even Endeavor has that ambition for Shouto. AFO has that ambition for Shigaraki. So Nighteye’s dream is not unique enough to be its own matter of significance.

...

I saw someone's assessment on how the finale was realistic, that a social change wasn't going to happen overnight. And that's true, we couldn't realistically expect a social change happening overnight, but when you pair that against the unrealistic outcome where no major character deaths happened on the protagonists' side of things, it's off-putting and it actually made the fate of the main villains unbalanced.

Realistically, yes, with what the LoV did (mass murder, inciting violent radicals, terrorism), that would warrant life in prison, a death sentence, etc. But in a fictional sense, since they didn't do anything extreme to the main cast, thus eliciting an emotional response from the audience, we don't really have the satisfaction of justice served in this circumstance.

Dabi's crimes are background information. He says himself in his broadcast that he's killed 'up to thirty innocent people.' That's not insignificant, but from an audience's perspective...who were those thirty and why do we care? There were those protesters publicly shaming Endeavor by asking if he'd seen the families of Dabi's victims on the news. That's fine and well, but we as the audience didn't see that. We do see him kill Snatch, but no one cares because of the above reasons. Everyone else Dabi kills onscreen are either the PLF or those anti-heteromorph cult guys, both of whom were people the audience weren't going to miss because they were fellow antagonists and bigots.

The problem with all of this is we were told about Dabi's crimes, not shown.

Personally, I'd have been more comfortable with Dabi's fate had he actually made good on his threats to throw his family's charred remains at Endeavor's feet or if he'd managed to kill some of Shouto's friends and mocked their deaths to his face. That is horrific and would have more closely warranted what he was dealt in the end. There's being furious and in pain over a traumatic childhood, and then there's committing atrocities against people who weren't the sole cause of that trauma. Which is what the 'thirty innocent people' were supposed to represent, but again, who were they and why do we care? Instead, what we're left with is 'Dabi is an angry, traumatized child trying to enact a social change.' Not for the noble reason of preventing his fate from happening to another child but out of hatred for his abuser, but a valid cause all the same, and he was disproportionately punished for it. (From a reader's perspective.)

...

It's the same with Toga. We're told right away at her first appearance she's a serial murderer, but again, she doesn't kill any of the main cast. She killed Curious, but no one really cared. I don't even think Curious' allies cared.

Look at it this way: Imagine if Rock Lock's character had been given more screen time, had been part of the series longer, and he was built up as the new father and family man and he's genuinely looking out for younger heroes instead of being a roundabout asshole about it, and then Toga kills him the Shie Hassaikai raid. That could have invoked Maes Hughes levels of outrage in the fanbase.

Or a bit closer to home , she could have killed Aizawa in the Shie Hassaikai raid right in front of sweet, little Deku’s innocent eyes. If she, like Dabi, actually took out main cast members, characters the audience were emotionally invested in, then her ending might have been more appropriate.

We loved Envy as a villain, but he also killed Hughes, another beloved character, so damn were we satisfied to see him go out the way he did.

Toga didn't do anything onscreen that was half as bad as what Envy did and yet she died for it. Offscreen technically.

...

Spinner might be the only one of the group whose fate fit the crime. His reasons were an echo of Stain, but advocating for a change to a flawed government system is a worthy cause.

Where he went wrong is it wasn't a cause worth killing for. The Commission and hero society would have to be much worse canonically for that to happen. Like blatantly totalitarian policies. The PLF was put down because they were enacting a violent uprising, not necessarily because of their views.

Example: Destro's book wasn't a banned text and people were free to read it. When Hawks gave it to Endeavor, he wasn't scolded for carrying a banned book around. If the government placed those kinds of restrictions (imprisoning anyone who published it, owned a copy, quoted its teachings, etc.), that would be the worrying signs of censorship.

News stations throughout the series freely criticize hero society. In a true fascist government, that wouldn't happen.

The video of Stain's last stand being deleted over and over could be considered censorship, but one could also argue it was deleted in the interest of not causing a panic rather than blocking his message from reaching the public.

Now I'm not ignoring Nagant's story where corrupt heroes were being quietly dealt with because that is some shady cover-up bs, but it's also a brief blip in the series and not explored all that much, which really more so highlights Horikoshi's inconsistencies in just how corrupt the Commission actually was. (I mean, maybe they really were chewing their nails nervously when they found out what Hawks was doing with the Destro books. "We can't kill him! You have any idea how expensive training another one would be?")

So no, while Spinner's cause was right, the way he tried to achieve it wasn't the answer. Nothing of what the Commission was canonically doing was worth the level of violence reached. If he was writing articles that outed problematic heroes and flaws in the system and then was shut down/imprisoned for that, then we can revisit the violent uprising because if you can't solve a solution with words because those words are being forcefully silenced, then you have no choice but to either accept it or resort to other methods.

And Spinner lives in the end. Probably in prison for the rest of his life, but he lives and his closing message to the series is, "We lost our war, but I will tell our story. We won't be forgotten."

Notice I said at the beginning of his how his 'fate' fit the crime. Imprisoned, he can no longer fight his war with violence. But he can still fight his war, and possibly still win, with words. Since we can see it available for purchase, his book is not a banned text even though he is a convicted criminal.

...

As much as I loved the character, I think Shigaraki dying was the only way his story could definitively end given the parameters set down by the canon finale. His life wasn't saved, but what kind of life could he realistically hope to have after everything he did? Would a life in prison be better than what he got?

We could go into the fact he could have been rehabilitated, but given how the world barely changes after the fact...rehabilitated to suit the flawed system still doesn't seem like a great outcome for him either.

...

Then we have the main cast just...carrying on? A bunch of people Quirkless, scarred, crippled, unable to use their Quirks the way they had before, and essentially gave everything they had for a world that...ultimately changed very little?

Was this really where it was all going?

So yeah, for all the hope and upbeat attitudes that prevailed through the bulk of the series, I don't think any of that correlates particularly well with the ending. We went from 'we can do this' and slammed into 'we are physically and psychologically scarred for the rest of our lives' brutally fast.

And then we're just hit with, "And that's how we became the world's greatest heroes." Against the overall sadness of the finale, that hopeful line is a tasteless cop-out.

[kingmaxstatic]

So this is a sort of "extension" of my Wooly and Amanda ARE NOT evil post. (Which thank you for the support on that BTW once again I adore picking apart characters)

More so something that I've seen in a lot of that's kind of concerning to me.

That concern being: why does everyone jump to the ONLY reason a character lies being "they're secretly evil?"

With Wooly a lot of people have leaped onto the idea because Wooly denies his own reality. A lot of people have come to this conclusion based on.. in my opinion. Kind of nothing? Once again I think that Wooly copes with his reality via denial. That's sometimes how people work. Despite this I don't want to make this post only about Wooly! I want to discuss other characters people have thrown the "villain" label on.

The next character that has encountered this is another Mascot Horror character, Rambley!

(more under the cut)

Everyone almost INSTANTLY pounced on this little guy when it came to donning the "villain" label on him. Now I'm going to say the same thing I've said about Wooly and Amanda, I don't think Rambley is perfect. I think he's way over his head and deep in denial about the park. But I don't think this is out of malice but genuine coping.

Rambley is an AI who has been trapped for hell knows how long in the entrance of the park. I'd be a little out of sorts when it comes to things too. Espically if I was designed to be dedicated to the park as he has. The park is his reason, his purpose.

I know this is from a completely other piece of media but I'm reminded of this line from TADC episode 3

"It's all I exist to do! It's all I'm... good at."

Espically for Rambley I feel a lot of sympathy because as an AI he exists for one purpose and one purpose alone: the park. Now the park is not functional. Now his purpose is gone. What now? What do you do with sudden emptiness in your being but no freedom to attempt to quell it?

Let's talk about why people lie! It's because they have something to hide. Which YES! Is inhertily suspect and can lead to issues. But those issues aren't ALWAYS done out of malice! For Wooly and Rambley they're done to more-so help themselves cope with the crushing reality of things.

Lying isn't an inherently malice act. It is to the EXTENT and EXTREME that someone lies that's important to note. This isn't to say what Rambley and Wooly are lying about isn't as small as a stolen donut or an ugly sweater. They're lying about the repair of a park or a traumatic incident that happened.

Once again, they're lying about their reality to keep themselves sane/safe.

Ask yourself: When this character lies do you think they're in a safe place to be 100% honest?

I don't just mean safe in terms of "they have someone threatening them" but also safe in terms of "can they deal with reality right now?"

Wooly can't be 100% honest because for all we know Hamlen could've conditioned him to be like that. Conditioned him to believing that if he dares utter the name Rebecca that he will be hurt. He looks down right terrified in some scenes where you talk about Sam or Rebecca. Something happened to get him that scared.

Rambley, I don't think could deal with the reality of being trapped and alone in an abandoned park. So everything's fine! It just needs a little bit of fixing up! Nothing he can't handle because he was built for this. Designed for this. He has to.

I don't know how else to end this post so uhhhhh THIS GIF I LOVE AND ADORE!

[transhitman]

Yk what actually I'm gonna actually post thought-out Diasuke hate to prove a point here. Daisuke is also not this perfect little guy that everyone characterizes him as. He goes along with some of the casually sexist things Jimmy says during their optional conversations. He agrees to drug Swansea, which in itself is a very blunt implication that Jimmy has drugged people's drinks before. (Obviously Jimmy bullied him into it, but abusers do that with a lot of people that are labeled "enablers" so like. Daisuke isn't at fault there but it calls into question what he might have done in other scenarios, where the violence is aimed at more vulnerable people. But that's not something we will ever know.) And most of all Daisuke DOES NOT UNDERSTAND THAT ANYA IS GOING TO KILL HERSELF. His biggest flaw is that he's completely emotionally oblivious and is not someone Anya would ever feel comfortable confiding in. And that's not an endearing trait. And just cause I know someone is gonna take me in bad faith idrc if you hc him as like neurodivergent or whatever like coming from an autistic person who really struggles with empathy, it's not fun, and it's not quirky, it just causes issues. Sympathy and self-awareness is definitely something that can be worked on regardless of your capacity for empathy. (To varying degrees of success obviously. I'm not judging people who genuinely can not sympathize with others. But also, Daisuke probably isn't even intended to be autistic. At this point we're kind of just projecting and lying about canon, aren't we? Not to say it couldn't be an interesting angle for analysis but again. It's not actually part of the text.) EVERY crewmember contributes to the systemic misogyny on that ship. If Curly intentionally ignores it, Daisuke hasn't even come to the conclusion that it exists yet. He is also part of the problem.

But none of that makes Daisuke a uniquely bad person! Obviously! Imo it doesn't even make him a bad person at all! He inadvertently contributes to the system that fucked them all over. And? All of the characters in this game are nuanced and morally grey and that's kind of the point!!! (Except Jimmy lol. Nuanced yes but there's a very clear villain there.) Like pointing out a character's flaws and concluding they're bad is not the intelligent take fandoms tend to think it is. Ok, you've identified a character flaw. Now what does it mean. What does it contribute to what the game is trying to say? And I think this is the root of what's so frustrating about people debating whether Curly or Swansea is actually Good or Bad. I really, truly don't think we're here to make moral judgements about individuals. We're here to examine the systemic issues that allowed the story to take place at all. And obviously, every character lives in a god damn society and has had those bad traits rub off on them! Like. Can we move past this base level of moral analysis already? Please. Please.

[mixingandmelting]

No, Between the Two Of Us - None of Us Are the Sane One

Summary: Childhood to lover trope feat. Dick Grayson where you were best friends with him since the start of his Robin days which was also when he first having a crush on you

Words: 2.7 k

A/N: First time posting in the DC fandom, so please be gentle with me! Also there will be a version for Jason and Tim. ; )

Being besties with Batman and the first Robin is an experience to say the least. Many fantasize how it might go, romanticizing the prospect and excitement the friendship may bring. For you? Zero out of ten, would not recommend. The public masses claimed them to be heroes, but only you and villains know how unhinged they were. You did not appreciate playing the middleman when the two gave each other the cold shoulder or being the center of their amusement. Especially with Robin. You swore on your nonexistent Aunt Patty’s grave that boy was chaotic evil, the agent of all chaos. You grew paranoid for months having been pranked by him every time he swung by so you wouldn’t do “something stupid”. Or so he said only to get you to scream at the top of your lungs whenever you were hanging around on your apartment’s roof, creeping silently towards you and whispering the most random fact he found. He would then cackle with glee and proceed to rub on the wound by reminding you how the first meeting between you three which led to the constant check-ups  (a whole, another story you rather not remember involving a much younger you and Robin, Santa Claus, and pajamas printed all over with I <3 Batman and Robin).  You tried to get back at him multiple times. You never once won. 

However, there were times when he wasn’t pranking you. Moments like those, he’d simply sit and brood next to you, waiting for you to ask what’s wrong before starting his rant about Batman. With little to no knowledge said man, himself, would visit you and ask about him a few minutes after he leaves. Yes, you did question why they thought it would be a good idea for a kid younger than themselves to mediate between their fights only to give up  when you found yourself going in circles as to why you still chose to be friends with them. Way too complicated and big of a headache for your small head. It didn’t seem like Robin cared either, as he would tell you everything on his mind, not a single thing held back. Hands being held or a head leaning on a shoulder was a must when he talks. When that tradition started you genuinely had no idea but you never thought about it. More like you can’t when you saw the expression he wore. 

What started when both of you were merely children continued on to high school, where you discovered his identity. The way you found out was disappointingly anticlimactic. After the many years you hung out with him, of course you would recognize him right away. The same gremlin laughter, the corny jokes he shared with his fellow peers. Oh, and the fact his hairstyle stayed the same as both Robin and Dick Grayson. 

Dick, on the other hand, obviously hadn’t thought through that. At all. Okay, sure, you were on the more observant side but still, you shouldn’t have been able to piece all that together within a semester. He wasn’t even at school often because of all the missions to the point the school had been frequently calling Bruce and Alfred about his many absences. There were plenty of guys who sounded, talked, and looked like him, including his height. He was careful. Shouldn’t have been a “dead give away”, whatever that meant. So when he came over to comfort you after a mission, hearing how you got stood up at the school’s dance, he wasn’t prepared for you calling him by his name. Worse, he couldn’t even play dumb or pretend to not know what you were saying. Not when you gave him the same eyes you always did that held comfort and support he always seeked, as if understanding everything he was going through. 

With the cat out of the bag, he soon had you meet Batman as Bruce Wayne. He enjoyed the mini meltdown and sense of horror you were having, realizing just who exactly you’ve been chummy with all those years. Maybe he shouldn’t have gloated how you should've treated them better when you gave a mean, actually painful jab to his ribs. Still was worth it. So was the impromptu meeting with his team, Teen Titans, when you started working part-time at the pizza place they always stopped by to eat when celebrating a mission gone well. You didn’t know how silly and adorable you were acting, not as bad when meeting Bruce, but definitely shy and frazzled from being star struck. Well, for a bit that was. An hour later, you were sitting and laughing with them about a mission that involved Condiment King. The way you smiled and brightened the room had him thinking for a moment that he had a shot. After all, you practically met everyone he considered family. It had to be a sign for him to seal the deal. 

It stopped and ended as a thought. When you all started talking about love, he didn’t know as much as how he didn’t know which hurt him more; you saying you weren’t going to be in a relationship ever or you, not friendzoned, but bro-zoned him. You don’t notice the way Wally stiffens or the worried glances Donna shot at him. Starfire voiced opposition to your decision to stay single. Raven, not knowing anything, gave you her support. He most definitely did not appreciate Gar feigning disappointment only to get snapped at for going over the line by Vic. 

He didn’t know how to act around you afterwards when he escorted you home. He knew he was making you worried,  more so when he kept telling you he was fine when you asked if you had done anything to make him uncomfortable. He wanted things to stay the same. Retain the precious relationship that led to his love for you. There was no intention to make that night his last night with you. Yet, how was he supposed to act when he found out he never had a chance from the start? As crazy as it sounded, he once even thought about you being a Grayson. Of course not in high school; when the two of you got much older. It filled him with guilt when he heard from Bruce how you were asking about his well-being. It felt like a knife was being twisted in his heart when letters you wrote were slipped between his homework whenever he had gone to school to get them, belatedly realizing he never gave you his number. All he could reply back was the same, lousy excuse of being busy with missions. 

You, on the other hand, waited, hoped, prayed that Dick would visit you again. You knew somehow it was your fault and you wanted to apologize, make things right. Every night you stood on the rooftop, doing homework or simply reading. The nights you don’t, you left his favorite candy with a note. Batman was the only one who visited you then, though his visits were becoming rare from the increase of crimes occurring all over the world. It was through him you learned about Dick’s decision to leave the state and go to some college in New York by the end of the school year. You ended up rejecting the invitation to go with him to the graduation ceremony, knowing there was no point in seeing Dick again.

So really, Dick should’ve seen it coming when he learned from Alfred that you were leaving on the day of. As if to one up him, you weren’t leaving New Jersey.  You were leaving the states. It didn’t help that he had been forced to hand over Robin’s mantle to Jason not too long after the rejection. He had to face another heartbreak, as he mourned over the Robin who first met you, the body wonder who was your best friend, was no more. He naively thought he had time. To debut and cement his role as Nightwing, leader of Teen Titans while getting himself back together, all to come back to you. It was apparent enough to know he didn’t. Finding out on the day of, his hands fumbled with the keys to his motorcycle, rushing to get to the airport on time. Despite breaking every traffic law in Gotham (which he ended up owing Babs on not getting taken to jail or paying a big ass fine), he arrived too late. He couldn’t call out to you, his eyes taking in the glimpse of your hair  through cracks of the closing gates to TSA. 

Years passed and he tried to get over you. First with Starfire, then with Babs. Zatanna, Helena, Bea, Lori, Clancy, mixing one-night stands in between. But none of them ended up working for him. None of them were you. They didn't have the same humor you had. They didn’t give him the same warm hugs you gave him without him ever having to ask because you simply knew. Hell, the whole reason for things to end with each of them was because they called him out for it. His whole team did. Even his whole family including Bruce, Steph, Duke, Tim, and Damian. He’s not going to talk about what happened with Alfred, Jason, and Cass. He still gets nightmares for what they put him through. 

As he continued failing on nurturing a permanent relationship, you found yourself frequently buying magazines or skimming on the webs on the latest news and gossip covering vigilantes and heroes during your study abroad. You had brought with you newspaper clippings you kept on the Robin you still missed and cherished. You could count the number of times Robin changed, recognizing none of them were Dick. Yet you never found the heart to ask Bruce what had happened, if he was okay. Nor would you have been able to when you left without ever getting some sort of contact information to stay in touch with him. 

Now, he’s in his early thirties and you’re in your late twenties. So much has happened during your lives but you still think of each other. All the what-ifs playing in the back of each other's minds, regret and hope constantly raging back and forth. But not once have either you met even when you came back a few days ago. 

Currently, you’re sitting on the ledge of the same roof of where everything began. Gotham glows beautifully without the stars, its artificial lights so bright it makes the city shine as much as it does in the day. Kicking your legs, you hum mindlessly enjoying the scene. That is until someone calls out your name. 

Your grip slips and you scream, nearly falling to your demise. Or about to until a warm arm quickly wraps itself around your torso and pulls you over to safety. Gently the person places you on the concrete floor, a few seconds passing afterwards as your mind registers you’re still alive. Guess they weren’t expecting you to get angry, two hands quickly in the air and sputtering apologies when you stand back up and rage why no sane person would ever scare the living daylights out of a person sitting on a roof along with profanities that could shame Deathstroke and bring pride to Red Hood. You’re panting in the end and reach towards the can of soda you had placed when you were sitting. And when you take a sip, it then hits to who you had raged on. 

He looks away, a hand covering his face from holding back the laughter that threatens to spill out when your face matches a tomato. You’re barely whispering when you apologize for the profanities, of course you aren’t going to apologize for everything else you both know you’re very much right on that part, horrified and embarrassed that you had done that to a very famous vigilante. Out goes his self-control when you go absolutely silent and start to fidget from the lack of response. He bursts at the face you make from mortification. 

“You haven’t changed one bit.”

You freeze at those words. 

“Do…I know you?”

Immediately he stops. The air turns tense, you looking at him with wariness as he slowly turns himself completely towards you. Gently, he calls out your name. When you continue to look confused, he does it again, taking a step closer and pulling off his mask. 

He can see so much denial in your shaking eyes. The desire of you wanting him to say the person standing in front of you isn’t him. He’s quick to grab both wrists and root you on spot, keen and trained eyes already noticing your feet turning to make a run for it. His grip on you is firm but soft, enduring all the words you thoughtlessly, recklessly say while tugging to get him to let go. 

Eventually you stop, acknowledging there isn’t going to be a chance again in the future for you to speak to him or him to you. In fact, you both most likely would  evade each other for the rest of life if not for now. When he’s sure that you won’t escape, slowly, he lets go and takes a step back.

“..Why?”

There’s a tremor in your voice, the area of concrete in front of your feet becoming bi-colored. You don’t scream. You don’t raise your voice. Dick can feel himself break, his throat and chest constricting, dawning on him how not once you fault him for ruining the friendship between the two of you while listening about, for the longest time, all you desired was to apologize. When you weren’t even in the wrong. Too soon your words start to mesh and trip over each other. He takes the opportunity to open his mouth. 

“I love you.”

Your head snaps up, eyes meeting a smile fill with bitterness and self-loath. Your heart initially refuses to accept everything he tells you, how long ago he started to have a crush on you to how it ended up turning into love. You can never relate how his love for you ruined him where all his relationships with others never lasted for long when it’s him. The gremlin child that held confidence to defy everything on Earth, the gremlin child you developed feelings for. Silence hangs in the air once he’s done. All of a sudden you’re livid. Offended. Dick doesn’t notice, going from rubbing the back of his neck to shifting his weight from one foot to the other, wanting to give you the space to soak everything in. When he finally can’t wait anymore, he rushes to think of something, even resorting to begging for your forgiveness. Not looking down at your hands that slowly reaches for his collar.

“Please, all I really want to say is that I'm sorry. I know I was a dick to you so I don’t even deserve to have chance to ask you to be f-”

It takes Dick a hot minute to realize what’s happening before melting in. His hands make their way towards yours, pulling them up and placing them on his cheeks. He tilts his head to deepen the kiss without crossing a nonexistent line that you probably aren’t ready for. It ends up being the right call when you end up breaking it, lack of oxygen in your lungs from having no experience.

“Next time, just ask instead of assuming things.” You growl, pinching the flesh on both sides of his face.

He doesn’t reply or lets you say another word, his soft and warm lips placed right back on yours where they belong. Where they should’ve been since back then. Too bad the second kiss doesn’t last longer than the first, all of sudden hearing wolf-whistles around the two of you. Everyone from the Bat family and the Titans reveal themselves on the roof, some clapping, most teasing on how long it took for you two to get together. You quickly duck your face into his chest while Dick chuckles and pulls you into a tight embrace. 

Later on, a ring adorns his and your left hand. Never once getting taken off, no matter the reason. 

[gloriousburden]

(No disrespect intended towards OP whatsoever ‼️)

If you read any of my posts about Loki, let it be this one. I feel this is the best and most coherent I’ve been able to explain why I dislike the series so much.

Found this from a post analyzing Loki’s costuming throughout the MCU and it’s just… really depressing to me. Got me thinking.

(OP is speaking in favor of the series btw)

He had all freedoms taken away from him. Even the most basic such as dressing himself. He couldn’t even express himself stylistically/through his clothing.

‘He is forced to wear the same clothing as his captor.’

They’re aware.

Love and connection can change others, but this is him changing himself in order to receive that “love” and “connection.” (You guys already know how I feel about his “relationships” in the series, but let’s just go with it for now.)

Loki has never been loved or accepted for who he is, and instead of the series uplifting/proudly presenting those traits of his that haven’t been loved by others, they have him abandon those traits instead. You can only be loved or accepted if you change every aspect of who you are. You can only be included if you strip yourself of who you are. That’s the message the series/his characterization in the series sends. It doesn’t send a message of acceptance, and friendship. He couldn’t even be accepted “despite” who he is. How is him changing who he is to feel a sense of belonging acceptance?

(And I don’t even mean traits such as his coldness or harshness. No, I mean everything from his own way of speaking, his intelligence, his ability to stick up for himself, his ambition, his mischievousness, just… all of it. He lost even the non “difficult” traits.)

He wasn’t worthy of being loved as is. He had to conform in every way. From the way he expresses himself, all the way to his mannerisms. Consciously, and subconsciously. He rejected pieces of himself, to become like those around him.

I understand why the writers did this as they are ignorant and the series was never meant to be about Loki or about uplifting him, but to have “fans” accept this… Loki, I’m sorry they couldn’t love you for who you were. I know he’s not real, but it makes me emotional that the characters around him didn’t accept him for who he was, nor do his “fans.”

Ignorant “fan” talk aside, the writers in the first place didn’t understand that one of the reasons we love Loki is because he wasn’t loved for who he is. No one who truly loved him, wanted him to change and conform to other’s ideals. I understand that Loki needed to be dumbed down and stripped of everything that made him himself in order for the series to work, but no one wanted this.

To make the god of mischief, someone who’s chaotic in nature, conform to order… ooh, it is so irritating.

And this is one of the reasons I dislike the motives behind the costuming in the series. It’s not because I hate Tom Hiddleston and don’t respect his choices, or because the costuming is ugly (it is, but that’s not what I’m here to talk about), it’s because I hate what these choices represent. I hate the fact that people feel that they need to change every aspect of who they are in order to be loved, when there is always someone who will love you for who you are. I hate that it’s encouraged, and seen as acceptance when it’s nothing of the sort.

‘The new costuming shows humility’, as if Loki was ever allowed to be anything but humbled in the first place. As if he were allowed to be above anyone in the first place. As if he was able to be celebrated in the first place. Those “bad” traits, were never accepted. They don’t realize that just because Loki was the villain of the Avengers, it doesn’t mean he walked out successfully.

He was humbled just like in every movie he’s been in. Whether that’s him being rejected by Odin, disrespected by The Warrior’s Three + Sif, humbled by Thor ‘Know your place, brother’, tortured by Thanos, defeated by The Avengers, left to rot in a cell in the dungeons of the Palace he grew up in and was raised as Royalty in, denied the ability to say goodbye to his own mother after her death, threatened by people who were once his friends… You know I can go on forever.

I don’t think there’s been a moment where Loki was allowed to feel better than anyone else without immediately being shut down, denied, humbled, dehumanized, or humiliated.

So for that all to happen to him about a thousand times more in a series that was meant to uplift him… it just sucks. ‘Healthy self-worth and self- love’ he was stripped of who he was and constantly belittled, and did not stick up for himself. He just accepted everything that was said about him, and he accepted the disrespect. I don’t see how that is him having healthy self worth. He was treated horribly by those around them and instead of attempting to stick up for himself like in the previous projects he’s been in, he just accepted it. As if he felt he deserved it. He has less self worth/self love than he’s ever had.

He never got uplifted or praised or accepted or anything besides gaining new physical abilities and a new title. He’s been given a position he’s never wanted, because Loki’s always sacrificing himself. He’s always sacrificing himself the better of other characters, and other MCU plot lines. It’s what the MCU does when they get bored, or need to start a new plot.

I don’t want to see Loki be humbled. He already has been in everything he’s been in. He’s already been humiliated and made the laughingstock. I want to see him uplifted. I want to see him proud of who he is. I want to see him accepted.

I want him to realize he can be happy, even if he doesn’t belong or fit in. He can be loved for who he is.

The series did nothing of the sort, and I don’t know how people can be so unaware of that. Or if they are aware of it, I don’t know how they can accept it.

It’s not even the bare minimum “I accept you despite your flaws” no, it’s “I sort of accept you now that you’ve sacrificed yourself for me and changed every aspect of who you are, but I still do not like you as a person and I still won’t give you even the most basic respect.”

I want better for him. Not more humbling that he accepts without any complaints.

Loki I’ll always love you for who you are