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am-i-the-asshole-official · 2 months

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AITA for accidentally outing my fiance?

I (27F) am engaged to a 24M guy. He is trans, but he doesn't identify as trans anymore - he's post-everything, passes 100%, lives stealth/as a cis man, and no one who didn't know him pre-transition knows him as anything but a cis man. I know keeping that up is very important to him, we've had a lot of conversations about how happy he is just being seen as cis and being able to pass. I know getting outed and 'found out' is also a big worry of his, for example for our upcoming wedding he's rushing around trying to make it clear to his family that they shouldn't mention him being trans or refer to him as she/her at our wedding because he has so many friends coming who don't know he's trans. It's not that he doesn't trust them or he's ashamed of being trans or anything, he's very supportive of his trans friends, but he just doesn't publicly live as trans.

We're in a big Discord server of friends that have been quite close for about a year now, enough that we've met multiple of them in person and two of them are going to be in his wedding party as sort of 'best man' equivalents (we're not really sticking to bridesmaid best man stuff just our mixed gender friends). He has kept his Facebook very private for as long as I've known him, the only people on there are IRL friends and family because he has in the past posted trans stuff on there, like transition updates, it still has old pictures of him pre-T or in early transition, etc. I knew he didn't want this found. He also hadn't told any of this group aside from the people he was especially close with and had invited to the wedding his surname and location in case they looked him up and found something.

People in the server were sharing their Facebook profiles and I shared mine so people could add me. My fiance messaged me right after pointing out that me sharing mine would dox him as I had him in my relationship status and friends list, but I unfortunately didn't see this message for a while as I was distracted and doing other things. By the time I saw, everyone in the group had already clicked and gone through my profile and found his.

He tried to go through and speed-delete everything he could find that was public that mentioned him being trans or showed him pre-transition, any comments from family referring to it, etc but pictures that were set to friends only were still popping up in previews on the side and some of his family have public profiles that show cover images with him pre-T and things like that.

Our friends were making jokes about finally knowing his surname, going through his whole account down to the time it was first made back in 2018, commenting on old statuses of his, so they definitely saw his profile and went through all of it. He was panicking because he had no way of knowing if they'd seen that he's trans or not and got super upset and freaked out about the possibility, and he couldn't ask without outing himself or making them suspicious.

I apologized and deleted the link but obviously by then it was too late.

I do think it's not a huge deal as much as he thinks because I know our friends would be supportive and wouldn't think of him differently, but I know it was still important to him. I'm not sure they did see because some of our friends are the type to have just blurted out "You're trans?!" in the server without thinking about it (not because they're malicious or judging it, but some of them aren't as online and don't really know how to talk about it sensitively if that makes sense) and they didn't say anything. However he thinks they did because they were talking about statuses older than the ones he managed to get to deleting in time.

Like I said i did apologize but I feel like he's still upset with me for not thinking before sending my profile. On top of that I have kind of a habit of doing things impulsively and without thinking (I have bpd and bipolar) and not always taking into account how it will affect him or what consequences it will have,which I've been working on for years but I worry this is just adding to that which I know already wears on him.

What are these acronyms?

#aita #am i the asshole

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theoddest1 · 3 months

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Hazbin Hotel episode 5 is a rushed mess.

May just make this a continual thing where I review the episodes from here on out.

-Right off the bat, the pacing for this episode is probably the worst out of all other episodes so far. Things just begin abruptly (Lucifer's first song with Al for instance), no build up, 5 months have passed in only 5 episodes of barely any progress or focus on Charlie as a character, a random character that didn't need to be introduced but was anyway ruined the flow further, and this stupid ass rivalry all on the basis of who's the "better dad" is legit the most random conflict of any conflict so far. That will get a point all on its own along with some of the other things mentioned. The pacing left no real breathing room aside from 2 moments: Al's rise to power and Husk n Al's convo. I wanna say the second song would be a 3rd but it just resolves an issue that was present for seemingly years and pulled a "Stolas" with having a song or sob story as an excuse for the lack of effort to reach out and be a better dad. Lazy writing and pacing overall.

-5 months....5 months have passed with barely anything revolving around helping sinners or trust built around the main cast SHOWN ON SCREEN. We are told important information opposed to witnessing the progress itself. This is not only lazy but extremely jarring cause it feels as though episodes were skipped and bonds feel unearned. They get easily resolved in what feels like seconds, and we're just supposed to....deal with it. Angel and Husk barely interact throughout this episode, which, after the crazy ride they had, with the knowledge of a SEVERAL MONTHS passing by as well, you'd think Angel would be shown to be more chatty with him....which he doesn't. Nothing crazy, just small bits of them interacting and enjoying each other's company. Nah. We get that next episode, and even THAT'S lacking. I'll tackle that in a separate post. But yeah, 5 months, and we have yet to see the other guests' views and how it has changed for the better or the process of them realizing WHY they would go for redemption. How that has affected them. Nothing of note has come about from any of these. No other sinners have joined. No other demons seem interested in Charlie's Hotel. Nothing. We are told things have been done, yet it feels like we are still at the starting line, or well, a foot away from it and miles away from the finish.

- Lucifer is a joke. I don't mind me a goofy threat, it adds a charm to them but also shows that they take so little seriously due to their immense power....not Lucifer. No, that guy just....is a joke. Dude is in his mansion making fucking toy ducks for some reason and just has depression (show said it outright, not even depression is spared from "tell don't show")

He does literally nothing, doesn't seem to WANT to do anything, and no one respects the guy. Nearly all in the Hotel lack fear, intimidation, or admiration for the guy (Pentious is the only one who seems to exhibit admiration of some kind). The closest we got is being uncomfortable. That's it. Then there's his scuffle with Alastor. Tell me why he feels the need to argue with this sucka again? Cause last I checked, Alastor is a mere overlord, and Lucifer is The Devil. Wtf is this randomass rivalry that just...S T A R T S? Why does Lucifer get intimidated or moved by Al? It makes no sense. Lucifer has been alive far longer than humanity itself, but nah this random fuck who looks like he robbed a blood bank got him weeping insecurities? I'm supposed to take this sad excuse of a character seriously? How many of these carbon copy characters will Viv make until I finally end my suffering???

-Wtf is Alastor's deal? Why is he so pressed and annoyed? One moment he is as cool and collected as a cucumber and showing only SLIGHT annoyance (Vox and His song), then he goes to meetings and speaks with people far older, far more experienced, and/or far stronger than he show no interest and he gets pissy? How insecure is he that people not caring where he's gone or thinking his ideas are wack is what leads to his eye twitching and him throwing a random ass cuss. Seriously, THAT'S what got him to swear? That his idea for the hotel's name is stupid? BFFR! You can not be serious right now, THAT'S what gets him going? You'd think with how witty and chill he was in the pilot, he would find a quick and a effective smart-ass comeback, not essentially bitch at The Devil. This makes Alastor look like a thin-skinned wannabe, too cause these minor ass comebacks are why he has lost his edge along with some randomass song number?? And at the end of the day, Al just couldn't be damned anymore to even care by the end of the episode, he doesn't speak with Lucifer or give any stank looks, doesn't speak with Charlie, does NOTHING pertaining to the issues prior, nah, he just stands there and watches after telling Mimzy to go away. Some say he did this to simply piss Lucifer off, but that doesn't make sense (not saying it ain't true, just saying if it is, it's nonsensical). First off, if that were the case, why was he annoyed even BEFORE seeing the guy?

If he only wanted to get a rise, why is HE getting angry? Trolls usually don't care enough to be this pissed. Second, wtf would he even gain from doing this? What to help push Lucifer to be a better father to Charlie, request by Lilith to Al so that Lucifer can get his act together?? If so, that's the LAZIEST shit I have ever heard. Lucifer is such a joke, he needed a SINNER to get him back on track....

Regardless, this whole father shit by Al comes out of nowhere and ruins the goddamn flow of the episode. Prior to it all, Al has shown NO interest in anyone and has done jack shit. Wtf does he even do? He's done ONE thing so far and that was help for the commercial. Alastor has shown to be completely useless as of now.

-Charlie, why is she treated as tho she isn't a grown ass woman? She's babied to hell and back and despite being the daughter of Lucifer, hasn't shown any of her abilities to help the hotel. So Lucifer can summon shit but not her? Is she that useless? Also, gotta love how she never asks her dad about the Valentino situation to help Angel out. Man...what a great ass friend. She also doesn't find it weird that Al is just suddenly...babying her? She has zero awareness of everything, I guess, which is getting annoying now. You're over 200 years of age (went to high school in the 1800s according to what her comic was about, but guess that's retconned based on what happens in the following episode).

So she doesn't use her abilities to tidy up the place, she doesn't act her damn age, she doesn't do anything to help her sexually assaulted friend. What a damn joke, just like her dad.

-Mimzy shouldn't have been in an episode about Lucifer. Plain and simple. Her character should have been introduced in one of the earlier episodes. Not during fucking this. And we got a repeat of the pilot with Alastor's backstory retold. So they're down to retell his rise to power but not to make at least a proper recap of the events that happened prior? Key word....PROPER.

-Husk caring about Mimzy bringing trouble is actually fucking stupid. Because of the lack of proper build up to him now finding more reason to like the Hotel, it feels forced that he would be worried about what danger Mimzy brought. And on top of that, yeah...ALASTOR IS RIGHT THERE. You know who else is there? LUCIFER. I get it, Lucifer stood by and watched as the Hotel was being swatted, but he also sang a song about providing what Charlie asked for, meaning if she had asked her dad, he woukd be down to help, so WHY TF IS HE WORRIED???? Also , is Charlie just INCAPABLE of fighting for herself?? "She doesn'twanna hurt sinners-" so she had no defensive abilities??? What???? Also, that's a damn lie, she fought Katie Killjoy on live Tv. Are no other damn people capable of protecting the Hotel??? Why did Al need to step in for that? They were just LOAN SHARKS.

Anyway, the scene where Husk is probing Alastor about Mimzy and treating him as a pet is decently paced and the tone was pretty neat, sucks that this feels like their way of showing that Husk is also under a leash like Angel rather than him being treated as a joke, which btw...horrid way to compare the two. Wanna know why? One is subjected to an onslaught of sexual assault whether he was pushing Val's buttons or not, and forced to be assaulted by various men around him, passed around like a thing. The other is Husk, who legit disrespected Alastor and had to push at him to get such humiliation and terror, and guess what....Al still ended up pushing Mimzy away after she did end up bringing trouble, so he did essentially listen to Husk in his own distant way. This is the ONLY TIME we see Al be downright mean to Husk and probably the only time. Angel has been subjected to nothing but horrid assault after assault no matter the situation. So I better not see anyone say, "SEE LOOK, THEY'RE BOTH ABUSED" stfu. Nothing about their situations are even remotely similar. Just cause the chains are the same doesn't mean the users are. EDIT: Ima say this before people act like I excuse this. No, I am not excusing Alastor's actions. I am pointing out what happened on screen. Husk mocked Alastor, Alastor retaliated out of anger(much like how Angel retaliated at Husk in ep 4 after Husk kept arguing and mocking him) by pulling out the chains to shut him up. He didn't even hit Husk. Again, I'm not excusing it, just pointing out how vastly different Husk and Angel's situations are and how one overlord reacts compared to the other....who is a straight-up rapist.

-Both the songs are mid/ok but pulled down by the awful storytelling....shame. I at first was not fond of Lucifer's voice.....it's ok now, I guess. Idk. I'm still not really feeling it, though.

Episode sucked ass

Pacing was all over the place

ALASTOR AND LUCIFER ARE PISS BABIES

#hazbin hotel criticism #hazbin hotel critical #hazbin critical #hazbin critique #Hazbin Hotel episode 5 #vivziepop critical #vivziepop criticism

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thearchercore · 4 months

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As a Lando fan, but first and foremost a Max and Charles fan, I’m quite disappointed in Lando. It’s true what they say, not everyone is happy when you are on top and your real friends show their true colours.

You are right, Max says what he thinks and never filters it. While Charles is a PR King (let’s be honest he’s more of a princess but that’s besides the point) but never once has he thrown shade at Max since they became friends (at least not that I know of)

Now, Daniel is not, has never been and will never be someone about him. Nothing against him, just vibes. But the fact that Max has held him so dear and close to his heart and he goes ahead and throws major shade at Max when Max was being nothing but honest at Vegas then makes sure to hang out with Lando during Winter break the other driver who is Max’s publicly known bestie on the grid (I mean the man even attends P’s birthday parties) anyway I digress. It’s just outright shady and childish.

Max is on another level and not everyone will understand that. True friendship should withstand such challenges. Of course anyone would be jealous and intimidated by such dominance and success but to deny the man like Peter denying Jesus infront of the crowd is just sad. I mean c’mon, did he mean it as a joke? Also was Daniel attempting humour? It’s possible but I can’t see someone like Charles making such weird comments. Even when they were beefing, Charles made it known that him and Max are okay and even though they are not best friends their relationship or hang out outside the paddock (back then things are different now) he still loved racing against Max because they understood each other and how they raced.

It’s actually petty for grown men to belittle their friend because of his success. But what do I know, the sport destroyed a childhood friendship (Nico + Lewis) Maybe only the realest and toughest friendships survive. Viva Charles and Max (whether you ship them or as friends) it’s real and they are always rooting for each other.

Sorry this got long.

yeah, i feel like the difference between daniel's current place in f1 and max's is playing a significant factor. again, max joined RBR when he was essentially still a teenager that was battling with puberty. daniel was there as the mature driver that max looked up to.

now, fast forward to 2024, daniel is fighting for his last chance at f1 after many unsuccessful team moves, and max is much more mature and has 3 WDC titles under his belt. that certainly changes things.

so i'm sure that if for whatever reason rbr kicks out checo and daniel jumps in, their dynamic would be different.

lando, on the other hand, is a different story. @tsarinablogs had a great post where someone suggested "I think Lando couldnt handle his car actually being competitive. Thats what weakened their friendship. It’s easy to be friends when you are driving a slow car, but then the car actually got competitive and he still couldnt beat Max."

again, the truth is -- f1 is a highly competitive environment and everyone will fight for themselves first without a doubt. that's what's happening with daniel and lando. daniel wants that red bull seat, lando wants to beat max. and that is going to be their priority over whatever friendly relationship they may have with max.

on the other hand, there are only 20 drivers in f1 so you have 20 other co-workers who share the same experiences as you. so you will always be closer to them than anyone else because no one would get you that well.

i think what works well currently between max and charles is that no matter how much media tried to put them against each other, they alway showed mutual respect to each other. charles never talked shit about max in press, and the overall vibe they have going on recently is that charles is happy for max's success, and is working hard to gain his own. also their actions speak a lot -- like charles' putting aside ferrari's questionable qatar strategy and rushing to congratulate max on his WDC. or max running to charles to apologise for his mistake in vegas.

their relationship doesn't seem to be definined by their racing results, and their joint racing history also makes them more equal in their own eyes than other drivers.

#charles leclerc #lestappen gate 2023 #lestappen #formula 1 #f1 #lestappen gate 2024

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rougepancake · 10 months

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LOSERS (chapter 1)

Ft. Yoshikage Kira x Serial Killer!F!Reader

LOSERS masterlist

WARNINGS: mentions of killing, soulmate au

SUMMARY: You hate your so called soulmate because the two of you are far from similar. Well- that’s what you originally thought.

The red string of fate is commonly known as a myth that is told to hopeless romantics and small children. It is a myth that not very many people believe, simply because they are too selfish, or because they’d rather live life without a soulmate.

Soulmates. That is what two lovers who are destined to be together are often referred to as. Each and every person has a soulmate, but most never find them.

It is fate that brings them together. Every single time it is fate. And many people don’t believe in that either.

Now- the red string is said to connect lovers by their fingers, with it tied to the woman’s pinky finger and the man’s thumb. Your red string is only visible to you and your soulmate, and grows shorter the closer you are to them. No, it does not tighten and no, it will not cause you any form of injury if you ignore it.

Simply put, the red string of fate is a suggestion. One that says ‘you’ve got a potential lover out there, wanna look?’

There is no sure way to tell if it actually works, but one is allowed to dream, no?

The world sure does work in mysterious ways. One moment you’re getting wasted at frat parties and the next you’re working at Kame Yu in Morioh. It seems like a cruel joke, in a way. Not that you can fight it, but you definitely would if you could.

Your job was a humble one, and you weren’t really anything but a simple office worker who dreamed big.

Everything about you was average, which was how you liked it. If people thought of you as their normal coworker, then they wouldn’t suspect that you were up to no good. You maintained healthy (but not too healthy) relationships with your fellow employees, and never showed up late to work. You run your day run based off of a strict schedule that you wouldn’t ever dream of diverting from, even if for a second. It’s perfect, and peaceful.

Simply ideal.

“Y/n.”

God damn that voice.

“Y/n. You’re spacing out again.” Your coworker, Yoshikage Kira, passed by, lightly tapping your shoulder with a file he was holding. The mere sound of his voice was enough to enrage you. That damn killjoy of a man. He’s simply insufferable, a result of his lack of social skills, you’ve concluded.

If you didn’t know any better, you’d think he was like you.

“My apologies, Mister Kira.” You bit your tongue and shot him a glare as he turned his back to you. There was nothing in the world that you hated more than a rich man with a stick up his ass. He never socialized with anyone, and when he did happen to go out with his coworkers, you could never tell if he was having fun or not. He never smiles, never laughs, hell he never even acknowledges when the interns hit on him.

It was as if he was trying to erase his existence, like trying to become a nobody before totally vanishing. But he was probably just trying to live out his life in peace, which you couldn’t hate him for. He was a mystery that you’d like to remain unsolved.

Mystery…

“Y/n another man went missing this weekend!” Your office-mate rushed in, her eyes wide as she pushed aside the door and ran over to you like a bat out of hell. “I can’t believe that it happened so soon!”

Her voice rang in your ears. Another? So soon? How interesting. You cleared your throat and put on your best look of concern, your tone matching hers.

“Oh my! Do you know if it has any sort of relevance to the other disappearances that have been happening around here?” You cocked your head to the side, your eyes wide in a display that you knew made you look repulsive. You hated it, but you figured you’d play along… for now, that is.

“That’s the thing.” She walked over and leaned against your desk. “The police still don’t know if any of them are remotely connected. But it seems to happen in some form of pattern.”

“A pattern?” You chuckle at the idea. “Now now, I think you’ve been reading too many true crime novels.” You tease her, and she huffs in response.

“Maybe. But don’t you think it’s odd? It’s just like those women who keep disappearing without a trace.” She sighed and you swear you heard something fall in the next room over. “Oh well. It’s time for my lunch break.” She waved and left the office, leaving you to your thoughts.

Great. If your officemate was able to notice the pattern, then you’d have to come up with something new. It didn’t matter how you did it, so long as you were able to continue your quaint lifestyle.

You felt a gentle tug from your pinky finger, and frowned when you saw the red string dangling off of it as your soulmate worked in his office. You had totally forgotten that your soulmate was working in the same building as you. Which wasn’t a bad thing, since you couldn’t stand him and all.

You remembered when you first found one another. It was right after you moved back to Morioh, and you had just been employed at Kame Yu. You had been delivering files to your coworkers when you ran into him.

Tall, blonde, and a total prick.

His eyes were glued to your hands, which you played off as ‘oh wow my soulmate works with me’, but he ignored it and continued on with his day like nothing happened.

Yoshikage Kira.

“Gross.” You scoffed and got up from your seat. You weren’t one for romance, but it always annoyed you that your literal soulmate had brushed you off so easily. In a way, it made you curious. Why didn’t he like you? Was he just as opposed to romance as you were? Or- and this was the big question- did he happen to have a similar hobby as you?

“Mister Kira.” You knocked on his office door, fighting the urge to cringe at the way his name rolled off your tongue.

He jumped, looking over his shoulder at you with wide eyes. He looked genuinely surprised, which was out of character for him. You saw him hide something in the pocket of his suit jacket before he fully turned around to meet your gaze.

“What do you want?” The question was laced with malice. It made you truly question what he was doing before you walked in. You thought about using your ability to get a better look at it, but you knew it was unwise. What if he was like you? Then you’d have to go through the trouble of getting your soulmate to keep your secret.

“I was wondering if you could help me out with the file you gave me yesterday, but it appears that you are quite busy.” Your tone showed off your suspicion like it was a trophy, and you could tell it made him nervous. “I apologize for the intrusion.” You bowed and left.

What was it with him? Was he plotting something??? Surely not. You were overthinking it. He was probably just a regular office worker who had gotten caught doing something other than work. It sounded reasonable, since he was doing his best to seem like a nobody.

You’ve got a lot of questions about why fate has set you up with someone as uninteresting as him, but there’s a few that stand out amongst the rest.

What was he hiding? And why was he going through such troubles to keep it hidden?

#basing this off of a dream I had but making it better #jojo’s bizarre adventure #x reader #kira yoshikage #yoshikage kira #yoshikage kira x reader #yoshikage kira smut #jjba smut #jjba x you #slow burn #red string of fate #red string au #soulmate au #jjba au

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hearts401 · 2 months

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Why do you think Helluva Boss is better, in terms of writing?

OOOH i have a LOT to say about this.

I think it's a lot less rushed. it FEELS a lot less rushed. And thats not saying its all perfect, it went pretty fast too, but not as fast as hazbin.

For example, hazbin had this big deadline and they had to fit in angels arc, the carmilla/vaggie situation, the heaven stuff, AND charlies shit with her dad. So despite it being a comedy, they had to stuff a LOT of things together, which means theres less chance for filler which means it gets rushed. (bc honestly, it feels less like a comedy and more like an edgy teen humor show BECAUSE they're stuffing the comedy in while rushing to get all the important lore bits in)

so helluva boss feels more like a comedy. they have serious moments, but it leaves space for jokes and humor that dont feel out of place (for example, in the hh finale they kept making jokes that rlly didnt fit? like charlie profusely apologizing to angels who are slaughtering her people? or when pentious died and it was a joke but we were supposed to take it seriously???)

helluva boss has episodes with less emotional baggage in them, like the pilot, murder family, spring broken, and CHERUB, and the harvest moon festival, all in season one. and while they do HAVE emotional moments, theyre not super heavy. then you have episodes that feel like a mix, like truth seekers and loo loo land. and then you have heavy episodes like ozzie's and queen bee. its much more balanced (and im focusing on s1 of hb bc its unfair to pit a two season show against a one season show.)

also also also, and this is smth i complain about a lot, Hazbin Hotel is OBSESSED with making their characters as likeable as possible. unfortunately this falls on characters who DONT DESERVE IT. Like angel dust. When he harassed husk, it was supposed to be humor and funny and whatever, but when husk snapped at him, he was the bad guy suddenly. and angel still never apologized. and im not saying hb doesnt have that issue (ESPECIALLY with stolas) but i think its handled better.

blitzo is a good example. i have complaints about the circus situation, but in the end hes still not a good guy, excuse or not. he's rude, he's nosy, he's dismissive. he hunts his sister down despite her making it very clear she doesnt wanna see him. and he brushes off stolas and even uses him under the guise of a sweet date. in general, blitzo is just waaay better handled than angel dust is.

i also like the villains more? theyre not made out to be a joke as much as the villians in hazbin (per my earlier statement about all the humor being stuffed in) crimson is made to be genuinely intimidating, striker, while mocked a lot, is still a very serious villain, mammon is a big joke on purpose, and it makes sense! and then other antagonists (verosika, one and two, ect) are made out to be funny because theyre NOT big villains, they're just bitches who have beef with imp. the worst villain in hb is, of course, the one woman, stella. but thats a conversation for another ask.

meanwhile the hazbin villains are sooo dumbed down. our most serious villain was lute. adam was a huge joke and relatively annoying at times? like most of what he did was watered down by bad jokes (like killing pentious??? ppl seem to forget adam beat alastor without even tearing his clothes and its because everytime hes on screen theres a terrible joke about to be made) and the vees are just??? eh??? i dont have a TON of complaints about velvette aside from how little she actually did to the point where she hardly feels like a villain? shes moreso just annoying. and then vox hypnotizes people and hes like. evil ceo type shit but thats overshadowed by his crazy ass beef with alastor because again, he didnt do much else. and then val had that stupid scene with vox that i hate so so so so much. hes made out to be funny when he SHOULDNT BE!!! They dont take val's character seriously its weird. ick. and also we didnt have many villains to even go off of? helluva boss gave us lots of characters to work with in season one, and all of them are unique in some way, and had time to shine and will have more time to shine later because the story isnt rushing. hazbin INSISTED on concluding this arc in one season when it really shouldn't have. they didnt have the time to do it, and they tried anyway. helluva boss is better because they gave it TIME. striker is introduced in season one and we KNOW he'll come back because he got away! and he does! and hes great because they gave him TIME to be there and be gone and be there and be gone.

and now he's our most recurring villain. and i think hes awesome. crimson didnt actually have a lot of time to vanish and come back, but hes also new so its a bit different. and he had two episodes in between showing up and disappearing, and the second one had more focus on striker anyways.

i think that while hazbin is a 4/10 for me (5 if im being generous), helluva boss is a 6 or 7/10. the worst part about the helluva boss writing is stolas's family and how the women are written tbh.

tldr: helluva boss is better paced and the characters are better, and hazbin hotel is too rushed and forces these characters onto you

#tzu rambles #tzu asks #tzu rants #hazbin hotel criticism

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aguinhaac · 8 months

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Well, the new ecological miracle episode has just been released, you know what that means~

Today we will be reviewing the shortest miraculous special until now, Miraculous season 5 episode Action.

Let’s see what they did with the episode with the concept of one of the few kwamis I still like.

We start the episode with Marinette and Adrien driving to Luka’s boat house, and we know the episode is good when the animation looks like this

They didn’t even try.

Nino calls them in because he has some important news which is that people were throwing trash in the sena river and it was going to the ocean.

Nino: if no one handle the plastic problem, who will?

the show spent 1:14 minutes without throwing the lesson in our face, that’s a record!

And really, I really don't like it when people have an eco episode and just have the main characters, I think it's much better to have the main characters help the background characters protest, clean up, plant a fucking tree, or whatever whatever they're doing, it helps the scene feel more organic, when it's just a bunch of teenagers doing something, it looks like the characters are just Mary Sues because, you know how many environmental groups? Very little, so yeah, a bunch of kids would be able to get the whole fucking town to participate.

Well, anyways let's give a look at the group's plan.

WTF-

THEY CONVERTED THE HOUSE BOAT INTO AN ECOLOGICAL WATER TREATMENT PLAN? HOW? WHERE DID THEY GET THE MONEY TO DO IT? AND WHAT ABOUT THAT THERES PEOPLE LIVING THERE? THOSE THINGS ARE NOISY, HOW IS ANYONE GOING TO SLEEP? AND WHAT IF IT IS TOO HEAVY FOR THE BOAT? IT WILL SINK AND YOUR FRIEND JULEKA WILL BE HOMELESS, actually, DID LUKA’S MOM AGREED WITH IT? IS THIS EVEN LEGAL

AND I’M NOT EVEN GONNA MENSION HOW THE FUCK DID THEY BUILD THIS.

Well, they teach the little kids that plastic doesn’t decompose easily and there I already saw the thing was for little babies that don’t know the basic and I lost all hope this episode would be at least decent.

the boat starts to shake and they go to check what is happening and we find out that a large increase of plastic coming from… fans vending machines….. so, people can cool off…. Ugh, first of all, who buys fans that aren’t for decoration? people to buy AIR CONDITIONERS OR FANS (the not Chinese one) did Astruc ever used a Chinese fan? Those things the more you shake it, the more your arm hurts, second, really? Vending machines? The problem isn’t people putting plastic on everything even if they don’t need to, and after that not discarding it properly, the biggest problem with plastic in the ocean is fans? And third aren’t fans made out of like paper? Or like this super light material? There are some fans made out of plastic but this looks like a paper fan.

How much do you bet they just put that the biggest treat is vending machines so they cannot work at all on how to resolve the conflict and make an ending that doesn’t make sense?

Well because there was too much plastic everyone evacuates and the ship explodes… yes. the ship fucking exploded.

So Juleka IS homeless now, all plastic does to a ship is making it get stuck, and showed to us What overheated was the engine, so what caused the boat to explode and what caused it to clog, SO WHO'S FAULT IS THAT? WHO’S FAULT IS IT THAT JULEKA IS NOW HOMELESS HUH? WHO’S FAULT IS THAT?

Juleka and Anarka just accept they don’t have a home now and Nino tells Adrien to talk tp his dad.

Adrien: you know how my father is, he won’t listen!

Marinette: what if we try to resolve this another way? By going to the root of the problem,

Ok that was kinda creepy, Marinette what are you doing to do? MARINETTE WHAT WILL YOU DO TO THE VENDING MACHINES? MARINETTE NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

All joke’s aside, Marinette asks her dad if she and her friends can pick up the bakery supplements which he says yes so, they rush their way to there.

They get the boxes and Marinette asks if they can see the new character they made for the special only and after that will be forgotten even if he could be important, you know? As always, his name is plastic king but I’ll just call him “the boss”

The guy then shows they were the boss lives and- Marinette is gonna break into his house huh? At this point I’m not even surprised.

Nino makes everyone disguise themselves but they are immediately discovered, but Marinette uses her main protagonist powers and they’re able to pass the staff.

So, they reach the boss

Bro looks like that one villain from the Gnomeu & Julieta movie

Well, they make a little presentation about plastic which really, it's short but I really liked it they didn't demonize plastic, but instead said that plastic IS important for our society and that we shouldn't just stop producing it, instead they say that people buy thing and throw them away right after, putting the blame not in the company but in the people, which surprised me, EXPECIALY for a miraculous, I actually think that's the better portrait of taking care of our planet In a kids show I've ever seen.

The boss explains that this of people buying and throwing it away so they can buy more is design like that and nothings gonna change, RIGHT BEFORE SHOWING ALL WE HAVE IS MADE OF PLASTIC DEMONIZING IT AGAIN AND MAKE MY COMPLIMENT USELESS, CONGLATULATIONS SHOW

The group then fuck off out of the guy’s office and Marinette has the idea to go talk to the mayor, how did Marinette without Zoe’s help was able to have a face to face with the mayor I don’t know but oh well.

Andre: But Parisians love the fans my young friend, remove the vending machines installed by the hall across Paris

Marinette: Would make it possible to reduce pollution

Andre: But it would be very damaging to my image

That’s the character that in the end of season 5 we were supposed to be rutting for, and being happy he was able to stay with the nice daughter and his dream job, THIS GUY.

Adrien demonizes plastic to his dad but without success he fucks off.

Marinette then tries to ask Nadja to talk about it in her program but apparently the boss controls the tv channel, and it’s kinda of a bad choice to make a character you’re gonna throw away later such an important person.

We than have a time skip where everyone is now in…. Luka’s boat house….

For the miraculous theorist, I think we can safely conclude, Anarka is fucking rich.

Anyways the group + the people from the around the world special proceed to help max HACK NADJA TV PROGRAM.

WTF? WHY? ARE IN THAT “Just Stop Oil” ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVIST GROUP? Is the show really influencing that these crazy people are doing the right thing? THEY HACKED A GOD DAMMIT TV SHOW, JUST MAKE THE CHARACTERS THINK THERE’S NO HOPE LEFT, BUT THEM THEY ENTER IN A NOT CRAZY ACTIVIST GROUP AND THE MESANGE WOULD BE DELIVERDED, DON’T GIVE FUEL TO THESE PEOPLE!

We than have one of the most nonsensical scenes of this show. Don’t believe in me? Let me show you.

Firstly, Nino is pointing a camera at the group which means he is doing a live

But we have video of the boat they’re in, underwater shot (which is just the most beautiful water I've ever seen) UK (probably) shot. Japan and NY shots.

Throwing away a perfectly good fan that could be reused when the whole special is LITTEREALY ABOUT RECYCLING

This thing being a worldwide thing but Marinette and Adrien don’t know about them.

The fact that even after being haked the tv show the executives said to Nadja say good things about those idiots.

“nAtUrAlLy I WaS nOt aWaRe oF tHiS, BuT aS sOoN aS i WaS InFoRmEd I hAd EvErY MoRtAl FaN mAcHinE ReMoVeD fRoM PaRiS”

DO YOU SEE MY POINT?

Anyways we see a scene of the boss screaming to Gabriel on his alliance ring that he lied and that Gabriel knew the fans were polluted, again, Gabriel is a character we were supposed to like in the end of season 5.

Well, the boss gets mad and monarch Akumatizes him into king of plastic.

First of all, this doesn't look like plastic, it looks like he's made of candy, THOSE THINGS ON HIS SHOULDERS ARE JELLY BEANS AND NO ONE CAN TELL ME OTHERWISE, I can understand why his skin is pink, his logo is basically just pink, but why black? It doesn't feel like plastic either, and what's with his feet? He has these blisters that look like he's having an allergic reaction or something, and why is his weapon a sword? I understood that when Karami and Tomoe's weapons were a sword, they were linked to swordsmanship, but why is his weapon a sword? Let's be real, the producers just gave him a sword to make him look cool, ok for the things I liked, I liked his crown. It's shaped like a king's chess crown, the design is creative and I liked the look of its lower parts like the lower parts of a doll.

Well, I think I will give him A 5.8/10 I don't know if just making him a gigant version of his logo would be better, no I was just kidding- it's just a joke- please don't do that PLEASE NO NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Monarch gives him the bee powers and KOP (plastic king) rushes to paralyze the mayor and we see what his powers are about, he turns people into plastic, ok that's actually a good power, it kind of reminds me of the villains from season 2, do you remember season two? When was the show good? And did we have character development? I miss that too.

He transforms the police in plastic and decides to go to the Agreste mansion.

Marinette and Adrien while Adrien was teaching Marinette how to say hi in mandarin, like the language her mom is fluent, and that Sabrine would teach her how to say at least a “Hello”? anyways they both see the Akuma so Adrien leaves her house and they both transform.

KOP transforms the gorilla in plastic so the writers can have the heroes know his powers and that he’s dangerous just for the heroes to not care about that and attack him without thinking twice, but relax guys he just throws them, phew for a moment I thought they wouldn’t do it.

He transforms chat’s staff and well-done king. He doesn’t deserve his staff, or his powers, OR HIS STANS, THAT REFERENCE WAS HORRIBLE I SHOULD JUST SHUT UP.

Ladybug: you’re the tycoon who makes all these polluting fans! The king of plastic, aren’t you?

Chat: the king of pollution you mean.

KOP: miss information, plastic is fantastic!

Ladybug: fantastic would be you ending your reign and all the pollution you’re causing!

Ugh, another show to demonize plastic, actually I think I didn’t said what demonizing plastic is, demonize plastic is put all the fault of plastic pollution in the plastic bottle or the company that made it, and say that the companies should be ashamed of that and they should stop producing plastic, first, we NEED plastic, it became an essential part of our lives, the computer the miraculous teem made this episode is made of plastic, the tv the mlb fans watch It is made out of plastic, everyone has multiple things made out of plastic, the problem isn’t making plastic, the problem is and not recycling it, and not re-using it. and is it the company fault? Me and my family used to travel a lot, and every time we got thirsty, we would buy a water bottle just so when runned out, they threw it away and buy another one, and then I ask you, who fault? The companies or my family’s? but shows tend to just throw all the blame at the companies and forget that we are the ones using it once and throwing it away, but really, I knew since the beginning of the episode they would demonize plastic.

Well KOP go to Luka’s boat house to take revenge on the kids, but ladyboob and cat noar show up to stop him, ladybug then activates her lucky charm which is a plastic bag.

They realize that the plastic bag can’t be turned into plastic because it is already made of plastic so ladybug comes up with a plan.

Alya tells the group to turn on the boat plastic collector system, so chat noir cataclysms the engine, which makes the boat explode in trash again, how many times is Juleka gonna get homeless in one episode?

Well, KOP Drowns in the most beautiful trash I've ever seen and that the MLB producers totally didn't just download from the internet.

Ladybug breaks the sword and purify the Akuma.

The boss: what am I doing here? This is disgusting, aren’t you gonna help me?

Ladybug: this is exactually what millions of sea animals are going through around the world.

Chat noir: and they don’t always have a super hero to offer a helping hand and save them.

The boss: you just covered me in a pile of trash woman, its not my fucking fault people are throwing trash at the sea I just sell plastic, Jesus Christ could you help me I can’t fucking move.

I wish he said it, ok here’s what he actually said.

The boss: ok maybe plastic isn’t always so fantastic.

Aaaaand they rushed the conclusion so that everything would end up in a happy ending, I warned ya.

Ladybug gives him a magical charm so he can remember he got one of the most rushed character developments in history.

We have a scene showing that now everything’s ok, everyone is using the kids’ ideas and tomorrow everyone will forget about recycling and everything will go back to how it was. And that’s where the episode ends.

Ok this episode is not very good.. it’s not the worst thing I’ve ever seen still it isn’t good, there’s a lot of conveniences, the animation is worst than usual, even if I liked the villain, I must say his powers were used billions of times, I liked they give more screen time to the fight though.

The episode was generic and I’m almost sure they made the episode just for 1: people go “oh they are so nice!” so they can cover up the racist (intentional or not) in the show. and 2: for sell merch of Marinette’s water bottle for 65 bucks each.

The message was very over the top, and they didn’t do much to try make something original out of it, they just made a check list with every single trope they use in cartoons ecological episodes and made it, and it looks like they didn’t care to much about logic, that thing in Lukas’s boat house was totally illegal and dangerous, the group just found the boss office because a random dude that worked for him showed them without thinking twice, they can just get into places they shouldn’t be able to and it doesn’t even make sense, they resolve all their problems via hacking a channel network, which doesn’t make sense and even if they were able to do it there are billions of tv ads about recycling and they never get attention, I know it’s a kid show but couldn’t they make the characters say “this fight won’t be easy, but we are gonna fight for a better world, are you with us?” it would be better in my opinion.

The characters literally hacked a network, break into a dude’s office and there’s just no consequences, I know it was for a good cause but still. it looks like the writers knew it was a filler episode and didn’t care about researching any of it, if they did, they would know that MOST BAKERIES USE PAPER BAGS, OR THAT FANS AREN’T MADE OF PLASTIC, OR THAT YOU CAN’T DO A LIVE SHOWING ANOTHER CONTRY IN REAL TIME.

Over all if you enter in this side this episode because a mess, but if you just watch the episode, it isn’t too bad.

And a fun fact this episode was made without Astruc, “but AC, if you think the episode was shitty why does it matter to you?” well my dear summer child, let me tell you, first of, I always thought if the miraculous team could do an episode without Astruc telling them what to do it would be just the best episode of mlb, and after the awakening movie that theory just confirmed itself from me, but no, it wasn’t, not even close.

And because I loved that they didn’t use Chloe in the episode, I bet all my life savings that if Astruc worked on the production Chloe would appear and say something like “ WhO EvEn cArEs AbOuT nAtUrE?” or make Andre seem a nice guy who just wants the best for his city and that totally wasn’t corrupt, so at least that a good thing about this episode.

Anyways I’ll give this episode a 6/10. Thank you for reading until the end, hope I’ll see you in the next post.

#miraculous ladybug #mlb #miraculous #ml #miraculous salt #mlb salt #mlb sucks #miraculous ladybug salt #ml salt #miraculous season 5 #mlb s5 spoilers #mlb season 5 spoilers #mlb season 5 #miraculous spoilers #action special #action spoilers

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writingforatwistedworld · 2 years

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Phantom bride event-Player is their last option Pt.5

Characters: Epel Felmier, Ace Trappola, Riddle Rosehearts

Self-aware au

I do not take any responsibility for you reading this no matter which age group you are from!

WARNINGS: Yandere themes, violence, murder, killing, blood, death, possessiveness, imprisonment, kidnapping, obsession

Oh dear.... oh boy....

Ok, you enter, make him think he ascended to haven because he can see you in such clothing and then crashes like a caffeine addict after they don't get enough of their stuff after realizing that... well... you are more or less a sacrifice

So, Epel is panicking, you are proposing, the world ends in his eyes

All these hours upon hours upon hours of praying just to see his God die is something he had hoped to never witness

But, oh happy day, here we are

If you were just here proposing then he would just have the urge to... uh poison and put you into a glass coffin

But congrats! He is way too scared for your safety to do that

One good thing at least....

Epel is devastated

Even if he could move he would still be absolutely useless!

A small, weak guy like himself could never change anything about the situation

And look at the competition! She is literally royalty!

But, oh well, even royalty can be disposed off

The poisoned apple is a powerfull tool after all

Do not understimate him

Once he is free again he will find a way to harm her and keep you to himself. Only him. Him. Him alone. Did I mention he will find a way to bind you to him?

Oh uh…. how about we call a doctor?

My man over here looks everything else but good

Why? Can't you see the color of his face??!

All I can say that he plans to show Crowley his opinion on sending you as the last DEFENSELESS person

He painted the roses red, And many tears the crow shed, He dare not to stop, Or spare a drop, …. (Cheesus!!! What the heck did I create here??!)

But *ahem* bloodlust aside, he is terrefied

What if you get hurt?

Or even worse, you might even mean those words!!!

And he is also at fault for your situation!!!

If only he had tried harder! If only he didn’t try to act all above and better than her...

And also, for some reason he feels like he is failing you

Not only as a friend

But also if he was someone responsible for your safety

Then again, he was raised with the believe that you are the true ruler, the hidden monarch, of the Queendom of roses

So in other words, you got a friend who will end anbody if you wish so

Oh and also, he will lock you up for your own safety. Just some unimportant information here.... RUN!

I have never seen him so pale

No joke, all the blood which rushes up to his head when he is angry (QUESTION MARK) Gone.

My man has gone pale

Red Queen? More like white Queen!

*sigh* When will I ever get in my head that the live-action… ok, moving on

But then again you could die

So his worries are somewhat understandable

If only he wouldn’t feel so guilty….

He made a promise to Draconia, to save his dorm member and failed

Now you had to pay the price for his pathetic attempt at saving Lilia

Fire is a bit useless if your opponents are ghosts….

Oh and his dreams could die just now

Riddle knew that loving the hidden monarch was a bit much even for Queendom of Roses standarts but it is what it is

The Queen likes the crow red, If he saw black instead, He’d raise a fuss, And the crow under us, Would quickly loose his head…. God, I need to stop…

Safe to say that Crowley is in danger like never before….

And maybe uh... leave the place before he forces you upon that throne back home because then that was your last free second

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novankenn · 9 months

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Altered Destiny

= Three =

Glynda Goodwitch's breath hitched as she saw the massive boarbatusk pacing along the top edge of the cliff. The shine of reflected light of two pieces of easily recognizable pieces of equipment made her heart race. Were they too late? With a sudden snarl as the bullhead slowly descended to get a better view of the area, Glynda lashed out with her semblance.

A purple light surrounded the massive grimm, lifting it into the air before dashing it against the ground, instantly turning it into a smear of inky ichor. Moments later the bullhead landed and Glynda followed by the medical team disembarked, and began their search. Using the tracker on their own, scrolls then zeroed in on the signal. A signal coming from the bottom of the chasm.

Glynda: No! No! No!

As Glynda's mind fell into her greatest fear, that of losing a student under her care, the EMT's moved into action. The bullhead lifted off, and then moved into a hover over the chasm, before two members of the rescue team repelled out of the air vehicle and down towards the source of the signal.

/=/

Glynda met the remainder of JNPR in the waiting room of the infirmary. Cutting them off from just rushing into the room that Jaune was currently occupying. The trio looked up at her, with genuine concern, Miss Nikos eyes the most telling. Glynda could tell she had been crying, the redness and puffiness tell-tale signs.

Glynda: Jaune is okay, and safe but in a coma.

Pyrrha: What... what happened?

Glynda: We still need Jaune to tell us, but what we can figure is he used the launch pads to go into the forest for some reason, and ran into some serious trouble. I must repeat, Jaune is okay, just currently unresponsive.

Nora: When can we see him?

Glynda: In a few minutes. I have a few things to inform you of, before you can. So, please take seats.

The trio moved and took seats on the uncomfortable hard plastic chairs that lined the walls of the waiting room. Once they had settled, and return thier full attention to Glynda, she spoke.

Glynda: We are no sure what has happened, and I am going to be speaking with the headmaster about the pads being active, but I must let you know... we found Jaune at the bottom of the chasm, surrounded by blood.

Ren: I thought you said he was okay? A drop like that should have killed him.

Glynda: The doctors believe that thanks to his massive aura reserves, he was able to survive the fall. Now, while that is a plausible scenario, what is not understood is how he suffered no injuries even though he was surrounded by a rather significant amount of blood.

Nora: So he was hurt?

Glynda: Yes, he was at one point, but upon our arrival we found him whole and breathing, just unresponsive. But that is not the end of the uncharacteristic situation.

Pyrrha: How did he manage to fall into the chasm?

Glynda: We found a rather large boarbatusk nearby, we think it knocked him over the edge. We disposed of it, and then set about securing Jaune. Who is now being thoroughly examined.

Ren: So he survived... which is explainable, but you said uncharacteristic situation. What do you mean?

Glynda: It is about the condition of him when we found him. His body has been altered, and we have no clue as to how.

Pyrrha: What do you mean?

Glynda: It is perhaps better that I show you. It would be faster than trying to explain it. Please follow me.

The trio rose from their seats and followed Professor Goodwitch into the main hallway of the infirmary. She led them in silence past many empty rooms, til they stood before the closed door of the last room. Glynda turned to regard the three before opening the door and stepping aside to allow them to enter.

What they saw caused them all to stop in shock. Their eyes wide and mouths agape.

Pyrrha: How? What? This is not Jaune!

Nora: Who is this?

Ren: (Turns to look at Professor Goodwitch) Is this some type of sick joke? Where is Jaune?

Glynda: This is not a joke. We have been running every test we can think of. We have checked her fingerprints, blood matching and are even doing a DNA sequencing and Aura Pattern analysis. So far, everything we've done tells us this is Jaune Arc.

Pyrrha: But...

Nora: That's a girl! That's not our Fearless Leader!

Glynda: I don't know what else to tell you. Or how to prove this is who we say it is. But this is how we found Jaune at the bottom of the chasm.

Pyrrha: This is not possible. I know people can change genders, but not magically like this! I mean, Jaune was a he this morning!

Glynda: Again I don't know what to tell you, and until Jaune wakes up and tells us what happened, we don't have any answers but what the tests are telling us.

Ren: Any idea when that may happen?

Glynda: The doctors are not sure, they are hoping because Jaune's body is apparently unharmed that it will be sooner rather than later.

Glynda watched as the trio slowly took control of their shock and apprehension and moved further into the room. Soon they had surrounded Jaune's bed.

Glynda: I'll leave you alone. If anything happens, or Jaune wakes up please use the call button.

Pyrrha: Yes professor.

Glynda gently closed the door behind her, giving JNPR the privacy they needed.

{Table of Contents}

#Altered Destiny #Kashimashi: Girl meets Girl #rwby #jaune arc #fem!jaune #female!jaune

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mislamicpearl · 9 months

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Thoughts on Danny Phantom: A Glitch in Time

If you want the tl;dr of my thoughts on this graphic novel, it's simple: I LOVED IT! And I want moooore!

SPOILERS GALORE BELOW

I'm soooooo happy with all the dialogue and characterization, it is just spot on! I could perfectly hear the original voices of the characters saying these lines, this comic could literally be a new episode of the show and it would fit seamlessly! No 2020's slang or memes, no wokeness that wasn't there before, just pure Danny Phantom. The only few indications of the comic having been written in 2023 is the use of words like "selfie" and "goat", and those are already old enough now that they don't feel that blatant.

Needless to say I'm sooooo glad this story's main premise is on Dark Danny, the fact that that storyline never came back in the show was always a sore spot for me. And not only Dark Danny but Vlad AND Clockwork come back for major parts to play? This is like the most wish fulfilling fanfic ever, except it's CANON!

But yeah, love that Vlad got to come back, it's always funny when he has to work together with Danny, AND the fact that he gets a redemption of sorts at the end fixes one of the many things I disliked about the show's finale - it had always felt like this was a villain character that could have and should have gotten a second chance to do some good.

Ahahaha I had completely forgotten that Tucker was made mayor of Amity Park in Phantom Planet, and ngl it was a great move on the comic's part scrapping that idea immediately, that had always been pretty silly.

I wish we could've seen just a little bit more of Danny interacting with his parents now that they know his identity as a half ghost, but considering they weren't major characters in this plot (and considering how things end up) it kinda makes sense.

The important thing is that we still got lots of cute wholesome hugs between Danny and his friends. :')

Aaaaaah Dark Danny is so cool! The art style was really cute but the author also managed to make Phantom look just as dark and menacing as he was in the show.

The best and most disturbing joke was Danny seeing that Vlad still had a clone of him in stasis, ahahaha! And this actually comes back to play an important part in the plot later!

I'm glad Valerie got some moments to shine in this too, I never liked how her and Danny's whole thing was just kind of rushed and brushed aside in the show's finale. Now we can see, she still doesn't completely trust him!

If there's just one thing I fault this comic with, it's the whole glitching through different timelines thing to make filler action scenes. I felt like they ate up page time for nothing.

"I put you two in the ground before, I can do it again" HOLY FRICK THAT'S DARK, DANNY!

I really love the lore surrounding the ghosts that was added. Given that Butch Hartman has said the ghosts aren't actually deceased spirits of real people, the explanation given here actually makes the fact that we have ghosts like Poindexter, who was a living boy once, make sense without negating what he said. It also very simply explains why we have weird formless or creature-like ghosts, something I'd never even thought to wonder about.

I did think it was a little too easy for Danny to get his powers back after that explanation (and dang, as if he hasn't been compared to Spider-man enough XD), but I love what it did for Vlad's character arc.

I don't know how I'd never thought before about Dark Danny and Vlad interacting but WOW I needed to see that! God what a deliciously complicated relationship - Vlad literally adopted this version of Danny and made him who he was! And again, what a great way to develop Vlad's character making Dark Danny show him exactly what would result from him getting what he'd always wanted in making Danny his protegee!

Clockwork Dark Danny looked so cool~

"Why was I the one who lost everything?" God this part punched me in the gut.

Clockwork returning Danny and his friends back to the status quo of the show would usually annoy me, but I totally see that this is the author's way of undoing the results of Phantom Planet and leaving the story open to doing the ending over again - and I'm all for that! You know, if in fact we do get more comics after this.

Which it seems like we will because we kinda left Valerie on a cliffhanger there?

And Dark Danny is now a kid again and back with Vlad, heck yeah! Again, I need mooooore! Bring back Dani next!!

5 stars man, this is a continuation done right in every way!

#mispearl cartoon thoughts #danny phantom #repost from da

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visd3stele · 2 months

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i have only watched the first two episodes, but i have to write this down before i forget it

SPOILERS AHEAD

i'm so upset you people made it seem so much worse!! i'm talking about ATLA live action show, of course. all i saw about it is criticism, harsh, angry criticism. which is valid, to each their own, but it's not that bad!! it's actually quite good. for people who haven't seen the original it should be gold. their new fav fantasy series.

yeah, the plot is moving FAST. faster than it should and thus eliminates so many things. like, getting to see Aang's backstory so soon, whitout showing how happy he was before finding out he's the avatar and how the other kids pushed him away once the news got out, gyatso being told to stay away too being the final drop, causing him to leave and despise being the avatar. in the show he just fears the responsability. which is in tune with his character. it's valid. it's just far less complex and complicated.

Aang's still childish and likes to play and goof around, he just accepts his role faster. fear of hurting others, a very important characterization of him that appears in the original show as well, plays a huge role still, he just becomes responsible and stops running from who he is faster.

Katara and Sokka are really well written. Sokka's sexism isn't out and open, it's not obvious and it's watered down a lot, but it exists. harder to catch on, easy to brush away, but it's there. and Katara is motherly, the only thing i was upset about was her not mentioning her mother. it was made up for with the flashbacks, but still.

Zukko didn't mention his honor once!! whyyy??? i mean, i know it's a running joke in the fandom, but all humor aside, it plays an important part in his character. throughout the series he learns how to be an actual honorable person, he learns he's the only one who can give himself this value, he can't receive it from – or have it taken away by – Ozai. other than that, though, he's a really good Zukko. he has the entitled prince patience – or lack of it more likely. he has the anger, the need to succeed driving him over his limits. he's rude with those he sees beneath him. i have faith his growth will be well handled.

SUKI!!! other than the fact she has an immediate crush on Sokka, she's also good. her and Sokka still train, she still beats him and shows him how to fight better. he still tries to show off in her face and is ashamed to lose to a girl. he's ashamed to ask for her help. but he comes around real quick. it's two seasons worth of character development and relationship development crammed in one episode. but they have to do that to catch your attention. the average public has lost their patience to watch a slowly developing, complex character arc. and they don't want the show to be cancelled.

Uncle Iroh is on par with who he is in the original. nothing to comment here.

there are major chances, like Aang channeling Kyoshi and entering the spirit realm so early in his journey. but the channeling other avatars in their temples is an interesting addition in my opinion. i personally like it and am ready to see more of it.

Katara is learning a bit fast, but she still can't fight Zuko on her own, so they didn't, thankfully, make her a prodigy mary sue. it's fine by me. she still has to work to achieve her powers and it actually reminds me of how fast she learns when she has a teacher, so they did rush her, but the struggle is still there.

they leave so many things unadressed because they don't have time to write them in, but they do touch the important main events. so i'll take it.

the costumes are SPLENDID!!

all in all, i like it. it's nostalgic and i can see my childhood show come to life. nothing could replace it, but it's a beautiful addition.

#movie talk #avatar: the last airbender #avatar: tla #atla #atla live action #atla tv show #atla spoilers

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wonderlandleighleigh · 2 years

Text

They mostly patch things up after Carnegie Hall and...

And they go back to being friends.

Just friends.

And Midge feels her heart crack just a little every time she sees him. Every time he pops into one of her gigs. Every time she winds up at one of his. Every shared drink and shared joke.

All she wants to do is burrow in against him and holds on for dear life, but Lenny had said “just friends” and so she can’t.

But she’s not an unobservant person, and the more she does see him, the more she notices how thin he is. How pale. How tired. Smoking more. Drinking a little more, too.

“Come to dinner with me,” she says one night after his show. “You must be starving.”

Lenny just grins and shakes his head. “I’m good. But thanks.”

“When was the last time you slept?”

“I’m fine.”

“Lenny-”

“All is well,” he tells her, leveling her with a stern gaze.

And it’s not.

She knows it isn’t. She’s a mother - a Jewish mother - and between the biological instincts and the generational trauma, she can tell that he is not well, but she can’t do anything about it because she is trapped as his friend. Sister/Wife jokes aside, he isn’t hers. He made certain of that.

But she keeps going to his shows when she can. When she doesn’t have her own gig. Partially because she wants to see him. Support him. But partially because she wants to be there when he finally fucking collapses.

And lo and behold...

“Motherfucker!” Jo-Jo cries in surprise as he jumps back, letting Lenny hit the club floor one night after a set.

Midge rushes over then, shoving Lenny’s “friends” out of the way. “What is wrong with you, Jo-Jo? Why didn’t you catch him?”

“He startled me!”

Midge rolls his eyes and drops to her knees, shaking Lenny’s shoulders. “Lenny. Lenny, come on.”

His eyes flutter open, dazed. He’s not drunk or high. He’s just completely, utterly exhausted and starving to boot. “Midge...?”

“We have to stop meeting like this,” she grins at him. ”Come on. On your feet. Time to take you home.”

“If I’m coming to your place I’m sleeping in your bed this time,” he grumbles.

Jo-Jo rolls his eyes. “He’s got an apartment in the Village. Corner of Bank and Washington.”

Midge nods. “I got it. Come on, you. Time to take another fun, delirious cab ride!”

“My favorite,” Lenny mutters, holding onto her as she helps him out of the club and onto the sidewalk. “You should stop saving me.”

“Where’s the fun in that?”

“No, really,” he tells her, turning to her, doing his best to stay upright. “I’m hopeless, Midge. I...I wanted to only be friends so you didn’ have to keep doing this.”

“You’re a very funny man, Lenny Bruce,” she tells him. “In so, so, so many ways.” She hails the a taxi, shoves him in gently, and they’re off to his place.

*****

The apartment isn’t big, but it’s nice and clean. The furniture looks new, and the kitchen is small, but good, though there’s not much food in the house. She manages to cobble together some buttered noodles for him - light on the stomach for someone who hasn’t been eating - and sits with him on the couch as he takes slow, tentative bites.

“Talk to me,” Midge says gently.

Lenny glances at her and then looks away. “I got clean. I went- I went cold turkey. But it’s been...”

She waits, feeling he concern rise in her chest.

“Sleeping is impossible. I’m never hungry...The withdrawal has been a fucking nightmare.”

Midge sighs and absently gives into the urge to stroke his hair gently. “Even if you’re not hungry, you have to eat.”

He gives a noncommittal shrugs and pokes at the noodles.

“Seriously, it’s like sitting next to a skeleton,” Midge jokes. “How are you ever supposed to get another woman to sleep with you when you’re all skin and bones?”

The look he levels her with could destroy a fucking building, and she closes her mouth.

After a long, tense moment, she pulls her hand away. “You wanted to be friends.”

“Not because I don’t want you,” he confesses. “You should stay away from me. I’m a fucking nightmare.”

“Because never mind what I want,” Midge grumbles.

“Yes, and what do you want?” Lenny asks, annoyed. “Watching me struggle through getting clean? Watching me get arrested every other fucking week? Watching me probably fall off the wagon? Is that what you want?”

“Maybe if you had someone to actually help you, those things would be easier to deal with,” Midge points out. “Did you ever think that maybe struggling through all of this alone is what makes it so hard in the first place?”

“Dragging you into my mess-”

“There isn’t any dragging,” Midge shrugs. “There just me, and you, and whether we want to be together.”

“It’s not that simple.”

“It could be if you let it.”

“That’s naïve.”

“I bet you your life gets easier if we start dating,” Midge says seriously. “One month as your official, actual girlfriend, and I bet you don’t feel so much like already chewed bubblegum.”

“And what do you get if you win this bet?” Lenny asks, looking bewildered.

“You,” Midge smirks.

A look passes over his face that she can’t quite discern. Something like hope or heartache or something in between. “And what do I get if I’m right?” he asks.

“A one-way ticket to feel as miserable as you want,” Midge tells him. “All alone. I will go back to being just your friend, and I will never bother you about letting me help you again.”

He chews on some noodles, and looks down at the bowl, considering it. “You did a good job on these noodles.”

“You had some garlic powder,” Midge tells him. “Helps with flavor.”

Lenny sighs. “Fine. One month. One month of Midge Weissman: Lenny Bruce’s girlfriend.”

A slow smirk crosses her face, and she reaches out, tugging him in by the suit jacket and kissing him mercilessly. The moan she gets in response is entirely encouraging. She pulls away a moment later, still smirking.

“Finish your noodles and meet me in the bedroom,” she tells him as she gets to her feet, brushing off her dress and heading towards the little hallway. “I’m gonna suck your cock so hard you sleep for a fucking week.”

Lenny can only watch her go, and she hears a very soft “The fuck did I just sign up for?”

#fic #au #tmmm #Midge/Lenny #Midge x Lenny #I don't know what just happened here

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singofsolace · 11 months

Note

I’m curious what you think about Rebecca’s storyline in the Ted Lasso finale. I felt they resolved her story with Rupert decently enough but the stuff with Ted and Boat Guy just felt off. I’d love to know your thoughts.

I think there were a lot of scenarios I would've been okay with for the end of Rebecca's storyline, and yet, the one they landed on was so outside of what I wanted or expected, I couldn't help but be shocked.

Like you, I thought her storyline was resolved with Rupert well enough (though I would've liked to have seen how, exactly, Rebecca helped Bex and Rupert's former assistant decide what to do? like, obviously, they decided to divorce and sue him respectively, but I still would've liked to have seen how Rebecca helped get them there, and what, precisely, they needed to ask her, since I'm sure they were already halfway to those decisions without Rebecca's help).

As for Dutch Boat Guy, I've been pretty vocal about how Rebecca's storyline in the Amsterdam episode made me incredibly nervous and upset. There were so many other ways they could've written Rebecca having an unexpected romance in Amsterdam without putting her in such a dangerous situation? And people have tried to tell me that Ted Lasso would never do a sexual assault storyline, to which I would argue... ummm.... a show doesn't have to be SVU to "go there"? Keeley's nudes got leaked, Jamie revealed his dad orchestrated the losing of his virginity in Amsterdam when he was still a child, etc. They literally made multiple jokes over the course of the episode that highlighted the fact that Rebecca was completely at the mercy of this Dutch stranger on his boat, with no way to call for help, and nowhere really to run, should things go badly. They made jokes that called attention to the fact that this man could very easily harm or even kill her, and so I spent the whole episode terrified about what could happen, and thinking there's no way most women wouldn't be hearing alarm bells the moment they looked at a cup of tea that said "it's not drugged (I promise)."

But putting aside the Amsterdam episode and how uncomfortable it made me, I still just don't think that from a story arc perspective for the lead female character that it makes sense to make her "endgame" relationship with a character whose name we don't even know. We got no build up to that being Rebecca's happy ending. We spent the whole season being misdirected with fake-outs and psychic predictions, looking for signs that would eventually lead us to her "lightning." Where was the lightning with Boat Guy? Did I miss it? And where was the green matchbook for him? What was the point of the psychic reading if it was only meant to misdirect us? I think Rebecca as a character deserved a lot better than a relationship with a stranger that was rushed to its conclusion in the last fifteen minutes.

As for Ted's ending, that was the most surprising and disappointing to me of all. I didn't need him to be with Rebecca (really, I didn't. I've been prepared since the beginning for Tedbecca never to happen), I just needed him to be happy and surrounded by his chosen family. So why did Jason play Ted as if he was deep in the depths of a depression? Why did he show practically no emotion the whole episode? Why did they decide his "happy ending" should be coaching little league soccer, when Rebecca literally offered him a solution where he would be able to stay in England and bring both Henry and Michelle to London to live a good life? I just don't understand why Ted didn't even consider that as an option??? Like having Rebecca say "you've already made your decision, haven't you?" keeps us from ever hearing or understanding what Ted's reasons were, and as an audience member, that really upsets me. And don't even get me started on Ted not attending Beard's wedding! (A wedding I never wanted to see in the first place, and honestly makes me sick to my stomach, because why set up the idea that multiple people are aware that the relationship is toxic and abusive, only for Beard to end up with her in the end?)

Anyway, those are probably more thoughts than you wanted, but there you are!

#ted lasso spoilers #rebecca welton #ted lasso

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armpirate · 1 year

Text

UNDER YOUR SKIN || JJK || Ch. 15

Pairings: tattoist!jk x fem!reader

Genre: smut, angst, friends to lovers, tattoo au, virgin reader.

Summary: You were awful on anything related to flirting, guys and sex. He was the perfect ladies man. You wanted to get rid of your virginity. And he was there to help you with everything you needed. You didn't have the best start, but that didn't mean you wouldn't have the best of the endings.

Previous || Next

MASTERLIST

I would lie if I said I didn't spend all evening trying to get ready for tonight, making my biggest effort to leave my anxiety aside and adopt that new personality I've already seen on so many women that have come to the bar these weeks. But the pressure I'm putting on my own shoulders, before I even get to the pub where we were supposed to be meeting, is only causing my level of stress to rise.

I should also avoid drinking, or at least not drink too much. I've never gotten drunk, not even when my bosses decided to treat us to a good dinner once a year, so it's not the best idea to get drunk for the first time, messing it up big time, with people I'm trying to be friends with. Or at least grow closer to.

But all those concerns vanish away the second I see a twisted smile on Tammy's face. And the little I've gotten to know her, I know it means nothing good. So my worries change, to focus solely on her and what she could come up with.

Five minutes later, she shows up with a stray full of little glasses. I start counting those the second she leaves the metallic plate on the small rounded table. Eight shots. Eight shots and it's only four of us.

—Two each —she mentions, as if it were obvious—. There's nothing better to start the night than vodka shots.

—Yeah, that's why you always end up spending more time on the floor than standing up —Melanie jokes.

—That only happened once —Tammy rolls her eyes, bending over to take one of the shots—. C'mon. Cheers, bitches! For a good night ahead.

After we all make our tiny glasses tingle after we toast, Soo makes sure to remind us all she can't drink a lot nor will stay until the end of the night because she has to meet up with a client tomorrow morning. I'm almost going to say we could've left it for a different day, but I hold it in. Instead of trying to comfort her, I'll probably sound annoyed or rude, which isn't the case at all.

Sometimes there are some things to be left unsaid.

—My wrist is driving me crazy —Melanie complains, trying to move her hand in circles.

—Did you make a bad move during training? —I ask, trying to hide as much as possible how the liquid is burning my throat.

—Probably —she pouts—. It's been bothering me since I left the kickboxing session.

—That's why you barely moved your hand when you were driving me back home? —Tammy asks, both eyes wide open—. I have a good ointment for things like that. I'll give it to you next time you come home.

She doesn't miss the chance, and while her hand is still rising because of her gesture, she picks another shot and drinks it all at once. An exaggerated gasp leaves her mouth, and her green eyes look around, like encouraging the rest of us to do the same with the rest.

—Y/n, you should come and join us one day —Soo says out of nowhere—. I kinda think you'd like it.

—Kickboxing? —Soo nods— I'm not sure. Never been good at sports —I laugh—. But I could give it a try one day, why not?

—Yeah. That's my girl —Tammy points at me with a pleased smile.

The night goes on just like that. They talk between them, mostly, although they try to make me join the conversations, I rush to shift back to my little side -and for the most part I look like one of those npc's. It's not like I have much to share or to talk about. I don't add anything to the conversation. They're talking about crushes and past experiences anyway, so yeah... I can't add anything to the conversation.

I could say how I settled a strange deal with Soo's brother, because I'm unable to go further than three words with the opposite sex. But I'm sure no one at this table would like to know about that.

So while I'm sipping on my third Mojito, Tammy gets my attention and almost makes me choke on my drink when she asks:

—You're too quiet —she starts—. And we all know what they say about the quiet ones.

—I don't really have much to share —I shrug.

—Did something happen between you and Seokwoo? You didn't keep me updated on anything —Tammy accuses.

If she only knew...

—No —I shake my head, just daring to look at them for one quick second—. We only saw each other at Mel's party, so.

I didn't even hear of him after the birthday party, and it's not like I've thought about him a lot either. But now that she brings him up... I wish I could've had his number at least. Not like it would've changed a thing, but it would've been nice.

—Hopefully he comes to New York again —Tammy winks at me.

At first I cringe a little by her answer and the tone she uses, but I just giggle and take a big sip from my drink. If she only knew Seokwoo and what I did have been the least of my problems lately. And it's not like I'd be able to do anything either.

✸ ✸ ✸

Some dances and several drinks after, Soo heads out. But she makes sure all of us agree on meeting up soon again, when we all are free and neither of us have to leave earlier because of work. Soon she vanishes and Tammy takes the lead of the night.

Oh no. What a bad idea...

She also disappears in the crowd of people, collapsing against one another on the dance floor. And instead of worrying for her, Melanie and I just vibe to the music, dancing some verses, moving our arms in small waves trying to keep the rhythm of the song. She also keeps mentioning how glad she is Soo reserved this small place for us, instead of having to fight for a stool or a high table near the dance floor. And I agree on that. I haven't really frequented nightclubs -for obvious reasons-, but being pushed to the corner of the counter while I'm trying to get a drink, crashing into sweated bodies every single time I have to go to the bathroom because the dance floor is right in between... For those of us who are sober, being in a club is the most similar thing to a decathlon.

When I'm about to ask about that case she mentioned when we were on that trip, Tammy shows up out of nowhere with three guys. And by the way she's holding the arm of one of them, I know which one will be her night stand tonight. That, and the fact that she totally disappears with that same guy shortly after making sure we're trying to bond with his other two friends. "Trying to bond" as in Melanie and the boy with the nose pierced, if I'm not wrong his name is Evan, are almost canoodling while Drake looks at his drink uncomfortably.

He tries to start a conversation a few times, but I fuck it up every single time by replying with a short answer. So I try to switch it up, and be the one asking the questions. But I think that's even worse.

—Do you come here often?

—No —he simply answers—. What about you?

—No.

And a big gulp follows right after. The rum burns my throat while the bubbles of the coke tickle on it, and the taste of that mix in my mouth makes me unable to hide the disgusted face, for a quick second.

Melanie and Evan are long gone from having just a conversation, and she rushes to ask me if it's okay for her to leave. Considering she told me just half an hour ago how bad she wanted to have some fun, I'm in no place to chain her next to me. And it's obvious she's pleased by my answer when a huge bright smile forms on her face. Similar to the one Drake has right now, only that his lips are more curved on a smirk.

And another big gulp follows as soon as we're both alone. And it isn't the last one I have. The conversation turns into a monologue, as soon as he starts rambling about how he only came here for his friends and they ended up leaving him all by himself. He cries about how they could do this to him, and how it's always the same. Or, at least, that's what I guess while I'm focused on finishing my drink.

I could leave right now, run away like I always do, but for some reason I feel bad leaving him here by himself after his friends left with mine.

His rambling must've changed topic at some point, because while I try to reach Melanie's almost full glass, I hear him saying how he isn't the typical dude to find hook ups in clubs.

—Girls like your friends are never into boys like me.

He drops that "pick me boy" line that makes me instantly cringe. And trying to avoid rolling my eyes in front of him, I end up drinking the full drink in one take. Not only does he uses such a weird technique to get my attention, but also dismisses the fact that I'm the one who's here right now.

Isn't it amazing what alcohol does to the human body though? And I don't mean how relaxed and out of touch I suddenly feel, or how dizzy, but how it starts doing a reaction with the three Mojitos I drank before Tammy came with these three guys, and the pizza I had for dinner.

Just keep it in for a few more minutes.

But I know that will be impossible when I feel my stomach twist, and the liquid, that not long ago rolled down my throat, is going up again. It's not until he gets up totally disgusted that I'm aware of what's just happened.

I swipe the long sleeve of my dress over my mouth, cleaning it up before I try to stand up myself when I realize this is the best time to leave. I'm careless about it right now, it's as if I had just slipped my drink over someone's shoes. But I know I'll be regretting every single second of it as soon as I wake up tomorrow.

As soon as I head outside, and feel relieved from the cold hitting my skin, I grab my phone to call a cab. If I thought night would be so simple after what's just happened, I was totally wrong. Shortly after I say where I am, a voice interrupts me.

—Are you drunk?

—I don't know —I frown—. Am I?

—Fuck, y/n. Where are you?

—I've just told you —I drag my words more than I'd want to—. You... —I stop and try again— you... —I go quiet when I'm unable to think about the right word— Just hurry up.

—I'll pick you up, don't move from there.

And I hear nothing else from the other line, except a continuous ring that warns me the phone call has ended.

I lose every sense of timing, and how long I've been waiting next to the door. I was too distracted vibing with the loud sound coming from it, and dissecting the people that keep coming out or coming in. Too busy checking out how good a pink coloured hairstyle looked on one of the girls leaving to realize there was someone walking next to me.

—Let's go —he moves his head.

—What are you doing here? —I question, squinting my eyes at him.

—You called me.

—You work in the cab station now?

He just rolls his eyes and puts his arm around my waist to guide my steps, towards that familiar truck, while I'm trying my best to walk straight with my ankles feeling like jelly. Jungkook tries to be as careful and delicate with me as I allow him to, moving his arms and hands on me while placing me inside the car.

—Did they all leave? —he asks while he buckles up my seatbelt— How the fuck did they even think of leaving you all by yourself? —he asks annoyed after I just nodded.

—I told them.... —I lift my hand to speak— I told them it was okay... —I squint my eyes again— I'm not five. I'm fine.

—Yet you can't form a sentence.

Touché.

I rest my head against the car window, and it all goes black after that.

#fanfic #ff #jungkook #jeon jungkook #jungkookxreader #jk #bts #wattpad #kookie #smut #jungkook smut #tattoistjk #tattooau #armpirate

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meritatem · 9 months

Text

For everybody else, this day was buzzing with the expectation and energy of a new era. For Damian it was just a Wednesday.

He followed his usual routine while pointedly ignoring how the atmosphere in the penthouse was different, how everybody was preparing in some way or another for the night. Damian didn't share the concerns that seemed to hang over the others, he knew Grayson will do well and despite how much it hurt his pride in the past to admit it, Drake was a highly competent Robin. They'll be fine, they had nothing to worry about.

With this being such an important happening for them, Damian decided to get out of their way to let them sort things out; he still wanted to voice his approval without directly say it and with that in mind, he decided the best place for that would be the kitchen.

Compared to cooking, baking was a breeze.

After so many humiliations with this food, Damian finally found something he was good at, if only because baking recipes were a precise science, which was something more aligned with his expertise. Even Pennyworth, who was always harsh in his honesty when giving criticism, felt satisfied with the results from his first attempts. It made sense then, that he used his recently discovered aptitude with the oven to show his support and make something celebratory... to the New Dynamic Duo! May at least his favorite of the two stay whole at the end of this ordeal.

He made sure to have everything he'll need with anticipation to make shortbread cookies, including a ridiculous cookie cutter with the form of Batman's symbol, something he was almost disappointed they didn't own already, seeing how many other mundane things with the bat sign they possessed.

So, the most important thing in this day for Damian was to get an acceptable icing on his cookies. That was it, amazing accomplishments for one just Damian, no Wayne, no al Ghul.

“I must say, you have a very steady grip, sir.”

Not jumping when Alfred appeared out of nowhere in the most pure style of his father should count as a feat, with bonus points for not messing up the icing he was doing at the moment.

“This is a good opportunity to inform you that I can perform surgeries.”

“Surgery, engineering and overcooked pasta. The wonders never cease.”

“Hysterical, Pennyworth.” But he actually stopped himself from smiling. “I prefer tales from your youth better than your jokes, I'm especially interested in your training.”

“Sadly my days at the Royal Butler Academy are not as riveting as you're imagining.”

“If that's all the training you have done, then I'm a well-adjusted average child.”

“Heartwarming to see we share the same point of view.”

Damian chose not to dignify that with an answer, so Alfred focused his attention on inspecting the undecorated cookies that were on the sheet pan.

“If I knew you were planning on using this shape, I would've brought the batcookie cutter from the manor.”

“Are you talking about an actual gadget?”

“I'll let you take a guess.”

Before Damian could decide on an answer, his phone made a sound alert and just like that everything else ceased to matter. He rushed to take the phone that was near him on the counter; he didn't need confirmation as to what the alert he just received was about, but Damian still unlocked the phone to see.

“Apologies, Pennyworth, this is very important.”

Damian immediately jumped from the step stool he was on and ran straight to his room without looking back. Finding himself alone, Alfred merely arched an unimpressed eyebrow at the abandoned cookies and picked up the piping bag, proceeding to continue with the task left behind.

When Damian reached his room he hurried to his closet, setting aside a couple of boxes so he could move a fake portion of the wall to reveal behind it a handprint scanner, he placed his right hand over it and waited until a panel in the floor, that was in one of the corners of the room, opened.

Shortly after his arrival in Gotham, Pennyworth provided him with a phone and a laptop, so normal and simple that they were nothing more than toys for him. However at some point, possibly after he passed some kind of undeclared test from Alfred, he granted him heavy duty Batman-like technology. Damian was grateful to have a proper laptop he could work with, away from the unwanted eyes monitoring the Batcomputer; given the things he was up to, he had to be careful with its storage, because he had not doubt Tim would do something stupid if he knew of its existence.

After retrieving it from its hidden spot, Damian sat on the floor, not bothering to at least go to his bed. He spent the next ten minutes reviewing different fragments of footage, just enough to be sure this was exactly what he thought it was and once he was absolutely certain, he hurried now to leave everything exactly as it was before he entered his room, with the difference that he put the laptop in a canvas bag a brought it with him back to the kitchen.

When Alfred saw him, he made the attempt to saw something but Damian didn't give him the chance. “I'm leaving, I believe this is the start of Operation B.B.W.”

Whatever Alfred wanted to say before, died right there. “Oh.” Was the only thing he could say before he recovered his impeccable composure. “Not the best timing, I'm afraid.”

“Not the worst either, all considered. Don't wish me luck, Pennyworth, that's for amateurs.”

“Never, Master Damian, but I...” He glanced at the plate where four perfectly decorated bat-shaped cookies rested. With resolve, he walked towards Damian and placed a gentle but firm hand on his small shoulder. “There's nothing I want more that for you to succeed, my boy.”

These horrible people, making Damian feel so weak at the slightest show of affection. “Keep the sentimentality for Grayson, he's going to need it later.”

“In these uncertain times, we can all use a little sentiment.”

“And yet, I've never been this certain in years.”

Alfred knew that Damian wouldn't appreciate the comparison with Bruce, but it was true that at moments like this one, he was undoubtedly his father's son. The resemblance, of course, wasn't in the words being said but in their unwavering determination, so assured in their own competency while also planning for ten different ways to fail. It was a small comfort for him in the middle of the nightmare that was losing Bruce.

While Damian liked the bunker better than the cave, it was easier to slip away unnoticed in the cave thanks to its size. Now, if he really wanted, he could just go without saying anything and let Pennyworth deal with Grayson once he saw Damian was missing.

One of the biggest drawbacks of establishing healthy social routines like eating together, was that absences were hard not to notice, but in his defense, Grayson invited himself to Damian's shared meals with Pennyworth, not the other way around. Leaving without a word will work against everything Damian was trying to build, so even if time was of the essence, he needed to do this in the best way possible.

“Where's Drake?” Was the first thing he asked once in the bunker.

Grayson was there, sitting behind the computer, still in civilian clothes, which made sense because it was early for patrol. “Inspecting the Batmobile or something.”

If it weren't for the fact that this worked in his favor, Damian would've rolled his eyes. “Here, one is for you.” He offered Dick the plate he brought from the kitchen, that had two bat cookies on it. “It's a token of my well-wishes, may you conquer this night and the many more to come.”

Dick took the plate automatically, looking at the pair of cookies almost mesmerized. “Aww, Damian,” he cooed. “That's so nice of you.”

“Pennyworth helped, feel free to eat the other one when Drake rejects it.” For a moment Damian wished this was all, that he didn't have other more upsetting things to do, so he could bask, just this once, in Grayson's pleasantly surprised smile. “I also want to serve notice, I'm going to be away for a few days starting today.”

“What? Days?” Dick's posture changed completely, any hint of relaxation gone. “Why?”

“I'm investigating a drug ring, I have a lead so I'm going to stage a stakeout. If you need more information ask Pennyworth.”

“You can't do a stakeout alone, are you crazy?”

“I spent the past year doing missions around the world on my own. You have no idea of the things I've achieved without help.”

Grayson didn't know either about all the atrocities he committed because if he knew, he'd have denounced Damian, seeing him as the monster he truly was.

“Gordon told you about my accounts, that money wasn't a gift, it was payment. I know you think it's funny when I call myself a professional, but it was never a joke.”

The weakest part of Damian wanted to take back everything he said when Dick covered his face with both hands, but as remorseful as he was from parts of his past, he wasn't going to pretend they never happened.

“I know you weren't joking,” Grayson finally said soberly after uncovering his face. “But I can't let you do this without backup, why is this the first time I'm hearing about this?”

“As the next Batman you have more important things to worry about than some insignificant goons and their narcotics, leave the busy-work to the rest of us.”

“I get what you're trying to say but I don't like the idea of you being alone out there for days. Anything could happen.”

“I'm not an idiot, I know how to conduct myself in these situations,” Damian was trying, really, but it didn't matter his age, frustration always came easily to him. “I won't engage and I promise if I see the need to, I'll ask for assistance and wait. Grayson, please, trust me with this, I won't make you regret it.”

The universe had such a bad sense of humor, because Dick understood Damian well. He had been there once, asking Bruce to have faith in him and what he was able to do, only to be met with refusals and orders. Unsurprisingly, those negatives didn't stop him and he couldn't even remember now how many times he decided to act on his own.

At this point, disobeying Batman and going behind his back was an infamous Robin tradition; Dick never wanted to be on the other side of that and still, that's what was happening right now. While Damian was younger than Dick when he joined Bruce, he was also more skilled than any Robin had been at the start.

When he saw him patrol for the first time, Dick knew he didn't have to worry about him going on his own under Alfred's watch, however after actually spending a night working with him, Dick couldn't help but think how satisfied Bruce would've been with his son. If Dick didn't know any better, he would say Damian was a natural, taking to their methods like a fish to the water, despite how opposed they were to the League's style. He could only imagine how much effort Damian was putting into exceling like this.

Bruce would've told him no.

And maybe Dick should too, as experienced as he was, Damian was still a child, a small one, with a button nose, that talked like Alfred, took cooking too seriously and was so lively as he was somber. But Dick promised himself he wasn't going to repeat the mistakes Bruce did, he wanted Damian to know he could trust his reasoning, that he wasn't unapproachable or controlling; that even if they disagree, they could reach compromises and work together, not next to the other.

“You'll observe only, call for help at the first sight of trouble and if things get out of hand, you'll flee, your safety is the priority. I also want updates, hourly.”

“...” Grayson didn't know how lucky he was that Damian wasn't as quick to irk like he once had been. “I agree to your terms but you must know that I'm holding back some very impolite words.”

Dick's following laughter almost made worth all the hassle Damian will have to deal with. Almost.

Despite losing more time than he'd have liked coming to an agreement with Grayson, when Damian finally arrived to the hideout he shared with Colin, he was free to properly review the footage, like he couldn't in the penthouse and also make sure his target hasn't moved from where he last saw him.

Through the years, diverse circumstances made Damian analyze Gotham's infrastructure, not only because criminals liked to attack one building or another, but he also sought to know where his father's resources were... and his brothers'. He could pinpoint, even now, some of Grayson's safe houses all the way back to Blüdhaven.

It seemed that in the future Damian took that to new extremes, because in his efforts to be the Batman the city needed it, he tried to know every structure possible in Gotham to use that to his benefit. During his stay at that hellish place, he memorized all the information he could, places of interest in the city included. That was the reason behind the recent search that led him to find his current base, something he was grateful for, because he needed to work away for prying eyes.

Damian used to have a war table in the League, a military one. He never told anyone, not even Jon, but he always wanted a fantasy inspired one, with imaginary maps and troops, free of the burden of reality. Using games of chess as symbolism when one was planning something was a cliché, usually from people fancying themselves as masterminds, so it'd suit better losers like Nygma; Damian was fighting a war and before coming to Gotham, he decided on a campaign and made the first move in his little fictional table. And today, today may be the day he make the last for it.

Getting set for the challenge ahead was easy, because he had been gradually preparing in advance and did it so well, that he was even familiar with the place he had to go. So he got ready the equipment he was going to need, left Colin a message in the communicator he gave him and then departed to his destination, to one of the many run-down areas of the city. Once there, he quickly located the building he identified from the recordings: an old warehouse. He surveyed its surroundings before selecting the side of the roof he speculated had a good blind spot, according to his vague memories of the site, still, he made sure to carefully look inside before finally entering. Damian tested the closest ceiling joist to him, getting on it when it was clear that the rust damage was only superficial.

When he found a good position, one that had a perfect view of a very specific area in the floor, he just stayed there, motionless, waiting, while the sky above him started to stain with the colors of the twilight.

In accordance with Grayson's ridiculous rules, he put together a last minute program to signal Pennyworth, so for now it shouldn't be a problem, at least until Dick started to feel suspicious and tried to talk with him directly, but most likely he was going to be too busy with his debut as Batman; hopefully Drake will be busy too, because even if Grayson agreed it was best not to tell him about his solo mission for the moment, Damian knew how problematic things could get if Drake decided to try and look for him. Damian covered his tracks, but Drake was, well, Drake, favorite of both his father and grandfather, all for justifiable reasons.

And so, Damian waited, and waited, until it got dark. Fortunately for him - or very unfortunate, if the truth had to be told -, he was well accustomed to waiting for long periods of time. His mother used to say it was part of a good hunt.

It was close to midnight when his communicator flared to life with a well-known voice. “Hi, No One, it's Abuse, reporting? I mean, I'm at the place you told me so I'm just going to wait until new instructions?... I know you said you can't talk, I just wanted you to know I'm here, so don't worry, I got your back. By the way, thanks for the cookie, it was so rad. Roger.” Clearly it was imperative that Grayson and Colin never met, otherwise Damian wouldn't be able to survive the embarrassment those two could bring to his life together.

Just to make sure Colin knew Damian was there and their plans still on track, he send him a quick text message.

Finally, after almost an hour later, the pair of doors on the floor that he had been watching so closely, opened. If Damian had lacked the proper training, surely his heart would be racing with excitement - elation and anxiety alike - at the sight of the figure that emerged climbing the uncovered stairs behind the doors. He couldn't help it, he smiled in that way Alfred found unnerving.

He waited while his target closed the doors again, using that time to take aim with the gun he brought, letting the night vision of his mask's lenses do all the work, not that he really needed the aid but he had to made sure this only took one try. Damian let his mark walk away, just long enough so he couldn't immediately get back behind the doors he just closed. He fired then, aiming right at his target's neck with a perfect shot.

His mark didn't immediately fell, instead he screamed a curse, taking in an instant the tranquilizer dart from his neck and turning around, gun in hand, pointing it in the direction where Damian was, but by then he already took cover. Ignoring the aggravation of accepting how convenient his small frame was, Damian kept watching carefully his target's movements, getting a little worried for a second when he saw he almost made it back to his den, so as a distraction he decided to throw a batarang to disarm him, only to be surprised when, even as uncoordinated as the other was getting, he managed to evade it, probably because he identified it just by the sound. Now this was so much better than catching unsuspecting tamaraneans out of guard.

As interesting as this was, his target didn't really stand a chance against the sedatives; there was no shame in being beaten by them, Damian and even his father had fallen against that too. His mark knew this inevitability, because as soon as he started to wobble, he tried to shield himself behind the closest industrial barrel. It was that moment when Damian decided to go down, moving silently, with his cloak making more noise than his steps.

He stopped right in from of his target, who was sitting on the ground, leaning against the barrel and fighting to stay awake. Even in that state, he still tried to shoot, but he was too drugged to aim properly or be fast enough, because Damian kicked the gun from his right hand with plenty of time to snatch the second one from his left.

“Hello, Todd.”

Although the place was almost in darkness - with only little light from the moon - and Damian was covered in black, with the hood of his cloak over his head and the domino mask hiding half of his face, Jason's dropping eyes sparkled with recognition. “You-”

Damian, ironically, crouched down to be on his level. “Consider this an intervention.”

Maybe it was the adrenaline leaving him at knowing he wasn't at the mercy of some terrible enemy, or maybe it was just the drugs doing their job, but when Todd finally lost consciousness, Damian caught him before he hit the floor, letting him down gently. He made a quick checkup and then proceeded to tie him, just in case some miracle occurred and Jason immediately regained consciousness again.

When he finished, he stood up and pressed his communicator. “The cargo is ready, meet me at the warehouse.”

On the other side of the line Colin perkily answered. “Roger.”

With Todd secured and out of commission, surrounded only by shadows and silence, Damian put his hands closed in fists on his hips and let himself just... revel in this small moment in time. It wasn't the culmination of his plans or a defining victory, but it was a step, an important one, regardless of the end result.

He had earned the right to feel proud.

“Alas, I'm not Robin,” he said to no one in particular. “Nonetheless, I remain the best one.”

⪻Chapter 8

Chapter 10⪼

#f.r.w.#chap9

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