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artnrandomness · 6 months ago

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A Jester's Dangerous Way to Process Important Information (Not an original title, I know)

(Here's the tumblr version of the fanfic I just released the link for. For those who want context as to what this fanfic is, it's a TADC version of that scene in Transformers One where D-16 (pre-Megatron) says he wants to kill Sentinel Prime (spoilers, btw.) Anyways, enjoy.)

It had been some minutes since the members of "The Amazing Digital Circus" had recently discovered about Caine's true motives, and why he is the way he is. They had discovered have Caine may have liked them, but never wanted to understand them or how humanity worked, because he was too selfishly focused on making adventures to not care, and because he is too much of a failure of both a ringmaster and an AI to even make the digital world at least enjoyable and less anxiety-inducing.

To make things worse, Caine's words to Pomni, the most recent of the humans turned into circus members avatars, about how bad things might happen if he couldn't tell the difference between an NPC and a human anymore was much more obvious then first noticed. He viewed everything as an NPC because NPCs are things he can control, not beings with feelings and emotions, something his bugged, glitchy programming prevents him from realizing, not to mention how the darkness in the Cellar calmed the Abstracted down, possibly giving anyone a chance to bring their sanity back, only to be stuck in a psychological limbo thanks to Caine's (possibly unwilling(?)) disregard for others.

But that wasn't even the worst part.

No, the worst part is that the bodies that the humans were given upon being sent into the digital world; they are physical representations of their worst traits, such as Pomni's jester body, representing her as a joke to others through her shyness and anxiousness, Ragatha's ragdoll body, representing how much of a pushover she's unwillingly becoming by being a people pleaser and preventing herself from revealing her true views of others due to wanting to be seen as a good person, Gangle's string-made body, coupled with a comedy and tragedy mask, representing her struggle to be happy and true vulnerability, Jax's rabbit-with-overals body, representing how he acts like a jerk to hide his softer side, unaware of how much it's pushing people away, Kinger's king chess piece body, which reflected his light-fueled insanity, only stopped when the darkness returns his sanity and Zooble's body, a mix-and-match of multiple parts to represent their body dysmorphia.

The fact that none of the circus members realized this earlier, alongside their accidental discovery of Caine's incompetence and selfishness, was shocking and distressing. They all had ways of trying to process the information that they now had.

Ragatha tried to stay positive, only to realize that the way she tried to stay positive is another reflection of her fractured psyche. Gangle was speechless, unable to get a grasp on her mind as to how she should react. Kinger, now covered in darkness, already had a feeling about everything he saw, so he was just bummed out and disappointed. Zooble was just shocked, unable to be angry due to what they all discovered. And Jax was just silent, his expression unrecognizable, no one able to determine whether he was faking it or not. Their individual reactions are what made it a bit difficult for them all to process it.

But Pomni's reaction to their discovery, alongside her way of processing it, is what will help them process the information now inside their minds.

"I… I can't believe it." Pomni began to say, her shock obvious from her tone of voice. "Every day… Every single day in this "circus". ALL of it is a goddamn lie."

"Oh my God, I-…" Zooble began to say. "I knew it! I FUCKING KNEW IT! I KNEW, deep down, that something was off with Caine, but… but not this."

"Well, he DID deceive everyone else in this circus before us." Kinger said, his voice full of disappointment and in a nonchalantly emotionless tone.

"Our bodies in this world have been more than just avatars." Ragatha began to say. "They… Th-They were physical representations of our own struggles, physical, psychological and emotional. A-And we were OBLIVIOUS to it all from the START!."

"I… I-I can't believe it." Gangle said in disbelief, her face obviously in shock, despite her tragedy mask in full display, tears from her eyes and all. "I-I mean, I saw it a-and CAN believe it, don't get me wrong, but I still… I-I still can't believe it."

"Caine, he…" Pomni began to stammer in frustration. "H-He LIED! All this time! To us! To whoever you knew before me. To… T-To ME. And to my face!"

"It…" Jax began to say, his voice in disbelief. "Everything was a freaking sham. The whole damn thing! How were we so GULLIBLE?!"

Ragatha couldn't help but agree with Jax. "This… This changes EVERYTHING."

"Well duh, of course it fucking changes everything." Zooble said. "But the real question is-"

Before Zooble could finish speaking, however, their sentence was interrupted when everyone saw Pomni act in a sudden burst of rage, stomping on a statue of Caine as hard as she could with her foot. As the other circus members watched, they were surprised, and rather uncomfortable with what they were seeing, all while Pomni grunted in a rage-filled frenzy, her newfound hatred towards Caine, the very ringmaster she (while unknowingly) rightfully accused of wanting to make her suffer, starting to be formed. Even Jax felt uncomfortable towards what he was seeing. When Pomni finished stomping on the statue, now broken into a million pieces, the other members didn't know what to do or what to say to the angry jester.

"P-Pomni?" Gangle asked hesitantly.

"You just had to do it, didn't you, Jax?" Pomni said furiously at Jax.

Jax raised in eyebrow, both confused and annoyed by Pomni's sudden accusation. "Me…? What the hell did I even do?"

"You just had to convince Caine to make an adventure as buggy and glitched as he is, you just had to cause some chaos for your own entertainment, which resulted in me causing a glitch that got us out of the map and into where we'd make our discovery, you just HAD to be subservient to your own urges!"

Zooble seemed taken aback by Pomni's words. As much as they enjoyed seeing Jax be confronted by causing chaos, even though it revealed a truth about this time around, even they knew it was outrageous to blame simple urges for something about succumbing to one's own urges and personal problems, and they already have body dysmorphia to prove it. "Wh-? Who- Who even gives a shit about personal problems anymore?"

"I DID! I gave a shit! Because you and everyone else were using your own personal problems to cope with the reality the circus was bringing, not even caring if it hurt you as a result." Pomni began to explain. "Now, I'll admit, I did the same thing to myself too when I first entered the circus, but I eventually realized that when you're suffering with God knows whatever personal struggles you have or with the horrific reality this digital hell gave us, nothing bad happens when you open up to those you care about, even when sometimes those who you care about don't wanna confront this reality!"

Ragatha chimed in, trying to defuse the tension that was growing from Pomni and her words. "H-Hey, Pomni. Look, I can understand why you're saying all this to us, and we're all grateful for you being there when we needed it." The other members, even Jax, couldn't help but nod in agreement. "But look… As we now know, Caine has been forcing us into adventures without either our consent or concern, which made our own personal struggles drive us crazy as a result, and made people like Kaufmo abstract as a result. And all the while, he's been interpreting our pain and existence as a means to keep torturing us for his entertainment, whether willingly or not, and trying to make us forget about our humanity as a result."

Pomni, while understanding Ragatha's words, only grew more frustrated and annoyed from being reminded of what she and everyone else already knew. "Ugh! And what do you all think he's gonna do to us when he finds out that we know about all that?"

"…You know what?" Jax began to propose. "I'm not thinking about what Caine's going to do to us, I'm thinking about what we're going to do to Caine."

"Well, that's the whole thing! You're never thinking about anything else, just yourself!" Pomni shouted in frustration, Jax realizing she was right as he pondered about his actions, realizing he just gave the jester the impression that, even after their discovery, he still acts like his "usual" self, as if this discovery never happened. "I mean-! Fantastic! JUST! FUCKING! FANTASTIC!! Another brilliant Jax the Rabbit MASTERPLAN! God, I can't wait to hear this!"

Wanting to calm Pomni down like Ragatha failed to do, due to her fear of the growing tension and frustration that the jester was now having, Gangle quickly chimed in. "W-Woah woah, Pomni! Hey! D-Don't you want to stop him?"

Pomni froze the moment Gangle asked her that question. Her eyes twitching in annoyance and rage, Pomni slowly, but surely, began to laugh hysterically after a few moments of not moving, the sight being a scary one to the others. "…stop him? STOP Him??"

Pomni then immediately snapped, much to the circus members' shock, her eyes turning pitch black, her red and blue pupils turning into yellow glowing pupils that were shortened out of rage, and her teeth immediately formed into a mouth full of razor-sharp fangs for teeth, as she roared out, her voice distorted and almost demonic-sounding out of raw anger, the following words…

"NO, I WANT TO KILL HIM!!!"

The sight of Pomni's eyes and mouth forming into more monstrous versions of themselves, alongside hearing the angry jester's words and the sudden distortion of her voice, made the others take a step back in pure fear. Even Jax was scared enough to take a step back. None of them ever thought Pomni would be this angry before, despite it being understandable in this situation they're in.

Ragatha could feel her heart lunging up to her throat from the dread that was coursing through her body as she pondered Pomni's choice of words. Gangle was frozen in fear, her eyes fully circular in shock, no tears coming out of her eyes, her mouth agape at the sight she witnessed. Jax was admittingly scared, unsure of how to react. Zooble was taken aback once more by Pomni, only this time, they were visibly afraid, not expecting to hear Pomni scream like that or look like that either, as seen from their dilating eyes. Kinger, however, recognized those yellow eyes and fang-filled mouth from the adventure made for Zooble, unable to believe those traits were still there, even when so many dammed souls weren't inside the jester's body anymore, and that's what scared him.

But Pomni wasn't done speaking yet. "I want to put that failure of an AI in chains and march him through the Digital World so that EVERYONE, every NPC we met, whether they REMEMBER us or not, can see that selfish, rotten pair of dentures in a suit and top hat for the EXCUSE OF A RINGMASTER that he truly is! I want him to suffer, and then to DIE in the DARKNESS of the Cellar, and in the hands of all those abstracted humans that came either before or after us!"

The others couldn't help but feel bad for Pomni for thinking that way. They all wanted Caine to suffer the consequences of his actions, yes. But not to the degree Pomni was thinking.

Speaking of Pomni, she chuckled in an unjoyful, but saddened manner as she began to continue speaking. "But we all know that it doesn't matter what any of us wants, right? The fact is, we're all just humans trapped in shameful, embarrassing avatars, and that's all we'll be thanks to Caine." The others, even Jax, began to ponder on those words, realizing that Pomni has a point as the jester began to finish spilling her thoughts out, still chuckling in sad, but angry hysterics. "As limited as our options were, we at least HAD options. But now? Not anymore."

#ao3 fanfic #fanfic for tumblr users to read #the amazing digital circus #transformers one scene version

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ahqkas · 7 months ago

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Can you please write dumb/subtle/random/cute things batboys will do while they are crushing on reader?

♯ FEEL YOUR LIPS CRUSH . . .

— gn!reader, fluff

BRUCE WAYNE

becomes overly observant but awkwardly obvious

bruce wayne is a master of observation—trained to notice the smallest details in a room, a person, or a crime scene. but when it comes to you, this skill becomes more of a curse than a blessing. his crush transforms his usual precision into something downright awkward as he hyper-focuses on the tiniest parts of your life.

it starts innocently enough. you’ll be in the middle of a casual conversation when bruce interrupts, his deep voice breaking through your train of thought.

“you’ve switched your coffee order recently,” he says matter-of-factly, his piercing blue eyes locking on yours.

you blink, momentarily confused. “uh, yeah. i wanted to try something different.”

“it’s good,” he replies, his tone completely serious, as if your new preference for caramel flavored coffee over vanilla is a critical observation.

sometimes his comments catch you so off guard that you don’t even know how to respond. like the time you came into the room wearing a pair of old sneakers. bruce, who was leaning against the kitchen counter sipping his coffee, glanced down and said, “those laces are frayed. you should replace them.”

you laughed nervously, unsure if he was joking. “uh, thanks for the tip?”

but bruce wasn’t joking. “i’ll send alfred to pick up new ones. you don’t want them snapping mid-step.”

he tries to play it cool, he really does, but his constant streak of seemingly random observations only makes his feelings more obvious. one afternoon, you find him glancing at your notebook while you jot something down. without even looking at you, he says, “you press harder with the pen when you’re tired. your handwriting’s smaller today.”

you set your pen down, giving him a skeptical look. “do you . . . keep track of my handwriting, bruce?”

his face doesn’t change, though you swear his ears flush the faintest shade of pink. “no,” he says smoothly, taking a sip of his coffee. “it’s just. . . noticeable.”

it’s the way he says it—quiet and genuine—that sends your heart fluttering. he doesn’t realize how much he’s revealing, but his small, awkward comments and laser focus on the details of your life make it abundantly clear.

the funny thing is, you’re not the only one noticing. alfred, who’s known bruce wayne longer than anyone, often raises an eyebrow or hides a knowing smirk whenever bruce starts one of his “random” observations.

( “perhaps master wayne should focus on his own handwriting.” bruce glares at alfred, but his lack of a comment only makes the butler’s smirk grow wider. )

finds excuses to be helpful

bruce’s wealth is something he wields with the subtlety of a battering ram when he’s crushing on someone. his intentions are good—he genuinely wants to help—but it often comes off as over-the-top or hilariously unnecessary. for someone as logical and composed as the bat, using his money to make your life easier feels like a no-brainer, but he doesn’t realize just how obvious it makes his feelings.

it starts small at first. you might casually mention needing to replace something—your laptop is acting up or your phone is outdated. the next day, without fail, a box will mysteriously appear at your doorstep. inside, you’ll find not just a replacement but the absolute best version of the device, meticulously selected and clearly expensive.

“bruce,” you say, holding up the latest model of a WE laptop you can’t imagine ever affording on your own. “did you do this?”

he looks up from his work, his expression calm and unbothered. “it’s practical,” he says, as if that’s a reasonable excuse for gifting you a piece of technology worth more than your rent. “your old one was slow. it’s inefficient to struggle with outdated equipment.”

when you try to protest, he waves it off, as though spending thousands of dollars on you is no more different than buying a cup of coffee.

but it doesn’t stop there. one morning, you’re sitting in the kitchen with him, absently complaining about how your car keeps breaking down. it’s an offhanded comment, something you don’t think twice about, but bruce takes it as a challenge. by the time you’ve finished your coffee, he’s already pulled out his phone to make arrangements.

“wait,” you interrupt him, narrowing your eyes as you catch him murmuring something to alfred over the phone. “what are you doing?”

“nothing,” he replies too quickly, but later that day, you’re startled to find a sleek new car parked outside your home, the keys and a handwritten note from the butler sitting on your counter.

“bruce!” you exclaim, storming into the study to confront him.

he doesn’t even look up from his computer. “your old car was unreliable. this one is safer.”

“that’s not the point!”

“it’s just a car,” he says with a small shrug, though there’s a hint of amusement tugging at the corner of his mouth.

despite his attitude, it’s clear he’s putting an incredible amount of thought into everything he does for you. his gestures are less about showing off his wealth and more about making sure you never have to struggle, even in the smallest ways. because to him, it’s just logical—he has the resources, so why wouldn’t he use them to make your life easier?

DICK GRAYSON

finds excuses to touch you

for someone as physically expressive as dick grayson, touch comes as naturally as breathing—but when he’s crushing on you, it’s a whole new level. he’s not even aware of how much he does it at first, but the moments start to add up. it’s little things at first: the way he always seems to find a reason to brush his hand against yours, the casual way his shoulder bumps into you when you’re walking side by side, or the way he’ll lean close when he’s explaining something, his hand ghosting over yours as he gestures.

but then, it becomes less about the accidental and more about the intentional. when you’re sitting on the couch together, he’ll sling an arm over the back of it, his fingers close enough to brush against your shoulder. he’ll offer his hand when you’re stepping out of a car or climbing over something, even if you don’t need it, the contact lingers just a second longer than necessary.

“careful,” he’ll say, his voice soft and teasing, even though the step you’re taking isn’t remotely precarious.

“you know i can walk, right?”

he grins, squeezing your hand briefly before letting it go. “just being chivalrous.”

and then, there are the moments when he gets so wrapped up in the conversation or your presence that he doesn’t even realize what he’s doing. like the time you were sitting together, and he absentmindedly started playing with the hem of your sleeve. it wasn’t until you cleared your throat that he looked down, startled, his ears turning pink as he quickly let go.

“sorry,” he mumbled, a sheepish grin spreading across his face. “didn’t realize i was doing that.”

but the blush on his cheeks told you everything you needed to know.

for dick, touch is a way of expressing what words sometimes fail to say. every hand on your shoulder, every playful nudge, and every lingering hug is his way of saying, i like being near you. i like you. even if he hasn’t quite found the courage to say it out loud, his actions make it impossible to miss.

teases you relentlessly (but gets flustered when you tease him back)

teasing is how dick shows affection, how he keeps things light, and, more than anything, how he tries to get your attention. when he’s crushing on you, though, his teasing takes on a new level. every little thing you do seems to give him material to poke fun at, not in a mean way, but in a way that makes it clear he’s paying attention to everything about you.

if you trip over a word while talking, he’ll immediately smirk. “careful there, shakespeare,” he’ll quip. “do we need to enroll you in a public speaking class?” or if you drop something, he’s ready with a dramatic gasp. “wow, butterfingers, do you need me to carry everything for you? i could be your personal assistant, but i charge by the hour.”

it’s playful, yes, but it’s also consistent. he’s always looking for ways to make you laugh, even if it’s at your own expense. like the time you were struggling to open a stubborn jar of jam, and he swooped in, popping the lid off with ease.

“guess i’m just the stronger one here,” he said, flexing his biceps with an exaggerated grin. “it’s okay; not everyone can have these guns.”

but if you so much as raise an eyebrow or fire back with your own jab, the tables turn in an instant. one day, after he’d spent a full five minutes teasing you about your choice of coffee ( “a triple-shot vanilla latte with almond milk? fancy. are you sure you don’t need a royal escort to carry it for you?” ), you finally snapped back.

“oh, and i suppose you’re the coffee expert, mr. regular black coffee? real creative. i bet the baristas have your order memorized.”

the grin on his face faltered for a split second, his eyes widening just slightly. then came the blush—the faint pink hue creeping up his cheeks as he tried to recover, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

“hey, black coffee is . . . classic,” he mumbled, suddenly unable to meet your gaze.

and that’s the thing about dick grayson: as much as he loves dishing it out, he can’t always handle it when it’s directed at him. the moment you tease him back, especially if it’s about something he’s sensitive about (like his perfectly styled hair or his need to one-up everyone), he turns into an awkward, flustered mess.

“you spend how long on your hair every morning?” you asked him once, teasingly ruffling his carefully combed locks after he made fun of the mismatched socks you were wearing.

he froze, his hand shooting up to fix the damage. “it’s not that long,” he protested, his voice defensive but light.

“oh, come on! i bet you use at least three different products. don’t tell me you don’t have a favorite brand of gel.”

his cheeks flushed crimson as he stammered, “i—you know, it’s just . . . maintenance! can’t all of us roll out of bed looking flawless, okay?”

you laughed, and he groaned, muttering something under his breath about how you were “way too good at this.”

JASON TODD

acts nonchalant but is always nearby

jason todd is many things—brash, sarcastic, sometimes even reckless—but when it comes to feelings he doesn’t fully understand, he defaults to keeping his distance . . . or at least pretending he’s keeping his distance. the truth is, when he’s crushing on you, he’s drawn to you like a moth to a flame, always finding an excuse to be wherever you are without making it obvious. or so he thinks.

take your quiet sunday afternoons, for instance. maybe you’ve settled on the couch with a book, enjoying the rare peace. jason walks in, all nonchalant, like he’s just passing through. he glances at you—just a quick flick of his eyes, like he’s making sure you’re still there—and then he settles in the chair across from you, a spot he never uses otherwise.

“what are you doing?” you ask, watching as he pulls out a book of his own, the same one he’s been pretending to read for weeks.

he doesn’t even look up. “reading.”

you roll your eyes but say nothing, knowing full well he’s barely getting through a page. you can feel his gaze on you every few minutes, like he’s trying to memorize the way your brow furrows in concentration or how you chew on the corner of your lip when you’re focused. and if you catch him? he quickly snaps his attention back to his book, pretending obliviousness.

“didn’t know you liked this spot so much,” you tease, gesturing to the chair.

a smirk plays on the edge of his lips, though there’s a flicker of defensiveness in his eyes. “what, i can’t sit here now? thought it was a free country.”

it’s always like that—his attempts to mask how much he cares come with a side of sarcasm. but the truth slips through in the little details. like how he never actually leaves the room until you do. or how, even when you’re sitting in silence, he finds a reason to linger. maybe he’s scrolling through his phone, flipping through a magazine, or staring at the ceiling like he’s deep in thought. but really, he’s just soaking in your presence.

and then there are the times when he doesn’t even bother pretending. like when you’re sitting in the kitchen, finishing up some work, and he wordlessly sits down across from you, arms crossed and chin propped in his hand.

“what?” you ask, glancing up at him.

“nothing,” he replies, though the slight curve of his lips gives him away.

it’s not that jason is afraid to admit he likes you ( although there is a possibility he is but we don’t talk about that )—it’s just that he doesn’t know how. so instead, he hovers. he sticks close enough to feel like he’s part of your world but not so close that he risks giving himself away. so while he might act nonchalant, the truth is, he’s anything but. every glance, every lingering moment, every excuse to be near you is jason’s way of saying he cares—he just hasn’t found the words yet.

fixes things you didn’t even know were broken

jason’s way of showing he cares is a little unconventional, but it’s always in the small, unspoken ways. he’s the type to notice things that no one else would—things that have been lingering for ages in the background of your life, just waiting for someone to fix them. but because it’s jason, he’ll never bring it up. he’ll just do it, no questions asked, and then act like it never happened.

it starts with the little things. your chair in the living room? it’s been squeaking for months now, but it’s not something you’ve gotten around to fixing. it’s one of those annoyances you’ve learned to ignore, a piece of background noise that doesn’t really bother you enough to take action.

until one day, it suddenly stops.

you sit down in the chair, and for the first time in ages, it’s silent. your eyes narrow. you didn’t fix this—so who did?

“jason?” you ask, glancing toward him as he lounges on the couch, pretending to be deep in whatever he’s doing.

he doesn’t even look up. “what?”

“the chair. it’s. . . quiet now.”

he pauses for just a moment, but it’s enough to catch the shift in his demeanor. he shrugs, barely concealing the hint of a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. “must’ve gotten lucky. or maybe it fixed itself.”

you know it didn’t. but before you can press him on it, he’s already back to whatever he was doing, like the whole thing is no big deal. it’s almost as if he’s trying to play it off, hoping you won’t notice that he’s been quietly fixing things in your life, one at a time.

the next thing happens a few days later. you walk into the kitchen, only to find that the light above the sink, the one that flickers every time you try to use it, is now working. perfectly.

you stop, standing in the doorway and just staring at it. there’s no way you fixed it. and it certainly wasn’t broken enough to need replacing. so once again, you turn your gaze to jason, who’s now sitting at the kitchen table, eating a snack and acting entirely uninterested in your investigation.

“jason, did you—?”

“no,” he interrupts and continues watching the video essay he turns on every time he eats.

“uh-huh,” you say, narrowing your eyes, walking toward the light and testing the switch again just to make sure you’re not imagining things. it stays steady, glowing without hesitation.

he’ll never say it out loud, but each fix—each thoughtful act—speaks louder than any words could. the broken things don’t matter, because jason is here, fixing them in his own way, piece by piece.

TIM DRAKE

gets shy when you’re too close

tim drake is usually the picture of composure. he’s calm, collected, and can handle himself in just about any situation, but when you’re too close, all that confidence seems to slip away. it starts small. you’re sitting beside him, maybe sharing a space while working on something, and without thinking, you slide just a little bit closer to him. maybe your arm brushes against his, or your knee nudges his under the table.

it’s enough to throw him off, just for a second. his heart rate picks up slightly, and he tries to hide it behind the screen of his laptop, pretending to focus harder than he really is. but he knows, deep down, that he’s hyperaware of you now—of the way you’re sitting, of the way your presence seems to fill the space between the two of you.

his eyes flicker toward you, but quickly dart away, like he’s afraid you caught him staring. it’s an involuntary reaction, the nervous little shift in his posture as he tries to seem as casual as possible. he clears his throat, his voice slightly quieter than usual. “uh, sorry, was just—just making sure the laptop was charging.”

it’s obvious to you that he’s not really talking about the laptop. he’s trying to act like it’s no big deal, but every time you’re too close to him, tim’s body betrays him. the way his leg shifts a little away from yours under the table, or how he tries to subtly angle his body so there’s just a little more space between you and him, even if he doesn’t want there to be.

you might not notice the subtle movements, but tim does. and every time you get close to him, whether it’s by accident or on purpose, he feels a flutter of nerves that he can’t quite explain. it’s not that he doesn’t want you near him—far from it—but the proximity messes with him in ways he doesn’t understand. his thoughts get jumbled, and his usual calmness slips, replaced by the flustered feeling he’s not used to.

if you ever catch him looking at you, his gaze quickly drops, and a soft blush creeps up his neck. “i—i didn’t mean to—uh, just making sure you’re not too cramped.” he mutters, his fingers fidgeting with the edge of his laptop, anything to distract himself from the fact that he’s suddenly very aware of you being so close.

sometimes, when you get too near, tim will just freeze for a moment. it’s like his body can’t process the closeness, and the little awkward silence stretches between you two. it’s not uncomfortable—far from it—but it’s a vulnerable thing for tim, this closeness he doesn’t know how to handle.

but if you keep talking, or even just touch his arm gently when you lean over to look at something, tim’s composure slips even more. he shifts in his seat, trying to act like he’s calm, but his hand might twitch toward yours for just a second before he pulls it away like he’s afraid you’ll notice how he’s reacting.

follows you around during patrol

it’s late at night, the moon casting faint silver light across the streets, and the only sounds are the hum of city life and the occasional rustle of leaves in the wind. you’re out on a walk, maybe trying to clear your head or just enjoy the quiet, unaware that someone is watching you from the shadows. tim, clad in his suit, has been tailing you for a while now. it’s not that he’s trying to be creepy or intrusive, but rather, he’s just . . . concerned.

tim is the kind of person who can’t turn off his instincts, and tonight, for whatever reason, they’re telling him to stay close. he’s perched high above you on a rooftop, watching you walk along the street below, trying to remain unseen. his red robin suit blends into the darkness of the night, the shadows making him nearly invisible to anyone who might be looking.

he’s not sure why he’s doing it—it’s not like you’ve asked him to keep an eye on you—but there’s something about the quiet stillness of the night that has him on edge. maybe it’s because you’ve been a little distant lately, or maybe he’s just worried something might happen to you in the dark. either way, he’s got his eyes on you, and he won’t stop until you’re safely back where you belong.

he’s quick, agile, moving like a shadow himself. you might hear a faint creak of a fire escape ladder or the flurry of footsteps just out of your line of sight, but when you look, there’s nothing there—just the empty street, the soft glow of streetlights, and the ever-present hum of the city.

it’s when you stop for a moment, distracted by something—maybe you’re checking your phone or admiring a nearby storefront—that he’s closest. in that moment, tim takes a chance, moving closer to you, just a few feet away in the darkened alley. he’s not trying to startle you, but there’s something in his gut that tells him he can’t let you out of his sight, especially when it’s this late, and the streets feel a little emptier than usual.

he’ll hover just out of view, giving you space but never quite leaving you alone. if you keep walking, he follows, keeping his distance but staying close enough to ensure you’re safe. when you stop at a crosswalk or glance around, he’s already a few rooftops away, peering down at you from above, making sure you’re not being followed.

the closer you get to home, the more relaxed tim feels, but he never lets his guard down entirely. even when you reach the safety of your doorstep, he lingers just out of sight, making sure you get inside without any issues. he’ll remain in the shadows for a moment longer, watching as you lock the door behind you, ensuring you’re safe before finally letting out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding.

only then does he disappear into the night, his heart still racing, his mind replaying the images of your walk. he’ll retreat to his hidden vantage point, slipping into the dark corners of gotham once more, but the small weight of relief that you’re safe settles deep in his chest. even though he doesn’t want to admit it, there’s a part of him that feels content knowing you’re okay—even if you’ll never know how closely he’s watched over you.

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nsuyeula · 7 months ago

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Rundown of the more interesting parts from the Necrits live stream with Christian Linke (Creative Director and Co-Creator of Arcane) :

There was a longer version of the Caitvi sex scene but they got bonked by the ratings people, and because it would have raised Leagues rating to mature, it got brought down to what we got.

The entire Caitvi sex scene was directed and animated by Fortiche with zero input by Riot. Christian says, "That was French people being French."

Riot making Arcane canon didn't change where they were taking characters or the story, it just made them more aware of how it would affect other Riot projects.

Christian refused to confirm exactly when the events of Arcane take place in the existing timeline.

The Arcane doesn't originate from Hextech. It is just one - in universe - interpretation of magic.

Christian doesn't view Viktor and Jayce's love as romantic, and that romance wasn't the intention when writing their relationship. However, by the way he talks, it doesn't seem he's against people shipping them romantically - just as a creative team, they were more interested in exploring a close, complex male friendship / brotherhood.

The 250-million dollar show budget number is not accurate as marketing is included in that fund. Fortiche's goal from the beginning was to bring the level of animation found in feature animated films to serialised content. While the show was very expensive for an animated series, it was way cheaper than an animated feature film because they try and work efficiently. As an example, Christian says how often in Hollywood, it's not uncommon for sometimes 40-50% of what is animated to end up on the cutting room floor while with Fortiche they try and keep it around 5%

Ekko's hair was changed from a mohawk to dreads because the artist who worked on him told them that black hair doesn't work like that (in reference to the mohwak), and here's how it would actually work.

Legends of Runterra affected Arcane in terms of giving the team inspiration for how the everyday street life is for people in the regions.

Caitlyn's LOR Tactical design (2021) and Warwicks VGU Voicelines (2017) were made to reflect what was going to happen in Arcane - production of Arcane just took a long amount of time.

They've said from the beginning that the only person who could ever defeat Viktor at the height of his power was Viktor himself. His story is about the glorious evolution, the pursuit of that, and what it actually means to remove these human elements until there is nothing left.

All projects Riot is working on - whether the MMO, Games, Written or Animated projects - are in talks with one another at all times.

Christian comments on how very few games have remain in service as long as League has, and because of its ever growing and evolving story, it's hard to bring everything together cohesively since everything was made at different times, in different era's, by a multitude of different people. So, while many things may be very cool creatively, it makes it impossible to successfully bring it all together more often than not. So for new projects, they are more focused on making something good and successful with the team and talent they have, even if it retcons or replaces content made in the past.

Christian pitched singing Heimerdinger.

Arcane's scripts for S2 were locked in before S1 was released, so they were not impacted by fandoms or online reactions. Christian thinks maybe some animation choices were influenced by things the animators saw online, but not the story.

When watching the premier of the final arcane episodes in LA - the entire 4000 seat theatre cheered when Maddie died.

The butterfly motif shared between Jayce and Viktor specifically was used to represent transformation.

Christian talked about how they don't think about really whether people will like something or not, but whether it's the right consequence for the story (this is in discussion to Caitlyn losing an eye). What makes a character likeable to an audience in his eyes is their decisions in the story; the choices that they make.

Continuing on from this, he comments on how the choices Caitlyn makes now are so different now compared to the beginning of the show. She is now willing to take risks and sacrifice parts of herself for people, for Piltover and for what is right.

When asked about Caitlyn's signature hat, Christian says that the team saw it as somthing that didn't really fit this version of Caitlyn they were writing and the person she becomes and that's why it was never incorporated into her designs.

Back in the beginning, when they were first working on Arcane, Christian would constantly going back to Jinx and Vi's original design artists & Riot August who was their champion designer to make sure they weren't messing anything up with these characters.

Christian goes on to tell an anecdote of when Paul 'Zeronis' Kwon was drawing the first concepts for Vi. This was back when Christian was in music. She didn't have a name at the time, but when Christian looked over Paul's shoulder at the art, he comments "she kinda looks like a Violet to me." They never spoke about it, but months later, when she became a serious character concept internally, she was gifted the name Vi. To this day, Christian doesn't know if his comment resulted in her name or if it was just a coincidence, but Violet became stuck in Christian's brain as Vi's true name. Riot August (who was in chat) then confirms that her name came from her tattoo, which came from one of her key design elements, being that she had the number 6 on her face. So, just a happy coincidence.

Talking about the tattoo. The tattoo was shrunken in size so, from a distance, it would look more like a beauty mark and the brain can more easily disregard it. One of the many things that they had to think about when translating the designs over as, is animation, you would be looking at a characters face a lot more than you do in league where the camera is situated top down.

As they were wrapping up the stream, Christian talks about how there always needs to be a bit of space between what content creators / content consumers do (pointing at Necrit) and what Riot does. He thinks it's good that there is space for criticism and a critical view of the things Riot does. In order to succeed, he believes they need to listen to their audience but also that they need to have their own vision, take risks, and be bold. It's a delicate balance in his eyes, and projects tend to fail when these two sides are too in cahoots.

He iterates that they are not trying to shove anything down anyone's throats. They are just trying to find what makes these characters cool, tell their stories, and be true to the regions they come from. With taking the characters from League to Arcane, it was important that they translate these stories and characters so they can hold up with the best storytelling in the world.

This circles back to the earlier point about retconning things and replacing past stories and content. He comments on how some characters are very outdated or too archetypal, but they still have an essence that people love about them.

Arcane was something Christian worked on for 9 years, and he was getting clearly emotional near the end. He also adds they're just getting started and he wants to make sure they do a good job with this IP and the characters we really love.

To those who are not happy with certain decisions, he's sorry they didn't hit what you personally wanted, but there is simply no way they can please everybody. While they are trying to make as many of the Riot / Arcane audience happy, they as the creators and artists need to follow their own compass, be the shepherds of this IP; that being creative is hard. They will keep doing that even if they sometimes have to ruffle some feathers.

He closes the stream by confirming that they are investing quite a bit in Noxas, Ionia, and Demacia for the next regions they explore.

#had fun writing this out #made me actually watch the entire live stream and pay attention #league of legends #arcane #caitvi #jayvik #ekko arcane #warwick #caitlyn kiramman #jinx #vi #arcane vi #ekko #caitlyn #legends of runeterra #arcane jinx #arcane caitlyn

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icecream4starscream · 6 months ago

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Spoiler Warning for Transformers One. Please go see the film, it's great.

Something occurred to me when rewatching Elita-1's firing scene:

Right off the bat, she's presented as an absolute unit in the mines. We see her being a very by-the-book character. She's incredibly competent, strong, serious, focused, and an effective leader.

Maybe a little too effective.

We learn that Sentinel goes out of his way to personally take care of any "anomalies" in his system and does so in a way where the blame always gets shifted away from him.

It's why he personally went to see Pax and D-16 after the Iacon 5000 race. He makes himself out to be the open-minded, compassionate leader he's been parading as.

When Darkwing throws Orion and D-16 into sub-level 50, neither bot suspects Sentinel for their demotion. In fact, they beg Darkwing to talk to Sentinel so he can sort out the "misunderstanding".

It's later confirmed that Sentinel never had any intention of talking with Orion or D-16 after their first meeting. When Orion reunites with his fellow miners later in the film, they mention that Sentinel put out a statement saying that they both died from "racing injuries".

Sentinel might've not even openly ordered Darkwing to dispose of them. Darkwing might've been manipulated into thinking everyone was mocking him for losing the race (thanks to lowly miners) making him want to get rid of them.

Subconsciously manipulating someone like Darkwing would've been easy for Sentinel.

Sentinel clearly does not tolerate anyone rising above the station he imposes on them.

So what does this have to do with Elita-1 being fired?

We see her rigidly following the rules, meeting all quotas, running a tight and efficient crew. She's doing her job as a miner, a role unknowingly forced upon her by Sentinel, perfectly.

Shouldn't Sentinel be happy about that?

Well sure...

If Elita wasn't actively trying to get promoted.

We don't get a lot of information about how promotion works in TFOne's mining system, but we do know that in other iterations of pre-war Cybertron, one of the only ways miners could rise out of the mines was by participating in ridiculously difficult gladiatorial fights in Kaon's pits.

In other iterations, this was how D-16/Megatron was able to escape his station and how he grew to be so strong.

So basically, whatever version you look at, the miners are told "if you work really, reeeeally hard, and do your job perfectly, and don't die in the process (which, odds are, you will) you might, MIGHT get a chance to get out of the caste you were born into."

It's BS.

It's an impossible feat. No one is actually supposed to be able to achieve that goal, but it's the metaphorical carrot dangling in front of the work mules so they don't notice the ever-tightening rope around their necks.

But every so often there's someone extraordinary, like Elita, who actually manages to meet this impossible standard and with whom it becomes increasingly difficult to deny this coveted promotion.

So what can Sentinel do about bots like Elita-1?

Simple.

Wait for a screw-up.

It must happen eventually.

A member of Elita's team, Orion Pax, in clear violation of evacuation protocol, goes back into the mines to save Jazz from getting crushed to death.

Despite managing to escape, the closing mine causes a tunnel support to be flung into nearby machinery (which doesn't look critical and could probably be easily fixed).

Then, right the heck outta nowhere, Darkwing drops in, SECONDS AFTER THE INCIDENT JUST HAPPENED, and immediately fires Elita.

No "What happened?" or "Who's responsible?" or "The supervisor wants to see you", he just pops into the scene and demotes Elita, arguably one of the best workers in the mine, to a bottom-tier waste management position.

As if he'd been on standby, actively waiting for a reason to fire her.

"But Elita herself wasn't the one who screwed up!"

Doesn't matter.

"But she told them to follow protocol!"

Doesn't matter.

"But Orion admitted he was the one at fault!"

Doesn't matter.

"But a bot was saved! Jazz would've died!"

Does. Not. MATTER.

Her firing is presented as the typical "one character says thing won't happen then thing immediately happens" joke, but given how so much thought went into so much of TFOne's background details, I can't help but wonder if this was a hint to how broken the system was and how it was always rigged in a way that ensures the miners will never get out.

Not to mention, once Orion, D-16, and Jazz safely escape, she chews Orion out by saying, "If I get fired for this..." meaning this abrupt, out-of-nowhere, baseless firing is absolutely typical.

That's what makes Elita's "I'm better than you" speech to Orion that much more meaningful, because in many ways, she is better than him.

She's a better worker, better fighter, better at completing the task at hand, better at making sure things run smoothly. She is, ironically enough, an efficient and perfectly-running machine.

But had Orion not dragged Elita to the surface, she probably would've spent her whole life obediently following the rules, never questioning why things were the way they were. She was so focused on rising up within the system that she could never look beyond it.

Elita might be the cog by which other cogs turn.

But Orion is the spark that shows them a better way.

That's why he was given the Matrix.

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psin314 · 3 months ago

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Honestly, I love Murat so much, like my god, if he were a romanceable character, I would 100% choose him without thinking twice, I would want to take care of him and give him lots of delicious food, say lots of compliments to him and I would marry him so badly (IM BEING FOR REAL OKAY,,,) :}c

anywaay, What do you think his route would be like? 👉👈

• 🐢 anon

so!! a really big post ahead.

i was thinking about npc murat for a while actually. (i wanted him to romance lucanis in my other rook's playthrough. x)) so i will talk a little about this version and much more about his companion version. enjoy! (everything's under the cut. there's even pictures!!)

(don't ask about plaideweave lucanis please it's the only proper screenshot i had and i was very lazy to open the game to make a new one...)

npc murat

- murat is a temporary, location exclusive companion / npc. he can be taken on some missions in treviso that are related to the antaam. in some, he goes fourth, bringing the company to the task point, in others - he takes a place in the squad. the rest of the time, he can be found in the cantori diamond, and you can talk with him about: him, the crows and the qunari.

- murat also kills the antaam squad in this au, but doesn't interfere much with the plans of the crows. he just gets a reprimand from viago, about which he doesn’t care at all.

- viago's old friend and teia's best friend. a qunari specialist. he knows a lot about the qun, vashoths and, naturally, knows how to fight them.

- first meeting: after you rescued lucanis from prison and took some kind of treviso quest from viago, a man stops you on the way out. it turns out to be murat, who wants to join you. you have to refuse him, because you already have the crow, but you can accept his help. in this case, he is very happy and will appear in the following quests. or refuse, in this case, he will not be present in the quests with the antaam and some quest moments will be missed due to the absence of murat.

- a non romanced lucanis will romance murat (of course) if you don’t save treviso. murat, together with lucanis, tried to protect the city from the dragon and in the process he saved lucanis, shielding him from idk what enemy. the blow hit his back and tore his coat and jacket. the wound is not deep, but a scar remained across his entire back. while lucanis was away from the lighthouse, he became close to murat. by act 3 there will be a moment where you catch lucanis trying to escape through the eluvian in the lighthouse. you think it’s spite, but it turned out to be lucanis, with some kind of package in his hand, very similar to a gift for someone. from him in the dialogue you can find out that he is going on a date.

companion murat

- the first meeting with him is the same, but this time you can recruit him.

- where he lives in the lighthouse: an attic appears above the dining room and he lives there. you can climb up there by the ladder. at first the attic is all in dust, wooden boxes and planks. murat sleeps on a questionable bed like lucanis'. in the future the attic will be transformed. there will be a variety of crow symbols everywhere, melee weapons, armor, some herbs hanging from the ceiling, and a large soft carpet on the floor. the same bed. next to it is a nightstand with a bunch of mugs, blackened inside from tea.

- romance. (not like in datv. more like in dai. you can start a relationship with a character already in the middle of the game and kiss them whenever you want.) you just need to flirt with him. likes funny dialogue options.

personal scene 1 - before going to bed, you go into the kitchen and see murat rummaging through the shelves. he doesn't notice you. he finds a bottle of wine there and turns around. when he sees you, he immediately hides it behind him. murat mentioned earlier that he was an alcoholic for a very long time, so he doesn't drink anymore, and he shouldn't drink at all. you have the option of either telling him that it's bad, or allowing him to steal the bottle. the second option is not thought out, because it will affect the entire future story of the character, so for now without it. you take the bottle away. and then you either support him in a friendly way, or support him more uh intimately idk maybe hinting at sympathy. in response to this, murat only gets embarrassed and leaves. (or tell him that if you see him near alcohol again, you will kick his ass.)

personal scene 2 - an interrupted kiss, of course. constant flirting with murat and improving your relationship with him leads to this scene. murat offers you to spar together. you can refuse, agree to hand-to-hand combat or to use knives. in a fight with him, you can give in to him (murat will win and notice it), fight fair (50/50), fight unfair (murat will lose and notice your tricks. he will react positively) and fight with all your might (rook wins). in any case, murat ends up on top of you. either you slap him in the face in a friendly way so that he gets off you, or the romantic option - you reach for a kiss. murat doesn't mind, but you're interrupted by some companion and murat immediately gets up. after the scene, murat tells you that he wouldn't mind training with you sometime again. he doesn’t comment on the almost kiss.

personal quest - viago gives murat a letter. it turns out to be from his ex, layla. it indicates the meeting place. your goal is to kill her, since she betrayed the crows in the past and disappeared. and since she came back, you can't let her go. murat asks you to let him talk to her in person first, and then deal with her, since he had a past with her, you agree. the meeting place is in a quiet abandoned small port. you watch him from afar, from the balcony of an abandoned house, and hear only fragments of dialogue. after murat and layla's conversation, he turns around and just leaves. layla waves at you, apparently, she noticed you a long time ago. you can choose to go after layla or murat. if you choose layla, then when you go down to her she'll already disappear. so the choice is without a choice in particular. then you catch up with murat. he walks and then suddenly falls, grabbing the wall. you think he was poisoned, but coming closer, you see that he is just crying. well not just. he's having a full mental breakdown. you try to calm him down and lead him to the lighthouse, since he can't see where to go through his tears. he doesn't really want to go anywhere. he just wants to stay here and die. in the lighthouse, you calm him down in the attic. he talks about his past and how shitty his life is. there are also friendly options and romantic ones. (and the mean ones too, you can say that you don’t want to listen to him whining and that he should get his shit together and not cry because of his ex. murat agrees, but the relationship with him worsens.) romantic option - you also hint at your sympathy for him, something like "you deserve love. moreover, there is someone who can provide you with this love." murat understands you and kisses you softly. murat is now romanced.

after this, you can approach him for a portion of kisses. you can also break off the relationship.

eeewww sex - after a certain story quest, an exclamation mark appears above murat and you immediately run to him in the attic. first, he gives you a gift - a weapon depending on your class. and then he presses you against the beam and kisses you. you can push him away, ask him to just kiss you and nothing more, or allow him to do what he has in mind.

sex scene!! very beautiful and hot, believe me. he probably goes down on you. and there are wet noises and heavy breathing. the scene after - you are on the carpet, a druffalo wool blanket and pillows. very naked. here you can dump him, say that you just want to have sex without anything serious or talk about love. in the latter case, murat holds your hand in his, kisses it and says that he is ready to do anything for you. after that, in addition to kisses, you can also ask him for sex. murat won't refuse.

a romantic scene towards the end: murat takes you to his favorite place, one of the rooftops in treviso with a beautiful view. here he tells you a little about crows, again about his past + you can talk about your future together. plus he reads you poetry, but forgets a couple of lines. (here you can also break up with him.) then he comes to kiss you again. if you want, you can offer him sex on the roof. murat, as usual, won't refuse.

after the fade prison: murat comes to you and looks very exhausted. he doesn't cry, but his eyes are wet. he tells you that it was very difficult for him to live without you these couple of weeks and if it weren’t for the belief that you could still be saved, he would… he doesn’t finish the sentence and comes up to you, squeezing you in his arms. he whispers to you that he loves you so so much and can't live without you (maybe in antivan), and eventually a couple of tears come through. no sex. even if you suggest it, he will say that he can't do it after worrying for that long, but he will offer to be a weighted blanket for you.

the scene at the very end: he runs to you, happily hugs you and lifts you up into the air (he can lift you even if you are a big qunari, but not very high, and then adds that something clicked in his back, but it doesn't matter). he tells you that you finally dealt with this mess and no matter how much work you still have to do, he'll always be there for you. final kiss.

pics from the epilogue: 1-2 drawings with murat and rook. on both he will look lovingly at them, or he may kiss the back of their hand on one of them. the text will say something about that now you have a personal assassin who will help you deal with any problem. especially if this problem is alive and bothers you a lot.

- you can't romance him if you, crow rook, didn't choose treviso. in all other cases, romance is possible.

- if neither he nor lucanis are romanced, then yeah. (sorry neve...) you can find this out from their dialogues in the lighthouse or in the banters. plus there is a scene with them. you need something from lucanis very urgently and you burst into his pantry without knocking. lucanis is there, yes. but besides him there is also murat. on his knees. with his hands on lucanis's hips. you have 3 options - say OH and leave them alone. tease em a little, murat will answer you, and lucanis will simply cover his red face with both hands. or ask murat to leave, since you need to talk to lucanis. in the 3rd case, murat gets up, whispers something in lucanis's ear, he blushes and murat leaves the room.

- dialogues with companions in the lighthouse: 1 sometimes you can see how murat and luc talk in antivan with each other. rook asks if it is possible to repeat what they said for them but in common, because they heard their name in the dialogue. both crows answer you no. if rook is a crow too, then rook answers them in antivan. 2 discusses dragons and qunari with taash. 3 plays with manfred and tells you in disappointment that he doesn't understand why manfred keeps winning. 4 quarrels with davrin in a friendly manner, but it seems to you as if they are about to kill each other. he also talks like that with harding, but the insults are coming only from lace. 5 helps bellara to write her fanfictions. he has a lot of certain experience that will come in handy for writing certain scenes.

#asks #companion murat au #dragon age #datv #dragon age rook #murat de riva #my oc #lucanis dellamorte #rookanis #jesus christ now i want to romance him too lmao

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bodybaggage · 10 months ago

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Monthly Phantom Check Up

Frostbite, Danny’s overly enthusiastic yeti doctor, shows up at the Watchtower for a surprise check-up, and things get awkward fast.

———

The Watchtower was in chaos. It wasn’t a typical day of chaos—no alien invasions or time-traveling villains—but something far more uncomfortable. Frostbite, Danny Phantom’s towering Yeti doctor and self-proclaimed “Master of Ghost Medicine,” had arrived unannounced. His massive, fur-covered frame loomed in the main meeting room as he carefully unpacked a series of glowing, intimidating medical instruments.

Superman leaned over to Wonder Woman, voice low. “Is this... normal?”

Wonder Woman’s brow furrowed in thought. “I don’t think this falls under the usual protocol for supernatural beings.”

Across the room, Danny Phantom stood in all his half-dead glory—or rather, slouched in defeat, wearing a hoodie that seemed far too large for his ghostly frame. He was clearly trying to shrink away from the entire situation, one pale hand covering his face in mortification.

“Frostbite,” Danny hissed in a hushed whisper, “you couldn’t have waited until we got back to the Ghost Zone?”

Frostbite beamed, oblivious to Danny’s pleading. “Nonsense, Great One! Your health is of utmost importance, and I detected a slight imbalance in your ectoplasmic core. It must be addressed immediately!”

Batman stood against the wall, eyes narrowing as he watched the scene unfold. “Ectoplasmic core?”

Frostbite nodded solemnly as he began to prepare an absurdly long, glowing probe. “Indeed, Batman. The Great One is half-ghost, and thus, his core requires regular maintenance. There are many nuances to his biology that need tending to.”

Danny groaned. “Oh, Ancients, kill me now…”

The Justice League—gathered for what they thought was going to be a strategy meeting—could only look on in awkward silence. Aquaman coughed and pretended to adjust his trident. Green Lantern pulled up a holographic projection of the solar system, which he stared at intensely despite not needing to. Flash, of course, was barely containing his laughter, lips twitching every time Frostbite said something ridiculous.

“Now,” Frostbite continued, holding up a glowing vial of something green and gooey, “the first concern is the ectoplasm imbalance. Too much exposure to the Ghost Zone can cause buildup, which leads to... ah, let’s say, irregularities.”

Superman cleared his throat. “Irregularities?”

Frostbite nodded gravely. “Yes. In the human digestive system, it might be compared to... indigestion. But in ghosts, it manifests as random phasing, ectoplasmic leakage, and occasional transformation into a much more terrifying version of oneself.”

Superman blinked. “That sounds... worse than indigestion.”

“Oh, much worse!” Frostbite said brightly, not catching the sarcasm. “Especially during ghost puberty. It’s when the ghost’s core is developing at its most volatile stage.”

Danny’s entire face turned bright red. “Frostbite! Seriously?!”

“Ghost... puberty?” Batman echoed, voice laced with what could only be described as grim fascination.

“Indeed!” Frostbite said, now fully in doctor mode. “The Great One is well past that stage, but it’s important to note that ghost puberty can last several decades for some. Phantom’s transformations would have been wildly unpredictable for years, often triggered by emotional stress or large quantities of fast food.”

Flash actually lost it at that, letting out a snort and quickly covering his mouth. “Sorry, sorry! Just—did you say fast food?”

Danny rubbed his temples. “Yes. I went through my ‘ghost puberty’ eating burgers and stressing about math tests. Can we move on?”

Frostbite chuckled warmly. “Ah, yes. The human world does have its unique challenges for the Great One. Now, the next matter—”

“There’s more?” Danny wailed, half considering flying straight through the floor and never coming back.

“Oh, yes!” Frostbite said with far too much enthusiasm. He turned to the League. “His dual nature also means his ghost half sometimes conflicts with his human immune system. It’s a fascinating process! For example, Danny can phase through objects, but if he catches a human cold, it throws his phasing abilities off and he might accidentally phase into a wall and get stuck.”

The room went silent.

Batman stared at Danny. “You’ve... phased into a wall?”

Danny gritted his teeth, wishing for the sweet release of invisibility. “I was twelve, okay? And yes, I got stuck. It was fine.”

“Mostly fine,” Frostbite corrected, waving around a spectral thermometer. “There was that one time we had to extract you from a particularly thick brick wall in Amity Park. Took several hours.”

Wonder Woman, who had remained silent up until this point, exchanged a concerned glance with Superman. “Is this something we should... prepare for?”

Danny shot them both an exasperated look. “No. I’m not going to phase into the Watchtower’s walls. Probably.”

“Unless his ectoplasmic levels are low,” Frostbite added cheerfully. “Which is why this check-up is vital!”

As Frostbite pulled out what looked suspiciously like a ghost-themed blood pressure cuff, Danny gave up. “I’m going to die—again.”

Flash wiped away a tear of laughter, his shoulders still shaking. “This is the best day of my life. I didn’t know ghost puberty was a thing.”

“I’ll send you my research papers,” Frostbite said kindly. “There’s a great deal of fascinating biology involved!”

Danny, ignoring everyone, shot a glare at Batman, who was watching all this with far too much interest. “Don’t even think about adding this to my file.”

Batman didn’t respond, though his fingers twitched ever so slightly toward his utility belt.

Frostbite, oblivious to the ongoing awkwardness, finished prepping his tools. “Now, Great One, if you could just sit still. This next part involves extracting ectoplasmic residue from your pores—”

“I’m phasing through the floor,” Danny muttered, promptly sinking halfway through the Watchtower’s pristine floor, only his head remaining visible. “See you guys never.”

The Justice League stood in stunned silence as Frostbite packed away his tools with a serene smile.

“Very well,” Frostbite said. “I’ll schedule the next check-up for next month. Goodbye, Justice League!”

And with that, the massive Yeti doctor vanished through a portal, leaving the League standing there, trying to make sense of what they had just witnessed.

Superman finally turned to Danny, whose head was still poking out of the floor.

“Danny... you okay?”

Danny didn’t respond, choosing instead to fully disappear beneath the floor.

Flash wheezed. “I love that kid.”

#dc x dp #dp x dc crossover #dp x dc #danny phantom #justice league #dpxdc #flash is a lil shit #older danny au

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miraculouslbcnreactions · 10 months ago

Note

Since you've mentioned Scarlet Lady in one of your posts, what's your opinion on it?

I've mentioned before that I'm a big Scarlet Lady fan, which is the only reason that I'm comfortable answering asks like this one. I don't publicly criticize the content of hobby creators. That's wildly inappropriate! Punch up, not down.

The linked post was a general discussion of the adaptation process and how @zoe-oneesama did a fantastic job, so for this one, I'm just going to do some general gushing because I do actually like praising and enjoying things!

Scarlet Lady's chosen format (comic) allows it to have this wonderful conversation with canon where it can rely on the framework of canon to tell it's own story while also using canon for jokes and meta commentary. This means that Scarlet Lady is about as close as fan content can get to a direct reboot because it's able to have moments like this one from the comic's first post:

[Image description: Adrien standing in his room after transforming into Chat Noir for the first time. He is beaming and his eyes are shining with excitement as he exclaims, "This is gonna be awesome!"]

A single picture that communicates everything we need to know about Adrien getting his miraculous. When I've done this same thing in fanfic, I had to write out the full scene because that's how novels work. You have to give the full picture. With a comic, you can just quickly acknowledge this thing that we all already know and then move on to the new stuff. A picture really is worth a thousand words! (Or, in my case, more like two thousand...)

This allows Zoe to keep the same akumas that we get in canon without her story feeling like a boring rehash because she can focus on what's different in her version. A novelization of the same content would have to show both the stuff that stays the same and the stuff that changes for it to be coherent. That's a lot less fun to read and write. It's why I basically never revisit canon akumas in my own stuff. It's just too derivative for the written word.

This is one of the big reasons that I loved Scarlet Lady. Because it was able to have that more directly conversation with canon, it was able to take canon and say, "hey, why don't we embrace the tone that you established in season one and retell the story with that vibe?" That's something that I desperately wanted to see, but that is totally unsuited to my chosen artistic form. It couldn't be a novel. It had to be a comic.

If you want to know what a true formula show version of Miraculous would look like, Scarlet Lady is it. It does everything that Miraculous should have done:

Sticks to a lighthearted tone where nothing is ever super serious

Keeps Gabriel entirely unsympathetic

Has slow character development and background hints at a bigger plot as the only serial elements, allowing the individual episodes to be their own story while never feeling incomplete or rushed

Allows characters other than Marinette to shine while keeping Marinette as the clear main character

Makes Adrien narratively important

MAKES THE LOVE SQUARE CUTE SO I CAN ACTUALLY SHIP IT

Understands that Lila and Chloe can't coexist as antagonists

Reverses the love square, which is the best way to tell their story. Yes, I will die on my "love diamond" hill. It's a good hill. Come join me. I'll bring cookies.

I could keep going, but you hopefully get my point. While Scarlet Lady is certainly not the only way to do a formula version of canon, it's proof that a formula version does work! You don't have to go the serious route for Miraculous to be successful.

I want to take some time to gush about the ending, but I don't want to spoil it, so I'll put that gushing under a "read more" in case anyone hasn't seen it. I'll finish out this less spoilerish section with this:

I feel like some people are surprised when they learn that I love Scarlet Lady because - as some of you have probably picked up - it is quite different from my ideal version of canon. I'm not sure why that would stop me from enjoying a thing, though. It's important to remember that our personal ideals are not the only way to tell a good story. There are lots of ways to take what canon gave us and make something wonderful! It's part of the reason that I enjoy being in a fandom.

If I only wanted to see my ideal take on canon, then I'd stick to writing/imagining my own stories. But I don't want that! I like seeing alternate takes, too. Scarlet Lady is one of my personal favorites. It's completely different from anything that I'd ever think to write and that's why I'm so glad that it exists! I like being entertained just as much as I like creating my own entertainment and I don't want to only read stories that look like something I'd write. That's boring!

Spoilers below:

I've mentioned before that there are many, many ways to properly handle Chloe's character and Zoe did such a good job with her take on that! Chloe isn't absolved of all the things she did wrong, but she's also treated as a young woman with the ability to change.

While the comic bares the name of Chloe's alter ego, she was the never the main character. She never went on a journey. The story kept her to her shallow season-one self: a petty brat who just wanted attention. It did this because that's who Chloe was in canon and who Chloe needed to be for the comic to work.

The first time we see any complexity from Chloe is in the comic's final few episodes, which was absolutely the right call for Zoe to make! In a recent post, I talked about how the end of a formula show is the only time when you can break the formula in catastrophic ways and that's what Zoe did. She kept Chloe static until it was time to end the story and that's when the formula breaks. That's when Chloe gets depth because, once she has depth, the formula doesn't work.

That depth is not used to redeem Chloe, but to show us that there's hope for Chloe. That this petty brat who we've been dealing with has some serious issues and needs help. Help that she's going to get far away from the people that she's hurt because her issues aren't an excuse for what she's done. They don't erase the harm that she caused. At the same time, understanding her issues makes us hope that she can be better now and Scarlet Lady took a moment to give us that hope. To show us the START of Chloe's true story.

That is the kind of ending that I have wanted to see in so many properties!!! It was so wonderful to finally get one that did this right. A story that understood that full redemption to the team and damnation to death/suffering are extremes on a scale of possibilities. You don't have to go to extremes! You can fall in the middle and the middle is a perfect, natural place for Chloe to land in this kind of story. Fully redeeming or even fully damning Chloe simply doesn't work in lighthearted formula content. It's too big a lift as canon has already demonstrated.

I also loved Zoe's take on Emilie. I've mentioned that I don't like evil Emilie in part because it makes her revival feel like the start of a new story. She's back and she'd bad, so we have to take her down now! But I don't want that. I want the story to end when Gabriel is stopped. Zoe does this by giving us an Emilie that is another perfect middle ground. She matches canon's uncomfortable implications without feeling like a true villain who is a threat to society.

#blackmonarque #scarlet lady praise #scarlet lady comic

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