#YOUNg bw too :(

[callum-hunt-is-bisexual]

young justice girls 🫶

[chronal-anomaly]

No because listen, listen.

Lena has never, ever been able to sit still. In school, around home, even running through the streets of London, it wasn't enough. She always had her head in the clouds, ideas of grandeur, looking forward to the future. She fought for some kind of purpose in life, outside of miserably trying to keep a business alive in post-war crisis or finding something dead end.

She was fast, in good shape, and after the war, recruiters were everywhere, trying to establish some kind of military. She absolutely fell hook, line, and sinker for the propoganda of fighting for peace, fighting for a better world, a more peaceful, balanced world. Omnic relations had improved, and Lena could agree a lot of the intentions that the military had. Plus, they provided her an out, a way to break free of London.

She was probably recruited as early as 16, and moved off at 17 to the Royal Air Force Academy.

Imagine this 17 year old girl, scared, new, not really sure how she got there, walking around the RAF Academy. The months of basic trainings, of work, before they even took the aptitude tests for next steps. Only the best of the best became fighter pilots, and Lena craved the thought of it. But it wasn't just intelligence they tested on. How well they could read the conditions, how to pilot the craft in an emergency. And so, while her math and reading scores were happily average, her natural aptitude for the skies was off the charts. She was responsive, reactive, sensitive to the skies, and overall built for the sky. That, plus her small stature and her ability to fit easily into the craft, had her fast tracked.

Lena only feels peace in the sky. The rocketing of her heartbeat slows, and she can feels each individual breath she takes. Even when she's crushed back against the seat of the craft, when she's doing actual damage to her spine from the g-force, Lena is truly happy and at peace.

And this is what helped her land the Slipstream project.

[rubylioness]

What the *fuck*-

Why am I noticing something very...gross? After the whole Azealia Banks thing, Russell Crowe is (was??? bc??? 😭) set to star in a movie that Chloe Bailey is supposed to appear in, then there's Love & Thunder with Tessa Thompson - and apparently Ariana Debose is in that Kraven the Hunter movie...with Russell.

Like, ew.

[in1-nutshell]

Hey it's me again how about some more old Predacon buddy maybe how they interact with the other predacons or possibly have Predacon buddy accidentally get teleported to another universe maybe beast wars? Like how would they interact with the maximals or interact with the predacons I am not surprised if old Predacon buddy adopts waspinator Just have like a good old time =]

One way to summarize this request:

Buddy: *sees Waspinator*

Grandparent mode activated.

Hope you enjoy!

Bot Buddy the Old Predacon meets the Maximals

SFW, Platonic, Cybertronian reader

TFP/BW

Buddy doesn’t like to point digits when it comes to blaming others.

But in this case, they will make an exception.

If the Wreckers hadn’t lobbed so close to the relic, Buddy would still be napping in their sunny space waiting for the kids to arrive from school.

Jack was going to show them his art collage.

Miko was going to show off her ballads that she had recorded earlier that day.

And Raf was going to get the next movie of that dinosaur series they were watching.

But no, now they were getting some stick out of their digits on some planet.

The place looked a lot like Earth in the Dinosaur movies Raf had shown them…

…

Time travel, dimension hopping and spiked energon were all on the table in trying to explain all of this.

Buddy seen some goofy ways bots and cons have gotten into strange situations, Buddy had to think of every possibility.

Buddy sitting in their bi pede mode in a thinking position.

They feel a poke to their side.

“Hmm?”--Buddy

Buddy looks down to see a small green servo.

“Help…please… you…squishing me…”--Waspinator

Buddy yelps out and stands up.

A smaller green mech was etched onto the mud below.

Buddy carefully grabs the mech and places him gentle on the ground.

“I am so sorry for that! I didn’t even know you where there!”--Buddy

Waspinator shaking his helm a bit.

“Big Bot appear out of nowhere, how?!”--Waspinator

“It’s a long story.”--Buddy

“Wazzpinator has time.”--Waspinator

“Waspinator? Is that your designation young one?”--Buddy

Waspinator nods his helm.

“And big bots?”--Waspinator

“I’m Buddy.”--Buddy

Waspinator tilts his helm.

“Buddy?”--Waspinator

“It’s not normal, but it suites me.”--Buddy

“Yezz I am a Predacon under Megatron’s command.”--Waspinator

Buddy’s optics twitch a bit.

“Megatron? And you being a Predacon? But you don’t have the same logo as mine?”--Buddy

“You Predacon too?”--Waspinator

“Yes, but they are not factions. We are a species.”--Buddy

“What?”--Waspinator

“… Waspinator have you seen any humans here?”--Buddy

“Like them?”--Waspinator

Buddy looks at some early humans playing with a stick.

“… Oh Primus I jumped dimensions…”--Buddy

Waspinator gives Buddy a rundown of the Predacon and Maximal war.

All Buddy wants to do now is hit their helm on the nearest tree.

Buddy asked more about the Predacon’s faction.

Buddy’s optics twitched hearing their leader was Megatron.

Buddy didn’t like the things the Predacon’s were doing.

They shifted the attention to the Maximals.

They seemed a little rough around the edges, but they seemed like the better option to ask for help.

“Which way is the Maximal base?”--Buddy

“Buddy want to go there? Why?”--Waspinator

“They seem like the better option for asking for any help. No offense, but the last time I put any faith in a Megatron, it didn’t end up well.”--Buddy

“Oh…”--Waspinator

“But you’re going to take me there.”—Buddy

Buddy stands up stretching a bit, getting ready to transform.

“WHAT! No! Maximals hurt Wazzpinator!”--Waspinator

“I will make sure they don’t. You have my word. Now are we ready?”--Buddy

“But Wazzpinator need repairs.”--Waspinator

“Then you fly with me.”--Buddy

“WhaaaAAAAAAAHHHHHH!”--Waspinator

Waspinator nearly faints at the full dragon size Buddy is.

Waspinator had a fun time flying on Buddy’s back.

Beats flying all the way to the base by himself.

The Maximals nearly fainted when a giant dragon with Waspinator landed near their base.

Buddy politely greets them and asks for someone to look at Waspinator.

There is some opposition to letting the enemy in, but they are quickly shot down by common sense.

Buddy looks at this version of Prime and asks to speak with him about their situation. Many of his teammates are very much against this, but he calms them down and goes with Buddy.

He looks almost as lost as Buddy is when they tell him what happened.

Optimus agrees to give Buddy and Waspinator haven for the time being.

Things are a bit tense for the next couple of days as many try and tip toe around the giant dragon.

Buddy was so big they couldn’t even get onto the ship even if they crouched. They opted to stay outside in their beast form for the nights. Anyways, it wasn’t like someone was going to attack a behemoth like them.

Slowly the Maximal’s start warming up to Buddy and their kind nature.

They were all defiantly surprised hearing about their backstory, some more than others.

Waspinator starts his journey to becoming a fellow Maximal, thanks to Buddy talking to him about the good that could come with this new change.

Waspinator makes up for a great Maximal with the right guidance and support.

He becomes Buddy’s second shadow while Buddy stays at the Maximal base.

Buddy has plenty of time to tell stories about their times as a gladiator, their time with the Cons, and their time now with the Autobots.

Buddy talking to Cheetor, Rattrap, Waspinator, Silverbolt, and Dinobot.

“What do you think they are talking about?”--Tigatron

“Maybe about their favorite tree from yesterday.”--Airazor

“Hmm, maybe.”--Tigatron

Back to Buddy…

“Then I raised my sword above the crowd, drenched in the energon of my enemies and asked if they were finally entertained.”--Buddy

Buddy mimicking a sword slash for their audience.

“Wow! How long was that Buddy!”--Cheetor

Buddy scratches their helm.

“Hmmm… Don’t remember the exact date, but defiantly when I was around your age Cheetor.”--Buddy

“Awesome!”--Cheetor

“Wait how long was it though? Couldn’t have been that long right?”--Rattrap

“Aww, that sweet of you to think Rattrap. But I am a bit old.”--Buddy

“But how old?”--Silverbolt

“…”--Buddy

“…”--Maximals

“How old Buddy?”--Dinobot

“How about I tell you the story about the time I scared Orion Pax in the halls of Iacon from the top shelf?”--Buddy

“Buddy stop ignoring the question.”--Dinobot

“Listen to your elders.”--Buddy

“How old are you!?”--Waspinator

A familiar looking portal appears one day, and Buddy knows its their time to go. Their team finally found them.

They make sure to give each of the Maximals hearty hugs before they leave.

Buddy hugging all the Maximals.

“I will never forget your kindness my friends. If you end up in my dimension, just call for me!”--Buddy

Buddy gives an extra hug to Waspinator.

“Stay strong my friend. You are so much more than what you give credit.”--Buddy

Waspinator hugs them, trying not to cry, before letting go.

Buddy transforms and flies into the portal.

Buddy exits the portal to see the bewildered faces of their family.

“What took you so long?”--Buddy

“BUDDY!”—The Kids

The kids crowd around Buddy’s pedes while the rest of the Autobots follow suite.

Things are finally back to normal.

[runawaycarouselhorse]

Our pure-hearted, all-loving hero... he can be a little brat (especially back in OS/early in his journey, when he was much more of a hot-blooded boy hero), but his heart's worth its weight in solid gold and he grows into such a kind, patient character with strong ideals, which is why Hero of Ideals suits him best (even the movie manga opted to adapt that version of the movie, rather than the one where Ash is Hero of Truth, and expanded on it!)

[I hope you have "long post" and "image heavy" muted if you need to, because this post's a doozy and given tumblr, if my blog's ever deleted, posts with read mores will be rendered inaccessible forever, so I don't like to make them!]

A lot of people complained about how young Ash looked in BW! (and complained even more about Sun & Moon's very divisive art style... and we wound up seeing great growth for his love of a whole region, and achieved a goal integral to achieving his dreams), but from the first episode of BW!, my first impression was of how mature and calm Ash is with Iris and Trip in regards to their initially abrasive and varingly aloof personalities.

Iris was friendlier and more excitable, more childlike, but Ash took her barbs in stride and patiently waited for her to open up about her dreams (she keeps it secret in the first episode, using that cute, childish word "naisho" instead of saying it's a secret "himitsu"--the same childish word she uses when asked about what Kairyuu/Dragonite told her in their reunion episode) and background (we don't know she ran away from the academy or what her hometown was like until season 2!)

The way Ash handled Tory (who was a traumatized, younger child--and Ash wanted to fight him at first, before understanding him!), Lucario (also traumatized, insulted Ash and Pikachu's bond--Ash fought him and fell off a hill, wrestling with him, before he saw Lucario's memory of being "abandoned" and broke down in tears, apologizing for what he said when he didn't know anything...), Chimchar (a traumatized Pokemon, Ash was patient, kind, and loving to him, even when he lashed out while out of control due to Blaze, which he previously could only use to save his life...), etc., is very different from how he handled Iris (who was bullied subtly by being completely ostracized, no one would sit or eat or play with her at the academy, she was so depressed, she stopped eating--this is canon and not lingered on, but she plainly says it and that her dorm mother making her food that would remind her of home, just berries skewered on a stick, "saved her") and even Trip.

(By the way, Ash apologizing to Lucario, in tears of regret over what he said to Lucario when he didn't understand him is when I first started to truly love and respect Ash's character and growth! Before that, I really was only a big fan of the TRio.)

By contrast to those rockier beginnings with other kids, Ash was patient and encouraging with Trip, even while Trip purposefully kept him and everyone else (even his Pokemon who loved him, as Alder said...) at bay and rejected all his attempts at friendship, before he got the answers he needed from Alder and slowly stopped shutting others out. He had every right to lash out at Trip for making fun of him, but kept trying to befriend him and showed interest in his journey and growth.

(Trip was also his youngest main rival at that point, even if he is a very book-smart child prodigy type who was an excellent battler from the start, he still fell apart in front of unexpected, unorthodox techniques like Bell/Bianca and Satoshi/Ash's out-of-the-box strategies.)

Naturally, there's also his very patient and encouraging bond with Lillie, who also had her trauma-induced fear of Pokemon (much like Tory!) and dissociative amnesia, the early loss of her father in infancy, and the distance between her and her mother (too wrapped-up in work and her obsession with Ultra Beasts to notice her own child's trauma and falling behind her peers...) to overcome, but the focus of this post is BW! I already write a lot about Lillie, she's another favourite of mine. <3

It's worth noting, too, that Pikachu was Ash's first "problem Pokemon"... even if it's usually the Fire types who are traumatized, Pikachu has abandonment issues like Chimchar and Tepig did. Pikachu famously hates being inside a pokeball and Ash always repesects this boundary and becomes very, very upset in XY when he believed Pikachu was forced into a pokeball... the pokeball factory episode was, otherwise, a very light-hearted episode, but Pikachu's boundaries and possible trauma is taken seriously.

This scene mirrors a similar breakdown Alain has when he finds out all he's done, under the impression he was protecting his loved ones, was aiding Lysandre's genocidal plans... both smash their fists into hard surfaces, blaming themselves for failing to protect loved ones.

In a very early Kanto episode, Sparks Fly for Magnemite, we learn Pikachu has abandonment issues so bad, he doesn't want to be separated from Ash for even an overnight stay in the Pokemon Center. It seems Pikachu (fortunately) quickly become much more secure in his bond with Ash and no longer fears being separated for medical treatment, but this is very, very sad and telling!

Although we never delve very deeply into that for most of the series... (an early magazine scan has Ookido-hakase/Professor Oak theorize Pikachu's previous trainer abandoned it), we were finally given some answers late in series!

In the AU movie, Pikachu says* his reason for not going into the pokeball: "It's because I always want to be with you." ;O;

... unless this is a dream or hallucination, given Ash is on the verge of unconsciousness when it happens--but if we really want to believe it happened, maybe his latent Aura post-cognition abailities kicked in and he understood Pikachu's feelings, like when Victini slept in his lap, crying, and Ash saw Victini's dream of his past.

As for the main series canon, in the first episode of Pocket Monsters 2019 (Pokemon Journeys), we learn Ash's Pikachu was a lone, possibly orphaned, Pichu, who was briefly raised by a Kangaskhan, carried in her pouch with her child, until he grew too heavy and quietly left at night (without saying goodbye) to live by his own strength, evolving into Pikachu as he did so.

If Lusamine not taking Lillie's (because they're irrational or not logical) feelings seriously gave her a complex where she always needed to claim her stances are "logical" even when they're based in emotion... I wonder what it tells us that "child prodigy" Trip defaulting to blaming his loss to Alder on him doing something wrong or being inherently lacking ("What did I do wrong? What do I lack?"), because he doesn't ever consider a simple difference in experience is all it is... that Alder's many years of wisdom and Pokemon training give him an advantage over rookie trainer Trip, who's shown to be averse to being called a "child" (Iris ropes him into battling Ash twice by calling him a kid), because he always has to prove he's an adult. He thinks there's something inherently "lacking" in him or "wrong" about his method if he doesn't achieve.

All of that is canon, but if you further analyze his character, Trip has a superiority complex, which is very often a defense mechanism to mask feelings of inferiority. He canonically places a lot of worth in the image he projects and constantly puts down others. Add that to being a child prodigy and his preoccupation with proving he's an adult (but doesn't bat an eyelid at someone calling him "unjust" for his violent methods in the Venipede episode, like he's already accepted being a terrible person, because he thinks striving for peace like idealistic Ash is "naive"--Trip has a very cynical view of adults, yet thinks of himself as such...)

Trip only cares to be seen as strong and mature, not good (he's not even surprised to be called bad, he's already accepted it, he doesn't care), and if he fails, he blames his lack of knowledge or his inherent nature as lacking.

Because his self-worth is in being a genius and being better than the rest, so he seeks outside validation, namely Alder's, who Trip behaves so jealously about, Alder canonically compares him to a fickle-hearted woman (well, he messes up the phrase 'Onna-gokoro to haru no sora.' "A woman's heart is as fickle as the sky of spring" because he was hitting on Junsa-san/Officer Jenny earlier, so he says "fickle as Junsa-san"... Freudian slip. ^^;;;;)

Trip, when asked what he was battling for, what he wanted to prove... he said it was to prove his strength to Alder.

That's all he wanted! To prove his strength and be acknowledged by his hero. Alder even asks him if he likes him. Adeku frankly asks it in the Japanese version, but the dub dances around with "do you have any admiration for a man such as myself"--which Trip doesn't answer verbally, although he really doesn't have to, because the scene makes it clear and is a lens that clarifies all his past behaviour.

That's all Trip wants: love and acknowledgement. Which he believed he could only get by becoming stronger, smarter, and more mature as fast as possible, likely taking Alder's to be some stronger and grow up quickly too literally, as head animator Iwane said, Shootie was just "a little too grown-up."

It takes a long, long time for Trip to unlearn prioritizing battles over anything else and to embrace childhood (which hey, is one of the main themes of BW!), because it's a precious time which we can never return to... so, Alder's current idealogy is to enjoy life, make friends, love Pokemon, and not dwell on the past. Ash's approach to being a Pokemon Champion and Master is the same.

Alder's introductory episode made it very clear he and Ash are very, very similar characters... and we see this again in Journeys, in the kind of advice Champion Ash gives younger kids. Ash and Alder have a similar wisdom they'd like to impart, I know, it's funny calling Ash wise, but he has high emotional intelligence and is incredibly wise in that respect for his age... it took Alder many, many long years to arrive at the same conclusion Ash reached.

Ash's Japanese name, Satoshi, means "Wisdom." (Another cute detail: Ash's little brother, Lei, whose Hawaiian name means a "Garland of Flowers-- in Japanese, would be pronounced as Rei, which also means "Wisdom." Lei likely has a name chosen to have meaning in both Hawaiian and Japanese. ^^)

Bonus shout-out to Ash, Iris, and Cilan all protecting Keldeo until he finds the courage to face his fears, correct his mistakes, and save his friends...

Ash is a very good friend, AG, DP, and BW! are all part of his development into the kinder character he became today. Some people might miss how rude he was to his friends in OS, but he can still playfully dish it out, he's just calmer and more sure of himself, so less likely to sweat the small stuff and recognizes when someone, whether Pokemon or trainer, just needs time and patience.

[dosai-maavu]

Aditha Karikalan and Nandini

ok so like i just watched ps2 and OML the scene bw aditha and nandini actually destroyed me. i would literally pay to watch the movie again JUST to see their confrontation. the music, the visuals UGHH just everything was amazing.

so many people analyzing it from aditha's pov but let's look at it from nandini's view. she intentionally invited aditha to meet her. she's going to meet her childhood sweetheart, her first love who completely destroyed her life. she despises him. she hates him. she will kill him. she wants vengeance. not only for veerapandiyan, but for the royal life she was denied TWICE. both times because of the cholas.

but all thoughts of revenge go away once she sees him. because she doesn't see the blood-thirsty, war-hardened warrior who beheaded veerapandiyan without second thought. she doesn't see the carefree young prince who took her on horse rides all those years ago. she instead sees an anguished, tormented man, wracked with guilt. haunted by the horrors he's done.

nandini meant to show her superiority when she tells ravidasan he cannot possibly accomplish a task even she can't. but as she looks at aditha, she realizes that it's true. aditha won't let himself be killed by anyone else. only nandini can do it. in his eyes, dying by nandini's hands is his only way to redeem himself, at least in death.

how can she kill him now? her love for him, buried beneath her hate slowly springs back. she wants nothing more than to forgive aditha, accept his idea and run away, leave this conspiracy, this revenge and all this hatred in her heart behind. she wants playful games of hide-and-seek in the forest. she wants horseback rides by the banks of ponni at sunset. she wants the innocence and happiness of her childhood. because as much as she is HIS nandini, he his HER aditha. she doesn't know how not to love him.

but she's too far gone. it's not only about her anymore. the fate of a kingdom rests in her hands. she remembers her promise to veerapandiyan. she remembers how aditha refused to listen to her, even as she begged at his feet. she remembers how chola soldiers stormed into her house and forced her to flee. sembiyan maadevi's disapproval. kundavai's taunts. every injustice comes to the forefront of her mind and she is able to hate him again, for a fleeting moment.

she wishes she was stronger, because now aditha is pushing a dagger into her hands. she's close, so very close to her goal. barely a hair's breadth separated the dagger and aditha when she realizes she can't do it. she can't kill him. she CANNOT be the one to snuff out his life.

in the dark, aditha talks softly. no more yells, no more sarcasm, no more pleading. he speaks from his heart. he tells her that the man she loved died long ago. she starts to cry. she wants to yell that it's not true. the man she loved is here, right in front of her eyes, begging her to kill him. how can he ask that of her?

aditha embraces her. she's screaming now. because, this is all wrong. she cant do this. she cant. with whatever strength she has, she tries to stop the dagger from going in. but here again, she's weak. before she knows it, aditha goes limp in her arms. he stops breathing. he falls to the floor. nandini clings onto him desperately. she screams loudly, because surely aditha would hear her pain and come back. he doesn't.

someone drags her away. she's not sure who. she doesn't care. her hand remains outstretched. her fingers burn with the touch of his skin, his blood. as his face fades from her view, she catches a ghost of a smile on his face. a happy, satisfied smile. the one her aditha karikalan wore. he's finally at peace.

people die many times. nandini died again, for the last time.

[transingthoseformers]

OverpanKid!OP anon

Sentinel and Blackarachnia would have interesting reactions.

If Overpan figured out what happened on Aracha-7, Sentinel would be in deep slag. Thankfully, while they don't see eye to eye, Optimus doesn't want Sentinel dead, so while his parents are tearing into Ultra Magnus (not literally but the little twitches in Trepan's digits and Overlord's glare say other wise, though they can't act on it. While they are of neutral alliance and can't be prosecuted, Optimus isn't and they wouldn't put it past the Council prosecuting their son for their actions) Optimus pulls Sentinel over to the side like;

"Hey, I think we need to have a chat and bury a few hatchets before you get buried by them."

They have a long overdue conversation and who knew that the threat of your old pal's parents ripping you to shreds would be the key to healthy communication? There's still a long way to go for them but they've made up for now. Though upon learning Trepan - a mech with a very explicit reputation - was an Autobot, makes Sentinel a bit curious. He's been under the impression that their faction can do no wrong, but realizing this mech as committed atrocities that have been struck from the records, makes him wonder what else they've been hiding. (I like to believe that Sentinel genuinely believes in the Autobot cause, but he's so young and fully indoctrinated with the the wool pulled securely over his eyes, he's ignorant of the darker side of the Autobots. Trepan showing up is his glimpse behind the curtain. I don't hate Sentinel, he's a jerk and needs to learn his lesson, but I think he can be redeemed.)

Blackarachnia on the other hand, well, her mental state isn't the best, so she's probably gonna end up extremely conflicted once she learns that sweet, goody-two-shoes, Optimus is the son of two of the most terrifying mechs in the universe.

I'm sure I can figure out some way to reunite these three again. Sentinel's got a good start but Blackarachnia is gonna be tough.

Makes perfect sense, it's totally TFA Autobot of the autobots™️ to blame whatever Overlord and Trepan do currently on Optimus

Nice to see Optimus and Sentinel work something out... Even if it's under threat of two of the most terrifying mecha in the galaxy who just happen to be your friend turned rival's parents. Sentinel had to have been terrified lol

And you're right about Sentinel. He does honestly believe everything autobot wholeheartedly, especially after Archa Seven. This being a turning point in that could have interesting interesting results, especially as you put it tfa Sentinel imo too can be redeemed with careful work.

Yeahh BlackArachnia already had several reasons to be wary, but she's going to be Extra reevaluating her interactions with him after learning of his past before the academy. Though, considering their interactions in canon I think BlackArachnia is severely tempted to accept his help (at least that was the tone I saw in the show, with the whole tragedy angle— especially in the episode where she was working with meltdown and meltdown double crossed her) and considering bw BlackArachnia I feel like we'd definitely see her go through a redemption arc of her own (thought I don't see her becoming an autobot again. I've thought before about her declaring as neutral before though...) Her learning about Trepan and the worse sides of the autobots cannot help her opinions on them.

[silverwhittlingknife]

Has Tim ever put Dick on a pedestal?

100% yes! This is basically Tim's backstory IMO. Prior to meeting Dick in Lonely Place of Dying, Tim's a kid who's got a distant, idealized, made-for-TV vision of Dick and Bruce - mostly Dick - and he sets out on a quest based entirely around that misperception.

Aaaand then he immediately crashes headfirst into reality, because the Dick Grayson and Bruce Wayne he remembers from his childhood memories and daydreams are like this:

But it turns out that the actual real-life human people are a bit more, uh, cranky than Tim's glossy vision - things are tense and neither of them are super-happy to meet Tim:

And Tim has to rethink a bunch of his mistaken deductions as it slowly dawns on him that - far from being a plucky team - Dick and Bruce are actually not getting along at all:

And so Tim has to realize his whole plan of "Dick has to be Robin again!!! That will fix everything!!! :)))))" was actually wrong, and based on a misunderstanding of Bruce and Dick's relationship. And having realized he was wrong, he immediately sets about trying to figure out what he’s failed to understand in the most intrusive way possible—by asking lots of nosy questions!

Actually-meeting-Dick is basically the end of Tim’s super-idealized vision of Dick. It's not a vision that can survive contact with an actual human being who's snapping at you. And kid!Tim is (I love him but) extremely pushy and annoying, and Dick's a prickly young adult who is not above getting annoyed, which means Dick snaps at him pretty regularly.

But Tim does continue to admire him.

So for their various interactions after Lonely Place of Dying, IMO "does Tim have Dick on a pedestal" is kind of a judgment call based on your assessment of Dick's relative strengths/virtues. What's unambiguous: Tim has a consistently higher opinion of Dick than Dick does of Dick, and they argue about it a lot.

I had way too many thoughts about this, so below the cut:

Comics where Dick and Tim have conversations along the lines of Dick: "I suck and I'm failing at everything." Tim: "That's not true!! Actually you're great and you're succeeding at the thing you think you're failing at!!"

So who's right - Dick or Tim?

Dick and Tim's high opinions/expectations of each other: the plusses and minuses

Comic examples

Here are a couple different variations on Tim thinking that Dick is great (often when Dick's less sure):

in Showcase, Tim thinks that Dick’s a way better teammate than Azrael, even as Dick’s thinking himself as a failure who let the Titans down; 

in Prodigal, Dick tells Tim a story about confronting Two-Face which to Dick symbolizes a moment of great failure and which Tim insists was a no-win situation where Dick did the best he could;

also in Prodigal, Dick’s despairing over how badly he thinks their encounter with Killer Croc went and meanwhile Tim thinks it went fine (after all, Dick listened to him and called an ambulance instead of beating up Croc!), and Tim tells Dick to lighten up and Dick talks about how he’s a failure; 

in Nightwing 6, Dick thinks he’s doing badly in Blüdhaven and he’s self-conscious about it and paranoid about what Tim might tell Bruce, and Tim insists that the fact that Dick’s being targeted means he’s succeeding and getting close instead of failing, and Dick retorts that this won’t be comforting if he winds up dead because getting close just isn’t good enough; 

also in Nightwing 6, Tim thinks Dick was a better Robin than Tim is, and Dick thinks he wasn’t that great and that Tim’s better;

post-Last Laugh, Tim’s insistent that Dick's being too hard on himself about attacking the Joker whereas Dick's really haunted by the experience and confides that it feels like he's discovered a terrible dark side of himself;

way later in Nightwing 110, Tim’s seeking Dick out and Dick’s trying to avoid him because he thinks he’s a bad person who’d be bad for Tim;

in BW: Murderer, Tim doesn’t trust Bruce absolutely, but in Red Robin, he does trust Dick absolutely (or at least, more than Tim trusts himself);

etc. etc. etc.

Who's right: Dick or Tim?

So, is Tim being too easy on Dick and looking at him with rose-colored glasses, and Dick’s harsher view of himself is the correct one; or is Dick a perfectionist who’s being too hard on himself, and Tim’s the one who’s actually seeing Dick’s strengths more clearly?  

I don’t think the comics really commit one way or another! These are moments of multiple-perspectives, where we notice that Tim has one attitude and Dick has another attitude and that tells us things about the characters, not moments that are meant to resolve to a simplistic “one person is Right and one person is Wrong.”  I think often you could argue that they're both right? So, like, if you wanted to take the approach of, "Tim's idolizing him but he's not actually as great as Tim thinks," I don't think the comics precisely contradict that interpretation.

... THAT SAID, look, I am a Dick Grayson fan at heart, and I tend to lean toward “Dick’s being too hard on himself.” 

Tim’s not oblivious to Dick’s flaws—he immediately figures out, for example, that Dick’s gonna attack the Joker, and rushes off to stop him; he just isn’t as judgmental about this moment as Dick is, and he doesn’t think it makes Dick an awful person forever.  The point is (Tim says later, practical-minded) that it was made right, and Dick shouldn’t beat himself up about it.  In Prodigal, Tim’s not unaware that their fight with Croc went badly; he’s just focused on how Dick’s morals and teamwork-centric attitude feel right to him in a way that Azrael’s didn’t, and look, Tim didn’t get shot even though he got shot at, and isn’t that the important thing?  Tim gets caught in the same ambush that Dick does in Nightwing 6; he just takes the glass-half-full attitude toward it while Dick takes the glass-half-empty attitude.  And so on.

Tim admires Dick, looks up to him, trusts him, interprets his flaws generously, and doesn’t think he’s a failure. And... this isn't quite in the comics, but it doesn't contradict them: I like to imagine Dick feeling like he's on a pedestal, and feeling kinda uncomfortable with Tim's admiration when he's forced to realize it exists, and feeling like he doesn't deserve it, and sometimes subconsciously braced for the other shoe to drop, convinced that Tim can't possibly really think this forever, that he's deluded somehow, and that eventually Tim will realize who Dick really is and get disillusioned and leave.

And I tend to think of Dick having this problem a bit with everyone in his life who thinks highly of him, but especially with Tim, because he doesn't feel like Tim's ever needed him or that he's done anything worth Tim's admiration. I feel like Dick - despite some insecurities - does know his own worth as a team leader, and he knows he was a good partner to Bruce, and he understands when he's helping people who are clearly floundering, like Damian and Rose. But all he's ever done for Tim is...hang out, and be nice. And he doesn't think Tim ever needed fixing or saving, and he vastly underestimates both the value of his own friendship in general and how much it's meant to Tim in particular. Not all the time, because later in their relationship when they've known each other for years I do think Dick does feel a bit more secure in that friendship and entitled to make demands based on it (and vice versa, for Tim). But I do imagine Dick periodically feeling like Tim lets him off the hook too easily, and thinks more highly of him than he should, and alternating between being grateful for it and uncomfortable with it.

But I would argue that Dick does deserve Tim’s admiration! 

Look, Dick's not a perfect person - no one is. He does screw up sometimes, and sometimes he's petty or jealous, and sometimes his temper gets the better of him. But he is pretty great! He's brave and thoughtful and kind and generous and caring. He takes his own grief and his own suffering and devotes himself to helping other people. And Tim sees that. Tim watches an orphaned kid crying on stage, and has nightmares about it - and later recognizes the hero in him. Tim stops Dick from beating the Joker to death, and he holds Dick back from strangling Hugo Strange, and he talks Dick down from two separate panic attacks, and he listens to Dick monologue about his various perceived failures, and he gets yelled at a lot when Dick's annoyed with him, and his takeaway from all of that is that he believes in Dick, and trusts Dick, and thinks he's a hero.

You could see that as Tim having him on a pedestal and refusing to acknowledge the ugly reality. But I tend to see it as Tim understanding that Dick's flaws and occasional missteps don't define who he is - the fact that Dick's human doesn't make him any less of a hero. Tim can see the hero that Dick can't always see in himself.

Dick and Tim have really high opinions of each other... for better or worse

Tim's not alone in having a high opinion of Dick - Dick thinks Tim's pretty great, too! Dick repeatedly compares himself to Tim and finds himself wanting, whether he's thinking that Tim's a better partner for Bruce, or having a fear toxin nightmare where Tim's a rival who's beating him out of a job, or deciding that Tim would never have let Blockbuster die (and that he'll be better off if Dick avoids him), or musing that Tim would be a better Batman. Dick calls Tim his equal and closest ally in Red Robin; Tim thinks Dick is "the best" in his origin story and basically never changes his mind.

I think nowadays we're sometimes pretty highly-attuned to the way that high expectations can be bad or oppressive, and... I have mixed feelings about this? On the one hand, it isn't untrue! Dick and Tim's mutual high opinions of each other, and correspondingly high expectations, are not an unmixed blessing! They 100% cause problems! Dick and Tim think highly of each other, and expect a lot from each other, and sometimes they're pushy or abrupt or demanding when they could stand to be more sensitive. And the iffy side of high expectations is something I find interesting, and I do think it's solidly canon-based - you see aspects of this in several of their comic conflicts - LPoD, Graduation Day, BftC, RR, etc.

But at the same time, it's complicated! I don't think you can fully untangle the higher expectations from "they rely on each other and have a lot of faith in each other." Love and trust are different things, and Dick and Tim care a whole lot about being trusted, not just about being loved.

I also think it's important that their belief in each other is often a gift rather than an inevitability: Dick and Tim choose to see each other in positive ways. Something they both do is after they have a conflict, they'll apply on a retrospective very positive gloss to whatever just happened. So e.g. Dick starts Resurrection mad at Tim, and ends it by declaring, "I let you make the choice... because I knew you'd make the right one." Tim spends most of Red Robin 1-12 mad at Dick, and ends it by declaring that he knew Dick would catch him because Dick's always there for him. And in both cases, we-the-readers are aware that they knew no such thing! But to me, that doesn't make these declarations meaningless - it makes them more meaningful. Their faith in each other is sometimes genuinely felt, and sometimes it's something they stubbornly brute-force into existence because they want to give that gift to each other.

And I mean... Tim did make the right choice. Dick was there when it really counted. Just because it isn't the whole truth doesn't mean it's not a truth.

Now, does this positivity also put some pressure on them? Absolutely! They're both people who are very upset by failure, so they tend to reassure each other by insisting that there was no failure, could never be failure, failure is impossible, even when they know perfectly well that's not true. They praise each other's skills as a love language, when what they mean is I love you no matter what. They talk about other people's needs but don't always acknowledge each other's. And it'd probably be healthier if they said instead, "Even if you'd made the wrong choice, it'd be okay, because it's okay to make the wrong choice sometimes," or "Even if you're not always there for me, that's okay, because no one can be there for someone else all the time."

And they do not say that, because Dick and Tim are relatively well-adjusted by Batfamily standards but that is a very low bar, and at the end of the day they're still deeply messed-up perfectionists who deal with their emotional problems by punching crime in the face.

But look, they're trying. And isn't that the important thing? <3

[mezamun]

In relation to another post, I think I'd like to give my basic thoughts on ships; Ash ships in particular to start with because that's easy.

Poké- Childhood mutual crushes. The sillies. AU Notes — Ash got burned by Misty leaving and ignored love for a while. Misty moved on. By the time the subject came up again, she gently rejected him. They tried dating as adults but it felt awkward and weird. They think the other is attractive but it just does not work. They'd rather give each other noogies and dead arms than date.

Advance - Not my favorite, but charming and cute. AU Notes — They're both committed to their primary partners, but they do casually date as adults. They grow up to have a lot in common and have nice chemistry. That said, you'd hardly notice that they're not just BFFs unless you see them kiss or something.

Pearl - OTP! They're so perfect. Made for each other. Endgame. AU Notes — Endgame. They're married. Ash and Dawn start dating a year after Diamond/Pearl and they support each other more and more; Dawn is the perfect emotional confidant for Ash and vice versa. Lacking a lot of his inhibitions for sharing his grief and worries, and not one to criticize him much, she's a great match for him. Likewise, Ash is a bit more emotionally in-tune and is good for her!

Negai - Conceptually great, but canon sours this one for me hard. The mean-spiritedness of BW makes me resent a lot of their interactions. But on paper, I think it's a great ship with some tweaks! AU Notes — Their friendship is a lot closer to my ideal, here. Fellow hard-headed trainers turned Champions. There's just a touch of chemistry here; they comfort each other and hug things out in private and share a lot with each other emotionally. But, as far as most of the world is concerned, they're just tight friends.

Amour - My second favorite ship for Ash in canon. I do wish it got more buddy-buddy moments in the vein of Pearl, but I really appreciate their story and influence on one another, it's very cute. AU Notes — Part of my OT3! Serena and Ash become quick emotional confidants in Kalos, with Ash in heavy denial about his budding feelings. Dawn's arrival throws them for a loop, and only wants what makes all three of them happiest, once she too falls for Serena. They all date, and later get married and have a family.

Auriela - Not a fan whatsoever. Feels very much like Ash is just there to coddle and rescue her. Does nothing for me at all. AU Notes — Even more of a no; Ash meets her as a young adult when she's 10 or 11; he's damn near a parental figure to her, while co-boarding at Kukui's lab after she runs away from home. During my later USUM arc, Ash is the experienced mentor to her and Selene.

Aloha - Who picked that name. Anyways. It's fine. Shrug emoji AU Notes — Not a thing in my canon, though Ash and Mallow are friends from when he took part in her trial.

Blueangel - It's the one S/M ship I liked. Super cute chemistry! AU Notes — It's canon to my AU. They hit it off during/after Ash participated in her trial. They have similar senses of humor, wanderlust, and strong personalities in general. Ash ultimately introduces her to Misty, who she ends up marrying. Misty likes to joke that he has visitation privileges in their prenuptuals.

Bloombolt - I've seen people make it work! That Ash isn't even really Ash to me anymore, so whatever. AU Notes — Absolutely not. Ash is Chloe's godfather in this canon. They mean a lot to me platonically. He was friends with Prof Cerise growing up, and ended up being asked for that blessing. He's a major source of encouragement and wisdom for Chloe, despite the window of estrangement they go through when she closes herself off.

Pallet - I can definitely see why people ship this, it's good. AU Notes — While there's nothing that really makes this impossible, I don't see it in my canon. They're BFFs, it's not like that.

Coma - I like it. They're just kind of funny together. Disaster gays. AU Notes — I definitely could picture Ash having some feelings for him that he didn't realize or vice versa, but it doesn't end up happening. That window of time that'd set it off never happens. Paul would never care to entertain all the noise and relationships in Ash's life, and they work just fine as friends, anyway.

Z-Ring - I can see why people ship this in canon, it's cute. AU Notes — Nah. They're friendly rivals. Kiawe strikes me as very stern and do-it-by-the-books. He's monogamous with Mallow.

Journeys - Again; that Ash isn't the Ash I know. In isolation, it works. AU Notes — Very similar big no to Chloe; Ash is a mentor to Goh and actually encourages he and Chloe to pursue each other when they both confide in him separately. They're close, platonically.

Alto - Heroes made me a big fan they are so CUTE. AU Notes — They're together. They reunite some years after Johto, during a time where Ash is pretty down on his luck and could use the company + support. He reciprocates Latias's feelings after spending their short journey together and she joins him for good. She continues to use her human form to blend in alongside him.

Poffle - I really just believe Miette was using Ash to get Serena's goat, but it's an amusing thought anyway. AU Notes — She's something of a package deal with Serena. I think they're funny as a throuple.

That's it, for now!

[notyouraryang0dd3ss]

“to be honest idc about “recently turned” ex swifties you should’ve dropped her from the get go “

You’re so right! Everyone gave her way too many excuses and coverups for years. I’m glad more people are finally coming around but I definitely resent them for defending her for so long. Tbh Ive hated her since the beginning. She should’ve never gotten this big and she should’ve crashed and burned years ago. I’ll take the hate now but goddamn where was is when she was grooming boys and posing with swastikas???

aHsKEKDJNCDKJCSNLSSDNDNCJDKDK

You get me anon 😭 what made me hate her was the 2015 MTV VMA Award noms dropping on twitter and Nicki Minaj (who I hate dw) rightfully criticizing them for not nominating her (her video submission was Anaconda which if you remember…IT WENT VIRAL). She criticized the VMAs for never acknowledging Black (female) artists, specifically how BW bodies are seen and she used WW bodies as a comparison.

TAYLOR SWIFT TOOK IT AS A SUBTWEET AGAINST HER AND IT LITERALLY WASNT 😭 Nicki responded “wtf these tweets were never about you” and everyone dragged Taylor Swift for centering her dumbass white woman feelings 😭 Its in my stupid document but I’ll link them later when I’m on my laptop

HER DATING CONNOR KENNEDY WHEN HE WAS 17 AND SHE WAS 22 WAS DISGUSTING!! I’m about to graduate college so around her age AND DATING A HS SENIOR ?!?!??? HE WAS A LITERAL CHILD!! SHE BOUGHT A HOUSE NEXT TO HIM!!! What blows my mind is that she was a similar age when she started dating John Mayer! So you think she would know better…besides you know having basic moral code…she’s actually disgusting

The swatiska incident kills me because people frame it as her being too young to know—SHE WAS 19 WHEN SHE TOOK THAT PHOTO. SHE COULD HAVE SAID NO. I wrote more about this in my google doc but she’s actually sooooo evil she’s been working with the victim/passive narrative for so long its impossible to hold her accountable without looking crazy to people 😭

Anyways anon I’m with you. I hate this lady SO MUCH

[brattylikestoeat]

Bratty, can we be real for a second Re: older BW? I don’t know if you’ve noticed this too but some of them come in with rude, combative, rigid energy. Very nasty OR they think being nice or pleasant to you = coddling and think being “real” (rude does not equal real) is best..yet they look at us as the problems and complain that we don’t respect them. Lady, YOU wouldn’t respect that treatment yet you expect a great reception from us when u dish it out?

On the flip side, a lot of them are softer or nicer (you know, the way they said they wouldn’t be with us?💅🏾🤔 with boys/men and enable/coddle/forgive everything and do all sorts of things for them.

Not all of our older // elderly BW are like this but I’ve noticed a pattern with the ones I’ve come across.

I get that they’ve gone through things in their time and now that’s left them hardened and I don’t deny that…but they are able to place it to the side for the men folk………….doesn’t matter if it’s due to patriarchy/familial conditioning, etc. my point is they ARE capable of making adjustments but they CHOOSE (it’s a choice) not to. I’m tired of some of them.

Maybe that’s an unpopular opinion but I said what I said.

That isn’t an unpopular opinion. A lot of younger BW feel that way even if they won’t say it.

Older BW often take their pain and anger out on us and not the people it need to be directed at.

Some older BW are so deep in patriarchy it’s crazy. They uphold the same rules that they hated. They are such men pleasers that it’s often at the expense of other women, especially younger women.

My grandma knew I was being sa by a male relative and said nothing. Even tho she told me her story of being sa by a male relative.

My boss nitpicked everything I did, but let men slide. The same men that called her bitches and said they fucked her.

But I’m supposed to roll over and let it slide in the name of womanhood?

People no matter how they were raised, or what is going on in society know right from wrong. And they choose when and who gets a slide.

I’m happy the younger generation is trying to go against the grain and I wish them much success. I have written off most older women of all races.

It’s like telling young women to cover up, instead you need to tell the predator to leave.

[tomoleary]

The Beguiling by Barry Windsor-Smith (1982)

Originally published in Epic Illustrated No.16, February 1983

Retouched and republished, from digital scans, in BWS: OPUS Volume 2, October 2000

Barry’s comments: “All told, this story took an average of 5 weeks per page; not a money making project, I can assure you. I wrote the script as a freeform poem, taking the cadence from a Swinburne work. Or was it Strindberg? I’ve forgotten now. I recently found my original plot scribbled out on a sheet of pencil designs for the cover picture. That version was less personal, but I changed the course of the story after going through a crisis with my lady of that period. In that regard, the story is reflective of its time, and also prophetic.

"The scene of the snakes and fish wriggling out of the stone wall is very strange. I almost cut it out, thinking that it was just too weird, but my editor, Archie Goodwin, convinced me to keep it in. ‘It’s weird,’ he said, ‘but it’s a really good weird.’

"By following his ideal woman, the young knight is submitting to a leap of faith, symbolized by walking through the solid wall as if it were immaterial. His turning to stone implies that the woman is really the Medusa. My Medusa, that is, where behind the facade of her beauty lurks something unknown and unknowable. This is the only time I’ve used the turning to stone thing, yet the woman looks nothing at all like my other Medusa images. We see her the way the knight does, as an angel. Although the man becomes nothing more than a trophy, he continues to have faith in what he believes to be his true love. You know, ‘blissfully unaware.’ It’s not that apparent, and I really should have reworked the scene a bit, but in the last three panels his once- outstretched left arm is broken off, and the ivy has become overgrown, swallowing him up over the long passage of time. Yet still his entire focus is on his imaginal life, and the angelic soul-mate of his dreams. It’s a bitter ending for one so idealistic.”

[in1-nutshell]

Okay just got some intrusive thoughts and it's been bugging me all day so like what if old Predacon buddy meet the Predacons from beast wars it would be quite entertaining I can just imagine Predacon buddy doing some gladiator type moves on Megatron Just going absolute batshit crazy on the other Predacons lol

Buddy wouldn't attack unless provoked to an extreme level.

On the other hand...

If one of their grandbabies got hurt...

Some things change then.

Hope you enjoy!

Bot Buddy the Old Predacon fighting BW Megatron

SFW, Platonic, mentions of violence's, Cybertronain reader

TFP/BW

Set during the time Buddy was stuck in the Beast Wars universe.

The longer Buddy stayed with the Maximals, the more they noticed Buddy’s patience.

They had tons of it.

It was almost impossible for them to truly get angry.

Cheetor and Rattrap have tried, no luck.

It wasn’t until Waspinator and Silverbolt came back to the base injured and literally carrying their own parts.

After making sure Buddy wasn’t going to fall into the Cybertronian equivalent of ‘cardiac arrest’, Buddy demands to know who did this.

The Maximals never saw Buddy fly so fast after they said Megatron did it.

Optimus and Airazor follow behind Buddy, but they severely underestimate Buddy’s fast flying abilities.

They hid behind some rock as they saw a Buddy shaped hole in the roof of the Predacon’s base.

Just as they are planning a way to get in to rescue Buddy, Buddy themselves flies out through the hole with a thrashing Megatron in their grasp.

Buddy slammed the Predacon leader down outside the base and demanded to fight him.

This wasn’t a fair fight. Not even close.

Buddy was the obvious victor after tearing the leader into spare parts.

They weren’t too worried about it anymore, bots in this universe were easy to fix in parts.

But this was only a small glimpse of what power Buddy had in store.

Team that is slightly watching and cheering on Buddy

This team is for the ones who are secretly cheering on Buddy to win this fight. They are extremely surprised seeing how Buddy fights. They almost have the same energy as a spry young bot. which leads to other questions, they plan on asking later. For example: If this is how they fight when they are this old, how did they fight in the prime of their youth? They silently shudder seeing Buddy tear into the enemy.

Optimus Primal

Airazor

Team who is slightly watching in horror

All the Predacons are staring in horror at this beast tearing into their leader. They have enough common sense not to even think about confronting this beast. Many are wondering where this bot came from. They can’t be a Maximal… right? They are silently praying that they aren’t next on this apex predator’s hit list after they get Megatron’s parts into the CR chamber.

[survivalistghost]

top 10 kdrama bromances to feed your empty heart

if you scroll through my page, you can already guess number 1.

#10 - our beloved summer : choi ung and kim ji ung

beautiful beautiful men choi woo shik and kim sung cheol played ung bros for life in this beautiful beautiful drama. one of the best handled love triangles ive seen. they were there for each other through thick and thin, and helped each other through sm. best. on the tenth spot because they could've expanded on it more :(

#9 - what's wrong with secretary kim? : lee young joon and park yoo sik

i could never make it through the series. i left it behind on ep9/10 i think, and primarily because i physically cannot digest how emotionless park min young is. BUT, kudos to the hilarious office best bromance by the great park seo joon and kang ki young. ps - why is kang ki young the pankaj tripathi of korean dramas?

#8 - strong girl do bong soon : ahn min hyuk and in gook du

can we ever forget the legendary wink? or the dream where min hyuk is dressed as a woman? i think not. this was more of a frenemy type bromance, united by their love for bong soon and ironically divided by it, too. i refuse to acknowledge this as a love triangle tho. bong soon was astronomical in not hurting gook du and i will not take any criticism. is it a bromance if one of them is pretending to be gay? (and no, we will not discuss any sort of iTs pRoBLeMaTiC debates here.)

#7 - tale of the nine tailed : lee yeon and koo shin ju

don't come at me with the lee rang comments. rang was his half brother, related by blood. their relationship was top tier, but the stay at home husband yeon and working husband shin ju was too cute to not be classified as a bromance. in the beginning, i saw their relationship as shin ju serving yeon, a dynamic that they both seemed to embody. but as the show progresses, yeon baby we know you love shin ju just as much :*

#6 - alchemy of souls : jang uk and seo yul

song joon ki seems to have an attachment to bromances. han seo had the best character arc of the ENTIRE kdrama universe fight me. that court scene where vincenzo pats han seo's cheek was max bro cuteness. still not over his death. he deserved better.

#5 - vincenzo : vincenzo cassano and jang han seo

even though i didn't very much like the show's first couple, bromance delivered well. hospital scene peaked, complete true beauty sameness. it was pretty hard to understand who was the superior officer in this tbh initially, since their comraderie was so cool, shi jin was kid to soldier in a split second. loved how they chose not to unnecessarily exaggerate the love triangle initially bec i was only rooting for the second couple.

#4 - descendants of the sun : yoo shi jin and seo dae young

business proposal was the first kdrama i saw. i finished it in a three day trip, and i remember thinking more about the bromance than the romance. i was NOT used to the clumsiness of kdramas in general, like wattpad fics incarnated. the bromance delivered well, made me root for the second couple, and was the only initial indicator of kang tae moo being human instead of archaeopteryx. that word was a nightmare to spell.

#3 - business proposal : kang tae moo and cha sung hoon

the most wolfstar bromance if I ever saw one. and NO, i do not ship wolfstar just like i do not ship these two. they are totally adorable, and specially since their personalities seemed to switch from when they were children. yeong turned all serious face and lee gon got fun. love their years of friendship sm, their wordless communication and yeong in general. the acting was amazing.

#2 - the king - eternal monarch : lee gon and jo yeong

#1 - guardian - the lonely and great god : kim shin aka goblin and wang yeo aka grim reaper

yes, i know I'm missing a lot of iconic ones. unfortunately, i haven't seen alot of kdramas and have left alot in bw (like true beauty bec i couldn't see second lead hurt).

spring onion slays ^

told ya, if u follow me u already knew what the first one was gonna be. being the simp i am for the goblin and grim reaper, these two achieved the max points for their bromance. that slow dynamic of goblin calling reaper's hat tacky to fighting with knives to that iconic 'saranghae' to 'HOW DARE YOU' to goblin boiling eggs with his powers while reaper chills the beer. they know each other so well. love love love them and you should too 🔪

in my heart, the trio of our boys beats nothing (except for the gookdu-minhyuk relationship of the crown prince and uk). but instead of choosing the frenemy thing, i decided to love yul and uk more. yul was such a quiet character, with incredible potential in him for me to hate him, but then...(the guy is literally too sweet and beautiful and nice i can ramble for days). and uk, man, our power baby who loves every version of our beautiful but slow girl, needed so much emotional support. uk and yul were not afraid to show their affection for each other, a trait i admired in all the three boys (jang uk, seo yul and park dang gu).

[steel--fairy]

Character Headcanons #1

champions and the leadup to them becoming champions!

lance started his journey at 14, the traditional age in the dragon clan to let kids go out on journeys. they have to pass a certain test in order to receive a dragon type and he did (clair failed the first time rip). his first pokemon was a dratini ofc. he did all the johto gyms, beat the e4 and made champion rank, then went on to the kanto gyms (which i see as being a common thing among high level trainers from kanto and johto. you do your own region and make it to the champion level if you can then try the other 8 across the mountain). he travelled the world for a few years and after he returned, he joined the e4 at about 24ish and made his way up to being the leader of the e4. he was pretty content in that position but wasn't too upset to become sitting champion when red unexpectedly left.

steven became a trainer a bit older than most expect. he was content to travel and mine rocks and never really considered being a trainer until a bit after he turned 16 and his dad was like "well you're old enough to start learning how to take over from me someday : )" and steven was immediately like "actually i think im gonna try being a trainer I'll come back latermaybebye" and yeeted himself out of rustboro faster than you can say electrode. he ended up being very good at training which was just a bonus. shortly into his journey he learned about mega evolution and completely halted doing the hoenn gyms to yeet himself to kalos to learn about it properly. when he gets back he basically just. curbstomps everyone with the fairly unknown mega evolution ability and becomes champion at around 19ish.

wallace comes from a family thats very established in the contest circuit, with several older sisters who were all master ranks coordinators. he started young (10 or so) and very quickly rose to being a top coordinator in hoenn. however his older sisters all eventually stopped competing leaving him miles ahead of the rest. its very boring when you're basically just competing against yourself so he was like "well im going to try being a trainer now : )" at 16ish and was instantly successful at that too. it also scratched his competitive itch a bit better, especially when he became a gym trainer (and later gym leader) for juan as he liked the challenge of trying to fit his team to the challengers level. it got even better when this one guy managed to absolutely destroy everyone in the gym despite having a pretty severe type disadvantage and they became best friends and rivals : ) as for being champion, he takes over from steven shortly after the whole team magma-aqua fiasco.

cynthia had a very protagonist like journey. she set out at 12ish with her gible, got a pokedex from prof rowan and set about filling it (though she had already gotten a badge or two by the time she ran into rowan), had some grand adventure, became champion very young (13 or so) and has held onto her title ever since.

alder is super interesting to think about because he's old lol i imagine that the unova league was still fairly newish at that point in time so the concept of going to a gym to battle was very thrilling and unique, though not everyone thought it was a good thing. alder started his journey pretty young (13ish?) and took his sweet time doing the challenge as he just loved exploring so much. he only became champion at like 18 or 19 and not because he was bad at battling. he was probably one of the first champions in unova and reigned for quite a few years. then of course his first partner volcarona died. he resigned from battling for a long while until pulled back in a bit before bw starts. the previous champion unexpectedly retired due to illness, and since they hadn't been ousted by battle, all the members of the pokemon league voted for a new champion. alder was fairly surprised when he got a call saying he was up for champion duties round 2 if he wanted them, but agreed to come back until a new champion won the title.

iris challenged alder and won : ) haha, she's just a bit too young to have as much history as the others lol she wasn't ever a gym leader, but she did work as a gym trainer for her grandpa which was great practice.

diantha came from a rich family who wanted her to focus more on her acting career than battling but diantha was insistent on taking time off to try the gym challenge. (her parents were mortified. it's one thing to have a few leisurely battles at the battle maison where you can make connections but to join the rabble in the gym challenge? eugh.) but her parents bought her a specially bred ralts and off she went. she was young enough (14 or so) but by that point she had a decent acting career which led to her being noticed every so often. she quickly became champion (diantha's good and kalos doesn't exactly have a strong battling culture) which caused a huuuuuge argument between her and her parents who were still very stage parenting her.

leon is like cynthia. he was basically another little 10 year old protagonist prodigy who quickly rose to the top. but for some hc's, he got his sponsorship from kabu. motostoke was the closest gym so he and sonia took the train there to ask for it. kabu, as most gym leaders do, asked for a battle to see if they were good enough and was blown away by leon's already evident skill with his charmander.

[lazychimken]

Tbh it's adorable if, before Emmet and fam arrive, hanging around Thomas helps to knock more of Ingo's memories loose.

Like not even specifically about Emmet, but Thomas would undeniably know and understand all of Ingo's train references. Plus, after seeing him and his mons fight, I can see the kid being very fond of his unknown uncle.

Heck if Thomas mentions Ingo looks like his dad people might just assume thats why he loves into so much.

These are such wholesome ideas aaaaahhhh- but yes, I do think that with the rights things being shown to him Ingo will eventually remember his past. Seeing such a mischievous young child reminds him of another boy, perhaps the man that always smiled?

And I think Ingo will be happy that someone understood his train references as even he didn’t understand them fully.

Thought I’d answer @nightshadow0123’s ask too while I’m at it.

I think if Ester were replacing Thomas in this situation she’d be much more interested in what Ingo has to say about the Hisuian battle strategies and battles. She can also give a more in-depth explanation on trains. While this will help Ingo remember some things about Emmet, Ester reminds him more of Elesa by her appearance and personality alone. I’m sorry I don’t have any drawing to accompany this ask, I’ve been bombarded with asks so it’s hard to keep up with them all. I hope you don’t mind!

With this I wanted to bring up another topic:

With all these asks I wanted to give you guys more details about this AU and how certain events lead to the Nimbasa Trio reuniting. There’ll be Volo, Arceus, and another kid whose parent is a gym leader from pokemon bw :) I hope you guys stick around for that!