#grief&relief

[hyperfixatinator]

I have a DP x DC AU brainworm about Danny and Tim being long lost siblings (twins or otherwise).

Because both of them have faced evil future versions of themselves who've almost ended the world in some way through altering time. If Clockwork had been watching Danny's world-ending timelines, then who's to say he wouldn't keep tabs on Tim's as well?

Imagine that the brothers had to be temporarily separated at a young age to ensure a peaceful future. Danny had to be in Amity Park to gain his ghost powers and become the new Ghost King. Meanwhile, Tim had to stay in Gothem to become the new Robin, something he'd have been less likely to do if Danny stayed in his life.

However, their separation was only supposed to be temporary. What if both Dan and Future Tim were from futures where they never reunited as teens? Heck, what if both of them were from the SAME future?

The Nasty Burger explosion happened, Danny killed Vlad and absorbed his soul, and became Dan. Dan grew too powerful for the GIW to handle anymore, so the government tried reaching out to the Justice League. But oops! Future Tim already killed off and tore down that whole organization, meaning the world no longer had it's protectors to stop this new foe.

Though they were strangers, the future brothers unwittingly collaborated in sealing the world's fate.

Back to the present, the Observants wanted Clockwork to get rid of Danny and also Tim before that timeline came to pass. What they didn't understand was Clockwork's plan.

See, the Infinite Realms needed a new monarch to replace Pariah Dark, but not just anyone would do. In timelines outside of Dan's future, the U.S government would've started a war with the Infinite Realms anyway. One that would guarantee Earth's destruction and offset the balance of other realms near it.

The war is set to start in Amity Park, but the information blackout is preventing it's citizens from getting outside help. Mid-to-late teen Danny can't bring down the Anti Ecto Acts alone. He'd be struggling to keep the Realms beings from invading his home as it is. And the government's iron grip on the city makes it nearly impossible for news to get out to the masses.

Danny being the brother of a vigilante detective across the country is another story.

Batman's mentorship would give Tim the training needed to eventually track down his lost sibling. And through Red Robin's connections to the Justice League, Danny could get help overturning the Anti Ecto Acts while he keeps declarations of war at bay on his end. Danny and Tim's combined efforts could be what's keeping the world at peace instead of ending it.

Long story short: Clockwork kills two birds with one stone by uniting a pair of long lost brothers through the prevention of an interdimensional war.

[evankinard]

I keep seeing people say buck has never gotten a breakdown moment and every time I have to reply well what's all this then

[seo-changbinnies]

felix - mood film

[fishareglorious]

Post-Mor Pankh where Kaalaa Baunaa and Shamane hang out sometimes and something Shamane does just. reminds Kaalaa deeply of Kumar. The siblings haven't met each other in literal decades aside from the latter's final moments, but the fact that they're related is there, mirroring each other in the way Shamane goes cocky or makes tea or some other little idiosyncrasy, and after she notices, Kaalaa Baunaa is hit full speed with missing Kumar.

[lagosbratzdoll]

This is a very very unfinished thought but I've been thinking a lot as I reread the books about how the women of House of the Dragon don't really get catharsis and how that'll likely be worse in S2. Say what you want about asoiaf but a number of named women there experience catharsis.

They kill their abusers (Lysa, Cersei, Dany). They regain some agency after a violation (Lysa, Cersei, Lady Stoneheart, Dany), and they refuse to forgive the people complicit in their subjugation (Lysa, Cersei, Dany, Lady Stoneheart, Jeyne Westerling).

Obviously, three or four isn't enough in such an expansive cast of characters but the point remains that they claw back their autonomy however they have to. They're allowed to be angry, bitter, unforgiving and cruel to their abusers in a way women in House of the Dragon just aren't allowed. They're allowed grief, grief that is violent and destructive.

The women of House of the Dragon don't get angry. They stand around and stare plaintively at the camera, they cry prettily, and they plead for peace and non-violence. They suffer and suffer and suffer and there's no relief.

[tvguts]

adult tip of the day: SAVE A COPY OF EVERYTHING YOU EVER SIGN, even if it's just snapping a pic with your phone. my apartment lost track of a notice to vacate document i definitely, 100% signed two months ago and they only honored it because i showed them an email from that day where i said i was gonna come down later and sign it. "get it in writing" is real advice, man! get it in writing!!!

[eternal-gardens]

[not-poignant]

OMG, I literally found your Astarion/Raphael fic yesterday, desperately looking for something like it. So happy someone else had the same brain worms as me XD

I was wondering if I could pick your brain a bit about what kind of direction you think you will take the fic? I was wondering if you had any plans in your head or if you are just following the vibes so to speak.

Especially with Raphael being in the pairing, I wondered if this is more of a "It turns out they are actually good for each other" kind of thing or more of a "Astarion has to find out what his life is going to be now/get over some things and Raphael will enjoy every second of making him squirm" kind of thing.

In any case, I am looking forward to reading more, thank you :)

Hi hi,

So I guess answering this would kind of be talking about really end-game spoilers, but I also don't have a plan for this story beyond Astarion/Raphael, and 'hopeful ending.'

(I mean I do have more than that, I just don't know how much of that I want to reveal at this stage, when it's only chapter 5, and this story could easily be over 40 chapters long - there's a lot of potential for change and growth that could alter the trajectory of the relationship in a lot of different directions.'

What I will say is that:

I do not consider Astarion giving into a regular non-consensual situation and just accepting it and making painful peace with it, a hopeful ending type situation. Agency is important to me in my characters. Even if he one day decides to voluntarily submit to scenes he doesn't love - that would at least be a choice. Anything done while under contract with difficult consequences will not be where the hopeful ending happens.

It's an Astarion/Raphael story, therefore the hopeful ending will be an Astarion/Raphael ending. That's just how my brain works. It will not be a 'they break up and THAT'S why it's hopeful.' However, the end may not have a conventional looking relationship. And I've written unconventional endings in relationships before (like Stuck on the Puzzle)

For me, a hopeful ending (as opposed to a happy ending) means that we have to have confidence in the idea that Astarion's life will continue to improve and get better even after the story has ended. There's now enough evidence that he has enough enrichment and potentially for happiness in his life, that he won't downward spiral like he has in the same way again. This means he needs - more support, more healing, healthier avenues for communication even if the relationship isn't healthy overall all the time/every second, and some pretty big personal realisations about what he wants in life. Hopeful ending is both 'better than where we found him, but also genuinely, when most people think on the last chapter, they think 'he's got some ways to go in healing, but I really think he's/they're going to be okay'' not just physically, but also emotionally, spiritually, mentally.

Those are the things I'm happy to reveal because that's how I feel about almost all of my hopeful endings. That's what that means to me.

I do think Raphael and Astarion can actually be good for each other, but I think we're missing huge pieces of the puzzle as to why that's true. Because we're missing so much of Raphael's post-death story, because he's deliberately hiding it.

But we'll find out more soon. At some point, High Inquisitor Verillius Receptor will visit, and then we'll find out a lot more, lol.

(Also yeah this story will be long, easily I suspect around 150k in length as a baseline - we're on an emotional journey folks! Sometimes the growth will be healthy, sometimes it'll be negative, we're going in all the directions lmao).

[beauregardlionett]

orym’s face after seeing dorian for the first time in weeks and being unable to reach him via sending stone

[suolainensilakka]

Had a stressful day and then spent the rest of the evening making a compilation of Terra eye closeups to cope. Did not even remotely help with making me feel more normal but at least now I have much more extensive and obvious comparisons of his ffucking enormous prettyboy disney princess lashes oh my god what is his ISSUE

[ratcandy]

Actually nevermind being secret about it no I'm just completely demolished over Sindri. And the Huldra brothers in general. I will literally never recover Might just be my tendency to get overly attached to tragic lil men but good lird!

Sindri lost Brok three times!!! Once when he first died, another when they split after their arguments, and then. After being finally reunited, for a good few years, despite Sindri still constantly carrying the weight on his shoulders about Brok's missing soul piece... Brok is killed, right in front of him!! By a guy he was harboring in his house for weeks!!!! And can't be brought back this time!!!!!!!! AND WORSE, Mimir revealing that. without that missing soul piece, Brok doesn't even get an afterlife now. He's just gone. I just keep thinking about that. Horrified. Does Sindri know? Does he know the full extent of what he did by bringing Brok back to life that first time? Did he know, when he initially saved him, that he could be denying Brok any afterlife at all???? Or even that when Sindri himself dies he won't get to reunite with his brother??????

And Sindri was never even given the chance to tell Brok himself about what he did! Brok had to find out on his own!! My man had everything taken from him!!

Augghhdg. And the line from Atreus after Sindri essentially tells him to fuck off after taking away his only family. the fucking. "I thought we were family too." After Atreus refers to him and Brok as his "sort of uncles" earlier in the game. Only to lose both of them in one fell swoop. I hate it here.

The only and I'm talking the ONLY sense of closure this man was allowed to have was dealing the final blow to Odin. And I was so happy for him when he did. While Kratos, Freya and Atreus are passing around the soul like "No, killing him won't make us whole again" and all that nice character growth shit, Sindri just shows up and is like "then I'll fucking do it myself" and I LOVE that for him. Good for you. Fuck yeah

But it also just. It just still hurts the whole time. With Sindri covered in his brother's blood. Not wearing gloves. Not even caring anymore. Disheveled and a mess. Knowing how he was before all this. And how he's been so fucking broken down. I hate it here. I hate it here. I want Sindri back. I want him back how he was before. He was my funny germaphobe uncle who cracked silly jokes and made cool armor/weaponry. I want him back. I want his wholesome relationship with Atreus back. I want Sindri back. I don't like broken, silent, wrathful Sindri. I hate it here.

At the funeral. When Mimir finishes Brok's riddle as Sindri disappears. "A hole." Gets bigger the more you take away from it. I just immediately lost it and started punching the air. It was a metaphor for Sindri himself the whole time as he gradually loses everything he ever had. I hate you. Why would you do that. Who gave you that right. Fuck you

[crispysnake]

can I get back on my shit again? Too bad I'm doing it

I can't get over how Marisha was talking with Matt after ep51 abt how ludinus knew Vax would show up, and he responded 'well it isn't the first time Keyleth got attacked' like OK Matthew listen I can't physically handle the fact that she probably saw Vax 6yrs ago during the first zephrah attack, not even to mention the possibility that she's seen him before and since then.

ok everyone imagine with me once again, keyleth lying on the ground bleeding out and paralyzed, and while Ludinus is talking she gets a bad feeling, something is missing, something isn't right, even if she figured it out, even if she pieced it together in her mind and realized it was a trap, it's not like she could stop Vax from coming, it's not like she could say anything to warn him, she couldn't speak, she couldn't move, she couldn't give him any signal that something was wrong. like that's a whole different wave of angst yall.

[chronicowboy]

i hate fox for this still

[zabiume]

wait why did this make me burst into a sob

[boyfridged]

thinking about steph & jay parallels.

you've heard it all but i'm thinking about robin jay (half) jokingly saying that his calling is to be a medic. i'm thinking about robin steph's righteous anger blended with the need for being seen, about her drive for vengeance.

i'm thinking about steph's "rebirth" as a volunteer in the medical field aiding in humanitarian relief efforts. i'm thinking about post-res jay's international murder spree as an assassin in training, about his righteous anger blended with the need for being seen, about his drive for vengeance.

[hamartia-grander]

I love when characters lose their memories and never get them back and they have to deal with the weight of becoming a new person that their former loved ones no longer know while getting the chance to start over, but even more I love when characters lose their memories and don't get them back for a long time so they've already become a new person and have reconciled with the fact that they can never again be who their former loved ones knew only to suddenly be thrust back into their former selves as every memory returns and now they have two very conflicting ideas of who they are and have to fight tooth and nail to make sense of their identity