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sweetmariihs2 · 9 months

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Jason Carver was misunderstood?

Is he a bad person? or he had good intentions behind his behavior?

All the underlined parts have links to other blogs and gifs that are related to the things I'm saying.

I've heard people saying that Jason Carver was a good person and he was only misunderstood because of the sequence of events in the show.

I kinda see where they came up with that, because of Chrissy's death and everything. But I have good reasons to doubt it. The series show us that he's a very popular character, good at public speaking and giving a speech, and everyone seems to like him except for Eddie and the rest of Hellfire. I wasn't for no reason, though. I have a post that partly explains why Eddie doesn't like Jason or the basketball team, and yes, there's a very plausible reason.

I'm not a Jason hater. I don't think he's a straight bad person, but I don't think he's a good person either. From what I saw in the show, Jason is a upper-middle-class guy, have popularity inside school, have a popular girlfriend and popular friends, gives interviews in the school newspapers,

And overall is not judged by anything in his life. Everybody likes him because he's cool, he's nice to everyone, and that situation with Eddie is just because Eddie is a troublemaker, right? No, not really. Is implied in the show that they hate eachother from more than just that interaction. Briefly, because I want to change the subject soon and I've already talked a little about it, Jason would already hate Eddie because of his looks and rumors about him around school. Eddie hates that people judge him like this before even trying to talk to him first, and Jason is one of those people. But, as I said in the other post, Eddie thinks "If you can not beat them, join them". If people hate him because of their judgement, then he's going to do exact what they expect of him. He has more reasons to do that, for exemple to protect himself of agressions because people would think he's dangerous, but this post is not about Eddie so let's go back to the subject.

Jason has literally an almost-perfect life (Which is another reason of why he hates Eddie. The privileged never try to understand the marginalized. When you have a perfect life, you don't care about the minority or the outcasts and everything, because you are not suffering with it). Everybody likes him and he's a very standard guy, so he has no complains at all. He likes to be liked. He likes to be popular. He likes to have a nice, pretty girlfriend but not because he loves her — He doesn't hate her either, Jason isn't a douchebag, but I'm pretty sure that he likes the statuses more than he likes her. He must like her as a person but he is not romantically in love, same thing with Chrissy. (Pretty similar to Apple White and Daring from that cartoon we watched as kids some years ago lol) — Chrissy and Jason aren't intimate enough to talk about their problems with each other. Jason actually doesn't even have big problems in his perfect life, but Chrissy does. And when it's something so obvious that even the town freak can figure it out in seconds, I wonder how much Chrissy acts when she's around Jason. Her mother probably supports her relationship with him because of the good view people will have of Chrissy, and you know how her mother is; psychological pressure, eating disorders, keeping up appearances.

This gifset explains for itself, but even being so obvious people still don't understand and has that confusion/misinterpretation of the characters.

That's a truth that Chrissy+Jason pro ppl don't understand— Chrissy acts when she's around him. For example in that scene during the basketball team/cheer practice, when he turns the public attention to his romance with Chrissy (to Chrissy herself actually) ((showing even more about how he appreciates their status as the school's power couple)) again, not that he hates Chrissy, because he doesn't. He just don't LOVE her as a boyfriend should love. It's just the status.

Grace Van Dien said that Chrissy was an introvert— do you guys think that introverts like that public attention? Like those looks from the other students? She's literally trained by her mother to act! That performative smile of hers in the cheer practice don't look even a little bit with her true smile or her laughter. She's never herself in front of everyone, not even in front of Jason, but Eddie could have a small peak of it (and the exact same thing happened to Eddie, but with the roles reversed).

And also, Jason was already a sick person before Chrissy's death. What happened was just a trigger for him to get violent — he's had these urges before and even if Chrissy didn't died he could had freak out over anything else bad that happened in his life. His violent impulses towards Eddie and Hellfire weren't because of Chrissy (yes, her death has something to do with it, but it's not the only reason, at least not the most important one) he manages to convince everyone to go on a witch hunt with Eddie using his speech skills. He took advantage of the satanic panic, which he already believed (alienated by the media and blinded by his privileged life) and even truly believing that Eddie would have killed Chrissy, he was taking out on Eddie all the anger he had for him. He wanted to hunt and hit, hurt, but now had an perfect excuse for it.

@munsons-maiden has a perfect post who explains very well what was going on with Jason's behavior and his relationship with Chrissy I am basing on it because it is very important for the discussion, I highly recommend that you read it. And this another one about what I said about Chrissy's role inside this blog.

This other one is also very good to explain about Eddie and Chrissy's relation: Because for some reason the ppl who like Jason loves to villanize Eddie for everything he does, so this one is amazing to analyse his real intentions with her (and to prove again how bad of a boyfriend Jason is)

You can see that happening in the second episode. When Jason discovered about Chrissy's death of course he got really bad, but seconds later he is being cynical, calculating and planning ways to attack Eddie, saying that he was a psychopath who had taken the game too seriously, mistaking fantasy for reality (this scene happens at S4 EP2, 42:35 min). They plan to literally hunt down and beat up Eddie. Andy even laughs, makes fun of him by saying that Eddie would be so scared he would "shit his pants and cry for mommy. This guy's no fighter" (the fact that Eddie doesn't even have a mother, and she's probably deceased... hurts really bad) and they KNOW that Eddie is not a fighter. He DOESN'T KNOW HOW TO FIGHT, they KNOW that and they want to BEAT HIM UP. That's so fcking problematic. Is gross, even.

What makes me think... they are saying that he's not violent? but they believe that he killed chrissy, I would be at least scared of fighting with him. Or they know something that we don't....? (Maybe they know that he wasn't responsible....? Wtf? What is happening here?

What happens next is most shocking and important part of all. Refutes everything Jason's defenders say to defend him.

The other basketball player with him laughs and Jason says

"I hope he tries something. Gives me a reason"

what in the actual fuxk was that quote

This scene happens in the episode 3, at the minute 11:15. I really, really want you to open your Netflix right now and rewatch the scene. The other character even replies "hell yeah".

This man is violent. They KNOW that Eddie don't know how to fight, they wanna beat him up not because of Chrissy, but because they don't like him. They were LAUGHING while saying those things. None of them were sad. And as I said, now he has an excuse to do with Eddie everything he ever wanted to do: he said it VERY CLEARLY. "I hope he tries something. gives me a reason".

This guy is sick. He wants to see him suffering and crying of pain. He wants to see Eddie reacting, running or fighting back to PROTECT HIMSELF, so that Jason can have fun while beating him up right after. So when someone asks "don't you think that went a little too far? He is very hurt" they can say "he reacted, he tried to attack us, we were just defending ourselves", or just to see the prey running so the hunter has a little more fun.

When Lucas asks something like "Are you guys going to hit him?", Andy says something like "no, we're just going to have a friendly chat" while laughing with the other basketball player. Jason lets out a cynical smile, saying "if you don't want to come, you don't have to, just know that it's okay and it's still going to be one of us", with a menacing tone in his voice. Where is the instability for being sad about chrissy's death? Where's the grief? Anyone who lost their romantic partner would cry for days and days, not bothering to talk in threatening tones to put pressure on people or plan a rebellion against Eddie. The police were already doing that; since he was "very sad" with the situation, he should go home and rest, shouldn't he?

They used the excuse that the police isn't competent and so they should do it with their own hands, but it was just another excuse to cover up their desire to beat up Eddie. And what scares me so much is the other character, right after that quote from Jason, responding with "hell yeah". They agreed with him and saw nothing wrong with what he said, unlike Lucas, who found it absurd.

And yes, I'm going to mention that scene with Gareth.

youtube

He was already being violent to other members of Hellfire, and again, that conversation makes it clear that they are enemies from more time than just that one interaction with Eddie. According to what some pro-Jasons said, if Jason was angry with Eddie only because he provoked him that time in the cafeteria and Jason was not to blame for anything, why would he have done this to the Corroded Coffin? This argument with the members of H4llfire, cursing their music and being arrogant with them, this feels like an old fight. Gareth, Jeff and Freak 1 seem to be used to these comments from Jason — something we didn't see him doing in the cafeteria scene, i.e. they obviously hate each other for a longer period of time.

And he almost broke Gareth's fingers for NO REASON, because he's not even SAD BECAUSE OF CHRISSY'S DEATH. Jason hardly ever mentions Chrissy dying, but he keeps talking about Eddie, getting revenge on Eddie, beating up Eddie, and all that craziness.

I don't even know if he really did broke his fingers or not. That was just so cruel, because it was only for him not to play the drums, out of cruelty. And his friends held the other boys so that they couldn't help, proving that they are all on the same level of cruelty. Jason even almost destroyed his drums.

If he (almost?) broke Gareth's hand just because of that, imagine what he would do to Eddie with all of that equipment. I don't remember exactly, but I know they had big things like baseball bats, crowbars, screwdrivers, things like that.

I don't even have to mention when they bought literal guns in vol 2. Even a fucking KNIFE. Like, that kind of professional knife, not made for cutting food like the ones we usually see in the kitchen. And again, with that cruel smirk on their faces. I feel so bad thinking about what they could do to Eddie. He could be shot, beaten, or stabbed to death by a GROUP of people. Not just only one guy. Eddie probably didn't even know that they could hurt him that bad; he just knew that he WOULD be beaten up, but not like this. And that's so sad because he's innocent.

Jason was CRAZY to get Eddie. In an absurd level.

That's the post, thank you for reading.

Jason is a sick person, forget what I said at the start of the post.

I'm afraid of those people

#anti jason #jason carver #eddie munson #eddie munson headcanon #analysis #jason carver analysis #stranger things 4 #stranger things #andy #jason x chrissy #hellcheer #eddie munson analysis #Youtube #eddie munson one shot #eddie munson fanfic

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eyrieofsynapses · 3 years

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Redemption Panel Highlights and Reactions

GATORS

i.e., Beth Riesgraf and Christian Kane (mostly Beth) talking about filming the scenes in (what I presume is) The Rollin’ on the River Job, where they’re pulling some stuff out of the water, and finding out the next day that there was an absolutely massive alligator pulled out of the same place just a little while after they filmed it

Beth’s impression of the wildlife folks warning them about the alligators

Beth scaring the hell out of Noah Wyle by yelling “GATOR” at him just after he finished his scene

seriously that was an absolutely WILD part of the panel

Everyone showering Aleyse Shannon with literally all the love!

Aldis Hodge in particular big-brothering her, and also the older actors calling her out for not giving herself enough credit, and Dean Devlin talking about how she blew him away at the auditions with her ability to turn on a dime

Seeing Kane with his glasses off wiping at his eyes, momentarily thinking “you okay dude?” and then realizing that he was laughing so hard he had tears in his eyes

(same)

The The Bucket Job clip! I’ve been a bit meh on a lot of Redemption, just in how it didn’t feel quite right, but that is possibly the absolute closest I’ve seen it get to the original in the best way. Brilliant

Which comes as no surprise since BETH RIESGRAF directed the episode!!! And apparently put an insane amount of effort in!

Beth’s utter delight and joy at both directing the episode and having the crew behind her

THE CHAIR

So apparently she and Christian went to town on the fight scene and he winds up tied up in a chair somewhere along the line and there’s a whole wild scene, which I am really looking forward to

Beth knowing how insanely particular he’d be about things like zip ties vs rope and what kind of rope e.t.c. e.t.c.

Apparently this is also tied into a VERY DEEP scene with Eliot? It sounds like they’re going to go super hard on his backstory, which is terrifyingly exciting

Just. Beth and Christian going very hard on that episode together

Speaking of: the panel’s going amazingly, I’m laughing so hard my stomach hurts, things are relatively light, and then, of fucking course—

Kane hitting us over the head about Eliot being a mass murderer who can’t be redeemed, is trying to stay static so that he can maintain the place he’s in, and is thus LIVING VICARIOUSLY THROUGH HARRY

What the FUCK. This is of course incredibly insightful and perfectly on point (because it’s Kane) but also, EXCUSE ME, OUCH, why would you DO THAT to us?

Everyone talking about having their families on set and their kids!

Beth’s son growing up on the original Leverage set and now going into being a director himself!

Gina’s daughter also growing up on set!

Noah Wyle’s daughter is playing Harry’s daughter I REPEAT NOAH WYLE’S ACTUAL DAUGHTER IS PLAYING AS HARRY’S DAUGHTER

Gina Bellman remaining relatively stoic throughout much of the panel (seriously, this woman, how the heck does she do it) and then losing it when they’re asked about running/inside jokes

A lot of them are, of course, apparently not appropriate to be spoken on-panel

(A lot of the others are the little inside ones that are special enough not to be ones they want to share, which is sweet!)

Everyone collectively losing it over having LeVar Burton on for The Bucket Job

Devlin and everyone laughing about collecting the various Star Trek people on Leverage

Beth talking about Burton coming over while she’s getting ready and asking her if she’s living on coffee and water, her laughing because he was absolutely right, and then him gently reminding her to remember to eat, which is the sweetest thing in the world oh my gods

Kane apparently choreographing an intense scene with Burton and being scared out of his mind, because Burton really wanted to go for it, but to Kane it was like he’s a figurine that’s not to be messed with because he was so worried about hurting him

Kane choreographing a massive amount of the show, which I knew already, but seriously, this guy blows me away

Gina and the crew talking about how he’d be away for a day of shooting a fight and all of them would be missing him and thinking about him

Family Vibes

Everyone talking about how they’re very noisy and loud together on set and it’s a bit like walking into a group of people having Christmas dinner (or something to that effect) because they’re just Like That together

Aleyse being the most surprised by Beth when she met her because she was like a little angel of light during the auditions but turned out to be an absolute ball of wild energy on set

Gina going “wait you were a MODEL” at Beth

Aldis talking about how much he loved how Parker and Hardison’s relationship had developed and grown!

Also, Aldis apologizing when the New York (iirc) background noise got loud and everyone going “no no we get you”

His outfit is ON POINT today

Gina saying that Christian is the goofiest and wildest out of them in terms of humor

(she goes “some of you may not know this,” which, fair, but also, if you’ve seen more than ten minutes of this guy outside of character you know he’s an absolute ball of sunshine)

Gina, Beth, and Christian talking about how they’d challenge each other to stay off sweets back on the original set, because they knew they needed to stay in shape and also just because they’re competitive (apparently all of them are major sweet tooths) and hide brownies and things from each other, while Aldis is just. doing pushups. eating all the healthy stuff. and then wanders into the room with a literal cupful of chocolates

(and Aldis going “well yeah I have to work off the sweets SOMEHOW”)

Beth explaining that sometimes they’d order a “Kane burrito” from Christian and he’d alter it slightly

Like, you know, chopping up hot jalapenos super fine and mixing them in, and Beth practically not being able to talk after the first bite

Apparently Aldis still went back a lot even after that

(Christian just seems very pleased with himself over it)

(THESE PEOPLE)

Gina goes “hey we should have an episode where we all swap roles,” Devlin going “WAIT FOR SEASON ONE TO BE DONE,” and then somebody (maybe the moderator?? I don’t remember exactly) going “uh actually. We did that”

Cue immediate scramble of “WAIT WHICH JOB WAS THAT”

(paraphrasing) “Yeah you remember the bit where you put on Parker’s harness and went off a building?”

Turns out half the cast had actually forgotten that that existed and only remember when reminded

The original cast all think of the episodes as “jobs”!!!!

Everyone talking over each other, Devlin going “it was with Sterling when we blew up the offices,” deciding that it was the season one finale, and then trying to figure out what episode title it was (eventually they figure out it’s the David jobs)

Moderator and Devlin accurately commenting that the fans know the show much better than they do

Noah Wyle very correctly explaining how Electric Entertainment is like a family and Devlin just. Keeps people

Aleyse and Aldis talking about typing when they’re hacking and going “WHAT THE HECK DO WE TYPE”

Aldis goes “yeah I just type all the bad words that we’re not allowed to say”

Aleyse saying that she’s always a little worried they’re hiding a Word document behind the blue screen and they’re going to pull up what she’s typing at the end of the day and print it out and put it in her trailer going “what the HECK is this”

Noah talking about filming The Golf Job and just getting to direct Jason Marsters and Christian together

Apparently their dynamic in that episode accurately mirrors the one with their characters in Angel!

Which promptly goes straight to the comment that it was very hard to make Marsters look like a golfer (pfft)

(Also apparently Christian plays golf for fun with his friends? Not necessarily something I would’ve thought of!)

Aleyse happily talking about how she loved the dynamic on set and it was very different from what she was used to

Also Aleyse talking about doing stunts and everyone else praising her for going whole hog

Beth especially praising her for the bit where she’s hit with the paralysis injection (I don’t remember which ep it’s from) and her acting for it, because it was incredibly hard to drop off screen in the particular way she did

Aleyse promptly answers that she was terrified with some of those, especially one where she had to keep a clock from falling and breaking

Everyone discussing how they see a new aspect of Breanna’s character in The Train Job

Also, to get serious for a moment, Kate Rorick in particular talks about how Breanna’s part of Gen Z and how we didn’t get the “days of yore” where everything was chill. We’ve basically been living in a world of hostility the whole time. It’s something I deeply appreciate, as someone who’s part of that group, and I love how they emphasize that for us.

This panel was pure chaos and I loved every moment of it! My stomach was actually hurting from laughing so hard, I swear. They had me cackling well over half the time. I would happily take panels double or triple the length of this, this was amazing. I also adore how the second you drop these six people in a room together, they immediately take off and literally just run and give you everything you wanted and more. (It is also evidently very hard to get them to STOP talking.)

I’m also just going to stop and take a second to fawn over the effects for the 3D room. It’s gorgeous—I love how they replicated the headquarters, especially with the stained glass ceilings! Super impressive, especially with all the photos, and I just love the whole thing. Kudos to whoever put that together.

Anyway, I’m definitely missing some stuff too; seriously, there wasn’t a second wasted in this thing, they were cracking some kind of joke or dropping some really interesting piece of information practically every thirty seconds. (And I haven’t even gotten into the clips OR the bloopers. I miiiight do a separate reaction purely for those.) It’s still up right now if you missed it and you want to watch it! I’ll probably watch it again, honestly.

#leverage #leverage redemption #leverage redemption panel #synapse reacts

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woahajimes · 3 years

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Have you ever wondered how Damian would handle an instagram account?

For starters, Damian doesn’t even know he has an instagram account. It’s until Bruce answers a question at an interview that Damian finds out he has an instagram account. Bruce had created it for him, for god-knows-what reason. Yet Damian has to act like he has known all along, that he has an instagram account.

Once Bruce gets him settled into a username that very literally is just Damian’s name as the son of the billionaire, Damian does absolutely nothing. He doesn’t follow anyone, he doesn’t post anything. He doesn’t even have a profile picture. For all everyone knows, Bruce Wayne could have lied and that account is just some rando’s.

And months pass, Damian’s account is the literal same every single day, and trust me, people have checked. Damian couldn’t actually care less about his instagram account, the only reason he hasn’t deleted the app completely is because he rarely even uses his phone. He just carries it around in his pocket when he’s out as Damian Wayne.

It’s almost a year, and Damian is out with Dick, they’re getting lunch or something. Dick has ordered a burger, Damian stuck with a veggie option. And they’re about to start eating and Dick takes out his phone, snaps a picture.

“What are you doing?” Damian asks him.

Dick stares at Damian. “It’s for my instagram story.” And then he starts typing some caption or something.

And even though I, op, don’t have younger brothers, I do have a younger sister and I can tell you that little siblings copy like, everything you do. And I know we’re talking about Damian, but still. Damian took his phone out and he snapped a picture, Dick in the shot as well. He posted it in his story, he didn’t put a caption.

And then later that day, Damian remembered that he hadn’t saved that picture he took. So he opened the instagram app and he saw a little circle around his empty profile picture. He decided that he liked it. It went from purple to pink to orange to yellow to orange to pink and back to purple.

So this became a routine of his, after all, it would cost him next to nothing. To take a picture and post it on his story. It would keep the little ring around his profile picture. And he’d get replies to his stories and he’d get tagged in pictures and he’d get thousands of followers and he’d get tagged in comments and new requests and all those things that famous accounts get.

And it’s not like the pictures ever made sense. The first week they were things like the cover of his sketchbook, or this plant he found in the garden. Maybe it was the map on his wall, or alfred the cat and titus. He wouldn’t even take time with these pictures. He’d just remember every day about the little circle around his default profile picture and he’d grab his phone, and he’d take a picture of the nearest thing he could find. He never bothered to write a caption, nor put a song, anything.

And as time passes, the logic of the pictures becomes blurry. Why would the heir of the richest man in gotham post a picture of a crack on the pavement?

But sometimes, people doubt that Damian even takes these pictures. Because sometimes they’re pictures of gotham at night, when the sky is pitch black, starless. And this one time, Damian is out on patrol, the sun is rising, he still hasn’t gone home. The sky reminds Damian of the little ring around his profile picture. So Damian sets his phone to record automatically and so it records towards the sunset. And because Damian would place himself against the light, the figure would look pitch black, a plain shadow against the sunset. So Damian sets his phone and he takes his cape off, he has his grappling hook, but he’ll use it once he’s out of the camera shot. And then he gets the video going (his phone is leaning on a plant pot, there’s another building that ends nearly as the camera shot begins. So Damian swings from where he set his phone, to the other building, and he just.

Jumps.

He’s jumping headfirst and he’s whooping loudly, laughing almost. He’s done this so many times yet something is just nicer.

it was awesome.

And he posts the video, but silences it. Nobody can see Damian’s uniform, nor his mask. For all they know, Damian hired someone to jump, or maybe he even threw a mannequin or something.

That was the only video Damian posted on his story. The rest, every other day, theRE were just pictures.

We skip time a bit more and Damian was with Jon, when he still lived in hamilton. They were by the tree they were always at, and Damian was taking a picture of the bark of the tree. Because bark.

And Jon just stares at Damian. “What the h are you doing?”

Damian shrugs. "Just taking a picture.”

Jon snatches the phone from him. They’re close enough friends. He goes to the camera and holds the phone up straight, he sets it to the front camera.

“My mom does this all the time,” he says. “She calls them selfies.”

Jon snaps a picture. Then he checks it. He’s smiling, Damian is not. “You’re so lame! Did nobody ever teach you how to smile?”

Jon snaps a second picture, Damian’s still not smiling. Third picture, Damian’s expression moves a bit, but it's just him rolling his eyes.

“Come on, Damian! SMILE!” Jon takes another picture, he checks it. Damian’s smiling dramatically, he looks like Jon looks in family pictures he doesn’t want to take. He’s not smiling with his teeth, his eyes are practically closed, his nose is scrunched up. If anything, he looks more disgusted than happy. “Ugh, we’ll just try another day, i guess.”

This became a sort of routine. Every day they saw each other as civilians, Jon would take a selfie with Damian. Sometimes he smiled, if he was in the right mood. It didn’t really matter, Damian never posted those pictures on his story.

Now we take Damian’s fourteenth birthday. This, Damian decides, is a much better way to spend his birthday than the last one. Bruce isn’t there, but his brothers are, his best friends also are. Alfred and Jon, Dick, Tim, and Jason. They’re eating strawberry cake, with the ‘happy 14th!’ in pink frosting and everything. It is now his first option, thanks to Alfred.

Anyways, they’re slicing the cake, Damian just blew out the candles. Jon takes his phone out, the one he got when he turned eleven. He doesn’t have an instagram account, Lois wouldn’t let him, but Jon still takes a picture of everything.

Alfred asks Damian for his phone, so he can take a picture. Damian shakes his head, yet he takes out his phone. He’s at the head of the table, he puts his phone on the front camera. He hands it to Alfred.

“Jon likes to call them ‘selfies’,” Damian explained. He showed Alfred. “Here, you take them like this.”

Damian took his phone back from Alfred, he stretched his arm with the phone. He called out Tim’s name, and all of them looked up.

“Smile!” Damian snapped a picture, he grinned. He looked at the picture, he liked it. Alfred was grinning, like in that picture in which he’s with Bruce when he was little, and they’re both laughing at something.

Damian decided that this picture was too nice for it to go on his 24-hour ring. Besides, he had already put a picture of Jason helping prepare the frosting. He didn't need two stories in the same day.

So he drafts the post, and there’s the option to edit the image, but Damian skips it. It’s nice as it is.

He posts it, he doesn’t write a caption.

taglist: @hauntingsonofrobin @bikoncon @catxsnow @screennamealreadyused @thesporklecat @thesesickfics-justmakemesick andd i think i got it all idk

#OKAY ALSO DAMIAN LOOKS AT THE PICTURE AGAIN AND HE NOTICES HIS NOSE SCRUNCHES UP WHEN HE SMILES AND HE GOES huh #damian wayne #jon kent #dick grayson #nightwing #robin #alfred pennyworth #dick and damian #jason todd #damijon #ALTHO NO BUT LIKE HAHA #damian wayne headcanon #damian wayne x reader #or not but like it's an existing tag #lunatick #if you wanna be in my taglist send me an ask or comment lol i- you HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH GUTS IT TOOK TO WRITE A TAGLIST I HAVE LIKE FIVE

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mochegato · 3 years

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Even the Losers

Chapter 9

Chapter 1 Chapter 8

Marinette stopped a few feet from the corner of the restaurant at which M. Wayne had made their reservation in order to collect herself. She checked her reflection in the restaurant’s darkened windows to make sure nothing had changed in the past few minutes. It wasn’t that she wanted to impress M. Wayne, but she didn’t want to make him think less of her either. She wanted to be perfect for him and yeah, maybe, she wanted to impress him, make him want to stay… this time.

She brushed her bangs out of her face a little rougher than she intended to, trying to force those thoughts out of her head and punish herself for thinking them in the first place. This wasn’t about making him like her. She lived this long without him. She didn’t need him. She’d be just fine without him. She had been so far. It didn’t matter if he didn’t love her. It didn’t matter if he didn’t like her. It didn’t mean she was unloveable.

She watched as her reflection deflated. It just meant that one of the two people who were biologically programmed to love her no matter what, didn’t. That he fought through biology to brush her off. She shook her head and stood straight up again. But! But, that didn’t make her unloveable. Jagged did the same to Luka and Juleka and they were two of the most amazing people she knew. They weren’t unloveable, and neither was she. They repaired their relationship and so could she.

This was about adding to her family, not filling a hole in her life. There was no Bruce Wayne shaped hole in her life. His opinion of her didn’t matter. His opinion of her didn’t change who she was. She was going to be who she was around him and if he didn’t like it, she lost nothing. She would still have an amazing family. She would still have amazing friends. She would still be loved.

This was about him fitting into her life. Not the other way around. This was about her deciding if there was a place for him. If she wanted him there, to give him a chance or not. This was about getting answers so she could make those decisions. She took a breath. This was about giving him a chance to speak and for her to listen to what he said.

She nodded to her reflection resolutely and pushed through the doors to the restaurant’s waiting area. Her eyes widened incrementally seeing the lobby. It screamed luxury and exclusivity. Only certain people were allowed here and Marinette was confident if she hadn’t been meeting Bruce Wayne, she wouldn’t be considered one of those people. The maître d’ eyed her with a sneer that looked so at home on his face it must have been his normal expression.

She gave him a nervous smile. “I’m here for a reservation under the name Wayne.” The maître d’ looked her up and down and gave a curt nod. He walked toward the doors to the dining room without saying anything to her.

Marinette smoothed down her hair one last time as the maître d’ led her through the doors to the dining area. She clutched her purse so tightly her knuckles were turning white. She really hoped Tikki had found a different spot to hide in, because otherwise it had to be incredibly uncomfortable for her. Marinette was focusing all of her tension into her hand and forcing the rest of her body to relax so she wouldn’t appear as terrified as she actually was. Now if she could just get her heart to start beating in a regular rhythm, she’d be all set.

She gave a nervous smile to Bruce as he stood to greet her and struggled to remember any part of the pep talk she had just given herself a few minutes ago. Because as soon as she saw his relieved and excited face, she started forgetting. It was not about wanting to see that expression on his face and knowing she was the cause. This was about her. She should not be filled with anxiety about making him lose that expression and wanting to walk away. He was proving himself, she wasn’t proving herself.

“Marinette!” He gave her a warm smile and held his hand out to shake hers while she went in for a cheek kiss greeting at the same time. He chuckled awkwardly and quickly shifted his hand to her arm as he kissed her cheek as well. He nodded to the maître d’ and pulled her chair out for her. As soon as they were alone, he sat down anxiously. “Thank you again for agreeing to meet me. You look nice.”

Marinette smiled and nodded to him. “So do you. And thank you for agreeing at such short notice.”

He chuckled nervously. His eyes darted between her, his glass of wine, the menu, really anything as he searched for his next words. It shouldn’t be this hard. He spoke to boardrooms of hostile and dangerous businesspeople. Speaking to his daughter shouldn’t be harder. She wasn’t going to destroy a city. She wasn’t going to undermine entire groups of people just so she could make a few more dollars. She wasn’t dangerous… well, not to anyone but him. With him, she had the power to destroy his heart with just one word.

“I ordered a merlot if you would like some. If not, I can call someone in…”

He started to get up to call someone over, but Marinette lunged at him to get him to sit down and not draw attention to them, knocking over his glass of merlot. Marinette’s eyes widened in horror. “Oh no, no, no, no,” she whimpered helplessly. She grabbed a few napkins to clean it up. Why? Why did her clumsiness have to act up now? In front of M. Wayne. Why did she have to be such a klutz? She could feel the tears stinging her eyes as they tried to escape.

“Marinette,” Bruce cooed gently. He gently gripped her wrists and pulled them away from the table. “Marinette, it’s okay. It happens. You should see a normal dinner at the manor. If there isn’t at least one spill or something isn’t broken, we start thinking someone is sick.” She finally looked up at him apprehensively and he could feel the breath leaving his chest. His eyes softened and he tried to give her an encouraging smile. “It’s fine. We can just move to another table and I’ll leave a big tip.”

Her eyes widened even larger and she looked around. “We can’t just…” She stopped when she noticed the empty restaurant. It was prime dinnertime, or at least it was in France. Maybe a bit early, but not uncommon. But this restaurant was completely empty. Not even families with kids. And there was no way M. Wayne would choose a restaurant that nobody liked. “Do Gothamites eat dinner really early? Or really late?” she whispered, not wanting to break the silence that engulfed them.

“Hmm?” Bruce hummed in confusion.

“There aren’t any… It just isn’t as crowded as I would expect,” she explained. “Not that that doesn’t work in my favor in this case.”

“Oh,” he nodded his head in realization and gave her a soft smile. “No, not as crowded as the place usually is. I rented it out.”

“You rented out the entire restaurant?” she whispered incredulously. “At the last minute?”

Bruce’s smile widened at the astonished look on her face. “I didn’t want people gawking at us all night or taking pictures and the manor is rather hectic.” He grimaced slightly at the thought. “Not to mention, we’d have just as many gawkers there. And I wanted this first meeting to be just between us. So I made sure we had some privacy.”

Marinette shook her head. “Right. Forgot. Rich.”

Bruce chuckled too. “Yeah, I forget sometimes too.” He sat at a table next to the one they had been sitting at.

Marinette scoffed lightly and joined him at the new table. “I doubt that.” She slapped her hand over her mouth, her eyes going wide as she stared at him. “Sorry. I’m sorry. That was… so rude,” she stuttered. She dropped her eyes quickly. She mentally berated herself for sabotaging this so efficiently. She doubted she could do it more effectively if she were trying.

Bruce shook his head. “No, not at all. You’re not wrong. And a lot more polite about it than Jason would have been. Or Stephanie.”

Marinette looked back up at him through her bangs. “Oh… um… okay.”

Bruce squeezed his eyes shut behind his menu. He was screwing this up so badly. Instead of making her feel more comfortable, he was making her increasingly nervous and doubtful. He pursed his lips as he searched for anything to talk about to lighten the mood. “I hope you like it here. The food is really good.” He had to stop himself from physically slapping himself for that terrible non-sequitur. His entire job was to say things in an engaging, elegant way. It was a skill he’d started honing decades ago. Where was that training now?

Marinette opened her menu as well with an anxious smile. “Great. I’m starving.”

“Hi Starving, I’m your father.”

Marinette blinked a few times at him, trying to catch his eye but he was staring blankly at his menu. “Did you just…”

“I admit to nothing,” he answered flatly, still staring at his menu.

Marinette continued to stare for a few seconds before breaking down into giggles, the tension that had been building since she entered the restaurant breaking with his joke. “I… I can’t… believe you sai… said that,” she gasped out between laughs.

He watched her with an amused glint in his eyes and a relieved smile. “Do not tell your siblings. Dick will pout for a week that he wasn’t here to hear it.”

Marinette let her giggles die down and nodded. She looked up at him with a much more relaxed smile. “Not known for your sense of humor?”

“No, definitely not,” Bruce shook his head with a grin. He set down his menu to focus on Marinette. “Jason used to tease me mercilessly about it.”

Marinette quirked her head to the side, an amused smile pulling at the corners of her mouth. “And was Jason a comedian or he just liked to tease you?”

“A little of both. Dick is more of our comedian. He’s usually the first to make a joke… to lighten the mood. Stephanie will make a fool out of herself to get you to smile, or herself. She likes being over the top. But Jason, when he was a kid, was excited about everything. Everything in life was new and exciting. He was constantly smiling and bouncing from thing to thing. So optimistic.” Bruce’s eyes unfocused as he remembered the first year after Jason came to the manor.

Marinette furrowed her brow in doubt. Not a single one of those words were ones she would use to describe Jason from the time she’d spent with him. Maybe her translation of the words was wrong? “Jason? Jason Todd. Your son Jason.”

Bruce chuckled wryly. “Yes, that Jason. “ A pained expression flashed across his face morphing into a sad frown he didn’t even try to hide. “A lot changed over the years. Some… things happened about eight years ago. It changed all of us.”

Marinette let out a dry laugh as images of Hawaiian shirts and rock giants flashed through her head. She turned back to her menu to avoid his eyes. “I can understand that.”

Bruce furrowed his brow, a guilty frown settling on his lips for a few seconds before he plastered on a smile. “Now he’s more likely to make a sarcastic remark than a joke. But, he’s fiercely protective of his family, maybe more than any of the rest of us.”

Marinette thought back over their interactions and slowly started nodding. “He seems like it.” She paused when the waitress came in to take their orders. She smiled politely while the waitress was in the room, acting the part of a dutiful, happy daughter rather than a temperamental stranger who took her frustrations and insecurities out on him without letting him explain. And that’s what this was about, letting him explain. But before he could do that, she needed to make sure he knew she wasn’t mad. Well… that she wasn’t going to attack him anyway.

As soon as the waitress left, her shield was gone. She could no longer hide behind the façade. Now she had to face him. She looked down and squeezed her eyes shut. She took a beat before she looked back up at Bruce. “I wanted to say sorry for how I behaved when you came to my hotel room. I wasn’t being fair to you. I only found out about you a few days ago and then the world found out and then you were at my door. It was a lot all at once and I did not handle it well, so I’m sorry.”

Even with half her face hidden from looking down as she spoke, Bruce could see the shame radiating from her expression. When she finally looked up to make eye contact he had to force himself not to gasp at the guilt and pain in her eyes. His heart clenched at the sight. He hated seeing her look like that. He’d do anything to keep that look off her face. That was his job. That was the entire point of what he’d done. But he failed. He might have failed at it so far, but he was going to make up for it now… if she would let him.

His hand shot out almost too quickly to see and gently squeezed hers, hoping that at least that level of intimacy was allowed. “No, I invaded your space. I forced a confrontation before you were ready. I knew I shouldn’t do that. Sabine… your mother warned me not to do that and I did it anyway. I’m sorry for that. I didn’t… I didn’t want to lose my chance to…” He looked down at the table and frowned trying to get his words in order.

“I didn’t want you to leave before I could talk to you, to try to connect and explain.” He looked at her almost desperately. “You were here, right here. So close. I couldn’t let you slip through my fingers again, not when I knew you knew. Not when I didn’t have to keep it a secret anymore.” He frowned and looked down at his glass, pulling his hand back into his lap. He suddenly chuckled wryly. “If there was ever a good reason to begin with.”

Marinette sucked in a breath not ready for this conversation yet. She thought they’d ease into it. Get comfortable, then get into it. But apparently M. Wayne’s approach was to rip the Band-Aid off. Dealing with uncomfortable situations was definitely not an inherited trait because her method of avoiding any uncomfortable conversations in increasingly unlikely and embarrassing manors until the entire thing festered into a debilitating, unnecessarily explosive fiasco, was not a technique she picked up from her maman either.

Bruce looked back up at her with a determined look. “Marinette, you had a right to react. You had… have a right to be upset or hurt or both. I deserved it. Believe me, I understand that. I’ve gotten worse from your siblings for less. Don’t feel like you have to apologize to me. However you react, I can take it and I’m not going to walk away again. But I am hoping that you being here means you want to move forward, you want to try.” He looked up at her questioningly, an edge of fear in his eyes. “Do you?”

Marinette let out the breath she’d taken in. She looked down and pushed a strand of hair that was still in place behind her ear, letting her fingers linger so she had something else to focus on for a moment. When she looked back up, there was a more determined look in her eyes. “Yes. I… I want to listen. I want to understand.”

Bruce nodded with a grateful smile. “Thank you. I know this is a lot and it hasn’t been fair to you and I’m sorry for… everything.”

Marinette nodded. “Thank you.” They both sat and looked in the vicinity of each other uneasily, both waiting for the other to say something first. Marinette tapped her fingers together while she waited for him to continue speaking, to give the explanation he’d promised.

Bruce was waiting for… he wasn’t sure. Inspiration maybe. He’d thought through what he wanted to say. He’d gone over it all, but somehow seeing her in front of him, looking in her eyes and seeing her vulnerability laid bare, none of his excuses seemed like enough. None of them seemed valid, but then again, they never were.

After a few minutes of silence, he finally spoke up. “When you were born, I was younger than you are now and I didn’t think I’d be able to be a good father.” He frowned at the table. “And in my head it was better for you to not be with me at all. I thought I’d bring you down. But your mother…” he gave her a wan smile, “she was always strong and good. I knew she would be an amazing mother… without my interference. I thought you had a better chance away from me and Gotham and in my idiot mind that meant cutting off all contact.”

“But you took in other kids,” she pointed out timidly.

Bruce nodded and flicked his eyes up to hers before looking back down in guilt. “I didn’t intend to. I came across Dick about awhile after your mother took you to France. He lost his parents. They died, were killed in front of his eyes, like mine had been. He was angry and violent. He needed someone and I thought I could help. I might not be a good parent, but I could help him… keep him from becoming… me.”

Marinette’s brow furrowed sympathetically. “Would that be bad?”

Bruce cringed slightly, remembering how he was at the time. “Yes, it would have. Anger and desperation? They can do bad things to a person.” He looked at her pointedly. “Makes you make terrible decisions.”

Marinette nodded in understanding. She understood how far desperation could drive a person. She understood how dark some people could go. She understood how bad things could get if they continued unchecked. She’d fought those people. She’d helped defeat one of them. And no matter how bad the battle was, it was always harder handling them after they were defeated, when all they had was their grief.

“Jason… he came a few years later. He was alone and on the streets. He was tough and smart and so excited about life, but he was never going to get the opportunity to do anything on the streets.”

“And you wanted to help him too,” Marinette finished his unfinished thought.

“Yeah. He needed someone to let him be a kid, let him be passionate, to love him like a parent should. And I couldn’t leave him there. And Tim… he kind of snuck in and declared himself family. He wasn’t wrong. He is. He came along after Jason… was gone. He filled a void I didn’t even know I had until he stepped in. And I hope I’ve done the same for him. He didn’t have the best childhood either. And now… I can’t imagine the family without him.”

Marinette gave him a small smile. “Sounds like he adopted you.”

Bruce nodded absently, his eyes taking on a far-off focus as he remembered the past. “Sometimes children are smarter than their parent. In the case of my kids,” he looked up at her meaningfully, “all of them, it’s true.

“They didn’t have a better choice… you did. And in my idiotic self-destructive mind, I was helping you. I was convinced for more than a decade that the best thing I’d done in my life, the most selfless, was walk away from you, not force you to have to suffer with dealing with me. But I was just afraid and selfish. I made a stupid choice. By the time I realized how monumentally I’d screwed up, Jason was gone and by the time I got my head back on right, Damian was here and Damian needed all my attention.”

“You didn’t have Damian since he was a baby?”

Bruce shook his head. “No. I didn’t even know about him until he was ten. Then his mother just dropped him off with me. His childhood…” Bruce let out a long breath. “His grandfather taught him since birth that he needed to earn love, or as close as he’s capable to love. Damian’s mother told him he was better than everyone else… so you can imagine the kinds of issues we had for quite a while.”

He gave a proud smile. “He’s made such a big change since he came. He’s grown so much.”

“You sound proud,” she observed poignantly.

Bruce’s smile turned bittersweet. “I’m proud of all of my kids. You’re all amazing people. I don’t know how I ended up with so many amazing kids.”

She smiled and hoped it didn’t come off as awkward as it felt. “So what about Duke? And I think Jason mentioned sisters.”

Bruce nodded. “Cass is the only one I adopted. Stephanie is just around enough that she’s essentially a child. Same with Barbara. I ran into Cass while I was travelling. Her parents were mentally and physically abusive to the point that she didn’t speak until she was a teenager.” Marinette gasped. “She’s a lot better. She communicates with us a lot, mostly through sign language. And Duke… Joker tortured his parents because they saved me once.”

Marinette gasped and grasped his hand, squeezing it. When he met her eyes she gave him another encouraging squeeze and a warm smile. “They’ve all come such a long way. I’m sure a better parent could have done more but somehow we’ve all become a slightly dysfunctional family. Watching them… It’s amazing to see how far they’ve all come. They’ve all had to fight so hard, go against so many obstacles.”

“It sounds like you’ve done a lot of work with all of them. And they’ve grown amazingly with you watching over them. They were incredibly lucky to have you,” Marinette said quietly a strained smile on her face, no longer making eye contact with Bruce. She took back her hand to take a drink of her wine.

Those were valid reasons. She could admit that and she didn’t begrudge them the better life being with M. Wayne afforded them, but still… She fought frowning at her lap. It all made sense. Every step made sense. They needed someone and he could provide, so he did. From an objective perspective. It made sense. Did it make her a bad person if that didn’t make her feel better? What did it say about her that she was still hurt? That she still was angry, felt betrayed? That it wasn’t enough?

Bruce’s face fell as he watched her change in demeanor. His chest clenched. “I never stopped thinking about you and how you were doing. I never stopped loving you.” He reached out for her hand but let his hand dropped when she didn’t offer it readily. “I know you don’t feel that way about me, you just met me, but I’ve loved you from the moment you were born. And I know it’s hard to see and I don’t show it well… at all… but I’ve always tried to make sure you were taken care of, that you never wanted for anything. I’ve kept up on your life to make sure.

“And I need you to know it was never because I didn’t want you. It was never that I thought my other kids were better than you in any way. It was never because I didn’t think you were good enough. I didn’t think I was. I thought you deserved better than I could ever give you, better than you could get in Gotham. But running away wasn’t the way to do that, and I realize that.” He was unsure how to interpret the wide eyed look Marinette was giving him, but he plowed on, needing to say it anyway.

“I really did intend to try to connect. That’s why I went to your final showing. I showed pictures of your work to someone on the fabric project and said I happened to see you there.” He chuckled lightly and shook his head. “I thought I’d have to do a bunch of conniving behind the scenes to get Lucius to use you. But as it turns out, he’s just as excited to get you on the project as I was. He mentioned you to me after you spoke with him.”

Marinette smiled. It was small and self-conscious, but significantly better for Bruce to see than the strained smile she’d had earlier. “M. Fox is a very nice man. I liked speaking with him a lot.”

“And he is quite fond of you.” Bruce smiled fondly at her but his smile quickly turned conspiratorial. “I think he likes you better than he likes me, actually.”

Marinette straightened up in her seat. “I plan on accepting his offer to consult on the project.” She looked up to make eye contact with Bruce. Her body tensed slightly in preparation for her next words. “If… if that’s okay with you.”

Marinette gave a small, uncertain smile when she saw Bruce’s brilliant smile. “Yes! That’s great to hear.” His face turned serious. “What does that mean for… do you want to…”

“I was hoping to take you up on the apartment offer as well… if that’s still an option.” Marinette looked down again, her anxiety back. “It will help Max while he settles in and I thought I could use it while I figure out how the project is going to work and what the requirements on my time will be.” She tapped her fingers together, unable to control her fidgeting. She looked up nervously. “I thought it would also give us a chance to see each other more and your other kids.”

“Absolutely. It is absolutely still available. If you want your own apartment, I can get a penthouse for you. Or you’re welcome to stay at the manor,” he rambled excitedly.

“M. Wayne,” Marinette interrupted. Bruce immediately sobered at her serious expression. “I don’t need special treatment. I don’t need you to buy me things. And I don’t know how long I’ll be in town. Adrien and I are trying to figure out where we want to set up and I’ll need to start taking commissions again.”

Bruce nodded. “I understand. Sorry. I got excited and got carried away. Rich, you know… it’s how we show love.”

Marinette’s face immediately soured as she thought of Adrien’s and Chloe’s childhoods. “That’s not love you’re showing. I’m staying to get to know you and your family, not get things.”

Bruce blinked at her a few times. “Right. I know that. I never thought it was,” he assured her awkwardly. He took a sip of his wine and glanced around the room. He suddenly perked up. “Speaking of commissions, I was hoping we could finally commission you… if that’s okay!” he added quickly. “I don’t want to put pressure on you. I’ve just been waiting to get something made by you for years.”

Marinette blinked a few times and looked down. Her brow furrowed. She fought letting out a sigh. “No, you’re right. I should.”

“We’ll pay you, of course,” he insisted.

Marinette rolled her eyes. “I’m not going to charge you to make something for you.”

Bruce shook his head. “You run a business. I’m commissioning the business. I can cover our commission.”

Marinette huffed and narrowed her eyes at him. “Compromise. You pay for materials. Nothing more.”

Bruce narrowed his eyes back at her. “Materials and time.”

Marinette huffed out a laugh. “Okay fine.”

Bruce grinned. “I’m excited to work with you. I wasn’t kidding. I’ve wanted to commission you for years. I’m a fan of your style and art.”

Marinette opened her mouth but closed it quickly when the waitress came back in with their food. Bruce leaned back so she could set the plates down. “Speaking of, how would you feel about going to the art museum tomorrow and then maybe get some lunch after?”

Marinette nodded. “Oh yeah, there was an exhibit that looked interesting.” She nodded to the waitress and thanked her. The waitress lingered for just a moment before leaving the room.

“Would 9 work for you? Oh, no wait.” He scrunched his face in annoyance. “I have a meeting at 10. It should be done by noon though.” He looked up and gave her an earnest look. “I’ll make sure it is done by noon. How about lunch then art museum?”

Marinette smiled and nodded. “That sounds good.”

“Great. I can bring the keys for the new apartment. Now, I’ve done all the talking. Tell me more about you. Tell me about your friends.” He took a bite giving Marinette his full attention while Marinette talked about her friends and how they had all met and some stories about their time together.

She started out slowly, building up more confidence as she spoke. The more she spoke the more comfortable she was with what she wanted to say. The quicker she was able to filter out what information she didn’t want to share. She wasn’t ready to give him much yet, not enough to do anything with, not more than he could probably get from searching Instagram or Tik Tok, but it was a start. A start to what exactly, she wasn’t sure. But it was a start to something.

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#maribat #bio!dad bruce #bio dad bruce wayne #roynette #Even the Losers #prompt - dad jokes

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umbran6 · 3 years

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Hogwarts Houses for the Heroes of Olympus, Apollo, and Meg.

I’ve seen a lot of people do this, so I thought I should do this and explain as to why I wanted them there. Spoilers are abound through Heroes of Olympus and Trials of Apollo as I explain my reasoning.

Percy Jackson: Hufflepuff. Look, I know a lot of people place him in Gryffindor. That’s a reasonable outcome one can reach, considering his feats could be considered immensely brave. However, Percy has often participated in his quests out of a sense of loyalty towards those he loves, whether it’s his mom (The Lightning Thief), Camp Half-Blood (The Sea of Monsters), Annabeth (Both The Titan’s Curse and Battle of The Labyrinth), and in The Last Olympian, all of them. What really pins him in place is when he willingly fallis to Tartarus alongside Annabeth by the ending of The Mark of Athena, which is a remarkable yet insane feat of both love and loyalty. He also has a work ethic, which is revealed during The Tower of Nero. Rather than just go straight to New Rome and live a happy life, he went to a hellish military school just so he could graduate from there with a high school diploma. If that’s not a work ethic, I don’t know what is. Loyalty and work ethic are key Hufflepuff traits, and Percy has shown all of them.

Annabeth Chase: Slytherin. Annabeth has often shown a lot of intelligence, but also a lot of resourcefulness and cunning during her time in the series. She literally tricked both Arachne and Nyx in what were impossible situations, and her goals are extremely ambitious, with her wanting to become an architect so she could build something that could last a thousand years. She also has a lot of Ravenclaw traits, to the point she repeated Odysseus and listened to the Sirens so she could learn what she desired the most. However, that was only once, and most often she used the knowledge she was given in resourceful and cunning ways, such as during the Last Olympian where she used the statues from Daedalus as a way to defend Manhattan. Needless to say, in my opinion she is a Slytherin first and Ravenclaw second.

Jason Grace: It’s quite tricky, considering we don’t get to see any key defining traits, but I have decided to put him in Gryffindor. Jason’s shown plenty of bravery, fighting Giants and Titans during his quest, but he also has honor and chivalry, which he shows during Blood of Olympus, and later on, The Burning Maze. Specifically, in the scene where he makes a deal with Kymopoleia, promising to make shrines not only to her, but to all of the hundreds of minor gods of Greek Mythology. As we later see during The Burning Maze, Jason was completely willing to honor such a deal, working on the shrines even while he was living the closest thing to a normal life one could achieve as a demigod. And of course, we can’t ignore the fact that he was brave to fight Caligula just so his friends could escape.

Piper Mclean: Slytherin. This is because during most of the time we’ve seen her, Piper fights dirty. She doesn’t stab a monster in the dagger, but charmspeaks the monster and stabs him in the back while he’s distracted. When claiming the position as Cabin Counselor in the Aphrodite Cabin during The Lost Hero from Drew, Piper uses the rules against her to get the position, rather than straight-up fighting her at the very beginning. Furthermore, rather than fight Khione upfront during the House of Hades, she bides her time and stalls the goddess until she can find a way to win. Though she has some traits that could go along with the other Houses, Slytherin tends to stand out the best. The only way she isn’t Slytherin in terms of traits is that she lacks ambition — we never see her have a higher goal beyond the quest, or any plans for what she’s going to do after everything’s done. Overall, she’s Slytherin through her actions, not her words, ironically.

Frank Zhang: Gryffindor. This is because Frank performs a lot of actions that are by any standard, brave, and often selfless and self-sacrificial. Specifically, a lot of the sacrifices he performs throughout the series. In Son of Neptune, he was willing to be the distraction against the Laestrygonians so that Percy and Hazel could start their escape plan. He was literally willing to burn his own life force (his stick) so that Thanatos could break free despite the very large risk it posed to him. He even stood in the way of a Giant, pushing him all the way to the Canadian border. And as we learn in The Tyrant’s Tomb, he was willing to repeat his sacrifice if it meant Caligula and Commodus were killed. Frank is a Gryffindor through and through, though he does have some minor Ravenclaw traits such as his use of tactics against his opponents, way of making plans, or recalling ancient Roman history.

Hazel Levesque: Once again, this was another difficult one. Mainly because Hazel is split right down to the middle between Hufflepuff and Gryffindor. On one hand, she was so loyal to her mother that despite the fact that the lady got them into this mess, Hazel willingly sacrificed Elysium so her mom wasn’t punished. On the other hand, she was also willing to sacrifice herself so Alcyoneus couldn’t rise again despite the fact that it would lead to her and her mom’s death. Finally, I decided she deserved to go to Gryffindor, because of the fact that she willingly went towards the quest to rescue Thanatos in The Son of Neptune despite the fact that it was very likely that the god of Death would take her back to the Underworld. That takes immense amounts of bravery, not only because it’s the right thing to do, but she’s also putting herself at immense risk of being dragged down to the Underworld.

There are some Slytherin traits, such as when she made a plan to trick Sciron during the House of Hades, or the plan to trap Nike. However, Hazel’s a lot more defined by her bravery and empathy, which are more Gryffindor traits. If she had more ambition, a big goal after the quest it could be understood, but overall her Gryffindor traits are more prominent. For example, let’s compare how she got to Praetor and Octavian got to Praetor, and later on, Pontifex Maximus. Octavian often used a lot of word-twisting and dirty tactics to get his position, and only got there because Reyna left her post so she could help Jason. In comparison, the legion willingly raised her on a shield and collectively voted her into the position due to her bravery during the fight against Tarquin in The Tyrant’s Tomb.

Leo Valdez: There have been arguments over where he should go. All of them want him in one house or the other, but the most convincing ones were either having him in Slytherin, or in Ravenclaw. And I can definitely agree with both — Leo has shown immense amounts of intelligence and cunning throughout the series. He’s also intelligent in the sense that he created the Argo II, multiple weapons, the Holographic Scrolls, and even Buford.

However, after looking through his actions, I found that he leans more towards Slytherin. Although his façade of cheerfulness and humor was used to disguise trauma, he also used said humor to make himself appealing towards bullies so they didn’t beat him up. He often used his cunning to morph himself to social situations such as his façade as a jokester to look less threatening in comparison to others.

During the times we see him fight, he’s also the one to not only play it smart, but also using tactics and dirty tricks, rather than focusing on swordplay or his own fire powers. The only time we see him go ham with his pyrokinesis is when he’s fighting Khione during The Lost Hero. Furthermore, in The Mark of Athena, rather than straight-up fight the nymphs and Narcissus to get the celestial bronze he needed to make repairs, he uses himself as a distraction and has Hazel manipulate the bronze in a place where she can’t be seen, which is a plan that needs a lot of manipulation of the opposing parties.

What finally acted as the nail in the coffin for me was his plan to defeat Gaea during Blood of Olympus. It involved a lot of manipulation of both enemies and allies, and in the ended it succeeded so brilliantly that everybody got what they wanted, with none of them being aware of the plan until Frank and Hazel explained it, and they were the very few people in the know regarding Leo’s sacrifice. Developing such a plan takes immense amounts of cunning and ambition, which are both Slytherin traits. Although he may be chaotic, mischievous, and annoying, Leo is the guy you don’t realize is a Slytherin until it’s too late.

Nico di Angelo: The thing about a guy who was pretty much a loner throughout most of his time in the series is that it’s hard to tell what values he has. Ergo, we should look at his actions rather than his own words. Nico, although mainly dominated by his naïveté during his younger years, has shown himself to be extremely brave. For example, there was him openly defying his father by saving Percy from his imprisonment, and later actively convincing Hades to stop his vow of neutrality and fight alongside the Olympians in The Last Olympian. Finally, there’s his excursion to Tartarus and later his willingness to transport the Athena Parthenos during Blood of Olympus. Nico willingly went there to see if the Doors of Death were over there, and later transported the Athena Parthenos to Camp Half-Blood even if it meant he would fade into the shadows forever. All feats are insanely brave, and therefore I argue that he should go to Gryffindor.

Reyna Avila Ramirez Arellano: Hufflepuff. Most of Reyna’s actions aren’t inspired by bravery, honor, or chivalry, though from a certain point of view they are brave. Reyna often performs most of her actions out of loyalty for those she cares about, almost in a Percy-ish kind of way. Her interrogation and cold nature towards Percy in Son of Neptune? Suspicion that he would be a threat to Camp Jupiter. She metaphorically fought against Octavian’s power advances because she knew his own ambitions wouldn’t help New Rome. Willingness to cooperate with the Greeks before the Eidolons screwed up everything? She believed that it was best for New Rome. Willingness to brave the Mare Nostrum all by herself? Both her loyalty to Jason and that she believed that waging war against Camp Half-Blood was not the best for the legion. Her loyalty and ethic just make her a shoe-in for Hufflepuff.

Apollo/Lester Papadopoulos: Oh boy, he’s kind of at an in-between when it comes what house he should be in. If we were talking about him pre-Lesterfication, I would honestly say Hufflepuff, but he takes a good chunk of those traits and turned them into a darker way. He defeated Python because the snake monster had chased his mother off of Delphi. He alongside Artemis murdered Niobe’s kids because the goddess insulted Leto by saying she was better than her. When Asclepius is murdered by Zeus, he retaliates by murdering the Cyclopes who made the weapons. And finally, he punishes those who broke their vows He shows loyalty, but in a lot of darker ways that we don’t expect. He’s got Hufflepuff morals, but they’re in a darker, more warped way than we expect.

If we’re looking at him post-Lesterfication, I would still say Hufflepuff, but now he does it in a brighter way and is also more Gryffindor. He was more willing to sacrifice himself if it meant saving those he cared about, such as when he willingly tried to kill himself during The Burning Maze if it meant Caligula would stop holding his friends hostage. He was also willing to commit more honorable gestures such as bringing Jason’s body to New Rome during The Tyrant’s Tomb. He was even willing to own up to his mistakes right in front of a god who had every right to hate him if it meant Meg and Reyna could be spared. He’s still a Hufflepuff, but he’s a more idealistic and less warped version of the values he had before he became Lester.

Meg: In a way, she’s pretty much like Apollo. She’s a Hufflepuff, but in all the wrong ways at first. We see this in The Dark Prophecy when its clear that during that time, she was more loyal to Nero of all people rather than her fellow campers, to the point of accepting Nero’s gaslighting if it meant she could see the positive view of him. However, she’s also loyal to Apollo and her father, which we see in The Burning Maze because the main reason she guns for Caligula is because she often compares him to The Beast aspect of Nero, the person who killed her dad. She in the end is also willing to accept and finish her father’s legacy, planting the seeds that eventually become the Meliai. Tower of Nero is when she gains the will to stand up to Nero after support from Apollo and her friends, and is later on seen taking care of the other children Nero abused. In the end, she’s a Hufflepuff despite the fact that she may not look like it.

Now, before you guys getting up in arms about there being no Ravenclaws, in my opinion the house is a lot more knowledge-focused, whether its discovering more knowledge, but also using it in a more academic and experimental way. Considering we don’t see this attitude or its corresponding values too much during the stories that we see since they’re more save-the-world mission focused. While Slytherin does have an intelligence-centric value such as cunning, its more focused on using such intelligence to manipulate and trick others, while Ravenclaw uses such intelligence in the discovery for knowledge.

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marauderundercover · 3 years

Text

The Strings that Bind Us: Ch. 4

AO3

When Bruce asked Marinette to stay the night at the manor for a couple days while he went out of town for work, she was a little nervous. Sure, they’d been dating for almost four months, and yes she’d met Jason and Dick before, but this was the first time she’d be spending time with just Jason. Without Bruce there to mediate. But so far, it’d been fine. They’d gotten closer over the past two months, and Jason was actually a sweet kid. Standing in front of Gotham Academy, Marinette frowns at the sky, willing the rain to stay away. The bell rings and she shifts, nodding at the kids who waved at her, probably recognizing her from the cafe. She shifts to the balls of her feet, trying to see if she can spot Jason in the crowd of kids. Spotting him, she waves excitedly, grinning widely.

“You’re so embarrassing.” He says, walking up to her and shaking his head. But the grin on his face definitely contradicts that.

“I’m just excited to get ice cream.” She teases, nudging him gently. Even though he was only twelve (and much shorter than Dick and Bruce), they were close to the same height. Damn her Maman’s shortness. As they walk to the ice cream stand near her favorite park, Marinette listens to Jason explaining his day, frowning as she realizes: he’s being bullied.

“But it doesn’t really matter.” He adds after telling her about the boys picking on him. Her eyes narrow.

“Bruce didn’t tell you that, right?” She asks. He shakes his head. “Good, I thought I was going to have to add him to my list.”

“What list?” Jason asks, frowning.

“The list of people whose asses I have to kick.” She says, smirking at Jason’s surprised laugh.

“Mari, you can’t- you can’t just beat up my bullies.” He says, laughing.

“And why not? I’m short. I’ll say I go to public school. What’re they going to do, call my parents?” She snarks, working hard to keep a straight face. As Jason continues laughing, though, she finds it impossible to keep a straight face and instead joins him. “Seriously though, sweetheart, if these kids are bothering you, I can go up to the school. No one should be treated like that, and if you’ll let me, I’d love to give the principal a piece of my mind for letting it happen.” She adds. Jason sighs.

“They won’t listen to you. Those kids’ parents have money and shit. I’m nothing to them.” He grumbles and she stops, turning him to look at her. How could this sweet little boy, someone who meant the world to her, say that he’s nothing.

“Jason Peter Todd, you listen to me. You are not nothing. The amount of money a person has doesn’t mean a damn thing. How you treat others, what you choose to do, who you are as a person, that is what matters. That’s what makes you so much better, so much more than those little pricks at your school.” Marinette rambles, looking right into his eyes, desperately hoping he believes her. He’s silent for a minute, before he lunges forward and wraps his arms around her. Marinette sighs, wrapping the boy up in a big hug, kissing the top of his head. They stand there for a few moments before Jason pulls back, quickly wiping at his eyes.

“Yeah, uh, if you really wanna go up there I guess you can.” He says, clearing his throat. Marinette smiles, ruffling his hair.

“As long as it’s okay with you. Wouldn’t wanna embarrass you.” She says and he snorts.

“I don’t think anyone could be more embarrassing than when B signed me up for school and he was acting like Brucie.” He says and she sighs. She’d heard all about ‘Brucie’ and though he’d never acted like that around her, he definitely still acted like that in public. But without the excessive flirting with models. Finally arriving at the small ice cream cart, Marinette and Jason each get a cone before starting their walk around the park. It’d become something of a tradition when she picked him up from school. She couldn’t always do it, because of the cafe, but that just made it that much more special. They’re halfway down their favorite path when her luck runs out and the rain that had been holding off for a day and a half comes down with a fury. It wasn’t warm rain either. No, the rain was ice cold and chilled her to the bone almost immediately. Gasping, she grabs Jason’s hand and tugs him under a pavilion to try and get some shelter from the rain.

“God, I’m so sorry Jay. I didn’t realize- it looked like it was gonna rain for days.” She says mournfully, teeth chattering as she digs her phone out of her purse, praying that it’s not soaked too. Alfred would definitely come pick them up if she asked.

“It’s fine M, it’s just rain, it’s not like it’s gonna kill us.”

---

Bruce walks into the manor, frowning when he doesn’t see Marinette. He’d expected her to still be around, even though Jason was definitely at school. He sighs, guessing that she’d had to leave to deal with something at the cafe. He shuts the door, and is about to go to his study when Alfred appears.

“Ah, Master Bruce. Your turn.” He says simply and Bruce frowns.

“Sorry, what?” He asks.

“Miss Marinette, sir. I’ve tried to help her, but she is extremely stubborn. Thus, your turn.” Alfred says before walking away. Bruce frowns. What happened while he was gone?

---

“M’fine.” Jason mumbles, swatting her hand away as she tries to feel his head.

“C’mon Jay, just lemme check. If you have a fever you need more medicine.” She says, sighing in relief when he stops struggling and lets her feel his head. She hums, sitting back in the chair by his bed. “Do you need soup? Or maybe some cocoa?” She asks.

“No. Just sleep.” He mumbles. Marinette nods in understanding, singing to him quietly despite the tickle in her throat. The poor kid was sick, and she blamed herself for letting them get caught up in the rain yesterday. Just as he falls asleep and she feels her own eyes droop, the door swings open.

“Mari?” A voice says and she groans, waving whoever it is away.

“Shhhh. He’s sleeping. Gimme a minute.” She mumbles, glancing at Jason once more before standing and moving outside the room, shutting the door slightly to not wake him up.

“What happened? Why isn’t he in school?” Bruce asks, his face scrunched in concern. She frowns, knowing he’s probably going to hate her for letting his youngest son get sick.

“We went for ice cream yesterday and then to the park, but it started raining and we got soaked and now he’s sick and I’m so sorry, but I’ve been giving him medicine and making sure he’s eating and drinking water so he’ll be okay but he definitely couldn’t go to school today.” She rambles. Bruce frowns and reaches forward, putting a gentle hand on her forehead.

“Mari, love, are you sick too?” He asks worriedly. She scoffs.

“No, of course not.” She says.

“Yes she is.” Alfred says as he walks by, continuing down the hall as if he didn’t say anything. Marinette frowns, glaring after the man.

“Traitor.” She mumbles under her breath.

“Love, maybe you should take some medicine and go to bed.” Bruce suggests, but she shakes her head.

“No, Jason needs me. He’s sick.” Marinette argues. Bruce frowns.

“Have you at least taken some medicine?” He asks, and she pouts.

“It makes me sleepy. I was afraid I’d fall asleep and not know if Jason needed something.” She says, and he sighs.

“Mari, my love, you aren’t going to get better if you don’t take medicine.” Bruce says, gently wrapping his arms around her. She sighs and leans into his embrace, feeling safe and complete in his arms. Until she hears Jason start having a coughing fit. She immediately pulls away from Bruce and rushes back into the room, grabbing the glass of water off of his night table and holding it, waiting for him to stop coughing before she passes it to him.

“Careful kiddo.” She says, setting the glass back down on the night table. She sits on the edge of his bed and gently pushes his hair out of his face. He sighs, his eyes shutting again almost immediately.

“Thanks Mom.” He mumbles sleepily, and soon his soft breathing is the only sound in the room. Marinette is frozen. Mom. Mom. He’d called her mom. Was it just because he’s sick and exhausted? Or did he actually look at her as a mother figure? Was he going to be embarrassed about it when he wakes up or will he accept it? Would Bruce be okay with it? Or would he be angry at her for it? Would he-

“Marinette, honey, are you okay?” Bruce asks softly, she kisses Jason’s head before standing and burrowing herself into Bruce’s chest. Realistically, there was no reason for him to be mad at her about this. Or Jason. It was just hard to combat her thoughts sometimes. Letting out a shaky breath, she looks up at Bruce with a soft smile.

“I’m fine. I think I’ll take that medicine now.” She says, letting out a happy sigh as Bruce holds her hand and leads her out of the room.

“Besides the rain, how was your week?” He asks once they’re back in the hallway. She opens her mouth to ramble about how fun it was, until she remembers Jason’s scowl as he talked about the group of boys at school. The way he clung to her when she promised to do something about it.

“Actually, I was wondering if you’d be against talking to the Principal at Jason’s school. If I could, I’d like to go with. Some boys are picking on him and I promised him I would try to do something about it.” She explains, nearly missing the loving smile Bruce gives her.

“I’ll set up a meeting for Monday afternoon, how does that sound?” He asks and she nods.

“That should work.” She says, tilting her head in thought. “If it doesn’t work, I’m going to kick his ass.” She adds.

“Okay, love, let’s get you that medicine and get you into bed.” Bruce says with a chuckle. Mari smiles and nods, knowing he thinks she’s kidding. She’s not. No one messes with her kid and gets away with it.

Tag list: @maribat-october-rarepairs @stainedglassm @kittenmywaythrulife @laydeekrayzee @doll246 @queenz-z @deathssilentapproach-blog @literaryhiraeth @unoriginalmess @ashbrea381writings @jayjayspixiepop @toodaloo-kangaroo @galla02006

#brucinette #maribat #maribat fanfic #maribat fic #maribat bruce wayne #maribat marinette dupain cheng #maribat jason todd #maribat dick grayson #ao3fic #maribat batman #mominette #maribathalloween21 #maribatoctrp21

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scandalsavagefanfic · 3 years

Note

Hello! I am a huge fan of ur writing. I've loved everything I've read of yours. I've read alot of what you've posted, except for a couple of the tags that are squicky for me (so I'm very thankful you tag very thoroughly). No judgement for the squick, it's just not for me. & when I'm having a bad day, I usually just go thru ur ao3 and find something to reread. I think about Therapy's Bruce & Jason every damn day. While I obvs appreciate ur darker more "problematic" content (I really vibe with some of the themes you write about bc of my own trauma, & so it's very cathartic to read about in a fictional setting), I am truly a sucker for ur more happy content. The Happily Ever After verse also lives in my head rent free. Idk more wholesome stuff just seems more special when you write it. Anyways. I would die for you. But the point of this ask is cause I'm curious as to why you don't like Urban Legends? I'm sorry if you already talked about it here or on twitter and I missed it. I was just wondering because I really enjoy your take on things and would love to hear why you dislike it. I've been enjoying it so far personally, but I am always open to DC comics criticism.

Aw thank you so much! I'm so flattered by everything you just said. You're so sweet ❤❤❤❤❤

I haven't talked about Urban Legends here or twitter (I haven't been very active in either place lately. Just a lot going on and no energy 😔) but I'm happy to do it here.

Before I start though, I just want to add a standard disclaimer and make it clear that if you like it, there's nothing wrong with that and you don't have to let me ruin it for you lol. Like what you like.

That said, since you asked...

I said this when I was talking about it on discord, that there is a difference between hope and expectation. I always hope that a new story centered on Jason (or anyone really, but things have been especially egregious for Jay for 15 years) will be good or at least treat the character with a minimal level of respect (to be honest, the bar is super fucking low). But my expectations always temper my hope, to keep it from getting unrealistic. Because my expectations are based on experience.

The long history of Jason Todd, since even before his resurrection, has been one of retroactively trying to make him "a bad seed" in order to absolve Bruce of any responsibility in his death.

I don't even expect DC or their writers to start honoring the fact that Jason was not an angry, reckless Robin (and less of the later than Dick or Tim and definitely Damian). There plenty of ways that retcon can be folded into his history and be compelling and sympathetic. And if they're going to stick with that retcon, I'm only asking that they do it in one of those compelling and sympathetic ways because Jason was 15 when he died, heroically, in one of the most selfless acts in comics, to save a woman who literally handed him over to be brutally murdered. He was 12 when Bruce plucked him off the streets, he'd been homeless and fending for himself for at least two years. I personally think that Jason's story hits harder for him and Bruce if their original, canon relationship, of Jason as starry-eyed and eager to learn and absolutely devoted to Bruce and Bruce to Jason, is preserved. But Jason's origins does leave room for a meaningful interpretation of him as angry and frustrated at the lack of meaningful results of Bruce's methods.

And that's really where my irritation at stories like Batman: Urban Legends, Cheer and Batman The Adventure Continues has it's roots.

Every time one of these stories comes out, I think (or hope, rather) that this will be the one that remembers and respects the origins of the Jason and the Red Hood, that takes into account the changed sensibilities of comics readers in the 30 years since Jason's death and the subtle, 20 year, retroactive campaign to make him the "bad Robin". The "born bad" trope is played out and literally no one likes the message it implies. That some kids are just bad eggs and there's nothing parents or the adults around them can do. Especially when it's played as the kid's fault. If Jason's time as Robin is going to be characterized by anger, then it should be rooted in anger at the social injustices he witnessed as he grew up in an impoverished, crime-ridden, area and the horrors he faced raising himself when every day was a battle for survival. There are topical, meaningful, stories to tell with that backdrop.

But those are never the stories we get.

⚠⚠ Spoilers for Batman: Urban Legends, Cheer ⚠⚠

I'm particularly disappointed in Urban Legends because for the first issue, it looked like that was the kind of story we were going to get. I was put off by the first flashback of Jason being mesmerized by Bruce's guns, and I got that feeling in my gut that it was a bad sign. Jason depicted as impatient and overconfident and the scene with the guns is heavy-handed foreshadowing that got my spidey-sense tingling. I had a inkling then (in the first three pages) of how this story was going to play out, but it was early and I could still see many narrative paths that could lead to a satisfying story. My concerns were soothed somewhat and the little flame of my hope fanned, with the flashback of Alfred scolding Bruce, with Barbara's concern for Jason. A bit of worry returned with the way Jason ruthlessly pursued an addict who didn't appear to be a dealer and with the ending of the issue. The stuff with the addict sat wrong with me but the ending was tempered some by how despicable Tyler's dad was written. The scene was clearly set so that the reader could sympathize with Jason's decision and the scene with the addict could be brushed aside as a side-effect of comics over-the-top need for constant action, so I still held hope.

Issue 2 made me uncomfortable and it's where my hope starts to take a backseat to my expectations. I can dismiss Jason's self-deprecating internal monologue as unreliable narration, except that the flashback reinforces his thought process to explicitly show that it's not unreliable narration, and should be taken at face value. Jason faces physical abuse at the hands of his mother's drug dealer and when the flashback continues later, Jason kills the drug dealer. To be clear, this is a pre-Bruce Jason. His mom is still alive. He's like... 10. He kills this guy for shoving his head into a wall and implying Jason's mother paid for her drugs with sex. This is a scene that serves a single purpose. To show that Jason has always been prone to violence.

In the spirit of full disclosure, there is the small chance the drug dealer might not be dead. But the story obviously wants the reader to think he is, and it hasn't done anything to change that yet.

Starlin already did this story with The Diplomat’s Son in 1988 and he did it infinitely better. AND that’s still technically canon. So now I’m supposed to believe that Jason lost his cool bad enough to kill two douche bags before his sweet 16? Like it’s totally normal for abused kids raised in poverty, who’ve led hard and heartbreaking lives to just... haul off and kill people? That’s bullshit, and when taken with the Jason in the third issue, who is little more than an idiot thug, this story is really doubling down on some fucked up stereotypes.

Which brings us to the most recent issue. I went into this installment with very low expectations. I thought this story was going to be about Jason, through this experience with Tyler, a young boy with a similar background to Jason's, coming to the realization that Bruce's way is the best way and that Bruce did his best by Jason.

That would be annoying (in no small part because it takes increasingly absurd levels of plot armor to keep Bruce's no kill rule relevant, let alone irrefutably right). But I can probably live with that, if only because maybe if Jason officially falls back into line with the Bats crusade, maybe I'll get stories that treat him with respect, stories that don't relegate him to comic relief, dumb brute, or a background body with no lines in a story about the Joker burning Gotham (like Jason would just fucking stand there quietly for that).

And that may still be where the story is going, Jason realizing Bruce is right.

But holy shit do I not have the right words to describe how fucking insulting and gross issue three is.

From start to finish--including the flashback--Jason is written as cruel and fucking stupid. Like straight up dumb.

The entire issue is Bruce explaining the fucking basics to Jason like it's his first day. And Jason flies off the fucking handle and terrorizes a doctor he knows isn't a part of making the Cheerdrops, beats the shit out of some random addicts, and finally, when he can't accomplish anything on his own because he's a dumb brute he calls Barbara for help and rushes in with no information where he's promptly incapacitated and must now wait to be rescued by Batman.

This panel is the least of the issues sins but I can’t screenshot the entire story but it’s representative of the tone for the whole issue (and retroactively tainted the prior two issues).

This is beyond insulting. The only conclusions Jason comes to in this issue are the ones Bruce leads him to by talking to him like he can’t make the simplest connections. And like... in this story Jason can’t make the simplest connections.

This (and the Jason throughout the entirety of this issue) is a far cry from the Jason we fell in love with in Under the Red Hood, who was competent and strategic and intelligent enough to seize control of Gotham’s underworld from Black Mask (who’s no fucking slouch, he’s the first and only person to unify organized crime in Gotham) AND elude and manipulate Bruce until the time and place of his choosing.

This is a far cry from even the Red Hood and the Outlaws Jason who is competent enough to fight the League of Shadows and Ra’s al Ghul (among very dangerous and skilled others) and smart enough to create antidotes for mind control nanotech viruses.

As he should be, by the way. Jason Todd is one of the best, most comprehensively trained fighters in DC’s stable of non powered vigilantes. He’s not irrational or hot headed. He’s pragmatic, tactically minded, and patient. He’s a detective. Right now. Has been since he was 12. Bruce doesn’t have to make him one because he already is.

Jason is not a stupid thug who uses his fists because his brain doesn’t work. And I can’t tell you how so very exhausted I am by this narrative.

This is actually the most egregious example of Jason’s skills and intelligence being not just undermined but dismissed entirely. Even Morrison’s Jason had some degree of competency.

The one, single redeeming factor of this story is the art. It’s beautiful. And Marcus To is a godsend he seems to be one of only a couple of artists who remember that Jason was a child when he was Robin and I’m literally only buying this book because of him.

Anyway, I’m sorry. I didn’t want that to come out so... um... passionately lol. I’m just very very tired. My intention with this isn’t to ruin it for you, if you like it, that’s fine.

But this issue shot this story to the top of my "Vehemently Despise” list. 1) Batman: Urban Legends (Cheer), 2) Battle for the Cowl/Morrison’s Batman and Robin, 3) Batman The Adventure Continues.

I hope the next issues somehow salvage this dumpster fire. But I’m not expecting it.

(Damnit. That sounded harsh again. To reiterate, I’m not trying to judge anyone who enjoys it, I just personally hate it and you asked me why lol 😅)

#Batman #red hood #batman: urban legends #nice art #shit story #or at least shit characterization #jason todd deserves better #this response got long and I didn't edit it #please forgive any errors #and/or unclear spots #spoilers

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liquid-luck-00 · 3 years

Text

Where There Is Change

Overprotection

@maribat-bdbwm

First *** Previous *** Next

~~~~~~~~~~

One week.

One week without her brother is all it took to break her patience.

No, she didn’t break away from her story with the press release that happened literally two days after she started school.

No, what finally broke her was what the students did to her brother, specifically this group of five that were intentionally seeking out places she was that in order to talk about her family.

Sure, she understood why they talked about Damian, he is Gotham's Ice Prince, the person you do not want to get on the bad side of.

But moments that she wasn’t with him, people spoke awfully about him. And mostly about how he was born as a bastard child.

She pretty much assumes that when she’s not around they speak the same about her.

Both of them were conceived without his knowledge, until years later. Sure, it hurts to hear them talk about her dad like that.

But she also understands it to an extent.

Brucie Wayne, is an act he puts up. Brucie Wayne is a playboy the longer someone plays the playboy people, will come to the conclusion of him having several unknown children.

However, she also knows Brucie Wayne is a cover for her father, in the past twenty years or so since the time he pretty much became Batman, Brucie Wayne has been a cover. So much so that even the media plays into.

But what she can’t stand are the remarks her 'peers' make about her little brother, about all her siblings.

The remarks that, she is technically the older biological child. But that she still deserves a chair in the company. She is so mad that they are dismissing all of Tim's work he's put into the company. That they are dismissing her brothers just because she is the first-born biological child, that she should be the next C.E.O. People talk over him as if he isn’t there.

They talk about Jason, how he is the troubled child. That he ruins their father's name.

That Dick is just a novelty for Bruce. The first child he decide to adopt. That he’s no more than that, Bruce Wayne’s first ward.

She hates that they call Cassandra a basket case because she won’t talk.

Or how Duke is yet another charity case, simply because of his skin color.

They forget about her because she looks so American, so white, so European.

They forget that she is part Chinese, because she has such big blue eyes, fair skin, and dark black hair just like her father.

---

So back to school.

Damian was on assignment with the Teen Titans, so she was going to school alone. They said something about Damian getting an awful constant 103 fever, they didn’t want to risk anyone else to catch what he had.

So, she did what she usually did, she went outside like usual during lunch. When all of a sudden, the group of five kids in her year 'seemed' to be strolling past.

She thinks it’s still hasn’t sunk in that there’s a new Wayne. Or that they know but want to haze her. Because they are openly bashing her little brother.

"I’m sorry, but what did you just say." She stood up and looked at them.

"Well not that it’s any of your business, but Damian is such a menace, he is practically a terrorist." One of the boys started.

"Have you seen how angry he gets, I swear he could blow up the school, and he’ll still get let back in." A girl butt in.

"He’s already been expelled twice, but they keep letting him back in because he’s Bruce Wayne’s son." The final boy spoke rolling his eyes and she lost it.

She grabbed him, pulled him towards her, gave him a quick punch in the nose. Forcing him to reel back stumbling away from her.

"Let’s get one thing straight." She spoke, hands clenched in fists. "My baby brother isn’t a terrorist. He may be a menace, but he’s not a terrorist. Can any of you actually tell me the reasons why he got expelled."

Silence, pure silence was heard from the entire group.

"No, you can’t. Because like you said it’s none of your goddamn fucking business." At this point her French accent was slipping into her words, because she was getting really mad. She had to physically dig her nails into her palms to stop her magic from exploding.

"So why don’t you all just mind your own fucking business and maybe pay attention who you’re talking about, around who."

The entire group turned and ran, their tails between their legs and they scrambled to get away from her. She may have been known as the approachable Wayne between the two twins, but they messed with her brother. And they really didn’t know what they were talking about.

As soon as, the bell rang to end lunch her name came across the intercom. She grabbed her things and walked to the office knowing full well what was about to happen.

What she didn’t expect that out of all the people that would have been called the person who showed up was Jason.

If she had to cover the ever-growing grin on her face, or else the adults may have figured out that this was the wrong brother to call.

"We are so sorry to have called you today Mr. Todd-Wayne, but we have to discuss your sister’s behavior." The principal spoke as both of them sat down.

"Ok I'll hear you out, but after you explain what happened she will. And neither of you guys can interrupt the other got it. So, go." He pointed at the principle.

"Your sister has been accused of physical assault of another student."

"Is this true?" He turned to her.

"Yes." She answered.

"Why?" Jason asked as he rubbed his hands down his face.

She knows he has a shit eating grin that was slowly going to be spreading across his face, because his aura was almost giddy.

"You see they’ve not only been talking shit about Damian but Tim, Duke, Cass, Dick, and even you. If you want, I have several forms of video tape and audio proof if you’d like to see those."

"But let’s get back on point. We believe that you may have broken his nose."

"Okay, but I am not going to apologize, seeing as I was protecting my little brother, who is not here to defend himself."

She looked over to her brother and the ass had a shit eating grin plastered across his face.

"Why don’t I sign my sister out for the rest of the day, you know what, what about the whole

week, because I'm assuming suspension is an option?"

The principal however didn’t know how to react to Jason, so he absentmindedly pushed a stack of papers towards Jason and pointing to where he was to sign and initial. And then allowed them to leave.

"We’re not telling Bruce, are we?" She asked quietly.

"Not unless you want to deal with that right now?"

"No."

"Then let’s see how far we can get from Gotham."

"Yes please." She enthusiastically nodded her head, as they left the city.

~~~~~~~~~~

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catxsnow · 4 years

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BRUISES D.W.

Request: Hey honeypot! how are you darling? are you comfortable with writing older damian kinda smut? because i just had this idea where he has this super sweet girlfriend and one day batfam sees her with bruises on her neck and they think mayb damian hits her or something? and Tim mentions that he has seen bruises on her hips as well and they confront him and her and they tell the fam that's from sexy times and they are like "two days ago you were a baby. how are you an adult now?"

Warning: mentions of sex, bruising from s e x, Older!Damian

A/N: since someone wanted a requested post, here ya go :)

Word Count: 2.1k

Damian's brothers always saw him as the child of the family, even when he had grown up to be a fully functioning twenty-two year old. He was still treated like a kid when he saw his family and it drove him crazy. His whole life he had been just as old as them mentally and now that he was, they still treated him like a twelve year old.

When you came into his life, it was refreshing to have someone treat him as the adult he was. You respected him and he always showed the same to you. Your friendship was grand and always full of surprises. The biggest was the night that you no longer realized you wanted to be just friends, you wanted to be lovers.

Damian met you at the library on a cold night in Gotham. You were studying for an exam and he was looking for literature that his father didn't already own. He bumped into your table by pure accident and was thankful for his single moment of being a klutz.

You were a kind, quiet girl. Most people over looked you while those who got to know you knew that you were nothing like your facade. Damian of all people learned that the most. The more he got to know you, the more he saw that you were hiding a whole other side of you. You could be wild but only around those you trusted.

When you began dating, he saw yet another side of you. Damian thought you were wild when he got a few drinks in you - but in bed? He was amazed.

When you learned about Damian's secret life as a vigilante, he made sure to start training you. There was no way that he was going to leave you defenseless in case he wasn't there to protect you. So, at least once a week he would bringing you back to his father's home and teach you everything that he knew.

Most times the two of you worked in the background while Bruce did his own thing on the computers. Sometimes his brothers and sisters would show up and tease him. You never understood the nick names - demon spawn, baby bird, even little D. They must have been from when he was younger.

His family liked you. Dick was always excited to see you and had some sort of conversation to spark. He came to visit you and Damian quite often. Jason found you to be kind, reserved - not the kind of person he expected Damian to be with. Tim, Duke, Cass, and Steph thought you to be the sweetest person they had known.

You held a shy smile around them, hesitance in yours eyes. They were all so tough, it was hard not to be intimidated by them. Even Damian at first was difficult to look past his height and muscles. They never saw the other side of you that Damian got to see all the time. He always teased you for it.

For the first time in a long time, both Dick and Tim were at the Manor. They were supposed to be helping Damian and Bruce with a case but kept reaching dead ends. To pass the time, Damian got you back on the sparring mat to continue your skills. You came a long way since you first started, but no where near ready to take any of them down.

This was the third day in a row that you were down there, sweating your ass off and learning what it meant to truly have sore muscles. Damian had been staying at the manor all week and by the second night there he asked you to join him. He missed you in his bed. Of course, you couldn't deny his request.

You had already shed your shirt, the material was drowned with sweat. Damian was much the same with only his shorts and his ankle being tightly wrapped in a tension bandage. He always feared bruising you when you dueled like this, but with the litter of blue and purple already on your skin he couldn't do much about it.

Damian had suddenly kicked your ankle out from under you and you landed against the mat with a thud. He stuck his hand out to help you up, but you only tugged him down. Damian acted fast and instead of letting you get the upper hand, trapped you below him. A smirk was on your face.

Damian gazed down from your sweat beaded face, to the small bruises he had given you the night before. Five faint little circles were on your neck, all lining up perfectly with the pads of his fingers. He matched your smirk, thinking about your incredibly hot sex from last night. He was sure that there were still residual scratch marks down his back.

"Another round?" You toyed, knowing exactly what was running through his mind. He knew that you meant another spar, but his mind was stuck on the idea of dragging you up to his room and giving you more marks for him to admire. "Or did I tire you out this time?"

"Try to keep up, beloved," Damian narrowed his eyes. Teasing him like that wasn't fair - especially when his brothers were right across the room. He peeled himself off of you and bounced back up for another fight. You followed his lead, arms up and light on your feet.

Dick and Tim were watching from afar. The computer was running in the background and there wasn't anything that they could do until them. Bruce was at work and Alfred was somewhere in the Manor doing things. Titus napped by the mat where you and Damian were, his snores could be heard from where the two men stood.

Tim narrowed his eyes at the couple. You had been around for years, keeping to yourself and never really speaking up until necessary. It made him wonder about you; not in the fact of your loyalty, but if you were maybe too loyal. Every time you were over, some sort of bruise was visible on your skin.

At first, he chalked it up to you bruising easily - or that you were just a klutz. Then, they got more common. They were darker, bigger, often times in the same places that should have been hidden by your clothes. You never talked about them, and if someone brought it up, you changed the subject.

Tim was worried about you. Damian had always been a violent person, he was raised that way since birth. Sure, Bruce had changed him, Dick too, but old habits ran strong. It made Tim wonder if it was Damian purposefully leaving the bruises on you. Was he taking all of his hate and anger out on you?

"If you squint any harder you might get stuck like that," Dick joked. Tim turned away from you and Damian and up towards his older brother. "Damian's a good teacher, maybe she'll be as good as us one day."

"That's not what I'm worried about," Tim confessed. Dick raised his eyebrow, waiting for an explanation. "You ever notice how (Y/N) is always covered in bruises? Her legs, her wrists - she has bruises nearly every time we see her. I just... I wonder what Damian does behind closed doors. I'm not saying Damian would do anything terrible, but he was raised by Talia. Restraint hasn't been his strong suit."

"You think he hits her?" Dick suddenly became worried. Tim hesitatingly nodded. It wasn't something that he ever wanted to accuse Damian of, but the thought had crossed his mind more than once. "Damian would never do that... would he?"

"I would rather be safe than sorry," Tim decided. Their attention went back to the two of you. You had Damian's wrists pinned and the both of you were laughing so hard about something that tears streamed down your face. Looking at them, it never seemed like Damian would do such a thing. Tim also knew that you were too quiet to ever speak out about it if he did.

Damian pecked your lips and the two of you called it enough for the time being. You wiped a towel down your face before slinging it over your shoulders. Hand in hand, you walked over to Dick and Tim who were looking nervously between each other. There was no good time to ask such an intrusive question.

You wished to jump straight into the shower, but Damian insisted to check in to see if there was any process. "Is the computer done downloading th-"

"Are you hitting (Y/N)?" Tim blurted out. Your eyes widened at his sudden question and you felt Damian tense beside you. How dare he accuse him of ever laying a hand on you? Even when sparring he made sure never to hurt you. There were accidents, sure, but never intentional. To have Tim assume something like that? It was unfathomable.

To try and explain himself, Tim pointed towards the bruises on your neck that he had just noticed upon your approach, as well as the ones visible right above your shorts. Damian grunted beside you, understanding why Tim thought the way he did. You on the other hand, felt your face flare up with embarrassment.

Dick and Tim looked between themselves at your unexpected reaction. Damian gave them a look, hoping that they would understand without having to say it out loud. Unfortunately, they didn't pick up on it. Damian wiped a hand down his face, not believing that he actually had to explain this to his older brothers.

"I got them during sex," you muttered out. Their eyes widened at your answer and a flush filled their cheeks. However, Tim still wasn't satisfied with the answer of the bruises on your neck. There was no way that they were hickies - they weren't the right color or shape. Damian sighed, cringing as he perfectly placed his fingers were the bruises were.

"Oh I think I'm gonna throw up," Tim made a disgusted face. Damian had a smug look on his own. Not only did he prove him wrong, but he also made him extremely uncomfortable. Two birds, one stone.

"You're like twelve," Dick exasperated. Damian was still the same little boy in his mind. In no way should he be old enough to be having sex, especially by the looks of it, frequent sex. Seeing the two of you dating, it always seemed like a cute middle school couple - in no way did he think about you as adults.

"I'm twenty-two, Richard. You're a decade off."

"Decade or not, I still know too much now," Tim shuddered. You were thankful that Damian tugged you away from his brothers. You were still flaming with embarrassment from the encounter. Now, every time you would see them that would be all they could see: the bruises that Damian left around your neck.

Even if you were adults, like Damian said, you still didn't like the idea of his brother's knowing what happened between the two of you behind locked doors. Damian didn't seem to mind. Maybe because it showed how old he really was or that he got to prove that he was getting laid consistently.

All you knew, was that you were grateful that they didn't bring Bruce into this little theory and him finding out what you did to his son - or what his son did to you. Though, as the world's greatest detective, you feared he already knew the truth.

"Join me in the shower?"

"You're seriously thinking about sex right now? After that?" You raised your eyebrows. Damian's sex drive was impeccable - sometimes a little too impeccable. Dragging you from Gala's, pit stop on patrol, he even caught you between classes one time. Now, after his brother's teased him, he was still ready to go.

Damian shrugged. "You're saying you aren't? After all that teasing while we trained? I felt your heart rate when I showed them what the bruises were for, beloved. You got excited." You glared at him, knowing damn well that it was true. He squeezed just enough to get you thinking about your previous night.

"You're game better be good if you want to distract me from that shit show that just happened."

"When is my game ever not?"

#damian wayne #damian wayne imagine #damian wayne oneshot #older!damian #damian wayne x fem!reader #batfam x reader #batfam imagine #batfam #dick grayson #tim drake #dc imagine #dc one shot #dc #fluff #robin #robin imagine

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ravenkinnie · 3 years

Note

TW: Drugs, substance abuse, murder, violence, the Punisher

Another potentially unpopular opinion I've seen on here (and one that I'll actually rant about) is that, Jason is the only good vigilante in the Batfam because he kills people (think the direct quote is "unlike those other feckless bitches" and something like "when you get saved by Red Hood, you know that you'll never have to worry about getting attacked by the same person again". I don't know how to explain to people that killing the type of criminals Jason killed in canon is wrong and harmful (thinking about the 80 Blackgate prisoners he poisoned - hmm you know the American prison system is pretty fucked up i'm sure they all totally belonged there /s). Like. Jason killing the Joker is one thing, but he literally hasn't killed the Joker - Dick did that, Bruce tried to, but Jason hasn't. But like some people make it out like oh, Jason being a killer is fine because he only kills people that deserve it - who, tell me who he's killing? Sex offenders and drug dealers seems to be the most common reply. And I won't touch the sex offenders but drug dealers? Have you heard of the War on Drugs? Have you seen what happens when people in power decide it's okay to openly promote the killing of drug dealers? I don't understand why people think it's fine for Jason Todd to go around killing drug dealers, as if they don't have families, don't have other things that put them in a bad situation. There's a reason why cops in the US (idk if they do this elsewhere) use the Punisher skull as their emblem - and if you advocate for a Jason Todd that punishes criminals, don't be surprised when the right wing weaponizes him against minorities and the red hood helmet starts to get painted on cop cars.

I wrote a paper on the Norwegian prison system which rehabilitates and releases even the "worst" of criminals and just... I live in the US and it seems like we (specifically white people) have such little compassion for anyone who commits crime. Even after the War on Drugs, even after we learned it was a scam, people fall for the crime and punishment rhetoric time after time. Like I live in a suburb where people are so scared of drug dealers my mom literally called our neighbor because someone cut through our yard (and she thought he looked high or something idk). Which I get it, my cousin died from a fentanyl overdose, I understand you don't want that near your kids. But incarcerating or killing drug dealers is not the answer, and I can't stand it when people take that stance on Jason. You can try to explain the 8 drug dealer heads in a duffle bag any way you want, but at the end of the day, I think the batfamily fandom needs to be more careful addressing this issue because demonizing drugs/drug dealers/drug users is literally one of the ways the American government destroys black communities.

And to think, the Jason Todd stan that this opinion came from replied to me because I commented on how Jason likes to run around in Dick's old clothes - something that has absolutely no bearing on his morals, other than he's thrifty which is a good thing actually, something like 85% of clothes ends up in landfills. Sorry for the rant, you asked for it. Sorry if anyone who sees this likes Jason Todd and is offended, you're not bad for liking him, he has an interesting story, just please don't advocate for murdering common criminals, specifically drug dealers.

AAAHHH NOO BUT IVE SEEN SOME OF MY MOOTS DISCUSS THIS BEFORE

sorry it's late and fucking hot I don't have the most comprehensive reply dbdnhd and I do acknowledge that at the end of the day this is fiction but opinions real people hold come from SOMEWHERE - and I think we have a very ingrained belief that crime/bad deed has to be punished and that there are good and evil people and good people only do bad things when influenced by evil people which is exactly the core of jason's belief - and that's interesting for a batfam character, a former robin!! I like when him and bruce are contrasted based on ethics but I don't like when it's meant to show that jason is right and bruce is wrong

batman is an extremely popular and fascinating character because at his core lies the idea that systems that are in place to 'protect' people are corrupt and it's down to individuals who can do something to go against them and look out for others - that's something that will resonate with people even if irl solution can't be to dress up as a bat and beat tf outta people shdhhshs

I have two points to make here:

a) I'm straight up a fucking anarchist who lives in the woods, thinks aliens are listening, and doesn't trust the government but I don't believe systems are corrupt, I believe they operate the way they are meant to operate to punish and control the populations that the system needs to be controlled to keep up the status quo - war on drugs is such a good example for that. drug dealer also exists as this boogeyman, this idea of an evil person waiting to corrupt and destroy the good people but the fact is: people don't get addicted to drugs bc drug dealers exist, people get addicted to drugs because something, not someone, compels them to do drugs, because something (literal us gov) introduced drugs to their communities and drug dealers are just tiny pawns in that game. additionally, many dealers are addicts themselves who got roped into selling to pay for their own use or who got pushed into the margins of society so much that drug trade is the only way to survive they can find

there are like, whole papers and books and thesis done on this so I'm not gonna act like I can analyse it in a tumblr post dhshsjsj but yeah people who think jason is right usually show this weird superiority of 'oh batman doesnt get how to fix gotham like jason does' and like... no, jason gets played like a fiddle by the system the way people he kills do, and whatever he does will always just hit the other pawns and never reach those actually at the top, those who are profitting from finding scapegoats

and like, batman comics don't have to address that bc it's comics, you can write small lmao but don't argue that jason is somehow more enlightened than bruce for killing

b) this brings a question of, if we decide that there has to be punishment for every crime, who gets to decide what punishment is right for what crime? cause there's not a single person who's infallible enough to dictate what the best approach is in every situation

and batman works best as a traumatised man who's loves his city sm he tries to work however he can to protect people from corrupt systems and offer them second chances wherever he can bc that's who batman is at his core - batman is not a punisher he is a protector and he should never be pushed into a role of the punisher bc he's not edgy enough

also bitches are so hard acting like they would kill every villain cause rip to batman but I'm different, y'all are too scared to tell the waitress your order is wrong shut the fuck up lmao the closest any of y'all have been to being batman is getting your ass beat behind the club on a saturday by brenda in her boohoo jumpsuit

#asks #drugs tw #long post

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lyledebeast · 2 years

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It’s kind of ironic that two of the most memorable and loved scenes in The Patriot involve men in their shirts killing people. Of course, I’m referring to the scene in the woods where Benjamin Martin slaughters twenty British soldiers to rescue Gabriel and the one by the river where Colonel Tavington and the Green Dragoons are attacked by Gabriel and the militia. This Youtube video explains why Martin’s violence in the woods scene is gratuitous, and I defer to it. The gratuitousness in Tavington’s scene is different, but I would argue that it is no less silly.

Let’s talk about those shirts.

The only thing remarkable about Martin’s shirt is how soaked with blood it gets (along with his chest, neck, face, hair). He’s been similarly dressed throughout all his scenes up to this point except for the one at the assembly in Charleston. It’s practical for him; he’s working outside in the South Carolina summer. And it’s a working man’s shirt: no adornments, rather dingy.

Tavington’s shirt, on the other hand, is fancy. It has a ruffle all the way around the collar and the cuffs. It is almost blindingly white, and remains so even as he is shot through it! After Gabriel shoots him, he’s lying on his belly playing dead long enough for a least a little puddle to form even if his skin is only nicked. There’s acting, and then there’s acting (and then there’s “make-up ran out of fake blood after hosing Mel Gibson down with it,” I guess), but more on that later. In every other scene in the theatrical release, Tavington is wearing a cravat and his jacket is buttoned up, so he feels inappropriately under-dressed.

I’ve read a lot of speculation as to who the intended audience for this stylization is. Surely, the aesthetic similarity--the long flowing hair, the bare chest--between Tavington and the covers of so many romance novels can’t be unintentional. But it seems inappropriate, to say the least, for the filmmakers to provide eye candy “for the ladies” in a scene that so closely follows the one where Tavington burns almost all the ladies in the movie alive in their church!

Obviously, the way Jason Isaacs is styled here is intentional, but I would argue that it is “for” straight men as much as everything else in the movie. It provides a stark contrast between Tavington’s masculinity and Martin’s. What this scene reveals is that Tavington cares too much about his appearance. While his men are cooking and socializing after burning yet another Patriot home, he’s grooming himself; his hair is damp from having been washed, and we see him shaving. (It’s worth pointing out that, as little screentime as the Brits have in comparison to the Patriots, they have two shaving scenes, the other with General Cornwallis. I guess the Patriots remain smooth-faced though willpower?). His shirt, too, is evidence of his decadence. Either he has spent a lot of money on it or he is connected to an accomplished, privileged lady who has made it for him. And it remains pristine because Tavington is so cold and so controlled, in contrast with the righteous passion of Benjamin Martin, that he can apparently bleed or not bleed at will.

People who are attracted to men, though, have managed to miss all of this and skip straight to “Damn. Jason Isaacs is hot in this movie!” And good for them, because the other, likely more intended interpretation is just so dumb. As though Martin traumatizing his young sons by involving them in this carnage is more properly manly than Tavington doing something every single man in the movie does, but in a Wicked and Sinister manner and at an inappropriate time. Tavington’s post war-crime beauty regime crystallizes his masculinity as one that is suspect, shallow, and false.

Anyway, damn. Jason Isaacs is hot in this movie!

#the patriot #colonel william tavington #jason isaacs #just when you thought i didn't have another #tavington looking slutty by the river post in me #i do!

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acceptsonlynttnightwing · 2 years

Text

So have you read RHATO beyond the first couple parts because like Roy wasn’t a sidekick in the story. He hung around and helped but at the beginning Jason leaves after rescuing him and Roy later catches up on his own. Also Kori had several arcs about her past as a slave and ambassador who fought to free people. The free sex thing is only an aspect of like the first three comics. Also people do connect silly early Batman with darker modern Batman. Regardless it was a reboot not a straight jump. And I think some people feel like Roy was helped by RHATO was because it allowed a reset from Cry for Justice/Rise of Arsenal. Then Rebirth smoothed over the issues RHATO had. The two kind of worked together to save Roy’s character from the grim dark early version.

—-

Okay, I don’t particularly want to post so much about RHATO so after this one, I’m not going to reply to your submissions unless you send them as (anon if you want) asks I can reply to privately or message me directly. I don’t particularly enjoy the repeated implications that I haven’t read the series I’m criticising either, just because I disagree with you.

Yes, believe or not, I did read RHATO before deciding out of the blue, without reading it, that I didn’t like the series.

And yes, Roy was quite firmly slotted into sidekick roll throughout RHATO. I’m guessing that you’re a Jason fan and so you probably don’t see it. Sure, Lobell might have Roy make the choice to go after Jason, but in all the scenes they’re together, Roy is firmly a supporting character, only around to support and make Jason look better and give him a popular, well known friend. He calls himself an idiot (and acts like an inexperienced one). Even after like 20 issues (when you’d expect him to be a little more, I don’t like the Roy we used to know and love) he just gets relegated to glorified tech support?

It wasn’t call Red Hood and the Outlaws because ROY and KORI were the leads.

As for the stuff about his and Ollie’s relationship and portraying Ollie as the world’s worst father and acting like the Titans abandoned him, well that WAS Lobell’s choice - when questioned he just said he found his Roy interesting, not that editorial or someone was trying to push a certain narative. Plus, even other N52 and Rebirth stories DIDN’T go with the Ollie is the world’s world father angle (canonically, Ollie was just about the best superhero dad of all the Titans’ till they used Snowbirds as a PSA - you’d know if you read previous GA and titans comics), so yes, I can blame Lobell and RHATO for the anti-Ollie and anti-Titans portrayal.

And the NTT and NT series did most of those stories first: about Backfire and Tamaran and Kori’s past as a slave and how it affected her, her relationships, and her outlook on crime. RHATO just comes across as a pale, vaguely familiar copy where the stakes never felt very high and the characters were strange, watered down shadows of themselves.

As for ‘The free sex thing is only an aspect of like the first three comics.’, well that was still 3 comics too much - the way she asked Jason 'is there’s anything I can do for you?’ ugh. How about the thing where he went 'to her kind humans are little more than scents and experiences’? And sure, around halfway through the series they find out that Kori was lying about her memories, but the why is never explained (again part of why I found RHATO all over the place and badly planned). And it’s not the free sex that bothered me, it’s the fact that she had no authority anymore and asked JASON (and guy who’s atleast 10 years her junior) what to do? It’s the fact that she wasn’t shown as intelligent or capable anymore - just as an emotional, explosive character, without any of her previous nuance. A lot of the time, she was just around to be female, shoot starbolts and arc her back sexually - whereas in the ntt, she acknowledged that she was unfamiliar with Earth, but pointed out that she wasn’t stupid. She’d led the Titans before, and seeing her looking to some guy for leadership was really annoying.

All in all, her portrayal in RHATO was softcore porn at the start, and while it improved, her characterisation didn’t really change. Lobell seemed to feel the need to have her and Roy in bed a bunch as if to establish they were a couple (despite both being too bland and uncomfortable to have any chemistry). Plus, who sleeps with their previous best friend’s fiancé? The whole thing was just super uncomfortable.

Some people? Well, everyone has some strange ideas - there are people who like Grant Morrison’s rapist version of Talia. I don’t think (and I’ve explained multiple times) Roy was helped in the least by RHATO since it got rid of his decades of experience and close relationships to tons of heroes, not to mention Lian.

Also, I explained previously that, yes, characters change, but while Batman changed slowly over decades and decades and soft reboots, Roy and Kori were just SUDDENLY these strange new characters in a JASON TODD book with almost no explanation.

Lots of characters get through dark periods without needing the cause of said dark period completely erased? Like, Bruce got past Jason’s death, Wally past Barry’s, etc. Roy’s 'dark period’ as you put it wasn’t that terrible - Lian could have easily been brought back to life in a bit. Also, Ollie’s killing was a pretty chilling moment. Like I said, I don’t think it needed to be rewritten, and DEFINITELY not like in RHATO.

Also, like, Rebirth didn’t fix all the problems with RHATO - Roy in the rebirth Titans was still very different from OG Roy Harper since it went with the RHATO version of the Titans apparently abandoning Roy (Which they didn’t do in the two original versions). IMO they didn’t save the character, 1, because he didn’t need saving and 2 because they sucked.

2. I didn’t understand what you were saying in your next submission - would appreciate if you sent it as an ask and framed it a little more clearly?

#submissions #seriously #send me an ask or something #I'm not taking anymore submissions about this

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thefrostedfeather52 · 3 years

Text

okay so like a running theme in bare is that peter thinks about the future and jason thinks about the now.

this is the v long essay i promised my friends but in all honesty they 1) probably don’t want it and 2) probably won’t read it so i’m giving it to you, fair tumblr users, along with the message ‘it’s 4:20am, please give me validation 🥺’

stuff that shows this - in 'role of a lifetime' peter says "but i know the scene will change, white picket fences and a dog, a trophy bride and children, god i know that's what he wants", referencing jason's future - in 'best kept secret', peter says "you know we can't go on forever this way" and jason replies with "all this 'forever' can't you live for today?" - peter's somewhat prophetic dreams telling him about the future, i mean, one of them is literally his and jason's wedding which is pretty far into the future - in 'bare', peter says "the act is beginning, the audience waiting" to which jason replies "no, stay in this moment where secrets reveal" once again showing that peter is thinking ahead (to the play) and jason is still trying to cling to the moment that they're in

one of the times that might seem like it contradicts this but actually doesn't - in 'you & i' jason says "forever you and i" even though in 'best kept secret' he says "all this forever can't you live for today" which may seem contradictory but actually it isn't - he's talking about forever in this song because in this song he's mostly just trying to appease peter and make peter feel more secure in the relationship while still outwardly keeping up the appearance of being the golden boy of st. cecilia's - he talks about forever here to comfort peter, not because that's actually something he likes to think about - before 'ever after' peter says "in two months we'll be out of here where this won't be a problem" (or something along those lines)

another of those times - in 'one' jason says "one tomorrow, make me promise" to ivy which is like,,, tomorrow? jason is referring to the future?! - but no he's still doing it to try to appease someone else (in this case, ivy)

peter pan

- in bare: the musical, it's revealed that peter's actually named after peter pan (jason says that it's gay, btm is a very different entity to bapo) - and this is some sort of contradiction/juxtaposition thing because in 'best kept secret' peter says "we have to grow up" even though he's named after peter pan

- now this is stupid for a few reasons (this wasn’t meant to be a btm hate post but it’s ended up being really mean to btm which wasn’t my intention but yk shit happens):

bare is a show with lots of parallels: now let me explain, first of all there's the whole parallel between jason and peter and romeo and juliet and basically everyone's roles in the play being similar to their roles in real life and basically the play is used in a really good way but that's not the point rn. there's also parallels between matt's and peter's situations in 'are you there' (e.g. the fact that it's the exact same situation but with different people). parallels between peter's dreams and real life events. it's a show that emphasises the similarities between the characters more than the differences. that's why it'd be stupid have this here as a contrast to peter's personality.

it's just used for a throwaway joke which is completely unnecessary (okay yes 'second star to the right and straight on 'till morning' is referenced later on, in 'bare' but bapo did just fine without that line it wasn't necessary).

the fact that the joke is talking about how gay it is is stupid specifically because later on when jason and peter are talking, peter says "you can't even say the word" (the word being 'gay') which would make sense in the context of bapo where YEAH no one says it (except sister chantelle that one time) and that's way more impactful

#bare: a pop opera #bare a pop opera #bare: the musical #bare the musical #colon ):<#long post #peter simmonds #jason mcconnell #spoilers #no one asked #yet i delivered #it's 4:26am but then again it's not your job to worry about my sleep schedule #*4:27am #i crave validation

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marauderundercover · 3 years

Text

This Side of Normal Ch. 10

AO3

Marinette glances around the silent table, willing Jason to say something. Or do something. Or even Dick. She needed one of them to start a conversation, because Adrien hated awkward silences. And if this silence went on much longer, he was definitely going to say something and then she would regret it. Horribly.

“These rolls are purr-fect.” Adrien says, out of nowhere. Marinette lets out a groan, of course he’d skip straight ahead to the cat puns. Of course that’s where his freaking mind was tonight.

“Aren’t they? I’d say Alfred’s cooking is pretty claw-some, myself.” Dick speaks up, grinning at Adrien. Marinette looks at him, wide eyed.

“That’s it. I’ll find a new trapeze partner and a new best friend. Both of you are out of my life.” She deadpans, ignoring Adrien’s offended gasp.

“But Bugaboo, who else would give you a hand with your crazy schemes?” Adrien asks, and Marinette turns to him, narrowing her eyes.

“I swear to god if you take your arm off right now you will never find it again.” She threatens, pointing her fork at him from across the table.

“But Mari, that joke needs the arm. It doesn’t work without it.” He pouts, she rolls her eyes and turns to Damian.

“I apologize for him. He thinks he’s funny.” She says, turning her glance back at Adrien. “He’s wrong.”

“Tt. I’m unbothered by his sense of humor. I have lived with Grayson for eight years. His humor is nothing compared to those horrors.” Damian quips, and Marinette swears his lips almost quirk into a smile. She snorts.

“Guess I made the right choice in throwing Dick to the curb, huh?” She teases, ignoring Dick’s gasp and Adrien’s reassurance to the man. Honestly, who was the adult here?

“It was for the best, Dupain-Cheng.” Damian says and Marinette winces slightly. The only person who called her by her last name (in regular conversation, anyway) was Chloe. And while the girl had long since given up full on bullying her, she still wasn’t Marinette’s best friend in the world.

“You can call me Marinette, my last name is kind of a mouthful.” She says, trying to be nonchalant about it. She’d heard him refer to everyone else as their last name the entire evening. She didn’t want to make him uncomfortable, but him calling her Dupain-Cheng was going to make her uncomfortable in the long run.

“Very well.” He says, and though he doesn’t say her name, she still counts it as a win. A throat clearing catches her attention and she glances at Jason who was glaring at Damian.

“What’s up, Jay?” She asks, quirking an eyebrow.

“Nothing Pixie Pop. Just thinking about the time you kicked the ass of that would be mugger.” He says, and Marinette frowns. Mugger? “You know, the one that was obsessed with you?” He clarifies, and she understands. Copycat had been reakumatized during Jason’s stay in Paris. And he had wanted nothing more than a date with Ladybug. Though, she couldn’t understand why he was bringing it up now.

“I am so lost.” She admits, shaking her head at her pseudo-brother. He grins.

“That’s fine, just sharing that you can kick ass with the table. In case someone wants to try something.” He says pointedly. Oh. He definitely caught the heart eyes she sent Damian back in the gym. Can he blame her, though? Her weakness was green eyes. And Damian’s were the greenest.

“I did walk in on you hogtied, Todd. I assumed she was a reputable fighter after that.” Damian says, and Marinette blushes furiously.

“I’m sorry, what happened?” Mr. Wayne asks, his vapid (and fake) smile replaced with a faux look of bewilderment. She briefly wondered if it was exhausting, putting on a constant act, until she remembered how tired she was throughout collège, before she started lycée and decided she didn’t really care. Yeah, acting constantly was tiring. But why did he do it? Jason nudges her lightly and she blinks, focusing back on the conversation.

“Oh, Jason and I sparred. He apparently had forgotten that I use my surroundings to my advantage and that Adrien is always on my side.” She explains, shooting Jason a smug smile. Jason huffs.

“Not always.” He says, and Marinette raises an eyebrow, crossing her arms and giving him a challenging look.

“Oh really? Name one time that Adrien took your side instead of mine.” She challenges. She grins as Jason starts to think, obviously wracking his brain.

“Earlier today!” Adrien pipes up, and she immediately turns to him, glaring.

“What?” She asks, confused. What had- oh. Of fucking course. “That doesn’t count!” She protests, narrowing her eyes.

“Why not?” Adrien asks, raising an eyebrow in a challenge. She scoffs.

“Because it wasn’t a fight or argument or anything. It was a joke.” She says.

“Are you talking about the adoption shit, cause that was definitely not a joke. All the kids B adopts definitely have trauma and certain features.” Jason cuts in, and Marinette sighs. Of course he would clue in.

“But- no. No. That was a fluke. A glitch in the matrix, obviously. You literally cannot name a singular other time. And technically, ya big jerk, you didn’t even name this time. Adrien did.” Marinette points out, glaring at Jason.

“I’m sorry, how long have you three known each other?” Mr. Wayne cuts in again, and this time- this time- she sees that some of the confusion on his face is real. But it looks odd, like he wasn’t used to expressing a real emotion. She really needed to remind herself to talk to Jason about this later. She didn’t necessarily want to make it a habit to stick billionaire fathers with asshole tendencies in jail, but she would. She’d do it for her boys. Any day of the week. She hums in thought, adding up the time. The anniversary of Gabriel’s defeat had been a few weeks ago, which meant-

“We’ve known Jason for just over a year.” She says, before glancing at Adrien and grinning. “But I’ve been stuck with this goof for four years.”

“You know you love me.” Adrien says with a wide grin. She rolls her eyes.

“How exactly did you meet Jason?” Mr. Wayne asks, and she kind of wants to throw her fork at him. What was it, interrogate the random kids at dinner night? Though, to be fair, they were random kids in his house. But she refused to like the man until she’d talked to Jason about the potential assholeish tendencies.

“He helped me learn some self defence after I got caught up in an akuma attack.” Marinette lies smoothly. Well, it was technically a half truth. But the Waynes didn’t need to know that she was always caught up in akuma attacks.

“Akuma?” Mr. Wayne asks, and Marinette glances at Jason with a frown. Had he not told his father about anything? Not even the basics?

“Wait, is that what the thing that flooded Paris is called?” Dick asks suddenly and Marinette nearly flinches from the memory. That was one of the akumas that still gave her nightmares. One of the ones that was burned in the back of her eyelids when all she wanted was to sleep. And not think about bloated corpses and dead classmates for one goddamn minute. She lets out a steadying breath, glancing at Jason whose face had changed from annoyance to concern. She resists the urge to roll her eyes. She could talk about akumas. It was the past. Sure, she had refused all of the therapy options her parents gave her and Adrien, but she didn’t need it. She was fine.

“Yeah. Technically, her akumatized name was Siren. But, the general term for those attacks was ‘akuma’.” She says, gripping her fork a little tighter than necessary, grounding herself with Tikki’s reassuring nudges from inside her purse.

“There were more?” Dick asks, his eyes wide. Marinette glances at Jason and raises an eyebrow. Why had he not said anything? He’d been there for an entire month of Hawkmoth’s reign. He’d seen dozens of akuma attacks. Jason shrugs. Thank Jay. Super helpful.

“When you get down to it, there were probably hundreds if not thousands more. Some people, like Siren, were turned into the same akuma several times. Some people became a different akuma when they were akumatized again. I think it just depended on the person or their issue.” Marinette explains, hating how dry her mouth felt all of a sudden. She could talk about this. She could. So why was everything a little too bright? Why was the sound of forks against plates a little too loud?

“Did the Justice League stop it?” Damian asks, though by his tone, he seems to already know the answer. Odd.

“No, the local heroes did. Ladybug and Chat Noir.” Marinette says, ignoring the constricting feeling in her chest.

“Why-” Mr. Wayne starts, but Jason clears his throat. Everyone glances at him, and Marinette is unsurprised to see the flicker of anger in his eyes. Especially after she glances at Adrien and sees how pale he’s gotten. She kicks him lightly under the table to get his attention, frowning at him in a silent question. He nods, slightly. She purses her lips, not believing for a second that he was actually okay. But they could talk later. Away from eager ears.

“I’m sure you remember what Dick said about my phone call from when I first arrived in Paris. Marinette and Adrien dealt with attacks like that interrupting their day to day lives from thirteen to sixteen. I get that you’re not the best at knowing when to drop the damn topic, but I really think you should drop the damn topic.” Jason says, and though he’s smiling, Marinette can see the danger behind it. The warning. ‘Drop it, or I’ll make you’.

“My apologies, it was just so interesting.” Mr. Wayne says and this time Marinette winces at the falseness in his voice. And the smile on his face. God, this man could not have lasted a day in Hawkmoth’s Paris.

---

Finally, finally, dinner was over. After the akuma talk ceased, it was extremely awkward. Mr. Wayne looked like he would rather be anywhere else. And Marinette couldn’t blame him, wanting nothing more than to get back to her hotel room and away from the constant lack of real emotion on the eldest Wayne’s face. It was tiresome, just watching him.

“Thanks again, for having us.” Marinette says, mostly directing her comment to Dick and Alfred. Alfred just nods.

“Of course! Come back any time. Really soon, actually, so we can work more on the trapeze. I can’t lose my new trapeze buddy.” Dick says with a wide smile. Marinette holds back a sigh, nodding instead. She liked Dick, she did. But she’d definitely have to make sure that Mr. Wayne wouldn’t be around. She still wasn’t sure what to think of him.

“You should also spar with me, some time.” Damian speaks up and Marinette blinks in surprise.

“Spar. With...you?” She says, tilting her head in confusion. That came out of nowhere.

“Yes. You took down Todd easily, and I am far superior. You would actually have a challenge if we sparred.” He says. She smirks, and suddenly, with a burst of confidence she didn’t know she had, says:

“Sure thing, Pretty boy.” Before turning and walking straight out the door. The second she’s outside, she drops her head into her hands. “I can’t believe I just said that.” She mumbles under her breath.

“Pretty boy?” Adrien says with a smirk, she glares at him and moves down the front steps.

“Fuck you.” She says, no real venom in her voice. The boy knew how she got around crushes. He’d seen it firsthand. With him. With Luka. With Kagami. With the girl with bright green eyes who worked at the coffee shop across the street from the bakery. She was an absolute disaster. He was worse, but still. He wasn’t the one with the quickly developing crush on the youngest Wayne.

“Pretty boy?” Jason asks, a scowl on his face as he catches up to the two.

“Not another word, Jason.” She scowls at him, crossing her arms defiantly. He holds his hands up in surrender.

“Sure.” He says. Her mind rushes suddenly to her previous thought. Youngest Wayne. Damian Wayne. Hadn’t Lila- she snorts, before erupting into uncontrollable laughter, ignoring the worried looks from Adrien.

“I- oh my god, Jay.” She manages to say, straightening up and following Jason to the car he was borrowing to drive them back to the hotel.

“I’m completely lost.” He says.

“Join the club.” Adrien adds, and Marinette just laughs again.

“Your little brother is Damian Wayne.” She says, as if it should be obvious. Jason doesn’t get it, and neither does Adrien. But after a moment-

“Oh my god, that’s hilarious!” Adrien cries, letting out a chuckle. Jason huffs as the trio get into the car.

“Care to share with the class?” He asks, and Marinette snorts.

“Absolutely not, I dislike the majority of those people.” She says, referring to the group who was hopefully already in their rooms and not in the lobby of the hotel. “Now it’s funny that your brother is Damian Wayne because Lila made us come to Gotham instead of New York and London, because she’s dating him.” She explains and Jason scoffs.

“Yeah right.”

“Obviously she’s not actually dating him, Jay. But it’s freaking hilarious that she thinks she’s gonna get away with it. He definitely goes to Gotham Academy, and people are definitely going to call her out.” She says, not even trying to hide the absolute glee she’s feeling. If there was ever a time for all of Lila’s lies to come crashing down around her, now would be good. When she can’t just run away and claim Marinette set it up. If people Marinette didn’t even know called Lila out, well, that would be irrefutable evidence, right?

“Her regime is gonna topple and I’m gonna take you guys out for ice cream to celebrate.” Jason declares and Marinette laughs again. She was so against the idea of Gotham originally, but now, with Jason at their sides again, she’d decided that it wasn’t so bad. Suddenly remembering what had been on her mind most of the night, she turns to Jason.

“Jay, I have a serious question. And I know it’s a little hard to talk about but just know that we’re here for you to support you, and that we’ll figure out a way to make sure you and your brothers are safe and-”

“Whoa, Pix, calm down kiddo. You’re rambling again.” He says gently, furrowing his eyebrows. He pulls the car over to the side of the road and turns to put his full attention on the two. “What’s bothering you?” He asks.

“Is Mr. Wayne abusive?” She asks and Jason blinks. “I saw how hesitant you were to call him your father, and you were tense around him a lot of the night. And I don’t think the man had one legitimate expression all night. He was acting the whole time.” Marinette says, looking at him worriedly. “Look, Jay, I don’t necessarily want to make a habit of putting billionaires in jail, but I’d do it for you.”

“Is he- you would-” Jason stops and lets out a breath, obviously trying to compose himself. “No, kiddo, he’s not.” He finally says. Marinette frowns.

“Really?” She asks, and he sighs.

“Yeah, look. Our relationship has been...rough, for a couple years. We had a sort of falling out when I was a teenager and I stopped talking to him for several years. We reconnected a while ago, but it’s still rocky at times. I don’t usually call him dad or father or anything. He’s just Bruce, or B, to me.” Jason explains and Marinette nods, letting out a small sigh of relief.

“I was worried, Jay.” She admits, and Jason grins at her before pulling away from the curb again.

“I didn’t even catch on.” Adrien says with a frown. Marinette rolls her eyes, smiling at him with fondness.

“Course you didn’t Kitty. Reading people isn’t really your strong suit.” She says with a small smile. He huffs, but nods in agreement.

“True.” He says and Marinette laughs. She could officially take Bruce Wayne off her ‘threat to be dealt with immediately’ list and move him to ‘possible future annoyance’ list. A big improvement for the man, and it would mean she wouldn’t be as tense around him the next time she saw him.

Tag list: @toodaloo-kangaroo @laurcad123 @kittenmywaythrulife @lost-in-the-world-of-maribat @queenz-z @daminette-56

#daminette #maribat #maribat fanfiction #ao3fic #platonic jasonette #maribat platonic adrienette #platonic maribat adrienette #damian x marinette #maribat damian wayne #maribat marinette dupain cheng #maribat adrien agreste #maribat jason todd #maribat dick grayson #This Side of Normal

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seattlesea · 3 years

Text

✨My (maybe) Unpopular Heroes of Olympus Opinions✨

(maybe part one??? idk)

-I don’t really ship any of the main canon ships in HoO. None of them had any chemistry and most of them are either pedophilic, forced and rushed, or toxic in some way

-Most of the characters that were shoved into relationships (Leo, Nico, and Hazel especially) really did not need a love interest to complete their character arcs and their relationships ended up boring and flat cause Riordan just wanted everyone to have a love interest and it never went deeper than the skin

-Piper took advantage over Jason’s amnesiac state and manipulated him. She really went ‘But what if he has a girlfriend he can’t remember 👉👈 it would be wrong to start a relationship with him while he still has amnesia 👉👈 and cause it was based off lies and fake memories 👉👈 lmao imma just jump all over him and make him fall for me while he’s still amnesiac 🤪’ as if that’s not taking advantage over someone’s mental state

-And then she blamed her relationship being forced on Aphrodite and Hera saying they ‘forced her into a relationship’ and ‘arranged their relationship’ even though Aphrodite never said anything about or did anything to them and Hera gave Piper fake memories of them being a couple but it was Piper’s conscious choice to act out on those memories she knew were fake and her relationship was in no way influenced by anyone (especially Hera and Aphrodite) other than herself

-Shelper and Solangelo were way too rushed and forced (inside and outside of the books) and were only added for publicity, plus it seems like most of the fandom only like them cause they’re LGBTQ+ ships

-I hate Pipeyna and Pipabeth. My girls (especially Reyna) deserve better than some manipulative little girl who went ‘we were friends? no weren’t ❤️’

-The fandom portrays the characters really inaccurately (tweaking them a bit for humor is fine, but changing their entire personality is a different thing)

-The movies actually aren’t that bad when not compared to the books (I mean, you gotta admit- it’s pretty good effects for 2010)

-And speaking of the movies, they did a better job at portraying Thalia and Annabeth’s relationship in one movie than Riordan did in 5+ books

-Speaking of which, Riordan wrote pretty much every platonic friendship that weren’t Thalia/Nico and Reyna horribly and most of them shouldn’t have been friends and wasted all the potential for the good friendships

-Calypso should’ve joined the Hunters, not Reyna

-Annabeth and Piper are horrible friends lmao (separately and together)

-Silena is a hero and deserves redemption, but Luke doesn’t despite most of the fandom agreeing he does (he was a pedophile y’all)

-The fandom over-exaggerated the Tartarus fall, it wasn’t really that bad tbh

-Reyna is stronger and a better leader than Annabeth

-Annabeth’s intelligence is more tell than show (and quite a few characters including Leo, Reyna, and Octavian have shown more intelligence than her)

-Riordan over-glorifies and overpowers Percy way too much. Just cause he’s the main character doesn’t mean he has to be the best of the best after barely 8 months of training (four years at CHB only in the summers is 8 months total)

-Speaking of which, Jason can beat Percy (8 months versus Jason’s twelve years) and so can Annabeth, Reyna, Thalia, Hylla, Luke, Hazel and maybe Frank and Nico. Percy’s skill is overrated and unrealistic

-And I feel like most of the fandom knows that Jason can beat Percy but just doesn’t want to admit it cause they like Percy more

-Same thing with the Greeks and Romans- the majority know the Romans are stronger and can easily beat the Greeks but they don’t want to believe it cause they favor the Greeks more

-Percy and Annabeth shouldn’t have been part of the Seven, they already had their chance to shine. Riordan should’ve brought minor characters into light instead

-And Piper shouldn’t have been part of the Seven either. Riordan really expects me to believe that she’s stronger, more powerful, and a greater/better hero and deserved to be part of the Seven more than Reyna, Nico, Clarisse, Thalia, etc.?

-Riordan’s women line-up of Reyna, Annabeth, Hazel, and Piper was really cheap and boring (Avengers: Endgame women line-up who?)

-Percy (in HoO) and Piper are easily some of the worst, most underdeveloped characters Riordan has ever written

-Annabeth got really bland and weak in HoO and couldn’t do shit for herself without others (especially newbies) having to help and/or save her. She pretty much became exclusively Percy fangirl

-As much as I like them, Frank and Hazel don’t have what it takes to be Praetors and Reyna and Jason should’ve stayed as them

-Jason’s whole ‘am I more Greek or Roman’ arc was dumb af

-Riordan’s bias towards the Romans is also dumb af (the Romans could beat the Greeks in an instant)

-Jeyna is and always will be 1000x better than Jiper

-Hazel is the most powerful demigod (way more than Percy and even Jason)

-My hot take on who should’ve been the Seven: Reyna, Nico, Thalia, Frank, Hazel, Leo, and Clovis (son of the god of sleep puts Gaea back to sleep who?)

-Riordan confirming Piper bi was a cheap move to make her more likable. It didn’t even make any sense. A character is confirmed LGBT only after they become a minor character despite being a main character before and kisses some random unnamed girl only three months after her ex-boyfriend whom she still loved dies??? girl what??? Kinda obvious it was just for publicity. Like- Riordan, honey, the LGBTQ+ community is not a circus you can plop your characters into to make them more entertaining❤️

-The PJ series as a whole isn’t that creative. It’s legit just a copy of exactly what past mythological figures have already done and a bunch of character tropes and clichés shoved into one book

-And in general it’s not even that well-written (like HP, it’s over-exaggerated a lot)

-All of the romantic relationships and platonic friendships are extremely unrealistic. Like they never argue/fight, disagree, etc. (then grow stronger from those fights) at all??? Even if they’re complete opposites???

-Reyna is the best-written character in the whole series and a queen she deserved better and y’all sit on her too much

-Theyna is ✨amazing✨ their dynamic and chemistry was just *mwah Pansexual Muslim blessings to you* and people are allowed to ship them even though they’re Hunters and swore off love

-Rachel doesn’t deserve all the hate she gets. Y’all hate on her cause she crushed on Percy when half of you are doing the same thing and then y’all go and ship Percy with Nico, Jason, Artemis, Athena, etc.

-If y’all want to hate on Jason for ‘not having a personality’ you’d also have to hate on most of the main HoO characters except Reyna, Nico, and Leo (and maybe Hazel) for the same reason cause they have the exact same problem tbh

-Zoë and Bianca’s deaths weren’t actually that sad. We didn’t get to see them enough nor did they have enough development for their deaths to have a real impact. The only sad thing about them was Zoë’s last words and Nico’s reaction

-Thalia needed more time in the books

-Reyna was the only main female character in HoO that wasn’t a boring, bland Mary Sue that all the other characters automatically loved. She was the only one with real flaws and distinct personality traits she’s my queen

-Piper, Annabeth, and Calypso did have flaws but the fact that they weren’t called out by other characters or even noticed are what makes them Mary Sues. It doesn’t matter how many flaws a character has, if they’re not called out by other characters (more specifically, other protagonists who actually like them) they don’t count as real character flaws

-Riordan can’t write female characters for shit

-Clarisse, Drew, and Octavian deserved better than being completely antagonized for no explained reason other than to make the protagonists seem better and to make the readers root for them. Those three had more potential than most of the Seven combined

-The whole ‘Aphrodite kids don’t train’ thing is bs. It’s specifically stated that all the demigods follow a strict schedule and have to follow it or they’ll be on stable duty or smth and the Aphrodite kids shouldn’t (and can’t) be excused from that

-Therefore, Drew should be way more powerful and skilled than Piper, at least enough to not back down automatically from a duel by a newbie who hasn’t even learned how to fight (Drew can control an entire cabin of people at once and Piper can barely control one person at a time, who’s more powerful again??)

-Also I have no idea why Riordan portrays all the Aphrodite kids as weak and girly in the first place. ‘Femininity’ and ‘weakness’ are not synonymous and ��love’ and ‘beauty’ don’t equal ‘feminine’

-Speaking of which, love is actually really powerful but Piper doesn’t stand for love or ‘inner beauty’ and all her ‘thoughtful/insightful’ quotes in ToA/TBM about love were complete bs

-Riordan using the LGBTQ+ community for the sole purpose of making Piper seem more likable and ‘special’ was disgusting and proves he thinks that straight is the default- “...Or Hera’s ideas of what a perfect couple looked like. Piper finding her own way, not the one people expected of her” my ass. In other words, he’s saying ‘The expectations for love and the idea of a perfect couple are a heterosexual relationship, and anyone who 'finds their own way instead of the ones people expect’ are different’. ‘Different’ and ‘default’ are antonyms, so if you think LGBT people are different, then you think that straight is the default. Aphrodite is the goddess of love not heteronormative bullshit. Like Riordan, honey, you’re the one who thinks that the expectations for love and the idea of a perfect couple are heterosexual couples, not fictional gods from a fictional mythology. Remember kiddos- an author writes their own beliefs

If you don’t agree with some of these that’s fine sis it doesn’t matter if you have different opinions than me❤️

#heroes of olympus #opinion #unpopular opinions #percy jackson #annabeth chase #jason grace #frank zhang #hazel levesque #leo valdez #reyna ramirez arellano #reyna avila ramirez arellano #thalia grace #nico di angelo #zoe nightshade #bianca di angelo #will solace #clarisse la rue #octavian #ships

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