#in the end Robin is like those two might be crazy but they're so much more entertaining

[jonathanbyersphd]

How I imagine Robin is watching Jonathan and Nancy from her locker.

[vechter]

Top 5 Dick and Bruce moments or things

it's gotta be what faith tells dick in JLA (1997) #73

just the implications of it all. how bruce recognizes he hurts people, whether its criminals or the people who have chosen to love him. but still. still. he is immensely and immeasurably proud of dick. he can never say it, he wouldn't know how to even begin to tell dick how much dick means to him. also the crazy thing- we all know dick is insane about bruce and how endlessly devoted he is to him. but bruce is equally insane about him in his own neurotic way. he puts dick on a pedestal (he is right to) but just how fucked up of him. bonus scene from the obsidian run (#76) that always makes me grin:

2. this one is from robin: year one (2000) #4

so bruce fired dick after two face nearly beat him to death with a bat and dick ran away and managed to end up joining a league of assassins vengeance school under this dude named shrike. i won't bore you with even more plot but something about this panel just kills me. they're both so lonely and desperate for each other's partnership. bruce knows he miscalculated firing dick even if it was for dick's safety- dick isn't going to stop being a vigilante just bc batman said so (bruce u fucking idiot) and i think this instance of firing, while glossed over later in favour of the whole two-face of it all did sth that changed their dynamic fundamentally and irrevocably. it is probably the catapult for all of dick's future doubts and insecurities about his role and place in bruce's life. meanwhile, bruce giving dick agency in what he wants to do next- he needs dick just as much as dick needs robin. it's incredibly sad because i think there is a part of bruce that believes dick is only coming back to be robin, a doubt furthered when dick eventually forms the titans and loses all semblance of a life outside the mask.

3. this one is from outsiders: five of a kind - nightwing/boomerang (2007)

basically, dick decided to hand over the outsiders to batman and this is owen boomerang, the son of the guy who killed tim's dad. this is post-adoption so dick is more secure in his role as bruce's son. and just sth about how dick won't stand for people criticizing bruce, even when he might be thinking unfavourably of bruce. bc he can do that. but other people? no dice. also the added angst from owen talking about his own dad and his own version of legacy. i like to think dick probably felt some type of way about owen yelling out 'he was my father' bc while dick probably hasn't ever verbalized that, he has probably felt similarly.

4. batman (1940) #636

bruce brooding over the past. little does he know his second son is back and ready to haunt him literally instead of metaphorically lol. but anyway, this always makes me froth at the mouth. both bruce and dick have a tendency to look back on those years very, very positively and something about how nostalgia warps your memories but also how much of it is nostalgia and how much is truth? bruce is forever living in the past. @nighhtwing summarizes one of bruce's core truths in their fic Hereditary beautifully: Bruce has lived with grief longer than he’s lived without. It’s easy, then, to mourn this moment even as it’s in front of him, alive.

5. basically all of the comic batman/nightwing: bloodborne (2002). one of the most stellar pieces of bruce and dick writing. the art's a little funky but the story is fantastic. the devotion dick has. it's debilitating, it could kill him. it should have (thinking about the blast dick took for bruce in infinite crisis and how it was supposed to have killed him). the same toxin and anti-toxin runs through their veins. something about the intimacy and inherent religious imagery and nature of sharing blood. but it isn't even a cursory thought to dick. of course he will put himself in death's way if it means being able to save bruce. dick's biggest fear: being unable to save bruce like bruce saved him all those years ago. the way it all takes place on the anniversary of his parents' death. fantastic, killer, devastating show-stopping even.

[geuwon]

pairing: zoro x sanji / zosan (one piece)

genre: fluff, idiocy, getting together, mutual pining

warnings: none, just headache inducing dumbassery from the two of them

ao3

sanji never liked books. he thinks they're too unrealistic to entertain him. the only ones he can stand are those with recipes.

that was until robin introduced him to a "stupid" romance novel, one that he liked quite a lot.

since then, he's become a bookworm and bonds more with robin over their shared interests. he has also been comparing a certain marimo to the books he enjoys.

about how unpredictable the novels that robin recommended to him are, just like the seaweed. how he enjoys watching zoro's day-to-day routine, just like how the books entertain him. how he thinks he knows where the story is going but then it takes a huge turn- just like zoro, who surprises him with every move he does.

a plot twist, an enigma, that's what zoro is. zoro is like a book to sanji, maybe that's what got him hooked to books in the first place- which he never liked from the start, zoro, yes that's it. he likes books like how he likes zoro.

but of course, the marimo doesn't need to know that.

just like in books, he's gonna be watching from afar, silently watching zoro until he gets his own lover and reaches a happy ending. then that's where his cue to stop is going to come.

books are entertaining and this should be as well, right? he's gonna stay as an outsider from zoro's romance story, like how he reads books. he's gonna root for zoro, the main lead, and his love interest, he would want them to get together, for his own enjoyment as well.

so why the hell does it hurt?

guess that's the difference between books and reality.

the other gives you little pangs of pain whenever the main couple have misunderstandings, the other.. well, makes you suffer in silence. much worse that being kicked by blackleg sanji himself, the very own sanji bets.

'whatever', the blonde brushes it off. these stupid feelings will go away soon anyway. he's too busy to fall inlove, it won't do him any good in finding the All Blue. 'it's just a little crush because zoro is so cool and hot- nothing serious.'

is what he'd like to say if this "stupid little crush" hasn't been here for the past 6 months already.

okay- so he might be slightly inlove with the marimo BUT it's sure to go away soon. he swears.

while he was having an internal conflict about his dumbass feelings, zoro casted him a look, and gave a gut-wrenching (positive) smile that made him want to rip out his beating heart in an instant.

it's times like these that sanji falls harder for the goddamn marimo. a smile so so small while he's working out and the blonde relaxing a few inches away, a pat on the head after zoro finishes his dinner as a praise for sanji's (usual) great food, zoro hearing him out when a sudden depressive episode hits him while they're on night watch, god fucking damn it.

he IS head over heels for zoro, fine. fuck you if you somehow get the balls to mention all of this information to the dumbass.

he has no clue about sanji's feelings, and it shall stay that way because he's not kidding when he says he's gonna throw himself out of the ship, in the middle of this huge ass sea, if god forbid his feelings reached the ears of the seaweed.

zoro suddenly stopped lifting his weights and looked at sanji for a second and said, "hey cook, the dessert earlier was amazing. you remembered that i don't like sweets, thanks."

FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK.

A RARE COMPLIMENT FROM ZORO HE'S GOING TO ACTUALLY DIE.

"ah.. it's nothing. what kind if cook am i if i don't please my customers, yeah?" sanji managed to reply normally despite malfunctioning like crazy on the inside.

he fucking hates this side of zoro.

the rare, soft, gentle, zoro who you might mistake for the man of your dreams if it weren't for the fact that this side of him is the complete opposite of the real zoro who is a brute, stupid, no-table-manners, swordsman.

the soft zoro who always manages to catch sanji off-guard and makes him wanna throw himself to outer space and never come back because of how much his heart was beating for the marimo.

he is exaggerating but he can't help it he's head over heels for the swordsman- not that he actually wants to admit to it.

despite sanji's brain going into ruins he failed to miss the smile that zoro- again- gave him.

this is the worst.

he only wanted to relax in this fine afternoon after the exhaustion of which feeding the bottomless pit that is luffy's stomach gave him, not fall inlove harder with this crewmate!

it doesn't help that their other friends are out enjoying themselves and left only the two of them to guard the ship.

yes, that's right, guard the ship AND NOT UNDRESS THE MARIMO WITH HIS EYES.

this is the worst, oh god- this is the first time he turned to the guy above whom everyone worships and it is shameless to ask but- sanji wishes for a sea king to just appear and swallow him, never to be found, never to come back aboard on the ship with the man he loves.

well apparently god hates non-worshippers because the marimo just had to talk to him again- now with a slight blush on his face.

huh? a blush? what? why-

"cook, are you dating someone?" zoro asked with a voice so quiet it makes it seem like he didn't want to speak in the first place.

sanji, confused, and quite frankly tired of running around in his own mind just because his crush did something cute, replied with a raised voice, "HUH?" which seem to have startled zoro a bit, he's used with the cook yelling all the damn time but he didn't really expect that the blonde would take offense from the question.

zoro slightly panicking, took his question back "shit. should i have not asked? sorry cook, i was curious and robin told me to ju-" but he was cut off when sanji gave a reply.

"no no no just wait you goddamn marimo- i'm not dating someone. and what do you mean you were curious?!" sanji replied with a blush that you can never miss, even if you were the dumbest seaweed on earth.

zoro returned the blush, equally flustered as the other because his motive was just exposed to the chef, "yeah- uh- i was curious, it's like i know everything about you but not if you have a lover or something.. i asked robin and she told me to just ask you directly and i did. is that weird?"

shit. zoro's actions makes it seem like he likes him back.

wait.

like.. him.. back?

"w-why were you curious in the first place anyway? i'm pretty sure you don't have a single romantic bone in you... the question isn't weird but now it is because it came from you!" sanji asked- more like demanded to know to be honest- the blush still not going away from his face.

zoro gave him a dumbfounded look, like sanji was THE dumb one, "why would you ask that? i thought you knew...?" he said with genuine confusion.

before sanji could ask- yell 'what the hell does that mean marimo?!' zoro spoke again, the most unbelievable sentence so far.

"i like you, cook."

for the love of everything holy.

sanji bursted out laughing, though not genuine, "no- haha, i must be dreaming! i read too many romance novels and now i'm projecting on my dreams that the stupid marimo actually likes me back! yeah that's it- that's what's happening here. this isn't real." he nervously laughed it off, after all it's impossible that the roronoa zoro has romantic feelings for someone, let anyone sanji himself.

the chef was proven wrong when zoro's reaction turned into one of concern, "the hell do you mean cook? this is real life. i'm being genuine here and you just laughed it off, just say so if you feel the same way, i can actually take rejections you know." after he uttered the last bit, zoro's expression turned into just genuine sadness, definitely a reaction you wouldn't expect from the man himself.

"no, god no, it's not like that you dumbass marimo! didn't you hear what i just said? i said i like you but i never expected for you to return the feelings- hell, i didn't even expect you to know your own feelings! it just feels like a dream, you know? i've been fighting my feelings for 6 months already and i swore to never let you know but here you are, confessing. i even compared you to the romance novels that robin gave me- said i would've been okay with just watching you from afar getting all happy and soft with your lover even if i knew it was a lie but then you went ahead and said all this. of course i wouldn't believe it!" sanji was practically rambling but he didn't really care, as long as the message gets through zoro's thick skull.

"what? 6 months? i never noticed!"

sanji lit up a cigarette to hide his embarrassment, "told ya' you're stupid." then he blew out a smoke.

zoro frowned at his response, "i could say the same thing to you shit cook. i've been flirting with you for 9 months already and you never noticed."

the chef choked on his own smoke, "what the hell?! how long have you liked me!?" sanji yelled while coughing slightly and zoro replied with the same volume, "since arlong park you dumbass!"

"then why the fuck did you not tell me!?"

"you're always flirting with women, who would?"

sanji looked over at zoro who he didn't notice scooted near him and stopped working out completely, and if he wasn't observant enough he would've missed the pout-y expression that zoro was making, though he was amazing at hiding it.

"yeah, my bad. we're just both idiots huh?" the cook extinguished his cigarette and grinned, zoro shortly returned the face, "yeah. you're worse though. dense as hell love cook."

"even the most intelligent person wouldn't know if you're flirting you idiot! you're always glaring at me and picking a fight, how the hell would i catch the hint? it's not like i can rea-"

"shut up and kiss me, shit cook."

they spent the whole afternoon making out (gross) and cuddling, when the crew came back they sneakily went back to doing their own thing as if nothing romantic happened in the first place.

the crew could tell though. the first fight that broke out between them after the others arrived back from their little trip was practically filled with hearts and flowers all over the both of them.

oh and a certain someone was definitely spying on them, congratulating sanji for making the scenes in his favorite romance novels come to life, albeit not as romantic.

though it is quite obvious that the cook wouldn't have his own romance any other way.

[lucassinclaer]

i only need super minimal encouragement to talk about this soooooo ty @freetobeeyouandme lmao. been thinking about stranger things heist au again. and it got long into brainstorming territory so just... (waves hand vaguely) thoughts continue under the cut.

legacy families like the byers who never pulled high-end jobs, content in their little pond being small-time crooks incapable of understanding why jonathan, with all his flawless lifts and situational awareness, would try to reach above and start in on the big jobs.

joyce who met lonnie on a job and joyce and jonathan who protect will from lonnie's frustration when will turns out to be an awful thief who doesn't enjoy crime the littlest bit. (he does turn out to be quite the forger when the time comes, though.)

contrast with that the wheelers who are an all-american halfway happy law-abiding family whose eldest, nancy, walks eyes front into a life of crime to protect her friend and finds that it becomes inevitable, a sort of ceaseless need to keep going. who never wanted her little brother involved.

but apparently the wheeler siblings have some sort of crime beacon on them because of course nancy quite literally crashes into her brother trying to take down the same scumbag two towns over she is, although he looks at her like she's crazy when she lays out her plan and man, what her little brother has planned is actually pretty clever and much more subtle than the approach she was gonna take. they have ground rules, but she doesn't try to keep him from pulling jobs. she knows it'd be useless.

dustin is an incredibly bright kid with what may be a slight tendency to go overboard in the name of Science. he loves blowing stuff up every now and again, okay?! and also it's just criminal (heh) what some pharma companies do so he might be breaking into their headquarters and screwing with their formulas and contaminating their experiments until he figures out how to take them down permanently. sue him! (but please don't actually sue him, he hasn't found a great lawyer yet.)

lucas on the other hand was dragged into crime kicking and screaming. not something he ever wanted to do. (will will understand but then lucas kind of loses him when he did it anyway.) mike and dustin sort of kidnapped him into it, basically, when they were all still strangers, dustin and mike barely partners on this one con, and they'd needed a patsy who worked for the corporation they're stealing from. unfortunately they were still young and dumb enough to pick someone actually smart who trapped them in an office until they copped to their scheme at which point lucas demanded proof of their accusations which coincidentally was exactly what mike anf dustin were after. after that they can’t really seem to separate. he's turned into a jack of all trades, lucas sinclair - grifter, thief, hitter... even the occasional hacker. not the greatest at any, but good at all.

(we don't talk about erica who will one day give him a heart attack blowing up his whole carefully crafted alibi.)

steve, the getaway driver who hates his fucking job and is in it only bc there was p much nothing else to do until he finds people who show him there's a way to do it that brings him joy, when he knows what he's fighting for.

robin's a strange sort of grifter, not someone who immediately charms everyone in a room, but who knows how to make herself either invaluable or severely underestimated. she speaks like every language under the sun. like steve she has a certain aimlessness at first but unlike steve it's not due to having no ideas but more of a thing of having no options. until they're offered to her. then she's unstoppable.

max is out there somewhere being a thief different from jonathan, self-made and scared and on the west coast. but if they were to meet jonathan would recognize those gritted teeth and the hard work. it's not natural talent that made her so good at what she does but pure stubbornness.

el, on the other hand, is all raw talent and exploited for it for a long time when she's a kid. it's will who meets her first, who gives her an out, but when it lands him in trouble it's the other criminals who help her get him out. joyce, mike and jonathan develop an instantaneous protective streak for her. lucas isn't sold and dustin is mostly in love with her demolitions capabilities and nancy is hungry for the dirt she has on various government agencies.

[loorain]

Sims 4 Fontenot Legacy - Toddler Troubles and Restaurant Renovations

Back after a long break! Life got pretty crazy and I wasn't playing my game at all, but I'm finally back! So, let's get to the updates, shall we?

As the twins' first full day as toddlers emerge, Alma is the first to wake up. It seems although she was a good sleeper in infancy, her days of sleeping well are behind her for now. She wakes up in a mood, and with it being so early in the morning no one else is awake. This allows her to quietly get into mischief.

Alma ends up occupying her free time with exploring the toilet, the adults blissfully unaware in their slumber for a while. However, eventually, someone enters to use the bathroom and discovers the scene.

Scarlett: Oh ho ho, what do we have here? Getting into trouble this morning, are we? Come on, let's find something else for you to do, eh?

Alma's parents eventually wake, but Scarlett insists she's got her. While Sabrina gets ready for the day, Juno wakes and is a little fussy so Sigrid grabs him.

Robin: You're so good with him.

Sigrid: Yeah, he's my little buddy.

Sigrid sighs.

Sigrid: I know the girls only just aged up, but I already miss them at this age. So sweet and cuddly, just wanting to be loved.

Robin: Yeah. It was great.

Sigrid: You know... I wouldn't mind doing it again, you know. I know I said I was done but... maybe, you know? I don't need it, I'm perfectly happy with just our girls, but maybe...

Robin: Well we have time to think about it. Maybe it'll be nice to add one more to the mix. But I agree, Alma and Audrey are more than enough for me. We'll just see where life takes us, yeah?

Sigrid: Yeah, I think that's a good plan.

Renovations to the restaurant have been going well, so today Sabrina makes a visit to the space to check on the progress, which looks really good much to their excitement.

Sabrina: Yeah Mom, the place looks great! Looks like they're almost done, definitely ready for our Saturday opening!

While Sabrina's on the phone, some other familiar faces make their way in.

Lakshmi: Hello, Chef!

Sabrina: Laks! So good to see you girl!

Lakshmi: Great to see you too! I pulled someone else along with me.

Sabrina turns to Nyla.

Sabrina: I see! Hey there stranger, can I get a hug?

Nyla smirks, chuckling.

Nyla: I suppose I can manage one of those.

The trio sit to chat.

Lakshmi: The place really looks great Sabrina! So your style.

Sabrina: Thanks, I think so too. We're just about ready for our grand opening. I'm nervous, but hopefully, it'll go well.

Lakshmi: Well in other news, how's Juno doing?

Sabrina: He's getting so big and learning so much! He's not much younger than the twins so he's going to age up soon! We'll have to start arranging playdates with him and Roddy!

Nyla smiles: I think Roddy will like that! It's so great that he'll have a little buddy to hang out with!

Sabrina: But enough about me, what's going on in your lives?

Nyla: Just focused on being a good mom over here, but I think Laks has got some news to discuss.

The two turn to her, a grin spreading across her face.

Lakshmi: Well... I met someone.

Sabrina: No way! That's huge Laks! Congrats!

Lakshmi: Thanks, it was a surprise to me too. We've just moved in together and are getting settled in, but I think we're about ready to have our first guests over. I'd like to invite you both over for dinner tomorrow night, if you're free.

Sabrina: I think I can work it out with my mom, she loves caring for Juno.

Nyla: It's been a while since I've gotten out for more than an hour or two without Roddy... might be nice.

Lakshmi: You should bring Alex too! Parents' night out!

Nyla: I'll see what he says.

Lakshmi: Sabrina, you should invite Beau too.

Sabrina's eyes widen a little.

Sabrina: Beau? Why should I do that?

Lakshmi: Come on, Sabrina, you've got to face him. The restaurant is almost off the ground. He's given you the space you needed. You shouldn't leave him in the dark like this. A night out together could be what you both need.

Sabrina: I'm not sure. Beau was pretty adamant about things. And... I'm not sure if I know what I want right now.

Lakshmi: Please, just ask? I'd love to have us all together again. It's been so long.

Sabrina: Alright, I'll ask if he's free. And I'll try to keep it together for a night, for you.

Lakshmi smiles.

Lakshmi: Thanks.

While Lakshmi uses the bathroom, Nyla and Sabrina are left alone and have a moment to chat.

Sabrina: So... about our last chat. Look, I'm sorry. You and Alex have been through a lot. I just didn't want you to make a rash decision.

Nyla: You were right, Bina. I was scared. I'm trying not to let my emotions cloud my judgment. Alex and I are in a good spot right now. We're trying to reconnect, trying to see each other as people and not just Roddy's parents. It's taking some time, but I'm hopeful. I think you should try and do the same with Beau. I know it's not exactly the same circumstances, but he wants to be there for you. Don't push him away.

Sabrina nods.

Sabrina: Yeah... I'll try. Maybe Laks is right. Maybe tomorrow will be good for all of us.

Nyla: Guess we'll just have to wait and see, yeah?

Nyla sighs, looking at her friend.

Nyla: I've missed you, Bina.

Sabrina: I missed you too.

[cherrybombfangirlwrites]

Hey! Happy Blorbo Blorbsday! In a modern AU what would your OCs favourite movies or games be?

@bloodlessheirbyjacques

Hey, Jacques! I'm gonna do my FSF babies for this one, and it ended up being less specific movies and more just what their movie taste is in general, but oh well:

Tris: Doesn't really watch movies or play games much, but she likes "a slice of life" movies, mainly comedies or just silly little sitcoms. She also wouldn't be opposed to something historical, depending on what time period it is and how it's written.

Prince Kaye: He likes rpg games, particularly of the more medieval kind, and he's also partial to movies where the dog dies (read: Where the Red Fern Grows and Old Yeller), he does cry but doesn't mind that he does.

Snow: She likes fantasy, but specifically the 80s flavor of fantasy that's just weird all over and feels like a fever dream with crazy special effects. Her faves are Pan's Labrynth and Neverending Story. It's not her favorite but she also likes Willow.

Lan: technically not movies, but they like anything Shakespeare. Particularly adaptions of Shakespeare that are a little controversial on the accuracy, they like to analyze it. Their favorite is the 1990 adaptation of Hamlet with Mel Gibson. They're also partial to anything theatrical, so they will watch movie musicals and go to Broadway plays (Elliot goes with them).

Cassandra: Might be a little on the nose, but the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy (the other movies do not exist), and the Little Mermaid. Even if she wasn't a pirate and a former mermaid, it still feels right for her adventurous and clever personality. Plus she has a little fictional crush on Elizabeth, Will, and Prince Eric.

Erica: Rom-coms. She's a hopeless romantic and loves to have a good laugh, of course she loves romcoms. She also ironically likes Hallmark movies, just because she loves to criticize them as she watches and ship the two guys in the love triangle that the girl is backed into (because let's be honest, those two guys always have some kind of sexual tension going on).

Prince Monty: Indiana Jones movies, they're exactly his idea of fun. He also likes The Mummy and the Mummy Returns from the 90s. He loves the thrill of adventure movies (typically featuring archaeology or ancient curses), and he has a bit of a fictional crush on Rick O'Connell in the Mummy movies. (Hestia hates him for his taste in movies, and they always fight on movie nights when it's one of their turns to pick). He likes adventure video games as well, like Legend of Zelda and Assassin's Creed.

Max: Not much of a fiction guy, he prefers nature documenteries and other nonfiction media. He does, however, like any movies with Robin Williams in them, those movies are very comforting to him (me too buddy). His favorites are the Night at the Museum and Jumanji (the original one in case that wasn't clear).

Elliot: He's a theater kid like Lan, literally anything Shakespeare, theater, or musicals kind of media. His favorites are Twelfth Night, As You Like It, Hamilton, Hadestown, Music Man and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. This boy is a theater kid, and Lan is right there with him. They go watch musicals together.

Hestia: She and Tris are similar in that they like more "slice of life" and "realistic" stuff. She also likes things that are a bit more historical and classic literature type movies. Her favorites are Little Women (she prefers the 1994 version, but isn't opposed to the 2019 version), Anne of Green Gables (prefers the 1985 adaptaion), and Pride and Prejudice. They have a bit more fantasy but she also likes Anastasia (the movie) and Disney's Alice in Wonderland.

Raven: ..... Princess Bride. He loves Princess Bride. He doesn't really like watching new stuff sometimes, so he usually sticks to a few movies that he knows and loves. He loves Princess Bride for many reasons, but the big one is that he projects his and Sapphire's relationship onto Westley and Buttercup a little too much. He also likes Encanto, Lego Batman, and Nightmare Before Christmas. He also likes to play Legend of Zelda and Super Mario World, but doesn't play video games very often.

Sapphire: Her hyperfixations change every week, and she never sticks to one genre. However, if she's in between hyperfixations or can't choose because of choice paralysis, there are some movies she likes to fall back on: The Rescuers and The Rescuers Down Under, The Lego Movie, Coraline, Antman and the Wasp, Thor: Ragnarok, Clue (1985), Wall-E, and Lilo and Stitch.

Triveya: Loves the Lord of the Rings movies, and anything else fantasy. Anything magical fantasy is her jam. She also likes the Tales of Arcadia series (Wizards is her favorite show in the franchise), Hocus Pocus (the original), Wandavision, Tangled, and the Owl House series.

That was a fun question @bloodlessheirbyjacques , thank you!

FSF Taglist: @rose-bookblood @chalcid @evethenovicewriter @writing-is-a-martial-art @thatprolificauthor @mjjune

[soleminisanction]

I don't have much experience with comics, but one thing that keeps popping up in fic and shocking me is how MEAN people write Stephanie. In a way where it's like they almost don't realize she's being mean, if that makes sense? For example I was reading this fic where Tim and Steph were having this emotional reunion after he thought she was dead, and she called him "boy blunder." And continued to call him that throughout the fic. Am I crazy or is that an awful thing to call someone? I guess they were going for an inside joke, but to me it just seems so cruel, like every time she talks to Tim she's implying he's made a mistake. Of all the plays on "boy wonder" I've seen, that sounds the meanest. Is this something she calls him when they're together in the comics, do you know?

Oh she's absolutely called him Boy Blunder in the comics, along with things like Boy Wonderbread and Boy Virgin once when she was poking fun at him freaking out over her pregnancy. It's true in fics and it's true in canon: a lot of what people try to pass off as Steph being "snarky" or "quirky" is just her being flat-out mean, but never getting called out on it.

It's everywhere. And you're right that people don't realize it -- in fandom or the comics. She turned up in Damian's Robin book recently for exactly one line of dialogue and that line was a judgemental insult -- "Your weird, gross pizza is over there, Damian." She only has a grand total of three lines in the action portion of "The Elephant in the Room" and two out of those are just her insulting Tim (while the third one might as well be "Ooooo, what does THIS button do?"). Hell. half of the so-called "jokes" in Batgirls are just Steph being a catty, judgemental brat while the narrator goes "lol isn't she funny?"

And it's not even a recent thing. I haven't been able to make a post about this because I'm on a freelancing deadline IRL but someday I'm going to go on a massive rant about Jordanna Spence, the poor civilian girl inserted into Steph's supporting cast as Batgirl whose only narrative purpose is to provide one of The Other Girls for Steph to insult and bully constantly for the crime of wearing pink and being in a sorority. (And sometimes she's accidentally racist about it, which is...""fun"")

Steph will spend storyarcs hanging out with like, Damian or Kara or Klarion, and they're all treated like these Big Meaningful Bonding Experiences, but all Steph does the entire time is insult them and make judgemental comments about everything they say or do. And yet every single one ends the story thinking she's the greatest person who ever lived and lining up to suck her dick with everyone else in the comic.

It's honestly messed up, but here's the thing: it's absolutely not a Steph-exclusive issue. You know who else I've heard these exact criticisms leveled at? Bella Swan. And Hermione Granger, to a lesser extent only because she's the author self-insert but not the point-of-view character. That's part of why She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's adult novels are so much worse, because they are told from the PoV of the self-insert character and thus we're constantly barraged with her judgemental opinions about men, trans women, poor people, people with heavy accents, any woman who doesn't perform femininity to the author's exacting standards and, of course, fat people.

It's a symptom of the self-insert character, is I guess what I'm saying. Which of course means that it also gets applied to literally everyone else in the Batfamily on occasion too -- the boys and Bruce especially but also like, I'm sorry, I don't think Cass suddenly learning to curse and be casually mean is funny, I think it's a sign of lazy writing.

The difference being of course that the guys get written by a lot of different people, many of whom are interested in them as characters instead of just as vehicles to project themselves onto. Several others (especially in fandom) do just use them as vehicles (Damian hasn't been given to a good writer in over a decade and god knows Jason got more than his fair share of Very Special Boy treatment during the New 52), but it's not the only part in their canon.

Steph, though? Since the end of War Games forward, she's been nothing but a self-insert character designed for straight white women to project themselves onto. Which is sexist and sucks and obviously can't be called "the character's fault" or anything, but knowing all of that doesn't make her mean-spirited bullying any easier to put up with if you're not one of the people getting off on the power fantasy of being the bully.

[alltimewhat]

I just finished ST4 Volume 1 and uhm. I'm so sorry but that was literally so smart I'm 🤯. Idek where to start. The way that they so subtly created a through line without us even NOTICING. However when he was talking about hating the way the world works and how he had to kill people to break the world pattern there was this tiny part of me that was like maybe he could've just been some version of straightnt and it would have broken like 2/3 of it? The youngifying technology they used for Little El was a little funky like you could slightly tell but it got the job done good enough. It was so smart how they flipped the What Did You Do line completely around from the first to last episode. Also hate how El gets taken advantage of literally every time tho. Anyways. The way that they flipped the thing with Nancy around was very cool because the way that I literally didn't even think of that still having an a/effect on Nancy. Also also I thought it might feel weird that they're kinda redoing the whole Steve and Nancy thing but it feels kinda natural. Like how if things had been solid with Jonathan, I could totally see Nancy shutting it down and completely ignoring but because it isn't, she's kinda 👀. And the way that they had Eddie tell Steve that Eddie came because he didn't want to be the one that stayed but Nancy did NOT HESITATE. Also glad Steve didn't out Robin when he accidentally could have. Also kinda hate how Dustin has been treating Steve this season tho like that's one of your #1 teammates yknow? Kinda wish we got to see more of the Mike and Will gang in the last episode like we could have had like just a small 5 minute segment of them trying to come up with a plan of what to do when they got there. OH AND when they were digging the hole for Agent Guy and Will just looooked at Mike??? I'm 😥. And then the double conversation they had about Mike being afraid to tell El how he feels because she might not feel the same and that conversation is coming from WILL??? Oh and I like how Murray and Joyce figured out how to flip their situation and find a way in to save Hopper and Im also kinda glad his friend(?) didn't die but also kinda have mixed feelings about it. Oh and I know its a nitpicky thing but they literally say the gd word sooo many times this season. Kinda wish they'd just let them say fuck honestly. Sorry this is literally an entire novel. All in all very good, very much anticipating the last 2 episodes :)

-🙈

YAAAH its reallt crazy how much follows through from ep one to ep seven and im interested to see how things wrap up in the last two episodes. i kinda also feel like they couldve ended it at ep7 anf it wouldve stood alone as a cliffhanger or something LOL. i was really surprised at how fun it was to watch bc i thought it was going to be just kind of confusing and bad after s3 fhdhsghdajs. also i agree abt the dustin/steve thing they made dustin like actually just straight up mean to him and its not fun to watch at all. i kind of wish wed gotten more of henry/one because hes really cool and i like the set up that he specifically chooses people who did something ‘wrong’ to go after and how those things relate to each character. its really interesting overall!!!

[aros001]

Going in blind: Watching season 3 for the first time. Random thoughts.

Episode 1: I know in the original series She-Ra was the sister of He-Man so I'm curious how much of that will be carried over to this series. Not saying He-Man has to make an appearance, same as how Batman didn't need to show up in Teen Titans. That was Robin's story, not his, and similarly this is Adora's story, not Adam's. Regardless, it makes sense why Hordak was so annoyed with the baby Adora in Shadow Weaver's flashbacks. To SW, there was something different and special about the baby, but to Hordak, whom seems familiar with the world before Mara separated Etheria from the rest of the universe, including Eternia potentially, Adora is just another "First One" child like he's seen many times before. Special in comparison to those who only know Etheria.

Great clap-back from Catra to Hordak, and not entirely unfounded. It's debatable how much he actually cares about conquering Etheria. He has others leading his forces in his war yet all his focus is on his portal creation.

According to Entrapta, productivity of the Horde is up 400% ever since Catra became Hordak's 2nd in command. I wondering how much of that is Catra's direct doing? Is she genuinely just that good of a commander? Is it because she's properly delegating and Scorpia has been handling most of the load? Or is this just because it's in comparison to Shadow Weaver? Entrapta said Catra's focus on First Ones' tech has been greatly aiding them and SW definitely focused more on magic, which was an aid mostly to herself since everyone else in the Horde seems to fight only with weapons and technology. And most of what she saw of SW while she was Hordak's 2nd was her being obsessed with bringing back Adora rather than fighting the war.

Episode 2: Let's see... Hordak's easily an adult and Entrapta is...[checks google] late twenties, early thirties. Oh good, then let's sail this ship!

But yeah, that was a heck of a backstory for Hordak. This reminds me of a video by a Youtuber named Savage Books comparing the villain Steppenwolf in the theatrical and Snyder Cut versions of Justice League and how, while he still wasn't a great villain, just a small addition made him a much better villain, that being a failure in his past and the desire just to go home. And in this case, Hordak is the much better, or at least way more developed, version of that. One of many clones of Hordak Prime but having a defect that labelled him a failure and had him cast out to Etheria, a "backwards world" as he's called it before. If he can conquer Etheria, perhaps by building a portal that'll bring forward Prime's army, he believes that'll prove to Prime that he is not a failure and that he can return home to rejoin his forces. Just this bit of backstory adds SO MUCH to Hordak, including new insights on his past interactions, and keeps him from being a flat character like theatrical version Steppenwolf. His lack of tolerance for failure makes sense when he himself is trying to prove that he's not. It gives him compelling motivation to want to conquer Etheria beyond just power and greed. Not motivation you're meant to agree with but one you can still understand.

I like the story with Huntara too. It's a nice little tie-in to something Adora was talking about with Glimmer and Bow last episode. Adora defected from the horde, not because she was different but rather very much in spite being very much like every other soldier there. She wanted to believe Shadow Weaver may have at least some goodness in her too and now we have Huntara as a fellow defector who realized the evils of the Horde, even if she chose to stay out of the war entirely after.

Episode 3: I legit thought Catra stabbed the goat lady for a second.

After Scorpia asking her why don't they just stay in the wastes I'm seeing a bit of a parallel between Catra and Hordak. They've both found a place where they can be the top dog, where they can do and have basically anything they want; her with the wastes and him with the Horde. They can be happy. ...But there's still this pull they're feeling to somewhere else. Catra back to the Horde and Hordak back to Prime. Because they feel they have to prove something; prove that they're not failures. They could be happy but they can't let go.

And that scene between Adora and Catra at the end. That was such a great line read from Catra's actor. "She left me for you. Everything that's happened is because of you." I got chills.

Minor note: While I'm only judging off the Mara hologram, which didn't have color, I do think the She-Ra outfit looks better with pants than shorts like Adora's She-Ra form. I think it makes it look sleeker, if that makes any sense.

Episode 4: Catra's spiral has turned into a drill and its taking her down as far as she can go. Though something I had to a laugh a little at myself over was that my biggest "Catra, no!" reaction wasn't to her wanting to open the portal but rather when she lied to Hordak and said Entrapta let the princesses in. She was actually a positive influence on Hordak's life and Catra with one move just destroyed that relationship and all progress Hordak had been making.

I'm guessing there's going to be some kind of long-term effect from Shadow Weaver continuously siphoning off Glimmer's magic. The woman is basically a parasite and the magic she uses is very different from the kind Glimmer does. I can't believe it never occurred to me that since Shadow Weaver trained Glimmer's father there might be a connection there between the two of them later in the story. While we don't know about anything that might've happened after she left, SW clearly had enough affection for Micah still to not kill him. I could see her trying to take Glimmer on as a student later like she did him.

Episode 5: There is something kind of hilarious about it being Scorpia's jealousy of Catra and Adora's closeness that causes her to be the first one after Adora to pick up that something is off.

11 is my favorite of the Doctor Who Doctors so naturally I'm comparing all this to the crack in Amy Pond's bedroom wall. Whatever goes in gets forgotten about and basically never existed. Though does that mean Bright Moon isn't going to remember the Horde? Basically that entire place got sucked up in the collapsing reality. There shouldn't be at war anymore because their enemy literally no longer exists.

Adora and Catra had their own little Star Trek 3 moment there.

Adora: "If we don't help each other, we'll die here!"

Catra: "Perfect! Then that's the way it shall be!"

Catra's just so far down her spiral she doesn't even care about getting her own win, just so long as Adora doesn't get one, despite just minutes ago clearly loving having Adora back in her life and on her side, to the point was trying to resist remembering the old reality. Her "perfect" world was them together again but when given the chance (another of many. I love those cuts to their past woven in there) she slapped the hand away.

I'm sure I'm wrong but I'm starting to theorize Madam Razz is actually Mara and just at some point went kind of crazy and started thinking as and Mara were two different people.

Episode 6:

"You are everything I ever wanted in a son. This... This is everything I ever wanted in a life. ...But I've got responsibilities, Van. And...I have to...go now."

-Superman, Justice League Unlimited: For the Man Who Has Everything

That was my favorite episode of JLU, where Superman is trapped in this world that isn't real but still perfect in every way, and the only way out was to give up everything he'd ever wanted, including a son he remembers watching grow up, even if it never really happened. With a similar premise, this definitely helped elevate Angela up a bit for me, whom I was kind just meh with before. I didn't dislike her but I didn't really care much for her either. This episode gave her a lot to work with though, with the heavy sacrifice she made. Not just saying behind to pull out the sword but just simply forcing herself to accept her husband is gone and not coming back. I was right that they wouldn't remember the Horde, but I definitely didn't think of the full effects of them never existing. They never exist, Bow never becomes a rebel instead of a scholar like his dads wanted. They don't exist, Micah never dies in battle against them. Glimmer gets to grow up with her father in her life. Everyone, most especially Angela, has to reject everything they would love to be real in favor of what actually is.

I'm guessing we're going to have Shadow Weaver taking advantage of this situation, trying to act like a teacher and mother-figure to Glimmer now that she's basically a orphan.

I talked before about how Catra and Hordak seem to have a parallel between them, especially regarding failure. Catra seems like she has a very hard time accepting her own failures and mistakes and thus why she more or less uses Adora as a mental scapegoat for all of it. Nothing is ever really her fault, it's Adora's, or Shadow Weaver's, or Hordak's. It makes for a great moment when Adora finally punches back, both literally and figuratively. She's not going to accept responsibility for Catra's actions anymore. She gave Catra every chance to make the right choice and she didn't, so now she has to finally live with the consequences. Heck of a glare She-Ra gave Catra at the end. Very much a "If I ever see you again..." and it certainly scared Catra, at least for a moment.

Now, someone go save Entrapta from Beast Island!

Season 3 verdict: Easily the best season thus far. I know this was technically the second half of season 2 but even in comparison to the full season 1 there was just so much that happened in this, so much that got revealed, and so, so many moments of emotion or tension. Weirdly I feel kind of disappointed that Hordak Prime is probably going to come in now and be the new big villain. I really like our Hordak's motivation and Prime seems like he might just be the generic conqueror for power that Hordak seemed like he was going to be at first. Not saying those types can't work. I love All For One from My Hero Academia and Frieza from Dragon Ball. Those guys are pure evil and selfishness, but they also have a captivating presence/charisma to them.

Naturally, since I bring her up the most out of all the characters, I'm very curious to see what happens with Catra now. She's basically nuked every positive relationship she had with anyone. Entrapta's gone, she threatened Scorpia, Hordak's not going to trust anyone including her anymore now that he thinks Entrapta's betrayed him, and Adora firmly sees her as an enemy. She has no one (those under her direct command don't count) and it's entirely her own fault.

Original Reddit post: https://www.reddit.com/r/PrincessesOfPower/comments/o0trfz/going_in_blind_watching_season_3_for_the_first/

[believingispowerfulmagic]

If you're still taking those soldier prompts: Regina and Robin have been married for year. They're celebrating their anniverersary, when some handsome man interruputs their dinner and claims to be Regina's date. (It's her mothers scheme to break up Regina's marriage)

Regina was home for her first wedding anniversary. She had expected her tour to get extended and had prepared herself for marking the occasion over Skype while celebrating a couple months later, once she got home. But her tour ended on time and so she was stateside in time for the milestone in hers and Robin’s relationship. 

It was the best gift the army had ever given her. 

Robin insisted on going all out–though she figured he would’ve done that whether they were celebrating on their actually anniversary or not–and had planned everything. “I promise you, you’re going to love it,” he told her. 

She didn’t doubt it. 

The only clue Robin gave her was that they were eating somewhere fancy, so she had gone out and bought a new cocktail dress for the occasion. She knew how much he loved her in red and she made sure it was as lacy as the lingerie she also purchased for their anniversary night celebrations. Regina had left her curls as they were, piling them high on her head and leaving just two ringlets to frame her face. Her complete look had made Robin’s jaw drop and sent a pleased thrill through her. 

She had allowed Robin to tie a black silk cloth around her eyes, since he insisted on leaving their final destination a surprise. There was no one else, except Mary Margaret, she would trust to do this to her and Robin didn’t take advantage of it often, which made her agree to it without hesitation. He held her hand, guiding her out of their house and into the car. 

After several a straight drive with a few stops and ending with a few turns, Robin put the car in park and turned it off. He reached over and undid her blindfold. “Surprise!” 

“Bella Notte?” she gasped, turning to him with wide eyes. “You got us reservations at Bella Notte?” 

It was the hottest restaurant in their neighborhood and Tony, the main chef, was something of a local legend. Everyone tried and failed to get reservations, some people placing them months in advance in hopes of celebrating a special day there. How long had Robin called in advance for this? 

“Technically you go us a reservation here,” he said. “When I called, I told them that you were deployed and were supposed to return in time but one never knew. When they found you were army, they were willing to work with us. Apparently, they try to accommodate military, no matter how last minute.” 

“That’s good to know.” She respected the establishment even more as she got out of the car, taking Robin’s hand so they could head inside. 

Bella Notte deserved all the praise and more. Regina thought she was pretty good at cooking but everything tasted like it was made by angels. Her veal marsala cut like softened butter and practically melted in her mouth, exploding in a variety of herbs and spices. The mashed potatoes and sauteed vegetables complimented it well, as had the wine the menu suggested be paired with her particular entree. 

Regina thought she had died and gone to foodie heaven. 

“Okay, that was definitely worth the wait,” Robin said, leaning back in his chair. His fork and knife sat crossed on his empty plate, resting where his t-bone steak had sat on a bed of spinach and roasted potatoes. His glass of wine was almost done as well. 

She nodded, taking another sip of her wine. “I feel stuffed but at the same time, I want to see what’s on their dessert menu.” 

“You read my mind,” he said, standing up. “I’m just going to run to the men’s room and then we’ll ask to see the dessert menu.” 

Regina tugged on his jacket and he leaned down, kissing her before he headed toward the bathroom. Smiling from utter joy, she picked up her wine and took another sip. She was a very lucky woman to have married such a wonderful man. 

“I’m so sorry I’m late,” a man dressed in a black suit said. He took Robin’s seat, seemingly ignoring Robin’s dirty dishes, and smiled as he reached for Regina’s hands. “You look beautiful.” 

She pulled her hands away, frowning as an uneasy feeling settled in the pit of her stomach. “I think you’ve gotten the wrong table.” 

He continued smiling, chuckling. “There’s that sense of humor I’ve heard so much about.” 

“What is wrong with you? I don’t know you. Go away,” she said, crossing her arms. 

“Oh, Regina. I love your sense of humor,” he said. 

An unsettled feeling filled her and she grew uncomfortable. “How do you know my name?” 

“Can I clear your dishes?” the waitress asked, returning. She paused, frowning. Regina understood the confusion–the man sitting across from her looked nothing like Robin. He had dark hair and brown eyes, was clean shaven and had no dimples. 

The man pushed the plates toward her. “Thank you. And the lady will take a refill on her wine while I would like a brandy.” 

“The lady will not be taking any refill, thank you,” Regina said, glaring at the man. “I don’t know who you are or why you’re here, but you better leave before you have a real problem.” 

“I’ll just take these and come back.” The nervous waitress took the dirty plates and practically ran away. 

Regina clenched her fists. “Seriously, dude, what’s your issue? Go. Away.” 

“Come now, Regina. Keep it up and I might get the feeling you don’t want me to stay for our date,” he said. 

“Our what?” She was certain she was dealing with a crazy person now. 

She felt someone grab onto her chair and then heard Robin ask: “Regina, is everything okay? Who is this?” 

The man jumped up. “You must be Robin. I hate for you to find out like this…but I’m Regina’s boyfriend. We’ve been dating behind your back for months now.” 

“Oh, God,” she groaned, covering her eyes with her hands. This was not happening. 

“Is this some kind of joke?” Robin asked, sounding annoyed. 

Through her fingers, Regina watched the strange man approach her husband. “I’m afraid it’s not. Regina loves me. So leave her alone. Or there will be trouble.” 

He grabbed Regina’s wrist, giving her a tug. “Let’s go.” 

Wrong move. 

“I don’t think so.” With practice eased, she slipped out of his grasp and grabbed his wrist. She twisted his arm behind his back, throwing him face first onto their table. 

He gasped. “Shit! Did you take a self-defense course or something?” 

“You know, since we’ve been dating for months, I would hope you would know I’m a lieutenant in the United States Army,” she spat out. 

“What? She didn’t tell me that!” the man exclaimed. 

Regina frowned, applying a little more pressure on his arm. “Who?” 

“Your mother,” he gasped. “She hired me to pretend to be your boyfriend and break up your marriage.”

“Of course.” Regina released him, shaking her head. It was a bit saddening to realize that nothing Cora did surprised or angered her. All she felt was indignation and disappointment. Why didn’t she just leave her alone and work on trying to set Zelena up with some rich, old man? 

The man straightened up, holding his hands high in surrender. “Look, I’m sorry. She said that you were in a bad marriage and I would be doing you a favor.” 

“I don’t have a bad marriage,” she replied, taking Robin’s hand. “I have a bad mother. Just…go. And don’t answer any of my mother’s calls. Okay?” 

He nodded, stuttered out an apology and ran away. 

Robin kissed her cheek. “Have I told you how bloody sexy you are threatening people?” 

“Very funny,” she said, taking her seat. 

He sat back down as well. “I’m not joking. That turned me on enough to almost suggest skipping dessert and going right home.” 

She smirked. “Almost?” 

“Almost.” He smiled as he raised his hand, flagging down the no doubt even more confused waitress. 

God, she loved her husband.