#man this is! embarrassing

[dayraiser]

[NATM] Different Perspectives

also on ao3

What happened between Larry yelling at them to get along and them barrelling down the road in an RC car together.

Jed watches Octavius slide into the passenger seat with a raised brow. "You ain't gotta come with me, y'know." 

"Yes, well," the roman starts, fumbling the seatbelt for a brief moment until it clicks into place. "What was it you said? I won't quit you yet?"

Jed snorts, tapping his gloved fingers on the steering wheel. "Not even close, amigo."

The cowboy glances over at the other man, who's busied himself by making sure his appearance is orderly. "You sure you wanna tag along? This ain't gonna be one of yer lil' rodeos with the horses 'n the wagons."

"Chariot races, you mean," Octavius corrects, almost certainly just to annoy Jed, which works, getting an irritated grunt out of the blond. 

Suddenly, his hands drop into his lap, clasped solemnly, and his usually self-righteous and insufferable expression shifts to stone cold seriousness as he straightens up, staring forward through the windshield. "Jedediah Smith."

"Uh?" Jed responds.

"You are the leader of the Wild West, if not in official rank, than in every other sense of the word." Octavius starts slowly, every word deliberate and thought out. "It is not without reason. I have known you as an enemy for quite some time."

"Seems like an understatement," Jed interjects, unsure of the direction the conversation is supposed to be going in.

He kind of expects Octavius to just roll his eyes, or sigh irritably, or tell him to be quiet, but instead, the man pauses for a brief moment, before letting out a small huff of laughter, his lips giving way to an easy smile.

"Yes, I suppose you are correct." Octavius turns to look at the cowboy when he says it. The smile makes the corners of his eyes crease and carve laugh lines into his usually statuesque face.

Jed blinks, a funny feeling manifesting in his gut, so it's all the better when Octavius turns back to look out the windshield again, the smile gone like a whisper in the wind.

"What I mean to say is that your stubbornness, before today, has been something that I've only observed through the lens of the battlefield," the roman continues, after a beat of silence. "You are committed to your resolve." He pauses again, and a distant smile passes over his lips. 

"I still recall the fight in which I had the clear advantage, and you had tried to turn the tide of the battle by pointing your, ah, gun at my head."

"It wasn't even workin'," Jed grumbles, leaning forward to fold his arms, resting them on top of the steering wheel. 

Octavius gives him a look out of the corner of his eye. "We know."

The blond can feel the heat rushing to his face, and pointedly turns away. "Get to yer stinkin' point already, Octagon."

"What I mean to say is that your stubbornness…" Octavius frowns. "No, your tenacity is a very core part of the way you lead."

"And?" Jed raises a brow.

"And I," the man starts, before closing his mouth again and worrying his lip. "I viewed it as a weakness. The inability to retreat when you should. However, being on the receiving side today, and after what Larry said…"

Octavius' hands tighten around each other, and his expression grows tense. "I, um, have come to the realization that I may have interpreted it, ah, incorrectly."

He's nervous, Jedediah realizes, and suddenly the cowboy can't keep his eyes off of the general.

"You… What I am trying to say is…" Octavius looks down at his lap, his lips pressed as if he's struggling to figure out how to communicate his thoughts. 

"You… You lead the Western diorama well. It took fighting you to realize that, and it took a common enemy to appreciate it," he starts, gaining confidence in his words as he speaks. His expression hardens, and his eyes blaze with resolve. 

"I will not let you go alone. It is both my duty as the legatus, and a choice I have made for myself, out of respect for you. I shall not leave your side."

The roman straightens his back and refolds his hands on his lap, still staring straight ahead, a false air of casualness to his tone. 

Octavius clears his throat. "That is all. Let us proceed."

Jed spends a good 5 seconds staring dumbly at the other man with his mouth slightly agape and his brain struggling to chew on the speech Octavius just crammed into his meat grinder of a head. 

'The inability to retreat when you should…'

'Save yourself!'

'You guys aren't that different. You're both great leaders.'

Turning to look at Octavius, who's still pretending like everything's completely normal, Jedediah thinks faintly that he liked it a bit better when they hated each other, because at least it wasn't this goddamn awkward. 

He's so caught up in his own head that he barely registers Larry's shouts for him to be ready until the giant is right above him, eyebrow raised.

"Jed! Oct! C'mon, you two ready to roll?" Larry sets his hands on his hips, as if he's about to scold the two miniatures for breaking curfew.

"Of course, my liege!" Octavius responds immediately, fist slamming on his chest in a salute that makes Jed jolt up like he's been stuck in an outlet. 

"Yeah, 'course we're ready!" The cowboy responds hurriedly, quickly starting the RC the way Larry showed them how. He gives a quick twist of the wheel before looking up and giving a thumbs up, plus what he hopes is an assuring smile. "Good to go, Laredo! Ready to kick some old, giant butt!"

Larry's face scrunches up in a way that makes Jed's blood run cold and leaves him wishing he had learned how to stop running his mouth, but then the night guard just shakes his head and gives a good-natured sigh. "Good. Go over to the exit. Rexy's there already."

The cowboy forgoes saying anything and just nods, pressing down on the gas pedal and speeding off towards their destination.

Octavius looks out the window as they drive past the exhibits, and Jedediah quickly realizes that it's going to be up to him to break the silence. 

Jed sighs, nervousness churning in his gut. How the hell is he supposed to handle his mortal enemy turned begrudging ally telling him all that stuff about him being as stubborn as a mule and how they're both leaders of their respective dioramas and then suddenly confessing that the stupid, stuck-up roman general actually respects him? He basically apologized for their whole war without actually saying the words 'I'm sorry' and then turned around and went 'well, anyways' as if he wasn't all nervous and shit and oh god the look in his eyes when he said he wouldn't let Jed go alone and holy shit his head is gonna explode–

Biting his lip, Jed lightens the pressure he's putting on the pedal, slowing the vehicle down significantly until it stutters to a halt completely. Octavius has the gall to look over at him, head tilted slightly in confusion.

"Octavius," Jedediah starts, clenching and unclenching his fingers. "Listen close, 'cause I'm only gonna say this one, y'hear?"

The roman hesitates, before nodding, almost meekly.

"You're…" Jed starts, tightening his grip on the steering wheel. I respect you too. You're a good leader. I stopped actually hating you 40 years ago and I can tell you did too. You have really expressive eyes–

"I'm cool with you if you're cool with me," he says instead, keeping his eyes firmly glued in front of him. He takes a deep breath, feeling the air push around the fluttering nervousness in his stomach. Turning swiftly to face the other man, Jedediah locks eyes with Octavius, his expression steeled over with conviction. Taking it off of the wheel, he offers one gloved hand to the roman, his gaze never wavering.

"Start over?"

Jed can already feel the regret climbing up his spine when Octavius just blinks at him, confused, but then the man grins and grabs Jed's hand firmly, and behind the satisfied expression the cowboy can see the nervousness leave the roman in the way the corners of his eyes upturn and crease and the way his jaw relaxes and the pure relief in his eyes.

"I would be honored to!"

"Alrighty then! It's official!" Jed gives him a grin, and though the nervousness has not yet entirely disappeared, it has been flooded and shares a space with excitement. He releases Octavius' hand and slams his foot on the pedal, launching them forward.

Octavius yelps as they start to speed down towards the exit Larry designated, Rexy's rib bone clacking loudly behind them. His hand flies up to hold onto his helmet, eyes darting nervously between in front of them and Jed.

"Step one of starting over," Jed hollers over the thrum of the RC car, receiving only a nervous look in return. "We're getting that stick out of your ass!"

"What?!" 

The RC tears out the exit, past Rexy, who lets out a chuff and begins to chase the bone tied to the car, his every step booming behind them and sending them slightly up off the road every time. The crunch of leaves and dirt crackling under their wheels mixed with the sounds of the car itself, and faintly, Jed can hear Larry talking, but all he's focused on is driving and yelling loud enough that Octavius can hear.

"Come on boy, let me hear you yell!"

Octavius' eyes widen slightly. "Yeah!"

It's tinged with apprehensiveness, but Jed can feel the thrill slowly building in the man beside him. 

"Just livin' the dream, baby!" He lets out a hoot, letting his awkwardness and nervousness fly past him like the wind past their car as he barrels forward, Rexy roaring behind them.

"I'm lovin' this!" He shouts, grinning ear-to-ear as he glances at Octavius out of the corner of his eye. The roman smiles at him, and his eyes crinkle and the lines deepen around his mouth, and he lets out a laugh so unrestrained and unlike the haughty laughs Jed's heard from him before, that all the adrenaline shifts in his gut, making him thrum with exhilaration.

Jed thinks that he'd really like to hear that laugh some more.

[butchfalin]

the funniest meltdown ive ever had was in college when i got so overstimulated that i could Not speak, including over text. one of my friends was trying to talk me through it but i was solely using emojis because they were easier than trying to come up with words so he started using primarily emojis as well just to make things feel balanced. this was not the Most effective strategy... until. he tried to ask me "you okay?" but the way he chose to do that was by sending "👉🏼👌🏼❓" and i was so shocked by suddenly being asked if i was dtf that i was like WHAT???? WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY TO ME?????????? and thus was verbal again

[tariah23]

White people are miserable, racist losers period. They’ve even been getting mad at Japanese people for correcting them about Yasuke as well.

[dizzybizz]

he's wasting perfectly good coffee 🙄

[to-be-a-dreamer]

See now the most compelling thing about Skuttlespring (Gorgug/Mary Ann) is that Zac Oyama the human guy reacts to the “Okay. Do you have a girlfriend?” scene like he’s an actual 17-year-old boy who just got asked out by the girl he’s been fighting tooth and nail to hate for an entire school year in front of his five best friends. That man is FLUSTERED and EMBARRASSED he is selling Gorgug’s sudden onset hate-crush in the midst of a completely unrelated situationship like his life depends on it and all the other Intrepid Heroes are equally in-character it’s so perfect. That is a 30-something year old man who has a whole entire wife but he’s out here stuttering and blushing like a teenager and THAT is why I will absolutely ship these two characters that have interacted two and a half times in canon and were either completely apathetic about or cartoonishly enraged by the other’s general existence for the entire season

[time-woods]

been thinkin bout how aziraphale can canonically draw and did this dumb comic

sighhh and heres the drawing

[reapersynth]

evan buckley + shitposts

[thirstywaffles]

Voted as the worst couple in the entire sect bc of their annoying ass pda

[ID: Scum Villain fanart of Luo Binghe enthusiastically hugging Shen Qingqiu, who makes an annoyed sound but is blushing. Luo Binghe is in white disciple robes. End ID]

[nerdpoe]

Danny hops skips across dimensions to escape his parents, and ends up in the Wayne Memorial Hospital.

Problem; in his universe, Jack Fenton is that universes version of Bruce Wayne. Jack and Bruce are identical from looks to DNA, but mentally they are worlds apart.

In Danny's universe, the Waynes dropped that name and became Fentons some three or four generations back.

So when a freshly vivisected Danny stumbles through a portal in the Zone and crash lands into the alley behind the Hospital, he is immediately recognized as a possible love child from Bruce Wayne, simply because he's a dead ringer for a teenage Bruce, and Leslie knows that family gets fucking weird.

Just to be sure, though, she tests it.

She leaves the room to check on Danny as she waits for the results, and one of the new interns steps in, and...oh? What's this?

Fresh food for the Newspapers? Food that they'd pay money for?

The intern takes the paperwork and bolts, and the next morning Bruce Wayne's lost secret child (who has been horrifically abused and mutilated poor boy maybe their next scoop will be an interview from him subscribe now to the newsletter and-) is all over the front page.

Bruce himself is furious.

The boy doesn't look like Damian, so he isn't a clone. As far as Bruce can tell, he's a bonafide child that Bruce had with a fling and was never told.

A child who got tortured.

Needless to say, when Danny wakes up from running away from his family to see his fathers pissed off face hovering over his own, his first reaction is to punch first and ask questions never.

He goes invisible as soon as he turns a corner that's out of camera view.

Now Danny has to figure out where he is and outrun not only his father, but the strange furry that keeps following him.

@simplestoryteller

[tubbytarchia]

Missed drawing these two too

Bonuses

[bonefall]

Anyway. Bi and Mspec Lesbians aren't a hotly "debated" topic or even new to queer culture, it's just the newest thing that bullies who REALLY want to be homophobic and even racist use to justify harassing gay people they don't like.

It's the thinnest possible veneer of progressive language wrapped around TERF and reactionary rhetoric so that they can feel righteous for forming an angry mob against vulnerable targets. If you're gullible enough to fall for the newest wave of bigotry within the queer community, and turn on your allies because they're "confusing" or "invading your spaces," the SAME way they turned on bi/pan labels, trans people, xenogenders, neopronouns, and aroace people before this, then get lost.

[thisiswhereikeepmyseratonin]

The thought that Brucie Wayne and Batman being two completely separate entities that Bruce can code switch between has consumed me especially with the idea that he mixes the two together on occasion to fuck with people

~~~~~~~~~

*Batman and Superman searching a dressing room*

Superman: What about this thing, it looks suspicious?

Batman *full Batman voice*: That’s an eyelash curler darling

~~~~~~~~

*OG JLA revealing identities to newbies*

Green Arrow: Your turn Bats, who are you?

Batman having decided to fuck with him walking up to him cocking his hip putting one hand on his chest and in full Brucie Wayne mode: C’mon Ollie-Dollie you know who I am. We dated 💕

Green Arrow (internally): Modem noise

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Recently revealed identities with Clark and Brucie being at the same party

Brucie: oh howdy 🤠 cowboy, fancy meeting you at this shindig

Clark *flustered* (internally): he can’t be Batman he can’t be Batman he can’t be Batman…

~~~~~~~~~

*Bruce getting a call during a JLA meeting*

Brucie: Oh! hello dear, yes of course I’m coming to your party I’ll see you later 😘

Batman: Our security measures need to be increased due to the number of criminals currently attempting to follow heroes to their base of operations

JLA *experiencing whiplash*: what.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*undercover Brucie and members of the JLA at a party*

Bruce *pretending to be drunk wandering over to the flash*: excuse moi but can I get your attention for just a momento😊

Flash *completely disconnecting Bruce and bats*: yeah uh sure sir are you alright

Batman *quiet but deep Batman voice*: there’s an assassin in the rafters

[cappycodeart]

he’s infiltrated my sketchbook too i’m not safe here anymore

[cespool]

Lou is out here collecting DMs like infinity stones damn

[milimeters-morales]

Pavitr definitely told his Maya Aunty about Miles’s embarrassing mistake btw trust me

[brookheimer]

not sure why people don't seem to understand that shiv being the victim of misogyny and vitriol from all the men in her life can and does coexist with the fact that she is not a feminist liberal hero fighting to save democracy. why is it that we never afford her any nuance? she's either the only good person on the show and deserves to kill every man in a ten foot radius (twitter) or a uniquely evil cruel sociopath with no heart fueled entirely by spite (reddit). is it not just so much more interesting for her to be a fascism aiding and abetting character like the rest of them who also views herself as more progressive in spite of everything else about her and who undergoes horrific treatment at the hands of the men around her yet has no interest in undoing the system that allows them to do so, only in ruling it herself? shiv is not any better than the others nor is she any worse than them. there's no Evil Olympics here guys, nor should there be. snook said it herself in the after credits sequence -- shiv was just lucky that her interests aligned with her sympathies. who knows what she would've done had mencken been her best personal option? yes she cares infinitely more about politics than roman, yes she is still very much interested in maintaining the capitalist, fascist structure and even strengthening it, so long as it ends with her on top (which either way would be a win for liberal causes bc Woman). fascism isn't one-size-fits-all. it's not just mencken and trump. it's also mattson. it's also logan. it's also roman and shiv and kendall. that's... kind of one of the main points of succession? but even so, that does not negate the fact that as a woman it is so hard to watch some of the scenes with her and tom/roman/kendall -- of course that misogyny will resonate with female viewers, as it should!!! but that resonance needs to coexist with a deeper understanding of her character -- if you want to root for a bad bitch fighting against misogyny go watch, i don't know, captain marvel or whatever. what makes shiv interesting is that she's so so so much more than that -- she is the product, victim, and perpetrator of misogyny and fascism, two concepts so heavily intertwined they're virtually inextricable from each other. tl;dr it's one thing to be like my god someone give shiv a gun and it's another entirely to say, entirely seriously, that shiv is the Good Liberal Feminist One and the rest are all evil. like i absolutely adore shiv but i would honest to god find her so fucking boring if she were actually the person these tweets make her out to be i'm sorry