#or just tease her a bit

[bluerosefox]

Gray and Graysons

One of the Bats has a secret. Something they never told to the others.

They were so very young but they have memories of a sibling, so small and tiny. They remember the burst of warmth they had in their heart when they held the tiny baby for just a moment.

But they weren’t allowed to keep them, their family couldn’t raise them. Money was tight, just enough for three but not for four, despite their shows always bringing in a crowd it was getting harder and harder for the world to be wowed by them in the new age and their sibling was too small and tiny and needed to be cared in a single place than for them to be on the road. Their lifestyle was not good for his tiny sibling apparently.

They had to watch as their parents gave his sibling away to people in suits, them promising to give his baby brother to a loving family when they find a ‘home’ for him. He watched his parents try to be strong only for his mother to break down once the car left down the road, his father holding her and apologizing, the rest of the circus troupe all silently coming over to give the heartbroken family condolences.

Richard ‘Dick’ Grayson had tears running down his face when he last saw his baby brother.

A brother he got to name before he had to be given away.

Daniel ‘Danny’ Grayson.

-x-x-

Dick never told the others. If anyone dug deep into his past they might find his brother’s birth records maybe, if someone got around to digitizing the paperwork for him but given the fact he was placed in the US childcare systems just a few days after his birth and the fact that Dick was still pretty young they most likely believed he didn’t remember his baby brother now. Not after so many years.

But they were wrong, Dick remembers. And he kept the secret close to his heart and memories.

And the only physical evidence he had was a single picture of him holding his brother, a smile on his tiny face towards their father who had taken the photo of them together. When he had lost his parents, lost most of the things that connected him to them, to his past in the circus that had been his whole life, had been taken from him in Gotham’s ruthless childcare system, he held on tight to the picture in secret. Hid it away from anyone trying to rip it from him, hid it from Bruce when the man took him in days later, hid it from Alfred despite how gentle the butler was towards him. He couldn’t, wouldn’t risk losing his photo at the time, he hadn’t trusted anyone and by the time he did he didn’t have the heart to reveal it.

So yes, the existence of his baby brother Danny was his most guarded and best kept secret.

So that’s why Dick, as Nightwing, nearly died from a heart attack when leaving a Justice League meeting he spotted a familiar face among one of the new engineers working in the Watchtower.

It was like seeing a young version of himself. Only, Dick could see that the young man was more than a copy of him, so much more than a clone. He held many traces of John Grayson but also had a bit more of Mary Grayson than Dick did. Small details that Dick foggely remembers taking note when he had held his baby brother.

“Hey, hurry up with that report Gray!” Shouted the head engineer from down the hall, his hand beckoning the young adult to come over.

“Coming! And boss, I told you Danny is fine!” Danny shouted back before hurriedly leaving a stunned Nightwing.

[hoofpeet]

dad moments<3

[baylee-doodle]

She's more embarrassed about the 'I love' part than the 'weird ass' part

[gingermintpepper]

I saw it in your tag game post that you're also fond of the Apollo-Heracles conflict 👀 for a myth that appears in only a couple of sources, it sure has a lot of presence in the vase paintings (no seriously, everytime I think I've seen the last of it, I find ten more)

SO do you have any favorites among the paintings that represent this story??

OMG OMG THIS ASK IS A GIFT. IT IS A GIFT THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR LETTING ME TALK ABOUT THIS

I also think it's extremely interesting that it's a story so popularly portrayed by vase paintings and in such a variety of ways!! It's certainly one of the stories that gets left out of written compilation of Heracles' legend a bit (which is a shame, I think it's a fantastic story) but Apollo had a very peculiar relationship with Heracles in general that I just kind of find amazing (and very, very funny).

Apollo is not a god with any legitimate grudge against Heracles, but he does argue with the mortal a bit like he argues with his favourite brothers 😂Part of why I love the story of Apollo and Heracles fighting over the tripod so much is that it is such a little brother thing for Heracles to be upset with the proclamation his elder brother has given him and so, he throws a great fit, taking up the chair and declaring that he'll just give himself a better prophecy! And Apollo, instead of being a marginally professional big brother, decides to fight him for it until their father has to break up their cat-fight. Like was that not just the plot of the Homeric Hymn to Hermes? Is this not exactly how Apollo treated Hermes when he was a child and now those two are inseparable? 💀

Because of this, my favourite vase paintings tend to be the ones that highlight the personal squabbling between Apollo and Heracles the most. There are some very elaborate ones that have the full host of them - Athena, Heracles, Apollo, Artemis, usually a dog and a doe, I've even seen a couple that had birds and plants etched on them, but the simplest ones that show Heracles about to bonk Apollo with his club out of frustration or depict Heracles nyooming away from Apollo while Apollo (presumably) yells curses about how he's going to fling Heracles head first into Tartarus for daring to take his things? Yeah, those are the premium big brother/little brother things I'm looking for.

(Photo. Marie-Lan Ngyuen)

(Photo. Museo Claudio Faina)

Also the one in the Theoi.com archives is a real classic - perfect energy.

[cerise-on-top]

what do you think kate, aleria and farah’s fav pet names to call their s/o’s, or even if they like pet names! i absolutely loooovvvvvvveeeee your stuff by the way, love! <3 you are feeding the lesbians in the cod fandom

Hey there! Thank you! I'm glad to hear that I can make something for the women lovers in the CoD fandom! That was my intention all along!

Pet Names That Valeria, Farah and Laswell Use

Valeria: I don’t think she’d use too many pet names as she does believe they’re somewhat embarrassing. Will absolutely not use any in public, but might use some when she’s drunk and alone at home with you. When she’s drunk she usually speaks some Spanglish, so chances are, unless you know both languages, you won’t fully understand her. And even then, her pet names are very few and far in between. They’re also nothing too special. Something along the lines of cariño/a or querido/a. Really, it’s nothing too fancy as Valeria isn’t usually one to show her affections through words. However, you can call her jefa and she’ll go wild internally. Naturally, she’s the boss among the two of you, but it’s nice to hear that anyway. Also the implication of you being family is nice.

Farah: Unlike Valeria, Farah is all for sweet pet names. Loves calling your romantic things that show you just how much she cares about you. She can go either way as well, either calling you something adorable in Arabic or English, she’s fluent in both languages after all. Calls you “my love”, “my moon” or “my heart”. It’s important to note that she usually puts “my” in front of your pet names since it’s important to her that you are hers. However, in Arabic she’ll call you something along the lines of habibi/habibti, rohi or ya amar. Maybe I should mention that she’d also love nothing more than to be sweet with you in Arabic, so her saying things to you in that language aren’t restricted to just pet names. She’ll compare you to the most beautiful things in existence. Farah can be quite eloquent in Arabic, actually, so it’ll always be sweet.

Laswell: Oh, she can probably go any way. Laswell knows so many languages, there’s a good chance she knows yours as well. So she likely wouldn’t be above calling you a pet name in your own language. Besides, if she doesn’t know your language then she’ll simply learn it, she really wants to indulge in the joy of speaking your native tongue with you. So she’ll definitely learn some sweet things she can call you in your language. However, if we go by English alone, then she won’t be too fancy on that one. She could be, don’t get me wrong, but she usually chooses to stick with something that will convey that she loves you, but won’t go overboard. You can expect something along the lines of “my love”, “sweetheart”, “sweetie” and, if she’s feeling especially daring that day, “cutie” from her.

[batbabydamian]

Gatecrashers interview with Juni Ba about The Boy Wonder!

there’s a bit more insight into the storytelling aspect, and most notably, Talia’s character!

tbh much respect to the interviewer, Zero, for asking the biggest question about this series:

really encourage taking a read if you want a bit of Ba’s creation process or more story teasers!

[kindredspiritsandgoodomens]

"Even memory is an act of imagination, you never tell the same story twice, not even to yourself" ~ Michael Burkard

This quote showed up on my dash and reminded me of The Rashomon Job and how interesting I find it that many people can watch the episode and walk away with the impression that we've been told the 'correct' or 'true' version of what happened that night, specifically by Nate.

And I get why. The team certainly lets him have the last word, and structurally we are used to the 'Nate's Eye View' dénouement being the point where we see a complex web of events finally make sense as a designed structure. But the multiple thefts of the dagger weren't part of a unified whole arranged by Nate, or by anyone - so maybe we should approach the usual conceit of revealing the scheme as seen through the eyes of the mastermind rather differently in this episode.

As an audience, we depend on Nate's ability to pull of the impossible just as much as the team do, and even though we (and the team) may roll our eyes at his god complex it's important for our continued investment that we (and they) manage to almost believe he's Just That Good. But the tell that his version of this particular story is not entirely without colour is that it's all just a little too neat.

When the storytelling starts, Nate's delighted. The minute he realises he can scoop them all, and even retroactively be the mastermind who puts it all together, he's just pleased as punch. "Why don't you all come over and I'll tell you what really happened." He says. You know, like a liar.

The first thing of note about Nate's Version is that he never went into the party, but still takes it upon himself to give them an authoritative reconstructed version of what went down based entirely on his own sense of how it would have happened, based on his understanding of the team and his assumptions about their behaviour. Naturally in Nate's Version Eliot and Sophie don't flirt even a little. Naturally in Nate's version it's going to be Eliot who takes Sophie's adulterated champagne glass, intended for Hardison, from Parker's tray, despite nobody else having specified anything about this detail (Eliot - the gastronome - wouldn't remember spitting out foul tasting champagne? Sophie wouldn't have noticed a key part of her plan going awry?). But this way it fits it all together like one of his plans, so naturally it's all going to be nice and neat.

Not content with imagining the entirety of the party sequence, he also entirely constructs a conversation between Coswell and the securty guard locked in the store room. Based on Nate's own description of his movements there's simply no way for him to know what went down in that room. We know from Parker that Coswell made his way into the vents, and we know how he got the climbing equipment, but would the Coswell of Nate's Version really go climbing into ducts? It's neat, but it's thin.

Coswell is really where we have to question the neutrality and authority of Nate's version the most. Not only because - even if we allow that IYS jackass Nate Ford did in fact perceive this security guy (probably most security guys) as an ineffectual irritant - he's clearly reacting to Sophie's contemporary jibe about Coswell's potentially superior intelligence by making the man a buffoon in his retelling. But, also, because believing him about Coswell's buffoonery requires us to accept that Parker, Eliot, Hardison and Sophie all massively overestimated an opponent on a job. Is that really plausible? Even if we allow for a percentage of exaggeration because they're thieves swapping stories in a bar, it doesn't add up. Hardison and Parker, who were young and mostly there for clout, maybe. Eliot and Sophie? No.

When they describe Coswell as brusque, efficient, and suspicious - and they corroborate each other, we should be very wary of Nate's entirely re-written character sketch of the man. Especially the idea that his behaviour could all be explained because he had a crush on Sophie. Sophie Devereaux - who can pick a mark's weakness of a driving license photo - not notice when the head of museum security has a crush on her? Not bloody likely.

Everything Nate remembers Coswell as actually saying could just as easily have been said by the version of Coswell the others describe. For instance, "I don't know much about gold but I know it's not meant to do that." Could be silly - could be sardonic. Nate thinks he's an irritating pleb, so it's recounted as silly. But even in Nate's Version Coswell makes a good point about the dealer running. Again, it's neat, but it's thin.

As for the idea that the dagger fell from a vent directly into his hand? Well, as Hardison says, nobody's that lucky. Nate's showboating. He's embellishing and neatening his recounting of his own (biased) recollections just as much as the others, and he's doing it to reinforce his team's (and maybe his own) perception of him as slightly beyond the laws of chance, reason, and even physics. This episode is also one of the last times he denies that he's a thief - a tell if ever there was one.

Eliot and Sophie both express reservations, but they let him have it, because on some level they know that they need him to be that lucky. The whole house of cards only stays up if Nate really is That Good.

Plus, of course, none of the team's versions are without colour - and they all know it. Firstly, all perception is shaped by biases. So Sophie remembers different details than Eliot or Parker, because they look at the world differently and prioritise different kinds of contextual awareness, reasoning, and value judgements. Secondly, and more importantly, they're not just remembering and recounting what happened that night - they're all thieves telling stories to other thieves, to friends they want to wind up (the accents getting worse and worse, Sophie saying Coswell was maybe even smarter than Nate), impress (Hardison being the centre of female attention, Sophie getting a round of applause), or correct (Eliot and Sophie both claiming the other was the one doing all the flirting, when if we take Hardison's word...) But their descriptions of the sequence of events all line up reasonably well.

Ultimately they're all right about parts of it. Nate's probably right about Coswell being ineffectual by IYS standards. Sophie's probably right about his personality. Hardison's probably right about Eliot and Sophie flirting outrageously. Parker's probably right about her encounter with Coswell in the vents (she's not going to misremember vents). But we, the audience, don't see the One True Version of what happened that night.

That's why it's so nice when the episode ends with them all going to steal the dagger, properly, together. Because that's where the truth is. The truth that they're all thieves, telling stories in a bar. Even Nate. But when they're stealing things together they can defy the laws of chance, reason, and even physics. That's where they'll really see and understand each other, and that's what matters.

[habitual-creatures]

Does your brain also just throw funny cursed ideas at you randomly?

Song

Brain screamed because of song.

These two:

I wish I could animate.

The idea is too funky to me. I love it. But my brain and hands don't allow me to animate. 😭

IF YOU READ THE TAGS, PLEASE- DO YOU SEE MY VISION- IS MY BRAIN BEING STUPID OR DOES THIS MAKE SENSE AND IS COMEDIC???

[ishouldgay]

I honestly don’t usually like threesomes where one is a couple that is like… super deep in love and probably would never share themselves with a third because while I think threesomes are hot like everyone else I hate out of character smut more.

However!

Shadowheart x Aylin x Isobel has not left my mind.

Between the whole religious/cult trauma being amplified by 300% (Isobel is 100 because she’s a favorited cleric while Aylin counts as 200 because she’s, you know, the actual daughter of Selûne) and the fact that over all they seem each others type (The idea that Aylin has a thing for half elf clerics of Selûne is hilarious to me too) it works out.

I need like. At least ten fics about them. Please. At least one of them is just Shadowheart being lovingly railed by Aylin while Isobel watches because she deserves it.

[realitydisco]

Just watched the latest Impulse Phasmo vod and I NEED more Gem playing Phasmo with the guys! Wonderful vibes.

[anaid-queen]

Valkyrie: I'm not a jealous person. Tanith: *amused* No? Valkyrie: Nope. *pops the 'p'* Not at all. I know Skulduggery loves me, why would I be jealous of anyone? Tanith: So... last week when we got drunk downtown... Valkyrie: *sips her drink* Yeah? Tanith: You tore down all those Grace Kelly Movie Night posters... for fun? Valkyrie: *freezes with the glass halfway to her lips, then hastily gulps* Yup. For fun. Tanith: *raises a single eyebrow* Valkyrie: Uh-huh. I was. Practicing my vandalism skills. Been a while. Tanith: *smiles indulgently* Right.

[hella1975]

all hate to tiktok for taking 'having a space to more openly and actively talk about different cultures' to mean 'cultures are NOT to be shared and we must be vigilantly defensive of our cultures for fear of appropriation, a word that can be applied to any multicultural interaction'. like of course cultural appropriation is a very real problem but ive seen with the access to global multicultural conversation that tiktok provides it's made people TERRIFIED to even interact with cultures other than their own for fear of 'doing it wrong'. like at some point you have to acknowledge that in the real world of the great outdoors, the majority of people are eager to SHARE their cultures. yes there are ignorant questions and biases but also... how do you think those things get unlearnt? i dont understand how deciding that multiculturalism is an elephant in the room instead of a normal thing that should just be talked about and lived with is supposed to benefit anyone? and kids on tiktok are CONVINCED that it's a time bomb of a conversation to have and therefore must be avoided at all costs but like. people generally LOVE their home and their culture and are PROUD of it and want to share it. how have we made it so that showing genuine interest and a desire to understand something so integral to a person's identity is now feared and borderline demonised?

[haunted-xander]

Been seeing people make these and finally managed to find the site to make them with!

Banana <3

[caramelmochacrow]

inyuose siblings yay! (i only got a few things abt them done)

[starlight-archer]

You know what, the ATLA live action has a fair few flaws with some characterisation, pacing etc. , but I enjoyed it, it was fun to watch and I liked it a lot, I think the casting was really good and I'm excited for a season 2 and 3.

However I think that what would have fixed its pacing is if they had 10 episodes instead of only 8. They tried to rush through too much plot at once and squashed it together a little too much. The original season 1 is 20 episodes, meaning 10 would be like combining 2 episodes for each one, which I think would work much better than squishing 3 or 4 into one.

The devil is in the detail after all, and they lost a lot of detail trying to contain everything into only 8 episodes. I hope they have more episodes for season 2 and 3 because I think it would help a lot with the pacing and give more opportunity for character exploration and growth.

Also let Zuko be obsessed with his Honour, let Aang be more playful and actually learn waterbending and let Katara be angry and bold.

[zatna]

zatna voice claims except it's not just one. they're also all correct.