#this bit me and wouldn't let go

[sylverscribbles]

"Ohmygodsdon'tdropme."

"You asked if I could dance. Aren't you the one always demanding empirical evidence?"

[arcade-confetti]

Being someone who read Under The Red Hood and came out with the firm belief that, for Jason, it's not about killing Joker, it's about Jason wanting proof Batman would choose him over the Joker (bc shelia chose the joker). Makes seeing any other media where it's all about just wanting the Joker dead is a teeny bit frustrating. to be honest

Jason could've killed the Joker himself, really, really easily. Jason kidnaps the Joker before the confrontation. I can't open my comic for a reference right now, but it felt like he had the Joker for quite a bit before the confrontation. He had him. He beat him up with a crowbar. He had every single opportunity to kill the Joker himself, but he didn't because that wasn't his goal. Make no mistake, he did plan for the Joker to be dead by the end of it, but do you see what im trying to say here

Edit: If I knew this post was gonna get 1000+ notes I would've tried to word it better or something, this was a rant I made on the way to the grocery store 😭

It's not about making Batman kill either. When Batman says he won't kill, Jason adjusts and goes, 'Let ME kill the Joker or kill me to stop me' instead. The test is all about Batman choosing him. The whole final confrontation is Jason's first death again. The parent, The Joker, and the explosives. It even ends with Jason unable to move as a bomb goes off right next to him again because the parent didn't choose Jason. And instead tried finding an option that'd benefit them and (consequencely) letting the Joker walk, again, lol, lmao <-in agony

[theloveinc]

Jason Todd who always notices when (in your attempt to care for him) you serve him the better cuts of meat or the more beautifully plated meals, where the sauce hasn't spilled over into the greens and the scoop of the rice hasn't browned on the bottom...

And Jason Todd, the fucking bastard, who always makes you trade plates with him.

[ryllen]

x

[once-more-with-anxiety]

me,slapping both of my hands over everything about the cancellation while kicking the last episode aside with my foot: so, how do you guys think the next season will start? I'm thinking Charles and Edwin go on a date or something, personally.

[broareweabouttoviberightnow]

anytime Johnny gets a scheme in his head the others push it SO hard bc the thing is if it was JOHNNYS idea darry can't be mad about it <3

[tharatorns]

Aou Thanaboon and Boom Tharatorn WE ARE | EP. 9 — behind the scenes

[blueteller]

Me, wondering: Why do I always get a weird feeling when I'm reading "Alver" instead of "Alberu"? It's not like I care about the specific translation all that much, or have a specific association with the name "Alver" or... anything... ... Wait a minute – "Alver"... "Alvin"... chimpunks... squirrels... ... ... Me: ...No wait that pun doesn't even work that well in English since flying squirrels and chipmunks are different words in this language- My brain: DO THE MEME ANYWAY

(Based on this old poster)

[vaguely-concerned]

listen I just... this path of harding's loyalty mission with this specific party. the disrupted self squad. the trauma has made me a stranger to myself Have You Seen Me I can't find my way back union. team fractured reality and I'm piecing it and myself back together as best I can (will you keep me company in the meantime?). the echoes and the implications. as above so below, as in you so in me, large cosmic scale to painfully small personal psychological scale. pain from the distant past still alive and snarling to be known in the now, and pain right now and ongoing but forgotten and unseen, supressed by means natural and unnatural (what's a little blood magic to help denial and dissociation along between frenemies huh solas). the extra meaning 'spite' takes on as a phrasing here (because it's all IN THERE this is all in the big text of the game!!! the themes echo back on themselves everywhere you listen for them!!!!). rook who once more doesn't even know that they don't KNOW they're also speaking to themselves as well as harding in this scene, to their own broken self and mind partially mirrored in someone they love (broken by the same perpetrator, even, in this case!!!!!!!!! hello solas once more), harding who doesn't quite know she's also speaking to them as well as to herself, to the dwarves, the titans, the world; everything and everyone that has ever been hurt, but whose stubborn kindness still has room for it all. (even for solas. hello again. we cannot escape you it seems mr dread wolf it's almost like you and your plethora of fuckery are thematically central or something (grudgingly affectionate).) even without perfect understanding of the full picture, the simple intention to be kind matters.

(forgive me for my sentimental nature and everpresent rookanis bias for a moment but ALSO lucanis looking over at rook Like That in this context, while those words are being spoken!!! spite's role in urging him towards escaping, living, thriving, instead of merely numbly surviving, and how it ties in with harding's revelation and decision here. and rook who opens doors and stays to walk through them with you, at the end being found and helped through a door of their own, and lucanis himself being one of the people to do that. do you. do you get me. I feel strange and wild.)

most of all harding just. saying the whole thing. summing the whole game up. 'we're different, but we're not gone. we will thrive -- in spite of you'. I was RIGHT about it all the way back in november actually and I should say it!!!!! the game is saying this on purpose. 'and then... everyone was there. and that's when I knew we'd be okay. that I'd... that I'd be okay'. my friend lace harding might be the only person who really gets it huh. and what a legacy for varric to leave behind in the narrative (and what a common da2 W, the little team that couldn't does it again better than anyone's ever done it by doing it the worst anyone's ever done it, hawke can't stop winning by always losing). no salvation but each other but my god that is plenty. my god. that is enough. once more

my head is in my hands I love this game desperately, it rewards really sitting with and taking in the themes so much. i'm so sorry for dropping a bunch of my own metas in there like that but I'm finding it so hard to say what I need to say all in one go, it's just -- it's so big! it's so much! I have so many thoughts to express about my unified theory of veilguard and only my poor battered neurons to do it with, please look upon me with clemency and, perhaps, forbearance. and it's so interesting that you can bring another companion along with rook and harding in this scene and have it mean just as much with slightly different nuances, have it resonate just as much with the overall meaning the game is trying to get across, because they're truly all tied in with each other that way; they're all part of a larger truth. you think it's one theme after another but the damn things overlap etc.

[hawnks]

A werewolf knight promised a bride in return for his unflinching loyalty and unmatched battle prowess.

His Jarl thinks the most beautiful, talented, and wellbred Lady of the island will suit nicely as his gift.

But the wolf has already made his choice -- he'd made it long before he ever went to war. Everything he did, every terrible, horrible, deadly thing, he did it for her.

And since he was promised a bride, well. Who can stop him? It's his due, after all.

[rubenesque-as-fuck]

Oopsie daisy, we accidentally spent almost 5 full hours in my room 🥴 damn I had truly planned on buying him a nice dinner after sex too

[iceclew]

Based on B99 being iconic of course.

And the most beautiful Kafka Bride there is. ♡( ◡‿◡ )

Honestly, if that's not romance to you, we will never work out, sorry..

[dandelion-wings]

Kicking around a new omegaverse scenario on Discord last night/this morning (I make. so many omegaverses. that I am gradually trying to uncringe enough about to actually talk about) and was just seized with the need for Lisa's POV about it, mostly because "Lisa sees Kaeya's reaction vs. Jean's reaction to Diluc's return and tries to decide whether she needs to do a subtle murder or not" is a trope I made up myself for me but nonetheless absolutely adore. So:

---

It's a lovely day out, a warm sun cut with just enough of a breeze to keep her from getting sweaty, so Lisa has insisted on tea out in the gardens below the Ordo instead of indoors. Jean isn't joining them this afternoon, which is a shame, but Eula and Amber are both in from the field and happy to be invited. Kaeya has, as often happens, invited himself.

Eula is in the middle of indignantly complaining about her family's latest shenanigans when Kaeya tenses, and he, she, and Amber all look almost simultaneously towards the garden entrance. Lisa, less vigilant than any of them but certainly interested, follows their gaze.

There's a gentleman heading their way, dressed in an unseasonably heavy black coat, his red hair vivid against it. Eula's eyes narrow in recognition, and Kaeya sets down his tea and sits even straighter. It's entertaining to watch both Eula and Amber do the same in response. Lisa settles back in her chair and takes another sip of her tea, watching closely.

"Kaeya," the man says, without even a glance at the rest of them. "Jean told me you would be out here. I wanted-"

Kaeya flinches. It's a tiny movement, just enough to be visible, and then a smile spreads over his face that Lisa doesn't believe for an instant. She sees Amber sniff the air and brace her hands on the table to stand.

"-to talk to-" The man cuts himself off, going white. He takes a step back almost defensively, then shakes his head. "Never mind."

He turns his back and flees the garden as if Amber and Eula are actually after him. Lisa takes another long, thoughtful sip of tea, looks at Amber slowly relaxing in her seat and the glances she and Eula are exchanging, watches out of the corner of his eye as Kaeya slumps in his own seat and then regathers himself enough to stretch out and casually take a cookie, then lowers her cup and smiles sweetly at him.

"I take it that was our newly-returned Master Diluc Ragnvindr?"

"You have a good eye." Kaeya gives her very nearly the same languid smile he had his long-missing alpha, every genuine emotion shuttered away.

Lisa wonders what Master Diluc had gotten down their bond in the moment that Kaeya flinched. Surely much, much more than any of them, even Amber with her alpha's nose, picked up on. There are reasons why Lisa is willing to let Jean keep their relationship quiet and bondless until the Grand Master comes back, and the thought of having Jean's anxiety in her head day in and day out is certainly one of them.

"I don't like him," Amber declares, loud and decisive. "He didn't even look at Eula!"

"Oh?" Kaeya smirks at her. "He didn't look at you, either. Is our little Outrider getting big enough that that's a problem?"

Amber sputters angrily. "No! I'm not- it's not about stupid alpha stuff! It's because he was *rude*."

"He was at that. Maybe you should call him out next time." Kaeya's smirk broadens. "You do want a rival or two to face down if you want to catch anyone's eye, you know."

"I'm not trying to!"

"Amber doesn't need to get into foolish fights in order to impress anyone," Eula says, taking the bait, and Kaeya, eye gleaming, immediately begins needling her as well.

Lisa sits back to watch again, ready to rein him in if he needles either of them a little too sharply. The subtle shifts in their relationship this past year constitute delicate new growth, and she won't see it wilted. But Kaeya's shoulders are relaxing again as he teases them, and it *is* an effective distraction.

***

While Lisa insists on quiet in her library, she doesn't insist on absolute silence. It's interesting, and sometimes useful, to listen in on the patrons' gossip.

"I heard Diluc Ragnvindr is back in town," someone whispers, back in the natural studies section. "But everyone says he isn't going to return to the Knights...."

"Of course he wouldn't," their companion scoffs. A little more loudly, but not loud enough to scold. "Master Jean would never let him. Not now that Master Kaeya's the quartermaster. She'll keep Master Diluc well away from him."

"But aren't they mates?"

"They're *bonded*, if that's what you mean. But Master Diluc wasn't even a knight yet and Master Kaeya was even younger when it happened. Master Crepus hushed it up, but... well, they may not be Lawrences, but the Ragnvindrs *are* aristocrats. Why else would Master Jean have taken him away from the Winery as soon as Master Diluc left it?"

It would explain the flinch, but something about it doesn't taste right. Lisa knows that Jean and Kaeya have secrets between them, but Jean *would* have told her. If not before, then when Master Diluc did return, so that Lisa would know to intervene if she had to. Besides, Jean had been genuinely delighted by the news that he was back in Mondstadt. She wouldn't be if that was the story.

"Why wouldn't Master Jean challenge him for his claim, then? I've heard that- you know- not that Master Jean would ever do anything inappropriate. But it wouldn't be, if she did challenge him."

The voices are drawing closer, and Lisa makes sure she looks like she's paying close attention to marking returned books, though she could do this simple little spell in her sleep.

"Politics, probably. She needs some kind of excuse, and until Master Diluc gives her one- Oh! Miss Minci," the knight says as they round the corner, smiling nervously. "I didn't realize you were in."

"I came in after you," Lisa says, with a gracious smile. "Do you have books to check out, cuties?"

She checks out their books, pretending not to notice their awkward silence and making no comment on their discussion. No point in taking offense when she and Jean *are* keeping their affairs quiet. They aren't the first people to assume that Kaeya lives with Jean for prurient reasons, or, more kindly, to imagine a star-crossed forbidden romance between them.

To be fair, Lisa had probed at that exact possibility before she dedicated herself to acquiring Jean's affections. But she's quite certain, bond or not, of Jean's loyalty.

***

If Master Diluc's return is causing a resurgence of such rumors, though, Lisa would rather Jean and Kaeya not be blindsided by them. She doubts that Kaeya *would* be, even if no one says them to his face--he's quite good at tracking such whispers and rumors. Jean, though, relies on him and Lisa to keep her informed of such things, and Lisa isn't sure Kaeya would share this one.

Lisa can also confess to some personal curiosity. It may not be the one the rumors claim, but there is a story in that blighted interaction in the garden.

"I overheard an interesting conversation in the library the other day," she tells them over dinner the next time Jean invites her over for the night. "It seems there's an interesting theory going around about you refusing to let Master Diluc return to the Knights. Mixed in with that old nonsense about the two of you being secretly, passionately in love."

"If that's so, I can guess which one it is," Kaeya says, smiling ruefully. "Unfortunately, no one's put me in a position to deny it."

Jean frowns. "Oh, no. Not the one Father had to investigate when you were younger? I thought he'd settled that years ago."

"You know how it is. A good rumor never dies entirely. All it takes is a few people willing to be convinced that Father paid the Church off to hide the evidence, and, well." Kaeya shrugs. "The cavalry won't be convinced that their Saint Diluc did any such thing, so as long as I stay friendly with them, it'll eventually die down. The other half we won't be able to do anything about until I move out."

"Do you want to?" Jean asks, bracing herself as she does for bad news.

"And live where? I'm not quitting as your quartermaster." Kaeya gives her a reassuring smile and reaches for the wine, refilling his glass. He offers it to Jean, who waves it off, and Lisa, who holds her own out to be topped off, before setting it back down. "Let me handle it."

"I may be able to help, if you'll tell me enough of the truth to do it with." Lisa smiles innocently in response to his amused look. "And I *am* curious."

Kaeya salutes her with his glass. "The only part the rumor has right is that Diluc *was* acting on impulse, but it was hardly the salacious one everyone likes to think. It wasn't that long after Father took me in, you see, and Father wanted to adopt me formally, but circumstances fell out such that it wasn't possible. If Diluc had one flaw at that age, it was that he was bad at thinking out plans. Since my birth parents abandoned me, if I was his mate, I would be as close to legally Father's son as possible without actual adoption. And both of us were a little too young to understand what we were actually getting into."

"Neither of them thought to bring it to Master Crepus first," Jean adds in affectionate exasperation. "Diluc presented it to their father as a fait accompli, and it did cause some terrible trouble at the time. But Father proved that... that all Diluc did was bite him, which was the only legal problem."

"The rest was merely an issue for the Ragnvindr reputation, and Father was excellent at handling that."

A very childish action indeed, but unless Jean's father actually *was* complicit in far more than she realizes, it still doesn't explain the flinch. Lisa lets prurient curiosity get the better of her and leans in. "So did you end up childhood sweethearts?"

Kaeya chokes on his wine, splutters a moment, and wipes his face with the napkin Jean hands him while she uses his to blot at the tablecloth. "No, that wasn't- no." Regaining his composure, he sets his glass down, leans back, and smiles at her, just as he had in the garden after Master Diluc left. "Do you recall that book I loaned you? The childhood favorite of Jean's, where the honorable alpha knight sits in front of the beautiful omega's door with her sword drawn through her heat?"

"Kaeya, you *didn't*."

"I thought it was adorable," Lisa assures her, before turning back to Kaeya. "Don't tell me-"

"Jean made him read it too, before I even came to the Winery," Kaeya says, with relish. "I suspect it was his model, because that's exactly what he did, for six years straight. He always was the picture-perfect noble knight and alpha. Jean was the only one who could exceed him, in either area."

"That's not true. He was my better and you know it. I admired that about him very much."

"Mmmm. Well. If Commander Fredrica had died to Eroch's machinations, I doubt you would have...." Kaeya waves his hand briefly, and his smile slips. Jean goes sad-eyed, but nods.

*There*. Lisa would swear to it that right there, in that trailing-off and waved hand, is the reason for that flinch. She doubts Kaeya would respond to further prying, no matter that he's nearly finished that second glass of wine, but that doesn't matter. Jean clearly knows what he's referring to. Lisa will push with her, later, when she gets her alone and finds a good window to ask.

For now she smiles, and says, "*I* would certainly agree that Jean exceeds him in knightly dedication, though I will confess to being biased," and enjoys watching Jean blush.

[flaming-toads]

You strike that pose, Miss Cackle!

[oneluckydragon]

"What do you remember of being human, Echo?" The question is out of the blue and unexpected. But Sora offers a patient smile and tilts her head in curiosity, just enough that one of her ears flops over. It's endearing, if anything.

But Echo wishes she hadn't asked.

"Not much. Distinct memories are cloudy." A tired tone says softly, a pained recollection in her eyes and an acrid haze in her soul that endures, endures, and endures, "But I remember the discomfort more than anything. My body always did feel wrong back then. Misshapen. Condensed. Like it was too small for everything buried underneath, and that ache went so deeply some days that it would make my skin crawl. I hated that part the most."

At that, Sora's expression falls. She looks inexplicably sad, as if she'd hoped for a different response, a gentler one despite knowing the harsh truth about the dark future and the struggles Echo must have suffered. "But you had Grovyle, right? I'm sure he took care of you."

"He did, Sora, of course he did." A sigh, a flick of an ear and claws clenched tightly into the churned earth pressed under her paws. "I doubt I deserved his attention, though. I was too busy being angry at the world to give any care back."

In my lore, Echo does not look fully human during their time in the dark future. Since they were Darkrai before becoming human, and as a result of Palkia's reckless shattering of the Dimensional Portal which distorted both time and space, Echo's transformation was broken and accidental. They ended up looking pretty messed up and definitely (not) human. A lot of their characteristics as Darkrai carried over but rather morphed into something else.

And Grovyle, growing up in a world where humans have been extinct for longer than any living pokémon has been alive, has no concept of what a "true" human looks like. The only thing he knows is descriptions of humans from glyphs and texts in old ruins. Thus, he mistakes Echo for an actual human. And Echo, not knowing what a human looks like themselves due to amnesia, accepts this identification with nothing better to use.

[witchinatree]

"Gwen Bouchard; Too Close to the Sun"

third time's the charm except this one was a disaster and i just want to be DONE with it 😡

i was waiting hoping for more sad gwen and then 23 handed me exactly what i needed. and alice i love her too

this also made me think about like 1. babygirl blackmailed lena into letting her icarus herself, and 2. alice never doubted her for a moment, even when sam was cackling about the bonzo thing, i hope gwen and alice talk more because they need it/each other

so originally i was going to use the song "the rockrose and the thistle" by the amazing devil but i listened to the lyrics a bit more and realized it's way better for basira and daisy. guess what the next one is gonna be LMAO

i'm exhausted though so pls don't hold your breath you will suffocate ‼️

the podcast is the magnus protocols, song is "bubble gum" by clairo, and i used capcut (evil) to do this

sorry this one is kinda all over the place, i didn't have great scenes to transition between. it was so much easier with jon we got 200 episodes of him never shutting the fuck up (/pos)

if anyone ever asks me who my favorite tmagp character is pls show them this, it will not answer their question but i want internet points for my labor (it is gwen and alice though)