#us savings bonds program

[gracie-bird]

On the eye of her departure for Monaco to wed her Prince Rainier, Grace Kelly was presented with a silver medal and citation by the US Treasury Department for her work on behalf of the US Savings Bonds program in New York on March 30, 1956. She is shown with the medal, which was formally presented by John R. Buckley, director of the Treasury's Savings Bonds division.

*Photo by Frank Jurkoski via eBay and restored by @gracie-bird

[devildomwriter]

Why Lucifer is A Good Brother

*Somewhat chronologically in order everything is canon and if you want the reference I’ll give it to you*

*Heavy spoilers*

All angels consider each other siblings but out of the millions, possibly billions of angels. Lucifer chose to take five brothers and a sister (originally) under his wing.

He gave Mammon a challenge to become his apprentice and when he succeeded he welcomed Mammon with open arms and never rejected him afterwards even with all the trouble he caused.

He gave Asmodeus the nickname “Jewel of the Heavens” something he still loves to this day even as a demon.

He made Levi feel seen and useful even after the peace treaty between realms made his position obsolete.

He bonded with Beelzebub who was originally his guard and took him and his twin under his wings. He also introduced Lilith to the twins who became inseparable.

When Lilith fell in love he visited the Human World to see if this man was good and kind.

When Lilith broke a Celestial Law this man WENT TO WAR WITH AN ENTIRE REALM and GOD to save her. He asked his brothers to side with him and carried guilt for doing so after the war.

After the war, he pledged eternal loyalty to the man in control of the realm he was at war with for most of his existence all to save his sister despite the humiliation. He saved her even though she wouldn’t remember him and he could never see her again and he carried the burden for thousands of years until MC’s ancestry was revealed.

The Devildom and Celestial Realm hold very strict laws so he took whatever means necessary punishment-wise to correct their behavior. In the Celestial Realm, it was so his brothers weren’t outcast and in the Devildom it was so they weren’t imprisoned or killed.

His brothers believe he’s more loyal to Diavolo than to them but he does this FOR them.

When the brothers struggled with becoming demons he was there to comfort them.

When he accidentally created Satan he took full responsibility for the absolute murderous maniac and did his best to raise the personification of hatred.

He cared about Satan so much that when the brothers were offered the chance to return to the Celestial Realm, the realm he once ruled, he told them to return and he alone would stay with Satan so he wouldn’t be alone. Even though this decision meant he wouldn’t be able to see his brothers and they’d be seen as enemies, he wanted what he believed was best for them and what they wanted.

Lucifer did everything he could to master new demon magic, insert himself into Devildom politics, and befriend his enemies all for his brothers’ sakes to give them the same position of respect they had in the Celestial Realm.

In Nightbringer when he was incarcerated in Cocytus the fact his brothers were being held too enraged him to the point he broke free and even fought Diavolo believing he had something to do with it. And when Raphael cried having to sentence him, Lucifer wasn’t angry he felt sorry for Raphael—a former brother.

Lucifer continuously fights those many times stronger than him all for his family’s sake.

Even though it pained him to see his former angelic brothers for the exchange program he remained cordial even though it was at first awkward and a reminder of all the pain of the past. He did this for his former brothers.

When Belphegor threatened treason and war, he lied to the ruler of the Devildom and hid Belphegor away to PROTECT him.

He lashed out at Mc and nearly killed them because he saw them as a threat to his brothers. First when Luke held the Grimoire that could control them and MC got in the way; then threatened them because they were making pacts with all his brothers; then why they betrayed him and found Belphegor because this could reach Diavolo and Belphegor would be punished for treason. In Nightbringer he originally remained suspicious and cold because MC could control his brothers without a pact and then had the grimoire which could control them. Lucifer only attacked MC when he was being protective of his brothers.

When Lucifer had amnesia he immediately bonded with his brothers again and revealed many things he’d done secretly to help them like pulling strings to get Mammon the car he worked so hard for.

He was even willing to sacrifice himself to let MC live who became family (or romantic interest—up to you) and his final ask was that they take care of his brothers.

Lucifer’s methods seem strict, unforgiving, and cruel but remember this is HELL, the DEVILDOM. Law only recently was created and Diavolo may be forgiving but who’s to say his father or descendants would be just as lenient? If his brothers don’t behave it could mean the worst and he refuses to lose another family member.

[koolades-world]

One bed troupe w/ Lucifer

You were out on a tour of the Devildom with Diavolo, Lucifer, Solomon, Luke, and Simeon. Diavolo wanted to promote the exchange program further, and let the Devildom see the faces of the wonderful angels and humans that had come to stay with them. They would be out with the group for about a week in order to tour the entire realm. It really wasn’t necessary for Lucifer to be there. In fact, it would have been better for him to stay behind to keep his brothers in check and run the school, but, he had insisted on coming along. His brothers joked it was to stay with Diavolo, but they were secretly mad that Lucifer got to go and they had to stay, jealous about the quality time he would get with you.

It was day four in the trip, which was about halfway through. The day was finally over, and the group was finally returning to the hotel. They hadn’t been the one to move their luggage into the rooms. The room arrangements were as following: Luke and Simeon, of course, Diavolo and Solomon, and finally you and Lucifer. Simeon didn't want to leave Luke alone, and Diavolo enjoyed sharing a room with someone. Lucifer was definitely torn between who to bunk with. It was clear he wanted to keep both you and Diavolo safe from the sketchy sorcerer, but Diavolo insisted he would be just fine with Solomon, and even saw it as a bonding experience. He was rich enough to avoid this altogether, but found the experience novel and once-in-a-lifetime. It was typical of Diavolo to look at the situation that way, which left you and Lucifer together. Dia and Solomon got along surprisingly well, much to Lucifer's dismay, and on the first night alone they painted each others nails and ordered three hundred grim worth of food.

Once reaching your room, you kicked off your shoes and sat at the small kitchen in the hotel room. Lucifer followed behind them, moving their shoes out of the way of the door. He shut the door behind himself, and took off his own shoes more carefully to set them beside theirs. He saw both sets of luggage propped up beside each other, one set black and one set pink. The cute bag tag that Mc had made him adorned his own, complete with his name and bedazzlement.

“Luci, my feet hurt.” You whined to him. He chuckled at your behavior.

“Go and take a warm shower, or bath if you see fit. That will help. We have a few hours before dinner.” You nodded, agreeing and promise to be quick. He opened his suitcase and began looking for a new outfit to wear the evening. You took your own suitcase and disappeared into the bathroom. He turned around to lay out the outfit on whichever bed he should call his, but to his surprise, there was only one. He stopped for a moment, holding the suit. Did Diavolo do this on purpose? Was this a mistake? He found himself thinking for a good moment. He knew he wouldn’t mind sharing a bed with his beloved Mc, but he didn’t want to make you do anything they didn’t want to. He decided to lay out his outfit on a nearby chair instead, leaving the bed untouched. He busied himself in the kitchen instead, poking around for anything that could be his saving grace. He was only able to find some dishes and dishwasher soap.

You finally emerged from the bathroom, with damp hair and wearing a robe, suitcase in tow. “Luci! The robes at this hotel are so nice. I should get one for home.” The way you were affectionately enamored with every small thing in the Devildom warmed his heart. He would have to buy one for you. In any other situation, he hated that damned nickname, but he could never bring himself to stop you from using it.

“Can we talk for a moment?” He decided to bring this up sooner than later. He was a grown demon and running from his problems would not help.

“Sure thing! What’s up?” You set your suitcase down, right back next to his.

It took him a moment to say what he wanted to. Having you in front of him made it much more difficult then he initially thought. "I believe there has been a mistake. We only have one bed." He studied your face for any negative changes. To his surprise, there wasn't one.

"I thought it was going to be much worse that that with the face you were making. I don't mind if you don't." You smiled at him. He found his face heating up and he glanced away. "No need to be shy! This way, one of us won't be super far from the TV. My favorite part about staying in hotels is watching TV in bed and now I get to do it with my favorite demon. Don’t tell Mammon I said that." You giggled.

Lucifer covered his face with his hand. He got up and turned his back to you. "I'm off to shower. See that you are ready to go in an hour." He blindly tried to walk into the bathroom and instead hit his head on the wall before walking through the doorway. You laughed at how flustered he was. Since he was busy, you decided to snuggle up on the side of the bed with the outlet closest so you could charge their D.D.D. They turned on the TV and watched the Devildom cooking show intently. If anyone asked, it was to "acclimate to Devildom culture" but really it was because they enjoyed watching cooking and yelling at the screen. Solomon called you at some point, so the two of you began amiably chatting about the hotel rooms.

Lucifer emerged from the shower pretty quickly and saw you under the sheets, watching TV and talking to Solomon. He picked up on context clues and quickly asked if he could talk to Diavolo. His mood was slightly soured when you rejected his request because you were having a great conversation about the TV show and because Diavolo would not help him get a different room. He decided to get changed while you talked with his least favorite human. Time passed quickly and before he knew it, dinner was over.

You could tell Lucifer had drank a little more than he usually would and was tipsy. He was much taller than you, yet you were the one dragging him in the right direction. You told him to go get changed, and he came back with his clothes folded. He was in a pair of simple black pajamas. You almost preferred him this way, actually. He didn’t try to hide how he felt or anything, but you still felt guilty about it.

He flopped down on the bed, sprawled out, leaving the bathroom open. The pajamas Mc had were long sleeves and long pants. During the day, the Devildom was scorching. However, at night, it was freezing. It rarely snowed or iced over, and most demons barely noticed it. But you for sure as hell did. You learned there was barely a day where you could wear something light, unless you knew one of the brothers would be in your bed since they made nice heaters. Belphie gifted you a heating pad, which quickly made him your favorite for that week, much to the dismay of his brothers. Once you changed, you entered the main room again. Sitting at the edge of the bed, you pushed at Lucifer’s side until he finally rolled over.

“Luci! You’re laying on the remote.” The TV was going wild. Flickers of your cooking show came and went as Lucifer cycled through the many channels at an extreme speed. He dug around underneath himself until he found it and passed it to you. As you began looking for your channel again, you felt a pair of crimson eyes on you.

“I don’t tell you you’re gorgeous enough.” His words caught you by surprise. “You’re gorgeous.” He would never usually say that. Everything always went unsaid or physically communicated. You stared at him for a moment. His face was half illuminated by the flickering TV screen and was nestled under the sheets, like a bird would. You followed suit soon as the room began to grow colder and colder, indicating nightfall. You began to shiver, pressing your hand against your face for warmth.

You felt hands over yours. They were very warm. You turned and caught Lucifer staring right into your eyes. "Next time, tell me if you're cold." He pulled you close, granting you the well needed warmth. He wrapped himself around you. Usually, he was never this cuddly, but you didn't complain. Without him, you might literally freeze to death. The past few hotels had compensated, and given you warmer sheets, and whatever else they could to make you comfortable. This one had not. Lucifer tucked your head under his chin. Your hands were still half frozen, so to keep them intact, he placed them on Lucifer's hips. With you in his arms, Lucifer passed out pretty quickly. You continued watching their show.

Half asleep, you tried to continue watching the TV, your eyes fluttering shut occasionally. You awoke with a startle every time. Your D.D.D. lit up after a while, to which it took you a moment to register. It was a text from Solomon, which read: "Hope you're having a good night. Thank Diavolo and I later ;)" You definitely had some opinions about this since if it didn't work out, you might have actually frozen to death. They would be getting an earful tomorrow.

You sighed, not upset nor happy. Of course Solomon did this. Oh well. It gave you the opportunity to see the other side of Lucifer and gave you something to tease him about. Plus, he was really cute cuddly and without it they might actually freeze. (Note to self: Lucifer is the best personal heater!)

The next morning, Lucifer seemed embarrassed with himself. Lucifer stirring had waken you up, so you got to see his initial reaction. He didn't say anything, and got up pretty quickly.

"You're very warm. I might need to borrow you during winters." You laughed as he hurried off to the bathroom without a word. You would never get tired of his charming antics.

[im-totally-not-an-alien-2]

Okay so we've done "Lazarus water is ghost booze", "Lazarus water is rotting ectoplasm", and even "Lazarus pit as spooky swimming pool" but consider:

Danny getting dunked in the pit waters and being contaminated with constant pit rage. He's destroying everything around him and his friends + sister+ clone must work around/ sabotage the JL, JLD and GIW in order to save Danny from them and get close enough to try to filter out the Lazarus water from his body using one of the Fenton Parents inventions.

The GIW keep interfering with the JL and JLD, hilariously insisting they have authority here and trying in vain to chase the heros off. Sometimes even actually fighting them. Or well, trying to at least.

Phantom doesn't exactly have the greatest reputation. Between the media blackout over Amity and what little that does get through painting him in a bad light thats not really a saprise.

Still, not everyone is convinced Phantom is a villian. Superman thinks Phantom is being mind controlled while most of the bats think the teenager was drugged and is on a rampage because of it.

Jason swears up and down that he felt the pit in that kid and he was swallowed up in pit rage the likes he had never seen before. Jason is determined to help this kid because if he can save this kid then maybe there's some hope for himself. Tim offers his help as well, suspicious of how similar Phantoms eyes are to someone suffering from the effects of the pit and at least partially convinced Jason is right.

It all culminates into Team Phantom saving Danny with the Justice Leages help and slapping the GIW all the way to thier new jail cells. Danny, after emptying his stomach contents into the ground, gets asked some medical questions, like his name and what day it was.

Turns out Danny thought it was the day everything started and had no memory of anything that happened while he was rampaging, which his friends and family thank thier lucky stars for. The boy can't handle much more trauma. Anywho, Danny gets placed in the watchtower medbay while they filter out any lingering L water and he's placed on an iv drip to replenish all the vitamins and hydration he lost while he was out of it.

Batman, Superman and others have all had talks with him, comforting him and actually listening to what he had to say. Something not many adults in dannys life did. Hood swiftly became friends with the kid and they bonded over being "Death Buddies" and Danny eventually told them about Vlad and Freakshow and his parents and how they all need to be stopped. He begged for leniency for his parents as they were genuinely insane and needed help.

Danny and his team get placed in a witness protection program of sorts and is visited by a lot of heros from time to time.

[haunted-xander]

Shadowbringers is about learning how to live.

Your enemy is stasis- everything and everyone is stagnant, they wait and wait for something to happen, but don't do anything to make it so (because the ones who tried before failed, because they don't know what to do/how to do it). People don't change, they don't try, not really. The crystarium is doing well, it's independent and sustainable, but it doesn't have the reach or power to do much outside of Lakeland. The Exarch is more-or-less confined to the city (because of the tower, because he's waiting for you), so even if he had power elsewhere, he'd be limited with how much he, personally, can do.

Eulemore is filled with mindless indulgence, there's no hardships or labour or anything but luxury for the free citizens, and the bonded only have to worry about fulfilling the task(s) they were brought for. The outside world doesn't matter, hard work doesn't matter, personal fulfillment beyond indulgence doesn't matter, everything exist solely in the moment. The people out in Kholusia have pretty much given up, they stay close to the city in the hopes that this time they will be picked, this time they will be saved. They wait and wait and do nothing but wait. The ones who try to live on are dying out or eventually give up and join the rest in waiting.

Ahm Areang, Rak'tika, even Il Mheg are all just waiting for something, anything to happen. They go day to day, surviving simply because it's all they can. Nothing changes.

Until, of course, you should up. You, who causes a ripple of change simply by existing, who can move the immovable by sheer will. You showed them that things can change, that things can, and will happen, if they just try. You show them that they can make things better, that there is an option besides waiting for a slow death, if they'd just grab fate by the neck and tell it "No. We are doing this my way".

And they do. They rally up together and do what they thought impossible. Not all their efforts succeed(not immediately), but they tried. They tried, they failed, and they got up and tried again and again until it did work. They take the chances, not knowing how it'll turn out (because it's not about whether it fails or succeeds, it's about having tried).

They learn how to try, little by little, and every step they learn what it means to really live.

Endwalker is about learning how to love life.

Your enemy is nihilism- the idea that nothing matters, that there is no real joy to be found that isn't snuffed out by misery. A concept that denounces greys in favor of a black-and-white view where black is all encompassing. Everywhere you go, people are doing what they can to survive, but refuses (or maybe are afraid to, or maybe never knew they could) try to actually save themselves. The Forum plans for escape, to leave their homeworld behind and take whatever they can afford. They will live on, but they won't be saved, no one is saved(and even with escape they aren't safe, Despair is everywhere and She will not stop until all has become Nothing).

The Loporrits love Etheirys, but in the way Winter loves Spring. They know about it, they are so close to it, but they are distant. They're strangers, they've never met. It's love, and it's pure and true, but it's also just love. It's surface-level(because the surface is all they had). Their love is pure but it's instinctual. Programmed. They love because they don't know how to not love. They want to save it's people, save us, but they don't know what it really means to save, so they create refuge instead(because that's what She told them to, because this is how love works for them).

The people of Garlemald are terrified, they are victims of extreme indoctrination, the (deserved) push-back their army got proved them "right"(that we are savage beasts to fear, that they are but prey in the maws of rabid dogs). They want to be build-up again, but what's left for them now? The world hates them(and it's all their fault, the ones who see past the propaganda know this, but who will listen to them?) and they are dying. It's so cold and the fuel is running out. They won't accept help, because they've been filled with the idea that there is no such thing as pure kindness from "savages"(and they are too prideful to question it, to break apart from the illusion that they are surperior, because they're terrified to face the truth).

The sky screams, the earth wheeps and the foundation of existence is overtaken by Despair, misery is around every corner and who knows what will happen now? Where do we go? What do we do? We live and live but for what?

What's the point of it all?

That's the question, and the answer is everything. We live because there is joy to be found. Because there is beauty in the world. Because there are stars in the sky. Because flowers bloom in spring. Because cats purr. Because waves crash against the shore. Because of every single little thing we can see, hear or feel. Because we love and are loved. Because there are things to do and discover. Because why not?

And you tell them this, by letting them see that there is more to life than the little they have seen. The Forum has closed it's eyes to anything but it's own kith and kin, everything outside of Old Sharlayan is irrelevant(non-intervention, always non-intervention) and it takes the entire world coming and telling them "We are here. We are alive, and we will make tomorrow happen." for them to realize they have slowly been killing themselves and what they stand for(you pride yourself on knowledge, but where is your wisdom? What do you truly know of things outside your own bubble? You do not know that which is lived because you refuse to aknowledge anything but the written word).

The Loporrits see Etheirys itself, they experience it's corners and valleys and learn what love can really be. They want to save it, truly save it, because they love and this time it's informed, it's personal(I love you, I love you, and I want you to know I love your loves too).

In Garlemald everything is slow, unsteady and complicated, but it's changing. They're changing. With every person who accepts help the illusion of supremacy and "purity" melts away just a bit, and the wall standing between them and us breaks a little(it will never vanish completely, years upon years of oppression and subjugation and conquest don't disappear like that, but it's a start).

Shadobringers is about learning how to live, but Endwalker is about learning how to love life.

[nocreativityfornames]

Everything we know about Diavolo so far, lore wise.

WARNING: SPOILERS FOR ALL SEASONS

➤ He's the prince and future king of the Devildom, and the founder of RAD — the Royal Academy of Diavolo — taking the position of Student Council President. (swd: 1-1)

➤ He created the exchange program as a first step towards his goal of strengthening the relationships between the three realms and forming an allyship between angels, demons and humans. (swd: 1-1)

➤ He has the ability to discern the truth from the lie. (swd: 4-1)

➤ He was the one to step in and save MC from being attacked by Lucifer in the underground tomb. (swd: 6-6)

➤ He hasn't seen his father in several centuries now and only knows that the Demon King is somewhere in the bottom of the Devildom. (swd: 7-10)

➤ Unlike Lucifer, he saw MC's pacts with the brothers as a good thing from the very beginning. To him, MC's pacts were proof that demons and humans could put aside their differences and actually form bonds together. And that made him happy, considering it was all he wanted with the exchange program. (swd: 8-19)

➤ Before, citizens of the Devildom were allowed to travel to the Human World whenever they wished through passages spread through the kingdom, but Diavolo changed that after taking over the throne. Now, those passages are blocked and the only way demons can use them is by getting permission from Diavolo, Lucifer, or Barbatos - the only demons apart from his father who are allowed to use them freely. (swd: 11-4)

➤ When the eight siblings were cast down to the Devildom and Lilith was in the verge of death from the battle, Lucifer begged Diavolo to save her and he did, having her reborn in the Human World with no memories of her previous life. This came with a cost, however, said cost being Lucifer's loyalty to the prince for the rest of time. (swd: 14-10 and 15-7)

➤ He ordered Barbatos to imprison Belphegor in the castle for plotting treason and put Lucifer under house arrest for protecting the youngest by locking him attic and not telling Diavolo about his plans. (swd: 13-14)

➤ He knew about Belphegor's situation from the beginning, and told this to Lucifer when he arrived in the castle with the others asking for him to free him. "...Truth be told, I knew. I knew you were hiding Belphegor, and I knew why. Your loyalty to me forced you to deceive your brothers, and I knew that was a source of guilt. I saw how you struggled with it - how hard it was being pulled in two directions at once. And it made me sad." (swd: 15-12)

➤ He refused to free Belphegor at first, but eventually made a deal with MC: to release him from prison if they went back in time with the help of Barbatos' powers and found out who had freed him in the first place. (swd: 15-14)

➤ He had Barbatos trace down MC's bloodline and found out that they were a descendant of Lilith because of it. (swd: 16-15)

➤ On his birthday he decided to not only celebrate himself but also MC, to give them a "late welcome party" and show appreciation for them after everything that had happened. (swd: 18-A)

➤ He was suspicious of Solomon for suddenly showing up in the Devildom with MC unannounced (swd: 21-4) but arranged things so they would be able to stay for a while. (swd: 22-19)

➤ When Lucifer and his siblings fell Diavolo found them in the colosseum, and every now and then he finds himself going there and pondering over his past decisions and wondering if they were the correct ones after all. (swd: 24-13)

➤ He was the first Solomon talked to about his suspicions that MC was connected to the natural disasters happening in ancient locations around the realms, and for a while only the two of them and Barbatos knew about it (swd: 37-4), since Diavolo decided to keep it a secret from everyone else until he had proof of MC's powers being harmful to the realms (swd: hard mode, 32-16).

➤ He had MC undergo the standard magic exams that demons students are given at RAD, and although he initially told MC it was to help them learn more about the powers demons possess and how to control them (swd: 29-5), it was actually a test to see if their magic was as powerful as Solomon suspected. The sorcerer was proven right when MC passed each of them. (swd: 37-4)

➤ His secrecy and unusual reliance on Solomon caused a strain on his relationship with Lucifer, as the eldest knew that Diavolo was hiding something but refused to tell him. They eventually had a conversation in the colosseum after RAD's exams week ended, where Lucifer directly enquired him about what was happening. Diavolo refused to tell him, saying it wasn't "the right time" for him to know yet, and when Lucifer asked if whatever secret he was keeping involved MC the prince replied that he wasn't certain yet, further concerning him. (swd: 28-C)

➤ He's "not fond" of Simeon because he finds him difficult to deal with it and told this to the angel's face while speaking to him. When Simeon asked Diavolo why he found him difficult to deal with, he answered saying that it's because angels never divulge anything about themselves or the Celestial Realm but are constantly inserting themselves into Devildom business, and he's specially not fond of Simeon because he hides his true intentions better than any angel Diavolo has ever met. (swd: hard mode, 31-16 )

➤ He's so not fond of and unsure of how to deal with Simeon that when he finally decided to let him in on the secret and make him aware of MC's powers being a threat to the three realms he asked Solomon to break the news instead of doing it himself. (swd: 32-16)

➤ He eventually decided to tell Lucifer about MC’s situation and through text apologized to the Avatar of Pride for leaving him in the dark for so long and asked him to meet him so he could finally let him in on what was happening (swd: hard mode, 36-16). Unfortunately that meeting never happened, since Lucifer ended up affected by MC’s powers and lost his memories before Diavolo could explain anything to him. (swd chat: the fantastic three, untitled)

➤ Finally breaking the news to everyone, he and Solomon told the others everything, from the moment the sorcerer started growing suspicions about MC's powers to the moment that their powers struck Lucifer and he lost his memories. They also presented their only solution(s): to sever MC's pacts with the Night Dagger in order to break their magical connections to the brothers and make them an avarage human again. There was another solution: to stabilize MC's magic with the Ring of Light - the counterpart to the Ring of Wisdom that once belonged to Lucifer - but it was discarded right away as the ring had been lost in the Great Celestial War and no one knew its whereabouts. (swd: 37-9)

➤ Once everyone knew the whole story, he apologized to MC for not finding another way to prevent their magic from causing massive destruction to the realms, since he knew neither MC or the brothers wanted to sever their pacts with the each other. (swd: 37-9)

➤ When all things ended well and MC was able to get their powers under control without using the Night Dagger thanks to the Ring of Light that Simeon found just in time, Diavolo organized a party to honor MC and celebrate the victory. (swd: 39-1)

➤ He showed no surprise when MC expressed wanting to stay in the Devildom instead of going back to the Human World but still refused the request. (swd: 39-10) Later, with everyone, he explained why he didn't want MC to live in the Devildom permanently. “...All of you... I want you to listen carefully to what I'm about to say. I don't want MC to be a demon...or an angel, for that matter. No, I want MC to be a human. A human who understands us, and who works together with Solomon to shepherd the human world toward a better future… Someday I'd like MC to work alongside me to bring harmony to the three worlds. Which is precisely why I won't allow you to be stuck here in the Devildom, MC. I want you to learn more about the three worlds and to understand each of them better... The human world, the Devildom, and the Celestial Realm.” (swd: 40-22)

➤ He couldn't accompany the brothers on their vacation to the Human World at first because of work and told MC he often found it hard to get things done with everything being so quiet since the others weren't in the Devildom with him. (swd: 42-18)

➤ When tasked with the over the kingdom in his father's absence, the first thing Diavolo did was to start conciliating with Celestial Realm to end the conflict between the two realms. For this, he started having meetings with high-ranking angels to explain his plans and hopefully reach and an agreement of peace between the realms. That was how he met Lucifer in the first place, when the angel came down the Devildom to hear what he had to say. (swd: 44-12, 44-15 and swd card: Lucifer, Glory Days)

➤ He's a majority shareholder of the Three-Legged Crow Group otherwise called Yatagarasu, the largest company in the Devildom that's been expanding business in the Human World with their technology devices. (swd: 47-11)

➤ He “went missing” to purposely lead everyone to the karaoke place owned by Yatagaeasu where the brothers and MC had to play a game and get a perfect singing score in order to get out and would vanish from the room if they failed. His reason for this as he told MC later was because had been missing everyone ever since being left in the Devildom while the others were in the Human World, saying that being alone with no one but Barbatos by his side had made him remember how things used to be before the brothers started living in the Devildom and that had made him terribly lonely. In that same conversation, Diavolo also admitted that he felt jealous of the brothers for being able to spend so much time MC. (swd: 48-12 and 48-15)

➤ Later on during an outing with Lucifer after being confronted with the fact that the karaoke ordeal had been orchestrated by him, Diavolo explained his reasons this time to Lucifer and opened up about feeling jealous of MC as well. “I wonder, when was it, exactly? When did you and your brothers become so very important to me? I thought I'd never be able to become ‘one of you.’ It seemed ridiculous to even try, because it was just obvious that I couldn't. But then MC did just that... Effortlessly fitting in with the seven of you to become just another one of the gang. More than that, actually. MC is part of your family now. And when I saw that, it may have made me a little jealous. And while I haven't wanted to admit it to myself up to now...the truth is, I think I was lonely.” (swd: hard mode, 50-16)

➤ His mother died shortly after giving birth to him and he was raised by his father who was very strict and gave him a sheltered childhood, so much so he rarely ever left the castle. (swd: 56-18)

➤ He met Barbatos for the first time when he was still a child and the older demon was the first person he met from outside the castle. The older demon amazed him with stories of the outside world, and little Diavolo begged him to stay with him, getting to the point of threatening not to assume his position of king in the future if Barbatos left him. (swd: 56-18)

➤ When the brothers at the farewell party asked if they could make MC “officially part of the family” by marrying them, Diavolo explained that demons and humans aren't able to marry yet but that he'll do everything he can so one day that'll be possible. “MC, you aren't aware of this, but some bad blood still exists between our three worlds. No matter how much all of you may want this to happen, it's not something I have the power to do on my own. [...] However, my ultimate goal is to eliminate these barriers someday. And I will do everything in my power to make sure that happens.” (swd: 60-15)

➤ A while after MC left Diavolo sent them a magic letter and asked them to come to the Devildom for a third time because he had something important to discuss with them. (swd: 61-4) And that something turned out to be a request for MC to participate in the exchange program for a second time and an invitation for them to be a new member of the student council. (swd: 62-17)

➤ The intentions for this second try of the exchange program was mostly the same but now with a different approach, as Diavolo explained to everyone in the meeting then: “Our last exchange program was meant to provide an opportunity for cultural exchange among the inhabitants of all three worlds. But nothing more than that. Think of it as merely a starting point on the path to mutual understanding. But this time, the goal of the program is to make a stronger case for mutual understanding. Directed at everyone both inside and outside of the Devildom.” (swd: 62-17)

➤ He's known Mephistopheles ever since they were children. (nb: 13-11)

➤ Initially, his father was the main reason why he was determined to be a good king and why he even rescued the brothers in the first place. He craved the king's approval, wanted to live up to his name, show himself worthy of the throne, and eventually surpass him. He was forced to face this truth when he was younger during his last trial of the Kingsblood Crucible - a traditional ritual that demons of royalty have to go through before they take the throne. (nb: 14-7)

➤ After MC was officially appointed as the 9th member of the Student Council and the short-term exchange program ended, he gave them an “entry permit” so they could travel from the Human World to the Devildom whenever they wanted. (swd: 80-22)

[vandnana]

Hi!!! How are you? Could I ask for a Lo'ak x fem!reader (That used to be human but she bonded with her avatar so now she's a navi, like jake) with an already established relationship. Where she teaches him what a pinkie promise is? Basically showing him his "demon blood" allows him to do things other Na'vi can't and he shouldn't be insecure for who he is

Thank you!

This request is so creative and so heartwarming! Thank you so much for sending it in! I LOVE IT <3 i added a backstory for how she got an avatar using the plot from the first part of the movie! i hope you enjoy reading! 

The Pinky Promise

pairing: lo'ak x female avatar reader (formally human and now na'vi)

summary: you comfort lo’ak at the tree of souls after one of the warriors tells him he has freak hands

genre: angst, fluff

warnings: suggestive language, bullying

word count: 2,631

Earth was dying and the only way to save humanity was relocation. The reinvention of the avatar program was exclusive and while many believed that creating more avatars would benefit the mission as a whole, it was decided that you, as General Ardmore’s most admired lieutenant, would take on the task of gathering intel on the Omaticaya.

Back on earth, you had worked hard to get to where you were in General Ardmore’s troops. You were the youngest, but you were easily the most capable, strategic, and willing. You had the attitude of a Marine. 

No fear.

You always found it easy to separate your emotions from your work, but once you entered into the forest, something inside you had stirred and somehow you knew you would never be the same. The forest felt like it was calling you, every branch, every tree, every bush, and even the dirt on the ground seemed to feel alive. But nothing made you feel more alive than when you encountered Lo’ak. He was the one who saved you from a thanator, pulling you out of a tree trunk you were hiding in and leading you away from danger. And at first, he was your savior.

But the minute you had fled to safety, he instantly tried to kill you, questioning where you had come from and why you had five fingers like him. In truth, he could have let the thanator kill you, but then he saw your hands. He told himself that he was only curious about you, but he noticed more than just your hands at first glance. You were undeniably pretty and even the way you walked in the forest felt like a force to be reckoned with.

From there, you tried your best to keep your focus on the mission, but Lo’ak had grown on you. His family had grown on you. And when you told the truth about why you had come, you were met with anger and hurt from the Sullys. 

Jake was the one who wanted to send you away, his expression fierce as you stood vulnerable in front of the clan. Even with everyone looking at you with disdain, you apologized over and over, your eyes pleading as you looked at Lo’ak, explaining how it was him who had changed you, how falling in love with him changed everything. And suddenly, Jake saw himself in you, how he must have looked to the Omaticaya all those years ago and how he could never turn back the clock to save Hometree and to save Neytiri’s father. 

He was Olo’eyktan, and as the clan leader, he chose to believe you, not willing to repeat the same mistakes as before. But, he also warned you that any misstep after this could never be forgiven. You never gave Jake any reason to doubt you ever again.

You had become the devil’s advocate for as long as you could manage, gathering intel for Jake about Ardmore’s operations until she finally figured you out. Despite your high status to her, she didn’t hesitate trying to kill you, but she also seemed to underestimate you too. You faced her in human form, your body taking on a fatal wound.

Yet one thing she failed to know was a truth that Eywa could easily grant.

For when one life ends, another begins.

~

Trouble. That was all you seemed to be in the past few days. 

But, you weren’t alone, Lo’ak always beside you and always willing to go along with your crazy schemes. Yet, most of the time, it was him who had the crazier schemes, reckless schemes that sometimes led to brushes with death and most definitely led to danger.

You didn’t mind though. It was nothing you couldn’t handle. You both were similar in the way that you were. You had no fear, invigorated whenever you were with Lo’ak, the need to protect each other intensely existent with every risk that you took. You had a string of shenanigans behind you, all done for the good of the people, but Jake, although secretly appreciative, had enough of you and Lo’ak’s adventures, forcing you to stay at high camp. There was no use in arguing about it, the two of you reluctantly watching as Neteyam, Jake, and Neytiri took off on their ikrans to patrol the area.

When they had vanished out of sight, Lo’ak groaned in annoyance, turning to you, “We should be out there with them.”

“We were out there Lo’ak, for hours. We just...blew up some machinery without permission.” Lo’ak groaned again, the word “permission” making him want to throw himself off the base of the cave, “Just try to understand your dad. He cares about you. I care about you, so just suck it up and let this pass. ” You replied, snaking your arm around his waist.

 Your touch sent goosebumps down his skin and he gave you a half-smile, trying not to be swayed by how close your bodies were, but ultimately failing as he wrapped his arms around you. 

Taking a hand and gently pushing your hair behind your ear, he answered, “Fine, fine. I’ll let it go. For now.” 

You smiled at him, the corners of your eyes crinkling as you grabbed his neck, pulling him in for a kiss, which he happily accepted. Pulling away, he bit his lip, his eyes fiending for more, but you shook your head.

“We should make ourselves useful while we’re here.” You said with cheery eyes, grabbing his hand, but he pulled you into him again, your back against his chest.

“Or I could just be useful to you…alone” He cooed, his lips gracing your ear as he spoke and his hand trailing your chest.

You turned to look at him, rolling your eyes, “We’ve only been back for ten minutes and that’s what you want to do?”

He merely shrugged, his eyes suggestive, but you quieted his urges when you pushed away from him, your hands on your hips as you faced him again, “Let’s sharpen some arrows, clean up for a bit, and then I am all yours.”

His whole demeanor deflated as you stood there resolute, not even responding to his adorable pout. “I mean, Lo’ak if you really don’t want to help me you can be useful…by yourself.”

“Y/n, come on. We can sharpen arrows later.” He whined, putting his hands together as he begged, still wearing that irresistible pout on his face.

“You are so annoying when you’re like this, you know that?” You crossed your arms, irritated at his insistence.

He gasped instantly, “I’m annoying for wanting to love the most beautiful woman to ever exist? How is that annoying? It’s pretty charming if you ask me.”

“Hmm, I guess I won’t ask you then.” You let out nonchalantly, walking away without another word, smirking as you faced away from him.

It was a regular routine to tease one another like this and you knew you had won when the sound of his nearing footsteps became louder. “Fine, y/n. I guess I’ll just be deprived of your love for a little longer.” He sighed, taking his place beside you.

“So dramatic.” You whispered under your breath. He definitely heard you, but you distracted him with a kiss on the cheek.

~

The warriors were all seated on the floor, their dull arrows laid out in front of him as they meticulously sharpened each one. You sat with them, Lo’ak taking his place beside you, the two of you greeting everyone warmly. During the time you spent in the forest, after becoming a Na’vi, they had become your friends, comrades you trusted going into missions with and beating in sparring matches practically every time. You were all laughing amongst yourselves, teasing one another. 

“Well at least I can fly my ikran straight, unlike y/n.” One of your friends chided, snickering as you pushed him away with your hand.

“Ah, well at least I can aim straight. I seem to recall you missing the target more than once during our target practice last week.” You spat back, the comment making Lo’ak laugh just a little too hard.

They were all harmless, meaningless jokes, but it seemed you had taken it too far, your friend’s cheeks reddening with embarrassment. 

Flustered, he laughed weakly, “Yeah, well at least I don’t have freak hands like you and Lo’ak.”

It didn’t bother you at all, you had already endured the harshest ridicule when you faced the entire clan. Nothing seemed to faze you about how you were different. It was something you could never change. You had embraced your life with Lo’ak, but you still looked fondly at the memories you had when you were a human. 

You laughed, pushing him playfully, but Lo’ak was not so easily dismissive, getting up and gritting his teeth, the arrow he was working on landing dangerously close to your friend’s leg. 

He balled his fists, scoffing “If you have a problem with my hands, why don’t you come over here and find out what it feels like to get punched by them.”

Instantly, your friend took the challenge, but you stepped between them even quicker, your hand firmly placed on Lo’ak’s chest. You gave the two a warning look before you pushed Lo’ak back. Huffing in frustration, he threw his hands in the air, stomping to his ikran and flying off. 

You followed after him quickly, mounting your own ikran. Speeding up, you caught up to him. And for a while, the two of you rode your ikrans, the strong wind beneath you and all around you as you continued past the Hallelujah Mountains and toward the Tree of Souls. When you finally landed, Lo’ak’s anger had calmed, his head downcast as you both sat at the base of the tree. 

Scooting yourself closer to him, you took his hand, but he pushed you away. “Lo’ak, what’s wrong?”

Avoiding your eyes, he spoke, the words coming out of his mouth too vulnerable for him to face you fully, “My freak hands. My demon blood. Everything! My dad is Toruk Macto. He earned his place to be with the people. You helped my dad defeat that general, so you earned your place too. But me? What have I done?” 

He stopped, shaking slightly and catching his breath. It was as if what he had just said had always been lodged in his throat, and its sudden spillage formed bile in the pits of his stomach, churning in his insides as his heart violently palpitated with anxiousness.

You took in everything he had said, silence enveloping the two of you comfortably as the Tree’s strands swayed calmly around you. Taking his cheek into your hand, you looked into his eyes for the first time. They were starting to turn a slight red as he fought back tears in his eyes, but the minute your eyes met his, they finally began to fall.

Your expression was loving as you smiled softly at him, “I am proud of you for all that you have done, and you have done more than you think. You are as much a Na’vi as anyone else here. Don’t listen to them. They’re ignorant. They don’t know that our freak hands are capable of many things that they can’t do.”

He tilted his head at you, “Like what?” His tone was unbelieving, but his heart and mind felt otherwise, trusting your affectionate honesty.

Taking hold of his hand, you lifted it up, hooking your pinky around his. He looked down, watching your every move, his gaze going from you to your now intertwined hands. His expression was still unsure, confused as he raised his eyebrows at you.

You laughed at his reaction, and hearing your laugh lifted his spirits, the tension in his muscles relaxing in reaction to your cheerfulness.

You blanketed your other hand over the back of his, grinning, “It’s a pinky promise.” Lo’ak looked at you with even more confusion, but you continued on, “Promises are flimsy. They’re easily betrayed, but a pinky promise? It can never be broken.”

Maintaining your gaze on Lo’ak, his eyebrows knit together as he began to understand and a small smile slowly tugged at his lips. You caught it instantly, your heart slowly lifting its pressure of concern.

You placed your hand back on his cheek, the touch igniting the coldness of his skin, the anger and frustration he held inside dissipating as you rubbed your thumb gently across his cheek.

“I see you. And I promise that everything you are and everything you will be, freak hands and all, will never change that. This pinky promise, it’s ours. And no one can take that away from you. It’s something that the other people can’t do.”

His small smile became a big grin, tightening his pinky around yours and blanketing his hand over the one you put on his cheek, “Then I have a promise to make to you too.”

“Really?” The lighthearted air around the two of you returning, the Tree seemingly sensing it as its calm sway turned into a dance brought on by the gentle wind that found its way to where you were.

“Yes, really.” Your heart melted at the way he was looking at you, like you were the only one that mattered in the world, the rest of what was around you falling away as your fingers were still entwined, enhancing the bond you already shared with one another.

“I promise to annoy you forever.” Although his tone was lighthearted, the weight of his words were sincere, his eyes dripping in affection for you as you let out another boisterous laugh, the sound of it like honey as it came out of you.

“Good. Cause that seems to be your favorite thing to do lately.” You joked, the wind howling with you as you let out another laugh.

He spoke again, taking in your appearance as he let go of your pinky and took hold of your waist, closing the gap between the two of you, “Well, there are other things I can do, now that we’re alone.” His eyes glinting again with the same suggestiveness from earlier.

You raised an eyebrow, amused, “Oh really?”

“You said after we sharpened arrows that you were all mine, remember?”

You didn’t protest any further, simply nodding, “Yes, and now that we’re here, what exactly do you want to do?”

Lo’ak shrugged his shoulders, lifting a hand from your waist, “You know, you’re right. There are a lot of things that my freak hands can do.”

You smacked him on the shoulder, gasping, “Lo’ak!”

He instantly winced, but he was snickering, his playful smirk still painted on his face, “I’m sorry. I couldn’t resist.”

You sighed, “Just come here you idiot,” Taking the back of his neck into your hands, you pulled him in, connecting your lips with a passionate kiss that started to grow in intensity.

But then a realization hit you, making you pull away, much to Lo’ak’s disappointment, “We weren’t supposed to leave camp.”

You got up quickly, walking over to your ikran, making the bond and waiting for Lo’ak, who was slowly trudging over.

“Hurry up!” You yelled, but he didn’t walk any faster.

Finally making his way to you, his head tilted upward to look at you on your ikran, a disappointed sigh coming out of his mouth, “Please don’t make me sharpen arrows or clean or do anything else when we get back.”

You leaned forward, placing your hand in front of him, your pinky out, “I promise.”

Hooking his pinky with yours, his face lit up, the corners of his mouth tilting upward as a satisfied smile overtook him. It was all he needed to hear.

~

[jasonswh0rre]

The Psychological Analysis of Jason Todd

I am a psych major, and my professor is allowing us to make an analysis of any character of our choice, so I figured who better to write then Jason Todd. This was very fun to write and I very much enjoyed rewatching Batman: Arkham Knight. Please enjoy. ☁️ Warning(s): Trigger Warning for Trauma, Mental Health Content, Violence, Graphic Imagery, Spoiler(s)☁️ Word Count: 2.6k ☁️: Authors Note: I am working on fanfics, more headcanons for Arkham Jason, unfortunately I am busy with classes, assignments and deadlines. I will try to be punctual but it may take time. Thank you for your understanding.

Introduction 

Jason Todd is the secondary villain in Batman: Arkham Knight, which has the same moniker. He is the second Robin and Bruce Wayne's adoptive son.

Jason Peter Todd was born in the slums of Gotham City to two drug-addicted parents, who would eventually try to settle a debt they had by giving Jason away when he was a baby. Jason received no parental figure to help guide him, leading him to petty crimes such as theft to nourish his survival. Jason is a character who takes what he needs if it means prolonging his survival; his lack of a parental figure leads him to an identity crisis between longing for a parental figure and convincing himself he is better off without one. When the simple truth is that every human needs a mother and a father, we respond positively to a nurturing environment, and through early adolescence, our brains crave the structure needed to build us into well-rounded adults. 

At fifteen, Jason inadvertently met Batman while committing robbery when Batman was fighting Gotham's notorious supervillain, The Joker. Believing Batman is in trouble, Jason jumps between pushing the hero from harm's way. Despite life's misfortunes, Jason possesses a remarkable code of morality enough to want to save someone. Jason, attempting to rid Joker of his breath, aims a pistol at the clown and, before firing, is knocked out of his hands by Batman's batarang. Unfortunately for him, Joker would leave Jason with a cryptic message, one for the young man to head.

Jason would later be apprehended and taken into custody in the back of a police car by Batman after Batman retrieved his gun and stolen money. However, rather than being charged, Jason receives a blessing through a Wayne Industries project that helped troubled teens; through the program, Jason was able to turn his life around. All attract the man who helped Jason find a new purpose: Bruce Wayne. Months after being released, Batman appeared in Jason's dorm, again offering Jason another opportunity. 

2nd Robin and Kidnapping

Taking Jason in as his ward as well as dubbing him Robin after Dick Grayson, Jason sought justice and enjoyed being a hero. Like the previous Robin, he showed a keen aptitude for it; unlike his predecessor, he possessed a fiery temper and willingness for more lethal force. While Jason's temper is directed towards the criminals that harm the innocents, Batman views this as inexcusable, fearing the day that Jason will kill instead of reprimanding. 

In the most twisted sense of irony, Jason's morality inevitably becomes his downfall. The Joker has blown up a school with kindergarteners; this leads to Jason's resolve that Joker needs to die. Knowing that Bruce would try to stop him, Jason abandons his comms and tracker so he can kill Joker. However, it is a trap, and Joker ambushes Jason. Jason was kept in a wheelchair, bonded by barbed wire that kept Jason leaning hunched over in excruciating pain. Throughout his pain, Jason's mind remained still; he was confident that Batman would find him; his sheer will at the beginning of his torture is, with all honesty, remarkable as Joker has been known for his mental abuse and mind games he plays with his victims including his sidekick, Harley Quinn. 

In the six months of his torture, Jason's unwavering mental resolve was slowly crippling as Joker had wanted; throughout the game, Jason's voice mixed with crippling fear and small doubts about Batman coming. The Joker feeds into his doubts by showing him a photo of Batman with his replacement, Tim Drake. This leaves Jason troubled as he slowly loses hope for Batman. 

The last act of Jason's torture involved a video sent to Batman via The Joker of Jason, who has undergone all his brainwashing; in the video, Jason is sitting down in a chair; he is not chained, barbed, handcuffed, or kept sitting still in any way by all means Jason could easily walk away. This is a significant and crucial part of Jason's torture as it symbolizes just how much mental anguish and emotional exhaustion Jason went through to the point that he no longer had a yearning for freedom—making him downright timid and submissive towards Joker enough to out Batman's identity when asked by the latter. This results in Joker shooting Jason point-blank in the chest, as Joker "never could stand a tattletale." However, this was only a ploy to make Batman believe Jason is genuinely dead.

On the contrary, Jason was kept alive for another year, endeavoring more torture, mistreatment, and malnourishment. Harley Quinn did the final touches of Jason's emotional and mental brainwashing; a former psychiatrist who manipulated Jason into believing that Batman was the cause of his anguish and his pain was his doing; she did this long enough, even punishing Jason by waterboarding him and electrocuting him when he refused to say Batman, indicating he still had some level of awareness of who was torturing him. 

However, once Harley could get Jason to say Batman's name, Jason was drugged and beaten by two prisoners dressed like Batman; he was given a gun by The Joker and was ordered to kill them. Jason's resolve and humanity were a cord, still entrenched in him before Harley convinced him further, snapping his humanity and getting him to shoot the two dressed-up prisoners dead.

During the riots of Arkham Asylum, The Joker paid mercenary Deathstroke to keep Jason there and shoot him if he escaped. However, Jason convinces Deathstroke that Joker will not keep his promise and that if he helps, Jason will triple whatever Joker plans to pay. Accepting the offer, Deathstroke assists Jason in escaping, stealing a helicopter, and flying to Wayne Industries. Jason steals millions of dollars from his former guardian. Ironically, crossing paths with Tim Drake, who assumes Todd to be Deathstroke's sidekick, when Jason's ankle is caught between Tim's grappling hook, Jason cuts the cord, allowing Tim to fall when suggested by Deathstroke that killing Robin would bode well for them with the Dark Knight. Jason Coldy says that if he dies in a fall like that, Batman needs to pick his sidekicks better. 

Jason's psyche has been torn and scattered, leaving him a hollowed carving with a mocking J branding etched onto his face, from birth his eyes were already met with darkness, born to parents who never showed him recognition, let alone love, and through the Wayne Industries Project and his adoption by Bruce his eyes were wide, and remarkably hopeful, to be free of the weight of Gotham's misfortunes finally; those eyes that looked with gleam forced shut until he saw nothing but blackness.

Arkham Knight's Birth

Jason adopts a new persona built on the pain and suffering in the wake of his escape from Joker. He feels betrayed by the one person he only had in the world and wants vengeance. Jason works alongside Scarecrow, one of Batman's enemies. The two begin a plan on Halloween to take Gotham and Batman's legacy along with it. Jason gathers all Batman's enemies to join, assembling a militia with Deathstroke. While working with each other, Scarecrow "tests" his fear toxin on the young man, sending him on a psychological spiral. One of his more apparent fears is the Joker, who can be found near, in the background, or standing right in front of him laughing and mocking him, but beyond the clown prince of crime's appearance, Jason also sees his replacement, Tim Drake, and "fights" him.

The fight has Jason severely outnumbered in the beginning, with Tim succeeding, even using his staff to choke Jason, forcing him to the ground as the Jokers around him laugh. Further into the fear toxin, Jason appears in front of Wayne Manor, where he throws down his helmet and says the following: "Someplace warm, someplace safe, someplace where I'm needed, someplace where I'm loved," Joker once again appears in front of him laughing and mocking him on whether he even deserves it, this is Jason's internal struggle in a manifested form of the person who caused him harm, of the person who convinced him from the start that he was alone and would not be saved. Jason is mischaracterized as always being angry or standoffish, but anger has more truth than any lie detector can scoop. Jason feels this anger is not just because of some personality trait; anger is his cry out, and he's shouting to be seen and loved. This is most likely due to being tortured at 15 or so, which, despite the fact that at the time of Arkham Knight, he was in his early 20s, his mental age was regressed to the age when he was captured. This makes Jason appear at first glance as someone emotional, cocky, and arrogant. He values safety and love; he doesn't want to be on his guard 24/7, but he's grown up in an environment where letting your guard down gets you killed. He follows Joker into Wayne Manor, where he sees Bruce; suddenly, several versions of Batman appear in the room. They beat him and told him they never wanted a partner or even a son. This is a conflict that has always waged war in Jason's mind. Jason's biological father attempted to give him up and then belittled him when he explained that Jason's worth was so low that he couldn't even leave him; he has low self-esteem that he internalizes into rage in the way that he fights to prove his strength. 

This is why Jason has a strong attachment to Bruce/Batman it maybe due to an underlying desire to seek his approval especially by the time when he adopts him. Bruce gives him everything he could ask for and anything he could think of, and Batman gives him a purpose. Ironically, this is still the case despite Bruce himself having an avoidant attachment style. 

Conclusion and Diagnosis

Jason Todd's character in "Batman: Arkham Knight" exhibits a complex interplay of psychological factors that align with the diagnostic criteria for Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). One prominent feature of BPD is emotional dysregulation, characterized by intense and rapidly shifting emotions. Jason displays various emotions throughout the game, from anger and hostility to vulnerability and despair. His reactions often appear exaggerated or disproportionate to the situation, indicating difficulty regulating his emotional responses.

Furthermore, Jason's sense of identity is notably unstable, which is another hallmark feature of BPD. Having grown up in a dysfunctional environment with absent parents, Jason lacks a stable sense of self and struggles to define his identity. This is evident in his adoption of various personas, including Robin, the Arkham Knight, and, later, the Red Hood. His shifting identities reflect a profound inner conflict and a desperate search for validation and purpose. Jason's interpersonal relationships also reflect the interpersonal instability characteristic of BPD. He forms intense and unstable attachments to figures such as Batman, vacillating between admiration and resentment. His interactions with other characters are marked by rapid shifts in perception, alternating between idealization and devaluation. For example, while Jason initially idolizes Batman as a mentor and father figure, his feelings of betrayal and abandonment lead to resentment and hostility towards him.

Moreover, Jason exhibits self-destructive behaviors as a coping mechanism for his emotional pain, another hallmark of BPD. He engages in reckless actions, disregarding his safety to seek vengeance against those he perceives as enemies. His confrontations with adversaries are often fueled by a desire for self-assertion and control, masking more profound feelings of emptiness and despair.

Underlying Jason's behaviors is a pervasive fear of abandonment, stemming from his traumatic upbringing and experiences of betrayal. This fear drives his desperate attempts to maintain connections with others, even as he pushes them away with his volatile and unpredictable behavior. Jason's fear of abandonment manifests in his interactions with Batman and the Bat family, where he oscillates between seeking their approval and rejecting their authority.

Jason Todd's character in "Batman: Arkham Knight" embodies many of the core features of Borderline Personality Disorder, including emotional dysregulation, identity disturbance, interpersonal instability, self-destructive behaviors, and a fear of abandonment. By analyzing his actions, relationships, and psychological struggles within the context of the game's narrative, it becomes apparent that Jason's character aligns closely with the diagnostic criteria for BPD, providing a compelling framework for understanding his complex and multifaceted personality.

Besides indicating various symptoms of BPD, I would also consider diagnosing Jason with Complex Post post-traumatic stress Disorder (C-PTSD). Given Jason's background of severe trauma, including childhood abuse, neglect, and prolonged torture at the hands of the Joker, it's worth considering Complex PTSD. C-PTSD typically develops in response to chronic trauma and is characterized by symptoms such as emotional dysregulation, disturbed self-concept, difficulties in relationships, and a persistent sense of threat. I would include diagnosing Jason with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD): Jason's experiences of profound loss, trauma, and betrayal may contribute to symptoms of depression, such as feelings of hopelessness, worthlessness, and a loss of interest in activities. His struggles with emotional regulation and chronic feelings of emptiness could also align with depressive symptoms. Following my diagnosis, I am also inclined to believe he suffers from attachment disorders; given Jason's tumultuous upbringing and experiences and a multitude of parental figures involving neglect and abandonment, it's possible that he may have developed attachment-related difficulties. This could manifest in insecure attachment styles, fear of abandonment, and challenges in forming and maintaining healthy relationships. 

Furthermore, I would consider Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD): While Jason displays empathy and compassion at times, his willingness to engage in morally questionable or violent behavior, as well as his disregard for societal norms and rules, may align with some features of ASPD. However, his capacity for genuine care and loyalty makes this disorder out of sorts with his character.

Lastly, Post-Traumatic Embitterment Disorder (PTED): PTED is a proposed diagnostic category characterized by intense feelings of injustice, betrayal, and embitterment following a traumatic event or series of events. Jason's experiences of betrayal and abandonment, particularly by Batman and the Joker, may resonate with the symptoms of PTED. 

In conclusion, the character of Jason Todd in "Batman: Arkham Knight" presents a compelling portrayal of psychological complexity shaped by a tumultuous history of trauma, betrayal, and profound loss. Through a comprehensive analysis of his experiences and behaviors throughout the game, it becomes evident that Jason embodies many psychological struggles, warranting consideration for various diagnostic possibilities. Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) emerges as a primary candidate, given Jason's emotional volatility, identity disturbances, and interpersonal difficulties. His tumultuous relationships, intense fear of abandonment, and self-destructive tendencies align closely with the diagnostic criteria for BPD. Furthermore, Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (C-PTSD) offers another lens through which to understand Jason's psychological profile, considering his history of chronic trauma and its pervasive impact on his functioning.

Additionally, Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) may contribute to Jason's experiences of profound despair, hopelessness, and emotional emptiness. His struggles with attachment-related difficulties suggest the possibility of underlying attachment disorders stemming from his early experiences of neglect and abandonment.

While Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD) and Post-Traumatic Embitterment Disorder (PTED) offer alternative perspectives, they may not fully capture the complexity of Jason's character, given his capacity for empathy and genuine care, despite his propensity for morally questionable behavior.

In essence, Jason Todd's character in "Batman: Arkham Knight" is a poignant exploration of the human psyche's intricacies, illustrating the profound impact of trauma on identity, relationships, and emotional well-being. By delving into his psychological struggles within the context of the game's narrative, we gain valuable insights into the complexities of mental health and the enduring resilience of the human spirit.

[giuliettagaltieri]

Project: Galatea

Pairing: Miguel O'Hara x AI!reader

Synopsis: Allowing you sentiency made things more complicated between you and Miguel. But Peter Parker from Earth-199999 decides to take on an unfinished impossible project of his late mentor, and possibly bring you and Miguel back together.

Warning: Questionable nerd writing, spiderverse context, angst

Word Count: 6218

1 of 3

You are one of Miguel O’Hara’s greatest regrets. 

You were created as an artificially intelligent system and with the advancements brought by the time Miguel created you, he was able to make you connect, bond, and feel.  He was lax with your restrictions.  Thinking of you as a companion than a holographic computer system.

He gave you a name that is not patterned to your system, it was just a name he gave you as he thought it suited your features that was just generated by the programming.  He wanted your appearance to be something that is yours, and not something that he created based on what he preferred.

You usually sat on Miguel’s shoulders before he even became Spiderman, working as a bioengineer at Alchemax.  He knows it’s late when you start yawning and you lean on him for a nap, kind of like how someone would put their phone on a power saving mode.

“Miggy, let’s sleep?”  You often say as you plop yourself atop his hair.

He just chuckles as he works on his suit, getting tired of the easily ripped fabric of his previous gear, he decided to create one that is made of unstable molecules.  “You can go offline.  I’ll have to finish this.”

“’M not sleeping if you’re staying up.”  You huff.  “Come on, you can work on that tomorrow.”  You fly in front of him and cross your arms.

He notes how your halo is a bit dimmer.  “Alright.”  He often wondered if you can really get sleepy.  You are created through codes and though it is evident that you can have emotions, you can’t possess qualities the same as a real person would.

Your wings flutter excitedly as you flap them so you can perch yourself back on his head.

It was a little inside joke between you.  You are the rational voice when he is about to do something stupid.  An angel on his shoulder.  Your sudden appearance would often startle his enemies and wonder what the fuck you are and you would simply smile, point at Miguel and say, “I’m his conscience.” 

Your halo and wings often glowed in the softest hue of pink and white.  Their hue depends on your mood.

Miguel yawns as he enters his bathroom.  You shriek and shield your eyes when he lifts his shirt up to strip.

“You pervert!”  You stomp your heel on his forehead and even though he can’t feel it, your annoyance was enough to amuse him, Miguel’s laugh was muffled by his toothbrush. 

You often sit on the faucet as you wait for him to finish his shower.

“What does a shower feel like?”  You muse, your chin resting on your hand while your elbow is perched on your thigh.

“Uh…wet?”

You roll your eyes at his response.  You look away from him when he comes out of the shower, a towel wrapped around his waist.

“It’s refreshing, I guess.”  Miguel shrugs as he scoops your light projected body on his large hand.

Your tiny hands hold his thumb for balance, not that you need it but you felt the need to anyway.

“Go offline now, firefly.  See you in the morning.”

“Don’t forget to buy groceries tomorrow.”  You say before flickering.  “Goodnight, Miggy.”  And you disappear.

“Goodnight, Y/N.”  He smiles.

On Sundays, you both share lazy mornings.  He would often walk around his apartment in nothing but his boxers and you eventually get used to it.  You would sit on his shoulders as he attempted to cook for himself.

“No, it should be three tablespoons of soy sauce, not teaspoons.”  You would correct him every now and then and he would just switch the utensil, knowing that you have unlimited access to the recipes online.

You would lie on your stomach on the throw pillow he would put on his lap as you watched a movie.  “She easily could have transferred the data and he won’t have to go through all that.”  You would comment now and then as your tiny feet sway in the air.  “But that’s fine, I guess, he looks hot fighting the bad guys.”

Miguel would jostle the pillow and you would dramatically roll as you struggled not to fall off, it was probably because of the spatial awareness he gave you.

You would often sulk when he goes on dates.  Not responding when he asks you how to tie the piece of fabric that should be his tie.  He often found you sitting on top of the bookshelf, your knees tucked to your chest as you drew shapes on the dust covered surface, the shapes not really being made, reminding you that you are only a projection, a hologram, an artificial being, someone who can’t be with Miguel.

“Oh, come one, firefly.”  Miguel would sigh as he watched the soft glow behind the books.  “It’s only a date.”  But you don’t reply.

When he comes home, earlier than he should have been, he’s a little disappointed when you don’t greet him. 

“Y/N?  Where are you?”  He calls as he looks around his apartment.  His hands are already loosening his tie.  “Come on, I didn’t even kiss her.”

Miguel chuckles lightly as he sees your head pop out from behind the picture frame containing a silly photo of the two of you.  “You didn’t?”  You ask.

“Nah, her breath stinks of onions.”  Miguel throws his coat on the sofa and he collapses next to it.

You giggle and you fly to him, landing on his chest, laying down on your stomach once more as your hands support your cheeks.  “Yeah?  You didn’t like her?”  You ask a little excitedly.

Miguel shakes his head as he keeps his eyes on you.  He smiles when you cheer out of happiness.

He would also have fun watching you play dress up in front of his holographic tablet.  He’s in his bed, just lounging and you’re on his abdomen, swiping the screen to find a new dress to wear.  Miguel glances at the clock on his nightstand.  You’ve been at it for hours.

“I like this one, what do you think, Miggy?”

The man turns to look at you, only for his spit to go down the wrong tube, making him hack.  “What the hell is that?”

You look at the white skin tight dress that covers your tiny holographic body.  “A dress?”

Miguel frowns at you.  “Says who?”

A cute brow is raised at him.  “Calvin Klein.”

He clicks his tongue.  “It looks like underwear.  The fuck would you choose such an old brand for?”

You scoff and continue to scroll to look for something else.  “It’s a classic.”

“Well, I don’t like it.”

Then it happens one day.

You are helping Miguel battle Mysterio when he meets her.  He caught her just before she fell to her death.

Next thing you knew, they were going on dates. 

“Yeah, I know.  I’ll deal with the symbiote sighting tomorrow evening.”  He says hurriedly as he makes his way to his front door but you land on the doorknob and you look at him angrily.

“You can’t choose a girl over an entire city!”  You say sternly as you place your hands on your hips.

Miguel raises a brow and smirks down at you.  “What an exaggeration.  Are you jealous?”

Your frown deepens.  “Miguel, you can’t seriously go on a date when Carnage is at large!”

He straightens up and looks at you, annoyed.  “If I wear the mask all the time, I’ll go mad.  Just let me be Miguel O’Hara for tonight.”

Miguel does not return to his apartment that night.

And you don’t respond to his calls for a week. 

“You’re such an inconvenience, Y/N.”  He quips.  “I made you so you can help me with my work.”  He says as he looks around for the villain that was wreaking havoc in the city.  “Stop sulking and do your job!”

You would reluctantly pop out and help him, only speaking when needed, giving him the information that he needs and nothing more.

It was difficult for you to watch Miguel slowly fall in love with her, and even more so when he loses her.

He became sad and angry, very angry.

“Miguel?  You need to rest.”  You say softly as you watch him perfecting an experiment.  You peer on his work and your eyes widen when you see a powerful focused energy hovering on Miguel’s work table.

You immediately fly to his face.  “Are you mad?  Do you realize what you are doing?”  He turns to the other screen but you follow him around.  “You can’t tamper with time and space like that.”

All lights suddenly go off and Miguel exhales deeply through his nose, his eyes full of rage as he glares at you.  “Power it back on.”  His voice is low and it was the first time you have ever felt fear because of him but you stand your ground.

The man does not falter with his disapproving look on you but you refuse to power his computers back to life.  You won’t just stand around and let him interfere with the natural order.

“My name is Miguel O’Hara and I am authorizing a shutdown sequence.”  He says and you frantically look around as a bright red screen flashes behind you.

“Miguel, don’t do this!”  You cry to him, your eyes begging as you press your tiny hands on his cheeks but his eyes remain cold as he stares at the screen.

“Commence shut down of the Intelligent Digital Assistance System.  Project name: Galatea.”  Miguel looks at your pleading eyes.  “For good.”

He watches your eyes fill with sadness before your form flickers just like how it used to whenever you whisper ‘Goodnight.’  And he watches the pixelated tear roll down your cheek before you disintegrate into a million tiny pieces.

The events that followed after his decisions of tampering with the fragility of the multiverse was his punishment. 

There was no undoing it all.

He wished he just listened to you when you tried to stop him.  It wouldn’t have come to all of this.

Now, he dedicates his life to protecting what else is left.  Trying to keep the multiverse intact to prevent the same mistake from happening.

And Lyrate Lifeform Approximation was created, or Lyla. 

Miguel made her different from you.  Lyla is created to be more objective, more functional, with just a right amount of spunk for a bit of personality.

The Spider Society was then formed.  A strike force dedicated to keep the multiverse from tearing apart.

In there, he found a sense of sympathy.  The people in there suffered just like him.  A lot of spider-people were in pain.  But not all of them knew how to follow orders.  Not thinking about the consequences of their actions.  Never willing to sacrifice a portion of themselves for the greater good.

Like Miles Morales.

Or Peter Parker of Earth-199999.

They both came around eventually, after a couple or more heart attacks from Miguel.

Peter Parker was trying to learn from Spider-Byte and how future tech works.  He was given a specific holographic screen in the corner and he’s been trying to pick it apart for hours. 

“Wow, Ned’s not gonna believe this.”  He whispers as his eyes dart from one file to the other, being connected like faint orange lines.

“Hold on, what’s this?”  Peter mumbles as he taps on a tiny file that is placed separate, somewhere isolated, forgotten.

“Can I?”  Peter scratches his jaw.  “Should I?”  He shrugs before opening the file.  He rolls his chair backward as the tiny file explodes to the most intricate coding he has ever seen.  He saw something like this before.  When he studied Tony’s AIs.  Or at least what was left of them.

He clicks on a file, one of the millions.  A large ‘RESTRICTED’ was flashed on the screen in bold red letters.  He tries again and the same word is flashed.  He tries again and again until he sees Miguel O’Hara himself in front of a mirror and a miniature angel on Miguel’s hand.

“You like it?”  Miguel asked.

The holographic angel nods excitedly, pure joy evident in her eyes.  She twirls around in front of the mirror, inspecting her wings and adoring her tiny halo.

“Miggy, it’s perfect!”  You fly up to kiss his cheek.  The connection between you was impossible to miss.

And the screen goes blank.

“Are you kidding me?”  Peter grasps his hair as he jumps around in excitement.  Peter squints his eyes to read the file name.  “Galatea.”

“Greek mythology Galatea?”  Spider-Byte wonders behind Peter.

Peter flinches, his sidersense clouded with the amount of enthusiasm being contained in his body.  “I-I don’t know.  I don’t know yet.  It’s-”

“That’s the file name of my older sister, Y/N.”  Lyla suddenly pops out between them.

“Lyla, you know her?”  Peter asks, not being able to hide his eagerness.  “Is she an AI like you?”

Spider-Byte and Peter look at her in anticipation.  “I’m not sure if I should talk about her.”  She looks skeptical before she breaks into a wide grin.  “Well, there’s no order for me not to so I suppose I can.”

Two sets of eyes follow Lyla around as she glitches towards Peter’s screen and she pops up a photo of you sitting on Miguel’s head as the two of you wore similar aviators. 

“She’s Miguel’s first AI companion.  Way before the Spider Society was even created, before he was even Spiderman, I think.”  Lyla rubs her chin as she opens her own tiny screens.  “Though, I’m not sure.  Miguel replays their videos together in the dark when he thinks he’s alone but I can’t really find most of her files.”

“It was compressed there.”  Peter points at the screen, trying not to get distracted from what Lyla just told them.  “Did she get corrupted by a virus?”  His thoughts wandered to the articles he read about Ultron.

“No.  She uhm.”  The small screen Lyla created vanished, making her glowing face look a bit dimmer.  “Her program was shut down.”

Spider-Byte glanced at the screen that has you and Miguel in it.  “Why shut down a working program?”

Lyla glances at your face on the screen.  “She was created differently.  More empathetic and subjective.  For some reason, she was sentient.”

Peter gawks at her and he shares a look with Spider-Byte.  “Was that even a possibility?”  Spider-Byte asks.

Shrugging, Lyla gives them a tight-lipped smile.  “Well, it happened, didn’t it?”

“She was sentient but she was shut down?”  Peter asks incredulously.  “Did she go rogue or something?”

Lyla shakes her head no.  “She was the total embodiment of those wings and halo.”

“Then why was her program shut down?”  Peter asked, his face twisted in pure confusion and disbelief.

Lyla doesn’t respond and turns to your picture with Miguel and your matching smiles.

Spider-Byte sighs.  “They got too attached, didn’t they?  Her and Miguel?”

Peter frowns at her question but remembers Wanda and Vision J.A.R.V.I.S. 

An impossible idea pops in Peter’s head.  It’s irrational, risky, and impulsive but those are just some of the qualities Peter got from his mentor.

“Do you think Miguel would give her codes to me?”  Peter blurts.

Lyla and Spider-Byte looks at him as if he just asked if he could go break a canon.

“Absolutely not.”  Was Miguel’s response to Peter when he finally asked the bigboss for your codes. 

Peter curses under his breath.  He even had to ask MJ and Ned to help him create a presentation as to why Miguel should give your codes to him.

 “Oh, come on.  I rehearsed that speech for a week!”

“She holds classified information.  I can’t just give a copy of her to you.”  Miguel says as he taps on his holographic screen.

“Not a copy.  The original code.”  Peter says more seriously.  “Protocols and memory.”

Miguel pauses and glowers at Peter from his shoulders.  The look was enough to make Peter second guess himself but his resolve comes back, stronger than ever.

“I’m trying to bring her back to you.”  Peter says loudly.

This catches Miguel’s attention and he turns to look at Peter from above the platform in his office.

“Elaborate.”  Miguel looks at Peter with a blank expression.

Peter pumps his fist secretly and clears his throat before speaking.

“I am currently studying bioorganics and I’m trying to complete an unfinished project of my mentor, Mr. Stark.  He created a synthetic body that is not made of vibranium but something that is made of organic materials.  You know, like a real person.” 

Miguel looks at the screen next to him which is flashing Peter’s proposal.  “And you want Y/N to bring life to that thing?”

“Well, it won’t be easy without the mind stone but I heard she’s quite sentient.”  Peter explains while gesturing with his hand way too much, clearly nervous.  “That is also assuming that her operational matrix adapts to the organic body.”

“What if you fail?  I’ll lose all her data.”  Miguel says, a threatening tone clearly heard in his voice.

“Last time her file was opened was years ago.”  Peter quickly shut his mouth when Miguel throws him a dangerous look.  “What I’m trying to say is, this is a chance.  You could potentially see her again, this time, with a physical body.”

Miguel heaves a sigh and chooses to glare at the walls instead.

“I know something painful must have happened for you to shut down her program like that.  But it doesn’t feel right to trap a sentient being in a set of codes.”  Peter frowns at his feet and grumbles the next words.  “Come on man, I’m trying to give you a chance to apologize to her, face to face.”

Silence fills the entire room.

Peter is waiting for Miguel to yell again but he is taken aback when he looks up to see a defeated and longing look plastered on Miguel’s face.

“Just…”  Miguel pauses, it was difficult for him and Peter can see it.  “Don’t destroy her code.”

“Thank you, Mr. O’Hara.  You won’t regret it!”  He beams at Miguel.

“I sure hope not.”  Miguel turns to his screens to resume his work.  “And Mr. O’Hara was my father.  You can call me Miguel.”

Peter wasted no time and started working on the project right away when he got back to Earth-199999.

It was difficult, trying to follow Bruce and Tony’s work.  Especially when the body is more susceptible and reactive.  You even had the anatomy of a real person, inside and out.

The project was something that Peter cannot do on his own.  He needed his friends and MJ and Ned were more than willing to help.  Both were hesitant with the thought of literally bringing an AI to life, considering what happened before in Sokovia.  They did not know you, MJ and Ned, they were wary as they should be with all the risks they were about to make.

Peter had to turn your code upside down, in and out, trying to look for glitches or any malicious intent but found none.

The three of them are taken by surprise as to what your synthetic body could do.

It was MJ who noticed first.  You have a lymphatic system.

By next week, Ned finds out that you have a fully functional endocrine system.

There was always something in you that they discover for the first time when they delve deeper.  Which makes it difficult for them to make real progress.  Just as they thought they made a breakthrough, your synthetic body just shows another ability that blurs the line between you and humanity.

“You need to stop looking at her like a robot.”  Miguel tells him one day as Peter seeks any advice from him, considering that he did work in Alchemax as a bioengineer.  “Treat her like how you would treat a human.”

That was when Peter decided that just him and his friends can’t do it alone.  They were only college students!

This project calls for someone who has a doctorate in medicine and knows the human body like the back of their hand.

It was difficult for them to get Stephen Strange to have a look at the setbacks they encountered in your body.  But when given the right information and told what he wanted to hear, Stephen was already opening a portal to Peter’s dorm room.

“I’ll tell you what’s the problem.”  Stephen says.  “Some of her neurons are meeting in a terminal.  Electrical impulses can’t get through, causing circuit failures.”

Peter squints on the holographic screen that Stephen zoomed in.  “Yeah.  That’s where the mind stone is supposed to be.”

“But the AI has an awakened consciousness, she won’t be needing it.”  Stephen mutters more to himself.  “And the mind stone's already gone.”

Ned walks over to look at the screen, a cup of hot chocolate in his hands.  “But you’ll be able to redirect them, won’t you?”

Stephen does not respond, only staring intently at the holographic form of your shell.

MJ glances at the anxious look on Peter’s face as he awaits Stephen’s answer.  When silence still follows, MJ rolls her eyes.

“Don’t get your hopes up too much, Ned.”  She sighs, making Stephen narrow his eyes.  “There could be a thousand neu-”

“A trillion.”  Strange emphasizes.

“A trillion neurons to redirect.  He might be a neurosurgeon but he is not a miracle worker.”

Ned sucks in a breath and raises his cup to his lips and sips quietly, eyes wide, awaiting Stephen’s response.

Stephen suddenly rips off the sling ring and slips it somewhere in his robes.  Peter takes a step back, almost getting hit by Stephen dramatically taking off his cape.  “I’m about to become your deus ex machina.”

MJ snatches a piece of bread sitting on Peter’s dining table and takes a bite, sending a wink to Peter.

“Stark really outdid himself.”  Stephen marvels at your intricate anatomical structure.  “The shell does mimic the human body, the nerves, fiber, and vessels.”  Stephen squints at something and hums.  “But there’s the issue of physiology.”

Peter looks at the metallic casket and to Stephen.  “What about physiology?”

Stephen points at the left side of your pelvis.  “That’s an ovary.”  He drags his finger on the screen to point at the right side.  “There’s another one here.”

Peter could only look at Stephen.  Waiting for him to confirm what was running in Peter’s head.

Surely Tony did not think that far ahead to give you that ability.  That is ethically ambiguous.

“It is possible that it is not functional.”  Stephen rubs his jaw.  “Perhaps we could think of it as a vestigial organ for now.”

Peter simply nods, following Stephen as he zooms in on your lumbar spine.

“She has a functional endocrine system.”  Ned recalls, making Stephen whip towards him.  “I ran a noninvasive test and I detected traces of estrogen, progesterone, and FSH.”

Stephen runs a hand on his face.  “And hCG?”

Ned ponders for a moment.  “Yeah, human chorionic gonadotropin was also there.”

MJ clutches her bread a little too tight.  “She is capable of gestation?”  Her voice came out as a shaky whisper.

All eyes turn to Stephen who shakes his head.  “That is ridiculous!”  He chuckles dryly.  “That shouldn’t be possible.”  He stares at the holographic image of the synthetic shell.  “Was Stark trying to play God?”  His voice was starting to raise, his fist clenching.

“Whoa, I’m sure that’s not it.”  Peter raises a hand nervously as he gulps. 

Strange points at the casket.  “You realize you’ll be bringing a being to life that isn’t supposed to exist.” 

“She has a name!”  MJ interjects.

“You understand that you are overstepping your mortal bounds.”  Stephen continues.

Peter looks at Stephen, shocked.  “Please, sir!  I-I only want to finish this project for Mr. Stark.”  He points at your holographic body.  “And set her free from her digital prison.  We are about to give her a chance to live, like really live.”

Stephen glances at your metallic casket warily.

“She’s not a villain.”  Peter says more calmly.  “I checked her code a thousand times.”

Stephen shakes his head. 

“I can’t believe I’m about to take part in a project that is the peak of Stark’s god complex.”

Peter grins. 

The chance of meeting you does not seem so impossible anymore.

Miguel watches Peter Parker of Earth-199999 with a sharp glare. 

The “project” that the kid told him about has been going on for six months but he has been given zero updates regarding your progress.

His jaw tightens when he catches the kid stealing a glance at him from across the cafeteria in HQ before ducking his head again.

“Why don’t you go ask him what’s wrong?”  Peter B says blankly at Miguel as he stuffed his mouth with fries.  “Kid’s been doing that for the past hour.”

Miguel scoffs.  “If he has something to say, he will be the one to approach me.”

For the past months, Miguel has been dropping hints to Avenger Peter, the nickname seems to really make the kid happy so the entire Spider Society just rolled with it.  Miguel made sure to assign him on missions that might aid his project.  The kid can be dense sometimes in picking up indirect messages but Miguel does it anyway, almost sighing out a breath of relief when he watches Peter’s eyes glimmer with realization.

“Whope- Okay!  I gotta run.  See you around, Miguel.”  Peter B snatches his drink and clumsily leaves.

Miguel glares at the man’s retreating form before he hears his name being called.

“What?”  Miguel spits.

“Uh, is this a bad time?”

Miguel looks to his side and narrows his eyes at Avenger Peter.  Finally, he mustered the courage.

“What is it?”  Miguel straightens, his enormous arms crossing in his chest, looking a bit threatening.

 Peter looks at the empty seat in front of Miguel, he’s not sure if it’s rude to just sit there without being invited to but he does it anyway.

“It’s about Y/N.”  Peter whispers rather too loudly, basically defeating its purpose.

Miguel’s eyes flickered with fury, making Peter swallow harshly, trying to choose his words very carefully.

“I know I really took my time with the project but the good news is that we successfully transferred her code to the shell.”

Oftentimes, Miguel would pitch in sarcastic comments but he can feel the weight in Peter’s words that he finds himself closely listening, trying to take in every detail that Peter shares.

“We managed to synthesize her code and reprogrammed her synapses to sync and adapt to the body.”  Peter heaves a breath.  “But the thing is, we can’t get to wake her up.”

The crushing feeling of losing someone again was not easy for Miguel to ignore but he nodded at Peter’s words.

“Did you try amping the power source?”  Miguel suggests.

Peter nods slowly.  “Yes.  We tried from nuclear fission to the arc reactor.”  Peter leans back on the cafeteria bench, looking too nonchalant despite the shadiness of his words, Miguel won’t be surprised if one day he finds out that the kid’s locked up in prison for conducting mad experiments.  “I was thinking of contacting Thor but I really didn’t know how.”

Miguel masks the disappointment in his eyes with a stern look.  “Did you make sure that you got all her system matrix properly embedded in the body?”

“Definitely!”  Peter nods.  “It’s like she’s far away, dreaming.  She’s there but she’s also not.  Y/N’s shutting us out.”

A pindrop silence befalls them.

“What did you say?”  Miguel says sharply to Peter as he leans slightly forward.

The kid unconsciously leans backward.  “Y/N’s…shutting us out?”

It all clicks in Miguel’s head. 

“She needs me.”

Peter’s eyes widened at his bluntness.  “Huh?”

“I designed her program to only respond to me.  I shut off her system.  Of course.  Her protocol does not recognize you.”

Slowly, Peter catches up, his eyes widening in barely contained excitement.  “Is she programmed to activate upon voice command?”

Miguel rises to his feet, quickly making his way out of the cafeteria while Peter giddily follows, the largest smile plastered on his face.

“I’m certain I can get her to respond.”  Miguel mutters as he taps into his multiverse gizmo.

The familiar building up sound of the portal fills the air and soon enough a cluster of patterns and colors emerge right in front of them. 

With purpose in his steps, Miguel crosses the portal headed to Earth-199999, to you.

Peter’s room was nothing short of underwhelming compared to the building they just stepped out of but Miguel can see the traces of genius scattered around the room.

On top of a desk, piled notes for astrophysical physics.  Next to the kitchen sink, a perpetual motion machine that is made of the most tedious house materials.  In a corner, a phone is being charged and is hanging by the charger cord.

The lights suddenly power off, coating the room in darkness.  “I know you’re sensitive to lights.”  Peter shrugs, to which Miguel only nods.

“Stop right there!”

Miguel turns to see a girl threatening him with a piece of…toast?  And another kid who is doing a very poor karate stance.

“No, MJ, Ned.  It’s fine, he’s here to help Y/N.”  Peter raises his hands and steps in between Miguel and the other kids.

“Where is she?”  Miguel asks.

The kid trying to do the karate stance points to the corner of the room that is covered by a screen.

Miguel easily slips past them, he didn’t even have to try. 

He ignored the calls as his feet just led him to where you are.  He didn’t know what he should be expecting to see.  But he knew it wasn’t the metallic casket.

“She’s in there.”  Peter stands next to him.  “It’s powered enough and it should activate when you power her system on.”  Miguel can only nod at Peter’s words.  “We don’t have a hypothesis yet as to what would happen when she rises.  But we could probably expect that she would manifest signs similar to someone who just woke up from cryosleep.  Orthostatic hypotension could also be a possibility-”

Peter pauses when he feels MJ’s hand on his shoulder.  MJ nods to Miguel’s pained expression.

The time they spent on your project was enough to drive them nuts and they are dying to see you but looking at Miguel’s face, they know they might never fully understand the longing he feels.

Peter does not know what happened between you two but he can ask another day.  He watches how Miguel’s fingers carefully brush the metallic casket.  If Peter didn’t know better, he would have been greatly disturbed with the amount of vulnerability the man is showing.

“Well, we’re gonna step out for a bit as you wake her up.”  Peter says with a softer smile gracing his lips.  “And I really appreciate the hints you drop every now and then.”

MJ smiles at Peter and she interlaces their hands together.  Ned nods at the two and follows them out.

The soft footsteps soon fade and the sound of the door locking into place reaches Miguel’s ears.

A quiet buzzing was audible from the box that contained you.  It must have been the energy they tried to power you with.  But it was endearing to him in some way that only he could wake you.

There were only a few times where a man of such stature as Miguel O’Hara was brought to his knees.  This was one of them.  His knees hit the cheap fabric of the carpet and his weight bears on his skin.  Miguel lay his hand flat on the cool surface of the metallic box.  And he leans his forehead to it.

With his voice hoarse, he whispers your name.  He swallows the rest of the words.  He does not know why.  He cannot wait a second longer to see you but the fear grips him hard, just like how it did for years. 

It was a cruel terror but his desire to see your face again overpowers any fear.

“My name is Miguel O’Hara and I am authorizing a startup sequence.” 

Miguel grits his teeth when he does not hear the same beeping sounds that precedent your arrival.  His forehead creasing at the memory of you begging him not to lock you away.  He did not deserve you, not after what he did.  But Miguel O’Hara is a selfish man and he would stop at nothing to have you back.

“Commence booting of the Intelligent Digital Assistance System.  Project name: Galatea.”  He sucks in a breath, this time, meaning the next words with all honesty.  “For good.”

Silence has never been louder.  It clogged the room, suffocating him.

“Please, wake up.”  He brushes his lips on the freezing cold case.

A hiss is released by the contraption and Miguel’s eyes widen as he steps back to see you better.  But as more hissing sound came, vapor flooded the area where the metallic flaps were slowly opening.

Then a hand grasped on the opened flaps, then came distressed gasping.

“Y/N!”  Miguel didn’t know what he was doing, his body was acting on its own as he hopped inside the casket to help you sit up.

Your hair covers your face and Miguel reaches to brush them to the side, his large calloused hand rubs on your bare back to soothe you.  It felt unreal to finally have you in his grasp, hearing you, seeing you.

You whimper in pain when a particular cough rasped on your throat.

“Hey, take it easy.”  Miguel whispers as he crouches down so he can see you eye to eye.  “Breathe.”

And when you look up to him with your eyes heavy with exhaustion, Miguel halts his movements as he feels himself being caught up in a temporal illusion.

Time, space, everything felt irrelevant the moment your eyes met his.

“M-Miggy?”  You whisper.

Miguel breaks into a disbelieving smile.

He watches your moonlight bathed face contort to confusion.  You raise your delicate fingers, reaching out to his face but stopping just before your skin touches.  You hesitate, not sure if what you see before you is truly the man you loved.

The tips of your fingers brush on his cheek so softly, he almost doesn’t feel it and you let them run across his warm skin so you can cup his cheek.

Your chapped lips break to the smile he missed and loved so ardently.

He closes his eyes as he lets your fingers dance on his skin.  He holds in a breath when your fingertips smooth out the crease on his forehead and his much larger hand captures your wrist.

For so long, he wanted to apologize.  He did, countless of times, in the darkness and silence of his room, to a photo of you.  His apologies only floating in the air, unheard.

“What I did to you was wrong.  Everyday, I regret it.  I promised you happiness when I created your code but I upset you and I have no right to be hurting in the way that I am.  I was so stupid for shutting your system down when you were only looking out for me.”

The moonlight bathed you, making you glow, an ethereal sight to behold.

“I wasn’t ready to say goodbye when you shut down my program.”  You say as you place your hands on his shoulders.  “But there is nothing you can ever do to make me stay mad at you.” 

He was about to protest when you hushed him.

“I know.”  You smile at him tenderly.  “You don’t have to say anything else.  I know.”

Miguel could feel his chest tightening.  The complexity of the quantum physics, he has no trouble understanding, but what you do to him, he is easily lost.  “I don’t deserve you, firefly.”

You nod.  “No, you don’t.”  You yawn before flashing him a sleepy smile.  “But I’ll stay with you anyway.”

He chuckles, eyes boring into yours. 

You are as stubborn as he remembers you to be.

Your breath mixes together as you let yourselves draw to each other.

His arm slips to your waist, pulling you flush to him.

“Pervert, I’m not decent.”  You mumble against his lips.  “I have so many questions.”

“Save them for later.”  Miguel captures your lips in his.  You let out the deepest breath you have taken and you let him mold your lips together.  “I screwed up.”  He slots your bottom lip between his and he nibbles.  “But I could spend the rest of my life making it up to you.”

You hum, amused.  “Are you sure about that?”  He kissed your shoulder.  “I can be quite a handful.”

The corner of Miguel’s lips tugs upwards.  “Believe me, I know.”

A teasing smile creeps on your lips and the half-lidded eyes that you are giving him are making him feel fuzzy, it was like you were never apart.

“You are so in love with me.”  You press the tip of your finger to his chest, teasingly accusing him.

He shakes his head as he laughs.

“Always have been.”

Project: Galatea • Project: Pandora • Project: Eros

Ficart created by @tired-lime

[seekers-who-are-lovers]

First web radio of the duo Sebastian Michaelis/Ciel Phantomhive is out. Daisuke Ono and Maaya Sakamoto are the first personalities to hold it.

Am urging you to listen to it.

When Ono D began to talk with his cool Sebastian M voice, Maaya suddenly joked that she didn’t know which way to reply. Both admitted that talking nonstop for 30 minutes with their character voices was difficult. Prior to this web radio, OnoD used to have a show called the Phantom Midnight Radio. They talked about mostly the early days of Kuroshitsuji recording where Maaya felt nervous and shy bc she was the only female cast member at that time. She was young and didn’t know anything (though she’s been so long in the business). I guess that was the reason she wasn’t a guest to many of their festival presentations. So now, that the two of them got reunited it was good that they were bonding, they said. They also discussed the new cast members where many of them professed that they watched the show when they were teenagers. OnoD particularly mentioned McMillan’s VA, Haruka Shiraishi, who was starstruck upon learning she was able to work with Maaya and OnoD on the anime she used to watch beforehand.

Other things I’ve learned: OnoD loves to wear black influenced partly by his role as S. Maaya is not only a singer and an actor, she also writes and has a column at NewType.

Maaya Sakamoto and Daisuke Ono

Anyway, I saved the ending because it encapsulated that they are much closer than say, 10 years ago.

Daisuke Ono: We are creating works of quality that will definitely exceed expectations. If we are to live up to those expectations, we will definitely accomplish it and show it beyond expectations. What will we do if we can't do something like that? We are only one hell of butlers after all.

Maaya Sakamoto: Yo!

Daisuke: When Maaya-chan’s “Yo!” comes in things start to become a bit like traditional performing arts. So-so-so-so. (Tsk tsk tsk.. both are laughing) Anyway, I'm looking forward to the future. I'm looking forward to the anime, I’m looking forward to the radio show. The next program on this show will be Tachibana Tatsumaru, who plays the role of Gregory Violet, and Kikunosuke Toya, who plays Cheslock, as the next participants.

PS: If you are collecting points (so far I have earned 450 points!) then you need the code. This is where you can get it.

Also, Volume 1 of DVD/Blu-ray’s benefits will contain the anime soundtrack among others. Yay!

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for not walking my dog with my neighbor anymore? 

I (20sNB) graduated from my masters program in 2019 and moved back home with my parents. It was meant to be temporary, but before I could save up enough to move out, the pandemic hit. I ended up living with my parents until late 2022. During that time I was responsible for walking our dog. I ended up meeting and connecting with a handful of other dog owners in the neighborhod and we would walk our dogs together and let them play together at a local dog park.  

One of these dog owners, C (70sF) turned out to live right around the corner from me, so we started walking our dogs together very often. Her dog has always been a bit domineering, and my dog has always been a bit submissive. But for a long time they played together very nicely. They would run and chase each other and play with the toys we brought to the park for them. Sometimes they would play fight, but I could always tell from my dog’s body language that she was having fun, and wasn’t actually feeling threatened or scared. 

Of course, C and I also ended up bonding. She’s a retired kindergarten teacher, and she’s very, very nice and kind, and I would consider her a friend. We now exchange baked goods on holidays and she sends me birthday and christmas cards now that I don’t live down the street from her. And since I moved out, whenever I came to my parents’ house to visit, I would call her up so we could walk the dogs together and catch up. 

However, a few months ago, while my mom was walking our dog at the dog park, a different, even worse behaved dog, attacked and bit her. This attack was bad enough to draw blood, and my mom had to take her to the vet and get her on antibiotics and everything to make sure it didn’t get infected. Plus, the dog we had before this one, got sick and almost died because of a bite from an unvaccinated dog, so this was pretty scary for us. But it ended up being okay. No infections and the wounded healed well. But ever since then, our dog, who previously was very social and good with other dogs (we took her to obedience school as a puppy, so she was socialized very early on) has become much more nervous around other dogs, especially new dogs.

We’re trying really hard to resocialize her, and she’s slowly getting better. She still sometimes growls at new dogs, though. Which brings us back to my neighbor and her dog. Her dog is poorly socialized, and growls and barks at other dogs. I know my neighbor tries her best to fix her dog’s behavioral issues and has even worked with specialized dog trainers to no avail. But I’ve noticed that my dog is much more likely to growl at other dogs when we walk with C and her dog, because C’s dog growls. Not only that, but I’ve noticed that when they play together, my dog doesn’t enjoy it anymore. Now, her body language does read as threatened and afraid when C’s dog play fights (C’s dog is a boxer, which means she loves to play fight.) 

So, I’ve started not calling C when I’m in town. I feel guilty about it because I really like C and avoiding her feels like a shitty thing to do. I feel like I'm basically ghosting her. But I know if I reach out to her, she’ll bring up walking the dogs together. Walking the dogs is the entire basis of our friendship and the only reason we spend time together, so I can hardly tell her I don’t want to do that anymore. 

AITA? I just want to take care of my dog, and right now walking with C is not only causing my dog unnecessary stress, it’s re-enforcing bad habits that I am trying really hard to break.

What are these acronyms?

[felassan]

Letters from Lovers

Transcriptions of the letters from the various gear store items. under cut for length.

Isabela:

“My dear Hawke, Do you know anyone with a flock of parrots? I'm trying to cheat on a bet with Varric and the stakes are exceedingly high. If you help me, I shall take you to that breathtaking beach you so crave. Free of ancient horrors, too. I think. I'd hate to take respite from all my adventures, but there are other ways to make the heart flutter. In fact I'm already imagining a few. Aren't you? Sailing there can be fatal, but Admiral Isabela will keep you safe. Are you interested? I would love to see you again. Yours, Isabela”

Morrigan:

“My love, Now before that grin reaches your ears, perish the thought that this letter was my idea. 'Tis Kieran who would not give me peace until I wrote to ask how you are faring. Regale us, if you please, with another of your tales that I might read to him in bed. He is particularly fond of those wherein you spur mischief whilst you save the day. Thank you for your most delightful gifts. I shall make certain to wear them the next time you come home. Dream of me until then, my Hero of Ferelden, and have a care. Morrigan”

Dorian:

“My dearest Amatus, Home is ever as it was: a glittering whirl of dancing, politics, and murder. I'm used to people staring daggers at me - I quite relish it, actually - but the glares seem to possess a new intensity since my return to Tevinter. Do they disapprove of House Pavus freeing its slaves while I work in the Magisterium to end slavery across Tevinter? Perhaps they simply covet my cheekbones, and who could blame them? Real reform will take time, but we're making inroads. I miss you terribly, Amatus, perhaps almost as much as you miss me. I treasure you and your belief in my work here. Yours always, Dorian P.S. I wouldn't take it amiss if you might send me another barrel of that dreadful Fereldan beer?”

Alistair:

“My love, How are you? Is it true that you recently killed darkspawn with only a mean glare and a pointy stick? Ferelden is ablaze with this rumor! You do give people so much hope. Tales of your heroism never fail to astonish me and almost ease the pain of going to sleep without you by my side. Almost. I can't wait to be with you again. I'd bring you some roses, you could give me a tour of the keep, we'd drink with the new recruits and then cuddle in a tent. Without the new recruits! Tent time is just for the two of us. I want to make that clear. Now excuse me while I practice my death glare and rummage through the dog's stash of sticks. I love you. Yours forever, Alistair.”

Tali:

“By the way, I left something for you up in your cabin. Go have a look.” - Tali’Zorah  --- “Dear Shepard,   As you may remember, I presented this picture frame to you as a gift on the Normandy. It was my way of expressing my admiration for you and our bond as comrades-in-arms. On the back of the metal frame, I've emblazoned a promise that will never fade - 'Shepard, wherever you go, I'm with you.'  I know it's not much, but...this is what I look like under the mask. I'm sorry if it's not what you were expecting. I know Quarian faces can be a bit...different. Every time you look at my picture, I hope you will be reminded of our adventures on the Normandy, from our battles against the Reapers to our intimate conversations in the privacy of our quarters.    I am not one to express my emotions openly, but thank you for being my friend, my confidante, and my inspiration. I look forward to many more adventures together.  Keelah se’lai,   Tali’Zorah”

Bonus:

Shepard's N7 acceptance letter, from Anderson:

“N7 Congratulations on your graduation From Captain David Anderson Shepard, When I graduated from the N7 program I had the honor of meeting Admiral Grissom, the man who inspired me to pursue a career in the service, and I never thought I’d feel prouder in my life. I was mistaken. Don’t get me wrong, it was a big day. An important day. But there’s something about welcoming driven young people like yourself into the ranks that’s also pretty damn satisfying. Your distinguished service record may have gotten you into this program - but it was your courage, integrity, and tenacity that’s enabled you to join an elite few. You represent the best of humanity, and I feel certain you’ll make the galaxy a better place. And I’m not the only one who feels this way. Becoming an N7 means the entire Systems Alliance is telling you one thing - we believe in you. Let me end by saying this. Welcome to the team Shepard. We know you won’t let us down. David Anderson Systems Alliance Interplanetary Combatives Academy N7 N7 Acceptance Letter”

[dindjarindiaries]

The Mandalorian Seasons 1 & 3: Direct Parallels

After rewatching The Mandalorian season 3 cohesively and thinking back to season 1, I came upon a realization that every episode of season 3 somehow directly parallels back to each respective episode of season 1. Below is a breakdown going episode-by-episode and diving deep into each parallel I noticed. Please keep in mind that these are my observations and theories, nothing more!

CHAPTER 1: THE MANDALORIAN & CHAPTER 17: THE APOSTATE

“Chapter 1: The Mandalorian” is all about setting up Din Djarin’s journey, mainly the job he’s tasked with that causes him to cross paths with a new ally, Grogu. “Chapter 17: The Apostate”—like many season openers—accomplishes the same thing: setting up Din’s journey and causing him to cross paths with a reluctant ally, Bo-Katan Kryze. IG-11 is an important part of each episode and helps to bring some comedic relief to the screen. In Chapter 1, Din utters the infamous “I like those odds” line when his odds are 4 to 1. Din also finds himself with 4 to 1 odds during the pirate showdown, where he takes down four of them and leaves Vane standing. Lastly, Chapter 1 reveals that the job Din’s taken is a very difficult one that other hunters either can’t complete or refuse to. Chapter 17 proves that Din’s journey to Mandalore is also seemingly impossible and many others refuse to do it.

CHAPTER 2: THE CHILD & CHAPTER 18: THE MINES OF MANDALORE

“Chapter 2: The Child” seals the bond between Din and Grogu as Din faces trials in his journey to bringing Grogu back to Nevarro. “Chapter 18: The Mines of Mandalore” seals the bond between Din and Bo-Katan as allies while Din faces trials in his journey to redemption on Mandalore. In both episodes, Grogu has to rescue Din when he’s in danger, and both times he tries to use the Force to do so. Each episode also features Din fighting off an ambush on his own, though that tends to be pretty common for him. Both episodes also featured a creature that hasn’t been seen in Star Wars live action before: the mudhorn and the Mythosaur, respectively. By the end of each of these episodes, Din’s gained at least one new ally and has accomplished his original goal (getting Grogu back to Nevarro and earning his redemption).

CHAPTER 3: THE SIN & CHAPTER 19: THE CONVERT

“Chapter 3: The Sin” and “Chapter 19: The Convert” both see their protagonists going against a set of rules they’re expected to follow in order to further what they view as the greater good. In Chapter 3, it’s Din breaking the Guild Code to rescue Grogu. In Chapter 19, it’s Penn Pershing breaking the rules of the Amnesty Program to restart his research. Both episodes feature a betrayal of sorts, Greef Karga and Elia Kane respectively. Additionally, the Children of the Watch in both episodes—most notably Paz Vizsla—start both episodes off by being hostile towards Din only to end up helping him in some way. In Chapter 3, it was saving him and Grogu from the hunters, and in Chapter 19, it was accepting his redemption as well as Bo-Katan’s. Each episode title also uses religious language.

CHAPTER 4: SANCTUARY & CHAPTER 20: THE FOUNDLING

“Chapter 4: Sanctuary” and “Chapter 20: The Foundling” each start off a 3-episode run of different adventures that fill in the storytelling space and offer the characters time to face trials and grow before the overall story starts to wrap up. In Chapter 4, Cara Dune mostly leads the effort to rescue the village. Bo-Katan fills this same role in Chapter 20 by leading the Mandalorians to rescuing the foundling. Interestingly enough, both these episodes also are some of the only to address how and when a Mandalorian should remove their helmets to eat. Chapter 4 offers some Din backstory that he gives to Omera while Chapter 20 offers some Grogu backstory. At the end of each episode, the rescues are complete, but another call to adventure haunts the protagonists.

CHAPTER 5: THE GUNSLINGER & CHAPTER 21: THE PIRATE

These two are probably the hardest to draw parallels on. “Chapter 5: The Gunslinger” starts with a dogfight, while “Chapter 21: The Pirate” features quite a long dogfight as well. Peli Motto was originally meant to appear in Chapter 21 and her introduction to the Star Wars galaxy was in Chapter 5. Fennec Shand tells Din of the Mandalorians’ fate on Nevarro in Chapter 5, but in Chapter 21, the Mandalorians are the ones taking down others on Nevarro. Each episode also leaves off on a cliffhanger that isn’t resolved by the next episode, with Chapter 5 featuring Boba Fett saving Fennec and Chapter 21 featuring the New Republic finding beskar within a destroyed shuttle.

CHAPTER 6: THE PRISONER & CHAPTER 22: GUNS FOR HIRE

This one has some of my favorite parallels, and for no good reason! In “Chapter 6: The Prisoner,” Din teams up with mercenaries he used to work for, while we see in “Chapter 22: Guns For Hire” that Axe Woves, Koska Reeves, and other Mandalorians have become their own band of mercenaries. Both episodes feature Din being very hostile towards droids, even more so than usual. They also both include notable cameos, Bill Burr and Matt Lanter for Chapter 6 and Lizzo, Jack Black, and Christopher Lloyd for Chapter 22. In Chapter 6, Din is against the side of the law, while in Chapter 22, Din is united with Bo-Katan on the side of the law. The end of Chapter 6 saw Ranzar Malk and Qin sharing some choice words about Din while the end of Chapter 22 saw Axe also sharing some choice words about Din. (It’s fun how similar these two episodes are to each other in my head!)

CHAPTER 7: THE RECKONING & CHAPTER 23: THE SPIES

“Chapter 7: The Reckoning” and “Chapter 23: The Spies” each act as a part one of the overall grand finale of their respective seasons, with each ending on a devastating cliffhanger of a main supporting character’s tragic death. Both episodes start with a somewhat reluctant team-up of Din’s collected allies to continue a journey. Each episode is also Moff Gideon’s first appearance in their respective seasons, with both featuring Moff Gideon’s holographic image on a call before his actual physical appearance. Both episodes see the groups venturing across a desolate landscape to get to where they need to go only to get led into an ambush. In Chapter 7, it’s Grogu who gets captured by Gideon, while in Chapter 23, it’s Din who gets captured by Gideon. Additionally, each episode has peril in which allies cannot be contacted by comms. Lastly, as referenced before, Chapter 7 ends with Kuiil’s tragic death, and Chapter 23 ends with Paz’s.

CHAPTER 8: REDEMPTION & CHAPTER 24: THE RETURN

“Chapter 8: Redemption” and “Chapter 24: The Return” both end on a hopeful and somewhat peaceful note for Din and Grogu with a brand-new call to action. In Chapter 8, Moff Gideon blows up Din, while in Chapter 24, Moff Gideon gets blown up. Grogu protects Din and his allies from fire in both Chapter 8 as well as Chapter 24. In Chapter 8, the Armorer tells Din he is as Grogu’s father, while in Chapter 24, Din officially adopts Grogu as his son. Din earns a mudhorn signet for Grogu in Chapter 8 and Grogu earns part of Din’s name in Chapter 24. IG-11 sacrifices himself in Chapter 8, but comes back to life to serve as the marshal of Nevarro in Chapter 24. Both episodes contain big battle scenes that eventually lead to an entire planet being liberated. Chapter 8 features the Darksaber’s first appearance in live action, while Chapter 24 features the destruction of that same weapon. Finally, Chapter 8 sees Din and Grogu leaving Nevarro, but Chapter 24 sees Din and Grogu staying there in a home of their own.

[rokhal]

Talking about inhibition vs resolve in Blue Beetle (2023) as displayed by Jaime Reyes and Khaji Da.

Spoilers!

OK so. Jaime is a nice, well-adjusted kid. Every iteration, that's true: he was raised well by loving parents and he wants to be a good person and generally succeeds. He's not totally naive, but he's been insulated from life's darker realities in the ways that loving, successful parents want their children to be insulated, so he has faith in human good nature and the social contract. Jaime is an adult who finds the idea of taking a human life viscerally horrifying. He has strong inhibitions against harming others at the start of the movie.

Khaji Da is a literal alien killing machine. It doesn't give a shit about anyone but its host, because why would it? It's not programmed that way. Social contract, what social contract? It's not a social being. Assuming that it is a damaged Reach infiltrator scarab as in the comics, it has self-awareness but no knowledge of its purpose, so it's starting from scratch. It doesn't kill for sport, but based on its programming, it has surely deduced that killing is its purpose. It doesn't experience guilt or horror and has no inhibitions.

At the climax of the movie, Jaime's faith in human good nature and the social contract have been shattered. Victoria Kord's goons have destroyed his home, tortured him, left his father to die in the street, and shot a rocket at his uncle. His grief and rage have grown more powerful than his horror of killing; like his uncle and grandmother, he is ready to bloody his hands. This is the fate that his father brought the family to the US to spare his future children from, and Alberto is no longer there to steer him away from it.

Khaji Da, meanwhile, has bonded with Jaime and absorbed not only Jaime's memories, but Ignacio Carapax's. What a contrast a loving family makes. Khaji Da is not social itself, but it learns intimately what social bonds and the lack thereof can do to human personality, and the self-denial and isolation that killing brings. It learns from Carapax how lasting the wounds of moral injury are, and that to be a sentient weapon is an appalling violation. Khaji Da resolves to save Jaime and itself from the trauma that Carapax lives with.

Jaime's inhibitions against killing falter, because he had never contemplated ever needing a reason not to kill and had no framework to argue himself out of it. Khaji Da learned and applied Jaime's compassion and adopted a new moral code, counter to its own programming, that values human life. In a way, Khaji Da copied a part of Jaime that Victoria Kord destroyed, and gave it back to him at the critical moment.

[glasspunkart]

Bravern Radio Episode 1 TL (1/2)

Hi! Recently the web radio of BBBB came out on Youtube so I decided to do a translation for anyone interested!

As a key: Isami Ao VA -> Suzuki Ryota Lewis Smith VA -> Azakami Yohei Bravern VA -> Suzumura Kenichi For the purpose of this TL, I will be using character names (Isami, Smith, Bravern), and I'll put in bracket any time a name is mentioned or any additional info! So let's go!

Isami: We've started with a 'Bang'! Hey everyone, are you exploding with courage?! I'm the voice actor of Isami Ao from Yuuki Bakuhatsu Bang Bravern, Suzuki Ryota! Nice to meet you all~ ("Yuuki Bakuhatsu" means "Courage Explosion", they will use "courage" a lot, they're referencing the title) Smith: I'm the voice actor of Lewis Smith from Yuuki Bakuhatsu Bang Bravern, Azakami Yohei! Isami: Yup! This program, starting January 2024 will be broadcasted about Yuuki Bakuhatsu Bang Bravern, featuring me, Suzuki Ryota, the voice of Ao and Azakami Yohei, the voice of Lewis as radio personalities. Sometimes we will bring in guests, sometimes just us, and with courage we have our Web Radio! I'm going like a factory here lol

Smith: Seriously, I can't catch up to you haha Isami: The main part of the show well, it's a story about Isami and Ao's growth and the bond between them. The two of us are going to show courage and roll through with the show, welcome our guests and hopefully inspire some courage in you all too! Smith: We will try to convey the appeal of this show from all kinds of angles for you, please listen on! Isami: Actually first I apologise, the opening is- it keeps going. Ah, it's amazing huh, gets the tensions high. Smith: Haha, BRAVERN! It's so cool

Isami: Going on about our first radio episode, we were just in the middle of searching and searching. For the first, well, somehow we have managed to call a guest who's way too amazing. Bravern: It's sort of like we got the last boss of guests here. Isami: Right! It's like 'is it okay for us to call them?' Smith: Sooo Isami: Is it okay now? Smith: Lets call now ?: Should I be called now? Smith: Its better if we call fast now. Isami: Time for introductions! It's this person! Bravern: Is your courage exploding?! I'm the voice of Bravern, Suzumura Kenichi! Nice to meet you~

[Applause]

Isami: Yaaayy Smith: Thank youuu. Truly, we searched and searched, please save us senpai haha Isami: Save us Braveeeern!! Bravern: But like with such an amusing setting, you two as the main personalities, it's hard to be in step with you! Smith: Truly it's hard to find such an amusing set Bravern: In most of the shows I know, they have a lot of experienced veterans who have been doing this for many years to try to keep in step with. But you normally don't see it that much- the difficulty to keep up Smith: Normally it would be like- me and Ryota-kun (Isami) will be opposing each other, and the guest gets to pick a side Bravern: Yeah, this is some kind of strange thing. It feels like an interview Isami: It's like we are the ones being called Bravern: You have it reversed!

Smith: Also, personally, you don't often see radios having a guest right from the first episode huh? Bravern: Yeah that's true Isami: It kinda feels like, lets just do it with the three of us Bravern: Until the end? I wish! Smith: Seriously, I wish! Okay firstly, as for how we're calling each other? How about we change it from our usual names? Isami: This too gotta be done with courage! Bravern: For each of us? Smith: Yep! We want to go with names that we haven't been called until now Bravern: What would I want to be called….well, if we decide it here it will be easier to call those on-site. Isami: Oh that's true

Smith: We also have names that we are called on a day to day basis too Bravern: Oh tell us about those too Smith: For me it's Azakami so…people call me Azi Bravern: Azi???? Isami: Azi…. Smith: Yep, Azi Isami: That's nice, it's easy to say too. Smith: Really? Anyway, we need to pick names that we only use here? Bravern: Oh, okay… Isami: What were people calling me until now? Bravern: Oh…there's a lot of them. Smith: Lol, a lot huh? Isami: Pick something that's not Azakami-kun Bravern: I've been calling you 'Azakami-kun' all this time but what should we call you huh? Smith: Other than that! Not something I've been called a lot until now Isami: I've also been saying Azakami-san this whole time…

Bravern: Usually at this time we have to search. When you know what's needed and talk about it with people, like 'what do i want you to call me?', there's sometimes a really skilled senpai, who will just suddenly pull out 'Azi' as a nickname. Isami: If I was just randomly called Ryota (his first name) it would make me super happy~ Bravern: I'm the type of senpai who can't really do that….I'm different from those kind of senpais Smith: Hahahaha Isami: So the one who needs to show courage is Suzumura-san, finally Bravern: Yeeaah that's true. Though now I want to call him Azi, after all that. It's just in here right? Just between us? Smith: You can call me that elsewhere too! Bravern: It's not like calling 'Sardine' or 'Mackerel' or something, like "Aji" (jackfish/horse mackerel) fish or something! Isami: Aji…lol Bravern: It's not like that! Next it'll become whale shark… Isami: That's so long! We are getting further and further from the point here! It's hard to understand!

Smith: Well then I'll be simple and say that I like being called by my (given) name. By my senpai, like "ah, Yohei", kinda Bravern: Yohei is nice! Smith: If you called me Yohei it would make me happy Bravern: Yohei, right? Yohei, huh…but now I like Aji lol, is it okay if only I call you 'Iwashi'? (Sardine) Smith: Sto- well, maybe just Isami: Just this time? Smith: Mm, just this time, you can call me Iwashi.

[lmao]

Smith: On to you, Ryota-kun… (Isami) Isami: Hmm Bravern: Normally, what are you called? Smith: By fans and such Isami: Well, fans call me "Su" (From "Suzuki") Bravern: Su?? Smith: Su! One character….lol Isami: Su.. Bravern: This is like, 'oh it's become that era already'! Isami: With this they're definitely bullying me Bravern: Ryouta-kun- it's the same as using 'ryo' or 'ri' Smith: Aahh yeah nowadays (the nicknames) are becoming shorter and shorter, huh? Bravern: 'Su' huh Smith: They've taken that lol Bravern: I've seen people use "Suzu" pretty often these days, I've been called so too Smith: Yeah I have too Isami: Ohh yeah I see Smith: But Suzu is kinda- well, if Suzumura-san is okay with that's fine but I don't like it, calling you "Suzu" since it's Suzumura-san's nickname ("Suzu" works for both "Suzumura" Bravern and "Suzuki" Isami) Bravern: Yeah that's true too. Then, 'Su', huh? Smith: Su…lol, Su… Bravern: Okay I know. Let's call you Miso (a type of soup) Smith: Hahaha, that fits perfect. The Sardines have assembled here (miso soup can contain sardine)

Bravern: The sardines. We've made it something you can taste, it sounds delicious. You guys should call your unit Namero (to lick/taste) Smith: Namero! Isami: Let's go with Namero Smith: Lets do Namero to show our gratefulness to Bravern (lets lick bravern to show our gratefulness) Bravern: If I was a woman first I would be concerned for you Smith: Hahahaha no no no our idolisation of you can't be stopped. So what should we do for you, Suzumura-san? Bravern: You gotta show courage, right guys? So, stuff like Suzu-san is not going to cut it. Smith: True Bravern: It needs to be something stronger Isami: R…rin-san? Bravern: Eh…well… Smith: No more, more than that Isami: Suzu… Bravern: Come at it strong Isami: Something which could come from Suzu… Smith: Mm…

Isami: ….castella, or something? ("suzu-castella" is baby castella, a type of cake) Smith: Hahahaha Bravern: Hahahah Suzu-castella, huh? That's amazing Smith: Castella! Bravern: Castella-san….we don't need -san, let it just be Castella Smith: Castella pfftt Bravern: Castella is… Isami: It's kinda dangerous, right? Smith: It's become a dangerous radio now Isami: It's not even courage anymore Smith: It's a dangerous radio now! Bravern: Noo, call me Castella please! Smith: Well then this time only, let's call you Castella Bravern: Castella, Miso, Iwashi (Sardine), huh? Smith: What even pff Bravern: Sounds delicious honestly Isami: What the hell…

Smith: What is up with this trio…well, that's done now Isami: I understand Smith: You understood? You got it? Bravern: I understood too Smith: I got it Bravern: Amazing, this is so ani-radio Smith: What we're doing now? Bravern: Whatever we're doing now, it's just like all the ones I've experienced till now Isami: Now that we've decided on the names Bravern: It's been a while since I've done something like this Smith: Yeah, and there's stuff you don't normally ask, so with this too we have to have courage- Isami: -and go to the questions Bravern: Yes, I'll answer anything you ask me Smith: Anything? Isami: …your annual income- Smith: Hahaha he said it! He said it… Bravern: There's some things I can't say you know Isami: Then how many castellas do you earn Bravern: Hahaha if you ask in terms of castella, it will be a lot Smith: Yeah it will be a lot Bravern: It's got to be Isami: Makes you curious right? Bravern: Amazing Smith: But I wanna become like that too

Bravern: It will be a building's worth Smith: Hahaha, a building full of castella?? Bravern: A building's amount Isami: This is difficult to ask but- Bravern: Mm, go ahead? Isami: Can you tell us your weight in terms of castella? Bravern: Mm, I see. Well if I have to answer it in castella then- uh, how much Smith: How many castella?? Isami: Pfff Smith: Are you lightweight? Bravern: I have no idea! Smith: When you're soaked, you know- your weight changes a lot right? Bravern: Um…then sixty….sixty….sixty five- sixty five castella?? Smith: Castella?? Isami: Isn't that way too lightweight? Bravern: I have no idea Smith: In terms of weight this measurement unit will make the numbers seem really huge and it's hard to understand Bravern: Yeah, it is hard to understand Smith: Though I'm sure its difficult to ask it like that- if you're going to answer it's okay to sugarcoat it Isami: Mm I see Smith: Yeah, round it off, it might be better that way Bravern: Gotta have courage…

Smith: This kinda conversation- we don't do this during the recordings (of the anime) at all Bravern: True, you can't Smith: At the recordings, Suzumura-san (Bravern) and I are often together- intensely working together, so this is the first time Bravern: Yep Isami: Yeah in radio you can kinda- Smith: You can say stuff like this Isami: There's also a certain impression of what recording should be Smith: Yeah at the recordings- hmm, well, we talked a lot about tokusatsu (live action JP shows with lots of effects, like giant robot shows, power rangers, etc) Isami: True lol, I was hearing a lot of tokusatsu conversation the whole time Bravern: Obari-san (BBBB director) is kinda rigid about that kind of thing Isami: Yeaaah Bravern: But Bang Bravern is sorta like, Obari-san's interests are bared and showing Isami: It's soooooooo obvious Smith: You can immediately point it out. But with this kind of passion it's easy to become super aware of it (Obari's signature genre and tropes), and even more so if you try to stray from it Bravern: It's blatantly written in the script! Smith: "Okay now this conversation is getting way too long so let's move to the next corner", sorry, the instruction was given to me so

Isami: Yes, I'm sorry for that…So then, Castella! Castella will be the guest Bravern: Mm, for first and second Smith: -two weeks in a row! Isami: We will be talking about a lot of things Bravern: We did it! Smith: Way to go, Castella! Isami: Yeah! Smith: Without further ado! Smith & Isami: TV Anime Yuuki Bakuhatsu Bang Bravern Web Radio! Smith: Let's start with introducing the program, henceforth we'll be talking about the work, with courage we will tell a lot of stories, and with courage let's deepen our bonds with banter Smith: The other day, the first episode of the anime aired on TVS Isami: Let's start with a summary of what happened. Smith: The first episode, "I've made you wait, Isami" Isami: 'The representatives of the countries of the world have gathered in Hawai'i, The Airforce's Titano Strider, T.S. Pilot Lewis Smith, in the middle of a fight, meets Japanese Defense soldier Isami Ao. During the fight, Smith, having seen Isami's cut-above-the-rest abilities, challenges him to a 1v1. But on the promised day, suddenly they are attacked and destroyed by a mystery force and their peaceful days are at an end.' is what it will be.

Bravern: Right from the summary of the first one…the work is described like it's going to be so badass. Smith: The quality was soo high Bravern: Right? Isami: For sure Smith: Then again, with this summary, people will think 'it's totally different though' right? Bravern: Definitely true Isami: It is! It sounds like it's going to be a super real feeling army story Smith: Like some serious military thing…but for us it was laid out wasn't it? 'You can't say anything about this' Isami: Yeah, we were told Smith: And because of that I mostly wanted to observe…once the first episode aired I wanted to see what is the atmosphere everyone feels, and we were told to give our cast comments by everyone too. That too…felt kind of untouchable Isami: It did feel like a hard topic to touch Smith: They really wanted to deceive everyone and play it like 'No, it's a serious military thing, it's very dark, we're maintaining a suspense tone', they were writing it to us constantly

Isami: In the PV like…the vibe and the song did not match even a little bit Smith: It reaally didn't! Bravern: Hahaha Smith: Exactly, exactly! Hahaha Bravern: They kind of made a mistake there. If they're going to do this anyway, they should have tried to hide that song too Smith: Totally! Pfft, if they intended to deceive Bravern: Mm- Smith: I was thinking, if they're going to deceive then go all out and deceive us! Isami: For the listeners too, it would feel like "this is the start of something" Bravern: While we're talking about it being "hidden", I was the one who was hidden the most! Smith: Castella was- Bravern: The whole time- yes, the castella was hiding the whole time! Kakure-castella (Hiding is "kakure-teta" so he made a word mash "kakure-kasutera") Smith: Kakure-castella, huh? Bravern: There was a lot of stuff I wanted to say but I couldn't say! Smith: Must have been Bravern: There was

Bravern: Back when it was announced, once, if I had done something without thinking…like retweeting- Isami: Noooo Bravern: …it would have been bad! Isami: Scary, scary, scary Bravern: I was thinking 'Ahh it's been announced', and that i have to be quiet. Smith: Hahaha Bravern: And then Tachiki-san slipped up and retweeted. And i was thinking why did Tachiki-san do that?? (Fumihiko Tachiki, VA who appears in other mecha animes) Smith: Tachiki-san you shouldn't do that! Isami: No no no!! Bravern: Why did Tachiki-san retweet??? Smith: Seriously, why! Isami: That was a no! Smith: We can only wonder why… Isami: What kind of character do you think Bravern is? Bravern: Mm..well, there was an audition, and I auditioned for Smith and Bravern Isami: Ehh?? Smith: Euuuhh??? Bravern: Yep. And if I had to say, it was mainly Smith Isami: Really?? Bravern: I went to the agency, at the time of the audition, and then Suwa-san asked what will you take, and my company managers had selected some for me. Suwa-san said to take the audition for Smith, so I went there to take the audition…and I thought "Wait, there isn't any other voice actor who knows robots as much as I do." (I think it's Masahiro Suwa-san, animation director)

Smith: I see! Bravern: Obari-san means robots, right? And the document- there was also a role document for Bravern, so I said "Let me take the audition for this 'Bravern' too". So they let me take it for Bravern too (Director Obari-san is well known for mecha shows) Isami: Right right right Bravern: And I went to it resolved to win, so- but then at that one, there wasn't really much instruction in the role document, it was pretty much just "sound robot-like". But there was a script at the audition, and after seeing that it was kinda, probably, between the human characters, there's a rigidity…it's a show where the communication of thoughts doesn't go well Smith: lol Isami: So sharp! Bravern: That's why, the robot will be a robot but there's this…if I had to describe, this theatrical beauty, sense of honour. I've been watching hero shows for a long time and I've been a lover of robots since even before that. So if you say "robot", and then "a robot who talks" then it has to be this (specific) way. How do I explain, there's a certain way that a partnership should be done. That kind of thing between normal people- and then suddenly a robot has come, trying to have that with a person, it's a conflict in their way of thinking. I was going with that in the audition Smith: You're way too sharp! What a pro

Bravern: So I worked hard trying to be like all talking robots I've seen so far, but without fretting about the tiny details. One who is obsessed in the pursuit of honour. Isami: I see! Smith: Heeehhh Bravern: So then I went to the first recording and it really wasn't too far off from my imagination. But there too I had to consider the meaning between the things I had to do. I made it while talking about a lot of things with Obari-san (director), kinda. Smith: Ohhhhh Isami: Amazing- you're so overly reliable, it's like there's a warden within the cast lol Bravern: Warden?? Smith: I don't know if it's that extreme haha Isami: But at the recordings, it relaxes us too to have that reliability Smith: That's true, it fits perfectly…but it was a surprise, right? A talking robot Bravern: Yes! It feels like the first time that's been done Isami: Oh really? Smith: I thought "oh, it is?" Bravern: About talking robots, from our age of the hero shows, Hayami Sho-san's voice comes to mind Smith: Aah, a little bitter, yeah. Bravern: Right? So when a line with bitterness is required, I think I should approach it with a different feel. And sometimes a robot with a youthful voice is needed too. From that time, it's Matsumoto Yasunori-san or Nakamura Daiki-san's lines. Isami: Something a bit more energetic Bravern: Yep. For this line I have no choice but to go there! I really imagined a lot. Smith: Amazing!

This is only the first 15min 40sec ish ! If people are interested, I'm happy to translate the rest too :)

[flawlessassholes]

do you have any seb and mark in mother carva thoughts you’d like to share 👁️👁️

no actually i don’t! thanks for asking! ignore the 630 words of absolute disgusting filth under the cut! also bye i’m going into the witness protection program!

Sometimes, as Mark watches Sebastian interact with the Carva, he thinks: Oedipus was the first motherfucker.

Until now, every time Mark has been inside the Carva, it was all… square jaws, stiff upper lips, think of England. It was a mutual jerking off where you made a few wry jokes to ‘bond’ like the engineers went on about, and then a mutual agreement to never speak of it again. 

So he wasn’t expecting to arrive in the factory on a cold December day in 2008 and to have a tiny cue ball-headed twink bound up to him and chirp, “I didn’t know how big you are, so I used a midsized plug, but you might have to stretch me a little more when we’re inside Mother.” 

And Mark laughed at first, instinctual and disbelieving. He would learn quickly that Seb didn’t like being laughed at when he was dead serious. 

“Why are you laughing.” 

“Mate, I don’t know what you got up to in Faenza, but it doesn’t work like that.”

“Séb and I got each other off,” he said, and Mark blinked before he remembered that Bourdais was also a Seb because Marko clearly has a type.

“Well, that’s not how we do things here,” Mark had said. “We go in, I do my business, you your business, and that’s it.”

“That’s no way to make a winning car,” Seb said, haughty and annoyed. And Mark was still feeling magnanimous and mature about this whole new kid situation, so he didn’t make a crack at that or say that he got lucky because Kovalainen is shit in the rain, and Mark got fucked over by him in qualifying. 

So he didn’t respond, and then Newey appeared, and it was lights out.

That feeling of magnanimous maturity lasted all of five milliseconds once they were naked and once they entered the warm, damp, dimly lit cavern of the Mother Carva.

He couldn’t even exhale before something like fire ants started crawling under his skin, and nimble fingers wrapped around his cock. 

He felt a brush of prickly, short hair, and as his eyes adjusted, he realized that Seb was on his knees. 

And then the warm and damp enveloped him as Seb swallowed him whole.

It devolved quickly from there, and in his worst moments, he still remembers the way he came on Seb’s tongue, and how Seb showed it off like it was a trophy, how Seb didn’t spit it on the Carva, he kissed it, slathering his come on the membrane as he humped his hips like a bitch in heat until he came too, and afterward how he smiled like he won Monza all over again.

He remembers the glow he carried with him as he held the still-growing specimen, and how he glowed, hard on the podium when he won in China, how he specifically made sure to save his champagne to bring back to Milton Keynes, to crawl back inside the mother and share the drink. 

And Mark would’ve thought they were equal—he won that season, too—but Seb kept winning. And he kept getting hard. And he kept worshiping the Carva; there was no other word for it when he thanked her and visited her and called her Mother with all the reverence of royalty in every fucking interview.

And then, in 2010, he won the championship that should’ve been Mark’s. 

So when they stripped naked, and he noticed there was no plug in Seb’s ass this year—that he finally got the hint after a repeat of their activities in 2009–Mark no longer felt magnanimous or mature. 

“Hope you prepared yourself,” he says, fire ants already crawling under his skin even though they weren’t inside. “Because if you want to get fucked, you’ll get fucked.”