#I have so many feels about Reeve guys

[case-of-traxits]

WRO Reeve + Heartbreak

One who wears the crown, bears the crown.

For @here-be-ninjas | From a discussion on this post.

So I've been sitting on this for a few days now in my drafts. I kept trying to type it up as a reply on that fic, but the fact is... I just have too many feels and it kept getting way too long and I didn't want to slam out like, three half-thought out things. So here, I've done my best to outline some things that are going on for WRO that break my heart.

I have no idea if this is what you were expecting or wanting, but this is what you're getting.

Also, please excuse the gratuitous use of gifs, but like, I'm just delighting in the fact that when I search "Reeve Tuesti" in the gifs thing, I GET SOMETHING OMG.

(That wasn't true pre-Remake really. But thankfully, people are slowly realizing he's super handsome. So it's a win for me!)

Time to put my metal on Whose blood to spill? I don't know whose side I'm on. Two armies are coming at me. Their flags and weapons look the same. One tells the truth; the other's lying. And they're both calling my name.

-- "How Villains Are Made," by Madalen Duke

Canon Explanation

So at the beginning of Final Fantasy VII, we have three massive disasters occur in Midgar, all over the course of three days: Reactor 1 is bombed, Reactor 5 is bombed, and Sector Seven is dropped. It is certainly canon that all of these events deeply affected Reeve emotionally (if you want to see a video comparing Reeve's reaction to the Plate Drop plan, you can see that here).

Now, I don't think it's fanon to extrapolate that at the end of FF7, Reeve has lost basically everything.

Canonically, he's had to deal with the following:

The loss of Reactor 1.

The loss of Reactor 5.

The dropping of Sector Seven.

Tseng is nearly killed (how close Reeve is to Tseng is up for debate).

Cait Sith the First dies (as a sub-note on this one, not only does Cait Sith die, but the very thing that he dies for, to prevent Sephiroth from getting the Black Materia? Is immediately voided because Cloud hands it over to Sephiroth).

Aerith dies (how close Reeve is to Aerith is also up for debate).

Diamond WEAPON attacks Midgar, which is, of course, full of innocent civilians.

Reeve is dragged away to be imprisoned during this attack because he refuses to go along with Scarlet and Heidegger.

At some point, Reeve is freed (although, that's not important enough apparently to get a mention in the OG) and he organizes the evacuation of Midgar, which has to be evacuated through, canonically, a single train line and a single highway that wrap around the central pillar.

He shuts down all of the reactors in Midgar. I'll have to see if I can find a canon source for when, exactly, this happens; it happens sometime between when he is freed and when Edge is started, and I think there's mention somewhere that it's before the Lifestream surge that stops Meteor. However, per On the Way to a Smile, Episode: Barret, all mako reactors across the entire world have been shut down as of "several months after [Meteorfall]."

A few days after this evacuation process is started, his mother is killed when the Lifestream surges up to stop Meteor.

If he'd had any hope whatsoever of salvaging Midgar, or returning people to the city after the Meteor crisis, that's shot down after the Lifestream surge. So now he has a city full of people who refused to leave prior to Meteorfall, another city (Kalm) full of people who did evacuate, and no power for any of them. Again, you can see On the Way to a Smile, Episode: Barret if you want a little peek as to what some of the pre-Mako tech looked like. Spoiler? It isn't pretty. I'm talking coal-powered trucks kind of not pretty. This is a world without gasoline as tech. Mako literally powers everything, and they're now rationing what was left in the reactors. With that in mind, it's really no wonder that the WRO is militaristic.

As someone who has worked at an electric company (I want to add "canonically," but I mean IRL. XD), let me tell you, people without power? They are panicky. But okay, that's not addressed canonically, so let's disregard that side note.

Instead, let's just focus on everything else.

He's lost literally everything that he has clearly dedicated himself to: Midgar, his parents, one of his robot cats, and his entire livelihood. And suddenly, he's the only one with anything even resembling the experience necessary to run the world. The last standing member of the Shinra Board, and effectively, he's taken Rufus' place as the de-facto world leader.

And all of this starts on 12/9/07 and ends "the last third" of 01/08, according to the Crisis Core Ultimania Timeline.

So... all of that. In six-ish weeks.

And this is true before we even touch on the expanded canon and my headcanons regarding Reeve Tuesti.

You reach the battle lines Racing inside your mind A question for all time, is it you? So gravity defy And storm the darkest night Is it you? Is it you who will save us?

-- "Who Will Save Us," by Tommee Profitt

Expanded Canon and Headcanon Time!

Expanded Canon: The Inspire Thing

So. Cait Sith. Beloved fuzzy son.

First, let's look at Reeve's profile from the 10th Anniversary Ultimania:

The head of the Urban Development Department. Involved in the construction of Midgar from the very beginning, he watches over the town’s development like that of a child. By utilizing his special ability, “Inspire”, he is able to cause inorganic things to emit life; his “child”, the “cat”-shaped robot, Cait Sith can be controlled from a great distance. After Meteorfall, he became the director of the World Regenesis Organization (WRO), which is devoted to the purpose of restoring life to the planet.

So this is interesting for a lot of reasons, but there's two very important things that this profile does for us:

One, it clearly states that Reeve has been "involved in the construction of Midgar from the very beginning," and he "watches over the town's development like that of a child." So... That's a great character note and a problem, but let's put a pin in that and we'll discuss the problem part of that in the next section. So the thing you need to actually note there is that Reeve loves Midgar. Like a child.

And two, it defines Reeve's surprisingly controversial "Inspire" ability. I say surprisingly because here's the general breakdown. Reeve has literally always had this ability, but people will sometimes discount it because it's not "mentioned" in any of the games. And that isn't... wrong, exactly. Reeve is never, at any point in any of the games, 'outed' as an Inspire. However, let's look at the Ultimanias over the years:

Now, I wish I had links to all of these pages for you, but the simple fact is, I don't. I could probably get links to all of them, given enough time, but I'm still rebuilding my compiled FF7 References Google Drive folder. When I get everything in there, I'll post a link.

The point I want to make with this is that it isn't something new. This is not some detail they retconned in to make things work. They've literally always implied it in game. There's a few metas floating around periodically that talk about Reeve and Cait Sith, and maybe one day I'll sit down and write up my own, but I want to be able to link to certain things like the Before Crisis scripts and such, because there's evidence in there to prove that Cait Sith is not just a 'robot'. He's a plush cat, yes. He's an animatronic, yes. But he's also an individual.

Canonically, in the original game, he feels pain when he trips and falls in the Temple of the Ancients on his way to die. He begs Cloud and AVALANCHE not to forget him, even if another Cait Sith shows up. He reminds them all that there's only one him. (And then of course, they promptly forget him. T_T)

In Before Crisis, Reeve gives the player Turk a controller to use with Cait Sith, but Cait Sith has 'thought' dialogue in the game that cannot be attributed to Reeve.

In Dirge, you see Cait Sith and Reeve together at several points, and they always move fairly in sync, but there's no indication of a controller in Reeve's hand at any point. And okay, that could be because Dirge was really bad about character models. We never did, after all, get a pregnant Lucrecia model in that game. ... Or in any other game, for that matter. But that's a different problem.

The fact is, at no point is Reeve ever shown using a controller. How he controls Cait Sith is subtle enough that he can control Cait Sith actively during a board meeting that he lets AVALANCHE listen in on during the original game. That's the board meeting where Scarlet and Heidegger propose loading up the failed rocket in Rocket Town with materia and launching it into Meteor in an attempt to stop it. And none of the other directors (or Rufus, who is canonically aware of Cait Sith and Reeve's control of him) notice. So I don't think it's actually a stretch of canon to assume that Reeve doesn't have a visible means of controlling Cait Sith.

Which means... yes. It's magic. Some kind of mental connection to Cait Sith. And let's just... digest that for a second.

Imagine a mental connection to something you love like a child.

And you send it to be crushed to death in an attempt to stop Sephiroth from obtaining a materia that he will use to destroy the world.

And immediately after you've done this, you have to get the next version of that child to the same place, to the same group of people, who have already lost the materia you entrusted them with.

(And, as an aside, you were just using this second version of that child to rescue a dying coworker that, your own personal closeness aside, your good friend is very close to. Because Before Crisis makes it very clear that Reeve and Veld are close in some fashion. It's a little ambiguous about their exact relationship, but they're close enough that Reeve risks everything to help the Turks because he's sure they're helping Veld who is on the run from Shinra at that point.)

Now, all of this to say... Why am I rambling about Reeve's Inspire ability and Cait Sith? Well...

Headcanon: The Inspire Thing

My personal headcanon is that Reeve, with long enough exposure to anything inorganic (i.e., his car or reactors) can inadvertently form a bond with it. Even grant it a sort of ... half-life. Now, admittedly, this is entirely fanon. I make no arguments that there is any sort of canonical support for the Inspire abilities working with this way.

But the fact is... it's odd, isn't it, that the reactors are under Urban Development? Why aren't they under Science?

(And yes, that is canon. It's in the original game that reactor control is under Urban Dev-- Reeve Tuesti-- not Science.)

So this is something I play with, that Reeve is some kind of brilliant engineer, constantly tweaking the reactors, adjusting them to maximize every drop of mako energy as efficiently as possible. And in my headcanon, he manages that in part by directly interfacing with the reactors.

Which uh... makes blowing them up emotionally problematic for him. How emotionally problematic? Well, @ladykf-writes wrote me some amazing ficlets that feature my headcanons about this after much rambling with her about them. So I highly recommend checking those out if you're interested in this idea.

So, basically, in addition to the list up there? You could add that my particular Reeve is also suffering from some serious emotional turmoil regarding the "deaths" of Reactors 1 and 5 as well as Cait Sith the First. Those aren't just moments of, "oh it's tragic these people died," or "oh shoot, I lost one of my robots," for him.

He literally lived through their deaths.

Now. Let's move on from my headcanons regarding this ability and let's talk about Reeve's problem.

Broken pieces of a barely breathing story Where there once was love Now there's only me and the lonely Dancing slowly in an empty room Can the lonely take the place of you? I sing myself a quiet lullaby Let you go and let the lonely in To take my heart again

-- "The Lonely," by Christina Perri. In particular with this song, the "you" that I imagine it being focused on is Midgar, not a person.

Reeve's Timeline Shenanigans

All right, back to Reeve's profile from the 10th Anniversary Ultimania:

Involved in the construction of Midgar from the very beginning, he watches over the town’s development like that of a child.

And from the Final Fantasy VII Complete Dismantled True Story (which while "official" is not necessary "canon" per the development team):

A capable engineer closely involved in the design and construction of the two-tiered city of Midgar and its eight mako reactors.

Now, unfortunately, Reeve's profile doesn't often get translated in other ultimanias-- or at least, not in places I've been able to find-- so we're kind of stuck with just these two interpretations of this side of him. Still, it's pretty clear, right? He was involved in the construction of Midgar from the beginning. Even in the Dismantled True Story version, he's closely involved in the design and construction.

It also mentions that he's 35 (like Barret) in the original game. Since the game takes place in 0007, we can say pretty confidently that he was born in '72; same year as Barret, for those who don't trust my math.

Now, let's look at Midgar's timeline, shall we?

From the 10th Anniversary Timeline:

[ μ ] – εуλ 9/23/1959 (48 years before FFVII) · Shin-Ra Works (later the Shin-Ra Company) discovers mako energy [ μ ] – εуλ 1/9/1968 · Construction begins in Nibelheim on the first in a series of power generation facilities, “mako reactors” for the purpose of extracting mako. [ μ ] – εуλ 6/24/1976 · Construction of the mako city, Midgar, begins. The Shin-Ra company relocates its headquarters to Midgar.

... Interesting. Okay. What about other timelines? Well, let's look at the Crisis Core Ultimania's Timeline:

[ μ ] – εуλ 9/23/1959 · Shin-Ra Works (later the Shin-Ra Company) discovers mako energy. [ μ ] – εуλ 6/24/1976 · Construction of the mako city, Midgar, begins. The Shin-Ra company relocates its headquarters to Midgar.

Now, this does change a bit in the Remake Ultimania's Timeline, from what I understand. They push Midgar's construction date back to 1969, per the FFVII Timeline, which for the record I like because they source all their dates wherever possible. However, I haven't really dug into the Remake stuff yet because it's my understanding that the Remake is the Compilation in a blender, so just because something is true in the Remake doesn't make it true in other aspects of canon (for example, they adjusted the ages of Rufus and the Turks, to make Rufus clearly older/same age as them, whereas he was always younger in the original canon).

Anyway, the issue with this timeline is this: Reeve's four when they start building Midgar. How involved is he in this construction project?

Now, over the years, I've seen a few interesting takes on how to handle this.

One, people just completely disregard it. Which, fair. It's an ultimania canon note, not something from in-game, but I always find it interesting when people say, disregard these dates but are happy to accept say, dates regarding the Nibelheim project as gospel from the same sources. But hey, I cherry pick canon too, so who am I to complain, right?

Two, people go with the architect of Midgar being another R. Tuesti (probably Reeve's father is the most common headcanon), and over the years, his work has been conflated with Reeve's own until people just forget that Reeve himself couldn't have been the one to do it.

Now, my personal headcanon-- which I am absolutely detailing because you asked me about why WRO Reeve breaks my heart, and I swear all of this is tied into that original question-- is that Reeve's father was the original engineer who developed the Nibelheim reactor. He was also slated to be the lead engineer on managing the complicated network of the eight (nine, technically, at least during construction, but who's counting?) reactors in Midgar. Except when Reeve was about five, he died in an accident. Probably in a reactor, let's be honest.

And when the Turks (and because it's my headcanon and I can, the Turks in question are Veld and Vincent) are sent to pick up Papa Tuesti's notes from his widow so that the other engineers can try to make sense of them, they discover that the five-year-old can decipher his father's unlabeled diagrams. So they take the boy with them to the Shinra Manor in Junon where the President pays to have him formally educated and put to work deciphering these diagrams and notes to ensure that the Midgar project goes as planned.

Of course, being brought up to be this engineer means that Reeve has access to basically the best level of education possible. So yes, he's deciphering his father's notes, but very quickly, he's improving them. And that, my friends, is why he ends up as Head of Urban Development. Because the simple fact is, he's been brought up for this, raised and trained to President Shinra's exact specifications of what he wants in a city.

Now, once again, all of that is just my personal headcanon, and I can't even cite some of my old sources because I just cannot find them anymore. So take this or leave it, it's where I sit on it.

That also means that he was brought up in the same house as (although almost certainly very separated from) Rufus. There's a ten year difference between them, of course, so it wasn't like they were close, but there's certainly room for some... understanding between them. If anyone understands how the President was (who canonically was extremely abusive towards Rufus per On the Way to a Smile: Case of Shinra).

Now, how does all of this tie into WRO Reeve breaking my heart?

Well, per my headcanon, Midgar is literally his life's work. It's his father's legacy and it is the city he has poured his entire life into, and it's gone. At the end of the original game, it's gone, and he has to look at her dead carcass on the horizon every time he is in Edge.

He was fashioned into the engineer who builds cities and lives and fantasies-- the floating city, remember?-- and he was desperately just trying to survive the President's reign of terror under the hope that Rufus would be better (I can't find a copy of the source quote in Before Crisis, but it's mentioned on his Ultimania profile). And suddenly...

It's all gone.

I am the son And the heir Of a shyness that is criminally vulgar I am the son and heir Of nothing in particular

-- "How Soon Is Now," by the Smiths, but the AG cover.

So. If you've made it through all of this, I just. I have a lot of feels about Reeve Tuesti in general, and in particular, in what state he's probably in after Meteorfall. I guess this is what happens when you've been writing him for 20-some-odd years. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

The long and short of it is this: Reeve is an incredibly underrated character, and he's so often sadly overlooked by fandom, and he just... he's been through so much by the time he's head of the WRO. I can't help but think that he's got to be so worn down by it all. It's hard, saving the world, especially in a position like he's in.

He is, after all, the only man in the world who betrayed Shinra twice and lived.

But he's also the man who built the world's largest, most complicated city, and he's a man who has survived losing everything.

And what did he do the next morning?

He went to work.

You wanna take a drink of that promise land You gotta wipe the dirt off of your hands Careful son, you got dreamer's plans But it gets hard to stand Soldier keep on marchin' on Head down 'til the work is done Waiting on that morning sun Soldier keep on marchin' on

-- "Soldier," by Tommee Profitt

#Reeve Tuesti #FF7 #Final fantasy vii #I have so many feels about Reeve guys #I just #SO MANY #I hope someone enjoys this #I've been working on it for DAYS

[emo-batboy]

Battinson and the JL ft. His Eventual Identity Reveal

(If you’re just here for the cutesy bits, skip to Attempt #2. Otherwise, STRAP IN CUZ IT’S A LOT)

Bruce Wayne of Matt Reeves’ The Batman is not the founder type.

He wouldn’t voluntarily join a book club, much less join a league of super powered vigilantes whom he does not know personally.

So in this universe, you probably wouldn’t call him one of the three Founding members.

But he’s still integral to the formation of the Justice League

It starts out with a friendly visit :)

Bruce is patrolling on a random night in Gotham when he notices a weird thing in the sky. It’s floating just far enough behind him that a less vigilant person wouldn’t have noticed, but Bruce is always watching his own back, and he takes it as a threat.

He strays from his usual path and then heads to a warehouse roof before turning to face the threat.

It’s Superman. All smiley and dressed in primary colors. The strongest, most powerful being on Earth just floating over like he wasn’t stalking Batman a second ago. Bruce does not like that.

“What do you want with Gotham?” He asks. “I don’t,” Superman says. “I wanted to talk to The Batman.” So this is some kind of fight? An intervention? A warning? Then Superman frowns. “You…are The Batman, right?”

Bruce only nods as he considers his options, but he can’t really do that when Superman has super speed, super sight, super strength, super breath, super lots-of-things-that-Batman-probably-doesn’t-know-of.

Then Superman surprises him by landing on the roof and giving him this pitch about a superhero group.

Superman and a few other vigilantes have been bouncing around the idea of teaming up together so they can help one another protect their cities. And The Batman was a “perfect candidate.”

“I’m not joining your club.” “It’s not a club. It’s a league.” “What’s your mission statement, then?” “A what?” Bruce fights the urge to roll his eyes. He still doesn’t trust this guy. “Take your league idea back to the drawing board then we can talk.” He does not intend on talking.

But two months later, Superman is back. This time, he brings another super powered vigilante named Wonder Woman.

She smiles, politely approaches him, and says “Superman tells me you want to learn more about our league.” That is not what he said, but he doesn’t bite.

Bruce can’t decide which they remind him of more: college recruiters or cult leaders. But because Wonder Woman genuinely seems to care about seeing this project through, and the roster she has of current like-minded vigilantes is impressive, he lets her talk.

And to give her credit, she definitely thought out the logistics more. It almost makes up for the time they’re wasting.

Okay, fine. They’re still way behind on concept, and it’s pitiful. He actually feels bad.

They obviously care! They just have no idea how to run a business like he does. Is it a bit cynical to think of this league of Justice as a business? Yes, but that’s the only way he can even conceive this happening and working.

Bruce asks about their organization’s leadership structure, and that’s when Wonder Woman falters a bit. “We want to work with each other, not for.” Bruce bites his tongue on that subject.

He asks about their scope of work. “We want to help as many people as we can, but that can be ironed out later.” Bruce bites his tongue on that subject.

He asks “Who’s funding this?” She answers, “We have a few members willing to pitch in, but the majority will have to come from generous citizens.” And that’s when he just stops asking questions. Because what?

If he could cry the grease paint off, he would.

They can’t just think every super-powered vigilante is going to sing Kumbaya and braid each other’s hair. There needs to be checks and balances within the organization to avoid tyranny and corruption. They need a reliable source of donations (that doesn’t immediately out Bruce.) They need a proper chain of command. They need to map out their area of responsibility. They need to design a VERY strict vetting process. It’s not sunshine and rainbows. It’s hard work!

So he says he’ll think about it again and complains to Alfred about the weird super stalkers.

But for SOME reason, Alfred doesn’t see the problem

Alfred encourages him to join so he can “make some friends.” But how can he trust these people if they can’t even make a half-decent pitch? It’s like a bad episode of Shark Tank.

And “make friends?” They’re all masked

But after a week of gentle nudging (read: very firm lectures), Bruce agrees. ONLY to keep tabs on the rest of the vigilante world and possible threats to Gotham

(And without his help, they’ll probably butt-dial Lex Luthor the nuclear codes or something)

And he is damn well going to figure out who these people really are before he helps them make a Super Organization.

Alfred figures out about half of their secret identities purely as a brain exercise while Bruce is out fighting crime and collecting head injuries like Pokémon cards. They figure out the rest together.

They also develop contingency plans for every single member. Just in case.

And after months of Batman being visited by random vigilantes, whom he has several choice words for about personal space—“This is my city. Go away.”—he accepts. On several conditions.

Not all of them are appreciated.

Attempt #1: “Making Friends”

After several scheduling conflicts, a lot of prep work, and a really good hype session in front of the mirror, Bruce heads on over to the first official meeting.

Batman arrives with a long list of things they need to do before going public. The first thing on the list?

Write A Mission Statement

What the fuck are they actually trying to do? Bruce thinks this is a great starting point.

And you’d think (you’d think) this Justice League thing would be easier to tolerate than the drawn-out exec meetings he has to sit through with boring, old businessmen who keep delaying things so they can hash out every little detail.

To Bruce’s absolute horror, he BECOMES the boring businessman who’s delaying things so they can hash out every little detail. He misses the boring, old businessmen. At least they knew what they were doing.

Every turn, he is argued with.

“Why do we need a mission statement?” “‘Power Structure’ feels authoritarian. Can’t we just share leadership duties?” “Do we really need this much paperwork?”

Bruce has the audacity to say, “We need to develop some sort of protocol that helps us analyze any possible threat.” But no. “Why can’t I just jump in? I have eyes.” “Jumping in without studying an opponent’s behavior could cause more harm than good,” he insists. “So what? I’m going to watch an alien monster go on a rampage through my city instead of fighting it?” “Yes. You don’t know what it’s capable of.”

Bruce already regrets joining.

All he hears is the others gossiping. “Is this guy really telling us how to be heroes?” “He’s got a major stick up his ass.” “I knew we shouldn’t have let him join.” And if that doesn’t dissuade him, he doesn’t know what will.

“How was the first meeting?” Alfred asks. Bruce scowls. “I’m not making friends.”

Nonetheless, Bruce sticks it out for weeks until they have some semblance of an organization. And, to his shock and amazement, it…kind of works.

The Justice League makes its debut, and Wayne Enterprises generously donates some money “out of spite” after Lex Luthor publicly denounces the league. (Honestly, Bruce would too if he hadn’t personally duct-taped it together himself.)

But the league starts small, just like he told them, they respond to natural disasters and public safety threats first (as per the outreach initiative) and focus on protecting communities in need (as per the mission statement.)

Yes, they still think Batman has a stick up his ass because he’s a stickler for writing incident reports, but no one else reads them so he has the right to be pissed.

He’s almost kind of sort of content with how it’s going. Even his reputation as a vigilante is improving.

That’s when another glaring difference between him and the other members appears.

Despite looking the same age as the rest of the team, Bruce is actually much younger?? Even excluding the aliens, gods, etc.

Most of his teammates are in their late 30’s, early 40’s. Meanwhile, Bruce is at the ripe age of 29 and a half.

He is the youngest by ten years.

Everyone kind of just assumes he’s the same age, though, so they make references to 80’s kids stuff that he only vaguely understands through Alfred and his business partners. He just sits there in silence like a child who snuck over to the adult table and is waiting to get caught.

So on top of the rift he (accidentally) created when they started the organization, it’s even harder to connect through similar interests. Other than punching people together.

And Bruce Wayne has a bad case of imposter syndrome when it comes to their superpowers.

He’s always in the corner brooding, and everyone’s like ummm antisocial much?

But 50% of the time, it’s because he’s thinking “I’ll never amount to the incredible heroic feats everyone else has accomplished. How can I possibly make a difference to the world if I’m already struggling to save Gotham?” Like a little emo freak 🖤

(Meanwhile, you couldn’t pay those mf’s to step foot in Gotham. This Bat guy’s crazy and he’s human apparently?! No way. Nuh uh.)

The OTHER 50% of his “brooding” is Bruce standing to the side with a mixture of concern and judgment because his teammates’ competency in certain areas is…alarmingly low sometimes.

One week, he finds himself thinking, “How do these grown-ass adults not know their way around a digital map? They’re 40, not geriatric.”

Then like a week later, it’s “These fucking war fossils don’t even know Morse code. I gotta do everything around here.”

One of the final straws is when he says, “Did they just break another fucking Keurig? Who does that, Alfred? It’s the fifth one.”

Suffice it to say, he’s not very personable. But is it his fault? Well yeah, a little bit. Like……..65% his fault.

(The remaining 35% is their moaning and groaning whenever Batman calls a meeting.)

Bruce’s irritation is totally justified.

God, he just wants to go home.

Why is he doing this again?

Attempt #2: Actually Making Friends

The first JL member to break through his cold, black exterior is Wonder Woman. She needs help with search and rescue after a sinkhole opens up near an elementary school, but no one’s available until Batman responds to her call.

He’s on the scene in less than an hour and makes quick work in securing the area. Thankfully, she catches him once it’s over. (He always runs off without saying goodbye.)

“Thanks for helping. Everyone else was just so busy. I’m glad you could fly over.” Batman mumbles something that she can’t quite hear. “What was that?” she asks. “I was busy too,” he repeats. She gives him a weird look, and he freezes up for a second as he realizes that probably wasn’t appropriate to say. “I mean…this was more important. There were kids in danger so it didn’t…matter if I was busy.”

Wonder Woman considers how awkward The Batman looks for a moment then smiles. So he really is human. “Well, thank you. The help was very much appreciated.”

Since then, several small acts of kindness and solidarity earn Batman some respect from the rest of the team.

One day, Flash complains about how boring their meetings are so Batman brings a massive bin of fidget toys. After placing them in front of the Flash, he mumbles, “These are for ADHD. They’re useful.” Flash almost cries with relief. He is very touched.

Another day, Green Arrow is severely injured in battle. Without a word, Batman leaves the fight, takes him to a safe location, stops the bleeding, and does it all while repeatedly making sure he’s awake and asking permission to remove certain pieces of clothing.

In another fight, Plastic Man’s mask is thrown off, and Batman sees his face. In a second, Batman tosses a smoke bomb, picks up the mask, and hands it back before anyone else can look. It costs them time and the element of surprise, and Plastic Man knows it, but Batman did it anyway.

A JL member’s stomach grumbles during one too many meetings. Suddenly, their little break room becomes a fully stocked kitchen with shelf-stable meal items and all the basic necessities. There’s a nut-free section, a gluten-free section, everything. The only reason they know it’s him is because anyone else would have admitted to it.

(He renovated the whole fucking thing. In one night. By himself.)

And they all see how gentle he is with children. Countless times, The Batman is spotted prioritizing young civilians at any given moment.

He has lollipops in his belt. And Bluey bandaids too.

It’s the little things that make them feel closer to him :)

And okay maybe his goddamn Mission Statement lecture wasn’t so bad

So they stop moaning and groaning

Okay, now it’s bonding time WOOHOO!!

Attempt #3: Kinda? Friends??

One day, Superman says he isn’t too fond of billionaires (because of Lex, obviously) and goes on a rant about capitalism. Bruce doesn’t dare contribute because 1) he’s the richest man in the world and 2) every other billionaire he’s met is insufferable.

(Including Oliver Queen who Bruce refuses to look at while Green Arrow “defends his city’s billionaire.”)

(And while we’re on the topic of Green Arrow, Bruce cannot forget the disappointing almost-fling two summers ago. He still holds a grudge.)

Green Arrow: “You’re all fashion nightmares. Who wears a cape in the 21st century?” Batman: “At least my facial hair isn’t longer than my dick.” GA: “What was that, Batman?” B: “What?”

Also Bruce is very attracted to Superman.

(He likes older men.)

(Yes, I am referring to Henry Cavill’s Superman.)

(Sue me.)

(But don’t get your hopes up. He does literally nothing about it.)

(Coward.)

One of the JL members complains about how sore they are after a few missions so Bruce cashes in his Monthly Attempt to Socialize and says, “Try yoga. It helps me.” “…Batman, you do yoga?” “Yes. My son got me into it….It’s good for you.” “You have a son?!” He is never socializing again.

They also learn that Batman has the smallest frame on the team. (Like yeah, he’s tall, but he’s also lanky, and everyone else is either an alien or a human dorito.)

One night, they need to sneak through the vents of some building so Bruce offers to do it. Someone says, “It’s a tight squeeze. Are you sure you can fit?” Then he just takes his cape and pauldrons and shoulder pads off and is suddenly like a foot skinnier

“Wait…is this why you’re so good at hiding in the shadows?” Bruce just glares at the Flash for a second before climbing into the vents.

(The answer is yes.)

A betting pool is started over whether or not Batman is part Bat.

In fact, several betting pools begin because no one knows anything about the guy??

Aquaman and Plastic Man go to great lengths to figure out what his hair color is.

They lose their shit once Bruce tells them he’s vegetarian.

Green Lantern: “Every time he opens his mouth, we learn something new. Next, he’s going to tell me he speaks Swahili!” Batman: “I do.” GL: “Oh, come on!”

Superman: “We need someone on the inside for this international operation to work, but that’ll take at least three months undercover.” Batman: “Don’t worry. I have connections.” S: “…In Shanghai?” B: “Yes.”

The Flash adds SHANGHAI?? to his conspiracy board

Bruce needs to stop trying to socialize. It’s better for everyone’s cardiovascular health.

A year or two in, they’re all introduced to Captain Marvel. Bruce is the first and only person to learn his true identity (kid Billy Batson) because Bruce is the only one with a kid. That way, he understands the weird Gen-Alpha humor and references.

Millennia-old deities don’t use the term Flop Era.

And, of course, they play FMK at some point.

(I mean, come on. There are like TWO mature adults on this team, but Martian Manhunter doesn’t know what’s going on until it’s too late, and Wonder Woman is busy at her day job.)

During that particular round, the celebrities are Bruce Wayne, Lex Luthor, and Kylie Jenner. Bruce does, in fact, want to kill himself, but he chooses Fuck instead because of this exact conversation:

Green Lantern: Come on, Bats. It’s just a game! Choose already. Batman: No. I’m against killing. GL: Oh, go fuck yourself. This situation is completely hypothetical, and you know it. B: Fine! Fuck Bruce, Marry Kylie, Kill Lex. GL: See? That wasn’t so hard :) Bruce:

He tried

Attempt #4: Ah shit, FRIEND?

The identity reveal comes about three years after he joins. He’s 32, has three kids, he’s been on hundreds of missions with them, the team’s over twice its original size, and there are domestic terrorists overtaking Manhattan.

Superman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, and The Batman try to extract as many civilians as possible, but now they’re being hunted. After hiding in a warehouse and considering their options, MM finally suggests that they pose as civilians, which immediately creates uproar.

Bruce, however, realizes this is the only way out.

But it’s not dramatic or badass like that one JL episode. No, instead, he thinks about it, swallows the regret, and just—

Takes off his cowl.

And the whole room falls dead fucking quiet.

Then, “Oh fuck.”

(That was Green Lantern.)

Bruce just shrugs and mumbles, “Martian is right. It’s the only way.” And really fucking hopes the grease paint hides his red face because he is not having a good time right now.

He would rather die, actually, but they need to get somewhere safe and Fast.

The others look him up and down then nod slowly. “Uh yeah.” “Okay, sure.” “This is fine.” “We’ll do that.”

The others begin slowly taking off their suits and changing into something more casual. Bruce takes his off, revealing the skin-tight compression suit underneath, and stuffs his armor in the roll-up duffel bag that’s kept in his belt.

He changes into his drifter outfit, wipes his face clean, and suddenly, The Batman’s just a normal guy. (A very pretty normal guy, mind you. His teammates have eyes.)

“We can head to my place,” Bruce says. “It’s closer, and I know the train system pretty well.” And yes, he’s pretty soft-spoken outside of the suit, but now it feels even more obvious.

Meanwhile, the others are like—

Oh. My. God.

Oh my god, he’s fucking shy. Batman is acting shy in front of us. Dear fucking god. Batman is Bruce Wayne. And Bruce is shy so Batman is fucking shy?? Bruce is pretty too. Holy fuck. He is very pretty.

And he’s so young?? Oh my god, he’s a BABY wtf?! He’s like four inches shorter. Four inches tall! They’re all towering over him without his massive boots and armor, and he just hunches over with the big duffel bag like he wants to sink into the floor, and he’s so small.

Wonder Woman wants to put him in her pocket.

Sue her.

They end up taking the train back. Bruce has on the mask and cap that hides his face (poor Superman, he really likes his jawline) and they all follow Bruce as he gets off and on several trains at seemingly random stops. THEN when they’re finally in Gotham, they head into an abandoned-looking subway station that leads them into a…cave?? WTF

And in the middle of the cave is an elderly man with a cane and a three-piece suit just lounging on a recliner. (WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK—)

He looks up from his crossword puzzle and says, “Ah! You’ve finally made friends, I see?” Bruce rolls his eyes. “This is not a sleepover,” he gripes. “Shame. I was about to grab your footie pajamas for you.”

The man smiles at them. “A pleasure to meet Master Wayne’s work friends in person. Would you like some coffee? Tea? If you’re like him, this is going to be a long night.”

No one dares to question why this man recognizes them in their civvies

They also can’t tell if the footie pajamas line was a joke or not. After tonight, nothing is off the table.

(This is a minefield of information. Barry is having flashbacks to his conspiracy board. No one is going to fucking believe him.)

They all settle into one corner of the cave. Bruce leaves to change and comes back looking like this:

(Goddamnit, Clark is having a meltdown. His hair looks so good wet.)

At one point while they’re plotting, Wonder Woman glances over his shoulder to see Bruce checking some sort of security camera. A boy, maybe nine or ten, is sleeping in bed. “Is that your son?” Bruce clearly doesn’t want to answer, but Alfred gives him a look, and Bruce sighs. “One of them. Yes.”

Later, they have to analyze some explosive samples in the cave, and Barry, forensic scientist extraordinaire, has some choice words about the non-sterile environment.

Barry: This doesn’t look safe. Bruce: My lab is perfectly clean and functional. *bat screeches* Don’t worry about that.

For the rest of the night, they use the evidence they have to track down the organization while the rest of the JL suits up and saves NYC.

After a few hours, they’re safe to return to NYC for damage control. But Alfred refuses to let Bruce go with them. “Your sons are worried. Drive them to school, then you’re coming home and sleeping.”

Bruce clearly wants to argue, but the mention of his kids stops him. He sighs and turns to the others who are already changed. “Let me know if you need anything. I can be there in ten minutes.”

They all nod, knowing full well they will not be doing that. The guy clearly needs rest.

(Also, he is a single father of three and still goes out every night to punch robbers and crime bosses? Is he doing okay?)

Then they head back to NYC with so many questions.

But a lot of it makes sense too, actually. Maybe they just weren’t thinking about the man behind the mask enough to see it.

They learned a lot about their friend that night.

And they have a lot of bets to cash in.

FIN

Okay :D that was a lot! If you enjoyed it, please let me know. This has been simmering in the back of my head for months <3 Have a great day and drink some water :)

Hey bestie @bruciemilf

#battinson tries to socialize #Bruce: i never want to be in a meeting room for the rest of my life JL: we will be so bad at running a business Bruce: wait no please #battinson is a shivering little chihuahua in a sweater #he physically cannot let them fail #he's just like me fr #battinson needs a hug #he tries so hard #battinson socializes and actually succeeds #batman #bruce wayne #battinson #the batman 2022 #batman 2022 #the batman #dc universe #gotham #soft bruce wayne #justice league #jl #dc #superman #wonder woman #lex luthor #the flash #green arrow #plastic man #aquaman #green lantern #captain marvel dc #martian manhunter

[astrogre]

Venus Conjunct Mars in each Sign

I noticed that Cancer Venus conjunct Mars are LOVED and protected by so many, like the people in their life see them as someone who must be protected at all costs because they’re so “precious”. The people around them may behave as if they’re bodyguards to this native, if any harm were to occur around them they’d rush to protect them like a little sister/brother. Usually these people have a good reputation of being sweet in their personal circles and individually are deemed acceptable by society. Honestly this placement gives princess treatment from the people in your life, especially those under the themes of the house it’s in.

E.g Zendaya, Keanu Reeves

I think in general Venus conj Mars can bring an influx of opposing blessings of the themes of the sign its in, it can show where you have a high concentration of passionate appreciate/admiration. Like I said with cancer, it makes native highly protected (Marian trait of cancer), and cared for (Venusian trait of cancer). This was originally supposed to be an Astro observation but I wanted to talk about this more.

Aries Mars conjunct Venus makes those around them feel inspired and intimidated of the native, also noticed that they’re dominators of their fields and that’s usually where that sense of intimidation/fear others have for them come from. Despite this those around them know that they can’t outdo the native. You guys are like a monopoly company, you already have all the shares. People may get up in the morning in your name so that they can one day be on the same battlefield as you. It’s not that people want to outdo you but it’s more is that people know you’re so accomplished that they want to compete at the same level.

E.g Christiano Ronaldo, Queen Victoria (yes the one responsible for British empires colonialism), Napoleon III, Lupita Nyong’o.

Taurus Venus conj Mars makes those around the native feel good about themselves like the Taurus native is a trophy wife in a way, they can be seen as the ideal person to be with like the diamond of the season in Bridgerton terms. To be around them not only feels good but is also a status symbol, a bragging right. You feel spoiled to be around them. They treat those around them good, they’re the kind to pay for the entire tables food and say “it’s on me tonight, it is my pleasure”. These people are also very much well looked after by those around them because of this placement, others feel like they just deserve it

E.g Kanye West, Adolf Hitler, Charlie Chaplin, Jessica Alba

Gemini Venus conj Mars causes those around the native to feel giddy, excited, like they have a high school crush on the native and are wiling to escape anywhere with them on command, people feel like they are being energised around you but also a sense of conflict around you too, it’s as if the people around the native views the native as overwhelming at times. People may view you as fun and always full of good ideas but also after a while it just gets too much for them since there is a lot of energy here. You’re able to attract anyone with this placement but just don’t be surprised for people to turn their backs on you after that high is over for them. Honestly I have seen this placement manifest as an influx of stardom and connections all for those same connections to just say “meh” when asked about their opinion of the native overtime. Despite all this they ALWAYS remain popular.

Eg. Wendy Williams, Charli D’Amelio, Naomi Campbell, Mike Tyson, Dwayne Johnson, Boris Johnson

Leo Venus conj Mars is celebrated and uplifted, people around the native encourage and celebrate them, they’re glorified for the bare minimum, everything they do just seems like it is crafted to perfection by the gods and they’re treated like celebrities, royalty, like they’re better than everyone else,like the teachers favourite class pet, they can also make those around them feel like they want to be the top dog and take their position, that’s why because of this they can have many impersonators since people want to take their fame and glory, they want to be praised and put on a pedestal like these natives. You guys are seen as the prodigies, main characters or whatever you want to call it. People around you just think you have it good and want a slice.

E.g Amy Winehouse, Playboi Carti, Riley Reid, Monica Bellucci, Daniel Radcliffe, Donald Glover, Emily Ratajkowski

Virgo Venus conj Mars are likely to receive support too but a different kind, more like mentors, teachers. I think these people get tough love, if they put in the bare minimum they won’t get away without being hounded for it. People around these natives always want to help them and give constructive criticism so they can become better, people see them to be competent, they may also be perceived as a modest, the people around them may treat them with respect with politeness, honestly the way a butler would behave to its child client is how these natives are treated. Alfred Batmans Butler comes to mind when I think of how they’re treated and how they’re seen by others.

E.g. Austin Butler, Blake Lively, Bruno Mars, Amber Rose, Joe Jonas, Wiz Khalifa

Libra Venus conj Mars are romanticised but not in a dreamy way but in a “trendy” manner, think of Libra being a ruler over Venus and the detriment to Mars already makes the native treated by others in a way that perhaps they’re not taken seriously, they may be undermined just down to their looks or physical appeal but they’re given compliments, treated like a delicacy like chocolate. You’re the treat. They have an undeniable appeal to them but it’s so soft no matter how big, how tall, how unattractive, how masculine they are, they always have this softness to them that makes them liked by their peers. People might even treat these natives like they’re dating them or something. They are highly sought after in terms of relationships due to their romantic aura. For some reason those around the native may feel that their energy screams girlfriend/boyfriend material.

E.g Freddie Mercury, Kobe Bryant, Adam Driver, Future

Scorpio Venus conj Mars have this intense intimidating but sultry air to them. They’re treated like the way a dog treats its owner with treats. People may submit to them and do what they want in order to get something out of them and also because they know if they don’t there may be consequences. They can make people feel uncomfortable because of their intensity, almost as if they’re being seen through. People can also feel uncomfortable with the energy these natives surround themselves with .Natives can have strange company around them or they themselves ARE the strange company, usually their love interests are villains or are seen as victims of the natives. Venus is in detriment here so these people aren’t treated very soft, they don’t need to say anything in a room but it just feels intense because of them. There may be more darker levels of adoration for these people like lust and envy, even a lack of compassion. They’ve probably been stalked or harassed once in their life.

E.g. Leonardo Di Caprio, Finn Wolfhard, Joe Biden, Greta Thunberg, Sydney sweeny, Bruce Lee, Joaquin Phoenix, Jimin

Sagi Venus conj Mars are treated like a compass on the ocean, you guys are the good luck, people think you have such interesting philosophy and may also treat you like you are the wise one. Like the way a child asks a question to a magician expecting them to pull an answer out of their ass, you guys have an expectancy to bewilder others. Treated with openness, like anything you do is a whatever thing, people don’t expect conformity from you. You guys are admired for the straightforwardness you have in your life. People allow you to be you. These natives are the risk takers they’ll just be like “fuck it!@“ and do something like jump in a pool. People treat you with honesty, they just tell you what they think of you and your behaviour sometimes giving unwarranted advice to you. In general others may think you’re a little silly as well as if you don’t take life seriously for what it is.

Eg Bella Thorne, Kendall Jenner, Hayao Miyazaki

Capricorn Venus conj Mars are treated like the owners of the place. Think of the eldest sibling, the first grandchild, the first one who graduated in the entire lineage. They are treated like THE standard, the blueprint, used as an example of what “to be”, the one in charge, the one you have to convince. People look up to them not in admiration or desire, but in respect and authority. Others treat this native with practicality and formal courtesy, they won’t use slang around this person but may even address them with honorifics that explain their status. They’re most likely to have the blue tick on social media, they are the establishment. Those around them may also be conservative because of their nature. People don’t want to say anything stupid around you because they know it can affect their status and your response would make them feel foolish too. The people around you may treat you like they’re a contestant on dragons den and you are the investor judge. People might even stammer because of you, they really don’t want to embarrass themselves

E.g. Walt Disney, Brad Pitt, Jim Carrey, The weeknd, bjork, Neymar, Mads Mikkelsen, Prince Andrew, Avan Jogia

Aquarius Venus conj Mars people around them act like fans, followers. People always want to know your next ideas they could read, listen or watch whatever it is you’re doing because it’s so unique to them. Others are fascinated by your ideas and intellect. Honestly I’d even say that’s how you can get someone in bed that’s your magic charm. People also just feel like they have been friends with you for a while even if they just met because your humanitarian spirit comes through. MANY have a friend crush on you (really want to be your friend). People with this placement also are very independent thinkers, they don’t base their ideas on standard but rather on their own unique perspective. You can make others see things they hadn’t noticed there before. You bring what is under the ground to the table. Imagine a prehistoric man bringing home the tribe cow milk after playing with its udders and showing how them how it can be a source of calcium. You guys have strange solutions and you do it for the sake of others.

E.g Hozier, Harry Styles, Zoella- Zoe Sugg

Pisces Venus conj Mars you guys are the dreamy ones people idealise you so much like oh “______?? They could never do no wrong” people are very sensitive and compassionate towards you and those around you love your creativity, how you’re able to just bring something poetic and meaningful to this world. You’re the person a stranger would start crying and pouring out to on a bench next to a park at 7am due to the nurturing presence you have. Those around you may always feel safe around you and they can trust you, natives with this placement gain mass trust by those who are vulnerable and they too can be vulnerable themselves. There is strength in their weakness, their ability to appear so tender can allow them to be non-judgmental and have power over others because they are not being opened up to. They show people the strength in playing small. You make people wooed by your kindness and care for others, no matter how disingenuous it may be.

E.g. Heath Ledger, Vincent Van Gogh, Jeffrey Epstein 💀, J.Cole, Machine Gun Kelly, Lewis Hamilton, Mac DeMarco

#astrology #astro notes #astro placements #astro observations #astrology observations #learning astrology #astro community #astro #venus conjunct mars #sagittarius venus #leo venus #astro posts #cancer venus #pisces venus #aries venus #aquarius venus #gemini venus #virgo venus #taurus venus #venus #mars #astro blog #astroblr

[mama-qwerty]

Wade's Bedroom

Okay. So, in the trailer for the Knuckles series, we see Knux take out a bounty hunter in what appears to be Wade's bedroom. I'm thinking this is his bedroom at his mother's house, so when he was a teen.

You can tell a lot about a person by how they decorate their personal space. And since I love Wade and am on my knees begging for better characterization, I wanna see what they put in the guy's bedroom.

Let's break it down.

1 - Little Robots

I can't tell exactly what robots these are, whether they're action figures from games or movies, or some model kits he's built himself. If they're models it shows Wade spent a lot of time on his own, and had the opportunity to focus on building something that required attention and patience.

2 - Books

There are a lot of books on his shelves, and the ones especially between Knux and the bounty hunter look like a series. Obviously we can't read the titles, but Wade strikes me as someone who'd enjoy manga, and the Choose Your Own Adventure stories.

3 - A Little Rainbow Sticker

This may indicate he knows someone who is LGTBQ+, or possibly he himself is. Or maybe he just likes rainbows.

4 - "Pistol" Pete Whipple poster

I'm not exactly sure how Pete is related to Wade, but I'm going under the assumption that Pete is his uncle. (Cary Elwes is 20 years older than Adam Pally, so while it's possible he's a brother, it's unlikely.) Here's this very impressive and 'famous' Whipple, who everyone looks up to and admires. (I'm assuming.) Wade feels so unimportant, he has this poster to remind him that he's related to greatness, and maybe he too can be important some day.

5 - Addams Family movie poster

I'm pretty sure this is the first movie, and Wade likes it because it shows people who are strange, people who don't look or act like everyone else, people who have odd hobbies and interact with the world in their own unique manner. And yet they love each other, Gomez in particular would do anything for his brother. Considering the nonchalant way his sister and mother behaved when he was yanked off the porch in the trailer, maybe Wade never really felt a connection like that.

6 - Robin Hood Prince of Thieves movie poster

The most famous example of helping those less fortunate than you, and being a hero to those on the receiving end of that help. Wade wants to help people. He wants to stand up for those who can't. I have no idea what his relationship with his father is/was like, but maybe the whole 'stand up to a corrupt authority' resonated with him for personal reasons as well.

7 - Speed movie poster

Maybe he wished he was Keanu Reeves, the hero with a calm head and always knew what to do. Maybe he always pictured himself as Sandra Bullock, an average person pulled into something dangerous and assuming an important role that helps save others.

8 - Ren and Stimpy poster

Okay, so he's a teen boy in the 90s. He's gonna like that gross-out humor.

9 - Total Recall movie poster

This movie is about an average joe who discovers he's actually someone Very Important. Wade has always thought of himself as a nobody. Deep down he wants to be someone Very Important. At least someone competent who isn't brushed off as a joke.

10 - TMNT bedsheets (and he was wearing a TMNT shirt under his robe before he's dragged down the street)

Obviously he's a man of good taste. But again, a group of teens fighting bad guys. The man just wants to be a hero so badly.

Based purely on the way he acts as an adult (and I'm trying to look past the "oh boy isn't he dumb!" pathetic characterization the movies have so far given him) I see Wade as a lonely man. He's likely never had many friends, always feels like the odd man in every situation, and just isn't very comfortable in his own skin.

In the trailer scenes where Knuckles decides to train Wade, there are posters and notes tacked all over the room with encouraging messages to himself regarding working out. Maybe he's trying to change his image because he thinks that will make others like him more. Maybe he's just trying to get a date. Maybe he's wrestling with his own self-worth.

Whatever is going on with Wade, I think pairing him with Knuckles is a good way to have them both realize things about themselves they'd never known before. Wade will help Knux realize that it's okay to let his guard down and enjoy himself, and Knuckles can help show Wade that there's more to him than anyone (including himself) thinks.

Maybe I'm waaaaay off base with these. Maybe I'm thinking way too hard about it. Wouldn't be the first time. But I love Wade and I really want to understand him, and hope to see him grow and become more confident by the end of the series.

#knuckles series #wade whipple #thinking too hard about fictional characters again

[storiesforallfandoms]

my favorite superhero ~ robert pattinson

word count: 2601

request?: yes!

“hii, recently saw that u write for robert pattinson, if ur requests r open, could u write something about being his gf and going to the batman premiere with him and overall just being excited that he is Batman, thank uuu”

description: in which she goes to support him on the biggest night of his career

pairing: robert pattinson x female!reader

warnings: swearing, lil steamy moment but nothing explicit, rpf

masterlist (one, two, three)

From the very beginning, Robert had zero confidence that he would get the role as Batman.

He had mentioned it so casually to me during dinner one night, as if he was telling me about a mundane thing that happened in his day. “Curtis put my name in for some Batman movie.”

I nearly dropped my fork in shock. “What?! As which character?”

“Batman.”

“What?! Babe, that’s exciting! Why aren’t you more excited over it?”

“I’m likely not going to get it, so why get my hopes up?”

I looked at him, stunned. I couldn’t believe he was saying this. Robert loved acting, and he was excited over every character he had even a chance of playing. To have the opportunity to play one of the biggest and most loved superheroes in the world should’ve had him giddy with excitement, even if there were a number of steps until he knew whether or not he got the role.

“You have just as much chance as anyone else whose names are in for the role,” I said. “I think you can be excited over it.”

Robert shook his head. “I’d doubt it. I’m just the Twilight guy, I’m not a real candidate to play Batman of all characters.”

“I’d argue that playing a vampire makes you the best candidate to play a bat.” My joke finally coaxed a smile out of him, and I smiled back. “You don’t have to be excited if you don’t want to, but I’ll be excited enough for the both of us.”

And I was. I continued to be excited when Curtis called Robert to let him know that the director, Matt Reeves, wanted him to audition for the role. I hyped him up the day of the audition, which I could tell was making him feel a little more confident, no matter how hard he tried to hide it. I held that confidence when he was one of few actors that was chosen for a callback. I held it all the way to the day that Robert got a call from Matt Reeves himself.

His face gave everything away during the phone call, but I waited until he gave me the news himself before I celebrated. “I got it. I got the part!”

I threw my arms around him and hugged him tightly, kissing all over his face just to be a little more extra with my celebrations. I refrained from the “I told you so” in that moment. I figured it would be best to save that for when the movie came out and was a massive hit.

It was a long process. Robert didn’t change much physically as he didn’t agree with actors basically completely changing their bodies to play superheroes, but Matt still figured out a way to make the process incredibly long. The costume fittings and fight choreography took weeks before filming even began. When filming did start, it lasted for many months. Robert would never admit to how exhausted filming made him, but I cold see it on him after his long days on set. Despite all of that, though, Robert was beyond happy in the role and excited for the movie’s release.

That day arrived a lot quicker than we expected. It felt like one day the filming was just starting, and the next the two of us were getting ready for the premiere. I had picked out a silky black dress to wear and was in the process of putting on a smokey eye look as my tribute to Robert’s character when he walked into the room.

“You really do not need that much makeup,” he said as he came over to kiss my cheek. “You look so beautiful without it.”

“I know,” I responded with a shrug. He chuckled. “But I wanted to base my look on Batman. So, black dress, and I think smokey eye makeup works really well for the vibe of the character. Especially after your raccoon eyes in the trailer.”

Robert laughed again. He sat down on the bed behind me and watched me finish up my makeup. I caught a few glimpses of him through the mirror every so often. He was dressed in a black suit, looking incredibly dapper and handsome, and he was watching me with this dreamy look on his face. I smiled to myself as I put on my foundation. I felt incredibly lucky to have such an amazing and loving boyfriend. Here he was, a big named actor who had just played the role of a lifetime and was about to debut that movie, but he was looking at me as if I were the star.

“What if we ditch the premiere and you let me take that dress off you and make your makeup run?” he asked once I had put the finishing touches to my look on.

I spun around to look at him, trying to seem shocked but I knew my amusement was outweighing the shock. “Robert!”

“What? Can you blame me? You look so good.”

He took hold of me and pulled me up from my vanity. He sat me down on his lap and started to kiss my neck. I tried to fight back the tingling feeling that was running from where he was kissing me down to between my legs. If I gave into that feeling I knew we would miss the premiere, like Robert was trying to do.

“We are not missing the premiere of what will likely be the biggest movie of your career,” I said as I reluctantly pushed him away from my neck. “Besides, I took too long getting ready for you to mess it all up so soon, and for no one to see how good I look.”

Robert groaned and rested his head against my shoulder. “I don’t want to go.”

“Why not? I thought yo were excited about the movie.”

“I am. I’m proud of what we made, and I can’t wait to see the finished product. But...what if people don’t like it?”

I took his face in my hands. “There’s always going to be people who don’t like it, baby.”

“I know that. But what if no one likes it? What if they all think it’s garbage? That I’m garbage?”

“You can’t let the what ifs stop you though. There’s always a chance people won’t like it, that’s just how being in the entertainment business is. But you put everything into this role. No one can say you were garbage in this role. And if they do, it’s because they just don’t like who you are or they can’t see past your role in Twilight to realize how amazing you truly are as an actor, not because you did bad in the role.”

He looked at me for a while before leaning forward to kiss my lips. “I don’t deserve you.”

I giggled. “I wouldn’t say that. I’m your girlfriend, I’m supposed to support you and tell you not to sweat the haters because they suck anyways and you’re cool, and stuff like that.”

He smiled and gave me another kiss. “I guess we should get going then, before I change my mind.”

“I guess we should.”

I could feel Robert’s anxiety as we drove to the premiere. I held his hand the entire way, giving him reassuring squeezes every now and then. I knew there wasn’t much else I could do for him besides just support him until the premiere started and he got to see everyone’s reactions to he movie. I had nothing but faith that the movie was going to be good, and I knew that Robert had done amazing in it. I just wished he had that same confidence in himself that I did. But, once again, I didn’t mind having enough confidence for the two of us.

When we arrived to the red carpet, I felt his entire body tense. There were so many people there already, all cheering and taking pictures. They knew who was in the car before Robert even opened the door. So many excited people there to see him in this role.

I squeezed his hand again, drawing his attention back to me. “You’re gonna be fine. The movie is going to be amazing.”

He gave me a small smile before opening the car door. Deafening cheers filled the air as everyone saw him. He held out a hand to me to help me out of the car as well, ever the gentleman that he was. We both smiled and waved at the fans who had been waiting for him. Robert took the time to sign some autographs and take pictures. I could see the fan interactions were helping to bring down his nerves a little bit. If he could, I knew he would’ve stayed here with the fans all night instead of actually doing an interviews or going in for the premiere. But, unfortunately for him, he had to move along eventually.

He stopped to do a couple of interviews on the red carpet. All of the questions were basically the same: how did he prepare for the role? What was his reaction when he got the call about getting the part? Could he see this movie becoming a franchise of it’s own given that it wasn’t a part of the currently established DC cinematic universe?

Robert answered each question with the same generic answer before moving along to the next interview. He tried to move through them as quickly as possible so we could get into the venue, but being he main star of the movie meant that every interviewer was trying to stop him for a couple of questions, and there were a lot of interviewers. I wasn’t even the one talking and yet I could feel myself growing tired of it all.

One interviewer did spot me behind Robert and said, “I see you’ve brought the lovely (Y/N) with you tonight.”

“I have indeed,” Robert responded, turning to extend an arm to me so I would join them. “If it wasn’t for her endless support throughout the entire process, I may not have even be here tonight.”

“What does that mean?” the interviewer asked.

“It means that I forced him to be here tonight,” I responded, keeping my tone light. “He’s a little nervous, as one would be playing such a huge character, but I think he’s done amazing and the movie is going to be amazing.”

“There seems to be a lot of good buzz around the movie from critics so far, so I don’t think you’ll have anything to worry about in that regard.”

I smiled up at Robert, mentally preparing for that “I told you so” moment.

We finally managed to get off of the red carpet and into the venue. I felt the tension in Robert’s body deflate once we were away from all the cameras and the screaming fans. The next step was going to be the Q&A, and then finally the movie.

“The movie has good buzz,” I repeated to him as we walked through the venue.

He playfully rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I heard her. I guess I’ll know tonight for sure how much positive buzz it will have.”

“You gotta stop doubting yourself. It’s going to be amazing!”

Robert wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me to him. “What would I do without you?”

“Crash and burn,” I teased before kissing his cheek.

~

Hours passed. The Q&A went smoothly, and then it was time for everyone to finally see the movie. Robert’s knee bounced anxiously almost the entire time. He kept glancing around the quiet room as we all took in the film. I noticed him look over at me a number of times during the film, but I was so entranced by it that I couldn’t pull myself to look back at him.

I had no idea what he was so worried about. The movie was amazing! Probably one of the best movies in general I had seen in such a long time, let alone the best superhero movie I had seen. And I can promise that wasn’t just because my boyfriend was in the starring role. It was genuinely amazing, and I was prepared to sing its praises to Robert when it ended, but it seemed I had to wait my turn. The moment the credits started to roll, the audience began to clap and raise to their feet. Robert looked around him in surprise at everyone facing him, and the rest of the cast, as they applauded. I smiled brightly at him as I also rose to my feet to be a part of the standing ovation.

Robert, Matt, and Zoe moved towards the front of the room so they could bow for all the applause. The standing ovation went on for some time, which they definitely deserved but my hands began stinging after a minute or too, so I just stopped and smiled happily at Robert. I could see that the weight had been completely lifted from his shoulders. He was standing a little taller, and a little prouder now that he had gotten to see the positive reaction to the movie first hand.

When the applause finally died down, Robert was kept around for another few minutes as people came up to him to congratulate him on how great it was. I stood by and watched, feeling extremely happy for him but also starting to feel the pain of wearing heels for basically five hours straight. Robert looked over and spotted me, then thanked those around him for the kind words before excusing himself. He took me into his arms the moment he reached me and pulled me to him to kiss my lips.

“They really loved it,” he said, as if he still couldn’t believe it. “Everyone did.”

“That’s because the movie is incredible, babe,” I told him. “Seriously, I think it’s one of the best movies I’ve ever seen.”

I could see the tips of his ears turning pink at the compliment. “Well, let’s not go that far.” But the smile on his face gave away the humble act he was trying to pull.

“Let’s go home?” I asked, leaning into his touch as I felt fatigue start to wash over me. “I’m ready to take all of this off and let you do whatever it was you had planned for me earlier.”

He smirked. “Oh, I’ve been waiting to do that all night. I could barley keep my hands off of you in this dress. I can’t wait to see how nice it looks on the floor next to our bed, though.”

We started for the exit. Our ride was waiting for us just outside the door. Robert thanked a few more people who stopped him to compliment him on the movie before the two of us finally got into the car and started back towards home. My head was resting against his shoulder as we drove along, the car dark except for the occasional street light shining in through the window. We were close to home when something popped into my head.

“I told you so.”

He looked over at me, an eyebrow quirked. “What was that?”

“I said I told you so. I’ve been waiting a very long time to be able to say that, and now I can.”

Robert chuckled and kissed the top of my head. “You did tell me so. Please keep telling me so for the rest of time.”

I smiled. “I will.”

#robert pattinson #robert pattinson imagine #robert pattinson x reader #imagine #rpf #one shot #request #fanfiction #fanfic #fandom

[kit-williams]

Imagine living in a rural area and your kid start talking about space marines that play with them but also don’t hesitate to kill anything they deem dangerous. You roll your eyes because no one in the area has seen a single space marine. There’s no way your kid can be playing with one, they’re massive. Surely one of your neighbours would’ve seen it if they actually are in the area. You chalk it up to simply stuff your kid has seen on the tv and kids simply having an active imagination.

Until you go to your rather run down barn that you haven’t checked on for years. In hindsight you should’ve been alarmed by the fact that it’s been standing without much issue or visible wear and tear for so long. But you’ve simply assumed it’s just well built. Until you open the doors and find an entire warband had moved into your barn.

… so that’s why your kid’s been talking about space marines.

Finally getting to the asks that Barn Anon is called Barn anon for

You would just nod at your kid. Space Marines right... you've been letting him watch youtube a bit too much if he's pretending he has one no wait he says there are several. There are no Space Marines around you made sure when your kid was born. Your parents didn't trust them and you are inclined not to as well. Something not sitting right.

Your kid mentions something about the barn, "How many times have I told you the barn is unsafe." You say upset.

"Nuh uh Drar worked on it." He says with a frown as he puffs his cheeks slightly.

You sigh not going to get angry... "Do you have any toys out in the Barn?"

"Yeah." He says looking into his food as you just sigh.

-----

He babbles about a Space Wolf named Logan, Two Night Lords named Reeve and Varrin, A war hound named Garrek, and the Iron warrior named Orn. He tells you all about the fun things like how Orn has been fixing up the barn and how Reeve and Varrin like to hang out in the hay loft and how much fun it is up there. You just nod silently thankful that your son hasn't broken his neck playing in the loft. Though you're worried about his over active imagination... as he pushes open the door. "Guys guys look mommy's here."

You go to look inside as you hear a man's voice chuckle out, "Mommy? Oh! That's mommy!" You grip your son's shirt tightly as you immediately think vagabonds but you pale at the 4 sets of eyes on you all looking down at you. The idea of vagabonds is thrown out given how tall they are and armored.

You see the two that were lounging in the hay loft suddenly get to a crouch looking down at you as you feel your son continue to chatter but you're frozen in fear. The way they look and the animal pets all around the hay loft... you feel like prey. You start to back up with him as you go over what he said before you back into a wall of metal and look up at the white armored one looking down at you. Before a hand is put on your back and you and your son are gently guided back inside.

#warhammer 40k #space marine husbandry #My little version of cosmic horror #Barn Anon #tales from the barn #space marine husbandry sentience

[dawsonscreekwasalwaysbad]

funniest parts of inside job pt 2

mommy likey drinky

“santa is fake! but student debt is real!” “you had to learn sometime, brayden”

“this is gonna be the most globally damaging midlife crisis since elon musk” oh that is APT

“ok boomer”

“are you poland? because that german guy straight-up owned you”

reagan saying that alex jones “looks like an orangutan fucked a fire hydrant”

“i’m the only one left who will listen to me!”

spending the whole episode confused on why oprah is back and then seeing her yell “i’m not the first oprah!”

“our missions do feel suspiciously like b-stories”

“why is my wallet on a metal leash? where would it be trying to go?”

lights being mothman’s kryptonite is a very obvious joke but it still works every time

KEANU FUCKING REEVES

“MOTHERFUCKER!” “well, he is fucking reagan’s mother, so yes. motherfucker.”

*takes out a lotus* “i don’t put these in my pocket. they grow there spontaneously.”

“i’m feeling drained from staring meaningfully into the distance”

“after dating so many billionaires, his millionaire lifestyle keeps me grounded”

the pussy posse being amazed and confounded by brett’s respect women juice

the real reason leonardo dicaprio only dates women under 25

“someone on the internet found out margot robbie is cgi” FINALLY SOMEONE WHO AGREES WITH ME

reagan accidentally imitating owen wilson

“when i’m done with you, men will look at you the way they look at me: briefly!”

gigi’s reaction to her make-under: “i wanna cyberbully myself!”

tamiko’s reaction to rand turning into a literal manchild: “way to turn subtext into text, rand”

myc’s absolutely SAVAGE comebacks at the constitution heist

“how would the founding fathers feel about this?” “probably the same way your father feels about you”

“ok, give me the word and i’ll blow the hell out of this thing” “said your ex-wife to brett’s dick”

“aliens? a woman being in charge of a team? nobody’s gonna believe this!”

“it’s a psychic union where everyone thinks the same and acts the same like fucking marvel fans” HGFHJGSDHKJHSJGH

“the last time i saw a white guy that generic, he was on a don’t walk sign!”

“fresh dirt is brought to you by blue apron. do you only care about the environment when it’s super convenient?”

INCEL STEVE

“how did he get that hoodie?”

“WE’VE BEEN FUCKED BY THE POPE!” “for the love of god, CONTEXT!”

saying “when in rome” is half the reason people come to rome

the gay dog weddings

“i now pronounce you two very good boys!”

“that’s me in the corner, losing my religion.”

reagan offending the italians (again)

“oh man, if god is real, i’m fucked”

“in the name of the father the son and the HOLY SHIT”

in a vow to make air travel as inconvenient as possible, the third wright brother invented sharing an armrest

“i deserve to be punished. i still quote borat sometimes”

“look! a woman’s ankle!”

*takes one look at hell* “those flamin’ hot cheetos commercials really nailed it.”

“i love cable news. it’s like watching the apocalypse in slow motion.”

gigi describing brett as “the comic sans of people”

andre reminding us how old millennials are now

“destroying your brother’s political legacy. what are you, a bush?”

the ayn rand tattoo

brett accidentally unionizing and legalizing sex work

“the solution just seemed so obvious”

“because faking your own death worked so well last time, reagan. redundant much?”

“maybe all conspiracies are real!” “oh, that’s not good.”

brett’s lil brett puppet

lil brett dying

lil brett going absolutely batshit crazy during the entire end credits of that episode

“you look like a white girl at burning man!”

the coughing and face-touching station

“the only way you’re associated with the number 300 is in pounds.” “you calling me fat?” “explicitly!”

“i literally have no idea what you’re going to say next!” “vagina egg.”

“i feel like we have the same interests. wanna start a podcast?” “no! this is like a siren song for straight white men!”

reagan once used cheetos as croutons

*route 96 turns into route 69* “haha, nice”

the fact that andre is just the original text of the “one fear” meme

“fun for ages six to six and a half!”

berenstain bears originally being berenstein makes SO MUCH SENSE

“and finally the rich white underdogs became the rich white ruling class. an inspirational story”

jr refusing to put his shirt back on

brett gives a tinfoil hat to the shazaam poster and it WORKS

“turns out i wasn’t pregnant, i just had way too much del taco” “i’ve been there”

“you said something nice, but it felt mean!”

mothman’s alternate timeline was a reverse of the fly

andre is canonically into tentacle hentai

lampshading the plot holes

“me? in charge of a whole workforce, like santa?”

“how many oscars is meryl streep supposed to have? three seems kinda low”

andre, just having shoved nixon back into his grave, now covered in blood and holding a shovel: “i don’t wanna talk about it”

air bud!!

“i could beat a dog in chess! probably.” same, brett, same

#inside job #mine #the queue from halfway down

[thealmightyemprex]

Sci Fi Month Frank Herbert's Dune(2000)

So I talked about David Lynchs attempt at a Dune adaptaion ,but there have been other adaptaions of the story,with Denis Villenuves Dune PArt 2 currently in theaters by the time of this post,but the adaptaion I am looking at today was a 3 episode miniseries made for the Sci Fi Channel (Still never calling it Syfy ,I can be petty ) .Ive kind of avoided this version because welll......Its a early 2000's TV adaptation of an epic novel for the Sci Fi channel ,which is unfair,as I love a good miniseries but I'll admit I can be a snob sometimes,but over the years I have heard praise and to this day many people (My dad who is an old school Dune fan ) call tyhis the best adaptation of Dune

In this 2000's miniseries Duke Leto Atredies (William Hurt ) is given control of Arakis by the Emperor Shaddam IV (Giancarlo Giannini) who uses it as a ploy to destroy Leto by giving support to Letos enemy the Baron Vladimir Harkonen (Ian McNeice ) to destroy the house of Atredies,but Letos son Paul (Alec Newman ) and Letos concubine Jessica (Saskia Reeves) escape ,join the native people of Arakis ,the Fremen to seek revenge on the Emperor and House Harkonen ,while also taking advantage of a prophecy

.....SO I enjoyed this a lot.Its not flawless but if you are in the right mood it is enjoyable .I will say it is not as grand as the Lynch or Villinuve films,its shot on soundstages and lacks the all star casts of those films....But what I like is its more Shakespeare then space opera ,very theatrical sort of sci fi .I actually like the sets(GEidi Prime in particualr is perhaps my fave take on the planet ).The costume design is where this shines ,I heard the costumes were inspired by Moebius (The French comic artist) and you can tell,the characters feel like they walked right out of a sci fi comic,and with the designs and colors this mybe my favorite LOOKING version of Dune .I think the three episodes tell the story very well,though the best written is part one,and part 2 feels a bit padded but it sticks the landing for part 3 .I also think this miniseries nails the darker parts of the story better then the 84 Dune ,mainly that Paul is NO hero

The actors are mostly good,though very few are my favorite takes on these character.Some stand outs are Karel Dobry as the enigmatic Liet-Kynes(My fave take on the character),Julie Cox in an expanded role as Princess Irulan,Barbora Kodetova is good as Chani ,Saskia Reeves is a very good Lady Jessica ,Jan Unger is a suitably slimey Piter de Vries ,and Matt Keesler is suitably villainous as Feyd .The big star gets of the miniseries are Giancarlo Giannini as the Emperor who is better then Jose Ferrer but still lacking a bit of gravitas ,and William Hurt as Duke Leto ,who I think does a fairly good job as the noble duke even if its funny he is top billed as a guy wh dies in the first part .The scene stealer of the series is our villain ,the Baron played deliciously deviously by Ian McNiece ,who might be my favorite take on the Baron ,he feels like a classic Shakesperian villain and McNice is clearly having a ball without going as over the top as Kenneth McMillian in the 84 film

If the miniseries has a weak point the weakest has to be Paul.Alec Newman is not bad ,in fact hes pretty good at anti hero Paul near the end....But his begining PAul feels like it is written younger,and he comes across too petulent and whiney

However I do reccomend this and it is very solid ,higly reccomended

@ariel-seagull-wings @the-blue-fairie @piterelizabethdevries @themousefromfantasyland @theancientvaleofsoulmaking @princesssarisa @countesspetofi @filmcityworld1

[skadren]

2, 3, 6, and 8 for Tseeve~

send me a ship and a number and i'll tell you:

2. what their love letters look like

i don't think tseng has ever written a love letter before in his life. that is both way too easily perceived and way too impermanent at the same time. what if someone else finds it? what if it gets lost or thrown away or burned before reeve reads it?? what if reeve reads it??? his love letters are grocery store shopping lists stuck to the fridge and reminders for reeve to take his medications and protein bars and hot coffee "coincidentally" left on reeve's desk

reeve has diary entries. sometimes they are addressed to tseng: small jokes, the highlights and low points of his day, his current projects, proposal plans. wedding plans. reeve is a planning kind of guy, for everything. and before they got together, definitely pining. all the pining. he also has at least five separate entries wondering about tseng's hair care routine. his meetings notes may or may not be found with their initials doodled all around the borders (with ample questioning over what tseng's last name is. is tseng even his real name? is reeve a bad boyfriend for not knowing?? but wouldn't asking be an invasion of boundaries???)

3. which one outlives the other, and how they cope

both of them expect to die before the other. reeve because of how many goddamn medications he has to take and that must be terrible for his liver, and also he's older so that's how it works, right? tseng because of his line of work, and later on after he retires, because of the lingering issues from his past injuries. and the real reason is that neither of them want to think too hard on what it might actually be like to go on alone.

unfortunately tseng dies first. you can blame @takenbynumbers for that one. you know what you did

reeve puts on a pretty good attempt at going on outwardly unaffected, although he finally retires and passes on the seat of commissioner to someone else, like he'd been saying he would do for ages now. but he's never been very good at remembering to take care of himself; tseng is always the one who bossed him into doing it. so he sort of just... gives up on it?

(vincent accuses him of just giving up and waiting to die. reeve doesn't think he's wrong.)

6. how they decorate their bedroom

neither of them are big on excess so i guess it would be a pretty... normal? bedroom? there is a bed. big enough to fit both of them but not too big, because what if one of them gets lonely at night? the bed itself isn't anything fancy; sturdy and comfortable with enough support for reeve's back. plain sheets. they have two sets of blankets that are horribly mismatched because one reminds reeve of the quilts his ma liked to make and the other is a gift from yuffie that tseng will never admit is the exact same pattern of blanket he remembers his mom using when he was a child.

they both have a nightstand but desks are banned from the bedroom. deskwork is also banned from the bedroom. not that it keeps reeve from trying to sneak paperwork once in a while.

cait also has a cat bed in one corner (even though he really does not need a bed on account of the whole robot thing). he gets exiled regularly but it works out because he does not want to see his dads getting it on, thank you very much.

8. what they argue about

reeve always tosses his clothes in the general direction of the laundry hamper and misses. tseng's hair clogs the shower and gets all over the floor all the time. tseng hates taking out the trash and reeve never remembers to do it.

more seriously, even if their dedication to their work is something they have in common, neither of them like how little free time it gives them to spend together. it can lead to arguments over exactly how much the other person prioritizes their relationship at all, especially since the way they express their feelings and validation for one another is very different-- reeve's love language is physical affection and verbal affirmation, while tseng's is acts of service. coupled with how reticent tseng is about talking about feelings at all, it can lead to reeve feel like he's lovebombing tseng to little response, while tseng feels like he's never good enough at reciprocating properly.

but their biggest argument of all time is still the one that takes place directly after the turks drop the plate. there is a lot of broken trust between them regarding whether their relationship was as meaningful as reeve really thought it was, how much tseng has been hiding all this time, whether reeve wanted to be with tseng at all or just an idealized version of him. i fondly refer to the entire time they spend separated until they get back together postcanon as their divorce arc.

#skadren rambles #ask game #long post #i'm sorry this is very long. this got away from me

[some-mf-guys]

Colaboration between me and Dexter to talk about (my) exomemories

First of all, for me, exomemories are memories that represent a sort of "past life" that was lived by an alter before becoming a part of a system/splitting.

With exomemories, there's times that exotrauma is also present. Exotrauma is trauma that was experienced in this sort of "past life".

Exotrauma is also most of the time, a reflection of the experiences and/or feelings that were physically experienced in the life of the system. It's a way for the brain to process the stuff it went through.

In my case, exomemories feel foggy, i used to remember more about my life, but then, i started forgetting before coming back from dormancy.

I remember a few things about my father, in my memories, he wasn't a bad guy or anything, but i have a feeling that that wasn't all to it, that there is stuff he did to me that was wrong. This is were Dexter and X take place in the story.

X is the alter that has the most control over the system, but he never fronts, he's only present in the innerworld, he can control who has the memories and he is mostly considered "emotionless", this is part of his role, as he has all the knowledge about our trauma. X made Dexter hold MY memories. So it knows the things i don't remember.

- Reeve (he/him)

Reeve (he/him)

Exactly! And it's also weird because that's the same thing that happened to me, except it's Sam who has my memories. We personally don't know nor understand completely the reasoning behind X, but it is easy to assume it was to lower the impact of the memories, i have the memories of Reeve because for me, they aren't "real" and Sam has MY memories because for him, they also aren't "real". I have gotten many clues as to what our trauma is (because i don't have those memories) thanks to Reeve's exomemories and exotrauma. So it's safe to say that exomemories are a useful way for the brain to better understand what it went through, through someone else's eyes.

- Dexter (it/its)

Dexter (it/its)

#reeveposting #dexterposting #theme: alter experiences #did alter #did osdd #did system #pdid system #system stuff #plural system #exomemories #system exomemories #did stuff #actually did

[case-of-traxits]

I’m sure you’ve probably talked about this before, but how do you think reeve’s inspire works?

So funny fact here: I've never actually formally meta'd about this publicly. I'm pretty sure. I've talked to a few individuals about it, but never in like, a definitive, "This is definitely how I think it works," sort of way.

Maybe it's time to change that?

First though, let's talk about why I use the Inspire ability at all, because a lot of that leads into how I think it works.

An Argument for Why I Use the Inspire Ability

I would love to start with Reeve's original bio, but of course, as we know, Reeve didn't get a bio in the original game manual. So instead, we're forced to rely on his Ultimania bio:

The head of the Urban Development Department. Involved in the construction of Midgar from the very beginning, he watches over the town’s development like that of a child. By utilizing his special ability, “Inspire”, he is able to cause inorganic things to emit life; his “child”, the “cat”-shaped robot, Cait Sith can be controlled from a great distance. After Meteorfall, he became the director of the World Regenesis Organization (WRO), which is devoted to the purpose of restoring life to the planet.

For what it's worth, Reeve's bio has been shockingly consistent with including his Inspire ability. I go into that a little bit over in my WRO Reeve + Heartbreak meta.

Now, I know a lot of people don't like the Ultimanias. They find them confusing, or contradictory, or whatever the current "I don't use them," reason of the day is. That's fine! Let's take a look at Cait Sith's original bio from the game manual:

Cait Sith rides on the back of a huge stuffed Mog he magically brought to life. Megaphone in hand, he's always shouting orders and creating dopey attacks...

So there you go. Mog and Cait Sith cannot simply be robots, since it's stated quite plainly that Cait Sith brought Mog to life magically.

(As a side note, Cait Sith in the OG comes equipped with the Manipulate materia. This is a fun multi-layered reference, don't you think? Pokes a note at him being a spy and kind of gives you a thing to consider about how he possibly controls Mog.)

(As a second side note, Cait Sith also has one of the highest magic/spirit scores in the OG, so he's clearly meant to be your caster.)

Now, that said, Reeve clearly did build Cait Sith as a robot. His Ultimania profile clearly refers to Cait Sith as a robot, and in BC, Cait Sith has a controller of some kind in his back, and he gets damaged and broken into pieces and the Player Turk has to put him back together.

(As a side note there— and I swear, I'll stop doing these soon— if I recall correctly, the pieces the Player Turk has to collect are the body, the head, and the crown, implying that Cait Sith's crown is in fact an important part of him, and not just a cute fashion accessory.)

In addition, it is worth noting that Rufus Shinra is well aware of Cait Sith and that Reeve "controls" him, and yet, Reeve is able to directly communicate with AVALANCHE during a board meeting where Scarlet and Heidegger are talking Rufus into loading up No. 26, the rocket from Rocket Town, with huge materia and crashing it into Meteor in an attempt to save the world. Reeve not only does this, but Rufus gives no outward indication that he's aware of it. So however Reeve "controls" Cait Sith, there must not be a visible component to it.

My point is that Cait Sith, from what canon shows us, appears to be a robot that Reeve can control directly, without need for any sort of external control system. And, based on some thoughts that Cait Sith has during BC that cannot reasonably be attributed to Reeve, Cait Sith is still somehow independent of Reeve himself.

So why don't I go with Cait Sith simply being a learning AI of some kind? Well, mostly because of Mog. If we go back to the original bio for Cait Sith, it reads very similarly to Reeve's Ultimania bio. So Reeve grants life to Cait Sith, who can, in turn, grant life to Mog.

Functionally, Cait Sith is a mini-Inspire of his own.

Canon Exploration of the Inspire Ability

Now that I've written out my premise for why I go with Inspire Reeve, let's get to the heart of the original question:  How do I think it works?

Well, let's look at what we have to work with:

[Ultimania Bio] Reeve causes inorganic things to "emit" life.

[Ultimania Bio] Reeve sees Cait Sith as a child.

[OG Game Bio] Cait Sith inherits the Inspire ability.

[OG/BC/DoC] Cait Sith is capable of acting autonomously.

[OG/BC/DoC] Cait Sith can be directly controlled (to some extent, at least) via Reeve.

[OG] Reeve can speak through Cait Sith without other people in the room noticing.

[OtWtaS] Multiple Cait Siths can be 'active' at a time.

[DoC] Reeve and Cait Sith can move in sync with one another.

[DoC] Even if Cait Sith 'dies,' he can somehow convey information he learned right up until his death to Reeve/other Cait Siths.

How Does the Ability Actually Work?

So, with all of this in mind, here's how I usually go with Reeve's ability working:

The short answer is that I see it as a low-key, always-on mental connection between Reeve and Cait Sith.

A longer explanation starts with the fact that I see Reeve's Inspire ability as sort of... it has both passive and active modes for me.  Basically, in the passive mode, Reeve is always influencing inorganic material around him.  It's more noticeable when his emotions are heightened, but things like his phone and his car develop... quirks.  His car isn't really conscious, exactly, but it does read his intent, and to some extent, it basically functions as a self-driving vehicle when Reeve is the one behind the wheel.

Now, for my Reeve in particular, this is in no small part because the car was his father's, and he has worked on it extensively over the years.  It's a classic car, basically, and it gives him an outlet for fiddly work that's outside and not in a reactor or tied to Shinra.  If you're going with a Reeve who doesn't love his car as much, then obviously, that probably would be a bit more odd.

A more common variant on this, I think, would probably be that I usually roll with Reeve having... partially Inspired the reactors.  All of them.  All of the ones he has access to.  And in this case, it's less because he wants them to be alive and more because he wants to have that access to them.  He wants to be able to check statuses and know what's going on with a reactor at any given moment, and no matter how advanced the tech is, nothing will be faster for him than a direct mental connection.

Of course, that can have some less than stellar side effects when, say, a reactor explodes.  @ladykf-writes wrote me some amazing ficlets that feature my headcanons about this after much rambling with her about them. So I highly recommend checking those out if you're interested in this idea.

Then he has the active mode of his ability. I've written a ficlet (Heritage and Legacies) about the process of actually Inspiring Cait Sith (and it makes mention of Reeve's first disastrous accidental Inspiration), but in short, it involves more or less willing the inanimate object to life.  I usually go with the explanation that Reeve is literally feeding the object a bit of his own personal lifestream (or soul, depending on how you want to talk about it) until it starts circulating it on its own.  This gives me a built in explanation for why he doesn't animate hundreds of things at once and such.  I do like to have caps on things.

But because it was his personal lifestream that he used, he can basically retain... think of like a narrow, unseen string between Cait Sith and Reeve, no matter how far apart they get. And across this string, they can send thoughts, memories, and sensations.  That's how Reeve knew what happened to Cait Sith when Nero ate him with shadows.  Cait Sith had immediately connected with Reeve and told him.

Now, I do a few hand-wavey things for my own sanity when writing.  I assume that when a Cait Sith dies, all of their memories get imprinted in Reeve's mind, and when he Inspires the next Cait Sith, they get a copy of all of those memories.  This can create a bit of a jarring dissonance within the memories for a new Cait Sith, as they might remember being Cait Sith 1 and being Cait Sith 2 in the same conversation.  But for the most part, it works.

The other thing I usually do with Cait Sith specifically is that I say that when he was first Inspired, he was very much like a baby or a toddler.  He needed to learn a lot of things.  I don't have any fics currently up featuring this (I will after the holiday events though), but basically, I go with it having taken Reeve a while to get Cait Sith to talk at all for example, and that he had to learn a lot of things on his own rather than relying on Reeve's memory of the things.

Now, because of the hand-wavey memory thing I already talked about, new Cait Siths don't have that same initial problem.  They basically just get imprinted with everything Cait Sith 1 learned before he died.

(And for what it's worth, since Cait Sith's accent is supposed to be based on Reeve's parents, I always go with Cait Sith not speaking at all for a few months after he was Inspired.  Reeve tried everything, from toddler help books to reading books to trying to bribe him, and couldn't get a single word out of him.  And then, finally, Reeve was on the phone with his mother, trying to discreetly ask her for advice without admitting to his abilities or to what he'd done, and when he hung up the phone, Cait Sith looked up at him and spoke for the first time.  In the accent Reeve hadn't realized he'd slipped back into with his mother.)

The other hand-wavey thing I do is that I usually have Reeve and Cait Sith share the ability to communicate mind-to-mind, no outward dialogue needed.  I mostly justify this with it being a side-effect of them sharing the same personal lifestream rhythm.

I will say though, something I do that I don't know that I've seen anyone else do (I don't have any fics left up featuring this either, actually) is that I say the control can go both ways.  So Reeve can reach for Cait Sith and speak through him, but so can Cait Sith.  Now, I usually say that Reeve has to let Cait Sith do this, whereas Reeve can just take control from Cait Sith, but I  chalk that up to Reeve being the one who did the initial Inspiring.  Following that suit though, it would make sense that Cait Sith could do the same thing with Mog, if he wanted.

Now, I also headcanon that Reeve does his absolute best to let Cait Sith have whatever autonomy he can.  My Reeve, in particular, didn't exactly have the happiest of childhoods, and he has spent a lot of time being told exactly what he can do and when, so he tries to give Cait Sith the childhood he never had.

If you read all the way down here, oh my goodness, but thank you.  It's... a lot.  Like I said earlier, the short answer is that I see it as a low-key, always-on mental connection between Reeve and Cait Sith.  And I kind of flex it around, depending on what exactly I'm doing with the fic in question.

#Reeve Tuesti #Cait Sith #FF7 #Final Fantasy VII #I have so many feels about Reeve guys #so many #... I think that's what I tagged my last Reeve meta #And I'm still working on my WRO meta #That's... my metas took a bit of a backseat during the event weeks #And with two coming up #I've got to finish some of the stuff I have started #x.x #WISH ME LUCK #But this was a fun way to procrastinate

[beardedmrbean]

“Black people are reclaiming the outdoors!”

Black ancestors like Matt Reeves, black farmers, and southerners: Did you guys banned our people from the forest?

Confederates and white southerners: No, did we?

Seriously a running gag in the south that many of our elders grew up near forests and was told to go there for a few hours as kids but not too far for obvious racial reasons.

But what with this idea black people are reclaiming the outdoor

😳

Californian and northern urbanites….know that after the civil war and abolition of slavery…most free blacks stayed in the country and created communities there….and our urbanization is a very decent thing….

THERE A REASON WHY OUTKAST USED COUNTRY MUSIC AND WHY ANDRE 3000 WORE A CONFEDERATE BELT IN ONE MUSIC VIDEO!

Also the Louisiana Bayou? You know the outdoor area that is heavily associated with Louisiana black culture and Disney is changing splash mountain based off that?

Also outdoor activity like hiking been called “White people shit” by black people for decades

🙄

No acknowledgment on that activists?

Also yeah it me zoomer Huey….also queers are changing the camping scenes?

Oh yes because no one connected the dots that plenty of lgbt confessed their love or did you know what in the outdoors away from society

It not like Gay p/rn usually have a subset of “outdoors” videos

Oh…the Boy Scouts sex abuse scandals…and the jokes about  experimenting at summer camp….

Just saying when the hell didn’t non whites or LBGT people weren’t allowed camping or be able to do outdoors activities? You guys were usually there but you guys made the urban life your definitive style to the masses

I'm on a dinosaur computer that I can type on faster than the letters show up so this is gonna be short because it's making me bonkers.

If you haven't seen this before it feels like it isn't too far off of the mark to me for most any place that will write a headline about how a transgender, black, pansexual, with autism is reclaiming the outdoors by queering it up.

Because honestly nobody is stopping anyone from enjoying the great outdoors except for maybe the government when it closes the campgrounds for some reason or another.

I think they write those for filler, concept is beyond idiotic

being a biracial bisexual will not stop you from riding a bicycle on mountain paths, nobody that matters cares go camping please.

#zoomer huey anon

[shadyruinskryptonite]

Titan Bending Chapter 9

Warning: Violence consistent with cannon, NSFW so MDNI, language, major character death (both consistent with canon of both AOT and ATLA as well as diverging from canon), so much trauma literally everyone is so traumatized, very much slow burn, a little enemies to lovers, SO MUCH ANGST, hurt/comfort, hurt and delayed comfort, AFAB reader

Chapter Warnings: Justification of “killing a few to save the many” (I’m not saying I think this way btw, just in the context of this chapter it’s to attempt to help them feel better), this is also taking place in the torture episode so while I don’t describe what’s happening it’s notable that it’s going on, super brief mention of reader being sexually active, talk of recurring nightmares

WC: 3250

Previous Chapter, Next Chapter

Masterlist

Tags: @mochminnie @sseleniaa

It turns out, I didn’t have time to ruminate on the difficulty of the night, because our job wasn’t over yet.

After discussing where we’d meet Dimo Reeves and the members of the Interior Police, we head there immediately to ensure we’d beat them there since we had to move on foot.

Catching up with Levi, I whisper so as to not worry everyone else, but I have to air out my worries about this plan.

“Levi, do you really think this will work? We didn’t have to do anything to turn Reeves. How do we know he won’t run right to them, give up our location, and instead of a wagon with two Interior Police it’s an entire brigade?”

“We don’t know,” he deadpans. I stand there waiting for him to elaborate and after a beat, he does. “The only thing we have going for us is that the Interior Police coerced his cooperation. We brought it about through appealing to his humanity. I don’t often put my faith in humanity,” he pauses to glance at me and then quickly looks away again before finishing, “but I think I trust humanity more than the MPs.”

I nod, contemplative silence engulfs us.

“Levi?” I ask.

“What?” he responds, without the bite that his tone normally has towards me.

“...what’s the difference between MPs and the Interior Police? And…what does MP stand for?” I’ve learned a lot, but there are still things I can’t piece together with context clues alone.

He looks at me again, and this time I swear his face is softer, almost like he’s speaking to a child.

I don’t know what’s worse, being looked at like a child or being berated.

Much to my surprise, he explains what the Military Police are and how the Interior Police are a part of the larger group. Most importantly though, he explains why the MPs aren’t trustworthy.

“Glad to see that some things never change, regardless of culture or location,” I muse more to myself than to him.

“Human greed is one of the only guarantees in life,” Levi states as we arrive at our destination.

Did I just have a good, real conversation with Levi? I…I don’t think I can believe it.

Not long after we arrive at what looks like an old farmhouse, we hear a wagon coming over the hill. The stone is in place. All we can do is wait.

The sound of Reeves speaking with someone is slightly comforting, and as they begin to crest the hill I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding at the sight of only one wagon.

So, he did help us. Damn y/n, maybe you should stop being so judgemental. First Levi, now this guy? Maybe everyone isn’t always a bad person…

I overhear Reeves speaking harshly with his son, something about smelling easy money and long-term profit.

Ah, nope, still a bad person. Just his greed lines up with the greater good for now. At least I’m founded in the way I see people.

The two members of the Interior Police are separated into different cells. What kind of farmhouse has cells? Levi bans us from coming down. Soon, the tell-tale sounds of violence can be heard, even with the door to the basement closed. After sitting there, listening in varying degrees of horror, Hange bursts into the house with Moblit not far behind. We make eye contact and I nonchalantly motion my head towards the door. Reclining in the dining chair, I mildly state, “follow the screams.” Not another word is said as they disappear downstairs to join Levi.

As the yelling intensifies, everyones’ stomachs turn. Even mine.

I know I’ve seen a lot in my day but, this…this is too much even for me. I don’t know how the kids are even upright.

I’m in my own world, disassociating. Everything is slightly blurry. Noises muffled. I haven’t visited this corner of my mind in a while, but I know it’s safe. It always has been and always will be.

When I realize I’m disassociating, I force myself back into reality.

This is a slippery slope for you y/n. Come on, pull it together. If not for you, for them.

When I tune back into the conversation, I hear Armin say, “...it’s just that their views are different. No, it’s just that they’re in a different group. And for that, we’ll take their lives.”

“Armin,” Mikasa tries to intervene.

“We’re not good people, not anymore at least.” As Armin finishes speaking, I can tell they’re all taking what he’s saying to heart.

I decide to break the silence before any of them are left alone with their own thoughts for too long. “Ya know, while I’m only barely older than each of you, I’ve seen a lot of life in my day. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that there’s really no such thing as ‘good people’ or ‘bad people.’ People might choose to do good or bad things, but that’s not what makes them who they are.” I pause to look around, and it seems like only Armin is looking at me. Like he’s desperately searching for me to give him a way out of how he currently feels.

I continue, “Of course, there are exceptions to this concept, I would say anyone that finds joy in doing bad things is a bad person. But the harsh reality of the world is that the few bad people, force good people to do bad things. At the end of the day it’s kill or be killed.”

Mikasa bristles beside me and at this point, I know they’re all hearing me but I can’t tell if it’s helping. So, I switch tactics. “Think about it this way: we all believe that one way or another, Eren is going to be the key to finding new information and, hopefully, eliminating the titans, right?” I pause until I see them all nod. “We don’t know what these people have planned. Maybe they want to kill him. Maybe they just want to keep him locked away to prevent us from finding answers. Either way, their actions are directly preventing us from using the only tool at our disposal which in turn prevents us from saving humanity. If they aren’t stopped now, whatever beliefs they’re protecting could hurt the larger society. I know, it doesn’t make the idea or practice of taking out real people any more palatable, but that’s because all of you are good people.”

When I step down from my soap box, I can feel them all internalizing what I was talking about. Maybe I’m just gaslighting myself so that I can feel better, but looking at all of their faces it seems like what I said did end up helping. 

In the softest voice, Armin speaks up next to me and asks, “what about the torture though? It’s not ‘torture or be tortured.’”

As if to prove his point, another blood curdling cry can be heard ringing out and we all flinch. I turn back to him and, with a hand on his arm, I say the only thing I can think of. “If the day comes that one of us,” I motion to everyone at the table, “has to torture someone, then we’ll talk about it. But for now, let’s just cope knowing that we aren’t in that position.” 

Since no one was really in the mood to sleep, I suggested we all go outside and keep watch together. They liked that idea.

I stayed behind momentarily to make us all some tea, and it was as I strode across the kitchen that I heard the man in the basement berating Hange and Levi. It took every ounce of strength I had for me to not march down there like some entitled mother accosting their child’s bully. Luckily, I didn’t have to restrain myself for very long because Levi then quickly called a break.

When they came upstairs for a breather, I could tell how much the task weighed on them.

If there were another way, they’d have taken it. If there were another way, they’d have taken it. If there were another way, they’d have taken it.

As I repeat my little mantra to myself, I offer all of them, Moblit included, cups of tea.

“I’m making a big batch for the kids, would any of you like a cup? I had them go outside to ‘keep watch together’ since no one was tired, but I already figured I’d make enough for the three of you anyway.” I smile as kindly as I can at them.

They’re going through so much as well, they don’t have the luxury of going outside.

Hange begins to decline my offer saying, “Thanks b-”

“Sure, I’ll take a cup. It better not be shitty though,” Levi cuts her off.

I grin widely at them now and, while pouring three cups, say, “Zuko’s uncle that I traveled with now owns his own tea shop in Ba Sing Se’s version of the interior so you could say I learned from the best.”

Placing the cups in front of them, I accidentally bump Levi’s hand. Luckily he had taken his gloves off, but it still made me jump a little. Holding eye contact with just Levi, I say to the group, “you’ll have to give me a review once you try it.” I turn back around and start loading the six teacups for the kids and I onto a big plate I found to act as a tray.

Levi raises an eyebrow at me and says, “you sure you got that?”

I pick up the tray with ease and smirk at him, smugly saying, “I was a waitress in Uncle Iroh’s tea shop, I think I’ll manage.”

With that, I’m out the door to deliver tea and they’re off to continue what they’ve gotta do.

The six of us quietly look at the stars for a while and, disregarding the day’s events, it was almost peaceful. However, we’re not out there for 15 minutes before Moblit is coming to fetch us because they have information.

Once all of us have reentered the house, they waste no time in telling us that Historia is the rightful heir to the throne. Hange also tells us that she thinks if a mindless titan were to eat someone with abilities like Eren’s that they’d turn back into a human. And when she says there’s a chance the government has their OWN titan, Mikasa loses her shit.

I think Levi might be the only one strong enough to hold her back…when did I even get on board with this “Humanity’s Strongest” bullshit?

And so, the long night gets longer as we head to Reis’s estate. However, that wasn’t going to be a quick or easy trip, especially not without horses or wagons. So, camping in the woods became a necessity.

Living in the woods. Now we’re speaking my language.

We adopted a typical setup - someone kept watch while the others rested. Levi volunteered for the first watch and I volunteered for the second. Funny though, seeing as neither of us sleep very much, so we just sort of did both shifts together.

We sit on high alert, completely silent, for what feels like hours. It wasn’t until I assumed his shift was supposed to technically be ending that either one of us spoke.

“I’m not going to sleep any time soon, if you want I’ll just take your shift and you can get some rest,” Levi spoke softly in my direction.

I respond at the same volume, “If I thought I’d be able to sleep, I’d have done it hours ago. You’re welcome to join me for my shift, the company and the second set of eyes both greatly appreciated, but you certainly don’t have to. If you can sleep, I implore you to.”

Levi settles back in, and I’m assuming that will be the end of our conversation, but I’m surprised when he speaks again. “You don’t sleep much.”

I snort. “Was that a question or an observation?”

“Both.”

“In that case, I could ask you the same thing.”

We stare at each other for a moment. For the first time, I notice that he’s so pale that it looks like he’s almost glowing in the moonlight. His skin is in stark contrast to his dark hair, which if it weren’t for the shine, would disappear completely into the surroundings.

Yo, what the fuck dude? Why are you analyzing this little shit like this?

At my thoughts, I break eye contact and he finally says, “well, in that case, you’d be correct.” 

I have to strain to even remember what we were talking about in the first place.

Shit it’s been a long time since I got laid. I can’t believe a little eye contact with a man - with LEVI at that - has got my wires all crossed.

When I finally remember, I simply ask, “Why is that?”

Almost too quickly, he responds, “too much work to be done.”

“How many times have you rehearsed that line?”

I can feel him snap to look at me, but I keep staring into the distance. When he doesn’t respond, I chuckle to myself before following up by saying, “oh come on, you’ve seen nightmare inducing shit in the time I’ve known you. That’s not to mention whatever the hell you’ve seen that’s made your survival instincts so sharp.”

At this, I finally turn to him and I’m surprised by what I see. There’s shock on his face but something else entirely that I can’t quite place. Vulnerability, maybe? Whatever it is, this is the first time he doesn’t wipe his face clear of emotion the second someone looks at him. Realizing he won’t say anything of his own accord, I put my hand on his shoulder and smile empathetically. 

I say, “I have ‘em too, if that makes you feel better. I guessed you did because, from experience, no one chooses to get less than four hours of sleep a night.”

He looks away, and almost under his breath mumbles, “it doesn’t.”

I’m confused. “What doesn’t?”

“It doesn’t make me feel better that you have them too. I wouldn’t wish them on anyone, let alone…a comrade.”

His pause strikes me as odd, but I don’t think much about it. Instead I just reply, “yeah, I’m with ya there.”

Silence blankets us once again, but this time it feels different. Any tension, mistrust, or ill-will I previously harbored towards Levi seems to have mostly evaporated. Now, the silence is comfortable.

Again, I’m surprised when Levi speaks. This time, there’s a bit more authority to his voice when he asks, “so, can I anticipate you always being that reckless on missions or was today first-time-nerves?”

I raise an eyebrow. “Reckless? What did I do today that was reckless?”

He huffs. “It would be easier to tell you what wasn’t reckless.”

Now I’m downright indignant. “I still don’t understand. I didn’t get hurt, I didn’t get anyone else hurt. Honestly, I don’t see any instance where I was more reckless than you.”

He side eyes me, but this doesn’t seem to ruffle him as much as I had wanted it to. “Despite me specifically saying you were to stay with me, you intentionally left my side twice: once on the roof and once when we were using gear. Not to mention standing in between the shooter and Jean.”

All I can do is roll my eyes. “None of what you just said was reckless, I merely took some calculated risks. If I hadn’t gotten off that roof, Kenny at the very least would have seen me and then known he was looking for two people instead of just you. My ODM skills aren’t strong enough to out maneuver him. And on that same topic, that’s also the reason I split off from you later. I was already using ODM gear and I knew I had a better chance against anyone that wasn’t Kenny. And I was right. They weren’t able to harm a single hair on my head whereas I took out, like, four or five of them. Plus, if I had followed you, I would have been in your way. It’s hard enough to survive when you’re only looking out for yourself but if you had had to worry about me, too? It’s possible we wouldn’t even be having this conversation now. As for getting in front of Jean…” I stop.

Realistically, I know that it was a bit reckless to do that. But I’m not about to admit that to Levi.

“I knew I could disarm her better than Jean could. Especially given that he had just lost his weapon. Disarming her gave her enough pause that Armin could kill her. I also figured that if necessary, I’d have an easier time killing her than Jean since he had already hesitated once.” I got a lot quieter as I finished talking.

Levi contemplates what I said before saying, “I’ll give you that your reasoning was sound for separating. I still think it was dangerous and would have been safer if you had just stuck with me like I had told you,” I roll my eyes again, which he ignores, “but throwing yourself in front of a gun is still downright reckless. I can’t support that choice even though you may have thought it out.”

The mood is heavy but I just smile and shrug, hoping to lighten the mood by saying, “agree to disagree.”

He scoffs again, but clearly opts to not press the matter further. Perhaps it’s because the sun was rising and with it, everyone would be waking up soon.

Before everyone else wakes up, I decide to return the olive branch that he had extended to me by changing to a lighter topic. “You never told me how the tea was.” 

Truth be told, I was expecting a glowing review, even from him. So when he simply shrugs and says, “it was…fine,” I was more than a little offended.

“Fine?! I tasted that tea myself, it was better than fine.” I scoff and turn away from him, mumbling to myself, “and just when I was starting to think you were a halfway decent person.”

For the umpteenth time tonight, he surprises me, this time by chuckling. I snap my head back to look at him and find him already glancing in my direction. His eye contact mixed with his amusement and, dare I say, warmth made me feel…strange. Not bad, not uncomfortable. Just, strange.

Still looking at me, he explains, “it wasn’t bad, I just think your water wasn’t hot enough.”

I smirk at his words and decide to poke a little fun at him, “well, next time I make you tea I’ll make sure it’s so hot that it’ll melt the skin off your mouth. Maybe then you won’t be quite so annoying.”

His eyebrows shoot up, but he’s clearly not angry when he retorts, “Oh really now? I’m the annoying one?”

Before I have a chance to respond our attention is pulled away by the sound of some of the kids starting to stir. Sasha’s sleepy eyes suddenly make me very jealous of the rest she and the others got and if I had known what the coming days would hold, I might have tried harder to get some sleep.

#aot #attack on titan #snk #shingeki no kyojin #avatar: the last airbender #atla #the gaang #Levi Ackerman #Levi x y/n #Captain Levi #Levi x reader #Hange Zoe #Prince Zuko #Zuko #Zuko x y/n #Aang #Katara #Sokka #Toph #Suki

[tempestuous-tempest]

Nick Valentine Ramble and Headcannons:

Warning: I do mention some sensitive topics. I will put these in Orange.

The first character I fell in love with during my "first" playthrough. I had played before technically but the only memory I had was of Nick and I dont believe I got to finish it. So when I finally decided to play it, I went straight for Nick after saving Preston per usual in the game.

Now and days I consider Nick more of a father figure plus I get a free uncle DiMa.

Nick is all around just an awesome character and companion.

As many others, I think he needs more attention in the game. Like the Kellog thing could have been explored a little more. But I understand how complicated that could have been given the way the game works.

His insecurities about his own identity and how he doesnt feel like he is his own person completely separate from the original Nick makes me think that he disassociates sometimes. Which may or may not have been talked about before.

It took himself a while to get used to seeing himself in the mirror.

If you've ever seen the beggining scenes of "Replicas" with Keanu Reeves in it, that's how I feel Nick's imprinting processes might have gone like when he didnt know who he was.

Original Nick smoked cigarettes just for the aesthetic reasons. Synth Nick also mainly does it out of habit. He does somewhat want to quit, even if it doesnt affect him in any way.

Literally acts like a dad and tells tons of dad jokes.

Original Nick was a vanilla ice cream guy. No shame.

If he were able to drink coffee, he would probably order a Latte Macchiato

He enjoys a good book. His favorite genre is actually Romance. The deep, dark entrancing kind that makes you not want to put the book down. Not that sweet, soft stuff that makes you all giddy.

He gives me Gibbs vibes. The guy from N.C.I.S.

Very accepting of those in the community.

I dont really get the whole ship between him and John so I'm just going to stick with my whole "Very close friends" and "Nick is kinda like a parent/guardian to John" headcannon. I think Nick is also older than John and knew him when he was just a young man in his early 20s.

Nick and Gibbs were both semi inspiration for my own Detective character Oscar Matthew Karma. Which if anyone feels like asking about, I can share more info on him too.

I know its not as long as Deacon's was but my mind is drawing blanks right now. Sorry. As I said with Deacon, I will probably make more parts of his. I just need a mind break.

#fallout 4 #fallout #fallout4 #fallout nick valentine #video games #fo4 #fo4 nick valentine #nick valentine #detective

[girlfriendsofthegalaxy]

tuesday again 5/16/2023

used up all my words writing fic this week, this is uncharacteristically short

listening

the last time i listened to this song, i was in a rental car on the way back to umass from seeing The Last Jedi with some friends. real oldheads: do you remember the mustang we all made fun of with lights that projected a little running horse onto the ground? that was the rental car.

this is a perfect feelgood summery song. no notes.

how'd i find this: listening to the s/tar wars rewatch podcast A More Civilized Age reminded me of how i cried in sheer rage at the end of The Las/t Jedi lol

-

reading

this is one of the coolest textile/data/activism projects ive ever heard of.

Even with natural dyes, for the most part, people don’t think about their water quality. They don’t understand that the invisible things in the water can affect the outcome of the color. You know, it’s just like, “Oh, madder is red, so I’m gonna get a red textile.” But there are so many more steps in dyeing a piece of fabric with a plant dye, or an insect dye. It’s not as easy as just putting some plants in a pot and turning the water heat up.

The goal of using color was to be able to visually demonstrate that not all water is the same. I was hoping to see if I could sort of pull out the pollution, but then what I figured out was that it’s very complex. It’s very possible that I’m demonstrating pollution, but I think I need to gather and do way more tests in order to prove something. 

-

watching

a bunch of stuff, but a lot of surface level critique.

Symphony for a Massacre (1963, Deray) is a french noir i picked somewhat at random bc it was on my library's streaming service. this is a film about a drug shipment, counterfeit money, and multiple double crosses (but none of them overlap in interesting ways) that takes you by the arm and drags you along, unwavering, toward the end. i want to sound less complimentary than i do there, but i can't be bothered. wanted to like it, it didn't grab me. i had some difficulty telling actors apart, and i don't think anyone's performance stood out except for the wife of a club owner, who flings her jewel box at someone's feet to pay her husband's debt.

Maverick (1994, dir. Donner) is full of guys i love to see (Molina, Coburn, Garner) but committed the unforgivable sin of reminding me that there were two much better movies i could be watching instead: Silverado (1985, dir. Kasdan) and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989, Spielberg). Jodie Foster is extremely fucking hot and more than holds her own. i think my big beef with this film is that i don't care for mel gibson as an actor or a person. also, this film cannot decide if it wants to be a comedy or an action-adventure (even though there are many funny action-adventure films) and as a result does neither genre well. i said "oh come ON" out loud at the final twist.

also rewatched The Batman (2022, dir. Reeves). i don't know why either. i think if it ended on the roof of gotham square garden and we didn't have the following goodbye scene with catwoman AND the following arkham scene, it would have stuck its landing a little better. wish this movie wasn't visually so fuckin dark, bud. throw some contrast in there.

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playing

friday afternoon, remembered i had a code for Powerwasher Simulator, and since then i have played almost twenty hours. i've also almost caught up with A More Civilized Age, a podcast in the Austin Walker extended universe about rewatching all of star wars. five star podcast five star runtime

most importantly, BIG FOOKIN DISH

it is so very seductive to open this game and have my brain turn off. it is SO seductive to feel like i am actually accomplishing tangible things. unfortunately, i need to do many things with no tangible results (or no tangible results i will see for many months, which is almost as bad) and i seem to have fucked up my shoulder by playing too much viddy gaem.

the writing in this game (mostly in the form of text messages from your clients that pop in as you hit certain cleaning milestones) is so goddamn funny. this is a job sim game. there are eight billion of these games. they didn't have to be funny at all

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making

read my pornography. it has math jokes. you do not need to have read anything else i've written.

#tuesday again #tuesday again no problem #having a bit of a Brain Week but im like. doing dishes again so things are improving #Youtube

[batemanofficial]

heads up the biz under the cut is just me being sick with want in an embarrassing way. it's nothing bad it's just me lamenting and i have too much leftover fundamentalist self-loathing to let it properly see the light of day. you can read it if you want but it's essentially just a diary entry that i need to let loose into the ether

i feel really weird about so many people my age being in serious relationships. like i'm older now than my parents were when they got married and what do i have to show for it? a bunch of straight boys with crushes on me whom i wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole and one (1) failed situationship that wouldn't have even worked out because she had somebody else the whole time. and idk i just feel weird about it!! my mom has expressed some regret about getting married so young (that's a whole nother can of worms i won't get into for your sanity and mine) but still i just. ugh. i think a big part of my problem is that i'm like. diametrically opposed to online dating? i loathe the idea of it i'm sorry. it just feels so insincere, like there's no space for a spontaneous connection which is something that's really important to me. like both my mom and my grandma met their future spouses by seeing them across the room, telling a friend "hey, that guy's cute" and the friend going up to the guy in question and going "my friend thinks you're cute." and like. is it such a crime to want that?? not saying that i don't have friends that i think would wingman for me (because i do and i'd do the same for them), it's just that i have to like. get to know people before i can really start to think about having a romantic relationship with them. and before anybody says anything about demisexuality i'm gonna stop you right there. i'm fine with the concept but i don't like the label for myself, it's just a personal thing. i know it's overly quaint and impractical in this day and age but can't a charming butch come sweep me off my feet. i'm literally doing nothing to make that happen so why hasn't it happened yet (sarcasm). i think another part of my problem is that i don't really feel like i'm in a place logistically where i can seek out a relationship (i'm moving out of the country early next year) so that just kinda leaves me like keanu reeves howling sadly in that one big comfy couch episode. anyway. the enormity of my desire disgusts me blah blah blah babygirl i am strange and offputting. who want me.

#speak friend and enter #ooooo butches in my area wanna treat me really niceys oooo