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aegagrusscholarship · 3 months

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familiarity, the lack thereof, and the only way it could have ended.

the thing is, ultrakill is a very diegetic game. near everything, from the style meter to the bottomless arsenal to the shitass graphics themselves, are explained in some way by some in-universe fact.

so, what with violence and the implication that V1 was designed to counter earthmovers

what with 7-4 and the fact that it is a culmination of this implication

i wonder. when V1 looked up at that earthmover, did it know, with whatever passes for instinct in a machine, exactly what to do? and if it did, then, how is this conveyed to the player?

diegetic as the game is, how does it engineer a situation in which the player, themselves, knows exactly what they have to do?

the biggest factor, i think, is the fact that the earthmover's health bar appears the moment you lay eyes (or camera, or whatever) on it, and it does not leave until you have finally killed this colossus.

but this factor is much more subtle than it appears at first glance. yes, big honkin' boss healthbar on screen for the entire level, what more to it. there's a good deal more, it turns out.

first off- this is the shortest leadup by far to any bossfight in the game. you slide through a single vent, and you are greeted with benjamin right out in the open. even P-1, devoid of any other hazards as it is, gives you a long trek down the spinal staircase before you reach the flesh prison. 7-4 has none of it. you enter the level, you enter the stage, and there you have it. you know exactly what you are up against right from the outset, and it's not quite a feeling of familiarity but it tells you exactly what you have to do. which is the point of this all, isn't it?

7-4 is also... not a bossfight! it is a full level! it is a full level framed as a bossfight. the health bar frames this full complete level as a bossfight.

and on one hand, this is not new news. on the other hand, i think this is the crux of it. the thing is, most bossfights are near-to-entirely new. you do not know how the boss acts. you do not know their attack patterns. you do not know their capabilities. you are learning something new. levels, though, you have done a thousand times over and so the player knows how they need to play through this bossfight in a way that is not quite present with any other boss in the game.

the content of the level is new, of course, because that's how it goes. but you know the motions. you have done this for two acts prior, you know the motions. you know exactly what to do.

also! this level does not exist in a vacuum. what i am saying is this: the rest of violence layer shifts its storytelling and its tone and even its graphics. it is something completely new in contrast to the rest of the game. 7-4, though, returns to environments and graphics more akin to what you have experienced before, bringing you back to familiarity and again knowing what to do here in a way the rest of violence hasn't let the player experience.

one more thing about this level: it plays directly into expectations. which is something that the rest of the game actually does not tend to do.

the game, at base, is just not a typical FPS. it gives you movement like a roguelite or a platformer, it takes guns you expect to know the mechanics of and goes utterly wild with how far the archetype can be changed.

in a smaller scope, here is a comparison of the earthmover and the corpse of king minos as two separate colossal bosses foreshadowed in similar ways. and i mean, minos's bossfight isn't unprecedented in other works. but i think the thing that matters here is that you are not, in fact, the underdog as is the case with so many other bosses of its ilk. riven of many voices, destiny 2, similar bossfight similar scale. you are hiding from her you are a fireteam of many you are triumphing over a dragon larger than life. project gestalt, madness project nexus, you are pulling out every stop you can to take down something so far over your head (both literally and metaphorically). corpse of king minos- V1 looks up, stands its ground, and parries his god damn fist.

and the thing is, the earthmover plays into a different expectation, but it's playing into an expectation nonetheless. you look at this thing and you climb it and you dismantle it from within, like you have done in many games prior. you know what your goal is from the moment you see that healthbar and you hook onto the conspicuously placed hookpoints that tell you- you will climb this machine; you will fight your way up to whatever its core is and you will kill it. you play through the entire level with this expectation and you get exactly this expectation. you destroy its core and it begins a countdown, and so very many games have countdowns before the collapse of whatever level you have just beaten, and you know exactly what you have to do.

i don't know. i love diegetic storytelling. i love this level.

it's just familiarity, i think. this level runs off familiarity. it gives you, the player, things and tropes and designs you are familiar with. it signals to you that you should know what to do, and it lets you do exactly what you expect to do.

if i were any more cheesy i could absolutely end this by restating something about the only way it could've ended, but uh. i am not that cheesy. this time.

aw crud now i don't know how to end this oh well goodbye then

#ultrakill #ultrakill spoilers #idk dude i just saw someone say like. 'when v1 saw the earthmover do you think it knew what to do in a way itd never experienced before'#and i was like 'hmmmm ultrakill is a game that justifies a LOT of its story decisions in gameplay'#'i sure wonder how this one mighta been conveyed to the player'#and then i experienced a category 5 autism event in one of my friends' dms. thanks pory youre a real one #for listening to my giant fucking ramble while i was walkin down from the train station LMFAO #......also fuck i hope no one has written this before i amso sorry if i am just rehashing someone elses already written thoughts fffffuck.

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camgoloud · 10 months

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i’m pretty sure this was done on the tlt subreddit once before but i haven’t seen it here and i’m curious to know tumblr’s opinions on the topic! personally i like the second two much more than the first—gtn didn’t really grab me that much and i wouldn’t have even called myself part of the fandom until i decided i might as well give htn a go and immediately got sucked in—but i’m guessing that most people’s experience is different, since the first book seems like the most popular based on the impressions i’ve gotten. also feel free to put in tags where you’d rank the short stories (as yet unsent and doctor sex) relative to the books! i would have stuck those in the poll too but there are. 120 different ways to order 5 unique objects

#personally it’s always going to be ayu >/= htn > ntn > dr sex > gtn for me #i do think that gtn might have had a chance against ntn if i had read gtn in the same mindset that i read nona (i.e. already completely 100%#obsessed with the world and characters) but there’s no way either of them could possibly hope to compete with the EXPERIENCE that is htn #and ayu is absolutely perfect for what what it is (character study of judith subtle worldbuilding exercise etc.)#like that short story more than anything else to me is where it’s clear that muir has written fanfic before because in the best possible way #ayu feels like one of those extremely high-quality 10-15k oneshot fics that you read and find your entire life permanently changed by #also the night that story leaked on this website was my destiel night so i will always have a fondness for it tied to that experience #the locked tomb #polls #if this HAS been done on here then i’m sorry and i’m not trying to steal anyone’s thunder! i just really want to know

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icecreamsodaaaaa · 1 year

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Thoughts on different dragons having cultures and different languages?

#augh i think they should have different language……. and like focusing on more cultral aspects #i feel like the rainwings have their own language and written language and god i hate the framing of the rainwings like AUGH no!#though in my version of wof i wouldnt make Glory convert them cause of course… i feel like she would end up joining as an important part of #the kingdom because she wants to be apart of the culture she missed out on and her discovering how much better it is than a stinky ass cave #and she feels like she belongs and damn were other dragons wrong fuck them fuck you kestrel 🖕#anyways sorry if this is semi incomprehensible its 1 in the morning but oh the thoughts…#i know this has probably been said a million times before but idk #maybe i wanted to rant about rainwings and Glory #wof #wings of fire

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likeabxrdinflight · 18 days

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tired of early 20-somethings acting like harry potter was never good or had no value in its day like shut the fuck up half of you weren't even there when it peaked

#sit with the cognitive dissonance like the rest of us or shut up honestly #was it a product of its time yes #was it's author a very basic neoliberal white lady from a country with a long and unchecked imperialist history yes #was the story influenced by said neoliberal worldviews and unexamined biases obviously #does any of that make it a bad story or an unimaginative world no #you can pick apart any fantasy world if you try hard enough #harry potter was a good telling of the hero's journey written in the format of seven mystery novels set against a fantasy backdrop #we can certainly talk about its flaws or how the author's biases leaked onto the page #but stop acting like it was never good and there was never a reason those books resonated with people #it's condescending for one thing and again- if you're younger than like...24-25 you didn't actually experience the heyday of the books #if you're 25 now you'd have been like 8 or 9 when the last book came out and probably weren't reading them yet #you might remember the latter half of the movie era but you have no idea how much it was the BOOKS that drove its popularity #never before and never since has any book series had the fanfare that harry potter did and that didn't happen for no reason #so find a way to make peace with that instead of acting intellectually superior because you grew up with percy jackson instead #this 'well MY generation's preferred childhood book series is morally superior to YOURS so I'm better than you' shit drives me up a wall #like get over yourself honestly #...sorry had to get that off my chest there was this youtube video and it was irritating me

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amethystpath-writes · 11 months

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Bread and Eggs

(NOT A PR0MPT)

******

It started with the ringing of Villain’s phone. He wasn’t surprised to see Hero’s name pop up. He admired the too-small circle with her picture on it. It was impossible to tell by looking at the emblem, but Villain knew it was a picture from their first date.

To think it had been five years ago...

Villain’s picture on Hero’s phone had been a more recent photo, one from their engagement. An image of him kneeling with the classic black velvety case. It was warm the day of their engagement- Villain didn’t dare propose on a cold day; it would have led to an obvious refusal.

He used to joke that warmth was the only reason Hero even liked him. “You scorn me constantly,” Villain would tease. “You only like me because of the heat I so generously produce.”

“As if you have any control over it! You can’t help that you’re so warm, but it is definitely a plus,” she would ultimately agree.

Now, they were married- and, oh, hadn’t it been a dream? Looking for homes, buying a home, getting groceries, coming home to one another, holding each other at the end of the day. It was all Villain wanted in life, and for so long, it seemed impossible. Yet, here they were; her joyful face was beaming at his under the name ‘Love of my life’.

Answering the phone, Villain jokingly began, “Yes, honey, I remembered to get the bread and eggs.”

The voice that answered wasn’t Hero’s.

***

#not a pr0mpt #this has been in my drafts for quite some time and Im thinking that I should perhaps post it at some point #that some point being now #Bread and Eggs #I'm so creative #Guess who is finally able to take classes again? How many of you knew I was out of classes for months?#None of ya. Because I never explained it.#Basically I was taking classes and then my university was absolutely horrible so I transferred.#After transferring I was able to take two classes before I realized my old school refused to cancel my financial aid which meant I couldn't #use it at my new school. Which meant I could no longer take classes. But I should be able to start Monday. If not Monday then in August :)#Anyway- that's your update from Dee covering the last couple of months in which I have been inactive #I have also been putting a lot of work into my manuscript. I'm just shy of 10k words right now and that's been on top of a lots of life stuf #okie bye! Sorry it's such a short- and relatively incomplete- snippet. I'll try to get something written up for you guys :)

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avelnfear · 1 year

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Chapter Four

Masterlist

Danny gently brushed his fingers through Jason's hair, looking down at the relaxed face of his friend in sleep. He hadn’t expected Jason to fall asleep while in his presence for a very long time, let alone on him. It was a pleasant surprise that made Danny reflect on himself like only his paradise could, but he focused instead on the motions of brushing his fingers through the hair, too afraid of what he’d find if he looked inwards like instinct said to.

Eventually, his thoughts drifted, not being able to maintain focus on one thing for too long as his core had yet to settle from the adventure it took to get here. Finally getting used to his new job had helped, but his main obsession wasn’t getting fulfilled because his family was too far away. Even the family member closest of all was only close physically because Jason had no memory of the long journey they’d been on far before they’d met in this life.

Having all of these memories was so confusing, it threw everything he thought he knew about his life into the trash and set it on fire. Yes, he and his fright had always felt like they had instincts they couldn’t explain that were pushing them to gear up for some big thing that had turned out to be his death, but he’d found ways to reason away the crisis that would come from that. Jazz had always told him that his way of dealing with most trauma by ignoring its impact and joking or talking around it would come back to bite him, and it did. It really did.

More than that, his current internal crisis was about something so much bigger than just having to flee his home and not see his family for so long, after all the time travel he’d done that was nothing. It was- Danny stopped that thought in its tracks, he wasn’t ready. He’d learned long ago to build up to the most troubling thought because doing otherwise would upset the already precarious balance of his sanity.

Danny felt like he was being torn apart by not having someone else who remembered more than just this life. He would reference something, only to have to explain it to his fright or watch it sail right over the head of whoever else he was talking to. Danny wanted to talk about it, to reminisce about it with someone, anyone, but he couldn’t properly put some things into words. Even Ghost Speak, as impossible as it was, couldn’t properly convey his feelings sometimes because he had no real idea what he was feeling. Learning about his past by reliving it had been such a confusing experience, and he didn’t know how to deal with that.

His thoughts paused as he focused once again on gently brushing Jason’s hair with his fingers before racing back through time to think about the hour that had led up to this. It was another one of their spontaneous hangouts made possible by the fact that they lived so close to one another. Jason had shown up, grumbling about brothers who called stupidly early in the morning to talk about nothing, and Danny had chuckled lightly, letting Jason rant as much as he wanted, as he needed to. They’d settled onto the couch, Jason using Danny’s legs as a pillow because he kept falling over when he tried to sit up. In what seemed to be no time at all, Jason had dropped into sleep.

Danny’s thoughts turned inwards so suddenly his breath stalled for a couple seconds. The core, heh, of his internal struggle was the strange pressure he felt to forgive Maddie, and even Jack, for all the horrible things that happened just because they were family. After all, Danny’s main obsession was family, but his second obsession was freedom. Most people thought that the two things would clash far more often than they did, but they usually worked together, for Danny saw freedom as only worth it if there was someone to share it with, someone to have it for, hence why freedom was the secondary obsession.

Maddie had realized what was so wrong about her approach to life, and she’d done it in such a crushing manner that she nearly broke her mind. Everything had come crumbling down around her, and she’d apologized so much for her part in how everything went down, crying about how she’d never wanted to hurt anyone, least of all her children, and bemoaning everything that she’d done wrong. Maddie herself had told Danny that he never needed to forgive her for her part in everything, but Danny found himself trying to force that forgiveness anyway.

Jack had never apologized, never admitted any wrongdoing, never seen how many people he was hurting, never seen how much damage he was causing, and never stopped hunting Danny, but Danny’s core still yearned to forgive him, to bring the family back together. Danny acknowledged that Jack had done a lot of wrong in his life, but Danny still wanted to give him forgiveness that he hadn’t earned, hadn’t even tried to earn, all because he was family.

Neither of them needed forgiveness, Danny knew that. Maddie was working on forgiving herself while still repeating over and over that she would never pressure Danny into forgiving her, that forgiving her was his decision, but she didn’t fully understand what it meant to be Danny. Danny always felt pressured to keep the family together, to make the right decision, to keep his family happy to the extent that he didn’t know what to do with himself if he wasn’t doing anything for that. Jack didn’t even think he’d done anything that needed forgiving, and there was no way Danny would try to talk to Jack about that.

Danny knew all of this, yet he felt pressured to forgive things that shouldn’t be forgiven. His core demanded a family he could connect to, knowing he couldn’t contact his fright for now, too dangerous, knowing he couldn’t contact Maddie, too dangerous and still too hurtful and tearful, and knowing that he couldn’t contact Jack, too dangerous and too much attempted murder between them. Danny didn’t know what to do.

He didn’t want to forgive Maddie. She’d sworn long ago to keep her family safe, but the moment that someone accepted her ideas and her, she threw that out the window. Her thoughts had narrowed down to protecting Jack and his happiness, becoming just as obsessed as him about ghosts. At least she’d tried to stay on the sane side of it. She’d tried to pay attention to her children, but she couldn’t do much when she got absorbed into her work so quickly and so completely. He didn’t want to forgive someone who had proved time and time again that she was not dependable, that she was not to be trusted, that she would only break his heart. He didn’t want to forgive Maddie, yet he kept catching himself forcing his thoughts to call her Mom.

Admittedly, there was less pressure from his core to forgive Jack, but instead it played that what if game. That was a dangerous game to get into, especially for a ghost. Emotional damage was almost more damaging to a ghost than any other type of damage, so playing the what if game was like playing with his life. He knew that, yet logic was not the driving force he always went by. As the days passed, it got easier and easier to remember what Jack had done, to cast aside any lingering familial bonds with him.

The root of the problem then, was Maddie. Maddie, the person who actually kick started the whole adoption process when she found Jazz playing with young Danny at the park, the person who’d tried to take an interest in his interests for the first couple of months before getting swept away by the portal, the person who’d made Jack set aside time to put up the glow-in-the-dark stars to make Danny feel more comfortable, and the person who’d always tried to push Danny to do his best. Maddie, the person who’d shot at him with intent to heavily injure or kill, the person who’d ranted almost everywhere about the many ways she wanted to tear him apart molecule by molecule without knowing that it was him she was talking about, tainting every place they went with that memory, the person who’d made most of the more harmful inventions, the person who figured out that electricity hurt him more than most, and the person who’d turned most of the town against him in the early years. There was a sharp contradiction between the two Maddies in his head, but he knew from Jazz that separating Maddie like that was a trauma response.

The answer hit him with the same force his body had hit the wall. He couldn’t forgive Maddie, not so soon and maybe not ever. It just wasn’t possible for him, and trying to force it would only tear him apart. He couldn’t forgive someone who had done so much to him, and there was no way he would be talking to a therapist anytime soon due to his own issues, meaning that forgiveness would likely be a longer process once it finally got started. Even though the realization hurt, there was a sense of freedom building in his chest that swirled like glitter through his core. Finally, he felt settled in his own skin. The thought was a sweet lullaby that lured him into sleep.

~`~`~

Jason woke up gently, rising from the dreams to settle into his own body with a smooth feeling that was missing most of the time. He kept his eyes closed, enjoying the feeling of peace that surrounded him while he tried to remember why he felt that way. Realizing it was because he fell asleep on Danny, his eyes snapped open and his face flushed. Sure enough, there was Danny, asleep with his head tilted over the back of the couch.

Danny seemed so peaceful in sleep, causing Jason to realize that there had been an invisible weight to his friend’s shoulders before now. Jason couldn’t help but stare, feelings swirling in his gut, unfamiliar ones. Jason’s brows furrowed as he tried to figure out what he was feeling. It was, was the odd mix of happy-peace-nerves-joy-meant-to-be that Jason had come to associate with Danny, but there was something more to it, some level that seemed to have been added while he watched them sleep. The meaning of it escaped him, but he didn’t want to spend too long thinking about that, preferring to spend this time memorizing every single bit of Danny’s face, not knowing when it would be possible to do so again.

In what seemed to be no time at all, Danny’s eyes were fluttering open, unfocused until they locked onto Jason’s with startling clarity. “Hey.” Jason whispered softly.

“Hey.” Danny’s response was just as soft and quiet, not carrying like it usually did.

Jason wanted to stay in this relaxed state forever, but he knew that they needed food. “Wanna get some Batburger?” Jason offered, not really wanting to cook at the moment and assuming Danny wouldn’t want to cook either.

Danny gave him a soft smile in response. “Sure.” And they separated to their separate apartments to get ready to leave.

~`~`~

When they walked into the Batburger, it was mostly empty save for the workers and a group of people in one of the corner booths, a group of people Jason recognized. He nearly groaned but held back, not wanting to be seen by them. Danny walked up to the counter and Jason followed, trying not to get noticed by the group even though he knew it was inevitable. Against all odds they made it through the ordering process, Danny continuing their odd trend of not ordering any fries, but Jason knew that the good luck would not hold.

Sure enough, as the two of them were choosing their drinks, a voice called from the only other customers in the store, “Jason! Jason, is that you?!” Jason groaned at Dick’s obviously played up tone of hurt. He debated whether or not to ignore Dick, quickly coming to the conclusion that doing so would only make everything worse.

“Is that the one you were complaining about when you knocked on my door?” Danny suddenly asked in his ear. It was a testament to Jason’s skill that he managed not to jump, although he did lean away.

“Yeah.. that’s him.” He muttered. “Is your eyesight finally failing you old man?” Jason called back to his brother the irritant, enjoying Dick’s betrayed gasp even if it was fake.

Despite Jason’s words, when it came time for Danny and him to pick a spot to sit, he walked towards the table where Dick, Damian, and Tim sat. Tim had clearly been bribed with coffee to be there, but Dick and Damian were probably on one of their brotherly bonding outings, which usually weren’t held in Crime Alley, meaning that Tim was also bribed with a chance to run into Danny. Great. That meant such good things for this meal, not.

True enough, they were barely settled into their seats when Dick burst into words once more. “Hello, my name’s Dick, this is Damian, and the one falling asleep where he sits is Tim! I wasn’t aware that Jason had any new friends recently, so I don’t know your name, sorry!” Dick flashed his blindingly brilliant Dickie smile while maintaining his hurt expression when he looked at Jason, obviously, to anyone who knew Dick at least, trying to put Danny at ease.

“Interesting choice of words there.” Danny’s tone was neutral, expression almost bored as he met Dick’s eyes with a tilt to his head.

“Huh?” Dick blinked, clearly thrown off by this unexpected reaction.

Danny simply tilted his head in the other direction, eyes still locked on Dick’s as they sharpened. “You apologized for not knowing my name, despite clearly assuming that Jason hadn’t told me about you. You automatically assumed I was a friend of Jason’s, not an acquaintance, not someone who he owed a favor to, not just someone who he fights with, but a friend. You didn’t specify which one was Damian, relying on the fact that I wouldn’t interrupt you to give clarity with describing Tim, who, by the way, doesn’t look like he’s falling asleep where he sits, rather like he’s retreated into his thoughts. You introduced yourself first with the tone of someone who expects people to look at you weirdly due to your name, or maybe just treat you differently for your name, probably trying to get it out of the way and likely already having a funny retort pulled up in your mind. You also didn’t share any extra information about Damian other than a fond tone, pointing towards you expecting me to know about him, and by extension all of you, likely from news sources or Jason. In short, you said what you said the way you said it to appear properly social while fishing for clues about who I am, maybe even leading into an interrogation gentle enough to be written off as just the type a concerned brother would give here in Gotham.” Danny blinked, seemingly caught off guard by his own words. “Sorry, force of habit. My sister used to quiz me about people based on how they talked as a way to double check her own thoughts before she got good enough at reading people that she didn’t feel that it was necessary anymore, then it became more of a game. Guess I’m more tired than I thought.”

Dick sat stunned for several long minutes, looking like what Jason felt the first time Danny had done that when tired. It hadn’t happened often, but it was always shocking when it did. Amused, Jason looked at the other two people at the booth, seeing a similar shocked expression on Tim’s face, who also no longer looked as tired, but Damian didn’t look at all like Jason expected. There was no shock in his expression or body language, rather amusement and some things Jason couldn’t quite define. It sent a disquieted feeling slithering up Jason’s spine, but that was normal when it came to the Demon Brat.

“If anyone could deduce so much about you, Richard, then you must be slipping.” Damian huffed out.

“Are you saying that I couldn’t do the same to you Damian Wayne?” There was an odd emphasis put on Damian’s last name that Jason hadn’t heard before, not from Danny at least. There was also a new light in Danny’s eyes, though this was one that Jason recognized, the spark of a worthy challenge.

Just like that, it was like the world fell away for the two of them, and Jason suddenly felt like an outsider who was ignorant of the world. He couldn’t explain why he felt that way, but he did. Damian didn’t respond past a raised eyebrow, but Danny just kept staring the same, although Jason felt like something in the air had changed even if Danny hadn’t. The green that had lain quiet for so long suddenly roared its head, and Jason redirected his eyes to his hands that were clutching the edge of the table so hard his fingers were white.

“Order for Todd.” All the tension in the room suddenly snapped, and everyone at the table turned towards the front counter where the words had come from, numbly Jason walked over and got the two trays of his and Danny’s food. He nodded his thanks to the worker and turned back to the table, keeping his eyes on the floor for a reason he didn’t know, which was rapidly becoming the normal sensation of the day.

When Jason got back to the table, things felt so much looser, more free than before, although no one was talking. Setting the trays on the table, it was like whatever was keeping anyone from speaking snapped. “What do you do for a living?” Tim burst out before his mind appeared to catch up to his mind and he flushed slightly, yet still watched Danny, determined to have the question answered now that it was asked.

“Oh, I work at Arkham as an assistant head guard for the Rogue Wing. It basically just means that I do most of the same work as a regular guard with a couple of added responsibilities and a bit more paperwork. I actually didn’t mean to apply for anything over a regular guard, considering I’m a little on the young side, but the person who referred me to the job handed me an assistant head guard form. I didn’t even know what position I applied for until my interview.” Danny chuckled the last line, clearly wandering in the past a little as they stopped talking to devour a burger, one of four on their tray.

“Why didn’t you order any fries? Sorry, weird question, but I’m curious.” Dick tried his best to seem sheepish, but Jason saw through that for the attempted ice breaker it was.

Danny hummed as he washed the burger down with a sip from his soda. “No fry can ever compare to the fries at my local burger joint growing up, so I never bother to order fries anywhere else.” Danny clearly saw that more questions were about to be asked because he quickly kept talking. “The fries there were so good that a pair of inventors literally made an invention specifically to keep them at the perfect temperature, although the fries were good cold too. Rumor has it that wars have been fought over the recipe behind those fries, although no one can say whether or not this is true.” Danny had leaned in, voice gaining intensity like the best of storytellers, drawing his audience in. Jason had leaned in too, and he saw his brothers had done the same. “It’s been said that the burgers are absolutely nasty, but the fries make ordering combos worth it because it makes the fries cheaper. I’ve heard a tale or two of one man who ate nothing but those fries for a solid year and proclaimed he was all the better for it.” Danny smiled at them like he’d just told a massive joke or revealed a big secret and leaned back in his chair, not even looking as his hands unwrapped the next burger. “Of course,” his tone was lighter now, seeming to let the air back into the space around the occupants of the table, enabling them to draw their first real breath since Danny had gone all intense, “this is all rumor, none of it is confirmed as fact.”

“What’s the restaurant’s name?” Dick whispered, clearly drawn in by Danny’s behaviour.

“Not telling.” Danny said with a smile, digging into the second burger while Dick made a hurt gasp that was only half acting this time.

“Why are you guys even here? You usually stay out of Crime Alley.” Jason decided to steer the conversation back on track, not wanting to get stuck in the endless hole of the weird conversations Danny could hold, not today.

“We were thinking about showing up to your apartment unannounced. Richard wanted to whine about you not spending more time with the family as a means of getting you to agree to coming over to the Manor next Wednesday. Alfred has promised to make some of your favorite meals if you agree, and Father asks that you extend the offer to your new friend, although I did try to inform him that you have not confirmed whether or not your new neighbor is a friend.” Damian kept his tone straight to the point, even as his eyes hid some amusement over the whole thing as Dick gasped about betrayal beside him.

Jason pretended to think it over. “All you had to mention was Alfred’s offer and I’d be there.” Jason turned to Danny. “They’re going to bug you about visiting until you do, are you free and willing to go Wednesday?” Jason already knew what the answer would be, but he asked the question anyway, something about seeing Tim get intrigued about a new mystery seemed funny.

“Nah, I’m busy that day. I’ve got to work some of the odd hours, and every other hour is taken up by an activity. ‘M booked.” Danny didn’t even pretend to consider it as he washed down the remnants of the last burger, eating fast like he always did in public. “Although I have heard you wax poetic about Alfred’s cooking so it is tempting.

The meal was filled with innocent questions as Danny watched them all eat. It would have seemed odd to Jason, but he’d grown used to the way Danny lived his life. Through the meal, Jason watched Dick become more comfortable in Danny’s presence, only really noticeable to those who knew him, but Jason somehow knew Danny knew that Dick was becoming more at ease. All attempts to find the source of why he knew left him with a headache, so he quickly abandoned the thought. Tim also relaxed, although Jason was sure this was mostly faked to put Danny at ease. Tim preferred long periods of observation to make sure people he found suspicious were actually okay people. Damian was even more of an enigma than usual, making references that were heavily veiled behind things he would usually say, and amusement was a frequent visitor of the deep depths of his eyes.

Suddenly, Danny got an alert that had him settling his expression into a serious one. “I have to go.” Danny stood up, abruptly cutting off the easy conversation that had been flowing before. “There’s been a breakout, Joker, Harley, Ivy, and Penguin have gotten out. The other assistant head guard is dead, so I’m being called in.” He looked around at them with no real emotion on his face, making Jason repress a shiver. “I wouldn’t stay on the streets for long. My coworker told me Joker was in a funny mood.” With that, Danny took off.

Jason, Dick, Damian, and Tim looked at each other, many emotions flickering between them as they silently conversed. Without another word, they sprung up, tossing everything left on their trays, which was mostly just some wrappers, and they bolted for the safehouse nearby that held a spare of all their gear. Jason hoped Danny stayed safe before putting all thoughts of his friend out of his mind, focusing on the task at hand. Jason hoped that Gotham was ready for whatever the Joker had in store for them.

As soon as everyone was suited up, Jason turned on his comm. “O. We have insider information that Joker, Harley, Ivy, and Penguin have broken out of Arkham, get everyone on.”

There was a flurry of activity and words as everyone else booted up into high gear, a breakout that involved Joker didn’t spell anything good. Finally, B’s voice came over the line, “Hood, report.”

A/N: I’m still not entirely happy with the ending, but I cut it there because I was starting to get way too frustrated with the chapter. I may edit this a bit for when I post it to AO3 eventually, but I’m just vibing on tumblr for now. Sorry this took so long.

Taglist: @blacksea21090 @chrysanthemum9484 @samgirl98 @may-rbi @justwannaseesomebrozawa @serasvictoria02 @treepainting @fluffykster @enderglace @sigdexae @persephoneblackrose @angelofsongsoteira @lazy-bouqet @littlefeather345 @icedbluesoul @autumnwulf @thefearfullone @alixanterm @skulld3mort-1fan @dulceringo @vidimirrayne @betinaplayingwriter @the-legal-shipper @currant-owo @crystalqueertea @fisticuffsatapplebees @bugaboo25 @dannyphantomphan @botwadtict @kyrianclawraith @mnemovoid @lyra689 @demiourgias

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time-is-restored · 1 year

Text

more whinging bc i got negative hours of sleep last night and i need to stay awake somehow lol

cw: discussions of misogyny + abuse

god the more i think abt it the more exhausted i get by the gender politics of ted lasso.

like god i do genuinely think that rebecca's arc in s1 is one of the best depictions of a mean + cruel woman ive ever seen on TV specifically bc it manages to thread the needle so well? like they never tilt her balance too much and doom her to being either totally fucked up + evil OR totally soft and sweet and harmless. and ted's 'divorce makes u crazy' response to her apology STILL makes me crazy wrt the sheer. understanding and empathy there, and she's just. given so much more depth than ive come to expect, especially for an ensemble cast sitcom w a (then) p short run time.

but my fucking god. we literally don't learn a fucking thing about michelle. im pretty sure the one (1) concrete thing we know about her comes in the fucking finale, and it's that she's a teacher for... something. the two most important people in ted's life and we don't know anything abt them! they're literally just empty symbols representing the importance of Family™, and that vacancy does nothing but weigh ted's storyline down!

like, i liked michelle's episode/storyline in s1, bc the blinding novelty of a woman instigating a divorce not being the Actual Devil, as well as a just. generally very empathetic + nuanced take on how divorce shakes out between two ppl who really care for each other, was so 'WAIT TV CAN DO THIS??' that i felt satisfied with that being Her Arc™. divorce happens, life happens, people fall out of love, and it hurts but its ultimately okay. the show, at the time, was ultimately abt a football club and how caring abt that football club helped everyone around it.

but then the show sticks around, and her continued absence just... raises a lot of questions? how did the conversation abt ted going overseas happen? what conversations did they have abt henry? how long term was it intended to be? did money really not factor into it all? like it's one thing for a character's backstory to be vague when it's not really the focus of attention (s1 was ultimately rebecca's story before anyone else's), but when it's the load bearing stone of their '''''''arc''''''' in s3...????

like. god. and then it fucking infects every other woman on the show!

sassy + nora? well sure we'll give you a softball - you can have one (1) scene where a woman is able to resolutely and firmly reject a man asking her out without immediately being seen as cruel or gameplayey (not that the audience will see it that way! she's already a lecherous temptress for them!), but neither of them will ever be able to speak to rebecca onscreen again, even after the heart-wrenching scenes in s1 CLEARLY establishing them as a beating heart of rebecca's arc.

shandy? nope, don't even think abt her motivations/drives, just forget her. simi? LMAOOO imagine a black woman getting a personality beyond righteous anger. jack? three-four episodes, and we learn so little abt her that her conflict with keeley - which SHOULD'VE have been a huge emotional beat - just feels like a kick in the teeth (and while, yes, i absolutely agree that in a real world context, jack's rejection of keeley would be largely motivated by class, in Ted Lasso Land™ rebecca is just as rich - if not richer? - and we're never once encouraged to interrogate her priorities).

barbara's the one that really makes me miserable, bc i feel like on a show with less run time, she could've played REALLY well. she's a great contrast to keeley, has an amazing delivery, and the scene where keeley + her first discuss the snowglobes shows that she has the potential for some really moving vulnerability + pathos. but instead they give SO many of keeley's scenes to characters who ultimately get written out, so when barbara stays it's like... okay? sure? like, i was so stoked that barbara survived the Mass Exodus of side characters that i didn't wanna look the gift horse in the mouth but... wasn't the last thing we saw of her and keeley's relationship like. general resentment + distrust abt the shandy debacle? when did that improve? how???

i don't think i'll ever have enough mental real estate to explain how disappointed keeley + rebecca's 'arcs' in s3 made me, and at least there's the saving grace that. virtually no one other than jamie got a coherent arc this season, so at least it was on some levels an egalitarian screw up. but fuck dude. keeley was just forced to react to bad things that were happening to her, and we got to see her do her job (which, unbelievably, does actually involve things other than being an awkward manager!) precisely one (1) time.

i even like rebecca's arc on paper - i think it's really cool to see a character backslide so intensely in terms of obsessing over and struggling to come to terms w a past relationship, especially an abusive one, bc like. yeah! that shit sticks with you for longer than a season! and beyond that, seeing her regain her sense of self and what SHE actually gives a shit about was oftentimes just as sweet as s1. but her scenes were poorly connected, and she had to carry WAY too much of a burden as the Resident Speech Giver for any of her internal characterisation to make sense. like, sorry, but it's kind of hard to believe a character's Going Through It™ when they have to spent near 100% of their screen time giving Take It From Me, Kid, speeches. and then she's not even given a real opportunity TO fuck up + sabotage her relationships, even when she starts getting really weird w ted! it's all just so meaningless and like nothing that she does is ever going to matter. she never speaks to zava again, we don't get to see her interact w bex or kate, her pleas to ted get COMPLETELY shut down...

but the thing that REALLY makes me sick is this complete lack of interiority absolutely butchers the characters of jade + jane, who are otherwise RIFE with potential. like, jade is a completely unflinching, unapologetic asshole to nate + his family, and that's never interrogated. even in Sitcom Land™, it's more than reasonable to view jade's actions as racist, especially when she doesn't give the same treatment to others (at least not as i recall? honestly i usually watch the taste of athens scenes while peeking out behind my hands, so i could 100% be wrong here). and yet, suddenly, and completely inexplicably, she's charmed by nate. she wants to give him the time of day. she finds him attractive, and wants to date him, and generally take control of his life and force him into a decision that is literally the exact opposite of what he expressed wanting to do. except even that LAST thing isn't allowed to be interrogated, bc god FORBID a woman is enough of a fully realised creation to actually be culpable of the terrible shit they do!

and fucking jane??? beard's so head-over-heels for this woman that the emotional abuse + extremely controlling tendencies don't even make him bat an eye, and we don't get to know anything about her? she's literally just the suggestion of an alluring woman! good at sex! good at chess! fuck you if you wanna know more, even though the show ENDLESSLY hits you over the head with how painful their relationship is for beard - beard who is given virtually no other storyline. like, i literally can't read brendan's refusal to label jane as abusive as anything other than like. that bio-essentialism shit where ppl 'women are better than men <3' so hard that they end up genuinely and wholeheartedly arguing that someone's sex defines their morals - or worse, that their sex is a deciding factor in determining whether someone's actions are good or bad. not context, but a legitimate 'add points if woman, take away points if man' variable.

like that's so feminism 101 it's legitimately almost worse than nothing. that's like getting as far as 'hey so you know how we're all inundated with both implicit + explicit messaging abt what is Valued and Good for women vs men to-' before shoving ur earplugs in and going 'if you are oppressed by society we'll automatically stamp a 'good person' label on ur head and now we don't have to think abt any of our biases + internalised beliefs ever again <333'. the most useless and fucking pointless stand against the patriarchy ever, especially coming from the same show that ENDLESSLY slots characters into the 'loving gf/wife' archetype and then give them Literally Nothing Else. my comrades you have literally just done madonna/whore 2: oops all madonnas! this is not liberation!!!! this is a miserable cage!!!!!!!!!

im just. higgins' wife. mae. trent's daughter and anonymous 'her'. the women at the hotel and the restaurants and the firm and the fucking physios, fuck - dani's gfs! who are they? what do they want? where do they go when the camera stops rolling? can anyone hear me?? hello??? hello???? brendan hunt i am OUTSIDE YOUR HOUUUUUUSE

#ted lasso spoilers #ted lasso meta #ted lasso critical #dead girls by p.enelope s.cott has been stuck in my head for approximately a month bc of this fucking show #its so fucking nuts being treated to rebecca + keeley in s1 and then slowly realising w dawning horror that its literally only down from #here. and also listen nothing but respect to my comrades out there who can take michelle + henry as written #and immediately + painlessly extrapolate from their significance in ted's life to viewing them as like. important figures narratively #but to me they literally never got beyond the carboard cutout stage? like. yes thank you if u love ur family its sad when u leave them.#why'd he leave them then lol.#LIKE. if both michelle AND henry are just these. passive vessels who are neither invested in ted staying OR leaving london #and the only motivation we're EVER given for ted's move is 'michelle wanted space'. like sorry for wanting an actual deconstruction of ted'#motivations rather than the worst mystery box of all time! if i wanted a story abt 'man misses family :( please don't ask any questions abt #the family in question-' i could just close my eyes and imagine a stock image of a sad business man.#wagh. ted bud they gave you so much potential + so many demons and then just wiped them away w no exploration outside of like. two #scenes w sharon. u are also in this cage king but at least u got a good two seasons of mc character energy before they locked the door :(#something something sorry for having an ace attorney witness stand breakdown when the show i liked Was Bad. do u still want to be mutuals

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