Hide A Tazer In His Hair; There's Enough Of It That No One Could Possibly Discover It

I'll always maintain that this is the best duel in the series (manga or anime). Why? TLDR: narrative/trope subversion (and he is a MASSIVE bitch)

In a format where conclusions tend to be forgone it managed actual suspense. Practically no one, in-universe or out, expected Joey/Jou to win. Sure, his True Friends TM are rooting for him, but this is clearly a mismatch. Marik(extra spicy edition) is at this point undefeated and Joey won his last two tournament duels on technicalities, punching above his weight class via sheer grit.

As the audience, we KNOW he can't win. Joey is the Lancer; narratively it would make no sense for him to beat what is clearly a final arc boss. The Lancer is here to put up enough of a fight to make the Hero, Yugi, look extra cool when he beats Marik later.

We all know it's just supposed to be Joey putting up a good fight, but damn, what a fight! Stakes much more visceral than usual, turnabout after turnabout as the tides shift and we wonder if this is the one that ends the duel. All the while we get to see the snark on full and glorious display against an opponent outraged to even have to dirty his hands against someone other than the protagonist.

The big, properly climactic finishing shot…and then the reveal that Joey’s still standing. He’s won. Against all odds, and with strategy instead of luck. Everyone can see it. Even the thus-far unflappable Marik is reeling, because that was not supposed to happen. This narratively-doomed punching bag that spent the whole duel irreverently heckling was not supposed to be able to back it up.

And THEN Joey falls. He gets to have his victory and fill his role in the plot, all without undermining Marik’s threat. If anything, it makes the Bad Guy even more despicable and intimidating, since he’s clearly willing to cheat with magic murder powers if the cards don’t fall his way. Joey has all the best personal motivation, and free rein to be much more of a bitch than either protagonist (stoic and sweetheart as they are). We want him to win, we know that’s not what’s best for the story, and we get to have our cake and eat it too. With a LARGE side of ham

big fan of how much of a bitch he is

I GOT ONE! Third time's the charm :D . Seriously tho all of my friends and coworkers know of this quest, I'm gonna do so much bragging with zero context

📚Watson's Sketchbook PREORDER!📚

Hello! In response to ~unprecedented levels of demand~ for print versions of Watson's Sketchbook Volume 1, I'm doing another print run, and will be opening preorders here on MONDAY, NOVEMBER 11, at 9:00am PST/12:00 noon EST/5:00pm GMT.

DETAILS:

-This run is much larger than the two previous ones, but still limited, so being prompt is a good idea. Last time it sold out in 2 minutes, I do not think that will happen this time, but...early bird, etc.

-They will take a bit longer to arrive than previous orders, but should arrive for everyone by the end of January 2025, print- and shipping-gods willing. Thanks in advance for your patience, as I'm working with a small press printer and a small local distributor.

-If your address changes before the book ships, you can always send a message to the shop to update it. In general, any messages or questions about shipping should be sent there rather than by reaching out to me on here.

-I'm really hoping this run is large enough so that everyone who wants one can get it! Thank you always for your support of this ridiculous project that has consumed my life (positive) and for your support of independent art and queer art!

Prompt:

Oliver Queen and Bruce Wayne are childhood best friends.

Green Arrow hates Batman’s guts.

That animosity— and his aim to subtly piss Batman off at every turn— results in Green Arrow and Red Hood collaborating on a trafficking bust.

This somehow results in discovering that the Red Hood is his best friend’s supposedly dead son.

Oliver doesn’t know how he’s going to fix this, with Jason refusing to want anything to do with either Bruce or the Batman of Gotham (who everyone knows is dating the former)… but one thing’s for sure:

He needs to bring the kid home. Oliver can’t bear to watch Bruce suffer any longer when the cause for it is sitting at his kitchen table, alive, and stuffing his face with waffles.

someone in the comment section on todays' page mentioned this and i couldn't get it out of my head.

When I was just a small girl this really solidified for me what real, healthy love should be. I idolized Holmes and reading that story absolutely drove home to me the difference between love and obsession. Amazing story, notable for the most bad*ss exchange in the series "You're too late, she is my wife!" "No, sir, she is your widow" *pulls gun*

My review of this book when I read it was that the only redeeming quality was the clearly unintentional ho-yay XD

Kirk and Spock exchanging rings was not what I excepted to get out of this book but oh my god

Below is probably my favorite exchange; Kirk being pissed he didn't give his ring to the real Spock.

(From the passage above) "...he's wearing my ring, which I would have given to no other man in the universe." Are you fucking kidding me

And finally Spock wishing he could've retrieved Kirk's ring for him.

Also, in case you didn't pick it up from the first passage, Kirk is wearing Spocks ring, and as far as we know he's still fucking wearing it through this last page.

Per my username I am required to put in a good word for narratives where people fall back in love, slowly rediscovering the spark they once had and deciding, clearheaded, to try once more with FEELING.

i am SO TIRED of romantic narratives where the climax is the couple finally getting together. i want a story where the couple gets together towards the beginning and then stays together through the end. what’s the point of making me want a certain romance if i can’t watch that romance actually happen after it starts?? people falling in love can be great and all but you know what? sometimes i also want them to STAY IN LOVE, like… i don’t want mutual pining, i don’t want wistful gazes, i don’t want ‘will they or won’t they,’ i want two people who are in love, they’re together, and they handle shit together

Oh, cool animation

-wait it's WHAT?!

The Silver Swan, built by John Joseph Merlin and James Cox, 1773.

Source: Mechanical Marvels, Clockwork Dreams (BBC)

Hey I think I can help! My dad is from Rural America and My mom is a Fancy Lady from the Big City (it was a real scandal) so my sib and I are oddly bilingual in one language. In certain rural dialects "Old Man" (especially with a possessive adjective i.e. 'mine' 'her' 'your') is used to mean specifically a patriarch of the family to which a person belongs (which can be father or husband, as you said, but can apply to grandparents, stepparents, or other male relatives that fill that role) as in "my old man won't let me out tonight, but you best believe I'm goin' anyhow." It has a level of exasperated affection; there are many old men, but (for better or worse) this one is mine. ALTERNATELY, especially in the city, it can be a derisive description when used about a stranger; an old man is no one of import, or someone to be regarded with scorn. The first and most important trait you notice about him is that he is past his prime. "Sorry I'm late, some old man ahead of me in line was shouting at the barista." This makes it an extremely interesting phrase because if you use it on someone you know but have an undefined relationship with it is either a term of familial endearment or a dismissive insult.

(When it comes to writing Batfam, this has almost as much utility as the belts XD)

edit: whoops just realized somebody already answered this really well, my bad, I gotta learn to read those replies

Okay, can anyone explain the nuances of 'Old Man' to me?

Like, it's a way of teasing someone about ageing and the passage of time. It's both a slang for 'dad' AND 'boyfriend/husband.' It MIGHT be a way of referring to other authority figures??

I just ... I'm trying to sort out references used by the various Bats.

Dick and Damian use it for Bruce.

Bruce uses it for Alfred.

Are they alluding to the parental role these guys have? (Damian definitely is.) Just teasing them about ageing?

I'm pretty sure a 'my' in the front firmly drops it into dad territory. But how about a definite article? No article at all?

I didn't grow up with this phrase, and it is challenging me!