#Clown's latest ask has me living

[fadedrainbowbookshelves]

I'm CRYING someone come pick the poor schmuck up off the ground please.

[februarys-wednesday]

i like the idea that bruce just shows up to league meetings with his birds with absolutely no explanation offered

i mean this man frequently stalks his coworkers and knows everything that's happening in their personal lives and i think he'd forget that HE is the weird one for doing it and not everybody automatically knows when he's acquired a new child

so he just shows up at the watchtower with a new bird and literally says nothing about it . just sits at his chair with the latest robin standing next to him and literally doesn't acknowledge that anything is different and it gets even more confusing when they change their costumes and names 😭

like

20-something bruce: and containing this may be a matter of-flash did you have a question

barry: uh. yeah. sorry, what is that?

20-something bruce: (glancing at 9 yr old dick who has been next to him for 45 minutes) that's robin. obviously. as i was saying,

-

early 30s bruce, who hasn't shown up with a robin for a few years, entering with a nightwing and a jason todd robin:

barry:

diana:

hal:

j'onn:

bruce: what.

hal:

hal: do you like clone them or

-

mid 30s bruce, quietly talking with a clearly-not-sixteen-years-old robin in the corner after being without one for two years:

hal:

diana:

barry:

j'onn:

clark:

bruce:

tim:

bruce: this one followed me

-

late 30s bruce zeta-beaming in with a nightwing, a slightly older robin, and an absolutely BUILT man in a red hood:

barry: did you hire a bodyguard

bruce: no.

barry: whos mr red over there

bruce: you don't remember my second one???

barry:

hal:

diana:

j'onn:

clark:

barry: did. did that one not die

jason: got better

-

later 30s bruce, quietly showing around a blonde robin:

hal:

bruce: don't ask.

hal: i didn't say anything

-

40 yr old bruce, making intense, unbroken eye contact with a black shadow:

clark, leaning over to talk to tim: what are they doing

tim, not looking up from his fancy ipad: do i look like i know that

-

red robin popping in unnanounced in the middle of a league meeting: batman is alive.

barry: who the FUCK are you???

-

batman, some minutes later, trailed by what is CLEARLY a new robin: did red robin happen to pass through here????

barry: i have several questions

-

no-longer-lost-in-the-time-stream bruce, talking to batgirl, black bat, and the signal:

hal: did you get three more.

bruce: no. just one.

hal: i shouldn't have asked, my bad

-

mid 40s bruce wayne, stepping out of the zeta tube: sorry i'm late

diana: not to worry. let's get start-

bruce: i have a few more coming behind me

zeta tube: 🌀🌀🌀

jason: hi

cass: 👋

diana:

diana: ok should we st-

zeta tube: 🌀🌀🌀

dick, holding damian like a scowling, sopping wet cat: bruce he's not feeling polite today

damian: HISSS

bruce: okay does he need to go back?

dick: he said he's fine but hes just not feeling polite

diana:

diana: is that the las-

zeta tube: 🌀🌀🌀

steph: b i need a hair tie

diana:

diana: so can-

zeta tube: 🌀🌀🌀

duke: b did i miss rolecall

diana: no, signal, you did not. let's-

zeta tube: 🌀🌀🌀

tim: b alf is mad at you

bruce: why

hal: it's like a fucking clown car

steph: you didn't eat breakfast

tim: you didn't eat breakfast either

steph: shut.

damian: HISSSS

jason: wing. if you do not keep that brat quiet-

dick: hes a BABY!!!!!

duke: you didn't eat breakfast either, timothy

jason: hes a BITCH!!!!!

tim: who the fuck told you????

cass: :)

hal: (storming off, in tears), YOU HAVE TOO MANY CHILDREN.

[wood-white-writer]

"Didn't mean to make your heart Blue" || [5/...]

“Where I'll be looking in their eyes when they're down, I'll be there on their side. I'm losing by their side.”

— Mitski, "Bet On Losing Dogs"

Pairing: Buggy the Clown (Live action) x F!Reader

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 6

Summary: You were an apprentice of Gol D. Roger’s crew in your youth, long before his eventual demise. Along with the Red-Haired Shanks and Buggy, you were a formidable trio; the embodiment of a new generation of pirates yet to come. But times changed, and so did you and your friends. 

It's been a few weeks since the events in Orange Town, and Luffy notices something that others do not. So, he decides to ask you.

Warnings: Canon typical violence, LA!Verse, No (fully bodied) Buggy this chapter, Luffy being the precious cinnamon we all love and must protect above all else, flashbacks about Shanks, past discussions, Luffy and Reader have a heart-to-heart.

A/N: I was initially going to write them going to the Baratie this chapter, but it became too long so next one for sho.

Taglist:@kurinhimenezu, @carpinchootaku, @ay0nha, @teh-vampire-bunny, @lokiscure, @internationalsuper-spy @detectivesparrow , @yuriwk, @notyuralycat, @angeli-fucking-cat, @machinema7k (If you want to be tagged for this story, just send me a message or leave a comment :))

You're sitting by the table in Party's bar, nursing a cold glass of rum against your cracked lips as you observe to the kid - Luffy - demonstrating his newfound Devil Fruit powers without any regard for poor Makino's furniture. 

You don't get him, at all. Then again, you don’t get kids. 

You've never thought of yourself as someone who easily got along with them ... or people in general. Shanks has always been the better-suited one for that kind of work. Whereas he is smiling and grinning at the kid’s mischief, you've barely offered him more than a glance at most.

Your crew has been positioned in Foosha village for the better part of the month, stacking up on resources and food in preparation for your next job. Incidentally, the Red-Haired Pirates also happened to be in town for similar excursions. You rarely see Shanks nowadays since you parted ways several years ago, but whenever you happen to come across one another, you share a drink on his tab.

While your crew is around and about, replenishing their strength and vigor for the work to come, you're content with just sitting here at your leisure. When you're not plundering or fighting or attacking Marine bases, you can't find it in yourself to do much of anything anymore. 

Nothing adds any purpose to your life save for what keeps you fed and clothed, which in the life of a pirate, simply means pirating.

"I've heard you had good fortune on your latest heist," Shanks says from where he's sitting opposite of you. "For your efforts, the Marines have granted you among the highest bounties in all of the East-Blue."

You hum noncommittally in response, not offering much to the conversation in terms of merriment. "The quality of the Marines has been in decline. It says more about their effort, or lack thereof, than mine."

"Do you know what they call you nowadays?"

"They call me a lot of names, you got to be more specific."

"'Cross-Hairs, the Beast of the East'. It's got a certain ring to it, don't you think?"

"Sure."

Shanks smiles the kind way he always does. Always has done.

"Gum-Gum Pistol!" 

The sound of yet another chair breaking has you rolling your eyes without even looking, and poor Makino ages ten years in seconds across the bar counter. 

"Luffy!"

"Sorry!"

Shanks laughs heartedly at the display, only to cut it short upon noticing Makino's even glare sent his way from across the bar. 

"You were careless," you state matter-of-factly and take another gulp from your drink. "You should've kept the fruit hidden more securely."

"Now, in my defense, I didn't think the lad would searching through my loot."

"Well, you should've." You slam your glass down, strong enough to leave a dent in the wooden surface. "What kind of captain leaves his loot undefended and unsupervised? Especially when it contains a Devil Fruit?"

Shanks doesn't argue with your statement and settles with taking a gulp of his own drink, letting your words simmer in his head. "You're right, I should've been more observant. Now, it'll be more difficult for him to achieve his dream."

"His dream? Of what? Becoming the King of the Pirates?" Try as you might, there's no suppressing the snort that escapes through your nose. "There's only ever been one King, and we all saw what happened to him. What do you think is going to happen to a kid who can't even swim?"

"Oh, come off it!" He gives you a playful nudge to the rib, which you reciprocate with a glare. He remains undeterred. "You mean to tell me you've never thought about finding the One Piece? Not even once?"

"I have no interest in whatever plunder Gol D. left behind." 

"Then, what does interest you?" He rests his elbow on the edge of the table and leans over to your side. "What is your dream?"

You grit your teeth under your lips, a flash of blue circulating in your head. "Dreams are for fools and children," you point your head to where Luffy is currently sitting, trying to put the chair back together with a half-empty tube of glue and little luck. 

"Come on, I know you better than that. Surely there's something in this world you want more than anything?"

"What I want is ..." You have half a mind to tell him the truth, whereas the other half wants to push the idea further down to the bottom of your chest. "Is another bottle of rum."

You raise your arm to Makino to gesture for another one, but Shanks is quick to lower it with a gentle shove of his arm. You flash him a scowl and brush off his hand, but unlike your crew or anyone else, he's not afraid.

"The point which I'm trying to make before you're completely pissed," he starts. "Is that no matter how much opposition one faces, it's that dreams are never out of reach if you have the will to reach for them."

He inclines his head over your shoulder, and you turn around to see Luffy successfully putting the chair back together. You don't know how he did it - it looked pretty busted minutes ago - but there it is, wholly intact.

And when the boy smiles, it's so vibrant and full of joy that it's almost blinding. He proudly runs over and shows the repaired chair to Makino, who proceeds to pat his head and hand him a plate of food.

"See?" Shanks grins. "Nothing is impossible."

"You can hardly consider putting a chair back together the same as achieving an impossible goal."

He shrugs. "Maybe not, but you won't know unless you try. All it takes is a little spirit."

You watch Shanks for a couple of minutes in silence, processing his mythic words, then shift your attention over to Luffy who's preoccupied with shoving an unholy amount of food into his mouth. If this is to become the future King of the Pirates one day, then it'll be an interesting future indeed.

"A little spirit, huh?" 

— — —

You're sad.

Luffy first notices it when you leave Orange Town, and it lingers throughout your voyage. 

For as long as he's known you, you've always been a person of relatively few words; never speaking unless you feel the situation requires it, and only acting when necessary. Even following the Kuro situation™, getting the Going Merry, and adding Usopp to his crew, he can tell that you're not all there anymore.

Not to be mistaken, you're not conspicuous with the way you behave. You still act like usual, talk like usual, however little, and commit yourself to your work on the ship, almost to an excessive extent. 

All in all, nothing’s changed about you. However, he’s gotten used to your face and general lack of expression most of the time, and though it doesn't seem to alter, he still catches onto the fact that you're sad. 

"Hey," he asks the group and props himself in the kitchen, legs crossed atop his seat. "Do you think she's any different?"

"Who? Your friend?" Nami asks, raising an eyebrow. "How so?"

"Well, I think she's sad."

"Doesn't look any different to me," Zoro supplies while polishing his swords on the table. 

Usopp's in the middle of munching a piece of loaf, and answers with his mouth still halfway occupied. "Dunno how she usually is, but she's kinda terrifying if you ask me."

"No, she's not," Luffy dismisses lightly. 

"What's her position on the ship, anyhow? How'd you come across her?"

"She's always been with me," Luffy answers without any thought. "And she’s a good fighter.”

Zoro — to everyone’s surprise — nods his head to this in concurrence.

Their Captain claps his hands together to get the subject back on track. "But anyway, I just think she seems kind of down now."

"How can you even tell? With eyes like these, —” Usopp puts both of his index fingers at the crow’s feet of his eyes and draws them back to imitate yours. It’s borderline shameful, truth be told. “— I can’t tell for shit what she’s feeling or thinking.”

“I just can.” Luffy shrugs.

“Has she said anything?” Nami asks. “Anything to make you ask?”

“No, not really.” He heaves a sigh and props his hand under his chin, contemplating. “But she's been different since we left Orange Town.”

"If you ask me," Zoro speaks up. "You should ask her about her relationship with that fucking clown."

"Who? Boogie?"

"Buggy," Nami corrects. "Didn't you notice that at the end? They have a history, it's obvious. They know each other, and I don't know what pirate customs are like nowadays, but I doubt you'd touch the face of an enemy unless there was something going on. Has she said anything about it?"

Luffy shakes his head. “No... but then again, she never does tell me much about anything unless I ask.”

The tangerine-haired girl blinks as if the answer to this whole predicament is obvious. She quickly comes to realize that, to Luffy, it’s not.

“So…” she prompts slowly.

“So…?”

She rolls her eyes at his inability to catch her drift. “Go ask her.”

It’s like the thought never even crossed Luffy’s mind in the first place because truth be told, it hasn’t. He lights up like a candlestick on the spot. “Yeah, I should just ask her!”

“Ask me what?”

The members of the Straw Hat pirates (save for Zoro) withdraw in various unique positions, having not heard you make your entrance before you speak. 

You’re standing in the doorway to the kitchen, eyebrow slightly quirked at the Baroque-esque scene in front of you. Deciding not to address the display, you simply ask, “Anything I should know about, Captain Luffy?”

Usopp doesn’t even dare to answer, because he knows you sure as hell don’t see him as a captain in general, much less your captain. He swears he notices you briefly look in his direction at the mention of the title, and a shiver runs across his skin. Like static electricity in the air.

“Oh, yeah,” Luffy turns to you, not an ounce of fear in his eyes as he pops the question. “Are you sad?”

You blink once, then twice, like the inquiry on its own is of unfathomable origins to you. “Do I look sad?”

The boy in the straw hat nods. “I think you do.”

“Then I’m not.” It’s not only an answer, but also a sentence that marks this subject as finished on your part. One that does not permit any subsequent additions.

You incline your head to the deck above. “We’re going to have company soon, likely Marines, and they seem to be in supply of heavy fire this time.”

———

The situation with the aforementioned opponents temporarily distracts the crew, yet Luffy maintains a close eye on you, taking note of anything that can point him to the source of the unknown problem. You talk relatively little with the other crew members, but you seem to have developed an amicable enough relationship with them compared to when you first met. 

Before, you could care less about getting to know them. Now, you’re actively going out of your way to ask Nami about her cartographic skills, even giving her tips for additions to her geographical detailing. You provide Zoro pointers on self-developed defensive techniques and ways to paralyze opponents in certain spots (which he seems appreciative of).

You even give Usopp a short nod when he tells you one of his fantastical stories, even knowing that they’re full of shit.

Luffy’s happy, but he still sees that you are not.

It’s all in your eyes. They’re hollow somehow, like the end of a barrel. He doesn’t know how he knows, only that he knows, and he’s known for a good while now.

So, that night, Luffy finds you in the kitchen by the windows, absentmindedly snacking on a red apple while you gaze into the dark nothingness outside. He also discovers that he’s subconsciously become quite observant of your habits as of late. 

For example, you specifically pick red apples above any other color when they happen to dock someplace, not even paying any mind to the green or yellow ones. Just the red ones.

“Hey,” he positions himself next to you on the bench, a piece of loaf tight in his hand. “Why are you sad?”

You turn your head just a fraction to the side to look at him, not annoyed, but not appreciative of the focus he’s settled on as of late. "Shouldn't I be asking you that? The Vice-Admiral looks a little weary as of late, after all. Are you sad about it?"

"Nope."

“So why do you insist that I’m sad?”

“Because you are,” he states like it’s obvious.

You huff humorously and return your attention to the window that supplies no real view. “How can you tell?”

“I just can.” He takes a generous bite of his food and continues talking, oblivious to the crumbles that fall while doing so. “When I’m sad, I—”

“Eat?”

“Well, yeah.” He swallows the bite down. “But I also like to talk about it with someone I trust. Shanks used to say that true friends are the kind of people you can share your heart with and not get hurt.”

This annoys you, that much he can tell. A nail digs into the apple you’re holding, leaving a crescent-shaped indent on the red skin. “Shanks said many things, and not all of it's true.”

This doesn’t deter him from pressing on the matter. “If you keep all the hurt inside, it’s going to turn bad. You know, Makino said that if you leave a piece of ham in the fridge too long, it’ll get sour and people can’t eat it.”

“Only you could find a way to compare this sort of thing to food.” You withdraw your finger from the apple and end up leaving it alone altogether. A minute or ten of silence waves between you, laced with unspoken questions and denied answers. “Tell me, Luffy, just how much did Shanks tell you about his past?”

He thinks for a moment, mimicking your movements by putting his loaf aside. “Just about his adventures with the Red-Haired Pirates, and a little about the time you served with him. Is it true you were strong enough to throw a three-hundred-pound man to the ground when you were thirteen?”

He swears it’s a snort that he catches leaving your throat, but it’s hard to differentiate it from your more-than-usual scoffs. “He exaggerated.”

“Really?”

“The man was two-fifty, at most.”

Luffy grins with genuine admiration, so much so that your face tilts back slightly, being overwhelmed by the mere brightness that is him. “Wow! You must’ve been quite a beast when you were a kid!”

He notices it again, the sadness that latches onto your eyes like insects to sour meat. Whatever brief smile adorned your lips moments ago disappears like it was never there at all. Thinking he said something wrong, Luffy prepares to apologize when you speak again.

Your voice is soft yet faint like you’re afraid speaking too loudly will make something bad happen. “It wasn’t just me and Shanks, back then, you know.”

The Captain of the Straw Hats thinks it’s almost unnatural of you to be this demure, but he doesn’t interrupt you.

“Buggy was there, too. It was the three of us, together.”

“Oh, yeah.” He remembers it now. “He did mention that in Orange Town. You served the same crew.”

“… He did, did he?”

“He said you and Shanks betrayed him, but I didn’t believe him.” Luffy knows you and has known you for longer than he’s known a lot of people in his life. You’re one of the few permanent people he’s had, and he knows with a certainty that you’re not the kind of person who leaves anyone behind, not without reason. 

Even if you did have a reason for leaving Buggy, it must have been a good one.

Your mouth opens and shuts several times in the span of a minute like you’re hesitating to talk about the past. You’ve never been one to talk about it, except to share some details about your time as captain, and even that was limited to the bare minimum.

Still, Luffy, being in no hurry for you to reach an answer, waits patiently by your side until you do decide to talk about it.

Talk about what he believes is the reason for your sadness.

“We were close back in the days,” you begin slowly. “Me, him, and Shanks. It was us against the rest of the world, and we were going to sail together to the end of the seas one day. It was our dream.”

“Then, what happened?”

You put your palm over both your eyes and rest your elbow on the window frame, heaving a sigh that resembles someone who’s spent too much of their life working and working and working without catching any breaks. Pure, simple exhaustion weighs you down, Luffy can tell. 

When you speak next, you sound tired too, and perhaps a little strained. He can’t see your eyes, and so, he can’t truthfully tell what you’re thinking now. “The thing is, I don’t know what happened. All I know is that he decided he didn’t want to stick around.” You breathe through your nostrils. “Our captain was gone, and so was the crew, but we three were still together, and I thought we were going to stay together.”

“But you didn’t.”

“No … We didn’t. I don’t know what happened, but one day when I was talking with Shanks about what to do next, Buggy came in, and it … He looked at me like … Like he hated me.” You exhale. “He did hate me, and I don’t know what it was I did, but he practically told me that we were done … And then he left. I never saw him again, up until Orange Town.”

Luffy doesn’t require your eyes this time to tell that you’re sad now because you are. You’re so sad that it’s destroying you from the inside, and even that is an understatement on its own. There are no tears trickling down your cheeks, no quivers or thickness to your voice, no nothing to base his assumptions on, but he knows.

He stays silent for a short while, doing nothing but look at you. You’re one of the strongest people he knows. He’s seen you fight; seen the strength you possess, the fire in your eyes. You’ve stayed with him ever since Shanks left Foosha Village, you’ve looked after him from the sidelines when you thought no one was watching. 

You’ve been with him throughout everything, and seeing you like this makes him feel blue on your behalf. You don’t express it yourself – you never do. You carry your weight with the same kind of strength you always do, never letting anyone see you beyond just that, and sometimes, he wonders if you’re lonely because of it. 

At least, now he knows why you’re so sad. You’re heartbroken.

He’s never been acquainted with the feeling himself, has never felt any particular inclination toward it, but he can tell it’s your heart that’s hurting now, and it’s not as easy to heal as that cuts he received on his chest from the butler.

His hat seems to itch the harder he thinks about it, as if there’s something digging at his scalp through his hat. He thought Nami patched it up for him. He tries to scratch at it, but for some reason, it doesn’t cease. Maybe he’s got lice? 

He ignores it. “It’s weird. Bunky seems to think you were the one who left him for Shanks.”

“I didn’t.”

“I know. You’re not that kind of person.” He says it so easily, without a smidgen of doubt or hesitation. You look at him through your peripheral vision, and your eyes slightly widen at his statement. “But, do you know what happened between them? Shanks and Bonky, I mean?”

“No, I don’t.” You admit with a shake of your head. You’ve tried to figure it out for years, and at some point, you decided to give up. “Shanks never told me, but whatever it was, it was enough for the stupid clown to leave for… He chose a childish rivalry over me.”

“Then, there you have it. It’s all just a big misunderstanding, so why don’t you just tell him if you meet him again?”

“You seem awfully defensive of the guy who destroyed an entire village and almost drowned you.”

“Yeah, but talking about him seems to make you happy.”

You freeze for a bit, snort, and turn your back to the window frame, leaning back and crossing your arms across your chest in silent resignation. “I tried to explain things to him back in Orange Town, and a fat load of good that did. Like I said, he hates me, and he’s sure as hell not my favorite person at the moment. If we do meet again, it likely won’t end any better than it back in Orange Town.”

“You know, –” Luffy takes another bite of his bread. “It didn’t sound like he hated you.”

“Hmm?” You raise an eyebrow, halfway curious and halfway skeptical. 

“He still remembers that you like red apples and that you hide knives in your shoes. Is that true?”

You raise both your eyebrows and look at Luffy like he’s just grown a second head. Without a word, you pull your left foot up until it rests on the bench, and withdraw not one or two knives, but four. Small and subtle, hardly enough to turn any heads, but in a flash, you throw it across the kitchen until it lands on a specific spot on the opposite wall. 

Bull’s eye.

“We used to have knife-throwing competitions,” you reminisce idly, staring at the knife lodged deep into the wall. “I was good, but Buggy was better.” Your lip tilts up an inch or two. “We made bets, and whoever lost would have to steal a bottle of whatever liquor we happened to find in the next town we docked at.”

“Oh?”

“I ended up snatching quite a lot of bottles, but once every blue moon, he would have to snatch one instead.” You smile. It’s an actual, genuine, honest smile this time, and Luffy can’t help but marvel at the sight. It’s a rare thing for you to smile like you’re doing now. It’s usually brief or sarcastic and never seems to reach your eyes. 

This one does.

He thinks you look pretty when you smile. It’s your smile, and it’s so warm that he wishes you could do it more often. He tells you as much, and a red color falls over your cheek. You promptly turn your face to the other side to save face, and it makes Luffy think.

When he thinks about his dream of becoming King of the Pirates, he can’t stop himself from smiling ear to ear. So, that begs the question: “What is your dream?” 

What makes you smile?

“My dream …” You reach for your apple and hold it against your face, the uneaten side of it shining against your face. “Is unattainable.

“I don’t think it is,” Luffy says without missing a beat and takes your hand in his, determined to make you see that. “I think that no matter how much stands against us, dreams are never impossible if you have the will to reach for them. All it takes is a little spirit.”

He doesn’t know where those words come from, but he’s heard them from someplace, and judging by your staggered reaction, you’ve heard them too. 

“A little spirit, huh?”

“Exactly! So, please tell me, what’s your dream?”

You look straight ahead into the room, resting your elbows back on the window frame without a word. He thinks you’re about to decline his question or ignore it altogether. However, he’s surprised to hear you actually answer this time, truthfully too.

“My dream was to sail the seas with him again.”

Suddenly, the itchiness on his head stops, and it stays that way.

[arjudy224]

The Intern: The Laughing Fish

Gotham harbor buzzes with energy this morning. Fishermen compete for the best catch. Dozens of workers prep the yachts for their bosses rich escapades. Even the seagulls are hard at work today, eagerly searching the docks for their next meal. A perfect image of regular people living their lives. Unfortunately if we've been called, then something must be going horribly wrong. Judging from the crowd of distressed fishermen forming towards the end of the boardwalk, my gut feeling was right.

As I draw near the distressed crowd, a familiar voice rises above the rest.

"We are sending our best people to look into this. Keep an eye out for a press conference by the end of today." Detective Gordon addresses the crowd.

The crowd erupts in a chorus of anger.

"You've got to be kidding me."

"I'm going to brutalize that clown!"

"God, I hate this city."

Behind the greying Detective stands a very sour looking Dr. Harris. I maneuver my way through the crowd next to him.

"Dr." I greet from behind.

Dr. Harris says nothing while attempting to catch a slippery fish.

"How adept are you at evolutionary biology?" He eventually asks through the sweat beating down his face.

"I dabble..." I respond growing closer to peer over his shoulder.

Dr. Harris grabs a fish with his bare hands. Before I can move the wiggling vertebrate leaps from his hands directly at my face.

"Catch it!" Dr. Harris hisses.

The flying tang leaves a wet trail across my cheek before dropping into my hands. The poor fish fights with everything it has to get away. Against all odds, I manage to wrangle the wiggle worm into a somewhat sturdy position in my palms.

Once the fish slows a bit, I notice something. The fish is smiling. A big yellow toothy smile with a red outline that one could mistake for lips. The external scales have turned a peculiar, yet familiar shade of pearly white. Both the pelvic fin and the pectoral fin have developed into a contrasting shade of dark green.

If I didn't know any better, I would say it looked like-

"Joker..." A voice growls interrupting my thoughts.

Turning to face our new arrival, I almost laugh at what I see. Batman's suit looks a little goofy in the morning light. Maybe even a little warm in the humid air. The cowl has a slight shine to it. Dr. Harris immediately begins explaining our situation to the Caped Crusader.

"This batch came in last night. We don't know how or why. The working hypothesis is that this may be a side effect of the Jokers latest toxin."

"Is it deadly?" Batman questions eyeing the gasping fish in my hands.

"Not to the fish. We should get the test results back by noon if we start soon."

Batman nods.

"Let me know what you find out."

I take pity on the fish and throw it back with the rest. Most of my life I've struggled with asthma: I know the feeling.

"What would he have to gain from this?" I wonder aloud.

Turning to the Dark Knight, I am stunned to realize there is nobody there. Batman disappeared. Doing a 360, I notice a dark figure hiding in the shadows on the nearest boat.

Huh.. Maybe the dark suit doesn't look so dumb in the daylight after all.

Dr. Harris smiles at me for the first time. My heart pounds. This can't be good.

"Didn't you say that you liked smoothies?"

I do like smoothies, but why does this feel like a test? I nod slowly.

"I hope you didn't eat anything too heavy this morning. We'll need to prep quite a bit of samples."

I narrow my eyes. Samples are typically liquid. How would we make fish.... Oh my God... This cannot be happening.

"Don't we need to test the water for excess nutrients? We don't want an algae bloom to form from the toxin."

There's a glint that forms underneath his unnecessarily large glasses.

"All in good time dear. We can worry about that after lunch."

Hoisting the barrel of Joker fish into the bed of his pick up truck, Dr. Harris teases down at me.

"After we prep those samples, how about fish and chips? I'm having a craving."

[jazztag]

An Encounter in the Snow V

Mentions of s*xual abuse. Discretion is advised.

Hero paces around his living quarters, nervously fidgeting with his freshly cleaned uniform as he always does when thinking. Suddenly, a cadet knocks at the door and steps inside with a nervous glance in his eyes. 

"The Colonel is here, sir," the cadet announces. Hero nods to the soldier and sighs profusely, exiting the room. 

"I’ll try not to lose my marbles this time," he mutters. The cadet smiles shyly and follows the Captain down the hall towards the main room.

"I’m telling you, Hero. Leave me alone in there with just two rounds, and I’ll end this game of yours," laughs the Colonel heartily, while Hero rolls his eyes for the fifth time. After meeting with the older man, his boss wanted to see his latest gadget acquired. Even though the Captain doesn’t want or need to comply with a rich, arrogant, and joke of a soldier, he decides to comply with what the Colonel wants, only because he wants to end the meeting right after. He plans on excusing himself after the visit to the cells. Maybe the old man gets satisfied enough with the Resistance's latest successful catch, and he gets out of his face for a while.

Accompanied by five of his best soldiers, Hero walks down the path towards the cellblock, followed closely by the Colonel, who is wearing all of his medals and insignias, none of which were actually gained during battle. A big joke. To the Captain, this man is a total clown. He probably has never put his own ass on the battlefield, and yet, here he is, mansplaining war to him.

Weapon looks up momentarily from the ground to see the cohort enter his cell. He sees the new face of the Colonel. Annoyed, the prisoner looks at Hero, who looks even more defeated than he is. The old man approaches Weapon without caution, not even listening to Hero’s warnings. 

“Sir, you should not get near him. This morning he already bit me once,” Hero tries, but the Colonel is already lost in one of his rambles. 

“These… damn things,” the older man spits. “Useful weapons, aren’t they? Never seen one so close before.”

Hero walks until he's preventively side by side with the Colonel, watching Weapon closely and looking him in the eye, as if warning him not to do anything. Weapon is grinning silently as always, but he looks curious and alert to the whole thing.

"I don’t get why they’re considered illegal in the Resistance. I would have an entire squad of these things under my orders!" Hero crosses his arms, annoyed. 

"They are considered a human trafficking matter. Inmoral, sir," says the Captain with disdain. But the Colonel just rests importance on the topic at hand. 

"Whatever. They’re already considered weapons by the time they are unleashed on the battlefield, right?"

Hero is at a loss for words. He looks at Weapon again, who is fidgeting with his hands absentmindedly, seated cross-legged on the floor as usual. 

"Also, do you know what their Captains do with them after complying, Hero?" asks the Colonel, laughing. Hero looks up at the old man, who has a strange smirk plastered across his face. The Colonel then grabs at Weapon’s chin, making the prisoner open his mouth slightly towards the ceiling.

Hero is totally at a loss for words when he sees the stupid man grab his prisoner without warning. Weapon is even so surprised as well, he seems to relax at the other's sudden touch. 

"Look at it, Hero. He knows already what to do. The disgusting fagg-"

Suddenly, there’s a quick movement from the corner of Hero’s sight. Turning again towards his prisoner, the Captain sees how Weapon sticks out a metal tool from the Colonel’s leg, and how the devilish smile grows larger on his face. The older man falls to the ground screaming nonsense and grabbing at his wound, which bleeds profusely. A couple of soldiers run towards the Colonel and get him away from Weapon’s reach. Hero snatches the tweezers from his prisoner’s hand and recognizes the metal tool from the first-aid kit, the one left in the corner of the room, not too far. Weapon looks up at him, still seated on all fours on the floor and looking unapologetically at the red stains on the concrete.

"Ok," speaks up Hero, walking away from Weapon as well and towards the Colonel, who is still shouting insults and whatnot to anything in particular, "get the man out of here." 

Looking one last time at Weapon, he retrieves the first-aid kit from the room, as well as the empty water bowl from the floor, leaving the cell right after the other soldiers with some sort of mixed feelings.

Taglist: @whump-blog @bitchaknso @pumpkinsncoffee @scrumpledumple (comment to get added/removed from the list!)

[supershot73199]

Hey just wanted to post this as its own post as well it's a reaction to chapter5 in my story Dawn's Big Daddy.

Barbara was directing the bat's to the various bomb sights in Jokers latest scheme. She also had the damn clowns livestream playing on one of her monitors. Unfortunately this meant she saw as Danny, her younger sister figures boyfriend, was antagonizing the Joker.

It was only when Danny lunged forward and wrapped his legs around the bastard that she realized it was all a ploy and not him being a self sacrificial idiot. She figured she should update the others on the potential for Joker trying to set the bombs of early out of anger.

"Damn it Cass' boyfriend has the Joker in a headlock with his thighs, he's keeping him contained for now but what's yo-"

Mid-Sentence Barbara froze, as an experienced vigilante and native Gothamite there wasn't a lot that could shock her, but the visceral crack and spray of gore as the Jokers head was crushed between the thighs of one of the kindest people she had ever met was one of the few.

"Forget that just disable the bombs, Jokers not a problem any more."

Damian was the first bat to respond, likely his bomb was already disabled as he was assigned the closest when the split up.

"I knew Fenton was protective of those he loved but I was not expecting him to be capable of knocking the Joker unconscious while dangling from a chain." The soft tone tinged with respect would have been unthinkable from Damian when Barbara first met him, she was proud of how far her honorary little brother has come. But she should probably correct his misconception.

"Sorry Robin, but Danny didn't knock him out, and no Cass didn't either, when I said Jokers not a problem I meant permanently." Barbara said

"How certain are you that it's not some trick of the clown? We all know how crafty that bitch is." Jason interrupted clearly agitated.

"Not even the Joker can fake having his head crushed like a watermelon Hood. Check the group-chat I'm dropping a gif for your enjoyment. Also I'm telling Agent A to prep a feast." Barbara said even as she put action to words while turning down the volume of her com so as not to be deafened by the influx of shouting from the members of the family who were suspicious (overprotective) of Cass boyfriend.

"O we have to get him the world's best gift basket, shit Signal, Spoiler you guys want in on this? Don't even have to ask you demon brat." Jason's words might have been jesting but the way his voice choked up everyone on Com knew it was only his iron clad self control that was keeping him from crying, whether those tears were of joy at the clowns death or frustration that it wasn't B doing him in.

Either way it was best not to bring it up and allow Jason to work through his feelings on his own before she tried to talk to him about it. Suddenly a thought came to mind.

"Huh, I wonder how Harleys taking this.

Harley Quinn knew she has done a lot of bad things in her life, she had made a lot of mistakes and while she would never change where she was now, living with her beautiful wife Pam, she would always regret her time spent infatuated with the Joker.

"Harley, I know you don't like thinking about the clown but you have to see this." Speaking of her wife, Harley went over to the television that Pam had been watching to know if the Joker tried to do anything near the two of them.

"Well gee Pam, you don't usually like me seeing what that piece of work gets up ta. What makes this so different?" Pamela had the footage paused with the newest Wayne member (yeah Harley knew the two weren't married yet but she recognized the look in their eyes, after all she saw it every day in the mirror).

Pam pressed play before walking over to the kitchen while Harley watched. She admired the kid he didn't back down or show fear and his insults were really hitting Joker where it hurt. Then the kid got his legs around the prick.

"Whoo go kid give that piece-a-shit a concussion!" She cheered to her wife's amusement, based on the chuckles she heard.

Harley saw the look on the boys face and she hoped he didn't let Joker go before the Bat got there, that disgrace to clowns would not hesitate to hurt his little girl. Whatever Harley expected it wasn't the sight of one of the subjects of her recurring nightmares being snuffed out.

*Pop* Harley jumped before looking at the source of the sound, only to see Pam pouring out two glasses of the fancy wine that Bruce had given them on their wedding.

"To the end of a pasty faced try hard, may he rot in hell." Pamela said as she handed a glass to Harley before she raised her own glass in a toast.

"And a long healthy, happy life to that crazy Fenton bastard who did what Batman never had the balls to do himself."

"Hear, Hear and may his daughter never be bothered by any Gothamite worth their salt." Harley added before taking a drink. Looking back at the screen Harley couldn't help but giggle.

"We should give Ms Prima Ballerina one of my old mallets, she'll need it to beat all his new fans off of him if the way that girl there is looking at hims any indication."

Pam laughed, causing a soft smile to spread on Harleys face.

"Maybe we should give him a thank you basket, he did the entire city a favor after all, think they make a card for when someone kills your ex? Ah who am I kidding this is Gotham I'm sure we can find one."

Gotham city held its breath when the darling of the Wayne's got kidnapped, and when the Joker was killed it was like time stood still. Not a single word was said until o e voice cut through the silence.

"THATS WHAT IM TALKING 'BOUT BABY!! EAT SHIT YOU PASTY FACED MOTHERFUCKER!"

And suddenly the spell was broken laughter, cheers, crying, and shouting echoed over the city, as for the first time in years it felt like a weight was lifted from the atmosphere, for the first time since he made a name for him self, the Jokers memory no longer darkened people's mind, instead relief, joy, and pure unaltered happiness reigned supreme.

Parties sprang up in the streets, businesses closed early, and all anyone could talk about was the man who brought a smile back to Gotham.

As the days passed by an interesting trend came to social media from Gotham people were buying watermelons and painting the Jokers iconic make-up on it only to crush them between their thighs, recreating the historic video that showed the end of an era of fear.

Of course things started spiraling when infamous vigilante/crime lord The Red Hood took part in the trend,in full uniform no less, leading to other famous heros to take part of the trend.

This of course led to countless arguments about which hero was the hottest, as the internet does, though it seemed that despite some of the most beautiful heros male and female who took part Gotham city would always argue the original couldn't be beat.

[draw-ren-draw]

Avantris Comic Scripts #2

Often when I get ideas for comics, I break my panels into scripts first. These are less prose-y than fics but still contain dialogue and basic interactions. You seem to have enjoyed my first one, so have a few more, this one featuring my initial thoughts on "Gorebek"

Confrontation with 'the Duke' (spoilers up to ep: 56!) [A script I wrote to explore my personal headcanon about Torbek's situation; I think this would be a delightful twist that suits what Nikki and Andy might be plotting for us. Please be sure you are caught up to episode 56 to avoid any spoilers! These ideas are not confirmed just my personal favorite take~] * * * * [After another grueling battle, 'The Duke' has made himself known by taking control of Torbek's body once again. Dripping with the blood of his latest conquest, the party stands at odds with the most sane and yet somehow scariest version of their friend yet. This time, the Witchlighted to hell and back bugbear has no interest in further bloodshed and seems more inclined to take his leave. Weapons drawn, Carnivale Lecroux debate whether to fight or allow this unexpected threat to flee, knowing they could risk losing Torbek too.]

Kremy: "You're outnumbered so KINDLY get the hell out of Torbek already!" Gideon: "Ya can't just show up after somebody's been experimented on and claim that bodies your own!" "Not my own?" The Duke pauses, considering something while facing away. "Let me get this straight. Your friend. Who speaks in grunts and the third person. Can barely write his name. And you think he's the original personality?"

A hush falls over the crowd Gricko: "… In hindsight…" Frost: "…it does make a disturbing amount of sense.."

'The Duke' smirks and misty steps closer to Kremy, taunting the lizardfolk. 'The Duke': "You never could remember me, could you?" Kremy: "Now that's not true, the herri--" 'The Duke': "You just believed whatever it was I told you, it was easy enough to picture." The Alligator squints, fae magic clouding his mind. Something about what this not-Torbek is saying does make an insidious amount of sense. He grits his teeth, unable to find the lie. Kremy: "… Think I'm beginning to remember why I didn't like remembering you."

Gideon is not falling for it and he's even more incensed after seeing someone make Kremy of all people unsure about something.

Gideon: "So what. This is just 'YOU' now? You're just gonna leave and take Torbek along, just like that? He's not coming back this time?" 'The Duke' steps back again, testing how far he can push his retreat without being suspect. He stretches his arms in a gloating manner. 'The Duke': "I assure you, I have lived more in this body than 'HE' has ever forgotten." The Duke smiles cruelly, all teeth, eerily wide and full of malice. 'The Duke': "But that's right. You're the chosen heroes of the faewild, aren't you? Then ask yourselves this: are you really okay with erasing someone from existence just because you like another side of them better?"

Twig: "We are if he's a little BITCH!" Gideon gives the brownie a supportive pat with a laugh Gideon: "Well said Twig."

'The Duke': "But is that JUST?" He continues to raise his arms in a taunting manner, but it is clear he is starting to look and sound a little more harried (as anyone with sense usually is after prolonged exposure to these idiots) 'The Duke': "You think you can get him to override me? ME? The Duke of the Twilight Court??!"

Kremy sidebars with Gideon. Kremy: "We could if we got him to fall off the Herris wheel couple more times." Gideon: "Hehe yeah! Couple a hits and he'd be back to full form no problem!" Kremy: "Can't hit him too hard though, have a repeat of Chuckles." Gideon: "Nah, He ain't a clown, I don't think he'd laugh to death if we punched him in the body like Chuckles did."

'The Duke' interrupts, flustered at being ignored. 'The Duke': "ENOUGH!" 'The Duke:' THIS is the faewild; MAGIC country! Anything is possible. We'll see who the land's deem most worthy of sticking around. A distinguished aristocrat-- or a blubbering waste of flesh." Bonus panel: Internal Torbek dialogue represented in a sad thought bubble 'Gottttta say, the odddds aren't in Torbeksss favorrrrrr'

[Some details have slightly shifted as I developed this idea more, but I thought there was still a lot to like in these character interactions in this original draft.]

[lostfirefly]

Life Must Have It's Mysteries (Ch.1)

Nobody asked me, but the thought of sending my beloved couple on a new journey didn't let me go. Welcome to a new adventure! No idea how many chapters there will be :)

English is not my native language, errors may occur. As always, feel free to share your thoughts :) Masterlist is here.

Description: Catherine returns to Cairo after a short trip to her sister. One evening she had dinner with her childhood friend, her sister, and her boyfriend, who told her about the legend of a blue diamond hidden in the Egyptian pyramids..

Warnings: Fun, fluff.

Words: 2195

Buggy x OC from my “You’ve Got the Same Dream as Me” series.

Taglist: @gingernut1314, @operationroots (if you want to be added on the list, feel free to lmk!)

The title is taken from "Life Must Have It's Mysteries" by Hans Zimmer (OST Inferno).

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✎﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏

Ladies and gentlemen, the Loguetown-Cairo flight has landed at the international airport of Cairo. Thank you for choosing our airlines. 

Catherine quickly got up from her seat, picked up her bag and was about to run out the plane, but an old lady in front of her was extremely slow in getting ready to leave. 

"Excuse me, mam, maybe I can help you?" Catherine gently tapped the woman's back with her finger.

"No thank you, sweetheart, I'm used to doing everything myself." In a polite but slightly husky voice the woman replied. 

"I just really need to go. Let me help you!" She grabbed the woman's bag.

"I said I'll do it myself!"

"Fuck!" Catherine saw that the front row of passengers had already gotten off.

“Alright!” She slung her bag over her shoulder, climbed over the seat that was next to the woman and quickly rushed to the exit. “Sorry-y-y-y!”

Catherine tried to walk through the airport pavilion calmly but she was having trouble doing it. She also tried to hide her happy face and not to push everyone away with her hands. 

"God, why are you all walking so slowly!!" She muttered.

The door to the arrival hall opened and after that Catherine didn’t remember anything else. She only remembered how she threw her bag on the floor and rushed towards her beloved clown. Waving her arms happily above her head, squealing “my Buggy Be-e-a-ar”, with a big smile on her face, she jumped on him and hugged him with her legs and arms.

"Hi! Hi! Hi! Hi!" She pecked him on the lips several times.

"Cotton candy, you're gonna suffocate me." Buggy wrapped his hands around her waist. 

"I don't care!" Smack. Smack. Smack. “I was gone for four whole days!” Smack. Smack. Smack. “I won't go anywhere without you again.” Smack. Smack. Smack.

“I hope you missed it too. Because you're all covered with my lipstick again.” He started laughing. 

“Shit!” Catherine wiped her lips with her palm. “It's time for me to get used to this.”

She hugged him tightly, kissed his temple three times and looked into his eyes. "My silly clown..." 

"I'm listening, my Cathie-pie." 

"Take me home, please."

While they were driving home, Catherine could not calm down. Actively gesturing she told him the latest news, asked how Buggy lived without her, whether he missed her, how his circus was and what was new in Cairo.

"So what happened with your sister?" Buggy asked as he carried Catherine's bag home.

“It turned out that she just had a fight with Ethan. Honestly, I thought there was some kind of tragedy when she called me in tears. But they made up pretty quickly, so my trip to her turned out to be almost pointless.” 

Catherine walked up to Buggy and hugged him tightly. "I missed you so much, my Buggy Bear."

“No. I can't. It's still a terrible terrible nickname, my Cathie-pie.” He hugged her shoulders and kissed the top of her head. 

Catherine heard him barely say, "I missed you too."

"I still don't care. I’m not gonna change it.” Catherine pecked him in his lips and pulled his cheeks. “By the way, we spoke about you too. Everyone was curious about our relationship. But don’t be afraid, I said only good things. And my sister and I also had a girl talk about you.”

“I’m flattered by such a high assessment of my person.” He took and kissed her hand, and led Catherine into the living room.

“Jackass. Let me quickly take a shower and then I’ll cook us something to eat. You’re probably hungry.”

"Actually, I bought us Chinese food and your favorite wine."

“Wow! I���m impressed, Buggy the Clown! You're growing! You’re learning to take care of yourself.” She giggled and pressed her head against his chest. 

“Oh, screw you! I lived somehow before you. But I have to admit, you take care of me much better, you know.” 

She wrapped her arms around his neck and looked into his eyes. “I have no doubt about that. You would probably be dead without me. At least now you've learned how to wash your socks.” 

“Little shit.” 

“Did I tell you that you are my best and I love you so so much?”

"Nope. Hear it for the first time."

Catherine quickly showered and returned to the living room. Chilled wine and packages of Chinese food were already waiting for her on the table. 

“God! It's so great to be back home.” She looked at Buggy. “Why are you smiling?”

"I really missed your ass, but I also really missed your funny pajama pants. Dinosaurs? Seriously?" He pointed at her new pants.

"Oh, shut up! I liked them. By the way, I brought you a gift." 

“The gift? For me?" 

"Of course! Why are you so surprised? I couldn't leave my Buggy Bear without the gift." She ran to the bedroom and returned with some sheets, a bottle and a box in her hands. "The best whiskey from Loguetown and a box of chocolates for my sweet tooth." She gave him a few pecks on the lips and plopped down on the sofa. 

"Wow! Thanks, my cotton candy!” He kissed her cheek. “I've never gotten the present before..”

"What? This is terrible!" She knelt on the couch and kissed him on the cheek. "Well, now you have me, lucky bastard."

“What's that in your hands?" He pointed at the sheets of paper as he opened a bottle of whiskey.

“Oh, this... Yes, it’s nonsense. Or maybe it’s not nonsense. Well, we went to dinner with my sister, Ethan and one of my childhood friends. We met him suddenly.” She glanced at Buggy and noticed how his face changed.

"Friend? Male? Did you go out.. with.. him...?"

"What do you mean? A date? Yes, I did."

"Okay..." Buggy tried to appear as calm as possible.

“Once we went to an ice cream cafe and he also brought me dandelions.”

She run her hand through Buggy's hair.

"Okay..."

"Someone is jealo-o-ous!" She kissed him on the cheek.

"I'm not jealous!"

"Before you run to strangle this poor guy, I can tell you that when he asked me out we were seven years old. So, back to the sheets. My sister and I talked about our fun trip. And while we were talking that friend and Ethan mentioned a myth or rumor.. I don't actually know.. about some kind of treasure, hidden somewhere in the Egyptian pyramids. I was interested in this and the next day I went to my old job in the library and rummaged a little in the archives. I made copies but there is no direct evidence in them that anything exists at all. And.. Why are you smiling again, clown? "

“I just can’t believe it. My little Cathie-pie is rummaging through the archives and looking for information about treasures. You really liked our previous adventure, right? Admit it!”

"Go fuck yourself, asshole. I'm not telling you anything else." Catherine took the wine and turned away. 

"Come on! Come here, baby. Tell me more." Buggy put his arm around her shoulders and cuddled closer. 

"I won't, you're mocking me." 

"I'm not mocking you. I find it very sexy, by the way.” He kissed her temple. 

“I hate you. So.. I studied the copies all the way on the plane, but I can’t definitely confirm whether there’s something in these places or not.” She fiddled with the sheets of paper in her hands and put them aside on the couch. "I think maybe I'll go to the local library tomorrow. Just for fun."

"You know, I know another way to have fun and you don't have to wait until tomorrow!" Buggy stood up from the couch, grabbed Catherine in his arms and carried her into the bedroom.

“What are you doing?! Let me go!!” She slapped his hands.

“Baby, I’m going to do what I haven’t done with you for four whole days. I hope you survive until the morning.” He laughed like a maniac.

"Damn you and your chop chop abilities!"

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"You're going to make me lose the ability to walk someday, fucking clown." Catherine woke up in the morning and put her head on his chest. She took one of the strands of his hair and began to twirl it around her finger. “Do me a favor, send your hand for your t-shirt, because I can't get out from under the blanket naked."

"Who told you that? I'll be glad to see you like this." Buggy began to move his hands down to her buttocks.

"Go to hell, honestly! First, I have manners! Second, stop grabbing my ass, Buggy!” Catherine looked at her hands and shoulders. “Fuck, I need to take a shower. Because someone left red lipstick marks all over my body and even... God, I can’t even talk about it. You've completely ruined me.” 

“You didn’t complain throughout the night, cotton candy. And especially those three times when my tongue was between your..” Buggy ran his hand in circles on her back. 

“Ts!” She covered his mouth with her hand and glanced at him with squinted eyes.  

“That was re-e-a-ally good, right?” He muttered into her palm and winked.

“I hate you!”

Catherine barely fought off Buggy, who seemed to want to give her another hot round, grabbed his t-shirt and ran into the bathroom. 

After breakfast she changed into jeans and a t-shirt, grabbed her crossbody bag, accompanied Buggy to the circus, kissed him on his lips and went to the library.

Catherine sat in the library for half a day, sorting through old dusty books and papers. She asked the library employee what other materials she could read. The gray-haired woman sincerely did not understand why Catherine was interested in this story. She mentioned that she had heard something, but she assured her that it was just a myth that was invented for fools who were simply thirsty for adventure.

"Why do you need this, dear girl?" The woman asked her while Catherine was copying some notes. "You don't look like the kind of person who leaves everything behind to go somewhere far away to find something."

Catherine didn't know how not to laugh, remembering how she once left everything behind to go in search of her sister and how that search ended.

"I just love reading books. Myths, legends. All this is terribly fascinating." Catherine shrugged and smiled.

“You should get married, not read books!” The woman rasped in her voice.

"Thanks for your advice, I'll definitely use it!"

Catherine put the papers in her bag and went home. On the way, she stopped at a couple of bakeries, muttering under her breath that "it will be better if Buggy fill his mouth with donuts and fucking Cinnabons. Otherwise I'm done."

She returned home when no one was there yet. Catherine was drinking coffee when she heard the keys jingle in the keyhole.

She jumped up and ran to the front door.

"Finally, you're home! I went to the library and..."

Buggy shut Catherine up with a kiss. "First of all, hi!"

"Hi!" She kissed him on the nose and dragged him into the living room. "So, I went to the library..."

"Baby, give it back."

Catherine heard Buggy's voice behind her.

"Give.. what?" She looked at him blankly.

He pointed his finger at her hand. Catherine looked down and started laughing. She held his hand in hers.

"Damn, sorry! Take it." 

“Thank God you didn’t pull me for something else.” He laughed loudly and pointed at his pants.

"Oh my god! You're disgusting!"

Catherine led Buggy into the living room and quickly ran to the kitchen to grab whiskey, dinner and donuts.

“Anyway, I dug through the papers at the library here and found out that all this history I've been told about and written about in some of the books I looked at today lead back to the story of some blue diamond." She walked from side to side, actively gesticulating. 

Buggy moved his head after Catherine.

“It doesn’t give you superpowers, of course. But we can get good money for it. But there’s no map. Everywhere it’s indicated that it’s somewhere in a pyramid. But there are a thousand pyramids in Egypt. It would take us our whole lives to double-check them all." She sat down on the floor, crossing her legs.

“Theoretically, I know one person who can tell us the way. Or maybe even knows where we can get the map.” Buggy said, taking a sip of his whiskey and leaning back on the couch.

“Is this your gray-haired man from the desert?” She mumbled, placing her hands on her leg and her chin on her palms. "Wait. What do you mean “tell”? And what do you mean “us”?" She bulged her eyes at him.

"Well, let's try!" Buggy shrugged.

"Are you serious?" 

"Yeah. Why not?” He leaned towards Catherine while sitting on the couch.

"Just you and me?" Catherine pointed at them both.

"Just you and me."

"This means…?"

"This means, baby, that we are going to look for the blue diamond!"

[jikookuntold]

Tbh answer I expected. I only bring in taennie to prove my point. Me, you and all others who are not taekookers or have an unnecessary hate boner for blackpink knows they were real pics and videos. But a majority portion is obsessed to prove it was fake because the argument was there were no quality videos/pics where Tae's face was clear and clear pics were edited. Likewise, whoever not jikookers or generally JK shippers knows its real video 🤷‍♀️

Ik his face wasn't clear. We all know it lol. But other evidences are very clear. Forget about the exact Dora hairstyle he had in that period or black outfit it can be setup, even though the grainy pic you posted looks like JK's silhouette. But his apartment? Same switch boards and couch ? The window ? The mood lamp which color changi order was exactly like his lamp ? His own dog who's tail is not amputed.. walking around him just like bam does ? I didn't even saw karmy who are biggest jikookers trying to prove it was fake 🤷‍♀️ idk man, all of it seems like too real to be fake especially when we are trying to not be biased while watching Jikook.

Btw, when he posted his latest gcf army saw a cropped Harley jacket which is way petite for him to wear. It obviously belongs to a girl. Forget about hello kitty plushie or two helmets we can ignore them as his. But I don't think he needs a small cropped jacket in his home if there was no girl. I also remember he outlined a female hourglass body in one of his karoke lives... goes along with my point

I'm just asking doubts which I have for long time, was waiting for you to become active, and I'm sure many of jikookers here still have even if they act cool pretending none of these affected them because that's what 99% of jikookers here did that month. While 1% accepted its real and been inactive since. All those back to back things he did and we found out affected me and made me rethink about Jikook.

I'm so flattered that you have been waiting for my come back to ask me about some shadows moving around. I don't know how you did the statistics, but I'm not in that 99% nor the 1%. Maybe you are new here, but I have seen many things real-time, including the Mijoo drama and I know what goes on here.

You started with that video, and I told you any kind of authenticity is questioned when the quality is that horrifying. But eventually you reached the point of trying hard to involve JK with girls and your proof is a kitty plushie or a crop top? Are you serious right now? Is this the best you can to force heterosexualoty on someone? 🤡

I don't and I can't take you seriously because it's getting boring already. Only in the past year JK has been forged into dating with 11 different women (yes, I counted and I have the list) from a random bystander to a staff or even famous idols, just because he breathed the same air with them for half a second. Aren't you tired? I'm genuinly asking.

Btw no one said that girl in Jeju was staff. JK was there with high school friends, (surprise! He attended mixed gender high school), so she was either a friend or a friend's date.

You can keep trying to find a faceless woman for JK and convince yourself that he is a straight fckboy, or you can be creative for once and come up with the Daeun/Jimin furniture theories, but you have to know you are not affecting me or Jikook or anyone else, you are just clowning yourself 👻

[j0kers-light]

okay so theres a new series on Netflix called ‘one piece’ and theres a guy that really reminds me of the joker. His name is buggy or something idc. BUTTT i thought i just had a thing for the joker, turns out i have a thing for clowns in general. Now here is the question, should i get therapy?

lmao i know this doesn’t rlly link with HL but everyone looks at me like I’m insane when i talk about my obsession over the joker. it getting hard out here😅😞

🤣 Sweetheart honey darling!

I’m a weeb. I been with Oda since the beginning! From the Grand Line now we in the Egghead Arc. The live action is new.. but Oda been pushing 🔥 since 1997.

I’m sorry I’m a huge manga reader and I’m very passionate about OP. It’s my blood type. 🤣

WHO SHAMING YOU?! Who?! I just wanna talk. 👀🔪

I done never heard of such foolery.

But lemme stop you real quick. 😬😬😬😬😬😬😬😬

Buggy the Clown is trash. He’s a terrible pirate and I honestly don’t know how he has such ridiculous luck to secure the position he’s in. His character growth is insane. His Devil fruit is OD but he don’t use it to its potential yet he’s a SPOILER! 🫢 sorry.

But then we get to Impel Down and we see Buggy with the good hair?? And he redeemed himself as a character mid arc?

Like? Daddy? Is that you?

My emotions were all over the place during that arc (and rightfully so) but I had time to be a whore. Impel Down Buggy is the best Buggy, I don’t make the rules. Ask Twitter. Or X.. whatever it’s calling itself these days.

TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION.

I guess we both need therapy? And a few million other people. 💅🏾

Joker and Buggy can get 👏🏾it 👏🏾 any day of the week. I am not ashamed and neither should you. Here’s some of my fav fanart so we can be sluts together.

Credit the rest have watermark signatures I think.

God I love One Piece. I gotta read the latest chapter.

[dissvicious]

I feel like the triplets would fit perfectly into a tweet I saw ages ago but can’t find anymore that goes as such:

Picture showing about 3 to 4, I forgot how many, identical twin boys and their lone little sister in the middle, all smiling for the camera. Description: this family had three identical triplets and one normal little girl 😊

Comment directly under it: The guy who’s gonna cheat on her in about 15 years is about to get a confusing as fuck beating.

Like, that’s the vibe I get. Imagine you’re a guy who just broke up with his girlfriend, who wasn’t that hot anyways, that one girl he’s been seeing behind her back is so much cooler and also has cash, and next thing you know you’re stopped in a dark alley by two redhaired, menacingly grinning clown guys, one with a baseball bat, one with a weird contraption that looks like a grenade launcher.

“… So you thought you could cheat on our sister?”

((And after they have beaten you within an inch of your live you get home and your new girlfriend slaps you across the face and breaks up with you because your weirdass ex contacted her and told her EVERYTHING about you))

Immensely charmed by the possibility of sudden clown mugging

thank you soooooo much for this!!

two things :

I actually thought about it. Despite being the latest born of the clown litter, Skye really has a big sister attitude toward her two dumbass brothers. Picturing the "THEY ASKED FOR NO PICKLES" meme, you see? (oh I have to draw this....) BUT I actually like to think that when she starts to date - ergo shows vulnerability, perhaps for the first time - the tables are turned. Partly because Rory and Blaze deeply love their sister - each one with their own way to be weird about it. Partly because they're AFRAID of her. so, following your exemple, picture this: the person is facing two menacing clown figures..... who immediately fell on their knees and start to whine "PLEASE GO APOLOGIES" "SHE'S TAKING REVENDGE ON US" "SHE USED CONQUEROR HAKI AND FORCED ME TO SMOOCH RICHIE ON THE MOUTH - mm, Blaze, let's be honest, that's not the haki, that's the strange booze you stole from the hold." the POTENTIAL. anyway if someone one day ever dare to break her heart for real, they would have the whole clown family on the back. which is... not the most impressive sight ever but still!

I ... forgot what my second point was while I was writting because I'm DUMB. pretend I said something funny please

anyway - HAVE A NICE DAY ♥

[eclipsecrowned]

Kadi State of the Union 2023.

So. Went on vacation, got nice and relaxed, am actively looking for jobs and passively having a good time on here with what free time I find myself with. To this end, several days ago I asked you all what I should focus on moving forward, because as much as this is my blog, it is a testament to a collaborative hobby that requires communication and interaction with my peers here on the hellsite. The results I received told me that you all wanted me to focus on three core priorities: Drafts, plotting/developing dynamics, and muse info packets rather than full bios.

What does this mean moving forward?

Basically what it says on the tin.

I'm going to prioritize drafts over new threads and asks, just to help maintain a good habit towards ic interactions. This doesn't mean that I'll be drying up in terms of starters or new interactions, just that I'm going to refocus on replying to rather hoarding drafts like a dragon until I build a habit.

I'll also be reaching out to followers old and new to develop dynamics/interactions between muses, though I advise that this might take some time. I'm horribly anxious about new people, so forgive me if I come off a little too formal or 'odd' in OOC communication, I'll even out once I recognize you are not going to bite my head off or be mean to me. Honestly it's not you, it's me.

As for bios, I might find a simple character page code or multi carrd template I like and keep the 'brief biographical facts, short bio' thing I have going in my current 'temporary' muse page, and just link to larger muse info packets that include character overviews/verses/plot bunnies for canons and deeper bio info/10 key facts for OCs.

Beyond this, I plan on cleaning up my askbox -- At least removing symbol/name memes that I can no longer locate the original meme for. I genuinely enjoy having a tidy ask queue, so I might switch to that at some point in the future to space out asks/give myself time to tackle the beast it has become. For now, you might see me answering asks live until I get to a point I can comfortably draft/queue multiple asks and not burn out.

I am also, after this latest poll, putting a moratorium on adding new muses until I finish bios for the current muse list. I tend to get inspired to add new muses often, and it's not an issue for me or apparently my followers for me to continue to expand my cast. You guys are always down to clown with whoever I add, and I am never without interaction potential. I just worry it comes across like the bios will never get done at this rate, even though no one has said anything yet. This might lea to more fc polls, unfortunately for you all, bc there's always the chance that like with Severina's FC being way older than I anticipated I think I have things sorted out then find out last second they don't work for whatever reason.

TL;DR: Trying to be better for you guys and give you the content you want, your feedback has been heard loud and clear and I'm thankful for it, will see you guys on the flip side :3

[threadsun]

Anonymous Asks: "Hello! I just read your latest headcannons on our 80s boys as brothers!

I feel sad at the potential of Joseph never getting his sibling out of that house because he died before he could 🥺 If you’re up for it could I have a part 2 for Joseph? Maybe a little happy reunion scenario where his teenage sibling finally gets to live with him after he becomes Sunny Day Jack?

You���re writing was also amazing in your Jean scenario! Keep it up and can’t wait for more!"

Of course!!! I feel bad that they got so sad, I really didn’t mean for them to. They deserve some happiness!!

“So, uh… welcome to your new home!” Joseph sweeps his arm grandly, gesturing to the decently sized apartment.

It isn’t anything fancy by most standards, but it has running water and he doesn’t have to constantly refill a generator, so he thinks it’s pretty damned nice.

“Welcome home!” He tries again, grimacing at his own face in the mirror. “You, uh… you live here now! Oh, fuckin’ hell.”

He’s buzzing with feelings. Nerves, anticipation, excitement… what will his sibling think of their new home? He made sure their room was all set up how he knew they’d like it! But… would they still like it? He’d been gone for years now… how much had they changed since he last saw them?

The buzzer interrupts his spiral, and he quickly fumbles with the button to unlock the door. It’s them. They’re here. And he looks… probably like an idiot. He tried to dress up nice, but he’s not used to it still. Anything more formal than jeans and a t-shirt is a bit much for him.

He opens the door, peeking into the hallway. They’re not there yet. It’s a three flight walk up the stairs, of course they’re not. He closes the door again and paces up and down the little entryway of the apartment before opening the door again.

This time, they’re there. At the far end of the hallway. Awkwardly jogging towards the door now that it’s open.

They look… different. Taller. No longer the child he’d left behind, but an awkward teenager just starting to come into their own.

Before he can even begin the process of overthinking his greeting, they drop their things by the door and launch themself at him. He catches them in a tight hug, their feet dangling in the air as he crushes them.

“ok…ay…. d o…..wn…..” They wheeze out, patting his back.

When they’ve caught their breath and dragged their bags through the door, they grin at him. “Long time no see, huh? This place is sick!”

There’s no formality, no awkwardness, just his sibling throwing themself onto the couch with their shoes still on. They fit right in, like they’ve lived here their whole life.

“Shoes off the couch,” he scolds, dragging their bags towards their room. “Got it for forty bucks at the flea market, I don’t want it getting gross.”

He can hear their affectionate sigh and the familiar sound of them shuffling their shoes off from where they’re sitting. They fall to the floor with two solid thunks. “It’s nice to have a dad again.”

They’re teasing him. It’s… so familiar. So comforting. Joseph can’t even remember why he’d been worried. He heaves their bags onto their bed and then joins them in the living room, pushing their feet off the couch so he can sit too. Their feet promptly fall into his lap instead.

“So, tell me about this gig. You’re a clown now?”

Joseph rolls his eyes. “I’m not a clown, I’m on a children’s show. But yeah, it’s pretty cool. I get free lunch on set and everything…”

They talk long into the night, catching up on the years they’ve missed. It feels so… right. To have them back by his side. To be able to watch over them and care for them. He’s certain, he’s the luckiest big brother in the world.

[lildogie]

AO3 stats game

Tagged by @saki101 :)

Rules: Give us the links to your wonderful words with the most hits, most kudos, most comments, most bookmarks, most words, and least words.

The Better Hives and Lawnrings series (finished last year) contains the fic with the most hits, kudos, and bookmarks (We're Gonna Need a Bigger Hive) and the one with the most words & comments (Cooking without a Net). So I'm going to throw in the runners up, without doubling on categories.

Most hits: Sing Me Now Asleep, Bro/Karkat, Rated E: Bro and Karkat try out something new. Karkat finds it harder to choreograph than expected. (Sequel to My Thoughts Remain Below, also BroKat, Rated E.)

Most kudos: Clipped, Sollux/Karkat, Rated E: The latest outrage Sollux has perpetrated upon himself will not be borne. Not without a lot of high volume cursing, anyhow.

Most comments: Valve, Hal/Dirk, Hal/Equius, Equius/Dirk, Hal/Equius/Dirk, Nepeta<>Equius, Rated E: For the eleven years since they figured out how to separate people who'd been merged with sprites, Dirk has been trying not to lust after Hal's ex...other half? Fusion-buddy? Equius.

His efforts haven't been successful, but how do you ask out a guy who's inherited an unspecified amount of your brain? Much more prudent to let it eat at you for the next decade or so. Dirk's talents in that field are unmatched.

Except by Equius, apparently, who wasn't content merely to fantasize. He made blueprints. Which Hal appropriated. For the good of all concerned.

Most bookmarks: Do Not Go Gentle, Kurloz♠Kankri, Rated E: Kurloz derails one of Kankri's lectures.

Most words: Court of Rage at the Cathedral of Mirth, Xefros/Gamzee, GHB/Gamzee, GHB/Xefros, GHB/Xefros/Gamzee, Rated E: Xefros Tritoh's quadrants are as empty as the precipitation shield rack at the hivehold necessities distributor the night before a typhoon. Probably because after ascension he was assigned to the cleaning staff of the Mirthful Cathedral, and everybody he lives with, everybody he knows, is a devout disciple of the Messiahs.

His contributions to the Mother Grub are due in roughly four weeks. So it's either trip the light fantastic with a disappointed drone, or find someone willing to smear a little greasepaint on him in a big, hot hurry.

Shame that even after three sweeps of service at the cathedral, Xefros is still scared of clowns.

Least Words: Gravel (159 words), Gamzee</>Karkat, Rated G: Karkat sees Gamzee for the first time in several sweeps.

Tagging anyone who'd like to play!

[pashterlengkap]

“Very demure” TikToker Jools Lebron’s viral fame is allowing her to fund her transition

If you’ve been anywhere near social media in recent weeks, you’re probably already well aware of Jools Lebron and her “very demure, very mindful” moment. The Chicago-based trans TikToker sparked a viral trend earlier this month with a video showcasing her on-the-job style. Related He transitioned at 57 & now he’s sharing his story with the world He never heard of trans people when he was growing up, but he decided it’s never too late to live authentically. “You see how I do my makeup for work? Very demure. Very mindful,” Lebron explains in the August 5 clip. “I don’t look like a clown when I go to work. I don’t do too much, I’m very mindful at work. See how I look very presentable? The way I came to the interview is the way I go to the job.” Never Miss a Beat Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights. Subscribe to our Newsletter today @joolieannie #fyp #demure ♬ original sound – Jools Lebron “Very demure, very mindful” caught on like wildfire, with seemingly everyone on social media — including celebrities like Jennifer Lopez, Gillian Anderson, Penn Badgley, Olivia Rodrigo, Lindsay Lohan, and Jamie Lee Curtis — picking up on the trend. Lebron’s video has received 36 million views since August 5 and she’s amassed nearly two million followers on TikTok. On Monday night, she made her national television debut on Jimmy Kimmel Live. In his opening monologue, guest host RuPaul said that he’d spent the weekend watching Lebron’s video and had to invite her onto the show. “Apparently the trauma that comes from working a retail job gets enough to you that you start saying ‘demure’ on the internet,” Lebron, who until recently worked as a cashier at a “very cutesy, very demure” grocery store in Illinois, said of the inspiration behind the post. “I feel like demure is like a mindset,” she said of her newly minted catchphrase. “I used to be crazy and out of control, and then I found some demurity and along with that came success.” That success has been life-changing, as Lebron described in an August 14 post. “Maybe you should make the videos,” she advised her fans, “Because one day, I was playing cashier and making videos on my break, and now I’m flying across country to host events, and I’m gonna be able to finance the rest of my transition.” “I finally said it without crying,” she added. @joolieannie #fyp #demure ♬ original sound – Jools Lebron In addition to the viral fame and her appearance on Kimmel, Lebron has already collaborated with brands like Verizon, Synergy Kombucha, and Lyft, according to Tubefilter. And in recent weeks, she’s made appearances in New York, Las Vegas, and L.A. “Everyone keeps asking me, like, how I feel about what’s going on,” Lebron said in a tearful August 17 post. “And I feel so overwhelmed.” But, she added, “I’m living my f***ing dream, b***h!” http://dlvr.it/TCNLVV

[thetruthaboutnolan]

IS NOLAN STILL FRIENDS WITH GRIFFIN?

So because we saw the only two blogs that still obsess over Nolan once again started using them for clout, we figured we’d ask the questions they ask or turn their bullshit statements into questions for Nolan to answer. Yes we have the DMs logged on discord to also show they happened as well. Their answers follow:

Yeah, we still talk every day. It’s not like the endless hours of conversation we used to have, but we keep in touch. I know what’s going on in his life, his husband, his DnD group, all of it. We trade memes, pictures, gifs of our face claims, and we still chat about our character ships and the scenarios we used to build them as well as new ones we’d love to see them tackle. Or different versions of my group that might be interesting to see how they’d do in.

He doesn’t roleplay anymore, though. It’s been almost five years since he stepped away. Posting had turned into something of an addiction (his words); he felt like he had to be online constantly, ready to reply at a moment’s notice, so he decided to cut it out. Plus, the toxic vibe on Tumblr got to him, especially with people dragging up old drama that he and plenty of others agree was totally blown out of proportion. He even knows about that person going around pretending to be him. Just ten minutes ago, I sent him some gifs of his latest celeb crush, Oliver Stark, looking adorable as Buck on 9-1-1.

DOES NOLAN RUN OTHER BLOGS?

Yeah, I’ve got my coding blog, my gif maker blog, and now three groups to manage. There’s also my personal blog, and I recently became a staff member for a group in the supernatural genre. Though, I guess that one’s not really ‘my’ blog, per se.

WHAT ABOUT ALL THEIR ‘VICTIMS’?

What victims? I had three so-called ‘dramas’ and one group of toxic idiots upset because their friend is also my friend. The truth is, I’m friends with a lot of these ‘victims.’ And for those I’m not close with, we’re still on friendly, civil terms. Even now, we occasionally exchange messages, giving each other a heads-up if someone’s trying to stir up trouble or just checking in to see if we’re ‘still cool.’ I’ve even been invited to their private Discords and linked to their private groups. As well as their public groups and to 1x1 with them as they ‘miss posting with me’ even though I either never actually posted with them or if we did they were passive aggressive with me and I cut it short fast.

DO THEY STILL VIEW THEIR HATERS?

I never actually did. I had others that thought they’d ’help me’ do that for me, passing along whatever was said, haha. But no, I didn’t even realize those blogs were still active. Whenever I start a new blog, I just add them to my ‘instant block’ list. Let them hate-view me all they want—it just proves they’re still fans, wishing they could be me.

WHAT ARE THEY UP TO NOW?

Living my life and finding happiness? My job is fantastic, my personal life is full of fun, and my online presence has completely turned around. I’ve even adopted a new name—Nolando—and I’m loving it, planning to keep it. It’s a far cry from where I was, bombarded with messages telling me to kill myself, buried under a mountain of hateful nonsense. Now, people are wishing me well, expressing gratitude for what I contribute to the community, complimenting my work, and standing by me through the mess that was my reputation in the Tumblr RPC.

I’ve taken a semi-selective approach with my groups and have built one of the best communities I’ve ever seen. Technically, I run three groups, but I use one Discord server to bring them all together, and many members are active in all three. While scrolling through TikTok, I stumbled upon the user that one blog—people mistakenly think I run—kept quoting. They had a video that really resonated with me, and I embraced its lesson. Now, I couldn’t care less about these clowns. I’ll send you the video so you can post it.

Do I still troll? Of course. It’s amusing to watch people froth with bitterness and jealousy because I’ve moved on from them and their drama—not that it was difficult. I’d estimate about 95% of those trying to drag me down are people I’ve never met or interacted with. They’re friends of a friend of someone who was once in the same group as an old friend who heard about me secondhand. So irrelevant and I can go on forgetting they exist.

But the fact that I live rent-free in the heads of all these people so far removed from me? Baby, I’ve achieved immortality and legend status. And I really didn’t have to lift a finger to get it.