#I DON'T THINK EITHER OF THEM DO

[lucabyte]

On autonomy, and what it means to be Obliged to Help.

Bonus:

[danikatze]

[ID in alt text]

Dunno if Nimona and Ambrosius would ever get along, but Bal loves them both and they both love Bal <3 hi

[forgettable-au]

FORGETTABLE-AU (Page 36-39)

* To note. Her hands are scaly. * And...unexpectedly wet?

[BEGINNING] [PREVIOUS] [CONTINUE]

[townofcadence]

It wasn't enough. The words echo in his head but stay unsaid when there isn't anything he can do to convince Cecil to listen to him. He doesn't understand and he doesn't want to. He doesn't want to just give in, but.....the idea of wasting time and maybe hurting Cecil in the meanwhile feels so much worse. He knows what he did, how he failed, and that's all that matters. Cecil didn't have to agree for him to be right.

Standing watch, Artair crosses his arms. He should be paying attention, but more and more he drifts towards the feelings inside, and his arms turn more to a hug, and then to something punishing. He feels the upset, the frustration, the horrible cocktail in his chest and the anger so thick he could drown. He also feels the pain of that injury with every movement. It burns against his legs in hammerstrikes of pain. There are pricks to the skin, and the next feelings practically have him doubling over and sitting on the floor. He bites his lip, and the room stays silent. His hug is crushing the breath from him as much as his fingers dig into both arms.

He's rushing and it hurts more. But at least they share that. It was his fault this happened. So he deserves to feel it. It feels better if he feels it, so it's what he focuses on. Trying to soak it up as much as he can and steep in that agony he'd caused. He'd take it on again later when he healed Cecil too. And then Cecil would be better and he'd have made up for his blunder at least a little.

Artair looks back towards Cecil, when he calls out. He nods. "Alright...." Something felt off and weird but he couldn't place it. But it was probably Cecil. Maybe just talking to him. Or he was disappointed or something.

"It's not an excuse, it was an accident! And even then, I will reiterate that you took care of all the other ones!" He doesn't want to get louder, but Artair isn't listening! What was he supposed to do or, say-- he doesn't want to just give in, because then Artair would just feel... he doesn't know, justified! But he's not, because he didn't do anything wrong.

Fuck, and now his eyes are all watery. He catches the slightest glimpse before Artair hides it, not that hiding it wouldn't have been a bit of a giveaway anyhow. And his voice pitches until it finally breaks, like a thin wine glass shattering. Cecil is silent, and he hates it. But what could he do? Artair finding his voice again doesn't help either, in fact all it does is sink like a block of steel in his chest; cold and painful. Artair is leaving. He... Cecil wants to send him away. Home. But for now that might be too dangerous given where they were. Like squeezing through a tight tunnel, it was easier to go forward than to try and turn around.

Fuck. God dammit. Shit.

He'll handle this later. For now, sitting and stewing in it's doing nothing but making him feel horrible. So he reaches up to his scarf and stuffs it in his mouth, enough to bite down on. First up is a syringe and vial, some kind of surface level numbing thing. Each prick around the wound is like agony, but he clenches his jaw, bites harder, and he doesn't make a noise. Next is sutures, and that hurts like a bitch too, surprise surprise. But he's trying to be quick about it, quicker than he'd normally be. And then it's wrapped in bandages.

It's fine. All better now, right? His eyes shift over to where Artair is standing, as he fixes his scarf back. The nostrils on his face flare a bit with a heavy exhale. "Artair, I'm done. Let's keep going so we can get outta here."

[mothcpu]

happy valentine's day!

[roses-and-revolutions]

DP x DC Prompt: The Watchlist

Batman has a watchlist. A list that contains every individual who could become a rouge and a contingency plan for if they did.  

And while they, his children, often make fun of his paranoia and him for having it, they totally understand why he did. They lived in Gotham, for Christ's sake. Where everyone’s just a pin drop away from being the city’s next big villain, forcing the bats to scratch their heads while playing cat and mouse with a sicko for a good few weeks. And while they won’t admit it, the list has helped them a few times. 

But that won’t stop them from making fun of any of the list’s new developments. Because you see, there was a new list. And it wasn’t just a watchlist. No, no, no. It was The Watchlist.

It was a new development after he and Robin went on an out-of-state mission to investigate some town in bum fuck nowhere Illinois. And it was under some pretty tight security as well, so they were expecting something good, like mad scientists or evil mayors. Not profiles of the kids who lived in the town. And while there were a few metas and vigilantes that made the list interesting, by the end of it all they just seemed to be teenagers. 

Until they saw Damian. They hadn’t seen him since he came back from the mission with B. He looked tired. Like ‘Tim hasn’t slept in a week and is surviving on just coffee beans’ tired.

“Ah, I see you all have found it. Good. A few of them will be arriving next week as they’re a part of Gotham Academy’s student exchange program. At least three of them will be staying in the manor with us. Father will need you all to be on standby and to be ready for any possible scenario. Please, for the love of all that is good, do not encourage them in any way, shape, or form. And please do not dismiss them either. The outcome of doing that will be much worse. Is there more that I should add? Yes. Will I? No, because you won’t understand. Not until you've seen what I have.” 

The demon child sighed, then looked them dead in the eyes. “Godspeed to us all.” Then walked away.

Okay, they were scared now.

[miscellaneousrenaissant]

Well, yeah, it's just where your bar for success is

I kept the arm

[racingghost]

S: "I was promised a makeout with tongue if we won, Kimi, so give me some!" K: "Bwoah!"

---

Well I'm super tired, but I can now put this poll behind me! Thank you to everyone who voted Simi 💪 We got into it never really intending to win, but rather to shove Simi all over your faces... but we ended up with the best prize: Simi ressurgence and a bunch of new shippers!

[tagidearte]

DCA Sketch dump from the last few days... Well, mostly Moon, but what's new?

[floccinaucinihilipilificationa]

[transxfiles]

most people watch the x files because they either want to see aliens or watch mulder and scully kiss. coincidentally the x files is a show that is well known for avoiding showing us aliens at all costs and also not letting mulder and scully kiss.

[lucabyte]

Taking pride in One's own appearance.

[reminiscentrainclouds]

Daily yttd art day seven!!!!!! The sketch was originally for RanSara week for the sleepover prompt, but I didn't finish it until now.

[marypsue]

Man, it's cool and all if you see a metaphor for marginalisation in the monstrous, and if you want the power fantasy of 'what if you could just eat anybody who threatened you/pissed you off'. Me too.

However, as soon as you start saying 'no, these monsters are a 1:1 on Specific Marginalised Group, and you have to treat them in the fiction like they are directly representative of real human members of the marginalised group', BUT you also, in the fiction, make them hurt/kill/eat humans? And then try to shame me, your audience, for noticing or engaging with the bit where they kill people, because you made them directly representative of a real-world marginalised group? You have lost me, and also, I think, the plot.

[chemilico]

Doodle page and food court (haha get it)

(also random song for u to enjoy)

[knockknockitsnickels]

Something which I think is kind of under-discussed regarding the Princess is how lonely she is, esp in contrast to you (the player). From the start of the game, you're never alone. You've got the Narrator - despite how questionable his company is - and the Voice of the Hero, then slowly all of your other voices. She doesn't have that. We see in Princess and the Dragon, every time a new loop starts she's completely alone with only the thought that this is what she deserves. You're the only thing she has.

Shifty asks "Why wouldn't I be kind to you? You're the only thing I know which isn't me." And we see in the game - with some exceptions, like the Witch - the Princess' goal come chapter 2 is always to have your company. Sometimes it's to subjugate you, like the Tower, and sometimes it's for help escaping, but she's almost always seeking your companionship in some way.

But you've got your voices, and the Narrator. You never really needed her, did you? I'm thinking about PATD again, where you can spend the whole chapter bonding with her only to immediately turn on her the second you get your body back ("Good to be back, boys"). In the final cabin at the end of the game, the Heart Princess can mention the whole conflict boils down to whether Shifty (and by extension, the Princess herself) "should" get to exist. If you kill the Heart Princess, you've still got your voices. There's no ending where she lives on alone. I don't think she'd even WANT an ending like that.

She just makes me very sad. You're the only thing she knows, and in some routes you're just. Relentlessly cruel to her.