#I love drawing little talia so much

[izuizzy]

excuse me, the little one requires your attention

part 2 is here

[bumblesimagines]

this wasn't supposed to happen.

i did a number on your back. sorry about that.

we should do that again sometime.

Fiona Gallagher

we should do that again sometime.

this wasn't supposed to happen.

i did a number on your back. sorry about that.

Pronouns: He/Him/His, M!Reader

As consciousness seeped into his body and his senses slowly awakened, he was hit with a few realizations that quickened the process of waking up. He couldn't hear Génesis babbling away in her crib nor the loud strays he often fed mewling for food outside. The springs in the mattress beneath him dug slightly into his skin and the smell of cheap booze and perfume lingering in the air invaded his nostrils. The mattress abruptly dipped slightly and strands of hair tickled his shoulder, startling the exhaustion fully out of his system.

The room around him was unfamiliar. The walls were covered in chipping paint, there were enough clothes on the floor to give to twenty people, random bottles of water and beer were sat about in different places, and there were odd stains on the barely visible rug. The chaos and mess of the room made his skin itch. (Y/N) exhaled quietly and tilted his head to look at the owner of the bedroom. Shit.

"I can't wait for ya'll to meet them. I swear, they are the kindest people in this whole city." (Y/N) hummed, absentmindedly listening to his cousin's girlfriend go on and on about their neighbors, the Gallagher family, as he raked his fingers through his eldest daughter's hair and detangled the small knots that had formed. Veronica held his other daughter at her hip, cooing and clicking her tongue to keep the toddler entertained whilst they made their way over to the tall house right next door. 

"V's right, (Y/N). You'll love 'em. Debs and Talia are gonna get along great." Kevin piped in and scrunched up his face at Génesis, a wide smile breaking out on his face when she burst into giggles and gleefully clapped her tiny hands together. Talia clutched her dolls close to her chest and tentatively peered up at the house when they entered through the front yard. 

"I bet Carl's going to be tripping over himself when he sees Talia." Veronica giggled and gently pinched one of Talia's reddened cheeks, listening to her boyfriend pound loudly on the front door until it swung open and a teen's freckled face greeted them. He looked between them all curiously and a fond smile appeared on his lips when he noticed the bundled-up toddler in Veronica's hands. 

"Hi, I'm Ian." He introduced himself a bit meekly and stuck out a lanky arm to shake (Y/N)'s hand before stepping back and allowing them to enter the house. The house seemed bigger with an archway connecting the living room to the kitchen and dining room. There were two staircases on opposite sides of the house leading up to the second story, nearly each step covered in toys and beer cans alike. It looked like a tornado had rampaged throughout the rooms but (Y/N) tried to contain his judgment and put on a smile for the family. Veronica had mentioned there was only a twenty-one-year-old managing all five of her younger siblings with their drunk father occasionally crashing on the couch. 

"Oh, a baby!" A little girl not much older than Talia squealed and sprang up from the couch, nearly trampling her brother in the process of reaching them and earning a swift glare. She jumped up onto her toes and smiled widely as she delicately ran her finger over the back of Génesis's hand, cooing softly and introducing herself. "Hi, baby. I'm Debbie." 

"Guys, I'd like you to meet (Y/N) and his daughters, Génesis and Talia. They're going to be stayin' with us next door for a little while so make them feel at home, alright?" Veronica called into the living room, barely drawing the other teenager and his little brother's attention away from the action movie playing on the television. She scoffed quietly and muttered under her breath before flashing the woman heading down the stairs a smile. The pretty brunette returned it and gasped softly at the sight of Génesis in her arms. 

"Well, aren't you a pretty little thing?" She cooed warmly and chuckled sweetly at Debbie's fascination with the baby, one hand rising to comb back the hairs sticking out from Debbie's ponytail. He assumed she was Fiona Gallagher, the eldest daughter taking care of all the kids. Fiona was tall and slim, almost lanky like her brother but held a more at-ease air to herself than he did. The bags under her eyes were subtle, just barely noticeable, and her hair had been tied up into a messy ponytail that barely restrained the wavy locks. She looked up from Génesis and met his eyes. Her brows slightly lifted and her lips parted and closed, a hint of red spreading across her cheeks. 

"Nice to meet you, Fiona."

He'd promised himself before leaving Kentucky he'd stay in his lane, that he wouldn't involve himself with anyone again for a while. Talia's mother had been one thing, someone he couldn't bring himself to be resentful despite her refusal to be in their daughter's life. They'd been two naive fourteen-year-olds messing around who faced the consequences of not being more careful. Becoming involved with Génesis's mother, however, had been his fault. The lengthy criminal record and history of short relationships should've been big enough red flags to abort ship before they could be tied together permanently, but he'd ignored them and her own recklessness led to her incarceration. Two failed relationships, two motherless daughters. With his shit luck, he could only hope Fiona was on some sort of birth control.

"Fucking hell." He sighed heavily and rubbed his palm over his face, making vain attempts at ignoring the subtle throbbing in his temple. (Y/N) pushed himself up and swung his legs over the edge, picking his briefs up from the floor and slipping them on. Fiona groaned quietly behind him and he peered over his shoulder at her as she rubbed her eyes and stretched out across the small bed, the mattress beneath her creaking with each movement. 

"Jesus, I did a number on your back. Sorry about that." She chuckled and tucked some of her frizzy hair behind her ear a bit sheepishly. Fiona sat up and leaned back against the wall, one arm reaching out to rummage through the nightstand until she found a cigarette pack and pulled one out. Dangling one between her fingers in his direction, she said, "We should do that again sometime."

"No, Fiona, this wasn't supposed to happen. I- I have too much on my plate right now to deal with... whatever you want this to become. I don't need the girls getting confused either. I appreciate the warm welcome into the neighborhood but... for your sake and mine, we should just stay as neighbors."

[strwberri-milk]

Pretty in Pink

Rafayel x GN!Reader || Insecurity Comf || 1 640 words

additional tags: readers body is undefined but beautiful is used as a word to describe attractiveness once or twice

“Do we really need to go shopping?” you whine, wishing you could just drag your heels into the ground as the two of you approach the high-end department store Rafayel insisted you needed to visit today.

“Talia’s going to make fun of me if I can’t even spoil the love of my life a little bit,” he says simply, keeping his hand on yours as you rest it in the crook of his elbow.

The staff immediately recognise him, clamouring around him as they ask if he wants his jacket taken care of, if he needs his car washed then reparked. It seems whatever whim he has they’re more than desperate to fulfill it, watching him with equal parts adoration and envy. You’re still a little shy when it comes to the glamour that comes with being his partner, unsure where you stand. He simply glances at you and now the attention is being pushed onto you, so flustered Rafayel ends up having to direct the staff to your needs himself.

“You sure do shop here a lot, don’t you?” you say as the two of you settle in a private dressing room.

“Not really actually,” he says, sipping on some sort of sparkling drink. They offered champagne but he refused it, citing driving you home and his own tendency to be a lightweight.

“That’s why they’re so desperate. The commission they make off the outfits I buy for you today is going to set them for a while.”

“Outfits? Plural? I thought we were just doing a one and done,” you exclaim incredulously, feeling out of place with all the splendour of the store.

“Well, you hate shopping so I thought we could just knock it all off in one fell swoop. At least until you decide you want something new. Don’t worry about how much stuff costs – there’s no tags on anything.”

He’s so cavalier about the whole ordeal you have to think he was born rich. You really have no idea considering he hasn’t candidly talked about his childhood but the fact that he constantly takes you places with no price tags reminds you that money is just an object to him. Suddenly you feel insecure in the simple clothes you picked out for today, picking at a hem and shifting your feet uncomfortably. You thought you’d made the right choice when he said you were going shopping, thinking comfort and something easy to change in and out of would be the right choice.

“It won’t take too long,” he says, interrupting your train of thought. “You look beautiful in everything so I really doubt we’ll be unable to find something to you.”

You laugh awkwardly, now suddenly hyperaware of the way your body looks in the gilded mirror sat across from the two of you. Perhaps you should have opted for the dressing room that had a private changing area as well but Rafayel insisted that it’d be fine. He has seen every inch of you after all but something about this moment feels far too different.

“Maybe we should change rooms. I’ll go ask the attendant,” you say without warning, getting up and walking past him.

He takes the opportunity to pull you onto his lap, frowning at you.

“Why would we do that? This room is nice enough. Besides, they’ll be coming back soon enough with a bundle of clothes for you to try on. You don’t want to really inconvenience them so much by making them swap rooms?”

Logically, the room you want to change to is just next door. However, your need to please outweighs that sense of logic, biting on your bottom lip as you weigh the options over. Your turmoil isn’t missed by Rafayel and he brushes his lips against yours, making a soft humming noise to draw your attention back to him.

“Try it out for a little bit and then we can change if you really hate it, yeah?” he offers, not wanting to push you too far out of your comfort zone.

“…fine. But just because it’s you,” you pout, making no move to get out of his lap as the staff finally start filing in.

Your eyes go wide with the assortment of clothes they’ve chosen. Rafayel was practically barking orders at them earlier, giving them a list of cuts and colours and sizes for them to draw from. Clearly, they know what they’re doing as they’re able to draw a year’s worth of clothing from his instructions. They go through and show the two of you what goes with what, justifying their choices with some sort of fashion theory you barely manage to understand.

When you look over at Rafayel he looks like a kid in a candy shop. His eyes run over the racks of clothing, darting back and forth so quickly you’re sure he’s mentally cataloguing what pieces to swap with what to create new ensembles. You trust him wholly, aware he knows what he’s doing but you can’t help but wonder if the pieces will actually look good on you.

Once the staff finally leaves Rafayel happily pulls you over, selecting the first outfit he wants you to try on. Despite the fact that there was no reserved changing area he turns around and closes his eyes, insisting that he wants it to be a surprise.

You get dressed quickly, trying not to overthink the fabric sliding over your body. It’s uncomfortable and almost cumbersome but the thought of him smiling at you gets you through it. The quicker you get dressed the quicker this is all done and you can convince him to take you to the arcade as payment for torturing you so.

“I’m done,” you say hesitantly, still tugging at your clothes.

He turns around quickly, excited smile softening as soon as his eyes meet your form. His hands wander your body, brushing your hand off of your body as he replaces them, pulling you in by the waist.

“You look great,” he says affectionately, pressing a kiss to your lips.

“I’d say we should stop here but considering how amazing you look in just this I can’t help but imagine you’d look in some of the other choices. I want to see how you look in something that’s more adventurous than just a suit jacket and some slacks. This is good enough for some boring donor event but not good enough for Talia’s show.”

You let him help you strip down before urging you into a more complicated array of fabrics. You don’t doubt that they look lovely but you doubt they have the desire effect when on your body, twisting and turning every which way when you stand in front of the mirror. A glimpse of him is caught in the reflection, still looking at you with that adoring look.

“Maybe this will take longer than I thought,” he sighs, pulling another outfit from the racks. “You do look great in anything you wear. How are we going to choose?”

An hour or two passes and the two of you finally come near to drawing a close on your try on haul. Rafayel somehow looks more exhausted than you do, laying back on the couch with an arm over his eyes. You’re finally back to the clothes you came in, more comfortable than before. All of them were lovely there was no contesting that but there was something that simply made them…less lovely.

He, on the other hand, seemed to adore you in everything. He constantly showered you in his attention, hands careful as they pick and preen at you. You can tell by the way his hands twitch that he wants to grab at you, pulling strings taut across your body and doing up buttons that you can’t quite reach.

“Just pick whatever you want me to wear to the event and I’ll be more than happy to wear it,” you sigh, leaning back on the couch with him.

“That’s just the problem. It all looks so good on you.”

He groans a little before finally standing up to talk to the staff. You can’t quite make out what they’re saying through the thick fabrics of the curtain, feeling a little antsy now that he’s gone. You perk up when he finally returns, watching as he returns to your side.

“It’ll take a bit of time but they’re going to wrap up everything for me. If it doesn’t all fit in the car then they’ll just mail to the house no problem.”

“You – did you buy all of them?!”

“You look great in all of them. I’ll just get a closet or something built for them all. Don’t worry about it.”

He notices your hesitance, taking your hand in his.

“What’s wrong? If you hate them all I’ll tell them I changed my mind.”

“It’s not that. It’s just…do you really think that?”

His brows furrow, looking at you in confusion.

“Think what?”

“That I look great in all those clothes. It feels like I’m putting on costume after costume,” you confide.

“You really think that? Weird. I think you look great in all of them.”

He pulls you over on his lap, admiring your face for a brief moment before kissing you passionately. His hands hold your hips in place as he continues to kiss you, gripping you so tightly you couldn’t move away if you even wanted to. You let him slip his tongue into your mouth, gasping softly when he turns ravenous for your touch. His thumb comes up to the corner of your mouth, lightly pushing the two of you apart.

“All I could think about when I saw you was how lucky I am and how badly I wanted to kiss you,” he says dazedly, pressing another kiss to your lips.

[jonathan-samuel-smith]

Lord Jon and Prince Damian is a funny combination because just imagine Clark never managed to conquer all earth because magic and magic user, Talia basically built a huge kingdom to protect her people from the Lords and also accepts some others who are fleeing.

Years past and Jon has always been curious about that place and laughs when he faces Talia's youngest soldiers. He falls in love deeply hard about that boy with green eyes, then Jon starts to try to seduce that cute and smol boy (and Damian hates him deeply)

Just imagine:

Jon: *throws a body at his door like a cat*

Damian: ... Some guys bring flowers

Jon: I'm not 'some guy'

And also

J: "i've killed for you. how many other people can say that?"

D: "... Multiple, actually"

Basically: Lord Jon's love language is being annoying

Took me a while to figure out how I'd write the Super Lords, but eventually I was inspired by another work. I might write a sequel to this but we'll see. Fic under the cut.

Jon was scrolling on his phone, looking to find people talking negatively about him or his father so he could send them death threats. He could probably find them easily and make good on those threats, but then he'd have to get up, and he was comfortable where he was. He was getting a little peckish though, so he might run through a couple if he got up to eat.

His dad came into the room looking flawless. “Jon.”

“Hey dad, can you get me something to eat?”

“What? No. Get it yourself, or better yet, ask Kelex.”

“I thought you took away my voice commands after I killed the wrong general last week.”

“Oh, right. Have the knowledge crystals not taught you how to hack yet?”

Jon groaned ”I hate the knowledge crystals dad, they take so much time. I don't see the point in them.”

“The point is they would teach you how to solve problems, like how to reinstate your voice commands in Kelex’s code. Now get up, I have something important for you to do.”

Jon got up and stretched. “Oh I'm way hungrier than I thought. Hold that thought, Dad.”

“Jona–” Kal started sternly as a gust of wind blew past him. He could hear Jon ferociously consuming junk food from the pantry in superspeed. When he was done, he ran back up to his dad.

“Hey Dad, I'm back. What's up?”

“What do you know about Talia Al Ghul?”

“Oh that's easy. She's like, your archnemesis. Her family's got really strong magic so she can kill us if she gets close enough. She controls the last stronghold of human resistance. She's older than you so she's, what, a million?” He grinned cheekily “Just kidding, Dad. You don't look a day over 500.” He laughed. “Kidding! You should see the look on your face.”

“Jon, I'm being serious here.”

“‘kay.”

“She's just crowned her heir, Prince Damian. He's your age.”

“Oh?”

“He's an even more powerful mage than his mother, and trained in martial arts. He is a serious threat, one that needs to be neutralized.”

“Ok, but how am I gonna do that? You said he's more powerful than his mom, and you can't kill her.”

“He takes his group of soldiers into the Himalayas every month to train privately. I want you to ambush them.”

“Kill them, right? How do you want them dead?”

“Doesn't matter.”

“Alright. I'll be right back.”

Kal grabbed his arm and dug his fingers in hard enough to bruise. “You could die today, Jon. Take this seriously. Run away if you need to. You're no good to me dead.”

Jon nodded. “Got it.”

Jon flew to the mountains and looked for them with his heat vision. He found them fighting each other and flew down and started snapping the neck of the closest person to him. Unfortunately, this was slow enough to draw alarm from the other assassins, who all knew magical attacks. Still, Jon was quick and he fought dirty, letting out a deafening shout and causing an avalanche. The teens fought him with martial arts married with magic, sacrificing their lives so that the final assassin could defeat Jon and place him in magical bindings.

He spat blood. “You're lucky they can be brought back to life, or I wouldn't have spared yours.”

“I didn't ask you to. But thank you– not for sparing my life, but for beating me. I've never lost before. It was exhilarating! Can you do it again?”

The boy looked at him strangely. “What?”

Jon grinned manically. “You're a great fighter. I want you to defeat me again. And again and again until I get bored. What's your name? I never even lose to my dad.”

“... I am prince Damian Al Ghul.”

“Oh no way! I came here to kill you! Well, I'm not doing that anymore.”

“Clearly not.” Damian said, gesturing to the chains around him.

“Oh no, not cuz of that. I meant cuz like–” Jon cut himself off as Damian took off his mask and piercing green eyes met his own. “Wow, you're really pretty. I've never seen anyone as pretty as you in my whole life. Definitely not prettier. I think I was saying something?”

Damian blushed. “Tt. You were saying why you're not going to kill me.”

“I think I'm in love with you.”

“What?!” Damian squeaked.

“That was so cute! You're so cute! You're so small you look like you'd fit just right in my arms!”

“Go back to the ‘I love you’ part because I'm not understanding!” He shouted.

“I'll say it as many times as you want! I love you, I love you, iloveyouiloveyouiloveyoui–”

“Stop! You can't love me, you just met me, and your dad is superman!”

“Um, I'm pretty sure I can. Love at first sight is a thing, and I've known you for longer than that already.”

“So what, just because you think I'm pretty and I beat you for the first time, you're in love with me?”

“Is that not enough? Ok well, I really like the color of your eyes, and you're really powerful, and you make me feel so many feelings I have never felt before! Fear, excitement, curiosity, admiration, respect, awe, happiness, arousal–”

“Stop talking.”

“Whatever you want, gorgeous.”

“That's talking.”

“Oh, right. Sorry.”

“Still talking.”

“I don't know how you want me to stop talking if you keep talking to me. Oh but uh, don't stop, I like it.”

Damian facepalmed. “I'm taking you back to my mother.”

“Oh I hope she doesn't decide to kill me after you went through the trouble of sparing me, that would be really embarrassing for you.”

Damian was quiet for a few minutes. “...You've never felt curious? Or excited, or afraid or happy? Really?”

Jon shrugged. “Maybe once. But nowadays I'm always either bored or bloodthirsty. Except right now, I'm neither. You're the most interesting person I've ever met and I just killed 5 people. That's like, 1 more than I usually do in a day.”

Damian set his jaw hard. “Why do you kill so many people?”

“Why do you think, assassin Prince? To feel alive.”

“...Who do you usually kill?”

“Dissidents and criminals. My dad's okay if they're dissidents or criminals. There's not, like, a ton of those out there anymore, though, so I've taken to scrolling back really far on Twitter. Oh, and jaywalkers.”

“Tt. Typical.”

“Who do you usually kill?”

“Political enemies, soldiers, criminals.”

“I guess everyone's a political enemy when they're aligned with us and not you. That's a lot more people you can kill. I kinda wanna join your side now.”

“We don't kill frivolously.”

“Why not?”

“Because we value human life.”

“Why?”

“What do you mean, why? Why does your father care about order if not to preserve human life?”

Jon laughed. “My dad doesn't care about humans! He just wanted to tidy things up. He gets mad when I kill other people because it messes with his system. It's one of those dumb parent rules, like keeping your socks in the sock drawer, or cleaning the fortress on Sundays even though we have robot servants.”

“... You're completely insane.”

“Do you want me not to be?”

Damian furrowed his brow. “Why are you asking me that?”

“I want you to get what you want! You deserve to get anything you want, way more than my dad does. I bet you could with your magic! Cast a spell on me, make me sane for you. If you want that, I want it.”

“It's Jonathan, isn't it?”

“Yeah, or you can call me Jon. Or you know, whatever you want. Even if it's mean, I can take it.”

“...Jonathan. I don't want to take your agency away with my magic. That wouldn't be right.”

Jon shrugged against his chains. “If you say so, my prince.” Damian was quiet for a while, and Jon slipped free of his chains to help Damian cart back all of the bodies. “You should let me carry this.”

“What– Jon?! How did you escape my bindings?”

“Magic interacts completely unpredictably with me.”

“I don't– why are you even still here?”

“Why would I leave? It's not as if there's anything more interesting on TV. Twitter says all the shows are boring cuz of Dad. Well, you know, the dead side of Twitter. God do you know how perfect you look? From every angle?”

“Jon, I think you should just leave.”

“Well, my dad is expecting me home soon. What do you think I should tell him about you not being dead?”

“... Is he going to hurt you if you go back?”

Jon shrugged. “If I let him. Which I probably will, so I don't get grounded. But I might be grounded anyway since this meant a lot to him. If I don't get grounded, can I see you again?”

“It's best if you don't.”

“I'm going to be honest, I don't like that answer. If you want me to stay away you'll have to use your magic to harm me.”

“Tt. Do you have a death wish?”

“No. My biggest wish is for you to spar with me and win.”

“What if I lose?”

“Then we'll go again until you win.”

“...Hm. You're very… persistent.”

Jon grinned. “Thanks. Wow, it feels really good when you compliment me. Do it again.”

“Um… you have really unique eyes?”

Jon beamed. “This is great, keep going!”

Damian blushed. “I'd rather not.”

Jon pouted. “Pleeeeaaase? I'll do anything.”

“Will you go home?”

“Fine, yes, after… 3 more compliments. Then I'll go home, for now.”

“Tt. Your curls look very nice, your hair makes a nice contrast against your skin tone and you– ah… you… that is, you're very strong.”

“I already knew that last one.”

“I meant muscular.”

“That's not a compliment, that's just a fact.”

Damian’s ears burned. “...I like it. I like that about you. I like that you're muscular. It looks… visually appealing.”

“Oh, I'm definitely in love with you. I'd love to stay and compliment you back, but I said I'd leave, and I want you to trust me! If you ever need me, or just want me, all you have to do is call. I'll come.”

Jon flew back home. “Dad? I ambushed him, caused an avalanche, and killed his squad, but he still beat me.” Jon called out.

Kal walked out to see his son. “You look unharmed. Why did he let you go?”

“Honestly? I think I annoyed him too much. But I'm going back tomorrow.”

“I see… an ambush didn't work, so you'll have to gain his trust and then betray him. I was going to punish you but your tenacity and cunning deserve a reward, so it is simpler to do nothing.

“Oh, yeah, psh, that's totally why I want to go back. I totally want to murder him in cold blood. I mean, you know how much I love murder.”

Kal frowned. “I do know. It gets in the way of your studies. However, this time I approve.”

“‘kay. Thanks. See ya.” He went back to his room to watch Damian with his X-ray vision.

The next day, Jon went to Nanda Parbat and watched Damian from the sky, waiting until he was alone to approach him.

Damian’s hair was slicked back with sweat and he was flushed and panting.

“Prince Damian. You look somehow even more incredible than last time.”

“Spare me the mockery.”

“What? I'm not mocking you. The way your skin flushes and glistens is as enchanting as any of your spells, my lord.”

“Hn. You know most humans find sweat repulsive?”

“I'm only half human. Also, you smell great. Musky. Can I lick you?”

“Definitely not.” Jon pouted. “Do you want something?”

“Yeah. Can we spar?”

“After lunch. Would you like to dine with me?”

“Can I? Won't the servants see me?”

“I cook for myself.”

Jon gasped. “I get to try your cooking?! Yes!” He pumped his fist in the air.

Damian chuckled good naturedly.

Jon leaned against the island as Damian cooked. “What did your dad say about you failing to kill me?”

“Oh I told him I was going back today and he thought I meant that I was going to gain your trust to kill you.” Damian stiffened. “So I'm going to let him think that so I can spend more time with you.”

“Try this.” Damian said, handing Jon a spoonful of sauce. Jon tasted it.

“Hm, that's pretty good! I've never had this before.”

Damian tasted it himself and nodded. “It is good.”

Jon ate at his usual impatient pace and spent the rest of the meal talking at Damian.

“Alright, Superboy, follow me.”

“Anywhere.”

“Tt.” Damian led him to the training courtyard. “Here we are. Remember to be quiet.”

Jon rushed to tackle Damian but he predicted it and dodged, casting a spell to slow down Jon’s movements. It was a lot stronger than the spell Damian intended to cast, and he moved like a sloth. “Wow prince…” he began as Damian took his time pinning Jon to the ground and immobilizing him with a spell. The first spell wore off quicker than expected. “...Damian you're so fast! Oh, it's already over!” Jon giggled. “You did even better this time! I suppose it's to be expected since it wasn't an ambush. You're really impressive…” Jon sighed dreamily, looking up into Damian’s eyes with a lovestruck gaze.

Damian coughed and looked away. “...You wanted me to beat you. Did you go easy on me?”

“I can honestly say that didn't even occur to me. I don't know why I would do that. Would it have made you happy?”

“Hell no. It would have made me angry.”

Jon smiled. “I'd like to see you angry. Maybe I will next time. Though I don't know if you'd even notice, considering how well you beat me this time.”

Damian looked confused. “Why would you want me to be angry?”

Jon raised a brow. “‘Cause I wanna see how you look when you're angry. I've never seen it before. I wonder if it would make me angry, too. I never get angry anymore.”

“You're… impossible.”

Jon grinned toothily. “Is that a good thing?”

“... I haven't decided.” Damian got off of Jon, much to the younger teen’s disappointment, and did a nullification spell on Jon before helping him up. Jon smirked and flipped Damian over his shoulder as he stood, but Damian landed on his feet and cast a sleeping spell on Jon. He woke him up with a water spell, sitting on his chest.

“You got me again! I love you.”

“You're weird.”

“Is that bad?”

“I haven't decided.”

Jon smiled, crinkling his eyes. “Wanna go again?”

Damian laughed. “Sure. I've not even worked up a sweat yet.”

The next time he came to Nanda Parbat he threw down a corpse in front of Damian, face still splattered in blood.

Damian sighed. “Most guys bring flowers.”

“I'm not ‘most guys’”

“Who was he?”

“He criticized your looks so I killed him for you.”

“Jon, I don't care what anyone says about me.”

Jon's eyes flashed red. “I care that he said that. Now he can't say anything like it ever again. What do you think of my technique?”

“Messy, but efficient.”

Jon smiled “Thank you. Do you want to spar?”

“Jon it's 11:38 at night.”

“... Is that a problem?”

“I was sleeping.”

“Oh. Can I join you?”

“Tt. No. Go home.”

Jon pouted. Damian held firm.

“Okay. I'll miss you.”

“Tt. You say such embarrassing things. Goodnight.”

Jon smiled, then quickly leaned in to kiss Damian’s cheek. “Good night, my love.”

Damian slammed the door in his face.

It became somewhat of a pattern for Jon to ambush Damian when he went out on missions, and Damian learned to expect it. Jon was getting faster at killing Damian’s compliment.

“I killed them, so we can be alone!” Jon said cheerfully, gently touching Damian’s cheeks with his bloody fingers and looking at him adoringly.

“Jon. Keep your hands to yourself before I cut them off.” He said, drawing his rune-encrusted sword slightly out of the scabbard.

Jon pouted but removed his hands. “As you wish, my lord. So, what are you out here for today?”

“I was planning on retrieving a magical relic from a temple to the east of here, until you showed up. You’re like a gnat.”

“I can get it for you!”

“Tt, I’m sure you can’t, there are magical booby traps.”

Jon pouted. “I want to do this for you. Please?”

“Jon, I am certain that if you were deathly injured my mother would not permit me to put your body in the lazarus pit.”

“Not even if I died saving your life?”

“Likely not. I shouldn't even be talking to you, you are the enemy.”

Jon grinned. “I guess we both like to do whatever we want.”

“It is human nature to desire freedom.”

“Well yeah but I'm not human.”

“You are as human as you are kryptonian. I wonder, did your father have the same disregard for your mother as with the rest of humanity?”

“I dunno. I was cloned from her dead body and my dad. I never saw them interact. But I know he loved her, and I know he misses her. He's told me it's the only reason he puts up with me.”

“It does not sound like you are very close.”

“We aren't. But he's the only other kryptonian other than Kara Zor-el so y'know, he's important. Not as important as you, of course, but he was previously the most important person in my life.”

“We're here. Don't follow me.”

Jon floated after him. “But I wanna keep you safe! Let me carry you.”

“No– Jon, put me down!”

Jon grinned and flew Damian in. “What's it look like? I can look through the walls for you.”

“Unneeded, I have a map.”

Jon swiped the map from him and read it. “I have a great sense of direction, don't worry.”

“You are infuriating.”

“We cause strong emotions in each other~ how lovely. Okay, hold tight.”

Jon flew quickly down the halls, before being knocked into the wall by a magical hammer. Damian rolled off of him as Jon groaned in pain. “You idiot. Where are we?”

Jon grunted and pointed to their location on the map.

“I can’t even cast a healing spell on you as I have no idea how it will effect you.”

“Don't worry… I have super healing… so the side that hit the wall will be fine. The wall isn't magic, right?”

Damian checked. “Luckily for you, it is regular stone.”

Jon grinned. “Help me up? I wanna help you finish this.”

“It's a bad idea. We need to get you out of here.”

Jon shook his head. “I'm not going. I'll be right behind you. You can handle the magic traps, and I can fly in front of an arrow for you or something.”

“And what if it's a magical arrow?”

“I'll die for you. Did I not mention that?”

“Tt. You're dangerous to have around. But if you're not leaving…” Damian got out a rope and tied them together by their waists with a length of rope in between them. “Stick close to me.”

Jon floated to his feet. “Mkay. Let's go!”

Damian sighed and pulled along a floating Jon. He disabled the traps as they went until they reached the chamber with the artifact. Damian picked it up and the room shook with a deep voice.

“To get out of trouble, face your double. Return the staff to the rack and it will end the attack.”

Smoke billowed out of the air vents and coalesced into shadow versions of Jon and Damian. Damian sighed and took out his katana.

Jon and Damian fought back to back as their shadow versions worked independently. Damian took out his double and Jon defeated his own. The smoke dissipated and Jon cheered.

“We did it! That was awesome! They didn’t stand a chance against our teamwork! Imagine if you came in here with your whole squad! That would have been so much chaos, I really did you a favor by killing them.”

Damian growled and pressed his sword to Jon’s throat, backing him up against the wall. “No. Killing.”

“Mhn, so it's fine if you kill me but not if I kill your squad, who as we've previously established can come back to life whereas I will not?”

“I will kill you if I have to.”

“I would expect nothing less, my prince.” Jon smiled slightly. “So this is what you look like when you're angry. I love the intensity in your eyes.”

Damian narrowed his eyes. “Are you really trying to de-escalate the situation by flirting?”

Jon shook his head as much as he could. “Just saying what I think, my lord. And I think you look beautiful.”

Damian sighed and withdrew his blade. “You're an idiot.”

Jon smiled cheerily and let Damian drag him along by the rope still attached to his waist. Damian escorted Jon back to the entrance of the temple and cut the rope. “You need to stop killing my team every time I leave the palace. It makes me look incompetent.”

“Do you get in trouble?”

“Not exactly, no–”

“Then it's fine!”

Damian pinched the bridge of his nose. “Listen to me carefully. I am telling you that I want you to stop killing my team. Did you not say that I deserve to get what I want?”

“You're turning my words against me! I just want to be with you. Your assassins would never allow it. If I don't defeat them, I'll die.” Jon whined.

“Then learn non-lethal techniques of taking people down. Practice on those criminals or whatever.”

“You want me to… not kill a criminal?”

“Yes.”

“I can try… can I still be violent?”

“I would appreciate it if you did not scar my team too badly. But outside of that, you can be as brutal as you like as long as they do not die.”

“Okay. I will practice not killing and come back to you. Farewell, my prince.”

“Farewell, lord Jonathan.” Damian said as Jon lifted off into the sky, the cut rope rippling in the wind with his cape.

Jon stormed through the palace towards Damian, knocking people out of the way like flies. “Prince Damian! I came back, as I said I would.”

“Yes, I can see that. Are you here to kill more of my people? You know I cannot allow that, Lord Jonathan.”

Jon cocked his head. “Why would I do that? I don’t care about humans.”

Damian quirked a brow. “I am human.”

“You’re better than everyone else, though.”

“Is that so?”

Jon giggled. “Yeah, I think you could even kill me if you tried. That’s so hot. Look at you, not attacking me right now… so romantic...” Jon sighed.

Damian tutted. “I’m beginning to regret that.”

Jon giggled. “Some days I think I love you so much I'd just let you. Would you like me to do that? Or would you want a fight?” He came closer.

“What kind of question is that?”

“A genuine one. Oh… If I tried to kill you, I hope you’d try to kill me too… maybe we could die at the same time. If I am going to die, I want it to be by your hand. And no one else deserves to take your life away but me, and only if you asked me to.” He giggled, twirling his hair. “I really like having you around, so you would have to convince me first, or else I wouldn’t even let you kill yourself.” Jon hummed. “But I don’t see you convincing me that this world is so terrible as to deserve to be ridden of such beauty.” He stroked Damian’s cheek with a gloved hand, and Damian smacked it away. Jon sighed. “I love you.”

“You don’t know what love means. Your father never showed you.”

“I don’t? Well then, you’ll have to teach me. No one else will do.”

Damian tutted, before sighing as if greatly put upon and offering his ring for Jon to kiss. He did so gladly, kneeling at his feet.

“My prince.” Jon held Damian’s hand by the wrist and turned it over so he could nuzzle into his palm. Damian allowed it. Jon locked his violet eyes on Damian’s emerald ones. He kissed his fingertips one by one.

“You are so devoted to me. It’s perplexing.”

Jon kissed his wrist. “It’s simple; the whole earth should bow to you. You are perfection. Every moment you spend with me is pure gold; my greatest treasures.Or maybe it is that I can take anything in the world that I want, except for you. You are the only thing I could ever rightfully earn. The only goal worth pursuing. Everything was meaningless and dull until I met you, my Prince.”

Damian cupped his cheek. “And what if you got me? What then? Do you truly believe that to be love?”

“I would work to keep you and to serve you, to make you happy.” He smiled. “To annoy you, to pester you, to laugh with you, to see you cry. To hold you. To learn everything there is to know about you until you’ve changed so much that I have to learn you all over again.” He sniffed Damian’s wrist, at the cologne there, and deeper at all the smells that made up Damian. “Intoxicating.” Jon puffed out a laugh. “I don’t know what love is supposed to be like. Have I got it wrong? Do you think it matters? I ask out of curiosity, ‘cause even if it were really something completely morally unacceptable to you, I wouldn't care. It feels better than anything ever has. It’s what I live for.”

Damian’s lips parted in surprise. He schooled his features to ask his next question. “How many people have you killed since I last saw you?”

“None.” Jon smiled. “I’m learning, see? I can do better. I must be of some use to you, haven’t I?”

Damian got a strange look in his eye just then, and Jon became excited at the prospect of learning that expression. “Get up.”

Jon wilted. “Have I offended you, my Prince?”

Damian shook his head. “Stand up. Don’t. Float.”

Jon bowed his head obediently and stood up. Damian stepped close and put his hand on Jon’s shoulder, pulling him down into a slow and gentle kiss. Jon did not know his heart could race so fast. Damian pulled away with an unreadable look in his eye. “Alright, Jon. I accept. I will teach you how to love.”

Jon beamed. “Oh, this is so much better than murder.” He whispered.

Damian smirked. “It is, isn’t it? A lot of things are.” Damian took his hand off of Jon’s shoulder and put both behind his own back.

“Could you excuse me for just one moment? I feel the urge to go fly.”

Damian nodded, and Jon flew off, laughing brightly like a child.

Jon returned a moment later. “I love you! It feels so triumphant!” Jon gasped. “Does this mean we are dating? Boyfriends?!”

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but yes. My mother will not be pleased.”

“I can kill her for you, if you wan’t.”

Damian glared at him. “No. No Killing.”

Jon looked at him for a long time. “Okay… Okay. But if someone tries to kill you, I won’t spare them. Even if you get mad at me. Even if you don’t believe my explanation. Even if you can take care of yourself. I promise, I won’t let you die.”

Damian scowled. “Just…kiss me, you idiot.”

Jon flew to his side in an instant, but was much more apprehensive about actually kissing him, so Damian grabbed his head and dragged their mouths together. Jon purred and pulled him closer. Damian nibbled on Jon’s bottom lip and he gasped. “Damian!”

“Yes?”

“You’ve done this before! And I can’t kill whoever you did it with!”

“You don’t have worry, they are already dead.”

“Woah, do you kill people instead of breaking up with them?”

“Tt, no. They betrayed me. I made an example of them.”

“Wow, I can’t imagine killing you if you betrayed me.”

“Hm. I can’t say it was pleasant, but— we are supposed to be kissing right now, Jonathan.” He pulled him in for a few more smooches.

“Is this part of learning how to love?” Jon asked dazedly.

“No, this is for me. I’m just glad I found a way to shut you up.”

“Dami! That’s–” More kissing. “That’s mean. I love it when you’re mean to me.”

They had their arms wrapped around each other by now. Damian rubbed between Jon’s shoulder blades. “You really shouldn’t.”

“Nobody is ever mean to me but you! How could I not like it? I love when you give me attention.”

“To have everyone afraid of you, your whole life… Let’s change that, hm? You are terrifying in the way that you move, talk, smile, laugh, and behave… But we should be able to change at least two of those.”

“Am I so scary, even to you?”

“No, not to me. You’re even… cute.”

“Isn’t that a bad thing?”

Damian furrowed his brow. “No, why would it be?”

“My father always told me to stop acting so cute, that it was distracting.”

“Everything about you is distracting. You’re currently distracting me from my work. I didn’t think you cared.”

Jon smiled. “You’re right, I don’t. And like I said, you can be mean to me, as long as you don’t ignore me. Well, even if you tried to ignore me, I’d cover your eyes until you had to acknowledge me. Or… maybe I could bite you, like Krypto used to do when I was little and I’d ignore him. Hm… come to think of it, you did just say I was distracting, I’m sure there are lots of ways I could get your attention. I like being distracting.”

Damian arched a brow. “Surely you’ll allow me to get my work done.”

“Well, that’s not ignoring me ‘cause you’re mad! So it’s fine. I can just watch you.”

“Do you watch me when you leave?”

Jon nodded. “And I strain my ears to listen. I love the sound of your voice, my prince.”

“Oh Jonathan, your life cannot only be me. I want you to stay in the palace so I can show you other things you might find meaningful.”

“Like what?”

“Friendship, learning to cook, making art. Things that are worthwhile because of the struggle. I think you will enjoy pottery.”

“What's so interesting about making pots? Plenty of people can do that.”

“They can do it because they put in the work, and they are better than you at it. Don't you want to impress me with an excellent piece of pottery?”

“You would like it if I gave you something I made?”

“Jon, the only person who can make the art that you would make is you. If you do not make it, it will never be known. You can give me something no one else can.”

“Who cares? Everyone will say they love it so I don't singe their eyebrows off…”

Damian arched a brow. “I won't.”

Jon blushed and smiled at Damian. “That's right, you're not afraid to tell me what you think. You're my equal.”

“I may even decide to encourage you with kisses.”

Jon rumbled a purr. “I love you. I'm going to make you the best pot ever.”

Damian kissed him again. “Good. I eagerly await it.”

[lorena12me]

A little fanart drawing for @polarspaz for his amazing CarrionAU of Tim Drake and the Batfam, omg I LOVE the batfamily designs for this AU and the story!!! gods i love the story!!!

I couldn't stop imagining what the battle was like in which they managed to capture Jason. In his description, Jason was killed by the Joker and revived and Brutalized by the League of Assassins, and then released in Gotham where he unleashed a violent crime spree involving civilians as well, due to being poisoned by the well of lazarus and the indoctrination-torture of the Al Ghul and that the whole family had to combine in order to overcome him from his furious rage.

-.-.-.-.--.-

I just couldn't stop imagining headcanon about the context of the battle, :

Ok, so I figured if Jason showed up in Gotham unleashing such a violent massacre wearing the Red Hood helmet and fully covered, the Batfamily would move very quickly (and violently) to eliminate the threat, leading them to focus on stopping the new one. rogue (murder him) caring more about stopping him permanently than finding out his identity. Also, I don't think the good people left in Gotham would accept Red Hood as one of their anti-heroes if they knew he was the one who did all that violence, so I thought the Red Hood costume with the helmet would come after to help him recover from the madness of the pit. Ok, so that's why I drew the Red Hood in the Young Justice ninja outfit, because it would be easier for the mask he wears to be snatched or broken during some fight against Batfam and they could see that he wasn't just a common rogue but Jason revived, so they would decide not to be completely lethal with him, but to capture him to verify that he is Jason and help him.

Tim is not in the picture due to being a stealth-ranged fighter who is using his poison darts to try to overload the well's ability to heal Jason.

I'd really love to know what Polarspaz's thoughts are on how they captured and helped Jason though! Also a bit about Damian because the idea that he murdered Talia to escape the abuse is so interesting!!, Tim is my favorite character, but everyone else is so incredibly cool and I can't help but want to know more about them.

Thank you so much for creating so many amazing AU's

[whatever-color-of-the-rainbow]

RTC HEADCANONS GO ‼️‼️

OMG YES THANK YOU. I HAVE A LOT.

I think that Karnak lets everyone come back to life at the end for two reasons. One: let’s be real, putting them through all that just to bring them all back is such a Karnak thing to do. And two: THEY DESERVE IT GODDAMNIT

Noel’s favorite band is The Smiths

Mischa likes giving Ricky stickers to put on his cane or wheelchair

Ocean is aroace, but didn’t know she was aroace for a long time. She just thought she was “too mature” and “too focused on her schoolwork” to have crushes

Penny lets Noel borrow her dresses sometimes

Constance is extremely prone to infodumping (Penny could listen to her for hours though)

Ricky likes to “accidentally” run over Ocean’s toes with his wheelchair when she babies him

Mischa and Noel actually aren’t that bad at math; Mischa has a C and Noel has a B. Ocean just views anything below an A as “bad”.

Penny dressed up as Jane Doe for Halloween, and the rest of the choir found this hilarious

Taylor Swift is Ocean’s favorite singer and Penny’s celebrity crush

Constance has had a crush on everyone in the choir at some point (including Noel, but this was before he came out)

Ricky and Noel once tried to write a Monique/Bachelor Man crossover, but because their stories and writing styles were so different, it failed miserably. Now Ricky just draws pictures of Monique and the Bachelor Man kissing instead.

Ocean likes to wake up early, and Constance does not. So when they have sleepovers, Constance will often wake up and Ocean will have breakfast ready for her.

Ricky and Noel like to go on double dates with Constance and Penny

Noel and Ricky are both genderfluid. Noel is AMAB and Ricky is AFAB, and they’re both prone to dysphoria. If they had a nickel for every joke they made about switching bodies, Noel would have enough money to move to France and take the whole rest of the choir with him.

After the Cyclone thing, Mischa spends more evenings at Ricky’s place than his own

Prior to the Cyclone, Noel is extremely protective of Constance because of the way Ocean treats her

Mischa once overheard Noel talking about RuPaul’s Drag Race during choir. He thought it was an actual racing show and started watching it. It wasn’t what he expected, but it is now his favorite show. (This is technically semi-canon; in the high school edition, Mischa mentioned this.)

Penny and Noel are the definition of gay/lesbian solidarity

Penny and Constance like to go on picnic dates

Ocean and Noel are basically siblings. They actually do love each other and know each other better than anyone, but they live for getting on each other’s nerves, and Noel isn’t afraid to call Ocean out on her bullshit.

Ricky, Noel, Ocean: cat people

Mischa, Constance, Penny: dog people

They’re all autistic, I don’t make the rules

For Noel’s birthday, Ocean made him a bracelet that said his name with red and green beads (because Christmas). In return, Noel made Ocean a bracelet with her name and orange, yellow, white, blue, and teal beads (because beach colors; little did he know that those would become the aroace colors). They trade those bracelets every time they see each other.

Constance once made the mistake of having Mischa watch Up with her. He cried.

Ocean was Constance’s queer awakening in eighth grade. The crush lasted for about four months. ‘Twas a very awkward four months.

Mischa had a crush on a guy before meeting Talia, but didn’t realize it was a crush at the time because it was the mid 2000s and queerness wasn’t really talked about as much as it is today. When Ricky mentioned being bisexual, Mischa came to the conclusion that he was too.

Penny has what might be the greenest eyes that any of her friends have ever seen on a human

Constance is really good at styling hair, so Ocean and Penny always go to her when they want to have their hair look nice for a concert or contest

Ricky’s really good at doing people’s makeup

[kittieshauntedourfantasy]

what do you think they were all like in the choir pre-cyclone?

OUGHHH thank you for this one I had to think... I really hope you enjoy! :D

Ocean

Certified yapper. If she wasn't singing, she was talking everyone's ear off.

Circled the soprano parts in her sheet music so she could focus on them.

Corrected everyone else on mistakes before Father Marcus could. "Those are the wrong words!", "Diction!", "Those are the wrong notes!" sh*t like that

Involved in EVERYTHING. Planned events, suggested new songs, all that.

Saw the choir as a reflection of herself. She was the choir captain, so any mistakes felt like personal failure to her.

First to show up, last to leave.

Noel

Passed TF OUT when nobody was watching. Taco Bell is draining okay

Got distracted occasionally while daydreaming about Monique. That affected his performance, which led to lectures from Ocean, which led to arguments.

When he was actually focused, he'd pour his heart and soul into performing.

Was the choir's main male soloist.

Liked hanging out with some of the other choir members during break. He'd look at stuff online with Mischa, give Ricky company, chat with Constance, all that.

Saw the choir as both an outlet and a trap. It allowed him to express himself, but it was also a reminder of the limitations of his small town.

Mischa

Rarely paid attention. He was mostly texting Talia.

Snuck onto his phone during competitions. That's part of the reason they got second place against themselves.

Liked showing Noel stuff on his phone. Memes, YouTube videos, his rap, just about anything.

Pirated Saw on his phone during breaks.

Liked drawing with Ricky. Ricky drew Zolarian stuff, Mischa drew tattoo designs.

Ricky

Drew most of the time. His sketchbook pages were FILLED.

Since she couldn't sing, she just zoned out and daydreamed.

They nodded their head to the beat of songs, that way they were doing something.

Loved hanging out with Penny. It didn't know much about her, but it still liked her company.

Wore a tail to choir practice and everybody kept wanting to feel it (it was soft ok). I should probably mention that I hc Ricky as a therian

Penny

Could NOT sit in chairs normally.

Also could NOT stand still. Very fidgety.

Didn't really hang out with anyone but Ricky. She liked watching him draw.

Always brought her dolly to practices/rehearsals.

Actually had an interest in choir, even if she couldn't pursue it for long.

Constance

Always baked treats for the choir.

Tried to hang out with everyone, even if they never really got to know each other.

Always played little games with Ocean. Stuff like rock paper scissors.

Was the first to try and break up arguments between Ocean and the others.

Helped Ricky design Zolarian cats during breaks. She didn't really know the Zolar lore at the time she just thought the cats were fun.

[cookiesupplier]

Every Rose Has It's Thorns - Part One

pairing: Ricky Olson x ofc (Talia)

warnings/tropes: slow burn, soulmates, strangers to enemies to lovers, betrayal, angst, fluff, smut, language, betrayal. (potentially more to be added?)

summary: In a world where soulmates inexplicably receive a tattoo that will match that of their soulmate the moment they turn eighteen years old, being famous and covered in very visible tattoos can make finding your true soulmate a questionable fate. Not that it is any easier for the soulmate in question. Thus is the fate for Ricky and Talia. Sooner or later, however, life is bound to collide, but what will happen when it does?

author’s note: Part ONE, as usual unbeta'd and will just throw my jumbled words at you and ask you to love them. I don't know how long this series will be yet, I am playing by ear to having a feel for this story and where it will take me.

tags: If you would like to be added feel free to ask, please let me to know whether to this list specifically or in general.

~~

Talia forever would hate the day she learned about soulmate tattoos. Well, marks, they weren’t really tattoos as far as she was concerned. Just because they were intricate images like tattoos, some of them anyway. Some of them were nothing but simple stick figures that little children could draw, the reason that everyone called them tattoos was because they were artwork that was permanently inked to a person’s skin and could never be taken off. Unlike real tattoos though, no needle needed to be taken to your skin for them, there was no ink, no pain, no healing. Everyone got their mark.

On your eighteenth birthday, at the exact moment you were born, your mark appeared. If you were born at five thirteen in the morning, or exactly a minute before midnight, that was the moment that your mark was going to appear. You couldn’t predict what it was. You couldn’t predict where it would be. There was no rhyme or meaning behind them.

Some people used to think that there was an emotional meaning connecting the pair with the tattoo. However, Talia found that hard to believe when there were people that had literally poop emoji as their soulmate tattoo on their ass, out there in the world, oh yes, they were out there, she was well aware. Her cousin, Gemma’s best friend, was her soulmate tattoo. The poor girl, Talia actually hoped that she didn’t find her soulmate if there was truth that there was something linking them emotionally with that emoji, because no.

Not everyone found their soulmate, not everyone wanted to. Some people actively avoided looking at their soulmates because honestly, it took the surprise out of life, and where was the fun of that? The joy of falling in love, and the hope and thrill of putting your heart on the line and wondering, is this the person? Is this the person that fate had chosen for you, the one you were meant to be with?

Talia would never know that feeling.

She knew who her soulmate was the very moment her mark appeared, and the shock that she felt was something that she couldn’t even put words to. Seeing that tattoo appear, one that she knew. One that she’d seen on fansites of one of her favourite bands more than once, and in the same place.. If it wasn’t in the same place it wouldn’t have been him. If it wasn’t in the same place she wouldn’t have been in the position she was in now. If it was just the same image, and not the same place, it would have just been an uncanny coincidence.

This wasn’t just some uncanny thing.

It was real.

Problem was, it was all over the fansites, and Talia had never kept it any secret how much she loved Motionless In White. Especially Ricky Horror.

So when the day she turned eighteen came and she turned up with the exact tattoo that all the fansites claimed was his soulmate tattoo but he always refused to confirm, what famous person would confirm and have millions come out of the woodwork claiming to be their soulmate? Well, it was safe to say, she was ripped apart by so many people that she at least used to think were her friends.

Her true friends, all these years later, were down to three. Three people that in no way would ever bag on her for the rose tattoo that not so innocently sat on her neck, and none of them dared mention anymore.

Years.

Talia used to try.

Despite the cruelty of those around her treating her like some psychotic obsessed fangirl that had gone and gotten the tattoo on her birthday just to fool the man into being with her. She’d loved going to concerts, not just to try and meet Ricky, despite the assumption, but also for the music, thank you very much, but yes, for Ricky. How could she not want to meet the man whose very soul was marked on her skin for the rest of her life? Whose life had been marked with hers longer than hers had been marked with his…

There had been close calls over the years, when she almost got to meet him. The closest had been the time when she’d actually managed to get a VIP ticket to a concert. Sure it was two states over, and she had to fly there and take some time off work, but the fact that she’d managed to save up, and get the ticket at all.

Ava, Jordan and Kyle had all helped her. The three people in her life that had never, not once, ever questioned that mark on her skin and who the other person on the other end was.

Even her family had made her wonder if she was a little insane for thinking that Ricky Horror was her soulmate. Her mother had been so obvious in her effort to placate her, never once did she feel like her family thought that maybe, just maybe, did they believe her. Her father actually suggested she get medical help more than once. Not surprisingly though, there were therapists that did specialise in the effects of the soulmate bond and sometimes delusions that could come from them. The day her father made her appointment with one of them though, was the day she decided to move out of her parents house.

Thankfully Ava had a spare room and was more than happy to split rent with her.

Oh, and that VIP ticket that she got?

She didn’t make it there in time.

One thing happened after another that night, and you could call it a disaster of fate, and in hindsight, she should have seen it coming. Maybe it was a product of fate. Maybe the whole thing with the soulmate tattoos were always going to be wrong and hers was just sitting on her skin to taunt her.

First, her client appointment ran late, and if she had tried to end it early so she could make it to the airport in time, she would have risked losing her job. Not that it would have mattered considering her flight had been delayed anyway, and then by the time they were finally about to board they cancelled it and had to get her onto a different flight. A different flight which meant she didn’t even get there in time to get into her VIP meet and greet in time.

She got to go to the concert.

She got her VIP merch.

After all that, beaten down with the day behind her, her hotel booked and not needing to be at the airport for the flight home until late the next day, she decided to wait to see if she could catch them after the show.. Until she saw him, finally. The smile lit up her face as she saw Ricky pass them by.. Talia had wanted to say something, but when they were actually talking to the fans she was stuck behind some idiot and blocked out of the way, and by the time she managed to elbow her way through, they’d already been ushered on by security.. Not that it mattered when he saw one of the people he was with. His new girlfriend, hand in hand.

It had been an amazing night.. But one that had ended with her in heartbreak.

That was the night that was the beginning of the end for Talia’s attempts to meet Ricky. After so many trips to see their concerts, and try to see him, this last one, this VIP trip, was when she saw him walking back to his tour bus with his new, pretty girlfriend. He was smiling at her so bright, holding her hand between them.

It wouldn’t have killed her as much, except he looked so happy.

Sure, Talia had no doubt he’d had girlfriends before, she’d dated guys, but Ricky had never been open on social media about any of his relationships. This girl though, he was very vocal about. Talia, she couldn’t destroy that, soulmate or not.

Not everyone wanted their soulmate, not everyone wanted their soulmate. She supposed she couldn’t blame him, he was famous, that had to be hard, after all, nearly every single person that knew who her mark connected her too thought she’d was just some psychotically obsessed fan. Why wouldn’t he?

So life moved on.

Talia moved on.

However, if she had to endure one more pathetic attempt to set her up on a blind day from her mother, her brain might explode. Ever since she’d given up on her soulmate tattoo, not that she’d talked to mother about it in years, her mother’s attempts to interest her in someone else had only increased. Now though, the moment the inevitable subject of soulmates came up, she never knew what to say. More often than not, the date came to a dead stop then and there just from what he said even before she could open her mouth. Too many people went on blind dates in hope of meeting the one. She knew she wasn’t that person, and there was no second date then.

Sitting at her desk and looking up from her sketch patch when her phone started going off repeatedly, she was working on a new piece for one of her long-time clients, he was slowly working on a full tattoo sleeve and this was the next addition she was designing, provided he liked what she worked up. He hadn’t yet, but there was always a first time.

Trying to ignore the alerts on her phone to focus wasn’t going to happen, but she needed to take a lunch break anyway. So she set her pencil down, picked up her phone and set to go make herself a cup of coffee.

When she saw who the messages were from, she glanced up to the front of the tattoo palour to one of the culprits, Ava.. she was right there at the reception desk, flicking through a magazine like she didn’t have a care in the world, typical. Shaking her head with a smirk as she opened the messenger app to her friend groups chat to see what the three of them had been gossiping about back and forth.

Kyle: Hey guys, we’re still on for tonight? Jordan: Party girl, you still in? Ava: Oh, I’ll get her there, she’d got her head in her work, like usual today, you know her. Jordan: Oh come ON, TALIA! BIRTHDAY GIRL! Kyle: T, Darling, I did not agree to double shifts to get the night off for you to BAIL! Ava: Kyle! Cool your jets, she’ll be there!

It had been a few moments since the last message, she knew they’d been planning on taking her out to a bar for her birthday for weeks, she hated going out on her birthday, she hated it. It always reminded her of the fucking tattoo on her neck. It shouldn’t. Everyone talked about soulmate tattoos on their birthday. Counting down the years and remembering how they felt when they first saw theirs, or when they first met their soulmate.. When all she wanted was to forget she ever got her mark at all.

She understood Kyle’s frustration though, he was a nurse, and sometimes getting time off for a night out was difficult for him. Kyle and Jordan were fucking lucky, they were soulmates, two of her best friends, known each other since they were in diapers, had been joined at the hip since middle school. The biggest worry they’d ever had was if they were soulmates at all. When Jordan had gotten his mark two months before Kyle, they’d agreed if Kyle didn’t have the same, they wouldn’t care, and lo and behold, two months later, sure enough, Kyle did.

It was actually scary really thinking about it, the way the marks worked.. How if you got your mark years before your soulmate, they could be out there and have no idea. She was younger than Ricky by years, and she wondered sometimes what he must have been thinking, how he must have felt. Some people never met their soulmate, some people never got the chance, and it wasn’t by choice. You knew when you lost the choice, if your tattoo changed from black to white on your skin, then it meant your soulmate had died.

Talia’s of course was still very much black. Not that it mattered. Ricky was out there, not looking, and neither was she. He was happy with someone else, and who was she to ruin that for him.

After she pushed the button on the coffee maker she looked back down to her phone and tapped out a message on her phone.

Talia: I’ll be there Ky, be prepared to die by shots.

[byghostface]

Hello! Nika fan here! Uhm, curious, as you seem like a Nika expert, how do you explain her personality as a character? 😅 Sorry, sounds stupid, but I really wanted to understand her more! Detailed or in simplistic form, I don't mind one or the other.

Hope you have a good day! Love your art! ❤️ 💀 ❤️

Hi there! Thanks for the question and take an interest in her!!^ ^♥️ (I tried to keep it simple but I keep adding details about her, so it has become a lengthy description, but you can scroll to the bottom I have the simplistic version of it)

Detailed version↓

I would say Nika is a quick wit, bold, resilient, stylish, rebellious, and very much an independent person. Sometimes a bit of a showgirl in her own playful theatrical way.

→Painting her face with skull makeup. Her trademark move by tearing people's hearts out. Presenting herself in distinctive outfits. Kneeling as a sign of respect when she first meets with people whom she holds long admiration for - Batman, her (past) mentor Lord Death Man. When she goes undercover with Damian in Gotham High, she shows up dressing to her own taste in clothes, even though he tells her to be inconspicuous.

"Sorry, I don't do inconspicuous."

Batman and Robin(2023)#8 -Artist: Nikola Čižmešija-

She tends to make silly nicknames for people, like throwing it in between conversations as a not-serious jab/comment: Damian- little birdie, Bruce- Daddy bat-brucks (reference Annie), Ra's Al Ghul- old fart😭(cus he is in ghost/spirit form, and properly bugging her for a while…)

The interests she has are drawing and opera. She also mentioned she's a K-pop stan, so I imagine she is interested in different ranges of music.

"—wander around an old folk's home and like… pick up painting or opera, y'know?"

Nika is an easygoing, open-minded and curious person (reads Damian's manga and talks to him about it). She's not very good at picking up social cues (saying death-related jokes at bad timing or it didn't land well) despite that, she still pays attention to what people are saying and observes people well (discuss the fighting skills of tournament fighters with Damian, and showing concern about Damian's injured arm).

"It's good. I like that it's a romance about an art school. But also about being competitive…"

And oftentimes she lives in her own head (obsesses with death and honing her newfound powers). It improves after she meets Damian and considers other possibilities in life other than death and killing.

"Life can be more than just being really good at killing people. You've proven that a few times."

Batman and Robin(2023)#7 -Artist: Simone Di Meo-

She likes to handle things at her own pace/plans and has the confidence in herself to do it correctly. So she has the bad habit of saying white lies or doesn't tell people the whole picture/exactly what she is trying to do.

Sometimes doing things head-on fearlessly because she has ambition and pride in herself (calls dibs on Damian's first match, keeps fighting in the death tournament attempt to gain victory, takes over Lord Death Man's empire, takes inspiration from Talia and makes a new outfit for herself).

When first met, people might find Nika quite rude/careless. Once you get to know her, she's just very straightforward and honest when expressing her feelings. She can be pretty brash, had short-tempered to people who are disrespectful/annoying to her.

"If you really are this badass that you think you are, you'll respect me."

Nika is a person of a free spirit with a strong will and motivation. She would follow reasonable orders/rules from ppl whom she respects, but she would get irritated when people tried to hold tight control over her and tell her what she should or shouldn't do, it might signal her that they don't trust/have faith in her (like her family). And if she feels like being overlooked/underwhelming, she tries to rebel and manage things on her own terms (run away from home to learn more about her powers, overthrow Lord Death Man, handle Mila's situation, go to Gotham to see Damian after his lack of contact/attention to her even though he calls her his girlfriend first).

Simplistic version (summary)↓

Prominent personality trait— Quick wit and easygoing, with a strong will and motivation. A confident, resilient, fashionable, and challenging person.

Hobby(so far)— Drawing, k-pop, opera.

Social ability— Tends to be playful, joking around with people, and likes to nickname them as a not-serious jab/comment. Mostly minding her own business, and not relying on other people much. Kind of a lone wolf who values her own time and effort.

Goals(so far)— Relying on her obsession with death to make sense of life. After the tournament and managing Lord Death Man's criminal empire she wants to slow down a bit to enjoy/explore her life.

With Damian— Playful, free talking and showing more emotions with him. Honest to him with times (resolved misunderstanding with him quickly). Likes his accompany a lot.

With (her older sister) Mila— a bit melancholy but not afraid to fight against her when she is being disrespectful/harmful.

And Ty for liking my art!!💝 I must say my portrayal of Nika still has some level of my preference/fanon in it (I love my art, but I'm not always satisfied with how I portray her within my ability). So take it with a grand of salt and give comics a try if you can! (For Nika, Robin2021, Lazarus planet: Next evolution, and Batman and Robin2023)

Have a great day anon, and thanks for reading!!🫶⚰️💀🦴♥️

[luciusime]

Everyday I draw a little closer to writing an mla format very long essay on the complex and nuanced relationship between Bruce, Damian, and Dick. It infuriates and saddens me when people boil it down to Dick being Damian's father without considering the implications of that fatherhood and the conditions it was fostered under. Would you tell a kidnapping victim that they couldn't be a father to their son? No? Then why do people rob Bruce of the opportunity to be a father to Damian? Why does Dick get to be the oh so perfect golden child even when he's hurt at least two of his siblings with his actions from the time Jason first got to the manor, to the time he ripped all that was keeping Tim stable from his hands? If parents are allowed to fuck up, why isn't Bruce allowed to work his way back to, if not forgiveness, then at least stable ground for his less reprehensible actions.( not including things like killing his children, sending them on useless or unwanted quests/missions, or not avenging or correcting their deaths. The children are allowed to be upset and never forgive those things). Has anyone ever stopped to think about the implications of Dick being Damian's father? How if you add that on top of his unwanted stint as batman, it makes him uncomfortably close to being Bruce, something he has never wanted and will never want? Why do people only ever write nuanced and complex fics about Bruce's relationship with Tim and Jason? Why is it so hard to find fics of him being nice to Dick and Damian? Are they undeserving of having Bruce affirm his love for them? Why is Damian never treated like the traumatized child he is, when Cassandra, with a similar upbringing and background, is treated with so much tenderness in the few fics she has that center around her. Why is he labeled demon, murderer; a mindless, brainless 10 year old assassin with no morals? Is he not allowed time to heal from his time in a literal cult?

And while I'm rambling on, do people ever stop to consider the delicate tightrope work Talia must have had to do to be allowed to keep her son? Not even as just Ra's heir, but as her son. Talia has always been assassin before she was mother, and those two things don't mix well when you have the amount of enemies she does. And when one of those enemies is your own father? You learn quickly what will and will not fly. The designs she must have had to make, and the horrors she must have had to witness and inflict upon her child to keep them both from dying must have been immense.

I think about these topics alot. I could totally write a whole character study about it.

[goonersaurus]

just barely made enough art this year to do this meme idk(2 of these haven’t been posted anywhere). HNY

this year i started using tumblr more because i gradually used twitter much less sometime over the summer (RIP little blue bird) - im back to my silly old ways and posting my art! many thank yous and kisses and big ghibli-style tears for everyone who looked at my art, gave them likes, reblogs, or left comments or lovely tags. thank you to those who helped inspire me and got me back into writing fanfic, thank you to everyone on footyblr making it feel like a cozy and wholesome space, for mutuals, thanks for tolerating my vampire obsession (i was ….a lot more deranged with my footballer obsessions on my twitter i think but maybe i’ll be able to open up more here eventually)

i miss making “complicated” looking art (eg., in the bottom corners) and i hope to do some more experimentation to find a way to make this kind of art with football as the subject matter (probably wont be making much more h/talia fanart unfortunately…). my confidence in my art might be returning to a higher point. last month i moved on from the tablet and art program that i’ve been using the past 13 years and the change is probably good so far. i think i started enjoying drawing and sharing again over this year and i just hope i keep it up. and i hope to write more, and learn how to …. read and write again.

[daetko]

mutual headcanons . . .

talia note ; you guys … i wrote this at 4am so this is 100% half yapping but my mutuals on twt did this for me and i was like. omg . tumblr oomfs ur next. also math is kicking my ass so im bringing up multiplication hcs for everyone

@miyamoratsumuu — top of the class & class pres/have some major rule in school. you probably have a really cute smile like the one where ur lips don’t shut fully there’s like space that shows ur teeth a lil & i hc u have chest length hair too ,, you REALLY love youtube video essays probably, lego enjoyer & u 101% like/d kpop, i can see u liking nct and cravity so vividly,,, you also carry chapstick around with you everywhere though you don’t need it but u always end up finishing it somerhow. you’re OKAY at multiplication like you’re not the best but 100% not the worst. Biochem have to be ur favorite subjects (after art) i refuse to believe otherwise. u LOVE white shirts, u dress so nice and have those shirts w the little girl drawings on them, u also are somehow SOMEHOW the type of kid to fake cough infront of a smoking stranger to make them feel bad. squint & you’ll see the vision i’m implying n you 100% have perspective glasses ur supposed to wear but u never wear them, & lastly you have a tiktok account with you lip syncing

@rueclfer — ouhhhh rue i hc ur such a smartass at school like no one expects it but u get SUCH GREAT grades holy shit also ur a SMOKER. Oomf smokes (possibly weed and very rarely cigs) smoker. or u own atleast two dispos trust i know. also you really liked the tooth fairy as a kid and somehow she disappointed you and that’s where ur villain arc started . Atleast 3 dead pet fishes. u also really like zootopia. also probably tried getting into kpop at some point and failed miserably… you are willing to defend cheese sandwiches with your life too. human multiplication machine somehow, or really bad at it. you owe atleast 2 pairs of jorts & those baggy brown/black colored overly comfy oversized jackets that have these little doodles / stars on them & wire headphones, atleast 2 ear piercings and a septum , your screen time is 50% pinterest or twittwe

@loveriotss — lighting mcqueen defender ( i think u probably wanted the car bed / had it at some point) & car enjoyer … you’d love f1 . you watch sam and colby religiously (same) and u LOVEEEE old katy perry songs. u had a marshmallow / selena gomez phase in middle school & you used to have braces in elementary/middle school. you’re either ginger or a really light brown haired person, if u say black or dark brown i will actually be surprised. your aura color is 100% green with a hint of purple (i don’t know much about this but u just give that vibe) you play sims 4 too and really REALLY enjoy lasagna & multiplication (though you’re not the best at it). you’re also like REALLY scared of sneaking your phone in to school (let’s say it’s not allowed) and you were brave enough to do that for once and boom it’s like a cr4ck addiction you can’t stop bringing it to school w u until one day u get caught and they call your mum to school ,,, also u either violate the dress code or dress modestly no inbetween— and did i mention u have SO MANY racer jackets holy shit even if it’s those basic bershka ones

@poetlus / @lunatiqez — mina ashido and bokuto kotaro if they had a fusion of both of their personalities. oomf you LOVE LOOOVEE dresses so much like i wouldn’t be surprised if that’s half ur closet & u also have a bookshelf in your room probably with so many books you haven’t touched since u bought. probably got a scooter for christmas at some point. one of your many pillows on your bed probably has a floral print & your room is BIG LIKE HUGE there’s so much space left despite your huge ass closet. u probably own merch of stuff you USED to like and don’t anymore ,, you also enjoy ramen from restaurants like no tomorrow & you stick ur tongue out at every minor inconvenience (twin ). you also cannot do multiplication, you really hate math but you like to write in the notebook. you’re BLONDE. that’s BLONDE OOMF. or atleast light brunette. you’re like 5”4 too shit maybe 5”3 aswell.. you also LOVE raves and parties & u can fuck up cake like a n expert especially vanilla & red velvet cake . Rip liv you would’ve loved dress to impress

@sepptember — ok so first of all you LOVE shrimp. and i mean LOVE LOVE and you’re okay w other seafood. u also like to add thinly sliced carrot to ramen which is actually goated btw and you’d k1ll someone if a bowl of katsu curry was on the line,, your fav subject is PROBABLY science ,, perhaps geology? maybe? i feel like you have too many stuffed animals and you probably collect those glass drinks lids too, you had a monster energy drink phase & kinned hitoka yachi at some point. you update your letterboxed multiple times a week & you do NOT play about true crime podcasts. bro, please, im begging you to get out your room and see your family. also i think u have a rlly nice room … like it’s either rlly acubi-ish or brown green & some dark colors and veins hanging from the ceiling, both ways aesthetically pleasing to look at !!!! multiplication goat btw

ib this tweet

[the-uraniumverse]

The little guy is here!!

So his name is Fionn ó hÉalaighthe (he went by the anglicised surname 'Healy' once he was in Canada but I just wanted to use his actual name at least once), he's 15, and he's an Irish immigrant. He was told he was going to stay with family in Uranium and when he had landed, no one came to pick him up, so he's just wandering around the place with nothing but what's in his bags. He knew his parents applied to a school there before he left, so he usually sleeps in an unlocked classroom in St. Cassian's.

He ends up with the choir because he was getting bullied by the other students and Mischa scares them off (not intentionally, really, it's just that when you're the youngest in the school everyone's kinda scary, and the fact that Mischa is built like a brick wall doesn't help) and Mischa just accidentally "adopts" Fionn because this kid has no one else to talk to. They bond over being foreigners, and song writing: Mischa with his rap songs as Bad Egg, Fionn with his lyre. Fionn really likes Mischa's music; not because of the music itself, he's not really a rap kinda guy, but because of the feeling behind it. He loves the odd love song or two Mischa wrote for Talia the most.

Mischa ends up bringing Fionn into choir one time cos Fionn didn't want to be alone in the school building any longer than he needed to be, and he sort of gets along with the rest of the choir but kind of lingers in the corner of the room and watches them perform rather than participating himself, as he's too scared to sing in front of other people.

His relationships:

Ocean: He is terrified of her. Not only is she a 12th grader, but she's a bossy one too. He has made eye contact with her a whole one time, and he was shitting himself for the like 2 seconds it lasted.

Noel: They haven't really spoken, but Fionn thinks he is just so cool.

Mischa: Would be scared of him under other circumstances, but Mischa is ready to beat up every other 9th grader on Fionn's behalf, so they're on really good terms. Fionn tends to hide behind Mischa when they're in choir because he just doesn't like being perceived. Because there's over a foot between them, it is a pretty successful hiding spot.

Ricky: Not quite friends, but they're incredibly friendly with each other. Fionn can kind of talk to him, as ASL and ISL have some similarities due to their roots in LSF, and if all else fails the alphabets are almost identical. They both got very excited when they found out their sign names (Ricky - the letter "r" drawing out cat whiskers [at least that's my headcanon for his sign name], and Fionn - drawing cat ears on the top of the head) together make a whole cat.

Penny: She waved at him when he joined the choir for the first time, he waved back. That's the only interaction they've had. He really doesn't know what to make of her.

Constance: Was a little scared of Constance, but she made everyone cookies one time and gave him some, and now they're friends. She's the only person he'll speak to outside of the choir, aside from Mischa.

Other OCs: I don't know much about many of the characters here, so I guess this section will be a work-in-progress, but I do know Sam is also an Irish OC in the Uraniumverse so I definitely want them to be friends.

Also: Fionn's full name is Fionnuala, which is a traditional Irish girl's name. He's a trans dude but because he's in an entirely new place with no one who knows him around, he's 100% stealth (or he would be, if he wasn't so short), it's him and his extremely worn out chest binder against the world.

SILLY DUDE !!

[jonathan-samuel-smith]

BoSS Dami is like the same character but rather than serious and grumpy they play up his arrogance into him being boastful and cocky and I love it. He's having so much fun in the film, he loves fighting. He's bloodthirsty in a way that makes the audience happy for him which is pretty funny. I love the way they animate his facial expressions it's so good, and I love his voice. It's a little bit serious and broody while still being arrogant and youthful it's great. Jon sounds a little too old to be ten but I like his voice other than that. I love how Jon thinks he's cool and how quickly they bond despite clashing early on. And they're so cute. So. Cute.

The colorism thing is a big problem and it's par the course for Damian, when given the full range of color options for a character of his heritage they will always choose the lightest unless they're actively fighting their subconscious racism and colorism.

I went off on a rant on DC colorists colorism under the cut this post really got away from me, but READ THIS IF YOU DRAW DAMIAN!!↓

I get that you draw what you see and if you see a lot of white and lightskinned people you end up getting good at only drawing white people, and light skin has been purposely highlighted in visual media for centuries in this country, but USE GOOGLE IMAGE SEARCH GOD DAMNIT, FOLLOW POC ON SOCIAL MEDIA, HIRE POC. Go out of your damn way to learn this shit. If you can't do it good now, learn!

I went through this with homestuck, all the human characters have #00000 skin so you're free to have whatever race headcanons you want of them, but that's not actually representation. I was influenced by this style because coloring skin is hard so I just shaded it with my pencil and left it uncolored but then I realized by refusing to color the melanin in someone's skin, that's colorism. Fuck that. So I decided to learn, and mess up a lot of otherwise pretty works, because it would be worth it in the end. I'm still learning but I've learned so much already.

For example a lot of colorist societies draw pale skin far too desaturated. If you compare actual skin to the skin in anime, nearly all Asians that aren't photoshopped or wearing make up/bleaching look so much darker. Bleached paper being what we draw on and light skin being the presumed default in our culture has made white people (and others) way too comfortable doing the bare minimum in coloring skin. You don't still use the yellow crayon for blonde hair so why do you still use the very light peach/tan as the default skin tone? You're not even coloring light skin right let alone approaching properly drawing dark skin right.

I'm so fucking tired of every company doing this when I learned how to do better in middle school. Get out of your fucking comfort zone and draw diversely, or you're a coward and you're not doing anything to combat your culturally inherited racism.

Most DC artists are good at drawing 1 or 2 skin tones, maybe 3. There are so many more undertones and shades than that. I'm not counting rainbow colors. If you want Damian to be paler than his mother to reflect his mixed heritage that's totally fine! But it should be darker than Bruce's and Jon's. I've compared them and paid attention to the shadows being cast and he's really not darker than Jon and only rarely darker than Bruce because they drew Bruce especially pale.

I want you to understand that removing melanin from a character is erasure of their identity and actively harmful. There's a broad range of skin tones that the son of Talia and Bruce might have but choosing the lightest possible option is favoring white skin over dark skin, not realism. Just because you've seen more light skinned mixed kids doesn't mean there aren't darker skinned ones. The light skinned ones get more attention on social media and commercially because of social bias + algorithms + intentional racism. Most people who are colorist think that they're not racist because they're representing nonwhite people not bothering to notice that the people they represent have the most european features and light skin in their group. Yes those people are oppressed too but you're not fixing anything by only showing racially ambiguous people.

Mariner on star trek is a relevant example from animation. Both her parents have dark skin but she has much lighter skin because she's a main character. Stop it. Stop it. Don't think just because you see something highlighted a lot that it's the most common thing that's so dumb. How many mixed people do you think you see that you assume aren't mixed? There's confirmation bias at play.

I just wish I could beam this message into everyone's thick fucking skulls. Dark skin is beautiful. My number one coloring tip for any artist is this: don't be afraid to go too dark. You'll ruin the contrast and legibility and dynamic if you keep everything light and mid tones.

If you go too dark, you can filter it later.

I hate the argument "there are plenty of mixed people who dadadadada" stop. there are such a variety of people in numbers you literally cannot fathom with your human brain. You cannot picture all of the people that look exactly like whatever it is you're saying is more uncommon. Race is made the fuck up but its impact and cultural significance is real as hell. Genetics are so fucking diverse. I know a biologically related pair of siblings, one super tall dark skinned black dude and one super short freckled white girl, they have the same parents you cannot tell that they are related if you're thinking that mixed race children are like taking the skin tones and mixing them like paint.

Colorism is physically dangerous. People will assume that a mixed race child is being kidnapped by their parent because they so look different to them.

Damian could look the spitting image of Talia, I can tell you that with 100% certainty. He also could look the spitting image of Bruce, or Thomas Wayne, or Martha, or Ra's. All we know is that he's Arab, Chinese and white, he has black hair and green eyes, and he's short and good looking. Taking that and making the most european looking version of that guy as possible is fucking racist. I'm so serious.

If you want to do your part to combat racism and make a society where everyone can get attention and be seen as beautiful regardless of skin tone, then draw Damian with dark skin.

If you don't want to do that.... I don't understand you. Learn empathy, it will be useful to you.

[underthestarlitsky]

Your art is gorgeous I found you through your Riverdale masterpieces and am currently obsessed with your DC creations and I won't lie a little bit enamoured with your Talia! I'm would love for you to draw Betty / Veronica to mirror your Archie/ jughead or Jason todd / Roy Harper. Hope one of those tickets your fancy and thank you for the joy you have given me today. 🖤💜💚💜🖤

that is so insanely sweet of you to say! thank you so much omg 🥹🥹🥹 i did end up starting a betty/veronica 50s piece that i never finished (rip), but since riverdale ends tonight 💔 i thought i’d show you! (ps i cant believe they made beronica a real thing 😈💘✨💜 a win for feminism)

bee and vee forever! 💘💜

[spider-jaysart]

Hi!! Can I ask Damian (and maybe Dick 🙏?) for the character ask game?

Thank you, take care <3

@zephyrwrites2

Damian

Favorite thing about them: I just love his whole personality loll. He's a crazy, funny little guy that I think is really cool

Least favorite thing about them: Nothing. Only when he gets really mischaracterized by official writers who don't understand him, which happens A LOT

Favorite line: "Father, I imagined you taller."

Brotp: Damian and Jon

Otp: Damijon

Notp: Batcest, any of them that have adults paired up with him, including the canon ones Mar'i x Damian, Cassie x Damian, and Cassandra x Damian

Random headcanon: He can do ballet and it's because it's something Talia taught him while he was growing up in the league and being trained to learn many other things. He's a skilled professional at it now because of this and also bonds with his sister Cass over it and will sometimes even join her in her dancing. He also tries teaching Jon too, which can become fun for them both, and his other friends sometimes as well whenever they get curious or don't actually understand it that much like they think they do. Damian also owns a pair of green ballet slippers, but usually keeps them put away in his closet to keep them safe and clean and only takes them out when he really does want to use them.

Unpopular opinion: Okay sooo, a lot of people believe that Talia's character just gets only more ruined because of Damian's existence or whatever, but I don't believe that at all. Damian may be her son and is big part of her life because of it, but his character itself has nothing to do with hers like that at all when it comes to hateful writers choosing to write her horribly and just as another evil, lunatic villain and whatever else. Some people even say that he stole her story, but he did grow up with her during those 10 years of his, so of course he's gonna have the same life she dealt with and is also gonna have to get through certain issues from it now too because of it. But the point is that if anyone's gonna get blamed for Talia's usual trash characterisation, it should be the writers who hate her, NOT Damian who has many writers of his own who don't even treat him that well or like him that much at all either just like with Talia. Trying to pick on him is never going to fix anything about her. If Talia's ever gonna get anything better that she deserves in comics and other things, it needs to be done by writers who actually have care about her character and don't have anything weird against her that just only causes bad intentions of messing her up and then THAT'S what will finally start doing justice for her. And this not meant as an argument towards anyone or whatever btw, this is just me stating my opinion and beliefs about the whole thing

Song I associate with them: Self love by Metro Boomin & Coi Leray (Mostly because even though Damian may always put on a very confident act and always seems so prideful of himself a lot of the times, he actually has a lot of insecurities underneath all of that and doesn't actually always think so great of himself as a person)

Favorite picture of them: Definitely this very beautiful panel of him ofc💖

I just LOVE the way Gleb Melinkov draws him and gives him his Arab features without holding any of it back as well! He even gives him long lashes (longer than Flatline's even, which I noticed while looking at another panel from this series!), which I really love too!!

Dick

Favorite thing about them: I really always liked his leadership style, especially in the Teen Titans 2003 cartoon, which I grew up with

Least favorite thing about them: Only when he's potrayed as a dumb, clumsy guy in some canon stories just to lift up other characters and put them in a bigger spotlight instead. It makes no sense because he's a professional acrobat and always has been that way since he was a little kid, so how could he ever be so trippy all over the place as if there are invisible banana peels getting in the way everytime?! And he is very smart, especially with all of the important experience he has from his many years of hero work, so he's not dumb either and if he was, he wouldn't have made it so far with this kind of life because of it or ever get much done like he did because he has to overly depend on others knowledge

Favorite line: "Titans Go!"

Brotp: Dick and Starfire, Beast boy, Raven, Cyborg (I know he's friends with many others too, but this is the group I grew up with and am more attached to, so they're my fave to see together)

Otp: Dickkory because they bring the best out in eachother and have so much love for one another too

Notp: DickBabs because I just don't think they really fit that well together at all and most times Barbara just makes Dick feel bad in a lot of ways with how she usually treats him in a romantic relationship, and that's not a healthy thing to deal with at all. And then there's also Batcest and Slade x Dick (which I don't even get at all because Slade is just such a horrible, gross and very toxic guy)

Random headcanon: Years ago, back when he would used to have long hair still, he one time had it tied up in a ponytail and then a villain chopped it off in half while fighting him. Dick was pissed and really kicked their butt for doing that

Unpopular opinion: People always think of Dick as the positive, sunshine guy and then there are the ones who get very mad about it and say that he's actually the angry, tough guy because him being super friendly and happy is just too "ooc". I don't listen to any of that stuff, because I believe that he's actually both. He IS a friendly guy with a warm, charming, humorous attitude that easily attracts others, and is very much an inspiration to many because of his positive, sunshine vibes as a great, hardworking hero, but none of it makes him dumb, weak or gullible, because he IS also the type who can become very serious and gets mad when he needs to be, also doesn't actually take bull from anyone, can be chaotic and crazy, works a LOT, is independent, does have a lot of intelligence and especially experience that should never be forgotten about just because he's nice, and also definitely has the determined mind to take care of things and get them done even though others will sometimes try to tell him what to do, but he doesn't actually listen because he's not the type to easily be controlled that way like a puppy would be and if he believes it's something that needs the attention and it's what should be done and no one else is doing it, then he will do it

Song I associate with them: Annihilate by Metro Bommin, Swae Lee, Lil Wayne & Offset (because it's about being fearless, embracing self strength and individuality, and becoming a much more independent person, and I think that totally fits Dick because he's not the type to fear much and hates being stuck under Batman's shadow and having independence is something that always had an important role in how Dick's life goes)

Favorite picture of them: Well, I just found this pic of him, which was done by Travis Moore

It's very nice and really shows the struggle he goes through as a hero a lot of the times. Also, I really always liked the way he draws Dick, because he doesn't just look like everyone else and isn't sharing same face syndrome with his brothers and Bruce either, it's just a look that's unique to only him and it fits him very well. It's the exact way I always imagine him looking like whenever I envision him in my mind, even the hairstyle that's given to him by this artist too!!!

Thank you for sending this ask, I enjoyed answering it! And you take very good care too!! :)