#I think this is the first time I've posted about mirage and it not be a shitpost LMAO

[fantampulse]

ok back to my original plan

i wonder why I haven't seen this before

[5dtetris-revisited]

broke out my sketchbook. about to drive myself insane probably.

[moon-ayyye]

Worst fandom mischaracterisation/headcanon of each bat-associated character, in my opinion (these are in no particular order) :

1. Duke Thomas is the sane, rational, "normal" one.

Have you ever read the We Are Robin arc? Duke is fucking unhinged, his introduction was him jumping off a bridge to escape cops. This is a kid whose father is immortal and is the first metahuman in the batfam. He lost his parents in the most horrendous way possible (joker venom. They're still alive, but it's horrifying) and organised a whole gang as a child. He threw down with a green lantern and 2 shot his ass. Hopefully, this headcanon is just a product of people not really knowing the character and goes away soon once people find out more about him, when he isn't just the token black guy in a fic or a background character in batfam drama.

2. Stephanie Brown is quirky and sassy, and ONLY quirky and sassy. She's over her trauma with Black Mask and Cluemaster!!

Stephanie Brown is a very interesting character, with an origin story that is very similar to jason todd. She's been through hell, yet she constantly gets infantalised by the fandom, which gets kind of ignored in favour of talking shit about how people infantilse tim (super valid and I'll come back to it later on in this post). You most commonly see this in timsteph stories where they show her as the immature first love, and how as tim grows up, he needs to date more "serious" people, as if tim wasn't the main reason their relationship never worked. This is also common in stephcass fics, although on a smaller level. Writers tend to make stephanie the bubbly outgoing girl that balances out all of cass' angst (some of those fics are really good, but they mould steph in a specific shape so she can be a prop for cass to heal). On an even smaller scale, I've seen both romantic and platonic jaysteph stories where stephanie appears as the "good" victim who let go of her animosity to black mask and cluemaster, and so now, she can help jason let go of what happened with the joker, and bruce's abuse. Obviously, this is a disservice to both of these characters, but people tend to focus on how it's more of a disservice to jason instead of steph. Let my girl express her trauma and heal, and stop using her as a prop for other characters! She wasn't just cutesy as robin, she threw the fuck down. Her introduction included hitting tim in the head with a brick!

3. Slut/himbo Dick Grayson is reductive of his abilities as a leader, and is not only offensive to real survivors of SA, but incredibly racist towards Romani people.

Do I really need to explain this one? Dick Grayson is a symbol of hope that bruce wishes batman could be. This man is a natural born leader and has stepped up to the plate multiple times, both during his time with the titans and as batman. He's charismatic and lovable and a genuinely intelligent man, but for some reason, he gets depicted as a dumbass who has to deffer to bruce or tim or babs any time he has an issue with detective work. Yes, you can delegate. Of course, you can delegate, but going straight to tim and rattling off the case you JUST accepted doesn't make sense, ESPECIALLY if you're on seperate cases and tim or bruce have to postpone their work just to solve it for you. As for the other part, Dick has been heavily implied to be demisexual, given that he only has sex with people he has genuine feelings for. He wouldn't just sleep with any random woman who compliments his ass enough. Also, having an SA victim be characterised as a slut is both reductive of their trauma and a weird way that some authors justify how he's "over it." Really doesn't help that he was slut shamed (canonically!! why is this canon??) by the rest of the titans after sleeping with mirage, who pretended to be kori. Additionally, it's really weird if the first thing you think of when you see an attractive romani man just sleeps around. People don't say that about other conventionally attractive characters, even ones who HAVE slept around. The only character i can think of that gets characterised like this is bruce, but that's an image that he cultivated to keep batman hidden.

4. Jason Todd was always doomed by the narrative. He would have died if bruce hadn't intervened. Also, pit rage.

The tragedy of jason todd was, and always has been, that he was doomed by the AUDIENCE. He wasn't just an angry, reckless child, and calling him the angry robin is stupid and reductive. Was he angry? of course he was, but so was dick, and so was damian. Using a single word to describe a person is never going to be enough. Jason was notoriously compassionate to victims, especially women and children, and sex abuse victims. He got pissed when the system he was asked to believe in was shown to be ineffective, to the point where bruce believed he killed a man over it. The kid had a bright future ahead and loved school, modt of robin!jason's shitty qualities came from bruce and alfred compartmentaling his image and shitting on him to ease their guilt over his death. Pit rage is also a cheap way to take away his autonomy, an easy pass to explain the shitty things he's done. I like it when the pit has side effects like glowing eyes or increased healing or something, but pit rage is stupid. It's either used to force characters to forgive jason since he wasn't himself or as an angst prompt for jason, another testament to how he came back wrong, or a way to have him hurt a character to further up THEIR angst (*cough* titans tower AU fics*cough*). Yes, he did shitty things. Let him do shitty things without giving him an easy out. Otherwise, your story isn't compelling at all.

5. Feral Damian Wayne is just straight-up racist, no?

I love damian. I think that, for the most part, he's been written pretty well. However, damian suffers from the fact that he's an arab character in a post 9/11 comic, and thus there is bound to be some casual racism, both in comics (like when tim assumed he was too uncivilised to know what a handshake is) and fandom. Has damian wayne done a lot of shitty things, especially to tim? Yes, absolutely. But that doesn't make him feral. He was raised by assassins as the heir to the throne and to the greatest hero in the world, raised to think that blood relations are the only ones that matter, so of course he's dismissive of tim. He's also a prince who was raised in luxury, who was born as royalty and has experienced more opulence during his birth thsn most peoole do in a lifetime, although this opulence is extremely conditional, with horrifying requirements (the story with damian having a metal spine as a child is insane). Does it make what he did to tim right? Definitely not. Does it excuse his actions? Also no. But it does explain them, it tells us where it came from. Being traumatised and having extremely high expectations of both sides of your family doesn't make you feral.

6. Tim Drake is just a small little baby who can't function without his coffee.

Let me preface this by saying that i don't like tim drake. At all. As a huge fan of the al ghuls it was a real kick in the balls having Ra's be reduced to a creepy pedophile who wanted tim as an heir, and sent a woman to rape tim in order to carry his child. Also, I hate how DC decided to prop him up by shitting on jason todd. However, this doesn't mean that I don't enjoy his YJ run and that I don't enjoy some of his comics/fics. That being said, nothing on this earth pisses me off more than tim stans. You know the ones, the people who want damian hanged, who want dick and jason and bruce to fall to their knees and beg for forgiveness. Tim has been through an insane amount of trauma, and that's understandable, but please, for the love of god, don't create more whump for tim at the cost of other characters. You can hate damian, I wouldn't blame you, but remember that he's like 10 and tim put him on a hit list. Dick never wanted to put tim in arkham, and he didn't have time to support tim when it came to an honestly insane (although ultimately correct) conclusion. Also damian as robin was alfred's idea, and damian was the one that put on the costume preemptively, dick got pissed at damian for that. When it comes to jason, I'd say it's complicated. While titans tower was fucked up, it wasn't as bad as people made it out to be. My first introduction to the fandom was through jason todd since he was my favourite robin, and then i learned they brought him back to life when i played injustice. The number of fics and posts that mention that jason went to the tower specifically to kill tim is insane. When i got into comics, it was like whiplash; it wasn't a one-sided beatdown, tim was conscious until the end, the goofy ass robin suit jason had on, jason never slitting tim's throat (that happens in hush, and even then i don't think he really slit his throat, since the art shows that the skin was kinda nicked), all of that was wild to me. BftC is one of the shittiest comjc book runs when it comes to characterisation in general, and I've already discussed dick and tim, so it's only fair to talk about jason and tim. There's no justification here, honestly, other than shitty writing i guess. The other side of the coin is enemies to caretaker jason and tim, which is so fucking wild?? they're like 2 years apart, and tim is extremely competent, he wouldn't pass out mid patrol because he forgot his coffee.

7. Bruce Wayne doesn't believe people can change and doesn't care about Crime Alley.

For the first one, please fucking read a single comic book. Just one. Better yet, maybe research why batman doesn't kill. You know, the most popular thing about him? As for the second, it's mostly just a way to show how jason is better than bruce and how he's right to take over the alley since no one cares about it. Now I LOVE jason todd. He's my favourite comic book character of all time tied with gambit and Dr. Strange. But I hate it when you create angst or comeuppance by blatantly ignoring the chatacter and their motives. Bruce became batman so that what happened to his parents can never happen again, and this includes helping the poor people in crime alley either through patrolling there or by setting up countless charities to improve life there. You can make the case that batman avoided crime alley after jason died. It's not canon, but it would make sense. However, I dont see him ever giving up on the alley, both to prevent what happened to his parents, and to help people like his dead son. I fucking hate bruce, he's done a lot of shitty things, but making shit up just to make him worse is getting old.

8. Misc

There aren't really enough mischaracterisations about cass and babs to warrant separate paragraphs, so I'll just reiterate the infantalisation of cass and babs having no qualities outside of oracle, master hacker, and dick grayson's on and off lover.

[kaeyachi]

I completed Paralogism just now. Here are my Kaeya thoughts

It's all Kaeya talk. Lore is scrumptious though. Genuinely blew my mind coz this quest went hard with it. The thing is, I was multitasking at work just to finish this quest today, and you best bet I'll still be too busy to actually talk about the GOATED lore. I could make a lore post at a later date, but for now, that takes too much time (coz I double check stuff), so I decided to just talk about the character I'm passionate about. Gushing about Kaeya? That comes easy because it's from the heart. Here's the Kaeya thoughts for GI 5.6 Paralogism:

Kaeya would have been a great lawyer confirmed...HAD THEY ALL NOT HAVE BEEN ACTING THIS WHOLE DAMN TIME

THE ENTIRE LEADING OFFICERS OF THE KOF + VENTI AND DAHLIA. PLANNING ALL OF THIS FOR THE PAST 6 MONTHS WITHOUT US REALIZING. THATS CRAZY

Kaeya planned for Hertha to be the one replaced by a fake btw...what next? did he write the script too?! OTL

and mind you, Vile, his most notable informant, was just out there in the streets while Mond was getting attacked...did she get caught up in a bad time or...

segway before I go back to Kaeya, but Mondstadt is stacked with powerhouses. They were all chill. They have a Klee and a Noelle (and a Lisa, and a Diluc-) *shrugs*

speaking of, Diluc did it again. An abyss creature tried to hurt Kaeya, but Diluc just charges out of nowhere to protect him. Kaeya was the most chill person ever in this entire quest, I'm not even kidding (but the pun is very intended). Even the way he stood! IT WAS CHILL AF because his "enthusiastic civilian" companion is there to slam his claymore before Kaeya could even blink

Corrupted(? poisoned? fake?) Donna you will be missed, I wish hoyo gave you the opportunity to sing more melodies about Kaeya's beauty. If we had a nickel every time someone canonically gets a crush on Kaeya...

Kaeya is so pretty this entire quest btw. I see him daily, but his aura in the courtroom is *chefs kiss*. I think it's the serious energy he had kept the entire trial that made me go "whoah"

By the way, the fact that Diluc wasn't even in on it at first, but figured it out on the first trial, not because the fakes were acting out of character, but because... *squints* Kaeya wasn't nervous??? huh??

Diluc. Diluc, darling, hold my hand for a moment now. Mr. Ragnvindr, I theorized that Kaeya has anxiety on the reg. I even posted it an HC fic some time ago about it...are you telling me...KAEYA MIGHT ACTUALLY BE AN ANXIOUS PERSON? THE SOFT, UNSURE VOICE FROM VELURIYAM MIRAGE IS FAR MORE COMMON (probably in the past) THAN WE THOUGHT?

Also, Kaeya and Diluc's relationship seemed to have improved again because they are spending windblume together! Kaeya looks so animated as he chatted with Diluc on their way out of Mondstadt's gates (assuming they will be going to Dawn Winery to celebrate? 🥺). Lowkey reminded me of an excited kid

Cute new factoid! He is the captain of the 9th Company. Gonna utilize that somewhere somehow. (btw i am also shocked that Mond kept 7 captains in Mondstadt? Where are the other 3? With Varka I hope?)

Just realized the quest is called Paralogism because Mond deceived our asses the same way the fakes also deceived our asses. It was a festival of deception 😤 THEY DIDNT REALLY NEED US BY THE WAY. WE WERE JUST A BONUS. MOND CONTINUES TO BE ABLE TO HANDLE THEMSELVES JUST FINE. THEIR ARCHON CAN USE WIND AS A WALKIE-TALKIE CMON NOW.

one more thing, but Albedo and Venti being worried about the truth about Albedo being Rhinedottir's son because the people could lose trust in him... I just pictured what would happen to Kaeya if it were his secret that got out... the angst potential in that...

Aaaand that is all for now. Mind you, I absolutely enjoyed Natlan (the 2nd AQ is impressive, and the world quest is, dare I say, the best one I've ever done), but DAMN did I genuinely miss Mondstadt. I missed it so much that I cried for a bit after seeing the announcement that the 5.6 AQ is for Mondstadt. It really is my home, and my heart feels lighter now that I was able to go back and see how the nation that welcomed me continues to thrive. I know this peace isn't forever for Mondstadt, knowing how they put all the characters with sus and interesting lore there (and the land itself is curious), but for now, I get to see the characters that introduced me to the game living their lives and having fun, and some visibly healing from their past issues.

[definitelynotshouting]

your half of the ransom

inspired by this post and scar's tweets about secret life :] i speedran this just in time for the first eps of the new season to drop!! as always likes and reblogs and especially comments in the tags are appreciated❤️ enjoy!!

Scar wakes to a field of sunflowers.

The sun itself is a swollen yolk bleeding gold at its edges when he blinks, cascading down from the horizon to melt over the earth with indiscriminate fervor. It dips the petals of each field-flower in honey, honing their silhouettes to supple knife-points— even the soil beneath him, packed firm from countless nights of sleep, has burnished to a fine, patinated bronze. In the amber of its rays stray pebbles transmute to pyrite, the subtle scrabble of roots to filigree, and caught in the open mouth of such gaudy resplendence, Scar digs an elbow into the dirt and hauls himself, reluctant, back to his own unsteady feet.

Even at full height the sunflowers still tower, blocking all signs of hearth and home. But the sun (popped, bleeding, all gored-out gold in the upturned belly of the sky) remains his guide— Scar picks his legs up in a faltering stumble to follow it before catching rough fingers against the stalk of a nearby sunflower. He flinches; this early, it's too easy to perceive each stalk as part of a swarm, a yellowed panoptic presence bearing down on the world-weary muscles of his shoulders.

Their seeds will need harvesting soon. Scar hums, a match-strike against unyielding silence, and casts his gaze back to the sun above to orient himself in the direction of his base.

Until they're ready, he has nowhere else to be.

Trader Scar's is too-empty for so comely a morning, a hollowed-out shell long rebuilt and bristling with more wares than he has those to sell them to. But it's a familiar charade— Scar slips into the back with a single sunflower clenched tight in his palm, bruising the petals and scratching against the insides of his fingers. He changes in rapid, efficient motions; last night's poncho is discarded over a nearby chest in exchange for a brighter one, yellow wool lovingly dyed; his hair is released from its tie, combed through, then braided again; the soft leather shoes he'd worn underneath the stars are left to clump by the doorway in favour of far-keener diamond. Worn in but undamaged, the crystal chimes without dents or scratches— there's nothing left to fight here, anymore.

When Scar steps back out to the front, a ghost is waiting patiently for him at the counter.

Or— the ghost of a ghost, if he's being generous. The outline of a shadow, the flicker of a distant mirage. "Oh," Scar says, and the word scrapes like rust from the well of his throat. He'd recognize those wings anywhere. "Well, hello there, Grian."

Grian's filmy outline says nothing. They never do, when the shades appear for a rare visit. The barrier between living and dead remains a clear divide, a gorge through which Scar cannot pass— all that's left between them now are the soft, faded echoes of what was, and what it could have been.

Still, in the year he's spent here, that's never deterred him from a potential sale. Scar props a hip up against the counter, eyeing the flickering shadow and mustering up his best imitation of an enthusiastic smile. "So what brings you out here to my neck of the woods? Looking for something to buy? Some fine goods to trade, perhaps? Man, I don't think I've seen you around in a dog's age. How about some catching up?"

The back of his neck prickles, electric; Grian's shade is a stygian blot in his vision, a fuzz of static that extends its presence from floor to ceiling. His ghost keeps his silence.

Scar tugs his smile wider, flashing two rows of bright, gleaming teeth in Grian's direction until the strain threatens to choke him. "No? Not even a little bone for ol' Scar? Well, tell you what, don't you go standing on su— se— oh, ceremony! Come in, come in! You make yourself at home, you know how I just love a visitor— how about I make us a drink to share and you tell me where in the world you've been, mister."

He doesn't bother waiting for a non-existent reply; instead, Scar swoops down to snag his fingers against the cupboard he'd installed within the counter months ago, fumbling with the latch before throwing its doors wide open with a gust of musty air. Inside, an eclectic mix of quite high-quality wares and some of Scar's own humble belongings tangle, speckled with cobwebs and the first faint stirrings of freshly disturbed dust.

Scar purses his lips, eyeing each item in turn. A nautilus shell here, a few scraps of wood there, some glass bottles, the handle of a ladle he'd cracked over six months back.... Squinting, he thrusts his hand deep into the mess, sweeping the items aside and shuffling new ones into view until— there!

Toward the back lies a dented iron kettle, brittle with disuse. Scar snaps forward, straining out his arm until the tips of two fingers meet the edge of its dusty wooden handle. With a grunt, he flicks it closer, wincing at the shrill scrape of iron on wood as it inches toward him.

SCAR.

It is not a voice. No mere voice can resonate a single word like that in his chest, trembling in his bones and drumming out from the chambers of his very heart. Like a ripple on the still surface of a lake, it rattles through him, scattering each thought to the far corners of his mind and stripping him raw, flaying open his ribs to splay beneath the scorching sun. The yelp that bubbles up to his lips flies past them unbidden, rocketing out with such force that he jolts, and rams his skull straight into the overhanging lip of the counter.

White-on-red sparks, a cherry-hot bolt of fire centered on his crown. "OW! Oh, oh my gosh, I-I— Grian?"

None of the shades haunting him and this server have spoken. They've never spoken. They've never— so why now, when he's made his peace with that—

Scar wets his lips, tongue dry as desert bone, and drags the kettle out of the cupboard with one quick yank. Clutching it to his chest, he rises back up on shaky feet, holding it up as if to ward off an incoming attack. Some shield; its hollow interior reverberates with a screech when he raps his knuckles against it. "Now— now hang on, mister, you can't just— you— oh my gosh, I-I think you just made my heart stop there for a second." A bracing breath. Two. "Y-You can't just shock a man in his own home like that! You...."

Scar trails off. The misty impression hovering on the other side of the counter remains impassive, impersonal— this is not the Grian he knows.

The Grian he knew.

Deep within the static writhe of his shade, the after-image burn of greyed-out eyes begin to squirm to the surface. Scar flicks his gaze back to the kettle with instinctive, long-honed deference, staring hard into the distorted lines of his own reflection.

YOU WON. Once again the words rip something vital in him, boil up through his veins to tear themselves, wet and coppery, on the limp meat of his tongue. Scar risks a peek up, lump hanging heavy in his throat; each syllable comes out as a squeak, threatening to crack the smooth silver of his voice.

"I— yep, I sure did! I sure did, and— thank you very much, for noticing! I, uh, I still don't know how I did that, what with— oh, you know how it is, with, with the, uh, the— friends situation, how that all panned out. Y'know, actually, I wonder if that's wh—"

The eyes blink at him, asynchronous and blank. Hollow. In the heartbeat it takes for them to train back on his own, a soul-wrenching wave of gooseflesh ripples up over Scar's arms.

He whirls himself away so fast his vision spins. "So, uh— tea! You like tea, right Grian?" Without ceremony Scar scrambles to the other side of the room, forcing the counter still between them, every nerve in his body winding tighter, tighter, kinetic energy in a bottle. "How about, um, a—" he rifles through a new cabinet, clumsy with frenzy— "oh, shoot, now where did I put that— I've got some, uh, some dandelion root! Hand roasted by yours truly, of course. Not that anyone else could do it now, but— oh, oh, and look at the lavender, now that's just delicious, you've gotta try it, G, I know you'll just absolutely love it."

Silence. Scar's hand pauses, braced tight on the handle of the cabinet.

"Grian," he says, slow, quiet. Lets the words drift up, shining soap bubbles, to pop against the ceiling. "Why— what are you doing here?"

To his credit, Grian is direct. IT'S TIME.

Without permission, Scar's fingers tighten around the handle of the cabinet. "It's— what? Wait, wait—" He blinks. Does not turn around. "Time for what?"

Silence.

Scar licks his lips, worrying at the split still stinging at the right hand corner. "Time for what, Grian?"

The distinct pall of burning ozone scalds through the air. Tentatively, Scar shoots a glance back down into the kettle, peering at the distinct smudge still smearing the wall behind him. No eyes in its reflection; some of the tension riding in his shoulders loosens, slackens his tendons and begins to uncurl his fingers from the cabinet knob.

Without warning, a wash of ice wisps forward to numb the small of his back. COME HOME, Grian says simply. The words echo in the gap beneath his sternum, drag themselves up each vertebrae in his spine, and Scar freezes stiff, solid.

"This is home," Scar says, blank.

NO.

Some hot ember, banked countless months ago, sparks back to life in the pit of his stomach. "It is," he says, more firmly this time. "It's— that's it. You said it yourself: I won. And I did it fair and square, I'll say. I followed every rule, every task to the— to the nth degree, and... and now I, um." He falters. Grits his teeth until the molars ache. "I get to live with it."

But a sudden chill that has nothing to do with the shade behind him abruptly slips beneath his skin. Hesitantly, still clutching the kettle in one hand like a lifeline, Scar says belatedly: "... Right?"

Despite the sun nearing midday, the temperature around him plummets. NOT ANYMORE.

"Oh," Scar says. The metal surface of the kettles creaks as his second hand joins the first, digging nails into rust and grime. "I— again?"

YES.

"... And what if I don't want to do it again."

He does not phrase it as a question. They both know his answer.

Scar sucks in a sharp shock of air anyway, rattling the kettle against his chest and daubing a blotch of dust over the soft wool of his poncho. "Is—" he bites his lip— "will everyone... be there?"

YES.

Ah. Scar's eyes slip shut of their own accord; behind them, dozens of veins brim over, webs of blood welling up and spilling to slake a thirst so abyssal it could drink and drink for years without satiation.

"... Will you be there?"

For one long, nightmare-eternity, Grian does not reply. Then, a knife between his ribs: YES.

With slow, halting steps, Scar turns. "Okay," he breathes, and drags a hand over his eyes to cloak them both in darkness, and sags back until his skull knocks against the cabinet door with a dull, tender thunk. Each exhale emerges as a series of shaky puffs, damming up his lungs and swallowing all the air in his esophagus. Scar shudders, scrapes his bitten-down nails against iron, and breathes with the roiling of his gut. "... Okay."

When he opens his eyes again, Grian's ghost has vanished.

The spot it occupied is still frigid when he waves a trembling hand through it; Scar inhales, exhales, inhales again. Rinse and repeat, the perfect cycle, the mantra against extraneous thought. Then, solemn and deliberate, he holds the kettle out in front of him, trailing one wandering finger over its dents and bruises, tracing the paths between the known and the new.

"Guess I'll see you there," he tells it, and lifts its grubby handle up in absent toast.

High above, the bleeding sun strikes noon at last. Scar does not harvest the sunflowers.

[justmeinadaze]

My Little Man (Part 3)(Steddie X Y/N)

A/N: I'm trying VERY hard to get through my older WIPs. I have one more chapter of this one. I love this story so much. So much so I've written 3 seasons for it. Unfortunately, its the only story I've gotten any really hate comments on. You guys don't see them because I delete them but they do linger in my brain. Please remember that before you post. I put so much of myself in all of my stories so to be dug at that way... it hurts.

Please enjoy <3.

Warning: Demon dominate Steddie/ Human Sub Fem Y/N, SMUT, roleplay-esc, dirty talk, light humiliation (they tease her for being a "weak human" but know she's not), p in v, intimacy between Steddie, oral (m receiving), fingering (f receiving), public-esc (its outside but no one's around), FLUFF, they love each other <3, Ellis starts talking, there's a wedding.

ANGST, reader's having dreams which allows her to talk to a past demon, cliffhanger ending with an encounter with someone they trusted, um...I think that's the biggies.

If you're confused please check out the other parts of the series here.

Word Count: 5490

Donate to Me <3

“Mama. Can you say mama, Ellis?”, you coo while your six-month-old grins widely your way as he smacks his little palms against the water in the bathtub. 

Steve smiles as he continues to run his fingers through your hair while he sits behind you and watches you two interact. 

It had been about five months since the incident with his dreams and Mirage’s visions and quite frankly you three were the happiest you had been in some time. You loved your job at the store and Lisa was more than accommodating when it came to you with your son. Steve worked diligently at the VA center and really had a niche for helping others like himself who had spent the bulk of their life serving in a military of some kind. When Eddie wasn’t teaching kids the guitar or other instruments, he spent time in their realm with his uncle which you encouraged constantly for them both to make up for lost time. 

“When do human’s normally say their first word?”

“For humans I read it’s 10 to 14 months but he is part you guys so who knows. Right, my love?”

Picking him up out of the water, Ellis nuzzled his face into your chest as you wrapped a towel around him and brought him back to the bedroom just in time to hear the front door swing open. 

“Who is that? Is that daddy?”

As soon as Eddie rounds the corner, your son beams wide as he kicks his feet and waves his hands causing both men to laugh.

“Hey, fatty.”, the long-haired boy jests as he kneels down and kisses the baby’s tummy.

“Don’t call my son fat.”, you playfully pout as he leans over to kiss you and then Steve. “Say ‘you probably had baby fat too, daddy.’”

“Note to self. Have Wayne burn baby photos of me.”, he teases before red light shimmers and he changes into his demon form. Ellis’s eyes widen in what seems like amusement as he reaches for his father. 

“Do it again.”, you whisper.

Doing as you suggest, he changes to human form before flashing back and his son giggles as he kicks his feet. Shifting his gorgeous eyes your way, you grin as you shake your head. 

“Mommy can’t do that, baby. I’m not as cool as your dads.”

“Ah, you’re plenty cool.”, Eddie softly smiles as he kisses your cheek. 

Scooting with your son up the mattress, you hold him under his arms so he’s facing you and Steve.

The demon opens his mouth as if he’s surprised and red-light glows as he changes to look like any other man. Ellis laughs as he reaches for his father’s hair before he changes again and the baby taps his horns. 

“Ow, little dude.”

“I, um, I got you both a present. Well, I didn’t…I mean…I made ‘em.”, Eddie stutters as he nervously shifts his feet. 

“I don’t think in my many years alive I’ve ever seen Mr. Munson…blush? Are you blushing, babe?”

“Ok, fuck off, Steven.”

“Stop it.”, you giggle as you sit up and lightly push the other demon’s arm. “What did you make us?”

His long black hair hangs in front of his face as he hands you both separate boxes that has you two exchanging a look before carefully opening them to find little rings inside. Both are made with a mixture of stone and steel but yours has a little indent where a pinkish stone nestled inside. Steve’s stones were woven into the design around the rings reflecting a greenish black hue that looked gorgeous. 

“Kind of like your world, sweetheart, ours has stones that mean something. This one here means that you are loved unconditionally and Steve, yours means—”

“I have someone by my side and I’m never alone.”, he interrupts softly and Eddie nods.

Kneeling in front you on one knee, he grabs both your hands.

“I told you guys I had done some research in the past on getting married in our realm and Wayne’s been helping me get some more definitive answers on that. I found out that I can marry two people and there’s nothing in our laws that says I can’t marry someone of the same sex.”

Steve’s bottom lip quivered as he tried to hide the tears that began to flow and his head hung. The long-haired demon grinned as he cupped his cheek in his palm and tried to catch them with his thumbs. 

“I love you so much, baby. Will you marry me?” Steve tackled his arms around Eddie making him laugh as he almost fell backwards. “Is that a yes?”

“Yes. Yes, you fucking idiot.”

“Ok, rude.”, he chuckles as he turns to focus his attention on you as your eyes search his. “There’s nothing that says I can’t marry a human either. Y/N, will you marry me?”

“Ya…ya ya ya.”, Ellis babbles causing the three of you to laugh. 

“Yes, I’ll marry you…you fucking idiot.”, you parrot Steve’s answer as you hug Eddie tightly to you. 

“Good. I, um, I got approval from our king so…whenever you two are ready…” 

“Oh, wow, um, ok…Um, is there any like traditions you guys do or…?”

“In my family it was all formal and up tight. I definitely don’t want to do that.”

“My father married my mom a bit…haphazardly… You deserve more than that, babe.”, Eddie softly grins as he caresses your face. 

“Maybe…since you did all this…you can let me and Steve…set everything up.”

The long-haired demon grins as he nods, laughing when his son sneezes and giggles at the noise he made. 

***

“Ma-ma…”

“Ellis? Where are you, honey?”, you call as you wonder around the empty area. 

“Ma, ma, ma, ma.”, he continues to babble before you finally find him crawling towards a house that seems vaguely familiar.

You watch carefully as you powerwalk towards him while he plops back on his butt and lightly taps on the wood of the front door. Abruptly, it opens, demon hands reaching out to pick your son up and pull him inside. 

“Ellis!”

After sprinting that way, you kick the door in only to be met with a figure you hoped to never see again. 

“He is handsome, Y/N. You’re still surprising me even decades later.”, Henry chuckles as he bounces the baby on his hip.

“It’s only been two years.”, you hiss as his red eyes scowl your way. 

“Sorry, FEELS like decades when you have nothing to fucking do.”, he growls eliciting a little giggle from Ellis.

“Dada…da, da, dada.”

“Edward and Steven were stuck in that hell for over 3000 years. I think you’ll survive.”

Henry sarcastically laughs as he begins to saunter towards you. 

“Fuck, I wish I could be there to watch your lives fall apart. To watch them lose you AND their son. Yeah, buddy?”, he coos, pressing his forehead to Ellis’s as the baby smiles. “You and I could have made a hell of a team, honey.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

“Did you really think you could trap me and there would be no repercussions? Typical human…never looking at the bigger picture.” 

As Henry’s eyes began to glow and his sinister laugh seemed to echo around you, you stepped forward prepared to fight for your son but a hand grasping your shoulder kept you in place before roughly throwing you in the opposite direction. 

Your eyes snapped open just as Ellis’s screams pierced your ears. 

“What the fu--?!” Eddie shot up right as you hurled your body over his to quickly get to the baby. 

Light illuminated his room and you hastily checked him over before curling him up close to your chest as you comforted him. 

“What’s going on?”, Steve asked with concern as both demons rounded the corner. 

You sobbed as you relayed your dream, bouncing your son in your arms as he clung tightly to you. The demon nodded, disappearing and reappearing suddenly dressed with his sword strapped to his back. 

“I’m going with you.”

“No, Eddie. I need you to watch them.”

“I don’t like the idea of you going alone—”

“What other choice do we have?!” Glancing your way, Steve sighed when he realized Ellis’s wide eyes were watching them intensely. “I’ll be right back, I promise. I just need to make sure he’s not in this realm.”, he tried to comfort as he leaned down to kiss the demon’s lips. 

“Dada.”

Steve’s heart grew inside his chest at the sound of his son’s first word, tenderly petting his curls and kissing your forehead. 

“That’s right, Ellis. I’m dada. Dada will be right back. Keep an eye on mommy and daddy for me.”

As soon as he vanished within the portal, you carried your baby back to your bedroom with the other demon following close behind. 

“It felt so real, Eddie, like when Steve stabbed me. I could feel the person’s hand on my shoulder.”

“Did you see who it was?” He exhales when you shake your head. “Do you think…maybe Ellis pulled you into a dream? That would explain why the three of us were able to do ‘go through the door’ when you were pregnant. It wouldn’t be that surprising with your gift and then him being part demon… we all have gifts of our own so to speak; me and my music and Steve with his portals.”

“Maybe, we can see if Dustin can find something…”

Eddie’s soft eyes scan you over as he reaches out to push some of your hair away from your face. 

“Everything’s alright, sweetheart. We aren’t going to let anyone hurt you or him.”

“Did…did Henry have any…I don’t know…friends or someone who would be upset he’s gone?”

“Not that I can remember but to be fair I hated the fucker so I wasn’t paying a lot of attention to him.”, he responded with distain making you chuckle slightly as he smiled at the sound. 

“Dada.”, Ellis cooed as he tapped the demon’s face. 

“Ow…ow, dude.”, his father pretended to whine. 

Red light illuminated as he shifted into his human form and you son laughed with delight as his chubby little hand ran along his features.

“Mama…”

The two of you blinked as your eyes scanned over Ellis trying to understand if he was grasping the concept of human and demon. 

“Do it again.”, you whisper and as he changes into his rough exterior your son taps Eddie’s cheek as his wide irises search his father’s features. 

“Da..dada…” Without prompting, the long-haired demon shifted once more, startling the baby slightly before another giggle erupted through his little body. “Ma, ma, ma…”

“That’s amazing.”

“Is that normal for demons?”

“Um, we develop pretty quickly but that understanding…that’s something else… You’re so smart, Ellis, yes you are.”, Eddie praises as he lifts his son to hug him tightly. 

Portal light illuminated the room as Steve stepped through drenched from head to toe. 

“I am so sorry. I promise I’ll clean this up.”, he announces as he gestures towards the puddle of water under his feet. “Fuck, they have been dealing with a flood of rain there so it took me awhile to get where I needed to go but…the stone is still where I hid it…No one’s even moved it or noticed it’s there.”

“Well, that’s good, at least…Maybe it’s just my brain…”

The demon softly smiles as his soggy frame appears in front of you and he lifts your chin with his fingers.

“You and I both know you don’t believe that but we’ll keep an eye out just to be safe. We aren’t going to let anyone hurt either of you.”

“Eddie already beat you to that speech.”, you tease making him chuckle. “We, uh, discovered something while you were gone.”

Steve’s features flooded with concern till the other demon shifted into his human form and Ellis giggled before lightly tapping his father’s nose. 

“Ma…mama…ma…”

“No, buddy, that’s—”

“Wait, baby, watch.”, you interrupt as Eddie changes back. 

Again, your son laughs as he reached up to try and grab the demon’s horns. 

“Dada…da, da, da…”

“Holy shit.”, Steve breathes as he picks up Ellis and spins him around. “You’re so fucking smart. I’m so proud of you.”

“May want to watch it with the swear words, babe, from now on.”, you giggle as your son does the same.

######################

Two weeks passed in the blink of an eye as you prepared for your wedding with Robin close at hand helping you with any customs when it came to their realm. 

You didn’t see the point in doing it in yours when you would be the only one from your world attending. Plus, you wanted them to be themselves on a day that was just as important to them as it was to you. 

When the day arrived, you were surprised how nervous you actually were. 

“Mama.”

“Yes, my love. I’m mama. Mama needs a drink.”

“Nervous?”, a familiar voice asks, startling you as you come face to face with Nancy. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. Just wanted to come check on you aaaaand Robin told me to grab this little guy.”

“No, no. It’s alright. I’m, um, why am I so nervous? I took a potion to spend forever with them and didn’t bat an eye.”

The demon chuckles as she leans against the wall behind her in Wayne’s home where you had been getting ready.

“I think it’s the symbol, you know? Add in the fact that you seem to have grown accustomed to all this that doing something human is a bit jarring.”

“You’re not wrong.”

“Dada!”, Ellis giggles as he points to Nancy who grins as she picks him up. 

“That’s about all he’s gathered. Demons equal dada and humans equal mama.”

“That’s amazing though…that he picked up that much.” Your son’s wide eyes take in her lips as they move, his little fingers reaching out to touch her face. “I’m Nancy. Nan-see. Can you say Nancy?”

“Na…na…da.”

“Close enough.”, she beams as she adjusts him on her hip. “Y/N, I, um, thank you for everything you did for him…for Steven… After everything he’s been through…him and Edward…I’m glad they get to experience this especially with someone who literally saved them.”

The home door swings open as a suited Wayne steps through, smiling wide when Ellis sees him and kicks his little feet with excitement. 

“I have come to walk you down the aisle. You look breath taking, Y/N.”

Opening your arms a bit more, you show off your Renaissance style white dress with the floral headband across your forehead and veil that flowed to the middle of your back. Robin showed you dresses what most demons wear so when you went shopping you tried to find something in the middle. 

Eddie’s uncle took your hand and guided you to the door before pausing himself to glance your way. 

“I heard what Nance said and I agree. I never thought I’d see my nephew ever again, let alone see him get married and become a father. Thank you, sweetheart, for bringing him back to me and giving him this. I never met your father but I’m sure he’d be incredibly proud of you.”

Pushing up on your toes, you kiss his cheek and lean your head on his shoulder as you try to control any tears that want to escape. 

***

Both demons grin wide as the drunkenly chuckle, lying on their backs looking up at their realms sky while you remain upright occasionally running your hands along their legs. 

“I can’t believe we were able to do this.”, Steve beams. “It’s so surreal to me, ya know. Even before we were on the run, I pictured myself married to someone my parents deemed ‘suitable’ and the whole wedding would have been stuffy with everyone being unhappy.”

“You and I both know, Steven, that wouldn’t have happened. You were headstrong and pissing off your father way before you met me.”, Eddie laughed as his eyes shifted your way. “Did you have a good day, sweetheart? Was it everything you dreamed of?”

“I never actually pictured my wedding. I don’t know why, it was just…”, you shrug causing them to sit up and caress different parts of your skin. “I imagine if I had though, it would have been like this with men like you. Demons, I mean demons like you.”, you giggle as a tear leaves your eye.

“Hey…”, the long-haired demon cooed as he reached out to cup your cheek. “Don’t worry about anything tonight. Ellis is with Wayne, the world we battle on a day to day and our worries will still be there tomorrow but tonight, beautiful, just enjoy the evening and let’s be ourselves. Shut everything out and focus on each other.”

When you nod, he yanks you to his chest and kisses your forehead. 

“I have an idea if you’re up to it, honey?”, Steve smirks with a mischievous gleam in his eye. “Remember that first night we did it the demon way?”

“Pfft ‘did it’. How old are you, Steven?”, Eddie jests as you giggle. 

“Yeah, I remember.”

“That night we couldn’t show you the whole experience because we had our masks but now that we can touch you with our own hands and you aren’t afraid of us… Add in that fucking gorgeous white dress making you look so…”

“Say it, baby.”, the other demon encourages salaciously.

“Innocent.”, he practically growls as crawls a bit closer to you both. “Maybe we could play.”

Capturing his lips with yours, you beam before taking a look around the field the three of you had been laying in. 

“Where should I go?”

“That forest there is the model we used with you that first time.”, Eddie answers as he tenderly kisses your shoulders while absently gesturing that way. 

“Before you said you knew when I was uncomfortable because you could ‘see it’.” At your words, you snap your fingers, emphasizing when they used to have those particular powers while imprisoned in the stone. “Do you think we need a safe word now?”

“Yeah, absolutely. Did you have a word in mind?”

You shake your head as you feel yourself becoming more drunk on their need for you.

“How about…Red?”

“Ok, I can remember that. What, um, what do you need from me?”

“You, princess, need to fall into the right headspace.”

“Which is…”, you pant as Steve’s lips trail along your neck. 

“Prey.”, the demon whispers eliciting a shudder through your body. “Because that’s what you are tonight, honey…frightened, innocent, weak, prey.”

“I’m not weak.”, you respond in a stern tone that has him pulling back so his eyes can lock with yours. “What kind of fun is chasing prey when it’s easy and defenseless to catch? I thought you were both strong, scary, demon soldiers. What, Stevie? Gotten weak?”

You couldn’t see it but Eddie was grinning wide behind you as you continued to rile the demon in front of you up. The being himself clenched his jaw and glared into your determined eyes, reminding you of the first time you met them both. 

Suddenly, a smile painted his features as he leaned back on to his palms. 

“We’ll see how strong you are, baby. We’ll give you a head start but you better get moving. It will be dark soon.”

Eddie winks before tilting towards his now husband to kiss his lips. As the other demon’s palm roamed, unbuttoning his shirt and rubbing his skin, he turned to you and his angry irises glowed bright red. 

“Run.”

*** 

You figured they’d fly to try and find you, putting you at an extreme disadvantage but you sprinted as fast as you could in your flats and semi long flowing dress. 

The sound of their faint cackles caught your attention before a loud whoosh noise followed. 

“Fuck.”, you cursed as your feet fell out from under you and you caught yourself with your palms. 

Checking to see what you tripped over; your eyes noticed the dark shade of a sheath and you carefully reached for it, producing a much lighter sword than what you were used to with theirs. 

“Edward Munson.”

Did they leave this for you? What were the chances in this large forest you’d find something with Eddie’s name on it. 

“I’m starting to think you’re not even trying.”

You gasped at the sound of Steve’s voice as he gracefully lands and smirks your way. Removing the sword from its home, you point it towards the demon and his eyebrows flick upwards in amusement. 

“Oh, Edward, little girl found a weapon.”

Raising his arm towards the sky, something slowly descended that the demon swiftly caught causing your eyelids to flutter at the action. 

You couldn’t deny how attractive it was, the confidence in himself he carried like this. 

“Now, remind me again, Y/N. How many years of training in sword fighting do you have?”, he teases sarcastically as he removes his weapon from its carrier and lightly taps yours.

Steve takes a small step towards you, angling the sword that you swiftly block the way they both had shown you before causing him to smile. 

“I’ve had enough.”

Through the years, both demons had shown you some moves just in case and when he learned the center he worked for had fencing classes, he asked you to meet him there any nights you both or three were free so he could show you moves without hurting you. 

Even though both your blades you were currently holding were very real, you could tell he was holding back which you appreciated.

If he used his full training, you’d definitely be beaten swiftly. 

“Good! Good girl. You want to try, Edward?!”, Steve shouts towards the sky and before you can do anything about it, a hand captures your wrist tugging the sword from your grasp.

The long-haired demon grins as he hands the weapon to his husband and focuses on you. 

“Naw, baby. I prefer something a bit closer and more personal.”

Knowing what he meant, you pouted out your lips sarcastically as you reached for the end of your dress to tear a slit along the fabric up to your hip allowing yourmore mobility. After tossing his suit jacket beside Steve’s on the floor, he stepped towards you and you raised your fists defensively like they had shown you. 

His eyes scanned you over as he chuckled in his throat, almost as if to mock you so you swung and he effortlessly grabbed your arm, spinning you into his chest. 

“Humans are so easy to push especially you, little girl. I thought you weren’t weak?”

You elbowed him and pushed him back as you slithered out of his hold. 

“I’m not.”

Literally flying forward, he tackled you to the ground as you both wrestled for dominance. You had seen them both do this which isn’t uncommon in their realm. When they were exceptionally angry, they wrestled. When they were immensely turned on, they wrestled. When they were happy and playful, they wrestled.

They were never really that way with you mostly because before, your body and skin were much more fragile than theirs but after drinking the potion and training with them, that allowed themselves more freedom to play with you the way they played with each other. 

After pinning you to the floor on your back, Eddie held you down with his forearm as his palm maneuvered up the opening in your dress to tug down your panties and toss them to Steve. 

“Oh, she’s so wet, babe.”

The other demon grinned as he fell to his knees and grabbed your wrists that were still trying to hit the long-haired demon’s shoulder. 

While Eddie slides his long, thick fingers into your core, your eyes roll back in time to see Steve unzipping his slacks to free his cock. Tapping your lips with his mushroom tip, he waited patiently for the wide mouth moan that he knew would come before guiding himself between your parted lips. 

With his free palm on your chest, the metalhead pumped is fingers at a faster pace, always hitting and surpassing those buttons inside of you that had you mewling around the other demon who grabbed the back of his husband’s neck to kiss him roughly.

They both panted in the other’s mouth as your orgasm washed over you, trembling almost violently as you tried to continue stroking Steve with your hand. 

“Fuck me.”, Eddie grunted, pulling his dick out of his pants and smirking your way when you jump as he taps your clit with his tip. 

He bottoms out almost immediately, your slick lubricating him as growls at the pleasurable feeling while the other demon slides himself back down your throat. 

“Damn it, baby, you feel so good.”, the long-haired demon groans as he sets a steady pace. “This is our pussy now, Y/N.”

The sound of your garbled giggles has Steve moving out of the way so you can talk. 

“A-Always has been.” Your legs suddenly cling to his waist before rolling around until he’s sitting up underneath you. “Always will be.”

As you roll your hips and bounce on his lap, his slightly shocked expression at your ability to blindside him shifts to admiration as his palms take hold of your behind to guide your movements. 

“I love you, sweetheart. Fuck, that’s it.”

A throaty moan ripples through him as you press his face into the nook of your neck, your fingers threading through his hair as he warms your skin. 

“I love you to, Eddie. Shit…M’gonna cum.”

The demon pulls back enough to watch your face as you come undone, his jaw going slack at the sight. Just as he was about to fill you up, however, Steve snatched you off him and replaced your body with his mouth, bobbing his head and milking him as Eddie released down his throat. 

“You were about to cum…we can’t…can’t cum inside her.”, the demon panted. “She can get…I mean…unless you’re ready…for another…”

You and Eddie couldn’t help but chuckle as he stuttered through his explanation.

“Really, Steven? I think you just wanted his cum all to yourself.”, you tease, your smile growing when he playfully growls and tackles you flat on the ground. “I love you.”

Beaming wide, he kisses your lips as you wrap your arms around his neck and he reaches between your bodies to guide himself into your entrance. 

“Oh f-fuck. I love you to, honey.”, he grunts, thrusting into you in a firm rhythm as the sound of skin hitting skin fills the area. “Tell me—mmph—tell me this is real. Tell me its not a hallucination o-or—”

“It’s not, baby. It’s all real. You got married today…to me your wife…” At the word, he hooks both your legs under the knee and pushes them as far back as they’ll go as he pumps his cock deeper into your core. “Fuck—a-and to Edward your husband and best friend.”

Ringed fingers reach out to pet his head before tenderly kissing the demon’s lips. 

“You’re my best friend to.”, he grunts, making you smile as you cup his cheeks in your palms. 

“Yeah, baby, I am. Make me cum, Steve, please.”

His pace hastens as he chases your highs, growling loudly when you tug on his hair as you pant his name, grinding your hips beneath him as the coil snaps and he pulls out just in time to allow his partner to do what he had done with him, catching his release on his tongue and swallowing the rest. 

Both creatures collapse on either side of you, Eddie sliding his arm behind your head to use as a pillow. 

“I do want more kids with you two.”, you mumble groggily with a lazy smile as you continue to look towards the sky. “I just think we should see what happens with Ellis so we know what to expect.”

“That’s fair.”, Steve replies with a husk that makes you giggle. “But we need to figure something out cause I mean…I don’t think human birth control would do anything…”

“Yeah cause condoms don’t exist.”, you joke causing them both to grin. 

“Ok, sweetheart, you try getting that thin latex on our gigantic—”

“OKAY!”, you cut him off, rolling over to press your face into Eddie’s chest. “How’d I do with the sword and everything?”

“Very well actually. You’ve gotten so much better.”, Steve praises, turning to gently kiss your shoulder. “I can’t wait to teach our son.”

They continue to softly kiss your frame as you cuddle your arms around them to pull them closer. 

################

“Ma-ma. Ma, ma, ma.”

“Ellis?! Where are you, buddy?!”

“Steven?”, you call after hearing him shout and running towards the sound. 

“Baby? Oh my God.”, he sighed in relief as he lifted you off your feet with a big hug. “I heard Ellis talking to you but I couldn’t find him”

“He’s not with me.”

The demon’s eyes widen as he clings to your hand and tugs you through the forest while you both continue to search. A loud explosion fills your ears and you quickly run forward calling your son’s name before exiting the tree line to see Eddie on his back a few feet from a hole in the wall of the home from their stone. 

“Even in a dreamland I’m fucking stronger than you.”, Henry taunts as he kicks his stomach. 

“Not…not stronger than…a human, dick!”, the long-haired demon sasses, laughing up at him before he’s kicked again. 

Steve roared as he flew towards the demon hurting his husband but it didn’t seem to faze him as he swatted his arm, tossing him to the side. 

“Fuck, I wish I could hurt you peasants here.”

“Stop!”, you shout, your eyes meeting his as the prince smirks your way. “What do you want!? Why do you keep appearing here?”

“Me? I’m not the one with the power to pull people into dreams. Your son seems to know who the better demon is.”, Henry chuckles. 

“Where is he?”

“Mama!” At your son’s calls, the demon’s red eyes flick behind himself. 

“Wait…Ellis calls all demons Dada…”

“Yeah…”, the prince beams with a giddy energy as he watches you work through your thought. “I told you, Y/N. I wish I could watch what’s about to happen to all three—”

A sword pushing through his chest interrupted Henry as he gasped and blood fell from his lips. Eddie and Steve, having gathered their faculties, rushed to your side trying to push you behind them as you tried to get them to listen. 

“Eddie, Steve, it’s…it’s not a demon. It’s not…”

“We have to go! Wake all four of us up, Y/N!”

“WAIT! Ellis said mama! It’s not a demon. It’s a...”

“Unfortunately, this won’t kill you, Henry, but it will keep you out of my way.”, a being hissed from the shadows behind him before tossing him to the side and watching as he struggles with the pain. “I warned you about playing with fire. If you had left them alone, they’d still be in the stone and I wouldn’t have lost my demon TO MAEVE!”

When he yells, you hear your son start to cry and try to run towards him but Eddie grips your arm to keep you in place.

“Now I have to induct a new one.” At the beings exasperated sigh, Henry disappears as it steps into the light with your son in his arms. 

Your eyes immediately take in Ellis’s pouty lips as he reaches out for you but the being holding him bounces him up and down to calm him. 

“Who are you?”, Steve asks as leveled as he can, struggling to not just attack the thing holding his son. 

“Oh shit. My apologies. I completely forgot… I didn’t want to frighten the child so only he can see me in a manner that’s comfortable to him. He must really love you, Y/N.”

A loud snapping sound echoes through as smoke swirls around the being till legs, chest, and arms start to become visible. When a face is finally created, your bottom lip quivers as fury shakes the demons beside you. 

You know this person. 

He helped Eddie and you find jobs and even babysat your son from time to time with his wife.

“Shawn.”

“I know, it’s a bit of a shocker. If I were you I would think it would be someone like Thomas who pried into Steven’s trauma or even Lisa who was so open to giving you job while you were pregnant.”, he laughed, adjusting your son onto the other side of his hip. 

His sarcastic smile faded as his irises met yours.

“You and I have a lot to discuss.”

######################

@tlclick73 @tiannamortis @steeldaisies @goodhappyfriday @paleidiot @fireeyes-on-teller-dixon-grimes

@strangerthings64 @howlingco @eddiesguitarskills

@prettypeachsworld @myherometalhead @notlempet @thwippyparker

^^^Thank you for your patience <3^^^

[ghost-proofbaby]

you mentioned summer storms with Eddie or something one day in a random post and I haven't stopped thinking about it so

can I get a midsummer's night with LOTS of 🍓🍓🍓🍓 about that? Thank you very much Ghost 💞

OH I'VE BEEN WAITIN FOR THIS ONE!!!! it took on a life of it's own, forgive me.

summer storms

warnings: honestly just tooth-rottingly cheesy. tried to add alllll the fluff. not edited.

wc: 1.2k+

come enjoy a sweet summer treat with me <3

It was your favorite part of the summer. You couldn’t stand the heat half the time, you couldn’t bear all the bugs that would make their arrival known through incessant bites you’d only notice after spending the day out, and you could cry at even the simple memory of every sunburn you’ve ever endured in your lifetime. There was a lot to hate about the summertime – but this? This was one of the good parts.

The moment you’d seen the ominous clouds on the horizon, you’d known where your night was going to end up. One howl of the wind against your living room window, and you knew your plans for the night. 

All roads led to the Forest Hills trailer park when the summer storms started rolling in. 

In your youth, all through high school, there’d been plenty of scoldings about how the trailer park isn’t the safest place during these storms, dear. Endless lectures on how you and your solace in the form of a best friend should just spend those stormy nights at your own house, inside sturdy walls and within an infallible AC. But they didn’t get it; there was something in the way you’d experience a storm at the Munson trailer that couldn’t compare to home. 

“It’s so hot,” Eddie whines from where he stretches out on his bed, all windows thrown wide open to let the dusty and humid winds slip their way in. Petrichor and discount cologne was swirling around you, wrapping its tendrils around your ankles and wrists alike as you were starfished out on the surprisingly cleaned bedroom floor of Eddie Munson. 

He’d spent the day embarking on his weekly cleaning spree – you’d spent the day holed up in Melvard’s for an unbearingly long shift. 

“I wish it’d just rain already,” you murmur, turning your head to catch a glimpse out the open window. The sky was a mirage of deep tones, rusted oranges laced with all the dirt being kicked up by the winds and navy blues painting the clouds that had built up to hold all the moisture adding to the smothering heat, “At least then all this misery would be worth it.”

Eddie sits up only to throw himself onto his stomach, head hanging over the edge of the mattress to smile down at you, “Wanna bet on how long it’ll take?”

“Take to what?”

“Rain, dumbass.” 

“Don’t call me a dumbass, asshat. How was I supposed to know what you-”

You’re cut off by the sound of rolling thunder, coming in waves along with a particularly strong gust of wind that makes all of Eddie’s posters whip against the walls they were pinned to. It’s enough to shut you both up as the echoes of the entire trailer rattling surround you. 

“Jesus,” Eddie whistles lowly, head lifting up to look outside for a few moments. When his eyes return to yours, they're full of mischief. “Fuck the bet, wanna race?” 

“Eddie, start being more specific, or fuck off,” you groan just as he leaps up, hopping off his bed with unexpected speed. 

All he cries out over his shoulder as lightning strikes in the sky waiting outside is, “Loser has to wash a load of Wayne’s jeans!” 

That gets you up. Not because you wouldn’t do it if Wayne asked nicely, and not because you were going to let Eddie make you do so, but simply to further chastise the boy now running away from you. 

The first droplets of rain begin to fall before either of you make it out of the trailer front door. 

Eddie only loses due to him slipping while passing by the kitchen, socked feet gliding out from beneath him until he grabs onto the counter hastily to prevent any injury. You pass him with a wide smile, yanking the door open hard enough that if Wayne had been home, he probably would have had a few choice words to say to you. 

But Wayne isn’t home. It’s just you and Eddie, the boy who makes summertime an endless brew of storms in your chest and mind alike, and the rain. 

You fly down the rickety porch steps of the Munson’s trailer just as you’ve done a hundred times before, Eddie just behind you. Neither of you make a deciding comment on who won; you’d been outside first, but Eddie’s feet hit the dirt properly just as yours did when he decided to jump right over the steps you were trampling down. 

It’s all wild joy and childish wonder as the two of you begin to run about and spin around beneath the droplets that have picked up into a downpour. Eddie’s hands find your wrist, and he’s throwing you about with him, making you dizzy with absolute giddiness as gravity drags you in a wide circle. Your Melvard’s polo soaks through to the bone. Eddie’s curls begin to stick to his cheeks. 

Neither of you care. 

A childlike exuberance, and youthful oblivion, that you only ever feel with Eddie. You don’t think you would have let anyone else drag you out into the middle of a storm with such ease. But it’s hard to say no to him when there’s so much happiness fizzing beneath your skin, and you’re pretty sure all the thundering actually belongs to your chest as you feel his fingertips press deeper into your wrists. 

You’ve loved him for a while now. Always have, always will. 

It happens in slow motion. You swear somewhere between the crackling of the lightning and his crinkling eyes, you can see his lips forming the words, you’re pretty. 

You didn’t hear it, though. Couldn’t have over the water clogging your ears. 

“What?” you call out, leaning forward with all your giggles, trying to ignore the feeling of your bare feet sinking into the mud below. 

Eddie just pulls you forward, and over another gust of wind that makes you both shiver, says it once more with his whole chest, “I said you’re pretty!”

You’re not. You’re really, really not. You’re a mess. Wet hair and slick skin, bleary eyes and aching smiles. Probably closer resembling a drowning rat than anything poetic or worth yelling to the sky about. 

But not to Eddie, not as he looks to the sky, and all he can do is laugh at himself. 

“I’m not pretty-” you start to laugh back, shaking your head at his foolishness. 

“You are,” he interrupts quickly, his hand only leaving your skin long enough to brush back his damp bangs, exposing a forehead you’d certainly thought about kissing on more than one occasion. Running his fingers through curls you’ve tried to find every excuse in the books to play with. Scrunching up his nose that you’d pictured pressed into your neck in the dead of night numerous times as the two of you slept peacefully. “You really fucking are. It’s a damn crime, half the time, too. Always taking my breath away and shit.” 

You don’t know what spurred it all on. The petrichor that had lingered in the air, the feeling of the rain on his skin, the comfort of the storm and its promise of a night spent together. But his confessions are rolling out faster than the drips racing down the windows of his trailer, and he’s looking at you with big brown eyes, and all you really know is that it doesn’t matter what spurred it all on.

All that matters is he’s said it. 

“Do something about it, then,” you gasp out.

You’re almost worried the storm has carried the words away, that he hasn’t heard you, until he does something. 

He kisses you, and it tastes just like the rain. Your favorite part of summer.

[factual-fantasy]

24 Asks! Thank you! :}} 🐷

I don't think I'm understanding.. I cant turn my FNAF AU designs into full on OCs, (Original Characters) because.. well Freddy Fazbear and the gang are NOT my original characters. I just made my own AU (Alternate Universe) for them and redesigned them.

Unless that's not what you meant..? I'm sorry for misunderstanding you if that's the case <:(

(In response to this post)

I'm keeping it in mind.. I gotta get to the root of the problem and figure out what needs to be replaced. Once I can figure that out I'll probably set one up 🥹🙏🙏

Well imagine if you were in his shoes. You are transported to some kind of unknown world. And absolutely no one arounds you speaks the same language as you.

Sneep has no way of knowing this is a digital plane. He has no idea if the people around him are real or not, he cant remember his name and no one can explain to him why that is. His body looks different, he feels different, no one around him looks to be a human.. just imagine how scary that is. Not having the comfort of things being explained to you in this situation. Not having the comfort of someone telling you "everything will be okay".

Yeah, I'd lose my mind pretty quick too 💀

@ardent-38

XD No worries! And yeah I started playing Warframe for the first time these past few days. Its been fun so far, Mag being my favorite. (She's the only frame I have <XDD)

I have my eyes out for Titania Prime, Trinity Prime, Mag prime and Mirage Prime. I'm thinking Titania might be my new favorite if I can snag one!

This game is fun, but the longer I play it? The more I miss OG Overwatch 😅 I tried playing TF2 again today and it just isn't the same 😔💔

@chromchill

I am new, but my favorite frame so far is Mag, because she's the only one I have <XDD

But I've got my eyes out for Titania Prime.. and judging by her abilities, she might just become my new favorite 👀👀

@chickenmilk120

What I really would like is just more interactions and comments with my artwork <:( I get bummed when I put a lot of effort into something only to get 3 comments in the end...

I have not <:(( but I've heard many good things about those games! :00

AAAAA THANK YOU SO MUCH!! :DDD That's all very kind of you to say! :}}

And as for Cici and Gerald, you can find their origin comic here! :00

@lordvonbunnyv

Yes please 🥺🥺🙏🙏🙏

@quillsinkwell

Awe! :DD Thank you! They did have a certain charm to them didn't they? :}}

They would have been much better off drawing that mattress character I swear XDD

@neo-metalscottic (Referencing this post)

Hello! So far my tablet is still alive. Although I'm looking into getting my laptop checked out and maybe replacing somethings... 😔

And it was fun to draw Bibi again! I should really draw the fam more often <XD

Not sure what resolutions they'd have.. but one of mine is to be cured of this condition. Or at least get to a point where I can actually function normally again. There's a lot of things planned for 2025 and if I don't get better soon? I'm gonna miss out on all of it. 💔

Yeah, my head just used to be a normal scribble. But now its become a full on blob hasn't it? <XD

There's 2 reasons for this. 1 being that I have been battling some very limiting health conditions for about 8 months now. So drawing my sona all goopy and sickly is to represent how I've felt through this trial 🥲🥲

But the second reason isn't so bad. That being that its just fun to draw my sona like that XD

@bored-animator

Indeed I have! Deltarune too! Just search up "undertale or "deltarune" in my blogs search bar and you're sure to find a lot of it! :))

Thank you so much!! :DD And sure! Send me any game recommendations you'd like! :}}}

@ramiel-hourglass

Thank you so much! :DD But no need to go to the dumpster! <:(( I'll make you something to eat instead, yeah? :)

I use FireAlpaca. And I used to use the pencil brush for line art and the pen for coloring. But lately I've been using the little pixel brush for sketching and line art :00

(This thingy 👇)

I saw it, and I don't really know how to feel about the blue shelled Koopa.. it feels kinda weird to see a Mario kart item brought to life suddenly 😅

I gotta think of stuff to do wither her... 😓😓

First thing that came to mind was Roxanne from FNAF: Security Breach <XDD

@howaboutsomeketchul

Idk how they would celebrate Christmas, since they might not have a good way to gauge the passage of time..

Just search "team fortress 2" in my blogs search bar and you're sure to find most of it! :)

While I see what you're cooking, I don't think my Caine would create a Momigoo NPC for the fast food adventure <:/

The thing that upsets Gummigoo isn't just that his mom isn't real necessarily, its that his memories of her aren't real too. He remembers all these experiences with this person but the memories aren't real...

And the whole reason why Caine let the brothers stay was because he hoped it would help Pomni adjust to the circus. Just like Bella did for Gangle. Bringing up NPCs or things from the Gators adventure could upset or confuse them so Caine wouldn't want to risk it. <:(

@wolfie-777

Merry Christmas and a Happy new year! :DD Sorry for the late reply <XD

@cartoon-fan

Oh I get a lot stolen from those other fandoms too. Octonauts has just been the most frustrating. Constant tracings, theft, copycats, disrespect, its was nuts.

I don't think I'll post Octonauts again anytime soon. I've just had enough of the constant pushing of my boundaries and the boat loads of all kinds of theft.

[thevoicefromanotherworld]

"I'M GLAD I MET YOU"

It's been a while since the last time I posted a Dave fic, sooo here is another one 💛

I hope you like it! 😊🖤

When Dave went to the comic book store with his friends after school, he didn't expect to run into you.

At first, Lizewski thought you were a mirage.

He'd never admit it out loud, but he had to pinch his arm to make sure he wasn't dreaming.

You were holding a Captain America comic (which, of course, he'd read more than three times) in your hands, calmly, as if you weren't upsetting his entire metabolism just by being there.

"Dave," Todd said, snapping his fingers in front of you. "Earth calling Todd. Do you copy?"

He blinked a few times, embarrassed, before focusing his gaze on his friends.

"Sorry, what were you saying?"

"I was saying you were infatuated with that girl," Marty chimed in, nodding at her.

"Don't make faces," Dave whispered, embarrassed. "She has eyes, you know?" She's going to realize we're talking about her

"She's looking at you, man," Todd blurted out, making Lizewski's breath catch in his throat.

"It's not true," he muttered nervously, but his friend insisted with a vigorous nod.

"It is," he assured him "If you don't believe me, see for yourself."

Dave steeled himself and looked away from his friends and back at you.

Your gaze locked for a few moments, making it clear that Todd was telling him the truth.

"Fuck," the curly-haired man said, swallowing hard as his cheeks flushed violently. "What do I do?"

"Go talk to her," Marty said. Dave shook his head.

"Are you crazy?" "I can't do that," he blurted out. "She'll think I'm a geek or something."

"The first step to having a girlfriend is talking to women, dude," his friend said. "Besides, we're in a comic book store," Marty reminded him. "We're ALL geeks here." He nodded toward you. "Go talk to her, or I will."

"You wouldn't dare," Dave muttered. His friend raised an eyebrow.

"Shall we check it out?" he questioned, starting to walk in your direction. Dave stopped him by lightly grabbing him by the hoodie he was wearing.

"Okay, okay, I'm coming," the curly-haired boy said.

He took a few deep breaths and walked over to where you were.

You looked up when you saw him approaching.

His bright blue eyes gently rested on yours through the lenses of his thin glasses.

"Hi," he greeted timidly. "I… I saw that…" He shook his head, thinking about what he was going to say before speaking. "What are you reading?"

"Captain America: Death of the Red Skull," you recited, looking at the title. "Have you read it?"

"I've read a lot of comics. I love Marvel and DC, Spiderman is one of my favorite characters, and I really like Batman too. Did you know…" He stopped abruptly. "Sorry, I don't want to bother you or anything I… I'll leave you alone."

"You're not bothering me," you replied, making his eyes widen in surprise. "I really like Batman too," you admitted. "I guess I have a weakness for characters with tragic backstories," you explained. He smiled.

You spent over an hour talking.

So much time passed that neither of you noticed that everyone had left the store and the owner was cleaning up a bit, preparing to close.

You left the store so the owner could close up, and you apologized for taking so long to leave.

Neither of you knew what to say next.

Dave stared at the floor, not daring to look at you directly, and you hoped he'd be the one to break the tense silence. In the end, he did.

"It was nice talking to you," he whispered, feeling his cheeks turn red again. "I-I mean, I'm glad I met you."

"Me too, Dave," you smiled pleasantly. "I had a great time."

"And I," the man with the blue eyes replied, laughing nervously. "I don't want this to sound desperate or anything, but…" If you want, ONLY if you want, we could…" He took a deep breath. "We can meet up one day and… I don't know… keep talking, I guess."

"I'd love to," you murmured excitedly.

After that, you exchanged phone numbers and agreed to discuss the day and time of your "date."

Dave didn't like calling it that because it sounded too serious, so he preferred to say "hangout" instead.

As soon as he got home and charged his phone, he searched for your contact to add you to his contacts.

He looked at your profile picture and saw it was you with two dogs in a huge field.

He stared at it for several minutes, so many that he fell asleep with his phone in his hand and your photo reflected on the screen.

[blackjackkent]

OK I went ahead and finished the Raphael fight before going to bed.

(I thought this was just gonna be a quick cleanup post but the game ended up rocking my feels at the end, ahhhhhhhhh! [falls over])

Combat highlights:

Wyll landed a massive Slow on the first round of the fight that basically kept Raphael from doing anything significant.

Yurgir missed every attack he took.

Korrilla existed for about 0.5 seconds before being obliterated.

Minsc hurled Boo at Raphael's face hard enough to knock him on his ass (and do 4 damage, get Boo in biting distance, and maintain rage).

Just cos I was curious if she could do it, I had Jaheira cast Planar Binding on Raphael; she did actually succeed, and he briefly became an ally and the fight ended! For one turn, and then he got mad again and the theme song started over. XD

Wyll then landed Slow a second time on him. :P

Wyll also counterspelled the one attempt at Ravaging Inferno that Raphael managed to attempt in his ascended form. (That's the big attack that covers the whole floor in hellfire, so stopping it was a big deal.)

Jaheira in saber-tooth tiger form managed to knock Raphael prone and rip the shit out of his jugular, which set up Lae'zel for the final blows to finish him off.

In conclusion, Wyll is awesome and MVP, everyone else is pretty cool too, and Raphael is a loser. >:)

-----

"It is absolutely preposterous that any of us are alive! Maybe we're not!"

"PINCH YOURSELF AND CHECK WE'RE NOT DREAMING THE LAST OF OUR LIVES AS WE DIE SCREAMING!"

Pinch yourself.

(Rakha doesn't quite understand the intention here, but if Hope thinks it's a good idea, she'll follow along.)

"Ha!"

Narrator: You are wide awake, and Raphael truly is defeated.

"We're fine, Hope," Rakha mutters. "We did it."

"Then we're not just fine!" Hope says eagerly. "We're spectacular! What a wonderful, jubilant, glorious day!"

Honestly I think at this point Rakha is less jubilant and more just tired. She's so tired... of everything, but most of all of fighting, of finding more and more situations that she only knows how to solve with violence. And there are so many battles still left to fight.

Hope's excitement doesn't really last either; her face falls almost at once.

"OH BUT MY POOR SISTER KORRILLA," she wails. "It is not right that she died... and it makes me want to weep an ocean..."

Rakha remembers the notes she found throughout the house, the records of Korrilla's complicity in Raphael's torture of Hope. She considers explaining this, but in the end just shrugs.

"I don't think there was any way to save her," she says flatly.

"When we were children, she always kept the last piece of pastry for me," Hope mumbles. "And bloodied the nose of the bullies who pulled my hair." A pause. "She was my sister."

Another pause, and this one is heavier somehow. Hope draws a long breath through her nose, lets it out through her mouth. Her eyes close and for a moment she does not move a single muscle.

Then she opens her eyes and looks at Rakha steadily. "But, as a wise woman once said, there's no point in crying over spilt blood. We must go on. And despite all the years I've lost, I have enough love in my heart to guide you home."

Narrator: For the first time since you heard her voice, Hope seems calm. And the peace flows from her into you, soothing your very soul.

Rakha, too, goes very still now. She meets the battered little dwarf's eyes and feels something strange and unexpected come loose inside her chest.

The air is quiet. The Weave has calmed. Raphael is gone, and with him the rough cruel edge that his magic brought to this place. And Hope is at peace - a gift that Rakha helped to give her.

Does she, perhaps, see in Hope a reflection of the thousands of victims she tortured in the life now lost to her? Does she see a fragmentary mirage of forgiveness in this moment, out of the face of a tormented woman she helped to save?

Perhaps. Or perhaps it is merely a reminder that she has no choice but to go forward, and leave the past to what it was.

There's no point in crying over spilt blood. We must go on.

She lets out a breath and hears it tremble in her throat.

"What will you do?" she asks hoarsely.

Another long silence while Hope studies her. Then she smiles sadly. "I'll hope," she says softly. "What else?"

"I hope I'll see Korrilla again one day, and that she'll say sorry, and I'll tell her she's forgiven."

"I hope I'll find all the pieces of my mind that fell out of my head over all those years, and that I'll be able to put myself back together again."

"I hope the echoes of pain will fade, and memories of sorrow will die, and that you'll visit me here some day."

"And I hope you have a happy ending of your own."

Rakha doesn't speak. She suddenly feels like she can't, like possibly she's forgotten how entirely. The blast-furnace air of the room feels suddenly heavy, weighing down inside her throat.

I hope I'll find all the pieces of my mind that fell out of my head. I hope the echoes of pain will fade. I hope you have a happy ending of your own.

I won't, she wants to say, bitter and tired and broken. I know I won't. There is too much blackness behind me, too much violence still left in my heart.

Wyll would say otherwise, of course, and she might even believe him for a time - but oddly enough, in this moment it is not her future with him she is thinking of, but the future inside her own mind. And that future has felt very bleak indeed, in spite of the love and friendship of those around her.

But...

I hope the echoes of pain will fade, and memories of sorrow will die.

I hope you have a happy ending of your own.

For a moment, just this moment, she hopes.

[vacantcassette]

I think the Transformer One trailer is trying to trick us

Ok hear me out-

Recently there has been a trend of big-time trailers subverting audience expectations to keep a big reveal a secret. (Looking at Marvel/Spiderman.) I have to give it to Hasbro first because it looks like there is every single Transformer in this trailer. (People were even spotting Jazz, Mirage, etc. in that wide shot of the team looking down.)

But what stuck out to me was the scene with Soundwave, Starscream, and Shockwave.

Because those three (from my knowledge) don't really interact until they are a part of the Decepticon force. And this is the origin story of Optimus Prime and Megatron.

So what's going on???

My big out-of-the-pond theory is that Soundwave and Shockwave were edited in for the trailer. Hear me out!

Hasbro wants to include all their major hitting characters in the trailer to grab the audience's attention and add a few easter eggs to get everyone looking closer. (A lot of seekers I've noticed.) Okay, a lot of seekers. I counted several. I know that they were in abundance in the G1 show. (I know it was probably budget reasons but still.)

My shot-in-the-dark theory for the main plotline is that this is like a round-up for both of the factions to fight whatever enemy it is. (Quintession???) Orion Pax already has Bumblebee and Elita and will probably meet Prowl and Ratchet. From what we've seen D-16 will meet his three commanders. But not at once like the trailer shows!

I need to get to the point.

Starscream already having a sort of leadership role but it's with the seekers. D-16 and Orion Pax have to convince them to join their side to fight the bad guy and it's possibly a point of contention between the two because, we all know Starscream and violence. (Also there were a lot of shots showing seekers in explosions and my Primus if they reference Vos-)

Soundwave and Shockwave aren't gonna be at Starscream's side, but other seekers. (Please Hasbro I beg give me Skywarp and Thundercracker.) Soundwave and Shockwave will already be teaming up with them or about to team up with them or refusing to team up. (Who cares this post turned into seeker central.)

Or the movie is gonna oversimplify everything and have the three of the high command be there to meet D-16. (Give me strength I hope not.)

TLDR: Soundwave and Shockwave were edited in for the trailer only and Starscream is ruler of the seekers. (And this post is a mess.)

[yellowhollyhock]

Why March for Raph specifically? Isn't Donatello your favorite character? And your polls in the past have suggested Mikey is most underrated?

Well, imaginary person asking very helpful questions giving me direct opportunities to provide some exposition, let me tell you!

I'll explain below the cut because the point of this post is actually the link above (in red), and this is a non-essential lore drop for readers who want that for some reason idk I can't stay in character any longer

Reason 1: my beloved Raph friends

I know I talk a lot about Raph and say a lot about relating to Donnie, but really, I love all the turtles and Aprils equally and in different ways (Caseys and Splinters are different, another discussion altogether). I do identify the most with Donatello though, and that's important. I love the other characters through a loving Donatello lens.

And that's why Raph is so dear to me. Because there I am, a Donatello lover who has only ever participated in fandom privately or with occasional likes/reblogs, deciding to get into TMNT. Like actually get into it, be a part of the community, make some friends. Find my people.

And there are the Raph fans, especially 03 since that's what I was most into at the beginning (still? fluctuates more but it'll always be a fave). There was some discussion amongst that part of the fandom at the time of the difficulty in finding 03 Raph-centric content. Firstly, I was very invested in seeing takes on Raph that explored what I loved about him, took the angst deeper than canon (directly) acknowledged, showed the strengths that sometimes get overlooked (in canon and fanon). Secondly, I was posting about all the turtles and the Raph fans responded.

When you're brand new nobody in a fandom that feels huge in a franchise you're forty years late to? To have people express interest in what you're saying and share their ideas with you and follow up on your ideas? It's like

Imagine you're Donatello and all you did was make a small little thing that you wanted to make and had fun making. And then there's Raph. Obviously you're gonna love the guy

there are quite a few beloved friends who know who they are, and very especially @nightwatcherraph

Reason 2: check out the range

Raph is such an interesting character to use as a jumping off point for discussion of the whole franchise and how it's changed over the years. Out of all the turtles, he's the most varied in many ways

I attribute that mostly to Mirage and 1987. They're both just so iconic, and so different. It creates a fascinating split foundation for future iterations to draw from!

Reason 3: Rise

Hello Rise fandom. Immediately easy to find if you are first getting into tmnt, at first confusing because I was looking for 03. I love the rise show, second tmnt I watched and absolutely adored, and I'm pretty sure I'd written a couple rise stories already before March for Raph was born. But the amount of welcome that I've received in the Rise fandom while barely even being in it is like.. I dunno how to explain, it's a very nice fandom. Very very large fandom which is why I tend not to make much for it (crowds are intimidating) and in my experience so so welcoming. As soon as I posted about the idea for March for Raph first time, Rise fandom rose up 🫡 Really living up to the name of the show.

And Raph specifically is the perfect character for this because 1) by making him the leader Rise focused on Raph in a new way that highlighted personality traits which are oft overlooked in the red turtles, 2) Rise Leo or Donnie would have attracted everybody at once and I would be flattened like a beetle in a stampede, 3) I don't have a third reason but if I did you'd be like "that's a good reason"

I sometimes think that maybe someday I'll do events like this for other turtles, especially Mikey since he does so often under-perform in polls and I have very many thoughts about him that I haven't really posted about,, but one month out of the year comes up quicker than you'd think. also, idk. It's gotta fit, y'know? anyways y'all should @ me if you know of any Mikey events

[super-weed-ninja]

For a little over a year now I've been slowly amassing a collection of ninja turtle books and I wanna talk about some of them. Picture books, joke books, novelizations, coloring and activity books... For all different iterations and all different reading levels.

Well ok they are pretty much just kids books let's be real, but some of them are really great and it's nice to see some new adventures. I've loved ninja turtles for as long as I can remember. Watched the '80s cartoon when I was young, read the comics, caught '03 in it's first season and was hooked immediately, and have pretty well kept up with everything since, with the exception of IDW (SOON.) These books have given me a new appreciation to the TMNT.

At first I just wanted to get my hands on some '03 books, but I was at the same time falling back in love with the '87 show, and books related to that series ended up being a lot easier to find. There's new adventures, some adapted episodes of the cartoon, some from Archie comics...

A rap song to fight drugs, and a little book adapting the first live action film with the '87 boys (Raphael defenestration and all, LOOK AT MY BOY THEY KILLED HIM)

I wasn't really planning to get so many, but THESE 4 delightful books really had an effect on me.

I'll probably make another post just about these 4 books sometime because I have so much to say on them! There is such a charm about them and they've changed how I think about the '87 and Archie turtles. They also act as a prequel series to either! Each book focuses on a different turtle. You see them in some of their pre-series naivete, learning and exploring and joking around. It's really no surprise they're so good, given the author, Stephen Murphy, was a primary writer for TMNT Adventures (Archie) and Tales of the TMNT. '03 girlies, he co-authored "Sons of the Silent Age" in Mirage and was a writer for several '03 episodes!

Anyway, after reading these, I really started searching.

It's so interesting to me to read these characters in this form, from different authors with their own ideas about the turtles.

There's several unique stories in the '03 books, with wonderful illustrations. These goofballs just shine even in the silliest of the adventures. Stephen Murphy, again, shows up here as an author of '03 books. I really love how he writes the boys.

'12 tends to just be episode adaptations, although I haven't actually read the novels I have yet. '12 books have been pretty easy to find so they have not been high on my priority list, but I try to grab ones that look like unique tales!

Mikey's Nightwatcher Scrapbook was so adorable, one of my favorites! Newspaper clippings, date and time stamped sightings and attempts at catching/talking to the elusive Nightwatcher... It's very fun and endearing! The Rise novels are just retellings of episodes, but each story is told by a different character! It's not much, but it's a cute detail.

finding coloring books is HARD, and even harder is finding one that's not been used. The joke book is full of the most garbage jokes but I had some fun torturing friends with it. :3

The coloring books in particular I'd like to scan sometime to share. I remember seeing '03 coloring books around all the time while the show was running; now you're liable to find yourself in a bidding war for one! (against me)

These books have become so important to me and I wanna talk about them more so I might just start taking one every now and then and ranting about it in a post. I have about 80 various books now, and a decent list of more I'm on the hunt for.

[halfetirosie]

🐚 Important info from the [Mirage of Scales] PV! 🐚 (Reaction post)

1) This Oceanic Decor goes HARD!!!!! 😍

Fun fact about me; I often draw plants that are sorta remixed from how they are in reality. For example; a giant flower whose stem is actually made of tree bark (aka a literal flower-tree), a cactus with a huge rose instead of a typical cactus flower, plants sprouting feathers instead of leaves, etc.

So, a detail like coral in flowerpots is the type of whimsical shit I LIVE for, and it makes me really happy!

And that wall carving tho---it's so damn intricate! It gives me Mayan Calendar vibes!

2) Ooooo, interesting! I suspect Yakumo's intimacy rooms will have something to do with pearls this time?

Also, I couldn't quite figure out what those papers were at first, but judging by the top-left illustration of a spoon + the top-right illustration of a spoon mixing things in a bowl, I think it's a recipe!!!

Maybe we'll get to see some classic Yakumo-cooking action!

:D

3) FOX SPOTTED!!!! 🎉🎉🎉

For a second I thought that this was a hidden accurate-portrait of Fox Form Kuya, but then I realized that the white fur on its tail was on the wrong side. 😢

4) The lil' animations keep getting better and better! 😲

Yaku blowing a bubble towards us makes me feel some type of way...

Idk man, it's just SO FUCKIN ENDEARING....

MY HEART.....😭😭😭

5) 🚨🚨🚨PRETTY THIGH ALERT!!!🚨🚨🚨

6) Yakumo's hair really is GORGEOUS in this SSR...

(((Insert joke about my love of long-haired fantasy men)))

Nah but, aside from it's length---the way his two-tone hair is braided together is pretty as hell!!!

I feel like you can barely see the coral-red (lol how fitting for this event, CORAL red) part of his hair in its usual SR style, but this SSR shows it off especially well.

7) THE MILF ENERGY IS STRONG WITH THIS ONE...

😳😳😳

What can I say? Purple is my favorite color, and I've always been a sucker for fire-type Pokemon.

THIS BITCH IS TOO MESMERIZING...

It's not fair!

8) 😬 OH NO....

HE'S NOT GONNA BE EXTRA-TOXIC AGAIN, IS HE???

Come on, now... We just had an event where he was extra toxic. I REALLY don't want another one; at least, not this soon. 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️

And I don't say this because Kuya's hand is on Eiden's neck. Choking might not be my thing, but even if it happens in this intimacy room, I wouldn't find it upsetting.

It's because the combination of Kuya's hand on his neck + the voice line telling him "try not to die in such a banal manner" feels threatening to me, and that isn't very sexy. 😔

[spiritsglade]

thank you for the tag @glitter-stained :]

Fic Writer Ask Game

1) How many works on Ao3?

33

[fun fact there used to be 2 more but they're gone now. lost media.]

2) Total Ao3 wordcount?

161,906

3) Top 5 fics by kudos

lies of omission

Something's Wrong with Jason Todd

homicidal tendencies

admonition

Unfortunate Circumstances

4) What fandoms do you write for?

27 - DCU/Batfam (26 are about Jason Todd)

3 - Moon Knight (2 of the show adaptation, 1 for comics)

3 - Wings of Fire

it's been jason todd for like 7 months straight at this point, but I do want to come back around to marvel eventually + wings of fire is like a sleeper agent that awakens every now and then and forces me to write another angsty oneshot about a children's book series. also i'm reading more non-bat dcu characters so maybe !! one day we'll get something there.

lots of unposted fics as well about ocs i have in various media (among us, hollow knight, rain world, etc.)

5) Do you respond to comments?

i am extremely inconsistent about this, but i do try! i do definitely read & cherish all of them though <3

6) Angstiest ending?

um. first instinct is protocol. because i do have other fics that end in very angsty ways but they're in like... 'hey remember this canon thing that happened? i'm gonna frame it in a way that hurts even worse' ways, while protocol innovated new and exciting pain.

7) Fic with the happiest ending?

why is my catalogue compressed misery who let this happen hang on. i think redux is the closest to a happy ending and even that is just the promise of joy on the horizon. maybe i need to be adding more fluffy codas to my works.

Something's Wrong with Jason Todd has a happy ending i think but also i am holding that fic at an arm's length still so i'm not rereading it to double check.

8) Do you get hate?

not off the top of my head, no! lies of omission gets a lot of people cursing out the characters (bruce, babs, and most recently cass) and i'm worried one day they'll figure out that it's me forcing said characters to do these things and redirect all the negative energy at me (joking)

9) Do you write smut?

nope.

10) Do you write crossovers?

no, but writing for comic characters is trying to wrangle 3 separate canons into something cohesive at all times, so it probably replicates the experience well enough, lol. i certainly think about crossovers often, and maybe one day one of my more well-formed concepts could make it onto a page.

11) Ever had a fic stolen?

i think the answer to this is no but i'm weirdly uncertain?? i know my art has absolutely been stolen so maybe i'm thinking of that instead.

12) Have you ever had a fic translated?

nope, but i've had someone ask if they could, so maybe that'll happen one day?

13) Have you ever co-written a fic?

yes! honestly it might have been more than once but the one that comes to mind is... i believe it was called Mirage, and i could dig it up if i really tried (which i will not be doing so). it was a future dystopian wings of fire fanfic that i think we got about seven chapters into and there was a general embarrassing lack of coordination between us lol.

anyway the person i was writing it with later revealed that they were multiple people using the same account and i'm still not entirely clear on which of said multiple people was actually writing it with me. you think you know a guy.

i would love to cowrite something again. it sounds like a lot of fun. does anyone want to roleplay with me and turn our transcript into a fic-- (also used to do a lot of roleplaying!! those were the days <3)

14) All-time favourite ship?

my wings of fire ocs. canary/aethon they're both fucked up and their relationship was a messy messy thing even before canary got themself blown up (don't worry about it) and it's even worse now. they're the dragons in my pinned post and i think the fact that aethon is killing canary there helps you get an idea of what their relationship is like. also acanthus is there and unwillingly part of the world's worst polycule.

for favorite ship that people might be more familiar i'm gonna have to go with marc spector x greer grant nelson (although jayroy might be edging them out for the top spot. it's hard to tell rn but jayroy has the benefit of a large fanbase throwing more propaganda in my direction.)

sorry thinking all the time about how marc's last words were him apologizing to greer because he promised he'd come back, and greer planning to break a god out of prison just to bring marc back, and neither of them were the 'first' for each other but that devotion is genuine. how greer first came back into marc's life as a way of monitoring him and he knew this and the way he betrays her trust and lies to her face later and they talk through these issues!! they make it work!! god. i lvoe them. i should probably figure out what their ship name is at some point.

15) WIPS you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

something shaped like brotherhood. fucking HATE that thing. it's um. from back in november. it was supposed to be part of what crawled out. let's not talk about it.

okay actually i will talk about it a little bit. the issue with that fic is that the plan for it was far too ambitious for my understanding of dc canon at the time and now that i do understand it slightly better, i don't think i could write it in a way that feels satisfying and true to the characters without wildly reworking how all of it works, and at this point i have other vague plans and concepts that hit similar emotional notes/plot points that i'd rather work on instead. like i guess i don't want to finish sslb itself but i do want to do things with its concepts and i'm sad that i can't reuse what i actually drafted for it without having to do major rehauls.

+ i do like the general concept for what crawled out. and i do want to finish the series but it's ughughhg. unlikely at this point. especially since i'm now rehashing similar beats in other fics.

anyway here's one of a couple theoretical summaries for it that have been Sitting There. Abandoned.

Red Hood slams onto the scene in Gotham in a meticulous, extravagant demonstration of violence. Nightwing disappears off Bludhaven's streets as everything that defines him crumbles into ash. These two things are, for the most part, unrelated.

there are fics that i really want to write and know that i realistically am unable to ever get done (cough cough suicide watch) but i'm still in denial about that and am chipping away at that monster very very slowly. if i just believein myself hard enough.

16) Writing strengths?

i like to think i'm good at dialogue + giving the narration a Distinct Voice. i love my limited third person pov that is filtered through a specific character's perspectives and beliefs!!

also TRUST that i am good at imagery. please. i know i don't dip into the flowery figurative language bucket often but i know that when i do, i do it well! i should do it more honestly. look out. i'm gonna personification all of your phenomenon.

17) Writing weaknesses?

i am weak on action scenes unfortunately :( i hate having to research and meticulously put a scene together and i think it shows a little when i vaguely navigate my way through a scene while describing minimum possible things going on. i'm gonna be entirely real. i forget how to write humans sometimes. i don't know how these bodies work despite living in one. it's what i get for being exclusively into a dragon book series for like 6 years straight.

like i genuinely believed if i watched more shows/movies with fight scenes i'd be better and more confident at blocking them out. anything including the characters doing more movement than waving their hands around a little makes me Struggle.

18) Thoughts on mixed language dialogue?

hmm i don't have any strong feelings. the way i speak at home is a fucking mess of chinese & english so like yes i can see multilingual characters speaking this way, though it's only in pretty specific scenarios (like with family that also knows all languages involved). and as a reader i'm always a little excited when the writer starts blending in a language i Sort Of know so i can guesstimate at the meaning and then check the translation to see how far i got. + when people don't include translates but write the narration around it so you get the gist of conversation anyway is very fun. little endearments & nicknames (mijo, baobao) are neat. <3

but it's also like i do think if you're writing in other languages you do need to put in the work to make sure you're translating things correctly & sprinkling in the words in a way that would actually be natural for the speaker. (ex. damian calling jason 'akhi' -- akhi means 'my brother' so saying 'his akhi' just... is not right. and i've seen posts i can't find now about how that's formal arabic no one actually uses to address their siblings? take that part with a grain of salt i don't know any arabic & i'm repeating things from memory.)

19) First fandom you wrote for?

wings of fire!! my love for this children's book series about dragons truly knows no bounds. but i've also written entirely original writing back in like... fourth grade, or so. i was nine at the time, i do know that. i have an entire completed story about this girl named lokia born of the goddess of spring who had to go on an adventure to defeat the winter god after he kidnapped her mom. she met a cloud named fluff on her adventures. apparently it's titled Seasons and Dragonflies, and i actually managed to dig it up so have a lil excerpt:

“The blizzard is enchanted,” said Fluff. “It’s special.” The blizzard sprayed snow everywhere. Fluff charged into it and was whirled around by the storm, and thrown to the ground. “Oww…” said Fluff painfully. Lokia thought about what she was carrying. She knew she couldn’t destroy the blizzard with a sword. Suddenly she knew what to do. Taking out a few dry sticks, she poured the last of the fire onto the sticks. The flame flickered, then started burning the sticks. The blizzard felt the heat and melted, fell gently, like rain, and disappeared into the snow. The fire flickered and was also gone. Lokia and Fluff entered the palace with caution. 

that's the solution guys just melt the blizzard.

unsure what my first wings of fire fic would be. it's almost certainly deleted by now.

20) Favourite fic you've ever written?

one that is not on ao3... it's about aforementioned wings of fire ocs <3 whom i love dearly, and it's titled A Thousand Words We Never Said. here's an excerpt from it. my writing was Worse than it is now but the Heart of it. the CONCEPTS. they're Killing Me. and each other, apparently.

"You're distracted." It wasn't a question, but she offered a shrug anyway. "Too busy daydreaming about your pretty eyes." They were dark brown, rich, deeper than the night sky that glinted before them. They ignored her. Fair enough. "It's compromising your ability to fight." "Oh, we both know that doesn't matter. We'll just keep sparring, and I'll beat you next time." "I'll kill you, one of these days." Their eyes flickered towards her, without the slightest shift of their head. "I'll forget, or I'll overestimate you." She hummed, because there was nothing else to add, because it was true, because it ran both ways and it was just as likely that she'd be the one tearing a chunk out of their throat one day.

um for fic that you can actually read. compound fracture. ossification series in general i am very fond of compared to most of my other output.

no pressure tags: @birdieisnotwriting @havenesc @helsingvania @haithhegimp @just-a-random-dungeon-master + all my other beloved mutuals and anyone else who may want to join in!!

[softantlers]

Hi genuine question! I've seen some MelissaHat hate on your blog and was wondering how you feel about her dynamic to Shauna and then becoming a survivor in correlation to the shows core story because it's something I've been debating and don't see anyone else doing so.

While watching yj I've found myself looking at it with the lens of "what is the core story they're telling vs the fringe imagery?" We know this show has taken many many turns in its plot from the shows pitch to post pilot and now, for example van being the first to die, then to the first survivor to die, then to how she is now etc etc. If somone told me that the show was written as it was primarily planned to be with no regard to fandom reaction or input I'd say they're lying because it's pretty clear that the creators absolutely have changed some things up from their initial ideas as time goes on and seeing how the audience reacts. ( and that's not a bad thing! If they didn't make changes once they saw Livs amazing chemistry and scene presence then we wouldn't have our groovy butch jester )

But I've always read the show as the jackieshauna show, that's the main story line and core of it all. Shauna and jackie, Shauna is our main girl but only because jackie is our main girl etc etc, everything else while just as important and fun can be tossed and tumbled and scrapped for the betterment of the jackieshauna of it all. Our main 4 are Misty Nat Tai Shauna but their stories fall to the wayside in the face of jackieshauna. I feel like they've always had a set plan for them and what we are seeing as some odd choices are all due because those choices are in regards to the 2nd storylines ( Taivan, lotties story. Tais family doesnt impact the main storyline of jackieshauna so it gets less thought out and instead we get Jeff bingo )

So anytime I feel like the show is off I chalk it up to " yea they've got their main storyline and everything else is whatever vibes the smoke shesh the writing room had that day"

That brings me to Melissa, her role as jackies mirage and an important note in shaunas sexuality would make me think that this was always planned, that she's apart of the main story line and was from the beginning. But then we hear that they wrote up a new role entirely for Swank to play? And for such an important character to have like no lines till the season they apparently make her important for the adult timeline actress? It feels odd I can't figure out if she was just weirdly handled but was always intended to be a thing or if it really was just them needing a role for Swank.

( still feeling slighted if it turns out that they really did kill Simone off to payroll swank lol )

(sidebar: the way i've spent all saturday drinking copious amounts of coffee, listening to gay ass music on the couch, and media analyse-ing on my phone lmfao. let's get it!)

yeah, so i have a hard time talking about this tbh because i feel the room tend to shut down when i do & that's never a good feeling, especially since it's something that's making me feel uncomfortable with the show about? but i'll tag this & put a read more so the people who don't wanna see it can happily ignore me lol.

first thing, i just want to say that i don't hate melissa (in the teen timeline, idk about adult timeline yet but looking bad). she is kind of a loser but that's like her whole character. i do actually enjoy her dynamic with gen & have been playing with that some.

so, my thought is that i actually don't think the writers intended for shaunajackie to be the principle sapphic ship of the show. i know the show is about shauna generally & she's the main character bc for whatever reason the writers are quite invested in exploring the savagery that could conceivably exist within a white soccer mom. that's fine, you know, go off. but yeah, i am really not sure it was supposed to be sapphic, i think that's more to do with sophie and ella's gay ass chemistry lol.

i don't think the writers banked on the fans sidelining taivan and imminently shipping shaunajackie. like i am just convinced that taivan was supposed to be the solo queer ship with ben as an additional character (how most shows have this kind of quota where rep is restrained) & then when the show got massive attention and a huge queer following, they were like "oh?"

the reason i don't think shauna was always meant to be queer is a couple things but one example is that they could have easily introduced melissa from the beginning and even put her in the position of adam. tbh that writing would have been so much more fluid. if they were already considering adam/javi, then wouldn't it make much more sense to use melissa for that role? honestly, if they had done that, the writing would have ate!!

also wouldn't it make sense for tai to bring it up when shauna and her are reflecting on relationships? like sorry if you were fucking a girl in the woods and your lesbian friend was listening to you talk about your failing marriage, no way she isn't gonna suggest maybe your ass is gay.

so all of that. what becomes frustrating for me on this is that i feel like the writers saw the popularity of shaunajackie & decided to cash in on white sapphics for season 3. regardless of whether they meant to do this, they did. i tend to agree with everyone who is suggesting that mari could have been shauna's love interest to much more interesting effect while giving the role to someone who has already been with the show instead of (ostensibly) relegating her to being yet another dead poc character.

there is an interview with liv and jasmin where they are clearly joking but they say something like "i thought we were the gay ones." maybe it's not that serious but it breaks my heart a bit. like i just don't think the fandom gave them their flowers likely because of embedded racism or an insidious preference for white fems.

anyways, it's not that these ships have to be in competition with each other EXCEPT when fuckshit like what happened with lottie happens. it truly feels like the writers didn't know what to do with her & cast her aside so that they could have a melissa/shauna unhinged fuck fest in the adult timeline. like whatever if they want to do that, but it just feels like it was at the expense of the most interesting character in the show--a character people really resonated with both in terms of mental health & in terms of representation. we NEVER see representation like lottie in television, like i could seriously gaf about melanie kissing a girl in the adult timeline. it's just such a disappointment.

the last episode was particularly ridiculous to me. like wdym the police don't investigate a suicide without a body? wdym melissa sent her the DAT tape and thought nothing would happen? like JFC what was that writing??? like you could never convince me this was an endgame since the beginning.

and invariably, you have to ask yourself who are the writers catering to when they write stuff like this? it's not their mixed race and poc viewership who saw the value in a character like lottie. it is certainly not the sapphics in interracial relationships who are prolly gonna have to watch van die so that shaunahat can move forward as the primary sapphic ship in s4. like again, these things shouldn't be in competition but the writers are making them so by disposing of incredible dynamics and characters.

this is just my take, but it's a general frustration i have had with the show going forward. it doesn't mean i'll stop watching or stop having fun with the characters i enjoy, but generally, i am a lil meh about how unwilling people are to talk about this. i think it's the case where if you don't feel impacted bc this is the rep you want & you don't feel the same lack as other people, then you're just less likely to care.