#Sorry if the quality is bad I had to save it as a draft on TWITTER so I could use my phone to upload it

[albino-parakeet]

Yasammy Week Day 1 Hurt/Comfort

Wanted to try something different. Based on a dream I had the other night, the dream wasn't Yasammy related but it did fit them and the prompt... @yasammyweek

(Tried to match the artstyle my dream looked like)

I unfortunately can’t upload the Timelapse with it but the song I listened to was An Underground City - You Act Tough

[tojivu]

# OFFICE HOURS ‣ GOJO SATORU

✰ — author’s note i feel so guilty bc gojo is literally the only character i write for LOL anyway this is an old draft from months ago. idk why this is so long im so horrendously down bad for this fucking snowman.

✰ — cw / tags arrogant ceo!gojo x secretary f!reader, sfw, not rly enemies to lovers bc gojo has fat feelings, gojo satoru being a billionaire playboy

✰ — playing death & taxes by daniel caesar.

✰ — word count ~3k LOL

nothing about gojo satoru really strikes you as the serious type.

even in a professional environment, your boss always has a carefree demeanour. his laugh is so nauseatingly loud that you can hear it from outside the office, and you wonder how someone as busy as him manages through his day; much less with a positive attitude. you take one look at his schedule, and you want to vomit with the way you hardly see any gaps between appointments.

you suppose you could learn that from him. it's his only good quality.

you admit that he's likeable, on surface level. there's a reason why you detest him, though: as his closest colleague, you know him way more than you would prefer. most people would think such a well to do man like satoru would have a wife by his side, but that's unfortunately not the case. you almost feel more miserable than him—because now you're forced to be the listening ear and comforting hand at his beck and call.

you think he'd be just fine if he was just a little more humble. he has a nice face. it's his fault for being so stuck up. you know how many women ask him out—painfully aware, actually.

'they just aren't suited to my taste,' he would say to you. 'i need someone that makes me feel alive.'

one time, gojo even asked you to bail him out of a date—something about the way she held her fork and knife disturbed him, and you were expected to show up at the restaurant and act as if there was an emergency.

'i'm so sorry, sweetheart. i have to go, duty calls.' his disgustingly charming tone made you want to slap him then and there.

she called him again the following week, and he completely forgot who she was. he didn't even save her number.

the sheer number of people asking him out had stroked his ego so hard that gojo firmly believes no woman is deserving enough. he rambles on and on to you about how snobby some of them seem, and it takes everything in you to bite your tongue when he does. 'takes one to know one,' you would say, if not for your job at stake.

you think gojo satoru is full of himself. you are a strong believer of that. a witness, as well—it's not like he didn't try his way with you, too. unlike the women he ranted about, you turned him down every single time.

it's been a long while since any of that has happened, though. the most recent ordeal was months ago, but that didn't inherently mean that people stopped asking him out: it just meant that he was rejecting every single offer.

it's a thursday morning when you find yourself eating a sandwich you purchased on the way to work, at your desk—wondering when the big boss will finally arrive. the clock read 9 a.m., and you're expecting an extravagant "good morning!" to surprise you any moment now.

just then, you notice mr. conceited walk in: except something is different. he has no stride in his step. there was no good morning. there was no playful teasing directed at you as he walked past your desk and into his office, not that you were complaining—it was just strange.

you stand up, a mouthful of your sandwich still being chewed. you take a big sip of water and fix your skirt and blouse, making sure your hair is presentable—before swiftly making your way into his office.

──────

"i cannot believe this." he mumbles. you're standing in front of his desk, but he's not facing your direction.

gojo's chair is turned to the giant window that overlooks the business district, and he's gazing out of it thoughtfully. you think this is the cheesiest thing you've seen him do.

you can see how disheveled his hair was, even from where you were standing. you don't want to irritate him further, in case teasing you was still on his to-do list that day.

"what is it, mr. gojo?"

he swivels his chair around, and he is a mess—just what could have he been up to?

"i woke up late today."

"you're the boss, mr. gojo. you can come in any time you want—"

"not the point." he interrupts you. "i forgot my lunch. i was in the car, with the driver, on the way here already. . . and then i realised i left my donuts at home."

gojo's face is absolutely distraught. he looks like he's gone through a divorce and had his house set on fire with how he stands up dramatically—his hands now on his desk. you open your mouth to speak, but he shuts you up by talking again.

"i didn't want to inconvenience him. i'm too thoughtful, miss y/n."

you want to scoff, but you bite your tongue and hold back.

"so i got out of the car and ran back for it," gojo recounts. "i arrived home after the treacherous journey—only to discover that my donuts are gone."

you feign an expression of shock, just to humour him; he gives you an 'i know right' look, and continues his nonsensical story.

"the maids threw them away, miss y/n."

you can't help yourself: you let a small giggle slip through your lips. you quickly use your hand to cover your mouth, thinking of a quick excuse.

you cough. you pretend to, at least—but gojo satoru is not stupid.

no, maybe a little. though, not enough to be convinced of your terrible acting.

"nothing about this is funny."

you nod, looking down at the floor. "i apologise, mr. gojo, but it's just a few donuts. i'm sure someone in the office could fetch some for you."

"yes, i agree." he says, and you shift your gaze from the marble tiling of his office to his face. his hair is a mess, yes—but he still looks revoltingly handsome. his eyes are piercing through yours, and pieces of hair cover his face in just the right places.

you're staring a little too long and gojo finds his pulse quickening with the eye contact—but the spell he has you under is soon broken when he clears his throat.

you quickly look away, embarrassed that you were caught staring at your boss, by your boss.

"you'll pick some up for me, yeah?" his smooth and silky voice echoes through the empty space of his office.

you look at him again, and there's a gentle smile on his face; one you're all too familiar with.

you're aware of satoru's charismatic nature, his playboy-ish attitude, and all sorts of tricks he uses to make women fall head over heels for him. that didn't mean you were completely resistant to them, though—you find yourself playing with the sleeves of your blouse, your ears beginning to redden. "of course," is all you manage to say.

at least you were self-aware.

your mind was rational. should gojo satoru try to hit on you for the nth time—all it took was some self discipline to say no, and you'd like to think you had plenty.

you think the conversation is done with the way he doesn't speak another word, so you turn on your heels and make your way out of the office.

just as you touch the handle of the door, your boss adds: "i'll come with you."

you turn back to him, confused. you didn't need your boss babysitting you for a donut run, you knew his favourite flavours—it's all he ever insists on buying for lunch. "there's no need for that, mr. gojo."

satoru shakes his head in disapproval. "you don't even know my favourite flavours, miss y/n."

that was a blatant lie. he knew you knew. you were his personal donut grabber for a few months up until august, and it was only october. you suppose that it would've continued on if not for your complaints about the long lines in the morning.

nevertheless, you don't argue with him. gojo satoru was the type to get what he wants, when he wants, if he really wants it.

you smile at his disregard for the months you spent as his errand runner, and how idiotic the excuse he just used was. satoru knows he's lying through his teeth, and your smile makes him more nervous than your eye contact.

so nervous, in fact, that he takes back what he just said. "unless. . . you're fine by yourself."

you're surprised that gojo's confidence is dissipating, or that it could even fade at all. you can tell with the way he's avoiding your eye contact, exactly how you evaded his earlier—the red on the tips of his ears are much too obvious in contrast to his hair.

"i don't mind," you respond a bit too quicker than appropriate. "mr. gojo."

gojo curses himself mentally, thinking about how stupid he must sound. he's usually the one making people nervous, but he doesn't know why it's different when you look at him like that.

──────

the atmosphere is deafening in gojo's favourite bakery. you always knew he had a sweet tooth, so you expected his choice to be a spectacular one—and you weren't disappointed.

you had personally visited this bakeshop before, and the confectionery was truly as good as people made it out to be; it proved evident in the amount of people crammed into this small establishment. though, you can't tell if it was for the food or for your boss, with the way most pairs of eyes are turned in his direction.

you two spend a good five seconds looking at the menu before gojo states his order, which was exactly what you thought it would be—the lady at the cashier smiles a bit too long at satoru, before asking: "eating in?"

you want to open your mouth to say something, but he beats you to it. "of course."

it was still very well your work day. he (or maybe you and him, considering you helped him plan seventy percent of his appointments) had a meeting in 3 hours to prepare for. you think this donut adventure is already unnecessary enough—but here he is, suggesting to waste even more time eating the donuts in the bakery itself.

"we have a meeting in a bit, though. you could eat it in your office."

he looks at you with a confused look, as if he forgot that there was a meeting at all—because he did forget. gojo gasps, turning back to the lady and retracting his previous statement.

──────

gojo eats his donuts agonisingly slow and no conversation is initiated.

you're alternating between staring at both your laptops and the swirls on the wooden desk, unable to say anything because you didn't plan for such an occasion: an eating donuts with your admittedly handsome boss that makes you nervous while simultaneously planning for an important meeting occasion.

"miss y/n, you should try some."

you shift your eyes from the table to gojo, and he's holding a small piece of his donut to your lips: the powdered sugar practically calling your name.

"it's fine, i ate earlier," you decline his generous offer. "you should eat."

"i'm not asking you to eat all of them, miss y/n." he smiles at you. "just a bite. it's really good, y'know."

you sigh, reaching for his hand to take it from him—but he swiftly pulls it away and shakes his head. "open your mouth."

you feel the tips of your ears burning, blood rushing to your cheeks and you wonder how the girls he takes out manage themselves when he's like this—you've worked with him for so long, yet you can't recall a time when his gaze wouldn't make you shudder.

you think you'd stutter if you spoke one more word to him, so you save yourself from the embarrassment and bare with his request.

he feeds you the piece of sugar-coated donut, and you're sure you have powder on the corners of your lips with how it's width barely fits into your mouth.

you chew and swallow, feeling the residue of sugar on your skin.

"do you have any tissues?" you ask him, a serious expression plastered onto your face.

gojo tries to suppress the chuckle itching to escape his throat—the sugar on your lips and cheeks catch him off guard, and after a few seconds he can't help but let a small laugh slip. you stand up from your chair, scanning the room for any boxes of tissues you could lay your hands on.

he stands up as well, shaking his head—still giggling.

"it's not funny," you frown, and the smile on his face only grows wider—you're too cute for your own good when you sulk. "stop laughing."

you're not sure if you want to punch him or let him giggle to himself. for some reason, seeing you embarrassed is a great cause of joy to him. you can't bring yourself to tell him to shut up; you always imagine doing just that, it's strange how you couldn't muster the courage just when you needed it most.

"it's quite funny," gojo's laughter eventually calms down.

he leans closer to you and his right hand gently holds the side of your jaw—he uses his thumb to gently wipe the sugar off your cheek, and then your lips. "i got it."

his thumb stays on your bottom lip after dusting the sugar away. his pupils are locked onto the surface of your lips, which were glossy in the harsh light of his office: they looked so soft.

before long, they trail up your face until he's looking directly into your eyes: and this time you're not nervous, you don't look away, and your heart is completely calm.

satoru's fingers are easy on your skin. he handles you like fragile glass, as if he doesn't want to break you: and it's the same for the way he looks at you. gentle.

you're reluctant to speak because the way satoru has his thumb on your bottom lip sends shivers down your spine. you feel breathless.

you don't want this feeling to leave, not just yet.

a few seconds of tension pass. his hand moves back to your jaw, and your nervousness returns when gojo satoru leans his tall figure even closer to you; his head tilting ever so slightly.

it's a random thursday morning when you discover a few more good qualities gojo satoru possesses: his lips and his hands. maybe the way he kisses, too—it's slow and precise, unlike his attitude. he tastes sickeningly sweet and it makes you want to savour this moment even more.

you promised yourself you wouldn't fall victim to gojo satoru. yet, you just can't pull away: instead finding yourself slithering your arms around his neck and your chest pressing against his.

gojo's hands are wandering down to your waist and he's desperate to have you as close to him as possible, showing in the way he tries to close the already small gap between you two.

it takes only a fraction of a second for a small thought to form in your mind: just how many women have been in this position?

you quickly forget about that thought, though—you think it's pointless to regret it now, gojo satoru kisses you too good to be full of remorse.

gojo thinks he could stay like this: kiss you all morning, afternoon and pay you overtime if it meant he could be this close to you for just a bit longer.

there's hints of neediness in gojo's touch—as if he'd been waiting for this forever, wanting to relish it before it ends. his few seconds of bliss don’t last very long though, because you're soon pulling away—gasping for air.

he sighs mockingly, his hands sliding down from your waist to your hips. "can't last longer than 10 seconds, miss y/n?"

of course he would say some cocky shit like that—you'd forgotten for a minute that this was the same, arrogant mr. gojo you always knew, and no kiss (however heavenly) was going to change that.

"i'm sorry that i don't go on dates with every man that breathes."

gojo smirks at you after you say those words. "come on. just because i go on dates with people, doesn't mean i kiss them like this."

"sure you don't." your jealousy shows a bit too much in your reply, and he finds himself smiling even harder.

"is someone jealous?" he teases you again, rubbing circles with his thumb against the flesh of your hips.

you feel flustered, knowing that you're definitely done for now—he saw right through you. "nobody is jealous, mr. gojo."

"stop it with the formality. just call me satoru."

"it's still office hours. it's only polite."

gojo rolls his eyes, sighing in the process. you grin a little at him, knowing that this was the first thing you denied him of today—complying with the donuts and the kissing was already spoiling him enough.

"then i suppose there's only after work," there's his nauseatingly charming voice again—low and smooth. he knows exactly what he's doing to you, and you know it too. "i'm off after 6."

you think long and hard about whether you want to be mean and add this to the list of things you've declined to do for him. the ratio was starting to get really unbalanced—but you remember the way his hands touch you and how his lips greet yours so lovingly: and you think that there's no point turning back now.

"my boss doesn't let me off until after 8, though." you try to poke at his buttons—you put on a fake pout, knowing you’ll accept his invitation anyway—but gojo satoru is eternally patient when it came to things he sincerely desired.

"fuck your boss." he says, "he'll be fine with it."

you laugh at his response. you never thought you would see the day gojo curses at himself, after all, he's so self-obsessed: but you suppose you've seen—and tasted—parts of him that you never knew existed.

"then i'll see you at 6, mr. gojo."

what was the harm in discovering more?

230323 — i kinda hate this but.. wtv… anyway i couldn’t be bothered to proofread have my brainrot of gojo in a suit Mmmm yumyum

[mostly-mundane-atla]

Hi! Your blog is awesome. I don't know if I'm allowed to ask non-atla questions, so I hope this is okay. I'm working on a non-avatar ttrpg campaign that takes place both in a (fictional/fantasy) northern tundra region AND during a magical endless winter. The people in it aren't based on any specific culture but, given that they're successfully living in similar environments & have for countless generations, I want to draw as much inspiration & knowledge from real-life circumpolar cultures & native science as much as possible. Do you have any advice or even just fun, underappreciated ideas for winter tundra survival, things someone who grew up in a desert like me wouldn't think of on my own? If you need/want more direction: I'm particularly looking for clothing, shelters, resource gathering-practices for non-food (esp what kinds of resources would be valuable), as well as like, any fun details that evolve naturally in a culture that formed in the tundra that you'd want to see represented. I hope that makes sense ^^; Thanks so much if you decide to answer, have a good day either way <3

[I am SOOO sorry this took so long! Tumblr kept not saving my progress when i tapped "save draft" so i had to rewrite a few of these passages a few different times]

Don't worry about asking, friend, i get cultural questions all the time and i'm happy to share.

Note: my knowledge is almost entirely based on coastal tundra peoples with access to marine mammals. That's not to say it's impossible for people to live farther inland, just that it's not my area of expertise.

Clothing

Just about everything you wear is going to come off of a dead animal. This doesn't necessarily need to be the case if your fictional culture has a means of raising hardy livestock for fiber and a history of woven textiles, but even then skin clothes are warm and generally quite hard-wearing and are a good fit for living in these circumstances.

This amount of fur means lice are a perpetual problem. If you want to make that an immersive part of the game, you can work in a mechanic for checking scalps and clothing and bedding for lice.

Bird skins can also be used for clothing and waterfowl specifically has the benefit of water resistance. Fish skin can also be used for similar properties. Animal intestines can be made into a waterproof material if sewn with sinew and soaked before finishing.

On that note i'd recommend making a list of available animals and what qualities and textures their skins and furs have. Even if you don't intend on being incredibly descriptive with clothing, it's something better to have and not need than need and not have. And if you do anything else creative in a similar setting you have your nifty little source to consult.

When it comes to the actual construction of the clothes, you want a loose fit. Trapped air ia a great insulator and you want clothes to be easy to move in. Another benefit for loose-fitting upper body garments in cold weather is you can pull your arms in and keep them by your much warmer core. Not only will this option keep you comfortable, it can also prevent muscle injury or getting frostbite

Mittens can be worn on a string yoke. This doesn't have to be exclusive to children either. Wind can pick up out of nowhere and lost mittens means fingers exposed to arctic cold which can mean gangreen and amputations down the line.

Swimming or running to deliver a message may involve stripping nude, even in cold. Clothes soaked in water or sweat are deadly in the cold.

Clothes may be stored in bags outside when not in use. The low temperatures can kill bugs and bacteria. On a similar note, boots and coats are best to be hung to dry as soon as one is indoors for the day. This may mean it's normal for people to be topless indoors.

Boots should never have holes or tears. Frostbite and resulting gangreen is already bad enough but you especially do not want it on your feet

Shelter

You're going to want dwellings to have as few rooms and windows as possible and small doors. The fewer walls you have, the easier it is for heat to circulate throughout the whole dwelling. You'll probably want one room separating the door and where you sleep. Remember: trapped air is a great insulator.

The culture I've reconnected with is semi-nomadic so the permanent houses are not always occupied and a village can seem abandoned when it's just on its "off season". You can take that or leave it depending on what you're going for.

Even if the dwelling is not a tent, you're probably still going to have poles serving as a supporting frame.

Sod houses are common due to the availability of sod (the grass and the dirt its roots are tangled in). Tents made of warm, waterproof skins (like walrus skin) are also an option.

An easy way to insulate such a dwelling is to build a wall of packed snow around and fill the gaps with loose, airy snow. This traps air the same way down feathers do.

Non-Food Resource Gathering

While I imagine you meant obtaining resources outside of hunting, in a tundra or tundra-like setting, a lot of your resources are going to come from dead animals. Your garments and shelters and bedding are likely to be made of animal skins, with hollow and/or fluffy fur for warmth, or smoked intestine or fish skin, sewn with tiny stitches and soaked to keep everything flush, for waterproof boots and overlayers. Antlers and tusks are good carving materials for things like spoons and closures and slabs for armor and handles and also talismans and smoking pipes and beads and art. Baleen is good for art too, as well as boot soles and smaller sleds and beautiful baskets. Sinew and rawhide are good for thread, ties, and rope. Bones have a near infinite amount of uses from tiny wing bones to make sewing needles to huge whale bones used to build houses.

For the purposes of working this into a roleplaying game, i'd second the recommendation of keeping a list of animals in your universe and their properties, as well as the things that can be gathered from or made of them. A sort of crafting recipe guide would allow all kinds of quests and sidequests.

There are, of course, non-animal resources to gather for non-eating purposes. Soapstone is the traditional material for oil lamps. Grasses can be woven into baskets for any number of purposes, including supports to give the uppers of one's boots more structure. Wood, in the form of slices of tree trunks, can be hollowed out into bowls and small tubs and buckets or, as logs or slats, can make up flooring. Sturdy branches can be used for frames in houses, boats, and drums, and tree resin makes both good glue and antibiotic salve for closed wounds. Sod, also called turf, makes a good building material and moss is exellent insulation in boots. You can make a list of these too, if it helps.

If your fictional culture has a strong tradition of metallurgy, then they'd also mine for metal that can be used for knives. If not, slate is another option that requires significantly less fire. You could even have both and make the metal a status symbol.

Fun Details to Represent

There are so many lovely little things that show up in arctic cultures

First, a gift economy. Where a cash economy relies on a fairly individualistic culture where you work for someone else to earn capital and exchange that capital for goods and services, a more collectivist and interdependent culture natural to the harsh conditions of the tundra tends to result in a gift economy. The currency in a gift economy, to perhaps oversimplify, is favors. Someone does you a good turn, you remember that, and when you're in a position to help, you return the favor. Usually this means basic material things like hospitality and food, but the "gifts" exchanged can also be luck! King Islander boys would often wish hunters setting out at dawn good luck, with a slab of driftwood as a token of that luck, and if the hunters were successful, they'd give the boys who wished them luck a share of their catch. I believe it was Frank Ellana who remenised that this was what the world was like before money.

Another thing that would be nice to include is parenting practices considered fairly gentle to a Euro-American perspective. Physical punishments are traditionally treated as abuse and scolding a child is not only seen as wrong but something an adult ought to be ashamed of. Discipline is instead a series of moral lessons, teaching children why what they did was wrong and using stories as examples of the consequences. Given the amount of stories about the dangers of abusing a spouse or child, i'd say a lot of these lessons were proactive and preventative. Knowing someone will be hurt by it is considered enough of a deterrence to stop bad behaviors. Traditional potty training, for example, is also gentler in comparison; starting at a younger age (about six months) with more emphasis on praise and encouragment than routine. The goal here is to teach the baby to signal when they need to go so they can be taken out of mama's atigi and relieve themself in a hygenic manner instead of holding it until they get permission. Even our take on kissing is based on inhaling instead of pecking with the lips. This kind of gentleness is usually overlooked to instead focus on the badass hunter image or overall "cuteness" so it would be nice for it to be referenced.

Oral histories would be pretty neat too. I think the idea of learning to be a historian of oral histories is an interesting one and i think it has a lot of potential plot hooks for an rpg.

That's all i have for now. Sorry for the delayed response time. Happy gaming, and i'm always up for further discussion if you would like ^-^

[milkweedman]

hi, sorry if this is something you've answered before, but how did you get started with spinning? and do you have an reccs for beginners? i'm not a fiber arts person (yet) but i think the skills are mind-blowingly cool. i have a few friends that are into crochet also and while i don't do so i think it would be nice to be able to make them yarn etc :)! thank u <3

Hi ! I got started with spinning about 5 years ago now--I ordered a turkish spindle and some andean highland wool from knitpicks, tried it out, and really sucked.

Like. really sucked. couldn't even make bad yarn bc it just kept falling apart (due to undertwisting ! if your yarn is falling apart in your hands, it's undertwisted. there, i just saved you about a month of misery, if you're me lol). Put it away for a while, tried again, was still bad at it, rinse and repeat for about a year. eventually something clicked and i started being able to make more than like, an armspan of yarn before it became disastrous.

not saying it's that hard for everyone (i've watched some people pick it up in like... 5 minutes), or that it'll be that hard for you ! that's just how it went with me.

I do have some recs for beginners which will hopefully help ! (i didn't have this community on tumblr at the time, and didn't know there were forums on ravelry, so i had no community help or knowledge, which did not work in my favor).

Get a basic drop spindle with a hook on the end, if you can. Drop spindles come in many different forms, but the two main categories are top whorl and bottom whorl (meaning, where the circular whorl is placed on the shaft of the spindle). top whorl spindles spin faster but for a shorter period of time and can be more unbalanced. bottom whorl spindles spin slower but for longer, and are typically more balanced (physics, idk). everyone has their own preferences--i tend to recommend bottom whorl spindles to beginners because it kind of slows the process down, which can be helpful. if you've got a little extra money, buying a top whorl and a bottom whorl spindle could be a good idea. they're pretty cheap on etsy, esp if you get a very plain and simple one and just decorate it yourself.

spindle weight matters a lot. the heavier the spindle, the thicker the resulting singles will be. (singles are what you spin first, then you ply them together if desired). the lighter the spindle, the thinner the singles. this means if you get a very heavy spindle and try to spin something fine on it, it'll likely snap under the weight. and if you try to spin something thick on a light spindle, you'll be constantly flicking it and not adding very much twist (so it may just fall apart into sad fluff). my favorite all-purpose spindle for yarns that won't be particularly thin weighs about 2 ounces (55 grams). that will be too heavy for fine yarns, but works well for making like, worsted weight 2 ply. i would recommend a spindle somewhere in the 1-2 ounce range (30-55 grams) for a basic beginner spindle. once you get the hang of it feel free to go for the very light spindles or the heavier plying spindles.

don't buy roving for your first fiber. almost everyone does that, and many people end up with really low quality (and sometimes even compressed or partially felted) roving. roving can be great for spinning once you know what you're doing, but it's kind of... uniquely unsuited for beginners, in my opinion anyway. firstly because it is the most common preparation, it's not really treated with care by many companies when it comes to storage (hence the compression or felting). secondly, it's really easy to felt it in your hands when you're doing the beginner sweaty-hands-deathgrip-drafting-with-all-your-might thing (i'll get to that later). thirdly, again because it's the most common prep, there's a thriving market of garbage shitty roving, and it takes a little experience telling the difference between decent stuff and garbage stuff based on an internet page. I would highly recommend spending a little bit more money on a batt. this is like a large pillow of carded wool, which you pull strips off of to spin. they are sold in a far less-compressed state (which makes for easier spinning) and are, as far as im aware, made by humans with experience, rather than machines.

the breed matters a lot when it comes to spinning. some breeds have finer, more slippery wool, and some have grabby wool. grabby wool is better for learning (it means less of your yarn just slipping apart and breaking). some good beginner breeds are shetland, corriedale, jacob, romney, or other similar wools. the fiber market is inundated with merino (either a great thing or a source of misery, depending on who you ask), which is not a particularly good beginner breed (it's definitely on the slippery, finer side).

once you've got all your materials, it's spinning time ! find a youtube tutorial or a written tutorial (check your library for books on spinning. i have no recommendations--i did not learn from books). you could also check and see if there's a spinner's guild in your area. it depends on the guild (some are kind of, uh... snooty, for lack of a better word ? most seem pretty friendly and happy to help newcomers) but you might be able to show up to a meeting and get some help. ideally get some practice with the spindle first though.

lastly, some tips for spinning. A) keep the fiber supply held loosely in your hand, or better yet, draped over your hand so that the fiber you're drafting is only held in your fingertips. if you hold it tightly you won't be able to draft evenly. you may also compress and/or felt it by holding it, especially if your hands are sweaty. B) try spinning using the 'park and draft' method while you are learning. this is where you add a bunch of extra twist to the already-spun yarn (or leader, for the first length), pinch the twist to hold it in place, and draft fiber, allowing the twist to travel up the wool as you draft it. this is a good technique for learning because it isolates the actions of spinning, letting you focus on one part at a time. trying to keep the spindle going while drafting when you're brand new is not easy, and can lead to a lot of frustration and mistakes. once you've got the hang of drafting, then it's a great time to figure out how to do it all at once. C) work slowly and thoughtfully while you learn. what you're doing at first is twofold: you're figuring out the process and what works and what doesn't, but you're also building muscle memory, which is what spinners (really, pretty much everyone who practices hand crafts or hand work of any kind) rely on. i can get high af and zone out and spin and end up with a usable (sometimes even pretty good) yarn, because even when my brain isn't working, my hands know what to do. this is not the case for someone without the muscle memory. pay attention, step away if you get frustrated, and work slowly. as you build muscle memory, it will become easier and easier. D) your first yarns don't have to be good. they don't even really have to be yarn, as such--if you ended up with something thats rope at one end and thread at another, that's ok ! you're learning ! the purpose of your first yarns is just to teach you how to spin. if they look like shit, it's ok. (mine looked awful, for the record ! i don't think i've seen anything quite as bad as my very first yarn, actually. wish i'd kept it though xD)

hope this was helpful ! there's also this post about how to tell if your yarn is under or over twisted, which might be of use, and this post about finishing your yarn as well. and if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask me or another spinner (the overwhelming majority of us are very happy to help a new spinner) for advice or help !

[tdoong15]

I ACCIDENTALLY DELETED AN ASK I'M SO SO SO SORRY. BASICALLY I SAVED WHAT I WAS DOING TO MY DRAFTS SO IF MY PHONE GLITCHED (SINCE IT DOES IT A LOT) I STILL HAD IT I THEN WENT TO CONTINUE WRITING BUT I DELETED EVERYTHING INSTEAD.

Anyway I'll try to remember as much as I can.

Little!SMC Kid!Nayeon Cg!Jeonghyo

Warnings: yelling, crying(?)

Ipad kid

Nayeon woke up and she felt mentally younger than normal and whenever she was like that she wanted nothing more than to simply watch videos on the TV or her IPad which she kept at the side of her bed. But she also knew that she had to do her morning routine before she was even allowed to even have access to her IPad or the TV because if she had them immediately she would be too distracted and not get anything done.

The bunny left her room and walked to the kitchen to have her breakfast, it was the most important meal of the day after all. When she reached the kitchen she saw her mom and mama preparing breakfast for everyone. "Good mornin' mom and mama" Nayeon waves at them, her voice was loud but a slight tiredness seeped through since she had only just woken up. "Oh good morning Nay" Jeongyeon says when she heard Nayeon's voice, she then passes Nayeon her drink and carries her plate to the table.

Nayeon rushes to the table and quickly eats her Lucky Charms and drinks her juice because she was very eager to go on her IPad and to have some well deserved quality time to herself despite her not doing anything significant. Once she finished her breakfast she ran to her room and grabbed her IPad, then back to the living room where she dived on the couch, occupying all of it since she layed down on it, Nayeon also turned on the TV and put on the new Trolls movie for some noise in the background.

In the hallway, Dahyun, Chaeyoung and Tzuyu were playing a game based on the show called 'Jake and the Neverland Pirates' because they all seemed to enjoy the adventure that the show obviously has. Dahyun decided she was Jake since she was the oldest out of the trio, she also made Chaeyoung be Cubby because she was the shortest and Tzuyu was Izzy out of the process of elimination according to Dahyun anyway.

"Guys wook, it's Captain Hook!" Tzuyu pointed to Nayeon who was peacefully playing on her IPad. Dahyun audibly and loudly gasps for dramatic effect "We need to defeat the bad guy so we can get our tweasure" She declares, and lifts her foam sword, Chaeyoung and Tzuyu copy her action. "Okay on the count of thwee" Dahyun whispers but Chaeyoung was already running to where Nayeon was. "CHAWGE!!!!" Chaeyoung yells, Dahyun and Tzuyu were closely behind Chaeyoung before they hit Nayeon repeatedly with their foam swords.

Nayeon tried to use her hands to block the attacks until she got really annoyed and started screaming "STOP! I DON'T WANT TO PLAY YOUR SILLY AND DUMB BABY GAME!" Nayeon then grabbed the swords and broke them. Dahyun, Chaeyoung and Tzuyu looked in shock for a few seconds then they started crying loudly and running off to Jihyo and Jeongyeon. Nayeon on the other hand grumbled to herself and she went back to playing on her IPad but she had a frown on her face when she played.

Jihyo and Jeongyeon were in Jihyo's room casually talking about videos they've seen on Instagram until the door burst open and the three youngest were sobbing while they ran onto the bed in their pirate costumes. "What's wrong sweeties?" Jihyo's voice was filled with worry and concern because it wasn't everyday that she had to deal with all three of SMC bawling their eyes out. After a few minutes Chaeyoung was able to choke out some sort of a sentence "N-Nayeonie mean. She bwoke our swords and said she wouldn't play with us." Jeongyeon and Jihyo both let out a sigh out of relief that it wasn't something really serious but it was out of disappointment because of what Nayeon did.

"Hey it's okay, I'll go talk to Nay now about her behavior" Jeongyeon says softly whilst she stands up from the bed and walks to the living room, leaving Jihyo to calm down the maknae line, which was surprisingly easy because they all fell asleep after they tired themselves out due to their massive crying session.

Jeongyeon walked into the living room and spots Nayeon pouting as she played her game called Project Sekai. "Nayeon why did you make Dahyun, Chaeyoung and Tzuyu cry? I didn't expect you to do something like that" Jeongyeon shakes her head out of disappointment. "Well I'm not gonna play a stupid pirate game because only babies play it" Nayeon frowns, she never looked up from her IPad. Jeongyeon decides that she needs to discipline Nayeon for her behavior so she acts on her thoughts. "Alright give me that IPad of yours because you're not having that or the TV for the rest of the day because of your attitude and actions, Nay" Jeongyeon easily grabs the remote and places it in her pocket, the actual challenge was getting the IPad out of Nayeon's grasp.

"Let go of your IPad, Nay." Jeongyeon commands but it was in a calm voice. Nayeon on the other hand wasn't one for giving up so easily "No you let go, old woman!" She retaliates, this then starts a tug of war between Jeongyeon and Nayeon which ends up with Jeongyeon dragging Nayeon across the dorm whilst she tries to get the IPad out of Nayeon's hands. "Hey, Hyo I need some help here" Jeongyeon calls out to Jihyo, who immediately goes over to see what the problem was. "What's going on?" Jihyo asked and her presence was enough to make Nayeon let go of her IPad and try to look innocent.

"Mom was being mean to me mama" Nayeon gave her best puppy dog eyes, which Jihyo didn't fall for this time. "Are you sure it wasn't because she was disciplining you because you've done something naughty?" She questioned Nayeon, who immediately frowned and gave up her act. "Yeah... But it's not my fault that they hit me constantly with their swords." Nayeon looks down at the floor and she messes with her hands. "We understand that Nay, but you shouldn't break their toys. Would you like it if they did it to one of your toys" Jeongyeon knelt down to meet Nayeon's eyes. Nayeon shakes her head and she finally understands what she actually did and how it was bad.

"Right, you're going to sit in timeout for five minutes and once you're out go apologize to Dahyun, Chaeyoung and Tzuyu" Jihyo tells Nayeon in a gentle tone. Nayeon went to the timeout corner without any complaints and she sat down in complete silence. After 5 minutes, Nayeon expected to be told by her mom or mama that her time was up, instead she was greeted with Tzuyu's face in front of her own face as well as Dahyun and Chaeyoung next to her ears. "Mama and mommy said that your time is up. And you need to say sowwy to us." Tzuyu explains quietly, she decides to stay in the same place.

"Chop chop, bunny Nayeonie." Dahyun says seriously and directly in Nayeon's ear. This made Nayeon make a face of pain, she then shuffled backwards so she could see all three of them. "I'm really sorry for being a big meanie earlier. Can we play together?" Nayeon says as nicely as possible. Her question made SMC's faces light up in excitement at the idea of actually playing with their older sister. "Yes! Play with Nayeonie!" Chaeyoung cheered as she grabbed her fixed sword behind her back, Dahyun and Tzuyu also grabbed their swords from behind their backs.

The rest of the day, until dinner time was filled with laughter and Screams as Nayeon was chased around the house by DaChaeTzu who recklessly waved their foam swords even when they weren't close to Nayeon. They carried on with their totally accurate swordsmanship skills until Nayeon showed them the treasure, which was only a box full of her toys but in their imaginations that was the gold they wanted.

Hello everyone as you could tell from the very first thing I did an extremely dumb thing. However, on a different note I've just been allowed to go on my break from work and college and thankfully everything that I've ordered has come this year instead of it being lost in shipping. Also a fun fact, my dog believes in Santa because normally she falls asleep at midnight but on Christmas Eve she falls asleep at 9 at night.

[mean-scarlet-deceiver]

I love the idea that Nobby likes James; even sorta respects him! What about Nobby and Gordon? I bet Nobby isnt so impressed by bossy big blue babey Gord

Oop, started to respond and then saved this to drafts. And then I forgot about it. Sorry.

I didn't want to answer at once, though, because when I received this we were only about two-thirds of the way through Springtime, and I thought it would be better to talk about this after the story was over.

Because now you've had a chance to see Nobby bossing someone else around mercilessly — and then, on a dime, going into utter, catastrophizing meltdown the minute he himself suffers a mild indignity.

So I hope it makes sense when I say that Nobby and Gordon have some similarities!

Another is that Nobby actually was, in his youngest years, a similar sort of all-important savior-of-the-railway company flagship. His domain was much smaller than Gordon's, of course, but he had the same absolute primacy and pride. And much like the youngest Gordon it's really not that Nobby was a bad sort, but a fellow engine trying to make him see sense when he was on his high horse was just a fool's errand. (Nobby was a lot more respectful of human authority in those early years... which you may consider to make the situation better or worse, lol. He definitely had—and still has!—more of a temper than Gordon, though, and can be way pettier. The counterbalance is that he has higher ideals and a better ability to relate to other engines.)

A final thing they have in common is that they conceive of and hatch rather daring ideas. Leadership qualities run strong in them both.

Of course, none of this means that Nobby will recognize these similarities. Or that they will in any way dispose him to think kindly of the infant galloping sausage.

Hmm, I reserve the right for this to change as I write, but in general I just think Nobby doesn't at first take much notice of Gordon particularly (heresy, I know!). In the same era Gordon is arriving, so are several absurdly large new Sodor engines and to him they are all ill-mannered whelps.

He doesn't get as steamed up about any of them as much you might think, though, because they are fundamentally Not His Problem. His railway is undergoing Grouping at the time — he has bigger fish to fry. Anyway, if any of his lot were a fourth as rude as the Big Blue Bastards, he'd tear them to shreds, but that's because he knows they were taught better and he expects more from them. Nobby kind of regards Gordon in the at first as a sort of orphan. Not in the sense he pities him but that he kind of half despises him as a poorly brought-up urchin and half thinks it's a shame that no one did better by him.

Nobby has definitely at times told Edward, when Edward has the dubious fortune of bringing a train over the bridge, that he must really tell that Gresley to do this or not do that or to act in such-a-such way.

At which point you can imagine Edward just staring at him with weary disbelief. Nobby, you don't tell Gordon things... it's a waste of good steam.

Nobby thinks this is making excuses, lol. To his mind it's entirely Edward's responsibility to Coppernob all those lost boys into respectable engines. Put your frames into it, son.

[perilegs]

6 & 9 for Rook and Wyll !!

4,11 and 20 for Ati and Zevran !!!

KUUTTI IM SORRY I FORGOT YOU IN MY DRAFTS

thank you!!!! :3cc questions from this post

Rook/Wyll: Do they have any shared interests/hobbies? Do they ever do these hobbies together?

Hmm, Wyll's love for dancing rubs off on Rook and he'll teach them to dance too. :') Otherwise their hobbies tend to be different, but still something they can do in a shared space. Wyll and Rook could spend time enjoying each others presence, Wyll reading and Rook tinkering on something. (Wyll does pick up on some mechanical skills).

I think they like to play different board/card games together too. I have no basis for this it's just what I feel in my heart.

As for interests I can't think of too many that they both would have as they're more bound together by their ideals and values, and their love for adventure and eradicating what they deem evil. But I KNOW both of them are more than interested in hearing the other talk about their interests and get a bit into them too. Rook is such an elevator nerd, and I can see Wyll starting to appreciate their intricacies as time goes on too.

Oh, also! Wyll's tent has a telescope so I like to think he likes stargazing. Rook has spent most his live deep underground so he's never done that before, but it's definitely something they would enjoy too, so I think that's a hobby they'd also do together!

Their hobbies and interests also shift with time as, they're going to the Hells after the events of the game, but they might eventually settle down to live a quieter life.

Rook/Wyll: What is one quality they have in common?

They want to do what is just in quite a, hm, I guess ruthless way? That sounds bad but I mean things like how Wyll is one of the only companions who suggests killing Kagha. Both Wyll and Rook have a strong moral compass and aim to punish those who do wrong.

Ati/Zevran: How would they describe each other if asked? Physically? In personality?

Answered here

Ati/Zevran: Does one act as a narrative foil to the other? How so?

Not sure if this is a Foil Foil but it's definitely a contrast, but. Zevran and Ati are both dead but living.

As in, how Zevran trying to assassinate her was a suicide mission, and he is now living despite never planning on doing so.

And how grey wardes start dying the moment they become wardens, a fate which Ati ended up in only because the other option would have been death, but faster. And after that, she has avoided death many times. Being saved by Flemeth, doing Morrigan's ritual.

Zevran is supposed to be a dead man, living a life he did not intend to see, and Ati got a second chance at life at the expense of a timer looming over.

I'm also using this question as an excuse to compare their mothers as what is a foil but contrast to heighten certain qualities.

Ati and Zevran were both born with no parents, their mothers dying in or shortly after childbirth. They were both raised communally, but in highly different circumstances. Zevran with the women in the brothel and Ati with her clan. They both had a similar circumstance of birth but the people and place they were born to made all the difference. Ati was allowed to grow up, whereas Zevran was forced to.

I find it heartbreaking how Zevran's only memory of her mother is a pair of gloves, and how he refers to her as his first victim. Ati didn't even learn the truth about her mother before she was an adult. Zevran's mother's death was held against him, while Ati's was kept from her.

I wish I could be more eloquent and go in depth about this but I will start crying if I do ha

Ati/Zevran: What is their best memory together?

It's hard for me to answer this question as I can't even imagine having just one memory that shines above the rest with someone I love. Ati and Zevran have a ton of good memories they look fondly upon.

But one I've been thinking about a lot recently is, well, not just a singular memory but a collection of memories from their nights in camp during the blight.

Wynne has dialog where she complains about noise coming from the two, which, is supposed to be understood as Zevran and Ati having loud sex but some years ago I saw a post here that referred to it that boiled down to "what if it was laughter?" And I think Ati and Zevran have had a lot of fun together.

They share stories, both those they've heard and of what they've seen. Zevran teaches Ati how to better use daggers. They share their notes on traps and poisons. The list goes on. Though the Blight is looming over them, a lot of their nights are filled with joy and laughter.

[raccoonfallsharder]

Do you have any advice on making time for writing and avoiding burnout? I'm impressed by the amount of projects you have and how they're consistently high quality.

oh love. sunshine. you tiny fresh vanilla seed (precious & delightful // it is a luxury to interact with you). so first i’m gonna apologize because there’s a 99% chance this is not the advice you’re looking for and SURPRISE i wrote another novel. (so also jot this down… my being prolific is helped by the fact that i literally cannot shut the fuck up to save my life). anyway here are my rules for writing

1. don’t look at the man behind the curtain (in this case that’s me). I had 70% of window and probably 90% of sweatshirt girl drafted before i even started revising && posting individual chapters/ installments. it gives the illusion of me cranking out a new chapter every week but i do NOT do that. i just try to revise once a week. maybe write a half+ chapter of something new. it’s not an illusion i create on purpose. i just know i need TIME to rest my brain before I come back and revise or it’ll start all looking the same to me. so i def frontload my writing before i start posting.

i also do this because i need at least the ghost of an ending to keep writing

i also never originally intended to post window or sweatshirt girl - i was originally just writing for me. so they were mostly done before i even decided to post

i ALSO work at a school and while i do have hours over the summer, i am doing much less (imo) important things when there aren’t students around, sooooo i end up daydreaming and drafting a lot

my writing is also powered by depression (“write the world as i want it to be”) and frankly i don’t recommend that to anyone ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

so if i look like i’m producing a lot it’s just because of the way this year has unfolded, and once we get through the next few chapters of window i’m sure I’ll hit a lull because I’m still struggling to write those chapters (sorry in advance folksss)

2. i swear to god creativity (like everything in nature) happens in cycles. blah blah no flower blooms all year && no tree bears fruit every season. fallowness is IMPORTANT for growing gardens. if you are in a slow space - let yourself be slow. sink into the quiet season. speed&&quantity are SO overrated and if you overcultivate your soil there will be no nutrients left for your crops. let the snows come in && blanket you on occasion. they are their own kind of blank page (i swear to fuck sometimes i sound like some kind of ai generating bad proverbs but you knew what you were getting when you came to my asks i guess! i am unashamed)

tbh i have a modest art side-hustle and am working on painting a project that WILL take YEARS - and this whole summer, i have neglected that project in lieu of being a rocket fangirl because frankly my brain needed a break. guess what? my followers understand and it has not been a problem. because any fellow creative should know that the process takes time and is always in flux

(3) a lot of people will tell you - write a little every day. write even if it’s bad. you can always come back with fresh eyes later. I support these ideas in theory. i keep my writing && my sketchbooks where i can access them almost anytime, and even if it’s only for ten minutes, i do write something most days. but more than this - listen to your body and your brain and your heart. and for fanfiction especially - ONLY write when it’s fun. if you start writing from obligation instead of love, you will burn out faster, create less, and even resent this thing that should be an escape for you. (and your readers will feel it, even if they don’t know why). (also your readers - if they are good people - will understand this && support you) (and if they’re not good people, they don’t deserve your heart like that). if your body says take time off then TAKE TIME OFF. don’t let capitalism brainwash you into believing all your joys must entail consistent labor, that every good thing comes with a side of drudgery, or that you can’t stop something once you start it. they don’t. it doesn’t. you can. let yourself have a scrap of unfettered && unpressured happiness in this place. you deserve it, i fuckin swear that to you on my goddamn life.

(4) maybe im inadvertently repeating myself but please. be kind to yourself. let your community be kind to you too. we are supposed to take care of each other. give yourself grace && know we are on your side

okay wow i’m so sorry. fuck me that’s not what you were asking for but it is the best && most earnest && most true advice i can give you. “carve some time out every day” is nice and aspirational and maybe give it a try, but life is hard and don’t blame yourself if you can’t. let fanfiction be a force for joy in your days/nights, not a chore. nope im just saying the same shit over and over LOOK. i love you. you are good. life is short. have fun. that’s truly all & the most important things I have inside me, and I’m sorry for my limitations. for whatever that is worth

♡♡♡

[wifelinkmtg]

Cruel Angel’s Thesis intensifies

Technically, it’s “Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty” and not “Neon Dynasty Kamigawa” but only the latter facilitates “get in the robot, Shinji” jokes when you tap your pilot token to crew your Thundersteel Colossus, so. Anyway, none of the mecha cards are relevant to this project - it would have been too much to hope for a POWER DoLLS situation - so really, the moral of the story is that I should have saved the Samurai Jack title joke for this edition.

TODAY ON WIFELINK: GUSHING ABOUT CYBERPUNK FANTASY JAPAN

NDK was a great set, you have to understand. Do you remember how one of the few unequivocally good things about Legend of Korra was this project of imagining a 1920s industrial setting derived from (mostly) East Asian art and architecture? Yeah, similar story here. Just one example: the Imperial mecha look like someone did origami to sheet metal, which is super cool and lends their faction a distinct visual identity. The art in this set is gorgeous - soaring architecture, grungy neon alleyways, sick cyborgs, spirits (in the original Kamigawa block, spirits had some of the weirdest creature designs Magic had ever had, and this continues that legacy) - sagas! saga art is in-universe visual representation of a story that’s important to the people of the world, and NDK sagas are told on ornamental fans, wall scrolls, porcelain jugs, the carved hilt of a katana, a silk dress, in a leaf carving and vector graphics AND, the best saga art ever, on the back of a biker rat’s leather jacket. (I would be remiss at this point not to recommend Rhystic Studies’ extremely good video on sagas.)

And the mechanics! Sagas turn into creatures when the story is over, sort of living memories. Ninjutsu made a triumphant return, the channel mechanic multiplied interesting choices, and so did the reconfigure mechanic, which let you either use a mechanical centipede as a whip attached to one of your creatures, or let it operate autonomously as a creature in its own right (which led to one of the best type lines in MtG: “Legendary Artifact Creature - Equipment Jellyfish.”)

The draft environment - and I know I’m way off-topic here, but I’m about to say some mildly unkind things about this set and I need to preface it - the draft environment was the best I’ve ever encountered. There were so many different viable archetypes, so many different cool choices you could make during drafts and gameplay. The blue-black ninjas deck, fast red-black artifact sacrifice, recursive green-white enchantments - all felt powerful and fun. The whole set was flavorful and compelling, and there are not that many good wifelink hits, I’m sorry to say.

THE QUALITY OF A MAGIC THE GATHERING SET IN TERMS OF THIS PROJECT IS NOT AN IMPORTANT INDICATOR OF OVERALL SET QUALITY

Heiko Yamazaki, the General (art by Magali Villeneuve)

Heiko makes it where her cousin Norika (also by Villeneuve) doesn’t for two reasons: one is that I find Heiko’s broody expression indicative of a rich and stormy internal life, which always hits me like the smoky scent of a fine scotch or a cup of lapsang souchong. A woman with inner turmoil draws me like a moth to a bug-zapper, which I suppose is why I keep getting into trouble with older women in troubled relationships. “If I simply provide enough unpaid therapy, she’ll leave her abusive husband back in [REDACTED FORMER SOVIET REPUBLIC] & also the closet she’s been in for forty-five years & stay in the United States with me!” Yeah, that’ll happen, idiot.

The other reason is that Norika is a cop.

Tamiyo, Compleated Sage (art by Chris Rahn)

There are a lot of planeswalkers I don’t care about, personally, and I’m not only talking about the male ones. If I’m being honest, my engagement with Magic story has always been kind of shallow on account of Magic story is frequently (but not always!) bad. Like, pursuant to the previous entry, I did enjoy the apparently-uncredited story about the Yamazakis Wizards published back in February. It’s compelling! There’s juice to that relationship. We will never get anything else about these characters.

See, it turns out that the incentives of creating a collectible card game are not terribly aligned with those of creating rich long-form fantasy stories. Novelty sells cards. We hop around. Those few characters who do enjoy a prolonged spotlight often wilt under the attention as we all collectively get sick to death of the fucking Gatewatch or whoever else. Magic the Gathering is still compelling media, or else why would I be doing this, but to me it’s a kaleidoscopic whirl of mostly detached ideas, characters, settings, and vibes.

ALL OF WHICH IS TO SAY that I never knew much or cared to about Tamiyo. She was some nerd from Kamigawa who didn’t save Avacyn, whatever. Then the Phyrexians got her and turned her into an ichor-weeping cyborg brainwashed into working toward the universal expansion of New Phyrexia, a biomechanical plane of horror, corruption, and ego death, so now she’s hot!

Go-Shintai of Hidden Cruelty (art by Johannes Voss)

I don’t think I can explain this one, to be honest. Sometimes you just wanna get fucked up by a magical bone machine.

I KNOW THIS ONE HAS BEEN REALLY TALKY ALREADY BUT I GOT SOME BEHIND-THE-SCENES STUFF TO SAY AND A SET WITH ONLY THREE HITS SEEMS AS GOOD A PLACE AS ANY

Well, only three hits that I can find high-quality images of for. I suppose I could be using card rips of Tia Masic’s Moon-Circuit Hacker (reminiscent of my introduction to cyberpunk via Shadowrun, a bad setting paired with a bad system which nevertheless compelled me to consume more cyberpunk, most of it also bad) or Wisnu Tan’s Spring-Leaf Avenger (a delightful vaguely-orchid-mantis bug ninja) but that would look like

and

...oh wait that actually looks fine, at least to me on desktop. Okay, then, I’ll incorporate those into my strategy as an acceptable last resort going forward. Actually, while I’m at it:

Junji, the Midnight Sky (art by Chase Stone)

The dragon’s hot, man, I don’t know what to tell you.

THE OTHER THING IS ABOUT WHAT WE WILL GENEROUSLY CALL AN “UPDATE SCHEDULE”

Phyrexia: All Will Be One releases the second week in February and I am goddamn well going to review that as soon as it’s out, because I played Cyberqueen at the young and impressionable age of twenty-two and now “quasi-omnipotent dominatrix corrupts you into a biomechanical horror ecstatically enslaved to her will” is the hottest thing I will ever get out of Magic: the Gathering unless Ashiok decides to start force-femming planeswalkers, so I am going to be tearing through one set a week for the next three weeks.

Next time is New Capenna, the Art Deco Metropolis of organized crime, bad draft experiences, and well-muscled arms, followed by a return to Dominaria where my excitement for more Phyrexians will be tempered by the fact that my favorite characters from the last Dominaria set are not quite so hot this time round.

[fslurusami]

tbh some of the official gk plushies look rlly bad quality </3 glad i can make my own (insane in the head (they take so long to make)) ive had this post saved in my drafts since before the huge guys were announced but they look so bad sorry they are NOT worth $200. why is sugimotos scarf stuffed, its a scarf its supposed to be flat. why are there so many puckered uneven seams. WHAT is going on with those hats

and these are official promo pics, wouldnt they have at least used the best looking ones from the initial batch?? u could get a WAY better quality, more detailed custom plush from some etsy shop for the same price

[rawbin-hsr]

i actually have adhd and rsd too 😭😭😭 i get you on that front. that was part of the reason i sent that ask in the first place, because i know i’d love (/need) to receive something like it

#I think my reaction was made worse by the fact it was said by someone who had takes on their account about Aventurine I heavily agreed with #it kinda hits harder when someone you think is cool clearly does not like you 😞😞

MAN I GET THIS. I SOOOO GET THIS. i checked out their account expecting them to have bad takes and when they didn’t i was like oh. am i wrong??? BUT NO i think you can have differing opinions in some ways while still agreeing with others. anyway

the slightly harsher take, as you mentioned—that’s something i really liked about your writing, actually. it was so refreshing. i loved him since the beginning, but at the same time i do agree he is very hatable 💀 and not enough aventurine likers AGREE ON THAT!! it’s so black and white i feel, either people absolutely despise him and focus on all his negative qualities while ignoring the positive, or they love him so much it’s vice versa. where are my good old lovehaters where are my moral gray-ness understanders

anyway sorry for rambling BUT I LOVE YOUR WRITING keep going!! haters gonna hate

— the same anon

because i know i’d love (/need) to receive something like it

HELP yes I honestly lowkey high-key did I was considering scrapping everything about how I write Aven because I hate hate hate offending people and I always assume I’m a terrible awful person when I do something wrong 💀💀💀

And like YEAH RIGHT their takes are so good it’s why I was so distraught. I received another person earlier also saying I was mischaracterising him, but it was someone who didn’t even have any hsr on their blog so I brushed it off a lot easier. I had in fact been reading their stuff just earlier today and had a few drafts of what they’d said saved so I could respond and hype them up later so that’s why it shook me up so much 😭😭 Like when someone who has good takes says that yours is bad, it must mean I am wrong ??

I’m so glad you find it refreshing 😭😭🙏🙏 I really try to aim to differentiate how I write characters from how everyone else does while still trying to maintain as canon-compliant as possible (for the most part. I admit, sometimes I do intentionally stray when I think I could do something more interesting 💀)

I HEAVILY agree that I think a lot of takes on Aven are very black or white. Either he’s just a soft sad boy who is haunted by his trauma or some sort of creep ?? in a lot of fics I’ve read. Both bother me a lot, even if I have a lot of understanding for why especially the former would happen (I recall mischaracterising a LOT of characters that way when I was 16 and under I won’t lie 😭😭). I really try to strike a good balance but I was so worried I’d missed the mark (which I lowkey do think I did, hence why I’ve edited the post to be just a little bit kinder to him)

And don’t apologise pls I appreciate it so much you have no idea bro 😭😭 I was preparing to cry myself to sleep tonight but now I feel so much more reassured and relieved, cannot express how grateful I am 🥹🥹

[bethanythebogwitch]

Digimon fanfic chapter 3 draft

Chapter 1, Chapter 2

“So this Dark Spore thing makes you a jerk?

The three children and two Digimon were once again walking through the forest, having left the haunted cottage in which they had spent the previous night. Keiko had finished telling the group about her and her partner Tsukaimon defeating the Soulmon and Bakemon that had brainwashed them. 

“It’s more than that,” Keiko replied to Daniel’s question. “The Dark Spore amplifies everything about you. You get to be smarter, stronger, and faster, but every good quality about yourself becomes repressed and all the bad becomes worse. The Spore was only active in me for a little while, but the person it turned me into… There’s nothing I’m more afraid of than going back to being that person.”

Clark was only half paying attention to the conversation as he led the group to their first destination. Instead, his mind was racing, going over the events of the previous night. Part of him tried to argue that there’s no reasonable way he could have known that a quartet of ghostly Digimon would turn the previously-safe cottage into a grotesque trap. That part was drowned out by the rest of his brain.

I got complacent, he thought. I’ve been so lucky all this time that I forgot how dangerous the Digital World is, especially without a Digimon partner. And my stupidity almost got us all killed. 

He spared a glance back at the others, where Keiko was explaining that she had previously made trips to the Digital World to try to learn about the Dark Spore in the hopes of eventually removing it. Her and Daniel’s partners were following along, Tsukaimon occasionally interjecting her own thoughts into Keiko’s story and Blue the Dracomon seemingly pouting about something. Not for the first time since meeting them, Clark felt a sudden pang of envy and sadness shoot through his heart. 

I wish he was still- Clark shook his head. Dwelling on that topic wouldn’t fix anything, it would just make him more upset than he already was.

“Are you still upset about that?” Daniel’s voice cut through Clark’s thoughts. For a second, the boy sounded like Andrew did when he got upset. 

“You left my bones behind,” replied Blue in an accusatory tone of voice. 

“Gee, I’m sorry, I was a little focused on saving your life,” responded Daniel in an exaggerated tone of sarcasm. 

Yup, he’s Andrew’s brother all right.

“You could have grabbed at least one,” pouted the little dragon.

“Maybe they’ll have some where we’re going. Actually, where are we going?”

Question knocked Clark out of his thoughts. “Oh, we’re going to a village of Digimon in the Caps Lock Crater. They know me there and I left crests for the two of you there for safe keeping. Once we pick those up Benjamin asked me to take you to the Subroutine jungle to meet Baihumon, one of the Harmonious Ones, but he didn’t say why.”

“What are crests?” asked Daniel at the same time as Blue asked “Who’s Baihumon?”

“Crests are items given to some DigiDestined,” Clark responded to Daniel’s question first. “They’re based on some trait or virtue of the DigiDestined and help their partners Digivolve to the ultimate level. Baihumon is one of the Harmonious Ones, four extremely powerful Digimon that help guard and maintain the Digital World. They work for or with, I'm not entirely sure, Benjamin and the other Agents. Baihumon rules the part of the Digital World we’re in right now, the western quadrant.”

“Yeah, I know about them,” Keiko added. “I wasn’t there of course, but from what the other Japanese DigiDestined have told me the Harmonious Ones were imprisoned until one was freed. That one, Azulongmon I think, freed the rest and helped fight against Oikawa and MaloMyotismon.”

“You mentioned that name before, owee-something?” asked Daniel. 

“Oikawa,” was the reply. Keiko’s face noticeably darkened as she continued. “He was the one who put the Dark Spore in me.”

“So he’s a bad guy?” asked Blue, momentarily distracted from his lack of bones.

Keiko exchanged a look with Tsukaimon. “Kind of. Ultimately, Oikawa was a sad lonely person who was manipulated by MaloMyotismon, but he also found me when I was at my lowest point in life and manipulated me into taking the Dark Spore. And even if I know it was really MaloMyotismon’s fault, I don’t think I can ever not hate him for that.”

“But since MaloMyotismon is dead, is he better now?” asked Blue.

“Oikawa’s dead,” said Tsukaimon. Ultimately he was MaloMyotismon’s last victim.”

Silence once again fell over the group. Clark closed his eyes. Thinking about a human dying was not something he enjoyed. Digimon dying was one thing. Ultimately their data would be reformatted into a Digi-Egg to be born again. Humans on the other hand… Thinking about it brought up memories. Memories of a father who taught him the importance of fighting for what’s right. Of a call to duty and a promise to return. 

Of an American flag draped over a casket. 

“You three know so much more about the Digital World than me,” Daniel broke the silence. 

Clark shrugged. “It’s your first time here, can’t really blame you”. 

“It just feels like, well do you really need me?” The boy asked. “Honestly it feels like you knew Andrew better than I did. He never told me any of this.”

“He was probably trying to keep you safe. Seems like something he’d do. Besides, I knew him for one adventure. You definitely know more about the guy than I do, he’s your brother after all.”

“If it helps, we never met him,” added Tsukaimon. “Benjamin just asked for our help.”

This did not, in fact, make Daniel feel better. Apparently two complete strangers were recruited to rescue his brother before him. 

“Come on, we should be able to make Caps Lock Crater by this evening if we hustle,” Said Clark, who started walking faster. 

The Sealsdramon watched the group from its hiding spot in the trees. One claw twitched toward the sheathe for its knives. From this angle it could easily kill the two humans with Digimon partners before they could react, and from there the rest would fall quickly. It would be fitting, vengeance for its fallen comrade-in-arms. But no, that was not its mission. Sealsdramon withdrew from its hiding spot, ready to make its report. 

-------

The sun was moving toward the horizon when Clark suddenly stopped walking.

“What’s go-” Daniel started to ask, but was interrupted by Clark shushing him. 

“There’s something in the trees,” whispered the older boy. “I don’t know if it’s seen us yet”.

“Oh, it’s seen us”, squeaked Keiko’s voice.

The boys turned to see Keiko, arms held in the air, with an angry Tsukaimon fluttering above her head and the tip of an enormous sword held to her throat. The blade was held by a heavily-muscled humanoid lizard wearing tribal attire and a pair of bladed wristbands. Despite the greatsword being nearly half the size of the lizardman, it held the weapon with one hand.

“Woah, Dinohumon! She’s with me!” Shouted Clark, who also raised his hands above his head.

The reptilian Digimon, Dinohumon, cocked a brow. “Clark?”

“Yes, it’s me,” Clark replied, his voice quavering with worry. An elbow to Daniel’s gut told the younger boy to also raise his hands.

“Well if they’re with you I suppose it’s ok. But it’s on you if they cause trouble,” Dinohyumon withdrew its sword, placing it in a sheath located on the lizard’s back. 

Tsukaimon exploded. “Where the hell do you get off attacking people like that, you asshole!?” She would have flown at the bigger Digimon had Keiko not grabbed her and pulled her in tight.

“I’m the one keeping my home safe, that’s who,” growled back Dinohumon in a low, gravelly voice.

Clark rushed to put himself between the two Digimon. “Dinohumon is from the village we’re headed to.But they won’t hurt us if we’re not a threat, right?” That last part was directed toward the Digimon in question.

The Digimon grunted in affirmation and turned to leave. “Follow,” It said. 

Clark let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. “Sorry about that. I hoped we would run into a different villager but I should have realized this could happen”.

“You’re friends with that ass?” Tsukaimon asked.

“Friends is a bit of a strong word with Dinohumon, but we do know each other.”

The group hurried to catch up with Dinohumon (Tsukaimon muttering curses under her breath the whole way) as the lizard trekked through the forest. Before long, the forest ended abruptly, as though one piece of terrain had been literally sliced off and dropped over another. Some of the trees were even cut cleanly through the middle and the ground changed color and texture in a sudden, straight line. Beyond the forest was a desert landscape of red soil, craggy hills, and towering, twisting cacti. Keiko and Tsukaimon stopped and stared at the landscape in wonder, while Daniel and Blue’s faces lit up. 

“Hey, Danny, It’s like home!: Exclaimed the little dragon excitedly.

“Where do y’all live?” asked Tsukaimon.

“A place called Arizona,” Replied Daniel. “The landscape is a lot like this, but the cacti aren’t as big.”

“It’s beautiful,” Keiko said.

Daniel shrugged, “I guess so. I’ve gotten used to it. And it’s kind of far from anywhere else. That’s actually why Andrew couldn’t help out when all those Digimon appeared last Christmas. We live way too far away from New York to come help”. 

“It’s colder here though,“ Blue complained. “I like home better”.

“Spoken like a true reptile,” Daniel rolled his eyes.

As it turned out, Caps Lock Crater wasn’t a crater, but rather a massive satellite dish buried in the ground and partially covered in soil and large plant roots. Around the rim of the crater were several more, smaller satellite dishes emerging from the ground like strange, metal trees. Within the dish were many dwellings crafted from various materials including hollowed out cactus husks, stone, and myriad plastic boxes. To one side of the crater, a steep cliff led down into the desert below and to another, a stream flowed before eventually meeting the same cliff and tumbling down as a waterfall. 

At the rim of the crater, Dinohumon stopped before turning to face the group. 

“This is the village of Caps Lock Crater, my home. I will defend this village and its people with my life. If you harm anyone or anything here, you will answer to me and my sword. Do you understand?”

“Ahh, lighten up, Dinohumon,” Another voice came from the crater. From the satellite dish’s rim stepped a yellow-furred ape man with a large bone strapped to its back. Behind the ape-like Digimon, many more followed. The rest of them were small, around the size of Blue and Tsukaimon or even smaller. Rookie, In-Training, and Fresh level Digimon evidently made up most of the villages population.

Dinohumon sniffed. “Vigilance never hurt anyone, Apemon. Strange things are afoot out there. Even the D-Brigade have been moving through the desert”.

“That’s no reason to treat a guest rudely. You kno-” The rest of Apemon’s response was cut off by Daniel.

“Did you say the D-Brigade? Where?”

“What do you want with the D-Brigade?” asked Dinohumon, voice filled with suspicion?

“They took my brother! Please, did you see a human with them?”

“I did not, but I also kept my head down when I spotted them. One does not go to the D-Brigade for a chat, you stay out of their way and hope you weren’t noticed”. 

Daniel’s shoulders slumped, dejected. Clark stepped forward. 

“Dinohumon, I’d like to ask you more about where you saw the D-Brigade and where they were going. While I’m doing that, Apemon, do you mind helping my friends here?”

“Find what you left here? Sure, sure,” replied the ape. “And after that why don’t you join us for a nice meal? I’m sure walking out in those woods took something outa ya”. 

With the group agreeing to the plan (and the two Digimon partners agreeing to the meal portion with particular enthusiasm), Daniel, Keiko, Blue, and Tsukaimon followed Apemon to the center of the Caps Lock Crater, introducing themselves along the way. Most of the other villagers dispersed back to what they had been doing, but a few continued to follow the group around. After gently shooing them away, Apemon escorted the children and their partners to a building at the dead center of the crater. 

“Let’s see here,” muttered Apemon as he pawed at the floor of the sparsely-decorated one-room structure. After a second, he seemed to find what he was looking for as he pulled up part of the floor, revealing a metal hatch. “I’ll just be a minute,” he said, before leaping in, descending into the underground bowels of the satellite dish’s structure. 

There was a pause, before Daniel broke the silence. 

“So our crests, huh? Any idea what yours will be?”

Keiko shook her head. “I know the crests for the Japanese Digidestined. Courage, friendship, knowledge, sincerity, reliability, love, hope, light, and kindness. I don’t know how many virtues there are, though, or which ones I’d have. If any”. 

“I think you’d have the crest of creepiness, Keiko,” said Tsukaimon. 

“I like creepy stuff, I’m not creepy. At least, I don’t think I am…” was the reply.

“Ooh, Danny should have the crest of hungry!” exclaimed Blue.

“I think you’re mistaking me for you, bucko. And it’s Daniel”, replied Blue’s human, who playfully bonked his partner on the head. 

The sound of banging metal heralded Apemon’s return, climbing out of the hatch. In one hand, he held two small, diamond-shaped objects, only a few inches long and looking comically tiny compared to the giant hand of the one holding them. 

“‘’Ere we go,”grunted the monkey man. “Now Clark said these thingamajigs are for you, so here ya go.”

Each child took one of the two objects. They were metal pendants of a pale yellow color hanging from a looped lanyard. In the middle, each pendant held a small plate inscribed with a symbol. 

“How do we know whose is whose?” Asked Daniel. 

Keiko stared at the one she held, its symbol looking like a crescent moon carved in obsidian black. “I think this one is mine. It feels, I don’t know, right somehow”.

Daniel looked at his. He didn’t feel anything about the small piece of metal engraved with three jagged lines a deep, dark blue in color. Figuring he could ask Clark later, he shrugged and pocketed the crest. 

“Alright Blue, I guess we… Blue?” Daniel looked around for his partner, who was not standing next to him as he was a second ago. Where could he have gone?

“You got what you came for yeah? How about some grub?” Asked Apemon, who had moved back outside into the crater. Daniel followed him out, noting that he had to duck slightly to get out of the structure. Apemon must have to basically crawl through to get inside. Let alone that bone of his. 

Wait, bone?

No… don't tell me…

Daniel gingerly stepped around the large Digimon to check out his back. To his horror, he saw Blue there, the little dragon biting onto the bone, holding himself off the ground with his mouth and looking as though he had reached paradise.

“What are you doing?!” shrieked Daniel in shock and humiliation. He grabbed Blue and yanked, pulling him off the bone. 

Shaken from his chew bone-induced stupor, Blue at the least had the decency to look ashamed. “Sorry, Danny. I just couldn’t help myself”.

Apemon grabbed his bone and inspected it, noting to his horror that Blue’s jaws had left visible scratches in the alabaster white periosteum. 

“Why you impudent, insolent, disrespectful little- What is that?”

Apemon’s rage was interrupted by the sudden sound of engines filling the evening sky. With a roar, something that looked like a combination helicopter, airplane, and mechanical dragon flew overhead, followed by two more. These three, along with another vehicle that had not flown overhead, landed at the edge of the crater, each at one of the cardinal directions. 

“Apemon! Get everyone underground!” Dinohumon was running over, followed by Clark and many of the villagers. As they reached the central building, Apemon started herding the smaller Digimon inside and to the hatch. “What’s going on?!” he shouted to be heard over the din of panicked young Digimon.

Clark answered, his voice tinged with fear. “It’s the D-Brigade”.

Out from the copters leapt Digimon. Looking like little cyborg T. rexes in military gear and holding guns, they quickly spread out to surround the crater and moved inward herding the villagers toward the center. Each copter held five of the smaller Digimon, accompanied by a much larger similar Digimon, this one holding a riot shield in one hand and grenade launcher in the other. 

“By order of the D-Brigade, remain where you are or you will be fired upon!” barked one of the larger dinosaurs, its voice amplified as though by a megaphone. 

“What do we do?” whispered Daniel to the clearly frightened Clark.

Clark just shook his head. “There’s too many of them. Do what they say.”

One formation of the D-Brigade, a large Digimon and five of the smaller ones stepped closer to the group of panicked Villagers. 

“I am Captain Hi-Commandramon 8A5 of the D-Brigade”, the large Dinosaur identified itself. “The humans will step forward!”

“Come on now, surely there’s no need for this,” spoke up Apemon. 

“Silence! You were not given permission to speak!” was the reply, the Hi-Commandramon shouting out every word like it was trying to deafen everyone there. 

“Really, this is a place of peace,” Insisted Apemon. He took a step forward, toward the D-Brigade. “Why don’t you put away your weapons and we can discuss this like reasonable-”

Apemon never finished his sentence. Hi-Commandramon whipped its grenade launcher around and pulled the trigger. Apemon had just enough time to see the grenade imbed itself in his chest before the top half of his body was obliterated with an explosion that rattled every building in the Caps Lock Crater. The younger Digimon screamed and the humans gasped in horror as the rest of his body dissolved and vanished. 

Dinohumon fell to their knees and let out a wail of anguish. Keiko had her hands over her mouth and both Daniel and Blue had their mouths hanging open in dumbfounded shock. Only Tsukaimon noticed Clark’s lack of reaction. Instead, he was staring at one of the smaller dinosaur Digimon standing beside Hi-Commandramon with a look of sadness. The Digimon he was looking at, identifiably by three jagged scars across its snout. The Digimon looked less resolute than its fellows and seemed unwilling to return Clark’s gaze. 

“You didn’t have to kill him,” Daniel’s voice was low, shaken by shock and horror. 

“Quiet!” barked Hi-Commandramon. “All humans, step forward. The rest of you stay put or you will be next!”

“Fine, just don’t kill anyone, ok?” Daniel stepped forward, hands raised.

“Danny!” Blue made to follow, but stopped at Daniel’s order.

“Stop. Just do what they say, ok?”

Blue made a terrified whining noise, but obeyed. After a moment’s hesitation, Keiko followed suit, Tsukaimon remaining behind with worry on her face. Clark also stepped forward, keeping his eyes locked on the scarred dinosaur Digimon. 

“Good. Now stand there and don’t move,” said Hi-Commandramon. It then pulled out a walkie-talkie from a pocket in its bulletproof vest and spoke into it. “Targets secured.”

“Another great victory for the mighty D-Brigade,” Clark finally turned his gaze to Hi-Commandramon, his voice low and dripping with venom. “Four whole units to take a village of baby Digimon and three children? Truly this will go down as one of your finest victories”.

“Be quiet!” Hi-Commandramon aimed its weapon at Clark's chest, but he didn’t flinch.

“I don’t think so. If you wanted us dead you could have blown up the village from a distance or sniped us in our sleep. You were ordered to bring us in alive, weren’t you. And we both know a good soldier obeys orders, right?” 

Hi-Commandramon 8A5 stepped forward and placed the barrel of its grenade launcher right against Clark’s chest. “Correct,” it snarled. It then aimed the launcher at the crowd of scared Digimon. “But our orders said nothing about them”.

Clark gritted his teeth, but did not say anything more.

“Don’t hurt them!” Daniel blurted out.

“If you don’t stay quiet I-”

“I’ll handle this,” A new voice cut in. Hi-Commandramon instantly stopped talking and took a step to the side, revealing a human boy and a Digimon. The Digimon was a dead ringer for Blue while the human could have been Daniel in a few years. His brown hair had been cut short and his usual clothes had been swapped out for a set of military fatigues, but there was no mistaking him.

“Hello, Danny,” said Andrew.

“Andrew!” Daniel exclaimed at the same time Blue shouted “Green!”, “I was so worried about you, we came to rescue you from them,” he gestured at the D-Brigade.

Andrew smirked. “D-Brigade, two steps back”.

In the kind of unity only produced through hard training, very single one of the militarized dinosaurs stepped backwards in sequence, their steps ringing out against the metal of the Caps Lock Crater in two loud chimes.

“Two steps forward”.

Another two chimes as the dinosaurs returned to their previous positions.

“Hmm, spin around”.

The sight of a bunch of theropods in military gear spinning in place would have been comical if not for the circumstances. 

“Tell me, Danny,” Andrew smugly said, “do I look like I need rescuing?”

Daniel gaped. He looked at his older brother, then back at the Digimon of the village, most of them weeping in fear and grief, and at the ashen spot where Apemon had been murdered.

“You’re working with them?” he asked, voice filled with horror and disgust.

“Yes,” Andrew replied bluntly, “and I arranged this little meeting to give you a message. Go home.

“What? Clark asked incredulously.

“Go home,” Andrew repeated. “I mean you, Danny, and you, Clark, and” he glanced at Keiko, “whoever you are. Go home and stay out of my way and you’ll be safe”. 

Daniel stared at his brother, or whoever this was. Andrew wasn’t like this. Andrew could be stern and a bit of a jerk sometimes, but he was also kind, funny, and always wanted to help people with their problems. This Andrew Daniel could barely recognize as his brother.

“Why?” he managed to choke out, voice quivering.

“Because the world is broken,” Andrew’s voice finally broke from the eerie calm tone he had been speaking in, becoming bitter and angry. “Both worlds. Bad things happen to good people and the people in charge are either cruel or stupid. I couldn’t do anything about it before, but now, with the D-Brigade, I can make real change.”

“Good people like them?” Clark’s voice broke in. He gestured to the terrified mass of young Digimon. “They weren’t hurting anyone. They helped each other and lived in peace and your army just murdered one of them. Is that the kind of change you want?”

Andrew just shrugged. “I never said it would be pretty, but if a few good people have to die, then so be it.”

Daniel’s arm was in motion before he even knew what was happening. Andrew jumped back, barely avoiding Daniel's fist colliding with his face.

Every D-Brigade member trained their guns on Daniel, but Andrew waved them off. “Woah, Danny,” he said, amused, “Didn’t know you had it in ya. But if you want to stop me, then come on. Let’s settle this like DigiDestined”. From one pocket he produced a Digivice and looked toward Green the Dracomon, who had been standing there uncharacteristically silent. “Let’s go”.

Green nodded and stepped forward.

Dracomon Digivolve to… Coredramon!

“Come on, Blue!” Daniel’s voice was a cross between a snarl and a sob, tears of anger and hurt now flowing down his cheeks. 

“R- right,” Blue ran forward to join his partner, his voice uncertain and filled with pain. 

Dracomon Digivolve to… Coredramon!

The two dragons stood facing each other, identical except for color, with Blue’s deep blue scales contrasting Green’s earthen green ones. 

“Why are you going along with all this nonsense?” Blue demanded of Gree, of his brother. 

“Because,” Green replied calmly, “if you have the power to fix things and don’t use it, that makes you as bad as the ones who abuse their power”.

“Enough,” yelled Daniel, “We’re going to drag him home with us and make him stop all this!”

“Right!” Blue shot out one clawed hand toward Green’s face, but the older dragon deflected the blow. The next several strikes were similarly blocked.

Blue leapt back from his brother. “That’s it, take this! Blue Flare Breath!”

Just as the stream of blue fire began to exit Blue’s mouth, Green shot forward and uppercutted him in the jaw. Blue’s head was forced upward, his jaws slammed shut with a clash. A split second later, the flames forced his jaw open again as they shot out, the force knocking him off-balance.

“Strike Bomber!” Green did not let the opportunity pass him by. He swung around, his tail colliding with Blue’s abdomen with enough force to rattle windows all around the crater. Blue flew backwards, crashing into one of the makeshift houses and landing in a heap of rubble. 

“You can’t win,” Andrew said, his voice almost mocking. “You don’t have the experience. You've been in what, one fight? We saved the Digital World, remember? You can’t beat us.”

“Shut up! Blue Flare Breath!” From his position lying in the rubble, Blue spat a stream of cerulean flames at Green. The other dragon responded with his own flames, these an emerald green. The two attacks slammed into each other and exploded, scattering multicolored cinders around the village. 

“Hell with this! Keiko!” Tsukaimon shouted. Her partner nodded and held up her Digivice. 

Tsukaimon Digivolve to… Witchmon!

Mounted on her broom, the doll-like witch flew into battle, unleashing a Baluluna Gale that sent a whirlwind of rubble, soil, and stones at Green. The dragon was forced to turn his back to the gale, hands over his face as the shrapnel cut scratches all over his rock-hard scales. In doing so, he failed to notice an enraged Blue flying right at him. The blue dragon collided with the green one, slamming him to the ground with enough force to dent the metal of the crater. 

“Not so cocky now, are you?” Witchmon teased Green. She levitated overhead, her arm outstretched and ready to unleash another spell while Blue pinned his big brother’s arms behind his back.

“It’s over, Andrew,” Daniel yelled. “Give up!”

Andrew glared at his little brother, then sighed. “I guess I have to show you just how outmatched you are”. Out from a pocket, Andrew pulled a small, diamond-shaped pendant. A crest, with the symbol of three curved lines a forest green in color etched into it.

Clark’s eyes widened in horror. “Get out of there!”

Coredramon Digivolve to… Groundramon!

The force of Green’s transformation flung Blue into the sky and unleashed a wave of displaced air that knocked over a row of houses and all the humans except Andrew. When the glow of Digivolution faded, Green had become a dragon the size of a jet plane, his bulk filling nearly a quarter of the Caps Lock Crater. Now standing on all fours, his wings had transformed into massive arms, tipped with razor-sharp red talons. On his legs were powerful pile bunkers and on his tail, which stretched out beyond the rim of the crater, was a mace the size of a van tipped with deadly spikes. 

“This is power!” Andrew yelled in triumph. “This is what you can never match!”

Blue and Witchmon, suspended in midair, gaped at the colossal dragon. They were snapped out of it by one of Green’s arms taking a swing at them, forcing them to fly further up to avoid the blow. 

“Listen Blue,” Witchmon said. “Look at his wings. I reckon he can’t fly with those. As long as we stay up here, I don't think he can get us”.

Blue nodded, then he flew left while Witchmon flew right. 

“Blue Flare Breath!” “Aquary Pressure!”

Two streams, one of blue fire and one of pressurized water shot toward Green. His great arms moved to block the attacks, which left scratches in his verdant scales. Green roared at the two aerial foes, but he did not attack.

“It’s working! Keep it up, we’ll wear his scaly ass down!” 

Witchmon and Blue circled the crater in the sky, intermittently shooting down an attack at the titanic dragon. From the shelter of his wing arms, Green studied them. Watching for something, a pattern.

Ah, there it is.

Green’s arms slammed into the metal ground of the crater and each ripped up a chunk of stone and steel. Flexing muscles as hard as diamond, he flung the two projectiles up at the circling duo. Unable to react in time, Blue and Witchmon collided with the clunks, which exploded into gravel and splintered metal. 

Daniel and Keiko screamed as the partners fell from the sky. Green once again raised his arms and slammed them into the ground, but this time, he did not dig them in. Instead, the force propelled his massive body upwards in a mighty leap. Each arm grabbed onto one of the two falling Digimon. Green fell back down to the ground like a meteor, the force of his landing shaking the whole crater and bringing down what remained of the village. Green flung the two Digimon at their partners. Witchmon and Blue crashed into the ground at Daniel and Keiko’s feet, unconscious. They de-Digivolved into Dracomon and Tsukaimon as their humans ran forward, grabbing their partners and pulling them into their arms.

“Blue! Blue, are you ok?” Daniel sobbed, hugging his partner tight. Only the soft sound of his partner breathing confirmed that the little dragon was still alive. 

A shadow fell over Daniel and he looked up to see Andrew standing over him.

“Now do you see, Danny? You’re weak. Go home, there’s nothing you can do here,” Andrew’s voice displayed no emotion, only cold certainty. “I let Blue live this time. Interfere again, and you might not be so lucky”.

Daniel couldn’t even respond as the thing that had been his brother turned and walked away. “D-Brigade, we’re done here. Take me to the General,” He said as he left.

The D-Brigade and Green, having de-Digivolved back into Dracomon, turned on their heels and walked toward the dragon helicopters they arrived in. Just before they reached them, Clark’s voice rang out. 

“Commandramon!”

The scarred dinosaur turned to look back. Clark glared at him, his face a mix of rage and sorrow, The two stared at each other for a second. Commandramon’s expression softened and for a second he appeared about to say something.

“Commandramon 1G1! Get back in formation!” barked Captain Hi-Commandramon 8A5. Without a word, the scarred Commandramon turned and followed the rest of the D-Brigade into their vehicles. WIth the roar of engines, the dragon copters took off and flew away across the desert, leaving the Caps Lock Crater in the quiet night.

[miekasa]

Mie, I’m begging for some Jean college au bf hcs - im literally so down bad for this man and the way you write men is just 🤌🏻🤌🏻🤌🏻

Absolutely, not a problem 😌 I saved this ask as a draft a while ago when you sent it, sorry for just now getting to it. Anyway, I love Jean with my whole heart, best boy, best boyfriend <33

King of forehead kisses, and not even just because of his height in comparison to yours; he just likes it. He likes the feeling of pressing his lips against your skin, and making you feel safe.

Brings you tea or coffee however you like it every day without fail. If he can get it to you in the morning before work/school then he’ll do that, if not he’ll meet you some time in the middle of the day to drop it off. Your own personal courier just for drinks.

He… has a thing for long(er) nails. He loves the feeling of them against his skin, even if you’re not scratching to apply pressure—just you holding his hand them grazing his skin is enough for him.

That being said, he will pay for you to get your nails done. Actually, he’ll pay for… almost anything you want, but the nails benefit him as much as they do you so feel free to ball out.

He never blowdries his hair because he doesn’t... know how to do the back of it. You did it for him once and he hasn’t stopped thinking about it since, but he’s also too embarrassed to ask you to do/style it again.

On the subject of hair, he does do his best to style it and take care of it, but he’s a sucker whenever you play with it. Sometimes he feigns like you’re messing up all his hard work, but he’ll literally crane his head into your touch. He loves it. 

The first time he lays on top of you and you run your hands through his hair... top 10 most euphoric moments of his life. He tries to fight off the sleep threatening to take over him, but it’s futile. Give it 15 minutes at most before he’s knocked out like a baby. 

Dogs love him. Anytime you’re in a park or just taking a walk and there’s a dog around, it’ll come up to him and he looks adorable leaning down to pet it. He loves dogs, too! So he’s always happy to stop and pet them. He’d be a 10/10 dog dad. 

Has your name saved in his phone with two hearts at the end. Do not point it out.

Loves taking pictures together and if you guys are on a date, he’ll ask someone to get a picture for him. He just likes having them to look back on (and to send to his mom, later).

He doesn’t mind painting classes or videos or tutorials, but he hates paint by numbers kits. He claims that they have no sense of color theory and that it takes the originality and fun out of painting. Not to mention the quality of the paints isn’t great to begin with; all of which he takes very seriously.

It’s pretty cute actually, to see him get worked up over the paint kits. He claims that painting and drawing isn’t even something he takes “that seriously,” it’s just a hobby for him (one he’s insanely good at); but in moments like these, you can tell that he’s way more into art and art theory and history than he lets on. 

Huge movie guy, from animated movies to martial arts movies, Jean is usually willingly to give anything a watch at least once. When he’s high, he can go on about his favorite directors and art styles and movie details for hours if you don’t stop him. It’s super cute. Just don’t bring up Moana, because he’ll start crying. 

Arm around the shoulder kind of boyfriend for sure. It’s a casual way of keeping you near him and letting everyone know that you guys are together. Plus it allows for him to easily pull you into him for a quick forehead kiss when needed.

Listen. If you hug his arm, he’s on cloud nine. He tries to be nonchalant about it but he’s about three seconds away from his eyes rolling back in his head it feels that good to him. Bonus if you lean your head on his bicep a little—then he’s a goner.

He takes his bagels very seriously and believes that both you and him deserve nothing but the best quality bagels. He’ll grumble if a bakery gives you guys a less than favorable one and make a note that taking the long route to get to his favorite place is much more worth it.

Always makes you walk on the side furthest from the cars. If he notices you’re not, he’ll just shuffle behind you until he’s shouldering the street and you’re on the inside. 

He grew up on a kind of modern ranch situation; not exactly all the way in the countryside, but not isolate from the city, either. Because of this, he knows how to ride horses, take care of smaller farm animals, tend to plants, and yes he knows how to use a lasso. You wouldn’t know any of that though, because he never ever talks about it. The only way you find out is when he takes you to visit his mom’s house for the first time, and she asks him for a hand around the place. 

(He’s got a cowboy hat, too, but refuses to put it on. He got it when he was, like, nine, okay, leave him alone). 

When he thinks you look tired, he’ll wrap his arms around your shoulders to hug you. It’s usually followed up with a kiss to your head, and a promise that you guys will go home soon and get food on the way. 

He’s a really good cook. He just understands and flavors and pairings really well, so he doesn’t need a recipe to make something that tastes good; he just kind of knows what to add to get the balance he’s looking for. 

Naturally, he’ll cook for you. Especially if he finds out that you haven’t eaten all day/in a long time. He doesn’t care if it’s 11pm and it might seem excessive to make steak and potatoes with a side salad at this hour, he’s gonna do it to make sure you eat, and you are going to sit there and watch. 

He also bakes pretty well, though he isn’t as experimental with his baking as he is with his cooking. He usually sticks to what he knows, and it’s not cupcakes and brownies and cakes; he’s better at croissants, and cheesecakes, and canelés. 

Dating Jean means getting along with his friends. If you guys didn’t know each other before you started dating, be prepared to be ambushed by Connie and Sasha (after Jean stops hiding you away and gives them the green light lmfao). Neither of them waste time with the small talk and formalities; straight into mini golfing and beer pong. They make you feel welcome right away.

Sasha always teases that you’re too good for Jean, and that she might just steal you away for herself some day. Sasha is also Jean’s main confidant, so she really knows just how much he loves you, and yeah, she teases him for being lovesick, but really she’s happy for Jean. And proud of him for facing his feelings like this. 

Connie adores you, and you know he trusts you when he starts going to you for advice/help. Could be anything from schoolwork, to what color he should get his new shoes in. He’s also the one who, surprisingly, you have the sentimental talks with about your relationship with Jean. It’s easy to overlook, but Connie loves Jean, and he’s come to love you too; he just wants you both to be happy, so he’s there to listen when you need it. 

Jean waits outside of your classroom after you’ve had a test or presentation, usually with a drink or a snack, or the promise of taking you out as a treat. Always tells you he’s proud of you, and is there to comfort you if you think you didn’t do too well. 

He does not shut up about whatever major you’re in. It could be the same as his; it could be the complete opposite as his. He thinks it’s so sick that you’re doing it, you make it look cooler, you make it look better, and he’s certain you’re the smartest person in your program. 

He’s pretty serious about his studies, too, so he’s always down to study with you in the library whenever you’re both free. More often than not, he shows up after you, usually with food or extra chargers. He greets you with a kiss on the forehead, and asks you how you are while massaging your shoulders gently. If it’s been a while since you took a break, that’s the first item on the list, after that, he gets to work and stays with you until you’re ready to go, even if he doesn’t have as much work to do. 

He always sits across from you. This goes for when you’re in the library, or out to eat at a restaurant; Jean loves sitting across from you. He gets to see your face the best that way, and he adores looking into your eyes when you talk. 

He’s not... not a morning person. He’s not up at 6am ready to grind, but he wakes up before noon; let’s say 10am is his happy medium. That being said, if you wake up before him, regardless of the time, there’s a 9/10 chance he’ll lay on your back and tell you to hush so you guys can sleep for 10 more minutes. 

If you’re (close) friends with Eren, Mikasa, and Armin, Jean is... happy you’ve got people to rely on, but, “Of all people on the planet, you put your trust in Jaeger?” He acts so bitter (because he is), but deep down inside, he’s glad you have Eren to rely on if you need to. 

(Also, you have to humble him and remind him that he and Eren aren’t all that different. If you like him, why wouldn’t you get along with Eren, bye). 

Turns out though, that it’s not Eren who threatens to beat him up if he breaks your heart. It’s not even Mikasa, although, her threat goes without saying; it’s Armin he’s terrified of.

The last time Armin hated someone, it was this guy in your program, who happened to share a few mutual classes with him, too. Jean never knew the full story, just that he’s pretty sure that kid dropped out the following semester. 

If you have a job on campus, Jean usually doesn’t show up while you’re working (knowing how embarrassed he would be if you did that to him), unless you work the night shift and it’s dead. Connie, however, does show up; usually in some kind of crisis (“Please help me, I don’t know what the fuck APA formatting is and this is due tonight, please, please, please!!”). Your coworkers actually thought Connie was your boyfriend for a minute. That’s when Jean starts showing up more lmfao.

He makes it a point to go on a scheduled, night out, kind of date at least twice a month. He knows life gets busy with school and work and midterms, but he always makes sure you both set side a time to take a well-deserved break and be with each other. 

He’s the romantic type, so these dates are pretty swoon worthy, too. Drive-in movies, nice dinners, classy art exhibits, Jean plans it all. On that note, he really likes planning dates; he just doesn’t like talking about them with his friends beforehand. 

All in all, very romantic, very precious boyfriend. He’s always thinking about you, what you need, and how he can help you out. You’re one of his main priorities, and he just wants to treat you right. 

[pleasantlyinsincere]

I went back to look at some weird bits that I saved from Sandra Shevey’s ‘The other side of Lennon’. (Maybe only read, if you can stomach bad Beatles bios.)

Even though it’s a John bio, Brian is the only other person who gets a whole chapter dedicated to their life. Surprisingly Shevey came to the conclusion that Brian wasn’t really gay. Calling it a myth and based on little factual evidence.

She actually repeatedly alleges, that it was John going after Brian. Saying that is her believe, just not really mentioning how she got to the conclusion.

So, it’s no wonder that it was also John trying to get Brian to take him to Spain and he was also the one fueling the wrong believe of Brians homosexuality.

(But she also claims to have a source telling her, the two had oral-sex. I’m not sure how that plays into looking for ghosts.)

One of the most out there theories is that John killed Brian. Maybe as long as you write it as a question that’s okay.

Shevey doesn’t explain how she landed on that ‘story’. (I don’t even remember anyone else claiming that.) Later she admits that there is no evidence for violence being the cause of death. So, I guess, she just put that in there for fun.

Another perplexing claim is that John didn’t write his lyrics himself.

Reasons for her believe are, his first drafts being different than the final product, her not liking his post-Beatles songs as much, and apparently that his books don’t have the same balladeering quality as Savoy Truffle (??!). Hence songs that she likes must have, at least, been co-written by someone else.

Overall she just dislikes John so much that I feel almost sorry that she had to suffer through spending so much time on him while writing the book. This is how she resumés about his life and death and pretty much reflects the tone she takes in her book. (I remember her weirdly having some respect for Yoko, though.)

[iwasbored777]

A personal message to all of you, you don't have to open it if you don't want to

I cannot explain how I feel whenever someone sends me a message or something and tells me that I was the reason why they made their accounts here because of my Marinette sugar because they didn't have a lot of accounts like those and now I'm here because I remember desperately stalking Tumblr in order to find more accounts that love her and I couldn't find many and the number got smaller and smaller and I had like three accounts I could visit but I couldn't even scroll down the tag anymore and I made an account for that instead of waiting for more people to show up because I wanted to be the change I wanted to see in the world - someone had to - because if no one is ashamed of being hateful towards her why should I be ashamed of loving her and now when I got this far - I made a lot of mutuals and friends and we have so many quality inside jokes here and I'm having so much fun - whenever someone tells me that they actually joined here because they loved the MS I post I almost tear up because it feels great to achieve something so small but so useful. I'm not here to change someone's opinion and magically make everyone who hates her love her, I'm here to gather Marinette stans and see how many of you there is and have fun. And most people I know here are great and I'm so happy to be able to share any opinion I have with you guys, there is always one or two people who are get angry or something but that can't compare to everyone who supports me and listens to me when I say I feel bad, I hate complaining but sometimes it's too much and I understand we all have bad days, I can't agree with everyone, and I promise I'll follow you if we get along. I sometimes forget to follow a person and when I do that same person is so happy and then I'm emotional again because I remember all this when I started and when I was counting when I'll get to this number then this number but I already had a lot of notes and all and at start I immediately got a lot of followers, mostly because of my memes and sense of humour in general. Oh and I'm very sorry when I don't answer asks, I'm trying but there is a lot of them and believe it or not they're still saved there, I have like 200+ asks in my inbox, and I'll try to answer anything I can but sometimes believe me I forget and I forget to find them in drafts. You should know I respect you all and I can't always be an angel but no one is, what makes it great is that we understand each other and have fun and most of you don't judge me and you always love the way I am because I'm not hiding anything, this is who I am. And when those rumours that I sent someone death threats started I thought my account will be cancelled but you guys didn't believe in those and that soon stopped thank God. So thank you again (I call you "guys" all the time for some reason skssksk) and thanks for being you. If you need anything I'm here, I'll try to help you or answer you as soon as possible. You guys are always here for me. It feels great. I don't have a lot of friends in real life but you are here and that's all I need to get me through the day. I need you to know how good you make my every day. Thank you ❤️❤️❤️❤️

And I'm sending YOU love 💜❤️💖💜♥️❤️♥️❤️💖❤️💖❤️💖❤️♥️♥️

[citrinesparkles]

cat.

jason todd, eventually x gender neutral reader. 1,388 words. notes: this is part one of i don't even know how many and i cannot believe how wildly out of hand this got. this was a 500 word idea and it's gonna be at least three parts someone help (thanks to @angelz-dust for being so patient with me and encouraging on this!!! would never have made it out of the drafts without you <3) warnings: danger to kids, mention of a couple arguing, animal illness (spoiler alert: it'll be fine i Promise), a little (lot) different than my usual edit: part two here!

"let me be perfectly clear: if you even think about showing back up here, i will know, and i will make your life a living hell until i finally put you out of your misery. understood?"

"yes! yeah man i get it. understood."

"then i'd get going, if i were you." the man scrambled to his feet and bolted off across the playground, leaving jason to shout after him. "and warn any buddies you might have, too!"

he picked up the discarded knife and pocketed it. he then turned around slowly, hands visibly empty in a careful attempt not to scare the two kids behind him- well, careful not to make it worse, anyway. they, understandably, seemed a little shaken already.

"are you both alright?" he asked softly, slouching just a little to seem as harmless as possible.

probably would have been easier if they hadn't just watched him threaten someone.

the older kid- probably fifteen, if jason had to place a bet- nodded silently before glancing back at the little girl he was still hovering in front of protectively, who was just... staring.

she couldn't have been older than six.

"jazz?" the boy asked, voice tight. "are you hurt?"

he was ignored. "are you superman?"

the question, innocent and earnest and a little timid, made jason laugh. "not quite, kiddo."

she tilted her head like a curious puppy, furrowing her brow. "why are you wearing a jacket?"

jason glanced up at the boy, who seemed comforted by her mini interrogation. good.

talking was a good sign, too, so jason crouched down to meet her at eye level.

"because it gets cold out here!" he said, raising his hands up with a small wiggle of his fingers. "gloves, too."

"well, duh," jazz said with a giggle- a win, jason thought. "no fingerprints."

he nodded. "also helpful."

"and the hat to hide your face!" she said proudly, stepping forward a little to point at his helmet.

"wow, you've got the whole thing figured out, huh?"

"mhm! my friend ricky loves batman and his friends. he talks about batman and nightwing and spoiler and robin and red robin and red hood and batgirl all the time! they hide their faces like you, ricky thinks it's because of bad guys."

"they're kinda cool, huh?"

"nightwing's my favorite," she said firmly, as though it was something she had considered at great length and was fully prepared to defend.

"not red hood?" jason smacked a hand to his chest in mock hurt, shifting back dramatically. "i'm crushed, truly."

"no, ricky says red hood used to be an alien, but then got bored and now he annoys batman for fun instead. that sounds mean."

...well, okay, maybe he did annoy the big guy for fun a little. "that's an interesting theory, all right."

"ricky's got all kinds of theories. he thinks batman's a robot-" jason snorted- "and that nightwing was like pinochle."

"you mean pinocchio," the boy corrected quietly. "pinochle's what gramma plays."

"pinocchio!" she exlaimed, with a "ch" sound in the middle that made jason smile. "a doll that got turned human. that's how he does all the flips and stuff, he's got magic."

"hm, ricky seems like an interesting guy," jason said thoughtfully, making a big show of rubbing the chin of his helmet. "what do y-"

he was cut off by a loud, insistent meow, and jazz gasping even louder before taking off to the bushes.

"w- hey, don't rush off like that!" he said, shooting up off the ground as the boy sighed.

"there's this cat that she's been taking care of," he explained quietly. "the thing's got attitude for days but i think it's sick or something. jasmine's been bringing it little bits of tuna and chicken, but it's not like we can get it to a vet."

jason hummed. "why do you think it's sick?"

"it's thin, with its eyes all watery and sunk."

"might just be malnourished," he muttered.

"she's been trying to find it a home, y'know."

there was a wink-wink-nudge-nudge quality to the kid's voice that did not go unnoticed.

on one hand, it was good to hear something other than fear from him, but on the other... "what part of the tactical armor makes you think i'm an option?"

"the part where you just stuck around to check on us instead of running after that guy."

okay. maybe the quiet thing hadn't been so bad. the cocky 'amateur psychologist' thing was a little grating.

"you the real red hood?" the kid asked suddenly, shaking jason from his internal grumbling.

"what do you think?"

"i think you just saved our lives, and i wanna know who i'm thanking."

jason turned to him with a flourish. "red hood, baby saver extraordinaire. at your service."

"baby- dude, i'm seventeen!"

okay, so he would have lost his bet. "noted. still a baby, trust me."

"what are you under there, twenty something? whatever, grandpa."

jason chuckled, turning back to watch jasmine pet a small cat under one of the yellow lights littering the park. "you did well, looking out for her with that guy. you got a name?"

he scoffed. "would've been better if i'd kicked him between the legs right when he opened his mouth, instead of letting him get started on the whole 'what're you kids doing out so late?' bit," he muttered darkly, pausing for a moment before answering. "my name's jordan."

"well, jordan, what are you guys doing out so late?"

"mom works nights, and the neighbors were fighting. it was loud enough to wake jazz up, and it wasn't the kind of thing she needed to hear. i figured a trip to see her cat would be less awful than hearing them call each other things i wouldn't even call my friends." the breeze picked up, rustling the trees and catching on jason's jacket. "and then the asshole with the knife decided to make a bad night worse."

"is jazz your sister?"

"yeah, she's a good kid," jordan said, fond and warm. "sorry about the whole ricky thing, though. he's obsessed with those vigilante conspiracy videos and tells her all about them at school."

"no, no, it's fine. i can't wait to tell wing about his new origin story, he'll love that."

jasmine suddenly came bounding back towards them, grabbing their hands and yanking them to follow her. "c'mon, you need to meet cat!"

"you call it cat?"

jordan bristled subtly. "is there a problem with that, red?"

"no, no, it's an appropriate name. just making sure." jason waved his spare hand at his head. "helmet makes me hear things sometimes."

jordan opened his mouth, but his sister plowed right over whatever he was going to say, pulling on jason's hand again. "cat, meet... what's your name?"

"red hood."

"you can't be red hood!" she whirled around, indignantly putting her hands on her hips. "there's already a red hood in gotham. besides, you're not even wearing a hood, so it doesn't fit anyway."

jason turned his head to jordan, who was smiling- a good sign, but probably a bad omen for whatever he was about to say. "she's right, man. it's not a hood."

"tough crowd," jason muttered. "uh... then you can call me, uh-"

"bucket!" jasmine suggested happily, tapping his helmet. "because this looks like a bucket."

if there was one thing vigilantism had taught him, it was that sometimes you actually do need to pick your battles. this...

this was not worth fighting.

"sure, fine, whatever. hi, cat, i'm red bucket." he turned away from the kids- both of whom looked entirely too happy about the whole 'bucket' thing, he thought- and crouched down to finally look at the cat.

it did look a little sick, actually.

it was gray, and thin, and-

and now it was headbutting his knee like it was trying to push him over.

"cat likes you!" jazz cheered.

"sure does," jordan said pointedly. "isn't that interesting?"

jason opened his mouth, but his snarky comment died in his throat when the cat settled down right in front of him and blinked slowly up at him with a sweet tilt to its head.

...shit.

just- shit.

he sighed, standing up and looking back to jordan and his stupid, entirely-too-pleased-with-himself grin. "so, jazz," jason grumbled reluctantly, "where does cat live?"