#and Tucker is calmer

[void-existence]

mafuyu

yuki

own

i misplaced one card bc working this on mobile is a nightmare but generally everything else is correct

additional little diagram i drew

is this anything

do you get it

do you agree

can anyone hear me

[blushft]

shhh its okay... freehoun karaoke night, okay?

[cindyslurkin]

🤨

[nonbinaryphantom]

in my objevtive correct league main assignments

danny would main kayn bc he can go through walls. or idk he would be a filthy master yi or tryndamere main bc they arent that hard to pick up this is true i main tryndamere. i still think he would be a jungle main though. but if he plays tryndamere top he’s absolutely a split pusher

tucker would main heimerdinger bc i genuienly think he would have a blast with the turret mechanics. or he would be a support main and play janna or something which is based (was a janna main). actually aphelios might be up his ally where its not technically complicated its all just gun synergy and management thats what makes him hard he can hold a lane rlly well

sam would play those flashy one shot champions specifically assassins. think akali or irelia or zed. i mean u can debate on whether they require skills to play but i sure as hell cant so yeah she would. she ends the game with a weirdly high kill count thats her playstyle

vlad is a gamer and he plays the ‘big brain’ champs. think azir or le blanc ryze or bard (who is extremely known for being able to fuck over your teammates hard). basically the champs faker is known for playing except zed

[takumiraine]

Once Upon A Time chapter 5

<first> <prev> <next>

Jason Todd knew it was only a matter of time until his bubble burst and one of his brothers found out what he was getting up to. He was just hoping he could pull it off for a little longer. Even though the pit still reacted at the strangest times, he felt calmer, more normal, than he had in years. He wanted to hold it close and make sure nobody could take it from him.

From Replacement: you went back to college? Does B know?

Fuck.

—

Danny had been wary at first. Rich boy Jason Todd-Wayne in his college classes. The man was older than Jazz, though not by much, and a freshman with him. Either the guy was a bad influence or Danny just had really shitty luck.

He and the universe both knew the answer to than one really. But 60 bucks a week to reteach the guy basic math and Jason always gave him dinner in the deal? Danny wasn’t going to look that particular gift horse in the mouth. If there was one thing Danny had forgotten during the past almost two years it was how hungry his human side got. Not having money and being on the run meant opportunities to eat were few and far between.

What Danny didn’t expect was how sarcastic and assholish the rich guy could be. He loved trading snark. Danny assumed that it came from them both having older siblings. But between that and the half formed core that was slowly shoring up, Danny found himself growing attached. He had missed having friends. Getting to talk to Sam, Tucker and rarely Jazz through a conspiracy message board wasn’t enough. Most of the time it was just a way to make sure that nobody had been captured by the GIW. They had a way to pass longer messages but to do that too often would be suspicious.

“So I don’t get it,” Danny said, gesturing at Jason with some fries almost a month into tutoring, “What do people actually do at Galas? The tabloid pics just show a bunch of people in uncomfortable looking suits standing around with champagne.”

“….thats really it. It’s boring as shit.” Jason kicked his chair back on two legs, leaning against the wall. “If I liked you less I’d invite you.”

“If you liked me less?”

“Oh yeah. Because then you’d have to meet my brothers, the assorted not quite adopteds, my dad and scarier yet, our butler.” Danny choked on his laugh.

“Your butler is the scary one in that situation?”

“Alfred is like a ghost. Always there when you turn around.” Jason put on the accent “Master Jason, you really must come home more. Nobody quite enjoys my cooking like you.” He let the chair legs settle on the floor. “Now imagine that from behind you in a dark kitchen at two am while you’re half drunk and trying to make a sandwich.”

“Okay, yeah, I could see it being that scary. My sister was….” Shit he hadn’t meant to mention Jazz. “She was the only one who cared sometimes.” May as well rip that bandaid off.

“Yeah?” Jason asked, taking a drink from his coffee cup. “Didn’t know you had a sister.”

“My family and I don’t see each other anymore. It’s for the best.” He hoped Jason wouldn’t ask more questions, because ‘my parents sold me out to the government that only knew where I was because of the Justice League which is why I hate them and by association your dad, and now my sister is in hiding in a different state with a new identity’ was way too difficult to explain. “I left before they could kick me out.”

Danny watched Jason’s face twist into a frown. “Bigots suck. Sorry man.”

“Yeah…. Well…” Danny busied himself with finishing his burger. Then, once he chewed and swallowed. “Wait. Is your dad the one that fell into the champagne tower last year?”

Jason groaned, “he’s not always like that I promise.”

“No I get it. A weird ‘Family Friend’ invited us to his fancy party so he could hit on my mom once. I accidentally on purpose took out the entire buffet table including a cheese fountain so we had to go home.”

“Cheese fountain?”

“You know those chocolate fountains?” Danny asked. Jason nodded. “Like that, but with fondue cheese instead. And before you ask why, all I can say is it was in Wisconsin.”

Jason watched him with an unreadable expression for a moment, and Danny assumed he was processing it, because when the expression broke, Jason was laughing.

He looked so much younger when he laughed like that, and Danny remembered that they had both had, in their own ways, a rough life. “Yeah. I know. I was finding cheese in the weirdest places for weeks.”

“Did you get invited back?” Danny’s heart ached with the fact that a month or so later, Everything Fell Apart.

“No… I…” he cut himself off, remembering the horrified looks his parents gave him as their weapons, the ones he fixed, were turned against the ‘beast’ that ‘possessed’ their son. The looks mimicking the ones they gave him when the party screeched to a halt as he did his best impression of a Scooby Doo villain being unmasked. The screams of shock turning into ones of horror. The -

“-anny? Danny?” He blinked and shook his head.

“What? Oh, sorry.” He took another drink from the coffee, emptying the cup. “No. I never was asked back. You done?” He looked at their empty plates and grabbed the tray. “We should get to the library. Though I’m sure someone as good looking as you has plenty, these x-es won’t find themselves.” He was overcompensating for zoning out now, words coming out faster than normal.

“Yeah… are… you okay?” Jason asked, as Danny bussed their tray and grabbed his backpack, a backpack bought by his tutoring money. A tutoring gig he desperately did not want to fuck up with his own bullshit.

“Me? Fine. More than. I just zone out sometimes. Come on.” Danny’s words were still coming out too fast. He took a few breaths during the couple seconds Jason took getting his things, trying to ground himself as much as possible. He was going to be normal. He was going to be normal if it killed him. Again.

The walk to the library was quiet and Danny was thankful for that. He needed to get his head on straight if he was going to be any help to Jason and he still had his own homework to do after. As they walked in, both Danny and Jason instinctively looked towards the desk where Barbara usually worked, but she wasn’t there, some other guy was checking in books with quiet beeps.

Danny had learned over the last month that while Dick, Tim and Damian were Jason’s official siblings, Barbara was an unofficial one and he liked her the most.

It made sense, since she didn’t seem to pry into Jason’s life the way Jazz would have if she was here. Not that he would have minded her prying for how much he missed her, but four years ago he would have hated it.

—

Jason knew the haunted and hunted look that had settled into Danny’s eyes. The way he trailed off into something vacant. How his breathing seemed to get stuck in his chest. Which is why he tried to interrupt the cycle before he could spiral. Something big happened to him, and Jason knew he wouldn’t want to break down in a cafe in front of people.

Thankfully he seemed to snap out of it quickly, instead overcompensating into energetic. The message was clear. ‘Don’t ask about what just happened.’ Carefully, Jason let Danny lead him into the library, aware of his positioning and making sure not to follow too far behind or loom too much. Considering he had at least six inches on Danny, that last part was hard, but he tried.

He could feel the pit spiraling in him, circling and coiling like a dragon deep in his chest. Itching to do…. Something. It wasn’t punch or claw or fight. This was new. He didn’t like it in the slightest.

He looked over to where Babs usually was, then remembered she had a class, criminal justice degree, how apt, as he and Danny went towards what was now their spot. Jason found he had the sudden impulse to pull Danny’s chair out for him, and shoved that particular useless idea back down into the abyss it belonged in.

—

Danny looked over at Jason who stood at the edge of the table looking…. Angry? Confused? and pulled out his own books. “I promise, my zoning out isn’t contagious.” He said, looking up at Jason and kicking the chair across from him out from under the table for Jason to sit. He gave a wry smile, “if it was, I don’t think anyone in my high school would have made it.”

Jason snorted a laugh, snapping out of whatever thoughts he had been thinking. Jason pulled the chair out further and sat, sitting more comfortably than he used to. More of the true Jason, Danny was realizing, less of the person he was supposed to be. In another lifetime…. But no. He couldn’t… not while he was being hunted. It wouldn’t be fair to Jason to have to hide such a huge part of himself and his past.

Not to mention he hadn’t ever come out to Jazz and his friends. Well he had…. But more in the ‘hey I’m dead but not really’ way and less in the ‘so I like guys’ way.

But in spite of those barriers, this tentative friendship with Jason was enough to keep him happy.

Which made the next kick in the teeth from the universe completely expected.

All he had wanted was to walk home in peace. Sure it was almost midnight, in Gotham, but still. He made it most of the way, and was slinking through the Bowery when it happened.

Guys with dark clothes and weapons were suddenly in front of him. He turned only to see more at his back. There had to be five in total? Or was it six? Danny didn’t have time to count.

“Hey guys.” He hedged, muscles tensing as he raised his hands to show he wasn’t a threat. “Don’t mind me, I’m just trying to get home. Long walk and all that. If I could just…. Scooch past you?” Danny took a step to do just that and the lead goon swung at him with a baton.

He hopped back slightly, dodging the hit when it came. “Not a chance. Boss needs some…. Help with his latest ideas. You’re coming with us.”

Danny ran through his options in his head. Option 1: get kidnapped. Option 2: get the shit kicked out of him. Option 3: beat the shit out of them and get labeled as a possible bat to be or possible rogue to be. Option 4: go fully ghost and either escape unscathed but wind up more firmly on the GIW’s radar.

Option two or three would wind up happening, because he wasn’t going to put himself at the mercy of the Bat-ass again, and he wasn’t going to offer himself up on a silver platter to the GIW.

The moment one tried to grab him, Danny dodged out of the way, and that seemed to bring the goons on him en masse. They seemed well practiced, but considering it was Gotham, there wasn’t a big surprise there. The next few minutes were a flurry of elbows and knees, punches and kicks, batons and clubs.

Danny would dodge and counter, disarm one and fling their weapon across the street. He would have sore ribs and bruises from his elbows to his knuckles come morning but he was slowly winnowing them down. He had a brief thought about the conservation of ninjutsu, as the fewer goons there were the stronger they seemed to get. The realistic answer was they were less concerned with hurting each other when there were fewer of them, he knew that. But everything was more fun with ninjas.

When there were three left, one threw a punch that connected with his nose. There was a pop and crunch and a hot rush of blood down his face even before the pain set in. He spat out the blood that collected in his mouth from the way his head snapped back when he was punched. Another one came at him, and his own years of training caught the guy’s arm, judo throwing them into another look and sending them both careening into a wall. The move was trickier with gravity, but he made it work.

Danny looked up at the last remaining goon. He grinned, teeth too sharp and stained with his own blood, eyes glowing just the faintest green. “Run.”

They did.

Unfortunately for the goon, they ran smack into the chest of one Batman.

[aealzx]

_______________________

Update Post

Prologue | AO3

Previous Next

_______________________

“So…Let me just summarize to make sure I understand,” Jazz requested, feeling a little overwhelmed by all the new information Bruce, Barry, and Leslie had explained to her, but at least not so overwhelmed to the point of breaking down anymore. She’d just never heard of something like hemoperfusion before, so it had been a lot to take in. “Danny has blood blossom toxin throughout his blood stream, and since blood blossoms don’t exist here there’s no antitoxin to inject him with. And since developing one would take too long and be too risky, you want to try hemoperfusion. Which is like hemodialysis, except it removes toxins instead of fluids. And since hemoperfusion is known to cause a mild decrease in various common blood components, you want to have a blood donation from Danielle to offset that. Because she’s the only one here who also has ectoplasm in her blood, and you don’t want to dilute that in Danny since he’s already low…Did I get all of that?”

“Yes,” Bruce answered simply, giving a small nod. He was ready to go over anything they needed to again, a tablet in his hand ready to be used to open any of the files he’d already shown Jazz a second time. She had reacted to the information about Danny’s condition with anxious fear, but overall she was managing to remain significantly calmer than earlier that day.

Jazz was silent as she ran through everything she could remember just one more time, as well as trying to think of anything that they may have missed. Either because it was an oversight, or they simply just didn’t know. But she couldn’t see any risks other than the ones they had already told her they were aware of. She honestly wasn’t sure she would have caught the risk of diluting the ectoplasm in Danny’s blood herself. Amity always had an abundance of ectoplasm leaking everywhere, so even when Danny has spent a lot he’d always been able to recover some from the ambient. It, and the way they had addressed this situation, was enough for her to finally look to Bruce and nod. “Okay. Go ahead.”

Bruce was admittedly pleasantly surprised at the response, but kept his response in check other than a content smile. Barry’s shoulders sagged with his sigh of relief, and he barely waited for Bruce to give him a nod before he dashed from the room in a blink.

“Barry and Wally will take care of getting the supplies. We’ll test the types of resin with the blood samples we already have to make sure we use the correct one. But it shouldn’t take too long. Is it alright if we inform the rest of your family of what’s going on?” Bruce requested, not wanting Sam, Tucker and Danielle to be left out just because his own children were doing a good job keeping them occupied. Barbara had come over to meet them already, and she and Tim were indulging Tucker’s questions as well as getting some of their own answers. Then Stephanie and Cass had spent some time letting Danielle pick out some different clothes before they had joined Wally in the gym. Danielle had been ecstatic to find out about Wally’s abilities, and all four of them were having fun showing off and messing around together. Which left Sam talking with Duke, Damian, and Alfred about some of Duke’s adventures, Damian’s menagerie of pets, and Alfred’s recipes and food sources. The news would be an interruption to their fun, but Bruce had confidence that his team could help them stay occupied and taken care of instead of relying only on Jazz.

“...Sure,” Jazz agreed once more, giving another nod. They had already told her that they would have Danielle stop by the room to draw her blood, so having the three of them back in the room for a bit wasn’t a bad idea.

It didn’t take long at all for Barry and Wally to return with the equipment, getting it set up in record speed next to the bed before Barry joined Bruce back in the lab to test the different resins. They were simple tests that could all be done at the same time, so they were back upstairs soon after Leslie had finished drawing Danielle’s blood.

“Here’s the lucky winner,” Barry chimed, holding a second canister of the resin that they had found cleared the blood blossom toxin from Danny’s blood while having minimal effect on the important parts that needed to stay.

“Woah… I was expecting something bigger,” Sam admitted, watching Barry from where she was hovering near Danielle.

Barry just chuckled as he headed to the machine and popped the canister in. “It doesn’t need to be that big. We’re only pulling a tiny amount of toxin from him and putting the rest back after all.”

“Fair enough,” Sam accepted, attention shifting slightly as Danielle flexed her arm and moved around to make sure she wasn’t dizzy or anything.

“And you’re sure it’s going to work?” Tucker asked, his nervous nature prompting him to reach for reassurance despite the procedure not being used on him.

“It’s not as common as dialysis, but it’s still something that’s been used thousands of times on thousands of different people. I’m sure it’ll get most, if not all of the toxin,” Barry assured, stepping out of the way so Leslie could proceed to get Danny connected to the device. Unfortunately the IV needle that had been used was too small, so Leslie couldn’t use it for one of the tubes, even if it had been in the right place. So it was simply pinched closed, and disconnected to use again later while the other two tubes were inserted.

The others continued to chatter lightly, but Jazz was more focused on what Leslie was doing. How she was prepping Danny’s arm, where she put the tubes, trying to guess what she was looking for. She didn’t think this would be the last time Danny, or Danielle got poisoned, so she felt she should learn as much as she could while she could. It also helped her feel like she was being useful. Adding to her skillset to maybe use later instead of just sitting and being worried. It certainly helped even though once Leslie finally started the machine nothing seemed to be happening. It was a good thing though. No immediate adverse reactions, no sudden drop in vitals. Nothing but the quiet hum of the machine added to the soft beeps of the heart monitor and puffs from the oxygen tank.

Within an hour the others had gotten bored enough to easily be lured away by the rest of Bruce’s family once again.

Thirty minutes after and Jazz was the only one left, having moved to sit on the floor at the side of the bed. She wanted to be close to Danny, but she felt in the way if she sat on the bed. There were too many tubes now. Before he could have been mistaken for just sleeping. But now he really was looking like a coma patient. It made it hard to watch him, even though she refused to leave.

A short time later Jason was knocking on the doorframe to announce his presence, causing Jazz to look up.

“...Hey,” she greeted, a little confused.

“Hey,” Jason returned, “Just checking in. You need anything?” A half lie. He’d actually volunteered to hang out for a while to make sure the hemoperfusion process was going well. Luckily it looked like Danny’s vitals hadn’t changed much from two hours ago.

Jazz blinked in mild surprise at the offer, but even after thinking for a moment she couldn’t come up with anything. Part of her knew there were probably a multitude of things that she should be at least curious about, but mostly she just felt tired. The near quiet of the room while she knew everyone was okay and having fun was nice. She was content to just relax as well as she could for now. “No, I’m good,” she responded.

Jason didn’t quite believe her, his brow raising. “Says the girl sitting on the floor wearing random spare clothes borrowed from someone else, and doing nothing but stare at the other side of the room,” he commented dryly with a half smirk, stepping into the room and taking a seat on the floor near Jazz.

The comment caught Jazz off guard, but she could only give a small giggle. She probably did look at least a little unwell huh. “...I guess I just haven’t fully realized I’m safe yet,” she admitted. “It’s hard to think about anything.”

“Fair enough,” Jason accepted, being able to understand the feeling. “...Do you mind if I ask you something then?”

Another mild surprise, but Jazz just nodded after a moment. “Sure.”

“You mentioned before…” Jason started, thinking back to something Jazz had said before lunch, “that your parents tried to hurt Danny before they knew….” The reminder was potentially a very unhappy topic, but it was prodding he felt was necessary. Were they safe at home? Were they runaways? Were their parents involved with the ones that had hurt Danny recently? They needed to know if it was a good idea to try and get these kids back to their family or not. And if he was going to keep Jazz company and monitor the hemoperfusion process he didn’t feel like spending the time in silence.

“....Yeah… Our parents used to be ghost hunters,” Jazz admitted, a sorrowful smile as she stared at her hands. It seemed she was in the mood to talk, for she continued unprompted. “We grew up with their crazy antics. Making machines that could track down and destroy ghosts. Always talking about dissecting them, or using them as a power source. They had so many studies supporting the idea that ghosts were just residual emotions from people, given human form, but not actually human. So many things that convinced others that ghosts weren’t people anymore.”

“And yet… all it took was them finding out that Danny was half ghost, half dead, and it made them rethink everything they had developed. He was fourteen when… And I didn’t find out until a few months later. I didn’t even tell him I knew, because I knew if I did he would get scared. Why wouldn’t he, after all? With the idea that his mom and dad might cut into him just to satiate their curiosity looming over his head. It was an accident that they found out, and I was so scared he was going to run away. But mom just tried her best to treat him like Danny, and nothing else. Dropped her gun and told us we should go home and get a snack, because we were probably hungry. It…. it was enough to keep him home, but it wasn’t enough for everything to be okay. It was like everyone was trying to pretend everything was normal, but we all knew it wasn’t. They stopped doing their experiments. Started pretending they were oblivious to anything related to ghosts. It was awful. I felt so… so useless.”

“It was months of this stupid, awkward fake normal family facade before it finally broke. Danny accidentally got burned when mom was cooking, and she had a breakdown. We found out that our dad was okay with everything, but mom was having a hard time because she couldn’t believe that she had hurt Danny before. Even if she didn’t know it was him. But, after she had a really long talk with my brother, things started to look more normal again. Only this time, instead of being ghost hunters my parents dove headfirst into trying to figure out how to help ghosts. We realized we couldn’t take Danny to the doctors anymore, so my parents and I tried to make sure we could fill in that role. Mom would try all sorts of new, ectoplasm rich meals for him, making sure they tasted good to him. She started making smoothies for him every morning once she found ones he liked. On top of helping him study for school every day when there weren’t other ghosts causing trouble. There’s so many nights I found them asleep together on the couch. Danny was always mom’s favorite, and I think dad got jealous about how close they got. Until Danielle came back from her world exploration adventures and Danny convinced her to officially meet my parents. Then Dad and Danielle latched onto each other so quickly, and became inseparable.”

The retelling had seemed a little painful at first, but it was easy to see that Jazz was at least content with the way her family life was now. It wasn’t perfect, but then again families never were. Jason couldn’t help notice the tone of voice she took when talking about her parents favoring her siblings. She didn’t seem too upset, but there definitely wasn’t complete indifference to the facts. “...Does it make you upset? Having your siblings be your parents’ favorites?” he couldn’t help asking.

Jazz could only snicker at the question, falling quiet for a beat before answering. “Sometimes,” she admitted, then looked over with a mildly mischievous grin that made Jason semi think of Danielle. “But then I remember I’m Danny’s favorite, and I’m usually okay.”

The proud declaration made Jason snicker, glad to hear she had at least one thing keeping her from devolving into jealousy. She didn’t seem to want to talk much more though, and Jason wanted to leave the conversation on a happier note and therefore didn’t ask about the ‘Guys in White’ Danielle had mentioned before. So instead, after another stretch of quiet, he just chose to reassure her. “... He’ll be okay.”

Jazz didn’t answer immediately, drawing in a sigh and letting it go. She seemed to be doing much better as the day had stretched on, handling the news that Danny had poison throughout his bloodstream much better than the suggestion of drawing his blood. And being reassured that he would be okay, she gained a smile. “... He better be,” she commented, gaining a glint in her eye that Jason had seen in others he knew. “Otherwise the government back home will have to deal with a new super villain family.”

The comment only caught Jason slightly off guard, eyes widening just for a moment as he looked at Jazz before bursting into a hearty laugh. “Fair enough,” he agreed. The son of a family getting killed by the government was a legit enough back story for super villains in his opinion.

_______________________

lil bit of home situation dump and hopefully the last bit of the part that was giving me trouble. Nice to get to draw Jason without the suit XD though I almost forgot to draw the bandage on his fingers.

_______________________

Tag list: @galaxy-sharks-and-bottled-ships, @starscreamlover, @nerdynonnativenarnian, @dragongoblet, @megacharizardx99

@bellathecatastrophe, @cj-ghostemoji-destielpie, @asexual-insomniac, @wolfeyedwitch, @tkiesai, 

@fanaroff, @raven1508, @nebulainajar, @serasvictoria02, @oliocelottafanfics,

@honeysuckletook, @omniithe-deer, @wolf-under-the-stars, @gingernutcalo, @that-random-fangirl,

@op-sys-chaos, @kirasigncomics, @ehobep

[too-much-tma-stuff]

Years Later

Previous | Masterpost

It had been almost three years since Danny and his twin brother Damian had come to live with their father and Danny thought that they had both done pretty well for themselves. Damian had settled in, bonded with the family, stopped trying to kill their siblings, and made friends with Superman’s youngest son. He still had a very hard time relating to civilians, but everyone had their issues, right?

While their father had been missing for a while they’re all had to step up, and their eldest brother Dick had become Batman and finally made Damian the new Robin. It wasn’t how they had expected that to happen, but even through the grief of losing their father both Damian and Danyal had been happy he got the roll. Dick being Batman had been temporary because both Tim and Danny had been sure Bruce was still alive, and with both of them they’d managed to convince others and free Bruce from the time stream.

When Bruce had recovered and was ready to become Batman again Damian had remained Robin and Tim had gone on to be his own hero, Dick returning to being Nightwing. Damian was happy to work with their father again, training and bonding as heroes. He was good at it too, even if his methods were a bit more violent then Batman would have liked, they were working on that.

As for Danny, he had never joined the night life properly. His siblings teased him about it a little, but Bruce had nearly cried for joy when Danny had been firm in that regard even if he couldn’t escape it entirely, being surround by it as he was, he could refuse to put on a mask. He still wanted to help keep his family safe, so he worked with Tim and Bruce on manufacturing the bat’s gear, and learned how to hack and program with Babs. He ended up an engineer and a ‘guy in the chair’ for his family while they went out to fight crime.

It was calmer, and more fun for him, not to mention less exhausting which allowed him to focus on being as much of a ‘normal kid’ as he could be. He joined more clubs then Damian, and made some civilian friends! Including Sam Manson, who had rich parents who were uncomfortable happy with their daughter hanging out with a Wayne, and Tucker who was at the private school on a scholarship because of his engineering prowess. They were good friends, and Danny was happy to have them despite Sam’s weird family, who he tried to avoid.

It was all going pretty well, except for one thing, the experiments on the Lazarus water. He had started working on it with Tim and Bruce, but been right that Bruce would hold them back, and it meant that the experiments were going nowhere. He thought that he probably could have talked Tim into doing some of the more out there things he wanted but then Tim left, and Bruce was still keeping track of what Danny was doing leaving him unable to work without fighting against his father every step of the way. His brother too, because he had been right that Damian would be loyal to Bruce once their father earned it.

Danny had theories, and charts, and things he wanted to try. But they all came from hunches and dreams which just weren’t enough proof for The Batman even though this was at least half magic and that was half instinct. Danny was nowhere near where he wanted to be at this point, and could not even manufacture his own substitute.

It hadn’t been an imminent problem until the League of Shadows finally realized neither Danny nor Damian had any plans of returning and started trying to claw them back. Talia still sent Danny bottles of Lazarus water sometimes, but it seemed like she was having to smuggle it out which meant he was getting significantly less. There were the clones too. The lack of Lazarus water seemed to be how they were trying to flush Danny out and force him to return, and the clones were being sent to drag Damian back as well.

So far there hadn’t been any clones of Danny, but he was keeping an eye out just in case. The lack of water wasn’t an immediate threat since he had some stockpiled but he was very worried, and if he didn’t figure it out soon it would turn into a problem. He wouldn’t be able to run tests anymore if he was having to save all of it, and if he couldn’t run he wouldn’t find out how to manufacture it. It would end the same way, with him having to return to the League of Shadows or try and steal more water himself which would just end in the same dilemma when he ran out again.

He could try to convince Bruce again in light of this, but they’d had multiple talks about this over the years and though the dependence on the league was becoming a bigger issue Danny wasn’t sure that would matter. Bruce’s world view was uncomfortably black and white. Besides he had bigger long-term plans.

It wasn’t just to recreate it, yes that was the initial goal but that wasn’t going to be where his experimentation ended and he knew it. He knew in his bones that once purified the waters could be used for so much more then just healing the sickly and killing the healthy. The raw energy in them was meant to be so much more! And then there were the dreams, which had never stopped and had only been getting more vivid and insistent as time went on.

More then just a voice calling him now, they showed him things. They showed him an ancient war that had torn holes in reality, an ancient king of blood and magic who had done much harm. And again and again the glowing green portal that he knew he had to build! He had never cared much for destiny, but he couldn’t just ignore this, especially when he could feel the pain of the ancient being who called to him. Just another secret to keep from his family because he didn’t want them to interfere.

It would be easier to do what he needed to do without adult supervision, and he had some ideas about how to go about it. He needed space first, and equipment. Money could get all of that, but how much could he steal without father noticing? He had already started of course, skimming a bit here and a bit there off the top and stashing it away, but the way that was going it would be far to long before he had enough money for everything he needed.

There was another thing that worried Danny too, that he’d seen during his time as ‘the guy in the chair’. The new player in Crime Alley, that Bruce was… worried about, but not hugely yet, he was just getting established after all. The problem was, he was incredibly violent, and his techniques reeked of the league, and of something more. Danny had the uncomfortable feeling he knew exactly who it was beneath the red hood, another secret that he’d kept coming back to bite him. But everything in him still rejected the idea of just coming out and telling all his secrets. Knowledge was power after all, and maybe he could still use this as well.

In fact, he was sure that he could use it. He just had to play the game right, and this might turn out to be exactly what he needed.

 It had been easy to steal some of the other bat’s gear, just a mask, and a few weapons just in case. Easier still to sneak out on a night when they were already out on patrol and head to crime alley with put being spotted. They rarely patrolled there anyway, not that there wasn’t crime there, but because all of it was so integrated in gangs and organized crime there wasn’t time for the little fish and trying usually just lead to more trouble. He would have heard if there was a planned strike because it would have been all hands on deck.

So he put on the mask, and the symbol of the bat, and simply wandered into the territory of the Red Hood. He grappled to an inaccessible roof where he wouldn’t be easy prey for petty thugs and simply waited knowing that Red Hood would find him. It wasn’t long before he heard the thump of someone much heavier landing on the roof behind him and turned to see a familiar hulking man. Danny felt his breath catch in his throat with the chill and he breathed carefully through the odd sense of Pit being nearby that he hadn’t felt since leaving the league confirming his suspicions.

“Well well, you’re a long way from the roost aren’t you birdy? And all on your own?” Red Hood asked, a modulator disguised the sound of his voice, but not really his patterns, Danny smiled and rocked back on his heels.

“All by my lonesome. Because I wanted to talk to you, I recognize league training when I see it. Did they send you?” He asked cocking his head to the side. He refused to tense up or act like he was intimidated or afraid, that would only make him seem like prey and wouldn’t do any good. He was here now, and wasn’t sure he could beat Jason so if the other did attack… well Danny would just have to lay in the grave he’d dug for himself.

“No,” Jason snarled, his fingers twitching around the gun in his hand as he stepped forward. “I don’t work for those fuckers. But they told me, they told me what Bruce did, and how quickly he replaced the last robin with another blue eyes black haired boy. Are you the next one in the chain? He needs to pay for the way he treats those kids.”

“Ah so they cocked you like a gun and pointed you in our direction,” Danny said with a sigh. “No, I’m not the next robin, and that’s not why I’m here. I’m here because I have a deal to offer you, Jason.”

Jason snarled and moved quickly, before Danny could blink the gun was pointed straight at his head. “What sort of deal Brat? Because if you’re planning on blackmailing me what’s stopping me from just shooting you? You won’t be able to tell anyone then.”

“I don’t think you’d shoot a child Jason,” Danny said softly. “But no, I mean, not telling Bruce is part of the deal but I have more to offer then that. There are experiments I want to do, things I want to find out that father will not let me. I need a space and equipment for a lab. In return, I won’t tell anyone your secret identity and I can get you access to Bat tech, and build some new things for you. I’ve been building and adding to bat tech for years, without the Batman’s strict morals holding me back I bet I can build you some… interesting weapons.”

There was a long moment of silence between the two of them before Jason threw his head back and laughed, lowering his weapon. “Well I want to get back at Bruce, and I think enabling another one of his kids to turn against him is an excellent start.”

Danny relaxed and grinned as well, he wasn’t actually planning on turning against his father or siblings but he didn’t feel like arguing about it. Especially when they probably would see this as a betrayal. As if they hadn’t all kept secrets. As if Tim still hadn’t told Damian or Bruce about the Legue of Shadows bases he had blown up and all the people he’d killed while searching for Bruce. Not that Danny was going to out his brother of course.

“I’ve been clearing out any gangs that use kids from the Lanes,” Jason said, his posture relaxed now. “They left plenty of empty warehouses, you can have one of those for your lab. I can get you a decent amount of equipment taken from mad scientist and drug rings I’ve busted but I’m not getting you a fucking grocery list. Anything you want that’s missing you’ll have to get yourself,” Jason said, pointing at Danny.

“I wasn’t expecting you to play nursemaid. Anything you can’t get I can get a hold of myself. I still have access to Bruce’s bank account and he’s used to me regularly making orders of mechanical parts and scientific instruments for the work I do for him. I can get what I need.”

“Good, I know you’re a kid, but I’m not holding your hand,” Jason sneered.

Danny laughed and shook his head; “You should know that none of us Batman take in are kidsin any way that matters. Dick had already been out fighting crime for four years by the time he was my age. I’m no different, I was raised in the league even before moving in with dad. If you tried to hold my hand, I’d cut it off.”

“Feisty,” Jason said in a tone of approval. “Meet me at the docks same time next week. I’ll have gotten what I can for you by then, you can set it up on your own.”

“I can handle it. I’ll build you something to start, but after that I won’t be keeping a schedule. You can make requests if there are things you need but I have a lot of work to do,” He said before he rolled off the roof backwards and slowed his fall enough to get the grapple out and swing away.

To his disappointment his powers hadn’t really grown as he did, so slowing himself was still the best he could do. Just lessen gravity’s effects on him a bit, density shift his limbs for a few seconds but not longer, and not his whole body, blend into shadows but not disappear. He was stronger, faster, and a little more sensitive then the average person, but that was all which was both annoying, and confusing because the voice in his dreams promised him he could be so much more.

He was home that night before his brother and father, and he had a proper fucking plan! He was going to have a lab, a secret place that he could do what he needed to do free of restrictions. He would need a secret identity of his own, a suit that would hide him fully so not even Damian would be able to recognize. A full helmet and a vocal distorter like Jason had, maybe one that sort of matched though he’d have to run that by Jason. So much for not putting on a mask he supposed, though he wasn’t exactly planning to be a hero.

 He couldn’t wait!

---------

It was easy to ask Sam to act as a cover for if Danny was caught out of the house. He would get in trouble for sneaking out to stay the night with a girl of course, but that was much better than his lab being found. She was happy to enable his rebellion though he hadn’t told her the entire truth about what he would be doing, just asked that is his family called she would say he was with her.

He spent his down time in that week using scrap from the cave to build his helmet and since he was always tinkering with one thing or another no one really noticed. He left cosmetic details for later so he could ask about making it match with Red Hood’s a little bit. For now, he kept it black for the most part. He’d need a suit too. Black, white, and red sounded good, he could easily get the black and red material since it was used in Batman’s and Robin’s suits, the white would be something he’d have to make himself.

With that in mind he started working on his suit as well. He was going to be essentially a villain for now, he might as well lean into the aesthetics of it and have some fun right? He wasn’t planning on hurting anyone or being ‘evil’ but he was going against Batman and teaming up with Red Hood so he knew how that would look. He didn’t know fully what he wanted it to look like, but he knew that he wanted claws so he started with that and after a few sketches he had a design.

All of the vital areas of his body were clothed in black, a vest tunic that went down to mid thigh with a red wrap belt to keep it from flapping around too much. The long sleeved shirt underneath was white, going down over his hands in tight gloves tipped with red claws like they were stained with old blood. Each arm was wrapped elbow to wrist, and around the palm with black bandages of thick material that made them nearly gauntlets. The pants underneath were loose and white, stuffed and secured into black boots with thick durable tread and laces in red.

The helmet was black as well, with red eyes and white detailing along the seems and forming a sort of mouth. It would do for now, he could always change it later but he wanted to have this done by the time he started working on his lab so there was a pretty tight deadline. He was still putting the finishing touches on it the day before he went to see Red Hood again, on a weekend night of course, the bats would be busy and everyone could sleep in in the morning.

He fully suited up with tools tucked into his belt and his weapons strapped to his back and snuck out the window not long after the bats flew the roost, making his way quickly to the Alley and down to the docks. Landing on one of the taller roofs he pulled out a pair of small binoculars equipped with night vision and thermo sensors and scanned the area, quickly spotting Jason and a few, what looked like workmen, bringing boxes into the warehouse. Just in case it was a trap Danny waited for them to leave, and once Jason was alone dropped down and slid into the warehouse.

There were tables set up around and boxes on the floor, the lights were on which was good, he’d need electricity. And there was Red Hood, standing in the middle of the warehouse with his arms crossed, his posture tense and impatient. He turned and looked Danny up and down, letting out a distorted chuckle. “You really committed to the bit huh?” He asked, amusement coming through the distortion.

“Well I’m going to be doing this, I might as well. The last thing I want it to be recognized coming in and out, or caught by any of the bats or birds,” He hummed, reaching up to turn off his own vocal distortion which made his voice sound like ghostly whispers. “By the way, I am trained to fight and I practice daily. If you need backup call me. I won’t hurt father or our siblings, but if anything is compromising our deal or my lab I’ll defend it.” He started to open boxes, seeing what equipment Jason had found for him.

“They’re not my siblings,” Jason snarled, his fingers twitching on his crossed arms.

“As you say,” Danny said blandly, rolling his eyes under his mask. “I should warn you as well that I’m going to be working with Lazarus water here.”

“What?!” Jason practically roared. “You’re going to be bringing Lazarus water HERE?!”

Danny dodged on instinct, and was almost surprised when he found Jason hadn’t tried to shoot him. “Yes. I know what the league uses it for, but it clearly has a lot of untapped potential. I think if I can purify it and harness it right I can use it for something Good. I know you’ve had a bad experience with it, I have too,” Danny said, turning back towards Jason with his hands on his hips.

“I died too, when I was eight and they dunked me in the stuff as well. I saw what you were like after they pulled you out, I know why you’re afraid of it. But I know what it’s like and I swear that is Not what I will be using it for. And I’m not doing it for the league either, I don’t want any of this research getting back to them. I have my own motivations, and that includes healing the lasting effects the Pit had on me, hopefully I can heal you as well. I’m not making any promises since I haven’t even started yet, but I might.”

Jason took deep, slow breaths and even through the eyeholes of the mask Danny could see Jason’s eyes were glowing green with familiar maddening rage. “Fine,” Jason growled and stocked out of the building.

Danny let him go. Jason clearly needed time to cool off, but Danny hoped he would come back before he had to leave so that they could talk more about check ins and how to contact each other. If he didn’t it wasn’t the end of the world. Danny would be coming back regularly and didn’t need permission to do so. Jason would know where to find Danny when he was ready to talk about whatever.

Danny pulled a trip wire and a few bombs and batteries out of his pouches and set up a first perimeter with alerts and a second one with traps. Once he felt more secure in his space Danny started to empty the boxes and set up the burners, beakers, distillers and the other equipment Jason had managed to get for him. Danny was surprised and pleased to find a generator as well! This way if he needed extra power he had a way to get it without raising any flags.

It took him a few hours to get everything set up and make a list of the things he still needed, which was mostly more advanced and sensitive. He muttered to himself as he checked over the building knowing the rudimentary security he’d set up was Barely enough for a regular lab, he’d need much more substantial protections for this. Probably a fail safe to destroy the research if someone unauthorized gets in as well. Despite wanting to rush there was no way he could start working with the Lazarus water for at least a month, till then he could tinker with weapons between deliveries of equipment and other things to do.

He didn’t see Jason again before he headed home, but he wanted to be there a bit before he knew dad and Damian would to avoid running into them. He stripped off his costume leaving him in the white pants and a tank top before carefully climbed back through the window to his bedroom. He knew the placements of the cameras like the back of his hand and was sure he could sneak in and out without being seen but just in case he’d rather be spotted in civilian clothes. He wasn’t a known yet and he wanted to stay off his family’s radar as long as possible. Especially because despite having a costume he hadn’t thought of a name yet!

He could always just wait and see what his family started calling him when they eventually became aware of his… rogue persona, and go with that but they didn’t always have the best taste. With his assassin training and his abilities, he thought that it would make sense to have some sort of name referencing a ghost. He didn’t want one that was too obvious though so it was probably time to do a little bit of research to find a ghost that would suit him. Maybe on a school computer so it couldn’t be easily traced back to him.

He should ask Sam too, she was really into this spooky stuff so she’d enjoy helping him pick a name. He wouldn’t be fully honest about what he was looking for, just that he was researching different ghosts, she’d be happy with that. She might put two and two together once his ‘rogue persona’ became known, but as long as he didn’t hurt anyone he thought she’d be on board. He just didn’t plan to tell them till he had to, one less potential avenue for exposure.

There were a lot of things he hadn’t told her or Tucker, that was the problem with having a family like his, whether he was involved or not any relationship had to be built on lies. He couldn’t tell them about being raised in a cult of assassins, about being heir the Demon Head and the Batman, he couldn’t tell them about his family’s hero work. What was one more secret on top of all the ones he and the family were already keeping?

[shippingmyworld]

Got any 🐯👻 headcannons?

I've got a million, but here's a bunch of ones related to them cuddling/being physically intimate with each other and not just because my next tigerghost fic is a make-out fic

Manny is more clingy than Danny is and usually the one to initiate affection.

Danny is slightly uncomfortable with pda, but also low-key touch-starved.

Manny picks up on this (any honestly any small change with Danny's mood) without being explicitly told so and keeps his hands to himself while they're in public. But because he's clingy by nature, he still does things that can fly under the radar like bumping shoulders, sitting next to each other a little closer than normal friends would, or discreetly reaching out and holding/squeezing Danny's hand when he can do so without being seen by others.

All bets are off when they're hanging around HQ or hanging out with friends. Manny pretty much always has his arms around Danny's waist or is draping himself across Danny in some way like an over affectionate cat. Danny lets him because he feels more comfortable around friends than strangers in public (and again because he's touch-starved and secretly enjoys the contact, but will never admit it openly).

It's a rare occurrence for the others to find Manny and Danny in the same room and more than three feet apart from one another because of how they are.

When they're completely alone (away from friends/family & HQ), Danny becomes just as clingy/touchy as Manny is. He specifically likes to play with Manny's hair and will trace the outlines of Manny's scars with his fingers.

Manny likes the fact that Danny's body temp runs colder (due to his ghost powers/ice core) because it reminds him of one of those self-cooling pillows, so Manny will regularly doze off on Danny whenever they're cuddling.

They fall asleep on the couch more regularly than a bed, mostly because Manny will conk out within minutes of their cuddle sessions and Danny can't bring himself to wake his sleepy tiger.

Typically, Danny is the big spoon when they sleep on the couch (because that way Danny's arms are still free to watch tv/read/play with his phone) and if he has the energy and motivation to wake Manny up and move the both of them to bed, Manny will be the big spoon there. However, neither really has a preference, that's just how it ends up.

Danny has a severe case of insomnia that he's tried to cure countless times. It's a result of a lot of things like generalized stress and anxiety, but a large part of it is his trauma of dealing with Dark Danny/Phantom. He's constantly having an existential crisis about what he would do if he ever ended up in a similar situation. It's partly why he never branched out from Tucker and Sam for his friend group back home, because it opens up him up to the possibility of more loss.

His insomnia isn't miraculously cured once he and Manny get together (like it sometimes is in other romances). Sure, holding Manny while they sleep does help a little bit and it's pretty nice to have someone he loves by his side when he wakes up and falls asleep. But now, Danny spends more of his time on those sleepless nights just taking in everything about Manny's existence. He's spent hours listening to the way that Manny breaths when he sleeps (and snores), observing all the little and subconscious movements Manny makes, just committing everything he can to memory and it makes him feel calmer.

[tanglepelt]

Dp x dc idea 3

In this phantom planet happened but they did not thank him they turned on him Dc and dp are in different dimension in this.

His parents managed to convince world leaders that phantom killed there boy and was just using Danny body. The world only agreed because they were terrified of his powers.

Jazz tried to convince them, they were wrong and he is Danny. Sam and tucker are trying to protect Danny and elli. I’d imagine all of Casper high backing Danny the a list did protect him when the whole gauntlet of reality happened.

When all is said and done the world took no prisoners. Danny, Ellie and vlad (he’s still hiding in space) are the worlds most wanted. Dani and Ellie were severely injured and hardly able to get away.

They wake up with frostbite and clockwork over them. The world is no longer safe but they can’t remain in the infinite realms they are half human. The obvious solution send them to a different dimension.

They were sent to dc and end up in Gotham. All they had was a thermos, Ellie took a lipstick laser gun, and some medical supplies from frostbite. Danny is pissed off and hurt he doesn’t want to hurt anyone but he only wants to protect his sister.

Danny was willing to steal enough money to get a shabby hotel room for a month or so to figure things out. He got to fake identity’s and a job at bat burger he may not like anyone but he doesn’t want to have to steal more then he has to.

Elli the little menace that she is still wants to help people. It’s her personal mission to annoy red hood until he puts up with her what’s he gonna do shoot a kid. She wants to avoid Batman both Danny and Ellie think he is a demon with bat powers. Danny cant stop Ellie so he just mother hens her. He would be ready for when they turned on them this time.

Red hood is just freaking out there is a child meta no older then 10 in Gotham just following him and beating up people. He’s not Bruce he doesn’t want to deal with this. Following this child calling herself spirit was harder to then he’d admit. She went from white hair to prime adoption bait and great she has an older brother no older then 15. How was he gonna keep the two pieces of adoption bait away from bruce and why did he feel calmer around them.

Besides worrying about Ellie Danny was doing just fine ignoring his problems. Working at bat burger was fine definitely not reminding him about the nasty burger explosion that lead to him abandoning humanity. There was a regular who would just stare at him like he was glowing.

Duke was freaking out.

By the time Jason got forced into a mandatory dinner the two adoption bait were there. He did get a warning from cass not to ask Danny about his past he was greatly hurt by whatever it is. Ellie immediately knew he was red hood the minute he walked in. He was definitely getting a lecture about not reporting meta children.

As time goes on Ellie gets more open and talks about her dimension, how it turned on them and talk about her hero phantom. She was just his clone how he saved her and she met Danny because of him . How he saved everyone in a town that hated him. How he saved the world and they turned on them. They were horrified but Bruce got two new kids and finally had one who wasn’t a vigilante who liked galas.

During a bad fight against a massive invasion were everyone was down. Danny was just watching from the bat cave as Ellie and his new family went down. Alfred just looks at him and hands him a mask asking if he was going to go help.

Danny does and takes names. He downs the threat in less then two minutes just grabs Ellie and Damian they were the most injured looked at Batman and said he was taking them. Then he starts to mother hen them at the batcave.

The league and Batman were now freaking out.

[vanoilette]

DATING HEADCANONS W CRAIG AND THOSE GUYS ✔︎

warnings; none

authors note; none

— craig tucker

hes a pretty nonchalant boyfriend.

And was very forward with his feelings, he let you know.

He wasn’t phased by your guy’s first kiss that much.

He enjoyed it, but didn’t say anything.

The relationship isn’t too eventful, which is shocking considering how chaotic the town is.

You two like to watch all of it happen in your own little bubbles often though.

Sometimes might even get involved in the situation if your lucky, or unlucky.

He watches red racer with you often.

Most definitely take care of stripe together, to the degree is usually on how close the relationship is.

You guys just sorta relax most of the time doing your own things, watching the havoc run wild.

…

— clyde donovan

Hes super nice, and an emotional guy still. But he can handle things a little better now.

I fully believe that he is still chubby, but honestly it helps with his football games and makes for some good warmth.

He treats you actually pretty good.

Yea, he remembers the shoe thing.

But he trusts you enough to know that you wouldn’t just be in it for the shoes.

He plays football, so if you happen to come to one of the games.

You should expect a sweaty jock to be running up to you after the game ends.

Even if he is a little more in control of his emotions, he sometimes cries if he loses big games.

If you dont cheer, your kinda like his personal cheerleader sometimes.

He went weak after the first kiss.

…

— jimmy valmer

who wouldn’t like a boyfriend who makes you laugh

he’s a good guy, boyfriend, and still comedian.

Before you two got together, he made some jokes shaped at your humor.

This guy is smooth with his words, and has definitely used pick up lines.

“d-did you just come out the o-oven? Because you’re h-hot.”

he definitely searched that up.

he’s asked for advice from his friends, but it hasn’t helped.

When he realized he actually got you, he was a little surprised.

Hes a somewhat confident guy, so he initiated the first kiss.

You sometimes just sit there while he makes jokes.

…

— tolkien black

superrr sweet boyfriend.

very supportive too, he’s one of the more understanding people in south park.

definitely took a bit more notice of you when his feelings for you became more noticeable.

he takes you out on dates a lot he be treating you good.

absolutely spoils you.

he himself is also on the football team with Clyde so again, expect a sweaty jock to run up to you after the game ends.

he’s a very considerate person, and values you alot.

In a way you could say he adores you.

makes sure your safe 24/7

He also just likes being around you.

…

— tweek tweak

oh god, hes nervous.

hes already nervous all the time, so it increases by ten times.

you met him while ordering something at Tweak Bros. Coffee House.

At first, he didn’t think much of it, simply thinking your another customer.

Yet the more often you showed up, the more he started getting to know you.

and soon enough, he began developing feelings for you.

So now hes too nervous to talk to you.

Your first kiss with him was initiated by you, of course.

Hes not that bold.

You sometimes help around the shop.

Or just watch him work.

He’s a little more calmer around you.

[sulphuric-onyx]

Just saw @slyvester101's water park au post, and a, that's fucking brilliant, I love it, and b, seeing the love of the silly au ideas for the skittle soldiers reminded me of a zoo keeper au idea I had a little while ago, so here's that.

The idea mainly focused on Wash and Tucker, because what else do I write about, so I'll talk about them and what they're jobs are as keepers first. (also not all of the reds and blues are here, so feel free to come up with where you think they'd be)

-Tucker is their resident "Shit nobody wants to go anywhere near guy", primarily working with the big cats, and the few snakes they have there. He lives for working up the crowds during any feeding times or exhibitions, and has gained a bit of a reputation for it, turning into a slight attraction for the park.

-Wash sticks to the calmer side of the park, or at least as calm as it can get where they all work, usually found in Avery whistling back to the birds, or in their marine enclosures. However, he's one of the most researched at the park, and gets called in as a pseudo announcer for a lot of the parks shows, mainly Tucker's, which is where the real attraction for the crowd lies.

Wash makes little comments and jokes at Tucker during his shows, i.e "this strategy your seeing here is similar to Tucker's own mating efforts, which is to say ineffective," and other things along those lines, and Tucker usually flirts at him in response over their mics to get a rise out of him, which is really what the park goers come to see.

-Kai works at all of the interactive enclosures, mainly the small petting zoo area, and the tortoise exhibit where park goers can feed them and pat their shelves if the tortoises decide to come closer enough. Usually Tucker's not far behind her either, visiting her to gossip and bitch between shows.

-Carolina works in the antarctic section, polar bears, emperor penguins, a few specific kinds of seals, etc, her and Wash end up working together on a few enclosures so they spend a lot of time together, and as much as they claim not to, they gossip just as much as everyone else.

-Grif works at the sloth and lizard enclosures, and he will be damned if he has to be anywhere else, which has nothing to do with the fact that it's right next to where Simmons works at the monkey and orangutan enclosures, and Simmons loves talking to people about how intelligent they are to anyone who will listen, which is usually Grif.

-the squad leaders are frequent park goers, who are kind of hoping for a job there at some point, which all of the current crew claim to hate the idea of, but they've been subtly mentoring all of them with the skills and things they'll need to know to get hired.

-Kimball is the one managing this whole god forsaken place, don't ask about her, she's got enough going on as it is.

[louisaland]

SVU Season 18 thoughts

It will come as no surprise that I am more and more charmed by the lovely Sonny Carisi!

A post on here ( talking about how he definitely brought Barba Italian treats to say thank you for letting him shadow him/sit in on his legal prep) and described him as a golden retriever in human form, which is 100% accurate! 

He is gentle with victims, tough with suspects and even if he is angry, he keeps it under control ( no lockers have been harmed by his fists so far, which is good). I particularly love how he takes care of his colleagues. 

He can tell that Amanda is internalising everything she’s feeling about being a bad mother when the little boy is kidnapped by his nanny ( really did not see that one coming, and, as someone who works in childcare, it upset me as I could never do that!). He knows exactly what to say to Amanda and offers practical care in the form of food and trashy reality TV. 

In the hockey team episode, you can tell they come from very different homes and have had very different upbringings. Amanda has lived through her parents’ unstable relationship, that was probably full of physical and verbal abuse, while he was raised in a supportive, affectionate environment with two parents who loved and liked eachother and still do. It is implied they were financially stable, as he claims he just asked his mum for 400$ for university supplies a few days before he started. I get the impression Amanda did not have that, and that her parents prioritised their addictions rather than putting food on the table or providing for education.  There were probably some raised voices (80’s/90’s big Italian family is probably going to be a bit loud sometimes) and minor disagreements, but they all genuinely seem to like eachother and are fairly close.  So he thinks the mum should just leave with the kids/go to the police and she knows it’s not that simple.

Carisi and Rollins really understand eachother well, and work super well as a team, like a much calmer and healthier version of Olivia and Elliot. They truly are really good friends, which explains how she can tell that his Bobby Bianchi story was true. Poor bullied Sonny! I imagine he was tall, probably on the thin side ( in spite of eating his body weight in pasta/pizza/canneloni, I reckon). It explains why he has so much empathy for victims and tries to help everyone in any way he can. 

I think Amanda is incredible too! She’s a great cop, a good friend and an excellent mother, but she struggles with being vulnerable and asking for help. The storyline with her sister would have been a perfect opportunity to have Liv contact Kathleen Stabler to give Kim some advice/guidance, who I can see being in the mental health field in some capacity and/or a rape survivor counsellor. I miss the Stabler kids, it was always interesting to see how they coped with their dad doing the job and how it impacted his relationship and interactions with them. 

Olivia keeps losing her romantic partners, I was very sad for her when Tucker left her, but I also thought he was still married ( or separated, at best) so maybe it worked out how it should. 

I really like Olivia and Fin, they are two characters that I have really become attached to over 18 and 16 seasons respectively. The show would not be what it is without Ice-T, who was only supposed to guest star for a few episodes while Munch got a new partner. But those two are one of my favourite partnerships, with their penchant for snarky comebacks and teasing banter. On paper it sounds like a disaster, as the characters are very different but the actors and the writing really made it work. 

[rorywritesjunk]

Down in the dark where the waves won't go, I'm bound to find my way.

Sunny and Buggy disagree over the next steps of their life together leading to them spending time apart.

Rating: PG-13 to be safe for swearing and arguing. Warning: Each chapter will have a specific warning. This one just has upset children again. Both kids are upset and lonely at times. Sunny is great with kids, Buggy is learning. Both adults reflect on their relationship separately. Word Count: 2,111 A/N: The direct sequel to "No locked upon land...", the fic that started it all. I do not use "You" in this as now that Sunny is an established OC I decided not to go that route. This will be several chapters. Originally (lol) it was just two parts but... but I had to expand but I don't expect it to go much longer than the original fic. It's a few chapters longer than the original fic.

Title comes from "Sailing Song" by S.J. Tucker

Chapter 1 + Chapter 2 + Chapter 3 + Chapter 4 + Chapter 5 + Chapter 6 + Chapter 7 + Chapter 8 + Chapter 9 + Chapter 10 + Epilogue Taglist: @hey-august @lostfirefly

Chapter 4

Buggy reluctantly went to look for Little Sunny once he changed clothes. He really hoped the shirt would be fine but he doubted it. His wife knew how to get stains out but he wasn't sure where she was. She could have left him for all he knew and knowing that where they were at was frequented by pirates, what's to say she didn't run into someone who missed their chance with her last time and would jump at the opportunity?

No, no, he couldn't think that way. It was a silly disagreement on whether to have kids, that was all, and Buggy was right and Sunny was wrong, that was all that mattered.

He first checked all the rooms on the ship that he could, not seeing the little girl anywhere. He looked in the crow’s nest, at the helm, where the munitions were stored, everywhere. It wasn't until he bumped into Mohji that his first mate told him she had been with Richie for a half hour now, brushing his fur. 

Buggy made sure he was a little calmer before approaching the little girl. “Uh, Sunny?”

She dropped the hair brush, startled by his voice, and tried to hide behind Richie. It didn't really work.

“I can still see you.” Buggy pointed out.

“Not if I don't want you to.” She told him as she looked over the lion’s head. The two got into a bit of a staring contest for a moment before she finally looked away. “I'm sorry I messed up your shirt. It was an accident.”

She apologized first? So that probably meant Buggy didn't need to apologize at all. It was her fault after all, she made the mess. He reacted like anyone would if they had soup spilled on them. But he thought about how his wife would have handled it. She would have been so sweet and kind to the kid, insisting that it was okay and that accidents happen, and as Buggy stood there, looking down at the little girl in front of him who looked like she might start crying again, he caved.

“I'm… sorry for yelling at you.” He managed to say, though it felt weird to do so. This was his wife as a child. Why did he scream at her? He never screamed at her like that when they were adults and married. Sure, they had some recent disagreements and he may have been a bit of an asshole, but she was no better. “It was an accident, you didn't mean it.”

“Can we still be friends?” She asked quietly. Buggy hated that. Was his wife really this sad and lonely as a child?

“Ugh, yes, we can still be friends.” He sighed. “Now, look, it's getting late and neither of us ate, so let's reheat the soup and sandwiches, okay? I think you're going to have to stay here for the night so I gotta make sure you're comfortable somewhere.”

Sunny petted Richie’s mane carefully, frowning a bit before looking back at Buggy. “Can I have a hug?”

“Wh-Why do you want a hug?”

“Because I feel sad.” She shrugged. “Hugs always make me feel better.”

Buggy gritted his teeth and closed his eyes, forcing himself to count to three. Was having a kid going to be like this? Once he made sure he was calm, he knelt down and let her hug him, not bothering to put his arms around her. It didn’t matter. Maybe this would be like when he was a kid and she’d go back to her time after a few days. He could only hope.

~

He found a cot for her to sleep on that he set up in his room. He wasn’t about to let her have his bed. She seemed fine as she settled herself down on the cot, pulling the blanket up to her chin as she smiled up at him. 

“Good night, Mister Buggy!”

“Yea, yea, good night.” He turned the lights off before crawling into his own bed, hoping to fall asleep quickly so that when he’d wake up this would all be over. Barely a day with this kid and he’d already made her cry several times. Was this a test from the universe to prove to him that he definitely could not be a dad? He just wished his wife was around to see this so he could show her why it would be a terrible idea for them to be parents.

Part of him did feel guilty. He knew Sunny would be an excellent mom but he didn’t want her to have to take on all of the responsibility. He just didn’t feel like he’d be a good dad and it wouldn’t be fair if she shouldered everything. Why did she want to have one so badly? Why couldn’t they just continue on as they have been?

He rubbed his face and sighed, grumbling softly under his breath as he tried to fall asleep. It was hard not having his wife around. During the last week she wouldn’t touch him while they slept, going so far as to bring a separate blanket to bed to wrap up in. If Buggy tried to touch her she would wriggle away from him. He wished she wasn’t so stubborn.

“Mister Buggy?”

He almost screamed. Little Sunny was standing at the foot of the bed with the blanket draped over her as she looked at him with wide eyes. He clutched his heart, breathing heavily as he glared at her.

“What, kid?”

“I can’t sleep.”

“You haven’t even tried.” He snapped. “Just lay down and try, okay? It’s not hard.”

Sunny looked down and Buggy cursed himself quietly. Why did he have to react this way? She had done nothing wrong. 

“Look, kid, if you want, you can… sleep on that side of the bed.” He told her as he pointed to his wife’s side. “There’s an extra blanket too. The bed is probably comfier than that cot anyway.”

“Really?”

“Yes! As long as you don’t wet the bed or something, I don’t care!” He hissed as she climbed onto his wife’s side. The little girl frowned at him as she fluffed the pillow.

“I’m ten. I don’t wet the bed.” She told him firmly. “I’m not a baby, Mister Buggy.”

“Coulda fooled me with how much you cry.” He muttered under his breath as he tried to get comfortable. He glanced over at Sunny, hoping she didn’t hear him, but she had her back to him and was wrapped up in the blankets. He could hear little sniffles coming from her and he sighed. Maybe tomorrow everything will be normal again.

~*~

Sunny had her foot propped up as she laid back on the cot. Roger had offered her his bed since she was injured, but she was fine to sleep on the cot. She couldn’t imagine taking his bed, he was the captain. It was sweet and he had insisted, but once she settled on the cot he gave up. 

Buggy as a kid was… something. Since meeting Shanks as a kid and not having met him as an adult, she had nothing to compare it to, but she wondered if this was how siblings acted towards each other. Both boys teased each other relentlessly to the point of arguing. Three times today Sunny had to watch Rayleigh break up their little squabbles. The most recent time was when the boys argued over what would hurt worse: dropping a cannonball on your foot or falling out of the crow’s nest. This was while Sunny’s foot was being wrapped by the doctor. 

She was getting a bit of a headache from them.

It was easier when it was just Buggy on her ship. He depended on her and she was happy about it. She wanted to make sure the boy felt safe and loved while he was with her because she only had her husband’s word to go off of with how he was raised. While she questioned some of the adults’ ways of speaking to kids (she came close to punching one when the crewman referred to Buggy as “Hey, brat!” when getting his attention), it wasn’t that bad. The boys had a place to live, food to eat, and were taken care of. Rayleigh and Roger watched out for Shanks and Buggy like they were their own sons. She appreciated how Roger had been worried for Buggy when he was missing for that short amount of time when she had him.

Was she being hard on her own husband for not wanting kids? When she saw her husband and the kid spend time together nearing the end of the kid’s stay, it was sweet and she thought he’d make a great dad. Sure, he tossed the boy into the water after meeting him, but afterwards they seemed to bond okay. They even made her breakfast together.

Sunny rubbed her face and looked up at the ceiling. It was hard to decide. She wanted kids. She wanted to have Buggy’s kids because she loved him so much but he had said hurtful things to her, called her ideas stupid and she wondered if she needed to give up. It hurt to think that it wouldn’t be a possibility for her, but maybe it was a decision she would need to think about: stay married or move on.

~

Someone was touching her arm and whispering her name. Sunny jolted awake, heart pounding as her eyes tried to focus on the figure in front of her. His blue hair and bright red nose came into focus first and she breathed a sigh of relief as she sat up.

“What’s wrong, honey?” She whispered as he looked down at his feet. “Are you okay? Do you feel sick? Did you have a bad dream?”

He just shrugged and crossed his arms, refusing to look at her. She frowned and pulled the covers back for him, letting him crawl into the cot beside her as he wrapped his arms around her.

“I’m sorry you got hurt.�� He sniffed. “I’m sorry, Sunny, I didn’t mean to hurt you and I feel bad and Shanks said you weren’t going to marry me when I get older because I hurt you and it was an accident, really!”

“Oh, oh honey, shh.” She pulled the blankets over him and stroked his hair gently. She never knew a kid to be as excited about marriage as him. He still had years but he seemed rather fixated on the idea. “I forgive you, really. I know you didn’t mean to.” 

“Are you still gonna wanna marry me when I get older?” He asked quietly. “I don’t want to be alone.” 

“You’re not going to be alone.” She assured him, hoping their voices were quiet to not wake up the captain. “Never, I promise. You’ll have a crew, you’ll have me, and you’ll never have to worry, okay?” She kissed him on the forehead and wrapped her arms around him. “Get some sleep, okay? We’ll go with Captain Roger tomorrow afternoon to pick his coat up from the tailor.”

Buggy rubbed his eyes and looked up at her. “I don’t want you to go.”

She smiled sadly and tucked his hair back behind his ear gently. “Honey, you’ll be fine. I have to go back and be with you when you’re an adult. Remember what I said when we parted ways before? You can’t handle ten minutes without me. It’s still true. And you’ll meet me in a few years and it’s going to be fine, you just have to wait.”

“I want you to stay here.” He insisted as he sniffed. “You’d have fun here with me.”

She hated that a small part of her said to do it, to throw caution to the wind and join this crew. Why should she go back? Maybe… maybe she could do something to keep Roger from making the decisions that he did, maybe the boys wouldn’t turn their backs on each other, the crew could stay together…

But no, she couldn’t even consider that. She couldn’t change the history that happened even if she wanted to. She just tightened her arms around the boy, hugging him tightly before kissing him on the forehead.

“Get some sleep, okay?” She told him. “Maybe tomorrow you and I can make breakfast for the Captain, how does that sound? Hm? I think he’d appreciate it.”

He sighed softly but nodded, sniffling quietly as he settled down in her arms. He wondered if there was any way to convince her to stay.

[ultimatespoon17]

Planning a First Kiss

Planing a First kiss│Craig Tucker x Tweek Tweak

Summary: Both Craig and Tweek want to have their first kiss. The only problem is when and how.

Word count: 718

Craig hadn't even realized he hadn't kissed anyone in his life. He didn't think about it before him. Now, all he's thinking about is kissing. It's unfamiliar and embarrassing. Why did he have to be so obsessed? He knew what he had to do. He had to have his first kiss with Tweek.

There had been moments where it nearly happened. They were at their lockers, about to skip class. He had spent the morning convincing Tweek to skip. It took some time but he eventually agreed. All he had to say was that they could play the new video game Craig had just bought. One that they both had been looking forward to. Craig made sure to not even open it before the two could play together. It's better to play multiplayer anyway.

The hallway was completely deserted. Perfect.

Craig had been too focused on looking for the best exit to notice Tweek extremely slowly leaning in. He was shaking using all his strength not to. He's sure he's sweating. Why would he want to kiss me when I'm all shaky and sweating. Get your act together Tweek! Eyes tightly shut and definitely didn't look like he was trying to kiss him.

He looks back at him,

"Let's go honey."

Completely failed. Tweek mentally facepalms over and over. That was stupid. He quickly forgets about his worries as Craig holds his hand. He can't help a smile.

Craig knew he couldn't plan the kiss but he could plan a moment to set it up. He couldn't do it in public, too many people screaming. Every day he wishes people weren't so obsessed with their relationship. It had started to die down a bit but a kiss?

That would definitely cause it to start up bigger than ever. He couldn't do it in an obviously romantic area either. Too obvious.

Maybe the moment would just come. Yeah. It would.

 

Tweek's many attempts to kiss Craig had failed miserably. He would always back out. He had started to feel comfortable with everything else about their relationship, especially when it came to admitting it was real. But kissing? It was too much! Kissing is like the big next step! A huge step. One he didn't even know Craig wanted to take. What if Craig didn't even want to kiss him? He did have pretty chapped lips and he hasn't even kissed anyone before. Craig wouldn't want that.

He does want to kiss him however. Craig did make him really, really happy. Tweek just had to keep trying. Who knows, made he would be the one to kiss him! He starts to blush at the thought.

 

"So, can I…. Can I kiss you?"

Tweek jumps at what he says. His face quickly filled with nervousness. Different from his normal worries, he couldn't be happier.

They were on the couch at Craig's. He finally managed to get a chance since all his family was out. Although maybe he could've been less direct about the kissing. It was totally, so romantic.

"I mean… Only if you want to. I don't want to force you to. No pressure."

Craig puts his hand on Tweek's arm and smiles. He looks into his eyes. He loved to do this but sometimes it would get a bit creepy. They are really pretty, he thinks. Taking a second to admire him, Craig doesn't realize how long it takes for him to answer.

"ARGH! Yes! I haven't kissed anyone so it might be bad."

"I'm sure it won't be."

Moving his hand from Tweek's shoulder, Craig puts his hand on his cheek. Tweek's breathing, normally short and fast, slows down. He's calmer than he expected.

Their lips touch and it's just how they imagined it, the good of how they imagined it. It's a bit weird at first both not knowing what to do for a tiny bit but they get the hang of it. It's a soft and gentle kiss. Tweek grabs Craig's shoulder and brings him closer. He didn't know what he was so worried about. This is amazing!

They continue for a few seconds. Both wanted to cherish this new experience. They do have to breathe, however. They break apart and open their eyes. Blushing, they smile the widest smiles they have ever done and continue.

[fuqnia]

Powdered Sugar Skies

craig tucker x tweek tweak

(❁´◡`❁) | [A/N] hii, this is my third oneshot that's apart of my ficmas! this is also on ao3. ❤️❄️🎄

(❁´◡`❁) | Warning(s) : none

(❁´◡`❁) | Synopsis : Craig and Tweek’s cookie-making plans are derailed by a blizzard, leading to flour fights, cozy moments, and heartfelt reassurances.

The blizzard outside was unrelenting, wind hammering the windows like a banshee and snow piling so high it was practically a second wall. Inside the Tweak family kitchen, things weren’t much calmer. The fluorescent lights buzzed overhead as Tweek skittered around the room like an over-caffeinated squirrel, arms flailing and breaths coming too fast.

“This is a nightmare ! An absolute nightmare ! Gah , why does this always happen to me?!” Tweek’s words spilled out in a rush, his voice cracking like a vinyl record stuck on the wrong speed. His grip on the whisk was so tight, Craig wondered if the metal might snap.

Craig, perched at the cluttered table with a bowl of frosting, didn’t bother to look up. “You’ve said ‘nightmare’ like... what? Ten times now? Chill the hell out.”

“ Chill out?! ” Tweek whipped around, wild-eyed, the whisk flinging stray batter onto the floor. “Craig, how can I chill out when the cookies are burning, the batter’s lumpy, and there’s a fucking blizzard canceling everything? Gah! ” He tugged at his hair, one hand already twitching toward the oven like it might explode at any second.

Craig didn’t flinch. His finger dragged through the frosting lazily, and he popped it into his mouth. “If the festival gets canceled, nobody’s gonna give a shit about the cookies, Tweek. They’ll just assume you never made them.” His voice was deadpan, his delivery perfectly timed to make Tweek’s frustration boil over.

“That’s not helping !” Tweek shrieked, his voice rising so sharply that Craig was surprised the neighbors weren’t pounding on the walls. “What if they don’t cancel? What if the festival’s still on, and everyone expects cookies, and we don’t show up, and then everyone hates us?!”

“Not everyone,” Craig said blandly, scraping more frosting onto his finger. “Just the people who already hate us. Which is probably most of South Park. So, net zero.”

Tweek let out a strangled screech, the whisk trembling in his hand as he glared at Craig like he might throw it at him. “ Why aren’t you panicking?! This is a crisis! ”

Craig finally glanced up, his expression bored but his tone dripping with sarcasm. “Yeah. A major crisis. Forget the national debt or global warming. Burnt cookies are the real tragedy of our time.”

“You’re the worst !” Tweek howled, flinging his arms in the air and spinning toward the oven just as the scent of charred sugar hit the room like a slap. His face went pale. “Oh no. No no no no no! The cookies! Craig, the cookies are BURNING! ”

Craig didn’t move from the table. He leaned back in his chair and watched as Tweek yanked open the oven door, releasing a cloud of thick black smoke that immediately triggered the kitchen’s smoke alarm. The cookies were an abomination—charcoal discs with edges so brittle they crumbled at the slightest breeze. Tweek stared at the tray in horror, his hands frozen mid-air.

Craig blinked slowly, then tilted his head. “Huh. Extra crispy. Nice.”

“ CRISPY?! ” Tweek spun around, his hair sticking up in wild tufts. “They’re fucking ruined! This whole night is ruined! Gah! I knew this would happen—I can’t do anything right! Why do I even try?! ”

Craig finally stood, brushing flour off his jeans as he crossed the room with a calm so casual it was practically insulting. He grabbed a dish towel and gave the smoke an unimpressive wave, like he was too bored to put in any real effort. “Tweek. They’re just cookies. We can make more.”

“But the festival —” Tweek’s voice cracked, his whole body vibrating like a live wire.

Craig raised an eyebrow, his voice laced with dry humor. “There’s a blizzard outside. Newsflash: nobody’s going to the festival. Unless Cartman suddenly develops a sled-dog team, everyone’s stuck at home. Including us. So quit acting like this is the goddamn apocalypse.”

Tweek buried his face in his hands, muffling a sound somewhere between a whimper and a groan. “You don’t get it, Craig. Everyone’s going to think we’re failures. I’ll be the laughingstock of South Park.”

Craig let out a sharp, exasperated sigh. “Pretty sure Cartman has that position locked down. Lifetime achievement award.”

“That’s not the point ! Why can’t you just— ugh —freak out with me for once?!”

Craig grabbed Tweek by the shoulders and turned him around, holding him firmly but not roughly. His blue eyes met Tweek’s darting ones, and his voice dropped to a level of calm so infuriating it was practically zen. “Because I’m your boyfriend, not your panic buddy. One of us has to have our shit together, and since it’s clearly not you...”

Tweek froze, his breath hitching, his hands clutching at the edge of his apron like it was a lifeline. “But... but what if I screw up again?”

“Then we’ll fix it,” Craig said simply. “That’s what you do when things get fucked up, Tweek. You clean up the mess and try again. Welcome to life. It sucks.”

For a long moment, Tweek didn’t move. The tension in his shoulders slowly began to melt away as Craig’s hands stayed steady on him. The room still smelled like burnt sugar, the smoke alarm still beeped shrilly, and the blizzard still screamed outside, but somehow, Craig’s calm made it all seem less overwhelming.

“Okay,” Tweek mumbled finally, his voice small. “Okay. Let’s... let’s try again.”

Craig gave him a satisfied nod and released him, heading back to the table. “Good. And this time, try not to burn the house down. Or yourself.”

Tweek huffed, grabbing the mixing bowl again. “I won’t.” His lips twitched, a reluctant, almost shy smile breaking through as he started measuring out flour.

Craig watched him out of the corner of his eye, smirking faintly. In his world, seeing Tweek smile—even after a meltdown—was as good as winning the lottery.

Tweek gripped the measuring cup with both hands, his fingers trembling as he tried to steady his nerves. “Okay, okay, focus,” he muttered, staring down at the bag of flour like it was a live grenade. He took a shaky breath and dipped the cup in, muttering numbers under his breath. “One cup... one perfect, level cup of flour. I can do this. I can— gah! ”

As Tweek pulled the cup out of the bag, his hands jerked, sending a cloud of flour into the air. He froze as white powder rained down, covering the counter, the floor, and most devastatingly, Craig.

Craig blinked. His previously clean sweater and perpetually deadpan face were now plastered with flour. His bangs had turned white like an elderly ghost’s. Slowly, deliberately, he raised his hand and wiped his eyes, leaving smudged streaks of flour across his face. “Tweek,” he said, his voice dangerously calm, “what the hell was that?”

“I— gah! —it was an accident!” Tweek yelped, already reaching for a towel to clean up. His movements were frantic, and in his panic, he managed to bump the flour bag, sending another puff of white powder into the air. “Oh no! Oh no no no no no—this is worse, so much worse! Craig, I’m sorry! ”

Craig stood still for a beat, his expression unreadable. Then, very slowly, he dipped his fingers into the flour spilled across the counter, pinching a small amount. “You’re sorry, huh?” he said, voice flat but with a hint of something mischievous lurking beneath it.

Tweek didn’t notice. He was too busy mumbling apologies and swiping ineffectively at the mess. “I didn’t mean to—I just— gah , why does this always happen to me?!”

“Yeah, sure. You’re totally sorry,” Craig said, nodding solemnly. Then, without warning, he flicked the pinch of flour directly into Tweek’s face.

“ GAH! ” Tweek staggered back, coughing as the flour puffed over his face and into his hair. He blinked wildly, his pupils dilating. “What the hell , Craig?!”

Craig smirked, folding his arms. “I thought you liked chaos. Figured I’d help.”

“That’s not helping! ” Tweek shrieked, flailing his arms. His hand hit the counter, sending more flour billowing up like smoke. “You’re making it worse! ”

“Worse?” Craig grabbed a handful of flour from the bag, tossing it lightly in the air like a snowball. “Nah, this is worse.”

Before Tweek could react, Craig launched the handful at him. It hit Tweek squarely in the chest, leaving a white mark on his apron and dusting his collarbone. Tweek gasped, his jaw dropping as he stared down at himself, then at Craig.

“You’re dead,” Tweek said, his voice a low, dangerous growl.

“Am I?” Craig asked, unfazed, raising an eyebrow.

Tweek lunged for the flour bag, grabbing a handful and flinging it at Craig with all the precision of a feral cat. The flour hit Craig’s shoulder, spilling onto his sweater. For a moment, there was silence—Craig just stared at the mess, his lips twitching faintly like he was fighting a smile.

“Oh, it’s on,” Craig muttered, grabbing another handful.

The kitchen erupted into chaos. Tweek dove behind the edge of the kitchen island, crouching low as Craig hurled flour bombs with unnerving accuracy. “ GAH! Stop aiming for my face! ” Tweek shouted, peeking over the counter just in time to duck another volley.

“Then stop being such an easy target,” Craig shot back, smirking as he prepared another throw. “This is almost too easy.”

“You’re a jerk!” Tweek howled, grabbing a mixing bowl and hurling it—not the bowl itself, but the small mound of flour inside it—straight at Craig. Most of it missed, hitting the cabinets behind him, but some managed to dust Craig’s jeans.

Craig raised an eyebrow, looking down at his flour-streaked pants, then back at Tweek. “Really? That’s your best shot?”

“Shut up!” Tweek yelled, grabbing the flour bag.

“Tweek, don’t,” Craig warned, his voice deadpan but his eyes narrowing.

“I’m doing it!” Tweek shouted, and with a heaving effort, he turned the bag upside down. Flour rained down everywhere—on the counter, on the floor, and all over Craig, who now looked like he’d walked out of an industrial bakery explosion.

For a long moment, there was only the sound of flour settling and Tweek’s panting breath. Craig stood perfectly still, his expression unreadable as he slowly wiped a hand down his face, leaving a trail of clear skin amidst the white powder.

“You,” he said finally, his tone heavy with sarcasm, “are so grounded.”

Tweek stared at him, his hands still clutching the now-empty flour bag. His lips twitched once, then twice, and before he could stop it, a nervous giggle escaped. It quickly turned into full-blown laughter, his body shaking as he doubled over. “ Gah! You look like—like a ghost! Or a powdered donut!”

Craig huffed, but there was a faint smile tugging at his lips as he brushed flour off his arms. “And you look like a lunatic. But at least you’re laughing.”

“I’m still mad at you!” Tweek wheezed, pointing at him with a flour-dusted hand.

“Yeah, sure you are,” Craig said, shrugging and grabbing a towel. He tossed it at Tweek’s face. “Here. Start cleaning up, Donut Boy.”

“Don’t call me that!” Tweek protested, but the smile on his face said otherwise. As he wiped his face, the tension in the room began to fade, leaving only the sound of muffled wind and the faint buzz of the kitchen lights.

The kitchen still looked like a disaster zone. Flour coated the counters, the floor, and even some of the walls, but Tweek was too frazzled to care. He darted around the space with a sponge, muttering under his breath as he scrubbed a random spot on the counter for the third time.

“ Gah! I can’t believe I made such a mess! What if my dad comes in here and sees this? He’s going to freak the fuck out! And—oh God, what if my mom thinks I can’t handle anything?! Gah! This is so bad—Craig, are you even listening?!”

Craig, sprawled on a kitchen chair with his phone in hand, didn’t look up. “Yeah, I’m listening. And I still don’t care.”

Tweek froze, glaring at him, the sponge trembling in his grip. “How can you not care?! There’s flour everywhere! ”

Craig finally set his phone down and raised an eyebrow at the room. “Tweek, your house already smells like burnt coffee and nerves. A little flour isn’t going to ruin the ambiance.”

“ Gah! That’s not funny, Craig!” Tweek shrieked, throwing the sponge at him. It missed, smacking the floor with a wet splat.

Craig sighed, standing up and grabbing a broom. “Alright, fine. I’ll help. But only because you’re losing your shit.”

“ I am not losing my shit! ” Tweek protested, even as he frantically grabbed another towel to clean a perfectly clean section of the counter.

Ten minutes later, the kitchen looked marginally less chaotic. Tweek flopped onto the couch, his body twitching as he grabbed his phone off the coffee table. Craig followed, dropping onto the opposite end with his usual lazy indifference.

Tweek’s phone buzzed, and he opened the text with a trembling hand. “It’s the festival committee,” he muttered, scanning the screen. His eyes widened. “Oh! Oh my God! It’s canceled! They said it’s because of the blizzard!”

Craig didn’t even glance at him. “Wow. Shocking. I definitely didn’t call that half an hour ago.”

Tweek ignored the sarcasm, clutching the blanket draped over the couch and pulling it up to his chin. “I guess that’s good... but now what the fuck are we supposed to do?”

Craig shrugged, grabbing the remote and flipping through the channels. “Not make cookies. Seems like a win to me.”

“Craig!” Tweek glared at him, but the fight had mostly gone out of his voice. Instead, he sank further into the couch, letting the blanket envelop him.

Craig landed on some cheesy Christmas movie and set the remote down. The screen lit up with a painfully perfect family scene: a grand Christmas tree, a roaring fire, and a group of actors grinning like they’d been paid per tooth shown.

Tweek watched for a while, his brow furrowing as his knee began to bounce. He clutched his mug of hot cocoa like it might save him from drowning. “Do you think other people’s Christmases are really like that?” he asked suddenly.

Craig glanced at him, then back at the screen. “Like what? Boring as fuck?”

“No, like... perfect,” Tweek said, gesturing vaguely at the TV. “Like everyone gets along, and all the presents are awesome, and nobody’s yelling or stressed out. Do you think people actually have holidays like that?”

Craig snorted, sipping his cocoa. “Not unless they’re on drugs. Or lying.”

Tweek frowned, his fingers tightening on the mug. “It’s just... holidays stress me out. There’s so much pressure to make everything good. To make people happy. And if you fuck it up, everyone’s disappointed. Gah! What if I ruin everything, Craig? What if I screw it all up again?”

Craig sighed, setting his mug down and turning to face Tweek. “Tweek. You didn’t ruin shit. The cookies sucked because you’re a spaz with the attention span of a goldfish. That’s it.”

Tweek gasped, his face turning red. “You’re such an asshole! ”

Craig shrugged, unbothered. “Maybe. But I’m right. And anyway, nobody gives a fuck if the cookies are burnt, or if the house isn’t perfect, or whatever other crazy shit you’re worrying about. It’s Christmas. It’s supposed to be chill.”

“ Chill? ” Tweek’s voice pitched up an octave. “Craig, my parents don’t even know how to spell ‘chill!’ If everything isn’t perfect, they’ll—”

“They’ll what?” Craig cut him off, his voice still calm but firm enough to make Tweek hesitate. “Throw you out? Yell at you? No, they’ll get over it. You’re the only one freaking out about this.”

Tweek swallowed hard, staring down at his mug. His leg twitched against Craig’s, a subtle but telling sign of his nerves. “But what if—”

“Tweek.” Craig leaned in, resting a hand on Tweek’s bouncing knee to still it. His voice softened, though his delivery was still deadpan. “I don’t care if the cookies burn, or if the festival’s canceled, or if this whole fucking town gets buried in snow. You know why?”

Tweek shook his head, wide-eyed.

“Because I’m here with you,” Craig said, his tone so matter-of-fact it felt more genuine than any flowery speech could have. “And that’s all that matters to me.”

Tweek blinked, his breath hitching. “You... really mean that?”

Craig smirked faintly, leaning back into the couch and grabbing his mug again. “Obviously. You’re a mess, but you’re my mess.”

For a moment, Tweek just stared at him, his cheeks turning pink. Then he let out a small, shaky laugh, leaning into Craig’s shoulder. “You’re such a dick,” he muttered, but there was no heat in his voice.

“Yeah,” Craig said, sipping his cocoa. “But I’m a dick with great taste in boyfriends.”

Tweek let out a shaky laugh, his face still half-buried in the blanket as Craig’s words hung in the air. His heart was racing, but not in the usual, chaotic way. It felt steadier somehow—warmer, like the flickering light of the Christmas movie on the TV.

“You’re so stupid,” Tweek mumbled, his voice muffled but tinged with something softer, something grateful.

Craig smirked, glancing down at Tweek as he leaned against him. “Yeah, well, you’re stuck with me. So deal with it.”

Tweek tilted his head up, his green eyes meeting Craig’s. There was still a little nervous energy in them, but it had dulled into something quieter, something vulnerable. His fingers fidgeted with the edge of the blanket, twisting the fabric as his lips parted slightly. “I don’t... I don’t mind,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

Craig’s smirk softened into a small smile—rare, but undeniably real. He reached out, his hand steady as it brushed a stray strand of blonde hair away from Tweek’s face. His fingertips lingered for a moment, grazing Tweek’s cheek. “Good,” he said simply, his tone low and even. “Because I’m not going anywhere.”

Tweek blinked up at him, his breath catching. For once, the chaos in his mind seemed to quiet. He didn’t overthink it; he just leaned forward, his movements slow and unsure but deliberate. “Craig...” he started, but the rest of the sentence never came out.

Craig leaned in to meet him, tilting his head slightly as their foreheads briefly touched. The kiss came naturally after that—gentle and slow, like the two of them had all the time in the world. Tweek’s lips were soft and trembling, carrying the faint taste of cocoa and marshmallows. Craig’s were calm and steady, grounding Tweek in a way that words never could.

Tweek’s hands twitched at first, unsure where to go, before one settled on Craig’s chest and the other gripped the edge of the blanket. His fingers curled into the fabric of Craig’s sweater, holding onto him like he might float away if he didn’t. Craig’s hand, still resting against Tweek’s cheek, slid down slightly to cup his jaw, his thumb brushing over the edge of his ear.

The kiss wasn’t rushed or heated. It was deliberate—an anchor in the chaos of Tweek’s world. It said everything Craig couldn’t be bothered to say aloud: I’m here. I’ve got you. You’re enough.

Tweek exhaled through his nose, a shaky but contented sound, as the tension in his shoulders finally melted away. When they broke apart, their foreheads stayed pressed together, their breaths mingling in the small space between them. Tweek’s cheeks were pink, his wide eyes searching Craig’s face for reassurance.

“You’re such a jerk,” he whispered, though the corners of his mouth were tugging into a smile.

Craig’s lips quirked upward, his thumb brushing lightly against Tweek’s jawline. “Yeah, but you like it.”

Tweek laughed softly, burying his face in Craig’s chest this time. “Maybe,” he muttered, his voice muffled against the fabric.

Craig’s arm wrapped around him, pulling him closer under the blanket. “Not maybe. Definitely,” he teased, his voice calm but laced with that faint smirk.

Tweek didn’t argue. He just stayed there, curled against Craig, feeling safer and calmer than he had in days. The storm outside could rage all it wanted. Right here, in this moment, everything felt like it was exactly where it was supposed to be.

[bklynmusicnerd]

T'Kor is having a calmer reaction than the people who actually voted him out. It's giving deep down she always wanted Tucker out but just couldn't bring herself to admit it, even to the DR.