#and he ends up doing so many videos about the thieves that it ends up being a joke among anyone who likes them

[homoeroticvillain]

so this was supposed to be a silly joke about a minor character in the geistverse but i accidently designed him similar to how i sometimes draw myself, lets not reflect on that too much

[mothman-etd]

I have talked a few times about Psychological Operations or psyops on here, but I would like to point out a real world example of a PO Operation that was found out recently by the Department of Justice.

Before that though, If you would like to read more about the actual position of a PO soldier, you can look no further then the PO benefits page on the US Army special operations recruitment website (https://www.goarmysof.army.mil/PO/).

Personally I feel like many people still believe psyops to be some kind of conspiracy theory instead of a fairly standard military division in almost all modern militaries, anyways onto the example.

The US Department of Justice is going after (indicting) two RT (Russian state media) employees for committing fraud and violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act.

Basically they created a front "media" company in Tennessee, translated russian propaganda videos into english, then paid right-wing influencers to promote (reblog/retweet/talk about on streams) said videos.

Three of the named influencers that I could find were Tim Pool, Dave Rubin and Benny Johnson.

I honestly have no idea who these three are, but supposedly their platforms have millions of followers. Also, some of these influencers were paid up too $100,000 a week to promote their videos and messaging.

So to summarize, Russia setup a fake company to pay American influencers to repeat their lies so that their followers would interpret those lies as legitimate since their were coming from a source they trust.

When people talk about election interference this is what we are talking about.

$100K a week is insane money for most, I am sure many people would be hard pressed to not sell their soul for that much money. Many of the videos from this media company were lies about the Ukraine war, and looking into Tim Pool it seems he also has a very anti-Ukraine stance (Audio from one of this podcasts https://v.redd.it/41xgvuri0vmd1/DASH_AUDIO_128.mp4)

I generally do not talk about my job on here, but corporations used to pay me to run seminars to help train their employees on spotting these types of attacks--mainly targeted psyops attacks from nation states to hack into their company via end user interaction.

Or in layman's terms, to help companies protect themselves from Russian Ransomware Thieves and Chinese Intellectual Property/Information collectors. Both of these being extensions of the Psychological Operations military divisions of each country.

I am really not sure how to end this post other than I am just trying to show people how real it is that the militaries of the world are spending obscene amounts of money in trying to influence your opinions and day to day life via your internet consumption.

Surf responsibility, be very wary of anyone telling you not to vote and don't believe everything you see/hear on TikTok/youtube/twitter/Insta etc etc

[maespri]

let's talk about the many crimes of the phantom thieves

hello and welcome to me detailing the many crimes of the persona 5 royal teenagers... my dearest friend and i got bored and decided to make a list of every crime they could potentially be charged with, and i thought i'd post it to get other people's thoughts (in case i missed any) + laugh about the insane shit they've pulled off.

lets go!!!

before we get into this: we did not count crimes that were committed within the metaverse, as it wouldn't be possible to really charge the phantom thieves. the only exception to this is goro. we counted his metaverse crimes because it made his laundry list of crimes funnier. that's all.

p.s.: i love studying criminology, but i know i'm not an expert by any means. if i mess something up, miss a crime, etc.- let me know!

now, let's get into it, in order from least to most crimes!

sumi yoshizawa commits zero crimes.

good for her... good for her...

ann takamaki commits one crime: battery.

aside from ryuji and haru (who also only commit one crime), ann has the shortest list of crimes with just one: battery. it's a stretch for sure, but technically, she does slap ryuji after shido's palace, and that does qualify as battery. good on her otherwise.

ryuji sakamoto commits one crime: assault.

side note for anyone who doesn't know: assault and battery are two different things. assault is the threat, battery is the action. for example: if i tell someone i'm going to punch them, that is assault. if i actually do punch them, that is battery. that's often why the two go hand-in-hand.

ryuji threatens people quite a bit, but we actually couldn't think of any instances where he goes through with said threats, excluding him punching kamoshida. because that happened pre-canon, however, and because kamoshida clearly didn't charge ryuji, we didn't count it.

haru okumura commits one crime: perjury.

haru lies to sae when being questioned about her father's death. and yes, lying to a prosecutor during a criminal investigation does count as lying to law enforcement in general.

makoto niijima commits three crimes: blackmail, hacking, and theft.

blackmail: makoto approaches the phantom thieves and blackmails them with a video of them stating their identities, threatening to leak it if they do not meet her demands.

hacking: makoto intentionally manipulates sae's laptop in order to steal documents from it.

theft: makoto steals confidential documents from sae's laptop.

ren amamiya/akira kurusu/the protagonist/joker commits three crimes: improperly bringing an animal onto public transportation, resisting arrest, and breaking and entering.

improperly bringing an animal onto public transportation: animals are allowed on most subways in japan if they are documented, in a proper carrier, and, at times, have been paid for with a proper fee. joker brings morgana onto the train every day without doing anything of the sort.

resisting arrest: joker runs from the police and attempts to escape when surrounded outside of sae's palace.

breaking and entering: in one of yusuke's later confidant events, joker picks the lock to madarame's house and enters.

yusuke kitagawa commits four crimes: plagiarism (charges would likely be dropped, however!), stalking, solicitation, and trespassing.

plagiarism: this one was really interesting to discuss with my buddy. yusuke does commit plagiarism by willingly handing over his artwork to madarame and allowing him to claim it as his own. however, it can be argued that he did so because he was being manipulated, abused, and was under duress* (madarame essentially claimed he would end up on the streets if he did not hand over his art). it can also be argued that because yusuke did not place any copyright infringement on his paintings, it wasn't really plagiarism. therefore, this charge would likely be dropped, either on the basis of insufficient evidence and/or his being under duress.

stalking: yusuke does stalk ann for a few days before speaking to her. because this action causes distress to ann (shown by her mentioning yusuke following her around a few days prior, as well as her initial reaction to meeting him), it falls under the category of stalking.

solicitation: yusuke solicits joker to commit the crime of breaking into madarame's house in one of his confidant events.

trespassing: when joker does break into madarame's house for him, yusuke enters.

*under duress: constraint illegally exercised to force someone to perform an act (AKA, forcing somebody to do something illegal via threats, blackmail, manipulation, guilt-tripping, etc.)

futaba sakura commits eight crimes: wiretapping, non-consensual surveillance, espionage, truancy, hacking, tampering, theft, and blackmail.

wiretapping: futaba hacks into phone lines (most notably, ren and akechi's) and listens in on conversations.

non-consensual surveillance: futaba tracks the GPS on a few people's phones.

espionage: futaba spies on people.

truancy: we don't know the full extent, but it is implied that futaba has missed a lot of school, which is a crime.

hacking: i hope i don't have to explain this one HAHA.

tampering: to send shido's calling card, futaba tampers with all the big screens around japan, which is tampering with property.

theft: futaba has stolen plenty of information, classified or not classified, from a loooot of different people.

blackmail: when she first asks the phantom thieves to change her heart, she does so through blackmailing them, threatening to reveal their identities if they don't do it.

goro akechi commits twelve crimes: attempted first-degree murder, mass first-degree murder, unlawful possession of a firearm, conspiracy, fraud, aiding and abetting, terrorism, assault, battery, perjury, blackmail, and obstruction of justice.

attempted first-degree murder: whilst akechi technically doesn't kill joker, he does try to, which means he can be charged with this.

mass first-degree murder: akechi murders. a LOT of people. which falls under this category.

unlawful possession of a firearm: in order to kill joker, akechi steals a gun from a police officer.

conspiracy: akechi states his plans to murder joker and plots it out in advance for a long, long, time.

fraud: faking joker's death certificate is a form of fraud.

aiding and abetting: helping shido kill people is aiding and abetting.

terrorism: terrorism is defined as "the unlawful use of violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims." akechi's actions fall under this category.

assault: akechi throws plenty of threats people's ways!

battery: and follows through on many of them.

perjury: akechi lies to all sorts of law enforcement around him, most notably sae and the guard outside of joker's interrogation room.

blackmail: akechi threatens to leak the identities of the phantom thieves if they don't infiltrate sae's palace.

obstruction of justice: by lying about what he knew about the phantom thieves, withholding information from law enforcement, and overall just completely messing with the case, akechi commits obstruction of justice.

that's it!

thank you for reading thank you for joining us joy to the world... shoutout again to my wonderful friend for being these guys' defense attorney's

BYE!!

[afewproblems]

98 for Robin?

98. "Hold me back!"

Ahhh thank you very much for this! I'm sorry it was so late nonny!

This is taking place in the same universe as this piece which you can also read on AO3

***

"I swear to God" Robin moans as she smacks her head onto the counter, "I will walk into traffic if I have to explain the plot of Labyrinth one more time". 

Steve puts the money from the recent rental into the till and shrugs, "I dunno Birdy, I liked your take on it this time". 

She snorts, finally cracking a grin, "you just liked the look on her face when I talked about how half the movie is Bowie's package and the other half is Muppets". 

"Potato, Tomato," Steve hums, closing the till with a soft snick.

For a Saturday opening shift it had been strangely slow. 

They had their usual guests during the day, screaming children with parents who were clearly at the end of their tether. Irritating teens who stole as many snacks as their thieving little backpacks could handle. Movie nerds who asked for as many titles as they could think of before settling on something so obscure there was no way they carried it -or on the off chance Family Video did have it in their inventory, it was already checked out. 

However, with half an hour until Keith was set to arrive for the closing shift, the front door bell jingled harshly to announce a new presence in the store and in an instant Robin’s stomach falls into her shoes. 

Because Tommy Hagan and Carol Perkins have just walked in. 

Robin has dealt with assholes from highschool before, she had to wear a sailor outfit with shorts for her last job for fucks sake, but she’s also never gotten into a physical fight with any schmucks from her forth period algebra class. 

Steve on the other hand…

He’s on the other side of the counter all of a sudden, standing in between her and Tommy.

His expression seems neutral, but Robin can read the line of tension in his shoulders as Carol whispers something into Tommy’s ear.

"Welcome to Family Video," Robin says, her voice clipped and stony, "it's two for one Saturday and all the sections are labeled so you should be able to get in and get out". 

"Come on, we just got here," Tommy scoffs, he's glaring openly at Steve while Carol seems to be scanning Robin, watching her carefully.

"Boy, you really do have a type huh Stevie," Carol sneers from Tommy's side, "at least this one plays an instrument, she's just as stuck up as Wheeler though from what I remember".

"If you guys don't want to rent anything, then leave," Steve says slowly, deliberately with wary hostility.

"You're suddenly so fucking tough huh?" Tommy scoffs, stepping closer towards Steve.

Carol moves with him but her eyes widen slightly in surprise, she grabs at his arm and pulls just slightly, "Tommy--"

"I'm not going to fight you man," Steve sighs, running a hand over his face and into his hair, Robin watches as his shoulders droop ever so slightly.

She knows Steve has complicated feelings about his former friends, they'd known one another for such a long time and those old feelings don't just disappear.

He'd been hurt to see Tommy and Carol gravitate towards Billy so easily. To egg him on as he bullied Steve their senior year, the tables turned so suddenly it was like whiplash.

Well, Steve may feel conflicted about his old shithead friends, but Robin has no such compunction.

"He won't but I will," Robin blurts out, the words run away from her faster than she can even catch up to them.

Steve closes his eyes, his expression pained while Tommy and Carol both turn to her with equal looks of surprise. 

Huh, it's the first time in her life she's ever seen Carol Perkins speechless and it's glorious. 

Robin lets the thrill of it carry her forward until she's stepped around the counter to stand beside Steve.

“Yeah, Steve's gonna have to hold me back,” Robin snarls as she grabs Steve’s hand and places it on her own shoulder. 

Steve gives her a withering look as he mimes pulling a zipper over his own mouth.

"You let your bitch off her leash huh Harrington?" Tommy says with a lecherous grin as he stares at them both.

He lets out two barks and laughs again as he swings an arm around Carol's shoulder, her tinkling laugh joins his own and Robin can't believe this is even happening. Did she hit her head getting out of Steve's car this morning?

Fuck this.

"Funny stuff Hagan," Robin bites out, "your ass must be pretty jealous of your mouth for all the nasty shit it gets to spew in public".

"What did you just say to me?" Tommy snarls as he stomps closer, his ears have turned a ruddy pink that matches the flush crawling up his neck.

Carol tries to reach for his arm, whispering, "just drop it Tommy, let's go," but he wrenches away from her and continues forward, only stopping as a flat palm catches him in the chest.

Steve stands his ground in front of Tommy, looking down his nose with cold eyes. 

Steve told her about the last time he and Tommy had squared off. It was just before Robin spotted Steve outside the corner store while she waited for her mother to pay for their things, the aftermath that she hadn't thought much of at the time, but now…

Steve walks forward, using his height to his advantage to tower imposingly over Tommy, his face twisted into a vicious snarl that Robin has only seen one other time, underneath Starcourt.

"Get out, I don't want to tell you again Tommy," Steve says lowly under his breath, just loud enough that Robin has to strain to hear him. 

Tommy's eyes narrow as his mouth pulls into a sneer, "and what are you gonna do about it, you're not scary Harrington," he grins despite taking a step back as Steve continues forward, pushing them towards the front door. 

"I don't have to be scary, but I do have an in with your drug dealer and I can make it impossible for you to score for as long as you live in this godforsaken shithole". 

"You're bluffing".

"Try me," Steve whispers just as the bell dings again at the front of the store. Tommy doesn't look away from Steve even as Carol exclaims a small, 'oh', beside him.

Robin smirks and leans back against the counter, raising her hand in an enthusiastic wave towards the entrance, "hey Eddie!"

Tommy curses under his breath and wrenches himself away from Steve, just in time to see the murderous expression on Eddie's face. 

Carol takes the opportunity to grab at the sleeve of Tommy's shirt and drag him the last few steps away towards the door, they give Eddie a wide berth as they pass. 

Tommy glares at Steve and Robin the entire way, muttering curses under his breath as Robin blows them a kiss with her middle finger.

The bell jingles again as the door swings open and falls gently closed, leaving them in an uneasy silence. 

"You guys okay?" Eddie says quietly after a beat, he steps towards Steve, his brow pinched with concern.

Steve nods silently before turning towards Robin. She expects a lecture from the frown on his face but blinks in surprise as Steve pulls her into a tight hug.

"Don't do that again," he mumbles into her hair, she opens her mouth to speak, to insist that she doesn't need a babysitter like his gaggle of children.

"I know it's just Tommy," Steve breathes out as though reading her mind, "but I don't think I could handle it if something happened to you Robin, I mean it". 

And all at once the fight drains out of her as Robin wonders just how she wound up with someone like Steve Harrington in her corner. 

"I wasn't going to let them talk shit," she huffs, despite pressing even closer, she feels his head shake against her own.

"I can take a hit and I'm not going to let some asshole have a chance to go after you too," he says sharply. 

Robin rolls her eyes and steps back just enough to look him in the eyes, "remember what your annoying child friend said, if you die, I die".

She shrugs at the incredulous expression on his face, "what? Smartest thing that kid has ever said". 

"You're ridiculous," Steve whispers and there's so much warm affection in his voice as he squeezes her once more, that Robin has to bury her face in his shoulder to hide the sudden shine in her eyes.

Eddie seems to take this as his cue to move forward and let his hand rest on Steve's lower back, the pinched look fading slightly as he smiles at Robin. 

"Well, my original plan was to take Stevie here, out after his shift, buuut I'm thinking the three of us are in need of a night on the town, what do you say Buckaroo?" Eddie asks with a waggles of his eyebrows and a wide grin. 

"I'll come if you never call me that again," Robin says with as much of a straight face as she can muster.

Steve barks out a laugh as he leans into Eddie's side, "oh you've done it now Buckaroo". 

Robin squawks and flaps her hands at Steve until he ducks away behind Eddie who immediately shields his face with his hands. 

"You think way too highly of me if you think that's where I'm aiming," Robin says dryly, snorting as Eddie gasps and lifts a leg for further protection, prompting them both to collapse into a fit of giggles while Steve watches fondly.

They all eventually relax, falling into an easy conversation as Steve and Robin finish up the last of the morning duties. The tension from earlier fading away as Eddie sits on the counter top, with his eyes on the door, watching out, just in case.

[akiology]

Phantom Thieves play a farming/life simulator game with S/O

Note: purely self-indulgent... my friends and i booted up stardew valley again so have this . .. i mainly have stardew in mind while writing, so the mechanics will be reflecting that ehe no sumi yet! i have no idea how to write her yet </3 but i am currently playing through p5r so i might add her later!

Akiren

Ahh... he enjoys this game very much. Being somewhere peaceful and quiet AND alone with you? Perhaps a dream come true! As soon as the game is loaded, he starts planting the first few seeds he receives, and then proceeds to forage for things he could sell. When he finds a few flowers, he will give them to you and will pout if you don't accept them.

"You need to meet the people in town!" you tell him as he tries to give you the flower again.

"Why? I already have you. I do not need anyone else."

Definitely the type to do most things with you. You are planting crops? He will water them. You are petting the chickens? He will feed them. You are fishing on the beach? He is right beside you, doing the same. You are going to the mines? He defends you from the mobs while you mine away. He genuinely enjoys being with you all the time (even if in this case, its in a video game).

Enjoys playing househusband as well, should you advance that far in the game, and will be the type to seriously think about the names of your children (in the game). Once the house is upgraded, and there is a kitchen, he now has another purpose. The type to collect recipes and cook, going around town giving dishes to the townspeople. The type to send you off with your 'lunch' and a "Take care! The kids and I will be waiting for you."

Ryuji

Probably giddy the first time you suggest playing the game. He will gladly agree, of course! The only thing though, he does not find the farm work to be entertaining, so you will have to do that. He does not mind taking care of the livestock though! As soon as the game starts, he'd probably hand you the seeds and go foraging instead. Probably the kind to always make sure to have something to sell at the end of the day.

He enjoys going to the mines, and so he is mainly in-charge of the upgrades. Will tend to give you a few pretty stones and/or artifacts he finds. Also the kind to 'unlock' things, such as new areas or new mechanics. He would probably go for achievements, but he's not really a completionist. More so does certain things for its benefits.

"Ryuji, I need a few earth crystals for the mayonnaise makers," you tell him as you were rearranging a few things in your farm.

"Alright babe! I also got you a diamond, by the way!"

He also tries to make your life easier while playing the game, such as letting you upgrade your backpack first, exchanges tools with you when he upgrades so that you have the better quality, and puts torches every where so you do not get lost. Will probably be blushing the whole time while you guys get married, and when you decide to have kids (in-game).

Ann

The game is so cute! Yes, she will gladly play with you! When you first boot up the game, she is a little bit overwhelmed because there are so many things to do, but she will most likely look at the journal/tasks as a guide for things to do. She does not mind doing a little bit of everything, but she mainly enjoys taking care of the livestock. She also likes designing the layout for both the farmland and the inside of the house.

"Oh my gosh! Can I buy the chickens for our coop? Our first children!" Ann gushes, having just finished up the fencing for the said coop.

"Sure, just do not forget to buy food for them as well!"

Once you guys have reached the stage where you are living comfortably, she will try to befriend everyone! Extra resources she have will be given to the townspeople, curious for the lore and a few character backstories. As for the romanceables, she asks for your permission to befriend them beforehand. It's honestly adorable.

When you guys get married, she will dress up accordingly. She is giggling the whole time, and will whisper an 'I love you' to you at the end. When you decide to have kids, she's a bit disappointed that they do not grow up. She finds it fun to put different hats on them, though!

Yusuke

He is a bit clueless at first, and will need you to guide him through most of the things. Once he gets the hang of it though, he will enjoy it. He really likes the background music and the art of the game so those are plus points for him. He tends to forget the farm chores though, as he will usually go to town to interact with different characters and see their stories.

If you let him be in-charge of the farm layout, it will be a beautiful farm guaranteed; even with just the use of flowers, crops, and some tall grasses. He asks that you do not touch it though, so you have two farms. One for profit, and one for whatever Yusuke decides it to be. He rarely goes to the mine, and almost never goes unless you invite him so you are in-charge of upgrading your tools. You, however, task him with buying things needed for the farm such as hay, seeds, etc. He accidentally bought 99 pieces of the wrong thing once though, and he apologized profusely afterwards.

"You bought 99 heaters?!"

"It was beside the hay, my love, I realized too late." Yusuke genuinely sounded apologetic, and you assured him that it was fine.

When you get married, he will give you a bunch of flowers he grew on the farm. He also tends to have a surprise for you every once in a while, like maybe an item he got while exploring, or rearranging your furniture. If you decide to have children, he diligently checks on them and does not want to leave them alone on the farm. You try to tell him it does not make a difference, but he refuses to leave them all by themselves.

Makoto

Another one who is a bit clueless. After watching a bit from you, she starts to learn though. You divide up the chores between yourselves, so that you get equal experiences. Also the one to fulfill all the side quests, even in-game she likes helping people. She finds the game as a good stress relief, given as it has a calming background music and cute art. Also enjoys exploring every new thing together.

"Makoto, will you be my partner for the festival?"

"Y-you don't need to ask. My answer is always yes."

She also likes the combat system, and will visit the mines sometimes. A casual player, she allows you to play even without her. Given that she is a very busy person, she's fine even with just updates on what is going on in the farm currently. Despite this, she somehow remembers which crops/products are the most profitable and encourages you to sell those instead.

If you decide to get married in-game, she is red in the face while the sequence is happening. She might also come back more frequently now, can't let her spouse do all the work on the farm by themselves now, eh?

Futaba

She is probably the one to initiate asking. She has played the game before, and wants to try playing with you as well. Will also probably play the game with a few mods, just to spice it up a little bit. As soon as the game loads, she plants the given seeds and goes to town to greet the people. An absolute completionist for achievements. Might play the game even if you are not online. The kind of player to advance ahead, just so she can help you later on. Despite this, she asks for your input in most things as she really likes including you in the decision-making.

"Should I put the coop near our crops so it's easier for you to navigate?" Futaba asks while she layouts the farm.

"Yes please!"

She keeps a mental list of the things she needs to do, and knows exactly what exact conditions are needed to unlock a certain thing, or the requirements to a certain event. So if you ever find yourself stuck, feel free to ask her! She also does a little bit of everything, therefore her stats are really balanced.

Married or not, she gives you an item every day. She says its a 'power-up', so you will have an easier time doing your tasks. Also, your cat's name is Morgana. She says you guys are one big family over here.

Haru

Yes! It did not take much convincing, honestly. She does not mind being completely in-charge of the crops. She tends to do a few tasks from-time-to-time, though. Especially tasks related to crops, such as bringing a cabbage to a certain person in town. She very much likes the combat system, sure it's a little simple, but she loves it. Sometimes goes to the mines just for it. Not to get an ore, but just to battle.

She gives you flowers, sometimes from foraging, and some she grew on the farm. She studies which crops are the best to grow to ensure profit and also which ones you can eat for HP and fatigue, both for when you or she goes to the mines. She might drop a few fun facts about some of the plants, too.

She is a very casual player, playing for the vibes and also as a bonding quality time with you. Thus, she likes when you ask her to do stuff with you, such as visiting another island together, or going to the mines together. When you get married, she finds it cute that the whole town attended. And to be honest... this game is giving her ideas.

"What if we start a farm that could supply our café?" Haru asks you one night.

"H-Haru! Let us focus on graduating first... "

Goro

A little hesitant to play, but he ends up playing nonetheless. He is a little bit unsure on what to do, so he ends up mimicking whatever it is you do. While he ends up enjoying the game, he will only play when you are online. If he has prior commitments, he lets you play but does not want you to play special events without him.

"Goro~ the festival tomorrow requires me having a partner. Can I ask one of the townspeople instead?"

"No. Do not even think about it. Wait for me," he leaves no room for discussion.

He also likes dividing the chores between you two, so you both get equal benefits. He likes exploring with you, but when he is not with you he is mining purely for the combat. If you ever need monster drops, he probably has a lot in his inventory. Will also redecorate your house a bit, and admittedly he likes the idea of living with you a little too much. Even if it is in-game. He is most definitely not remembering how you designed the house for later references.

He also really enjoyed watching the wedding sequence with you. Maybe one day, you can run away with him and live a peaceful life tending a farm instead? Would you say yes? Maybe it is not too late to start anew somewhere.

[bloodynosesarejustlikeroses]

𝐌𝐲 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐓𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐫

✦; ꒰Dick Grayson ✗ Reader꒱ ;;✦ ↴

01. Summary. The human world was unknown to you, so wonderful, exciting, and terrifying at the same time. So many things to discover, to learn, it may sound intimidating for a young amazon like you, luckily, you got your own "Steve Trevor" to accompany you in the battle... Or something like that...

02. Word count. 5,722 words.

03. Warnings . Mention of wounds.

04. Notes. Hello, to the anon who requested this, you didn’t specify which deity, so I chose to use as a base the Greek Goddess "Nike" (Yes, like the brand). Nike was the goddess of speed, strength, and victory. She could grant humans the strength and speed needed to be victorious in any task they undertook.

If you enjoy my writing and would like to support me feel free to leave me a tip on my Ko-fi. It's something I will always remember and be grateful for, I assure you.

(English is my second language, so if something sounds out of place or is misspelled, please let me know).

— This is the last one. — You said as you tied up the last of the thieves.

The team had been assigned to stop a bank robbery, not the kind of mission the team was used to, but a crime was a crime.

— We must secure the perimeter to make sure there are no more of them. — Aqualad said, ready to give another order but was interrupted by a certain red-haired boy.

— I suggest going in duos to make it quicker. — Kid Flash suggested clearly wanting to get somewhere. — Me with Aqualad, Superboy with M'gann, Artemis with Zatanna… — Dick knew where this was going. — And last but not least Robin with Wonder Girl.

The whole team looked at Aqualad, waiting for confirmation, he simply nodded and as quickly as he did they all split up, leaving you alone with the Boy Wonder. The two of you walked side by side in comfortable silence.

— Happy Harbor is really beautiful. — You said as you watched the locals walking through the streets of the area.

— Yeah… — Robin looked at you for a while, your eyes gazing with wonder at every little thing that crossed your path. — Really beautiful. — He said, although he wasn't talking about Happy Harbor.

You turned your head towards him, catching his gaze with yours, a small blush came to your cheeks as you smiled shyly, the atmosphere felt more intimate than usual, maybe because it was just the two of you, or maybe because walking so quietly through the streets beside him made it feel like a date. But the romantic atmosphere was quickly disturbed by a sound coming from Dick that was unfamiliar to you.

The sound made you get a little nervous. — What’s that? — You examined Richard with your eyes up and down with some curiosity trying to find the source of that annoying beeping sound.

— Oh, I’m sorry, it’s my phone, I always turn it off on every mission, I must have forgotten it this time. — Robin pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and ignored the incoming call, ending the ringing.

— Phone? — You asked as you carefully stood next to him and looked at the small device in his hands. — What is a phone?

— Well, it's a smart device mainly designed to facilitate communication, but you can do a lot of things with one of these. — Robin smiled at you without you noticing, warmed by your curiosity.

— We don't have those on Themyscira. So what exactly can that do?

— Well, you can send and receive messages, call people who are miles away from you, record videos, and… Take pictures… — A quick thought crossed Dick's mind. — Let me show you one of the things it can do. — Carefully one of Robin's arms wrapped around your waist pulling you close to him, he selected the camera on his cell phone and positioned it in the air to capture the image of the two of you. — Smile! — You followed Dick's movements, smiled shyly at the camera, and in an eyeblink, the image of the two of you was captured on the device. — See? — You took the phone in your hands, watching in amazement as the scene was captured on the screen.

— Wow, so this little magic box can keep moments as if it was a painting, amazing! — You said completely thrilled.

— It's not magic, it's technology. — Dick answered, looking at you with softness because of your innocence.

You remained frozen for a couple of seconds, staring at the photo with a smile, not realizing how close your body was to Dick's.

— There is still so much of the human world that I don't know, and so much to discover, it's exciting, but scary at the same time. — Your smile did not disappear, your eyes traced every detail of the photo.

— I know, but the team will help you. — Your eyes left the cell phone screen, and you turned your head, facing Dick, it was then that you realized how close he was to you, and your heart skipped a beat in your chest. — I will help you. — One of Robin's hands moved to gently hold yours, a sweet smile lying on his face.

— You're like… — You thought for a moment, remembering the time Diana, your mentor, told you how she met Steve Trevor, the person who support her in her struggle and guided her through the man's world. — A Steve Trevor. — You said more to yourself than to him.

— A what? — Dick asked somewhat confused by your words.

— Oh, never mind. — You shook your head slightly embarrassed.

A short giggle leaked through Dick's lips, he couldn't help but find you adorable. The space between you two seemed to decrease with every second without you even noticing it. Despite the short time you had been with the team Dick's presence was endearing to you, and he felt the same way. He could spend hours and hours at your side listening to you talk about the wonders (as you called them) of the human world, although for him the only wonder was you.

Unfortunately, the romantic atmosphere that had enveloped the two of you was instantly shattered by Kid Flash's voice on the telepathic link. — Nothing here! — Both had become so immersed in each other that you had completely forgotten that you were still on a mission.

You recovered your posture and pulled away from Dick. The mission was your priority and you couldn't let your guard down like that.

— Nothing here either. — You said quietly to the rest of your teammates through the telepathic link.

The entire perimeter seemed to be secured, so the mission was completed.

— Let's go back to the base, Black Canary should be waiting for us for today's training. — This time it was Kaldur's authoritative voice that was heard over the link.

— Understood. — The entire team replied.

Even though you agreed to return to the base your shoulders drooped, as much as you wanted to deny it you would have liked to be alone with Dick a little longer, and the Boy Wonder felt the same way. You turned to look at him hiding your wish to stay alone with him for more time.

— Shall we go? — You asked turning around to go back.

Robin hesitated for a moment, thinking of some valid excuse to continue being just the two of you even if it was only for a couple more minutes. — Wait! — He rushed as an idea crossed his mind, positioning himself in front of you and cutting you off. — Why don't we go another way? — A smirk came to Dick's lips.

— Another way? — You asked curiously, although you were dying to accept his invitation.

Dick focused his attention on his forearm for a moment, pressing a couple of buttons on the holographic keyboard that had unfolded in the air. The sound of an engine approaching you in the distance made you become alert, a motorcycle approached you and stopped just a couple of feet away, it was Dick's motorcycle.

The Boy Wonder moved to his vehicle and climbed in without any effort, he then turned to you with a beautiful smile on his face. — So, what do you say? — A smile that hid perfectly the little nervousness he felt at the possibility of your rejection.

You reciprocated his smile, but you didn't give him an answer, the movement of your body spoke for itself, you walked over and took a seat behind him, your arms wrapped around his torso and your chin rested on his shoulder. Dick's body tensed for a second at your touch, but it was easy for him to get used to the feel of your body so close to his.

A smile spread across Dick's face, once he made sure you were well secured he drove off, the pace of the motorcycle wasn't too slow but it wasn't too fast either, it was simply perfect, and it allowed you to quietly enjoy the streets of Happy Harbor, the peaceful atmosphere seemed to be contagious to all the people there, you felt the sun rays hitting against your skin producing a pleasant feeling of warmth all over your body.

You closed your eyes, enjoying the humid wind hitting the skin of your face and letting your head rest on Dick's shoulder, this was one of the few quiet moments you had since you joined the team, and you were glad it was at his side.

[•••]

— Look who finally showed up. — Black Canary looked at you with her arms crossed over her chest, her face remained stoic, wanting to show dissatisfaction at your unpunctuality. Though deep down she couldn't help but feel tenderness for the "young love" (as she called it) that seemed to be developing between the two of you. All eyes were on you and the Boy Wonder; you were both so comfortable with each other that without you noticing it, the motorcycle ride was extended a little longer than it needed to be.  — Since you were the last to arrive, you will be paired up for today's training.

The rest of the team looked at you both with knowing smiles on their faces.

— Well, it looks like you're lucky today. — You rolled your eyes, a smile spread across your face at Dick's confidence. — So, what is today's training? — Everyone's attention quickly shifted to Black Canary in anticipation of what they would face in today's training.

— Simple and easy, fighting in pairs. — Everyone looked around, looking at their possible opponents, Superboy and Aqualad were a group, Miss Martian and Artemis were together, and last but not least, Zatanna and Kid Flash. — Today's confrontations may not be completely fair in terms of power or skill, but your fights will not always be, yet you must learn to compensate your weaknesses with communication and teamwork. — Suddenly an aura of friendly competitiveness was felt in the room, training sessions like this were always a source of excitement among the team. — Let's get started.

The first match was between Miss Martian and Artemis against Kid Flash and Zatanna, it lasted what seemed to be an eternity for them and only a couple of minutes for you and the rest of the team who watched the whole battle expectantly, it was a pretty equal and exciting fight, to say the least, but once proclaimed the winner of that match the next match began.

Dick and you against Kaldur and Conner, you couldn't deny it, facing them was exciting and intimidating at the same time, both were formidable enemies, and Superboy's strength was something that could not be denied, he could even appear to be invincible to some people, but the team knew that Conner's impulsiveness was perhaps his greatest weakness, if he faced an enemy that was able to analyze all his movements he would probably lose, unfortunately, he was teamed with Aqualad, and he perfectly covered Conner's weak point. Undoubtedly Kaldur was one of the team members with more battle experience, and while Conner had strength and brutality, Kaldur had strategy and agility; fortunately, you and Dick had nothing to envy from them, despite your nervousness you were confident in your skills, and in your partner.

— Are both teams ready? — Black Canary looked at you, and you nodded, as did your other three teammates. — Perfect, then... Begin!

You watched your enemies, thinking to take Conner and leave Aqualad for Robin, but before you could take the lead Kaldur rushed at you releasing strike after strike, his attacks were precise and fast, but yours were too, you as an Amazon had nothing to fear from an Atlantean, it was an equal fight; although you couldn't say the same about Robin and Superboy, despite the great intelligence and agility of the Boy Wonder he was no match for the clone of Superman or at least not physically.

The fight went on far longer than would have been expected, and neither team seemed close to being defeated, you turned your attention away from your opponent so you could visualize Robin for a moment, the Boy Wonder was starting to look tired, and who wouldn't be having to keep up with a Kryptonian, or well, in this case, a half Kryptonian. Dick's chest was rising and falling quickly as a result of his agitated breathing. Even if it was a simple training fight you didn't want to lose, not when you could win.

Conner seemed to have cornered Dick, the poor acrobat lacked the energy to continue the fight, and Superboy could see it, he raised his arm ready to deliver the last strike; Robin remained motionless for a second, thinking about how to get out of that situation, although his body could not take any more, his chest was moving violently trying to recover some air, and when he thought his legs would fail a huge wave of energy ran through him from head to toe, from the inside to the outside; it was electrifying, exciting. Dick never believed that people could be reborn, but if he did, he was sure that's how it would feel.

All tiredness was completely eliminated from his body, he felt full of energy, he felt determined, he felt alive. His limbs moved on their own, following the wave of energy that pushed them, even he was unaware of the speed with which he moved and in a matter of seconds Superboy was no longer facing him, instead, the Kryptonean had hit the ground a few feet away.

Multiple gasps of surprise echoed in the room, it was like for a moment time stopped, even Kladur who was totally focused on his fight seemed to have been completely stunned; Dick came to his senses, and like his companions, he remained motionless for a moment without understanding what was happening, until the realization hit him, it had been him, he had knocked Conner to the ground with a single punch.

Silence settled in the training room, Conner sat up again, rubbing his cheek where he had been hit, totally stunned.— How the hell did you do that?! — He wasn't upset, just surprised, more like shocked.

— I… — Dick tried to answer the question, but he was as speechless as everyone else. — I don’t know… — Silence reigned once again, everyone looked around for answers as if they would appear out of nowhere.

— It was me... — You confessed in the middle of the silence, earning the stares of everyone in the room. You shrank in your place, feeling judged by everyone's attention.

— What do you mean? — Black Canary asked curious about how you could be responsible for what happened.

— I… — You cleared your throat, trying to ignore the nervousness that had settled in you. — It is, one of my skills, I can grant the strength and speed necessary to guarantee victory to those I consider worthy.

With that clarification the tension in the place seemed to dissipate completely, instead, now everyone seemed curious and amazed by your abilities.

— I didn't know the Amazons could do that. — Aqualad stated.

— They can't, let's just say it's one of my unique skills I got it from my mother, but still, I should have mentioned it before I used it, sorry. — You looked at Dick with embarrassment, trying to apologize.

— Hey it's okay, don't worry. — Robin gave you a small comforting smile, it was certainly an… Interesting experience.

— Your mother? — Black Canary went ahead and asked.

— Yes, the Amazons know her as Nike, goddess of victory. — You replied with a bit of pride.

— Oh, like the brand? — Wally said with a smile.

— The brand? — Your head moved slightly and your brow furrowed, you hadn't been around men long enough to know what the red-haired boy was talking about.

— Yeah, you know, Nike, “Just do it” — Wally hinted, believing you would know what he meant, but you had no idea.

— Well, I think the training has been enough for today. — Black Canary announced, ending today's training.

Shortly the team started to leave the place.

— So… — Dick's voice echoed behind you, you turned and smiled at the sight of your favorite Boy Wonder. — You said you could use your powers on those you considered worthy, does that mean you think I'm worthy? — Your cheeks tinged slightly pink, but your smile didn't disappear.

— I do, I think you are worthy. — Your eyes didn't leave his, the warmth you felt in your body when you were with him had returned.

Neither of you said anything else after that, you smiled for the last time and walked away leaving a smiling Dick watching your figure fade away through Mount Justice.

— Well… — The black-haired boy turned around, only to see his red-haired best friend standing there, watching him with a sly grin. — When will you ask her out? — Wally asked.

— What? — Dick asked, one of his eyebrows raised.

— Oh come on, since she arrived you haven't stopped flirting. — Wally annoyed replied.

— Well yeah but, what's the rush? It's not like she’s going to disappear. — Dick shrugged, usually, Richard didn't wait long to act when it came to girls, but for once in his life, he wanted to take it easy, he knew that male company wasn't something you were used to, but he wanted to make sure he prioritized your comfort, he didn't want to rush things.

— Dude, just look at her. She's cute, she's charismatic, she's smart. — The redhead number every one of your qualities. — God, if you weren't my friend I'd already be trying my luck right now, and if you don't, someone else will. — Wally shrugged his shoulders, thinking he had made his point clearly enough, and decided to leave the place.

Dick stood there, thinking seriously about his friend's words. Maybe, for once, Wally was right.

[•••]

— Sector 5-D clear. — You said through the telepathic link waiting for your next order.

The Justice League had detected suspicious activity in a location on the edge of Metropolis, the place turned out to be a bodega of extraordinary size divided into sections; and although it would have been much quicker and easier to go through the place individually, Kaldur decided to separate the team in pairs believing that this would be the best thing to do in case of any confrontation. You looked over your shoulder, and glanced at your duo for this mission, the Boy Wonder simply nodded confirming that you should continue moving along this path.

Your footsteps were quiet and firm, ready for almost any probability that presented itself. You kept alert to the environment, every sound, every movement.

You stood firm, a huge shiver ran through your body, you stopped for a moment, and expelled some air through your mouth seeing how it could be distinguished in the air; you frowned confused, realizing that the temperature seemed to have dropped considerably despite only having advanced a small distance.

— I don't remember any other sector getting so cold, do you? — You asked Robin, turning your body to face him hoping for an answer that would corroborate the temperature change.

— No, something must be causing it. — The Boy Wonder answered checking the holographic screen displayed from his armband trying to find the cause of the temperature change.

You opened your lips to say something else, but your senses snapped in a second, and a high-pitched sound reached your ears alerting you about the danger. — Watch out! — You grabbed the shield from your back, and moved, positioning yourself in front of Dick, digging your feet into the ground, bending your knees, and ready for impact. A projectile collided with the metal of your shield, the place filled with fog preventing you from seeing your enemy.

You felt the temperature drop even more and saw the frost starting to cover the walls of the building. Robin left his place behind you and positioned himself next to you, waiting for anything. Slowly the fog dissipated, revealing your rival in this mission.

— Icicle Jr... — Robin whispered, staring at your adversary who stood proudly with a smug smile on his face.

— That’s right Boy Wonder I… — Jr. seemed to be about to start his monologue, however, his eyes were taken away by your presence, although you had heard of him you hadn't had the opportunity to encounter him until now, and apparently, he had never had the pleasure of hearing from you, but you seemed to be able to captivate him with a single glance. — Hey… — He greeted you in a flirtatious tone, forgetting that his goal was defeating you and your teammate.

— We hadn't met, had we? No, I would remember a face as pretty as yours. — You raised an eyebrow, intrigued by his sudden change of attitude. His arrogant features had softened for you.

You cleared your throat, trying to hide the little reddish hue that wanted to grow on your cheeks, although it was questionable, it took you by surprise to be called pretty by the enemy. — No, we haven't. — You replied.

— Conner should have told me that there was a new hottie on the team. — He winked at you, waiting to get a reaction from you.

— Agh, enough. It's time for you to go back to prison. — Robin stepped in. Holding up one of his birdarangs.

— Well, if she's the one taking me to prison I wouldn't mind going back a million times. — The cocky grin returned to his face.

A new wave of strikes from him started, however this time he didn't seem to be interested in hurting you, he just seemed to want to provoke you, on the other hand, the attacks directed toward Robin were more aggressive.

You focused on dodging his attacks, making your way to him, knowing that Dick would be fine on his own, the cold enveloped your body and the ice on the ground made it difficult to move, you dropped your shield, seeking to focus the strength of your two hands on your sword.

You raised your sword once you were only inches away from him, the steel melted into the ice on his arm, and you dug your feet into the ground trying to maintain your stance despite how difficult it was because of the icy floor.

You fought, neither of you wanted to lose, yet Icicle Jr. wasn't using his full strength, and neither were you. — Wow, you look even prettier from this close. — A little shiver ran through your body at the compliment. — I’m Icicle Jr by the way, but you can call me Cameron. — You pulled away from him retracting your sword satisfied with having pierced the thick layer of ice on his arm.

You caught your breath and looked at him for a moment without letting your guard down. — Wonder Girl. — You introduced yourself, proud of the title you had earned with blood, sweat, and tears.

Cameron seemed surprised, his guard was left vulnerable for a moment and it was obvious that the Boy Wonder wouldn't let this opportunity slip away. He rushed towards his target, managing to connect a kick directly to his jaw, Icicle Jr fell back stunned by the attack, Robin threw a birdarang in his direction, the smoke from the explosion prevented you from seeing your enemy for a moment, but before the smoke dissipated an aggressive blast of ice shot out brushing your side, however, your teammate did not have the same luck.

Dick's back collided with the wall, his limbs wrapped in the ice causing a groan to echo through the walls.

— Robin! — You shouted, stunned for a moment. You turned to Icicle Jr. This time decided to use all your strength.

Although it would be ideal to help your teammate it wasn't a good idea to just back away from the enemy.

You swing your sword in front of you without taking your eyes off Cameron, despite your intimidating aura Icicle Jr simply seemed to enjoy the sight. You rushed at him, your strikes were quick and sharp, but you had to admit that Icicle Jr's defense wasn't all that bad. You felt a little nervous inside, Cameron's gaze piercing you from top to bottom.

Being watched so closely made you anxious, the tingling of nervousness distracted you from the fight, your strikes were no longer sharp and your movements were no longer quick; Cameron saw this and took advantage of it. Your sword was stuck again in the ice of his arm, but this time you were not fast enough, Cameron took his chance, the ice began to expand until it reached your wrists compromising your position; You panicked, maybe in other circumstances it would have been completely easy to break free, but the anxiety stopped you from thinking clearly.

— You have such beautiful eyes, doll. — His frosty breath collided against your skin, slowly your gaze raised only to realize how close your face was to Icicle Jr's.

You turned your face away in disgust, and again pulled back trying to shatter the ice that held you captive, but your attempts seemed to be useless, and Cameron seemed to be getting closer and closer; a ringing noise echoed in your head, none of your thoughts seemed to give you a solution to the situation and your body seemed to not answer; you could feel Icicle Jr's cold eyes visualizing you like you were a mere piece of meat, his icy breath pierced the exposed skin of your face getting closer and closer.

— Oh, don't be so shy doll. — His icy breath made its way to your ears, your face twisted in disgust. Even though you couldn't see his face you could imagine the shameless grin on his face.

Slowly the ice was beginning to crack, but not the ice that held you, and perhaps you would have realized that if the situation had been different. — That's enough! — The voice echoed through the place like a growl, it was authoritative and threatening enough to startle you.

Everything happened so fast that even for you it was difficult to process, in just a moment your body was pulled forward roughly, you put resistance digging your feet strongly into the ground, taking the opportunity to pull your sword once again, this time successfully breaking the ice and freeing yourself; a small whimper left your lips, your sword slipped between your fingers that were completely purple like the rest of your arm, only now that you had freed yourself you realized the pain that palpitated over your two upper limbs.

You didn't even bother to try to understand what was happening, the pain was stabbing and the shock was inevitable, your eyes managed to make out a figure moving closer to you, you tried to focus on his face. — Robin. — You whispered with relief.

— I'm sorry it took me so long to free myself from the ice. — The guilt was evident in his voice. — Let me see your arms. — His words were soft, his concern was obvious.

Even with your mind spinning you moved your arms towards him, you felt the leather of his gloves against your skin, making a small whimper leak from your lips, it was not something you couldn't handle, but the pain was there.

— Let me bandage you. — His voice was barely a whisper, yet his words were authoritative, treating your wounds was not up for discussion.

You nodded, too exhausted to refuse, your breathing slowly returned to normal, your mind was getting calmer and slowly things became clear, and you certainly couldn't help but feel ashamed of your poor performance in battle, Robin had finished the job for you, Icicle Jr's body lay unconscious on the ground, handcuffed and blindfolded, it didn't look like he was going to wake up any time soon.

Your disappointment seemed to be evident, or at least it was to Dick, under his mask his eyes remained focused on bandaging your arms, but he couldn't help but look back at your face here and there, his mind wondering to itself what was going through your head at that moment, but Dick knew you, he could read your eyes like a book, and right now he could only read helplessness and regret, two feelings he got to know very well when he was younger.

 — You did a good job, don't let that mortify you. — His voice was almost audible, and although you valued his words you found no comfort in them.

— I was paralyzed. — You replied. — If you hadn't been here I would have compromised the mission. — You said, perhaps too harshly, but for you, it was true.

— But you didn't. — Dick's eyes finally focused on you, your arms were now completely bandaged. — And you gave me enough strength to win the fight. — Your expression quickly changed from sternness to confusion.

— I didn't use my powers on you. — Was the only thing you could say.

— I know, but your presence is enough to give me the strength to win. — The smile that appeared on your face was inevitable as well as the warmth that reached your cheeks, and for Robin, it was inevitable not to smile with satisfaction at your reaction.

— Thank you. — You mumbled knowing he would hear you. You wouldn't say it out loud, but his attention and concern were something you enjoyed. — We should keep moving. — You turned away from him, only then realizing how close he was to you.

Richard watched your figure carefully, following your every move; you bent down to the ground, took your shield and placed it on your back, walked a couple of steps, and took your sword again, your grip on the handle was weak, your wounds still fresh, but your determination seemed to have returned, while Dick's seemed to be fading; you turned your back to him, ready to continue with the mission.

Dick's chest heaved with impatience, since that training Wally's words had not stopped running through his mind because he knew it was true; as he also knew that this was not the best moment, but despite his serene and calculating personality he was still a teenager, and could not avoid moments of impulsiveness like these where his emotions clouded his reason.

— Wait! — His words were faster than his thoughts. And his impulsiveness disappeared as soon as your eyes stopped on him, as hard as it was to happen, Robin was speechless.

You moved closer to him, your mind forgetting about the mission as you focused on him, finding his presence comforting, you remained silent, waiting for him to continue.

— Well... I don't know how to say this. — One of Robin's gloved hands moved to the back of his neck. Your eyebrows furrowed, it seemed so unusual to see Dick this way, hesitant and doubtful.  — But, I really like you. — A shy smile showed on his face as he looked at you expectantly.

You smiled innocently, believing he simply meant that he liked you in a friendly way, and even though your heart yearned for more, you appreciated the fact that he "liked you." You approached him, that dazzling signature smile of yours shining on your lips, making his heart beat faster than it already did.

You took his hands in yours as if your previous actions weren't enough to increase his nervousness. — Oh Robin, I feel the same way. — You said. Robin's eyes lit up under his mask and his smile simply spread. — You are a great friend, and an excellent teammate, it would be impossible not to like you.

Dick's smile faded completely from his lips, and his eyebrows drooped in sadness. — That's not what I meant... — The disappointment was more than clear in Dick's voice, yet he decided to go ahead with his confession. — I have romantic feelings for you. — His grip on your hands weakened with each of his words.

And suddenly everything around you stopped, and those words repeated in your head "Romantic feelings", what did you know about romance? Nothing. You were still young, and while it was true that at your age most young people already knew the feeling of love you did not. You had grown up in Themyscira, and for as long as you could remember the most important thing for you being there was your training, and you understood that you knew that your powers required control and training, but having trained from such a young age had robbed you of many opportunities. To live your childhood like any other child your age, to make friends, to explore the world, to develop your preferences, and to experience love.

The only thing you knew about love was the little your mentor had told you of her own experience. About the time years ago when she met the one she considered the love of her life, Steve Trevor. How they met, how he taught her about the world of humankind, how they fought a war together, and finally, how they fell in love; Diana told you everything, how she realized about her feelings, how her heart used to beat fast when she was near him, the trust and peace that his presence gave her, the feeling of wanting to protect him from danger.

And you knew, that what your mentor had felt for Steve Trevor was what you were feeling for Dick Grayson.

— I feel the same way... — You repeated, but this time the tone of your voice was different, softer and gentler, but confident, there was no uncertainty in your words.

You felt Robin's hands squeeze yours, not enough to hurt you, but enough for you to feel the warmth of his gloves through the bandage. Dick was clinging to his hopes, and his heart was beating fast in his chest, even though you were an open book, he found you hard to decipher at times, but he realized there was nothing to decipher at that moment, he just had to trust your words, as he always had.

His smile returned to his face, while yours only got bigger. — So… — Robin gathered the courage to speak again. — Are you free after this mission? — He asked, his trademark mischievous smile on his lips, and his usual confidence seemed to have returned to him.

Your chest jiggled with a peculiar feeling you weren't familiar with, but it didn't bother you, after all, you had gotten your own Steve Trevor... No, something even better, you had gotten your own Dick Grayson.

[zaynsalbumsficfest]

Here is the masterpost for round one of the zaynsalbumsficfest. We are happy to announce that we will be back later this year with round 2!

Thank you to all the wonderful writers who have joined our fest, we are so happy that so many of you were able to celebrate Zayn's music with us!

Fics and summaries under the cut.

⋆ and right from the start by @so-why-let-your-voice-be-tamed

It all started when Zayn ran into Aiden again.

Aiden. Liam hadn’t thought about him in years, if he’s honest. They’d been in highschool together, but that was ages ago, and they’d lost touch, as people do when you go to uni. Last thing Liam heard was that he’d gone off to London to study at ICMP. Liam and Zayn had stayed up North, going to Manchester together.

They’d done everything together, from the moment their mums had introduced them to one another. Liam had been the new neighbour, moving up from Wolverhampton, and Zayn had been all of three years old when he’d declared Liam his best friend. Liam had looked into those hazel eyes, framed by impossibly long eyelashes even then, and felt like he’d come home.

Even now, in their twenties, they still do everything together. They’d finished their degrees at the same time – Zayn the responsible one, making Liam study even when he didn’t feel like it – and had moved down to London together, finding a flat and jobs and building up a social circle that consisted of both Zayn and Liam’s friends.

It’s nice. It’s comfortable. And somehow Liam hadn’t expected it to end.

⋆ for the rest of my life (for the rest of yours) by @voulezloux

zayn and louis are exes. they still sleep together.

⋆ catching eyes across the room by @beardyboyzx

Zayn is nineteen when he gets his gift.

People say that when you get your gift, you can hear the Magic’s voice whisper what it will be to you the morning of your birthday: Zayn has always wondered what Magic sounded like — but most importantly: what will It say to him?

⋆ sipping pink lucozade by @zaynmaliksmiddlefinger

If Zayn had to describe his life for the past few years, “struggling musician” would be a massive understatement. The last thing he needs right now is a distraction from his last shot at a successful career.

Enter the most tempting distraction he could imagine in the form of Liam Payne, the irresistible—and deeply closeted—playboy and son of the owner of Zayn's label.

Liam Payne is used to getting everything he wants with a tap of his black card—but he isn’t used to wanting something money can’t buy.

Let alone something he shouldn't desire to begin with.

Both men know they shouldn't risk everything by giving in to temptation, but it just might be too late.

⋆ love me tonight by @1ds5directions

When they meet for the first time, Zayn is on set of a new music video for singer Liam Payne. Louis didn't tell him about the cross he did at the intimicy work agreement when filling out the papers for Zayn. So a (surprise) scene of clothed grinding turns into two orgasms later in Liam's changing room. The second time they meet is a coincidence but the third and fourth time are not.

⋆ my sleep was stolen, I'm searching for thieves by @yeahexactlyimnotreal

A lack of sleep leads to a chance of reconnection, with a whole lot of history written in dreams.

or

A series of hopes, dreams, and memories of Zayn as he rediscovers the most important people in his life.

⋆ like a sour diesel, she burns by @larry-hiatus

He’s just an exotic dancer—one whom Zayn enjoys more than the other girls at the club; one with whom he happens to share a complicated past; one who lets him blur the lines between what’s right and what’s wrong. All of that may be true, but Harry is still just a stripper to Zayn, and nothing more. Really.

⋆ can you feel where the wind is by @fallinglikethis

It had been a normal day, just like any other. He’d been doing a PR tour for his father’s election campaign, making appearances in marginalized communities to let them know that his father saw them, would work for them if elected. He’d always maintained that his father would make a bigger impact by showing up himself, proving that he meant to keep his promises and was not just sending his son to give lip service. Liam’s advice had fallen on deaf ears, but then it’s not like Liam had listened to his father’s advice either.

Liam still remembers the argument, still remembers the feelings of stubborn exasperation and eventual grudging acceptance, when his father had insisted that Liam needed a security detail while out doing his father’s bidding. He remembers arguing that he had no real power over anything, so no one would care about him, let alone try to hurt him. But that assessment had proven to be untrue today.

⋆ baby, i'm right here by @enchantedlandcoffee

“Yeah, but that wouldn’t stop us from dating, I’m way too irresistible for that,” Louis grinned, groaning when one of their throw pillows hit him in the face. “Knobhead.”

“Wanker,” Zayn retorted, sticking his tongue out at Louis. Louis stuck his out in retaliation, gently kicking at Zayn until the man grabbed his feet and held them still. They stayed there in silence for a while, Zayn reaching for the remote to turn the TV on as Louis focused on a weird patch of colour on their ceiling.

“Do you ever think that maybe we should date?” Louis asked, gaze staying firmly on the patch of colour even as Zayn turned to look at him.

Or

The one where Zayn and Louis are best friends and, after much prompting from their family members, try and give dating a go.

⋆ i'll knock on your door, it will save me from calling by @hl-obsessed

Louis hears "Good Years" for the first time. Harry is there to pick up the pieces.

or

Zayn makes some questionable choices. Louis makes some long awaited moves.

Sometimes heart broken all over again is the first step to healing and making everything right again.

⋆ skin on my skin by @laynefaire

Damn, I could get lost in a heartbeat Damn, I can't get over your body Can't take my eyes off you, baby Let me love you, baby

Let me touch you where you like it Let me do it for ya Give you all of my attention Dive into that ocean of your love, oh Let me show you just how much I want ya

⋆ i will die if i don't try by @lightwoodsmagic

It had started with an Instagram message this time.

Actually, it’d started with a comment, a simple ‘this sounds big already’ with clapping hands, one that Zayn had found easy to reply to with a casual ‘@liampayne appreciate it bro, thanks for the love’ and adding his own emoji. He’d sat and stared at his phone, watched as fans seemed to suddenly appear to like Zayn’s comment and show their excitement in capitals. He’d sat forward on his couch, leg bouncing as he’d chewed on his fingernail and waited for the message or call that was sure to come.

He’d been the one to reach out last time, after all.

It’d only taken Liam five minutes to send through a DM, something that surprised Zayn - he couldn’t remember ever speaking to Liam this way before.

Zaynie! How have you been? New song sounds sick.

And that’s all it had taken.

Or, Zayn and Liam used to be together in One Direction and they've been drawn back to each a handful of times over the last decade. This time though, with Zayn in Paris for Fashion Week, everything feels different.

Based on Common from Icarus Falls

⋆ love like this by @reminiscingintherain

A Zouiam RWRB AU, featuring Louis as the First Son, Liam as the Prince, and Zayn as Liam's friend and equerry. With appearances from Lottie as Louis' helpful sister, Harry as his best friend, and Niall as Liam's golf instructor (or gardener? or something else?).

⋆ i found the earth (not leaving now) by @zqua1d

Liam watches the ball of light as it traces the sky then starts to dip below the tree-line. It’s larger than any shooting star he has ever seen before.

He makes a wish. ☆☆☆ Alien Zayn + Human Liam | A love story inspired by the song “If I Got You”

[foxes-that-run]

Two NYE ago means 2015 NYE right? Since Harry was with that girl, and she was pretty mad at that time, maybe she was reminiscing about their time together and hoping to find someone who'd stay and then after meeting Joe she repurposed it because she thought she found that love she was searching for with Joe. I think most of reputation is her repurposing songs/ideas that were about something/someone else. And Joe just fit but some songs definitely has part Joe in them too. So I guess she succeeded in that bait and switch thing

That video, (which Taylor Nation has cut at 24:38 from their version) is from Chicago 27 June 2018, so she is referring to NYE 2016/17. (side note: Harry was also in Chicago 30 June 2018. In his next show he changed the Lyrics to MMIH to 'running with thieves you'... a few weeks before Hamille ended due to cheating......)

We have been told a few things to tell us she was with Joe then:

In 2018 the Reputation magazines included photos from Stella McCartney's farm in Bishampton (on the pages adjacent to NYD) and in January 2016 Joe posted a photo of himself woods that also had trees... not the same trees, but OK... I guess.

In 2019 in promo for A Christmas Carol Joe told interviewers he swims in Hampstead Heath every christmas, which many linked to Paper Rings, along with a very natural photo of Taylor painting a literal wall. And maybe he does, just him, his family and (long time lcy swim enthusiast) Harry Styles and by chance no one ever photographed or spoke about it.

Then on 30 December 2020 Taylor was hacked and the only photos they got/leaked was 7 (rather odd) images of Taylor and Joe getting ready on that new years eve. Amazingly they had access to Taylor Swift's camera roll and only leaked 7 PG images that placed her with Joe the at the time of a story Taylor Nation edited out of one of their videos about an icy swim on NYE, almost on the anniversary of when they were taken. (The 7 Photos were in 2 drops, the proper (non-mirror) selfies leaked October 2021.)

So why do I doubt this? Any alternative version is pure speculation we don't know where Taylor was NYE 16/17. But the edited video is weird, and I find the above odd.

FIrstly New Year's Day seems like an 1989 outtake to me, the story also fits the NYE 2012/13 Haylor Kiss that did involve hardwood floors, a Taxi in which to squeeze hands, a lobby girls could carry shoes in and an insane crowd that did make it hard and probably made them feel lost. And she looked ready to cry performing it while she was dating Joe?

Where was Harry on New Years Eve 2016/17?

Well he was spotted with Taylor on 28 December 2016 in Liverpool. Within a few days, one of his friends signed a record for Taylor to gift Austin Swift. Austin thanked the band who replied "when someone asks you to sign a record for their "friends little brother' and the friend turns out to be Taylor Swift."

After being missing for a few days he was next seen taking photos with fans in Holmes Chapel (1.5 hours drive from Stella's farm) on New Years Eve.

But wait! Taylor said she and Joe had been together for 3 months in the Lover Journal? What she said was "we" maybe that was Joe and we didn't find out for another 5 months. Or maybe she was with someone else.... in this entry shaped like a butterfly.

Updated with more.. so I question adding this and need to cavet that haylorsecrets was an account that claimed to have inside info from Taylors PR office and lost the inside connection (in hindsight after Taylor fired her publicist before Tree in 2014) they then had a friend who fed them some info. It may have all been made up, but they were right about some things. Looking for another post I saw these where she posted in February 2017 that Harry and Taylor had been together at christmas. (x, x)

[vashtijoy]

thank you for such a comprehensive answer! does make me wonder though — the game clearly has no qualms with saying that akechi did kill people directly and did cause deaths indirectly (e.g. the bus incident explicitly stated to have caused fatalities). so why on earth does p5 say the subway train derailment caused no deaths?? this is probably a very weird detail to zero in, but i feel like a heavier train in an enclosed space carrying more people than a bus is much more dangerous. ngl it broke my immersion on my first playthrough a little lol

I know what you mean, lol. Tbh, Akechi is obviously intended to be sympathetic—to be the worst case example of what happens when a kid is exploited by rotten adults and has nobody to help them.

This is why there are so many parallels between his tragic backstory and the stories of a lot of the PTs—he has Futaba's abusive family background, Ryuji's single mom, Yusuke's orphanhood and exploitative father figure, Haru's terrible father, and I'm sure there's something there for Makoto as well.

This is why, at the end of the engine room, he's met not with condemnation but with grace and understanding. This is why, though he does feel sorry for himself at the end and mourn what he's lost, he doesn't squirm and beg and justify himself like the earlier palace bosses—with the exception of Sae. This is why he gets a dramatic self-sacrifice and gets to come back as an antihero, who goes all-out to save the world at the cost of his life in passing, because it's in his personal interests to do so. Akechi is intended to have been sinned against as much, or more, than he has sinned.

At the end of the day, Akechi is a Phantom Thief, even though he's not really on the team, doesn't align with their motives, and almost nobody really likes him—just like them, he's a kid who was placed in an impossible situation, and they all get that. Even while they understand the reality of who he is and what he's done.

This raises the complicated "is he a victim" question again, of course, and the reality is that he's both a victim and perpetrator—like, of course, most criminals. Akechi isn't special. His backstory lets us understand what he's done; it doesn't undo it—and he knows that.

So what's going on, if I can go all Doylian for a second, is that there's an attempt to soft-soap the reality of what Akechi does—to keep him sympathetic. He doesn't shoot people in real life, for instance (with two notable attempted exceptions)—he gives them "mental shutdowns", giving him a layer of insulation from not only the physical reality of murder, but the moral reality of it.

Like the moment he sees Futaba unexpectedly in Leblanc, and ends up chattering oh shit, you're Wakaba Isshiki's— Like the moment on 10/11 that he walks up to Sae to see what she has on her laptop, and it's the Okumura death video, and he nearly vomits; he claps a hand over his eyes, and only then moves it to cover his mouth.

This is the reason he's so visibly unsettled a lot of the time in the interrogation room, why he stares at that dead guard wide-eyed for so long, and stares at dead "Joker" for so long during that cutaway to Sojiro that the gun stops smoking. He is—and we are—almost always insulated from the reality of his acts. tl;dr: you aren't meant to have to think too much about what it means that the pretty boy is a murderer and terrorist, if you don't want to. And that's fine! There is no wrong way to understand the game, no wrong way to play. A huge part of interpreting a work of fiction is what we bring to it ourselves.

But if you want to dig into that reality, it is there to be found. The fact that psychotic breakdowns obviously can be fatal, that Akechi performs them for Shido from the start, from two years before canon. That he performs so many of them that he becomes a detective, to make sure they're properly "cleaned up" himself. The fact that he makes two of the Phantom Thieves orphans. That Shido considers "proper use of the Metaverse" to be eliminating those in his way. That he sells Akechi's services to anyone suitably wealthy and controllable he can find. That, at the start of the game, all of Tokyo is terrified of this plague of accidents, of psychotic breakdowns, and that, per Sae, the incidents have been going on at least since Wakaba Isshiki died—two years before canon.

You also have things like the fact that he clearly negotiates what he does, as you can see in the post-interrogation room conversations with Shido—he can talk his way out of kill orders, or postpone them, as long as he doesn't push it, and he does this. There's no reason to think this isn't part of their dynamic all along. Shido manipulates Akechi with praise, sure, but Akechi also manipulates Shido as much as he can get away with.

There's also the SIU Director, on 7/10, complaining about how "he" (Akechi) is insufficiently brutal and doesn't come up with usably brutal plans. On the other hand, Akechi will, later, come up with the vicious detail of the plan to murder Joker in the interrogation room; that's his plan. He's told what to do (we join that incriminating phone call conveniently halfway), but he comes up with the details himself. He's on an arc, albeit one that isn't always obvious, and a large part of it is that Joker is slowly driving him out of his mind.

I just think Akechi is way more interesting, and that his manner and behaviour make far more sense, if he has done a lot of these things. The main thing that draws my eye is the visible lack of response he has to the atrocities he causes. Going back to that nice conversation you both have on 7/11, you know what he's almost certainly just done there? He's triggered the Goodness Foods car crash, which the evening news will report takes place at 8am on 7/11.

(and writing about this clarified so many things that it, again, became its own post oops.)

The crash kills four people. By the time you're on the train to school, the news is reporting this. Akechi seems completely fine with it all, better than fine—except there are tiny suggestions of something else, if you squint, something far below the numbness to what he does and what he's become; far below the bright surface. Something that will later be riveted in disbelief to the dead guard on the floor of the interrogation room.

That's interesting.

[aardvaark]

Leverage character asks: 1,3,17,45 (your choice on character)

thank you for the ask & for fueling my leverage obsession lol <3

1. Canon I outright reject

honestly i love the character development on leverage, even when it means the character has some negative traits or weaknesses or something. hmm… i think one thing i disliked was hardison being a super bad tipper (some ep in s5). he doesn’t care about workers? particularly after five years of leverage? idk.

i also wish eliot didn’t seem to like cops so much, but thats more of a gripe with the show’s/showrunners’ attitudes towards police.

3. Obscure headcanon

sophie: that she’s trans! love that hc. shout out to @transsophiedevereaux. also that sophie had a drunken one night stand with maggie, which is actually (word of god) canon rather than a head canon, but seems to be rarely mentioned.

nate: nate x sophie x sterling… it’s happened at least once.

parker: so many!! but the one i’ll share is that. uh. she’s probably killed someone. pre-leverage, she’s known to be dangerous for a reason, and she’s been in a lot of awful situations unfortunately. she would probably have done so out of necessity, it might even have been self defense, but yk. it’s still killing someone. and no, i don’t mean the pilot flashback - according to word of god (ie john rogers) she probably didn’t kill her foster parents when exploding their house. anyway, i’ve seen some cool fics about this idea and discussed this topic w @laser-tripwires and i think it’s really interesting for a variety of reasons, but i won’t list them here bc this is already getting so long lol.

hardison: that he still secretly adds to nana’s income somehow (he canonically paid off her medical bills), that he plays D&D, that he likes [insert media beloved by geeks that i don’t really know much about, but i love that people hc him as enjoying the things they enjoy so much].

eliot: my own silly hc that many of his scars are actually from kitchen accidents rather than fights lol

17. Quotes, songs, poems, etc. that I associate with them

gonna answer this one for sophie only, cause i have quite a few answers just for her!

1) i saw a gif set of sophie once with the lyrics of "thief" by imagine dragons, and it was a really gorgeous gif set and the lyrics fit very well.

2) yk the fable "the scorpion and the frog"? at the end of s1, she seems to excuse her actions (conning the team) like the scorpion - that it’s just in her nature, lying is who she is, she’s a thief and this is what thieves do, etc. additionally, it’s what sterling says about her, that her behaviour was predictable because it’s "who she is".

3) the gambler by kenny rogers. bc the chorus is canonically her life philosophy lmao (according to the last dam job).

45. Their favorite celebrity

sophie: canonically, db cooper. she idolises him in the db cooper job lol. poster above her bed as a teenager etc etc.

nate: man, his would be oddly specific im sure. like he reads war strategy books, maybe sun tzu. or perhaps a chess grandmaster, like bobby fischer. i don’t know much about war strategists nor chess players, so if anyone does, then maybe you can suggest a more specific person.

hardison: i know he loves star trek, doctor who, star wars - im simply not pop culture savvy enough to know who his fave actors from those shows might be. BUT. i think it would be funny if his fave celebrity was wil wheaton (who was in star trek, and who, of course, played cha0s in leverage). also, wil wheaton is famously into D&D, video games, comics, and other "geek" stuff that hardison proudly enjoys too. hardison does not see the resemblance btwn wheaton and his nemesis, no idea what you’re taking about.

eliot: i think he would have people he looks up to or thinks are incredible, who are celebrities but only in a very specific field. like a renowned chef, but not a "celebrity chef" as in one who’s on tv. i mean like a chef who is famous among chefs, for being one of the most talented in the world.

parker: i feel her definition of celebrity would be somewhat different to most people’s. plus, her knowledge of the world is deep but narrow - she knows everything possible about thievery and anything even tangentially related (probably a decent amount of physics, for example), but pop culture? not so much. she later gets into stuff like dr who via hardison though, so perhaps the actor of the current doctor, ncuti gatwa. now, there’s also famous thieves, BUT they’re generally only famous because they eventually got caught. parker does not get caught. she would not idolise someone who ended up caught. maybe the thief of an unsolved heist. honestly, parker is famous in the leverage crime world. so. herself? not that she enjoys being a celebrity lol.

[deathmetalunicorn1]

Hello may I ask a quick question do you write for Male reader like for example a Male Akaza reader x Portas d Ace. Or like Gray fullbuster with a long lost Twin male Reader who is a master thief , and con artist but the council blames gray for his brother’s misdeeds?

Hello, my dear one, I do write male readers but I’m still pretty fresh at it so please forgive me. Looking over your request and what you sent to me I decided to take the easier of the two, just so I can practice a bit more. I hope you like it!

-Unlike the other members of the guild who were all panicking, demanding to know why the guards were apprehending Gray, accusing him of crimes, Gray was calm, as he knew that he never did any of what the guards said he did, stealing from obnoxiously wealthy nobles, mocking the guards, trespassing, and breaking and entering to name a few.

-Everyone was stunned when the guards provided photographic proof, showing a young man wearing a beautiful black suit with a swallowtail jacket and a black flat cap on top with pristine white gloves, swinging away from the royal palace on a zip line.

-The man in the photo was undeniably Gray! It looked just like him!!

-A few others, the more levelheaded members, were able to show proof of Gray’s whereabouts during these crimes, including video records and multiple witnesses including those not in the guild.

-The head guard was beside himself, there was no denying the proof of the alibi, that whoever committed all these crimes was not Gray.

-This led to an investigation, thinking it was someone using transformation magic to make themselves look like Gray, which brought up the question if he had any enemies who had this type of skill. Gray himself, just to solidify his innocence, was placed on house arrest with magic seals cover it, sealing his magic, but when the thief hit that night, they had the proof that they were two separate people.

-Each lead led to a dead end as it was pointless to ask others about this phantom thief because everyone just pointed out Gray if he was nearby.

-Natsu was a little less than helpful, but helpful enough, getting Gray a hat and a pair of sunglasses with a mustache attached, to disguise him, but that just made him look even more suspicious.

-Then more reports of this thief’s activities started to trickle in as he started to leave reports, showing that these nobles had been stealing, embezzling, bribing, extorting, and other illegal activities, condemning them as criminals and it was found that the stolen goods, mostly money and things like supplies, medicine and food, were being given to the less fortunate, to those who needed these things.

-While what he was doing was noble, Gray didn’t like it that this thief had been getting him into trouble and Team Natsu- Natsu, Happy, Lucy, Gray, Erza, and Juvia, planned to lay a trap to catch this Gray look alike since the guards were having so much trouble.

-Little did they know that this thief was two steps ahead of then and was able to anticipate their trap, easily avoiding it.

-You found it amusing, seeing these guards and guild members trying to catch you, their attempts always futile and you were beginning to get a bit bored, wanting a bit more excitement.

-You were not expecting, however, to run into your big brother, after so many years. You could remember the last day you saw him, both of you crying as a group of thieves kidnapped you, snatching you from your brother as you had both been playing, thinking they could ransom you, but when nobody came, not even your brother, they took you in and raised you until you surpassed their skills of petty theft and turned yourself into a legendary thief.

-However, after witnessing greed and the cruelty of those with wealth and power, you made the decision to become a vigilante, stealing back from the rich to give to the poor and exposing the crimes of those in power.

-It felt good to do things like this, using your skills to help others, but old habit die hard and you couldn’t help yourself teasing the guards, but now you wanted to see your brother.

-You played along with the Fairy Tail members, falling into their ‘trap’, allowing Gray to entrap you in ice, you weren’t worried at being hurt, because they just wanted to catch you, not fight you, at least the others, Natsu wanted to fight you but Natsu wants to fight everyone.

-You felt the ice melting and you felt an anti-magic bracelet being slapped on as the ice melted, leaving you completely unchanged.

-You smiled, brushing your suit off, “Well now- that was a bit brisk.” Juvia was owl-eyed, looking between you and Gray, a faint blush on her cheeks, “There’s two- there’s two Gray-sama’s!” you laughed softly at her, taking one of her hands in your own, bowing at the waist, pecking the back of her hand, “Y/N, at your service, my dear Juvia~”

-Gray was stunned, hearing that name before he finally looked at you, as he hadn’t even realized the possibility of his twin being behind these crimes, mouth agape, “Y/N is-is it really you?”

-There was a tiny part of you that wanted to be mad at him, but after doing your own digging, you discovered why Gray never came after you, so you couldn’t be mad, “In the flesh, big brother!”

-Instantly the others were all gawking, shouting out in unison, “BIG BROTHER?!” leaving only you and Gray to stand in silence before he stepped forward and went to embrace you before you shouted, “What happened to your clothes?! There are ladies present!!”

-Gray looked down, finding that he was only in his boxers now, “Ahh crap!!” before Natsu shouted at him as well to put some clothes on.

-Erza questioned why you were stealing from others and you explained yourself, telling her what you were stealing and what you were actually exposing, something she did find admirable before Gray grabbed you by the front of your jacket, yelling at you, “You got me in trouble!!!”

-Your laughter filled the alleyway that they had ‘caught’ you in as you were shaken back and forth before Lucy asked you what you were going to do next.

-You smiled over at her, causing a blush to rise to her cheeks as you were very suave, taking one of her hands in yours after you were free from your brother, “I plan on staying by your side.”

-Natsu and Gray were both quickly chasing you, both yelling at you while Juvia was gushing about another love triangle while Erza and Happy were trying to calm Lucy down as she was bright red and flushed, the four of them watching you be chased down the street.

-Gray and Natsu chased you into the night, losing sight of you about halfway and were half dead in the morning at the guild, looking run ragged as they walked in.

-They were not expecting to see you, stuffing your face, sitting next to Wendy and Lucy, talking about books with them. Their jaws dropped as they turned white in shock, pointing at you and you beamed brightly, “Hiya big brother!”

-This caused a guild wide shock as everyone who didn’t know learned that Gray had a brother, as they didn’t even pay attention to the ‘Gray’ that was already at the guild until there were two Gray’s there all of the sudden!!

-You bowed at the waist, giving a dashing smile, “Y/N Fullbuster, at your service. Thank you all for taking care of my big brother!”

-Despite only being nine in the morning, a huge party was started, celebrating your arrival and reunion with your brother, who caught you in a headlock, messing up your hair which just made you laugh.

-Natsu beamed over at you, “So what are you going to do now?” you grinned, holding up a request, “Well, as the newest member of Fairy Tail, I’m going out on a mission~” his and Gray’s jaws dropped open as you showed your mark on the side of your neck before a second roar of cheers rang out, celebrating the newest member.

[tayfabe75]

In the speech Matty did for the award show he went to recently he said that the music industry is a place where pimps, and thieves run free, and it made me think of the Robbers music video. In the music video they are thieves robbing a store, but also in the movie, true romance, that robbers is based on the whole plot is that the main character has to save a prostitute from her pimp. This also makes me think of the colored music video for sex where at the end after all their fun and shenanigans the girl gets arrested and is taken away, could this all be connected back to the fact that Taylor got signed to a record label much sooner than the band did, so she was technically “arrested”, something that the boys have stated many times they couldn’t get. Could this be why Taylor could no longer party or hangout with the boys if they ever did. Also in that music video the boy looks up at a Christmas tree and laughs and I always thought that was weird, which i know could just be him laughing at the irony of it being hot and Christmas where they are, but that also places the music video in the time of Christmas which reminds me of When We are Together when he says “Our first kiss was Christmas in the Walmart toy department”, and the fact that Taylor grew up on a Christmas tree farm. Another part of this is that the boy and the girl in the music video are both wearing homemade necklaces made of chord, one of which has a key on it (this connects to a vault track off of Red called “Run”), and recently matty has been wearing a long necklace that is made of chord and he keeps it hidden under his shirt and I haven’t seen a necklace like that anywhere but in that music video. I think that the thing that Matty and Taylor are trying to do is much more that just expose they’re relationship, I think that they have been trying to free Taylor from the music industry for a long time and that could have been their plan all along, I guess we will just have to wait and see.

Wow! Thanks for your analysis of all of this! That was a joy to read! I really loved the part about comparing the girl getting arrested to getting signed earlier. That's super interesting to me! Especially when we follow the thread of "thieves" to the 'I Can See You' music video, where we see a thief (all dressed in black) on a mission to break Taylor out of a vault. This thief has to pass through a neon box in order to reach her…

By the way - 'I Can See You' is just littered with Matty/The 1975 imagery, in my opinion - I made a little video to highlight what I mean, it also seems to parallel Fallingforyou, amongst others...

But, yes! The inexplicable Christmas Tree! That immediately reminded me of Taylor, too. Also interesting that The 1975 should choose an American actress/setting for the plot of this video. When "Slut!" first came out, it reminded me of this plotline, so I made a little fan video matching the scenes up with the lyrics:

It also reminded me of a female answer to the song 'Sex', right? Here you have the guy all torn up over this girl who is almost squandering their chemistry. In "Slut!" it's almost like we get our answer. She's suffering just as much as he is, but she's the one with the "boyfriend, anyway", and she'll have to endure the insults or the "reputation", not him - but that it might be worth it for once… Now might be a good time to remind that the original version of 'Sex' also included this lyric: "Gonna fuck me anyday", (as can be heard in the 2009 video of Matty busking the song with George!)

Speaking of 'Robbers', did you know Dakata Battcher (the lead guy in the 'Sex' music video) was supposed to play the lead in the 'Robbers' music video, as well? Matty ultimately took over the role. But that begs the question… is 'Robbers' possibly a continuation of 'Sex'?

And if we're gonna talk about 'Robbers', we might as well talk about its "sister video", 'I Knew You Were Trouble'! Because, well, we've got yet another connection not just to 'Red', but keys on chains:

Also, that shirt… it looks familiar! A lot like this one Taylor wore on her trip to London in 2009, as seen in her video entitled, "Whisper hello, I miss you quite terribly.":

But back to 'I Knew You Were Trouble'… did you know Taylor premiered the song as a single on October 8th, 2012, a song notable for lyrics:

"And the saddest fear comes creeping in, that you never loved me, or her, or anyone, or anything"

A few days later, on October 13th, 2012, Matty would tweet this cryptic message:

"listen darlin. i do love you. so terribly much"

Young Matty also shares a similar style to the romantic lead in IKYWT, plus he was a rave kid (he talked about it in his interview with Zane Lowe):

Of course, electronic music is a huge part of the rave scene, so it's interesting that Taylor became one of the first mainstream artists to incorporate dubstep into pop music with 'I Knew You Were Trouble'. Interestingly… the friendship bracelets Taylor's fans now trade at all the Eras shows? Also a long-established tradition in rave culture! (Greater YOYOK implications, perhaps?) And of course, here's the desert rave depicted in the IKYWT music video:

Anyway, I get it, it's all just a series of coincidences. So here's another fun one - Taylor wrote This Love a few days after Matty's cryptic tweet, on October 17th, 2012 - a song whose motif may or may not be purposefully threaded into the lyrics of the following songs:

Love Story: This love is difficult, but it's real Ours: The stakes are high, the water's rough, but this love is ours State of Grace: But this love is brave and wild This Love: These hands had to let it go free and this love came back to me Death by a Thousand Cuts: I look through the windows of this love False God: Still worship this love, even if it's a false god Afterglow: This ultraviolet morning light below tells me this love is worth the fight exile: Holdin' all this love out here in the hall

(And possibly Lavender Haze? Harder to say, but maybe: "I just need this love spiral")

As per your last point, that's exactly the same conclusion that I came to, as well! I don't want to get too into that theory right now (or maybe ever lol), but what I will say is… well, I'll actually just link you to one of my old tweets because you'll see exactly why I don't want to re-type what it says given the very unfortunate (and unrelated) series of very current events.

Thanks for the ask! I cannot begin to express what a delight it was to indulge in the potential story elements at play here.

[girlfriendsofthegalaxy]

tuesday again 9/26/2023

six sentences or less, bc having a physical form has been super duper extra fun this past week

listening

i like Chappell Roan very much as an artist/performer/media personality (and have previously featured tuesdaysongs Pink Pony Club and Red Wine Supernova), but i do not like her new album The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess very much as an album. it is not very good to listen straight through as a work. very high high and very very low vibes all over the place, three different kinds of club bangers interspersed with torch songs. After Midnight both sonically and like, vocal delivery? reminds me a lot of modern paramore?? chill but danceable, a canonically bisexual song.

-

reading

what would we fucking do without Riptide Publishing and their batshit insane (lovingly) catalog? The Glamour Thieves by Don Allman is the platonic ideal of a "one last job"-style heist book, in gay urban magic/paranormal wrapping paper. had remarkably good action sequences, buckets of atmosphere, excellent pacing. i read it in one sitting and was up until 3AM. my library doesn't have the other two in the trilogy, so i'm impatiently waiting until there's more fun money in the fun money budget

JT is an orc on the way up. He’s got his own boutique robotics shop, high-end clientele, and deep-pocketed investors. He’s even mentoring an orc teen who reminds him a bit too much of himself back in the day.  Then Austin shows up, and the elf’s got the same hard body and silver tongue as he did two years ago when they used to be friends and might have been more. He’s also got a stolen car to bribe JT to saying yes to one last scheme: stealing the virtual intelligence called Blue Unicorn. Soon JT’s up to his tusks in trouble, and it ain’t just zombies and Chinese triads threatening to tear his new life apart. Austin wants a second chance with JT—this time as more than just a friend—and even the Blue Unicorn is trying to play matchmaker.

-

watching

the latest Felix Colgrave and partner Zoë Medcraft video has big madeline vibes. in a big giant anthill all covered in vines lived twelve billion ants in many straight lines. love to watch an ant carry off an entire head of garlic

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playing

the next g/enshin update is rapidly approaching and that's about all i've been doing the entire time i've been sick. toodling around and finishing off stray quests here and there, accidentally discovering i never engaged with a fairly major quest, exploring nooks and crannies for stray chests and puzzles.

i did an extremely tiresome quest chain and rejuvenated this big tree that you can see from three other in-game nations which is pretty cool. i wish it looked slightly less like a nuclear test cloud?

this monarch butterfly of a claymore-wielding woman will be released in late winter/early spring hopefully and i Must have her. this game is so good to me re: women with giant swords

-

making

fallow week. i hope to GOD i will have the energy this week to make these fucking couch covers i want them to be Done

[sansevierias]

i love doing a second playthrough of a video game and going oooh! aaah! at things that suddenly make a lot more sense and remembering things i had already forgotten lol. i'm going through this with wotr right now and there's so many little things referenced in act 1 that come up later. you can find a letter from berenguar to his brother (burning building in market square) and a book written by nurah (blackwing library). i had completely forgotten that you find out that zacharius' wand has been stolen (tower of elrod) and when you eventually find the wand, you find out what happened to the thieves. when talking about zacharius, daeran mentions that he read some books about the lost chapel recently, which may have been his powerless prophecy at work since he gets kidnapped by the gargoyles and ends up there. also you meet all of the angel path side characters in the museum and they are also featured as statues in gray garrison.

[revivisection]

RT ask: 2 4 6 8 14

😁😁😁 #love#friendship#friends#loveandfriendshipwithfriends

2. What is their Origin? Who were they before they became a Rogue Trader?

crime lord babeyy. soon as i saw it, of course that was the origin i was gonna pick. cosmas formed in my mind like aphrodite out of the sea. who did i castrate to make him… it was first born out of necessity, boy’s gotta eat (and also keep the other children he was looking after alive (don’t worry about it)), but he’s also got ambitions. he may be a super smart guy who does a lot of things but i don’t know jack about shit so we’re keeping it vague 💯 he’s cold trading he’s thieving he’s making connections he’s recruiting (realizes i can’t say goon anymore) people he’s territorial he’s a businessman he’s a father figure he’s uhhhh killing people etc. it’s like rogue trader shit but illegal because he doesn’t have a warrant (yet).

4. What does their name mean? Is it significant?

cosmas means order and decency, which is kind of funny… it’s also the name of a saint. according to a quick peruse of wikipedia, cosmas and his twin damian provided medical services for free, sort of in line with rt cosmas’ iconoclast actions, and they also survived a few attempted executions before finally dying, which is like how rt cosmas viciously clings on to life. and i like the name cause it’s space-y. i don’t imagine the meaning would remain in-universe, but cosmas has gone by many names and this was the one he liked best in the end. he named himself after the universe itself, which feels right for him.

as for his last name, the game gives you one based off your origin (besides sanctioned psyker, for some reason). the one for crime lord is “stubbs” which, i don’t know why i’m mr. stubbs, but i like to imagine it’s a nickname he picked up for [reasons pending, possibly forever]. not really a surname, but you say it like one. he had an actual family name before that, but he’s long shed it.

he becomes a von valancius and uses the power of that name often to his great advantage, but he doesn't really internalize it. it's a title, it's something he can use, it's not a name name like "cosmas" is to him.

6. What is their Conviction? How adherent are they to it? Does it change at all over the course of the game?

iconoclast, which is based in me wanting to be Nice in a Video Game, and then i had to turn it into actual characterization later. i stick to it pretty closely, though i’ve made a couple dogmatic/heretic choices too. cosmas is quite resolute in his beliefs (one could say stubborn), he’s not easily swayed, especially not by the most argumentative of his companions.

encroaching on question 7 territory here i guess, but i have trouble really explaining it so this is how i gotta say it. cosmas took up/was put into a caregiver/protector/leader role early on in his life, and chose to continue to be that person rather than look out solely for his own survival. he has more care for the common people than expected of his position because he knows what it’s like, he’s been one of them, but there’s also a possessive aspect to it, everything he has investment in (emotional or material) belongs to him. he is like a livestock guardian to me. born from my own reluctance to trade my people units i guess, they’re just little stats in a menu, but some of these offers are shady as hell… what are you going to do with them… guess there’s a lot of compassion in that guy, i’m just really caught up in his personal issues that your chosen questions don’t really touch on lol.

8. What was their Triumph? Do they take pride in it?

apex of brilliance, he got his hands all over a whole star system. where exactly it is, what it or any of the planets are called, who fucking knows. maybe one day i’ll know but i am Not acquainted with the. whatever it’s called when it’s geography for space. i mean i guess it’d be astronomy but the implications are different. anyways, he’s very proud. sure his domain as a rogue trader is much larger, but it doesn’t feel like he earned it like he did with his star system. i think i picked this one in particular because of the int stat boost...

14. Who was the most important person in their life prior to becoming a Rogue Trader? Is that person still in their life now?

his right hand, his enforcer, his sister, damia (after cosmas and damian because i had to). they’ve been together since early days when cosmas had his own gang of unfortunate kids, though only he and her made it to adulthood. they’re not bio siblings but they basically adopted each other. he left her to take care of things back home while he went to the koronus expanse, so they’re cut off from each other during the game. i’d say they generally get along and work together well, but they don’t always agree and cosmas Has To Have His Way Always, which can and has caused friction. i also think their relationship was strained by [question 9 related event] which they left unresolved ^_^ he misses her but trusts her not to fuck things up while he’s gone. she’s always fallen into following him since she was the younger one, he took on a guardian role for her, she’s his best subordinate, there was a lot of potential left untapped there. maybe even surpressed. i don’t think they see each other again for a long time, a lot changes during then, damia feels sort of abandoned, but she also doesn’t want to take second place by cosmas’ side again. their reunion might not be the happiest.

before writing this my idea for damia lacked conflict, which made imagining her really boring. things can always change, and she’s still not really a character, but now that i’ve laid down some issues there i like her a lot more.

fun fact, their stupid nicknames for each other are cosy and damsy. it came to me one day and then never left my brain, so this is real lore now.

[gluttonemporium]

hours later, ann walked into leblanc, noticing her friends totally gone, and a saliva soaked camera among a few other sopping wet articles of clothes strewn around the floor—somebody must’ve had a little too much fun bobbing for apples!

something compelled her to check out the footage left in the camera, only for her to be greeted by shaky cam footage being narrated by futaba!

“this is oracle of the phantom thieves—my keen instincts have given me a pretty good hunch about where the victims of the ‘serial halloween hot babe’ disappearances wound up….” futaba turned the camera around and walked over to what looked like a small black bed that upon closer inspection was—morgana?!

mona had always been a fat cat with how ravenous his appetite for good food was, but ann was shocked to see just huge he looked in the video! his cute, pudgy belly ballooned up to the size of a doughy beach ball, and his chunky haunches had transformed into two wobbling spare tires worth of fat!

“i have reason to believe our own mona is the girl gulping culprit, and has been hiding his prey with a technique he learned from queen!” futaba continued, jabbing a finger up to the knuckle into the jiggly mound of catboy belly in front of her, eliciting a slow wobble and wet GUOORGLE in response.

“i wouldn’t be a super hacker if i didn’t know how to undo it and reveal the damming evidence though—observe!” futaba pushed her finger into the deepened pit of morgana’s formerly cute divot of a navel. “huh… it’s a lot deeper than i expected,” futaba remarked, noticing her finger, then hand, then forearm sink into mona’s belly—“oh—here, i’ve just got to—WHOA!”

morgana’s already bloated body rushed outwards in an instant, accompanied by a heavy, gastric SLOUURUSSHGRMBL, knocking the camera out of futaba’s hands and revealing his true size. the catboy had become an absolute blob—jostling black flab dominated an entire corner of leblanc, knocking chairs and tables aside as it brushed against the ceiling.

futaba scrambled over to her camera and picked it up again, regaining her composure and doing the best she could to continue her narration over the angry GRUUMBLEs and… muffled screams coming from the jiggling mass of hungry catboy fat that blocked her exit from the building. “u-uh… as you can see, mona seems to have used this technique to gulp down as many girls as he could while hiding them from us!” as if to punctuate futaba’s assertion, the distinct imprint of a heavily endowed, busty girl pushed out against the quivering surface of morgana’s fat, only to sink back into the thick inky sea with a yelp and an angry churn moments later.

futaba sighed exasperatedly at the wanton display of morgana’s gluttony, walking over to his blissful, sleeping face and bringing the camera back to focus. “luckily this isn’t the first time something like this has happened, so i, oracle, can become the hero of justice for the innocent busty girls of tokyo! all i have to do is—wait—wha—WHOA—WHOA!” the camera unfocused as another ominous GORROOWWOOLLL seemed to shake leblanc and a quick, wet SHLURRRP rang out—followed by what was unmistakably a deep, heavy gulp—GLUURK—and the footage went black for a while. the only audio was what sounded like an overloaded washing machine, churning and gurgling along before finally the video came back as well.

ann clearly saw the camera rocketed out of a slimy abyss, alongside many other random items of clothing and costumes which splatted wetly against the floor with what must have been the loudest, brassiest belch she had ever heard—enough to shake the lights and windows of leblanc—before the screen read back “END OF VIDEO.”

ann’s heart was pounding—that couldn’t have been real, could it? maybe it was some kind of elaborate halloween prank? then… she heard a terrible, wet roar as something soft and squishy pressed against her back.

This was... it...

It was almost too much. There had always been signs that Mona had been a much bigger pig than he let on. How much he could pack away during sneaky visits to restaraunts, strange sounds echoing from his mildly tubby stomach on occasion... but this?

"I-I've gotta do something about this..!" Ann breathed in deeply and composed herself. Maybe asking Makoto would be her best bet? Yeah, Queen knew all sorts of things... plus she might have taught the fat cat how to hide all that wiggling pudge in the first place-

But her plans fell apart the moment she heard that gurgle.

"Fiiiiinally~! Yaaaaawn... I was waiting for you, my Lady!"

A familiar, praising voice echoed from right behind Ann, and at the same time an indescribably soft weight pressed against her back. No, it pressed into AND around her, oozing around her shoulders and hips until she could see black borders in her vision! The girl stood rooted to the spot in fear, as something stretched violently out of the blackness on her right... only to fade back down again.

"Futaba interrupted my nap after a busy night collecting treats, so she had to be first... but that's okay!" Morgana chuckled proudly, licking his chops as his secret gut gave him away by roaring. "Nothing was ever going to compare to you, Lady Ann~"

"Happy Halloween~" Was the last thing Ann heard before everything went hot and wet...