#and the reason they lose them in different ways is to mirror the different timelines and how Time affected them

[freedelusionshere]

Syd is staying at The Bear

Started thinking about this after getting into a meta discussion with @gingergofastboatsmojito, but I would really love it if Syd chose to stay at The Bear and turn down Chef Adam entirely for sensible business reasons in addition to the fact that she has deep feelings for what she built with Carmen?

Her dad constantly puts pressure on her about the financial side of things and finding a good partner. I think this is a reference to Sheridan Road and maybe someone not holding her down in the past when she tried to have her own business, and it blew up in her face.

The show makes it clear that Syd does understand how to run a business right out of the gate but has avoided saying exactly what happened with Sheridan Road up until this point, and that has to be intentional. Some thoughts:

She writes that whole huge business plan for The Beef and hands it to Carmy in S1 and it has charts and numbers and everything. Carmy has never done this himself but does understand how to make the kitchen run like it's been run at other fine dining places he's had an open door to work at. That becomes very clear in S2 when he buys $11K worth of Dystopian Butter (LOL) like he's Chef David or something.

Carmy is bad with money and operations. Syd and Sugar are not, but Carmy wants to be in control, so Syd is starting to not trust that he's going to be a good partner. Then, what does she do? She goes around in S2 and talks to other owners and chefs and does her research and they all tell her their horror stories and give her advice. She is thinking about all this stuff in the background when Carmy ditches for Claire, which leads up to S3.

Carmy, after losing it in the walk-in in the S2 finale, is terrified because they finished the service just fine without him, and he knows Syd has every reason to leave him now. His pivot is to tell her that he will get her the Michelin star and offers her a partnership, but of course he has to be creatively in control because he's retained stars (never won them). But really, this is all about impressing Syd and also competing with her, and it mirrors the story Syd's dad tells her about her mother in S2 when they got a flat tire, and he was fumbling around trying to pretend he knows what he's doing while her mother just got out of the car and changed the damn tire.

Syd avoids signing the agreement, because she doesn't want to read what is in it. She's already got one foot out the door mentally and is afraid it will give her a reason to stay, and she knows these people are sincere and cares about them. The same people that repeatedly bring it up and try to get her to sign it, but things are starting to get too real real, and it's triggering all her shit about Sheridan Road all over again. Chef Adam approaches her to poach her from The Bear and it gives her an out that promises the financial stability and promises of the control she's always wanted. But at what cost?

With all of these things taken as a whole, Syd has access to Nat and Pete, who can help her run numbers, she can figure out who the backers are, Richie worked around people who worked closely with Chef Adam who she has now been introduced to. She can look at the timeline Chef Adam is presenting, and the show has told us that Syd should know Chef Adam is "off" (he's applying way too much pressure already) and will turn him down. But it also would be great if Syd makes Carm have to counter-offer, to give her more creative control, hash out their differences, etc.

Also, Syd can present her own business plan to someone like, say, Chef Terry, for The Bear, and possibly secure financial support for The Bear when Cicero's money goes sideways (and make Carmy fall in love with her even more than he is already). This allows Syd resolution to her past so she can move forward with Carmy as her partner, do the family style with the cola ribs and risotto like they originally planned, and fend off stuff like Chef Adam trying to poach their staff in S4 for his fine dining underworld nightmare restaurant.

[lover-of-mine]

Hi! So much has happened. Picking through different details to make sure this message is not repetitive because I know you have many many spies by now.

Firstly: the fake article. I cannot find who originally posted it. Only a screenshot from a BT mad about it. But apparently a Buddie made a fake post about a fake article about Lou quitting acting. They are very upset about it. It is ‘harassment’ apparently. People are offended that it cites mental health scare as the reason Lou would allegedly quit acting. As if BTs were not saying that Eddie should kill himself to mirror Ryan’s history of suicidality? Throwing stones from glass houses.

Here is the fake article screenshot. https://x.com/xfirepilot/status/1822790104525500839?s=46&t=i5gFcB_0q-6E5MZXiGtU_w

Secondly: Mark decided to lie about having ‘sources’ saying Lou is back on set this week. If he is not spotted… prepare for a full meltdown. They are CONVINCED this is the week. Especially because of the hangar. The longer they go without a sighting the more they lose it. They keep saying ‘quiet’ in hopes that it will make things happen (ie make Lou show up) which is kind of lame tbh. Taking all the fun out of the q word bit.

Thirdly: Happy birthday Peter! 9-1-1’s Instagram account posted a video of JLH + Oliver + Tracie + Ryan + Aisha + Kenny wishing him a happy birthday. Declan (Denny) also posted a photo of him and Peter. BTs are pretending that this is fine but are secretly losing it. Lou should be on set because of the hangar photo! Why is he not in that video! Why has he not posted about Peter’s birthday! But at the same time they are falling back once again on the ‘Lou is purposefully being hidden’ theory. Which is incompatible with their beliefs they will get a sighting this week.

Fourthly: one of them is saying a promo video will be released this week and promo photos the week after. I was not in the fandom in previous years but afaik this does not line up with past promo timelines? But correct me if I am wrong.

Fifthly: someone created a tumblr account called @killkinard and they are saying it is a death threat against Lou? Not Tommy? Very dramatic.

https://x.com/hofevanbuckley/status/1823057221053251994?s=46&t=i5gFcB_0q-6E5MZXiGtU_w

Sixthly: the subreddit drama… oh the subreddit drama. Okay. So. A BT shipper decided to make a new 9-1-1 subreddit because the main subreddit is way too Buddie focused. Complaining about anything to do with Tommy being downvoted on the main subreddit. So far the new subreddit has 35 members (as opposed to the 34170 members on the main reddit). So far half the posts on the new subreddit are transplanted from the main subreddit or the BT subreddit. Literally cross-posted. Makes sense that they do not like the main subreddit though. There was recently a post saying ‘why does Tommy get so much hate for being a bigot when half the main cast are cheaters’ uhhh because he is RACIST? And SEXIST? Honestly maybe it is a good thing they have that space now. Keep them contained away from the rest of us.

Seventhly and finally: someone said ‘I hope Lou posts a black and white picture Oliver takes of him on set’. They want Oliver and Lou to be Oliver and Ryan so bad oh my god. Not beating the Tommy/Eddie conflation allegations. Really all they ever do is steal from us. They have started calling Buddies ‘BDs’ now like we call them BTs. They are claiming Oliver’s new happy social media presence is a sign that he is filming with Lou. Everything we have or we say gets twisted and made about that man.

Anyways. I think it will be very funny if Lou does not show up this week. Especially because the hangar seems to be related to a Ryan and Kenny scene: https://x.com/buckleysbf/status/1823000264183271494?s=46&t=i5gFcB_0q-6E5MZXiGtU_w

Hi love 🩵

I don't even know what to say. I'm just staring at my phone. They really can't tell actors apart from characters huh? And this is a lot. I did the see part of the fake article drama but didn't fully get it. They definitely just want Tommy to be Eddie. I can't believe they dropped the BoB thing, come on guys, you don't have to copy everything we do. I do expect them to continue to detach themselves from reality more if Lou doesn't show up soon, even with the whole "they're hiding him" fantasy they have going.

[temis-de-leon]

I'M FREE TO COMMENT!!! Your Solomon and Simeon have a nightmare where he rejected you is so good! I love it especially Solomon knows he will lose them 😭, he has regrets when it comes to his long life 🥺, he lied to himself so much that he can't take it anymore 😔, he might have realised how much time he spent on his pursuit for knowledge ⏰, someone would only be able to remind him if they lived as long as him 😞, just how many people he had buried himself that he seeks to find people like him 🥺, he felt like he reunited with an old friend when he first met them 🥹, he remembered all of his experiences of his old friends passing away before him 😔, he couldn't resist getting closer to them & protecting them from the brothers when he acts like a demon himself 😈, he won't accept anything more than their friendship 🫸, the only number that's important to him would be the day of death if he were to return their feelings 💀, he was coughing from an experiment which explains too much 😅, he thought of opening the windows which helped 🪟, he's uncertain if his tears are because of the unusual air or the nightmare 💧, his nightmare kept repeating in his head as much as he wouldn't want to 🔁, his words held some logic yet he couldn't agree with it 🥺, he may enjoy taking risks but he would never actually reject them 🫸, he's motivated enough to finish his work faster just so he can spend time with them 🤭, just how ironic his gift is 🎁, he originally intended to bond with them about the different possibilities of their relationships 👥, it also was meant to see other ways both of them would have fell in love not to be rejected 💘, he couldn't help but wonder if that's what happened in another timeline 😭, the air in the room is being purified 👍, he's calming down 😌, he thought about what could have been the cause of the potion 🤔, he threw the potion away 👍, he decided to only continue when his nightmare stops haunting him 🛑, he hopes there won't be any victims who will suffer from his experiment 😅, he plans on spoiling them until he can give them something better 🎁, Simeon is well aware of what could happen because of Lilith 🥺, he knows the Celestial Realm won't be able to stop him if he wants to give them everything they wanted 🛑, he knows he might repeat history because of them 🔁, it was just friendship at first but he could tell that his love runs deep ⊙⁠.⁠☉, he does cherish their friendship as it's not what he ever expected in Devildom 😌, they hang out with him because of Luke wanting to protect them 😤, he found it easy to let them go with the demon brothers following them 😈, he couldn't help but wonder why did they choose him over the brothers 🤔, he felt forced when he rejected them 😭, he woke up from hearing a warning from his laptop 💻, he fell asleep on his laptop 😴, his document is full of random letters 🔠, he didn't understand the message from the laptop so he closed it & kept asking their requests said so 👍, he had reason to visit them & for the brothers to leave them alone 👥, the nightmare hurt him but he felt relieved that he didn't do it 👍, he's changing & they're part of the reason 🤔, he realised how he is now isn't the same as he used to be especially how far he's willing to go for them 😇, he may not remember Lilith completely but he didn't forget her as he understood why she chose to do it despite the tragedy 🥺, he was brought back to reality due to Luke & Solomon's voices 🗣️, he realised how tired he looked in the mirror 🪞, they asked him about it but he doesn't even know it himself 😅, he decided to keep it a secret for now 🤫, and he will shield it with his honest love for them ❤️ Thank you so much for sharing it with us because I love it so much :) - Romance Anon

Thank you, Romance! I missed you! 🩷

This series has been a blast and I enjoyed writing it very much, so I'm thankful for your feedback ☺️

[koukouture]

6, 9, 13 and 26 please!

6. How did they deal with the massacre on the Waking Sands?  

Not well at ALL. Elysia became an adventurer for the glory and to see the world! Now her friends and coworkers are either missing or dead what the fuck??? She didn't have much reason to fight Garlemald before other than orders, but now it's personal.

9. How do they feel about Zenos? 

Smash. Next question.

Jk it's really complicated. I've said it before, I'll say it again; Zenos is the only one who doesn't put WoL on a pedestal so in some fucked up way, Zenos is the most genuine love interest. Elysia is kind of the same way back to Zenos; she understands that he's been used and molded since he was young and they mirror each other in that regard. She sees him as more than her adversary and as a bloodthirsty monster. Zenos is also one of the few people who understands the burden of great strength, so she feels for him a bit.

In the main timeline is is obviously impossible for them to be together, but Elysia thinks they could have been friends at the very least if things were different. In other timelines/AUs, I think she learns to love Zenos because of his refreshing honesty and sincerity. They'd level out each other quite well. Zenos encourages her to find her voice and not follow orders so blindly, but at the same time, he's not afraid to criticize her or call her out. In turn, Elysia can 100% domesticate (lol) him by virtue of him being obsessed with her. She's also really into that.

13. Are they close with any of the other Scions? Who do they get along with the best? 

The twins!!!! Elysia is the youngest in her family, so she thoroughly enjoys playing older sister to them. She loves to tease them both and takes being their role model very seriously. In turn, the twins are weirdly protective of her in the same way Pomeranians are.

Estinien too, he reminds her of her older brother and she does love to annoy him because of it.

She gets along with the Scions in general pretty well, all except for Thancred for most of ARR-Shadowbringers lmao. She thinks he's a hypocrite and Thancred just sees the worst parts of himself in her. Yeah. Dw, during Shadowbringers that can have a nice life changing fieldtrip together.

26. Do they suffer any traumas from any of their adventures? How do you foresee this affecting them going forward? 

I mean there's the obvious losing people she cares about left and right, but the nail in the coffin is how everyone seems to idolize her. She is the strongest, she is Hydaelyn's champion, she is supposed to be Eorzea's guiding light. But she is human at the end of the day, and people can only take so much. I feel like it really isolates her from people who do genuinely care about her.

I think leading up to and Shadowbringers, she pulls away from her friends for a bit because she just feels so used.

Thank you for asking!

[trash-monkey]

Dead Man Walking

Beep

Beep

Beep

Bbbeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

My vision return to me first to show I'm sitting in a filled dinner with people chatting away and when looking out the window on my left to see that the dinner sits in a busy city but I can't tell which city I'm in, looking at my hands that's lay in the table the memory of death appears in mind.

"Hey." Suddenly a male voice filled my ears before being able to hear the people around us and it take a moment for me to recognize the teen sitting a cross from me, long blonde hair sits in a braid on the back of his head as the sides are shaved to show one is tattooed with a dragon which he speaks at my confusion.

"The names Ryuguji Ken but others call me Draken, I don't want to sound too harsh but we're both dead and the reason you're here in 'this' after life is me as I'm stuck sitting here since I've regretted the way I have left things." He give a glance out the window with longing which I guess is the after life as the dinner we're sitting in is the gateway to it.

"Ok but what's this got to do with me?" He sigh.

"For me to move on it was decided that you'll take possession of my former body as it'll be yours to do whatever you want with and to look after my friends for me in exchange you'll get to live again." This confuses me more as the manga as already finished.

"But don't Mikey and Takemitchy save the future?" He nods.

"Yes but that's a different timeline and not the one you'll be in, Mikey will be stuck in a coma and Takemitchy will be dead though it hasn't happened yet which is a timeline I don't to live on in." I give a nod in understanding and agreement in doing this for him as I know I don't really have a choose in it but at least I'm giving some information instead of being dumped with nothing.

"How do I explain that 'you're' alive if I meet anyone you knew?" I lean forward as he chuckled and look at the door of the dinner, following his eyes to see Emma, Shin, and Baji waiting for him.

"You can figure that out on your own and thank you." With that he leaves through the door after the two gives him a hug while Baji gives him a fist bump, once they're out of view my vision goes dark again.

Blinking a few times to clear up my vision to see a unfamiliar ceiling hanging over me and with a moan of soreness I groggily sit up in the bed I'm laying in only to wince when my chest pulses after taking a deep breath which I moved the white tank top aside to see bandages covering my chest causing me to remember what happened, carefully I make my way over to the bathroom outside the bedroom to see a nineteen year old Draken standing in the mirror.

'A deal is a deal'

I sighed as I slid both hands down my face with my new reality setting in before taking a look around my new home that is a small apartment, quickly I figure out the date and why I'm here from a pile of envelopes sitting on the small table which one of them is a letter from the brothel owner.

'As you have loss your memory from the incident I had taken it upon myself to rent and pay for this apartment along with bills until you can get onto your feet comfortably in hope of getting you away from the past that caused the incident and memory loss.

~Masawei'

I shake my head at the straight forwardness but he had to care for Draken a little for him to do this, that or the ladies pushed him to but either way I'm great full for it.

'The memory lose will explain the personality shift as that I haven't really meet them personally before and I also have six days before the Battle of the Three Deities as today is July 1st of 2008 which I have plenty of time to get use to this body and plane what to do.'

I set the letter down back on the table and make my way back into the bathroom to take a look under the bandages which shows three gun shots holes has been stitched and still healing, before bandaging them again I do a workout to keep the healthy body Draken worked so hard for though I'm careful not to pull a stitch and take a nice warm shower after.

'I can pump some iron now'

I flex in the bathroom mirror with a laugh as the AI generated muscular Harry Potter parodies pop into mind causing me to double over before drying myself off , dress, and fix my now long blond hair into the usual braid that Draken has it in until I decide something else. Slipping the black boots by the front door on and a loss fitting hoodie as I put the hood on before slipping up the sleeves to the elbow as I head out to the door to get a feeling of the area I now live in. The street is busy and full of people so it's slightly hard for me to walk but because of my new height and the bitch resting face scared most out of the way, I use the days before the battle to get any map I can get my hands on and learn what this new body can do. Soon I figure out that I'm still in the same city as in the anime just farther out to the city limit then Takemitchys place and with ease I found the location of the rail yard where the battle takes place as I've decided to stay hidden to watch from a distance.

Although I worry about the effects of me being in the timeline will cause as I try my best to busy myself with learning and my usual morning workouts but it only worked a little, when the day finally appears I put on all black clothing and make the journey to the rail yard where I had picked a spot to watch from days prior but everything played through like it's supposed to though watching the katana go through Takemitchy makes my heart ache, but with the knowledge that the two are in a better place is enough to dull it.

'Now it's into the unknown'

Runs through my mind as I see Mikey falls to the gravel unconscious as the dead Takemitchy stays in his sitting position, hearing disbelief and tears fill the air but they quickly fade as someone call the ambulance which the sounds of it approaching fast cause the two broken gangs to scatter to the winds but I stay out of sight to watch to two be wheeled away.

_______________________________________________

[dayplays]

A quirky thing about Blaze's canon history is that, despite the Sol Dimension being a wholly separate & unique one from Sonic's, Eggman Nega (her primary antagonist) isn't actually her world's version of Eggman. Nor is he even native to her world at all.

He's from the main dimension's far future, a descendant of Eggman who was dissatisfied with his ancestor's failure to bring their ideal world into fruition, who uses advanced future technology to develop a means to traverse both time & space, and uses it to try to succeed where his ancestor failed by conquering a world at it's weakest.

Apparently, he initially tried time traveling to the past of the main dimension for this, but was (presumably repeatedly) stopped by Silver. (Source: Sonic Rivals)

So when THAT failed, that's when he decided to hop to a different dimension who's timeline wasn't protected by an annoying time traveler, that we could just conquer that world instead... a world who'd never have otherwise known Eggman, as far as he knows.

And, while it's never really fully elaborated on in complete detail as far as I'm aware, I've taken the route in believing that here, too, he tried conquering the Sol Dimension super early in it's timeline so he'd have the best chance he possibly could against them.

And, to his credit, his first attempt came really close! The world's inhabitants just barely managed to rebuke him and safeguard their world. The loss didn't discourage him, considering how close he'd gotten, so he just hit fast forward a few years when their guards would be let down and he could try again without the same flaws.

And he failed, again. No big deal, do-over again. ... huh, odd, they didn't have their guards down as much!

Repeat this ad-nauseum throughout the timeline's entire history up to the present, and you see what the results of Eggman Nega's nonstop attempts at conquering the world have done to the Sol Dimension: created a world who's most powerful empire was formed purely to safeguard their planet from invasion and protect it's most powerful artifacts, who's royal family are born with superpowers and trained from a young age to turn their enemies into ashes.

No, Blaze's world is not like this simply to be a "mirror" of Sonic's (on this blog), it exists this way because an egotistical time-traveler repeatedly gave them reason to grow sterner and firmer, forged in the fires of invasions from another world. He made them stronger.

Something that became so frustratingly Sisyphean to Nega that, when all his other plans failed, he didn't even want to win by the end of Sonic Rush Adventure- he just wanted to destroy the whole planet, flip the table the game he'd been losing so badly at was being played on. Unfortunately for him, he cracked before that world did.

[direwolfrules]

Star Wars As Star Trek AU: More Stuff

The Federation Timeship Ghost- In Voyager there was the Timeship Aeon which tried really hard to stop Janeway from fucking up the timeline. So, because I want Rebels in here somewhere, there’s the Timeship Ghost.

Captain Hera Syndulla, Commander Kanan Jarrus, Lieutenant Commanders Garazeb Orrelios and C1-10P, Lieutenant Sabine Wren, and Lieutenant Jr Grade Ezra Bridger. Sometimes they’re accompanied by Starfleet Temporal Intelligence Agent Alexsander Kallus. Even more rarely they’re accompanied by Kallus’s boss, a Togruta woman who they only know as Fulcrum.

In this AU Starfleet’s Temporal Division likes to recruit people who won’t be missed by the time stream. Transporter clones, spacial scission duplicates, people from branch timelines that are about to collapse. Folks with nothing to lose and a willingness to spend vast quantities of time in a space outside of it.

Hera and Chopper are from a paradoxical future that never happened, Kanan’s a spacial scission duplicate of a future Starfleet Commander, Sabine’s from a paradoxical future of the Mirrorverse, Zeb’s a survivor of a genocide that never happened, and Ezra’s a transporter clone. No one knows what Kallus’s deal is, and everyone’s afraid to ask about Fulcrum.

I feel like I should have mentioned this earlier but in this AU everyone’s aged up a bit to make military positions make sense, so Sabine and Ezra are in their twenties.

Hera’s future involves President Palpatine successfully destroying the moral fiber of the Federation through facism, turning it into the Zhell Imperium. It’s a paradoxical timeline, and before they collapse it the Starfleet team recruits her and Chopper because they seem competent.

Kanan’s from the future of the main timeline, where Starfleet Commander Caleb Dume’s away team’s shuttle runs into a subspace divergence field. Every particle of matter gets cloned, but winds up occupying the same space and tearing each other apart. Caleb and Kanan have the same solution to the problem, but Kanan’s ship takes too much damage. Right before he can go the way of the rest of his crew, Kanan’s rescued from the wreck by Hera.

Sabine’s Mirrorverse timeline was influenced by interaction with Hera’s timeline. When Hera’s timeline was being collapsed, hers was going to as well. Hera felt bad for the then teenager and brought her with.

Ezra’s a transporter clone of a Starfleet Cadet. Cadet Bridger died due to an emergency transporter malfunction, and our Ezra would have as well, but Kanan swooped in and grabbed him. He took one look at this small stranger with the perfect recipe for an identity crisis and went “he just like me”.

Zeb’s a survivor of the brutal genocide of the Lasat people. It’s just, thanks to the actions of a different Timeship, the genocide never happened. Zeb needs intense amounts of therapy, and for some reason Kallus avoids him, but eh.

Kallus participated in the Lasat genocide, which is not a good thing. He got his redemption arc in that timeline but like, he hears Zeb talk about stuff like that and oh, well then. Fuck. Therapy is needed.

Fulcrum is Ahsoka from that same Dark future as Hera, and she’s got all that delicious trauma from watching one of her older brothers turn full facist, the other one collapse into a grief ridden mess, and all the clones lose their free will.

I have ideas for antics between them all and their interactions with the Resolute, but nothing formed enough to write down yet. I also only have vague ideas on their positions on ship beyond Hera and Kanan.

Skeevy Sheev- So, in this AU President Palpatine isn’t the original Palpatine. He’s the Palpatine from the Mirror Universe Zhell Imperium. He never managed to overthrow that filthy alien who dared claim to be Emperor over the glorious humans, Hego Damask. In the wake of a failed assassination attempt against Emperor Damask, Sheevy ran right into a spacial anomaly the same time his Main Universe self did and they did a little swap.

Now Palpy has an over complicated plan to twist The Federation into a new Zhell Imperium, with him on top. The sad thing? It just might work.

Coruscant- The planet plays the same role as Earth does in Trek, site of the Federation Government and Starfleet Headquarters. It’s still an ecumenopolis, but there’s more parks and stuff and the lower levels are actually capable of sustaining life. Star Trek vibes, can’t be the closest thing to a Utopian future if your capital planet is literally a metaphor for political corruption.

The Senate Dome is now where the Federation Council meets. The Jedi temple is now Starfleet HQ and the Academy. The temple now has large outer gardens that are open to the public, and includes a plaque congratulating Captain Kenobi’s class for beating the impossible test (Siri didn’t like losing and Quinlan was left without responsible adult supervision, hacking ensued).

99 is Boothby. The kindly gardener (maintainance guy) who gives cadets advice and believe in them more than they believe in themselves? Yeah, there’s no other role for 99. Hell, throw the Dominoes in there while we’re at it. Can’t have 99 without the Dominoes.

[hyperanaemia]

I'm super fascinated by this page of Bruce's drug trip from Legends of the Dark Knight #93. Where he imagines himself turning into a vampire after the deaths of his parents and feeding off their blood. 

While the bat-to-vampire connection is easy to make, I think it says something interesting about how Bruce experiences his parents' deaths. 

While I can appreciate the more positive look at Bruce and how he embodies a fantasy of turning your pain or loss into something. In-universe, it sometimes becomes a toxic crutch. Bruce’s story is also the tragedy of a man who can never move past his pain in order to help others from going through the same thing. Bruce needs his pain to stay constant and fresh in order to be Batman. It’s where he draws his strength from. 

In Detective Comics #678, a tie-in issue for Zero Hour, Bruce finds himself in an alternate timeline where he was the one shot that night and his parents are still alive. While he tries to bring Joe Chill to justice for them, he fails and heads back to Wayne Manor. Along the way, Bruce feels excited to meet his parents again and get to speak to them again. 

The narration shows that as he gets closer, the words that define his life like justice and vengeance start to lose meaning to him. Of course, once he gets there, he's shifted back into his own timeline. Bruce's need for justice has robbed him of the chance to speak with his parents again, and the idea of getting to be with them again is enough to make him forget his convictions. Bruce's happiness is incompatible with his mission and his mission does not allow him to be happy.

Also, the way he has a particular hatred for Parallax Hal at this time is interesting. While other heroes are willing to work with Hal during Final Night, Bruce is much harsher than everyone else. And even later at Hal's funeral, Bruce refuses to sit with the rest of the congregation. Even though there are plenty of other people in attendance who would feel just as if not more betrayed by Hal. While Parallax also doesn't have a "healthy" view of grief, he does represent a want to relieve the pain. From reconstructing Coast City to trying to remake the universe, Parallax wants second chances, a way to end the pain. Bruce needs that pain to be who he is, so Hal has committed the biggest possible sin in his eyes.

There's an awareness from Bruce and his family that the way he does things isn't healthy. Dick, Tim, Damian, etc. All have expressed that they don't want to become like Bruce and have shown much healthier ways of coping with loss. And Bruce in turn is happy (some of the time) that they've found other reasons for becoming heroes and the places to draw their strength from.

Much later in Black Mirror, there is a recurring motif of being eaten. Dick's fear of losing himself and being consumed by the Batman mantle and even Gotham itself. One of the biggest differences between Dick and Bruce is arguably that Dick was able to move on from his parent's deaths. Using the visual framework from Black Mirror, Bruce must seem cannibalistic in comparison.

[keefwho]

October 16 - 2023 Monday

11:04pm

This morning was another breakfast sandwich with some brown rice this time. I think those sandwiches might be hurting me a little. Either that or the ramen at lunch time. I made sure to stream on time today by getting breakfast ate and coffee made at certain times.

Stream went okay, I only worked an hour on commissions and used the other hour on a YCH. Real good episode of He Man today where Skeletor got a chastity belt.

After stream I wiped down my sink, mirror, windows, and windowsills. I did my usual workout after and rewarded myself with a chicken burger and pack of ramen which is more calories than normal but I needed them.

In the afternoon I joined David's server while I finished up the world and submitted it for Spookality. I also did today's request in there. I tried joining Egg's server while trying to think of something to do for Inktober but she didn't show up. I don't think our schedules line up very well but I'll keep trying. Daisy and I called shortly after and I finished my Inktober before we watched the newest Monster High episodes. She went up to bed after and played Zelda while I sketched and also played Zelda.

On my mind today is how this morning Daisy was talking about having an epiphany about her relationship with her work life which I think is a good thing. She wants to discover who she is outside of her accomplishments just like I do. It's constantly in the back of my mind how much trouble I have being me or knowing what I like. It's like hardly anything can truly fulfill me. I kind of know why, a lot of things get in the way of enjoying the things I do. I do know some of the things I want to do, I just don't know how to get there.

Tonight I think I did a good job of enjoying what I was doing. It started with the VC, I felt comfortable and secure enough to fully take in the experience of watching Monster High with Daisy. It felt nice, I really got into the show and started feeling some of that teenage-esque passion for fiction and creativity.

We also looked through my entire deviantart history today and it gave me an overview of my entire artistic timeline. It reminded me that I have a history, that I had different beliefs and feelings throughout the past decade. I remembered all my own eras, how I generally felt at the time and the relationships I had. I saw how much things have changed. It helped clue me in on some of the things I miss about my past for reasons beyond nostalgia. Like I used to be more adventurous with my art. In a sense I was more creative. I also created for a greater variety of situations. These days it feels like all I do is draw my own OC doing my basic fetishes and commissions. I try to play it safe but in doing so I severely limit my capability. I'm hoping I can find a way to deal with this. One thing I know I want is to go back to being able to lose myself in a drawing and express all the wonder I feel in my heart about certain things. I want to make my visions come true like I'm giving birth to a better reality.

[studyingthelore]

I don’t think we’re done with the 70s timeline, either; the “don’t mess with anything” rules of time travel are there for a reason, and I think it’s pretty obvious that this isn’t going to be a simple “and so this AU John and Mary were happy and nothing bad happened to them, the end.” That’s willfully staying in Limbo’s happy halls.

So, some possible directions:

It’s still entirely possible that Mary will end up having to make a deal with Azazel to bring John back to life. John being aware of his anger issues and his self-destructive impulses doesn’t mean that he’s going to resolve them. This could still be a tragedy as a whole: Mary dies young, John loses all of the coping mechanisms that he had built up and devolves into the John we know from the original series.

It’s possible that Dean helping his parents heal their generational trauma to this extent leads to them having an entirely different family structure. I think photoshopping Sam out of that “mystery man” picture was a deliberate choice (and not just to shade Jared lmao as funny as those posts were). They very obviously could have just shot present-day Jensen getting out of the Impala. So picking a photo from season 6 (? I think? I will double check that) is a choice; is there a timeline collapse sort of thing going on here?

If it is in fact from season 6, that season showed the impact of Cas unsinking the Titanic: Ellen was alive and married to Bobby, and all the descendants of those who had originally died on the Titanic started dying in freak accidents. This seems significant! If you try to mess with the timeline, it will correct itself (see the first bullet point that Dean’s meddling might not have actually changed the course of events; perhaps it did for a while, but then the course of events will correct itself).

So, did Dean’s meddling erase Sam from existence? Maybe, but I think it’s more likely in line with Dean’s djinn dream, in which Sam marries Jess, becomes a lawyer, lives a very different and separate life from Dean and they aren’t all that close to each other. Remember season 6 is also when Dean was trying to keep his own normal life with Lisa together. Maybe this is the normie AU, with lawyer Sam and mechanic Dean who’s in this good enough, mostly okay relationship with Lisa but something is still not quite right and he isn’t exactly happy.

I would still love to see Dean test out other AUs (do we think Mr. Guilt Complex is going to be able to resist the possibility that he can go back and find a timeline in which he can save Charlie’s life, or Kevin’s?), because I do think that he just happened to kind of stumble into this one but his main mission is finding Cas. I think he’s very afraid of possibly messing with Cas through his timeline meddling, so that’s why he keeps it vague (”looking for my family”) in explaining himself to John, Mary, Lata, and Carlos. So, he’s keeping that close to the chest, but in a mirror of the first season of Supernatural, where he was trying to find his dad, Dean can’t resist saving as many people along the way as he possibly can (and now with the added bonus of processing his own trauma and grief; and I absolutely think that his enormous guilt complex has to be addressed).

[szintalikedthat]

Hello! I’m very interest in playlist requests :) I hope you don’t mind this is sort of two requests- if you know of any, I’d like songs that fit the vibes of these two characters and their dynamic. So it could be one or three playlists! Though I’d like to hear which is which

The Corbin is a very odd critter, as most are- ray sticks rare nose where it shouldn’t be, so ray often gets in trouble… ray do magic tricks (poorly) and arson (worse). Rare a triple S villain (Silly! Stupid! Sacrilegious!)

But ray also has a very superstitious side, and it most often comes up around Voyzuv. See, Corbin’s life used to be a lot better than it is- ray was powerful, if not respected, and now rare just a shell of remself.

And Voyzuv, in Corbin’s eyes, only exists to keep rem repressed. Ray can’t stand that Rat, so ray keeps all these warding spells and protection charms- they don’t work, of course, but it doesn’t stop Corbin from trying.

(2 songs that fit rem are the main character by will wood and way out there by lord huron!)

(also, ray/rem/rare are Story based neopronouns >:))

This is the other character for that request!

Voyzuv is a simple little creature who would love nothing more than to curl up in the coziest place it can find and make art, read book, nap- but, unfortunately, in order to have those cozy places the world needs to have some sense of order. Unfortunately, as the Voice Of Reason, it’s Voyzuv’s job to keep that order.

In trying to chase ghosts of a past that wasn’t all that good anyway, Corbin could seriously fuck things up. So, of course, Voyzuv occasionally needs to step in.

It feels bad for Corbin. It’s hardly Corbin’s fault ray were made this way, but everyone has their role and Voyzuv will play its part as Corbin does rare own.

(2 songs that fit it are tarigrade by cosmo sheldrake and my ragneesh by sufjan stevens)

Anon. To be born in the same timeline as you. To receive all of this in my askbox, for free. Like some sort of trickster god you dropped this story into my inbox nameless, for me to be blessed, and cursed. Because truly, now i will never know what happened to Corbin and Voyzuv and i will wonder for the rest of my life. Where are the 5 seasons of this?! I want you to remember me when you sign your 5 movie deal of the Corbin-Voyzuv Cinematic Universe that i was your first fan.

When trickster gods call, cowards may run, but I answer. And i feel like there is a lot to unpack here (complimentary) but can we just stop for a moment to appreciate the poetic beauty of Ray, Rem, Rare Pronouns. They are like words!!! The poetry! I'm losing my mind.

Anyway.

You asked for possibly three playlists. And in the end I made you just the one... but in turn i made it extra long (im aiming for 5-8 songs usually, not more) and i put a TON of effort into it with an extremely detailed and high concept. I think you will not be disappointed.

Corbin vs Voyzuv: The Playlist, The Mirror, The Movie!

See, Corbin and Voyzuv reminded me of two of my OCs. They are not really like real people, as they are both a little extreme of what makes them them, and they were intentionally crafted to be polar opposites that for some strange reason cannot let go of each other... because in reality, even in their surface differences, in some kind of overarching way They Are The Same... like a mirror image.

The reason why the playlist is called a "mirror" is because it works in the following way: it's split down in the middle, the upper half for Corbin and the lower for Voyzuv, but each song has a corresponding counterpart on the opposing end of the playlist that is The Same Song, but The Other One. So its more like two playlists welded together on one side, and I hope for their interaction to emerge sort of... metatextually from the way that the song pairs are interact. In the end, the playlist comes together in a song that has no pair because it is a perfect intersection between them both... finally proving my thesis statement that even though they are very different people with extremely different goals and personalities, They Are Somehow Deep Down The Same.

The playlist is shaped in this mirror way as I described but I'm going to discuss the songs in pairs because it will be easier to talk about it that way. I think you can listen to this playlist in the mirror-way and also the paired-up way and both of them will give a well formed, varied experience, which I am very proud of.

I highlighted the songs that you recommended. Btw i can't believe that i didn't think of this but that was SUCH a good idea that you gave me songs to work with. They not only gave the backbone of the concept, effectively doing almost half the job for me, but also offered me a good gauge on what genres of music you are looking for. It made everything SO much easier.

Pyre - Son Lux

My Rajneesh - Sufjan Stevens

I want you to know that this was the spark that started the entire concept. I was listening to My Rajneesh and i was thinking... oh, I know a song that is exactly the same... just with arson. So, perfectly fitting for Corbin. The rest is history.

Bury Me Face Down - grandson

Tardigrade Song - Cosmo Sheldrake

I think that... oh, this is kind of a difficult concept for me to explain, but do you know this concept from psychology... Okay, i gave up and googled it. I didnt know the name for it but i'm thinking about the Johari Window Model. So, for example, you have things that you know about yourself but you hide from everyone - or things that you dont know about yourself but they are obvious to other people. Well, what I'm thinking of, is that this is their Arena Song. Which is to say that this is the motto that they tell themselves to live by, and what they are also perceived as. This is true but also not the full truth. I think it would also be interesting to explore how much that perception has shaped their own internal narrative and why they settled into this narrative specifically.

The Main Character - Will Wood

Inexplicable - The Correspondents

Speaking of narratives, I would like to imagine that they both have this sense of awareness in the back of their minds that they are being observed each as characters in their own stories, and i mean this both the in-universe person way and the fourth wall breaking made up OC way.

We Are Number One - Tardigrade Inferno

Hallelujah - Rufus Wainwright

No, this is exactly what you think it is. First of all, you said it yourself that one of the three S's is Silly. Secondly, this is entirely your fault for putting tardigrades into my mind. You brought this upon yourself. As for my choice for Voyzuv, i have no explanation that i can clearly put into reasoning, I thought about it long and hard what Meme Song should i assign to it, and this is what i felt in my heart and soul. I just know it that i'm correct, and you do too.

I'm Gonna Win - Rob Cantor

Lightworker - Devin Townsend

For one, these are songs about what I think keeps your characters motivated. But also, these songs are both a Gift. The first one, with much love, from the playlist of one of my OCs who, much like Corbin, Does Not Know When To Quit. And the second one i wanted to put here because after hearing My Rajneesh i was under the impression that you would LOVE Devin Townsend. Well, he's an incredibly varied artist, even switching genres mid-song is not unheard of with him. But there is a specific type of Devin Townsend Type of Song that you would really like, imo. Like this one.

Way Out There - Lord Huron

Sleepwalk - Forrest Day

In my perception this song was about some of Corbin's deep down fears that ray are, somewhat unaware, trying to run away from with a matchstick in rare hand. So this is for them the song of the Blind Spot. Voyzuv sounds like a deep down very anxious person who has a lot of fear especially about losing control. Sleepwalking i want you to understand as more of a metaphor, for being so reactive and fear-motivated and yet completely oblivious to it all. But it kinda works I think.

Godspeed - Shayfer James

Human (Acoustic) - Rag'n'Bone Man

This is what i think each would tell the other one if they could, but for some reason they probably never do.

Iconic - PrototypeRaptor

I was thinking about it for a long time what should be their overlapping song in the middle, with no answer, but then I thought, maybe I'm not seeing the forest from the trees. This song is clearly about Corbin, but it also kinda works from Voyzuv's perspective, like it is told from their viewpoint I mean? And it bops so hard. Which means that it could both be a reinvigorating, refreshing center to a playlist just before it would lose momentum, or an upbeat and catchy farewell.

So, that would be it, my dear trickster figure. I think the hardest part was that I'm not that familiar with the genre that I perceive you were looking for, and some of the songs on the playlist I also heard for the first time ever when I found them, which took a lot of research. But thanks to you now I also have a few new favorites and I really hope overall the playlist will be to your satisfaction.

[eisforeidolon]

I think the fundamental discrepancy in how we see this is that I wouldn't say Dean has a main template for being a hunter at that point in his life, period?

I wasn't trying to argue that Bobby had somehow taken John's place or become more important to Dean. Sure, in terms of formative influences, Dean takes a lot of things directly from John. And yeah, nothing makes that clearer than his confrontation with his dream self in Dream A Little Dream who derides his inability to "have an original thought" that didn't lead back to John somehow. But even back then? It wasn't so much true as it was his worst fears about himself. Dean was standing up to John before he died when he felt it was necessary, but you wouldn't know that by the way dream!Dean talks to himself in his head. In the same conversation, dream!Dean suggests, "your own father didn't care whether you lived or died". Which we know Dean knows isn't true (and I'll come back to that in a minute).

By season six, we're no longer talking about a Dean who just followed John's orders and knew maybe two other hunters. He's grown a lot more into himself through all the crap he and Sam have been through since losing John, he's met the Roadhouse crew, he's spent a lot of time with Bobby. Sure, it's possible John influenced his ideas about hunters and drinking - I think it's fair to say that's more than likely! But when Dean clearly has additional sources on 'what hunters are like' - including someone he and Sam have spent a lot of time with as adults whose unhealthy relationship to alcohol is spelled out much more directly? IMO, it's a presumption to draw a straight line there and say this must be John particularly as if Dean is just a mirror to a designated primary early influence in his life. Not maybe a cumulative impression of hunters. Not maybe something Dean came up with himself given his own issues with drinking by that point. Not maybe something from Bobby. Hell, not even maybe something Sam said sarcastically at some point.

And while I am not arguing at all that Bobby was as important as John or any of that other weird ~*real father*~ fanon stuff that goes around, because I do agree John was always their primary father figure? The pedant in me has to address your example of Dean's reactions to their respective demon deals anyway, because I have to disagree that the primary reason his reaction differed so much there was how much he cared about them.

I'd say one of Dean's most fundamentally fucked up issues is his willingness to sacrifice himself for others, while simultaneously being horrified and guilty at the idea anyone else would sacrifice themselves for him. John's deal? He not only intentionally condemned his soul to hell, he gave up the Colt, he gave up any possibility of personally fulfilling his 20+ year revenge quest, he agreed to drop dead on the spot, and he made the deal with the very creature he wanted revenge on so badly - and "all" he got in return? Dean's life.

Bobby's deal? Is presented to him by their quasi-ally Crowley, where he's promised it's 'just a loan'. We could argue about the relative naivety of that all day and contrast it with all other deals we see? But even when it turns out, 'Oops, you really sold your soul for realz!' The forfeit is the standard ten years down the road - not exactly an urgent emergency. Given that timeline, even if it had been John? I tend to doubt it would have taken priority over Dean's more immediate problem of his creeping realization that Something's Wrong With Sam (timeframe and also because Sam). Not only had Bobby not given up anything yet and wasn't in imminent danger of having to? But what he made the deal in exchange for was a spell to try and help stop the Apocalypse (and he also got the return of his mobility). Now obviously helping avert the apocalypse helps Dean, but the deal isn't about him in the same way at all.

I don't think you can fairly compare the two without including that very important difference in underlying motivation and how directly it plays into Dean's issues. After all, when Dean breaks down in Children Shouldn't Play With Dead things, his focus isn't some Deanified version of I miss him so much or I wish he was here. What he says is "it's my fault he's gone" and "dad's dead because of me".

@eisforeidolon I'm making a new post here, at this point it's bordering on derailment of your original post, but I do have thoughts about the comparison between John and Bobby as father figures to Dean.

It's possible that the writers intended for you to read Bobby as having become Dean's main template for a hunter, I just don't see it in the series' execution. Compare how Dean reacts to Bobby's demon deal with how he reacted to John's in season 2. When Dean realized that John had sold his soul to save him, he was furious and heartbroken. He appeared tempted by a crossroads demon's offer to swap them out.

In season 6, Dean knows that Bobby has made a deal with Crowley. I would say he assumes that their deal would've forced Crowley to return Bobby's soul at the allotted time (which would make sense), except that he evinces no surprise at Bobby's predicament when Bobby talks about it. He's only surprised that Bobby is taking time to chew him out over his lack of interest. I can't imagine Dean finding out that John was Hellbound, and then basically going ::shrug.::

Granted, I think that "Weekend at Bobby's" is a weak episode, probably the worst of season 6. All those hidden sub-clauses contradict the workings of demon deals from season 2, and "best efforts" absolutely should have already compelled Crowley to return Bobby's soul. Still, it is how season 6 goes, and it does, to me, argue against the idea that Bobby has replaced John in Dean's esteem.

It doesn't exit in isolation, either. Any of the 3 preceding episodes could've shown Dean asking about the deal, or how Bobby's been, or, y'know, saying something to demonstrate concern for Bobby's well-being. Maybe Dean is (understandably) angry at Bobby for his deception regarding Sam's return, but would that have been enough to make him flat-out quit caring about John? I can't picture it.

So while I think that Bobby does occupy a paternal role in the sense of mentoring and emotional support for Dean, he still isn't ensconced there as firmly as John was. Dean likes Bobby, sure, but does he care about him the way he did about him the way he did about John?

Seasons 8-9 drive home that Dean cares far less about Bobby's soul than he did about John's. Again, "Taxi Driver" is a dumb episode on multiple counts (especially the bribe-able reaper-- imagine stealing from the till when Death is your boss), but the show does run with the idea that Crowley stole Bobby's soul. Keep in mind that Crowley 's a free agent at this point (so, no one to punish him if he doesn't steal souls), and he isn't even getting nominal agreement from his victims. He just wanted to break the rules, so he did.

After Sam quits the Trials, when Crowley has become expendable, does Dean look for revenge? Nope. There's no "This is for my dad, you son of a bitch," or even just a stab with the demon knife. He not only keeps Crowley alive (despite Sam's questioning that decision), he teams up with him to get the Mark of Cain, just half a season later. Would that have been his call if it was John's soul Crowley had stolen?

Even in your example of "Dream a Little Dream of Me," where he tells Bobby he's like a father to him, it isn't Bobby's jacket he's wearing, or Bobby's music he's listening to. As his demon self from his vision tells him, it's John's.

[skyward-floored]

Thinking about what if all of Time’s successors lost the same eye as he did but all in different ways, so when they roll up to lu they’re just like that Spider-Man pointing meme as they all realize they’re missing the same eye

[punemy-spotted]

The Price You Pay

Pairing: Mob!Steve Rogers x Reader

Warnings: Non-con/Dub-con, mentions of murder, unclear timeline, blackmail, unprotected sex, fingering (F!receiving), smut, esoteric references to past abuse, manipulation, Dark!Fic

Words: 5.2k (holy fuck?)

Summary: You need his help. He names his price.

Notes: This is for @stargazingfangirl18 and her incredible 5K Soft!Dark Challenge and I can't believe I wrote over 5k words for a oneshot, making this the longest piece I've ever written. I took a blend of prompts: Mob!AU; “When I woke up this morning, I certainly didn’t think my day would end like this;” and “That’s a big favor you’re asking for, I think you need to make it worth my while.”

And this was intended to be a oneshot but now I can't stop thinking about it so thanks Siri, I think this is now a part of my WIPs too! Your work is amazing and I had a blast being able to take part in this!

As usual, my work is 18+ ONLY, Minors DO NOT INTERACT

You went to him first.

You went to him, handed them your business card and I want to speak to Steve Rogers.

Honestly they almost threw you out with an extra hole in your head but then the man of the hour walked right in.

So now you’re here. Now you’re here, sitting across a gorgeous dining table with a ten-course meal laid out and honestly you’re surprised they didn’t tie your wrists to the arms of the chair while you watch him eat and take in the look of those baby blue eyes scanning you over.

He even brought you non-alcoholic rosé, when you said you didn’t drink.

So.

So.

You wanted to talk to me?

Yeah, I do. Thought you’d just sit me in your office, have a consultation.

I like breaking bread with new friends. Have a nice dinner, get the wine flowing — of course, that’s not gonna loosen your tongue, but we’ll forgive it.

Oh. Cool, I like being forgiven.

He laughs at that one and the room, strumming with tension, snaps into amusement. So do you, cracking a half smile on dark red lips, before swallowing down the lump of anxiety threatening to break through and destroy everything. You need this. You need this and you can’t let anything — not your nervousness, not your morals, not him — stop you. You need this and it needs to be done and if this is what justice is in this fucking city then so be it.

Well, sweetness, you’ve got my attention. You want to talk business or pleasure?

That one makes you laugh, a little sharp and a little cruel, and the curling smirk on his face gets a little furrowed because he hears it too — pain.

It could be both, you say finally, picking up the glass of rosé-that-wasn’t, if your reputation is as real as they say it is.

He lifts a bite of cheesecake into his mouth and lets it melt on his tongue while he watches you, somewhere between impressed and incensed. You know the look — you saw it the last time he met you in court, but you weren’t there as allies then. Never thought you’d come to me, he admits finally, sounding halfway bemused at the idea, but you’re full of surprises, aren’t you, Counsel?

You wince, or maybe smirk, eyes on the man before you.

It’s a game, a dance, a ruse, and the woman you thought you were thirteen months ago when you put four of Steve Rogers’s best men in jail for fifteen years — fifteen years longer than any District Attorney had ever managed to do before you, and you were just the rookie they handed a shit case to — is leagues different from the woman you are now, seated prim and proper in the lion’s den.

You’re not innocent. That’s not been your game for years — this life doesn’t leave room for innocence, it tears at you, leaves you tired and broken and ill.

Your colleagues learned to fear him a long time ago, the man before you. Captain America, leading the city, the country, the world into a new era of high tech crime all under his thumb. It’s a pretty shiny shield, the one that sits behind him, but mirrors are black on the other side and his soul is dark as coal.

You’re not an angel yourself, and this deal with the Devil isn’t for anyone but you.

I need someone taken care of.

So you come to me? I thought you were a lady of morals, Counsel.

Certain kinds of morals.

You can see him smile, see the way he raises his glass, the glimmer of malice and amusement in his eyes. So tell me. What’s the name?

You give it.

He’s not in the city, your target, but he will be. A Judge, an activist, real tough-on-crime-sweet-on-justice type of shit. You don’t tell him the reasons why, because those are yours, but you tell him the name. You tell him he’s a problem, you tell him he’s dangerous, you tell him you’ll pay to have him taken care of, you tell him you don’t want to practice in front of that black, black robe.

And he smiles like the Devil he is, watches you with a grin and drinks his whiskey in one last shot before slamming it down, Real woman of the law, aren’t you?

You said that when we met the first time.

He’s a hunter, you can see it in his eyes. That lion’s mane might be tamed right now but it won’t be for long and you’re playing with wild animals. The eyes on you are ice and daggers, daring you to do the one thing everyone in the office has been begging you not to do.

(Drop the charges, Rookie, the case is just to get your face in front of the judge.)

You upped the charges.

(Rookie, you don’t know what you’re dealing with, there’s other cases.)

You subpoenaed his phone records.

(Rookie, don’t make me drag you off this case!)

You won.

You had no witnesses and a jury you had to drag in from god-knows-where after you proved, over and over again, that he’d paid off the cohort in the courtroom. Finding people with nothing to lose and a desire to do their civic duty wasn’t harder than you thought — it was exactly as impossible as you expected.

But you did it.

That’s what you do, isn’t it? Push and push and fight, claw your fingers at the ledge and pull yourself up, you pay for your crimes in your blood, sweat and tears you pay for the things you could have done then and didn’tdo.

You pay.

And sometimes, that payment bounces back.

And when it was all said and done, when the closing statements were delivered, when the Jury came back out and the Judge — hands shaking, mouth agape, eyes wide — read out the verdict no one expected, you… didn’t feel any better, did you? There was no justice for you in that room, just the searing glare of ice-blue eyes and the burning of your steel spine.

Real woman of the law, aren’t you?

First words he said to you, while the courtroom emptied out and you stood there, facing the man you’d just made an enemy of with your briefcase in your hand and your eyes aflame.

I did my job.

Did you? Is that what you think your job is?

My job is justice, unflinching and blind, Mr. Rogers. I don’t care how much power you have or how afraid you leave this city, I’m going to do my job.

You could always let justice turn a blind eye.

Yeah. I could, but that wouldn’t make this any fun, would it? Thank you for the win, Mr. Rogers — I’m sure I won’t get many more.

You leave him with a smile on his face and the scent of your perfume in his memories.

He leaves you with the pride of victory in your bones and a reminder that your strife could be worth it.

One day.

How do you plan to fill that pit, the one you tossed the corpses of your old self into? The one you let them claw up out of, to haunt you? Remind you?

You’re digging your own grave and you know it, but you won’t let Steven Grant Rogers be the first one to toss a handful of dirt over your corpse.

But now here you are.

In his dining room, enjoying dessert and some sort of after-meal coffee. In need of him…

This might almost have been a date, if not for the topic of conversation.

So. You want a Judge taken out. What if he’s already on my payroll?

Why would you keep a dead man in your pocket?

You like the sound of his laugh, and you don’t even have the excuse of wine to fall back on when it warms your core. Don’t admit it though, don’t say it aloud, don’t let him get an in. Be smart, cross your legs tighter, keep your eyes on the prize.

You’re so close to the finish line.

That’s a big favor you’re asking for, Counsel, I think you need to make it worth my while.

Worth your while?

I’m not a charity. And since you put the guy I usually use to handle these things behind bars for a few years—

You know I can get him out too.

That’s not payment, that’s putting things right.

You take a drink. Steady on, girl.

I’m leaving the DA’s office.

That stops him.

Oh that stops him good, and he looks fascinated. Interested. You’ve said something he can use as leverage and it’s not just about a job. That smirk on his face is smug and his eyes are darker and he has to know the impact that look has.

Can’t falter, don’t falter, don’t give in.

Am I allowed to ask why?

No.

You’ve done your research. You just don’t know why you’re thinking about it now. Steven Grant Rogers, “Captain America,” leader of a crime family that had too many names to stamp out, bolstered by a mad scientist, a military man through-and-through who turned New York into his own private base against whatever stood against his way.

Get in his good graces and you’re set for life. Get in his good graces and you’re safe, you’re protected, you’re good.

Get on his bad side and you only make that mistake once.

There are no second chances in this game, and here you are, asking for one.

So what? You leave the DA’s office, you leave yourself open to me — you think leaving New York is going to be the thing that stops me, Counsel?

No.

Then what?

Breathe. Steady.

I know you gave me that win on purpose — you could have taken out my last jury cohort. This isn’t about the four men… and you know I’ll get them out. This is something else, but I’m not here to ask about what or why.

He falters just briefly, like he’s surprised you knew, but the crack in his mask smooths itself over as soon as it forms and he’s back to watching you, nodding along in silence while you breathe and watch him and keep talking.

But even then. I got four of your guys in prison. And I know how your organization works — I subpoenaed the documents, remember? Your lawyers are good, but they’re not used to people asking the right questions. You want someone to seal up the cracks you need someone who actually knows what to look for.

You have more than his attention, you have his interest, and now he’s leaning in a little. Imperceptibly, but enough. Scanning over you from across the table, like he’s thinking how you managed to get so impertinent in the face of the likes of him but that’s the thing — when the only thing you have left to lose is your life, you’ll risk everything.

So what are you offering?

Breathe. Don’t. Stammer.

Myself.

The chair scrapes and suddenly there’s the clicking of guns, aimed and ready until his hand rises up and he stops them and he’s stalking towards you.

This is the lion’s den, sweetness.

The stakes are higher and you ought to be braver and he’s got your chin in his hand before you have a chance to react, dragging you to your feet. Do you know what you’re offering me, Counsel? Low and hissed and hungry, like those perfect teeth might be sinking into your throat in the next moment.

Oh, you have no idea.

You get me. On your payroll — you know. The offer you sent me a year ago.

You think it’s still open?

If it wasn’t, you wouldn’t have met with me.

The chuckle in your face makes your cheeks warm and you’re looking more flushed than you would like, the open shoulders of your dress suddenly feeling a lot more like a mistake the more you realize just what kind of meal he might make out of you tonight.

We might need to have a discussion about your workplace duties, Counsel.

You don’t notice the hand near your thigh until it’s too late, sliding up the soft fabric of your skirt until it’s squeezing your ass, until it’s jerking you towards him, until you’re pressed against his chest and the hand on your chin is now hooked around the back of your neck, thumb pushing your jaw until you’re forced to look at him. Won’t lie, when I woke up this morning, I certainly didn’t think my day would end like this, having your pretty little body in my arms,and you can look as indignant as you want but he’s got the upper hand and you only thought you were two steps ahead of him.

You think I haven’t thought about what it’d be like to put you in your place, Counsel? You’ve got a smart mouth — I wanna know what else it can do.

He doesn’t give you a chance to use that mouth to lash at him, lips sliding over yours, swallowing that indignant yelp with a punishing kiss. Nipping at the plushness of your lower lip until you open your mouth and yield to him with a sigh of reluctant surrender, let his tongue slide past that barrier for him to explore. He’s got his fingers wound through your hair, just a little too tight and whether the whimper in your chest is because of the pain or because of the want, he doesn’t care.

Knew you’d be sweet, Counsel… softly, when he pulls back to look at you, take a look at those love-swollen lips and your ruined lipstick, the pretty way you pant at him already, the heat burning your cheeks. Pay no attention to the slick warmth between your thighs, pay no attention to the way he makes you burn already, pay no attention to how your fingers have curled into the lapel of his coat to hold yourself steady, pay no attention to how you suddenly miss the pressure of his lips.

All that smart-talk and now you’re quiet, Counsel? F’I knew it just took a kiss to get you to shut up, I would’ve done that at trial, he’s purring in your ear, soft and sweet and you should push at his chest, so uncurl your fingers girl and push.

I didn’t say I was selling my body, there’s your harshness, and there he is, laughing at you again, the grip on your hair jerking your head back until you’re looking into those dagger-cold eyes again.

You don’t make the rules here, Counsel, I do, and you need me more than I need you. So if you want to make sure your Judge can’t start wreaking havoc on your career… you might want to get used to readjusting it for me. I promise I’ll make you feel nice, if you let me…

And if I don’t?

Then I take what I want and I don’t feel bad for not holding up my end of the bargain. Your choice, Counsel, you cum willingly and I’ll give you everything you want. Don’t, and it’ll hurt you more than it hurts me.

That’s not a threat, that’s a promise, and suddenly you’re more scared than you ever thought you’d be, wondering if you’ll need to sell another part of your soul to take him down after. How much of yourself will you put up as collateral to get justice for the wrongs you were never able to correct?

You’re afraid.

Oh sweetness, you’re afraid.

Here? Now?

No, Counsel, we’re gonna do this right, aren’t we? You wanna be in bed with me, I’ll take you to bed with me. Come on, say it. Say the word.

Say no. Say no, rail and fight, stamp your heels into the expensive leather of his shoes, jam your knee into the sensitive between his legs, scream and yell and tell him you will never let another man take advantage of you again to help you reach your goals. Do it. Do the thing you swore you would do the next time a man like him — men who think they can take anything from anyone, men who think they own the world and the women in it, men who think you aren’t strong enough to fight back — propositioned you just like this.

You’re selling your soul to get rid of a man just like this.

But that’s coiling heat in your core that wasn’t there the last time, was it? That’s want. That’s the realization that you like the way this predatory smile feels, that you like the way this one wants you. You’re not her, not scared and alone and helpless. You could fight back and run and maybe escape if you were lucky.

You could choose.

He’s let go of your hair to stroke your cheek with the backs of his fingers, soft and sweet, You gonna give me an answer, Counsel, or am I gonna have to take it?

Say something. Say no. Scream. Say no say no say no say— Yes.

It’s a whisper. A desperate, soft whisper. A helpless, lonely whisper. It’s enough.

He sweeps you around until you’re pressed with your back against his unyielding chest, feeling him flex with every movement, broad arm wrapped around your shoulders from the front. All of you are dismissed, and that’s when you remember there were others in the room with you. Others who just watched you concede to becoming Captain America’s newest plaything and the burn on your cheeks is more shame than lust. You pull at his arm briefly, futilely, earning a tighter hold for your efforts and a whispered don’t make me choke you, before you are half-walked, half-dragged out of the dining room.

The walk to his room is slow and agonizing as you’re pulled along, barely struggling but barely helping at the same time, tears sliding down your cheeks as you come to terms with what’s going to happen next — no one is going to save you tonight, no one’s going to interrupt and drag you out, this is your job and this is your place and here you are.

No one speaks. There’s no sound but the steady tap of your heels and his shoes on fine marble. Even your sobs are silent, even your breathing is muffled, until the stairs are traversed and the faintest click of a lock turning opens the door to the rest of your life.

You made a deal.

Time to pay.

Sit on the bed.

You move as if in a trance, and he watches your face, the hint of waterproof mascara failing to do its job, the smudged ruby red of your lipstick. Don’t give me that look, you knew what you were signing up for when you walked into this house, Counsel.

His hands are gentler than you’d expect, when he wipes away the streaks your tears leave down your pretty cheeks, coaxing you to look up at him, We’ll set ground rules later. Tonight? I wanna see if I can get that mouth of yours to beg for me.

It won’t, you snap without thinking, knifeblade sharp and cruel, ready for a fight again. He promised you that once, in a hiss you thought you’d misheard but no, you heard him just fine and now if he thinks he can quench your fire and have you pleading just because you sold your body for the prospect of revenge then he’s wrong.

Thing is, he laughs like that’s a challenge, and the hand holding your chin so gently is wrapped around your throat before you know it, silencing your voice with just the right application of pressure. I can do this all night, Counsel. Do you think you can last that long?

Fear. Anger. Indignation. You are fury made flesh and he is manipulating you with just the barest press of his palm and sliding over you, until you’re laid out there on soft sheets and he’s looming over you, splaying that big hand out and sliding it down your throat, over your chest, feeling the ruching of the fabric under his palm. You wrapped yourself up like a present for me, didn’t you sweetness?

The change in nickname isn’t lost on you but here you are, glaring up at him while he smiles so beatifically it leaves your blood boiling and your skin steadily warming. The rise and fall of your chest is hypnotic, every angry breath a swear you don’t utter, every inhale your protests dying in your throat. What can you say, what would you say, right now? There’s nothing that can change the way he looks at you, or the way his eyes flicker from ice to blue fire the more he takes stock of the pretty little thing he’s about to start sharing his bed with.

Fuck, you’re beautiful, that one shocks you, but not as much as the sudden rush of cold air when he tears the emerald green fabric of your dress down and reveals the soft swells of your breasts, nipples peaked from the sudden cold.

You don’t get much time to gasp, just something soft and strangled before he turns your voice to whimpers, wrapping lips around that pebbled tip and laving his tongue over sensitive flesh. Where are your words now, Counsel, while he threatens the softness of your chest with the scrape of his teeth, when he slides his hands over the round curve of your thighs and parts your legs so he can press himself between them, so he can press himselfagainst you? Where is the knife-dagger of your wit to protest each soft, suckling kiss to your skin, each press of his fingers like he could just squeeze his ownership of you into the plushness of your hips, into the sweet swell of your ass? What do you say to the dirty little thrust of his hips as he bucks with his own burning need, reminding you just how much this is for hispleasure as he will make it for yours.

You would, could, should push him off and instead what are you doing? Curling your fingers into the silk-smooth of his comforter, desperate to writhe out of your own skin away from the burning pressure between your thighs, the foreign, unfamiliar heat you suddenly feel like you might be craving.

Anyone ever touch you like this before me, Counsel?Warm breath splays across your skin when he questions you, eyes fixed on yours and he waits. Answer him, answer him, tell him he’s nothing, tell him you’ve had better, lie and destroy that ego, lie lie lie lie—

Nnnh—no.

He looks like you’ve just told him the best news of his life, eyes wide and blown with lust, Oh is that right? You’re saying no one’s ever touched you this good? Or just no one’s ever touched you at all?

You don’t have to answer. The furious blush on your cheeks? The way your eyes slide away from his? The way you writhe, trying to press your thighs together to relieve the pressure and finding the effort futile? If the man’s grin could get any wider, it would, right now. Oh sweetness, we’re going to have so much fun exploring your body together…

He pulls back just enough to take a look at you, already flushed and writhing and overwhelmed and if he could take a picture of this right now he would. He’ll save that for later though. Tonight? Tonight is just the two of you, and his hands are back to your skirt, pushing the tight fabric up over your round hips and revealing the lace of your panties… just before he rips them off, to the sound of your indignant yelp Steve!

You’re going to call me Captain, sweetness, we’re not close enough to use my name just yet.

No. No you’re not, and he’s not sure you’ll ever be — he rather likes the idea of hearing you whimper out his title when he gets you desperate and wanting.

He touches, slow and steady, watching you try to jerk away and tutting at you when you do, fingers at your delicate nerves like an assault on your pleasure. Bite your lip, bite back the moans, whine at him like he’s wounded you, You’re so wet, sweetness, you’re so desperate for me aren’t you, as he palms his cock to relieve the pressure on himself. You’re going to beg before he does and he’s patient, he’ll last the night.

St-stop it, it’s too— he shushes you ahtahtaht and rests his free hand on your mound, holding you down so his probing, inspecting fingers can take stock of the velveteen plushness of your delicate cunt. It’s too much, too much and you want to scream the moment he presses one finger into you, already overwhelmed, already so tightly wound the barest touches are unraveling you steadily.

You’re such a pretty thing, all desperate and needy, sweetness. You wanna cum already, don’t you? So busy, never gave anyone the chance to fuck that stuck-up bitch right out of you, did they? It’s almost pitying, isn’t it, the way he talks, hums at you while you’re reduced to a whining, whimpering mess so soon, so desperate for the release he’s on the edge of denying you, feeling you flexing around his finger and then the second leaping jolt of your body when another joins the inspection. Taking careful stock of the pretty cunt he owns now, and he’s careful to curl his fingers just right as he seeks the spot to hammer just to get you to scream.

You don’t, not yet, but that’s okay too, because he sees the way you take desperate hold of the sheets, the way your eyes roll backwards just slightly, the way you strain against his heavy hand to arch your back. Gotta tell you, sweetness, I imagined you under me a thousand and one ways but this one, right now? Tops the list. You ready to beg for me?

Do it. Do it and end your pleasurable torment. Do it and be released from the pressure, the coiling want. Surrender to him. Let him have you.

The white hot rush of your orgasm is not unexpected to him, his curling, cruel fingers having found the sweetness of your g-spot, but — you, too busy climbing the ranks to think of your own pleasure, too busy demanding your due from an unjust world explore your own warmth beyond that of a memory of a college hookup you would rather forget — you left breathless and wanton in the heat of the explosion he draws out of you, mewling something desperate and pleading against your own will and the song of it fills his ears like it’s all he’s ever wanted. There it is, and I thought we’d be here all night. A thumb flickers over the nerves at your entrance and you practically jump, something between a yelp and a moan escaping your lips.

First one’s just a treat, sweetness. Now on, you cum when I say you do, understand?

You nod.

Oh you nod, and you are lost, here and now. Sensitive and broken and there is so little of that steel spine here, writhing in his sheets and ohyou don’t know the things you do to him.

Think you can go again, sweetness? He’s purring, smug, twisting fingers stretching you slowly, muttering under his breath about how fucking tight you are around his fingers, how good you’re going to feel for him, and the smugness on his face is slowly fading into a dark consternation, brows furrowed like he’s somehow angry at you for being plush and delicate and fuckable.

You’re almost begging him to stop, and yet the pressure is building again, the twisting, coiling heat that leaves you breathless and mewling and he looks like he might be trying to immortalize this moment forever. Say it, sweetness. Say you need me. Beg me for my cock.

That’s it.

That’s what you need to, you need to beg, you need to give in. No more fighting, no more arguing no more —

Please…

Please what, sweetness, come on now. You got a way with words. The snarl is so barely contained.

Please, Captain, please just…

What do you need, sweetness? The fingers are relentless, the buzz in your nerves is overwhelming, you can barely even hear yourself talk, much less him.

Please just fuck me, Captain, I need your cock! It’s hurried and it’s crude and it’s desperate and it’s exactly what he wants as just another wall crumbles and you fall off your pedestal right into his arms.

He’s barely able to resist the buck of his hips, the need to be inside you, the knowledge that you are soft and velvet and you could be all over his senses just like this.

When did he free his cock? You don’t know, you just know it’s practically salvation when he sinks into you, when he fills you like you’ve been desperate for and Oh sweetness…pours from his lips just as you hiss out something like praise right back at him.

You’re so full and he’s so gentle, at first, like you’re made of crystal in his arms, like the slow shifting of his hips might have you shattering underneath him if he’s not careful. Cradling you, even, sliding your legs around his narrow hips as he leans in and takes a hungry kiss from your wanting, whimpering mouth.

Love this look on you, all wrapped around me, whispered low and slow into your ear, sweetness you have no idea how good you look…

Melt into those compliments, melt into him, because the way he’s holding you is divine and you can feel him so deep in you it’s making your head spin. When did your arms end up around him? When did you start clinging to him like an anchor, start winding your fingers through his hair, start leaving the marks of your nails on his back to the sound of his own needy groaning?

He noses your cheek and leaves a mark of ownership on your neck with hungry lips, knowing you’ll bruise a beautiful flower right over your pulsebeat and continuing the steady assault on your nerves, cunt-first.

Harder. Faster. More.

And oh, sweetness, you do shatter.

You shatter all around him, you shatter into something divine and rapturous, full of him and filled with him and he cums so deep inside you as you do, still fucking you through your joined climax, hips rutting and breath hitching and nearly furious at you for the way his vision whites out too, the way he feels like he can Never get enough and so he hisses that at you like an accusation while his thoughts reorient back to reality, back to smugness, back to the control you took from him while he tried to strip you of yours.

In the end, as he pulls away from you and sinks to the side of you, watching your sweet expression as you return to the reality of your new situation, he is satisfied… thoroughly.

Oh yeah, I think we can make this a working relationship, Counsel.

[ailendolin]

After my previous meta post about Loki, Sylvie and self-love vs. self-acceptance, I felt the need to talk a bit about Mobius and Loki as well, especially this scene:

Because this scene is important for several reasons.

1. Believing in someone

Mobius plainly states here that he believes in Loki - in his Loki at least. Even after he was betrayed by him, Mobius not only trusts him enough to follow up on the accusations against the TVA, he also trusts him when it comes to Sylvie. This is huge for someone who told us just two episodes ago that the TVA is his life, that it’s real because he believes it’s real. Mobius’s whole world has been turned upside down by Loki’s revelation and yet he chooses to believe the God of Lies over everything he’s ever known - and unlike Hunter B-15 he does all of that without seeing his own memories as proof. Loki broke his reality alright.

2. Having someone believe in you

Then there’s Loki’s angle. He meets this man who knows everything about him - every rotten thing he’s ever done and has the potential to do - and yet still believes in him and even considers him his friend. Again, this is huge because as far as we know, Loki has never formed a real connection with anyone outside of his family before. There’s Sylvie, yes, but Sylvie is him in a sense, and loving her, caring about her (platonically or romantically) will always be about himself in some way. With Mobius, it’s different. They’re not two sides of the same coin, they’re two completely separate people who by all rights shouldn’t like each other, much less believe in each other - and yet they do. They trust each other so much they even allow themselves to be vulnerable in front of the other (case in point: Loki falling asleep at the desk and Mobius dropping the friend line, making it clear that this is personal). Their relationship, whatever that may be, might not be enough to cause a Nexus Event but it’s still beautiful and completely new for both of them.

3. Fate and Freedom

But the most important and interesting aspect of this scene is the fact that what Mobius says is completely true. For the first time in his life, Loki can actually choose his own path. He can be whoever and whatever he wants to be, even someone good, because he’s no longer shackled to the Sacred Timeline. He’s finally free and can choose his own fate. And he’s not the only one. All those other versions of him - Sylvie, the four we see in the after credits scene, and probably many more - are or will be free as well. They’re no longer destined to lose. Just imagine looking into a thousand mirrors and realizing how different your life could have been. I mean, just look at the Loki who’s holding what might be his version of Mjolnir of all things! If that doesn’t symbolize that Loki had the potential to be worthy and good all along I don’t know what does. And it doesn’t stop there. If Loki’s bond with Sylvie was strong enough to create an unprecedented Nexus Event, just think about what will happen if he forms similar connections with the other Lokis, or they between each other.

And this right here is where the TVA messed up: they used a Loki to find a Loki.

They were the ones who made all that self-acceptance I mentioned in my other post possible in the first place. They lit the spark on that, and once the Lokis break out of wherever they are right now and become part of time again, the Sacred Timeline won’t stand a chance.

[transformers-fan-continuities]

Spotlight: Ties That Bind

This one’s a doozy folks! If you missed the last spotlight you can go read it here, but strap in for The Ties That Bind, an absolutely brilliant take on humanformers. It’s hosted here at @tiesthatbind-tf​ created by @artsy-hobbitses​!

Q) Give us a run down of your cont! What's it about, what's it called, what's it like?

Ties That Bind is a humanformers-based original continuity which is part Science Fiction and part Alternate History where the invasion of Quintessons and introduction of their technology to Earth in 1920 sets the world and humankind on a completely different trajectory. The active narrative spans a period from 1920 to 2070, covering the First and Second Quintesson Wars, the interplanetary Antillan War (leading to the creation of Unicron on Mars) and the Great War which involves the Autobots, Decepticons and Functionist stalwarts, and how it affects the characters.

The cast is pretty sprawling and the narrative is mostly centred around human drama with bits of humor interspaced and a dash of horror (mostly centred around how the previous government often chose to utilize the technology left behind from the Quintesson Wars to create new systems of oppression, which affected many of the characters, in the name of worldwide rebuilding efforts).

Q) What characters take the lead here? Any personal favorites?

I will admit to this continuity being very much heavy on the relationship between Old Bastards  Optimus Prime and Megatron, which is given considerable weight as they were best friends who had known each other since childhood and were deeply intrinsic to each other’s growths as individuals, which makes it all the worse when guilt and betrayal enter the party. Despite being captains in two corners of this battle, there’s a part of them that just cannot let go of their pasts together and they need to reconcile with how this will affect their agenda (Megatron) and how they lead their team (Optimus) who don’t necessarily share their history.

Other characters with significant development include:

Starscream, a Cold Construct in a toxic working relationship with Megatron with whom he is hiding a dark secret, who struggles to balance the underhanded viciousness he believes he needs to gain power and his innate desire from his Senate days to make the world a better place. 

Windblade, a Camien native who fights her government’s apathy concerning the situation on Earth which they see as unsalvageable compared to their more Utopian society. 

Prowl, a Cold Construct raised from childhood to be a cop in a police state, who finds out that he was brainwashed several times  to ensure his obedience and efficacy as a government asset and is now working to reclaim some semblance of the humanity he was never allowed to feel and figure out how much of him is who he really is and how much is programming.

Hound, a sheltered Beastman who joined the fight to ensure that Beastmen the world over would have the same rights he did in his homeland of Shetland Isle, but is forcefully stripped of his humanity and faced with his animal side during the war and has to relearn what personhood means amid his trauma.

Q) Is there a bigger point to this, like a theme or some catharsis? Or is it just fluffy fun?

God with the amount of time I spent sleepless trying to figure out how the logistics of this or the semantics of that were supposed to work in universe, I cannot for the life of me say it’s fluffy fun, but I can’t exactly say it hasn’t been pretty engaging either!

There’s elements of war being messy for everyone involved where there doesn’t seem to be a clear line between friend and foe at times, but I think for most part it prescribes to  Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s belief that people are inherently good, but are corrupted by the evils of society. Despite its dark themes (Including but not limited to child abuse, torture, illegal experimenation  and brainwashing), love and friendships do prevail, kindness does beget kindness, found families are made, even the smallest actions matter, and things do get better because there are people on both sides who genuinely want to, and strive to make it better.

With Cold Constructs and Beastmen, it also delves heavily into what it means to be human; to have agency and personhood.

There’s also a strong undercurrent of taking responsibility for one’s actions, even if they were made with the best of intentions (Avoidance of this is what eats up Starscream and Megatron from the inside, and what Starscream eventually embraces).

Q) How long have you been working on it?

There’s two answers to this!

I’ve had a Humanformers-related universe going all the way back to 2007 around the time the first Bayformers came out---basically I had a choice between learning to draw cars or draw people (I was an anthro artist back then) and I immediately chose people.

The 2007 draft however had no worldbuilding or connective storylines and was mostly a fun little venture into character design and practice which were actually instrumental to me experimenting and learning how to draw humans properly.

I left the fandom for about a decade and when I came back to it in late 2020 around September via the War for Cybertron series on Netflix, I immediately got hooked on the 2005 IDW comics I missed out on and wanted to get around to updating my old designs as well find a way to translate several of the concepts I wanted to explore in a human sense, so the 2020 update became its own full-fledged original continuity with detailed worldbuilding and history.

You can see the artistic evolution of several characters from their original incarnation below!

Q) It’s incredible to see your artistic improvement too! Give us a behind-the-scenes look! Show us a secret ;))

Say hello to my workspace! I’ve been working exclusively on the Ipad Pro since late 2016, which is fantastic because I can basically whip up concepts and sketches on the go anywhere. Nowhere is too out of bounds to work on TTB!

Also, do enjoy this sneak peek at true!form Rung, whose synthezoid human body took years to perfect.

Q) YESSSSS alright I must admit this is one of my favorite Rungs, and certainly my fave within TTB. Amazing. Phew, anyway. Where did you draw inspiration from? What canons, what other fiction, what parts of real life?

TTB was initially conceived as a faithful retelling of the IDW 2005 narrative before it was transformed into its own continuity and as such, it borrows heavily from concepts and mirrored plot lines introduced in that run! I chose to have the series inspired off it specifically for the amount of history and worldbuilding it introduced to the franchise.

Anime like Gunslinger Girl and Beastars inspired the depictions of Cold Constructs, especially the more harrowing aspects of their upbringing as government assets instead of children, and Beastmen (Beastformers) in TTB.

I haven’t depicted the world itself in my art all too much, but the architecture from Tiger and Bunny, which has sort of a futuristic Art Deco feel to it, is what you’d usually see in major cities. There is an in-universe reason for that---with a Point Of Divergence set in 1920 followed by 25 years (an entire generation) of progress basically being kicked to the curb due to the Quintesson wars, mankind was basically in a time-locked bubble until the end of the wars, and by then their heroes were 1920s-style rebellion leaders, which lead to 1920s fashion (especially among the Manual Working Class---Megatron, Jazz and Optimus all rock 1920s fashion at some point of their lives) and architecture being celebrated and retained as sort of a reminder of how things were before The Invasion. This anime’s background design is also where I adopted the tiered system TTB’s major metropolises are often built on (with each tier being designated to a different working class) from.

The main artistic style itself is a love letter to 90s cartoons, in particular Gargoyles’ deep and drama-driven character narratives and designs as well as The Centurions’ take on body armor logistics.

I also take inspiration, especially armor-wise, from the characters’ given heritage and background. As an example, Hotrod who is depicted as Irish has the flames on his armor done up with Celtic knots. Welsh aristocrat Mirage’s armor bears olden knight-style filigree and has his Autobot logo designed as a coat of arms. Indonesian Soundwave’s armor and Decepticon logo takes cues from Batik and Wayang Kulit while their mask is based off the Barong.

Q) They are absolutely gorgeous! Show off something you're really proud of, a particular favorite part of your cont.

The worldbuilding in general! Most Humanformers I’ve seen tend to treat it like a fun exercise which it is and is definitely valid, but I found myself wanting a full-fledged world to lose myself in and I sought to try and make that world myself by drafting a detailed history and timeline of events which would affect ongoing narratives, having indepth worldbuilding to include almost all societal aspects of the universe and  expanding on the concept of Beastmen and Cold Constructs existing in a human setting.

I’m not so secretly proud of the research and diversity included to make the cast look like the multicultural, globally-based team that they were meant to be instead of being locked to a single region! My original draft from 2007 was, to put it simply, quite culturally monolithic and I wanted to improve on that aspect with TTB.

I’m also proud that I’ve kept to it this far! I’m a notoriously flaky person jumping from one idea/fandom to another and to have kept at this continuity for the better part of ten months is honestly a personal feat.

Art-wise, this scene depicting a young Megatron working alongside Terminus and Impactor (cameo by @weapon-up-wallflower​‘s OC Missit!)  is definitely one of my favorites since it helps build up the world they live in and plays to familial bonds and comfort found in one another despite their less than ideal circumstances.

Q) Everything has come together so beautifully, you absolutely should be proud. What other fan canons do you love and why? Would you like to see them interviewed?

I am dying to hear more from @iscaredspider​’s Sparkpulse continuity! Her designs are MIND-BLOWINGLY GORGEOUS and I want to hear more about what inspired her to work on it!

Also YOU. Yes YOU BLURRITO. LET ME HEAR MORE ABOUT SNAP.

Q) [wails and squirms away in the mortifying ordeal of being known but in a very flattered way] I WILL SOMEDAY I PROMISE aflghsdjg thank you QwQ

Well that was fantastic, Oni, thank you muchly! A magnificent continuity with so much to look forward to! Coming up next is another personal fave of mine, the first inspiration for SNAP, so stick around...