#anyway that's enough yapping in the tags lmao

[sunsetzer]

The Elliott% speedrun has ended on Winter 3 of year 1 at 27:49 real time. My spite is not satisfied, I think I can do it even faster. I'm pretty sure what killed it was that instead of squids, I bought a cheap lobster from the traveling merchant and raised them in my fish pond. I picked the beach farm, managed to get my fish pond in the second week of spring, leveled up fishing and picked the trapper achievement that makes crab pots cheaper for more access to lobsters, but the Lobster Route really didn't pan out due to bad RNG and the fish pond taking way too long to level up to a point where I could fish them out, but if I'd reset the morning of the traveling merchant until she had a squid I could have probably sped it up.

If I wanted to, because I'm doing it on Switch and it hasn't gotten a patch yet, I could just gift him a bunch of random items and rack up the relationship points rapidly, but exploiting a bug to do it feels a little disingenuous (it might be funny though).

This meme basically sums up why I'm doing this speedrun btw

[starrypawu]

some doodles of my vigilante au green :3

ehehehehe also he's like. the only one i have a vigilante design for out of the 5 dshkjifeiks so blue on the last panel was really just a quick design that i came up w rn

[choccy-milky]

tag nine people you want to get to know better!

ty for the tag @myokk and @theladyofshalott1989 !!💖💖

LAST SONG? - i deadass don't know💀i don't really listen to music i just always have streams/youtube vids on (I KNOW IM SORRY DONT @ ME) ....does the baroque noble party ambience i was listening to while working on my oneshot count??? shoutout to that video btw

FAVORITE COLOR? - yellow!!💛⭐

CURRENTLY WATCHING? - i also don't really watch shows💀....do 6 hour video essays on youtube count? in which case i love action button if you haven't watched his stuff (his boku no natsuyasumi video and his tokimeki memorial video are amazing, and his pacman video), and also super eyepatch wolf & hbomberguy (especially hbomb's 'pathologic is genius' video). also i listen to a podcast called '372 pages we'll never get back' that i highly recommend

LAST MOVIE? - 💀💀💀this is just a meme at this point💀💀💀I DONT EVEN REMEMBER....me and my roommate love watching crappy adam sandler movies so probably one of those??? or my neighbor totoro since i forced my niece to watch it 😍

SWEET/SPICY/SAVORY? - SAVORY BABY I LOVE SALT IM A SALT FIEND!!!🧂🧂🧂i put my grubby little hands straight into the olive jar and FEAST...also when i was in uni i used to keep a little ziploc bag of salt on me for when i ate out LMFAOOO and i always steal the salt shaker and bring it to my room and my roommate is always like DO YOU HAVE THE SALT AGAIN???......what can i say i love salt........(tho i still love sweets and spicy foods as well. and im addicted to coke zero btw. my body is comprised of 50% salt and 50% coke zero)

RELATIONSHIP STATUS? - almost 2 years in my poly relationship with seb and clora😍😍

CURRENT OBSESSIONS? - girl do u even have to ask........

LAST THING YOU GOOGLED? - probably timezones for when im talking to mutuals LMAOO...i just like to know what hour it is there no pressure tags: @the-ozzie @sparxyv @ccelicaa @kaviary-blog @siboom777 @boxdstars @versailles-black @limonnitsa @dwightschrute11 @ethniee @celestinawarlock @moonstruckmoony @syaolaurant @bassicallymaestra @lilac-ravenclaw @vienguinn @noelles-legacy @4ever2000lover @lamieboo @magic-in-onyx (NO PRESSURE FR FR I HATE TAGGING PPL BC I FEEL LIKE IM BOTHERING YALL BUT I ALSO DONT WANT TO LEAVE PPL OUT AT THE SAME TIME...SO IF YOURE READING THIS U CAN CONSIDER YOURSELF TAGGED AS WELL🧎‍♀️🧎‍♀️OR CONSIDER YOURSELF UN-TAGGED IF YOU DONT WANNA DO IT BAHAHA)

[kit-screams-into-the-future]

All: TRICK OR TREAT!

vampire marty as a late halloween treat :]

[sheetzking]

Lately ive just been so busy with stuff (sigh) my motivation is totally not there rn, but i wanted to try drawing seigaku in my style!

i think they turned out pretty okay, but i think if i had more energy id change some things :333

[kavalyera]

When your sire is your own mother. I think that would do irreversible damage to a person

[kalpalatas]

you know how some people have mundane superpowers. i have one and its called "significantly older women feel compelled to tell me their life stories trauma and all"

[nightshademyn]

“Some people act mean at first

'Cause they're too afraid to feel

It's survival, it's protection

That's why roses grow their thorns”

Hi hello sharing my OCs on my blog again. His name is Autumn and I prommy he’s a good guy under all the prickly thorny tendencies

[gemini-queen42]

I was originally gonna joke abt how me straightening out cogs's feet from my wonky pencil sketch resulted in screwing up my attempt at keeping their heights like.. proportional on the ref sheet to how I want them & stuff (unlike Amalure & Lefou's ref) but then I noticed.

This probably looks?? insane??? maybe is?? At least might be/look so with the info that: These are ALL sketches. just sketches. Only a couple details & refinements away from being ready for the lineart. and as you can tell, they've all been done.. just completely differently?? for like no reason???

[nipuni]

Yapping time, Hello! It's rainy and Nicolas is making lentil stew 🥰

I wanted to thank everyone for the enthusiasm over my art and all the comments you sent yesterday 😭 you are all very sweet you make me excited to share and keep making art and that is such a huge gift I'll always be grateful for. I not very proficient at social media and keeping up with everything everywhere and end up feeling like I'm not thanking you enough or talking enough so I want to make sure you know that every comment and funny tag makes my day!!

I was going to make more posts talking about DAV but halfway through writing down my frustrations I realized I was not having a good time (and most of my issues with the game have already been covered by Chelsea over twitter way more eloquently too 😆) so I'm going to focus on the parts I did enjoy! I settled on a personality for Rook and now I'll probably replay as a couple of classes to find the one I enjoy the most since I've only tried mage so far.

We also got back to our quest of watching all of David Tennant's work! now in our cozy new sitting room with a fireplace 😭 what the fuck

We finally watched 'Rivals'! We were not expecting it to be a raunchy Pride and Prejudice in the 80's lmao. It was very YA and very gratuitously sexual which is not something we normally go for. We were not really into the main couple and were more invested in Declan's success and whatever Tony and Cameron had going on lmao but it was a fun watch regardless!

Then we also watched 'You, Me and Him' and we were expecting it to be one of those 'it's so bad it's good' cringy comedies but it was genuinely so funny and sweet lmao we always seem to have opposite taste to most critic sites sjakfh The styling was so accurate and hilarious and it felt very Hallmark. We loved it!!

Now we will probably watch the second season of Arcane! we loved the first one a lot so I'm sure this one won't disappoint.

We are trying so hard to resist the urge to rewatch Doctor Who, Broadchurch, There She Goes and Jessica Jones though lmao our crush remains as strong as ever if not stronger 😭

I think I've read every single Broadchurch fic in existence at this point, and I'm painting Alec as we speak oughhgrh help

Other random updates, we managed to get train tickets for a short trip to Madrid on Christmas so we can spend it with Nicolas' family who are still visiting. And also Nicolas is learning about mushrooms since he found a bunch growing in our garden and it has become his latest passion. Now he wants to go gathering, he has already cooked a bunch, he is so excited.

Anyway I think that is all for now!! I'll have more art soon now that I'm finally settled and can get back to my normal schedule 😊 I hope you are all doing well!

[14dayswithyou]

Conan sent me here!

[SPOILER TERRITORY]

It was a pretty dick move for MC to just bail on Ren and Elanor at the aquarium. Wouldn't it be better to have an option to either go with Leon or stay with the other two?

⌞♥⌝ Technically, you do!! ^^ If you choose not to go into the closet, you'll (eventually) go with Leon. Every other choice lets you stay with Ren and Elanor.

In saying all that, I don't think there's much point in offering another choice since you don't really get any extra scenes with Elanor and Ren afterwards. Regardless of whether you go into the closet or not, Elanor and Teo will always leave, and Ren will show up again no matter what choice you make. So... You just have to choose whether you want to spend more time with Leon or Ren, I guess lol

But I can see where you're coming from, and you definitely have a point!! But at the end of the day, it's just a video game, so I wouldn't look too deeply (or personally) into some of the characters' actions. Some things are just there for the sake of plot progression ^^

🌷 Game dev yapping under the cut (if anyone cares to read about that hehe /pos) 🌷

I personally don't think Leon's route would've been as fun if Ren and Elanor were to tag along, especially considering how all three share very similar dynamics when it comes to interacting with Angel (a.k.a. being overly protective/motherly with Angel. The dialogue with those three would be very... bland and overbearing in my opinion shjshg).

I also wouldn't find it engaging (as a player) to spend the entire day consoling Teo while playing mediator with him, Jae, Elanor, and Ren as well. If I added Leon to the scene, I feel like there'd be too much going on and not enough focus on him.

Also... Teo, Elanor, and Ren all had more than enough screen time up until that point!! Since Leon was missing for most of Day 4, I wanted Leon enjoyers to have a personal moment with him — without everyone else around. And Ren... Well, he's the main love interest, so he naturally has to be around for most of the game lmao

Anyways!! Sorry for yammering hsghjs

[jichanxo]

back 👍 ended up using tumblr app more than i anticipated so i don't think i was as noticeably absent as i thought i would be 😅 (more under the cut for the curious)

wanted to show my rgg/je mutuals that i went as tomizawa for one day of the con :D my sister was chitose! it was a lot of fun to be matching... i understand how people get addicted to this stuff now.... there were quite a few majimas and kiryus around so we got a few pictures which was fun! got recognised by a few people despite it being a pretty lowkey cosplay. i kept a little notebook on me so i could give sketches to people who said hi! i think i might have to do that again...

touristy stuff + karaoke (my friend made sure to pick a spot where we could sing bakamitai!) my sister's pictures are a lot better than mine are 😅 so i nicked most of these from her. we got a bit seasick on the boat... the open sea really is no joke....

obligatory food post. the colourful person in the back is me lol. so many places to eat over there compared to where i am...

probably going to be less active for about a week or so cause i'm going to sydney (and attending smashcon).

[nylaboon]

hi there! can you please write akito with a reader that has a crush & its suuuuuuper obvious about it, so he can't help but tease reader and get them super flustered? thank you!

Rabbit Hole — Akito Shinonome

"Gonna be a smitten mitten till the day you die?"

— in which An gets you to confess to Akito.

akito shinonome x fem!reader

tags: fluff, characters might be a little ooc, probably shit lmao i wrote this at one in the morning, cut me some slack

note: i literally squealed when i read this request i love akito sm

You've been in school for nine years, yet you still struggle with paying attention in class. It wasn't just the teachers who had poor teaching tactics, which didn't help you activate your brain for the remainder of the day, but it was also the lack of sleep you got each night. You spent more time scrolling on social media than you did working on your homework. It was the poor attention span that troubled you. It was your fault, though. You knew you should've been responsible enough to better yourself in these situations. You were getting to that age, anyway. Soon, you would be independent and no longer under the wing of safety connected to your parents.

But until then, you would continue to feed off your friends.

It helped you get things done faster, so it couldn't have been that bad. You weren't entirely dependent on them, but only just a little. Both An and Mizuki were in the same class as you, so that gave you even more of a reason to slack off whenever they attended. They didn't really mind, either. It just gave you three another reason to hang out after school, therefore it was more of a blessing than a curse. Sitting in the corner booth of Weekend Garage, sipping on piping hot coffee, chowing down on sweet treats, and praying to whatever god up there that one of them had the answers to the homework. It was the highlight of your year.

This afternoon was the same as any other. You rested your chin against the table, tapping the end of your pen against your workbook and staring off into space while An yapped Mizuki's ear off about whatever the hell they were talking about. Another part of your guys' "study session" was that it always took at least thirty minutes for you all to actually get to work. It was a lengthy process, but you still somehow managed to get work done.

After yawning and raising your head from the table to lean back comfortably against the booth seat, An switched her attention from Mizuki to you. She smirked pridefully and played with a strand of her hair. "Y'know, y/n, me and Akito did some talking during practice yesterday, and—"

"What did you do?" You asked in horror, slowly sinking down the seat. An shook her head, a sign that your fear was unnecessary. "I didn't say anything, okay?" She took a large gulp of her coffee before continuing her explanation. "We just played a little game of 'what if'."

"By 'we played' do you mean you forced him to answer your questions while he tried to get work done?" Mizuki interjected, to which An rolled her eyes playfully. "Yes, but that's not the point. The point is..."

She paused, leaving you in suspense. Her mouth stayed open for a bit, before shutting—but there was still a smirk on her face. You raised an eyebrow. "The point is?"

She shrugged. "Actually, I'll let you find out on your own."

You couldn't help but get butterflies from that sentence alone. Whether they were good or bad was unknown, but it made you feel nervous, nonetheless. "C'mon An," you begged, "don't be evil..."

You turned to Mizuki, desperation written on your face. "Do you know anything?"

"No," she answered, "nothing for sure. But can I offer my two cents?" You nodded eagerly and waited for her to speak again. "He never snaps at you, but he sure does tease the hell out of you. Odd, don't you think?"

"Right?" An agreed. "He even snaps at Toya sometimes, and that's his best friend."

"What if I just get Ena to put you on?" Mizuki questioned, to which you immediately declined her offer. You chuckled humorlessly and played with the hem of your shirt. "Absolutely not! She would totally make fun of me until the end of time. Maybe even criticize my taste in guys, if she's feeling extra mean..."

Mizuki scoffed and mocked you. "As if she can't already tell you're crushing on him."

"What does that mean?"

"It means that you can't act normal around him for the life of you," the bluenette answered for her. "He doesn't even have to be in the room. We could just be talking about him and you'll start giggling like a little girl."

"No, I don't! I didn't even giggle today!"

"Yeah, because you were too busy trying to not have a panic attack over whether I told Akito about your feelings for him or not," she countered, to which Mizuki agreed.

"Yeah, it's, like, painfully obvious how bad you have it for him. I wouldn't be surprised if he already knew. Maybe that's why he teases you so much."

If that was the case, you wouldn't know what to do. If he already knew, then why wouldn't he just tell you instead of making you wait so long for a fifty-fifty answer? The thought made you want to throw up. Not that it was bad, but it was nerve-wracking. It would be nice if he did know, but what if he didn't feel the same? What then? You placed your hand on your stomach and pouted subconsciously. "All this stress is making my stomach hurt."

"And all this pussying out is making my head hurt," Mizuki joked. Meanwhile, An was scrolling on her phone, barely paying attention to the conversation now. "C'mon, y/n! I'm sure if you tell him, he'll be nice about it."

"No, he won't," you whined. "Guys are never nice about this stuff. The last time I confessed to a guy, he told the entire class and they all made fun of me for a month."

"That was in primary school, y/n..."

"So what? It still happened!"

"Y'know what?" An spoke up as she tidied up her area, putting her books and pens back into her schoolbag. "What if we help you practice a confession?" You raised an eyebrow and asked what she meant. "Mizuki will cover your eyes, and I'll pretend to be Akito. Then, you work your magic and confess!"

"Why does Mizuki have to cover my eyes—?"

"Because it'll help you focus on envisioning his presence." It didn't take a genius to know that she completely pulled that claim out of her ass, but you chose to just let her get away with it. "C'mon, y/n! It's getting sad watching you drool over him without knowing if he feels the same or not."

You let out a defeated sigh and threw your head back. "Okay, okay. We can practice, or whatever."

Little did you know that agreeing to her idea would be the best and worst decision you've ever made.

As to why you were doing this outside was a mystery. Maybe it was to avoid getting weird looks from people inside the cafe, but it was equally as bad—and probably worse—to do outside the building. You stood in front of An, awkwardly rubbing at your arm to distract yourself from the pure embarrassment you felt every time someone walked past you three. Mizuki and An, however... You really needed their confidence, because they did not seem to give a shit about gaining people's attention.

"Alright," An said cheerfully, "close your eyes and just imagine that I'm Akito. Mizuki, you cover her eyes so she can't see for sure." Mizuki did as she was told, lightly cupping her hands over your eyes. With that, An cleared her throat and spoke up a second time. "Are you imagining him?"

"Uh," you muttered nervously, "sure, I guess." It took a while for her to speak up again, but you assumed that she had gotten distracted by her phone again. "Now say what you have to say. Don't think about it; just let it flow out."

"...An, this is stupid."

"Trust me! It'll help!"

You sighed and took your time to think. Let the words flow out, you thought. It couldn't be that hard. It was like you were talking to yourself. All you had to do was just forget about An and Mizuki, and you were good. You imagined a world where everything was perfect. A world where it was just you and Akito, for the time being. A world where no one could make fun of you for expressing yourself. A world where everything went your way. You clenched your hands into fists and swallowed hard, preparing to vocalize your thoughts and feelings.

"...since you're totally Akito," you began sarcastically, still finding the whole concept to be ridiculous, "I guess now's the time to finally tell you about how much I'm soooo in love with you, and how annoying it's been to have to deal with these feelings, knowing damn well that I was way too scared to actually tell you about them without my friends forcing me to. And I guess I have to talk about how irritating it is to have to deal with your teasing without knowing if it's platonic or not. And I guess I have to talk about how this is probably a huge waste of time because I know that I'll just pussy out when I actually want to try to confess to you."

You could hear Mizuki sigh behind you. "You're not taking it seriously, y/n!"

"What's the point? It's not like I'm gonna tell him anything anytime soon, so what's the—"

During your mini-rant, you pulled Mizuki's hands away from your eyes and opened them. Instead of An standing in front of you, she was beside Akito, who was now where she stood before. You felt your entire body freeze up at the sight of him. Not only that, but your heart fell all the way down to your ass. He was smirking at you, seemingly finding the situation to be amusing.

"—That's the point," Mizuki finished for you. Not that you were even listening. You were too busy trying to not start hyperventilating. "Why are you here?" You timidly questioned. He was supposed to be at work, so why the hell was he here now?

"I'm on my break and An told me to come here," he answered smugly, not once breaking eye contact other than to blink. "What was that about you being soooo in love with me?" Your jaw clenched and your head became light. Is this what dying felt like? Because, honestly, you were hoping that your next breath was your last.

"It was just a joke," you blurted out and internally cursed at how stupid that lie was. Akito sneered and let out an 'uh-huh'. You weren't getting out of this easily, so you might as well just give up. "Akito," you muttered, "don't do this to me."

"I already knew before this," he admitted nonchalantly. "I just wanted to see how long it would take for you to tell me."

"It would've taken longer if An didn't set me up..." Maybe your crush on him was obvious, as much as you didn't want to believe it. "Can you just, like, tell me what you think so I can rest easily tonight?" He nodded and laughed a bit with that same annoying grin on his face. "I think you're cute, or whatever."

An let out an excited squeal before you could even process what he said. "And I think that you should come clean about this beforehand so we could actually…y'know."

"I don't know," you replied, to which Mizuki quickly spoke up with a grin of her own. "He wants you!" Akito sent her a glare but didn't deny it.

"You're making this a lot less enjoyable for me," he advised the girls. "But I guess that's one way to put it." It felt like the entire world was crumbling beneath your feet but in a good way. You couldn't help but play with your fingers as a nervous tic, but despite your anxiety, you were smiling. Wide. Before you knew it, you walked up to him and pulled him into a tight hug. Akito was caught off guard, but only for a bit. He eventually wrapped his arms around you as well and applied a sweet kiss on the top of your head. It was like a dream.

"Thanks, An…" you mumbled against his chest. You totally owed her after this.

written by @nylaboon

[lumdays]

please notice me, prince!! ♡

au by @alli-ily << i've been meaning to join this au for a little while now hehehe

*click for better quality LMAO,,, sorry i have no idea why it's so fucked up but i did transcript the important stuff down here if you want

sir? dame? siyun (aka azul's worst nightmare)

"though they are very capable, they're quite unpopular with nobles as they tend to disobey even direct orders if they figure that there is a more efficient way to do things. they're also a little too honest for high society's taste."

siyun hails from far away lands, practically another world (hehe nod to them being a yuu). it is known that they have two younger siblings and that their parents are both well but it seems that they are no longer in contact.

...ashengrotto despises them (they give him SO many headaches, FREE HIM 🙏🙏)

some more stuff utc,, ARGHHH I BRAINROT OVER AUS LIKE THIS SO FAST💔💔💔 it's the evil manhwa lover in me

ALRIGHT SOOO.... the reason why i keep mentioning azul is because In My Head (please correct me if i'm wrong/you don't want me making up stuff HELPPP i didn't know what to go off aside that there's a bunch of kingdoms and nobles), he was accused/is suspected of embezzlement and siyun was dispatched to monitor him.

...they might as well be the bane of his existence honestly. embezzlement is likely the one crime he has yet to commit but with a highly competent knight keeping a close eye on him, it's gotten a lot harder for him to do anything that is remotely not outstanding-member-of-society material, which pisses him off to no end (...that's kinda just his own assumptions though LMAO, siyun does NOT care that much about the matters of some rich merchant,, unless someone gets hurt that is).

ANYWAYS. this made me think i should probably write down how they feel about lady ariya and prince shin

starting with lady ariya

siyun truly admires her resolve to clear her family's name. but they also can't help but feel something akin pity for her, the path she chose for herself will be long and arduous, especially alone—very few manage to walk out, head held high and pride intact. still, she seems like a promising young lady and siyun is a hopeful person, "i will assist you should you ever call for me."

prince shin (@liyuviq)

humble beginnings, big responsibilities. it's a bit presumptuous, but siyun sort of relates to the illegitimate prince. perhaps not fully—they never experienced Suddenly Being A Royal and sincerely hoped they never would, even in another universe. however, they can relate to the whiplash, the struggle to cram into a few months—no, weeks—everything the other nobles learned over the years, the stares, the whispers... they remember how it all felt, and when they look at their highness shin, they can only hope that they will rise through it all. "then again, i do know i am not your highness. perhaps you don't feel even a fraction of the dread that filled me back then—i would be very glad if so."

i hope i'm not overstepping 👉👈,, aghh also open for interactions for anyone interested hdhdhhdshd, i haven't checked the tag yet HELP

as for the hypothetical target of their affection,,, i fear it may be butler jade 💀💀........... I'M A SUCKER FOR BUTLER X KNIGHT ARCHETYPE 💔💔💔ALSO I BRAINROT OVER YUNDE 2MUCH💔AH AND quick lore rundown

i imagine their knighthood still stands in another empire—or kingdom,,, sorry my knowledge of the world building here is a little vague HDUAJHF. anyway the point is that they are skilled enough for the royal family themselves to take them under their heavy golden wing—until the ashengrotto accusations and they're given bits and pieces of their freedom back.

I'M REALLY SORRY MOOTS THIS IS JUST ME YAPPING ON AND ON..... but like this au's really sick‼️‼️‼️ tags - @heyhellohihowareyou @elenauaurs @distant-velleity @twistedwonderlandshenanigans @skriblee-ksk @sickle-stick @puowei @jadelover69 @tixdixl @nemisisnemi @angelwishess @theleechyskrunkly @chillygourami @bunniehunn @cheerleaderman UUUH DID I FORGET ANYONE.....

[ladybugkisses]

this is a rollercoaster of kids saying the darnest things and then leaving me in shambles 😭

i love your ideas for what these characters would be up to in the future, it's so fitting- and the way you wrote all the Rickaby kids and their interactions with each other + the others! !! -CHEF'S KISS-

thank you so much for writing my OCs again, i love this!! ! 🥹 💕🌹💕

Aunt, Uncle, and Finn

Featuring OCs by @ladybugkisses

(this one is kinda long, just so you know!)

Spring. 1938.

Hollywood.

A land of superstars, the rich and famous, beautiful houses and sandy beaches...

all things the Rickaby children wouldn't be seeing.

"Do we HAVE to stay with Uncle Cal, mom?"

"Yes, Toby," Ari answered for what felt like the thousandth time. The 8 year old grumbled in his taxi seat. His sisters, bunched up next to him, were off in their own little worlds - Lucy was reading, and Sophie was staring out the window, in awe of anything other than St. Louis.

The car stopped. The doors opened. The sunlight poured into the cab

and standing there were Aunt Ivy and Uncle Cal.

Aunt Ivy looked stunning in the light as she walked over and hugged dad. She also hugged mom, and patted her back. Uncle Cal looked...droopy. He smiled, but it was weak. And half his tail was missing. He walked, slowly, over to dad, who held him tight, and spoke in a choking voice, "I'm so glad I got to see you again."

Toby knew they weren't really his aunt and uncle - they were something like...cousins?But always, Aunt and Uncle.

"You remember Toby," Mom said, smiling, and ushering Toby towards Ivy. "And Lucy, of course." Lucy waved and smiled politely.

"And you must be Sophie!" Ivy said, kneeling down and picking her up. "Why, I remember when I could hold ya in one hand!"

Mom winced. "Iiiii remember when you did that, too..." She nodded slowly. Ivy scoffed.

"I'm just teasin'."

"How're you, Uncle Calvin?" Lucy asked, rocking back and forth on her feet.

"I'm alright." He said, quietly, carrying a young boy on his shoulders. The boy looked about Sophie's age. He had his mother's fur, and his father's eyes. He was put down by Calvin, and shyly hid behind him.

"Whozat?" Sophie pointed, and walked over.

"Easy, Sophie." Calvin knelt down and smiled. "That's Finn...he's awful shy. He's a good boy, though, eh?" Calvin's voice was quiet, and a bit shaky. Ivy had to help him up.

-

After an hour or so of sitting and catching up, and hearing a lot about tail stuff for some reason, Mom and Dad stood up. "Well, we have to get going," Rocky said, "Gotta go see what the NBC folks want."

"Is Ari gettin' a show too?" Ivy asked. Mom blushed, and shook her head. "No, no...but I help so much with the money, I-" Mom looked at Calvin, and said something. "I don't want to tire him out too much."

"No, yer not tiring!" Ivy looked shocked that mom would even think that. Toby, who'd had to work in a garden under this woman, would disagree with that sentiment, but how would she even be tiring out Calvin?

Must be a grown up thing, Toby thought.

"Ow!" Toby's thoughts suddenly shifted when Sophie stepped on his tail, chasing after a ball. "Careful!" Toby scooped her up, and she giggled and squealed, wriggling in his grip. "You'll pay for that!"

"Nooo!" She yelped, her smile still wide as Toby used all his strength to throw her on the couch. He wasn't a BIG kid - it took a lot out of him! He waved goodbye as mom and dad left, and looked on as Calvin and Ivy glanced at each other.

"It's no crime she doesn't want to see me, Ivy, last time was rough."

"I know, I know. I just...-" The two of them wandered into the kitchen, leaving 4 children alone to their devices.

Lucy had already managed to find something worth reading. She was pouring over some papers at a typewriter, and peering at them. "Wow...this looks like a script!"

"So? That's what Uncle Cal does. He writes scripts."

"But it's a good script!"

"What's it about?"

"Looks like a horror movie. I think." Lucy kept reading, and this time, Toby felt yet another young paw on his tail. He turned around, and saw-

Finn.

Toby went to grab him like he had Sophie, but Finn looked horrified, and jumped on the couch himself, without a word. Toby smiled and laughed. "Gee, guy, I wasn't gonna hurt ya! It's fun!" He said. Sophie, still on the couch, nodded in response. Finn just stared at the two of them, and curled his knees to his chest.

Then, they heard a voice. "Kids! I need to go into town - who's coming with me?"

-

All four of the children BOLTED outside. They knew enough to know that Ivy McMurray was a famous movie actress, so whatever she had to do in town MUST be something exciting. Ivy laughed, and giggled. "No one to stay with Uncle Freckle, huh?"

"I'll be alright."

"Yeah!" Toby said. "He's grown, he can handle himself, let's do something fun!"

Ivy looked over at Calvin, and walked over to him, kissing him softly. "I love you, dearie. Anything happens, let me know, okay?"

"Aye, dear."

"You can handle being on your own?"

Calvin laughed. "The surgery wasn't that bad this time, I'm fine." Calvin kissed her, which drew a 'yech!' from all of the kids, even Finn.

With that, Ivy walked out.

"Where're we going?" Toby asked, sitting in the front seat. He was the oldest, after all.

"Studio lot." Ivy said. "I need to pick up some papers from my dire-"

"The LOT!?" Toby looked amazed. "Where they make the movies!?"

Ivy ruffled his head fur a little. "Where else?" Ivy began to drive down the hill. Lucy, in the back, sat between Sophie and Finn. "Aunt Ivy?" She asked, "Why were you so concerned about Uncle Calvin?"

Ivy paused for a moment. "...your Uncle just had a very...delicate operation." She said. "It affects how he walks a little bit. But he'll-" She hesitated, "He'll be alright."

"Where's his tail?" Sophie asked.

"...it, uhm..." Ivy hesitated some more. Toby swore he thought he saw a tear forming behind her sunglasses. "It...had to be taken off."

"Does it grow back?": Sophie asked.

"Tails don't grow back." Lucy said.

"They do on lizards!" Sophie said, sticking her tongue out at Lucy. Lucy crossed her arms.

"And is Uncle Calvin a lizard?"

"He could be under those big ears!"

Ivy stifled a laugh. "That's-...snrk...that's no way to talk about your..pff...your Uncle!"

-

One thing they don't tell you about film studio lots - it's a bit more boring than one would expect. Ivy had instructed them to wait in the lobby while she got something, and then they would go to another building, and at some point ice cream would be involved. Lucy seemed happy to wait, humming softly and looking at all the posters on the wall. Sophie and Finn were busy learning to communicate without much talking. And Toby?

Toby was bored. Out. Of. His. Wits.

He paced around the lobby, and looked around for something, anything, to do. He walked up to the receptionist. "Hey, is anything exciting going on today?"

"...not that I'm aware of." She said, eyes deep in a magazine. Toby walked off glumly, back to the benches where they were sitting -

Right up to Finn. Who was in his spot

"Finn, I'm sure you're great but you're in my spot. Can you move please?"

Finn just...stared at him.

"May you please move?"

"..."

"Sophie, can you tell him to move?"

"...uhm..." Sophie blinked. "Move?"

Nothing.

"Thanks, Soph'. Doing the lord's work here." Toby said, sarcastically.

"Be nice to Finn," Lucy said, "his dad's dying."

"What? No he's not, Aunt Ivy said he was gonna be fine!"

"They had to cut part of his tail off!"

"So?"

"Remember when they thought they were gonna have to do that to Mom and Dad was sobbing for 2 days straight?"

"...well...I guess-"

"Alright, kids," Ivy walked out, with a few papers, "just a fitting and we're done. Sorry I took s'long!"

-

Finn seemed popular with the people here - he got lollipops. He got pats on his head. He even got to stand with Buster Crabbe. Buster Crabbe! FLASH GORDON, Toby's IDOL, and FINN got to just wave to him!

Before you ask, Toby DID get an autograph - but still, Toby couldn't help but feel jealous when Buster told Finn 'Say hi to yer dad for me'.

And now, they were sitting in another waiting room, while Ivy could be heard from behind a curtain. Lucy, again, found something to do very quickly - and Sophie joined her as she explained how sewing machines work (to the best of her 7 year old ability, of course).

This left Toby, a loud, boisterous young lad, and Finn, a guy who Toby hadn't heard talk once the whole time.

"...so..." Toby looked over. "You, uhm...you like books?"

Finn shrugged.

"...you like movies?"

Finn nodded.

"What's yer favorite?"

Finn thought for a moment, and then, pulled a scary face, holding his hands over his head.

"Dracula?"

Finn nodded.

"Lucky - my parents don't let me watch that stuff."

"Last I checked, they did, and you chickened out!" Lucy said.

"Hey! I don't air YOUR secrets do I!?" Finn giggled a little when that happened.

"So. Finn. Level with me...why don't you talk much?" Finn thought for a moment - thinking through how to explain it. He looked down at his feet, then back up at Toby. He shrugged.

"You don't know?"

Finn nodded.

"CAN you talk?" Finn nodded in response again, and move to open his mouth, until-

"Ah!"

"Oh, sorry, Mrs. McMurray, i didn't pin you too hard did I?"

"No, no - be careful, though!" Ivy's laugh came through - it was bright. Finn's eyes softened at it a bit - he had been stiff a few moments before, but now, he looked more relaxed.

"Alright, kids, all finished - who's in for ice cream?"

"ALL OF US!"

"Don't shout! Girls have to be careful back there!"

-

The five of them sat outside of an ice cream stand - Ivy was careful to hide herself, wearing a head scarf and a pair of shades - and the 4 children diligently went about eating ice cream.

And, of course, Finn was doing something odd.

Sure, he was eating his ice cream normally. He was sitting normally. He just wasn't...talking. or saying ANYthing. He stared at something across the street - a little bird, pecking at the ground. Sophie looked for a moment, before going back to her ice cream.

"...Aunt Ivy?"

"Yes, Toby?"

"Why is Finn so quiet?"

"He gets it from his father." Ivy said, nodding. "He's definitely his father's child." Toby blinked.

"...Does he ever say anything?"

"He only speaks to his best friends. I'm sure he'll be talking to Sophie by the evening!" Sophie was circling around Finn, and trying hard to play one handed rock paper scissors while she viciously attacked her cone.

"Sorry today wasn't as exciting as I thought - I figured we'd get to go on set today."

"We're gonna go on set!?" Lucy asked, a bright hope in her eye.

"Absolutely - but you have to be very careful on a movie set." Ivy said. "It's dangerous!"

"I can be careful! I dunno about Sophie though..." Sophie was trying to climb a fence. "Soph! Get down from there!"

"Okay!" She bounded down, and hit the ground hard. She simply looked down at herself, brushed her dress off, and ran back over.

Finn walked over to his mother, and looked up. He tugged her dress a little, and spoke softly, for the first time anyone had heard. all day.

"...dad?"

"...oh! Goodness - we ought to run back home and check on him, make sure he's alright." With that, the gang piled into the car, and got home.

-

Dinner had gone just fine. Mom and dad had come home from that awfully long set of meetings, and they looked...happy. Food was good, on account of Uncle Cal, and now the kids were getting ready to go to sleep. They were all crowded into the spare room. Uncle Cal walked in, and smiled.

"Night, all."

"Can you sing us a song?"

"Hmm?"

"Yeah! Mama always sings us songs in port...porter...porterhouse-"

"Portuguese?" Calvin finished the word for Sophie.

"Yeah!"

"I don't speak any Portuguese..." Calvin said. "I speak Irish, though."

"Is that why you talk funny?" Lucy asked.

Calvin chuckled. "Aye, that'd do it, I think." He said. "I used to sing an awful lot better before all this tail business."

"Yeah, what's with yer tail?" Toby finally asked. Finn, at the mention of it, leapt out of the bed, and into his dad's arms, and whispered something to him.

"My tail is sick, and it's making me sick. We hope it'll stop, but we'll see." He nodded, and kissed Finn's forehead, letting him back down. "Now, lullaby, right?"

"Please?" Lucy asked.

Without missing much time, Calvin started singing in a language they didn't understand. "Dún do Shúil, a rún mo chroí, A chuid den tsaol, 's a ghrá liom..."

As he sang, Finn nestled into his bed, and went to sleep. Sophie followed suit. Lucy was next...Toby was still a little awake. He yawned, and spoke.

"Lucy says you're gonna die...is that true?"

"We all do, someday." Calvin said.

"But soon?"

"...It'll all be good memories." He said, smiling. "Sleep well, Tobias."

"Goodnight."

[batbabydamian]

Hellooo it's a been a minute- feel free to ignore BUT if you'd be so inclined... thoughts on the latest batman and robin issue? I absolutely adore Damian volunteering at the hospital, it's such a sweet step in his character arc (also something abt how Thomas AND Ras were both doctors, Talia was studying medicine in Cairo when she met Bruce, Alfred was a personal surgeon for Bruce for years...the one thing his family has in common is healing) and I'm very interested in the whole "Damian maybe quitting robin" thing. I doubt they'll commit to that (bc then they don't have a book lmao) but it's still an interesting question to ponder. I've seen ppl speculate that the doctor Damians volunteering for is a suspect and he's trying to drive a wedge between batman and robin?? So that's a possibility.

Anyway yeah! Sorry for the big blab but I like your Damian thoughts and figured it was worth striking up a convo. Hope you're well!

Damian blabbing is always appreciated!! 😤 i’m swamped with irl responsibilities so rambling about the series has been delegated to yapping sessions with @gotham-snark LOL so i’ll tag her in for any further thoughts!

Damian volunteering at the hospital!! is so sweet!! orz hopefully it becomes a part of his civilian life or a future in the medical field… i lean toward Damian pursuing something wholly his own but this healing route is something i’m still happy with, especially for the reasons you mentioned with both sides of his family! 🥺 also like you said, just a beautiful character arc for him when fighting has been the priority for most his life, which Bruce has pointed out enough lol

idk if Damian will have the same medical skillset in this run, but i like the idea of him being this incredibly capable lil hospital volunteer 😆

Detective Comics (2016) #995, #996 (it’s a simulation in these panels but his skillset's gotta be part of the database) not that they'd let him but imagine this kid participating in surgical operations at the hospital haha

Damian's comment about quitting looks more like a nagging thought after all the recent events, from the incident with Emma to learning more about himself and Thomas. another glimpse of his uncertainty in his future!!

but ykw i’d take him quitting the vigilante life over becoming Batman in whatever future TKing’s hoping with Trinity now being canon sdfghj please PKJ take Damian far from that i’m begging... seriously though, yeah! he's absolutely not quitting when he's making regular Robin appearances in other books and confirmed for a movie in the future (the latter idk for better or worse...)

it’s interesting to get more in depth with how Damian is affected when he “loses” a civilian on his watch - even worse that she’s a child, and Damian mentioning that he was mean to her augh 😭

it reminds me of how much responsibility Damian takes when he feels that he's failed people, like Sasha/Scarlet and ofc Pennyworth. not to mention the entire Year of Blood

Batman and Robin (2009) #6

with Sasha, it was briefly explored. Damian expresses his feelings to Dick, who replies with a joke. Damian helps Sasha against Flamingo and ends up getting shot, but it's not clear whether he calls it even for taking the bullets to his back or just for the save. alternatively, she did leave Damian with Flamingo to run away, kinda like how Damian left her with Pyg. either way, that inner conflict's quickly resolved!

Batman: Alfred Pennyworth R.I.P. (2020) and Robin (2021) #8

with Alfred...what a mess asdfg but disregarding Bruce/Alfred being the ones at fault, Damian's guilt spans over so many titles from 2020 to finally having a resolution just this year

all this to say again!! that this Batman and Robin run is an amazing jumping-on point for new and old readers to read a complete arc with this kind of conflict for Damian!! very invested in how he's been trying to deal with it, along with the ensuing drama with his father!! even though we're not getting Damian's full thoughts yet, the image of Emma lying on the ground replaying in his mind has been so impactful 😭

speaking of Alfred, this!! cheering!! Williamson's made an attempt to show it was Bruce's mistake but still ended up making Damian the instigator. so it's nice to see PKJ continuing to make it clear!!

Shadow War: Alpha (2022) and Robin (2021) #14 the way i cheered in Shadow War then sighed at Robin 14 hhh it's like Damian can only make jabs at blaming Bruce in the heat of the moment. is it a rule not to say that Bruce made a wrong call back then and got Alfred killed...

Dr. Bashar lol we can count him out based on him being too obvious a suspect like the classic finger pointing of “it’s the doctor!!”. he was supposed to be trapped in the ballroom with Damian and the guests which should've been in flames. he's also just been v nice with Damian 🥺 OR SLAPPING MY CONSPIRACY BOARD Bashar could be part of the Nicodemus Crow cult/Mementist/Memento 🤔

a friend of the late Waynes and met Bruce as a child? introduced along with a new villain that’s themed around reenacting past tragedies? HUH

some headscratchers in issue #16!

Damian's learning more about Sacred Heart from Thomas's journals, so could there be more to the restored hospital? and then there's the convenient mistake in scheduling Damian during the setup at Arkham, putting Bruce at a disadvantage and a lack of a rebreather

clearly we need to wait for further issues to know more about what went down between Bruce/"Jack" and Memento, but just funny how Bruce says this while Damian is probably with Bashar at this moment lol

it also doesn't help that the Jack flashbacks are being paralleled to Damian in the present day, so whatever's the final flashback could mean big trouble or big reveal

extra details i'm squinting too close at, like really reaching here:

Bashar and Memento are both mr. worldwide...

if Bashar's aware he has people against him, he could've been the "supposed sympathizer" supplying weapons to the thugs to encourage a break-in. if Bruce hadn't gone down to the lower levels to deal with them, he wouldn't have had that face-off with Memento in the boiler room

Emma’s mother as a nurse recently stationed at Sacred Heart? could even see a possible interaction with Damian

EDIT: i was so caught up on Bashar, i failed to mention Lautrec LMAO (i even missed reading an entire panel about her until Nico mentioned it hsjddj BLESS) but she seems to be a big player just based on the fact that PKJ and Mendonca are selling the issue as a “first appearance” for her!

GODD THIS RUN IS FUN every issue is meaty, and always leaves us hungry for more like woah!! potential character development!! family drama!! engaging mysteries and detective work!! DAMIAN!! i rambled more than i thought haha I'D LOVE TO HEAR MORE BATMAN AND ROBIN (2023) BABBLING!! OR ANYTHING DAMIAN!!

THANK YOU FOR THE ASK LADEL, I HOPE YOU'RE WELL TOO!! ☺️