#arr modern au

[lost-khione]

Supporting you

Aki x OC (Sae), Modern AU

Summary: Akiyasu, an onmyoji, is a college student in the modern era together with Sae. Sae is suffering over group requirements.

Comfort fic for Sae who has a ton of school works to do.༼ つ ◕_◕ ༽つ

Word count: 436

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"Hey, should I curse them?" Akiyasu asked after hearing her rant about her current situation.

Sae who was on the verge of tears looked up and saw the seriousness in Akiyasu's eyes.

She wiped the corners of her eyes and replied, "You don't have to. If they won't help me, then I'll do it myself."

"In that state?" Akiyasu snapped sarcastically.

Sae was aware that he is only acting that way out of concern for her. Still, it wouldn't be right to do that out of spite.

When she kept silent, Akiyasu sighed audibly. "I hate that I can't do anything for you even when I can see you suffering. Maybe I really should shift to your program. It's still not too late for me to do that."

It was not the first time that Akiyasu offered to do that but of course Sae also wouldn't want that. When it comes to a point that Akiyasu feels baffled enough that he can't help her, he always says that line.

Hearing that usual line brought the corners of Sae's lips turn slightly upward. She then replied her usual line, "You know I wouldn't want you to do that anyway. You have your own dream to fulfill. I'll never take that away from you."

"Then, what do you suggest? Should I rat on them for you?"

Sae contemplated for a moment and said, "For now, I think I have to finish this up so we can submit it on time."

Akiyasu rolled his eyes. "There you go again. You're too nice for your own good." He sighed again and added, "What good are these powers if I can't even use it to help my girlfriend?"

"I know at least one good thing -- your powers got you a girlfriend. Don't forget that we met because of it."

"Fine. But if I you don't rat them out soon, I'll be the one to do so. Or else, they might get a grade that they don't deserve over a group output that they barely helped out," Akiyasu said reluctantly.

Sae hugged Akiyasi at his acquiescence. "Having your company is enough for now. At least you'll stay up late with me."

He patted her head and sighed again. "Of course, it seems that this is all I can do for you now. Would you like a warm drink? I'll make you a cup."

"Thanks a lot, Aki."

Sae then proceeded to work on the group requirements that required her to do most of the work because of her uncooperative groupmates. She is thankful for the moral support that Akiyasu unconditionally offers her.

[koukouture]

I feel kinda bad bc my WoLMeric ship is actually kinda toxic lmao

Like, Elysia kinda looses her shit post Heavensward after loosing Haurchefant and Ysale. It’s her villain origin story, if you will.

Haurchefant was her first love and everyone knew it, but Aymeric still fell for her. He still pursues her after he dies and basically becomes the home wrecker lmao. Elysia, because she’s kinda like ARR Thancred, fucking sleeps with him and things get real awkward real quick. It fucks both of them up big time.

Aymeric def deserves better than this train wreck, but I’ve decided that it’s funny AND angsty so I’m keeping it. I mean, how can he not fall for her? Elysia is the Warrior of Light- she is nothing but selfless and brave. Not to mention pretty but that is a whole other can of worms lmao.

Jk I am dealing with it here. sO-

Elysia is from a noble family in Hingashi, obviously she left but we’ll come back to that later. Basically, before leaving she was kinda only known and valued for her beauty. Which does wonders to someone’s self esteem y’know? On the one hand, she is confident, and some might even say a little vain. On the other, she knows how people see her, how men see her. She figures Aymeric is just another guys who’s Down Bad TM for her and he is but it goes deeper than she thinks. But also Ishgard is y’know… Catholic, so Aymeric also feels guilty for thinking about her like that.

Elysia is well aware that she’s being puppeted by the Alliance and the Scions. (in a way) Obvs she does it willingly and believes in their cause, but she mostly does it out of duty. She is the only one strong enough to save everyone, she has to.

(Even if she really can’t save everyone… I really miss Haurchefant and Ysale okay)

And this is where I think she parallels pretty well with Aymeric, in how they both deal with their respective duties.

I see a lot of people bringing it up and yeah, Aymeric is lonely. He loves his nation, make no mistake, but he is so lonely. Estinien leaves Ishgard, apparently Lucia does too, and WoL can’t be around all the time. But still, he is a politician and will do anything for his nation. But he literally says in the dinner scene that he does want to travel and I- ueueueuehjahskhwiuiloveyousmiwannatakeyouonvacationwithme-

But yeah despite all that, despite wanting to resign post uhhh Nidhog final fight (I think) - he remains steadfast for his nation which is super fucking admirable. Like sir you’re 32 you should be doing other things lmao. You are way too noble (and hot) to be a politician.

Elysia on the other hand, well- I’mma be honest she’s kind of selfish. She runs away from her original duties in Hingashi, and she’s only playing hero now because nobody else can. In a way though, nobody can really hold her down. That’s why she became an adventurer, because she knew she was meant for much more than some arranged marriage.

So it’s kinda juicy because Aymeric is lonely but devoted, and Elysia is burned by her duty. Idk where the line is from but it’s smth like “There is no greater burden, but also no greater honour” yeah that’s Elysia.

Having said that Aymeric is devoted, he is HOPELESSLY Devoted to her

But noooww there’s noooooowhere to hide since you pushed my love asiiiiiide I’m ouuuutt of my head, Hopelessly Devoted to youuuuuuuuu- oh wait that kinda fits their dynamic. Huh. Oh, I’m gonna think abt this now-

Yeah anyways you thought Haurchefant was down bad? Well, he definitely was but so is Aymeric. Bro is ready to walk into hell and be seen as a sinner for some Au Raussy. Okay no but he is hopelessly in love with her. It is very easy to see. I mean bro literally invites her to his house for dinner??? Alone??? The rumours are rumouring.

Aymeric makes it very clear that he is in love with her and will remain so even if she doesn’t return his feelings. Honestly, it’s more of a weird situationship than anything. Elysia won’t flat out reject him and they do find some comfort in the other’s company, but at the same time, Elysia isn’t really reciprocating so much as she is just there. It’s weird she teases and kinda flirts with him (in private) but y’know she wont say she loves him or anything.

I do believe there is some capacity for this to turn out as a healthy relationship, but not right now lmao. Elysia def deserves a reality check and I don’t want to keep bullying Aymeric. I do think they’re cute together, Elysia being kind of a tease x Catholic white boy Aymeric.

Oh yeah also have this fun relationship chart which summarizes everything I just said except for the duty part

[vividbeast-art]

more ciel doodles...look at my bunny boy (HE/THEY)

[firelightmuse]

Character Profile 🔥🌸

Yume Aino

Since it is VERY long, it is under a cut. If you do read all of this, thank you so much for taking the time out to do so!!! Enjoy! 🥰

Updated as of Dawntrail Patch 7.2, 03/31/2025

BASICS//

Name: Yume Aino

Name Pronounciation: Yoo-may Eye-know

Name Meaning: Yume = “Dream”, Aino = “Of Love”, both of Japanese origin. In her lore, "Aino" is the name of the now dormant volcanic mountain that Aino Castle is built upon, and the clan itself took its name from the volcano. Theoretically, Yume was named as such because she was to be the "Dream of the Aino Clan".

Nicknames: “Little Bird”, is a nickname from her childhood but is adopted by Zenos as a pet name for her; “My Fire”, “My Light”, and “Mea Amata”, are all other pet names Zenos has for Yume (“mea amata” is Latin for the feminine form of “my beloved”, and is a reference to the Garlean native language).

Unsundered Name: Nemesis (Not Azem)

Titles: Warrior of Light, Warrior of Darkness, Hydaelyn’s Chosen, Scion of the Seventh Dawn, Champion of Eorzea, Eikon Slayer, Savior of Ishgard, Liberator of Doma and Ala Mhigo, Wandering Flame, Ronin of Eorzea, Former Heir of Lord Masanori Aino

Age: 24 in ARR, 31 as of the Beginning of Dawntrail

Nameday: 13th Sun of the 3rd Astral Moon (May 13th)

Gender: Female, Cis

Race: Au Ra

Tribe: Raen

Nationality: Hingan

Languages: Modern Hingan, Most Far Eastern Dialects, Old Auri Tongue, and Eorzean Common Tongue

Profession: Former samurai and heir apparent of the Aino Clan; Currently a ronin, adventurer, and Scion of the Seventh Dawn

Education Level: Home schooled by private tutors in Hingashi, and is particularly knowledgeable in history, cultures, and languages.

BLOODLINES//

Father: Lord Masanori Aino (48 in ARR)

Mother: Lady Michiko Aino (45 in ARR)

Siblings: 2 younger brothers, Daichi and Kentaro (Ages 8 and 6 in ARR); Numerous half-siblings born of her father and his concubines

Extended Family: Large extended family, but her best friend is her first cousin Rei Tokugawa (25 in ARR)

In-Laws: All in-laws deceased

Children: None, and cannot have any biological children due to her injuries from attempted Seppuku

Pet: An amaro named Nightmare who also serves as Yume’s mount; the amaro was named after Yume’s black horse, also named Nightmare, that Yume was forced to leave behind after she was banished by her father.

ROMANCE & SEXUALITY//

Sexual Orientation: Demisexual

Romantic Orientation: Demiromantic

Significant Other: Zenos Galvus, in a long-term monogamous relationship as of Post-6.0; Will marry at some time in the future

Past Relationships: Briefly dated G’raha Tia during the events of the investigation of the Crystal Tower; Yume’s ancient self as Nemesis was eternally bonded with Ares, Zenos’ ancient self

RESIDENCE//

Place of Birth: Born in Aino Castle, in Lord Masanori Aino's territory, located not too far outside of Kugane, Hingashi

Current Residence: Small house in Shirogane (Located in game at Rafflesia, Shirogane, Ward 17, Plot 33.)

TALENTS AND SKILLS//

Canon Battle Jobs: Samurai (Trained since early childhood; canonically referred to as a Ronin; some of Yume’s abilities are unique and distinctive from the in game job) and Black Mage (Self-taught; some abilities are unique and distinct from the canonical in-game job)

Abilities: Kenjutsu, Martial Arts, Marksmanship, Thaumaturgy, Black Magic, Writing Poetry, Dancing, and Polyglot

Bad At: Singing, All forms of healing magic, Household chores, Public Speaking, Confiding in others when stressed, and Controlling her anger.

APPEARANCE//

Hair: Naturally jet black in color with straight bangs and pulled back into a high ponytail most of the time, and medium-long length.

Eyes: Large, wide set eyes; Royal Blue in color with lighter blue limbal rings surrounding the iris.

Face: Heart-shaped, with ivory colored scales on cheeks and bridge of her long, thin nose.

Lips: Full, plump lips

Complexion: Fair, can mildly tan with extended sun exposure

Blemishes: None

Scars: Though she has many small scars accumulated over the years, the most prominent one is a large, very deep scar from the right side of her abdomen to her belly button that she is quite ashamed of for many years; she only shows the scar when necessary unless she is alone with Zenos.

Tattoos: One large tattoo of a Phoenix spreading its wings that covers her entire back in all red ink.

Height: 5 fulms 2 ilms (Tallest Height for female Au Ra)

Weight: 120 ponze

Build: Petite and athletic but curvy with a large chest.

Features (Au Ra): Horns are slightly curled and sloping backwards away from her face; tail is long and smooth with a few small spikes near the base. Scales adorn her body and face with a small speckling of scales above the bridge of her nose.

Usual Hairstyles: Usually pulled up into a high ponytail for battle, but she tends to also pull up her hair into a side ponytail with braids while not fighting, and recently she has worn her hair loose.

Usual Face Look: Usually wears reddish-pink eyeshadow, black mascara and eyeliner, and mauve colored lipstick.

Usual Clothing: Black leather, black colored robes, black or dark colored kimonos, black dresses, and some dark red and dark purple accessories. Basically, Yume asks, “Does this come in black?”

Face and Voice Claim: Chinese actress Fan Bing Bing for both face and voice claim.

PERSONALITY//

Introverted / Extroverted / Ambiverted (bold what applies)

Positive Traits: Friendly, polite, respectful, reserved, courageous, brave, kind, compassionate, empathetic, open minded, pragmatic, intuitive, loyal, faithful.

Most Positive Trait: Honorable to a fault. Yume follows the Honor Code of the Samurai and will not fight an unarmed opponent, tries her best to not bring harm to the innocent, and she is extremely loyal to those she has sworn to serve. Will give her life in an heartbeat if she deems it to be an honorable death and a worthy sacrifice for a good cause.

Negative Traits: Temperamental, prideful, aggressive, cynical, jealous, possessive, distant, insecure, reckless.

Most Negative Trait: Besides falling in love with Zenos? Yume has a problem with anger management. When she doesn’t keep her anger in check, she gets violent, and will kill an enemy with no hesitation. She has killed many people this way in her past in Hingashi, including killing those that she felt had dishonored her in some way.

Fears: Living a life without making her own choices, having regrets, and the death of her loved ones, though not afraid of dying herself.

Aspirations: To live a life that she has chosen for herself and not forced upon her by someone else, to help others and use her powers for good, and to see the entire world for herself.

Traumas: For past traumas before ARR, you can read Yume’s history below. Most of the events of ShB and EW were really traumatic for her, especially almost dying after the battle with Zenos at the end of 6.0.

Hobbies: Writing poetry, travelling, learning about other cultures, learning history, reading, and shopping.

Vices: Eating too much junk food, bottling up emotions until she explodes, shutting out others when feeling depressed, feeling insecure about herself outside of being a Warrior of Light.

Faith: Believes in the concept of Karma and that everything happens for a reason, but does not believe in the Kami or any other kind of god, at least ones that aren't primals anyway.

Turn Ons: Loyalty, Confidence, Bravery, Integrity, Intelligence, unique eyes, beautiful smile, muscular physique, and a large chest.

Turn Offs: Cowardice, Dishonesty, Disloyalty, Deceitfulness, Superficiality, Greed

Temperament: Phlegmatic/Choleric

MBTI: INFP-A

Soul Type: The Warrior

Tropes: The Chosen Many, Lady of War, Aloof Dark-haired Girl, Dark and Troubled Past, Samurai, Ronin, Warrior Poet, Honor Before Reason, Seppuku, Black Mage, Lady of Black Magic

Songs: “Paint It Black” by The Rolling Stones (This one is also her OC tag), “Weight of the World” from Nier Automata, “Sayuri’s Theme” from Memoirs of a Geisha, and “Wandering Flame” from FFX

Character Inspirations: Chiyo/Sayuri from Memoirs of a Geisha, Mariko from James Clavell’s Shogun, Auron and Lulu from FFX, Tifa Lockhart from FFVII, Rei Hino/Sailor Mars from Sailor Moon, Trinity from The Matrix, Daenerys Targaryen from A Song of Ice and Fire, and Jasmine from Disney’s Aladdin

FAVORITES//

Book: Chūshingura, translated as The Treasury of Loyal Retainers, commonly known as The 47 Ronin.

Deity: Nald’thal the Traders

Holidays: Heavensturn and All Saints’ Wake

Month: 5th Umbral Moon (October)

Weather: A warm, sunny day with a light breeze and fair to clear skies.

Time of Day: Dawn

Places: Kugane, Eastern Thanalan, Costa del Sol, The Royal Menagerie in the palace in Ala Mhigo, Rak’tika Greatwood, Thavnair, Ultima Thule, and Yak T’el

Sounds: The wind, chimes, Taiko drumming, birds chirping, and crackling wood of a campfire or a fireplace.

Scents: Cherry blossoms, tea brewing, incense, and candles burning.

Tastes: Anything spicy, strawberries and cream, sushi, curry, ramen, matcha green tea, coffee, chocolate.

Feels: Leather, flower petals, Hingan silk, and a warm fireplace or campfire.

Number: 9 (Based on her Birthday in Numerology)

Colors: Jet Black, Dalamud Red, Wine Red, and Gloom Purple

SYMBOLISM//

Elements: Fire, Light, and Darkness

Gemstones: Amber and Sunstone

Animal: Birds of all kind

Mythological Creature: Phoenixes

Flowers: Cherry blossoms and Chrysanthemums

Seasons: Autumn

Land, Sea, or Sky: Sky

Planet: Mars, the Bringer of War

Astronomical Object: The Sun

HISTORY//

History (Pre-ARR): ((Content/Trigger Warnings Ahead!! Ritualistic Suicide/Seppuku, Attempted Suicide, Mental and Emotional Abuse, Slight Depictions of Self-Harm, and Discussion of Potential Incestual Marriage; Feel free to skip over this section to avoid!))

Yume was born the eldest daughter of a Daimyo (a feudal lord who ruled over a territory in Hingashi), Lord Masanori Aino, and she was his heir apparent. Yume was raised from birth to become the ideal samurai, who would be able to beat any opponent in battle, and to one day succeed her father as daimyo. She excelled in all her studies and was driven to be the best on the battlefield, yet she always felt like something was missing from her life.

As she got older, she travelled often to Kugane, the famed port city where merchants from all walks of life congregated. Yume was exposed to people with vastly different cultures and traditions from the ones she knew. She was fascinated with the travelers from distant lands that she had never seen before, especially the Eorzeans. Yet she would always do her duty and aspired to live up to her father’s expectations.

When she came of age, Lord Aino began the search for his beloved daughter’s suitor, and he had narrowed down his criteria to a very short but nigh impossible list: 1) Must be a son of a prominent noble family, 2) Must be able to sire children, and 3) He must be Yume’s equal in battle, as determined by a 1v1 duel with Yume herself. The first two criteria were the easy part. Many clans were interested in marrying their son to the daughter of Lord Aino, but Lord Aino looked for perfection, and no man around her age was good enough for his daughter. This is because every would be suitor who dueled Yume for a chance to win her hand in marriage was defeated. There were none that proved worthy of her.

Yume pleaded with her father to allow her to decide for herself who she wants to marry in her own time, but her father forbade her from ever speaking of it again, for she would shame him and bring dishonor to the family name. Soon after Yume’s 18th nameday, her father announced her betrothal to Lord Nobu Aino, her own uncle. Nobu had lost his wife due to illness, and he never fathered children with her. To ensure that Nobu will have children of his own, he wished to wed a young woman with many years ahead of her so that she can give him many children. Yume was appalled; it was commonplace centuries ago for uncles and nieces to marry in Hingashi, but it is a dying tradition that only a few remaining noble families participate in, as most of Hingashi frowns upon it in modern times.

Yume soon felt trapped in the station in life that she was born into. Her family never sought her approval of her uncle as her suitor, nor was there any room for her to decline the betrothal. Though she wished for nothing more than to become a samurai, she did not want to be forced into a marriage with her own uncle, nor to be bound to a fate that she never decided for herself. This led to the biggest decision she ever made: she confronted her father and outright refused to marry Nobu no matter what.

Her father answered her by saying that she has dishonored him and the family, but Yume responded that he has shamed her and she cannot live like this anymore. Lord Aino ended the confrontation by telling her that if she cannot live with the shame, then she must commit Seppuku, or ritualistic suicide.

The next day, the ceremony has commenced, and Yume is fully prepared to take her own life. But just as she began to slit her belly open, her father stops her and tells her that she does not have to die but must live in shame. Lord Aino’s change of heart allows Yume to survive the attempted seppuku, but the damage to her organs was so extensive that her reproductive organs had to be removed, so Yume can never have biological children. Soon after she recovers from her wounds, the family disowns her, she is stripped of all her power and titles, and she must leave her father’s lands, never to return. Yume agrees to this, and she never sees her family again.

After she has fully recovered and left her father’s lands behind, Yume is now known as a disgraced ronin, a samurai without a master. To survive, she makes a name for herself as a mercenary and assassin in Kugane for five years, and was known as the “Wandering Flame”, which derives from her clan living on a dormant volcano, the “flame” part, and “wandering” for her being a ronin.

One fateful day, after hearing the voice of Hydaelyn calling to her day after day to go to Eorzea, Yume decides that since there really is nothing left for her in Hingashi, she leaves her homeland behind for Eorzea, a land that she has always dreamed of seeing, and soon becomes a Scion of the Seventh Dawn and is known as a “Warrior of Light”.

OTHER//

Smokes: Never

Drugs: Never

Drinks: Only drinks wine and certain kinds of cocktails, and she is overall very responsible with her alcohol consumption. She will never drink on the eve of battle, nor ever indulge at times when she needs her mind to be clear and focused.

Mount Issuance: Yume was never given a chocobo, as she flat out refuses one. She does not like the chocobos because of their smell, and still usually calls them “horse birds” out of habit from growing up in Hingashi. She rode a motorcycle built by Cid for a few years (from ARR until ShB) until she is gifted an amaro named Nightmare by the Crystal Exarch.

Been Arrested: Was technically going to be arrested for Regicide during the events of the Bloody Banquet, but Yume escapes Ul’dah along with her fellow Warriors of Light.

UNSUNDERED AND SHARDS//

Unsundered: Nemesis (Not Azem)

Source: Yume Aino, Warrior of Light, 8 times rejoined

First: Renda-Rae, rejoined during ShB 5.0

Second: ???, rejoined in 3rd Calamity (Fire)

Third: ???, rejoined in 4th Calamity (Earth)

Fourth: ???, status unknown

Fifth: ???, rejoined in 1st Calamity (Wind)

Sixth: ???, rejoined in 5th Calamity (Ice)

Seventh: Tifa Lockhart, rejoined in 7th Calamity (Bahamut)

Eighth: ???, status unknown

Ninth: ???, status unknown

Tenth: Lulu, rejoined in 6th Calamity (Water)

Eleventh: ???, status unknown

Twelfth: ???, rejoined in 2nd Calamity (Lightning)

Thirteenth: Rubicante, deceased as of patch 6.3

CURRENT STATUS//

As of patches 7.0-7.2, Yume will begin by wandering Tural with Zenos as they hunt down Tural Vidraal, with Yume’s newly self-trained skills as a Black Mage. Yume and Zenos did not assist in the Rite of Succession for any candidate. However, they helped in the defense of Tuliyollal both times that the city is attacked, and they fought in the battle with Queen Eternal alongside Hali and the other WoLs. Following their victory, Yume and Zenos have remained in Tural for a while before they eventually head back to their home in Shirogane.

NOTE: Yume's story follows all of the major events of the MSQ as she is a Warrior of Light. The only major canon diversion is that in her canonverse, there are multiple Warriors of Light (notably my main OC Hali Aloke @starrysnowdrop and my friends’ OCs) and Yume’s ancient self is NOT Azem. Yume won’t always be the main focus of certain MSQ events either, as my main WoL is Hali. Feel free to ask me for any specifics in this regard.

[missluthorwillseeyounow]

Gods of Gotham Harley Quinn x Poison Ivy AU

"The last time I touched someone's skin without killing or harming them? Never."

Harley stills, her blue eyes wide and fragile as she stares at Ivy. "That's really fucking sad, Ive."

Ivy shrugs. "It's just a fact of life. As much a part of me as my hands or my legs or the plants."

For a long moment, Harley is uncharacteristically silent. It makes Ivy uncomfortable, and she casts about for subject change. She's just about to open her mouth to speak when Harley snaps her glove off her right hand and holds it out to her. Ivy looks up at her, confused.

"Wanna try an experiment, Red?"

Harley wiggles her fingers mischievously, like it's a joke. Her eyes land on Ivy's hands folded near the edge of the table."

"What?" Ivy's eyes widen in shock. "You're fucking kidding me, right?"

Harley blinks up at her with wide, innocent eyes. "No? I just wanna try it!"

"No! Harley, are you insane?" Ivy snatches her hands off the table, cradling it to her chest.

"Probably." Harley grins, still holding up her hand. "But that's not the point." She gives Ivy another wry lopsided grin.

"Haven't you heard? I can do anything I want now." There's a glimmer of seriousness in those blue eyes that shocks Ivy more than the manic swings in mood. There's more madness in that lucidity than there is in the mania.

"Anything I want can happen." There's no escaping the genuine light in those blue eyes. They're electric.

"And right now, I really want to touch your hand, Ivy."

So I got this idea from a trailer that had absolutely nothing to do with the theme or Harlivy, but it grew a mind of its own, so. Special thanks to joh and mickey who encouraged this madness and listened to me rant and rave about this thing 3 YEARS AGO (holy shit how has it been 3 years??).

I based this on the some of the comics, the Harley Quinn animated show and Birds of Prey the movie.

TW: abuse, some dark themes

Also, just so y’all know, I write a few scenes in the Joker’s POV in this, and I’m not gonna lie, he’s gross. I wanna punch his teeth in and I’m the one writing him. I’ll mark those with ****

Modern gods AU.

Joker, Ivy and Selina were part of a cabal of Old Gods. Thousands of years old and once all-powerful and worshiped by the humans.

Ivy is the goddess of the Earth

Joker is the god of Chaos

Selina is the goddess of Secrets

But the Old Gods' power has been waning for a long time, because no one practices the Old Religions any longer.

However, there is a prophecy that one day, the gods will rise again, their powers renewed, when the Queen comes.

According to the Oracle, the Queen's power will transform the face of the earth, and restore the power of the Old Gods. But to do that, she will have to make a choice, and with that choice, she will have the power to tip the scales of the world.

Except no one knows who the Queen is, or when she will arrive.

Flash forward to the present, when Harleen Quinzel moves to Gotham.

She's a newly licensed psychiatrist. Fresh out of school, she gets assigned to Arkham prison. Like a lamb to slaughter.

At this time, Joker is a "prisoner" in Arkham. He stays there because that's where he can sow the most chaos. He uses the guards and the warden to sow discord and control the inmates. And he rouses the inmates to violence, even the innocent ones. He uses his position there to nurse his waning power.

Before she starts at Arkham, Harleen moves into a crappy little apartment in Downtown Gotham.

It's in an unsafe neighborhood and it's rundown. All it's got going for it is that it's cheap, and with all her debt from student loans, Harley needs cheap.

But after a few weeks, it doesn't escape her that the apartment she's in seems to be a lot safer than the others around it.

For one thing, there's less muggings on their street. And any packages that are left on Harleen's front door are still there at the end of the day, whereas at any other apartment, they would've been long gone before she even knew they'd arrived.

Hell, there are even more trees on their block than the whole of downtown Gotham. Her building is a pre-war brownstone, its once-spectacular beauty hidden by a wall of ivy covering the top floors. It must have been an architectural masterpiece to last this long without the significant damage other buildings in Gotham have taken over the years.

Harley mentions it to her landlord, a grizzled old man in a wheelchair named Sy, and compliments him on it. But Sy just shakes his head.

"Wish I could take credit, but it's not me to thank for that. Thank Ivy." Sy nods up at the floor above Harleen's.

She follows his stare to the only open window in the building. Harleen squints, but she can't see anyone through it. "My upstairs neighbor?"

Sy grunts in the affirmative. "Haven't met her yet, have you?" Harley shakes her head. Sy hums thoughtfully.

"Didn't think so. She keeps to herself, that one. Always has. Doesn't like people much, you see. But she's one of the few good ones left, so you can't blame people for coming to her for protection."

Harleen stares at him. "Protection? Is she some kind of mob boss or something?"

Sy snorts and barks out a laugh. "Ha! I'll tell her you said that. She'll get a kick out of it. Or it'll piss her off, which always gives me a laugh."

[Sy is technically a priest at Ivy's temple. He's human, but Ivy has given him a longer life span in return for his loyalty.]

Harley makes one other friend at the apartment complex. 

Cass is a prickly kid, street-smart with sharp eyes and quick fingers that miss nothing. The minute Harley realizes that Cass picked her purse, she's already endeared.

[Cassandra is the daughter of the Oracle who made the prophecy about the Queen. The Joker kidnapped and tortured the Oracle when she wouldn't reveal the identity of the Queen. When the Oracle died, baby Cass was smuggled by one of the Oracle's priestesses to Ivy for protection.]

One evening, Harley is tending to Cass' broken arm, and Cass watches her from underneath her cap.

"There's a lot going on here you don't know, doc. You should be careful."

"Right back atcha, kid." Harley grins lopsidedly as she gently pokes Cass' arm in the cast.

Cass flicks the bill of her cap upwards. "It's not me you should be worried about. Me, I'm safe here. Ivy keeps us safe. She doesn't like people much, but she likes me. She says I'm smart. And tricky. Like an orchid."

Harley smiles. She doesn't know this Ivy yet, but if she can pull that cheeky grin out of the rough young girl, she's gotta be pretty special. "Like an orchid, huh? What does that mean?"

"I 'unno." Cass shrugs. "I think it's cos orchids can trick insects to pollinate and shit."

Harley's grin grows. "Well, you are a tricky one, alright."

She nods at the girl's injured arm as she hops off Harley's kitchen table. Harley pushes a bottle of pills at her. "Keep out of trouble and take two of these if it starts to hurt, alright?"

"Thanks, doc." Cass nods, and for a moment, she stares at her arm and the bottle of pills in her sweaty hand. "Since you helped me, I'll help you.... I meant it."

Harley is busy cleaning up her supplies, but she hums to show the girl she's listening. "Meant what?"

"You should be careful." Cass nudges her arm, and Harley turns to see that the girl's eyes are dark and solemn. "Ivy keeps us safe. He's afraid of her, because she's not afraid of him. But there's only so much she can do. In the end, it has to be your choice."

"He?" Harley frowns. "Who's 'he'? My choice? Cass, what are you talking about?"

But the young girl is already at the door. She turns with a small smile. "Just... don't forget what I said."

Months pass. Not everything is as safe or peachy outside their little corner of Gotham. Especially not at Arkham.

Harley always knew that it wouldn't be all rainbows and sunshine when she first started treating the Joker. But the real thing is another matter entirely.

Now, Harley has always had mental health issues, but it's never been this bad.

The Joker sees the turmoil in her mind – the doubts, the worries, the anxiety, the small hairline fractures in Harleen's psyche –  and he sees chaos that he can play with.

The further they go in their sessions, the more Joker pulls and prods at that chaos, molding it like clay

And Harleen, being a new transplant to Gotham, doesn't really have a solid support system.

Sometimes she thinks she should step away, call her family, call her friends. But she doesn't. Going back home, even for a short stay, feels too much like admitting defeat, like admitting that she couldn't hack it in the big bad city all by herself.

When Harleen gets back to her apartment, she has no energy to socialize, and no mental energy to do much more than eat leftover takeout and crash into bed. 

She stays pretty much isolated. She knows a few of her neighbors, but her landlord and the local latchkey kid aren't exactly the pinnacle of socialization.

So when she gets to her front door one night and finds the mail with the incorrect address belonging to her upstairs neighbor, she decides maybe it's time to expand her social circle a little bit, even if it's just one flight up.

The name on the envelope says "Dr. Pamela Isley", but the apartment is the one right above Harleen's, the one Sy had said belonged to the mysterious "Ivy".

All Harley knows about her upstairs neighbor are snatches of conversation she's gotten from Sy and Cass, but what she's heard so far is intriguing. She's not gonna deny, she's curious to meet her.

Harley makes her way up the dimly lit stairs and traverses the drab grey hallway until she gets to the right door. She just got home from work, and she's not feeling or looking her best, to be quite honest. Spending any amount of time with the Joker will do that to you, apparently. And the hours she'd spent doing research on him afterward hadn't helped.

Self consciously, Harley adjusts her hair and straightens her blouse before knocking on the door. No answer.

She gives it a few seconds, tapping one finger on the corner of the envelope in her hands. Still nothing.

She knocks again a few times, with the same response. Maybe she's not home? And didn't both Sy and Cass say that this Ivy doesn't like people? She probably wouldn't appreciate being bothered by a nosy new neighbor.

Harley lays her palm flat on the door, and tries one last time. "Dr. Isley?" she calls as softly as she can through the door. "Hi, I'm sorry to bother you, I'm your neighbor from downstairs. My name's Harleen Quinzel? I got some of your mail by mistake."

There's still no answer. Discouraged, Harley lets her hand trail away from the door. She's just about to turn away when the door opens just the slightest bit.

The room within is dark, but Harley can make out a pair of eyes narrowed suspiciously at her. At first, the eyes look black, but as Harley steps closer, she realizes they're a very dark forest green.

"Dr. Isley?" The door opens slightly wider, just enough for a slim hand to reach through.

"Yes." The woman's voice sounds almost droll, and the hand reaching through the door turns imperiously, clearly demanding her mail. Harley pulls the envelope out of reach.

Dark eyes narrow at her through the crack in the door. Harley smiles back brightly. "I think whoever switched our mail might have given you some of mine too?"

There's a huff of annoyance from behind the door, but Harley waits innocently on the other side, rocking a little bit on her heels. The door opens wider and the figure of Dr. Pamela Isley retreats beyond it. Not one to waste a chance, Harley steps through.

The moment she steps in, the difference between the apartment and the rest of the building is stark.

The whole complex is rundown, and that's apparent, even in Pamela Isley's apartment. The walls have the same peeling wallpaper and greyish undertone, but that's where the similarities end. The whole apartment is covered with plants, vines trailing from the ceiling or climbing the walls. It's clear that this is the source of the ivy crawling up the side of their building. 

The whole place reminds Harley of pictures she's seen of abandoned places where nature had taken over. Manmade structures and things reclaimed by the green of nature. There's almost a feral beauty about it.

The open window provides enough light, but with so much foliage, it casts a faintly green light on the drab grey walls. The same faintly greenish glow even covers the woman across the room. The woman's back is turned to her as she reaches into a drawer on a desk that's crowded with potted plants. Harley takes the opportunity to study the woman without her noticing. The first word that comes immediately to Harley's mind is dangerous.

It's an odd thought to have about a seemingly normal woman, but there it is. There's something about this woman that seems dangerous to Harley.

Maybe it's the fact that everything about this woman seems so sharp. From the steep line of her jaw to the cut-glass prominence of her cheekbones to the angular sweep of her narrow eyes. Even the line of her body under loose clothes is sharp and sleek, the geometric jutting of elbows and hips contrasting with the languid, deliberate grace of her movements. 

An inane thought passes Harley's mind. A woman this sharp could cut her like a blade. She swallows and turns her focus to the plants around her.

Vines curl and climb the trellis beside her, its leaves a bright and warm green. One of its tiny shoots reaches out to her, the three small leaves looking like diamonds. Harley, ever tactile, reaches out a finger to touch them.

"I wouldn't do that, if I were you." Harley's head snaps up at Dr. Isley's words. Her voice is cool and unaffected, but there's a dark look in her eyes as she turns to Harley, displaying the steep line of her profile.

"Toxicodendron orientale." The other woman tilts her head with a raised eyebrow. "Poison Ivy."

"Oh!" Harley snaps her fingers back, her cheeks flushing. She studies the vine instead. The way it clings to the trellis and climbs sinuously around it, the stem supple as it wraps around the wooden dowels. Harley can even see a few tiny, star-like white flowers, and a scattering of pearlescent berries hidden in the vines. "It's beautiful."

The other woman turns to face her fully, her long blood-red hair – the only soft thing about her, Harley thinks inanely – falling over one shoulder. She looks at her through narrow eyes for a long moment, and Harley can feel herself squirm just the tiniest bit under her scrutiny.

Then the other woman's eyes soften at the edges, and for the first time, Pamela Isley smiles at her. "Most poisonous things are."

She holds out a sheaf of letters to Harley, who takes them with the slightest tremble in her hands. Their fingers don't touch, but Harley almost wishes they would.

"Thank you, Dr. Isley."

Dark eyes linger on her, and the corners of a thin, sharp mouth lift. "Call me Ivy."

Harley's eyes flit over the plant beside her. Ivy. Poisonous. Dangerous.

"Nice to meet you, Ivy."

A few weeks pass, and Harley is sucked in more and more into her work at Arkham.

Every night, Harley comes home from Arkham bone tired.

It's beginning to feel like willingly jumping into a black pit everyday, knowing that there are unspeakable horrors within, and having to claw and climb her way out every night.

Except every time, it becomes harder and harder to get out, the darkness sticking to her and pulling a little more of her back every time.

Most nights, Harley washes it all down with some cheap whiskey from the liquor store around the corner, while she stares unseeingly at the TV she's only turned on to drown out the voices that have begun whispering to her whenever she has a moment of silence. And fuck, if she hasn't turned out like her dear old Dad.

The thought disturbs her so much that she immediately leaps off the couch as if it had been infected. Cursing loudly, she opens the window to let some fresh air in.

"Dr. Quinzel?"

Harley's head snaps up, nearly hitting the window sash. She sticks her head out the window a little and peers upward. Through the slats of the fire escape, she sees a slender figure seated on the platform above hers.

"Ivy?"

The other woman raises a slow hand in greeting, and that's all the invitation Harley needs. She squeezes herself out the window and onto her fire escape. It's a little cold out, but anything's gotta be better than turning into a younger female version of her couch-bound alcoholic father.

"It's Harley." She corrects, leaning back over the railing to get a better view of the other woman. "What are you doing out here?"

Ivy shrugs. "I like to come out here sometimes. It's the best place in the building to get some sun."

"It's 9 pm." Harley points out.

"Yes, well." Ivy looks a little sheepish. "I must confess, I fell asleep in the sun, and when I woke up, it was too nice a night to go back in. It's hard to find a bit of nature in Gotham, at least not anymore, but being outdoors makes me feel just a little bit closer to how it used to be."

Harley finds that a little odd, because Gotham has been an industrial cityscape even before she was born. There's never been any "nature" in Gotham, unless you count Robinson Park, and that place has been condemned for as long as she can remember.

Still, the thought of Ivy, the sharp no-nonsense woman with poisonous plants in her apartment, falling asleep under the sun for hours is a little adorable, and it makes her smile. Harley leans back on her elbows on the rail to look up at the other woman.

"I think your apartment is the most 'nature' Gotham has seen in decades. I don't think I've ever seen so much green in Gotham, not even when the Riddler was out."

Ivy rolls her eyes. "Oh, him. He's barely tolerable at best, and a nuisance at worst. Someone should tell him green is not his color."

Harley throws her head back and laughs. "I'll let him know when I see him tomorrow."

"Tell him he still owes me."

Harley tips her head, intrigued and more than a little surprised. "For what? How do you know the Riddler?"

One corner of Ivy's mouth lifts. "Would it surprise you to know that I know most of your patients, doctor?"

Harley quirks her lips. "Honestly, a bit, yeah. What's a nice girl like you doing, getting mixed up with mentally ill criminals?"

Ivy's smile widens, takes on a more mischievous quality. Harley half-expects her to turn that statement back at her – what's a 'nice girl' like Harley doing getting mixed up with those people – the way anyone else would have.

Except Ivy doesn't.

Her eyes go just a little bit darker as she looks down at Harley from above. Harley realizes the imbalance in their positions – Harley sprawled back, looking up at her, and Ivy looking down at her coolly, like a queen perched cross-legged on her fire escape platform.

"Oh, but I'm not a nice girl, Daffodil."

Ivy rises from her perch with one last wink and a smile, before disappearing into her apartment, leaving Harley staring after her.

The next morning, Harley shuffles sleepily from her bedroom to find an unusual sight.

It seems that overnight, a thin vine of ivy has somehow crept from onto the ladder of the fire escape out her window. A closer look confirms that it climbed down from the window of the apartment above her.

The same three-diamond leaf pattern is on the vine, and by now Harley knows not to touch it. Instead, she fills a spray bottle with water and gives the vines a little drink. As she gives the leaves one last spritz, Harley grins at them.

"You're not foolin' anyone, Red."

That becomes the start of an almost nightly habit, a common refrain between her and her upstairs neighbor.

They're only one floor apart, but Harley always calls first – and if there's a flirty little note in her "Can I come over?" so sue her. It's been a while since she’s gotten some and there's no point in denying that her neighbor is hot as fuck.

Once she gets the yes, Harley climbs up to Ivy's apartment through the fire escape, and Ivy lets her in so they can unwind on the couch with ice cream (vegan for Ivy) and pizza (the veggie option for Ivy).

The other woman tells her about her research on the pathological effects of ingesting Crotalaria retusa seeds. Ivy shows her the more unusual plants in her collection.

Harley doesn't talk about her own work. Arkham already occupies her every other waking moment; here, at least, in Ivy's apartment, she can put Arkham down and just be herself with her new friend.

Instead, she tells Ivy about her gymnastics days and how she almost became a pro athlete. She gets a rare laugh out of Ivy when she tells her about her embarrassing crush on Frankie Muniz and her six-year-old self's plot to kidnap him and have his babies.

One thing Harley does find out about Ivy is that she can't stand being touched.

It might be a sensory processing disorder or haphephobia, Harley thinks, but either way, she respects Ivy's boundaries. Which, for her, requires a lot of restraint because she's a very tactile person.

She finds ways around it, she sidles up as close as she can to Ivy without actually touching. Testing and finding the borders of Ivy's personal space every time she's at her apartment.

Sitting close to her on the couch will usually make the redhead smile wryly, but Harley's arm touching her sleeve will make the corners of Ivy's mouth tighten.

Harleen only forgets herself twice.

The first infraction is small. She gets excited about something can't even remember, and she reflexively goes to grab Ivy's hands. Ivy immediately snatches her hands away as if she'd been burnt.

Harley stutters out an apology, a part of her stinging from Ivy's obvious recoil. She tucks a strand of her hair behind her ear, but when she looks up, Ivy's sharp eyes are softer. She puts her hands on the table between them, her pinky almost but not quite touching Harley's.

The next night when Harley visits again, Ivy is wearing gloves.

Her budding friendship with Ivy means that Harleen’s nights are lighter than her days.

Returning to work at Arkham daily is enough to dispel the lightness and feeling of rest that she gets from spending time with Ivy the night before.

The only good news is that she is finally making progress with her most difficult patient.

The Joker had bested six psychologists before Harleen Quinzel, but she is determined to be the one to break that streak. He can be helped, Harley believes it, and she will give it to him. He just needs someone to reach out a hand to help him out of the abyss.

****

The Joker happily takes it, letting the good doctor think that she’s pulling him out. Little does she know that he’s the one dragging her with him.

It’s so easy. He would’ve thought it would be harder, given the sheer raw power he can feel locked inside the little doctor. Poor Harleen is practically throbbing with it and she has no clue. He can’t wait to spread her open and take it all for himself. Take her. Use her to get what he wants. 

It’s so easy he can’t even be bothered to think of an original story. Instead, he weaves a familiar tale that’s sure to pull at Harley's heartstrings.

"See, I always knew there was something... different about me, doc.” The Joker lets slip a bitter smile. “And everyone else, they noticed. They called me a freak, said the world was better off without me. Everyone... except my Father." He hangs his head enough so that the good doctor will notice. His straightjacket prevents further movement, and he can see Harleen frown, pity in her eyes. "He was always a mean S.O.B., dear old Dad. Everything had to be perfect for him, and he'd beat me stupid if I didn't do things his way. But he kept me, took me in. Called me his son, when everyone else wanted to kill me from the second I was born. Even my biological father." Harleen's big blue eyes are wide and sad. Oh, she is eating this all up like a good little girl. "He always told me, he'd show the world my true power, and together, we'd have them at our feet. But he used me to do it. Made me... do things to hurt people, just to show them I was to be feared. And then everyone had to listen, because they saw what I could do. And for the first time, they didn't look at me as a curse. They looked at me as a god." He lets a note of triumph ooze into his voice, knowing that the sympathy he's earned will be just enough to justify, in a twisted way, his madness to her. "For someone who spent half his life alone, locked behind doors, it felt like freedom. It felt like a grand show, and I finally began to exist. All those lonely days of being hated, and worse, forgotten... I was finally seen. I knew what it felt to exist, and instead of being sneered and spat at, or worse, ignored... Suddenly everyone's faces were smiling when they beheld me. I was finally somebody, and I wanted it to last forever, the spectacle of it all.” 

He pauses for dramatic effect, like the showman he is, and his audience waits with bated breath. “But then, she came, and ended it all." Harleen leans forward. "Who?" The Joker looks away, hiding a smile. Should he tell her? No, not yet. It's too soon, The ragweed's roots aren't deep enough in the good doctor yet. Oh, it's there, he can smell the putrid smell of earth and green and flowers – shit and puke – like a sickly perfume on Harleen's pulse. She's met Ivy, alright. That dirt fucker must be trying to sink her claws into his little godling. Maybe he'll let her, for a little while. It'll be much more enjoyable breaking the ragweed's hold on his little harlequin then, much more delicious to see the betrayal in those big blue eyes, when he finally reveals her name.

"The poisoness. That bitch who took everything from me. "She came to my hideout, my sanctuary, and she ripped it all apart. Killed every last one of my people. And my lieutenant, who fled from her control and sought protection from me..." He chuckles, lets a bitter note bleed into his laughter. "Well, let's just say Two-Face wasn't always called that. Not until she got her hands on him." He can see the distress in Harleen's face as she leans her forearms on the table. "Who? Who was this person?" "Take off the straightjacket, and I'll show you." And the good doctor – so desperate to help, so desperate to matter – does half the work for him. She turns off the camera and slowly releases him.

When she finally sees his chest and the enormous scar marring the length of his sternum, she gasps. He wears the disfigurement with pride.

"The person who gave me this. That's who she is." 

Gentle fingers tentatively touch the ridged flesh of the scar right over his accursed heart. "But - But why?? Why would anyone do this to you?" 

"Because she's afraid." 

"Afraid...." Harleen's big blue eyes widen with realization. Her voice is barely a whisper. "Afraid of you? Why?" 

The Joker is silent, knowing he has a captive audience in the good doctor. In the back of his mind, he gives a silent prod to the guards outside his door. 

The door opens, and a gruff voice interrupts the silence. "Time's up, doc." 

One of the guards sees his loosened straightjacket and immediately levels a gun at him, while the other tightens the straps hard enough to nearly haul his thin frame off the chair. The Joker hangs his head, making sure to look forlorn. Resigned. 

"Wait--" Harleen rises from her chair. "He is my patient, and I removed his straightjacket!" 

"It's protocol." The guard hauling him off the chair sneers. 

"'S alright, doc." The Joker meets her eye, and one corner of his mouth lifts in a wry smile. He laughs bitterly. "It's protocol." 

That breaks Harley, and she stands to her full height. Even in her heels, she's dwarfed by the two guards, and yet, she gets right in their faces. Blue eyes blazing, hair coming out of her neat bun, and that pretty mouth railing indignantly against the guards. 

"This is barbaric! You can't treat him like this! Dr. Leland will hear about this--" Her rant continues even as the door swings shut behind him and the guards.

The Joker smiles inwardly. Oh, she's delicious. 

He makes sure that the two numbskulls holding him rough him up a bit before throwing him into solitary for two weeks. There, he waits for his Harlequin to get him out. 

And that she does, after making enough noise that everyone just had to listen to her. Or maybe it just happened because she wanted it to. Because she willed it so. 

The Joker smiles as they haul him back to therapy covered in healing bruises. Harleen stubbornly removes his straightjacket and she touches the bruise on his temple where the guard’s gun had knocked him out with gentle fingers. 

Everything is going perfectly according to plan.

[I don’t know yet how Harley and Selina meet, but it involves Selina breaking into Ivy’s place to plant sit while Ivy is off dealing with the Ace Chemical board of directors who dumped toxic waste into Gotham Bay. Ivy leaves her a little pot of genetically modified catnip for her cats in return]

Selina is curious about Harley because she can sense her power, and also because she’s surprised at how close Harley had gotten to Ivy in such a short time when it took at least a decade for Ivy to stop trying to kill Selina, and another half a century before they actually became friends. 

Harley doesn’t like Selina at first. Especially not when Ivy gets back and Selina starts hanging around Ivy’s fire escape too.

But Harley eventually warms up to Selina when they’re both delegated plant-sitter while Ivy is out of town for a conference. Harleen’s curiosity gets the better of her and she asks more about Ivy and Selina’s history with her. 

Between glasses of expensive scotch that she had brought over, Selina shares stories for most of the night – like the time she and Ivy were in the Amazon to track down illegal loggers and Ivy had saved her from being nearly flattened by a falling tree (Selina neglects to mention that the tree was falling because Ivy had literally moved the earth to swallow said illegal loggers). And the time Selina had saved Ivy from falling into a manhole (Selina also neglects to mention that this had actually happened during a heist to steal a rare diamond, and said manhole was actually a booby trap littered with metal spikes at the bottom).

Eventually Selina grows on her and the cycle of days at Arkham and nights with Ivy – and occasionally Selina – continues unbroken for Harley.

That is, until she forgets herself again and nearly breaks Ivy’s no-touching rule for the second time.

It's somewhere around 2AM, and it's a Friday. Selina’s not there and while she is growing rather fond of the other woman as well, a part of Harley is glad that she gets Ivy to herself tonight. They've already gone through the whiskey Harley had brought, and Ivy has produced a bottle of wine.

Harleen could blame it on the whiskey. Or the wine. Or the fact that she hasn't gotten laid in almost a year. But honestly, neither would be completely truthful.

She suspects it has more to do with the fact that this is the most relaxed she’s ever seen Ivy in their entire friendship and that thought warms her insides. Or the fact that Ivy is sitting the closest she ever has - so close that Harley can see the lightest dusting of freckles on her high cheekbones, and she finds them irresistible. Ivy's eyes are half-lidded and glassy, and the small, relaxed smile on her lips is entirely too enticing.

Whatever it is, it has her leaning forward, her lips inches away from the other woman's.

Ivy pulls back abruptly, and the speed with which she tears herself away from Harley feels like a punch to the gut.

Her hand is clasped to her mouth, and her eyes are wide, wider than Harley's ever seen them. She keeps shaking her head, and that sobers Harley up more than anything.

She stammers out an apology, and it's awkward, it's so awkward. The two of them sit on opposite ends of Ivy's couch.

If Harley were a braver person, more reckless, more impulsive, she would have pried. She would've asked why not? Because there had been a moment there when it seemed Ivy wanted it too. When her eyes had flitted down to Harley's mouth and her tongue had wet her own.

But she's not. Her pride keeps her from saying more, and they end the night more awkward and distant than they've ever been.

There's no fire escape visit the next night. Or the next. Or the next.

It's not that she doesn't want to be around Ivy... or maybe it is. Seeing Ivy reminds her of how foolish she'd been, and hell, being rejected hurts like a bitch.

It preys on old insecurities – of course someone as classy and smart as Ivy wouldn't want a mess like Harley. 

There’s always been something inside her, Harleen thinks, something so dark and ugly and monstrous that it makes her inherently unlovable. And all the people in her life – her mother, Daddy, her stepfather, her first best friend Jessica Stagner who had smeared her reputation at camp, her college boyfriend Jake Evans who had cheated on her. For each and every person she’s ever encountered for longer than a day – it becomes only a matter of time before they find that dark part of her, that deep putrid oil slick that threatens to pull them under unless they leave her and save themselves.

And Harleen knows – she knows – that this is just her insecurity talking. But a part of her can’t help but think that Ivy had glimpsed that dark thing, had seen the horror lurking inside her, and decided she wants no part of it. No part of Harley.

And now she’s gone and fucked up the only friendship she'd managed to create in Gotham.

The tiny little vine of poison ivy outside her window has retreated. It’s still there, which Harley was grateful to see when she woke up the next day, but instead of reaching out with its tiny tendrils toward her window, the little shoot has curled in on itself and stays wrapped around the metal rails of the fire escape. Harley gives it a forlorn spritz of water before closing her window.

From there on, there are no more calls. No hours spent talking on Ivy’s couch. No more nights on the fire escape. Instead of being surrounded by plants, Harley is surrounded by empty takeout containers. Instead of having someone to talk to, she's just staring blankly at the TV again. 

Sure, she could reach out to Ivy – it’s just one floor separating them, for fuck’s sake – but the wound to her pride still stings, and a petulant part of her decides that if Ivy doesn’t want her, then Harley’s certainly not gonna force Ivy to be with her. There’s plenty of other fish in the sea.

Not that she has time to meet those other fish.

 Without the reprieve of her nights with Ivy, work begins to consume Harleen’s every waking thought, and it doesn’t help that she’s thrown herself  and everything she’s got into her work to distract herself from the loneliness.

She’s always been heavily invested in the progress of her patients, but it’s never been to this degree. And there is one particular patient that she’s determined to help. 

Harleen hasn’t given up on her efforts to rehabilitate the Joker. Far from it. 

She’s beginning to understand him, she thinks. If anyone could understand what it's like to have something dark and ugly inside yourself, it’s Harleen. That’s the key. If she can match her darkness to his, they can understand each other.

And slowly, her patience and hard work bears fruit.

One morning, Harley enters the Joker’s cell to find him  constrained once again by the straightjacket. His lip is bleeding and his head hangs limply, as if he’s dead weight and the straightjacket is the only thing holding him up. 

He looks… defeated.

Harleen approaches him and touches his shoulder gently. “Are you okay?”

A soft huff of laughter emerges under the thicket of green hair. She can’t see his face, but she knows that the bitter smile must be there. “Why are you still here, doc? Why don’t you just give up on us?”

“I’m your doctor. I’m here to help.” Harley reaches out to touch the first buckle on his straightjacket. “Besides, I’ve never been the giving up type.”

Another bitter laugh. “You’re supposed to run. When there’s a monster in front of you, you’re supposed to run.”

“I don’t see a monster here.” Hesitantly, Harley reaches out to touch his face. She tips his head upward and he follows until their eyes meet. There’s a spark in there, glimmering faintly underneath the madness. “And I don’t want to run.”

He swallows as Harleen once again undoes his straightjacket. When he’s freed, it takes the Joker a second to move, as if he’s shocked at his own freedom. Like an animal that doesn’t realize it can leave its cage.

Harleen steps back and gives him time. After a long moment, he relaxes and flexes his arms, shedding the restraints slowly. Then the Joker looks at her, really looks at her.

“You look lonely, doc.”

Harley turns away, her arms crossed defensively over her chest. She doesn’t reply.

Seconds tick by and she hears the sound of the metal chair scraping against the floor. Suddenly, there’s a presence at her back and for a moment, Harley freezes. Twenty-seven people have died at the Joker’s hand. And that’s not counting the hundreds that have died in explosions and of Joker Venom.

But he surprises her.

Lean arms encircle her and instead of a choke hold, Harley finds herself in an embrace. He’s taller than she is, and the top of her head fits perfectly under his chin as he holds her. “I understand what that’s like.”

Harley exhales, her heart twinging in her chest. One hand rises and she touches the Joker’s cold forearm.

“Thank you.”

[I’m not sure what happens next, but the next time Selina visits them, she finds Harley reeking of the Joker.]

Harley lets her into her apartment, glad to finally have a visitor. But Selina’s not there for pleasantries.

"No one here knows how special you really are, do they, Harls?" Selina circles her with a sly smile. "Oh, they've got an idea. Joker certainly does. I can smell him all over you, trying to get his claws in. And Ivy, poor Ivy. She doesn't know, but her instincts haven't failed her yet. Something inside her recognizes something in you, here." 

Selina trails a long, manicured nail down Harley's collarbone, the point of it ending right at her heart. "She won’t be able to stay away. Not when she can feel what's inside you."

Harley stiffens, and her voice trembles just the slightest bit. "What the hell are you talking about?" 

"Power, little Harley Quinn." Selina's lips curl upward, and there's a gleam in her eyes that's both irresistible and repellent. "I'm talking about the power inside you." 

Harley's eyes narrow and she backs away from Selina with an indignant scoff. "I have no idea what the fuck you're talking about. I think you should leave–" 

She crosses the room to pull the door open, but Selina's calm voice stops her. "Don't you?"

Harley freezes and she turns slowly to face the other woman. Selina is examining her nails calmly, but once she knows she has a captive audience in Harley, her eyes light up.

"You've always known about it. This thing inside you. You knew it from the first time your Dad hit your Mom, and you yelled at him to stop. And he did. He fell to the ground and had his first stroke. That was the warning shot." 

Harley stares at the other woman with wide, terrified eyes. She feels frozen to the floor as Selina recounts memories that she could not have possibly known. 

"When he did it again seven months later, you weren't so merciful, were you? You wanted him dead. And so he died. Keeled over right in front of you and your Mom. And you knew. You knew it was because you had wished it." 

Harley is paralyzed, but she has enough control of her body left to shake her head. "No... No, it was another stroke..." 

Selina hums. "That's what the doctors said when you tried to tell them. They told you it was a burst blood vessel, that it had nothing to do with an eight-year old's wish. Grown men don't drop dead because a little girl wills it."

Harley keeps shaking her head, but Selina keeps going. "You believed them. Because it was rational. Because it was easier than facing a truth that scared you. The truth of your own capabilities. You believed them, and you forgot. 

“So when it happened again, you didn't recognize it for what it was. You just loved gymnastics, and you wanted to be the best. A young girl's dream, with the talent to back it up. You won medal after medal, tournament after tournament…” 

Memories flash before Harley’s eyes as Selina ruthlessly recounts them for her. What is happening? She’s so confused. 

“Except this time, you stood in your own way. Or rather, you let your love for a selfish man stand in your way. Queen Harleen, he used to call you. He was your stepfather, and you loved him. Loved him so much that you curbed your own power. And you faltered. Just like he asked you to.”

Harley screws her eyes shut as she remembers her stepdad asking her to mess up her routine, to lose. People were coming after him and now she had to give up her dream – all because he’d lost a bet. A bet against her. She remembers the anger, the resignation, the defeat.

“He got what he deserved, didn’t he? Payback for the heartbreak he gave you. He ended up in prison three months later. And you… you went after a different dream, something a girl from your side of the tracks could never have achieved. But you did – You willed yourself into becoming a doctor. Something no one in your family, no one from your neighborhood would've expected from Harleen Quinzel." 

Harley has had enough. She cuts across Selina’s words. "Are we just gonna stand here reliving my life story? I did those things myself. I worked hard for those things–" 

"Yes, you did." Selina nods with a smile. "Don't you see, Harley? That's where your power comes from. Your will is the most powerful thing about you. Everything you wish for, everything you've ever wanted has the capacity to come true — simply because you willed it into reality. And the only time you stumbled was when you were in your own way. You chose to save your stepdad, you chose to falter. Your choice matters." 

"That's the craziest thing I've ever heard!"

"Is it? You knew the truth when you were a little girl, but you chose to believe what others told you. That it was impossible. That you were in an impossibility. And yet, you have proven again and again that you can surpass their narrow ideas of the possible.... Imagine what you could do if you were no longer limited by these things. Imagine the power you could hold..." 

Harley glares at Selina's form across her. The rest of her body is still frozen, but she can feel her fingers shaking. "Shut up." 

"The balance of life and death at your will. You could will your desire into reality, simply by wanting it—" 

"Stop it." 

"And if someone could control you – if they could make you believe that their desires were your own – then they could make you will their desires into reality. Shape the world to their liking. That's why they want you. That's why they're after you—" 

"I said, shut up!" 

Selina steps forward, but she never gets to say more. Her leg crumples under her, and her head hits the floor with a sickening crunch.

Harley exhales with a cry. Suddenly, her whole body is released from its paralysis, and she stumbles backward, away from the crumpled body at her feet. 

Selina's eyes look up at her with a blank lifeless gaze. 

Harley stumbles backward until her back hits the wall. She presses against it with a whimper, sliding down as she stares at Selina's body across from her. 

Undoubtedly dead. At Harley's hand. Just like Daddy. 

Harley wraps her arms around herself, rocking back and forth. She can hear herself make whimpering noises at the back of her throat, but she sees it all as if from afar. As if she's not in her own body, but somewhere across the room, watching herself and the dead body on the floor. Try as she might, she can't look away from Selina's blank gaze.

Which is why when she blinks, Harley sees it. 

She gasps. 

Selina blinks again. Her leg twitches. 

When the dead body of Selina Kyle begins to unfold itself from the ground, Harley screams, scuttling backward as far as she can get, pressed against the wall. Selina cracks her neck and touches the side of her head, and Harley keeps screaming.

 "You've got a set of lungs on you, huh?" 

"Oh my God!" 

Selina smiles wryly at her. "Well, I'm just one of them." 

"You - you – you were – you were de-" 

"Dead?" Selina tips her head with a mischievous smile. "It'll take more than that to kill me." 

She touches the back of her head, her fingers coming away bloody. "Pretty impressive for a first try though. You did it much quicker than Ivy. The first time she tried to kill me, it took her Venus fucking fly trap a day and a half to digest me. Don't fuck with those. Trust me."

Harley’s mouth drops open then closes.

What in the actual fuck?

[desaulnierss]

Pentiment: “My new song must float like a feather on the breath of God”

A playlist featuring the original early modern pieces that inspired Alkemie's arrangements, compiled in order of appearance.

O virtus sapientiae - Hildegard von Bingen

Do fraig amors (arr. M. Lewon for vocal ensemble) - Oswald von Volkenstein

Ich stund an einem Morgen - Ludwig Senfl

Fortuna desperata - Ludwig Senfl

Victimae paschali laudes - attrib. Wipo of Burgundy

Quia ergo femina - Hildegard von Bingen

Tels rit au main - Guillaume de Machaut

Fortuna, Bruder Conrad - Heinrich Isaak

Fortuna desperata - Antoine Busnois

Karitas habundat - Hildegard von Bingen

Saltarello No. 2 - Anonymous

Pavane 'Mille Regretz' - Tylman Susato

L'homme armé - Anonymous

Herz, prich - Oswald von Wolkenstein

Nymphes des bois/La déploration de Johannes Ockeghem - Josquin des Prez

Ellend du hast umbfangen mich - Anonymous

In dulci jubilo (arr. Robert de Pearsall) - attrib. Heinrich Seuse

Quis dabit capiti meo aquam - Heinrich Isaak

Listen on Spotify

[diddleeeeee]

Well, it's one of these days where I find myself thinking about ARR and kinda regretting I didn't follow the wave and played the JP version. I should reinstall it still (not to play) , kinda want to read back the Dawn Faction Books. For now, I feel the need to vent a bit about various thoughts in no specific order.

Aoi, I miss you ~ I remember with fondness how I used to read about his struggle with his art and relate to it, and now that's I'm working on my own academic stuff (aka my bloody master's thesis), I relate even more. Art and literature aren't the same, but i really want to pour my soul into my work and for other people to see what I want them to see, and Aoi's determination and struggles are reminding me of my own insecurities. Aoi, let's support each other!

It also makes me want to write all the one shots and fanfiction I had in mind two years ago, before the Fateful Announcement was made... Should I procrastinate my thesis and write fluff instead? God, there was this modern high school au I, the Futaba/Aoi one shots, the OC story...

Kuro, send your haircare! I want fluffy hair! None of the ARR guys really has curly hair like I do, but Kuro's long hair seem so fluffy and pretty... I'm not really into skincare and haircare that much, but I can imagine Futaba and Kuro sharing tips on how to care for one's skin. This'll go in another fanfic. One day. One day...

It always surprises me how I started the game for Yura, thinking I would be so head over heels for him I wouldn't even notice the other characters, and yet! Aoi ! Kuro! My beloved!

I still like Yura, but I read his story mostly for the plot, not for the romance (but like, didn't we all? This book lacks romance so bad, at least the yura event stories are fun). Maybe it's the fact he's a 1,000 years old? I'm not really into the whole modern ordeal of age gap and what is and is not healthy (I'm reasonable, but people on Twitter are kinda scaring me at times), but like... Yura... Why do you need to me so flirtatious with Futaba when you look like a middle schooler but are older than Charlemagnes...

He's still very funny and a very dear character to me, the only OC I ever created for ARR was directly related to Yura and Gaku's backstory. Hopefully I'll find the time to talk about it in more details someday (and clear some old fanart).

... Well damn. I really miss this bloody game, don't I? I miss the gameplay, it was so easy and nice to do while commuting. The artstyle was the best, the voices were so good, it was great (the lack of sleep to play the events to the fullest wasn't though)... Oddly enough, each time me and my family talk about what we'd do if we won the lottery, I only think about three things : buying myself an apartment (loaning is expensive here ...), funding the second movie of the Kotz live action and funding the Eng version of ARR. It's such a nerd thing lol, shouldn't I want to buy old books and a car? But I don't have a driving license, and I miss playing ARR.

I'm currently starting Genshin Impact, although everyone is already so far in the story (I'm still learning how to fly in Mondstadt). Hopefully this game'll fill the void ARR left. I've been searching for a good substitute for two years now, so I'm kinda desperate...

On a side note, each time I get a notification from Voltages' YouTube page, I get soooo angry and curse them in my head. Why do I still follow them? Just for spite lol.

[carsonian]

Steve/Tony fic recs | theme: "SOFT"

I've read a decent number of SteveTony fics and I wanted to give an indecent amount of love back to the writers who put out such gawrjus pieces. The theme for this list is "SOFT" in capital letters because it's not your average erectile-dysfunction soft but some real silk-scarf soft shit. You know, the classics: the diabetic stuff, the ooey-gooey stuff, the puddle of feelings stuff...

Now I don't want NOBODY saying, girl, I've read that, are you being for real? Because guess what? I am always being for real and these fics are real, and you can always re-read them. So spread the love. Respect!

"There's an App for That" by Annie D (scaramouche) (@no-gorms) - I know you're looking at me and saying, aight look Carsonian, whatchu takin me for? You think I'm some greenhorn mark to put down a flag for SteveTony witout cracking Annie D's stash three times whole? Well, to that I raise: my glass. Cuz samesies. But truuuuust me, this fic is worth the re-read. It is a stroke of genuine AU brilliance that doesn't get the hype it deserves (a billion kudos of hype pls!). Super solid set-up, refreshingly quick lines, the kind of easygoing falling together that is just jazzy to relish. This fic is like a date with an almond huddled inside. Sweet and mushy but with a surprisingly solid bite at its core. Summary goes:

Thanks to the modern gig economy, Steve is the successful owner of a break-up service, i.e. people pay him to break up with their partners for them. One day, he gets the first break-up request for Tony Stark.

😏 Uh-huh. Oh okay. Meet-awkwuuurd time. J.A.R.V.I.S., cue up "Start of Something New" by HSM. 😏

"The First Time I Went Dancing Sober" by schemingreader - This fic is like good wine; it ages like a beauty. This month will make it ten (10!!!) years since it was published but by God does it hold up. It holds me up. Like a firm but comfortable back brace. Summary goes:

Steve Rogers is a great physical therapist who works with sick kids. Tony Stark is a damaged biotech engineering genius who really wants to be one of the good guys.

You.... you know the vibes, don't you? You--uh, you catch the flow? Yeah, you do. C'mon, read this fic and give me a hug, brother. I'll clasp you close and whisper homoerotic sweet-nothings into your ear while we hug, partner. It'll be silly romantic, bro.

"we pick ourselves undone" by laramara (@commandersteverogers) - Another old-but-gold fic. Hang on, read the summary first:

It might appear that award-winning surgeon Tony Stark, the head of neurosurgery at Shield Hospital, well and truly has his life together. Now if he could only figure out how to tell people that his father, world class neurosurgeon Howard Stark, is locked away in a nursing home with Alzheimer’s, devise a way to get Chief Fury off his back for good, and work out what the hell he’s going to do about the weird on-again-off-again thing he has going with the head of cardio, he’d finally have everything sorted.

Now that's what I'm motherfucking talking about. This fic is also ten years old et voilà: a certified historical moment. When I first read this, I thought about quitting fic writing; it's that good. And then I re-read it and life was okay again. Tee El Dee Arr: I want to give this fic a smooch on the mouth and a sincere insurance plan.

"for better or for worse" by earliebirb (@earliebirb) - This is the fic you re-read when you want to remember why you're into Steve/Tony. It's iddy, it's tender, it's achey but beyond all a that, it's SOFT. Soft like whipped cream. Soft like a vanilla ice cream milkshake. Soft like Tony's tush and Steve's tits. R-E-S-P-E-C-T! Summary goes:

Sitting quietly like this, Tony can almost pretend that nothing has happened, that this is just another normal day of Steve waking up in bed next to him. Married and in love with no threat of divorce looming on the horizon. Of course, that is before he catches sight of Steve’s bereft ring finger. He wonders how long it has been since Steve’s ring finger is empty. He wonders if he should start taking off his own, too. He wonders if Steve wants him to take it off.

I know, I know, you're going: Carsonian, wyot the hell, this sounds like angsty stuff. Shhh. Shhhhh. Shhh. I'll get my hand off your mouth just as soon as you start listening. Sport, this is the ooey-gooey stuff. All of the angst is the hot chocolate fudge. It's what makes the milkshake so bloody damn good. Now get da fuck outta here and read this fic!!! Or re-read this fic!!! It's worth it! (Just like Steve & Tony's relationship in the fic, shhh no spoilers.)

Warmest and Brightest by ishipallthings (@ishipallthings) - Naww shuddup I don't want to hear any accusations of favouritism. Yeah I think Jen is aces, but I'm not speaking from a place of bias when I say her fics are aces too. It has been scientifically proven. By Tony. And me. Here's the source. Also, I read this WAYYYY back when, and put it down in my list as "sitcom/hallmark set up with stevetony charm". So if you're into that, you know what to do. And if you're not into that, get da fuck outta here!!! You can not NOT be into that. Okay but if you're seriously not into that, no judgement. Okay, a little judgement. With 100% love. Summary goes:

It’s Christmas Eve, and Tony’s supposed to be getting decorations ready for his and Rhodey’s Christmas bash in their new apartment. Instead, he’s stuck in an elevator with the hot guy from 12A Steve, who doesn’t seem to be in much of a festive mood. It turns out to be a bit of a holiday miracle.

Y'know what else is a miracle? How I got through this fic without kicking my feet up like a gleeful teen in a 2000s romcom. Y'know what else? I totally didn't get through this fic without doing that. Maybe the miracle is in the friends we made along the way 🧑‍🤝‍🧑(that's me n u, babey, holding hands as we watch Steve and Tony debate superior rom-coms into a relationship).

"One Last Christmas" by Captain_Panda - Speakin' of Xmas miracles, here's another fic that is super soft and set during the Christmas holiday period. And YEAH I'll admit it FINE FINE. I'm deffo playing favourites here....but as we all know, I am a Captain_Panda fan first 😤❗, a SteveTony fic enthusiast second. Respect!!! Summary goes:

You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch. The year is 2012. Cuddly-as-a-cactus Tony Stark is throwing a Christmas party for his fellow Avengers. It's all going really well--except for Tony, who is quietly succumbing to his own demons.

You see how the summary says "cuddly-as-a-cactus"? Well, it don't matter because the fic will cuddle you anyway. Tony gets cuddles, we get cuddles, the world gets a cuddle. It's all cuddles in here and you best believe I'm weeping at the slumber party. In this fic, the world is soft and rough-edged and love is worth losing for. It's beautiful. Gawly I'm weeping again. Last time I read this fic, I wrote this in my comment and it still holds true.

And that's all she w"rec"ked!

Go forth: SteveTony lovers, fuckers, ambassadors, champions, perverts, freaks, losers, dreamers, legends! Read, re-read, kudo, comment, spread legs and spread love.

[phantombluego]

Back from the hades 2 update to write more headcanons and ideas i come up with. Also i love fnaf. Fnaf au Telemachus crying child suitors as bullies Amphi as Micheal idea

[Hades]

The suitors would laugh at him but he would be like "who is working for multiple gods right now and befriended like 3 at this point?" Let Telemachus be sassy and free! He would slip a note to Zagreus to make sure all suitors would be punished except 1 (Amphi). He still hates him but not as much as the others. When Antinous comes and spots Telemachus it would be like " 'i can still beat you in a fight at any time' can you have a good after life at any time? I dont think sooo i dont think sooooo" he would also talk to Hypnos or Achilles or Zagreus or Persephone when suitors are nearby to piss them off.

The quest to reunite Amphi and Tele would be to get the letter from Telemachus first and help him with that to gain trust. Later on he would Amphi being like "i miss my little brother :(" which leads to Zag trying to fix their family issues before his own are fixed like usual. Its mostly convincing Telemachus and at 1 point to get the toy Amphi never gave i put in a angst headcanon in the last post and after that they finally reunite again and this time talk and hang out like how they used and Telemachus sleeping against Amphi feeling safe enough to do so. Amphi would ask him for how it was when he was king anr stuff like that

[Hades 2 but this is jus5 me rewriting ody's character to epic Ody cause he is not a cheater and loves his family dearly]

This ties in with hades au so Chronos would snatch Telemachus to and once Melinoë finds out who all got taken another 600 strike would happen. "Time cannot be stopped!" "Good." Odysseys said somehow getting Chronos weapon. I just imagine Melinoë walking in the hall and see Chronons get dragged away by nobody

That was a lot of Hades au

[Normal]

As much Telemachus claims to hate Amphinomus he is the person who looks after him when he is drunk and the other suitors are passed out. He makes Amphi drink water ,holds his hair out of his face if his stomach didnt agree with the alcohol. He would (attempt to) take Amphi to the guest room and if not make sure he wont freeze to death. He doesnt tell a soul and Amphi doesnt remember and if he does he knows better than to say it loud or ask him about it

[Suitors for Tele au]

Peisis ,Neo and Antinous sit together at a table and they are all judging each other. Neo and Peisis agree they arr the best options for Tele and when Antinous tries to insert himself they are both like 🤨. Telemachus is unimpressed and ignores all the other suitors that came for him mostly out of habit from when his mom had suitors. He loves hanging out with Peisis and Neo. He loves hanging out with the light of his life bestie who happened to share a bed sometimes. He doesnt realize they actually are all 3 suitors for him. Neo and Peisis are his friends so he is just happy they are there and Antinous is Antinous and is probably just here to annoy him. Once Tele notices that Neo is a guard dog he uses it when Antinous annoys and just adds a little lie that Antinius grabbed his wrist to rough.

[Girl dad Amphi]

Since he cant get a wife he adopts. Like the cat distrubution system (i have no idea how to spell that) but with a little nymph he found who was fatherless and motherless aka a orphan. He first gave her some food and water and a place to sleep but now she follows him everywhere and he adores his little magical daughter. In modern times he would wear matcing onesies like pink bunnies or smt. When he gets a daughter he steps down as a suitor cause he has a heir now so no wife needed and his dad would stop nagging him on it. He would alsi fix his relationship with Telemachus and little nymph girly likes him a lot and Tele is the fav when he visists or they visit him. She would love to fall asleep in her dads arms and he would carry her everywhere

[Normal]

Telemachus obviously has daddy and mommy issues. He struggles to connect with his father a lot especially sinfe he fully grew up without him and all his life he was non stop compared to him causing some resentment even if he does loves his dad he wants to live his own life and be known as himself not his father even if he is great and awesome

I just realized how tired i am while writing this probably from playing to much hades game so more next time :")

Omgs crying child Tel </3 be funny though. That would make Odysseus William HAHA

So much Hades AU I love it. Sassy Tele when they try get at him is totally canon, he’s befriended the son of the Hades and they’re still trying to annoy him so badly. Obsessive much LMAO (very in character for them, especially Antinous). I swear Zagreus would be confused at this revenge but would totally agree after hearing the stories, he’d change their residences from Asphodel to Tartarus just so they suffer. Also with Antinous <3 he really tries too hard for Tele’s attention and it just backfires so badly each time LMAO

Tele having a letter fir Amphi but never sending it is so sad, perfect that it would start with the courage to finally get in contact again. We love Zagreus for always fixing everyone else’s family before his own LMAO guy never gets a break. And the toy again my gods, tryna kill me rn that’s so sad, but at least Telemachus gets it in the end and they live in death as happy brothers again <33 they so need it. I love them as brothers so much

LMAO Love good father Odysseus, he needs a return I’m praying he in game becomes the loving husband he should be again (though I doubt it sadly). But yes Odysseus 1v1ing every god who hurts Telemachus, totally canon, let the man take on a Titan and win!

(I’ll put both normal HCs together again thumbs up!!) Tels so cute I love him, caring for his brother even through when doesn't want to, sad that Amphi doesn't remember too cause bro would be so happy to know about that sob AND THE FATHER ISSUESS, it makes sense he would struggle with being around Odysseus (I hc that myself lol), little guy just wants to be independent and not be stuck "reliving childhood" as his father wants to spend time with him. Odysseus just trying his best for his son, I love their dynamic I'm giggling at Neo and Pei talking and getting along, then Antinous at the side being like "Well I actually--" he'd get so boasting while trying to fit in with the princes. (Well, Neo is technically king...) Telemachus thinking its just some big sleep over with his best friends and Antinous lol, poor oblivious little guy, I love him so much. Neo and Antinous getting in fights too <3 (atp... just polycule it guys youre all giving boyfriends) Omgs, thats so perfect for Amphinomus. Him and his nymph daughter, I imagine a water nymph! Got a little lost at sea and ended up in Ithaca. Him and his princess daughter ARGH I need to draw this if I get time for sure, then she has uncle Telemachus <333 my heart I might get attached to this And the matching onesies :( gods, they're so cute

[minarcana]

⭐?

potential muse combiations!

ur modern au i think professor uri is allowed to be a recurring customer to selenas bookshop... theyre frenbs.

i also think your primal/eikon au could be messed with. rusia ventured into gyr abania as a scion adjunct and has blessing of light so could go check in on rumors of a primal. the part of my brain that likes putting gaius in the 'well you unfuck this' torment nexus also has him impervious to primals and subject to trying to unfuck the body horrors of gyr abania. selena gets rescued by one or two clowns

uri teaching selena magic could also be fun. how far are u in xiv, i know ur about page mostly includes arr stuff. is selena a wol? i got the vibe of like, scion-adjacent from her. bro we are on sylph management together bro.

i think rusi should bother her and be Relentlessly Engaging because theyre like that, and she works with the wood wailers for a bit, who rusi thinks are generally pretty cool. (they are not a wailer but do lend their lance on contract sometimes because leves need it, and all that). they can be frends! rusi is a nuisance who is glad to be here and very loyal so they win friendships that pay off well enough....

[paradoxeyed]

walking between light and dark.

WOL INFO | NON-WOL INFO | ANCIENT | RULES | THREADS Note: I would suggest following the main blog ( @cloudyxmuses ) too, as all OOC announcements will go there. Not necessarily required, but would explain any dips in activity. That way you guys won't miss anything important, as I won't rb ooc posts here!

VERSES

Warrior of Light: MSQ canon with Faelux as the Warrior of Light Witch of Ul'dah: Non-WoL RP verse, corresponds with in-game RP verse Eorzea Academy: AU for the spinoff manga, doubles as a modern verse Traitorous Witch: Ancient verse as a woman named Medea, a researcher in Elpis (Note: I write her as Hermes's sister, but only if my partner agrees! If you don't want that, just let me know and I'll negate that for our interactions~)

MSQ Progress: ARR (I restarted her, mun is caught up on all MSQ) World: Dynamis -> Halicarnarssus Other: Multi-WoL and crossover friendly! Mutuals only though.

[koukouture]

Doin one of em WoL info thingies

BASICS

Name: Akari Shimisu (former) Elysia Vespera

Nicknames: Morningstar, dove or little dove (coined by Estinien) Ely

Age: 22 (ARR)

Nameday: 1st day of the second Astral Moon

Race: Raen Au Ra

Gender: Female

Orientation: Bi

Profession: Adventurer

APPEARANCE

Hair: Wine red

Eyes: Dark blue + light blue limbal rings

Skin: Tan

Tattoos/scars: A scar on her face from Zenos, but she hides it with glamour

FAMILY

Parents: Mina Shimizu (mother, deceased) Ren Shimizu (father, deceased)

Siblings: Soma Shimizu (older brother)

it should be noted that Elysia is technically disowned from the Shimizu's

Grandparents: (unnamed and irrelevant lol)

In-laws and Other: I guess the Fortemps are kind of her in laws? She was engaged to Haurche before he... yk so I guess them.

(had to sneak in a HaurchElysia screenshot sorry guys)

Pets: Iris (Immortal Flames issued chocobo) Pepper (black chocobo gifted by Haurchefant)

SKILLS

Abilities: Multi job- main ones are White Mage (ARR- middle of Heavensward), Dragoon (middle of Heavensward - Endwalker), and Machinist (post Endwalker and beyond) Her aether often manifests white or colorless (I like to think it's bc she's very light aether aspected due to being Azem's shard) and all her Dragoon skills feature feather motifs rather than dragon ones. Also as a Machinist, I like to think she fights like Mami from Madoka Magica. You know, summoning multiple shotguns, elegance, and the guns coming out from under the skirt bc that's cool as fuck.

Anyways have a screenshot of Machinist Elysia ft. Zenos

Hobbies: She likes to sing! Not a trained singer by any means, but she's pretty okay. (again kinda connected to Azem bc her Azem could sing) She's quite crafty with her hands as well- often makes her own clothes and accessories (in a modern AU I think she would be a fashion student hehehehe)

TRAITS

Most Positive Trait: Her charm????

Most Negative Trait: Uh... how do I explain this? Bc it's not just one trait...

Basically, Elysia is very insecure and fears she is not worthy of anything she has. She puts on this show of a prideful, vain girl but she is deathly afraid of losing everything. This sort of leads her selflessness to becoming self destructive as she actively seeks out increasingly more dangerous enemies to take on.

In addition to all of that, she doesn't really care about the realm. She only fights because she has to- she's the strongest, she's Hydaelyn's chosen; if not her, then who? This leads her to have a certain amount of resentment for the people she's helped since she's suffered so much just to save them.

LIKES

Colors: White, red, pink, dark blue.

Smells: Cherry, milk tea, lavender, pine, fresh snow, the sea

Textures: Any and all silver jewelry-she actually wears quite a lot to the point where it subtly chimes as she walks. (haven't drawn this yet hnnggg) Light fabrics, satins and silks, fur or feathers.

Drinks: Anything fruity tbh

OTHER DETAILS

Smokes: nope

Drinks: Yes! And she can hold her alcohol pretty well since she stayed in Limsa for a bit.

Drugs: no? in other AUs maybe

Mount Issuance: Iris or Pepper

Been Arrested: Haven't thought about it yet but most definitely lmao

[voidedleylines]

FFXIV Write Day 24: Bar

In which a year is reflected upon

Rating: G || No CWs apply || Modern AU setting (ARR plot discussed) || Thancred Waters & Warrior of Light

Thancred walks into the dive bar and finds all his friends lurking in the back. Decorations hang and it’s fuller than it usually is. New Year’s Eve truly always brought out the most interesting of creatures.

He joins his people and they all greet him with various degrees of acknowledgement. For all of them, the tone is admittedly more somber than it should be.

It’s been a hard year; full of so much loss. More than he ever wants to get used to. It’s made them stronger, he supposed, but he thinks it didn’t really have to be that way.

He shakes his head as he takes a drink from Y’Shtola and gulps half of it down. She gives him an amused look but doesn’t say anything.

Papalymo is seemingly beside himself already making sure Yda behaves, but by the looks of it the girl is already a little gone as she bolts to the dance floor without warning. The man lets out a heavy sigh but does not chase after her, there’s also a twinkle in his eye that tells he’s not so bothered.

Urianger stands behind the booth and keeps to himself. He’s no doubt had the most to brood over this year, so he lets him be. They share a quick eye contact of acknowledgement and raise the glasses they hold to one another.

His focus moves to their newest recruit who’s sat at the table. Her eyes look far away as she too seems to be watching Yda in amusement.

Freyalin came to them - hells - late last year, now. She was timid and squirrely and he does remember her absence at last year’s little soiree. But again, much has changed since then, and perhaps the best thing to come is that she is here with them now.

He silently sits down next to her and she jumps a bit at the intrusion. He can’t help but let out a small laugh, perhaps she still is a bit squirrely.

“Apologies,” he says.

She shakes her head, “No, it’s alright,” she replies with a laugh of her own, “Kinda lost myself there to be honest.”

“Oh?” He probes.

Her face grows soft as a blush forms on her cheeks. There’s a glow in his stomach that forms. He tries his best to ignore it. “It’s…odd being here still, I guess,” she begins, “After…everything. I don’t really know if I should be here, but-”

“Nonsense,” he cuts her off. She looks at him with wide eyes. “It’s, I guess like it or not you’re a part of this group now. Always will be,” he continues.

She bites the inside of her cheek and looks away, though there’s now a smile on her face.

He thinks of his next words carefully, but any sort of filter is lost when he chugs the rest of his drink, “She’d be happy, you know? That you’re here.”

Freyalin’s head snaps up and for a moment her face shows a mixture of no less than five emotions and he worries he’s over stepped and goes to apologize when she breaks into a wide smile.

She reaches out a hand and grabs his wrist. He blinks a few times as he looks at the contact. At that she lets out a snort of a laugh, “Thank you,” she whispers, “That is kind of you to say.”

He gives a lopsided smile and he doesn’t expect how much of a little kid he feels again at this moment. It’s embarrassing and he wishes he had more drink.

As if he was heard by the gods, Tataru comes round with a glass of champagne for everyone as he regards in shock as the clock is only three minutes til midnight.

She stays holding his wrist, like it’s a normal occurrence, and they wait out the clock together.

It’s also just the two of them in the booth now, as Y’Shtola seems to have found a match and Urianger seems to have left now all together. Yda has found a new group of friends on the dance floor and is introducing Papalymo to them in rapid succession. Tataru, no doubt, is finding a way to overcharge on champagne like she actually owns the bar. With a smile, he thinks she might.

His eyes drift to her hand again as the countdown begins and he feels himself frozen. Conflicting thoughts hit him all at once as everything moves in a slow motion.

Five…

Four…

Three…

Two….

One…

A pair of lips connect to his cheek and now he’s the one to jump at the sudden movement.

He hears her laugh close to him and his ears grow warm. Not really thinking, or maybe thinking too much, he turns his head and, gently, takes his free hand and pulls her in.

She doesn’t react at first and his stomach drops but as he’s about to pull away he feels her push back, her free hand holds his cheek.

It’s still quick and chaste but as they pull away she stays there another moment longer, as if debating going back in. He waits with bated breath until she does eventually break away and pull back.

There’s a silence between them that isn’t quite awkward, but not totally comfortable. He chugs down his champagne and she only takes a small sip of hers.

After the overall celebration dies down a little she clears her throat. “I should be going,” she says.

Before he can reply she moves to stand. She gathers her coat and straightens herself up before turning shyly back to him.

“Goodnight, Thancred,” she says, “Happy New Year.”

She leaves without a response from him. He takes a deep sigh and leans back as far as he can, rubbing both his hands down his face.

[thelittlestancient]

Intro Post: Shuyaya Shuya

I don't talk about my lalas much anymore because of Past Issues, but I do occasionally share a bit! So here's Shuyaya Shuya, who usually just goes by Shuya.

Shuya identifies as female, but uses he/him pronouns and other masc-oriented language.

He's not the WoL! He exists in Meteor's verse as one of his friends. A former apprentice of Gerolt's, he struck out on his own several months before the beginning of 2.0 in order to have more freedom to pursue his own designs. While Meteor largely designs his own weapons (exceptions: some artifact weapons and the ARR + ShB relics, which are based on canonically-historical designs), Shuya is responsible for most of his crafting gear and tools.

Shuya is sworn to Byregot, and has taken pacifistic oaths to build and create rather than destroy. His start as a crafter came with the Leatherworkers' Guild of Gridania, who taught him to revere life--to not waste materials, but rather to create objects worthy of respect so that the lives that were taken to create them would be honored. His sole combat proficiency is in healing.

Shuya's Ancient self was Ellija (she/they, nonbinary), a Word of Nabriales and the younger sibling to the final Seat-holder. Their closest friend was Emmerololth, and she also traveled semi-regularly with Polaris during his years as Azem. She had a crush on Lahabrea, who thankfully never found out about it. They were not from Amaurot, but came from a village by the ocean and were as home in the water as on land.

(Note: Ellija was originally from a very weird but very fun D20 Modern campaign that ran in the late-90s. We were all tasked with making the most Mary Sue, self-insert aliens ever--and then they all got put on Earth where they had to attempt to pass as humans while plotting to save the world from Threats From Space.)

Shuya has an AU where he's an isekai crafter WoL.

Design Note: the skin blush is staying, but I haven't decided if the freckles are yet or not.

[starsasunder]

VERSES

Canon Verses

Pre-Sundering ↠ [ verse. ] paradise lost.

Pre-ARR ↠ [ verse. ] 'neath verdant boughs.

A Realm Reborn through Stormblood ↠ [ verse. ] shattered innocence.

Shadowbringers ↠ [ verse. ] starlight dimmed.

Endwalker ↠ [ verse. ] the sword descends.

Post-Endwalker ↠ [ verse. ] where no one goes.

Alternate Universes

modern au ↠ [ verse. ] dreams of ice.

faerie au ↠ [ verse. ] a place to belong.

roleswap, heart of zodiark / ascian astraea au ↠ [ verse. ] azem ascendant.

corrupted au ↠ [ verse. ] the cost of freedom.

gleaner-verse, non-wol ↠ [ verse. ] a world apart.

baldur's gate 3 ↠ [ verse. ] moonmaiden's gift.

arthuriana au ↠ [ verse. ] to these crowns we cling.

faerie au ↠ [ verse. ] drop of moonlight.

fate grand order (master)-verse ↠ [ verse. ] weight of the world.

[helmar-weiss]

Y Todavia La Quiero von Joe Henderson (Arr.: Tim Richards) - Mobiler Mus...

Y Todavia La Quiero von Joe Henderson (Arr.: Tim Richards) - Mobiler Musikunterricht Regensburg Joe Henderson war ein bedeutender amerikanischer Jazz-Saxophonist, der am 24. April 1937 in Lima, Ohio, geboren wurde. Er gilt als einer der einflussreichsten und herausragendsten Tenorsaxophonisten des Modern Jazz. Henderson begann seine Karriere in den 1960er Jahren und spielte zunächst in der Hard-Bop-Szene von New York City. Er arbeitete mit vielen renommierten Jazzmusikern zusammen, darunter Miles Davis, Kenny Dorham, Herbie Hancock und McCoy Tyner. Henderson war bekannt für seinen warmen und lyrischen Ton auf dem Tenorsaxophon sowie für seine virtuose Spieltechnik und seine melodischen Improvisationen. In den 1970er Jahren erweiterte Henderson seinen musikalischen Horizont und experimentierte mit Fusion- und Funk-Einflüssen. Er nahm Alben für verschiedene Plattenlabels auf, darunter Blue Note Records, Milestone und Verve. Zu seinen bekanntesten Alben zählen "Page One" (1963), "Mode for Joe" (1966), "The Elements" (1973) und "Lush Life: The Music of Billy Strayhorn" (1991). Joe Henderson wurde im Laufe seiner Karriere mit zahlreichen Auszeichnungen geehrt, darunter mehrere Grammy Awards. Er war bekannt für seine kreative Herangehensweise an die Musik, seine Fähigkeit, komplexe Harmonien zu improvisieren, und sein unverkennbares Saxophonspiel. Joe Henderson verstarb am 30. Juni 2001 in San Francisco, Kalifornien. Trotz seines Todes bleibt sein musikalisches Erbe von großer Bedeutung und seine Aufnahmen werden weiterhin von Jazzliebhabern auf der ganzen Welt geschätzt. Hier ein Arrangement für Klavier von Tim Richards aus dem Buch JAZZ PIANO 1 (Schott Verlag). LEARN MORE http://mobiler-musikunterricht.de/ #JoeHenderson #jazzpiano #JazzLegend #MelodicImprovisation #JazzInfluencer #MusicIcon #JazzGreat #BlueNoteRecords #GrammyWinner #JazzFusion #JazzInnovation #JazzHeritage #MusicalLegacy #mobilermusikunterrichtregensburg #klavier #piano #timrichards #shott #helmarweiß #ytodavialaquiero #relaxingatcamarillo