#because it's weird and stupid and why is that something you want to do on your stay-cation brain

[scopophobia-polaris]

So, to add on to Navi's post, because her whole read for the original was getting screenshots from the game to debunk what was said, of course....we are now here. I want to tell you that no one here disagreed with your conclusion about Ganondorf being a victim. What we here disagreed with was the method you used to get there. Simplifying Ganondorf down to solely good or solely evil is something this Fandom does all the time with little to no nuance. And even though you have written an eloquent essay, Published even! You twisted or outright made up parts of the game to get to your conclusion. In essay writing, that's called a logical fallacy, and the whole essay either twists what happens in the game or outright gets it wrong.

Now people are probably gonna wonder why I'm treating this like a big deal or why I'm speaking so blunt, because this is by all means very stupid fandom drama.

But I think when you're a college prof and you get an essay published and it's online for people to read everywhere without you, one, not giving the context behind Ganondorf's creation and the coding of his appearance and motivations, two the complexities of a corporate conglomerate in a notoriously socially conservative country taking aesthetics from countries who were historically colonized. And Three, The way that video games are a collaborative effort with usually no singular vision, this is very true at nintendo despite what people may think, and at any moment changes can be made for any reason by team leads or executives that would hinder or even hurt a story. It detrimental to the audience reading it that you do not provide them more of a couple of screenshots

Basically, many things go into a story and now I'm taking this more from a DOYLIST view right here talking about Nintendo. But I'm doing this because you keep trying to say..... well fuck man do I need to pull up more examples? Navi got them all, the whole essay is you trying HEAVILY to imply that Nintendo MEANT to do all of this, as in intentional in the story, idk I feel crazy, words have meaning, specific wording has implication, oh and this dosent even get into how localization can change things 😃😀 wording has meaning and sometimes translators don't have cultural contexxxtttttttt and to not even mention about Nintendo's history or even the short hand that comes from Ganondorf's design and the historical Orientalism behind it feels like a disservice to the paper, but much more qualified people then I have discussed the way Ganondorf is written and probably would love to discuss or link to previous writing again if asked.

And this is a cold take but Nintendo isn’t the place you should be looking to for deep story telling, they will always be a corporate entity first and the bottom line is a general audience, this does not mean JUST KIDS this means to a generalized population. And this is extremely cynical but a lot of people cant even handle the complexity of a female character who is mean, like Midna, do you really think people would handle a Ganondorf like how he is in Tp being portrayed in any form of film language as good????? This game dropped 5 years after 9/11, Nintendo was never gonna lose out in money like that.

And Dude people have given so much shit to HUGE fanartists and comic authors about their work portraying Ganondorf in a sympathetic light, you would of thunk more people would of picked up on Ganondorf's story being written as tragedy if there was something in the game that actually DID that. Maybe they would of written a blog post about how Midna saw Link kill Ganondorf and was ashamed of that or Ganondorf TOTALLY said the history of light and shadow will be written in blood thing before the final battle, you think people would of talked about huh why did Ganondorf say that there or something and maybe went 🤔 instead of it being argued that Tp Ganondorf had the weakest writing of the series until TotK threw a pile of flaming shit at my door with a picture of Ganondorf on it.

Navi also goes in depth on how Hyrule has not exactly stagnated like what was claimed in History of Light and Shadow by using the Goron merchants and Yeto as examples.

Rynling has stated that the cause of the stagnation and decline is due to an ineffectual leader that has "Not allowed its people to be revitalized by change and diversity."

Now I am familiar with the flaws of an undetermined national unity, I am very familiar with the subject, but I’m not going to speak like an authority. Id rather let someone much more qualified make that post and I link back to it, because i know its coming. But Navi said in her post that the idea of what could of happened at Arbiter's Grounds can completely blow over someone's head if they didn't play OoT first, and I think more or less this is accurate, certain things are lost in Wind Waker even with the recaps, but I wanna join in on this in my own way...

Rynling....you may say Hyrule has been on a decline during Tp......you may even think OoT had a more stable Hyrule or some shit.....i THINK YOU FORGOT ABOUT THE PLOT OF OCARINA OF TIME BAYBEEEEEEE

THE SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL THAT I CAN PULL UP TO PROVE MY SHIT ABOUT OOT HYRULE BEING DOG SHIT IN COMPARISON TO TP

Like if you're seriously gonna link me and Navi to your essay then I am about to go full BTW it's a Sativa and eat that bitch after midnight cuZ we YELLIN ABOUT OCARINA OF TIME ON THIS POST FOR EVERYONE🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

All of Ocarina of Time's narrative is haunted by the civil war, the whole reason why Link is being raised in the woods is cuz of the civil war, the Sheikah are implied to have died out during the same conflict, and well its said that Hyrule was unified during it

Civil War yet the translators use unified the country like it WASNT under a sole ruler before? Hello? I need to go back through the Japanese script for the game again to see if i missed something of the game and freak it harder. And do realize the Deku sprout in this screenshot says fierce war but every where else, including the Zelda wiki (not fandom) its CIVIL War.

The Gate to Death mountain and Simultaniously the fence at Zora's river gives us and idea that peace was....tenuous at best downright hostile at worse given relations with the Gerudo

so today we gonna do some fun comparing and contrasting the Gorons and how they are treated in OoT to TP

and we gonna start with his racist ass BHJBHDBHKCJW

I mean, damn remmeber how mad Darunia is at Link for being the supposed royal family messenger? Link Unlocking the door to Darunia's room with Zelda's lullaby, I think it's a little funny that Darunia is hung up , you know, like he knows this is some disrespectful shit

Hey wannna hear some shit? The gates at the edge of death mountain aren't guarded by Gorons and were not built by them you can tell, the only way to visit the mountain is to get permission from the King to go up and not from the people that actually live there

God and like, there is something about the way Darunia locks himself in his room, like he does it to keep the ruby safe from all the other Gorons being so hungry that he's frightened they're gonna eat it, he doesn't know what to do on how to act about the Dodongos that Ganondorf summon on him for not giving over that rock. It qlmost sounds like when Ganondorf came in and Threatened Darunia, and that he (Darunia) sent a message to the royal family asking for help, why else would he be expecting someone to come meet with him?

"If I'm not mistaken, you came out here to eat the red stone too! Well, too bad! It's not here! What? That's not why you're here? You're looking for a "Spiritual Stone?" You must mean that delicious-looking red stone that was once displayed above the city! I was so hungry that I thought it would be OK to just give it one tiny, little lick...so I snuck up there. But it was already gone! I think Big Brother took it away. He always says that everyone is after that red stone! Big Brother has shut himself up in his room saying, "I will wait in here for the Royal Family's messenger!" this is a quote from the Goron that you can find on the middle of the rope bridge thing in Goron city.

Yeah so he sent a letter or something and no one answered yeesh.

contrast this all with TP where OH LOOKS WHO'S GUARDING DEATH MOUNTAIN

so in TP spoilers, this happens

Kakariko is more connected then ever! Renado here is wondering what the hell is going on with their FRIENDS. And yeah the Goron elder Gor Coron is trying to keep the last few people from kakariko left safe, and other Gorons, i mean, theyre keeping a piece of the fused shadow in there. also the way that entry into the temple goes in this game is cute, Darunia was freaking it cuz everyone is starving, but here Link wrestles his way up a mountain to ask the Gron elder whats happening since he was asked to come here by Renado, Gor Coron goes DAMN

unless......?

IDK ITS LIKE? ITS SILLY? Idk Hyrule isnt the best place but why try and act like this doesnt happen during TP?

so where am i getting at with this? the hell was going on back during OoT? If things are so odd and weirdly tense with the gates gaurds and non responses

"As time passed, the Triforce became a legend, and the different people of Hyrule forgot the laws and wisdom that the goddesses had left behind. Warfare and strife became common in Hyrule, as the armies of the Zora marched on the Hylians. The Gorons fought the Gerudo. It seemed every race of Hyrule was at the other's throat. Only the secluded Kokiri, sheltered by their magical forest and the Great Deku Tree, were spared the destruction of Hyrule's civil wars.

After 50 years of ceaseless combat, there arose a Hylian King of great wisdom, courage and power. Through his brilliant military campaigns and wise diplomacy, he was able to bring the varied people of Hyrule into a tenuous harmony. Treaties of peace were signed, and prosperity once again seemed to bloom in Hyrule. But no sooner had people declared peace in Hyrule than trouble once again stalked the land."

Tenuous Harmony, could you imagine if they dropped a line like this in Creating a champion? The tumblr side of the fandom would go fucking nuts with that info like OHHHHH SHIT WAS GOING ONNNNNN

This was ALL on the offical Nintendo Zelda website back when oot was the big game out, we have this cuz someone saved it to the wayback, THIS SCREENSHOT WAS FROM DECEMBER 14TH 2001, ABOUT A FULL YEAR AND A DAY UNTIL WIND WAKER WAS RELEASED IN JAPAN. THAT'S INSANE RIGHT???? ‼️‼️🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

And then it all probably got deleted once wind waker became the new thing!!! Or when they wanted to modernize and deleted it!!! THAT SUCKS RIGHT????

And what's worse is that it introduces some new info and also clarifies something. Hey you know when I made that post like damn Darunia racist as hell

"Warfare and strife became common in Hyrule, as the armies of the Zora marched on the Hylians. The Gorons fought the Gerudo."

NO WHERE IN THE GAME THE LEGEND OF ZELDA OCARINA OF TIME IT SAYS THIS, IT DOES NOT STATE THERE WAS CONFLICT BETWEEN THE GORONS AND GERUDO.....LIKE DIN GET YA KIDS.....IM LOOKING EVERYWHERE FOR SOMETHING I MUST OF MISSED.

But Like oh hey a fucking explanation to why he just fucking says that, I figure it was cuz of Ganondorf trying to almond mom all of them or that he kept talking to the King and well.....Navi already showed the GENERAL reaction to the Gerudo in castle town.

it went from oh hes just racist to dARUNIA AND GANONDORF HAVE HISTORY????

But the interesting one is why did thy Zora "marched on the Hylians."

Like sitting here like, I know a comic made in Germany shouldn't be a be all end all in shit I knew it never was and it would like. If you put this in warrior cats canonicoty categorization would be considered lower down supplementary material dubious canon, but their are things in the comic AND the Himekawa manga that behinds some behind the scenes actions given that LINK'S MOM HAS A MOSTLY CONSISTENT DESIGN WHAT THE HELLLLLLLL. And I always thought the Goron Zora war thing was stupid but Nintendo then had that out on their website, what the hell was going ON.

Because idk i didnt think much of Zora De Bon XVI and the Hyrulien King's relationship but

Now a days the Zelda website is much different and does not have lore pages like this anymore, it's more like a summary of the timeline. But yeah actually Nintendo approved shit, Hylian/Zora war.

Hyrule is progressing, its just going slowly, Hyrule is not AS stifled by its monarchy or a lack of integration during TP because Hyrule IS integrating, is people's are intermingling like is hasn't before during this game.

And this isn't even to get started on the E3 demo of Twilight princess that the trip that Link is supposed to take at the beginning of the game was to be the representative of Ordon at the "Hyrule summit

and Hyrule is described in a VERY specific way

Kingdom of Hyrule and neighboring realms? like theyre all not under the crown? so like???? FUN, that didn't end up making it in the game. the dailouge that is, But the remints is still there in the way the game is made up, like how OoT is built off is civil war bones

actually funny, Navi just got me screenshots of the way the dialouge was changed here

Like stuff clearly changed during the demo and finished game, I should of been touching more on the intricacies of how like shit was just change for no reason sometimes but uh....

But maybe @rawliverandgoronspice would want to one day like about games industry stuff if you ever want to 😭 I know you're super passionate on this and I wish I like even off hand mentioned something about how like TP is also effected by how games are made but I didn't and I'm a fool but games are complicated as hell and that post you made talking a bit about it was fun ya know 👉👈 and the Beta of Tp changes a LOT of stuff, one Rusl really is like a brother to link in the way he messes with him, it actually makes some weird Nintendo licensed shit saying hes like a big brother to Link made WAYYYYY more since with the Beta in mind, but....that also mean they tried to keep the big bro vibes....but then put the dad ones in there too like.....uh...did..someone not change his summary anywhere?

that was my big thing i wanted to talk about, navi's already touched on everything else i just think the parallels here between the Goron quest between OoT and TP changes in such a nice way.

And like this doesn't get into other shit about TP, like if we wanna deep dive into shit ya don't gotta do it by twisting the story, like I was going and talking to @blackautmedia to ask with some help when it came to like.......god idk what i even said anymore i was going a mile a minute. He wants to write his own thing on Twilight princess so im not gonna step on his toes but he has recommended Arabs and Muslims in the Media: Race and Representation after 9/11 by Evelyn Alsultany, the link I provided here is too her website and her page on the book this link here is from her own site that has a pdf of a part American Quarterly with a paper by the same name.

Anyways i wanna reflex for a moment cuz ive been up for hours finishing this because my brain wont stop unless i do. But the thing that by all means started this, was not your reblog linking me and Navi to your essay, or that there is 2 versions i found out where the paper published one had a lot more context to why you wrote your tumblr post the way you did, Navi helped me get the parts that were cut, please realize removing these does not remove the sentiment from the essay, its baked in.

fanfic, its a popular Fan interpretation that there was fighting between the Gerudo and Hylians after Ganondorf was caught trying to take the triforce, but this is not stated to of happened in the lore itself or even has evidence to back it up other then the Implications of Arbiter's grounds theory

UGHHHH AND THIS AGAIN "Twilight Princess Delivers a subtle yet poignant protest against neoliberal discourses of empire reflected in the rhetoric of heroism inform the geopolitical movements of Japan throught the twentieth century"

WHAT ARE YOU FUCKING TALKING ABOUT......

i dont mean this in a stupid ass way, im saying where the hell was about the protest thing, wait i really shouldt take from the published one cuz you actually dumbed down the line for tumblr

anyways again, where, Navi made it clear enough with her own post that, no, the way that Ganondorf is animated has no sympathy for him until the light is literally leaving him. Hell Twilight princess inst very kind to the gerudo either given that the only thing said about them is that they were thieves and nothing more. Like somehow OoT is more empathetic to the Gerudo, it doesn't just call them thieves, it aint great its not even good its just a bad portrayal of a people, and yet somehow OoT is willing to show the Gerudo in a neutral light at points then TP ever did.

but the reason i decided to just throw down a post is cuz i was pissed that you went after Ezlo for reblogging ME and NAVI's posts and purposefully misunderstood their fuckin wind waker post about ZELDA YOUTUBERS

dude you had them getting genuinely harassed by people with 0 reading comprehension that thinks a snarky reply to a tumblr post means its 100% correct. Webbed. Site.

anyways, I hope people don't take this as a right or wrong way to interpret a piece of work, as stated before, I read your essay, navi read your essay, you changed parts of Twilight Princess to get to the conclusion of you paper...And im gonna be real but it's kinda crazy that you're using post colonial melancholia for this when it's got some.....well something like idk i need someone to do a full ass review because there are point where i gently raise an eyebrow im gonna be real. but also like

like how do you read his book and then miss out on this, one of your whole big aruments is that hyrule is stagnate and not multi cultural and i had to grab screenshots and Navi had to get shit from the game.

like damn, do yall ever uh feel a strange sadness when dusk falls? i do. Idk this is one of the first and last times Nintendo ever delt with Ganondorf with some form a sympathy for him, cuz we got the dragon explosion in totk its like oh he's turbo evil now and he exploded you exploded him and yet the Gerudo probably still gotta pay for his shit from a billion years ago anyways idk idk idk pot shots at totk again.

I know you dug around a little for that post, and I understand from the numerous people that dmed me about that, you probably went on making an essay on their post so you could sound smart again.

And to be clear, I was told to drop some shit i was about to say about you because no one wants to start fandom drama, neither do I truly and any jab on the post itself would just be rude. people change and some people only learn to shut the hell up, so we'll keep it at that. I just hope you really don't truly recognize some of these people you started shit with.

So yeah tldr, uh.....idk, im going in for an autism screening in a month

also me watching the ending to windwaker cuz i wanted to say something about stong endings TP fans im sorry But Wind waker's ending hits no matter what best sequal to OoT thats isnt Majora's mask

The History of Light and Shadow

At the end of Twilight Princess, Ganondorf delivers one of his most memorable lines, “The history of light and shadow will be written in blood.” He is not wrong. As the player has witnessed over the course of Link’s adventure, Hyrule is haunted by ruins and ghost towns, a mere shadow of what it once was. The landscape is filled with numerous sites of past violence and empty spaces visibly marked by decay and wasted potential.

When Zelda tells Link and Midna that “these dark times are the result of our deeds,” she is referring to specific historical acts of imperialistic aggression. Hyrule established hegemony over its outlying territories by crushing the rebellions against its advances, but the kingdom has suffered from cultural stagnation as a result. Without the dynamic diversity symbolized by Ganondorf, Hyrule finds itself in economic and political decline, isolated from any contact with the world beyond its shrinking borders.

As a representative of a marginalized group of people who have been attacked and driven from their homes, Ganondorf is a tangible manifestation of the horrors of imperialism. He must be defeated, but doing so does not address the underlying problems that have resulted in Hyrule’s decline. I therefore want to argue that Twilight Princess uses Ganondorf to deliver a subtle yet poignant protest against the discourses of empire reflected by the dualistic “light and shadow” rhetoric of heroism that has resulted in tragedy and regret.

Keep reading

[ramshacklerumble]

Ooh~ A theme park~? Count me in. I’ve been a good little student and ANYTHING has to be better than rotting in class bored out of my skull.

Groovification: [LOCKED]

Set Home: What are you standing around for?

Switch Look: Oh, is THAT how it’s gonna be?

Home Transition One: Hm~ I can get behind this kind of clothing on a day-to-day basis. I’ll have my people do something about the fabric, though.

Home Transition Two: What on earth is a corndog? It sounds like something you’d wanna ward off, not eat.

Home Transition Three: I’m looking forward to this show. Believe it or not, I don’t perform in front of others all that often. Tragic, I know.

Home, after Login: I finally went on that roller coaster Ace kept yammering about and I just managed to throw up a barrier before we hit the water. Bet the little jerk probably didn’t count on me knowing a thing or two about waterfalls.

Tap Home 1: I think I’m gonna have one of these built in my palace. I need to think of a name– Oh, I know! Cusi-topia. Mm, no…

Tap Home 2: I don’t like video games, but Kalim and I found a rhythm stage game and it was WAY fun. I could stay there for hours.

Tap Home 3: I don’t get why people get all hissy because I don’t wait in line. What? Like it’s my fault they’re peons?

Tap Home 4: Vil and René were all buddy-buddy coming out of the pool hall…weird. I have dance class with them and I’ve seen snowcaps warmer than whatever they usually have going on.

Tap Home 5: *Gasp* O-Oh, this is just…a stupid plush prize Jack didn’t want, so he gave it to me. !!!…I’m not gonna throw it away!

Tap Home, Groovification: [LOCKED]

DUO with SSR Wén Xiáng

Xiáng: I can see their weak spots! I’ve got this! | Cusi: No, sit down. I’ll handle this!

tag list:

@cyanide-latte @inmateofthemind @tixdixl @winterweary @thehollowwriter @jovieinramshackle

@theleechyskrunkly @skriblee-ksk @boopshoops @the-trinket-witch @twistedwonderlandshenanigans @kimikitti

@felix-cant-ski @nightwingshero @water-writings @beneathsakurashade (dm to be added)

[squinch-depraved]

Bro PLZ write something about teds mustache PLZ🙏

here u go short while i work on other stuffs

"i promise you you aren't too heavy, please sit on my face," ted begged.

"your mustache is gonna feel so weird though!!" excuses. to tell the truth, he just made you really nervous. you honestly didn't expect that mentioning that you had never been eaten out to your best friend would land you in this situation. "i dunno, ted..."

"c'mon, please trust me. i promise we can stop if you don't like it but i wanna try to make you feel good at least once. please?" he made that stupid face that gets him whatever he wants and leaned back on to his couch, resting his head flat on a pillow and patting his chest for you to hop on.

with a scoff, you rolled your eyes and started to climb onto him, but he stopped you and pointed to your pants.

"off," he instructed simply. his bossiness left a damp spot in your panties once you slowly, carefully removed them, folding both them and your pants and setting them on the coffee table. "there we go." you could hear the grin in his voice before you spun back around to glare at him.

"you're so annoying, you know that?"

"you love me."

he wasn't wrong. in what way, you weren't sure, but you did love your best friend.

"hop on!" he waved you over, intertwining his fingers with yours when you straddled his chest. "my face is up here," he joked when you hesitated.

"oh my god, fine, i'll sit on your face if it'll shut you up," you teased, trying to hide the nervousness in your voice. ted, who couldn't stop smiling, helped you scoot forward until you were hovering over his face. once he had a clear view of your wet hole, he groaned and wrapped his arms around your thighs, pulling you down and holding you tight while you squirmed.

his tongue worked deftly in and out of your cunt, flicking and swirling around your sensitive bud and drawing frantic wails from you. you had never felt anything so pleasurable; everything he was doing was sending white hot electricity straight to your core.

"teddy, fuck!!" you screamed, bucking your hips furiously on his face. his mustache provided just the right stimulation, brushing against your thighs when he pulled his mouth away from your pussy to plant sloppy kisses everywhere. "feels so good..." you trailed off.

he moaned into your folds as he slid his tongue back in you, the vibrations causing your legs to tremble.

"ted, please, you're so good, so good to me, fuck! why did you wanna- nghh, do this so bad?" your voice was shaky, and he pulled away with a lewd noise to answer your question.

"because i think you deserve to feel good. this doesn't have to be anything more than two friends helping each other, if you don't want it to be. just, shut up and let me taste you, please?" he bargained, brushing his mustache along your skin to soothe you.

"how am i helping you?" you asked, puzzled.

"you think i'm not gonna get off to this for like, the rest of my life?" he chuckled, pulling your cunt back to his mouth. staring down at him made your stomach flip- the way his hazel eyes peered up at you as he worked his mouth was intoxicating.

"teddy, i think i'm close," you whined, rolling your hips forward. his grip on your thighs tightened as he furrowed his brows and began eating you faster, sloppy noises filling the room. letting out a constant string of moans and swears as you tossed your head back, you let him devour you and arched your back.

he guided you through your orgasm, grunting when you began to claw at his arms where they were holding you down. he overstimulated you just a tad, unable to resist his cruel desires, not knowing if he would get to do this again. once you rode out your high, you scrambled backwards off of him, panting, and collapsed onto the couch.

"was that good?" he asked nervously, wiping his mouth with his sleeve. you couldn't form words yet, but nodded solemnly. smiling, he rose from his seat and walked to the kitchen, returning with a water bottle, which you accepted gratefully.

"can we do that again?" you asked quietly once he sat back down.

"uh. yeah, if you really want to," ted offered, scratching the back of his neck.

pulling him in for a deep kiss, you grinned at the faint taste of yourself still on his lips. his mustache tickled your upper lip as the kiss deepened, and soon he was on top of you, kissing between your thighs and enjoying every noise that spilled from your lips.

[kaisaerinlover]

michael kaiser

married life

tw: toxic relationship, abusive

you and your (not so) beloved michael kaiser finally decided to tie the knot. well, he decided, and you obliged. because what else are you supposed to do? you wouldn’t ever betray him, everything he wants is what you want too. he has you so well trained, doesn’t he? you went along with it because of how docile you are, how you’re basically putty in his hands. but you also had your own selfish reasoning, but you aren’t ready to admit that to yourself yet. no, you hoped that if you became his wife, maybe, just maybe, the tenderness he sometimes showed would be more common, the nosebleeds he bestowed upon you with his cruel fists would subside, the gentle nature he has somewhere inside of him would come out more often.

unfortunately for you, that’s not how michael kaiser works. and i think you know that too, don’t you? so why do you keep up the hope? you’re a true masochist, and he’s a true sadist. a very dangerous pair. dangerous for you, the one who subjects yourself to kaiser’s brutality willingly (it seems that way these days).

don’t get him wrong, kaiser yearns for love, yearns to be loved, yearns for you to keep on loving him ‘till the very end. and he knows you will, because you don’t have any other choice. michael kaiser is truly a master of his craft, a skilled manipulator and a very intelligent man. and now that you’re his wife, things really became a whole lot easier for him. he knows he has it drilled into your pretty little head that the only thing good for you in this world is him. him, him, him, him, him. pleasing him. loving him. being with him. being so sweet to him after he’s so mean to you.

he loves you and you love him. so why does the love he feels for his cute wife manifest in the most atrocious of ways? you know, he’s always making dumb excuses for why he’s this way. he thought if he was loved he would stop, then he thought if he got a girlfriend he would stop, then he thought that if he married you he would be able to stop too. he’s ran out of excuses now. he’s fucked up, all that psychology he’s polished up on throughout his life, all those books on human traumas and emotions, they should have made him realise what he really needs is the drive to change and a therapist a million times better than the average one. but he’s a little ignorant too, in that sense. or he was, he realises it sometimes, but he ignores it.

and besides, he’s not exactly one to complain about the arrangement you guys have. especially after marriage. you became so much more perfect, he didn’t even know it was possible. you’re the perfect, doting little housewife. and you’re all for him too, so cute, so docile. you like it too, but kaiser made you. you’re a little too stupid, a little too trusting and a lot too in love with kaiser to realise it. if you were just a little bit more intelligent than the girl he first met, he’s sure you would have realised something was seriously up by now. but it’s fine, ‘cause wits were never your strong point, nope, your sweet obedient nature was. and kaiser likes that.

you’re a great housewife. and he’s a great husband, you think. you’re in the kitchen, cleaning up, wearing a sweet little outfit kaiser bought for you. he’s so generous, he doesn’t have to spend money on you, yet he does. isn’t he just the best? so expensive too, he spends his hard earned money on you? isn’t your husband seriously just the best? you’re dressed in a cute vintage style dress, hair tied up into a cute ribbon and a cute pair of slippers and socks to go with it. haha, you don’t even realise it, but you’re playing right into kaiser’s weird fantasy. he always had a thing for housewives, everything. so now he has you dressed as one cleaning the kitchen whilst he’s hard at work. maybe he’s so obsessed with this dynamic because he never had it himself, his mother packed up and left as soon as he was born, of course. and his dad was an abusive sack of shit. fucking bitches. pieces of shit. ah, he’s getting worked up. he shakes off that feeling.

today, he tried to release as much of that pent up rage into the match. and he won, as always. he’s the emperor of the world. he wanted to get out all of his anger, because what he wants more than anything today is to be a normal couple with you. but that’s not going to happen, it never does.

he walks in, “where is mein engel, hm?” he stands waiting at the door, waiting for you to come greet him like you always do. after getting married you established this new routine. and you do come, you come so quickly to him and stand on your tip toes to kiss his cheek oh so lightly. “micha, i missed you sooo much” you bat your eyelashes at him. he has you trained so well, it’s impressive. you’re like some cute puppy, you’re actually incredibly well trained. he thinks he should indulge in this idea some time, he just likes any scenario where you’re completely submitting to him. but he shakes that thought off, he won’t get distracted for too long.

he wraps his arm around your waist and walks you to the couch, where he sits down and you stand in front of him, between his legs, looking down at him so innocently. you’re confused, maybe you’re not as well trained as he thought, because you sure don’t know what he wants right now. maybe a glass of wine? you go over to the wine cabinet and pull out a glass and pour in some wine.

kaiser is waiting impatiently, he trained you properly, didn’t he? so why the fuck aren’t you going along with what he wants. god, it’s pissing him off. he sees you walk away, ah, maybe you’re finally going to cook dinner as he wants. he picks up the tv remote and turns it to the bltv channel, today will be perfect, he’s going to simply sit with you, watch some soccer and then eat some nice homemad-

and there you are, standing in front of him looking oh so innocent holding out a glass of wine to him. are you fucking serious? you’re kidding right? you’re definitely doing this on purpose, don’t look so innocent. you’re just trying to piss him off, aren’t you? you fucking bitch. “what is this?” he asks you. he’s angry, but he’s being eerily calm. “wine, i thought you wanted a glass?” are you being dumb on purpose? no, you definitely did this to anger him, didn’t you? ah, he’s so mad now. “and why would i want a glass of wine, after such a long day of playing. wouldn’t i want a meal, hm? dumb girl” he patronises you. and you feel so small. “

but you do something unprecedented, something you haven’t ever done before… you have a… reply? you actually talk back? “y-yeah but how can i know what you want-“ enough. he’s even angrier now. why the fuck are you talking back to him instead of bowing and doing what he told you to do. you retarded whore. what the fuck? all that calmness is gone, he’s gritting his teeth.

poor you, you thought you could reason with him before he got mad, he seemed so calm. stupid, naïve you. you thought he wasn’t mad and now you’ll pay the price.

he knocks the glass out of your hand, the glass shatters everywhere, cutting your hand slightly. the wine pours on you, staining you red. and if that wasn’t bad enough, his fist hits you square in the nose. the pain doesn’t even register until you feel the first drops of blood, and then see them on that cute dress kaiser bought for you just days before. he’s towering above you, staring you down. you messed up, didn’t you? “you don’t talk back to me. ever. i didn’t teach you that. next time, keep your pretty mouth shut. you fucking bitch. did you forget your manners? that’s not how a girl like you should be acting. should i just find a new girl, hm?” he’s holding your throat with his tattooed hand. find a new girl????? no, don’t do that micha!!!! don’t do that to you, you didn’t mean to. but now you’re even doubting that, you definitely meant to. you just didn’t realise it. or something like that… it’s your fault.

he slightly releases the hold on your neck to let you talk, you have a chance to make things up with your words. a very slim chance. because he probably won’t care about what you have to say, whether it’s an apology or not. but he’s letting you talk, so use the opportunity before you get a black eye next too. “i-i’m sorry. i’m really incompetent” you don’t even make any attempt to grab his hands off of your throat, or even wipe up the blood streaming down your pretty lips. “i’ll not mess up again micha, i promise.”

your blood is covering part of his tattoo now too, he notices it and withdraws his hand, and laps up the blood. he always had an affinity for your blood, you taste so sweet. he likes tasting the hurt he’s caused you. it’s fulfilling, this is how he likes living. he loves hurting you, he doesn’t like admitting it often though, ironic for a monster like him. for some reason, that anger subsides. he’s not as mad anymore. maybe he’s going to apologise to you? you’re actually kind of hopeful for that, the small, rational part of you that knows it wasn’t your fault. but that part perishes as quickly as it was lit up. he ruffles your hair with his other hand and wipes the rest of the blood his tongue couldn’t quite clear up onto your rosy cheek. “it’s fine, don’t mess up again, ‘kay? i was nice this time, wasn’t i? you’ve had worse from me before. don’t take my mercy for granted, prinzessin.”

you’re so lucky for getting that mercy, thanks kaiser, isn’t he just so nice? you don’t even know how he managed to forgive you for such a horrible mistake. you’re a shitty wife, thank god your husband is so nice. and, ah, that dress, the one kaiser generously bought for you, it’s all ruined. all stained in the wine and blood. you ruined the dress with your incompetence. you messed everything up, god, why did he even marry you? you’re so stupid, and good for nothing.

he can tell what you’re thinking, he feels a little bad, but he’d rather you beat yourself up over it than him. it’s easier that way anyway. he pats your head again. “poor little thing, all bloodied up because of her own stupidity.” he chastises, and you look down in shame. he’s right, you’re so stupid. “let’s go get you cleaned up, little häschen.” and he does, he leads you to the bathroom sink, sits you on the side, and cleans the blood from you. he almost flinches at the newformed bend in your nose, and the bruise which just seems to be getting darker and changing between shades of nasty blues and purples every second. yikes, he forgets how delicate you are compared to him sometimes.

all you can think about is how generous he is, he hasn’t even changed out of his jersey yet. that’s how nice he is. and he’s bandaging you up too, a cute bandage to hide that hideous bruise. he wants to hide your mistake for you? that’s even sweeter, he doesn’t want you to look in the mirror and feel bad for it, right? that’s what he’s doing right? your husband really is the best.

and that night, you make up for your mistake. you serve him his favourite bread crust rusk, and a nice glass of water. get him changed into his robe. tie up his hair. give him blue-red glasses so he doesn’t hurt his eyes. you pamper him, ‘cause that’s what he deserves. you pamper him whilst ignoring that banging headache from the brutal assault on your nose. and the bruise on your neck. and arms. and legs. all from past outbursts of his. you tend to him and treat him like a king even though you’re so injured, but you’re too brainwashed by your husband, too eager to be the perfect housewife so he doesn’t leave you, and you end up ignoring all of this.

kaiser knows what you’re thinking, predictable little thing. he thinks you’re real stupid. he’s the one that should be scared of you leaving, he couldn’t ever find anyone better than you, anyone more willing. you’re perfect. but he won’t tell you that. he won’t give you an ego. keep being scared of being left alone, so that every second you spend with him you’re even more grateful. he’s scared too, but he’s confident most of the time you’re going to stay. he feels a little guilty for everything right now, ah, it’s one of those times. the weight of his actions presses heavy on him, but instead of taking it out on you again, he just pulls you next to him, opens his robe and drapes one side over you, feeds you a spoonful of your home cooked rusk and pinches your cheek affectionately.

“good girl, schatzi. so good. i love you. du gehörst für immer mir.” he nibbles at your ear a little.

and you just sit and blush. “i-i love you t-too micha, ‘s much.”

you’re the luckiest wife in the world, thank gosh your husband is so willing to put up with your incompetence and stupidity. being a wife is so great. you lean your head against his shoulder, and whilst you’re being so tender with each other, you can forget about all your physical pains caused by him, and he can forget about all of the things weighing and stabbing at his mind at all times, caused by everyone. you’re truly his safe place. a real angel sent from heaven.

“engelchen.”

[strawberryangelx08]

i’m late to this post but fr it doesn’t have to be a proship post but when on tik tok when someone is simping for a fictional character the comments will be like

“hard drive check”

“okay drake or diddy”

“kid diddler”

“pedo”

like bruh!? stfu it’s a damn character it’s not real and yes you can find it weird but don’t compare it to a crime and a mental disorder

and when others tell people on the internet that pedophila is also a mental disorder while being a crime as well and you shouldn’t be saying that to anyone without actually prove they did something to a real minor or have possession of child exploitation

some of them will be like “well they’re a pedo”

buddy them making a ship edit or drawing fan art or posting art of a character is nowhere near the same as a crime/mental disorder

if they don’t experience this behavior then leave people alone and go after actual predators since they want to be Chris Hansen so bad

also this proves right here that the word pedo has become like an stupid insult you can throw onto someone

okay for context:there is this proshipper who was a minor and had made an intro post and their dni was literally reasonable it was adults dni and pedos dni

tell me why did this dumbass here said

“uh why is the dni something you attract” something like that

and when i told them it would be reasonable for a minor proshipper to not want adults interacting with them if they’re uncomfortable with

and especially pedos!

like so basically what you’re saying you want adults or actual predators to interact with minors because they’re doing stuff within fiction?

do antis think sometimes before they type

(clearly not)

and when i told them fiction can affect reality but only if someone is weak minded to believe fiction is real and gave them examples all they did was replied with “yap”🤓

if this was an minor who was an anti had an dni list like that then the comments wouldn’t be questioning their dni list

literally double standards it’s so stupid

if you’re questioning why proship darkship comship minors don’t want adults or actual predators interacting with their page then please stay away from kids

let’s be real here most of these people only care about minors if they’re anti and as long as they fit their standards.

anyways i saw this post and immediately wanted to rant.

the word "pedophile" doesn't alarm me anymore.

sounds very bad I know, but it's not like I don't find that in itself alarming!

pedophile is the new "freak" or "loser', it's not taken seriously anymore, it has become just a new word to call people you don't like even when they didn't do anything

yknow the story of the boy who kept yelling "wolf!" to prank the rest of the village, so when an actual wolf came no one listened and he was mauled? that's what that is.

by reducing such a serious issue to "erhm i dont like this person or their content so they must like kids!", you're actually harming victims and making it harder for them to be taken seriously

[kkayyerr]

Hi (me again) a few other fic ideas I had was,

-Daddy!JJ (again) with Little!reader where reader is feeling really small (like 2-3) and JJ seeks help from maybe Kie or John B because reader had never regressed that small

-Daddy! John B (and Mama!Sarah if your okay with it) taking care of Little!reader at the beach collecting sea shells before they run into Topper and Ruthie and they think it's weird that reader is acting like a kid (the obviously don't know about her regression)

-Daddy!Rafe with Little!Reader and he brings her with him when he's with Barry

Just some ideas you don't have to do them all or any of them, just thought i'd throw them out there

I choose the last idea, and i hope you’ll enjoy it!🫶🏻

Warnings: Drugs addiction.

Rafe hated even the idea of letting you anywhere near Barry and their business. He had a couple of reasons. 

First, he didn’t want to put you in danger.

Second, he didn’t want you to know that your „Daddy” has a drug addiction.

He knew that you were too small and naive to think of that as something bad, but he still didn’t want you to see him just as everybody else does, disgusting and dirty. Therefore, he was trying his best to keep you away from his dirty deals, but one day you finally saw Barry. When he came into the Tannyhill, as two of you were sitting on the balcony, you were just getting comfortable sitting on Rafe’s lap. 

 „Oh, man. I didn’t know that you have a chic.”

 Barry said, his voice loud as always. He set down in front of you two, clearly not bothered by your presence at all. You looked up at Rafe, seeing some signs of concern on his face. You looked back at Barry, frowning a little bit. 

 „Man, it’s not the best time for you to show up.” 

 Rafe said, but Barry only sneered at his words, looking at you with an interest in his eyes that made you slightly uncomfortable. You weren’t so good at communication when you were in the little space, especially when it comes to strangers. Rafe pulled you closer, taking your hands in his, as he saw you becoming more anxious because of the unexpected guest.

 „Relax, dude. What is she on? Some pills?”

 You felt how one of Rafe’s hands turned into a fist, as he was trying to regulate his emotions, so he wouldn’t scare you with his anger outburst. If you wouldn’t be there, he would already start some issues, and you knew it, so you just hugged him tighter. 

 „Or maybe like you, sniffing a little bit of white powder?" 

 Rafe gently pulled you off his lap, sitting you down on the couch, and smiling softly to you, even though you saw his jaw clenching just a second ago. He then crouched in front of you, taking your hands in his for a second. 

 „Baby, I need you to cover your ears for me, alright?”

 You immediately did what he said, not even asking why, because you knew that it was better not to give him even more reasons to be angry right now. 

A couple of minutes later Rafe came back, after helping Barry find his way out of this house and gently telling him that he wasn’t welcomed here, at least not when you were there. 

 „Are you okay, kid?”

 He asked and smiled as you gave him a quick nod, uncovering your ears. He was more relaxed now, and so were you. You were so happy that now there were no strangers in the house.

 „Daddy, who was that?”

 He waited before giving you an answer, probably trying to pick the right words in his head, so you would understand him, but also won’t be too anxious thinking about that situation later.

 „It was Daddy’s friend. A stupid one.”

 You were a bit confused about why he would be friends with someone who thinks that the powder is meant to be sniffed and that you had to take some pills even though you were completely healthy. You sighed, remembering that Rafe had always told you to stay out of the adult’s things. 

 „Why were you swearing at him?”

 Your question made him raise his brows, as he was more than sure that you haven’t heard anything that was happening downstairs. He then chuckled, thinking of what else have you heard and what exactly will you repeat after him later.

 „I think we should buy you headphones, baby.“

 He laughed softly as you happily jumped up from the couch and stormed out from the balcony to probably find Wheezie and tell her about the new gadget that you’ll probably have soon. Rafe sighed deeply, closing his eyes. 

 „And we should find a new dealer for Daddy.”

Taglist: @marvelfanfics1 @rafecameronsloverrrrr

[persevereforahappyending]

A Beacon in the Dark |9|

Pairing: Joey x Reader

Summary: Joey likes helping people, it's what she's best at. Hunting down the monsters of myth and legend might be the best way to save people.

Warnings: Death, Killing, Shooting, Stabbing, Kidnapping, Violence

Word Count: 5.2k+

Main Masterlist | Series Masterlist

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9

Joey ran through the woods, she knocked branches out of her face, jumped over a few fallen logs, doing everything in her power to not lose speed. She didn’t even bother glancing back, she didn’t want to lose focus, but she also didn’t know if she’d like what she’d see if she turned around. She lifted the device you had her grab out of your pocket and pressed the button, trusting that it would alert Grace like you said, though she didn’t know what good that would do. She slid to a stop; her body froze when a thunderous roar ripped through the woods.

She slowly turned her head and scanned her surroundings. She didn’t hear anything, not even so much as a crunch of the leaves. She kept her eyes searching for a flicker of gold staring back at her. She was sure by the time she got a glimpse of those yellow eyes it would already be too late. She was still frozen in place, she wasn’t sure if moving would signal where she was, as if you didn’t already know.

You. Joey released a shaky breath; she couldn’t get the image of you out of her head. She knew there was something off about you, she pegged it during your first meeting at the diner. She dismissed you as a vampire, but she didn’t even consider you would be a werewolf. She felt stupid, it all made sense, you refused to talk about what happened to you, all you told her was werewolves. The way you talked about monsters at times, it almost sounded personal, Joey wrote it off as just a hatred for the supernatural, but it was hatred for yourself.

She wondered if that’s why Grace worked with you, because you hated what you were. It was clear Grace knew what you were, the two of you were close and had been acting particularly weird earlier. You didn’t seem thrilled by this case because it was a on a full moon, it was why Grace stressed that it needed to get done quick. Everything about you was finally clear.

That didn’t stop the conflict within Joey though. You were a monster, something she was hired to help fight. You had been nice up until this point where it was clear the beast had full control. Joey couldn’t be working with you if you were what could tear her apart, that was assuming she’d even survive you this time. And lastly, you lied, you and Grace kept this secret from her, she didn’t think she could ever trust either of you again, if you kept something like this a secret, something that literally could put her life in danger, there was no telling what else you would try and keep hidden.

Joey was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard someone running towards her, someone running fast. She felt around for her gun and silently cursed when she realized the witches must have taken it. She looked around and grabbed a decent size branch, it wasn’t the best, but it might at least be able to buy her some time. She raised it like a baseball bat and narrowed her eyes, waiting for whatever was coming towards her to come out of the shadows.

One of the witches came barreling out of the darkness, her eyes widened upon seeing Joey and fell backwards. Joey continued to hold the branch up, but she hadn’t even moved a muscle before the witch was scurrying backwards, tears quickly filling her eyes.

Joeys’ eyes widened, she froze, the branch she was holding even stopped moving because of how still she was standing. Joey felt hot breath on the back of her neck. She slowly turned her head, glancing back to see a large wolf, black fur, bright yellow eyes, teeth that were probably once white but now dripped with blood, and claws that were as big as Joey’s forearm and would have no issue tearing through her flesh. The beast was on all fours, but it slowly rose up until it was towering over Joey on its hind legs.

Joey whipped around only to fall to the ground from the abrupt movement. She propped herself up on her forearms, her eyes never leaving the beast. It dropped back down on all fours and let out a loud roar right in her face. Joey flinched, turning her head as she felt the saliva and bits of blood spray out of the creature's mouth. This was how she was going to die; she was going to get eaten by a fucking werewolf, in the middle of the wood, and her son would never know. It would never come out how she died, her body would never be found, if there was even a body left, she would written off, everyone assuming she just abandoned her son again. Her eyes filled with tears, not at the thought of her death, but the thought of knowing Caleb would never know how much she loved him, that he’d go forward in life thinking she once again broke every promise she made him.

Joey felt a rush of air then there was a loud thump that shook the whole ground. She opened her eyes and no longer saw the monster in front of her. A scream pierced the air and Joey turned around to see the beast had jumped over her and was now ripping into the witch. She slowly slid away, making sure her eyes never left the beast, her eyes not able to look away as it tore through the witch’s flesh, keeping her alive so her screams were the only thing that could be heard for miles. Joey rose to her feet, and she made eye contact with the witch, seeing the pain written all over her face, the silent plea for death to take her, then Joey turned and ran.

She didn’t know where she was going, she didn’t have the GPS, you were the only one that had that. She didn’t care where she ended up, she just needed to put enough distance between her and you. It was you. The beast was you. Joey knew that but when her eyes met the monsters, she didn’t see any of you in there. There was nothing of you behind the yellow eyes, it was only the wolf. You were about to kill her, you could have killed her, she didn’t see any sort of recognition of your face, it wasn’t why you spared her, you just went for the greater threat in the moment. Joey knew that she would need to survive you until the sun came up because if she came across your path again you would certainly kill her.

Joey ran until her foot got caught on something and she was sent tumbling to the ground. She groaned as she crashed hard, she rolled over, intending to push herself up when she was met with the sight of a body. Joey scurried back, sitting up once her back was against the nearest tree. Her eyes widened as the sight before her, eight of witches lay dead, scattered around the clearing. They were all killed within seconds, none of them having time to escape, only a few it seemed were able to turn around, as if they were going to attempt to run.

Joey brought a hand to her mouth. The job was to stop the witches, and you certainly did that. Not having to worry about the witches, on top of you, was definitely a plus, she just never imagined you’d go through them so quickly. If there was no one else left to fight it was only a matter of time before you found her. The eight bodies here and the one Joey just left you with meant nine witches were dead and there was still three out there, assuming you hadn’t killed them yet.

Joey slowly pulled herself to her feet. She hadn’t heard you when you appeared behind her, she wasn’t sure if it was her fear or the natural predator in you that made you so stealthy. For all she knew you killed the witch and then came after her, you could be circling the area right now, waiting for the perfect time to make your move. She slowly lifted her foot and began walking across the area, she wasn’t sure where she was going but she needed a place to hide or a way out, it was dark, the area was vast and unfamiliar, and you were hunting her, she didn’t stand a chance trying to run back to your car, that was if she could even figure out the direction to run in.

Joey stopped and searched each body as she passed them. Not a single one of the witches had anything useful on them, not even a weapon. She guessed if they had magic there wasn’t really a need for weapons but a lot of good that seemed to do them. None of them had keys or a phone of any sort, she wondered how they possibly got there without a vehicle and how they communicated without a phone, if they didn’t use any sort of modern technology at all, or if they did where they tucked it away if it wasn’t on their person.

Joey came to a stop at the area, in front of her was nothing but darkness, the fire only illuminated so far. She wasn’t sure if it was better to trek into the unknown or stay by the light. She looked around, seeing no movement from anything, she couldn’t even hear bugs, it was just the crackle of the fire. With a shaky hand she reached into her pocket, feeling around for the candy wrapper she knew was in there. When her fingers finally brushed against the wrapper, she pulled it out and popped it into her mouth, instantly letting out a relieved sigh. She stood there for a moment, her eyes closed as she soaked up the cherry taste.

She opened her eyes with a new determination, turning around she walked straight to the woods and broke off a decent size branch, not even flinching at the loud crack that surely would have alerted everyone to her location. She slid off her jacket and ripped the sleeve of her shirt, then began wrapping it around the top of the stick. She held the stick over the fire and almost immediately the scraps up her shirt caught.

When she pulled it away, she couldn’t help but smirk at her torch, she spun around on her heel and marched off into the darkness. She didn’t know a lot about werewolves, only what she’d seen in movies, she had no idea how to know what was fact and what was fiction, but she knew that when someone was burned by fire it hurt, and she never heard of a werewolf being immune to fire.

Joey had only gone a few feet when she slowed down, tilting her head, it sounded like there were screams. She furrowed her brow and looked off to her right, the direction the screams seemed to be coming from. It couldn’t be campers; it sounded too muffled, like something was trying to block the sound from getting out. She also didn’t believe it was the remaining wishes, there were at most three of them left and the screams sounded like they were coming from more people.

Joey turned her foot, the leaves crunching beneath her boot as she slowly inched towards the noise. She knew she shouldn’t be going towards unknown screams in the middle of the woods, at night, while a werewolf was after her, but curiosity got the best of her. She couldn’t ignore the fact that the whole reason they came out to the woods was because witches were doing human sacrifices, and she had yet to see any humans. Even when you and her were chained up she never once saw another human, which meant the witches had to have some place to store all the girls.

Joey kept going until her foot kicked something hard and metal. She furrowed her brow, whatever it was had been heavy. She crouched down and began brushing the leaves off the area she kicked. Underneath was a metal cover, made to look like the bark of a tree. Unless someone took a close look or kicked it like Joey had they would just walk right past it, never knowing it was a secret hatch. She switched the torch to her other hand and gripped the handle on the cover with her dominant hand then began to lift.

She gritted her teeth as she tried to lift the cover with only one hand, it was a lot heavier than any sewer cover, that was for sure. She would bet money the witches used their magic to lift it, the weight was probably a way to deter prying eyes, if someone actually happened to stumble upon the passage. Joey finally lifted it up enough to slide it to the side, it was just like a sewer cover. She held the torch over the cover, trying to illuminate as much as she could. There was a rather rusty ladder and that was it, she couldn’t see the bottom and wasn’t sure how far it went.

Joey looked up and smiled to herself before scouring her surroundings until she found a little rock. She kept hold of the rock as she got her watch ready. She pressed the side button to start the timer on her watch and dropped the rock. She listened for the rock, silently watching as the seconds ticked by. When she finally heard the rock hit what sounded like a hard surface, she paused her watch, seeing hardly any time passed. She smiled to herself, the passage wasn’t super deep, just several feet, the torch probably just couldn’t reach that far, if she had a flashlight, she would have been able to see the bottom.

She stood up, looking down at the passage below. Going down without backup and without knowing what she was getting into was a terrible idea. Staying above ground where you definitely were was a terrible idea, it was a guaranteed death sentence. She steeled herself before turning around and slowly lowered her foot onto the first bar of the ladder. She had half her body down the tunnel when a roar ripped through the air. Her blood ran cold as her head snapped up, searching for the direction it might have come from.

She took a few more steps down, lowering herself further until just her eyes were barely peeking out of the hole. She glanced to the side at the cover, it was hard enough getting off and she couldn’t guarantee she’d be able to push it off again if she closed it. Her internal debate was interrupted when she saw a witch run out of the darkness, headed directly for her. The witch spun around and as she raised her hand a stream of fire shot out. She moved her hand, directing the fire to create a wall in front of her. It seems you were right behind her as you came out of the same darkness a second later, sliding to a stop before you could hit the wall of fire.

You snapped and growled at the fire as you paced back and forth. Joey watched with wide eyes, holding her breath as she feared if she so much as breathed you would hear her. The witch stared at you for a second, seeming to silently taunt you before turning and making her way directly for Joey again. Your pacing got more impatient before you turned around, quickly circling back around and getting a running start as you jumped through the flames. The witch didn’t even have time to look back before your jaws snapped around her neck and flung her body in the air, not even giving her the chance to scream.

“Shit,” Joey whispered.

She wrapped her arm holding the torch around one of the rungs of the ladder and used her other hand to grab the metal cover. She kept glancing at you, watching as the witch’s body fell back to the ground, only for you to catch it and whip your head back and forth, before finally dropping the body to the ground. Joey gritted her teeth as she lifted the cover with all her strength, leaning her entire body forward to try and get it to budge. The cover grated against the ground, barely moving.

You lifted your head from the witch’s body, licking your chops as blood and flesh continued to fall out of your mouth. Joey let out a shaky breath as her eyes met yours, without a second thought she dropped the torch and used both hands to pull at the cover, making sure to lean her body against the ladder so she didn’t fall. The cover seemed to move an inch each time she lifted it. When you started walking towards her, she moved faster, she could feel her heart trying to beat out of her chest. The cover was about halfway over the hole when Joey took a few steps down, finally losing sight of you. She pushed up with both hands, trying to bring the cover over the rest of the way. The cover just fell back into place when she caught sight of your teeth snapping at it.

She had the ladder in a death grip, listening as you growled and scratched at the cover. The cover groaned but never moved. With shaky legs she slowly began to descend into the darkness. She had no idea where she was or what she would find but going back up wasn’t an option. When her feet finally hit the ground, she could feel concrete, not dirt. She held out her hand, feeling around in the darkness until she finally came in contact with a concrete wall. She felt around her pocks, finally remembering she had a phone until she pulled it out, the witches hadn’t taken it. She held it up to see she had no signal, no way of getting in contact with Grace, she had to hope the device worked and Grace was on her way, she wasn’t even sure how much time had passed since she pressed that button.

Her phone might have been useless for calling for help, but she could still use the flashlight. She held it up, using the little light to guide her way. The entire tunnel stretched forward, for she didn’t even know how far, she heard the echoes of screams every few seconds. The tunnel itself was all concrete, cracks spread throughout, a section crumbling from years of wear and tear.

She furrowed her brow when she saw light at the end of the tunnel, she knew it wasn’t from sunlight though. She slowly lowered her phone as she approached the end of the tunnel, there was a large opening, the walls were lined with torches. She nearly dropped it when she saw twelve cages lining the far wall, each holding a girl, all of them within the age range Grace talked about.

“Oh my god,” she whispered. She didn’t hesitate to run towards them, searching the cages for any sort of lock.

“The-there’s a key,” one of the girls said, pointing across the room.

Joey ran across the room and grabbed the key off the wall. It was a rusty metal key connected to a ridiculously large metal ring. She ran back to the cages and began unlocking each one, letting the girls out. The girls huddled together, whispering thanks as Joey released them.

“I need to get you out of here,” Joey mumbled more to herself.

“There’s an exit down there,” one of the older girls spoke up, pointing to an opening on the side of the room, similar to the one Joey had come out of. “It’s how we were brought in.”

“The tunnels stretch throughout the woods,” another girl said. Joey nodded, it all made sense, the witches used interconnected tunnels under the forest, to get around and to hide what they’ve been doing all these years. “It goes back to the surface.”

“Do you think you’re able to find the way out?” Joey asked. The girls nodded. “Okay,” she whispered and looked around the room. Her eyes widened when they fell on a familiar duffle in the corner of the room. She ran for it, dropping to the floor instantly. She unzipped it to see all the weapons still in place. She dug around until she pulled out two flashlights. “Take these,” she handed the flashlights out to the girls. The two oldest, who seemed to be doing the most talking, each took a flashlight. “Stick together and don’t stop until you’re out of here.”

They nodded and one girl moved to the front of the group while the other girl fell to the back of the line. “You aren’t coming with us?” the one asked.

Joey shook her head. “Unfinished business.”

“Be careful.” Joey couldn’t help but smile, she appreciated the gesture but telling her to be careful when she was going to be facing a werewolf, and witches was rather comedic. “What’s your name?”

Joey opened her mouth and then paused, smiling to herself. “It’s Joey.”

“Thank you, Joey.”

Joey smiled and watched as the group of girls slowly made their way down the tunnel that was supposed to lead them out. Joey crouched back down at the bag and dug around, pulling out a pistol and instantly putting it in her waistband. She continued to dig and pulled out a large hunting knife, the silver glinting in the flames of the torches, before she strapped it to her side.

“Well, haven’t you made quite the mess,” someone said, making Joey whip around to see the last two witches, the one who spoke being the one that was talking to you while you were chained to the tree. She had never been more disappointed at being right that they were still alive. “Your pet,” she snarled. “Killed the rest of our coven.”

“You were the ones that captured us,” Joey snarked.

The witch was on her in the blink of an eye, gripping her tightly by the chin as she pressed her up against the concrete wall. “You came into our territory,” she snarled.

“You were sacrificing girls,” Joey gritted out.

“We’ve been doing it for centuries.” She ran her sharp nails across Joey’s chin and down her neck, somehow not breaking the skin. “All you had to do was mind your own business.”

“They’re innocent.” Joey stared into the witches’ eyes, not caring she would probably be struck down in a moment. She couldn’t see a way of getting out of this alive and if she was dying then she was going to go down fighting.

“So, much strength.” The witch let go of Joey and looked at her with something she could only describe as admiration. “I see why they like you. Too bad they’re still going to kill you.”

The witch turned Joey around, gripping her by the hair as she forced her to walk forward. “Go,” she ordered the other witch, pointing down the tunnel Joey had come out of.

The other witch led the way. Joey stumbled in the dark, neither witch using any sort of light to light the way. She couldn’t help but wonder if they could see in the dark or knew where they were going from constantly walking it. Every time Joey stumbled the witch only gripped her hair tighter. She didn’t let go of Joey’s hair until they reached the ladder.

The other witch began to climb the ladder, with Joey behind her, and the other one behind Joey, leaving Joey trapped between the two. They came to a stop when they reached the top of the ladder, the witch moved her hand, effortlessly sliding the cover off the opening. Almost as soon as there was enough of an opening the witch was yanked out of the tunnel. Joey tried to take a step down, but the other witch was there, keeping her in place. Joey’s entire body shook as the screams of the witch echoed throughout the tunnel, you were there, waiting for them as they came up.

“Damn mutt,” the witch grumbled. “Go!” she ordered Joey, giving her a hard shove to force her to keep moving. As Joey got closer to the top the witch did a spell, sending the cover flying off the top.

Joey slowly peeked her head out of the hole, seeing you ripping apart the witch a few feet away. She quickly scrambled out of the tunnel, the other witch right behind her. Joey didn’t even have time to pull herself to her feet before she was gripping Joey by the back of the hair again. She held Joey up, making sure her head was pulled back so she could see everything. She whistled, getting your attention. Joey moved her feet, trying to pull away from the witch as your yellow eyes focused in on her.

Joey fumbled around until her finger brushed against the knife. Her gaze hardened as she tightened her grip around the handle before yanking it out of the holder and stabbed back, stabbing the witch in the side. The witch hissed as she let Joey go, making her stumble to the ground.

“You bitch!” the witch said, holding a hand to her bleeding wound. She raised her hand as if to do another spell, Joey’s eyes widened, her entire life flashing before her eyes, everything she didn’t get to do, Caleb, everything she didn’t get to tell him.

Death never came though. One second the witch was raising her hand towards Joey and the next you were digging into her hand, ripping it off before ripping into the rest of her. Joey wasn’t sure how much of your memory you had, if any, but it seemed like you remembered something because you were making this witch suffer more than the others. Her once-youthful face couldn’t be identified after you got done with her. The only way Joey would have been able to know who the witch was compared to the other was from her black braid.

Joey scrambled back as you looked over your shoulder while you were still crouched over the witch’s body. You turned around and stood to your full height, towering over Joey even when she wasn’t lying on the ground. She continued to scramble back, reaching for her gun as she did so.

You slowly stalked towards her on two feet, clearly not seeing her as a threat, not like the witches. Joey raised the gun and fired, the bullet sailing right past your head from how much her hands were shaking. She fired again and again, missing each time. You were nearly right in front of her, probably the easiest target she ever had, and she missed again. She dropped the gun, tears spilling out of her eyes as she accepted her fate.

A bright light filled the area, making Joey turn away, she thought she might actually be dead now but a second later a large truck came out of nowhere, hitting you, making you fly across the clearing. The truck spun around before parking. Joey raised her hand, squinting as the headlights were still shining on her, she saw someone hop out of the car and then a shot was fired.

Joey flinched her eyes widened as her vision cleared. Grace stood in front of her, a determined look on her face as she held up a shot gun, and began firing at you every time you stepped forward. Each shot found a home somewhere on you, whether it be your shoulder or your leg, you eventually went down. Joey could tell it wouldn’t kill you though, the wounds were healing, just not as fast as Grace was shooting. Grace fired a shot at your leg, sending you to the ground, then shot out your other leg, making you collapse fully.

She let go of the shot gun, letting it hang at her side as she lifted something Joey couldn’t see and pressed a button, dropping a ramp at the back of the truck. Joey got a better look at the truck, the wheels were huge, meant for off-roading, there were two seats up front and then the back was a giant metal trailer with no windows. As you pulled yourself to your feet Grace pressed another button and a large metal spike connected to a wire shot out of the trailer, impaling itself in your shoulder. You let out a roar just as Grace pressed another button, sending another spike into your other shoulder. You roared and thrashed around but the spikes never budged. Grace pressed another button, and the spikes began to retract, dragging you into the trailer.

As soon as you were in the trailer the ramp flipped up, sealing you inside. The entire trailer shook as you thrashed around on the inside. Joey wasn’t sure how strong you were, but she was surprised you hadn’t ripped a hole through the side yet. Joey furrowed her brow as Grace pressed another button, she couldn’t see anything happen but your thrashing around slowly got quieter, until there was none at all.

“We need to get moving,” Grace said, turning around and holding a handout to Joey. Joey took the hand, allowing Grace to pull her up without a word. “They’ll be out for a little while, but we need to get back home as quick as possible.”

Graced put her foot up, preparing to step into the truck again when she looked back, seeming to notice Joey hadn’t moved. Grace dropped her foot back down and walked over to Joey. “Hey,” she whispered, gently brushing her fingers against Joey’s arm, though Joey still flinched at the touch. “We need to move.”

Joey looked at Grace, tears still falling from her eyes. “You knew,” she rasped out. It was the only thing she could say, she didn’t know what else to say, what she wanted to say.

“I’m sorry,” Grace said, her voice the softest it had been since she arrived. “I promise I’ll explain everything, but we need to go.” Joey looked past Grace and at the trailer where she knew you resided. “They can’t escape.” Joey directed her attention back to Grace. “You have my word that you will be safe.”

There was no reason for her to trust anything Grace said after what just happened. Grace and you had been lying and keeping this secret from her since the beginning. Both of you willingly let her come on this mission knowing it was a full moon and what would happen to you. There was absolutely no reason to take Grace at her word again, but Joey did. Joey nodded and followed Grace into the truck. She wasn’t sure what was going to happen next, where this left her, she wasn’t sure what she even wanted anymore.

Taglist: @thinking1bee @so-to-aqui-pelas-fic @alexkolax @thatshyboy1998 @chxrry-lov3 @bella423 @morganismspam23 @pianogirl2121

[foodtruckery]

ive returned because your writing haunts me and i need to dig into your brain about combat baby idk how deeply youve thought about like. the whole extent of this au so if im asking about stuff that you dont want to focus on for it forgive me but im so curious how do things go down with bill?? like hes still an issue here do they just try the unicorn hair and stan scams his way through (and ford is so shocked and lowkey turned on impressed they bang after) or with everything else happening does ford (stupid genius he is) just sort of forget bill can still enter stan's dreams even if hes got the metal plate and stans like "hey why am i dreaming about a dorito obsessed with your portal"

and im guessing ford would not be down to make his home a tourist trap so do you think stan would just help with the research? or would his insecurities about being dead weight to ford push him to try and find his own way of income?

and and what about the town?? do they have to awkwardly pretend theyre father and son or uncle and nephew or something? because sure they could pretend theyre not related but they still look pretty similar. ford just looks like an older, nerdier stan so i think that would be people's first assumption (ford seething quietly as susan flirts with stan. stan just thinks fords feeling uncomfortable in town because hes a hermit until theyre alone and they have a repeat of their highschool days with ford hissing in his ear and demanding to know what he was expecting to happen with susan. stan trying to answer but hes a little distracted at the time)

and also with ford being back would they ever run into fiddleford again? either him in his cult days or maybe already halfway to losing his mind. depending on where he is mentally im sure the interaction could be either pretty hostile or sympathetic

ive grabbed you by the ankles and am attempting to shake you upside down to try and empty your pockets for scraps of this au because it consumes me

-🐶

waaaaaah thanks for being patient with me friend! you know i ALWAYS love to see you with the big fuckin questions and ideas. and i have been THINKING about this one cause, tbh, i finished combat baby in a couple of days and went “GET OUT OF MY SIGHT” and threw it at y’all and did not think much about it after that! until i came over here and started chatting with y’all at least hahaha.

the bill issue is like a whole thing right? and i was definitely wondering how the time travel on one side but not the other might impact him/slow him down. but i also do think it’d be kind of fucking hilarious if stan starts dreaming about bill but like. doesn’t say anything and doesn’t even think it’s a big deal because. you know. they’re just weird dreams. and at this point, stan’s done enough drugs and been through the ringer with stress and shit that it doesn’t even occur to him to question having bizarre dreams about some little geometric freak trying to be nice to him. whaaat? a MATH SHAPE for fucking NERDS in a gay little sweater vest BOW TIE is COMPLIMENTING him in his dreams???

as far as stan’s concerned, his subconscious got REALLY hung up on the whole “ford said some nice shit to me while we were fucking” and just hasn’t let that go yet. which i think would also drive bill up the fucking wall. like stan would have been the harder nut to crack regardless, but to keep getting accused of being stan’s mental manifestation of his brother fucking praise kink???? (which of course invites the whole question of bill going fuck it, and just leaning into that, but i don’t think he’d be as adept that mimicking ford for stan as he was at mimicking stan for ford, so)

ngl, i do love the unicorn hair play, tho. fun fact! i have no idea if i’ll actually write it or not, but i’ve toyed with the idea of doing a role reversal with ford coming back out of the portal still in this 30’s and finding stan and everything else having moved forward 30 years. and the unicorn hair felt like a good way to potentially address the Bill Issue i was getting stopped up on there! but like. i also could absolutely see older!ford convincing stan to wear a collar necklace of unicorn hair to keep bill out of his head.

but i loooooove the idea of them getting mixed up with fiddleford’s cult shit. i don’t even know wtf i’d DO with that but conceptually i love it. cause they’re starting to keep an eye on the townspeople, right? and even if stan’s come up with some kinda story to explain there being kinda sorta two of them now, he wouldn’t know not to be outspoken about the other weird shit happening in town. y’know, on top of being some of the weird shit happening in town. something something, stan getting snatched like lazy susan did over the gnome incident, but ayyye that shit hits really fucking wrong when you’ve actually been kidnapped in the past already and had to chew your way out of a fucking car to get free. i think that’s be neat!!

and especially if we consider fidds being maybe already just shade too far gone, enough that running into stan or having him dragged into the cult would confuse the fuck out of him. because that’s stanford, right? it has to be, he’s coming in and out of stanford’s house, he looks like stanford with a few questionable fashion and hygiene choices — but then again, stanford hadn’t been in great shape the last time he’d shown his face outside of the cabin, either. but his hands are wrong. his hands are wrong and he can’t be stanford but then why does he look like him? easy solution: everybody gets their memory wiped.

something something, stan may not know where the fuck he is, but he knows coming to in a room full of shady guys he doesn’t recognize is either gonna end with him losing teeth or a little bit of dignity, and he’d like to hold on to his teeth a little longer.

[carelisswriting]

Vectors

Hey y'all, this is one of my fics for ecto-implosion this year!

My partner this time is @blobghost, and I really enjoyed working with them! The art they made that inspired this fic is amazing, please check it out!!

Hope y'all enjoy the fic!!

***

“Do I really have to wear this? It’s so stuffy.” Danny complained, tugging at the collar of his shirt.

Clockwork hummed lightly, smoothing down the vest that kept getting bunched up no matter what Danny did “It is traditional for the King to wear clothing befitting their station.”

“Okay, but, counterpoint, I really think my normal suit would be fine-“

“Daniel. We have been over this.” Clockwork said with a sigh.

Danny rolled his eyes, but didn’t argue anymore.

They had, in fact, been over this. They didn’t want to give anyone an excuse to dispute his claim to the throne, or start a stupid fight about him being a bad choice for King.

That last bit was most likely to happen because of the Observants, which Clockwork had told Danny would be ‘an annoyance’. Considering that was strong wording for Clockwork, and weirdly straightforward as well, Danny was taking him pretty seriously about it.

Anyway, what it meant was, unfortunately, Danny was stuck wearing the stuffy formal clothes.

Okay, to be fair, they weren’t that stuffy. They just weren’t as casual as he would’ve liked them to be. For that, he’d need to be in jeans and a t-shirt, or his suit.

At least the belt had a pocket for his thermos.

Danny turned, grabbing the notecards for his speech. He’d spent the last few days trying to come up with something that didn’t completely suck, and hopefully he’d managed to do it.

He was not that confident, however. Clockwork had refused to help him with it, stating that “A King’s words must be their own, whether or not they are.”

“Tell me again why I have to do this? I really think I could get away with not doing it.” He said, stuffing the notecards in the same pocket as his thermos.

Clockwork did not sigh, but Danny could tell he wanted to.

“You need to announce your intentions as King, as well as formally swear to uphold the mantle of the Ghost King and protect the Realms. You cannot ‘get away with not doing it’.”

Danny floated off the ground, flipping onto his stomach so he could prop his head up on his hands “Okay, yeah all that is important, but like, I really think I could just not do it and everything would be fine. There’s no way Pariah did it-“

“Pariah Dark did, in fact, have a formal speech, swear-in, and coronation.” Clockwork said, cutting him off.

Well damn, there goes his best argument. Wait-

“You’re telling me Pariah Dark, as in the same Pariah Dark who was completely insane, made a speech about how he was going to ‘protect the Realms’ and be a good King?” Danny asked, bewilderment in his voice.

Clockwork sighed, an amused tone to it.

“Well, no. His speech was much more focused on ‘crushing his enemies’ and being ‘the most powerful ghost’. However, he still made one.”

Danny sighed, before lowering himself back onto the ground “Fine, fine, I guess I do have to make the stupid speech. Would’ve been more convenient if I could’ve done the coronation at the same time.”

He was being a little bit petty with that. But, to be fair, Clockwork had literally just shown up in his room, in the middle of the night, with the Crown and Ring and crowned him right then and there. Well, not quite then, seeing as time had been frozen. Regardless, the entire thing had been weird.

“You had to be crowned then, Daniel. Just as you have to make this speech now.”

Vague, and unhelpful. Just like Clockwork usually was.

Clockwork reached out to smooth out the vest again, since Danny twisting in the air had messed it up.

…Okay, maybe he wasn’t usually unhelpful. At least when he wasn’t trying to be.

Ancients, everything about Clockwork was so confusing-

“Are you ready, Daniel?”

Danny shook his head slightly, focusing back on Clockwork.

“Ready as I can be, I guess.”

Clockwork nodded, before opening the door and stepping out into the hallway.

Danny followed after him, not bothering to close the door behind him. Technically, the Keep was his now, so it didn’t matter.

He was not actually planning to spend time here, but it was the principle of the thing.

As they walked through the Keep, Danny could see the finishing touches on the renovation being completed, ghosts floating around and carefully reshaping the architecture. The renovation was mostly for the ghosts that actually enjoyed the Keep, but Danny had been the one to start it.

The whole point was to make the castle not quite as crumbly, and not as gloomy. He’d wanted to make it nice, since it was technically his. He’d also wanted to make it better for the ghosts who liked it and wanted to live there.

Already, it was looking a heck of lot better with repaired walls and more color. Though, since he’d put other ghosts in charge of the actual decoration, a lot of the decoration was in ‘his colors’, which everyone seemed to define as black, white, and a bit of green. At least it was better than the grey and blacks of the Keep previously. The white brought at least some brightness into the long hallways.

Clockwork stopped outside the door to the throne room, turning back to Danny.

He inclined his head, gesturing for Danny to step into the room ahead of him.

Which, for the record, Danny did not want to do.

But unfortunately, he couldn’t avoid this.

He sighed, before stepping in front of Clockwork and through the door.

Oh that was entirely too many ghosts. There had to be at least three hundred crammed in the throne room, waiting for his speech. They were stretching the limits of how many of them could fit in here comfortably.

Danny had a feeling the only reason there weren’t any more was because a bunch of the Realms had sent representatives, as opposed to multiple of their denizens coming.

He knew there were representatives because of the fact that a ton of them sent letters ahead, giving him their regards and generally sucking up to him.

He was not a fan of that part of being king. He was literally a random teenager, why were these people trying so hard to get his favor?

He knew why, obviously, but it was still a valid question. He couldn’t even drive! Though ghosts probably didn’t care about that, actually.

He finally looked away from the crowd, seeing the raised dais where the throne sat, as well as the ghosts on it. Clockwork had made his way over at some point, and-

Ugh. Great. The Observants were here. Or at least one of them was. Probably to ‘keep an eye on things’.

It was fine, he had the notecards. He wasn’t going to give them an excuse to yell at him. Or Clockwork. Ancients, did he hate the amount of control the stupid eyeballs had over him-

“King Phantom!”

Danny froze as he realized he’d been spotted by the crowd. The door had let out just next to the dais, slightly out of sight, so he hadn’t caught their attention immediately, but now that one of them had noticed him, they all noticed him. He quickly stopped being able to recognize his name in the cacophony that followed.

Danny winced, before floating up onto the dais. As he did, the crowd quieted, all of them waiting for him to speak.

No pressure, or anything.

At least he remembered how he was supposed to start his speech.

“Greetings, Dead and Neverborn of the Infinite Realms. Thank you for attending to this speech, as it was not ordered of you.” As he spoke, Danny carefully pulled out his notecards and hid them behind his back. Hopefully, he wouldn’t have to use them, but he didn’t want to fumble them if he did.

The crowd cheered, some of them looking at him with expressions that bordered on mania. He’d realized, in all the preparation for this speech and fixing up the Keep, that a few of the ghosts were desperate for a ruler. That wasn’t, y’know, Pariah Dark.

It was really weird to think they saw him as the solution to their problems.

“In this speech, my intentions as ruler will be formerly declared, as well as illustrated through the taking of vows-“

Danny froze, feeling something. It felt almost like his ghost sense, but different. A sense that the area in front of him was warping-

The crowd in front of him shifted nervously-

He heard the Observant mutter-

And then the something snapped.

Hovering in front of him was a staff, horizontal and roughly level with his waist. On one end, a black hole lay, drawing some of the ambient ectoplasm into it. On the other, a white hole, small shapes that almost looked like birds flying out. Connecting them, a thin bridge of bright green rods, mimicking the way that space-time was shown in every textbook he’d seen.

Danny took a breath, feeling the powercoming off the staff in waves.

-Child king, betwixt realms you lie.-

Danny startled at the voice, seeming to come from every corner of the room and yet not reaching more than him.

-In this, you are unique. In this, your potential is revealed. In this, your responsibility.-

Danny felt frozen, held in place by the voice and the staff.

-Reach out to Space, child king. To the Space between stars. Reach out and hold your fate.-

Danny shuddered, feeling the voice retreat, the staff floating in front of him folding back into itself. He could tell that no one else had heard it, the crowd’s faces uneasy and full of confusion.

He stared at the staff, seeing the twin spaces at the ends swirl, shine, reach out and touch the world around them.

He- The staff felt right, somehow. The idea of taking it up, holding it for the rest of his afterlife. It wasn’t like anything he’d ever felt.

The Crown and Ring were a burden, one forced on him by circumstances and Vlad’s rash actions.

Even other artifacts, like the Infini-Map, were neutral presences on his senses.

The staff felt like coming home.

He held out a hand to it, dropping the notecards.

They fluttered to the ground as he reached out to grab it.

His fingers barely an inch away as the Observant screeched “No!”

Grazing the staff, the buzzing of the black and white holes overtaking him, as he faintly heard Clockwork declare “A master of Space has been chosen.”

His hand wrapped around the staff, and pain surged into him.

Cold and burning and tearing his very atoms apart-

Fractals of ice surged out from him, Danny just barely able to see the crowd flinch away and panic through the tears in his eyes.

He dropped to his knees, no longer able to hold himself up in the face of the pain coursing through his entire body. The staff was still gripped in his hand, his muscles locking around it as it threw all its power into him.

He could feel it as parts of him changed, as parts of him broke and reformed in the wake of the staff’s power, of Space, pouring into him.

He wasn’t big enough, he couldn’t contain it, Space was too large-

Space was infinity, Space was miniscule, Space was shredding him-

Danny’s vision blurred, and he listed to the side as the pain reached a crescendo.

He caught a hint of purple in the corner of his view as he screamed, as he fell to pieces, as he-

As he passed out, mercifully feeling nothing.

***

He woke up slowly, blinking up at the unfamiliar ceiling for a while.

He’d been about to give his speech, but he’d only gotten through some of it before-

His hand flexed around the staff, still clutched in his grip.

 Right. He’d passed out.

Danny blinked again. Wait, he’d passed out cause of the pain. But.

He felt fine. Better than fine, really. He felt like he’d gotten a normal amount of sleep for once, on top of having more energy than he’d had since the ghost attacks started.

He also felt…different.

He frowned, sitting up.

He glanced down at the staff, hearing it hum as he moved it around. It looked the same, other than-

Huh. In the center of the green links, there were black and white ribbons of ectoplasm twining around each other, shifting and changing before his eyes.

Had that happened because of him grabbing the staff?

It must have.

Danny glanced around the room, at the gears and clocks on the walls. Clockwork must’ve taken him back to Long Now after he passed out. Which, thank the Ancients for that. The other options would’ve been staying at the Keep, which, no thank you, or trying to get Danny back to the human realm while he was passed out, which would’ve gone even worse than staying at the Keep.

He looked at the room for a moment longer, and became aware of something.

The room wasn’t real. Well, it was real, of course it was. But it wasn’t really a room.

It was just measures of space, of objects in space and measures of their own space.

Easily manipulated with just a moment of effort-

Danny twitched the hand holding the staff, not even thinking as he did it, and found himself by the far wall. It wasn’t teleportation, it wasn’t even moving. It was just changing how he viewed the space. There was no difference between him sitting on the bed and him standing by the wall, not really, not from his point of view-

Danny shook his head, snapping himself out of the trance he’d gone into when he’d realized the room wasn’t real. Okay, that was weird. He could still see, or sense, the way that the Space in the room had no fundamental difference between it. He could definitely pull the little trick of moving Space around him again, if he wanted to.

This was really weird. And not normal, even for ghosts. They teleported, yeah, but not like that. He should be freaking out.

But the staff still felt like home, felt safe, felt right.

And the way that Space folded around him at the slightest desire from himself felt right, too. Like it was meant to be this way.

…He should find Clockwork.

He’d know what was happening, why this staff had appeared in front of Danny. Why it seemed to have been waiting for him.

He opened the door with the hand that wasn’t holding the staff. Briefly, he wondered if he could set it down. The amount of wrongness that hit him at the thought of doing that confirmed he couldn’t, at least for now.

That really should’ve sent him into a panic attack or something. It didn’t.

Instead, he felt calm, even giddy. The staff was so cool!

The concept of having a black hole so neatly contained was already insane, and he really wanted to know how it worked but had an unfortunate feeling that the answer was magic, or at least close to it-

But having a white hole, of all things! It proved that they existed, even if just on the end of an impossible staff. Danny was the first human to see one! It proved the theory that they were the inverse of black holes as well, since it was on the opposite end-

Danny blinked, stopping in his tracks in the hallway. Huh.

Were the holes connected? If he sucked something into the black hole, would it appear out of the white hole?

Earlier it had just been pulling in ambient ectoplasm, though it strangely wasn’t doing that anymore, and putting out the bird-lookalike energy, but now that he had claimed it, would something different happen?

Logically, it should be more controlled. That was probably why it wasn’t pulling in ambient ectoplasm, and why it hadn’t sucked up the bed he had been in.

Danny looked down at the staff, watching the black and white energy twine together inside the staff.

On one hand, he really should go find Clockwork.

On the other hand, it couldn’t hurt if he played around with the staff a bit first, right?

He was pretty sure it was connected to him, and did what he wanted, so it wasn’t like he was accidentally going to cause a Space-Time anomaly or anything.

Unless he wanted to. He probably could if he wanted to.

But Danny was not going to do that, especially not in the middle of Clockwork’s lair.

That would just be rude.

Though, he really didn’t think Clockwork would care that much what he did as long as there wasn’t too much damage to be easily repairable. The ghost had always been nice to Danny, and accommodating, excluding their first meeting.

Their first meeting was a disaster. And also one that was not going to be repeated, ever, for multiple reasons.

Anyway! The point is he really wanted to mess around with the staff.

So, he was gonna mess around with the staff.

Danny grinned, holding the staff out in front of him like he’d seen his sister do with her bo staff.

He…was probably going to have to bother her for lessons if this turned out to be a staff he could actually fight with.

Danny shook his head, concentrating on the staff. He might as well test out the black hole first, since that fed into the white hole.

He glanced around, looking for something he could destroy without it being too much of a problem, or too annoying for Clockwork. He zeroed in on a small vase, one without any of the clock or gear imagery Clockwork was fond of. Instead, it had what looked like fish swimming through seaweed, though they weren’t like any fish Danny had ever seen, fins branching off fins.

Either way, not something Clockwork was likely to care if Danny destroyed. It was probably something he’d picked up or been given, and shoved in the hallway so he wouldn’t have to see it.

Danny knew for a fact that Clockwork spent most of his time in his viewing room, or the garden. Well, and the living room, but he was pretty sure that had only started after Danny started coming around.

He was pretty sure the living room hadn’t even existed before he’d started coming around.

It was nice, that Clockwork had made such a comfy space for him.

Danny shook his head again. He needed to stop getting off track. Thinking about feelings and stuff later, testing cool new staff now.

He braced himself, before sweeping the staff out at the vase. He made contact with it, the black hole dragging and distorting the vase as it pulled it in. That’s so cool-

Danny, unfortunately, had overestimated the amount of force he should put behind his swing. He realized this as the black hole kept moving forward, and made contact with one of the many clocks on the walls.

The brass machinery was sucked into the black hole, a shrieking sound following as it was ripped off the wall. Danny winced, hastily pulling back the staff.

Okay, noted. This thing was a lot lighter than it looked. Or it just felt lighter to him. Either way, hopefully Clockwork would forgive him about the clock.

Though, Danny wasn’t going to tell him if he could avoid it. It was more a hope that Clockwork would forgive him when he inevitably found out on his own.

He glanced back at the wall, seeing that despite the horrible noise it had made, pulling the clock off it hadn’t damaged it all that much. At least he’d gotten rid of the vase.

Danny started to float down the hall. He probably needed to head to the viewing room, he’d bet that’s where Clockwork was.

It took him a minute or so of floating through the halls to remember the original reason he’d been experimenting with the staff.

He wanted to figure out if something would come out of the white hole after being sucked into the black hole. He glanced around, seeing that the hallway he was in now didn’t have anything he was likely to destroy if he messed up again. The walls were full of interlocking gears, and Danny knew from experience they were not easily destroyed.

He may or may not have accidentally hit one of them with an ectoblast. And some of his ice. And also himself. He’d been running on an hour of sleep and three ghost fights, it really wasn’t his fault. Clockwork had barely managed to avoid laughing, Danny could just tell. He’d let him take a nap outside of time after that though, so that made up for it.

Anyway, the gears were not likely to get messed up, was his point.

Danny looked at the staff for a moment, before holding it out in front of himself again.

Okay, how was he gonna do this? It had seemed pretty obvious that the black hole had to touch things, though technically he bet that wasn’t so much a restriction of the staff as it was a restriction he was putting on the staff-

He needed to focus.

Danny tilted his head. Well, a bit of that ramble probably was useful. If the staff responded to him, which he was sure it did, it just hadn’t really sunk in yet- The staff responded to him.

So, he could do whatever and have the staff do what he wanted.

Danny grinned, before pulling back the staff and making a motion with it as if he was hurling an ectoblast at someone.

A burst of white light shot out of the staff, heading directly towards the gears on the wall, and it was then that Danny realized two things.

One, it looked like whatever went in the black hole got turned into energy, which made sense, at least a little bit-

And two, he hadn’t considered the fact that the staff was quite a bit more powerful than one of his ectoblasts.

The energy blast hit one of the gears, shattering it and stopping the spinning of the gears around it as they lost connection with each other.

Danny grimaced, looking at the remnants of the gear on the floor. That…was not going to be fun to fix. And he did not doubt that he would be the one fixing it, when Clockwork found out. At the very least, he’d be made to help.

He was gonna put off Clockwork finding out about this for as long as he could.

It wasn’t like the damage was in an area of Long Now he went through that often, and he’d told Danny that it often took him months to realize if something had gone awry with his lair, just due to how big it was and his own distorted sense of time.

So, if luck was on Danny’s side, which it almost never was, he wouldn’t have to fix the wall for a few months.

Danny sighed.

Yeah, he was fixing it before he left today, wasn’t he?

Unless something distracted Clockwork enough.

The staff in Danny’s hand hummed, and he realized that Clockwork probably was pretty distracted. He’d seemed to know what was going on with the whole ‘Master of Space’ thing, anyway.

Danny should probably find him, instead of destroying more stuff.

Accidentally destroying more stuff.

Danny shook his head, before flying down the hallway. The viewing room was usually close-ish to the living room and the garden, just cause Clockwork didn’t want to have to go that far if Danny visited or he needed to check on the time screens.

All Danny had to do was find one of the three rooms, and he was sure to find Clockwork.

Who would hopefully have some explanations.

***

In the end, it took about twenty minutes for Danny to find his way to the viewing room.

Long Now was big, and also Danny had spent perhaps too long wandering and thinking about the staff.

It turned out that the room he woke up in was pretty close to the living room, if he’d gone the other way in the hallway.

Which was a bit frustrating, but fine. He’d gotten to mess around with his cool new staff, anyway.

He opened the door to the viewing room, seeing Clockwork floating in front of the time screens, his back to Danny. Each screen showed a different era, from regency London to 80’s Japan. Danny had gotten a lot better at identifying time periods after he’d started hanging out at Long Now more, but it was weird that he could tell where the screens were showing. None of the scenes had specific landmarks, or people. He just…knew.

Probably due to his new staff, and title, now that he thought about it.

Clockwork turned, a small smile on his face as he faced Danny.

“I trust you’re satisfied with your staff and new powers, then?”

He sounded fond, exactly like he did when Danny managed to finish a homework problem he’d been struggling with, or like he did when Danny showed up to vent after a long day.

It became very clear, in that moment, that Clockwork knew everything. And that he had known this would happen for a while, maybe even since- since their first meeting.

He was the Master of Time, after all.

Danny drifted closer, watching Clockwork carefully.

“Why?”

He figured Clockwork had more than enough context to work out what he meant.

Clockwork hummed slightly “You’ve already worked out you are the Master of Space, yes?”

Danny nodded, before adding “I don’t know what it means, though. I know you’re the Master of Time-“

Danny cut himself off, a realization hovering at the edges of his thoughts.

The Master of Time. And the Master of Space.

Space-Time.

“I see you’ve figured it out, Daniel. The Realms needs both a Master of Space and a Master of Time, to be truly stable.” Clockwork said, turning back to his time screens.

Danny floated over to stand next to him.

“As you’ve seen, and participated in, my duty is to keep the Timeline running in the correct way, and to make sure things work out as they’re supposed to. But I am limited in directly interacting with the events I see, and limited in my abilities to intervene in any that need to change.”

Danny frowned. He’d thought that was all due to the Observants, but the way Clockwork was talking-

“The Realms choose the Masters, and I was chosen due to already having a strong connection to time, the ability to see the past and future. Though, I must admit, much of my current powers are due to my staff.” Clockwork continued, gesturing vaguely at the time screens.

Danny tilted his head slightly. The traveling in time, and stopping it, were because of the staff? He’d assumed that the staff was an extension of Clockwork’s powers, rather than the source-

Though, of course, his own staff was the source of his new powers.

“So, why was I chosen? I don’t really have any ‘Space-y’ powers, not without the staff.” Danny asked, shifting so he could see Clockwork’s face.

Clockwork smiled “I am getting to that, Daniel. The point is that it was simple, comparatively, for the Realms to choose me. Choosing the Master of Space is, was, much harder.”

Clockwork turned, floating over to be closer to one of the time screens, which shifted as Danny watched.

He flinched as it resolved into an image of the beginning of the portal accident, Sam and Tucker watching as Danny stepped into the portal. The scene stayed frozen, thank the Ancients.

Danny hesitantly came closer. Clockwork wouldn’t bring this up if it wasn’t important.

“The Master of Space must have a strong connection to both the Infinite Realms, and the Mortal one. Most ghosts are connected to the Infinite Realms just by virtue of their nature, but for a ghost to be truly connected to the Mortal Realm, and not just lingering behind? It takes something special, miraculous.”

Clockwork turned to Danny, a serious look on his face “It takes a halfa.”

Danny blinked, processing that.

“But, wait, if it only takes a halfa-“ Danny cringed, unable to finish his sentence. He did not relish the idea of Vlad having the amount of power that Clockwork did, even if it was Space instead of Time.

The amount of power that Danny now had.

Clockwork chuckled, a fond look on his face.

“It’s not quite that simple, Daniel. There is one other requirement, that is the reason that none of the other halfas before you were chosen.”

Danny gave Clockwork a questioning look, receiving a smile in return.

“I was chosen first. The Master of Space, then, must be able to work with me, and I them. None of the other candidates before you were capable of that. But you were.” Clockwork said, no small amount of awe in his voice.

Danny shifted uncomfortably. It was really weird, having Clockwork be amazed by him. He didn’t like it. He preferred it when Clockwork was being cryptic and annoying, actually.

Or soft and fond, like he was sometimes.

Either of them was better than this.

Clockwork drew back, his face going back to a blank, knowing look.

“The two Masters work together to protect the Realms, Daniel. Time to guide, monitor, and correct the Timeline, and Space to correct the Realms themselves. Closing dangerous natural portals, fixing fractured lands, and manipulating any psychical aspects of Timeline maintenance.”

He let out an unneeded breath, one likely entirely for show and Danny’s benefit.

“The Realms need both of us, Daniel.” There was a desperation in his voice, one very close to the awe from earlier, if slightly bent out of shape.

Danny backed up a little, Clockwork’s intensity scaring him slightly.

This was really weird, seeing Clockwork anything but perfectly in control.

And this was a lot, but-

But.

He looked down at the staff, still clutched in his hand.

The staff felt right. The title of ‘Master of Space’ felt right. What Clockwork was saying, under the desperation, felt right.

Danny had to do it. It was his responsibility, his fate. Just like the voice, which he guessed had been the Realms, had said.

“I wouldn’t need to give up my life in Amity Park, right?” he asked, nervousness in his voice.

The look of relief on Clockwork’s face, undercut by fondness and love, is what cemented Danny’s decision.

 “Of course not, Daniel. It would help, in fact. Maintaining a strong connection to both planes is needed. All you would need to do is work with me.”

Danny took a deep breath, before looking Clockwork in the eyes, a smile on his face.

“Alright. I’ll do it.”

Clockwork returned the smile, and said “We have a lot of work to do, I admit.”

He waved a hand, shutting off the time screens.

“But we have Time.”

Danny couldn’t help himself.

 “And Space?” He asked.

Clockwork sighed, the smile still on his face.

“Yes, and Space.”

Danny grinned.

This was definitely one of the strangest things that had happened to him, including the whole Ghost King situation, but he had a feeling it was also going to be one of the best.

Clockwork opened the door out to the hallway, looking over at Danny as he did so.

“And Daniel? We will be starting with repairing that wall you broke.”

Danny groaned.

Of course they would be.

[hi-there-buddies]

Me, reading and watching Demon Slayer for the first time: Wow this is amazing

The anime community: it’s actually not tho. Demon Slayer is so mid

Me: Oh… I guess so. I was probably just caught up in the hype

Me, rewatching seasons 1-3, and watching season 4 as it comes out: This is the most entertaining thing in the world, actually

[austenpoppy]

Interestingly, there are those issues of Gotham Knights (Gotham Knights #8-11) in which Bruce hypnotizes himself (because he wanted to prove to Dr. Strange Batman and Bruce weren't the same person) so that all he remembers is his Brucie persona.

At first, when Bruce keeps being Brucie even though there's no one else, Dick thinks it's a strategy on Bruce's part, that they're being bugged.

Gotham Knights #11

Then he starts to get more and more frustrated, to the point that he yells at Bruce to snap out of it while doing a move with his leg that sends Bruce flying. Dick is apologetic because Bruce was supposed to block it (he always blocks it because of a tell Dick apparently has). And that's when Dick begins to be terrified.

Gotham Knights #11

Shenanigans ensue, and Dick as Nightwing ends up asking him why he took his first ward in when they're in Doctor Strange's lair. Brucie answers something along the lines of "I don't know, but I liked him. He was fearless, effusive and full of grace."

Gotham Knights #11

And wouldn't you guess ? Those were the words Bruce used in those files of him to describe Dick.

Gotham Knights #10

Later, Dick reminds Bruce of the words of the oath they'd taken, and that's what stops the autohypnotic suggestion. Turns out Bruce was counting on Dick to say the words to free him.

Gotham Knights #11

(Also can I just squeal at how cute it is that young child Dick Grayson spent days practicing the oath speech ?).

So the way I see it, Dick felt very disconnected from the Brucie persona for the longest time. Bruce said it himself : "You have almost no relationship with that man."

Gotham Knights #11

Up until that moment he knew it was an act, and had trouble reconciling this persona with the man he knows. If anything, the fact that Brucie was an airhead had to be weird, irritating and maybe frightening to him - did he despise Brucie as much as Bruce does ? Batman/Bruce is the one who knows what needs to be done, who cleverly thwarts the villains' plans, and can take care of himself and others - he's someone to be relied on. Brucie, on the other hand, is someone who relies on others, a civilian who doesn't know his left from his right and needs to be protected. In that same issue of Gotham Knights, Dick was fully confident Tim, Alfred and he didn't have to fear Dr. Strange when it appeared Bruce was alive because he was certain Bruce would know what to do. Then when the Brucie persona took over, he fearfully tried to reassure himself Brucie knew how to take care of himself.

He once told Tim that it must be hard on Bruce to play stupid all the time, and that it was why he didn't try too hard to be Dick Grayson (meaning he didn't spend time crafting a role).

Robin volume 4, #12

Also in the JLA/Titans team-up when "Vic" was showing his friends the things he thought they wanted most, he shew Dick a Batman running at him and hugging him tight (not sure whether this was before or after the whole thing with Dr. Strange, though). Dick was shell-shocked for a few seconds, until Batman grinned (we know Bruce can smile and laugh, but it's certainly rarely a big toothy grin he can't keep off his face). Then he yelled at the illusion that he was not Batman, and walked away scoffing when the illusion kept telling him he was proud of everything Dick'd done and wanted to know how he felt.

JLA/Titans #1

So, apart from the fact that it's absolutely heartbreaking because it shows how little affection Bruce has given Dick over time and how he's not the type to be interested in how Dick feels (there's another panel in NTT of Bruce being too busy with Jason working on a case when Dick, depressed after Kory's wedding, wanted to talk to him; Bruce dismissed him, wished him a happy birthday in passing and Dick ended up muttering "The more things change, the more they stay the same), I think it's interesting that Dick saw this wasn't Batman thanks to the smile in particular, and right after the hug. Indeed, this may not be Batman's smile, but it's certainly Brucie's. And Dick reacted here after that the same way he would to Brucie - dismissively.

So if I had to hazard a guess, I would say Brucie had to be rather demonstrative in his affection toward Dick - this would tie in with other panels of Brucie showing Dick proudly to ladies at party. And also if Brucie was too dismissive of Dick in public, this would've garnered attention and raised eyebrows.

But the thing is, "Brucie" being affectionate, if that was indeed the case, didn't make Dick think this was how Bruce could act. He dissociated the two in his head, the two were separate entities: one he feared and adored in equal mesures, one he could dismiss without a thought; one who he relied on and knew all the answers and could protect him, one who was stupid and needed to be protected instead; one whose approval, love and attention he craved but barely received, one with whom he wanted nothing to do with but kept showing him around at parties.

Was separating the two personas and thinking Bruce couldn't be affectionate, attentive and fun a coping mechanism, a way to protect himself ? Maybe, and personally I would say yes.

In that case, learning from Bruce the files he created about why he took Dick in as Robin and how he wasn't sure how he considered Dick had to mess with Dick's head. And two issues later in Gotham Knights, Dick wrote that letter to Bruce he never sent about how he wanted Bruce to be sure about how he felt, how much he wanted to matter in Bruce's life and - most heartshattering of all - how he knew Bruce would trade him in a heartbeat for his parents while Dick would never do the same.

As an aside, some people may think it's weird for Bruce to reflect on Dick's role in his life after calling him son at least twice (at Donna's wedding, at the end of Knightfall), or for Dick to doubt his place in Bruce's life after that.

For the first case, Bruce was trying to think about why Batman had taken Robin to accomplish the mission he had set himself to do. It was also a point in his life when he started to question the duality between Batman and Bruce Wayne, became crankier and crankier to those around him and decided, right after Vesper Fairchild's murder, that Bruce Wayne was no longer of use to him.

As for Dick, he's spent his entire life getting mixed signals from Bruce : Bruce took him in and made him his partner, but fired him from the role after his first real encounter with Two-Face; he raised him, but never adopted him (at that point at least), and adopted Jason instead; he called him his son twice (that I remember at least), but also told him several times he never should've had a partner in the first place and threw him out after Jason died, and chose Azrael to replace him when he broke his back (learning Dick wasn't even with the Titans at that point but was flying solo makes this so much worse); is he valued for his usefulness in the mission or for himself ? So in the end, it's not surprising he wasn't sure where he stood with Bruce.

The Brucie and Dick relationship.

[Obligatory ‘new to comic canon’ warning, where I use my Tumblr to process all my thoughts!]

While thinking today about the impact that Bruce and Batman have on Dick growing up, I realised there was a third person to consider.

What impact does Brucie have on Dick?

Because Brucie is a big part of the Bruce/Batman/Brucie identity triangle, although he often isn’t really taken into consideration when looking at their overall relationship with Dick.  However, Brucie is who the world in general sees – his colleagues, his ‘friends’, the women he dates and the people he socialises with.  There are articles written about him in the papers, paparazzi snapping his pictures.  Businesses and charities being set up in his name.

The thing is though, once Dick comes along, Brucie isn’t just a solo act.  Now, Bruce has to decide what role Dick plays in the persona.

Brucie is deliberately crafted to send particular messages: he’s not a threat, he’s easy to manipulate, he’s rather stupid and clumsy but well-meaning and incredibly likeable.  Which means that, when they are together in public (or even when Brucie is talking about him without Dick being present), Brucie and Dick are meant to send a message as well.  I can’t see their public relationship not being just as carefully crafted as the Brucie one – if it’s not, it puts the whole Brucie persona at risk.  This isn’t Bruce having a relationship with Dick, after all – it’s Brucie.

I haven’t seen enough of Brucie and Dick together to really formulate something based more deeply in canon, so a couple of thoughts instead about what that message might be intended to be.  Is the message supposed to be that they are a shiny happy family (completely normal, as much as a man and his ward can be)?  From what we know of Brucie, that would mean that Brucie would likely be more openly affectionate when they are together, much more tactile and prouder of Dick than Bruce or Batman would be.

Is the message more supposed to be the scatterbrained playboy who collects things that interests him in a well-meaning way but moves on quickly, meaning Brucie is more likely to be kind but dismissive of Dick and their relationship?

Both versions send a message: one that is we are a normal, functional family (who clearly are not Batman and Robin!), one where the relationship is more superficial and Dick isn’t really quite that important anymore and therefore you shouldn’t worry too much about him/think about him/consider him to heavily connected to Brucie at all (and all the risks that might involve for Dick, Batman and Bruce).

Both serve a protective role and both are deliberately crafted, but neither are necessarily healthy for actual Dick in the long run – especially as this would have all started when Dick was 9-10 years old.  He’s not only having to navigate his own, actual relationship with Bruce (and Batman), but manage a fake version of it as well.  And, while Dick knows that it’s all an act and probably at times finds the whole Brucie situation deeply amusing while being frustrated at other times with how people underestimate Bruce, I could also see how the deliberate choices that Bruce makes about how Brucie and Dick’s relationship is portrayed could have a deeper impact.

After all … Affectionate!Brucie potentially highlights that Bruce chooses not to be like that with him at other times - he’s clearly capable of acting that way but doesn’t necessarily feel that way.  Or, at the very least, it highlights what could have been but isn’t.  Dismissive!Brucie potentially highlights some of Dick’s greatest fears.  

There are also things that Dick could learn just from Brucie away from the Dick and Brucie relationship (you never show your true self to people, even if they are not a threat – they are ALWAYS a threat) that have the potential to shape how he sees the world.

Again, none of these are fully realised thoughts or ideas.  There are also a dozen other variations of the Brucie and Dick relationship that Bruce might have crafted, but I think the thing I am getting at is that Bruce would have crafted something – and that potentially this might have had some impact on Dick.  He grew up with Brucie alongside Batman and Bruce, after all.  I could see young!Dick absolutely leaning into it and loving to play whatever the role was (love the ‘it’s us against the world’ feel), but you get the sense that as he gets older, some realisations might creep in.

Which leads me to my last random thought: are there some versions of the Brucie and Dick relationship where Brucie of all people is actually a better parent than Bruce is (especially later on)?  Brucie – who is generally ridiculed and looked down upon by everyone who knows that he is an act?  Who is meant to represent all the things that Bruce and Batman aren’t so as to throw people off their scent.  Are there versions of the Dick and Brucie relationship where Dick might actually prefer some of those Brucie traits to some of Bruce and Batman's more harsher edges?  

From a purely evil head canon perspective, I kind of like the thought that, out of all the Batkids, Dick is the only one who actually enjoys Brucie at times, because when Affectionate!Brucie is in action he can lean into the warmth of the father-son dynamic without it being complicated or difficult, even if it is just for a short time.  And you know what the kicker would be?  Bruce would probably tell Dick afterwards how well he played the role.

…. I did not intend to have so much to say about this relationship as I did!

[spotaus]

Thinking about Orchid and her connection to my take on Gender (because this was meant to be about her and the Crew but it just devolved into a character analysis kinda??? More trauma-dumping maybe???) This is very much an oc/personal rant so feel free to ignore it 🫡

So, Orchid started off as a character I didn't really think much of (hear me out this is going to be relevant) because I wanted to add a 'girl' character but didn't know what to *do* with her, y'know? She was always going to be the strongest one there, she had the odds stacked in her favor with her parents. She was always going to be the gloomy side-character to match Reset's energy. But I think she's gone through every stage of Generic Woman I could possibly find.

At first she was angry and abrasive (think Fell!Sans) where every other word was a curse and she was likely to throw the first punch then laugh as she kicks her enemy while they're down. This was when Reset was a cartoonishly self-centered villain whose goal was simply to prove others wrong. Then Orchid became a sort of sisterly figure. This was short-lived, but she was the one comforting people who Reset would torment, but would ultimately follow his orders, because at this point he was actually a danger and sadistic. And then there was the phase where the story mellowed out and she became the token Goth Girl who, yes she was strong, but was heavy on the 'whatever' energy. Then there was her Era of deep self-loathing and anxiety about her worth that held her back and made her a much more timid and meek character who would only lash out on occasion.

Now, Orchid is the best of those iterations I've written yet. She's calm, level-headed, and a natural leader. Her father raised those traits into her. But she's very reactive, and can be silly, and when she's comfortable it's likely that air of importance transforms into something more comfortable and familiar. She laughs loudly and grins wide, she likes loud video-games but loves to read in the quiet. She's extremely disciplined, and normally no one can get through her tough exterior besides her best friend, Reset. She does what she does for her own enjoyment, sure, but she's thought of every angle and makes her choice to help Reset and control the others with her whole chest. She still worries she won't live up to her invisible expectations, and that and her loyalty are her two driving forces.

I know that Orchid is important to me because she's the longest-running female oc I've had. I have a rough relationship with womanhood/girlhood and I know looking back that Orchid recieved every ounce of my distaste for being a woman that I could shovel into her. That never made her less of a character, she was actually always one of my favorites, and rarely was she a 'punching bag oc'. I just... projected onto her a lot. And she's a good sign of how I've learned who I am. I've decided that my own femininity is something I could live without. I'd rather not associate myself with it, and I'd like to leave it in my past, focusing on a future where I'm not tied down with any gender roles or expectations. That won't happen, but I've come to terms with it myself. Orchid though? I figured out through her that I don't have to hate women characters. My own distaste for my circumstances doesn't mean I have to push it onto my characters (on God I've never expressed anything rude to actual people, that'd be rude as hell and uncalled for, but I have a bad habit of disliking fictional women in media). So, Orchid is a well-roubded character finally. She has motivations abd goals and a *lot* more depth than I ever expected her to. She's happy with being a woman, she's content. She's not treated differently for it in unfair ways by those she cares about, so she doesn't mind it. She likes to wear pretty outfits and lets Reset add bows to her ribbons. She doesn't let being a woman hold her back in the slightest.

So, yeah. Orchid is one of my babies. If I ever leave this Fandom behind for good, she's one that's coming with (Ichor, Orchid, and Pretender all have human designs I can use elsewhere lol-) but in the meantime I'll just rotate her around in my brain for a while longer.

If I'm right, she's been with me for nearly 5-6 years and I went through a *lot* with her as an outlet. So, she's kinda just like an old stuffed animal. A lil ripped, matted fur, maybe a stain or two, but there's a story there and that makes it important beyond belief.

[honeyconez]

guys hear me out would painis cupcake pay taxes? Because he’s not like mega insane like ass pancakes I think he’d pay his taxes in my professional opinion.

[silly-lil-scribbles]

me when i cant be someones favorite person all the time forever for no fucking reason: ah i see. hm. okay. i should go abandon everyone and everything and then kill myself

[a-star-that-burns-brightly]

Guys how do I make a post about the fact that the outcome of the Haruka Suicide situation only goes to send the message that disabled people are inherently expendable while also making it very clear that I think it's really dumb to assume things about someone's moral compass based on how they vote in an anime music project while also also making it clear that Milgram is a piece of media meant to criticize the audience for their decisions and the consequences for them and what that ultimately says to the characters and narrative as a whole?

[puhpandas]

Halloween Spirit

(1,770 words)

Evan learns that the spirit of Halloween comes with enjoying spending time with people you love during the season, and thats why he'd never felt anything of the sort with Michael and his father. 🍫🎃🕷

"Have you ever been to Spirit Halloween?" Gregory asks him someday when they're hanging out at his house. Evan looks up from one of Gregory's drawings he was coloring in and tilts his head.

"No." Evan replies after a moment. And hes never wanted to, either. Not only would getting there mean either his Father or Michael would have to take him, but he knows Michael gets all of the scary masks he terrifies Evan with there. Plus that there are animatronics with uncanny molds and bloody faces and long fingers and black cloaks that jump out and scream at you.

So hes never really had an urge to go. Hence why he's literally never been.

"Never?!" Gregory exclaims when he learns about it. He jumps up off of his bed, shaking his head. "Evan, going to Spirit Halloween is like... it's like a major life event. Its tradition. You go to Spirit Halloween every year during the season to get pumped for it."

"I've never heard of that." Evan replies. "I've just... never had a reason to go."

He purposefully leaves out all the reasons he never has wanted to go. He doesnt want to be a Debbie Downer.

"Well now you do." Gregory tells him. He grabs the sketchbook out of Evan's hands, setting it on his comforter and then yanking Evan off the bed with suprising strength. "I'm taking you to Spirit Halloween today. No take backs."

Evan yelps, and only narrowly avoids eating carpet. "I never even agreed in the first place." Evan points out. After he doesnt pull away, Gregory let's him go to slide his shoes on. "But... sure. I'll go with you."

"Yes!" Gregory pumps a fist, slipping a navy hoodie on. With a faint smile at Gregory's excitement, Evan stays how he is, already wearing a plenty warm wool sweater. All he has to do is pull his own converse on and they're out the door.

"How have you never been?" Gregory comments when they've set off, following the sidewalk. The trees have long since all turned reds and oranges and yellows, and they flutter in the pleasant breeze the Autumn season is producing. Pumpkins and skeletons and spiderwebs decorate every yard theyve passed, and store windows hold those jelly stick-on's. "Pretty much everyone has."

"Nobody's ever taken me." Evan replies, shrugging. "My family doesnt really decorate. Especially now that its just us."

Before, when his Mom and Elizabeth were still living with them, there would be the occasional decorating. Elizabeth would whine and push for something seasonal to celebrate and his parents would cave and buy some cheap decorations to sling up around the house. But that was years ago, when he was a much younger kid. Now, hes thirteen, and its just him, Michael, and their Father.

Evan dares to think Michael would actually like to have decorations up. It's just that he believes he's 'too cool' for things like that. He's always enjoyed Halloween, if not for access to extra scary masks then to run around town with his friends to spook other innocent children. Plus, the king size candy bars he always brings home have to mean something.

Evan's never really had a reason to like it when every time he'd dress up he'd be made fun of in some sort of way, and then actively targeted as soon as he'd step outside. Plus, everything Michael likes about Halloween, Evan dislikes.

But Evan dares to believe this year will be different. The reason being right next to him.

"God, your family is so boring." Gregory groans. "Nobody even took you like... when you were a kid years ago?"

"Nope."

"Ugh." Gregory makes a face, slinging an arm around Evan's shoulder. "Well thats why you dont like Halloween. Because your family has always sucked too bad to let you enjoy it."

Evan nods sagely, knowing its true. His family always makes Halloween what they do or dont do. And usually, Evan's never cared enough to wish for a better, more seasonal holiday. He's always been too worried about other things to be in any sort of joyful mood.

"Well, dont worry about it right now, alright?" Gregory tells him, shooting him a grin. "This year you'll get to experience real Halloween. We'll get you a costume and take you to see cool stuff, and you'll get to do stuff like carve pumpkins and bake cookies with us."

Evan's eyes widen at the influx of activities. He's only ever done maybe a couple of those throughout his whole life.

He looks at Gregory earnestly, brain already flashing with images of Evan laughing and smiling, flinging cookie batter at Gregory, costume shopping without the lingering paranoia, and digging his hands inside a pumpkins guts.

The promise of having fun with people he actually likes, who like him back is so overwhelming, he almost tears up.

He pushes it down, offering Gregory a wobbly smile. "That... that sounds fun."

"It always is!" Gregory boasts, and Evan is convinced he can see stars in his eyes. "Man, I wish Ness were here. I really want her to meet you. It would be so cool spending Halloween with both of you.

There goes another mention of the infamous older-sister-away-at-college. Evan's heard a few of those, but it's not what he focuses on in that moment.

Something about Gregory putting him on the same level as his biological sibling makes something warm and fluttery bloom in Evan's stomach.

"You'll get to introduce me someday." Is all Evan manages to get out, and he almost backtracks at the implication in his sentence that Gregory will be willing to stick by him that long. But Gregory just smiles, shakes his shoulders a bit, and goes "She'll love you."

Evan hides his smile in the collar of his sweater. If Gregory is so sure, Evan cant wait to meet her, too.

It's not long at all afterwards that they finally make it to the store. Evan thinks it looks very bare bones, compared to how Gregory was describing it, but Gregory just says not to judge a book by its cover.

Gregory was right. The inside is what counts.

Halloween decorations fill very inch, gravestones and spiderwebs and skeletons waiting to greet you. There are tons of different mini-sets around the store with animatronics, and despite how Evan stays as far away from the animatronics as possible, Gregory's excitement over them make him feel better about how creepy they are.

Evan's favorite section though has to be the costume wall.

It's just a shelf full of silly costumes stuffed in bags from floor to ceiling, and it stretches across almost the entire store.

"Ness and I used to spend hours here just making fun of the costumes." Gregory had said after bringing him to it. "Look at the model on this one."

Then he'd pointed at a dumb looking werewolf, and when Evan had burst out laughing, they'd kept going.

The daylight outside slowly fizzles out in the corner of Evan's vision, in the foreground. That gray, cloudy sky that comes with Autumn fading into a dark, deep blue. By the time its their turn to leave, Evan's cheeks hurt from smiling and his throat is dry from how much he had talked and laughed.

Before they go, Gregory insists on buying Evan a Halloween sweater, no matter how much he'd protested. It's another thing he insists is tradition.

When Gregory didnt budge, Evan caved and chose a really soft black one with and orange collar and a Jack-o-lantern in the middle. Gregory had chosen one for himself, then proceeded to get attached to one of the plastic inaccurate skeleton animals and buy it too. They'd named the little dog with bone ears and a bone nose Davey.

Evan never imagined that this is what the spirit of Halloween is like, but he feels it now more than he ever has. It reminds him of those Christmas movies he'd see on TV where the lesson would be that the true meaning of Christmas is spending time with your family.

As sad as it sounds, Evan never understood those. But he thinks he gets it now.

Because the contrast between last year and this year is so stark. It's not the fact that he went to a Halloween store. If he'd gone last year with Michael and his Father, he would have been miserable, because Michael would try to make him be. This year, he had fun looking at silly stuff with Gregory.

Its only now, when Gregory is handing cash over to the employee behind the counter, who'd just bagged their sweaters and Davey, that he realizes just how much Gregory is his best friend.

They only met in July, after all... but even that feels like a lifetime ago, despite how the school days went by so much quicker with a friend, no longer so awful.

Funny how Evan already feels closer with a boy hes known for a few months than he ever has with his brother and father.

"Can I sleep over?" Evan asks when they break through the doors of the store and the cool air of Autumn washes over his face. He breathes in the scent of fallen leaves and actually notices a difference, this time.

He's feeling bold, he realizes. Scenarios of how he could get in trouble for not asking flash in his mind, but he notices he doesnt really care in the moment.

Gregory, like how telepathic he feels sometimes, notices too. He grins, acknowledging the significance, and nods, bringing out his phone. "Let me call my Dad and we'll swing by your house to grab you a bag."

Evan nods, smiling himself. He plays with the plastic of the bag in-between his fingers, peeking at Davey through the gaps.

"When we get home, I'll make some popcorn and hot chocolate, and then you gotta watch this movie with me. I watch it every year for Halloween."

Evan nods repeatedly, smile already growing on his face. After today, hes sure itll be fun.

They sit on the curb, leaves floating through the breeze, and a light sprinkle starts just in time for Freddy to pull into the driveway.

They hop in the car and Evan watches the scenery outside, looking at people decorations and imagining how he'd carve his own pumpkin, or ice his own cookies.

He'd never cared before now. He'd never cared because he'd never been given the chance to. But now he does. And all he's thinking about is how much 'going home' with Gregory feels right.

ao3 link

bonus: this is Davey