#end of whatever day this is?? 3?? 4??? 2???

[nyxtickled]

did u pocket all the money ppl gave u for nest then dip ??

yes, that is one way to look at it. (tw: pet loss, grief)

in march i held my pup in my arms and kissed her head over and over as she struggled to breathe until the doctor ended her suffering for us after only 3 months of fighting her sudden diagnosis of lymphoma. she would have turned 4 less than a month later.

that dog was my ESA, my baby, my world. i did everything with her and raised her from 8 weeks old. i knew her from the day she was born. losing her so suddenly and after fighting so hard with weekly appointments and a slew of medications just.. broke something in my brain. i am still not the same. i don’t know when i will feel like myself again. i am just going through the motions and letting the grief do what it wants with me.

and then there was NEST. it has been on my mind a lot actually. yes, i accepted donations to help me fund my ticket and flight. however, most of the fundraising i did was in the form of custom content. i bought my ticket. i even bought my wife’s ticket. and then we lost Fawkes. since then, everything has been dark.

anyway, i don’t say any of this to create excuses. i am glad you mentioned it, because even in the days leading up to the event i grappled with the prospect of going and talked to my wife about it over and over. i would sit there and get ready to write something on discord, or open the tumblr app, and then just freeze. i couldn’t even click on the notification bubbles and eventually just turned all of my notifications off for all of my apps. i couldn’t even log in.

if you have ever been to a gathering, you likely know how incredibly intoxicating the energy is. it’s like going on a bender, but the drug is kink. it’s a complete and total flood of dopamine from start to finish. it’s beautiful, it’s life-changing, it’s empowering, it’s freeing. and it also has the potential to hit like a bomb when you get back home.

i knew that even if i tried my hardest to go and enjoy myself, i was running the risk of catapulting myself into even more of a black hole than i was already in when i returned. my engineering classes started up again in april, and it has been consistently taking all of my resolve just to keep up with homework and studying. not to mention i was still crying about once a day at this point, sometimes more. so, there was also a pretty hefty chance that i would get there and wind up hiding in a room the entire time after realizing i couldn’t tap into the level of joy and sensuality that would have surrounded me.

as a result i made the decision to stay home. and i wanted to share that choice with everyone, i know i should have. but again, i froze and said nothing. lately it has felt as though all the words ive ever known have just left my body entirely. and, again, not an excuse - just an honest explanation.

that being said, i have still thought of the people who helped me with funds outside of purchasing content from me many times. to those reading this: if you donated anything to me with the intent of helping me get to NEST, please contact me directly and i will return it to you. i would never intentionally take advantage of anyone’s generosity. i never reached out to ask for a refund for my tickets or anything, so i lost out too. i just, disappeared. emotionally, mentally, pretty much in every way except physically, i disappeared with Fawkes on that night. every penny i raised has just been used to pay for bills, supplies for our 3 kitties (and 2 tiny kittens we’ve been fostering since our friend saved them from the side of the freeway, long story, cat distribution system is real as fuck) and whatever else we have needed to get by.

to all of my friends who haven’t heard from me, i’m truly so sorry. it won’t be forever, so please don’t worry. exene has been absolutely incredible at caring for me and holding me through it all every day. trust me when i say i look forward the moment i wake up from this as much as you do. i love you with all of my damn heart and i think of you all the time. i’m just.. stuck.

anyways, would it really be a nyx update if it wasn’t 3x longer than it needed to be? 💀 moral of the story: if you donated freely rather than buying content, please let me know if you want your donation back. i will not hesitate to return it to you as soon as i can. i have not done anything with the funds other than live off of them, and barely living at that, lol.

all of my love to u. <3

[way-down-aevistown]

We may be done with his arc but I'll never be over it so I'm here to say that Lin Ling is incredibly and unbelievably naive.

1.

Despite literally being the guy who writes the commercial scripts, he still believed in Xiao Yueqing and Nice being what they were portrayed as. Sure, he wasn't distressed to find out the truth, but he was shocked.

2.

When Wreck started destroying everything, he immediately went "I'm a hero I must put an end to this" even though it was PRETTY FUCKING OBVIOUS that wreck was kinda going through it. And also as Lin Ling should have known, not actually a villain. And yet the moment the situation turned into a cliché 'hero Vs arch nemesis', LL went right. Time to unreservedly beat this guy up.

It was very noble of him, but also incredibly flawed. I'm not just saying this because I wanted my doomed yaoi. I'm saying this because Wrecks actions in this scene made me crave the doomed yaoi.

His screams, his emotion, the raw look in his eyes???? That man just wanted his boyfriend back, and was grieving. For LL to not even think "ah maybe I should comfort him a little", for him to jump right to "this is an evil I must destroy at all costs", is a little insane. He's been reading too many comic books. Unlike his commoners outfit, the world isn't black and white. There's room for nuance.

3.

We kinda see this again with the Enlightener. The moment his old boss appears, LL goes into 'hero' mode. He fixates on his identity as a hero, and one who must therefore destroy evil. His thinking is very simple, and once the day is over he doesn't stop to think at all about the circumstances that would lead someone to such drastic action.

Happy people don't start screaming and trying to kill you. Sure, whatever motivation they had doesn't necessarily absolve them of crimes, but they're still citizens, and isn't it a hero's job to help all?

4.

He partly believes that "being his true self" will solve all the problems he was having as a hero. All the problems he inherited from Nice. But those were only the problems Nice's fans gave him, he's bound to experience his own, new and unique ones. Sure he doesn't have to lie anymore, but what if it goes fully the other way? If everyone believes him kind and sincere, and he can never lie again? Keep no secrets?

Nice wasn't the only hero struggling with restraints. The Commoner won't be free of them.

Lin Ling is incredibly good at being the "perfect, selfless hero". He fits in perfectly with the imaginary world view, where things are simple and easily written. He's lived his life looking up to heros, but now he has to actually experience reality. And whenever we finally get his arc again, he's going to struggle.

[luli-lads]

*Takes deep breath* Okay.

- Predictions and analysis of the 4 new chapters -

(If you're reading this in the future, this was made before the chapters were actually released, because I have brainrot)

"Death and Rebirth"

Just like we have "Under Deepspace", "Long-Awaited Revelry", "Prologue to Tomorrow" and "Homecoming Wings", this is going to be the name of the new main story, which will contain 4 chapters, and I'm guessing each of them will have 9-10 episodes of actual story, with some battles sprinkled in.

1 - Absurdity Unfolds

The Gaia Research Center is where Josephine worked as a researcher, and where MC (and Caleb) were being experimented on as kids.

If you remember, ruins of research centers were in the N109 Zone, so although we have no confirmation of this specific one, this is probably a Sylus chapter.

I'm guessing MC is trying to uncover more of her past, and that's why she decides to sneak into this 'laser-surrounded' place. I wonder if we'll get info about Caleb as well.

As for the 'Zoion Hunt'... Hmm... I wonder if that has to do with the little cube we saw Sylus and MC holding in the trailer. It seems to be some sort of game. Perhaps the people chasing them are trying to win the game too by snatching the cube from them, or perhaps they're guards who took notice of MC's breaking into the research center.

The last part, about the arena, seems to connect directly to the next chapter, as we can see by the next picture (it looks like a futuristic football field lol).

2 - All From Deepspace

Now, I'm not sure what's up with the arena itself. So I'm gonna leave that in the air and let y'all speculate.

Let's just focus on the text itself.

MC successfully gets into the lab where they experimented on her, and either finds records of what happened there, or has flashbacks about it. That's where the quote at the bottom comes in.

I'm also thinking that the car chase sequence might be at the end of this chapter instead, once she has gathered all the info she needs and has to escape from the Ever guards, she calls Sylus to come pick her up.

As for the thing that Sylus destroys... There's no confirmation from the voiceline itself that it's the cube (sometimes they mix voicelines and scenes that don't correspond) but whatever it is, I'm pretty sure he destroyed it because it had a tracking device or something like that. And MC gets mad because she thinks he destroyed it for no reason, and wanted to take it back to Unicorns to analyze it. OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT IDK

3 - Cosmic Speck

Immediately the fact that there's snow already tells us that this is a Zayne chapter. I'm guessing this happens a day or two after the previous two chapters, not immediately after.

And. Btw. 'Unsettling figures lurk in the darkness', that's about Dawnbreaker. If they were just talking about those 'Alterum' they wouldn't mention them in the next sentence, or they wouldn't use that first sentence. It's a nudge towards Dawnbreaker + the Alterum at the same time.

I'm really worried though. Because, you remember when Zayne's branch was announced and we saw him wearing Dawnbreaker's clothes so we assumed it was him, and then it wasn't...? I'm worried they'll pull the same stunt and it won't actually be Dawnbreaker.

So if it is... How did he get here? Or how did we go there? They're talking about Linkon City, not about Chansia, so... It means he came here... But how...?

About the Alterum, they seem to be people that are being taken by Protocore Syndrome, but not quite yet turned into Wanderers. Still, kinda monstrous, maybe? (Half-Wanderers, just between you and me)

The fountain of Atei is Ever's ultimate project. About reaching immortality. As for how the Alterum and the project are connected... The greater number of Alterum probably mean more people that Ever has used as test subjects, which means they're getting closer to their goal if they're using more resources on their experiments.

As for the plot in this chapter exactly... I'm not sure about the sequence of events. It seems like it's gonna take place around the city, helping/killing Alterum with Zayne/DB. Maybe that'll lead him and MC to break into another research center...? ...Xander? (Which leads us to the next chapter)

4 - Snow Fades at Dawn

Yet again nudging us with that chapter title huh.

Just like I said in the previous chapter, more Protocore Syndrome, more subjects, more Alterum, etc.

But it also adds something new. It seems like some of these patients, before they even turn into Alterum, are choosing to be treated by Xander Sciences using their Life Pods (I'm assuming that's what the 'cocoon' part is referring to, since yknow Ever owns Xander), to try and stop the illness, but by doing so they become willing test subjects (and maybe that's when, if the experiments fail, they turn into Alterum).

I'm also wondering if Ever is manipulating the Protocore Syndrome odds so more people will turn to them...

And then that last line. I can assure you with 100% certainty that it's said by Carter. Remember he wanted MC as a patient to test on her, but she kept refusing.

Hmm... I wonder if the situation is that he manages to trap MC and gives an evil monologue, says that, and then Zayne comes to save her? Perhaps that's when the whole trailer scene happens. Hmmm.

Final thoughts

I'm gonna be honest, I don't know if Sylus and Zayne are actually going to appear in chapters 1 and 3, but I'm 100% sure of their presence in chapters 2 and 4. (Not together. You know what I mean. Sylus in 2 and Zayne in 4)

I'm really hyped for this update, and some things it may bring: Hints about 6th LI, possibly more 3D models for important characters (Carter pls pls pls pls), Zayne and Sylus interaction if we dare dream (no way lmao), etc etc...

What do y'all think?

[cagebladeweek]

*whispers* hey. hey you guys. we're doing it again this year! @wandering-koyote did the art this year that we've tucked into the banner. This year, the 1995 movie is 30(!??!!) years old, so we've pulled some prompts from the classic. All the details + text version below the cut.

The Fourth(!?!?) Annual CageBlade Week!

Event Info

Dates: 16-22 June 2025 (Mon-Sun)

All forms of fanworks will be accepted - fanfic, fanart, gifset, playlist whatever it may be! 

If we somehow missed your post after the end of the event, let us know so we can reblog it! We might be a little slow on the day-to-day but we don’t want to miss anything. The only things we won’t be reblogging are NSFW with minors and explicit noncon. We will reblog late posts.

Make sure to tag your posts with #cagebladeweek (within the first 5 tags, thanks algorithm) and/or @ this blog so we can find and reblog everything.

Participate one day or every day - it doesn’t matter! If you post on an external site (AO3, FFN, DeviantArt) please at least drop a link here so we can reblog it and promote it. There will be an AO3 Collection started closer to the date.

Prompts:

Day 1: vintage / lyrics

Day 2: island / AU of choice

Day 3: rescue / horror

Day 4: $500 sunglasses / space

Day 5: dressing up / wrong turn

Day 6: hope / ruin

Day 7: Free Day!

You may interpret these prompts as strictly or as loosely as your heart desires. You can stick as close or as wide from the prompts as you want. Want to combine two? Go for it! Want to have some other characters cameo or tell a more ensemble tale? Sure - as long as it has Sonya and Johnny at the heart of it.

If you have any questions about prompts and submissions, send us an ask here! We look forward to seeing all the wonderful contributions!

FAQs:

1) Do I have to write in English?: No, you do not! This is a multi-language-friendly event. Post in your language of choice and users can machine translate if needed. If you choose to write in one language and later post translations to English, those translations can also be added to the AO3 collection.

2) Can I write an OT3 fic?: The mods support polyamorous shipping, however this week is for CageBlade specifically. We'd like that contributions focus on Sonya & Johnny's relationship.

3) Well, what if I write a breakup fic and have them hook up with other people? It's still CageBlade, right?: Not for this event. This week is a celebration of CageBlade and how awesome they are together. Want to give us some hurt/comfort, breakup & reconciliation, sure! Whump? Go wild! But we want to see them coming together and realizing how great they are as a couple.

4) What if I don’t like any of the prompts and have ideas of my own?: Then go ahead and write them! Want to explore their friendship before they hooked up? Want to write all AUs? Do you have some art ideas you’re just itching for an excuse to post and draw? The world is your oyster!

[hollow-writing-place]

The Ghost King and The Firecracker

Chapter 3:  ...Growth?

Word Count: 3933

Masterlist for this work/info about the fic

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

Chapter Summary:

Unraveling, family shenanigans, understandings of sorts, and Fire. Maybe not in that exact order.

All in all, the reveal felt sort of anticlimactic.

Jason was sweat soaked and nauseated, half laying down on the couch, and Danny was just… looking… at him. Jason didn’t know what else to say, and just sat there and made uncomfortable eye-contact.

Danny blinked before standing and pacing the apartment a few times, muttering to himself while Jason watched on, head tilted to the side. Finally, he left the room. Jason was a little concerned when he heard muffled screaming from Danny’s room, but he sat patiently until Danny came back.

Standing in the doorway, Danny takes a deep breath. “So. You’re the Red Hood then. That’s fine. It's cool and okay and fine. And you are also Jason Wayne, which makes Bruce Freaking Wayne THE Batman. Which is okay, and perfectly fine and reasonable.” He takes another deep breath.

“You sound like you’re trying to convince yourself, not me.” Jason interjects lightheartedly, holding back the retort of '-It's Todd-Wayne, actually.' Danny does not seem amused.

There’s a sound like something cracking that has Jason whipping his head around. It felt… angry? Not angry, but something adjacent to that, which was odd, because how could a sound feel like anything?

Danny jolts at his reaction. "Did you hear that?” He asks, something in his voice sounding a bit too excited.

“Yeah, the hell was that? Sounded like glass or ice or somethin’.”

Danny is at his side in a heartbeat, stars in his eyes. “I think I should start telling you about cores.”

Jason quirks an eyebrow. “I mean, I know I'm supposed to have one. What else is there?”

Danny’s grin gets wider and Jason’s stomach drops lower than it already was. Were his teeth always so sharp?

---

When Jason leaves, he’s positively reeling.

Sure, the explanation was kind of iffy, but Jason thinks he gets the gist.

Each ghost core has a type, and it could be, like, any element, or not element, or- actually, Danny didn’t know how many core types there were, so he had ended up moving on. Then there was the aura stuff and the Ghostspeak. Danny told him what he heard was Danny's core aura projecting a feeling. His core was an ice core, so the sound probably was that of crackling ice. 

It clicked for Jason then. That’s how Danny knew he was whatever it is he is when they first met. Danny heard him making core noises or something.

When he asked, Danny lit up. “Oh yeah! Almost forgot that happened! That's not how I knew, I just knew, and, I mean, you only did it that one time, probably because it was your first real encounter with a ghost-slash-ghostly being and all.”

Jason had deadpanned, and Danny rushed to explain what he heard from Jason. Apparently he sounds like firecrackers?

“It could mean a number of things about your core type, but it could also be… uh.” He paused then, shooting an apologetic look at Jason. “Could also be- I guess you could refer to it as, like, after-images of your death? Too early to tell.” They fell into an uncomfortable silence after that until Danny moved on to scheduling their next meal.

He made sure Jason was no longer in danger of being sick and had rid himself of what he needed to. Jason confirmed he didn't feel the pits in his mind anymore. He even went so far as to call Bruce. He said nothing, of course, but when he had no reaction to hearing Bruce's voice, he sighed in relief and hung up. That seemed to be enough to convince both of them he was more or less cured.

It seemed wrong, to have it feel so easy. Sure, he spent a long time being sick, and an even longer time hurting, (Danny said he floated in and out of consciousness for a day and a half, but Jason doesn't remember any of it,) but all things considered, he feels like it should have been more difficult. He was out of commission for three weeks last time he got a stab wound, but this?  Purging himself of the plague that crippled him, reduced him to a slobbering attack dog, was gone in days? It was just... strange.

Then again, a lot of things had been easier lately with Danny around. 

Danny had disposed of the bucket of filth from his first, and the worst, day of his sickness. He confirms it's been passed off to that Yeti doctor he mentioned earlier to be examined. Before, maybe, he would have been up in arms at the idea. The secrets of whatever was in that crap shouldn't be known. But if it really was just some sort of corrupted ectoplasm, then who better to deal with it that ectoplasmic beings? Jason had no complaints that it was out of his life. 

Finally, armed with another jar of pure ectoplasm and a new mark on his calendar, Danny had ushered him from the apartment, claiming he had to go and talk to Frostbite again. Jason, thankfully, had recovered enough that his head was no longer spinning when he moved, so he nodded.

“Call me if you’ve got any problems! Oh also, you might start developingghostlyabilitiesorinstincts but don't worry too much!!” The door was shut in his face, and he didn’t do anything but blink dumbly at it for a minute. He’s about to leave when the door swings open and Danny hurries to add, “And no patrol for a while, yeah? Okay bye!”

The door is slammed again, and Jason shakes his head like he could clear the mess in his skull. It’s probably a good idea to retreat to his apartment now. He casts one last look at the door, giving it a second in case Danny comes out again, but ultimately begins the trek home. 

---

The effects of no longer having Lazarus waters clouding his mind are immediate.

There’s a deafening lack of rage. His hands don’t shake with it, don't curl into tight fists. His teeth don’t grind with the effort of not lashing out. He doesn’t need to focus part of himself on staying contained because there’s nothing to hold back. It feels like relaxing a muscle that had been tensed forever, and the overwhelming relief is staggering.

He spends his first few hours as a free man reaching back out to Roy. He wants to visit him and Lian, now that he’s safe to be around. He calls up Alfred, asks the man if he can drop by for lunch. Just the two of them of course. He still isn’t ready to face Bruce, or any of the other bats and birds.

He is astounded that, when he thinks of Bruce, The Bat, he only feels the regular anger. Not the murderous kind, or even the vengeful kind! Just a dull sort of bitterness that has him avoiding the man.

And that insidious creeping feeling in his veins has gone too! There's no impending sense of doom. He doesn't see green anymore, and it's altogether disorientating. He feels unbalanced, like his depth perception is off, and he’s judging distances wrong and missing steps. Still, no uncontrollable rage.

It's marvelous, and extremely difficult to navigate. 

Danny told him no patrol, and he is startled by his own lack of refusal. He isn't itching to take to the streets, to deliver justice by his own hand. His men are following his orders and keeping the alley safe on his word in his stead.

Sitting at home, however, makes his skin itch and crawl, so he spends some time just roaming the alley, sometimes texting Roy, or even Dick.

His older brother figure has responded eagerly each time Jason reached out, whether it was a text telling him about something simple he had for lunch, or a picture of a stray Jason saw on his path. Him and Dick were… complicated.

Jason remembers vividly how dismissive and cold the original Robin had been when he first arrived at the manor, had first taken up Robin. But he also remembers how, in time, Dick had tried . Despite the fights with Bruce, Dick did show up when it mattered.

Well, he tried, more often than not. Jason frowns grimly, pushing the thought of his lonely death away. He couldn’t blame Dick for that. He didn’t want to blame Dick for that, as much as part of him might always feel slightly betrayed. He was making an effort to match Dick’s enthusiasm in his own way. 

Even if all he could return was a little ‘:)’ text. 

---

He slept sparsely, and woke often for reasons he couldn’t decipher. Something was missing.

Daylight, nighttime, He finds himself wandering more and more. He leaves the Red Hood fit behind so he won’t feel the urge to do any real patrol, and just observes.

He knows growing a core probably is supposed to feel weird, but the new, unconscious behaviors he’s developing still throw him for a loop. There was an overwhelming feeling of something being wrong with Jason.

Well, more wrong than normal.

The pit in his stomach and the place in his brain that the Lazarus pits filled were… different. Changed. Something was missing. The Pits were emptied and replaced just as quickly, but whatever was there wasn’t finished. He’s more sensitive to… something, but he doesn't know what it is. It’s like he can feel the fluctuation in the air, or the movement of the earth beneath his feet. He’s hyper aware of that ‘something’, and it’s driving him up the wall.

He tries to leave Crime Alley, but hesitates on the border that would take him over the territory line. Something holds him back, and he finds himself turning around and heading home with little to no justification. It just felt like he needed to stay in his home territory. The idea of leaving made something twist in his gut. It's weird, but not enough for him to call up Danny yet. (Unless it keeps him from lunch with Alfred next week, then this will become a problem.) What makes him want to call Danny is the temperature thing.

When he still had Lazarus clouding his minds, he was uncomfortably warm more often than not. Now? He’s cold all the time, and nothing he does seems to fix it.

He bundles up in jackets and coats and gloves and isn't seen without a lighter on him. Sometimes he’ll light matches and just hold them until they burn too close to his fingers and he has to rush to blow them out. His thermostat sits at a constant 86 degrees, and it’s not enough.

When he wakes up shivering in his bed despite wearing five layers of clothes and being draped in at least seven of his thickest blankets, he makes a decision. He can’t wait two more days until dinner with Danny. 

---

The phone call is unexpected, for sure. Danny groggily glances at the clock and notes the time to be 3 something. Regardless, he picks up his phone.

Jason’s voice answers him immediately, growly and sleep-addled. “I’m cold all the time. What's happening?”

Danny rubs the bridge of his nose with a sigh. “What happened to saying hi? Hello? How are you doing?”

Jason makes a frustrated noise. “Hi Danny. I am cold all the fucking time. What. is. wrong. with. me?”

Listening closer, Danny catches the sound of Jason’s teeth chattering and grimaces. “A little more info, please.” Danny sits up, already realizing he’s probably not going back to sleep any time soon.

“No matter what I seem to do, I'm always cold. Always!“ Danny can just picture the snarl on his face. He shakes his head to will the image away, blushing. “I- I must be wearing every coat I own right now, and I'm still shivering. If we don’t figure out how to fix this,” Jason laughs incredulously, “-Then I swear to god I'm gonna jump into a bonfire.”

“Well, first things first, don’t do that. Secondly, I'm coming over.” He hears a relieved sigh.

“I’ll send you the address.”

Confusion. “I already have it?”

Another laugh, this one far more genuine. “Not my old one. My real address.”

---

Danny could just fly on over there, but he wanted to walk. Wanted to try and get a feel for if anything had changed in the air of Crime Alley. If his, and Frostbite’s, suspicions were at all correct, then he wanted to confirm it.

Sure enough, when he stepped from the apartment and onto the street, he could feel it. A blanketing presence, though still light, that sang of possession. Of Jason’s control and protection over Crime Alley.

Danny might have felt uncomfortable invading a haunt so blatantly, living in a haunt that wasn’t just his own, but something about Jason just made him feel comforted. Safer. Jason’s core was growing fast enough he’d already managed to claim all of Crime Alley, probably unconsciously. When he grew into his power fully, he’d be a force to reckon with. 

---

Jason’s apartment complex looks… not as bad as the first one he let Danny into, but not great. Still, he tries to give the man the benefit of the doubt.

He knocks, and Jason opens the door quickly, almost like he’d been waiting beside it. Danny says nothing about that, and just lets himself be ushered inside.

And wow, it is nice in here. A nice entryway, more than one room, warm lighting… and stiflingly hot. Danny is already sweating. He fights the urge to go ghost just so the heat won’t affect him. He turns to Jason, but any words he had die on his tongue.

Jason is positively bundled up. He looks ten times bulkier than normal with the amount of layers he’s wearing, scarves around his throat and gloves on and everything. He glares down at Danny through the gaps in his beanie-scarf combo, bristling like an alley cat. Danny finds he isn’t nervous though. Jason's murderous glare has no real anger behind it.

The sound of crackling fire emanates from him, but it pops and hisses anxiously. Despite the overwhelming heat in the apartment and the clothing and all, Danny catches a near imperceptible shudder run through Jason. He looks more miserable than anything now.

“So… I think we can definitively say you do not have an ice core now. Actually, we should just jump to assuming it’s fire based.”

“Fine. Good. How do I get warm?” His voice is muffled, but there’s a desperate edge there.

“You know how we were joking about the whole jumping into a fire pit thing?”

“Uh… yeah? Why?”

Danny looks at him with a small, sorta shaky grin. “That… might be a plausible cure.”

---

He convinces Jason to shed some layers before they head out. He retains his scraggly alley cat look, even glaring sorta pitifully at Danny.

He had already phoned his men, and Danny was surprised by how much Jason trusts his underlings. Apparently they had a warehouse full of old wooden pallets secured by the docks and were perfectly fine leaving gallons of lighter fluid and boxes of matches with no reasoning or anything. As soon as Jason and Danny arrived, they’d peace out without any questions.

“My men are loyal. And desensitized to my bullshit.” Hearing his voice through the helmet modulator was odd, but Danny was put a bit more at ease by hearing the contended, warm crackling of hearth flames emanating from Jason still. Danny thinks he still hears a few of those firecrackers snapping off in between the regular fire, and he wants to smile a bit more every time he catches it.

It was new, how constant and strong the sound was. Danny was happy, though. It meant Jason was on the mend. Soon, he’d be able to pick up on Danny’s core sounds too, not just when the emotion is strong.

…

With how Danny’s been feeling about Jason lately, that might not be the best development. 

---

Nightwing’s comm crackles to life. He’s tying up some mugger and phoning Gotham PD, so he finished that all up quickly to answer. Oracle speaks first.

“Listen, Wing. I know you said to stay away from Hood and his new friend, but-”

Nightwing frowns. “O,” he cuts her off, crossing his arms over his chest despite knowing she can’t see the action. “He doesn’t want us snooping in! Hood is already antsy knowing about RR’s background check.” He chides. “Let him have a friend! It’s good that he’s got at least one normal friend around.”

There’s a sigh across the line and Red  Robin’s line connects with a fizz. “Yeah, normal is great and all, but ever since their last meetup, Red Hood hasn't been seen.”

Nightwing tenses, much as he tries not to. “But the person beneath the hood has been? Seen around, that is.”

“Affirmative. Hood has been picked up on cameras all over Crime Alley making  wide, looping patterns. He’s been… pacing, almost. I would call it a patrol, but he’s never seen in the armor, and he just walks the line between Crime Alley and whatever chunk of Gotham it borders.”

Nightwing scales the building to his left, getting to the rooftops. He stretches absentmindedly, thinking. “Like… Like a wolf?” He asks.

“I mean, I guess the comparison is there? He is only covering the borders of his ‘territory’.”

There’s a thoughtful humm down the line. Batman. “What’s this about an unknown ‘friend’?”

Nightwing groans. He wasn’t supposed to know about that! Oh, he’s totally going to scare Danny off. “It’s not important right now. Can we get to the point?” Nightwing mutters, running a hand down his face.

“Oh. Yes. Anyways, Hood has broken his recent behavioral pattern. He’s armored up and headed to a warehouse by the docks, if the movement of his gang is to be believed. They’re… gathering things.” Red Robin sounds uneasy, and his tapping on a keyboard is fast enough and frantic enough to be heard on the comms.

“Send up the coords. We’ll be there shortly.”

“B, no . He’s been doing so good! If he finds out we were spying on him like this-” Dick’s protest goes unheard, and his wrist watch lights up with a map, green pin blinking mockingly. Oracle, that traitor.

Still, he starts moving that direction. It’ll be better if he’s there for damage control. He fights off the worry that wants to overtake him.

Jason has been off lately, but he wanted to chalk it up to this new friend. A potential good influence, or an ally. Maybe even a partner. Daniel Nightingale.

Now, he’s worried that it does have something to do with Daniel. Nightwing picks up the pace.

—

The warehouse looks just as sketchy as Danny thought it would. I mean, it's a textbook gang warehouse. Of course, this one doesn't have any nefarious dealings going on.

Danny, invisible and intangible, hovers over Jason’s shoulders while he dismisses his underlings and eyes the pile of palettes. The wood isn’t in the best condition, but Danny didn’t really expect anything different. It’ll work either way.

Once Danny does a sweep on the place and ensures none of Jason’s ‘employees’ remained, he faded into view, still dressed in his ghostly hazmat suit.

Jason takes off the hood so that he's just in a simple domino mask. He runs his hands through his hair to fluff it up out of the flattened look the helmet gave it, and Danny has to look away. Ancients, he makes being hot effortless. Jason clears his throat and Danny turns back hurriedly, hoping Jason takes the green tint to his cheeks as a Ghost thing.

“So… Fire pit?”

“Oh! Yeah! Hahaha…”

Jason looks at the wood pile thoughtfully. “Maybe we should rearrange it a bit?”

Danny and nods, swooping up to see from above. “Yeah, maybe make it more of a neat stack than a tower...” Danny makes quick work of it, spreading out the palettes so the structure resembles more of a big flat platform of sorts. A solid base.

Jason spends this time dragging the gallons of lighter fluid over. The fact that he doesn't appear to struggle in the slightest with all the weight is unfair. It is ridiculously unfair, Danny thinks.

Danny scoops up a thing of lighter fluid and flies up to drizzle it over the pile of wood. Jason joins in, nose wrinkling a bit at the acrid scent. Once the palettes are well and fully drenched they both step back.

Danny takes note of the way Jason’s aura has drawn close to him, as if it was trying to protect him.

“We don’t have to do this, you know.” He murmurs, eyeing how hard Jason’s staring at the woodpile.

Jason hums softly, low in his throat, thinking. Finally, he shakes his head and taps his domino mask to turn the lenses clear, sighing. “I think you and I both know this has to happen.” He shifts restlessly. Danny was sure there must be some ghostly instinct drawing him to the stack, and Jason clearly didn't know how to feel about that.

“We could wait it out a bit. Go over other options? I don't… I don’t want you to feel pressured, or like this is your only choice.” Danny pauses before reaching a hand out to rest softly on Jason’s shoulder. Despite how cold Jason claims to be, even through all those layers, he’s burning up. “Especially if it triggers bad memories of your death.” He hopes his voice sounds as firm as he wants it to.

Jason smiles, and it’s just as warm as his skin though his clothes. “Thanks, but I… I’m ready for this. If it helps, it helps. ‘Sides, you’ll be there to get me out if something goes wrong, yeah?” There’s a twinkle in Jason’s eye that makes Danny’s stomach feel like it's full of butterflies.

Oh. Jason’s putting trust in Danny. That’s sure to kick those ghostly instincts aflutter. He has to fight back a pleased purr and just nods at Jason. Somehow, that is enough for the other man.

Jason strides forward, lighting a match with an air of determination. He flicks his wrist almost elegantly, and the wood platform roars into flames. He stumbles back a few steps so it doesn't catch him, and turns to Danny.

There’s a bit of uncertainty on his face, and Danny quells it with a reassuring grin and a flare of his own aura. It settles something in Jason, and he turns back to the flames.

They stretch high, but the lighter fluid can only keep them high for so long.

Multiple things happen at once.

First, Jason crouches before taking off at a sprint and throwing himself into the fire. He disappears into the swirling smoke and uncountable shades of orange-yellow.

Then, Danny darts after him, but hesitates on the edge of the flames, ears and senses attuned to Jason’s core. So far, so good.

After that, the flames boom, reaching hungry fingers into the air and clawing, the color shifting from orange-yellow to a rich sort of crimson. Relief drowns Danny. His suspicion was right. They just needed to kickstart things to finish this whole process off.

And finally, someone above them in the rafters of the warehouse screams, hoarse and angry, and three shadowy figures drop to the ground behind Danny, capes flaring behind them. One of them charges Danny immediately, making an almost inhuman sound of rage. Their weapons crackle with electricity, and Danny freezes at the sight of the sparks.

---

Cliffhanger, I'm sorry :( Next chap out tonight tho

[melrosing]

AFFC is where I believe the redemption thing loses a lot of people because Jaime is upholding the regime rather than dismantling it. But I always want to ask them dismantle it how? it's so stupid

okay but that's the thing because in a way: that is what Jaime is trying to do! pushing once again my unfinished Riverlands essay bc I am very interested in this part of his story, especially the role it plays within his redemption arc, but in wider fandom it often gets misinterpreted as a detour.... which has made for some really frustrating takes lmao.

if you will humour me for a second though I want to pose to ppl what the avenues available to Jaime actually are at this point in the story. Jaime is not Sandor Clegane: he cannot just leave everything behind and assume it'll all be fine without him.

the situation in fact: ur evil dad has just died, leaving House Lannister essentially irreconcilable with its enemies. the realm has been devastated by the war. who is in charge of it all? ur eight-year-old son, a sweet kid who could be a good king in the right hands.... but is ofc currently in the hands of Cersei, who is.... well. Stannis, the Riverlords, the vestiges of the Starks, and a bunch of forces you're not even aware of want and your family dead to a man. and you are the lord commander of the kingsguard, who would like to 1) fulfill ur oath to Catelyn, 2) protect your family, 3) not make anything worse than it already is and 4) ideally make things better! what do u fucking do?

OPTION 1: literally just leave this sucks so why not just leave! you are an eminently recognisable man and so is your son but what if you just walked out of there and let whatever forces move in in your wake. Stannis probably gets there first (you don't actually know about Dany or Aegon) and he wants you dead, but maybe if you shave ur head (wait that didn't work last time did it) and dye your son's then....??? ok sure. so now you're living in the woods, the realm may or may not fall back into chaos, ur days are pretty numbered, and this isn't even a good story, is it. cool !

OPTION 2: refuse to have anything to do with a continued war against Starks and Tullys and try and advocate for them at court oh god u really thought that would work. your dad murdered Robb and Cat Stark at a fucking wedding. they do not want to be ur friends, they want u dead. they will arm again in a heartbeat, and that's your family done for. also good luck talking Cersei round on this. or anyone really. edit bc oh and also! if you do just want to sit this one out and refuse to get involved with the siege at Riverrun - some other goon will jump in and end it violently for you. so you've basically done nothing but allow it to happen. good for you!

OPTION 3: mitigate and restore what u can your son is a nice boy who likes books and always does his best. you think that if you could surround him with the right people, he might rule well. you realise Cersei is a liability, and plan to have her removed from your son's counsel. you plan to rebuild it with better people. you realise that the realm is starved and in ruins: you want to prevent war, and you really don't want to break your oath. however, many of the riverlords and northerners are not ready to kneel. you treat with those you can, and wring a peace out of the Tullys by saying the right words in the right voice. your reputation takes a hit and readers cannot understand the chapter for shit, but Edmure Tully accepts terms of peace. you cannot restore the Starks, but you can try and save the last of them: you send your gf on a secret mission, and when she comes to tell you that you have a change to help (lol), you go with her.

THE CATCH: none of these fucking work because your dad fucked everything up so bad that everyone wants your family dead and noone wants to be your friend. even though you ended the siege at Riverrun on peaceful terms, that's only going to last about five minutes. you may be trying to save Sansa Stark right now, but god knows what's about to happen to your own kids while you're not there. you're fucked really. there's no single right thing you can do right now except follow what you believe is the best, most realistic thing to do in the moment and see where it leads. shit. that's how you ended up spending 14 years in the woods with brienne waiting to meet zombie Catelyn while Game of Thrones botches your ending and podcasters call your story the limits of redemption. fuck !

[m-entities]

Somehow, she was alive. Despite it all, despite the storm, the fights, the mutts, Mercuria was fully, and truly alive. Her breath was shallow, but she was atop the mountain, finally, difficultly, impossibly. She had made it. Through pythons, through Helios, through it all. And she was alive.

It was serene at the top of the mountain. It was a bizarre, alien sensation after the past three days she had lived through. It was a momentary reprieve, a breath. At the top, the mist of the storm could still be seen rolling around the sea, shrouding the various islands in a mysterious fog. The atoll was washed clean away, the wreck of the ship fully swallowed by the waves. It was easy to see all the places she had been, and the few that she had not. What a concept - there were six people left alive and there were parts of the Arena she hadn't even seen yet.

It seemed so peaceful, for a moment, that she was startled to shriek when the Panem National Anthem blared. Had night fallen that fast? That she'd be alone - truly, deeply alone - for the first time in the Arena? She craned her neck up, but it wasn't much. She had never been this close to the sky. In all her life, living in the mines, she had been down. Head down, in the earth. To be here now, on the precipice of the sky, where she could almost touch it... was unreal.

Her breath caught in her throat as Callisto's face illuminated the sky. Instantly, she heaved a sigh of relief. It wasn't at Callisto's expense. But what it meant was, with only two cannons, at least one Berry was alive. Slate's odds had skyrocketed, just by having a District One Tribute out. Not out - dead. That fact stuck the sigh in her throat, even as the second face - Flora Faye of District Seven - appeared. They were still alive. Nettle, Bramble, and Slate. Somewhere in the Arena, all three were still alive. And they would know now, that she, too, was doing her best to stay alive. That left Helios and Mars. Two Careers, both hellbent on getting home. Those two and whatever fresh horrors the Gamemakers had in store.

They were close.

It was time, then, to try to rest. But sleep was never an option. Mercuria found herself a small overhang, lest more rain start falling, and nestled in. She was just letting her eyes flutter shut when she felt it.

The smallest, tiniest pinprick in her wrist. In any other universe, she would have thought nothing of it. Back in Twelve, things bit her all the time. Mites and mosquitoes were everywhere. But this was the Arena. This was the Hunger Games. Mercuria raised her hand and saw it: a spider, no bigger than anything she had seen before, almost small. Bright, electric yellow dots dusted an otherwise jet black body. If it weren't for those dots, she wouldn't have seen it at all in the fading light of the evening.

But she felt it immediately. Like acid coursing through her veins, the toxin shot to her heart faster than she could cry out. She had only a moment to make a decision, and she did: she raised her hand above her hand, showing the spider to the sky. She felt the venom course faster, encouraged by gravity to speed along. But if she were to survive this, she would need help.

It was less than a minute later that the coughing started. Her throat slowly started to squeeze together, even as her salivary glands kicked into overdrive. Drool started pooling in her mouth, spilling out in flecks and puddles onto the ground in front of her. She fell to her knees, and the offending creature scuttled away, seemingly happy to have done it's job.

Convulsions came next, starting as a tremor in the hand that was bit. It ricocheted across her body, leaving her heaving in terror on the ground. She thought maybe, just maybe she could survive this, but then her vision started to fade. Flicker. Bob in and out. How? How had she gotten this close, this far, this place... only to be taken out by a spider? Perhaps that's what they wanted to see, out there. This was the gripping drama. Perhaps the Gamemakers were pushing to a finale and had deemed her uninteresting. Too far out from the others to be useful in the final fight. Perhaps. Perhaps. Perhaps. A thousand perhapses tumbled through her mind as she clawed at the ground, trying to find a way to relieve the intense pain that was building in her chest.

It had to be over soon, she wagered. Unless this was a particularly sick Gamemaker. Maybe that was it. A slow venom to kill. A worthwhile moment of television. If so, no. She would not give it to them. She rolled onto her side, cradling her arm close to herself. Even as the venom forced the occasional, involuntary kick or spasm, she would not show them her face. They would not get to see. This, she would keep private.

Then she heard the familiar ding! ding! that she had been so blessed with throughout her time. A gift. But what could would it do now? Perhaps it was a knife, something to end this suffering faster. It didn't matter. She heard the soft thump as the canister landed beside her. She fought her own muscles to get a hold of it and twist it open. A small boxed meal tumbled out. Useless. How unfortunate - someone had wasted their money sending her a meal that she'd never get to eat. And there was no one around to even pass it along to, if she could have done so.

She went to drop the canister by her side and accept her death when a small vial tumbled out. It was tiny - no more than a few drops of whatever liquid was in it. She grabbed at it. No knife, but fine - a poison may as well be the same. She had no regard. No thoughts. Maybe it was a pain reliever, meant to ease her passage. Maybe it was poison to speed it along. Who cared at this point? She struggled to get the lid off and downed the full contents, just barely squeezing it past her tightening trachea.

Instantly, the effects of the spider bite reversed. It was as if she had swallowed pure aloe; the acidity in her bloodstream evaporated and her throat opened as if she had never had trouble breathing ever in her life. If anything, her lungs were free even of the slight cough all miners had. She glanced down at the bottle to see a very simple word: antivenom. How wonderful, how horrific, that these bottles existed at all, ready at a moment's notice to be sent to Tributes. If the price was right.

She scrambled for the canister and found the note from Mahlon. No - from the entire District. How late had he been up? How closely had he been watching? That he could see the need, identify the cause, and send the relief? It didn't matter. Or rather, it did, but it was unexplainable. She burst into tears, found her way to her knees, and put up her hands in thanks before turning to the meal.

The canary wasn't out of the running yet.

[no-celebration]

While I don't post about Resident Evil a whole lot, it's still my favorite video game series of all time. This is great news! Can't wait to see what Capcom comes up with next! (please give us a Code Veronica remake already 😭)

[throughpatchesofviolet]

I suppose it is important to mention Heathcliff's canon birthday has been confirmed to be July 7th ... 7/7. And, while I entertained the idea of his birthday being the release date of Wuthering Heights (November 24th), my gut instinct always said he was a summer baby ... and, lo and behold, I was right. He's a summer baby.

That said, I still prefer my headcanon that Heathcliff doesn't know his exact birthday (like in his source), so instead he picked it himself. He chose 7/7 as a kid, and now looks back on it with a bit of annoyance.

[quaranmine]

the amount of math i put into figuring out my PTO is honestly so funny. i've probably spent like 2 hours this week and last week just playing with the leave calculator spreadsheet my coworker gave me. this morning i added a sheet for 2026 so now i'm calculating my PTO out that far. i basically already have a plan of how i'm taking time off for 2025 so as to maximize my time off in 2026. i dont think this is a normal level of attention to detail but at least i'm having fun

[deus-ex-mona]

winter 2k24, huh~~~~~~ _(:3 」∠)_

[daughterthethird]

Can anyone please send me art requests through asks/reblogs (it can be their ocs or canon characters- preferably ToH ones!!) causee im fighting artblock rn and i am LOSING.

[CLOSED]

[nomaishuttle]

aughhhhh i wish i had books 2 read i wanna read books so bad rn 🤓 <- i look like this. 2 pictures of me 👇

[phagodyke]

worked an hour extra bc they have no respect for my half day but I knew they were gonna do that so whatever..... at least I'm omw home now

[febuwhump]

FEBUWHUMP 2025 PROMPT LIST

this year's prompts were chosen through an open suggestion poll (in which we received over 4,000 prompts) and a subsequent vote, where 5,019 votes were submitted. the top 28 make up the core prompts, and the febuwhump mod's favourites that remain have become the alternates. the first prompt in the 28, "vocal chords", was our number one prompt of the vote, with 1,625 total votes.

i am so insanely excited to see what you all create with these prompts, and i hope they're inspiring enough to trigger a whole month's worth of creativity for you!

as an extra added challenge, some creators will be undertaking another, smaller goal, of including apples in each of their prompt fills as an ode to the wildly popular prompt suggestion of "apples" that didn't make it through to the poll. this is totally optional, but is a good extra challenge if you'd like to take part in it!

if you have any questions, please check out the faq before sending an ask, or skim the blog's previously asked questions to see if your question has already been answered.

please note: notifying the blog of completionist status will happen through a google form released towards the end of febuwhump, and if you are interested in joining the febuwhmp discord server, the link will be available to do so for one week towards the end of january.

full write-up of prompts and rules under the cut:

FEBUWHUMP 2025 PROMPTS:

DAY 1: vocal chords

DAY 2: holding back tears

DAY 3: pinned down

DAY 4: hivemind

DAY 5: not trusting reality

DAY 6: forced to stay awake

DAY 7: alternate timeline self

DAY 8: bleeding out

DAY 9: necromancy

DAY 10: magic exhaustion

DAY 11: demonic possession

DAY 12: used as practice

DAY 13: “i don’t trust anyone else”

DAY 14: becoming the monster

DAY 15: icarus

DAY 16: eaten alive

DAY 17: power instability

DAY 18: living weapon

DAY 19: death wish

DAY 20: “i did good right?”

DAY 21: put on display

DAY 22: “grab the little one”

DAY 23: gunshot wound

DAY 24: forced to beg

DAY 25: bound and gagged

DAY 26: concealing an injury

DAY 27: post-victory collapse

DAY 28: recovery

ALTERNATE PROMPTS:

is there a specific day’s prompt you don’t want to fill? here are ten alternatives you can switch them out for!

ALT 1: major character death

ALT 2: blowtorch

ALT 3: pick who dies

ALT 4: body swap

ALT 5: die a hero

ALT 6: emergency surgery

ALT 7: body horror

ALT 8: on the run

ALT 9: in another life

ALT 10: feeding tube

RULES:

soft rules:

prompts should be answered in the form of whump

creators can produce any kind of media they want

you don't have to complete all the prompts to take part

you can use the prompts after the event ends

you can complete them in tandem with any other event

you can post to any platform you want, however this blog will only be sharing links and prompt fills posted to tumblr

if you want to be featured on the hall of fame, you must inform this blog by the 3rd of march that you have completed all of the days using the provided form

if you have questions, consult the faq before asking

hard rules:

to be a completionist, you must complete all 28 prompts, in order, in whatever medium you want, before the end of the event

(specifically for being featured on the blog)

when uploading febuwhump content to tumblr, please use the tags:

febuwhump (or febuwhump2025)

the relevant day's tag e.g. febuwhumpday1, febuwhumpday2...

nsfw (if relevant)

any important trigger warnings

you can also tag the blog: @febuwhump

I cannot guarantee your work will be archived on the blog. a random selection of properly tagged works will be reblogged every day of february.

[yourlocalsurrealism]

DP X DC PROMT: Happiness? In this Economy?

Dick convinces Jason to go with him to a party because he apparently "needs to socialize". At this party is also Danny, who is majoring in astrophysics at Gotham University. They run into each other, hit it off, and end up hooking up.

Danny has class in the morning, so he leaves before Jason wakes up, hurrying to get his day started and completely unaware of the fact that some of the ectoplasm he produces has seeped into Jason. (Neither of them tell each other their names, or maybe they're too hungover to remember? Idk, but they don't know each others names. It was also too dark for Jason to see Danny's face.)

Jason wakes up, wondering how the hell the cute guy from last night managed to leave without waking him up. He also feels happier than he has in a while, which he attributes to the fact that he actually had fun last night instead of scowling in the corner.

But the happiness, the calm, it just... Doesn't leave? For some reason?

At first, Jason is willing to accept that maybe the univers is just giving him a day off from the Pit Rage, God knows he's earned it, but when the end of the week is drawing closer and he's still no closer to figuring out why he's so goddamn pleasant all of a sudden, he starts to freak out.

He tracks this unnatural calm back to the party, and at first, he thinks someone spiked his drink. But the only people who were close enough to do that would be Dick, who would never do that, and his unknown, unnamed hookup.

Now, Jason isn't a very paranoid person, but he was raised during his early teens by the goddamn Batman, king of paranoia, so he immediately draws the following connections:

1. His unnamed hookup was able to roofie him without him noticing, bat training and all.

2. That drug, whatever it was, was strong enough to subdue the Pit Rage, and, seeing as it hasn't returned, that could be indefinite.

3. The only person who has ever been able to remotely control the Lazarus Pits is Ra's Al Ghul, and he still ended up a murderous sociopath, so obviously he doesn't have a good handle on it.

4. This random dude that he met at a goddamn college party may be the most powerful sorcerer in the world.

5. He need sto find this guy before she raises an undead army.

Thus, Jason finds himself in the awkward situation of explaining to his father that he may or may not have hooked up with a being more powerful than a man who runs an assassin cult and calls himself a demon.

The bats immediately begin searching Gotham for this guy, pulling out all the stops to stop this guy before they gain a new supervillain.

Meanwhile, Danny is peacefully going about his life.

Then, he runs into his one night stand and they start dating. Everything is going great for him! Moving to Gotham City was the best thing he's ever done!

Now Jason is even more panicked, because he just met this really cute guy, and now they're dating, but it's a horrible time because he's still trying to find this Eldritch creature.

Bonus ( to add to the misunderstandings):

Say Danny's trans. It's about now, a few months later, that morning sickness makes itself evident.