#first Damians of the year!! one of my goals this year is to finish a single animation with him and also TRY to loosen up on lineart 😭

[livinghalfway]

Younger Years Pt. 3

Part 2

Summary: Damian gets temp de-aged to 6yrs old; cue him asking where his twin is. This is how everyone finds out about Danny's existence Word Count: 1664

The next morning when Damian woke up everyone was much more prepared to deal with his inevitable attack. The restraint on his ankle and Alfred the cat still napping on him helped deal with most of the initall anger that radiated off him though. The goal right now was to convince Damian that he had been de-aged, and all he needed to do was stay with them until the magic wore off. 

The topic of Danyal would come later, for now they needed to focus on Damian. 

Everyone had also prepared an item to show Damian to prove to him that they were telling the truth about his current situation. Alfred was first and had brought him a cup of tea the exact way the young boy preferred when he had first joined them at the manor. Duke showed Damian his school yearbook, and had marked which pages had an older Damian in them. Jason rummaged through the art room and pulled out a few old sketchbooks. 

Those had done well enough to calm the baby assassin down so that Bruce was able to explain the details to the young Damian. Which only served to make him think that instead of this being a test from his grandfather it was actually a scheme to draw him away from his birthright as one of the heirs to the demon head. 

To help further convince him Tim printed out the first DNA test they had done with Damian; making sure to note that the dates on these can’t be altered. Then Dick had showed him photos of him dressed in his Robin costume. What was strange though is that Damian didn’t look pridefully at the photos, only confused. 

Finally it was Bruce’s turn and no one was surprised when it turned out to be a family photo album. It was filled with photos of everyone from the last few years. Pictures of both big and small moments that the family had gone through. What was surprising though is when Damian practically exploded with rage with every page he turned. 

“Chum, is something wro-” Bruce tries to start once he sees how affected the photo album is making him. Only for said book to be launched at his head before he can finish speaking. 

“Get out!” Damian snarls as his eyes dart to everyone around the room as he repeats his words, “Get out!” 

“I told you this wasn’t going to work.” 

“Not now, Jason.” 

Dick makes an obvious move of wanting to comfort Damian, but is clearly holding himself back knowing that his succor would only make things worse. “Dami…” 

“You do not have the right to call me that,” Damian's breath starts to speed up with tears threatening to spill from his eyes. “The only one that will ever be allowed to use that name has apparently been long absent from my life. So I will repeat myself only once more; get out.” 

No one makes any move to leave at first and it isn’t until Tim clears his throat as well as putting a hand on Bruce’s shoulder does the others finally move. It takes both Duke and Tim to get Bruce out of the room, and Jason ends up having to practically drag Dick out. 

“Why did you pull me away from him! He was clearly on the verge of a breakdown based around the fact that Danyal, his twin, never came here with him! Damian needs someone to be with him right now!” Dick angrily breaks out of Jason's hold on him. 

Jason, immediately matching Dick’s tone retorts, “Since when has that kid ever liked having family much less strangers comfort him? Cause newsflash Dickiebird that what we are to him right now, nothing but strangers who are trying to act way too familiar with him. The only thing your sympathy will do right now is just make things worse!” 

“I’m not going to let my currently 6 year old baby brother mourn a death by himself!”

“We don’t actually know if Danyal is dead or not right now. Just that he didn’t arrive with Damian at the manor 4 years ago.” Tim interjects before any more arguing between the two can continue. “For all we know Ra’s could have sent one twin away to here while keeping the other involved with the league.” 

“Wouldn’t have Damian said something by now if that was the case? He obviously cared a lot for Danyal.” Duke honestly doesn’t know what the right decision is right now, but he’s more inclined to agree with Jason right now. 

Tim runs a hand through his hair in thought, “14 year old Damian, maybe. The Damian that first arrived at the manor four years ago, no way. Especially if he was told explicitly not to say anything. That little brat was still deep in the league mindset, and would have done anything Talia or Ra’s said.”

“Wouldn’t have Ra’s already used Danyal against Bruce though? He’s had plenty of opportunities to use the knowledge of a second child to get B to do practically anything for him. What possible scenario would he be saving that information for?” Dick at this point seems to have calmed down. He’s still obviously wanting to be with Damian, but also knows that Jason is right about how his presence wouldn’t be appreciated at the moment. 

Jason instead of offering any answers to Dick’s questions turns to direct his lingering anger at Bruce, “You’re being awfully fucking quiet right now B, what do you have to say about all this?”

“... I think it’s time to call Talia. I wanted to wait and give Damian the chance to explain himself before doing so, but if the league does still have Danyal we need to start planning his rescue as soon as possible.” 

After asking the boys to keep an eye on Damian, and to check in on him every once in a while without distressing him more Bruce headed upstairs towards his office. Once there he silently stares at the phone in his hand. 

It had been devastating to learn that he had a son, and missed out on so much of his life. Bruce had been angry at Talia, furious even, especially when she had raised Damian to be a child assassin. To learn that she had done this not once but twice shattered him. Even more so when he thinks about how his second son might still be a part of that life when he could have been living here with him instead. 

The alternative to that thought though, the unfortunate more likely option, is that Danyal is dead. 

That he had failed yet another child. 

Bruce presses the number and puts the phone to ear. With each unanswered ring he sees flashes of what could have been if both boys had arrived that day. What was Danyal even like? Was he similar to Damian, or was he the complete opposite? 

“Beloved, what a pleasant surprise hearing from you.”

“I know about Danyal.” Bruce leans back in his chair with his eyes closed. Today has already been exhausting, and he knows that it’s not going to get any better anytime soon. “What happened to him?” 

The amount of silence that follows tells him that for maybe the first time he has truly shocked Talia with his words. Eventually though she answered, sorrow clear as day in her voice, “How much do you know?” 

“I’d rather you tell me what you know right now.” 

“Danyal died two weeks before Damian was sent to live with you.”

There it was, the hard truth. A child that he was never given the chance to hold, to meet, and to love was dead. Bruce had nothing to hold onto from a child that died way too young. 

“My Father and Damian are the only ones that truly know what happened in that room; I didn’t even know at the time that he had pulled the two of them from their afternoon studies.” She continues softly, “By the time I reached them Danyal was gone. I imagine Ra’s wanted to make an example out of him because he had put his body into the pits … only he never came back out. The pits had even taken his body with them.” 

“Did you never question what happened to him?” 

“Ra’s told me it was none of my concern when I questioned him, and he forbade Damian from telling me himself. He had all evidence of Danyal erased after that; he only exists now in the memory of those who knew him.” 

“Would you have ever told me about him?”

“No.” 

“Hm.” Bruce doesn’t do anything more than acknowledging her response before hanging up, and putting the phone down. He wasn’t going to get any more information out of her, and he had more important things to focus on right than interrogating Talia. It seems they’re all just going to have to wait for Damian to learn what happened to Danyal anyway. 

For now though he needs to go back downstairs and make sure they haven’t exploded into chaos due to his absence, but as he exits his office he makes a quiet promise to himself and Danyal. “Even in death you will be a part of this family; I’m so sorry you will never get the chance to know just how much they already love you.” 

Once he reaches the batcave once more he sees Tim and Duke at the computer, Jason laid back with his feet on the center table, and Dick leaning by the med bay door. All of them though stop what they’re doing and look towards him as he enters; waiting for him to tell them what has become of the brother they’ve never met. 

“Danyal is dead.” It hurts to watch his sons lose what little hope they had that maybe by the end of this their brother would be coming home. 

[batbabydamian]

damidamidamian_001.png

[damiansgoodgirll]

So girl, I’ve seen Beyonce is your favourite singer and she’s my favourite singer so could you please write Reader where she is a huge fan and she’s part of the judgment day and more like Rhea and Damian, she reacts to the album with them and they can’t understand like the hype or something like that because they are not into that genre and like reader has some crazy reaction.

Please it would be so fun! Thank you so my queen 🐝❤️

please, i always imagined what would their reactions be to beyonce or singers they don’t listen to lol, i’m so happy to make this request!

notes : i love rock music and metal too! i just needed to make reader a beyhive and make her hating metal music (please forgive me), also listen to this masterpiece thank you!

damian priest x reader x rhea ripley (PLATONIC)

cowboys

you always loved sharing car rides and hotel rooms with your teammates, especially damian and rhea. they were the first people to ask you to join them in the judgment day, seeing your potential in nxt and being barely twenty one, they wanted to give you a bigger opportunity and so they took you under their protective wing.

finn and dom were nice too, they helped you growing in your skills in the past year and they all took a liking in you but you had a bigger connection with rhea and damian.

they always pushed you, making you reach goals you thought were impossible and you couldn’t thank them enough.

there was one thing you didn’t like about them.

their favourite type of music.

rock. metal. punk. whatever they were listening to. you just couldn’t handle it. there was just one rock song you liked and it was beyoncé’s “don’t hurt yourself” rock song.

so long car rides with them were always a torture. you tried to make conversation most of the time but when it was a 7 hour ride, eventually you would finish topics and so you had to listen to them singing or more - screaming - to their songs.

they usually let you choose one or two songs, but that was it. and everytime you would choose rihanna or beyonce they would take over it.

finn once told you that metal heads only cared about their favourite music. the rest was trash for them. you didn’t believe him at first, thinking he was only overreacting but in this year you realised how right he was.

it’s like they were allergic to beyonce.

but tonight, oh, tonight it was going to be your night.

you were currently in the same hotel room as they were as rhea wanted to share a room with you all. you knew what was coming at midnight and so you asked multiple times to have a separate room from them, you didn’t give them explanations but rhea wasn’t having it.

so, a huge bedroom with two kings sized bed - one for damian and the other one for rhea and you - and a huge tv with all the apps you needed, spotify included was what you got.

the shock came when the track list dropped a day prior, letting you know that there were going to be 27 songs.

they can barely handle one song, how were they going to react to 27 songs?

you still didn’t ask them, as whatever band rhea was playing on spotify - probably motionless in white - were blasting in the room and you were currently fidgeting with your fingers.

the best guess was probably that they would leave you alone for two hours or so. maybe going at the gym or somewhere else. the worst guess was that they probably would laugh at you and telling you no. that would be the worst because you had been waiting for this album since the announcement day and you were already excited at the thought of a new beyonce album.

fifteen minutes to the album drop and you were already imagining yourself leaving the room to go somewhere else to listen to the album.

“guys!” you called for their attention. you were sitting on the bed next to rhea and damian, who were playing some cards game.

“you okay?” rhea asked and you nodded.

“i have something to ask you…”

“go on” rhea’s curios faced looked at you. rhea always liked the way you got shy around them, even if you had been with them for the past year. she kinda knew what you were going to ask, as you had been fangirling about the album with bianca belair for the past two weeks but still, she wanted to hear you asking them. deep down she knew she couldn’t say no to you.

damian, on the other hand, had no idea and he probably was going to have a heart attack at your request.

“so…i have a request…and for once i would like - uhm…i would like that you would consider my feelings” you struggled at first making rhea slightly chuckle.

“did we do something?” damian’s worried expression looked at you.

“no no no, you didn’t do anything to me…uhm…it came out wrong” you said “so, uhm…i don’t know if you know, probably not, but beyoncé’s new album drops in like ten minutes now and - uhm…since we’ve been listening to metal music all day long and i haven’t complained once - i would like to ask you if you could let me listen the album here? like, i know it’s not your type of music but i would really love to listen it here and not going like in the gym or somewhere else…since we have spotify and stuff…” you asked.

rhea was smirking and damian was very much confused.

“that’s it?” rhea asked and you nodded.

“why were you so scared to ask us that?” damian asked you this time.

“i wasn’t scared…”

“yes you were” he pointed out. he kinda felt bad that you had to ask them such a simple thing. yes, he knew beyonce wasn’t his music but he couldn’t see why it was a thing to ask.

“so?” rhea asked “you kinda looked scared”

“it’s not that. it’s just i know it’s not your type of music and you always act dramatic when finn or i ask if we can listen to something else so i thought it was going to be a problem for you”

“we always let you put your songs on” damian said.

“yes, and then you and rhea talk over it”

“oh” he said “i didn’t mean to do that i promise”

“okay…” you smiled “so you really are going to listen beyonce with me?”

“yeah, i mean, i don’t think 13 or 14 songs could hurt us” rhea joked and damian laughed too.

“actually…it’s 27 songs”

“what!?” the both screamed, making you chuckle.

“you still have five minutes to back up because the album is about to drop” you said as you were searching beyonce on spotify.

you observed the way rhea and damian looked at each others. definitely not ready for the outcome. but rhea couldn’t help but notice how excited you were about the album, and how you were happy with it. just a small thing that made you the happiest she ever saw you.

“here we go!” you almost screamed jumping back on the bed, sat between rhea and damian as you were about to press play when you saw the album popping up on her spotify home “are you ready?”

“wait…is it a country album?” damian asked and you nodded.

“you should have gave us a little more of infos about what kind of death we have to die…” rhea added a little dramatic, making you laugh.

“oh shut up! it’s gonna be great!” you said pressing play.

you were in tears after the first minute of ameriican requiem and now damian and rhea thought you were the dramatic one.

it got worse when beyoncé’s cover of jolene started as you always loved that song growing up.

“so she stealing songs?” damian murmured, earning a side look from rhea and punch in his stomach from you “okay i apologise”

the death of you was when daughter started, you knew beyonce was capable of anything but opera? the italian part? you were a crying mess, and even though neither of them were understanding the hype around beyonce, they couldn’t deny she was a great artist.

they were a little shocked when they saw you crying over her songs and they didn’t know what to do. if they should console you or letting you cry in peace.

“oh she’s doing it again!” you screamed when spaghetti started.

“doing what?” rhea whispered never getting a reply back.

you were crying and then you were not.

they felt like they were babysitting a baby.

damian was trying to stay awake just for you and rhea was kinda amused by the reactions you were having to her songs.

ya ya made you start jumping on the bed, tyrant made you feel like you were a porn star and ii hand ii heaven made you cry all over again.

one hour and a half later the album was over and you couldn’t believe the masterpiece beyonce just dropped.

“so?” you asked them, noticing their confused looks “did you like it?”

they knew they couldn’t say no because you looked too happy and they didn’t want to ruin your mood but they couldn’t say yes because - country? - definitely not their genre.

“i gave up after the jolene cover” damian joked, earning another side look from rhea “joking joking…it was interesting”

“rhea?” you turned to her and now she was speechless.

“uhm…yeah, it was an experience” she smiled at you, making you smile too.

you were happy with their reactions so you went all to bed.

two days later

another car ride. another show. another hotel room to be shared with damian and rhea.

you hit the shower first, tired of the trip you just had, you wanted to relax a bit before going to bed.

“your body laid out on these filthy floors

your bloodstains on my custom coutures

bathroom attendant let me right in

she was a big fan”

came from the bedroom. except it wasn’t spotify.

“they keep saying that i ain’t nothing like my father

but i’m the furthest thing from choir boys and altars

if you cross me i’m just like my father

i am colder than titanic water”

you heard damian singing.

he was singing beyonce. the opera song. they really thought you couldn’t hear them so they kept singing or more like, whispering, but you would catch a someone singing a beyonce song even in the loudest crowd.

rhea joining him too was something else.

you really couldn’t believe that but you pretended nothing happened because you knew you would have ruined their egos.

damian and rhea singing beyonce?

no one would believe that.

but you did.

and that was enough for you.

[keepyourpantsongohan]

Ayesha Liveblogs Spy x Family S2

Awww, I like that Bond Forger the Dog also gets an intro about HIS secret identity. Equal opportunity deceit

Are we finally going to learn who exacty Yor is fighting? I would like to know!

Been there Anya, I also had little patience for watching the news as as a kid. Though, it seems more important in a pre-internet era

"Okay, you can change the channel." Loid Forger, International Spy, defeated by one (1) sad look from his little daughter

"I absolutely cannot tell him that I got shot in the butt while fighting a group of armed men." 10/10 episode plot, I cannot wait

"I've been relying on her too much without realizing it, and it's upset her. Yes, that must be it! I must do everything in my power to remedy this at once!" Loid immediately blaming Yor's mood on himself and deciding he has to be respond by being a better husband!!! I will keep saying it. He is THE Husband. World's Most Husband

"Why don't we go on a date?" HEE HEE

Puzzling that Yor thinks she hasn't been on a date though, when I can think of at least three dates so far (party-grenade-proposal date, lunch date, and drinks-and-reassurance date)

"I can't leave Anya alone at home, and this is a very important mission to ensure that we remain one happy family." It seems Loid has learned from the spy transmission debacle

"Last night, I came up with 862 date plans to ensure that Yor has fun." He's insane. I want to give him a leetle kiss

HAHAHAHA Franky being absolutely thrilled to bother Loid and Yor on their date. What a friendship 💕

Intriguing that Anya's telepathy has a distance limit. Tell me more!

Honestly, Yor having to position herself in a specific way to avoid pain is relatable. We love a chronic pain queen

"This woman had built up an immunity to poisons." HAHAHAHAHA the poison fixing Yor's pain. Sometimes, drinking does solve your problems!

LMAOOOO them censoring the bomb components. A real "don't try this at home" moment

NOT THE BABY MAKING THE BOMB. ANYA PLEASE

"I'm going to forget all this and live a normal life." Perfect. Forgers reforming their enemies left and right

"If it's not too much trouble, please invite me out again sometime." Never let being married stand in the way of your husband becoming your boyfriend 🥰

SCREAM at Bond's perception of what Loid does for work. I guess he's closer to the truth than most:

"Are you trying to do this for your... no. Are you trying to get revenge for your friends who were experimented on?" HAHAHA is Loid blushing because he wants to call himself his dog's dad?

FBKFJHFFHKJHF Loid taking on Bond as his mission back-up. He truly can be swayed so easily

WHERE DID LOID GET A DOG-SIZED SKI MASK AHHAHAHA

I love the giant puppy spy sidekick, employ this dog ASAP

"While they're busy playing, I'm going to work hard to get to the top," said Damian Desmond, Six Years Old, for whom The Top was beating all the other little bougie first graders

"Your friendship... preciously elegant." Me whenever I finish hanging out with my friends

I love that Henderson-sensei sends the kids out on a picnic as a punishment. He really is as silly as he is strict

I don't know if this is a vegetarian thing or a cultural thing but it always seems wild to me how people in anime bite into fish, scales and all

"Did you know that the most recent studies in neuroscience suggest that your brain feels really revitalized when you're spacing out?" I like Mr. Green, Grizzled Navy Custodian, too

HAHA Damian trying his hardest to space out. Me when people tell me to practice mindfulness

"Oh, you don't [have a goal], eh? That's perfectly fine!" "Actually, I want to live my life eating lots of snacks." "Splendid! You'll have to think earnestly about how to make that possible." I take it back, I LOVE MR. GREEN

Ready to sob about this field trip actually. AHHHHHHH:

"Good evening, Mr. Vile Trash." ACAB; All Cops are (Weird) Brothers

"What's so wrong about trying to improve the country my family lives in?" Nothing but the hostile, paternalistic nationalism of a Cold War, Frank Perkin, Newspaper Sensationalist and Adult Bully of Wealthy Children

"I'll request that your father gets some financial aid to get by." I feel like that will not make up for imprisoning his son, Yuri, but whatever helps you sleep

"Blech." That's also how I feel about Weird Brother Yuri, Anya

"Revenge will only make you sadder. I'll make you forget about all that with my love." This is the plot of Naruto

Honestly, I was super sold on the Bondman Polycule when it was just him, his spy partner Agent M, and the enemy spy lady who had all linked arms together. I feel like this could work:

"How was anything he did gentlemanly?" Loid said: I'm a one-woman kind of spy

"Lord Damian, how could you possibly pick the joker there." "Shut up!' [Internally] She's so unfair... Damn it! I like to believe Loid might approve of Damian's crush purely because he is also willing to do whatever Anya wants if she makes one (1) sad face

Poor Anya. She's really most suited to using her street smarts

"Garden? The group of assassins who have been in this country for ages? They're basically urban legends, aren't they?" FINALLY we're finding out more about Yor's job!! They do in fact seem at cross purposes with the spies

[Loid already walking away] "He's such a heartless jerk." I bet you $5 he has already decided to help Franky LMAO

Update from 8 min later: Alright, I owe you $5, he didn't care

"Am I normal?! Oh, thank goodness!" said Yor excitedly, as if that were not a moderately suspicious response to being called normal

Excited for an ep with no double-barreled title. Plot progression!

I truly don't know where this falls on the spectrum of ways that anime will depict black and brown characters LMAO. Like Donovan Desmond, the Shopkeeper has an extremely haunting aura:

"You will be providing protection on this mission." Oooooh, change of pace!

"Is there actually any reason why I should continue my job as a killer?" A question every assassin should ask themselves, I think

"HQ may or may not be trying to cut back on our shady overtime practices." Incredible. I can't believe even the underground spy agency has PTO. I wonder who regulates spy labour law

"If not for this bodyguard job, the three of us could've enjoyed this vacation together." AWWW Yor loves her family so much

"You can say this is a gangster's destiny." [Reba voice] A single mom who works too hard, who loves her kid never stops!

"Papa! We need to hurry up and explore the ship before it sinks!" "It's not going to sink! Stop scaring everyone." The fact the staircase looks distinctly modelled after that one scene from Titanic really sells Anya's point

Loid incapable of framing having fun as anything but a mission ljggkjgj truly he might benefit from a Real Psychologist

"That family's just for camoflauge, right?" "Yes, you're right... Is... that true?" I love Yor slowly admitting that she loves her family for their own sake 💗

As Yor was declaring doing her best, I did worry briefly that someone was going to [redact] Olka. Other anime have been less kind to me than Spy x Family

I love Yor making another mum friend in Olka 💞 Gal pals

Finally saying suspicious things in public has a consequence!!

"It's been a while since we've had dinner without Mama." "Yeah, it's a bit lonely." Hee hee, Loid misses his wife

I love the immediate transformation in Yor's face as soon as Olka/Shaty says she didn't order room service

I don't have much to say but I am really entranced by the assassin vs. assassin + informant goings on!!

"I may not look it, but I'm a married woman, so I'll have to decline." Absolutely loving Yor quietly and efficiently beating these hitmen unconscious as she passes through the cruise ship

"Which is it?! Would normal parents buy their child something in this situation or not?!" Loid is incapable of making a decision without thinking about how it looks in relation to him being a spy. Anxiety king

[In Anya's mind] "Yor! You're an assasin who hates frogs? Let's get a divorce. The Forgers are done." Like father, like anxiety-ridden daughter

"I am a normal father. A good father," said Loid, which is frankly not usually something a good or normal father would say

"Papa, you're not excited at all." Loid defeated by one (1) six-year-old's piercingly accurate psychoanalysis

Loid is facing a true Psychological Battle: The Fitting Room

Anya Ultimate Wingman Award for convincing everyone her mum's battle is actually a circus act

Awwww, Zeb, Fake Husband to Olka, likes her. I hope this is a healthy experience in Yor seeing other fake couples work it out, but I do also think Zeb could mega-die

"As long we people continue to be people, conflict will never end." Alright, Director Doomsday, calm down

"What am I? What am I doing this for?" [B Eilish voice] What was I made foooooor?

"Does she hate me? Or is she just going through a rebellious phase?" Loid whenever one of the Forger girls looks upset: THIS MUST BE MY FAULT SOMEHOW

A hasty and confident NO to Assassin Sniff's whole vibes

We interrupt this program to think about how cute Loid and Anya are!! I love Loid entertaining Anya and also supporting her while he thinks she's missing Yor

"Nice, Mr. Husband!" Oh good, we love a bulletproof vest for Zeb!

Truly a wild juxtaposition of Forger Family Fireworks Night:

"This might be a bit late to ask, but would you consider just peacefully going home?" I love you, Compassionate Combat

I'm having a hard time believing all this will happen without Loid eventually noticing; the fireworks are long gone. I actually do hope Loid crashes her battle, Director Doomsday is out cold

"I'm doing this to support my family.... wait. I guess I am also doing this for money. But... no, I make enough to survive now. I'm hunting down bad guys for my country! For my country? Have I always been so righteous? What am I doing this for?" Poor Yor, this is like the worst possible time for an existential crisis

YOR AND LOID BOTH BEING MOTIVATED BY THEIR DESIRE FOR OTHERS TO LIVE A PEACEFUL LIFE 😭💘😭💘😭💘😭💘

[In Yor's flashback] "Be it for someone else, or for a specific reason, having to endure a merciless job... That's something to be very proud of." I'm sure Loid will acknowledge me. He'll forgive me. I like to think so too, Yor!!

Never mind to Loid helping Yor out, he is busy disarming a bomb threatening to sink them. This truly is the Titanic LMAO

LGLHGLGJHGLJHG Anya accidentally tripping the assassins so they shoot each other. Like mother, like daughter 💖

"You'll be able to enjoy the symphony of agonized screams and roars coming through the wiretaps on this ship." I can't wait for Loid to sink this guy with his own clock-bomb

Update from 30 seconds later: See? Self-owned and sunk

Awwwww Yor really does deserve the baby hug after the day she's had:

"I pray that, someday, you and your family will be able to find true peace." OLKAAAA

"I know it was an emergency, but I ended up casting my family aside again." Loid and Yor having the same crisis about whether to prioritize their family or their jobs 🥺🥺🥺

Loid's blush at Yor catching him skipping as he continues to skip over in her direction. Hee hee

"I hope peaceful days like this will continue forever." ME TOO, YOR!

Get you a mum who would secretly beat up sharks for you ❤️‍🩹

Setting aside how fun snorkeling is, absolutely terrible idea to go into the ocean with an open wound OMG

Loid carrying his whole family is the cutest thing I've ever seen, 10 bajilion/10zo; perfect:

[Internally] "You did a great job." Loid is in loooooove

"I can never tell if he's actually clever, or clumsy." Me either, Handler

Anya learning about the vacation disparity of rich kids LMAO

"If youre going to create a persona for yourself, you need to be strategic and commit." Not Loid turning this lie lecture into a spy lecture in his mind

"Lying is too much work, so I'll try not to do it anymore." Anya's entire set of adult role models do nothing but lie all the time, she really has no frame of reference for honesty

I do a little bit hate the Becky fantasizing about Loid thing, I have been Cardcaptor Sakura'd too much in life

NOT ANYA SELLING OUT HER MUM FOR THE POSSIBILITY OF BECKY BEING HER RICH SIX-YEAR-OLD STEPMUM OH MY GOD

I feel like they take a lot of liberties in translating "Loid-sama" as "my precious Loid" but hey, he is precious

"Yor's going to get the wrong idea, somehow." Loid has finally registered that this child is obsessed with him and he is only concerned for wife not thinking he's a freak. A good husband above all else

"I really don't understand the children of rich people." Me either, Loid

I need you to see Loid's face as Becky declares that this is his expression of love for Yor:

"Your heart is as vast as the sky, and you're stronger than the earth itself. You're the perfect lady." Correct, Becky! Yor is amazing

"I had some extra souvenirs left after handing them out to everyone else. Do you want them?" LMAO @ the implication being lost on Fiona that he doesn't even think of her enough to warrant her own souvenir

I will say, I really do resonate with the theme of the ep being Loid is Hot and Amazing to Everyone But No One Will Ever Measure Up to Yor in His Eyes

"Maybe you're too nice, and biting and barking don't really suit you." Everyone in the Forger family is too nice for their job, including Bond Forger, Precognitive Puppy

Awwww Bond trying to help out all the humans with his visions

LNKFHKFHKJFH Loid really just got reprimanded by his dog

"And he went into save [Daisy the puppy]? What an impressive dog!" I love the Spy Dad-Psychic Puppy tag-team ❤️

[Internally] "I am a cool-headed spy. I cannot let my emotions show." Loid remains deadpan through SO many things but his dog looking a little funny while wet is his limit. What a man!

"Don't push yourself too hard. There's someone waiting back home who would be sad if you died." 1) V sweet, dad first, hero second. And 2) This is the second time Loid has directly spoken to his life situation with a simultaneous thinly-veined dog metaphor

WAHHHHHHH Loid and Bond's heroics being acknowledged by Anya giving them little paper Stellas:

Yor immediately joining in and congratulating them for their hard work on their walk!!! I LOVE ONE (1) SPY X FAMILY 😭😭😭😭😭 IT'S A NICE SHOW

[disillusioneddanny]

Doodles on the Palms of our Hands Day 2 Soulmates

Damian gave his soulmate an annoyed look. “I do not like a lot of people, you are an exception to this. But if you do not leave me alone for five minutes, I will change my mind,” he said. Danny just stared up at him with the prettiest smile that Damian had ever seen. The vigilante just rolled his eyes. “Yes, yes, you are cute, Daniel. Just stop smiling at me like that.”

“How am I smiling at you?” Danny asked, moving to wrap his arms around Damian’s waist, causing the other boy to just let out a groan of annoyance. After years of only being able to talk to one another through the drawings on their palms, the two had finally met. 

Damian had already known that Daniel was like a desperate, attention loving puppy but he hadn’t realized just how attention starved he was until they finally met. Their meeting last week had actually been quite adorable if Damian was going to be honest. 

The two had planned on their first meeting when Danny moved to Gotham City for college. The eighteen year old had managed to get a pretty decent scholarship for the school’s sociology program. They had been planning the meeting for months now and then it had finally happened.

For as long as Damian could remember he had gotten small doodles and notes written onto the palm of his hand by a boy who lived on the other side of the world. Everyone had soulmates somewhere in the world and each soulmate had a unique identifier to find theirs. The first few years, Damian had done everything he could to ignore the notes. He was an assassin, he didn’t have time for a soulmate. Besides, as his mother had made sure to remind him, soul mates were a waste of time and not conducive to their goals. 

Then, Damian had moved in with his father at ten years old. Father had encouraged him to start writing back to his soulmate, to introduce himself to the boy who drew stars and planets into the palm of Damian’s hand. 

“You are a wonderful writer,” Damian had initially written in small cursive. 

Almost immediately Damian had gotten his response in a sloppy scrawl. “You finally wrote back!”

From there, Damian was hooked. He and Danny wrote to one another every day until one day Danny had written a phone number on his hand for Damian. Writing turned to texting which then turned to phone calls which then turned to face time calls. The two found themselves speaking every single day and Damian found himself falling deeper and deeper in love with the boy who lived in sleepy Amity Park. In that time, Damian had learned everything about Daniel, and Daniel had learned everything about Damian. 

Damian had been there for his soulmate when Danny had died and come back, he had been there for him when he had learned he was going to become the King of the Infinite Realms after he had defeated one of his rogues. There was not a single thing that Damian did not know about Danny. Just as there was not a single thing that Danny did not know about Damian. He knew of Damian’s past with the League, he knew the Batman secret, Danny knew it all. 

And it was nice. Damian liked that there was someone that he could talk to about everything that he had gone through without fear of being treated differently because of it. Danny accepted him, all of him, and he loved Damian for who he was regardless of the things that he had done. He had quickly become Damian’s closest confidant. 

“You know what you are doing, Beloved,” Damian said with a chuckle. “I am almost finished with typing up this report for my patrols for last night and then we can go.”

“I’m so excited,” Danny exclaimed, hugging Damian tight. Damian had managed to get his father’s height and at eighteen years old he stood at a solid six foot two. Whereas Danny stayed at a short five foot six. Damian thought it was adorable how much his boyfriend looked like what Jon had told him was a twink. 

“You are just meeting my family, Danny,” Damian said with a chuckle before he bent down and pressed a soft kiss to Danny’s smiling mouth. Danny giggled and kissed him again, before he lifted Damian in the air and spun him around. Damian just gave him a fond laugh and swatted his soulmate’s shoulder. “Put me down.”

Damian did have to admit, Danny’s ghost abilities did make things very interesting. “Can we fly there?” Danny asked. “I’ve been wanting to fly through Gotham since I got here and I haven’t gotten the chance! I’ve been too scared of your dad getting mad at me for doing it. I know the no metas rule isn’t real but he still doesn’t like them very much and sure, I’m not actually a meta, I mean being dead is a medical condition but still, I have powers and I know what that makes it look like.”

“Beloved, you’re rambling. Yes, we can fly. I have been interested in seeing what it feels like flying with you compared to flying with Jon,” Damian said as Danny set him back down. “Five minutes,” he said, pressing his finger to Danny’s lips before he turned back to his laptop. The two were currently in Damian’s apartment. Technically, Danny had a dorm room but they quickly realized after meeting in person that Danny would be spending the majority of his free time in Damian’s apartment. 

They already knew that they were romantically attracted to one another through their years of talking. And to an extent, Damian knew that he was physically attracted to Danny just through seeing his photographs and from facetime. But seeing Danny in person, seeing how small and slim the boy was? It was completely different than he had initially thought. 

Danny was just this small, lithe eighteen year old and Damian knew that Danny could also throw him the length of a football field without even breaking a sweat. It was attractive. 

It was beyond attractive, in all honesty. 

It was also nice to know that his soulmate would be able to handle himself in case anything happened, especially with how dangerous it could get in Gotham. Danny sat beside his soulmate wiggling slightly in excitement as he waited for Damian to complete his work before the vigilante finally shut his laptop and turned to his partner. 

“Ready?” Danny asked hopefully. 

Damian stood and took Danny’s hand in his. “Ready,” he said before his partner let out an excited squeal and changed forms. His soft, inky black hair changed to gravity defying white, blue eyes turned to Lazarus Green, and his usually pale white skin took on an unearthly blue hue. He looked beautiful. 

“You’re gonna love flying with me, Dami, it’s so much fun,” Danny told him before he pulled Damian in for another kiss. Damian wrapped his arms around Danny’s waist and deepened the kiss hungrily, biting at Danny’s bottom lip softly before the other allowed him access. He slipped his tongue into Danny’s mouth and ran it along the other’s sharp teeth slowly, taking his time to explore every crevice of his lover’s mouth. Danny melted into him, pressing himself as close to Damian as he could. Eventually, Damian pulled away and smiled at the dazed look on his soulmate’s face. 

“Shall we go?” He suggested. Danny just nodded his head, eyes glued to Damian’s mouth before he turned the two of them intangible and invisible. Damian shuddered at the cold feeling that slowly slunk down his body. It felt as though someone had slowly poured cold water over the top of his head. Danny wrapped his arms tight around Damian’s waist and took off, the couple flying through the ceiling of the apartment and multiple stories before they took to the air. 

It was definitely different compared to when he would fly with Jon. Jon’s flying felt like he was constantly fighting gravity to stay in the air. With Danny, it felt as though gravity didn’t even matter, like it did not exist. His flying seemed to defy the laws of physics altogether. 

It was exhilarating. Especially as Danny started to gain speed and the couple flew through multiple buildings, nothing really seemed to get in Danny’s way as he flew. Damian smiled at his lover, his eyes sparkling in the sun. He couldn’t believe just how lucky he had gotten with his soulmate. 

[zahri-melitor]

Some more coherent thoughts about Gotham War, now it's settled on me.

(Spoilers below cut, for length and as it's still only Wednesday)

It's not a huge surprise, but Selina's whole 'train henches to steal from the rich non-violently!' ended up being a complete side issue that only existed to get the plot moving. Nobody's conception of this plot, in two years time, will really include this detail, despite the thousands of words spent arguing how ridiculous it was.

Yes it remains a poorly thought out plan on Selina's part (she's never heard of earning money legally) but the narrative also frames it as long term ineffective from the very first issue and knocks it down on multiple occasions.

DC editorial definitely tried to dress this up as a full family event, but realistically it was a Bruce, Selina and Jason event, written by their three current writers, with solid bit parts played by Tim and Dick.

Vandal Savage remains ridiculous and ready to sacrifice anyone and I appreciate that about him. As a villain he was just the right level of stakes for this event.

I enjoyed getting to see Scandal, even if her fans would say she got done dirty here. Scandal usually has enough sense not to believe anything Vandal says, and I admit I was somewhat waiting for some level of twist here as to why Scandal was all for immortality at this point in time, but it never came.

I still agree it felt a lot like three separate plotlines intersecting, but I think they managed to land the event successfully (while leaving some nice loose threads). I actually appreciate they didn't overreach in their goals.

It still finished out with two separate plotlines: Bruce and Selina and Jason; and Dick and Tim and the rest of the family. Structurally this again reminded me as much of Resurrection of Ra's Al Ghul as Batman #138 did; the main plot and then the far more interesting Dick & Tim sideplot which is what I go back to reread. (Chip Zdarsky is clearly also a fan)

Also promisingly for an event yes, it did actually shake up the status quo and push the participants off in new directions.

So Bruce is now doing the Loner Batman thing (in that he's locked out of the fam computers/comm lines), Selina is officially 'dead' (what is with all these fake dead people with titles, Penguin is too right now), and Jason has what's effectively permanent fear toxin response to stressful situations. Also, apparently, we are getting Dick and Barbara back 'running' the Batfam while Bruce is on the outs.

As far as Bruce goes, what has been really notable in this event is how much Chip Zdarsky loves early 2000s Bat comics and their dynamics, and particularly Joker's Last Laugh. There's a lot of structural things about how this event was shaped, what specific characters did, and emotional beats that feel very JLL as someone who's read it at least half a dozen times. It's not the only influence, but it's a pretty prominent one.

Bruce ending the event in a position where he's effectively not working with most of the other Bats actually tracks reasonably well over to Batman & Robin, to my surprise. It makes sense that it's just Bruce and Damian and they're focusing on homelife and domestic relationship details between the two. It gives Bruce an excuse for why he's closely focused on Damian there.

I will admit I have not been reading Catwoman, but from the event it seems they're spinning her off to keep moving her back into a more antihero position. Tini Howard clearly has a direction she wants to take Selina.

I actually think this has pretty interesting storytelling potential for Jason. It means that he has to stay calm, or has to overcome his own fear to achieve things. It gives him a goal? Matthew Rosenberg clearly seems interested in using it for his Jason storytelling and he's got Jason right now, so...

I'm personally delighted by how much Tim Zdarsky wrote into this storyline. He used the space more to show off Dick and Tim's brotherhood and what Tim is good at, rather than push the Tim side of the Zur story we're all expecting to occur (there's that waiting Zur-Robin costume). Means he's planning it for Batman as a title itself rather than getting it tangled up here.

"It was the only way to become the second-best Robin". Yes, this is Tim getting to show off his core competencies - he probably is the only Bat other than Bruce who would have extensively studied all the trophies. Dick would remember a lot of them simply because a lot of the trophies are from old adventures, but pretty much all the others are not particularly retrospective, respect the past sort of members of the group, while Tim has always been surrounded by the shadows of the past. I loved this note.

I haven't talked about Babs yet! She's in green, in glasses, sitting down at her computers with a novelty mug, directing everyone, answering to Oracle. That's her! That's my Oracle!

I do think Bruce expecting Dick to take over running the Batfam right now is a big ask, given he's also running the Titans as the main superhero team on the planet and handling Bludhaven, but Tom Taylor's writing both those books so I don't expect to see the stress catching up with Dick there. Benefits of writer choice right now, I guess. Also personally 'Babs and Dick organise everyone while Bruce has a breakdown elsewhere' is one of my favourite Batfam dynamics so you know, I'm pretty excited if we actually get to see this play out.

New Lazarus Pit in Gotham! This won't be a problem at all.

[part-timewonders]

#TWIYOR: the story started when you first said hello

For @dailytwiyorprompts: middle-aged

(read on twitter or ao3)

“When they told me that having a child was integral to Operation Strix, this was not what I imagined,” Loid mutters under his breath as he fixes his tie in the suite’s full-length mirror. The suit he wears is perfectly tailored, a deep black with a maroon tie and pocket square to match. He tugs at the tie again, trying to straighten it out.

Behind him, Yor chuckles. “There’s always more than one way to accomplish your goals. I’d say you were quite successful, actually. Spies across the world would weep to achieve the miracles you’ve pulled off.” She comes over to him so they can stand together in the mirror.

The past two decades have been kind to her, Loid thinks, and no matter how much she complains about it, he thinks her graying hairs and laugh lines are quite attractive. And her floor-length gown, with matching ruby earrings, is lovely on her. The tailors did an excellent job matching his accessories with the garnet shade of her dress. They look like a distinguished middle-aged couple, the kind that used to be their targets in their respective careers.

“Yes, but…” Loid sighs. He watches their reflections in the mirror. Yor, an ever-steady presence next to him, even in his most anxious moments. “Forgive me, my love. I just can’t seem to put my worries aside. It’s one thing to say, ‘whatever it takes to finish a mission’. It’s another to watch our daughter marry into the mark’s family.”

“Your work is over. Damian Desmond is not his father,” Yor begins gently, wrapping her strong fingers around Loid’s arm. She squeezes it reassuringly. “Just like Anya is not a carbon copy of us. I believe Damian when he says he loves her and will protect her from harm. I also know our Anya is strong, and clever, and she knows she can always come to us, or Sylvia, or Yuri, or Franky, or any of her own friends, if anything goes wrong. Do you think Becky would refuse to help her best friend since childhood, if asked to?”

Yor makes several good points, Loid thinks. And it’s not as if the daughter of a retired spy and retired assassin wouldn’t know how to take care of herself. “She could always punch him in the face again,” he considers, brightening up visibly at the prospect. The first time it’d happened, he’d thought that was the end of the mission. How quickly things can change.

“Yes, and you know I’ve taught her all of Thorn Princess’s tricks over the years. Really, Damian should be the one who’s afraid,” Yor laughs. She pushes herself onto her toes so she can kiss his cheek. Loid can’t help but smile at the feeling of her soft lips against his skin. “Now, finish getting ready, Mr. Forger. We can’t be late to our own daughter’s wedding.”

[xjulixred45x]

Now that I've watched Hazbin Hotel SEVERAL TIMES and refreshed my memory a little with Monster Prom, I'm doing this quick parade of Headcanons for your entertainment.

Warnings: SPOILERS!!!

Hazbin Hotel x Monster Prom idea part 2

Okay, we already know that Damian and Charlie would be cousins, but I also got to thinking that Charlie probably could have gone to the prom just like Damian! with her ex-boyfriend (which is still canon) and Damian definitely kicked his ass as soon as he found out they broke up😂

Dahlia Aquino and Charlie meet! Similarly to Damian, she probably wanted to have a rivalry with her for being the literal daughter of Lucifer, but upon seeing Charlie's "Disney" personality type she gave up pretty quickly (especially when she saw the big power difference there is between the Aquinos and the Morningstars).

Currently Dahlia and Charlie get along quite well! Dahlia thinks Charlie should stop being so nice and join in a little with the violence, but she'd be lying if she said she didn't like Charlie's pampering.

Damian: Aren't you tired of being Nice?

Dahlia: don't you just wanna go appe shit?

bro, imagine that Charlie solves the problem of the Levays and the Aquinos in one day☠️

I can see Damian using "aggressive kindness" to get several souls from the eighth circle of hell to go to Charlie's hotel. Mr. and Mr. Lavey give Charlie more resources than Alastor does, such as personnel, resources, dissemination of the idea of the hotel, etc.

Let's be honest, Damian would be excited about the extermination being brought forward just so he can fight more exorcist angels. but he definitely makes it his personal goal to be admitted to heaven and hit Adam in the face (and other places). Dalia joins him.

OMG how ANGRY Damian would be at Valentino when he finds out what he did with Charlie's arm☠️

Damian doesn't like Alastor, he only likes him when he's doing violent things(His "calm, charming behavior" doesnt work with him), like in episode 5 oh, he'd be cheering for him SO HARD--

He doesn't do much when Lucifer comes, but I think he's definitely quite emotional when they finish singing "More than anything" and he's like "love is definitely the most radical thing in the world, it could beat the devil himself" and then he goes away he get drunk (Husk knows a lot about him, believe it).

If Damian SOMEHOW goes to heaven with Charlie and Vaggie, he's definitely blinded by so many pastel colors😂 and he already wants to leave. That is until they get to court, there he tries to bite Adan or at least give him a Roast. If not(most likely) he just go for a havoc, the normal thing for him.

(Damian definitely had no IDEA that Vaggie was a former exorcist, but he definitely thinks she's a lot more Badass now.)

OH HOLY SHIT IMAGINE THE FINAL BATTLE, Charlie not only has the support of the cannibals, but the support of the ENTIRE EIGHTH CIRCLE OF HELL, the angels would be considerably more screwed now. The Lavey lords give more angelic weapons and black magic, protection charms, Damian may even use contacts like Miranda to get her family to join the battle!

everything would be much more balanced between the demons and the angels, Damian and Dahlia are having a GREAT time killing angels left and right, Mr. and Mr. Lavey are having fun for the first time in YEARS and when they see Lucifer and Adam's fight it is even better!

when Adam dies- holy shit, Damian is celebrating and when he gets the chance he will dance on his body.

help rebuild the hotel 🥺 Damian and Dahlia HAS to Sing in the final song, i don't make the rules.

Overall, a nice Crossover❣️

Shares, reblogs and comments are very welcome!

[secondgenerationnerd]

Question for the omegas : what are your New Year’s resolutions?

Irey: I plan to continue my yearly goal of at least 150 new books

Jai: How many of those are going to be straight porn?

Irey; Define straight. As in only porn, or whatever’s going on between you and Colin?

Colin: Reread the Bible again. It’s comforting and I like telling bigoted assholes what the context of their shit is.

Jon: Finish my first book

Damian: learn to crochet. I enjoy the knitting Milagro taught me.

Milagro: I’ll teach you embroidery, I think you’ll adore it. I’m going to fill a sketchbook full of designs. One for every day of the year.

Mar’i: I’m going to relax more.

Lian: I’m going to write three songs a month.

Jai: I’m going to make Lian forget her name

Irey: JAI BARTHOLOMEW

[somewhatifs]

The sword went down in a graceful arc. Moments later, a sweet smell filled the room. Damian sheathed his katana, a family heirloom passed down from his esteemed grandfather. Sweet turned to sour, then eventually to rot as the ghost realized they wouldn't be at peace. Damian looked at the ground as the ghost's body fell at his feet and started to form into something he could carry. A row of bullet wounds formed on the ghost's forehead as his body started to reveal more details. A slit throat and torn-out spine later, the body was stuffed in a duffel bag and the trunk of the truck Damian used for these missions. Though the body was able to be carried, it hadn't lost its ghostly pallor and translucency.

Damian knew what would happen next as he made his way to his destination. The body would be turned into an expendable soldier, designed to obey orders only from the League of Assassins. A soldier without the faults of human emotion. 

A beep sounded from his phone and he kept his tone neutral for the person calling him.

"Hello, Mother,"

"My son. I assume you accomplished your goal." 

It wasn't a question. 

“Yes. The body will be at home in a day, Mother. The mission was a success.”

Not a moment later, she informed him of his next mission. 

“I expect you to be at home in no less than two days.” There was a pause, and if Damian listened closely, there is a slight soft note in her voice as she asked him if the mission went well. 

The next few minutes were filled with Talia telling him about his next mission. Damian listened intently as he drove back. When she finished, she disconnected first, as always. 

He missed the days when his mother's voice was filled with softness reserved especially for him, when he could call out to her with the voice of a son, instead of the voice of a soldier, merely carrying out orders. He shook the reminiscent thoughts away, knowing they would merely make him falter and become weak. 

(Raven's hand trembled as she drew the last sigil. A giant pentagram on the floor was the only thing keeping her father restrained, and she grimaced at the thought of him getting out. The last step would be to connect the gem to the pentagram so she could monitor him. 

Already, she could feel him reaching for a way out and pounding against his shackles. )

Sunsets were a rare thing to witness at the academy, so Raven had decided to let the students have the morning off to watch. The academy was hidden in a forest and shrouded in paranormal fog and mist, so sunsets didn't happen often, much to the disappointment of her students. 

Raven lifted her face towards the sun and spread her wings. It wasn't as warming as it would be without the mist, but it was enough to make her appreciate it more. The weight of her horns slightly dragged her head back as she relaxed. She found the weight comfortable, a grounding reminder of what she protected and fought for. Another moment later, the sunset turned another shade of orange and sunk lower. 

She could already sense the waves of disappointment that would soon emanate from her students at the loss of the sun, knowing that they would soon have to retreat into their classrooms.

Years of hard work and pain have gone into the founding of the hidden school. It had been Raven's hardest accomplishment, but worth the effort. Now she got to help the youth that was in her predicament. Different, struggling, and afraid. Raven's current goal was to make a change for them because, in her heart, she accepted a harsh truth. No one else would, so she would have to. 

It got lonely, especially during the quiet of the night. When the students were asleep, the classrooms were still, and nature was in the background Raven's thoughts drifted far away, escaping to a place hidden away for the protection of her students. Staying there lingering, stirring up longings until she had enough. 

Shaking her wings, Raven sullenly glides away from the balcony with a swish of her purple dress. Thoughts for a different day, she decides.

[folliesandfolderols]

Writing prompts day 130

From this prompt list. If you’ve read this far, I’m not sure you need any explanation, but the short version is I hadn’t written any fiction since 2019, I set a goal to write at least 150 words/day in 2024, and this list was my way to restart. Also I abruptly decided on day 2 I would write an entire Tim/Damian story connecting all the prompts, because I am Good at Judging My Limits. /sarcasm Anyway, I finished the rough draft a while ago and am now unlocking the old entries as I edit.

Read from the beginning here, or on ao3 here.

Days 126-129 here

***

6. “Gonna fuck you until the only word you remember is my name.”

10. “Wanna see how you look when you come undone under me.”

23. “You’re taking me so well, baby.”

49. “All yours. Only yours.”

57. “Look at your reflection. Look at how gorgeous you are. So fucking gorgeous when I’m fucking you like this. So pretty for me, and only for me.”

72. “God, you feel so good around me.”

100. "Tell me if it hurts, okay?"

117. “Tell me if it becomes too much, okay?” “Okay.”

125. “You look so cute like this, you know?” “Shut the fuck up and just fuck me already.”

***

straight into the nsfw under the cut

He couldn’t stop himself from rocking into Damian’s hip, pressing his erection against the slippery skin. “I can, right? Tell me you meant it.”

Damian nodded, keeping his face buried in the bedsheet. His voice came out muffled but easy enough to understand. "I meant it." He made a loose-limbed grab for Tim's clean hand, currently halfway under Damian's chest. "Want you inside me."

Tim's chest was going to crack in two, broken halves spilling love through his entire self, but he'd been given an assignment.

He hesitated. "Can I . . . can I kiss you first?"

Too late, he remembered what he'd just been kissing and winced in anticipatory rejection, but Damian rotated his body with uncustomary clumsiness to press their mouths together. He kissed Tim with graceless eagerness, hands clutching at his body every place he could reach, indecisive with desire.

Tim dug his nails into Damian's side, anchoring himself. "God, you're so fucking hot. I nearly came when you did."

Damian let his head fall back, revealing bleary eyes and reddened cheeks. "I'm glad you didn't." His hair pointed in every direction. He looked like he'd been caught in a tornado. Tim couldn't fully repress his smile at the sight. 

Damian noticed, of course. "What?"

"You look so cute like this, you know?" A word that one-year-ago Tim could never have imagined applying to Damian, but one that he found himself using in the privacy of his brain more and more often these days.

Damian scowled, but his words held no heat. "Just shut the fuck up and fuck me already."

"Yessir."

Damian twitched in response to Tim's teasing. Oh, right. Tim had noticed that before and not yet followed through. He made an appointment on his mental calendar to explore that particular response at a later date.

He noticed the mess all over Damian's stomach on his way back down--the sheets could only absorb so much. "Oh yeah. I told you what I'd do if I got the chance next time." Ducking, he licked a long streak up from pelvis to ribs, then did it again. Damian craned his neck to watch. One graceful hand moved to comb through Tim's hair as he worked his way from one side of Damian's torso to the other. Tim couldn't help but feel he was being rewarded for good behavior like one of Damian's pets, but he was okay with it.

Sitting up again, he got the lube and a condom from his nightstand. He re-slicked his fingers, then poured a little out directly on Damian's entrance just to be sure. Two fingers still slipped inside without any trouble. Mindful of overstimulating him, Tim avoided his prostate and concentrated more on making a third finger fit as he moved his hand. Now that Damian had finally allowed him his chance, there was no way he was going to fuck it up.

Damian hummed in contentment, muscles lax even as he pressed back into Tim's touch with unhurried undulations of his hips. In the closet door mirrors, Tim could see his cock hardening once more. Good. Even though his own erection ached for attention, Tim wanted this to be as good as possible for Damian.

Damian met his gaze in their reflection. "I've barely touched you so far," he said, the statement holding the air of a complaint.

Tim grinned, and couldn't help but notice the line of his mouth cut a little with Robin's sharp edge. "Not with your hands, anyway. Don't worry, you're about to touch a whole lot. I'm dying to see how you look when you come undone under me. Or on top of me, or whatever. Actually . . ." He scooted down on his side behind Damian, propped up on his free arm. "Would this be okay?"

Damian leaned back into him. "Better than okay."

"All right." Tim eased his hand out, kissing Damian's temple when he grimaced at the sensation. "I know, it's not as fun as the other direction. Here, let me—" He pulled Damian's top leg up until it rested at a 90-degree angle to the lower one. "That's better."

"Are you finished positioning me like a Ken doll?" Damian asked. The question couldn't quite hide the nervousness that flashed across his face and faded just as fast. “I'm tired of waiting."

Tim rolled the condom on and then spread more lube over his cock, moaning in relief as it finally got some stimulation. "Fuck." He aimed, remembered he always needed to aim lower than he thought, and repositioned himself so he was pressed against Damian's hole. "Hey, Damian?"

Damian reached back and dug his fingertips into Tim's hip. "What?"

He was going to hate this, but Tim was pretty sure he'd only been on the receiving end once before so there were things that had to be said explicitly. "I'm gonna fuck you until the only word you remember is my name, but first, you have to promise me. Tell me if it hurts or becomes too much, okay?"

Damian didn't like being required to reveal even hypothetical weakness, but after a long moment, he nodded. "Okay."

Tim kissed the curve of his ear. "Good boy." And he pushed forward.

Damian's body opened up to him like a dream. Tim had barely gotten the head inside before he had to pause, heaving in deep breaths like a man rescued from drowning. It had been a long time since he'd topped and he'd sort of forgotten how overwhelming it could be.

"Ooh, fuck," he gritted out. "God, you feel so good around me. I'm gonna die."

"Don't you dare die before you make me come again," Damian retorted, grabbing Tim's top hand and pulling it to his own cock. "You have a responsibility now."

Tim worked another inch deeper, trembling all over and too turned on to care. "Don't worry, I've got you—you're taking me so well, Dami, oh my God." He distracted himself from his body screaming at him to let it come by giving Damian's erection a couple of strokes. It spilled precome all over his fingers as the muscles holding his own dick fast suddenly gave. He slid home with a shout he stifled against Damian's shoulder.

As soon as his hips sat flush against Damian's ass, Damian went limp. Worried, Tim checked his reflection, but all he saw was Damian at his most receptive, eyes slitted nearly shut, mouth open on a breathy moan. Tim concentrated on getting his hand and hips working in tandem. Once he had his rhythm, he nudged Damian's arm with his chin.

"Look at your reflection." Damian did as he was told. Red crept up his chest toward his neck while Tim watched. "Look at how gorgeous you are," he crooned, kissing whatever warm brown skin his mouth could reach. "So fucking gorgeous when I'm fucking you like this. So pretty for me." He pulled almost all the way out and then pushed back in with more force than he'd been using. Damian groaned. "And only for me."

"Because you're mine," Damian said, rough-voiced and broken. 

The thing in Tim's chest that longed to be possessed glowed with satisfaction, given its due. “That's right. I'm all yours. Only yours.” He thrust harder and stroked Damian's cock faster, tightening his grip enough for Damian to push into it. Damian cried out in response.

"You gonna come for me, sweetheart?" Tim barely recognized his own voice, distorted with a heady mix of love and arousal. "Are you gonna show me how much you love it when I fuck you into my mattress? Come on, give it to me, wanna see you lose it right here while I'm balls deep inside of you."

"Tim���Timothy please—" Damian begged, face twisted and vulnerable, and hearing his name in that pleading tone was too much. Tim's orgasm blazed through every cell of his body.

day 131 here

[just-absolutely-super]

I want Anya to get all 8 Stella's in her first year for the following reasons:

1. She is baby & will look adorable in an oversized cloak. (It'll probably have to be custom made, but I imagine they'll have her at least try a normal cloak just in case)

2. Because she is baby & is very smol she'll trip on it as soon as she tries to walk in it which will be funny.

If Damian were to be in the same boat, he'd be so happy but then be disappointed that his dad still has little interest in him.

You are so right, Anya is baby and the coat will be too big for her baby body but she'll strut her stuff anyways despite tripping because she has a confidence we all strive to obtain

What's really interesting about SxF's timeline is that Sylvia mentions in one of the chapters she expects a 4 month deadline for Anya obtaining 8 stella stars

Operation Strix was already going to be a long game type of mission, but then she throws this this very improbable timeframe and giving Twilight a time-crunch to make Anya an Imperial Scholar. Hell, Anya's already finished with one term, and if Eden does a trimester school year, we're already at Sylvia's desired time with 3 stella stars!

So the goal will have to be stretched to make up for that, but since Anya did get 3 stars in a 3-4 month period, it probably won't be too farfetched to think she could get the remaining 5 in the what's left of the school year

Considering Damian also has a record 3 stars, I hope he can still keep up with her and they become scholars together. It would make sense to keep including him since he's very essential to the plot revolving around the Desmonds (and the Friendship Scheme of course lol). I do agree that him becoming a scholar will further show how much Donovan does not give a single shit about his son, but for appearances sake he has to go to that mixer!

My current theory atm is that these two do become first grade scholars and Anya's first real meeting with Donovan will be at this mixer, where she'll read his mind and SHIT WILL HIT THE FAN WITH PLOT

[notebookmusical]

Hi! I'm so glad you had fun! Oh that's so interesting about your accent. I've heard about people losing their accent. It actually reminds me a little bit of Taylors country accent and if it was more of an act and if she will do it for Debut TV. I hope so..even if it's just a little bit. I do actually like hearing her baby voice unlike some people. I guess I have a California accent.

So I think I mostly agree with your choices. I read that they are cutting out Damian's song and they're also adding a song by Renee featuring Megan Thee Stallion. I haven't heard it yet but I think it's out now. I know it's to probably appeal more to audiences that don't like musicals but I do like Megan so it's fine. Maybe it's a girl power type song and I'm sure it's in the credits anyway. Either way, I don't like listening to a musical soundtrack before the movie so I won't find out until I watch it. I don't know why..i guess I like being surprised by the songs, so if I see Wonka, this will be the case. I am curious to see how the music will be in that one. But Megan was also in a scene in another musical called Dicks the musical which I haven't watched either so I find it interesting. That one was more a parody of musicals I think but Nathan Lane was in it so that's something. Also I keep forgetting to listen to Renee's music! I think her deluxe album came out recently so hopefully I will soon.

I haven't listened to Sabrinas yet either but I definitely will..maybe on Christmas day. I saw a video of her performing the new years song and I was intrigued. It was almost like sexy..and different than I expected, but I liked it. I also forgot that Laufey has Christmas music too so I will play that as well and Kelly Clarkson has new Christmas songs too. But I totally know how you feel about the two weeks in between. I also feel that way from Christmas to New Year's Day. I always thought it would be weird to have a birthday close to Christmas honestly but yours isn't that close. I can't believe it's so close already..I hardly ever feel in the holiday spirit anymore. But I also wanted to ask you what are some of your favorite Christmas movies?

I love Lana! I would recommend listening to Born to Die. That's her first album and where her overall vibe and aesthetic come from, and why she was so popular on Tumblr back in 2012. That's how I found out about her and a lot of other artists back in high school. Yes..I have been on Tumblr for like almost 15 years lol. My sister and I were actually just talking about this. Like there are a lot of people on here who are two or three years younger than me and it doesn't seem like they're into Lana. Instead they're more into Lorde or Halsey which became popular a few years later. I still like them but that was past my high school years so I was never obsessed like with Lana. I also found Marina and the Diamonds, Arctic Monkeys, and the 1975 kinda and I still like them. So I do find it interesting a 15 year old would like it so much now but I was also 15 so maybe it makes sense. Anyway I would also recommend Ultraviolence and the album Norman fucking Rockwell. Honeymoon album has a more cinematic sound if you're interested in that. She also released two albums close together in 2020 like Taylor. I'm not sure if it was that back to back, but the albums are sort of a pair to me and it kinda matches a more stripped down Folklore style too. Her newest album is also good but overall I think her newer albums have gotten slower and some people don't like that vibe. She always has one or two songs like the old Lana though. I can always give you some song recs too if you want.

Thats one of my goals for this next year for sure..to read more books on my shelf. I'm still working on a list for now. I'm not sure if I will be able to finish Night Circus in January though just cuz it seems a little long so maybe I will move it to a different month. I also don't know when I will read Chloe Brown..maybe in February cuz it's a romance but thanks for letting me know. If I like that one, hopefully I can read the rest of the series. What are some of your other reading goals? Do you have a list of books you wanna read for next year yet? Also what were some of your favorite books of the year? Sorry that I was just kinda rambling about memoirs for a second there. I do remember liking Crying in Hmart but I think I was listening to an audiobook or something that I never finished. I think I remember reading it around this same time last year actually cuz I told myself I would finish it before the year ends but I just didn't. I definitely wanna finish it before the movie comes out though. Maybe I will try to finish a book I'm in the middle of now by the end of the year but I just have to make time for it. I forgot to ask you..what is your favorite sitcom? Mine is..no surprise, and a basic answer..Friends and the Office! Which is why I got their memoirs haha. I also really wanna finally start watching Abbott Elementary eventually next year.

I have seen both the movie and musical bootleg of Once. I saw the movie way before and am not as familiar with the musical. I think they made some small changes though so it does make me wonder about a La La Land musical. Falling Slowly is one of my favorite songs ever though. I also liked Begin Again with the same writer or director. This was not a musical but it did have some music in it and all of his films do. I also enjoyed Sing Street and I think he has a more recent film I haven't watched. But even Sing Street was on Broadway I think and that had changes too but I'm not really sure. I loved all the songs from Sing Street. They were all pretty different but music connects them and I like them all. I will pretty much watch any movie with singing or songs in it.

I mostly still love Taylor and always will but I do think parts of the fandom have to do with it. She was still my top artist mostly cuz she put out two long albums I played a bunch. I don't know why it feels different cuz I didn't feel like it leading up to 1989 or anything so maybe it has to do with me more than Taylor. I've actually had a dream where I met her recently and another where she revealed some rep vault or it could've been TS11 track titles. Lol those were probably way off but I am still excited for it! I hope you have a good weekend and holiday if you wanna take your time to reply! It was actually funny cuz I was scrolling my dash when I saw your reply to my ask come up yesterday. It made me realize how long my messages really are lol so sorry for that or to all of your followers haha. But it also made me laugh and I just couldn't reply until now. It's been a long time since I have made a new friend in general and that could be part of it too so I always appreciate you replying. I guess you are an easy person to talk to.

hello friend!! sorry this is late :( — guess who is sick again :/ i hope you're having a good weekend!! merry christmas, if i don't speak to you before that 🤍

i think debut tv will sound very weird without her accent, but then again maybe it won't! i'm torn because sometimes with the rerecordings, things don't sound the most ... natural (like the laugh in hey stephen / the end of stay stay stay) so we'll just have to see! ugh i loveeee her little baby voice. i was out grocery shopping earlier and heard her version of last christmas and was so excited about it!

i don't know how i feel about all of these changes! i'm trying to keep an open mind, and i will say that i always thought the mean girls score was weaker than what i was hoping it'd be (like legally blonde) but it is quite fun! i listened to part of the credits song, and then got distracted and then never went back to it! i've heard of dicks the musical, but haven't seen it yet (which should not be a surprise)! i think my friend saw it and said it was fun though!!

i rewatched white christmas last week, and i also have a soft spot for holiday inn (both musical + movie)! and i loveeeed love actually! i know some people think of little women as a christmas movie too, so little women 2019 must be on my list! and then i ironically / unironically love the christmas prince netflix films; they're so awful! what about you? do you have any favorite christmas movies?

i listened to some of born to die yesterday and was like "ah yes, i do remember listening to this one back in the day and liking it"! i've also been on tumblr for far too long :) i do like lorde and halsey! and i liked some marina stuff that was popular at the time — my tumblr favorite was definitely the 1975 + taylor! i listened to some of Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd when it first came out, and i really liked margaret! you know i'll always take recommendations from you 🤍 even if it takes me a while to get through!

i'm almosttttt done with my night circus reread! i'm hoping to be able to be done with it by tuesday, and then finish les mis by the end of the year and that'll be it for me! i haven't thought about my 2024 reading goals toooooo much but that'll be my first blog post on my book blog for the new year, so i'll have to start thinking about it soon!! i think i mostly just want to work on reading arcs/gifted books/books already on my physical tbr, but we'll see! some of my favorite books this year were: conversations on love, half a soul by olivia atwater, when broadway was black: the triumphant story of the all-black musical that changed the world by caseen gaines, the missing of clairdelune by christelle dabos, and the seven year slip by ashley poston — on a whole i think this year was kind of a mediocre reading year, but that's okay! what about you? what were some of your favorites this year?

i've never seen friends or the office! i think my favorite sitcom would have to be schitt's creek! a lot of my friends love abbott elementary so i've been thinking about starting it too!!

i've been meaning to watch begin again but haven't! i didn't realize it had the same writer + director as once! and yes!! sing street had a very short stint on broadway; i hope it makes its way back someday, i really loved the cast recording and what i heard of it!

i'm with you; i do think the fandom noise unfortunately has soured some of my feelings towards her at times. but i still love love love her music; i just need to distance myself from her + the fans! omg that dream must've been so cool! do you remember any of the titles? and no worries; i can always put my responses under a read more :) i love chatting with you 🤍!! hope you're having a good day! xx

[skylarkblue]

For the fanfic asks, 1, 4, 5, 16, and 20.

1. Do you have a word-count goal for the upcoming year?

I want to break 200,000 this year. I came just 8,000 words short of it in 2022, so if I can pull over the line I'll be ecstatic.

4. Do you think you’ll stop writing for a fandom this year? Which one?

Hm, that's hard to say. I want to take a step back from the Batman fandom (I say, with a huge Batman WIP to post) but I don't think I'll stop writing for it completely.

I almost definitely won't be writing any Supernatural or Doctor Who fic this year.

5. Which WIP is first on your list to complete this year? Will you post a snippet?

Lay All Your Love On Me.

Here's a small scene:

They made their way downstairs, where Cass and Damian were waiting for them, Leila standing between them and giggling. Damian leaned down and scooped her up, swinging her up onto his shoulders. She laughed and squealed, kicking her feet, and hung on to the back of his shirt for dear life.

“Damian,” Jason said. It wasn’t sharp, or even angry, just the tone of a man exhausted, but Damian immediately leaned down so Leila could slide off his shoulders and back onto the floor. She pouted, looking up at Jason, but he shook his head and that seemed to be the final discussion on the matter.

“Who taught you to have fun?” Steph scoffed in Damian’s ear as they made their way down to the car.

“You,” Damian shot back, and he offered her a rare smirk. Steph grinned back, elbowing him in the side.

16. Do you have that one fanfic that you wrote a ton for, ages ago, but never posted? Will this be the year, come hell or high water, that it WILL get finished and posted?

Ad Astra Per Aspera - the final chapter is half written and sitting at about 6,000 words. I'm determined to have it finished by adding approximately another 4,000 to it, and post it by July.

20. Any plans to work on original fiction this year?

Yes! I've started outlining an original novel called Turning the Page. It's an F/F romance set in a small town not unlike the one I spent my university years in.

I'll be posting weekly vlogs about it as I go through the writing process, and I'll be making a first pass at it during April's Camp NaNoWriMo.

[scorpionyx9621]

The Bat Family as things I have done IRL that just radiate Chaos:

Dick: Sign up for OT immediately after a red-eye flight to the east coast because my boss asked me really nicely and I've only learned how to say no after this happened. Proceed to pass out during my actual night shift. Still didn't get in trouble for sleeping on the job.

Jason: Take my government stimulus money, move out to the west coast from Washington D.C. do the drive all by myself and have the time of my life. Immediately gets homesick the morning I woke up in Seattle and dropped $700 on plane tickets back home. Proceeds to have one of the worst holidays of my life and have my flight get delayed 7 hours flying back to Seattle. Regrets ever spending the $700.

Duke: Starts writing fanfiction as a gift for a friend for dragging me down into Batfam Hell. Turns out to actually be okay at it and makes it a genuine hobby. Gets writers anxiety regardless but still writes and genuinely enjoys it and wishes they could do more.

Cassandra: Take Chinese for a semester because it's 6 credits and I needed 6 language credits to graduate. Get a 25/100 on the first test. Turn out to be absolutely abysmal at learning new languages but busts my ass and cry every night because Chinese is really freaking hard to learn. End up passing the class with an A-.

Barbara: Working at the front desk of a building I was an RA of at 6am. Watch as one of my residents who's rushing the biggest most infamous fraternity on campus walk back in shirtless covered head to toe in honey and maple syrup. Take one look at him as he tries to explain but I just tell him to take a shower and go to bed. Said resident proceeds to do that and thanks me for not asking questions.

Bruce: Stay up until 4 AM at least 4 times a week plotting on ways to take down my floor buddy as an RA who had been stalking and harassing me only to find out he got himself fired for SH'ing residents. Also getting my then best friend who also was an RA the next year randomly assigned to said asshole former co-worker when they tried interviewing for the same position (like an idiot) and said former friend blows the whistle on him and his behavior. Literally bringing in upwards of 8 RA's all in agrence to do whatever it takes to make sure this guy never gets hired in our department again.

Tim: Pull an all-nighter to finish an East Asian Politics Paper, give a presentation on radar remote sensing, take an exam on advanced statistics, do a full-overnight work shift and do a desk shift the next morning and the following day go to an international student party, black-out, come to in my dorm room and proceed to get violent food poisoning/my liver temporarily gave up on me after not sleeping for 55 hours then going to a college party.

Stephanie: Make it a daily goal of my 9-5 office job full of disgusting and toxic east-coast work culture to make my direct supervisor flip me the bird at least once a day. Proceed to go on a 10 month streak of actually succeeding in saying/doing something so cheesy/corny but still not within the realms of getting me in trouble enough so he just flips me off. At least once a shift.

Alfred: Adopt 4 freshmen all rushing the most notorious fraternity on campus and basically just act as their disappointed father from a distance. Teaching them valuable life lessons like yes, you should wash your sheets at bare minimum every two-four weeks. Feeding them spare cookies from the dining hall, giving them my extra laundry swipes, etc, Knowing full well I can do nothing to stop them from their debauchery. All I can do is attempt to assure they don't kill themselves.

Damian: In an act of absolute senioritis. Proceed to skip a bonus assignment for a final that would have taken me from a B+ to an A all because my former best friend had found a cat roaming around the student apartments and we proceed to spend the night trying to trap the cat. We succeeded and now said cat is in the loving home with my friend even though we no longer are friends.

[doodlesfromthebird]

(1/3) Previous question-asker here! Thx for giving such a detailed answer - I’ll refer back to this post when I get stuck. Im a lil baby writer - my art skills r more developed, but when it comes 2 making characters, theyre usually for stories I wanna write. Someday. Writing's hard. & I think it’s cool that one of the tips you gave was to interview your characters - my current fav OC group are all in a band, and when I first came up with them I pretended to interview them for a music magazine X)

(2/3) Plot’s a struggle for me too - tbh, the reason I started developing my OCs/worlds more was bc I tried to write a story plot-first, & ran into a brick wall bc I didn’t know the characters or setting that well. With that in mind, how do u know when ur done? When is a character or setting complete enough to write about? Theoretically you could just keep going forever, but do u have any markers you use 2 figure out when an aspect of character creation or worldbuilding is “finished”?

(3/3) [srry for sending so many asks omg, the character limit is ramble-phobic] but thank you for including those worldbuilding prompts!! They're exactly what I needed. You’ve inspired me to make a little guide for myself on character/design, trope and setting stuff that I think is cool, so that I can go back to it when I need new ideas. Thanks again, happy late birthday and good luck with whatever you decide to do with the Spiral universe! No need to apologize at all! I really enjoy the discussion!

I've always been character first, handwave plot for a few years until it puzzle pieces together into...something. Nothing water tight, but something I can at least give a semi in-depth synopsis of *most* of the things that go on in the story lol

I think its SO COOL that you gave your band-members a little interview for a music magazine -- that's exactly what I'm talkin about! And so fun, too!! And it sounds like it'd be something that would end up in the world itself, which is perfect.

"When is a character complete enough to write about?" I definitely recommend keeping an eye out on advice from your fellow writers, but... I personally think you can go on as much as you'd like to! As long as it hasn't become an excuse to delay in actually sitting down and writing for them in your story. (like ME lmao) Because sometimes smaller details just end up filling themselves in as you go along. I think you're fairly set if you have a good grasp on their personality, how they would react in a varying level of situations, what their goals, wants and fears are (and what have they experienced to have those develop) You may even want to write a character-focused little one-shot separate from the story that would help feel things out, while also establishing a mundane or significant moment in their lives, independently from everything else. This goes for multiple characters who are like a package deal. Like a pairing or a close-knit team that influence each others lives. Maybe even to convince you that the character is who you say they are. Like, it's one thing to say a character's charming, it's another to write about a moment where they're interacting with others in a way you actually find endearing and likable to back that up in your own head. Even while I was writing a rough script for a scene in a potential web-comic idea for Damian and Rio (the merman and vampire) a lot of small things started falling into place about the characters and world-building just started to SPRING FORTH, and I only had a general idea on how the scene would have gone, with key moments. From writing dialogue and character actions on the fly, I discovered: more about both characters body language, vampire lore and more how vampires function, a solid example of what an emotionally heavy conversation looks between the two of them, and more examples that convinced me of the chemistry between the two of them, in ways that I wanted.

Sometimes you get caught up in a creative current and suddenly you've blasted through like 3 pages of ideas. This goes for world-building too because characters are so frequently affected by the world around them in various ways. World-building is often something I overthink and I end up a fretting over about a lot of things that probably would be cumbersome to list in grand detail about anyway, but sometimes its fun to just think about, y'know? and if you're having fun then that's all that really matters. I'd say a general knowledge of what a general day of living in this world would look like, and maybe how it would affect the people living there long-term. What really sets the stage and how does it change over time, if at all. What makes waves and changes what was normal in either the world at large or for your characters.

The thing that personally always stumps me is structures of power and politics, and those are often times the real gear grinders of stories.

BAH I'M RAMBLING, MYSELF. I honestly wish you the best of luck with your characters and worldbuilding and I truly can't wait for you to fall in love with them. More than anything, try to be easy on yourself and the process and start with what brings you the most joy. Everything else will follow. Thank you so much for the birthday wishes!! :3